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Ballot Bowl 2008

More Campaign Appearances by the Candidates

Aired October 25, 2008 - 15:00   ET

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

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Welcome back to CNN's BALLOT BOWL. I'm Jessica Yellin, coming to you live from Las Vegas, Nevada, where we are awaiting a Barack Obama rally.
We are just 10 days away from the election and counting. And this is your chance to hear from the candidates in their own words -- sometimes live, sometimes on tape, but always unfiltered.

And joining me is my co-host, Dana bash, who is coming to us from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

And, Dana, I think it's considerably cooler there. It's predicted to be 80 degrees here in Las Vegas today.

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's warming up. It's a desert where you are and where I am, obviously. It was cool this morning. It's warming up here, which is good for us and good for John McCain because he's going to be spending the entire day here in New Mexico.

But let me give you the game plan for us this hour. We are going to have a live event coming to us from Sarah Palin. She is going to be in Des Moines, Iowa. Kind of interesting, given the fact that Iowa is also a state where John McCain is headed. He's actually going to sleep there this evening after leaving New Mexico.

And it is a state that a lot of Republicans are kind of scratching their heads asking why are Sarah Palin and, more importantly, John McCain spending any time at all in that state where most polls showed that he is very far behind and perhaps needs other states where he has more of a chance to be spending a lot more of his time. So, an interesting choice, I think, to say the least for their schedule.

But John McCain was speaking here in New Mexico earlier today and he was defending where he is with regard to the state of the race right now. Not just New Mexico, not just in Iowa, but pretty much across the board. He says that he likes to be the underdog, and certainly, if history shows us anything, it is that he seems to excel when he is the underdog.

And what he's been doing in all of his speeches, he's been ending his speeches with the kind of them and the kind of words that we heard first at the Republican convention, asking people not to give up and to stand up and to fight with him. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R-AZ) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And, my friends, let me give you the state of the race today, 10 days out -- 10 days to go. We're a few points down. We're a few points down -- and the pundits, of course, as they have four, five times have written us off. Senator Obama is measuring the drapes and planning with Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid to raise taxes, 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.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

MCCAIN: And you know what, my friends? They forgot one thing, they forgot to let you decide. My friends, we got them just where we want them. We love being the underdogs and we're going to win.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

MCCAIN: And 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'm proud of it.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

MCCAIN: There are other ways to love this country but I've never been the kind to do it from the sidelines. And, my friends, a little straight talk. I know you're worried. America is a great country but we're at a moment of national crisis that will determine our future.

Will we continue to lead the world's economies or will we ever 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 friends, my answer to you is yes -- yes, we will lead. Yes, we will prosper. Yes, we will be safer.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

MCCAIN: 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 out the mess of corruption, in-fighting, 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 our country from its enemies. Stand up, stand up, stand up and fight. America's 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 VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: That was John McCain speaking just a short while ago here in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

And, Jessica, it's really interesting, John McCain is somebody, who it is fair to say, is not known as an orator and his campaign aides are the first to admit that. And I was talking with one of his aides earlier on the week who said that particular graph there, which he ends his stump speeches on now, they are so -- McCain ends (ph) the day -- just so relieve because they have finally found a way for him to interact and really get the crowd rocking, basically, and get them fired up with regard to the things he's saying. And you do hear that at every single stop, and at every single stop, the crowd goes wild for those particular lines.

YELLIN: (AUDIO BREAK) Dana, and, you know, Barack Obama is hitting back hard on a lot of those messages, the new messages that we've heard out of the McCain campaign -- not just John McCain's but also Sarah Palin's recent remarks. He, in his comments earlier today, in Reno, particularly took aim at one of Sarah Palin's more controversial remarks that she called certain parts of America more Pro-America than others.

Let's listen to what Obama had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, RENO, NEVADA)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D-IL) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There are no real or fake parts of this country. We are 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 this war in Iraq and patriots who opposed it; patriots who believed 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 battlefield -- 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 served the United States of America.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

OBAMA: Reno, we've always been at our best when we've had leadership that caused 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 have not seen in nearly a century. Future generations will judge ours by how we respond to this test.

Will they say that this is the time that America lost its way or lost its purpose? When it lost its purpose? When it lost its nerve? When we allowed the same divisions and fear tactics or petty differences to plunge this country into deeper recession?

