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Presidential Candidates Prepare to Debate; California Bans So- Called Gay Cure; Discussion of Lee Boyd Malvo's Case; Venezuela Election Preview

Aired October 01, 2012 - 15:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And we roll on, hour two. Thanks for being with me. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Let's begin this hour with debate questions for President Obama. Courtesy of, where is he, there he is, this guy, David Frum. He was speechwriter to President George W. Bush. He is a contributing at "Newsweek" and The Daily Beast, AKA the news beast, and is a CNN contributor.

David Frum, wonderful to have you on.

DAVID FRUM, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Thank you.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Let me let all our folks know on our Web site, CNN.com/opinion, you posed these foreign policy questions to Barack Obama.

Number one, can you tell us specifically what the Afghan troop surge accomplished? And this, can you guarantee that Iran will not have acquired a nuclear weapon by the time you finish a second term in office?

David Frum, foreign policy seems to be one of the president's strengths. At least that is what some of these polls indicate. Of the two questions we just showed, some of the questions you posed here in this 10 questions for Obama to answer piece, which is likely to be toughest you think for the president to answer and why?

FRUM: All right, well, I put foreign policy questions at the top, because that's so core to a president's responsibilities. Domestic occupy the second half of the list.

The tougher question would be the Afghanistan question. This is the president's probably single largest-scale foreign policy decision, obviously, the bin Laden raid, a very tough call and he's made many other decisions both public and secret.

But he campaigned strongly in 2008 on winding down the Iraq war and escalating up the Afghanistan war. He sent 30,000, 33,000 American troops there and the question is at the end of his term, with the 33,000 troops leaving, what is there to show for it? I think a lot of people think Afghanistan looks today exactly like it did in 2008. What did those 33,000 people with all their sacrifices and heroism, what did they specifically accomplish?

BALDWIN: Especially now with the, you know, increase in these insider taxes, these green-on-blue attacks, certainly, that will, I'm sure, be asked of him.

I want to follow up though with you moving away from foreign policy and specifically two more questions you ask for President Obama on the economy.

Republican speechwriter David Frum posing the questions again on our Web site.

So number one, you asked, why shouldn't Americans blame you for the meager record since the economic recovery began more than three years ago? Number two, can you give specific examples of any real-life improvements to our infrastructure that was achieved by your economic stimulus? Be as specific as possible.

David, could you hazard just -- this is just the guessing game now. Could you hazard a guess as to how the president will answer that question on the improvements to the infrastructure?

FRUM: On the second of the two questions -- I should say with the first, I did -- one of the reasons I emphasized the slowness of the recovery was to make clear nobody blames the president for the steepness of the decline.

The economy hit bottom in the summer of 2009. That was a long time ago. He is responsible for what has happened since the summer of 2009 and that's been the weakest recovery since World War II. On the infrastructure...

BALDWIN: Infrastructure, yes.

FRUM: ... question, the president would probably cite his investments, so-called, in alternative energy.

But what Americans I think thought -- those may pay off, they probably won't pay off, because since then the price of natural gas has come down so much that wind power looks completely ill and solar power looks like a technology for 30, 40 years from now, not for tomorrow.

A lot of Americans would say, what about the roads, what about the bridges? Amtrak just released a plan to accelerate traffic on the Northeast Corridor after 2040. That's the opposite of shovel-ready. That's like -- that's like, you know, futuristic "Jetsons" postmodern shovel-ready.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Yes. I think a lot of people with like to have quicker Amtrak travel before then, but let's just flip the script. We have to be fair, talk about Mitt Romney. I know you're a Republican, full disclosure.

FRUM: That's next week's column.

BALDWIN: Well, give me -- let's foreshadow to that column, David Frum. If you could pose one really tough question to Mitt Romney, what would that question be?

FRUM: My toughest question to Mitt Romney, what does an American family, making the average family income of $70,000 a year, what does that family get from your economic program?

BALDWIN: And what would be a solid answer in your opinion?

FRUM: A solid answer would be to hear how Mitt Romney's plans would translate into a strong economic recovery because the bad news is in specific programmatic terms he unfortunately does not have that much to offer those people. The tax cuts will not be much benefit for them.

