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American Morning
Democrat Tells Obama to "Shove It"; Will Dems Keep the House?; Time for Mandatory Voting: How Election Officials Can Increase Turnout
Aired October 26, 2010 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. Thanks so much for being with us. It is Tuesday, October 26th. I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm John Roberts. Thanks so much for being with us.
Here are this morning's top stories:
Telling the president to, quote, "shove it" -- it's something you don't hear every day. It's coming from a member of his own party, one week from Election Day. More on a very tense situation for the Democrats this morning -- live from the White House.
CHETRY: Also, Chicago's bracing for the worst storm in 70 years. It's a line of storms moving into many parts of the Midwest, thunderstorms, violent winds. We are live in our extreme weather center. Rob Marciano is tracking all of this for us.
ROBERTS: It's cheap, loaded with alcohol and caffeine. Four Loko, banned at a New Jersey college, are now being blamed for sending a bunch of students in Washington state to the hospital. Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen tells us just what parents should know about these dangerous drinks that mix alcohol with an energy drink.
CHETRY: Up first, though -- we're down to a wire just one week from today, you'll be heading to the polls as many others will across the country. Just seven days until Election Day, candidates throwing punches and trying to hit on the issues, as well.
ROBERTS: The president is on the campaign trail, but some Democrats are wishing he would just stay home. Three more Democratic candidates are splitting with the president this morning: Rhode Island gubernatorial candidate Frank Caprio is one of them, 11-term Democratic Congressman Gene Taylor of Mississippi, and West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin who is running for the Senate.
CHETRY: Well, first to Rhode Island, where the latest stop on the campaign trail (INAUDIBLE) political mess for President Obama. The Democratic candidate for governor there, Frank Caprio, ripped the president during a radio interview after he was passed over for an endorsement.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP) FRANK CAPRIO (D), RHODE ISLAND GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: I never asked President Obama for his endorsement. And what's going on here is really Washington insider politics at its worst. You have two former senators, Senator Chafee and former Senator Obama who, you know, have behind the scenes tried to, you know, put together an endorsement for Senator Chafee and who knows, maybe there'll be one coming. He can take his endorsement and really shove it as far as I'm concerned.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
CHETRY: You heard right. He told the president to shove it.
Ed Henry is live at the White House for us this morning.
Ed, when he was asked about those comments again, he didn't backtrack at all. He said, yes, that's what I said. He can shove it.
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kiran. This is exactly not how the White House wanted to kick off the final week leading up to this midterm election.
Instead of having party unity, they had this irate Frank Caprio, as you heard there on that radio interview, really ripping into the president. Upset so much so that there was an empty chair last night at this fundraiser that the president held for House Democrats. Frank Caprio was supposed to be there. Instead -- pardon me -- there was an empty chair.
The reason for this, all of this fighting, is that you heard Lincoln Chafee mention, he's the independent candidate for governor. And the president knows him from when Chafee was a Republican senator. Chafee endorsed the president, then-Senator Obama in 2008 for president over John McCain. And if you look at the polls, it's extremely tight there, just a few points separating Chafee now running as an independent for governor as well as Caprio, the Democratic candidate, and as well as the Republican candidate.
And the bottom line is Caprio was saying, look, I don't care about all those excuses, what the president is doing is treating Rhode Island like an ATM.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
CAPRIO: The reality here is that Rhode Island is hurting. We had one of the worst floods in the history of the United States a few months back, and President Obama didn't even do a flyover of Rhode Island like President Bush did when New Orleans had their problems. He ignored us. And now, he's coming into Rhode Island and treating us like an ATM machine.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
HENRY: White House spokesman Bill Burton basically said, look, emotions are running high. And I think that's probably the most accurate statement about what's going on a week out here -- emotions certainly running high -- John and Kiran.
CHETRY: It's astounding. You have to double check, you know, next to the name. Is this a Democrat or is this a Republican? I mean, because he's knocking the president. I mean -- comparing how he reacted to the flooding to the former President Bush and Hurricane Katrina. I mean, that's astounding.
HENRY: Yes. Absolutely. He's a Democrat, but he's frustrated obviously. He wanted the endorsement, he didn't get it.