Or will they say this is one of those moments where 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. And you have every right to be.

But, despite all of 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.

And together, we can't fail -- not now. Not when we have a crisis to solve and economy to save. Not when there are so many Americans without jobs and without homes. 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 at over this crowd, I guarantee you that everybody here has got a story. And somewhere in your family history, you've got a parent or a grandparent who -- they couldn't go to college but they've 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 got 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 grandchildren, they'll have freedom and opportunity.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

OBAMA: Somewhere, you got a parent or a grandparent who works in a tough and dirty job, maybe in a mine, maybe they worked in a factory in Florida and they said to themselves, I'll never own my own business, but if I work harder, if I save (ph), maybe my child, my grandchild will have a business of their own or a home of their own. They will be able to live a life I could never have imagined for myself.

Somewhere in this crowd, their 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.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

Nevada, that's the American Dream. That's what we are fighting for. That's what this election is about. And if you will stand with me in 10 days' 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, 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, we are going to change the country and change the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YELLIN: Barack Obama speaking just hours ago in Reno, Nevada. It is his 19th trip to this state, and he's had quite a presence here. Joe Biden was here last week and Michelle Obama comes on Monday. So, Nevada getting an awful lot of attention by Democrats, an awful lot for a red state.

But, Dana, if there's one thing that's getting even more attention, it's the state of Ohio. Both campaigns crisscrossing that state. And I know you're going to take us there next.

BASH: That's right. And John McCain is going to be there on Monday as well. And Sarah Palin was spending a lot of time there this past week, as was John McCain.

And you were talking about Barack Obama. Well, his running mate, Joe Biden, last weekend caused a bit of a ruckus, I think it's fair to say, for the Obama campaign, because he was talking to donors at a private fundraiser and talked about the fact that they should be warned that there could be some testing going on of a President Obama by America's enemies, and America's enemies would want to test Obama in the first six months or so that when he was in the White House, just like what happened to JFK and the Cuban missile crisis.

Well, as soon as he said that, the McCain campaign said that they thought that it was a political gift because he was making an argument that they had unsuccessfully been trying to make for a very long time, that Obama is, from their perspective, not experienced and risky. Well, the McCain campaign, McCain and Sarah Palin seized on that and talked about that nonstop this week.

Listen to Sarah Palin on that issue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, TROY, OHIO)

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

We got to say, first, thanks for the warning, Joe.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

PALIN: And in case you're thinking, just another case of Joe getting carried away at the podium, no, we also heard from former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and she was asked, was it true we should expect an international crisis with an untested man, Barack Obama, in the White House? Well, she said, "I think it's just a statement of fact."

I guess the looming crisis that should worry most, the Obama campaign right now, has got to be Joe Biden's next speaking engagement. And...

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

PALIN: And yesterday, we got a sample of how Barack Obama handles trouble when he hastily assembled the press to remind them after Biden's quote. He says, "Now, Joe sometimes engages in some rhetorical flourishes." And here, his own running mate has just warned America and it's not the first time he warned us throughout the primaries that Barack was not ready to be president. He reminded them that the election of Barack Obama will invite dangerous international crisis because he is untested. And Barack just brushes it off as rhetorical flourish.

(CROWD BOOING)

PALIN: Now -- we'll all concede that Barack Obama knows a thing or two about rhetorical flourishes. But I question...

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

PALIN: But I question dismissing Joe Biden's moment of truth-telling as nothing more than a social embarrassment. Senator Obama's own running mate, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has informed us that a serious international crisis is certain if Obama is elected, and that he is not ready to deal with it. And America doesn't need smooth talk that glosses over that question. We need straight talk that answers it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Sarah Palin, speaking this past week in Troy, Ohio. We are actually getting ready for a live rally from her in Des Moines, Iowa. That will be, hopefully, coming up very soon.

You see -- Sarah, Sarah. The crowd definitely looks pretty big and, obviously, pretty boisterous. That is not a new sight or not a new sound for a Sarah Palin rally. And one of the reasons why the McCain campaign initially and really still are so happy that they picked her, because of the fact she has been able to rally the Republican base for her.