What is given with lower rates will be taken away with loss of deductions. And, of course, there will be pressure on some of the health care promises made under President Obama's plan. That's the toughest question. That's the question that will decide the election and it's one reason that probably Mitt Romney has some trouble in the polls right now.

BALDWIN: Speaking of the polls, and there are a lot of polls, you know this, and especially a lot of Republicans saying, you know, hey, these polls that show the president leading in these multiple swing states, no, they say they're bogus, that they skew Democratic. I heard Paul Ryan complaining about the media yesterday, and we were sort of reminded of this guy running for reelection in 1992. Remember this?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE H.W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you haven't detected, I'm a little sore at the national media. Let me tell you something.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

BUSH: I better be careful. Well, I better not say that. I got -- they're mad at me anyway. I love -- my favorite bumper sticker, annoy the media, reelect Bush.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Oh, the media, David Frum, complaining about the media did not help Bush I. He lost his bid for reelection.

Can media bashing help Romney, help Ryan? Do you think it is going to work? FRUM: It can help them in the sense that it gets -- the Republican base dislikes the major national media more than I think it likes its actual candidate. So in that sense it can generate enthusiasm.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Can we say that again? You think they dislike the national media more than they like their actual candidates? Did I hear you correctly?

FRUM: Yes. You did.

(CROSSTALK)

FRUM: I think that one of Romney's perpetual challenges, it's been very detrimental to him, because it prevents him from acting like the nominee. He in many ways has been forced again and again to act as if he's still running for the nomination, including what I think was the very unwise decision to choose Paul Ryan as his running mate, thus tie himself to the very bold, if that's the word you want, Ryan plan.

I would have gone for something more cautious myself. But on these polls, the Republicans have this much of a case. When you're a pollster, you have to make a decision, what will the electorate look like? By definition, you don't know the answer to that question.

What you end up doing is extrapolating from the last election or two or three. But the past is not usually a good guide to these kinds of things. And elections and voting patterns are very subject to sudden changes.

In 2004 and 2008, we had enormous voter turnout, about 60 percent, more than 120 million people. Will 2012 look like that or will it look like previous elections where we had voter turnout under 55 percent? And depending on what assumption you make, you get very different results. But what is a pollster to do? They end up simply projecting forward what happened last time.

BALDWIN: We shall see as far as turnout goes. But really this Wednesday, and these next couple of debates, the biggest audience these guys are going to get until November 6. We will be talking about it, we will be watching.

David Frum, thank you. And maybe we will chat next week. I would love to hear the remaining nine questions you have for Mitt Romney.

Just a quick reminder to everyone, to read David Frum's piece, just go to CNN.com/opinion. And you can follow the page on Twitter. It is @CNNopinion.

David, thank you.

And don't forget, Wednesday night, the president vs. his challenger face to face, huge night, special coverage beginning at 7:00 Eastern right here on CNN and CNN.com. We will be watching, we will be tweeting and we hope you join us. And I should tell you CNN has a new poll releasing at the top of the hour, speaking of all these polls. There is going to be some news in that one. That happens at 4:00 Eastern with my friend Wolf Blitzer. And we should also tell you this, that Mitt Romney has gotten an upward tick in our CNN poll of polls.

You see the numbers. What we do, again, these poll of polls, we take a batch of polls, we average them together, and our latest average has the president getting 49 percent support from likely voters. You see Mitt Romney just a smidge lower at 46 percent. That's one point up for Romney, who was at 45 percent before today.

Just into us here, totally switching gears, the search for Jimmy Hoffa, police in Michigan now say we will find out tomorrow whether soil taken outside of a home has any evidence of human remains. A tipster claims to have seen a body being buried under a shed at the Roseville home on the day after Jimmy Hoffa disappeared.

Remember, this was way back, 1975. So just this past Friday, you see the crews. They were out there digging under the shed. They then sent soil samples out for testing. This is this is just the latest tip in the 37-year search for the Teamster boss.

And a lot more news unfolding here on this Monday. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: There is a pretty good chance the next president will make at least one Supreme Court pick. And our sources are telling us who has the best shot.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.

(voice-over): California, the first state to ban the so-called cure for being gay, a treatment the governor calls pure quackery.

Plus, speaking of California governors, this one reveals how Maria Shriver found out about the affair that ended their marriage.