You mentioned some of the other divisions out there. Some of those are more pronounced. And this is conservative Democrats, Gene Taylor in Mississippi coming out yesterday basically saying he voted for John McCain back in 2008, not President Obama.
You've got Joe Manchin, the Democratic governor of West Virginia saying basically he's hedging on whether he would support President Obama's reelection in 2012.
Bottom line is: the White House knew all along there'd be some states where the president is not selling pretty well right now and that people are going to have to go their own way. They're going to have to separate themselves from the president in this tough election year.
And, in fact, that's why they've been sending former President Bill Clinton to some of these states, like West Virginia. They know the president's not popular there -- John and Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, interesting stuff. Ed Henry for us -- thanks so much.
Coming up in just five minutes, we're going to speak to Democratic National Committee chair, Tim Kaine -- getting reaction to one top Democrat saying that the White House was sloppy and unprofessional in handling the Rhode Island situation. And can the party rally to hang on to power with just a week to go?
ROBERTS: Always another contentious debate. But there was an ugly moment outside the debate between Kentucky Senate candidates Rand Paul and Jack Conway.
Have a look at this video. It shows several men wearing Rand Paul t-shirts pushing a MoveOn.org supporter to the ground. One of the men, after she is down on the ground, stumps on her head. The woman was not seriously injured.
Let this play out here for a second. Watch the fella in the jeans. Boom -- woman not seriously injured. Lexington police are investigating.
CHETRY: Hmm.
Well, an aide to Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Alex Sink, has been fired after the campaign broke one of the rules in yesterday's debate with Rick Scott. You'll see what's happening. The make-up artist comes and hands a Smartphone to the candidate. There was a text message on it from that aide.
Scott then called her out for the violation.
After the debate, Sink released a statement saying the advisor sent it out of anger and frustration, but added that it was a foolish thing to do, and has been removed from the campaign.
ROBERTS: Well, other stories new this morning, and it just doesn't stop. Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard dodged a pair of shoes. An audience member threw them protesting Howard's decision to send troops to Iraq. The audience member was escorted from the studio. No charges have been filed.
You'll recall a similar incident in 2008. President Bush ducked a pair of shoes nearly hit by a protester's throwing shoes at a press conference in Iraq -- a man expressing displeasure over the pace of the war.
CHETRY: One of the oddest things I think we've seen at a presidential press conference.
ROBERTS: Big insult in the Muslim world to throw your shoes at somebody.
CHETRY: Yes, he got in a lot of trouble for it, too.
ROBERTS: Yes.
CHETRY: Well, in a daze and on the tracks, a woman pulled out of her car just minutes before a freight train plows into it. This was in Magnolia, Texas. The officer arrested the woman, charged here with DUI. She apparently hit a ditch, went airborne, landed on the tracks, and didn't even know where she was.
ROBERTS: Lawmakers in New Jersey are unveiling an anti-bullying bill of rights legislation designed to protect students from harassment and intimidation. The measure comes just over a month after the suicide of Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi. He jumped off the George Washington Bridge, you'll recall, when he was ousted online by a roommate and a sexual encounter between him and another man -- actually posted on a live video feed.
CHETRY: Well, you should probably expect something like this when you live in a place called Washaway Beach. Storms in western Washington washed away an ocean-front home. The family says everything was moved out. They had some warning because of how much erosion has taken place. They say a month of storms eroded some 30 feet of earth.
ROBERTS: Well, they're washing away in the Northwest, but Chicago could get blown away today, bracing for one of the worst storms to hit the Midwest in 70 years. It's a cyclone of thunderstorms and violent winds expected to hit smack in the middle of morning rush hour. The Windy City could even see a tornado before it's over.
CHETRY: Yes, nine minutes past the hour right now. We get the latest on this storm -- Rob Marciano in Atlanta.
As we said, Rob, there were some reports in St. Louis of partial building collapses due to this line of thunderstorms that moved in.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Very potent storm, guys. This one -- not be messed around with. And it's going to encompass a large amount of real estate across the nation's midsection.
Let's first start off with where there are tornado warnings happening right now east of St. Louis, a couple of counties in Fayette County in central Illinois, and also in Franklin County, Jackson County, and Williamson County. Those two cells have potentially some spin in them and likely, if not a tornado dropping down, damaging winds. And you'll see a number of severe thunderstorm warnings that are posted.