You know, the issue has changed a little bit with regard to independents and conservative Democrats, who they felt that they would be able to pull over from the Democratic side. It doesn't look according to polls that like would happen, but they definitely needed in the McCain campaign to boost energy inside the base, as you just saw there. They have done that big time with Sarah Palin.

You can probably see behind me, Jessica, you're probably going to have this situation in a little while. They are already starting to breakdown. I'm in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and John McCain had an event here a little while ago. And this is -- well, that happens on BALLOT BOWL. You're here for the live event and you're here after the live event. So, everybody gets to see the sausage being made, I think, at these rallies.

YELLIN: One of the indignities of this gig. You see it coming up, you see it coming down. Here the folks, I can tell you, Dana, are just starting to arrive. Well, they've been waiting outside. They are letting them in. Three-hour-plus wait for them in this heat here in Las Vegas. But that's pretty typical of these crowds nowadays.

We want to take you now away from Las Vegas to another part of the country, North Carolina, where the Obama campaign has, against all pundit predictions, been able to compete quite aggressively in what has long been a very red state. That's where we found Joe Biden earlier this week going after the McCain/Palin ticket and lashing them to the policies of George Bush.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA)

SEN. JOE BIDEN, (D) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Barack Obama and I have a simple proposition. It's not revolutionary. Let's end these tax -- and by the way, it's $15 billion a year. Let's end these tax cuts that ship our jobs overseas and give them to companies that hire people here in North Carolina.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

BIDEN: That's not rocket science. Give the tax break if you hire someone here in North Carolina -- instead of sending the job overseas.

And, ladies and gentlemen, we have to insist, we have to insist on trade agreements that protects the dreams of America's working class. You know, I know we're not running against George Bush. But we are running against the very economic policies John McCain is promising continued to push forward. And they are George Bush's policies.

Ladies and gentlemen, I love it when I watch Governor Palin and Senator McCain. I love it when they introduce each other as mavericks. They're both maverick.

(LAUGHTER)

BIDEN: You know, mavericks. You know what I mean? I like that. And they compliment each other on being a maverick.

Well, there's a senator, who is a very good friend of mine from my hometown, where I was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. And his name is Bob Casey. He's a new senator. And he had a great line I'll paraphrase. He said, "You can't call yourself a maverick when all you've been the last eight years is a sidekick."

Ladies and gentlemen, they are sidekicks. They are not mavericks.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS) BIDEN: I say to all of you students, I bet your mom and dad had expressions like my mom had. I'd say to my mom, I'd say, "Mom, I want to go down and hang on the corner with the guys." And she'd say, and they were older, and she'd say, "No, Joe, you can't get down there. Those guys are always getting in trouble."

I'd say, "Well, mom, I'm not getting in trouble, not me." She said, "Joe, are you going to stand on the corner with those guys?" I said, "Yes, mom." She said, "Well, Joe, let me remind you. If it walks like a duck, if it looks like a duck, and it quacks like a duck, it's a duck."

Well, guess what? John McCain and Sarah Palin are quacking like George Bush.

(APPLUASE AND CHEERS)

BIDEN: They are nothing different. What's the difference?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YELLIN: Joe Biden in North Carolina earlier this week.

When we come back, we're going to look at states like North Carolina and where the candidates stand when we check in on the electoral map with our own Bill Schneider. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

YELLIN: Welcome back to CNN's BALLOT BOWL. I'm Jessica Yellin, coming to you from Las Vegas.

And this is an unusual sight in an election year -- a major Democratic candidate rally in Las Vegas -- in Nevada, the reddest of red states, just days before the election. Ten days before the election. It's a sign of what we are calling a change in the playing field this time around, what Barack Obama has called "expanding the electoral map."

So, let's bring in our very own Bill Schneider, who is the guru of such things, to talk to us a little bit about -- Bill, where does the electoral map stand right now?

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Right now, well, if the election were held right now, a lot of people would be surprised, but we show on our CNN electoral map, if it were -- Obama would be slightly over the top with 277 electoral votes. It takes 270 electoral votes to win the election. So, he'd be just over the top.

McCain would lag with 174 electoral votes in those red states. And that leaves 87 electoral votes in states that we think are still too close to call. So, we've got a week to go. Things could change. But that's where it is right now.

