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American Morning
America Votes Today; Obama Rallies Troops One Last Time; Record Turnout of Voters Expected Today in the Polls
Aired November 04, 2008 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
REP. RON PAUL, FMR. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think it's going to be sad if we don't have any gridlock or any debate. I mean, if everything gets rubber stamped, of course, I wouldn't mind a little bit of movement to get rid of the Patriot Act, that wouldn't be too bad. If they were doing the right things it wouldn't be a problem.
But right now, there's no evidence that we are all of a sudden going to see a shift that we're going to see new policies, that we're going to have a deep concern about the constitution that we're going to talk about non-interventions foreign policy that would talk about the Federal Reserve, the culprit in this whole financial mess. Nobody's talking about that. So, yes, I think if we rubber stamp and see no gridlock and one party power, I think it's very bad for our country.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Congressman Ron Paul, it's great to talk to you this morning. Thanks for your take today.
PAUL: Thank you.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: We're crossing the top of the hour and here's new video from a polling center here in New York City. People standing in line outside and inside the polling place waiting to cast their vote.
New York is one of 13 states where polls are already open, but we're already hearing about some problems there. Machine shortages apparently in some precincts.
And also new video in from Richmond, Virginia, this morning. Voters there waiting in long lines, braving the rain as well, to cast their votes. Thirteen more states plus Washington, D.C., opening their polls now because it's the top of the hour.
CHETRY: And breaking right now as 13 more states and our nation's capital opened their polling stations. Included in those 13, three crucial battleground states, that's Florida, Missouri, as well as Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania did not have early voting so this is the first time folks there are going to be coming to the polls.
Voting precincts are now open in more than half of the U.S. and that includes 26 states and Washington, D.C.
And Barack Obama won the nation's first Election Day tally. It was a small one, but the Democrat was the winner in the tiny hamlet of Dixville Notch, New Hampshire. People in the isolated village in the northeast corner of the state voted just after midnight. Fifteen votes going to Obama, six to McCain, the first time in 40 years that the village leaned Democratic in a presidential election.
ROBERTS: The last night on the trail was a late one for both candidates. Barack Obama made his last campaign appearance in the battleground of Virginia in the town of Manassas, in the all-important Prince William County. And he returned to the one-word message that he used to launch his campaign, change.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: One voice can change a room. And if the voice can change a room, it can change a city. And if it can change a city, it can change a state. And if it can change a state, it can change a nation. And if it can change a nation, it can change the world.
So, I've just got one question for you, Virginia. Are you fired up? Are you ready to go? Fired up! Ready to go! Fired up!
Ready to go! Fired up! Ready to go!
Virginia, let's go change the world, thank you. God bless you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: And our Suzanne Malveaux is live for us in Chicago this morning, Obama headquarters. Suzanne, what's the mood in the campaign today, and what will the senator be doing?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: John, it's funny, I think we all remember when they first told that story and they had the fired up ready to go chant, there's certainly a sense of relief. There's a sense of anxiety and confidence all in one in the campaign. They are looking forward to this day. They are optimistic, but they're not overly confident here. They've been working for quite some time, and they feel like they've got to work until the very end.
Barack Obama just got home about five hours ago in Chicago, but he's going to be up and he's going to be voting in about an hour or so at the neighboring elementary school. Then he's going to head over to the next door neighbor state, Indiana, for some last minute campaigning. That -- it just underscores kind of the sense of confidence that they do have that they could actually take that Republican leaning state, that that is a possibility.
You know, they share the Chicago TV market, so that is a real possibility there. And then he's going to spend the rest of the day playing a pickup game of hoops with some friends. It's a tradition, kind of a good luck thing that he does in these big days. Then he's going to watch those election returns at a local hotel before heading here to Grant Park.
And I have to tell you, John. The set up here is really kind of extraordinary. They're expecting about 70,000 people to be here and that's not including the number of people they think might be on the lake, which will be about a million or so. So, either way, probably about after midnight, whenever those numbers, those results come in, they expect there's going to be a huge crowd here and they are hoping that it's going to be a party, John.
ROBERTS: Good weather there, Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: It's amazing. It's 70 degrees out here. I mean, it's so atypical for Chicago weather. A little bit of that wind that you expect, but yes, it's beautiful.
ROBERTS: He's got good luck with the weather anyway.
Suzanne Malveaux for us this morning as we're looking at pictures from a polling place in Richmond, Virginia, there. People have been lining up since 4:00 in the morning to cast their ballots -- Kiran.
CHETRY: That's right. Polls open there an hour ago. They didn't get so lucky with the weather. As we saw, they've been getting a lot of rain there but it's not stopping people from coming out to the polls.