Pretty much up and down this line of thunderstorms that's rapidly moving to the east encompassed in this number of tornado watches. That does include Chicago, until at least noon their time. You see that line of thundershowers beginning to rotate into Chicago. And that will have certainly some damaging winds, potentially damaging winds, and we'll watch for individual cells to have some rotation. But over the next hour or two, Chicago will be enduring some nasty, nasty weather.
And then after that, just the winds behind this cyclone will be 40 to 60-mile-an-hour wind gusts, guys. And those will be sustained for a couple of hours. And I think that's where we're going to start to see some of the -- some of the wind damage and then behind that, some snow potentially. And it's going to be a busy. This storm has just about everything in it and it's going to be a doozy.
John and Kiran, back up to you.
CHETRY: Forty to sixty-mile sustained winds, that's amazing. That's going to be tough.
MARCIANO: Even for the Windy City, that's a big one.
CHETRY: Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: All right, guys.
CHETRY: Well, if you drink Starbucks, are you a Democrat? If you use craftsman tools, are you a Republican? There's a surprising new study about your political party and how it relates to your brand loyalty. What Washington can learn from it -- just ahead.
ROBERTS: And the latest rage on campus. Four Loko, the street name, "liquid cocaine" --the push to get drinks like this off the shelves and why medical experts say they are so dangerous.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ROBERTS: Fourteen minutes after the hour -- back to the Most Politics in the Morning.
Just seven days now until the midterm elections -- and despite the predictions the Democrats could face heavy losses, the party's chairman insists they're turning things around.
Joining me now live from Richmond, Virginia: Tim Kaine. He's the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, former governor of Virginia.
Governor, great to see you this morning. Thanks for being with us.
TIM KAINE, DNC CHAIRMAN: Hey, John. Good to be back with you.
ROBERTS: We'll get into next week's predictions in just a moment. But first of all, this situation in Rhode Island with Frank Caprio telling the president to, quote, "shove it" -- what's going on there?
KAINE: Well, I think the White House pegged it right. Emotions run high in the last week of campaign -- having been on ballots myself seven times, I definitely understand at the end it's tough. But, you know, for I think most people understand that the president is somebody who has things other than politics in his life.
Lincoln Chafee is a friend, and so he decided not to get involved in that race. But the Democratic Party is supporting Frank. We've sent money to Rhode Island and we're supporting him and some of those funds are being raised by the president doing fundraisers for the DNC. So there is support there in that sense. But you know, I understand why it's frustrating for Frank.
ROBERTS: Yes.
KAINE: But I think he's running a good campaign and we're supporting him.
ROBERTS: You have spent a lot of money there, sent a lot of money there, $1.5 million at last count. But one top Democratic strategist who's involved with getting people reelected said he thought it was sloppy and unprofessional of the White House to do that. Paul Begala on "Anderson Cooper 360" last night said it's unimaginable that the president would do that and then he just may cost the Democratic candidate in Rhode Island the election. Would you agree?
KAINE: You know, commenting on what other people say is not usually what I do. But again, you know, on the issue, it's an unfortunate thing and --
ROBERTS: Yes, but for a Democratic president to not to endorse a Democratic candidate, I mean, that's pretty unusual.
KAINE: It is unusual, and I think it's an unusual situation that the president has had a close friendship with Lincoln Chafee. So, you know, you just got to factor all that in. But Frank's running a good race. He's ahead in the latest polls, and I think he should just go for it.
ROBERTS: All right. The last time that we had you on and it wasn't that long ago, you predicted the Democrats would retain control of the House.
KAINE: Yes.
ROBERTS: How are you feeling about that today?
KAINE: You know, I think the odds that people are talking about is that's going to be tough. But as I'm traveling around the country, and I was in five states, mostly in the Midwest last week, I'm seeing very strong ground game, early voting, canvassing, the kind of door- to-door politics that Democrats do well. It's going to be close, but I am still predicting that we're going to hold on to the House partly because we're not just playing defense. We're going to pick up some Republican seats this cycle, and every one we pick up obviously adds to the number that they have to win in order to get control.
ROBERTS: All right. And so you've got your calculation, but it would seem to be at odds with conventional wisdom. Nate Silver yesterday said Republicans have a 79 percent chance of winning the House. The Cook Political report puts Republican gains somewhere in the mid-50s. You only need 39 to take control.