And Hugo Chavez is younger, hipper and can ball and rap with the best of them. At least, that's what his reelection campaign wants voters to think.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: How is this for some great news when it comes to the manufacturing sector leading this huge, huge rally on Wall Street ? You see the Dow up 91 points. We have about 48 minutes until the end of the trading day.

But you have this survey of purchasing managers. And so it shows the first expansion in U.S. manufacturing in, count them with me, four months, four months. Great news. The average American could be looking at a $3,500 tax hike if Congress fails to avert the so-called fiscal cliff. This is according to the Tax Policy Center.

In January, $7 trillion worth of tax increases and spending cuts will begin to go into effect.

(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)

BALDWIN: And now to this: the moment Arnold Schwarzenegger had to sit down, look his wife in the eyes, and tell her he had an affair and fathered a child.

That is just one of the affairs he had to confess to. He has this new memoir out today. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Chuck Pagano, he is the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts. He has diagnosed with leukemia. Pagano apparently felt tired over the past couple of weeks, noticed increased bruising on his body, and according to the National Cancer Institute, this particular form of leukemia is very aggressive and fast-moving, but highly treatable.

And this is a man who has done everything from animation to "Saturday Night Live" to the summer's hit movie "Ted." Now Seth MacFarlane can add Oscar host to his resume. The writer, actor, director will be hosting the 85th annual Academy Awards. It will be the "Family Guy" creator's first time hosting the Oscars, which airs Sunday, February 24.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, wow, revealing some incredibly personal details during this interview with "60 Minutes." The actor-turned-politician admits a habit of keeping secrets, including multiple affairs he kept from his wife, Maria Shriver.

CNN's Zoraida Sambolin has more from Schwarzenegger's tell-all autobiography, which hits book shelves today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), FORMER GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA: I think it was the stupidest thing I have done in the whole relationship.

ZORAIDA SAMBOLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a secret he kept from his wife Maria Shriver and the public for years.

SCHWARZENEGGER: It was terrible. I inflicted tremendous pain on Maria, and unbelievable pain on the kids.

SAMBOLIN: The most painful chapter from Schwarzenegger's new memoir "Total Recall," the moment when he admitted to Shriver that he had father a child behind her back with the family's housekeeper, Mildred Baena.

SCHWARZENEGGER: She then said, "Hey, I think that Joseph is your kid. And am I off on this or not?" And I said, "You're absolutely correct."

SAMBOLIN: Shriver confronted her husband about the affair in a counseling session the day after he left office in 2011. Schwarzenegger admits she raised suspicion before, but he hadn't been truthful.

LESLEY STAHL, "60 MINUTES": So, you lied to her?

SCHWARZENEGGER: You can say that.

SAMBOLIN: Baena remained the couple's housekeeper, working for the woman she betrayed.

STAHL: Even after you realized it? SCHWARZENEGGER: Yes.

STAHL: Was that -- was that strange?

SCHWARZENEGGER: Very difficult, strange. I mean, bizarre. Everything you want to call it but it's the best way I could handle it.

SAMBOLIN: Schwarzenegger writes of a, quote, "hot affair" with actress Brigitte Nielsen, his co-star in the 1985 film "Red Sonja." She was already living with Shriver at the time.

STAHL: She knew?

SCHWARZENEGGER: Yes.

STAHL: So it's a recurring issue with you?

SCHWARZENEGGER: I'm not perfect.

SAMBOLIN: Affairs weren't the only secrets. Schwarzenegger also admits he tried to hide open heart surgery from Shriver and says he didn't tell her about his run for governor until days before he announced it.

SCHWARZENEGGER: She said, shaking, and she had tears in her eyes, that I was stepping into something that was much deeper than just me running and her being a supportive wife.

SAMBOLIN: She ultimately gave up her journalism career to campaign with her husband. Now, years later, his time in office over, Schwarzenegger says he'll also live with the regret of what he did to his family.

SCHWARZENEGGER: That is something that I will always look back and say, how could you have done that?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Zoraida Sambolin, Zoraida, thank you.

So who has more riding on this week's presidential debate? We will take a look at how a winner will be decided after this week's showdown.

Plus, a lot of folks complaining about the airport pat-downs and scanners. Well, the U.S. Supreme Court just decided whether it will take up that complaint or not.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: The Supreme Court is back in session today and will consider some of the most controversial issues of our time, including affirmative action, same-sex marriage, abortion rights.