John McCain, by the way, the campaign trail ended with him back in his home state. Actually, we'll just tell you a little bit more about Virginia right now.
This is a battleground with 13 electoral votes and John McCain is hoping that it will be a lucky number for him. Nearly half a million new young voters have registered. Many of them expected to skew toward Barack Obama, though.
CNN's Dan Lothian is live in Richmond. And, Dan, the Democratic strategists say that if Obama wins Virginia -- actually, let's go to Ed Henry right now. He's with the McCain camp in Phoenix. He joins us live, bright and early this morning.
Let's talk a little bit about the momentum as we look at these live pictures right now out of Virginia. This is another key one for John McCain.
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. And the bottom line for the McCain camp is they need to do several things today.
First of all, they have to hold those red Republican states George W. Bush carried in 2004, like Virginia, like North Carolina, also Florida, where John McCain started really a grueling day yesterday; 3,700 miles on straight talk air hitting seven states, most of them, those red states. They need to hold those. They think if they do, they'll be in about 260 electoral votes and then they need to do one of two things.
They either need to turn Pennsylvania from blue to red, 21 electoral votes. That would put him over the magic number of 270 to win or they need to cobble together some smaller states like New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada. A lot of the ones out in the Mountain West.
In fact, that's why John McCain is taking a rare step today. He is actually going to not just rest, he's going to go to both Colorado and New Mexico after he votes this morning. He is going to go out there and do some more campaigning, a rally in Colorado and then a call center in New Mexico to try where people are making calls to turn out the vote.
It's interesting because John McCain used to have a tradition on Election Day where he'd go to the movies here for senate races in Arizona, try to decompress, relax. Obviously, he's got a much bigger Secret Service detail. Can't be going to the movies, but also, he's got a race he needs to try and win here in the final hours. He's going to try and pull out all the stops. No time for movies, Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Absolutely. Ed Henry for us this morning, thanks.
ROBERTS: It's easy to forget that as America goes to the polls, the entire world is watching now more than ever after the Bush years which saw radical changes in America's foreign policy. There's huge interest in who America will pick for president. And international polls show the world got to vote Barack Obama would win in a landslide.
Right now, it's seven minutes after the hour. Here in New York City at the top of the hour, polls opened in another ten states. That includes Arizona, where polls indicate McCain is having to fight off Barack Obama on home turf.
And we're watching out for your vote throughout this Election Day. As you can tell, we have got a keen eye on that voting place in Richmond, Virginia, to see what happens. If you've got any problems, just give us a call at 1-877-GOCNN-08. Again, that's 1-877-462-6608.
CHETRY: And still ahead, battleground Florida, it's a must-win for John McCain. We'll be talking about that a lot this morning. One of the stops on his final whirlwind push hours before, Barack Obama appears there as well. The best political team on television weighs in.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: CNN is in every battleground state across the nation. Our reporters are following the issues that matter and the states that are going to make the difference, and states that after a two-year fight will decide who becomes your next president.
And our Brian Todd joins us now from Philadelphia this morning. That's where a record turnout is expected. The Obama camp is behind a huge get out the vote effort there, trying to win the blue collar vote in that battleground state. And, of course, it's a state that John McCain still believes he says from internal polling that they could possibly put in the red column.
Hi, Brian.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kiran. Yes. The Obama campaign, a huge turn out the vote effort here in Philadelphia, especially but all throughout the state. The McCain campaign trying to make inroads here. We'll see if it's successful tonight.
This polling station in Philadelphia, the Overbrook Library, just opened about ten minutes ago and people have been basically streaming in. It's been very orderly. No problems here yet and the line has moved very fast. But there is quite a line.
I'm going to walk along it now to give you the scope of it. Again, ten minutes ago, the polls opened here, but people started lining up an hour before the polls opened. And look at this line. It sweeps all the way down here at Haverford Avenue then it turns the corner on (INAUDIBLE). It's going to sweep down this street. Look at this line.
Very enthusiastic voters, they're going to be very patient. They're letting them in kind of in stages here. And we talked to some of the earlier voters who lined up first, and they have told us it's gone very well. We talked to the first two voters who got in line in the pre-dawn hours asking them if they expected these long lines and if they have confidence that the poll workers here can handle this kind of volume.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think they just heard about the record numbers yesterday. I think they should be well prepared for it at this point.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have long lines. You know, I figure I come in too early, vote and then make it to work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: Now, state officials are telling people to try to avoid some of this volume by coming in off-peak hours. That means after 9:00 a.m. and possibly before 3:00 p.m., if they can do it. But as you heard that one gentleman say, look, he had to get to work. That's the situation obviously.