KAINE: Yes.
ROBERTS: The Rothenberg Political report pegs the gains at 45 to 55. So, where are you coming up with your Democratic wins to maintain control?
KAINE: Well, five or six months ago, the Republicans were going around bragging that they were going to win both Houses. It looks like that while we're not taking a single race for granted, John, it looks like the scenario has improved pretty dramatically for us in the Senate. So we're very much focused on the House races.
I will acknowledge, there's a lot of doomsayers out there, but look, I'm familiar with that. Again, I've been on the ballot seven times. I never was the favorite in any contested race I ran. I've never lost a race. Similarly getting onboard with President Obama early, a lot of folks counted us out, and we did fine.
So look, we've got work to do. I early voted yesterday and I'm encouraging everybody to do the same thing. But where Democrats tend to excel is in ground-game politics and we're seeing some strong voting trends in this jurisdictions.
ROBERTS: Of course, Governor, this election is all about the economy. And you wrote in U.S. News and World Reports this week, quote, "Voters would be mistaken to blame Democrats for America's economic woes." Democrats have been in charge of the economy for two years. When do you take ownership of it?
KAINE: Well, I think the president has said, look, I'm taking responsibility for turning it around but --
ROBERTS: Or not.
KAINE: But everybody needs to remember, everybody needs to remember we were in a freefall on inauguration day. The economy of America was shrinking for the first time since the 1930s. It's growing again. We were losing 750,000 jobs a month in the middle of 22 months of private sector job growth. For nine months now, we've been adding private sector jobs. We're not where we want to be yet. And too many people are still hurting. But we're only going to get to where we want to be if we keep climbing. We can't go back to the failed policies that put America into the tailspin.
ROBERTS: But when do you say, Governor, OK, this is our economy and if it works or doesn't work, it's on our watch as opposed to blaming the predecessor?
KAINE: John, we've never said otherwise. The issue is not really about the past, it's about the future. The Republicans in this -- in this cycle, you know, whether it's Rand Paul or Sharron Angle or Joe Miller or so many of these others, they are pledging if they get control to go right back to the economic policies that put America into the tailspin. And so the issue is less about the rearview mirror than the windshield. Looking forward, what are the right policies to get us going again? We think it's investments in infrastructure, investments in education, building up the middle class, not tax cuts for the wealthiest and repealing Wall Street reform.
ROBERTS: Governor Tim Kaine, it's always great to have you on. Thanks for talking to us this morning. Good to see you.
KAINE: (INAUDIBLE) John.
ROBERTS: And hopefully we'll talk to you at least one more time before next Tuesday. We look forward to it. Thanks.
CHETRY: Staying optimistic.
ROBERTS: Very optimistic.
CHETRY: That's a good thing.
ROBERTS: Very optimistic.
CHETRY: Exactly.
All right. Well, Americans have never voted in huge numbers. We always talk about the turnout rate. It's not very high. Is it time to make it mandatory? Would that make a difference? Or is that whole notion un-American? Our special series "Does Your Vote Count?" We check in with Carol Costello coming up 20 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Morning Talker time. This one's terrible. This first one. You know how you pray for a snow day? Let me off, I didn't write my book report. Please, no.
ROBERTS: Oh, as a kid?
CHETRY: Please, no.
Yes.
ROBERTS: Yes. Hope we didn't pray, we hoped. Let's save your prayers for something really important. It's just a snow day.
CHETRY: I prayed for a snow day.
ROBERTS: But you know, whether pajamas inside out, hoping that we'd have enough snow.
CHETRY: Exactly.
ROBERTS: Yes.
CHETRY: You can do a rain dance. You could pray for a snow day.
Well, forget the sledding and snowball fights and the hot chocolate, a school district in Ohio is now taking all the joy out of that snow day. Now they're making kids log on from home and then they have to take classes on the web when school is canceled.
ROBERTS: You want those Madonna arms? You've got them. Everybody wants them.
The "material girl" planning to open a chain of gyms around the world. Everywhere from Mexico City to Argentina to Russia. Ten locations to start, but none of them in the United States, at least not at first.
CHETRY: She does have amazing arms.