But one item it will not be considering, those thorough body pat- downs, the use of the full body scanners at U.S. airports. A Michigan blogger complained that the TSA screening techniques violate the Fourth Amendment, which protects us from illegal searches. But the Supreme Court gave the blogger's complaint a pass.

It is the very first presidential debate here of this campaign and is turning into one of the most hyped political events of this entire year, President Obama and Mitt Romney, one on one, Wednesday night, Denver, Colorado.

Let me bring in chief political analyst Gloria Borger with a preview.

And, Gloria, hit this home for me. We talk about how crucial this is, really, for both of these men. When we say how crucial, really, how crucial is it? How key?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I don't think the stakes can get any higher. This isn't as if you have got 20 primary debates, as you did for the Republicans during the primary this season.

You have got a few times for both Mitt Romney and President Obama to show their stuff. This first debate is huge, largely because the race is tight. In the battleground states, the president seems to be really gaining an advantage.

And, generally, you know, you can't decide as a voter to fire somebody until you're sure that the replacement can actually do a good job. This is that moment when you're going to have a huge audience. And if you're Mitt Romney, you have to explain to American voters why you can be commander in chief and why you would be the replacement for President Obama.

BALDWIN: Isn't so much of this, though, Gloria, leading up into Wednesday night the lowering of the expectations game? But to quote Candy Crowley when she was talking about Chris Christie on TV over the weekend, saying, apparently Chris Christie didn't get the memo.

But we showed this polls that do show that Americans very much so expect the president to win this debate with Mitt Romney. Might that be a good thing for Mitt Romney going into this with the lower numbers?

BORGER: Sure. Lower numbers -- I have never talked to as many Romney advisers who compliment President Obama as much as they have done in the last week: You know, President Obama is a great debater.

The way I recall it, Brooke, in the last presidential campaign, debates were not President Obama's strengths. In fact, he's a much better speechmaker than he is a debater. And don't forget, he hasn't debated an awful lot lately.

When you're president of the United States and you're in that Oval Office, people tend not to debate with you an awful lot. You live in the presidential bubble. He hasn't been on stage with other people challenging him. So, in a way, he sort of has got to get used to this routine over and over again, whereas Mitt Romney has been on a debate stage an awful lot of times.

BALDWIN: And if I recall, you were at a lot of those debates. He's tough. He's no wallflower, that Mitt Romney.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: So, what is his biggest challenge, though, going into Wednesday?

BORGER: The biggest challenge -- I think Mitt Romney has got to do a couple of things. And they're at odds with each other.

The first thing he's got to do is take on President Obama directly when it comes to policy, because what he has to tell the voters is I have got a better plan for an economic recovery than the president. So, he has to challenge him directly.

But, Brooke, he has to do it in a way in which American public doesn't decide, I don't like this guy very much, because they like President Obama. So he has to challenge him without getting really nasty about it. And then he has to let the American people know that he understands their problems, because by a 3-1 margin in this country, voters believe the president better understands their anxieties and their economic fears than Mitt Romney. So he needs to talk to the public.

BALDWIN: But in addition to that, and just 30 seconds, but I want to ask you, what is -- what constitutes the win? Is it one line that we're going to loop over and over the next day? Is it a gaffe on behalf of the other candidate? What are we watching for?

BORGER: Well, let me turn the question around for a second. A gaffe is a loss, OK?

BALDWIN: Yes.

BORGER: If you make a big mistake, it is a real problem for you.

And, when Mitt Romney finds himself in sort of a candid moment where he can't predict what the challenge is going to be, he does have awkward responses. That is a real problem for him. So, I know what a loss is.

A victory for Mitt Romney would be just going toe-to-toe with the president, looking presidential, and a victory for President Obama would be in making Mitt Romney look inconsequential, not up to the job and someone whose math doesn't add up on the fiscal issues. So I think it is a big challenge for both.

BALDWIN: I can't wait to watch.

BORGER: Me neither.

BALDWIN: I can't wait to see you and the rest of the A-team and the post game, as well. Gloria Borger, thank you, thank you, thank you.

BORGER: Sure, sure.

BALDWIN: Gloria Borger for us in Washington.