You know, millions of people are going to be in this morning. Not everybody can adhere to those suggestions, but they are trying to get people to come in at off hours to see if they can avoid some of this kind of volume. But so far, so smooth here in Philadelphia, Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, that's good news. Brian Todd for us this morning, thanks.
ROBERTS: Another battleground, Virginia, and its 13 electoral votes. John McCain also hoping that 13 will be a lucky number for him. Nearly half a million new young voters have registered. They are expected to skew toward Barack Obama.
CNN's Dan Lothian is live for us in Richmond this morning at a polling place.
And, Dan, people have been lining up there since 4:00 in the morning. They're obviously excited about it and people will be watching the commonwealth there for an early indication of how the rest of the nation might go.
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN BOSTON BUREAU CHIEF: That's right, because the polls here wrap up early. They close at 7:00 p.m.
And, John, as you mentioned, record amount of people who registered to vote in the state, more than five million registered voters here in Virginia. And the big concern leading up to Election Day was whether or not elections officials will be able to handle all the crowds, and those crowds have materialized.
We are at the Bonnie Brae Church of Christ. This is one of the polling stations, and folks started lining up, as you mentioned, about two hours before the polls opened. I walked from the back of the line to the front of the line and it took me a little bit more than two minutes. Now that was about 15 minutes or so ago and more cars have been streaming in here. So no doubt that line has even gotten much longer. It snakes down through the property here of the church and then winds down around the corner into the neighborhood.
The folks here say that no matter if it's raining outside, which it is right now, and despite the fact that they have to stand in the long lines, they say they aren't going anywhere.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLIE BRYANT SR., RICHMOND, VIRGINIA VOTER: I look at it like this. The best man going to win no matter what, but it's what the father say that's going to count.
LOTHIAN: How important is it for you to actually show up here today and vote?
BRYANT SR.: Very important. This is history. You know, win or lose, it's still history. This is history. And I'm truly proud to be a part of it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LOTHIAN: Now, workers from this polling place have been walking around with these boxes of trash bags and handing them out so that folks who don't have umbrellas can stay dry here, John. So, certainly, again, long lines here, but folks were expecting that they would have these long lines and they're saying that they brought a lot of patience and have a lot of time to wait in this line, John.
ROBERTS: What about people coming out of the polls? Are they reporting any problems inside or are things going smoothly, Dan?
LOTHIAN: At this polling place, we have heard of no problems happening here. But there are reports coming in from other parts of the state where folks are saying that some of the machines may have broken down. We're looking into that.
But right now, this polling place the line seems to be moving quite pretty quickly. As I said, it is a long line, but people are flowing through here, John.
ROBERTS: All right. Dan Lothian for us this morning in the all- important polling area of Richmond. That's an area that depending on turnout could determine Barack Obama's fortunes tonight.
Dan, thanks very much. We'll check back with you.
LOTHIAN: OK, John.
CHETRY: And CNN is also in Missouri where the battle is a dead heat right now, and the victor spoils 11 electoral votes. Officials are expecting a swarm, nearly 3.2 million voters or more than three- quarters of all of those registered.
CNN's Ed Lavandera joins us now from St. Louis where more than 100,000 people have registered to vote since the beginning of the year. Your polls have been opened for 15 minutes now, how's it going?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran. You're right. They just opened just a short while ago. We are at the First Congregational United Church of Christ in a suburb of St. Louis called Webster Groves, and you can already see the line that has been forming here this morning. And they expect, as you mention, heavy, heavy turnout across the state. Some 76 percent voter turnout, which will be a stunning number, if that does come to fruition throughout the day.
But we're here in the town of Webster Groves because this is kind of a fascinating area where this election will play out today in Missouri. Traditionally the way Missouri has played out is that the Democrats go after the cities of St. Louis and Kansas City and the Republicans count on the rural areas, and the rural parts of the state to pull them through. But it's the suburbs of Missouri that are really the focus this time around because people are, there's been so much support here in Webster Groves, which has traditionally been a Republican area where John McCain could have counted on support.
Many people around here tell us that Barack Obama is doing quite well. In fact, when you drive around the town here, you see a great number, a great number of signs supporting Barack Obama. So, a fascinating situation here near St. Louis. It will be interesting to see how these voters play out. They will determine in great deal how this election turns out here in Missouri -- Kiran.
CHETRY: That really is fascinating, just from the beginning of this year alone, 300,000 new people registered to vote in that state. So everybody wants to have a voice this time around.