YELLIN: One of the topics we've been all talking about is how Obama is really on the offensive. In these final days, he's playing on a field that Democrats don't usually play on, competing in North Carolina, Nevada, Virginia. How has this changed what is a typical election layout this far before a voting day?

SCHNEIDER: Well, it means that McCain is clearly on the defensive. He's trying to defend the states that George Bush won four years ago. The only state where McCain is making a push that did not go to George Bush four years ago is Pennsylvania. We are showing that Pennsylvania right now is leaning pretty strongly to Barack Obama. There are still six toss-up states -- Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, Missouri, Colorado, Nevada. They are all over the country.

And what's interesting about those six remaining toss-up states is: all six of them voted for George Bush four years ago. So you can say that that's where the battle is being waged most fiercely, but it's being waged in territories that the Republicans are having to defend.

YELLIN: And it also allows Barack Obama to have a little bit of wiggle room on some of those hard-to-win states, like the state you're in. If he can pick up some of these other red states, it could change a winning strategy, a new winning strategy for Democrats. Anyway, thanks so much, Bill.

SCHNEIDER: That's why (INAUDIBLE), Ohio is essential for Republicans.

YELLIN: OK, thanks, Bill. We'll check back in with you in the coming hours. And we are going to take a detour after this break and go to a live event. Our first live event today with Sarah Palin, after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BASH: Welcome back to BALLOT BOWL.

On BALLOT BOWL, we bring you the candidates in their own words from the campaign trail, sometimes live, sometimes on tape, but always unfiltered. And at this hour, actually, as we speak, we are waiting for a live event. We are waiting for Sarah Palin to begin speaking in Des Moines, Iowa.

You see a picture there. Her supporters are gathered, ready for her to start. We do expect that pretty much any minute. And when it starts, we will bring that to you.

And we also are going to tell you what we're going to have up next -- and that is the man on the top of Sarah Palin's ticket, John McCain. He has been talking a lot about, quote-unquote, "spreading the wealth." That was based on a discussion that Joe the Plumber had with Barack Obama. Well, we're going to bring you John McCain and let him explain what exactly he means when he says Obama wants to spread the wealth.

Stay with us. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BASH: Welcome back to CNN's BALLET BOWL. We are waiting for Sarah Palin to begin speaking. She has taken the stage where she is campaigning right now, and that is in Des Moines, Iowa. In fact I think I her hear speaking, now. Let's go take a listen to her.

SARAH PALIN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you so much. Of course, Aaron Tippen, we thank you for his beautiful music and thank you for being here, also. And he is backstage right now, isn't he? Aaron Tippen, yes. Iowa Chops, thank you for the jersey. It is so good to be in the home of the Iowa Chops and good to be in the Hawkeye State, Des Moines.

(APPLAUSE)

Des Moines, you are so welcoming and I appreciate that. And you are kind, you are patriotic. And I know we have so many patriots right here in this great crowd. I would ask so we may honor you, those of you who have served our country in uniform in the past or serving today, raise your hand and let us thank you in honor, you guys.

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you very much. And we do thank you for your service and sacrifice. Thank you so much. I want to introduce a couple of people here with me on the stage who have been on the trail with me. We have the Willow and Pieper Palin.

Pieper saw a hand-held mike so I told her she could say a few words.

Pieper, go ahead.

PIEPER PALIN, DAUGHTER: Hi, Iowa!

CROWD: Hi Pieper.

P PALIN: (INAUDIBLE)

(APPLAUSE)

S PALIN: Oh yeah, and I didn't tell her to say that, no. No, thank you very much, Iowa, for that wonderful welcome. This is amazing. This is outstanding. Thank you so much for this show of support. So glad to be home here at Iowa Chops' headquarters. Last night I know the Chops had an amazing victory. It was a close game, right down to the wire. And with the support of the fans, I'm sure, the Chops then pulled off that victory. And on November 4, that's what John McCain and I -- we are looking to you also, in a tight contest, to also pull us towards victory.

We're a team of mavericks. We have some chop. Were the underdogs in this race, we need your help.

(APPLAUSE)

Iowa, are you ready to help us carry this state to victory?

CROWD: Yeah!

S PALIN: Are you ready to make John McCain the next president of the united states? CROWD: Yeah!