ROBERTS: She's buffed.
CHETRY: Yes.
ROBERTS: She's kind of scary looking she's so buffed.
CHETRY: I agree.
Well, how about this one? Bombs away. A pumpkin roughly the size of a Prius. That's right, a Prius, dropped from a 175-foot high crane. There you see the shot.
ROBERTS: Oh.
CHETRY: That just obliterated the car. The pumpkin weighed in at almost 1,200 pounds. The largest pumpkin in the Utah state fair.
ROBERTS: Wow. The pumpkin obliterated itself, too.
CHETRY: Yes. ROBERTS: But imagine looking outside your window on a lazy Sunday morning and seeing this in your pool. We've seen gators go for a swim. Other people have had ducks in their pool. How about a buffalo?
The couple says the animal escaped along with two others from a neighbor's home. Apparently, they let their buffalo roam just a little too far. But what are they doing with buffalo --
CHETRY: I don't know.
ROBERTS: -- in the first place?
CHETRY: Did you see them when they pulled the poor thing out? They tied a rope around his neck. They may just keep pulling and pulling --
ROBERTS: It's the only way to deal with a buffalo.
CHETRY: I guess so.
ROBERTS: Bring a crane too.
CHETRY: Well, how do vote could decide which brands you choose as well. A new survey looks at how your political party affects brand loyalty. They found that Google was the top blue brand. This was weird, though. I mean, everybody uses Google. FOX News, the top red brand.
ROBERTS: Wow. Surprise there.
CHETRY: Yes. Well, Washington may want to take a cue from the Discovery Channel and Craftsman. They both made bipartisan appeal.
ROBERTS: Yes.
CHETRY: Both lists.
ROBERTS: I have Craftsman tools.
CHETRY: But Google being a blue thing?
ROBERTS: It's kind of interesting.
Well, if you're Republican, what search engine do you use?
CHETRY: I don't know. Yahoo?
ROBERTS: Bing, I don't know. Wow.
Well, coming up, one can contains as much alcohol as a six-pack of beer and a couple of espresso's worth of caffeine. And we're taking a closer look at the energy drink that police say is sending students to the hospital.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHETRY: Twenty-eight minutes past the hour. Your top stories just a couple of minutes away. First, though, an "A.M. Original," something you'll see only on AMERICAN MORNING.
It's nothing new in our elections. In fact, it's almost a tradition to stay away on Election Day despite all the get out the vote campaigns. But should we be forced to vote or face penalties? Our Carol Costello is live in Washington with our series "Does Your Vote Count?" They've done it with remarkable success in other countries.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Like Australia. They have mandatory voting in Australia and what -- 90 percent of the people vote. Here in this country, it's not like Americans have ever voted in huge numbers. We're just not into that, apparently.
Our watershed election this century not 2008 or 1980, but 1960. The dramatic exciting election between Richard Nixon and JFK drew not 90 percent or 80 percent or 70 percent, but 64 percent of eligible voters. If you're interested in 2008, that drew what? Sixty-one percent of voters? Some say that's deplorable. So how do you get more Americans to vote? Why not try what they do in Australia? Make voting mandatory.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Slide it in for me, please.
COSTELLO (voice-over): Imagine, if you do not cast a ballot, you get slapped with a big fat fine.
WILLIAM GALSON, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: People are frustrated. They're angry.
COSTELLO: William Galson from the Brookings Institution thinks voting ought to be a mandatory civic duty. And before you say that's crazy, consider this.
GALSON: When you get a notice to show up for jury duty, that's not an invitation. You know, that's a polite requirement.
COSTELLO: And he says let's face it. While election officials have tried to increase voter turnout by offering early voting or enabling people to register at the DMV, they've only managed to increase turnout by one or two percentage points. Not great when you look at the numbers.
In 1962, almost 50 percent of eligible voters cast ballots in the midterm elections. In 1986, 38 percent voted, in 2006, 40 percent. In a country that embraces democracy, the diminishing turnout makes you wonder. So we asked why?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Laziness. You know, honestly, just laziness.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They don't really understand the way the government and policy affects them and their lives personally.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you don't vote, then you really just - you have no right to complain about anything that goes on in this country.