Ed, thanks.
ROBERTS: The key states will decide the election. Which ones could make all the difference to the Obama campaign? We're going to ask the campaign manager.
It's now 17 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." Polls have been open for about an hour in the key battleground state of Ohio. That's just one of several crucial swing states that we're closely following this morning, but which states hold the keys for victory to Senator Obama?
I'm joined now by his campaign manager, David Plouffe. He's at the Obama campaign headquarters in Chicago.
David, it's good to see you. What will you be watching tonight for early indicators as to how this race is going to go?
DAVID PLOUFFE, OBAMA CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Well, all day long, we'll be monitoring turnout. We obviously believe that there's a lot of people out there today that want to bring change to their country, who are supporting Senator Obama. So we just have to make sure they turn out.
And, obviously, we have got a lot of states in play for us. Virginia, Indiana, North Carolina, Florida, early and evening. A lot of states that Democrats traditionally don't compete in, we think we've got a shot to win.
So -- but we've got a lot of different ways to get to 270 electoral votes. And so we're not going to be looking at just one state, but those early ones are obviously important.
ROBERTS: Yes. We've been playing this out on the magic wall for the last couple of weeks. You have at least two, maybe even three routes to get to 270 votes.
There are some Republican analysts who believe that Virginia is going to lead the way here. That if things start to go in your direction, that could be an indication, an early indication because the polls as you say close early of a potential Democratic tide across the country. Do you agree?
PLOUFFE: Well, Virginia is a key state, there's no doubt about that. But these are really individualized contests. We think we're running about 16 different campaigns and 16 different states. They'll have their unique characteristics tonight. But we have campaigned hard in Virginia. It was our first stop after we won a nomination. It was our last stop last night. So it's always been critical to our success and we think we're going to do very well there today. And if we were to win Virginia, obviously, John McCain's narrow path just got perilous.
ROBERTS: Now, in addition to focusing an awful lot of time in the issues here. We here at CNN have occasionally glanced at the polls, and we noticed that they have been tightening in recent days. Do you think that Senator Obama can hang on to the margins in those critical swing states, or as McCain's campaign manager, Rick Davis, said the other day, that these undecided voters who Senator Obama hasn't been able to sell for the last 22 months won't get sold in these last hours and will vote for John McCain?
PLOUFFE: No, first of all, we learned not to pay too much attention to polls. And so, we are just focused on trying to reach our turnout goals in these states. I would ask Rick, obviously, Senator McCain has been on the scene for 26 years. So if these voters aren't selecting him, you might ask the question why. We're pretty confident these undecided voters will break relatively evenly. We think we've got an edge in a lot of these states, but we need turnout. So we're encouraging everybody who wants to bring about change in our country, who wants a president who's going to fight for the middle class to be patient today, to stand in line and make sure your vote is counted.
ROBERTS: You know, I mean, it's impossible to notice -- not to notice that this has been an incredibly divisive election. Should Senator Obama prevail at the polls today, what would he do to try to heal the wounds of this election? Would he reach out to Senator McCain? Would he attempt to unify the country? What would he do?
PLOUFFE: Well, I think it's imperative whoever wins tonight that the country quickly go about the healing and focusing on these big problems.
Listen, we've got energy, we've got health care, we've got an economy in crisis. None of these problems are going to be solved by the Democratic Party or the Republican Party alone. These are going to require Democrats, Republicans and independents in Washington to work together but also around the country.
One of the great things I think about this election is we've seen millions and millions of Americans get involved, volunteering, contributing. And my hope is that carries on past the election because change rarely comes from Washington. It comes from the country demanding it. And I think that's going to be an important part of bringing about change.
ROBERTS: All right.
David Plouffe this morning for us from Chicago. It's good to talk to you. I know that you've got the pending birth of another child. We hope that your wife hangs on for maybe another 18 to 24 hours.
PLOUFFE: Thanks, John.
ROBERTS: All right. David, good to see you. Thanks.
CHETRY: Well, today is the day that many African-Americans thought they would never live to see. Ahead, we look at a day to remember in American history when the country could elect its first black president.
You're watching a special edition of AMERICAN MORNING. It's Tuesday, Election Day, November 4th.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the "Most Politics in the Morning." We're showing you live pictures right now.
This is outside of a polling site in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We've been getting in stories from across the nation of the long line. Many people wanting to come out and cast their vote on this historic day in this historic election, and there we see another big line. Polls opening at 7:00 in Pennsylvania.
And welcome back to the "Most Politics in the Morning." Right now, we're with our panel. We're going to talk more about what we're seeing today.