Another reminder, again, Wednesday night, the president versus his challenger face-to-face, special coverage beginning at 7:00 Eastern right here on CNN and on CNN.com.

The "cure," quote/unquote, for being gay. You are about to hear from the man who says he definitely went through the therapy and the governor of his state who says it's ridiculous. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Let me quote someone here. "I was a monster," the words of the only surviving D.C.-area sniper, speaking behind bars.

Lee Boyd Malvo spoke with "The Washington Post" about what he's learned in the ten years since he and John Allen Muhammad went on the horrendous, notorious killing spree in Washington, D.C., and its suburbs, that, again, 10 years ago this month.

The two men killed 10 people, injured three more, including a 13-year- old, and created widespread fear that, if you walked out your door, that day, you could die.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very scared. Everybody is scared. We're scared to go to the store. We're scared to pump gas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Muhammad was executed three years ago. Malvo, who was a teenager at the time, now 27, will spend the remainder of his life in prison.

And speaking from the super-max facility in Virginia, he apologized.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

LEE BOYD MALVO, D.C. SNIPER (voice-over): I am sorry. I am sorry and it sounds -- there's no way to express -- there's no way to express that.

I mean, what am I going to tell them? I'm sorry I murdered your only child. I'm sorry I killed your husband. I'm sorry I murdered your wife. What do I tell the child who was waiting for his father to come home and dad never showed up?

I mean, there's nothing -- there's -- I mean, I was a monster. If you look up the definition, I mean, that's what a monster is. I was a ghoul. I was a thief.

I stole people's lives. I did someone else's bidding just because they said so. I mean, that is the definition of a monster.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BALDWIN: He did steal people's lives and he's away for his lifetime now as a result of it.

He also told "The Post" one of the most vivid memories he has of that time is was actually when he looked into the eyes of one man, this man. This is Ted Franklin, the husband of a woman Malvo killed.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

MALVO: It is the worst sort of pain I've ever seen in my life, his eyes. It's the worst -- words do not possess the depth with which to fully convey that emotion and what I felt when I saw him. You feel like the worst piece of scum on the planet.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The details of that interview out today in "The Washington Post" and, so, that writer will be speaking with Wolf Blitzer coming up next hour in "The Situation Room," talking about what it was like interviewing this man across the Plexiglas this past month.

Moving along to something that critics call, quote/unquote, the "cure" that only makes you worse.

This is called reparative therapy. That's the official name for treatment that aims to turn someone who is gay or has homosexual feelings straight.

And, now, it's been banned in California, as of just this weekend, for teenagers and children. Governor Jerry Brown signed this ban into law this past Saturday.

He tweeted, as he was doing so, quote, "This bill bans non-specific, quote, therapies that have driven young people to depression and suicides."

We're going to keep this conversation going. We have criminal defense attorney Joey Jackson "On the Case" with me today.

JOEY JACKSON, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: How are you, Brooke?

BALDWIN: Good to see you, sir.

JACKSON: Good to see you. BALDWIN: What a story.

JACKSON: Boy.

BALDWIN: Yeah, I had a reparative therapist on last hour and it got a tad contentious and I've been reading my tweets. I mean, there are people absolutely on both sides of this.

JACKSON: Of course.

BALDWIN: But let me just begin with the first question with this new law, banning minors from partaking in this kind of therapy.

If a therapist ignores that law, would he or she then go to jail?

JACKSON: Well, you what it is? It's not so much a criminal -- they're not looking to criminalize therapists, but, of course, if you don't obey the law, ultimately, that's what it could lead to, but it's more about discipline.

It's more about your license. This is something we're not going to allow or consider to be appropriate. We believe it to be junk science and, as a result of that, you can be disciplined.

And, I mean, you have to make a living, so if you do it, guess what? No license, can't perform any further.

BALDWIN: Talking to this reparative therapist, also underwent this, as well, said this is still a journey he's undergoing and he said it absolutely worked for him. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID PICKUP, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR RESEARCH AND THERAPY OF HOMOSEXUALITY: My anxiety went down. My self-esteem went up. My confidence in my own gender identity went up and was more secured in me over a period of years with this therapy.

I was sexually abused as a child and emotionally abused.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So, let's say, you know, for folks who agree with David Pickup and there are parents out there who agree with him and say, look, my child has perhaps some tendencies, some feelings. I want him or her to get help.

