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Romney Foreign Policy Address; SpaceX Rocket Bound For Space Station; Romney Says America Must Lead; Six More Years for Chavez; Money In, Money Out; Using Social Media to Score Votes; Obama Dedicates Chavez Monument; GOP Aims for Senate Control
Aired October 08, 2012 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And good to see all of you. I'm Brooke Baldwin.
Just into us here at CNN, word of an arrest in the death of that American shot and killed on Falcon Lake -- remember this story? It was in Texas, right along the Mexican border. You may remember it was two years ago. It was Tiffany Hartley. She said she and her husband, they were out and about on this lake on their Sea-doos when they were ambushed. David Hartley, shot. She escaped. And now a drug cartel leader is behind bars. We're going to have much more on this for you in the coming hours.
But first, politics. We are down to four weeks. Four weeks here until the election. Can you believe this? Actually, less than. And Mitt Romney, out of nowhere it seems, a major address today on American foreign policy. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The president is fond of saying that the tide of war is receding. And I want to believe him as much as anyone else. But when we look at the Middle East today, with Iran closer than ever to nuclear weapons capability, with the conflict in Syria threatening to destabilize the region, and with violent extremists on the march, and with an American ambassador and three others dead, likely at the hands of al Qaeda affiliates, it's clear that the risk of conflict in the region is higher now than when the president took office.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: So we'll hit the speech in depth here. A lot, obviously, on the Middle East. But first, let me give you just the big picture.
As we mentioned, four weeks until the election, and we are seeing a possible shift in favor of Mitt Romney. Check this out. This is what's happened since that debate last Wednesday. This is Gallup's daily tracking poll. It's great for, you know, things like spotting trends. Pretty much a dead heat here when you look at these different numbers. A dead heat for the race for president, down from that five point advantage for the president not too long ago. That five point advantage, as you can see now, totally gone. Gone in this Gallup tracking poll. And I know you're sitting there, you're looking at these numbers and you're asking, you know, what about the state polls? They're the ones who really count, right? You have Virginia and Ohio and Florida. Yes, we are seeing signs of movement toward Romney, but do keep in mind that before last Wednesday, those three big states were firming up nicely for Obama. Give us one day or two on that. We promise we'll be watching those three states for you as we move forward.
Now, on the topic of debates here, keep this in mind as well because this is a big week. We have the vice presidential debate coming up this Thursday. Of course that's Biden versus Ryan here. A week from tomorrow, Obama versus Romney. And then those two again, two weeks from today, that's the final debate before the election.
So, Mitt Romney, today, he gave this 20-minute speech on foreign policy. One policy not exactly one of Romney's stronger suits thus far. Take a look at yet another poll here. The question being better on foreign policy shows him trailing the president by seven points on that one specifically.
Wolf Blitzer, let's talk to you about all of this, joining me live from Washington here. And we're going to listen, in just a moment, to that speech from Mitt Romney at VMI. But first, let me just ask you this. Why a foreign policy speech this late in the election campaign? Do you think he sees some sort of opening here?
WOLF BLITZER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think that the killing of the American ambassador and three other Americans in Benghazi, Libya, at the consulate there, and the confusion surrounding the administration's explanation for what happened, the condemnation by some has given him a clear opening. Take a look at what's happening throughout north Africa and the Middle East. He said that today. There's a lot of anti-American attitudes out there. And he senses that there's a moment right now for him to take advantage. And as you point out, Brooke, he's going to have that foreign policy debate against President Obama. That's the last of the three debates strictly focused on national security and foreign policy. So I think he's gearing up for that. And there's no better way to gear up than to prepare a speech outlining your position on a whole host of sensitive issues where there's significant disagreement, for example, with the president. So that's the timing behind this.
BALDWIN: OK. And let's just, now that we've teed up this speech, we just want to play a couple of snippets of the Romney speech today. Again, it was delivered at VMI, Virginia Military Institute, in Lexington, Virginia. Here he was.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is our responsibility and the responsibility of the president, to use America's greatest power to shape history, not to lead from behind, leaving our destiny at the mercy of events. Drones and modern instruments of war are important tools in our fight, but they are no substitute for a national security strategy for the Middle East. I know the president hopes for a safer, freer and more prosperous Middle East aligned with us. I share this hope. But hope is not a strategy. We can't support our friends and defeat our enemies in the Middle East when our words are not backed up by deeds.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Watched the speech, read the speech, Wolf, in its entirety and, you know, I heard him say that in the Arab world, in Iran, he seems indifferent to the struggles of people are on our side. I heard a lot of tone, but not a lot of specifics. Are you with me? What did you hear?
BLITZER: Well, he was referring to what he called the weak reaction from the Obama administration to the uprising, if you will, in Iran a couple of years ago when there were protests. People were angry and the U.S. was on the sidelines. The president did not directly speak out. And the explanation that the administration at the time gave was that the opposition didn't want this to appear to be the -- the opposition to the ayatollahs, standing up in Iran with the backing of the United States. That could have been counterproductive. As a result, the Obama administration was pretty silent. At the time now, Romney is going after him on that.
I think there were a few areas where there are some significant differences. But on a whole, after you get through some of the angry rhetoric, there's a lot of agreement between Obama and Romney. One area of disagreement on arming the Syrian rebels. Another area of disagreement, how far will Iran be able to go in its nuclear weapons capability, the capability of developing a bomb, as opposed to actually having a bomb. And the third was on Russia. He twice, in his speech, singled out Vladimir Putin as basically a foe of the United States and he was doubling down on those controversial remarks he made a few months ago that Russia was America's number one geostrategic foe.