COSTELLO: That brings us back to mandatory voting. If people don't vote because they're lazy, then why not force them to perform their civic duty? Conservative columnist Debra J. Saunders of the "San Francisco Chronicle" cites California's ballot pamphlet as a strike against mandatory voting. It's thick with candidate choices and tax propositions, complicated stuff, she says.
DEBRA J. SAUNDERS, "SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE: I know it sounds great to say that we'd like to have 100 percent voting in the United States, but when you look at the reality, if people aren't paying attention, I don't know that you want to have them voting on really complicated issues.
COSTELLO: Voting in America isn't likely to become mandatory any time soon. As one elections official told me, it would be un-American. Just like others say it's un-American to stay home on election day.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Another thought for you this morning, yes, in some states like Arizona, Florida, and Ohio, voter turnout is expected to be a whopping 60 percent this year, this midterm elections. That's because in those states the elections are highly contested. Galson argues those who will actually vote, though, will not be centrists but voters on the extreme right and left, those in the center and minorities will not vote because they're turned off by the negativity.
And Kiran, the thinking is, if you required those centrists to go to the polls, then it would be a more fair election and the extremes wouldn't decide who gets into office.
CHETRY: Yes. I mean, the other side of the argument some people say is that you have people who are not informed and not engaged, just randomly voting.
COSTELLO: People see that anyway, don't they?
CHETRY: Yes.
COSTELLO: We hear that every election. Oh, people don't know what they're doing when they go to the polls. So we hear that every election. I'm just throwing it out there.
CHETRY: You showed that. You illustrated that in your story in South Carolina, right? There are people who said I saw a green. I heard that he may have run before, so I voted for Alvin Green.
COSTELLO: Exactly. So maybe that argument doesn't fly. Although some would wholeheartedly stick to that argument. We want to know what you think this morning. Cnn.com/amfix. The story's posted on our blog and of course, we welcome your comments. Should voting be mandatory? If you don't vote, should you be fined? That's an interesting question.
CHETRY: Yes, it is. We'll check out the responses. Carol, thanks. ROBERTS: So the mandatory voting in Australia, 90 percent of people go to the polls, the other 10 percent -
CHETRY: Pay the fined.
ROBERTS: Go to jail.
CHETRY: Pay the fine.
ROBERTS: I don't know if that would fly here, though.
Top stories as we cross the half hour.
Iran says it has started loading fuel into the core of its first nuclear plant and it says sanctions won't stop it. Iran still insists its program is peaceful and for electrical generation only. The United States and its allies fear though that Iran is trying to build a nuclear bomb.
CHETRY: So where is all the oil? A new report in "USA Today" says that scientists have found substantial amounts of oil. Some of it thick, raw crude on the sea floor in the Gulf of Mexico. Now, that contradicts what government scientists have said about most of the oil disappearing from the gulf after the Deepwater Horizon disaster.
ROBERTS: Breathing life back into the auto industry. Ford says it will create up to 1,200 jobs in Michigan over the next two years as it steps up production of more fuel-efficient cars. The Labor Department says Michigan's unemployment rate is at 13 percent. That's the second highest in the nation right now.
CHETRY: Well, it's already been banned at one New Jersey campus after close to two dozen students had to go to the hospital after drinking it. It's a highly caffeinated malt liquor called Four Loko. It's also known as a blackout in a can, liquid caffeine. The caffeine and other stimulants allow the drinker to ingest larger volumes of alcohol without passing out.
ROBERTS: And investigators in Washington state say the energy drink and not suspected drug sent nine college students to the hospital. Washington's attorney general wants the FDA to ban alcoholic energy drinks. Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is live in Miami.
And, of course, we've seen for years people mix together Red Bull and vodka. That's a very popular cocktail. But when you look at this, it's a huge can with pretty high alcoholic content. You wonder, you know, you get this in the hands of young people, are they going to knock back three or four of these? And what's the effect?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, John, I got to tell you, when I found out the alcohol content of that can, I was shocked. You've got to take a look at this. There's as much alcohol in one can of Four Loko as there is an entire six-pack of beer. So in other words, you chug that thing down, you probably don't realize you're getting that much alcohol. Plus they're often sold in these sort of fruity flavors and you probably don't think of it as being as powerful as it actually is.