Can they make that happen?

JACKSON: No. Look, ultimately, the law is the law and not surprising, Brooke, you have people on both sides, as you mentioned, and some people believe that it's appropriate, OK?

However the American Psychological Association has come out and they've said, you know what? It's junk science. It could lead to depression. It leads to suicide. It's just not something that we should be undertaking.

Not surprising, Brooke, there's a lawsuit. What does the lawsuit do? It says, look, not so fast, let's impose an injunction upon the law, which means, let's halt it, let's stop it, let's stay it and let's have a debate on this issue.

And what the debate should say is that you're violating my rights. How? Because these are parents who have the right to decide how their kids are growing up and, therefore, this law takes that right away from them and it says the state will now determine what's appropriate and what's not appropriate.

So, not surprisingly, there are groups out there and there's a lawsuit in the mix which may very well stay this particular law.

BALDWIN: Not just one. Because David Pickup who spoke with me from NARTH said he, too -- they, too, are filing a suit, so two suits, two suits into this ban.

JACKSON: You know we talk about litigation all the time, Brooke. That's how it works. It's a never-ending thing.

BALDWIN: You think it'll fly?

JACKSON: You know, it's pretty tough because, ultimately, the state has a right to ultimately say, listen, we know what's right, we know what's wrong, but families have a right to decide what's in the best interests of their children, so that's why in law when we have these discussions it's never clear. So frustrating.

BALDWIN: Joey Jackson, thank you.

JACKSON: A pleasure and privilege.

BALDWIN: And now this, a sobering reminder, America still at war, more than 2,000 Americans have now been killed in Afghanistan.

And it's, you know, one thing to tell you about what servicemen and women are going through on the battlefield, but it's quite another entirely for you to experience it.

We're taking you inside a fierce gun battle next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: In Afghanistan, a suicide attacker on a motorcycle packed with explosives killed 14 people in eastern Afghanistan just this morning. Among the dead, three NATO forces. In total, 57 people were wounded.

And now to a video that has surfaced on the Internet. A U.S. soldier wearing a helmet-cam last April in Kunar Province takes us along as he comes under fire.

Huge difference, though, because our view here is virtual. He is facing the real thing. This is heart-pounding stuff. Take a look. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fire!

Hey! I'm moving down! (INAUDIBLE) I'm hit! I'm hit! I'm hit! I'm hit!

(INAUDIBLE) Help me! I'm hit! I'm hit! I'm hit! I'm hit!

I'm hit! I'm hit! I'm hit! I'm hit!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: You hear the soldier. It turns out the soldier here suffered minor injuries and has since returned to duty. Also, no other coalition member were hurt in that particular fire fight.

Hugo Chavez has, apparently, a softer side. From playing a folk song to rocking with the band, Chavez showing that softer side, but you have not seen anything yet.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

Meet Jennifer Pahlka, founder of Code for America. It's kind of a peace corps for geeks.

JENNIFER PAHLKA, FOUNDER AND EXCUTIVE DIRECTOR, CODE FOR AMERICA: Most people have seen that really geeks have changed the world so much in the past 10 or 20 years, but they haven't changed government yet.

We get people to take a year off. It's geeks. It's also designers. It's also product managers, the people from the technical industries.

And we get them to work with people in city hall to solve problems in cities for a year.

GUPTA: She wants to fix local government, one smartphone app at a time. This Sunday on "The Next List."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: We are just a couple of minutes away from the top of the hour which means Wolf Blitzer, "The Situation Room." Wolf Blitzer is there with a little preview.

And, Wolf, I know you have -- what -- polls at the top of the hour, new polls you're releasing and that interview with "The Washington Post" writer on the Lee Boyd Malmo interview. Very compelling. WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Brian Todd has been spending some time. It's been 10 years since a lot of us who live here in the D.C.-area. We remember the whole D.C. sniper story. I remember filling my car with gas and bending down, worried that a sniper could show up. It was very, very scary at the time.

A lot of us remember that. It's hard to believe it's been ten years already, but that's the way time goes by.

We've got a brand-new CNN/ORC poll being released right at the top of the hour.

John King is in Denver getting ready for the debate, as you probably know by now. We're going to see is either two candidates moving up, moving down, what's going on?