S PALIN: Are you ready to send us to Washington, D.C. to shake things up?

CROWD: Yeah!

S PALIN: I know that each one of you, you are here today because you understand the stake in this election. This is high stakes. This is all about the future of our country. And we look at the young people and in a crowd like this especially and we realize this is about the future of America and our country is facing tough economic times right now. And now more than ever, we need someone tough as president. We need a leader with experience and courage and good judgment and truthfulness. We need someone with a bold and real and fair plan to take our country in a new direction. We need John McCain.

(APPLAUSE)

With our economic plan, John and I will help our families keep their homes by cleaning up the corruption on Wall Street and the greed that brought us the housing crisis. And -- and we're going to help our retirees keep our savings and investments and we're going to help all of us to afford healthcare. We're going to help students pay for college, and -- yes. And our pro-growth, pro-private sector agenda, we'll get this economy back on track.

What we're going to do is bring tax relief to every American and to every small business. Yes. Small businesses, especially here in Iowa, you are the backbone of this state and this country's economy, and we're going to let you keep more of what you earn and produce so you can hire more people. That's how jobs are created. That's how our economy gets rolling. Yes.

John McCain and I will lower your income tax, and we will double the child tax deduction for every family, and we'll cut the capital gains tax, and we're going to help American businesses stay in America by reducing the business tax that is now the second highest in the world. We'll reduce that business tax. We will keep America's businesses here in America, yes.

You know, when it comes to taxes, you're going to have such a real clear choice. Very stark contrast here on November 4. Clear choice. And I want to talk about this for a minute because our opponent is not being candid with you about his tax plans. And it is not mean- spirited, and it is not negative campaigning to call someone out on their plans and their record and their associations, so we're going to do it.

(APPLAUSE)

Calling someone else on their record is in fairness to you, to the voters of America. And what you have to do is really listen to their opponent's words, you have to hear what he's saying with his plans because he is hiding his real agenda of redistributing your hard- earned money. He says that he's for a tax credit, which is when the government takes more of your money and gives it away to someone else according to their priorities.

John McCain and I, we are for a real tax cut, which is when government just takes less of your income in the first place. You know, we really have to hand it to "Joe the plumber" there in Toledo, Ohio. "Joe the plumber." "Joe the plumber." "Joe the plumber."

Somehow Joe succeeded some doing something that the rest of us have not been able to get him to do. Joe got our opponent finally to state in plain talk, plain language, what senator Obama said that he really wants to do with the tax plan. He says he wants to spread the wealth, which means, of course, that government takes more of your money and then they dole it out however politicians sees fit. And Barack Obama calls that "spreading the wealth."

(BOOING)

And Joe Biden calls higher taxes "patriotic." But -- but "Joe the plumber" said to him, it sounded like socialism.

(APPLAUSE)

And now is not the time to experiment with that. So, when he left Joe's neighborhood in Toledo, our opponent didn't seem real pleased. It seems that the campaign stage photo-op that got ruined that day by a real person's question. Joe wanted more than just a handshake and campaign button. He wanted some real answers. So, our opponent asked a real and a simple and straightforward question and he spoke for a lot of Americans with that question.

The Obama campaign didn't appreciate it and ever since that question, they've been investigating and attacking good ol' "Joe the plumber."

(BOOING)

But a lot of folks around the country, they identify with Joe. And we have seen posters in our rallies, "Ed the dairyman" and "Clark the cook "and I see one here, "Joe the farmer."

(APPLAUSE)

At a recent McCain rally, there was a man there named Tito Munoz (ph), who owns a small construction company and we call him "Tito the builder." Tito is not pleased with how the Obama campaign and some of the media friends there have been roughing up "Joe the plumber." And Tito has a question of his own. Barack Obama won't like this one either.

His question, he wants to know, and I quote, "Why the heck are you going after "Joe the plumber?" "Joe the plumber" has an idea. He has a vision, he has a future. He wants to be something else. Why is that so wrong?" and Tito is an immigrant from Colombia and he has this reminder for us all. So he says, "Everything is possible in America. I made it. 'Joe the plumber' can made it even bigger than me. I was born in Colombia, but I was made in the USA."