Ed Rollins, Leslie Sanchez, Lisa Caputo, as well as Melissa Harris- Lacewell, thanks to all of you for being with us this morning.
Melissa, you're an Obama supporter. You're also associate professor of Politics in African American Studies at Princeton University. When we see these long lines and we see the interest and we talked about this historic nature of registering new voters and African-American voters as well, tell us about what you're seeing today and what we're experiencing.
MELISSA HARRIS-LACEWELL, PROFESSOR, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: Well, I think what we're seeing is an opportunity for Americans to be in a 50- state race. In other words, over the past eight years, 12 years, people who lived in safe red states or safe blue states didn't feel like their voice mattered. But now, because the candidates have had to fight all across the country, Democrats in red states and Republicans in blue states are coming out.
The other part of it is, for African-American voters, there is no way to overstate the significance of this moment. That African-Americans have often carried the weight of American democracy, whether it was through abolition or the civil rights movement. And so at this moment when the country is -- has this possibility to change again how government relates to its citizens, it's once again African-American voters who will be critical in this new covenant between government and every citizen.
CHETRY: Is this the end of race relations as we know it? I mean, are we looking at a whole new era when it comes to the way that America has oftentimes or in some crucial parts in our history been divided by race? Leslie?
LESLIE SANCHEZ, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, you can't deny the impact of it. I think what's so fascinating about Barack Obama he's been able to unite a lot of different communities of color. He's been able to unite people not only through that, but traditional ways of campaigning and also through technology. I think he's just changed the dynamic of politics and how people relate to the government very much to that point.
CHETRY: And, Lisa, he actually, you know, kept race out of it, for the most part, when it comes to campaigning. It was a real balancing act for the way that he was able to get support of the African- American community, yet at the same time not isolating white voters.
LISA CAPUTO, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, you know, that harkens back to 2004 when he gave that amazing speech at the Democratic National Convention, when he talked about this is the United States of America. We are not red, we are not blue, we are not purple, we are the United States of America. And I think that's what Obama has been all about in this election.
He is portraying himself as a uniter, and I think if he wins tonight and he wins handily, you will see him strike a tone of unity. You will see him reach out for bipartisanship and really rise above party divisions and attempt to unite the country because, as we heard, this is really a historical moment in our country and voter turnout as we see with the long lines...
CHETRY: Right.
CAPUTO: ... are huge and people are really engaged. They want change.
CHETRY: And I want to ask you about this, Ed, because if John McCain, and he still -- it's not over for John McCain yet this morning by any means. You know, it is coming down to the wire. If he does win the presidency, he has a groundswell of disappointment to sort of harness. How is he going to do that?
ED ROLLINS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, I think that obviously if he wins, the world will be shocked. All of us political pundits will be shocked. But I think he's campaigned hard and aggressively. I think he will try and heal aggressively, and I think he'll bring Barack Obama and then have a dialogue and reach across the aisle. He has to do that.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN, ANCHOR: But for African-American voters?
ROLLINS: My sense today is that African-Americans, this is the real meaning of the voting rights act. Their vote really is going to count and they're never going back again. They're going to become a real political power in America today. As you see, it's overwhelmingly in these areas, African-Americans. The rallies that they've had, the support across America, the whites, blacks all together for a common cause. I think it's a great day for America.
CAPUTO: One thing that we can't ignore is it's a historic day for another reason, as well. There is a woman at the top of the ticket. I mean, for those two reasons. You have an African-American or a woman who is compelled to the highest office in the country. That is significant. You talked about the 50/50 percent divide. Barack Obama has that same challenge. I mean half of this country is going to be upset. There's going to be a major hang over tomorrow, either through glee or through misery and we know that to be the case.
CHETRY: We're going to have to cut it short right now, but we could talk about this forever because it certainly is interesting and fascinating. We'll check in throughout the morning with you guys. Thanks so much.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN, ANCHOR: All right. Let's delve a little bit more to that whole idea of history being made. A black man winning a major party's nomination. Today, African-Americans, indeed all Americans, no doubt, contemplating the possibility of having our first black president. Live pictures now of voters in Harlem here in New York City going to the polls. Well, no, that's not exactly what we're looking at, but our Jason Carroll does join us live looking at that issue of race in the race. Good morning to you, Jason. There you are with the African-American voters in Harlem.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Now you have me here. You know, for a lot of people showing up at this polling place in Harlem, this is their chance to cast their vote for someone they never thought possible in their lifetime.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL (voice-over): Regardless of the outcome, Senator Barack Obama has already made history.
CLARENCE JONES, FMR. ADVISER TO MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.: It's beyond my wildest dream to contemplate that I would ever see what may occur.