I know. You don't know yet. Maybe you do, Brooke, but a lot of our viewers don't know yet. They will know in a few minutes what's the latest in this national poll of likely voters all across the country.

In our 6:00 p.m. Eastern hour, we've a major national security debate between two representatives from the campaigns, General Wesley Clark, representing Barack Obama, Rich Williamson, representing Mitt Romney, a major debate on national security, what's going on right now.

You probably saw that article that Mitt Romney wrote in the op-ed page of "The Wall Street Journal" today really blasting the president's record on national security and foreign policy. We're going to go in- depth on that.

A lot more coming up as we always have right here in "The Situation Room."

BALDWIN: Wolf Blitzer, we'll see you then, top of the hour. Thank you, sir.

BLITZER: Thank you.

Before I let you go, from fierce socialist leader to friendly rapper? Venezuela's Hugo Chavez up for reelection and his campaign doing everything in its power to make him more appealing to the younger voters.

And as CNN's Rafael Romo found out, that includes putting him on a motorcycle and on a basketball court. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN LATIN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: During a recent cabinet meeting, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez interrupted the proceedings to sing a folk song.

At a campaign event, he got on stage to rock with the band.

Venezuela's holding its presidential election on October 7th. Although the socialist leader enjoys fiercely loyal support throughout the country, the undecided, especially young people, are 23 percent of the electorate and could turn it around.

His campaign has carefully crafted a new image which shows Chavez in campaign posters riding a motorcycle, playing basketball, and even as a rap artist. A public appearance with American actor Sean Penn over the summer didn't hurt either.

It's a sharp contrast with the image of a sick man who was diagnosed with cancer last year and underwent two surgeries. He recently objected to a reporter's question about his health.

PRESIDENT HUGO CHAVEZ, VENEZUELA (via translator): Here I am and every day I feel in better physical condition and I firmly believe that that expression about physical limitations that you used, it's not going to be a factor in this campaign.

ROMO: Jose Antonio Gil, the director of a Venezuelan polling firm, says Chavez has used his bout with cancer to his advantage.

JOSE ANTONIO GIL, DIRECTOR, DANANALISIS: He has handled his sickness, his illness, has handled it in terms of communication with the public in a very a cheerful way and pervasive way.

He's always present and trying to prove that he's not sick, that he's winning another battle, as he calls it.

ROMO: Crafting a youthful image is also important because Chavez is 18 years older than his political rival, Henrique Capriles Radonski.

Capriles, a former governor, turned 40 over the summer and is campaigning throughout Venezuela by bus.

HENRIQUE CAPRILES RADONSKI, VENEZUELAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (via translator): Venezuelans are looking for a new way. It's been 14 years of the same government.

This government has already completed its cycle and has nothing more to offer. They're only recycling promises.

ROMO: Chavez would have been unable to run for reelection this year because of constitutional limits, but his party, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, pushed for a referendum in 2009 in which voters eliminated term limits.

Winning another term in office next month would allow Chavez to rule Venezuela until 2019, the 20th anniversary of his rise to power.

Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Rafael, thank you.

Quick quiz time for all of you who have moved past vinyl, you have chucked your cassette tapes. How's this for a "remember when."

It was actually 30 years ago today that the first compact disc -- ah, yes, CDs -- was released. So, take a look here.

Who was the artist? Was it Eddie Money? Was it The Rolling Stones, Billy Joel or The Bangles? Testing your music knowledge here on this Monday after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Where did I leave you? Ah, yes, with this question.

So, it was on this day 30 years ago the very first CD was released. The question was, who's the artist? Was it Eddie Money? Was it The Rolling Stones, Billy Joel or The Bangles? Your answer?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILLY JOEL, MUSICIAN (singing): Got a call from an old friend. We used to be real close ...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I won't sing for you because I want you to stay with us, but you know the song. This is Billy Joel, his album, "52nd Street," became the first commercial compact disk released -- nope, not in the U.S. -- folks, it was Japan.

Since then, hundreds of billions of CDs have been sold. Even though digital music downloads are growing in popularity, CDs still make up a big portion of album sales, nationwide.

And I like my vinyl, too, as well.

Thanks for watching. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Now, to Wolf Blitzer. Your "SITUATION ROOM" begins right now.