(APPLAUSE) You see, Tito isn't the only McCain supporter who feels that way. I guess if you -- if you work hard and you want to get ahead and you don't want your dreams dashed by the Obama tax increase plan. If you believe that America is that land of possibilities, then you're "Joe the plumber," too, and we're all in this together. Yeah.

So, on November 4, we're not going to support Barack the wealth- spreader's plan, because we understand, and I know that you understand, that his plan to redistribute wealth will ultimately punish hard work and it discourages productivity, and it will stifle the entrepreneurial spirit that made this country the greatest country on earth.

(APPLAUSE)

Our opponent's plan is just more big government, and that's -- that's the problem, is more big government. That's not the solution. Instead of taking more and spreading your wealth around, what John and I want to do is spread opportunity so that people like you and "Joe the plumber" can create new wealth. Yes.

See, under a big government, more tax agenda, what you thought was yours would really start belonging to somebody else, to everybody else. If you thought your income, your property, your inventory, your investments were yours, no, they would really collectively belong to everybody.

Obama -- Barack Obama has an ideological commitment to higher taxes and I say this based on his record. He voted 94 times for higher taxes -- 94 times he had an opportunity to be on your side, and instead, no, he was on the side of government. Higher taxes even for hard working, middleclass Americans making just $42,000 a year, increasing taxes, there. And now Obama is proposing nearly a trillion dollars more in new government growth, but he doesn't tell you where those trillion dollars will come from. They can only come from higher taxes.

Big government spenders, too, if you think about it, who would control the House, the Senate, the White House, the power there, the monopoly the power is something that we need to be discussing in these last 10 days of this campaign. Unchecked power there with control by big spenders, big government agenda, in all three House, Senate, White House.

The lesson I believe we taught our kids would start to erode. Those lessons about worth ethic, hard work being rewarded and productivity being rewarded and lessons about the virtues the freedom of independence while being generous and compassionate with others. Higher taxes, more government, misusing the power to tax leads to government moving into the role that some believing that government then has to take care of us.

And government kind of moving into the role as the other half of our family, making decisions for us. Now, they do this in other countries where the people are not free. Let us fight for what is right. John McCain and I, we will put our trust in you, not in government. We will let you keep more of what you earn and produce, so that you can grow and thrive and prosper. We will fight for you. We will put our country first. We're going to put government back on the side of the people and we're going to also confront that $10 trillion federal debt that, yes, the government has dug itself in a hole to that degree -- $10 trillion that we're expected to pass on to our kids and our grandkids. That's not right. That's not fair. On our watch, it will not happen. John and I will impose a spending freeze to cover all but the most vital functions of government.

We will balance the federal budget by the end of our first term. Yes.

You can count on us to follow through on our promises, Iowa, because we're the only candidates in this race with a track record of reform. And we haven't just been talking the talk. John and I both have walked the walk.

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As a senator, John McCain has been known as "the maverick." He has taken on the wasteful spending and the abuses of power, and he's got the scars to prove it. And as president, he's going to end those abuses once and for all.

Now as mayor, let me tell you a little bit about my own track record as a mayor and a governor so that you know where I have been, and where I would help lead this country. Up there in Alaska, I eliminated personal property taxes, and I eliminated small business inventory taxes. Those...

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See, reducing those and other taxes and those things that just would hamper growth and grow bureaucracy. We made our town a place where businesses could grow and thrive, where we could literally hang that shingle outside our city's front door saying, we want businesses there. We want businesses to grow and to thrive and prosper and it worked. These wonderful economic indicators of success that prove that that commonsense conservatism, it works and our community took off. And then as governor -- yes.

As governor, though I ruffled feathers, didn't make a lot of friends doing it, I put the veto pen to nearly half a billion dollars in wasteful in the earmarks up there. And we suspended our state fuel tax, and now we're returning a chunk of our state surplus right back to the people of Alaska because it's their money and they can spend it better than government can spend is for them.

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We got back to basics and put government back on the side of the people, and I promise you that John and I will use that same approach to reform Washington. We will never forget that we will be there to work for you, accountable to you, the people, who would hire us. We will be there fighting for you, the people of America.

(APPLAUSE) So, Iowa, I would ask you, will you hire us? Will you send us to Washington to shake things up and to clean things up?