CARROLL: Clarence Jones remembers when African-Americans were fighting for the right to vote. He fought beside Martin Luther King Jr. as King's adviser, speech writer and friend. Jones says King would not be surprised by how much has changed.
JONES: His dream is really a statement of what he believed the best of America could be. And so, he would not be surprised, he would be pleased, but not surprised.
CARROLL: Irish American author Mary Gordon says Obama may do for race in America what John F. Kennedy did for religion.
MARY GORDON, IRISH-AMERICAN AUTHOR: It was the most wonderful thing that had ever happened to any of us. That an Irish Catholic would be nominated for president. Because four Catholics up until that point. There was a real sense of being second class citizens.
CARROLL: Gordon sees parallels between what happened then and now.
GORDON: I remember my grandmother who was 79 in 1960 saying I can't believe I've lived long enough to be able to vote for an Irish Catholic. And I hear a lot of African-Americans saying that now. I think what John Kennedy did is what Barack Obama is doing.
CARROLL: If Obama is elected he would have done it without courting civil rights leaders like Reverend Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson.
ALLAN LICHTMAN, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: If Barack Obama wins and governs as the president of all Americans he will go a very long way for diffusing the explosive issue of race in American politics.
CARROLL: The nation's first elected African-American governor believes Obama as president would speak to all Americans, regardless of race, religion or gender.
DOUGLAS WILDER, FMR. VIRGINIA GOVERNOR: You can be whatever it is you want to be in this country. So, a parent can say to their child, no more excuses.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: And once this polling place is closed here tonight, they are hoping for a victory party out here in Harlem, hoping, John, to make a little bit of history. Back to you.
ROBERTS: Jason Carroll for us up there in Harlem. Jason, thanks so much for that.
CHETRY: National polls give Barack Obama a bit of an advantage coming into today's election.
Still to come, we're going to talk to one man who never hesitates to share his political opinion. It's James Carville on Barack Obama's chances today. Coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the most politics in the morning on this election day. Voters now casting their ballots in 26 states, as well as Washington, D.C., right now. The polls put Barack Obama slightly ahead, but, of course, as we know, it's a state-to-state fight. What will be the end result? Joining me now from Washington, James Carville. He's a CNN political contributor and democratic strategist and he's not the least bit nervous this morning. Good morning, James.
JAMES CARVILLE, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning.
CHETRY: What are you thinking today. This historic day of voting. How are you feeling?
CARVILLE: Well, I mean, I think there's going to be everything democratic is going to win tonight. I think the country is going to get hit with a wave like maybe we've never seen certainly anything like this since 1994. I think Obama could easily get 370 electoral votes before this is over. You could probably be looking at almost 30 House seat pick ups and you could be very close to 10 in the Senate.
CHETRY: So you think there could be a filibuster proof majority in the Senate?
CARVILLE: It's possible, sure. I mean, if we put out a memo based on our own democracy and we think it could fall 9.5 point presidential margin. If that happens, it's probably likely you'll have a 9, 10- democratic Senate pickups. If you have somewhere you know closer to 30 House pickups, the Senate always goes with the House and it happened in 2006 and every cycle it happens. So, it's every indication that I see that this is just going to be an enormous democratic night.
CHETRY: This is a problem you'll have to have, no doubt. How do you unite the rest of the country? People who are supporting John McCain and supporting Sarah Palin and wanted to see them win.
CARVILLE: Well, sure. Look, you know, people have to fight to the end. I've been through a lot of bad election cycles and I remember 1994 was not particularly pleasant. 2004 was hideously unpleasant if you were a democrat. But you know, you don't get to win every one and we ought to keep in mind that you know every four years somebody wins one of those things and somebody loses one. It's hardly earth shattering but the bad news of the republicans is that lost an entire generation of young people. It's one thing to lose an election, but by Bush and his political team restarting this idiotic cultural war, they're on track to lose a whole generation that will probably never come back to the republican party. If I'm a republican, I'm much, much more upset about that than just losing this election.
CHETRY: You know, fast forwarding and, of course, it's still close. I mean, you're overconfident and you're confident and you have ever reason to be because that's the side you're on this morning. But let's just talk a little bit about John McCain's chances and where he is still finding support and the key battleground states that we're going it be looking ahead to right now. What if we do start to see Ohio turn, Florida turn and what do you think of this possibility in Pennsylvania?