Now, we got in touch with the folks at Four Loko and we told them about this story. And they said look, as you mentioned, people have been mixing Red Bull with alcohol, rum and Cokes, mixing caffeine and alcohol they say is a kind of time-honored tradition. And here's the response.
"When consumed responsibly, our products are just as safe as any other alcoholic beverages." John, Kiran.
CHETRY: This is the other interesting thing because whenever you want to know about what young people are doing, you've got to ask your interns. One of our interns that goes to college in New Jersey says that these only cost about $2.50. So they're cheap, and you know, people aren't just sipping these throughout the course of the night. They're doing things like chugging, shot gunning, and anything possible to ingest what really is a full bottle of wine on top of all the caffeine.
COHEN: Right. And that caffeine part is really important. And here's why. Probably one of the reasons why they thought the folks had been drugged in some ways is that they just kept drinking and drinking and they showed up at the hospital so sick. The caffeine allows you to keep staying awake and keep drinking. So if it was just alcohol, you pass out at a certain point. But with all that caffeine, you're awake, you keep drinking. These kids in Washington showed up at the hospital with five times the legal amount of alcohol in their blood. They were so sick that apparently some people thought they'd been drugged.
ROBERTS: Wow. You would think one of these would knock you on your butt, but you drink three or four of them, like some of these young people are, that's downright dangerous.
Elizabeth Cohen -
COHEN: But the caffeine's keeping you going so you're out on your butt, you're partying on.
CHETRY: Right.
ROBERTS: Yes. Thanks, Elizabeth Cohen for us this morning.
COHEN: Thanks.
ROBERTS: The Midwest bracing for what could be the worst storm in 70 years. Complete coverage in our extreme weather center just 10 minutes away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ROBERTS: Just a week now until election day, all 435 House seats and 37 Senate seats up for grabs this year. So that means the candidates are out in force. Hoping to convince as many people as possible to vote for them.
CHETRY: And last night's edition of "Parker Spitzer," their guest () talked about whether it's too late in the game to even change a voter's mind.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHLEEN PARKER, CO-HOST, CNN'S "PARKER SPITZER": what can a candidate do at this point or is it sewn up, do you think?
NATE SILVER, "NEW YORK TIMES" FIVETHIRTYEIGHT BLOGGER: No, I think, you know, people kind of know what the rules of the game are going to be. And it's a tough game for Democrats to play. You know, sometimes you have a better turnout operation or sometimes you kind of have that perfect advertisement that resonates with voters. They remember when they go into the polling place but it's, you know, people think "oh, it's still 10 days to go."
Really, first of all, a lot of people have already voted, right? Because you can early vote now in the majority of states. And second of all, you know, most have made up their minds. So you're dealing with the universe of, you know, five percent of the electorate who is undecided. If you sweep those voters, it's still not enough if you're down by more than five points (INAUDIBLE).
ELIOT SPITZER, CO-HOST "CNN'S PARKER SPITZER: That's the interesting point. I was in this game for some period of time. It used to be they're going into the last week or two weeks, there was a significant block of undecided voters and you could make a play and make your last closing argument to them. It seems as though there is greater polarization and there are few undecided voters left to capture.
SILVER: Yes, in the general election. In the primary, it's a different story. In the primary, people kind of wait until the last minute. But in a general election, you know, (INAUDIBLE) are voting the party label, most of the time, I mean, unless you have two candidates people really dislike, like in Illinois, people don't like either of those candidates. So there are still a lot of undecided voters or in Nevada, you have a lot of third party and undecided vote. And that could go kind of either way.
But in general, if people, you know, by this point, people know who the candidates are, they've been saturated with information. People have been interested in this election for a long time. And so, you know, you don't have too many people deciding at the last minute.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: And tonight, Richard (INAUDIBLE) a conservative movement pioneer who has launched a petition to end federal funding of NPR after they fired Juan Williams for making some considered disparaging remarks about Muslims. That's tonight on "Parker-Spitzer" 8:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.
CHETRY: Well, if you're looking for a race that might tell you how the balance of power will turn out, we look to Pennsylvania. Our Jim Acosta is there. He has more on the race that is still too close to call. It's a tossup, and it could have big implications in the Senate.
ROBERTS: And a stormy day on tap for the Midwest. Really stormy. Rob's got this morning's travel forecast right after the break.