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Well, then it's a deal, because we want the job, and we thank you for that. We've got so much work to do in this country. John and I will also set this country firmly on a path towards energy independence. Yes.

After 30 years of failed energy policy, it is time. We're going to develop new energy sources and we'll tap into more of what we've already got, like oil and clean natural gas and our coal and our energy plan is going to create hundreds of thousands of new jobs right here in America. Instead of doing what we are doing today -- instead of doing what we're doing today, we're sending hundreds of billions of dollars, U.S. dollars, into foreign countries asking them to ramp up production. We sent our secretary of energy, Bodman and our own president over to the Saudis asking them to ramp up production of energy sources so we could purchase from them. We send some of these dollars into countries that use energy as a weapon, and they do not like America very much.

Now, that is nonsense, because we have the domestic solutions here, and John and I will adopt the all of the above approach to meet America's great energy challenges. Yes.

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Those hundreds of billions of dollars being recirculated here in America. That means harnessing alternative sources like the wind and the solar and the biomass and the geothermal and the ethanol, and we'll develop clean coal technology and we'll drill for the billions of barrels of oil that we have right now warehoused underground, including our resources off shore. We will drill here and drill now, and now is when you chant "Drill, baby, drill." Yes.

Drill, baby, drill.

CROWD: Drill, baby, drill.

S PALIN: Drill, baby, drill.

CROWD: Drill, baby, drill.

S PALIN: Drill, baby, drill and mine, baby, mine. It is for the sake of our nation's security, and, of course, our economic prosperity. We need American energy resources brought to you by American ingenuity and produced by American workers. Yes.

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So, those are a couple of assignments that we are so anxious to get to work on for you, and we will accomplish those for you -- energy independence, government reform, and then John has asked me to lead on another mission that is especially close to my heart, and that is to help our families here who have children with special needs.

Too often children with special needs have been set apart and excluded in our country, and too often they're made to feel that there is no place for them in the life of our country, and this attitude really is a grave disservice to these beautiful children and to their families and to this great country, and I will work to change that. John and I have a vision of an America where every innocent life counts and everyone has a chance to contribute. Yes.

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A vision of America where every child is cherished, that is the spirit that I want to bring to Washington, and as governor, I have been able to assist and secure more funding for our students with special needs and help out there, but as vice president, I want to do more, and I'm going to make sure that these children and that all of our families in America know that they have a friend and an advocate in the White House. Yes.

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So, Iowa, with each passing day in this campaign, I think American voters are realizing that the choice is getting clearer and clearer. You're getting a very clear look at what you have to choose from on Election Day. It is the choice between a politician who puts his faith in government and a leader, John McCain, who puts his faith in you. Yes.

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It is the choice between a politician who wants to redistribute your hard-earned money according to his priorities and a true reformer who will lower taxes and create jobs and get this economy back on track.

So, it's the choice between a politician who will raise your taxes, which threatens our future and a leader who's going to Washington to work for you and the millions of Americans struggling to sustain a small business and grow this economy by creating jobs and it is a choice between a politician who believes in spreading the wealth around and a leader, John McCain, who believes in spreading opportunity for all of you. Yes.

And speaking of associations, remember, too, this is the choice between a politician who won't disavow a group committing voter registration fraud and a leader who will not tolerate it. Yes.

So, Iowa, are you ready to help put the maverick of the senate in the White House? Yes.

Iowa, we need a leader, someone who can serve as president, ready to lead on day one. We need a leader with experience and good judgment and truthfulness. We need a president who talks about the wars that America is fighting, knowing how to win the wars, and isn't afraid to use the word victory. Yes.

John served our nation in uniform for 22 years, five-and-a-half years as a POW. He has met such great adversity in his own life and in service, too. Our most wonderful country, the adversity that he has overcome, the challenges that he knows how to overcome, he knows how to win a war, and as the mother of one of the troops in Iraq today, he's exactly the kind of man I want as commander in chief.

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So, Iowa, November 4 is coming so soon. It's going to be a close race. We know it's going to come down to the wire, and it's going to come down to what we believe in and what John McCain and I believe in is what Ronald Reagan believed in. We believe in the forward movement of freedom. Not in the constant expansion of government.

And we believe that the virtues of freedom are worth fighting for. And we believe that the best of America is not all assembled there in Washington, D.C.