CARVILLE: Well, if that happens, the first thing that will happen it will be the end of public opinion polling as an industry in the United States and it will probably be the end of political punditry. There wouldn't be much need for us to sit around. But, you know, we have to say that if that were to happen, last night on Larry King, John King said the biggest upset, the biggest comeback of the century. I said that would be the biggest comeback since Lazarus in the Bible. But if it happens, it would be a thrilling night and it would be something. It would be a story quite like no other.
CHETRY: All right. As we leave you, we're looking at lines and voting centers across the country. This is Richmond in Virginia. What do you say to people that are waiting in those long lines today?
CARVILLE: Well, look, I went out, if the lines are long, they have been long in prevoting and it's going to be all long today. There's tremendous stress on the voting system in this country. I think when this election is over, we're going to have to ask ourselves, is there a better way to do this? We'll probably talk about it and gab about it and no one will do anything about it and there will be long lines in the next election would be my guess.
CHETRY: You're a realist at the end. James Carville, great to see you. Thanks.
CARVILLE: Appreciate it.
ROBERTS: And still ahead, we're going to get the take from the republican side of the Carville family, Mary Madeline is our guest to talk about how John McCain could defy the polls all the way to the White House.
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ROBERTS: Talk about the state of Virginia and why it's so important. We'll show you here on the magic wall. If John McCain would win every state that is in play and also flip these western states. This is what would happen. Barack Obama, as you can see, would still be president with a margin of two extra seats. Our Dan Lothian is at a polling place in Richmond, Virginia. He's got some problems to tell us about this morning. Dan, what do you got?
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. We can confirm that they have had some problems at a polling place here in Richmond. The Math and Science Center, we have been told by state election officials that five of the seven voting machines have broken down. What they did was shift immediately to paper ballots and I'm told that they're currently deploying additional machines to those locations. Now, by law, in this state, you can't use paper ballots, only in an emergency. It has to be machines breaking down or the loss of power. In this case, the machines have broken down, they have shifted to paper ballots and they hope to have additional machines deployed there soon. John.
ROBERTS: All right. Dan Lothian with the latest for us from Richmond. Dan, thanks so much. Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Thanks a lot, John. Well, no matter what the outcome tonight, history will be made and we all know that but what can we expect tonight? The best political team is standing by with some important race predictions.
Mary Matalin joins us next. Also, the long lines and frustrations that the polls comes some confusions from voters on election day in America. You ask and we answer CNN's voter survival guide. It's 45 minutes after the hour.
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ROBERTS: Breaking news this morning. If you're just waking up, polls open in 26 states and Washington, D.C., we're already starting to see long lines in many precincts and republicans know that they are face harsh odds today. John McCain down in the national polls and the party trying to stop huge losses in both houses of Congress. Mary Matalin is a former counsel to Vice President Cheney and a former assistant to President Bush. She joins us now from Washington. Mary, it's good to see you. Your husband was on just a little while ago expecting a big win for Senator Obama today. What do you say?
MARY MATALIN, FMR. COUNSELOR TO VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY: Gee, what a surprise. I feel your pain, John, having to deal with him first thing in the morning. I think that McCain, it's amazing that he has come as far in this race and this environment as he has and they're looking at their polls, which are better than the public polls and do match like the IBD poll, all those that are out there but in the target states where they need to make, close the gap they have and they have redeployed their resources to those states and this is harsh, as you're saying, but certainly not undoable.
ROBERTS: IBD being "Investors Business Daily." If he can do it, what's his route to 270 electoral votes? Because as we just showed in the magic wall that if Barack Obama gets Virginia, John McCain can win everything else that's in play and Barack Obama is still president.
MATALIN: We got to pick, you know what the map is, you got all your little charts and bells and whistles and John King and all that stuff out there, but he's going to win Florida. He's going to win North Carolina. He will win Ohio. It's not out of the question to think about Pennsylvania, which could make up for Virginia. He probably can pick up an electoral vote, it might come down to something like one out of Maine, which splits their district votes. So I said it's a thread the needle, but it's certainly not impossible. It's really not impossible and what people are just completely overlooking as they focus on how much money Barack Obama has spent is how much the republican national committee has raised and spent. They've broken all their own records and are exceeding their performance levels for their turn-out apparatus than 2004.
ROBERTS: What do you think is going to happen, you know, in the wider race here, the races for Congress among republicans. Ed Rollins, a couple of days ago, said it's possible that republicans could be decimated. Would you agree with that?
MATALIN: No. Because and Ed should know better than that because we've been here the same length of time. We came with Reagan in his first term and in that time span the Senate just switched hands six times. The House has switched twice, 178 seats has switched hands. And you know, these things have been slow. The issue is not to confuse republicanism with conservatism. If you look at 2006, a third of the seats that the democrats won, they won on conservative principles. Barack Obama - I don't believe him, but he's out there talking about cutting taxes and being tough on defense. So the conservatism is not going to be decimated and the party will, as it always does - it's a cyclical thing and it's ideas that matter and ideas that win.