It's coming up on 43 minutes after the hour.
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(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: Brett Favre's ironman NFL record is in jeopardy. He has started in 291 consecutive games. Vikings head coach Brad Childress says Favre has two fractures in his leg and was wearing an ankle boot. But he says that it's too early to say whether Favre is out for this Sunday's game. Favre fired three interceptions last Sunday night in a loss to his old team the Green Bay Packers.
CHETRY: Reviews on TripAdviser.com can make or break a business. Anyone with an opinion can post, whether it's true or not. Well now 700 hotels and resorts are reportedly threatening legal action against the web site accusing it of slander. Some hotels say people will threaten a bad review just so they get a refund. TripAdviser did not respond to the report.
ROBERTS: Just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, the latest on the Hawaii terror suspect and his link to extremist web sites. It's coming up on 10 minutes now to the top of the hour.
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CHETRY: Fifty-three minutes past the hour. The most politics in the morning now. And as we've been saying, the midterm elections now, just a week away. The balance of power in the Senate could come down to the competitive Senate race in Pennsylvania, between Joe Sestak and Pat Toomey.
ROBERTS: According to a new Muhlenberg College poll, it's the Morning Call Tracking poll, Toomey just five points ahead.
More now on the race and what's being called sus-Pennsylvania from Jim Acosta.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks very much, guys. Good to see you. Thank you.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to sus- Pennsylvania where the race for the U.S. Senate is too close to call, and candidates are getting personal. Former Republican congressman, Pat Toomey, labels his opponent, current Democratic congressman, Joe Sestak, a rubber stamp for his party, on both through the stimulus and health care reform. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congressman Toomey has voted 1,400 times with Nancy Pelosi. That's 1,200 times more than I did.
ACOSTA: So, you're saying he's more like Nancy Pelosi than you are.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's such a San Francisco liberal.
ACOSTA: In nearly the same breath, Sestak compares Toomey to Republican, Christine O'Donnell, who's running for the Senate in neighboring Delaware. Toomey, Sestak notes, has also spoken at tea party rally.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is happening in Washington today is an unprecedented and frightening lurch to the left.
ACOSTA: Toomey argues he also has the backing of GOP moderates.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you be a tea party senator?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm delighted to have their support. I'm delighted to have the support that I have from, you know, Rudy Giuliani and Tom Ridge.
ACOSTA: This past president of the probe business group, Club for Growth, Toomey once pushed for privatizing Social Security and a national review editorial entitled, Personal Accounts or Bust.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's in my book. So, there's plenty of information about my thoughts about how we make our big entitlement programs viable for future generations.
ACOSTA: Wouldn't that have --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. That's the last question.
ACOSTA: Toomey walked away, up walked Carlene Nevadi (ph), a voter with a life-threatening staph infection who carries this bag of antibiotics attached to her chest wherever she goes. She worries about Toomey's plans to repeal health care reform.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like Mr. Toomey's platform. I'm concerned about the insurance and the well being of our health care system for the future.
ACOSTA: There were also unscripted moments for Sestak, like this glass shop owner who's had to cut his staff by half.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have four people working for us, and we used to have ten.
ACOSTA: A reminder of the recession on Sestak's watch.
And what would you say, though, to those independents, undecided voters, out there who would say, you know, we gave the Democrats a chance for two years and they blew it? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would say that Democratic Party took necessary steps. But you know what? The party didn't do it all well and I thought --
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: Now, Joe Sestak has unique way of drawing a contrast on the economy here. He's got an ad out showing him cleaning up after his dog saying this is what it's like cleaning up after the Republicans on the economy. But putting that aside, both candidate in this race are touting their Independents. Joe Sestak told me he's not sure whether he would vote for Harry Reid to become the next Senate Majority Leader and hang on to that job. If Harry Reid and the Democrats hang on to their jobs in the Senate. And Pat Toomey, by the way, he was endorsed by Sarah Palin last week here in Pennsylvania. But, Mr. Toomey is not talking about that a whole lot out on the campaign trail.
John and Kiran.
ROBERTS: Jim Acosta, this morning in sus-Pennsylvania.
Jim, thanks so much.
ROBERTS: Top stories coming your way after a quick break. Don't go away.
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