ROBERTS: All right. Mary Matalin, it's always good to see you. And we'll see if you're right or your husband is right. Appreciate it.
MATALIN: Well, I'm always right, no matter what.
ROBERTS: Even if he's wrong, right?
MATALIN: That's right.
ROBERTS: All right. Thanks, Mary. Ten minutes to the hour.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY (voice-over): The full power of the youth vote out in full force today. CNN's next generation of reporters live in battleground Florida.
Plus, election confusion. We're taking on voters' tough questions.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My biggest concern is how I'm going to vote when I have to take off time from work to do it.
CHETRY: On this history-making election day. CNN's voter survival guide on the most politics in the morning.
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ROBERTS: breaking news this morning, if you're just waking up, voters in 26 states and the district of Columbia are voting now. We know a lot of you still have questions about voting today especially when you see the long lines that we have been showing all morning.
AMERICAN MORNING put in together your voter's survival guide and our Carol Costello joins us now with more on what you might run into today. Good morning, Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And you're going to run into some problems I'm sad to say, John. We have a voter hot line as well where people are calling in with problems. The top three states getting our vote for problems this morning are New York State, Virginia and New Jersey. Let's talk about Virginia for just second because machine issues are the problems there. We just heard from Dan Lothian in Richmond, Virginia. They're having some voter machine problems at the Math and Science Center in Richmond. And that's forced the county there to switched to paper ballots.
Also in southern Virginia, in Chesapeake, Virginia, we're hearing reports of long lines and broken machines rather. The NAACP feared this would happen. This has a largely African-American population. Again, Chesapeake, Virginia, reporting problems. Also in northern Virginia in Fairfax County, apparently there was a problem with a handful of memory card. They didn't work when the voting machines were started this morning. Somebody is there fixing those memory cards and the voters that were in line were issued emergency ballots. Now, we also have some survival tips for you. We sent our cameras out across America to get what's on your mind. Here's the first question.
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LINDSEY WICKMAN, VOTER: I'm Lindsey Wickman and I live in the city in Lincoln Park. My biggest concern is how I'm going to vote when I have to take off time from work to do it. I've heard estimation that it could be as long as like four hours waiting in line. And that kind of makes me a little hesitant to vote because I don't know that I can have that much time on Tuesday just to spend waiting in line.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Oh, a lot of people feel your pain. Now the good news, there was early voting in Illinois and nearly 500,000 people took advantage of it. In Cook County alone. The bad news, early voting in Illinois ended on Thursday, not enough time to accommodate the masses. So expect long lines today. the better news, voting machines will be operating at full speed and hopefully all will be working. Poll workers will be out in record numbers. The bad news for Chicago, Senator Barack Obama is expected to vote soon. And of course, if you're in that precinct, things will be delayed. That said, go stand in line during an off time. Don't go before work. Don't go after work. If you do go at night and you're in line as the polls closed, you have the right to cast your ballot. That's the law. If you live in Maryland, by the way, the Secretary of State has hired greeters, kind of like they have stationed at Wal-mart, to keep tired voters peppy. And they've installed 400 more machines and trained 3400 election judges to handle any complaints that might come in.
Next question.
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KEITH: Hi, my name is Keith. I'm from Indianapolis, Indiana. And my question is what about if you move to another state and you're wanting to vote. How would you go about that?
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COSTELLO: Number one question still coming into us has to do with registration. Keith, I took your question directly to the league of women voters. Here's the scoop. In many states, you are automatically asked whether you would like to register to vote when you go to obtain your new driver's license. In that case, you're gold. Some states, not many, has same-day registration. You can check your state's website to find out. But if you have not registered by now, most states close registration in mid October and you're probably out of luck. That would be sad because of all the excitement generated. I mean, look at the lines. It just makes you happy to be American today. I know it's a pain but it's so awesome that so many people are voting.
ROBERTS: You know, we have had folks here at CNN who braved the long lines here in New York because of so many people going to the polls and there may be some problems but they say, you know, it just makes it feel historic to wait in line to vote.
COSTELLO: It does. I mean, it's your patriotic duty to vote. It's awesome!
ROBERTS: Carol, thanks so much for that.
And don't forget, if you got concerns about possible voting irregularities in your state, let us know about it. You can call us toll free 1-877-GOCNN-08. Again, that's 1-877-462-6608.