BALDWIN: Interesting, though, on Syria. And I was listening to Fareed Zakaria talking earlier and he pointed out the passive voice in Mitt Romney's speech when he was saying the Syrians -- Syrian rebels should be armed, but he wasn't explicitly saying the U.S. should arm the Syrian rebels. So, we'll watch for it, as you mentioned, that foreign policy debate coming up in about two weeks.
Wolf Blitzer, we'll talk next hour. I have more questions for you on it.
BLITZER: Thank you.
BALDWIN: Thank you, sir, for that.
Jessica Yellin, she is our chief White House correspondent. Here she is.
And let me ask you, what reaction are you hearing from, you know, the Obama campaign, from this foreign policy speech today?
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi, Brooke. First of all, they were out with a pre-brutal even before the speech -- even before Romney gave the speech. They had an ad slamming Governor Romney for past missteps in his foreign policy campaign messaging. Take a look at a bit of the ad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE, POLITICAL AD: When our U.S. diplomats were attacked in Libya, "The New York Times" said Romney's knee-jerk response showed an extraordinary lack of presidential character. And even Republican experts said Romney's remarks were the worst possible reaction to what happened. If this is how --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: So they obviously do not want to give him an opening to get an edge on this issue. After Romney's speech, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright underscored the Obama campaign's message in a conference call with reporters. She said that she is a teacher and if Romney had turned in the op-ed that he'd written in "The Wall Street Journal" last week, it was on the Middle East, she would have given him a C because it was so light on specifics.
BALDWIN: OK. Big picture, Jessica Yellin. The president pretty much -- talked to all kinds of pundits on either side -- bombed last Wednesday, speaking in Denver. And when you look at the polls, they seem to indicate that Americans most definitely took note. As we mentioned, you know, you still have these three additional debates, including this vice presidential debate this upcoming week. The question is, is the president's re-election campaign, are they hitting the panic button here or are they changing the approach with these final debates looming?
YELLIN: Well, according to the top Democrats I'm talking to, they do not expect Vice President Biden to somehow make up for the president's missteps in his debate last week because Americans aren't looking to the vice president to do what the president should be doing himself. So the vice president is in debate camp right now in Wilmington, Delaware. The president's own debate camp preper, the person who ran the president's debate camp, Ron Clain (ph), is running the vice president's debate camp. That was always the plan.
David Axelrod, the president's senior advisor, is at Biden's debate camp. But he was always planning to go. So that's not a change. And, you know, he's there with his plans in place. My understanding is they have not changed their strategy -- they have not changed who's prepping him or how, but I would expect to see him be quite aggressive about defending the administration's policies in a way the president did not do, at least not effectively, last week.
BALDWIN: Last Wednesday. Jessica, thank you.
A quick reminder to all of you, we're talking about this vice presidential debate. Again, Joe Biden, Paul Ryan, prepping to debate one another. It is Thursday night, set the DVR now, and, remember, our live coverage begins at 7:00 Eastern here on CNN. BALDWIN: As President Obama and Mitt Romney race to the finish --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I got my start as a community organizer.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know how the private sector works.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: A new documentary shows not only their most decisive moments, but how their minds work. I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): He knows that every step he takes is a potential land mine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): The backlash against his presidency must be mystifying to him because he genuinely doesn't see himself as a radical.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: I'll speak live with the PBS producer behind this film.
Plus, --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: The future of space travel begins.
And --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HUGO CHAVEZ, PRESIDENT OF VENEZUELA: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: As Hugo Chavez battles health problems, the socialist leader wins six more years.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: It is the beginning of a new era in space flight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Four, three, two, one. And liftoff. Liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, launching Dragon --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: There she goes, the first commercial flight to the ISS, to the International Space Station, launching from Cape Canaveral, Florida. This was last night. NASA, you know, kind of stepping aside, but also signing SpaceX to this $1.6 billion contract to ship cargo to the ISS. I'm joined by Space.com managing editor Tariq Malik. Also here with me, fellow space geek Chad Myers.
Tariq, let me just begin with you because this is so significant. This is the first commercial flight here to the ISS. This could obviously be the beginning of, you know, some major, major things. But first, liftoff. How did it go?
TARIQ MALIK, MANAGING EDITOR, SPACE.COM: It was -- it was amazing. You know, NASA had been saying, and SpaceX, that they were going to -- that there was a chance of clouds. You know, they don't want their rocket flying through clouds or trigger lightning on the way up. But the entire countdown, all the way through the evening, was fairly smooth. And T minus zero, it just soared into the sky. It lit it up like an artificial sun. And we saw it for quite some time, even after passing through some clouds. So it was just an amazing launch and an amazing delivery into orbit of this private spacecraft.
BALDWIN: OK. OK, Tariq, hang tight for me because I do have a question for you, Chad, because I read that one of the engines --
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Correct.
BALDWIN: Failed upon ascent. So another engine had to, what, overcompensate?
MYERS: There are eight -- well, eight still. There were nine.
BALDWIN: OK.
MYERS: One didn't do so well at a minute 20 in. And, in fact, we have video of this. And I call it NASA puffing. See all this -- the puffs. There's puffs coming out of the back of that. Now, it's hard to see --
BALDWIN: I was looking for the puffs.
MYERS: But that was -- that was the failure of one of the engines.
BALDWIN: OK.
MYERS: Now, there was still eight backups, or still eight main engines. They just had to fire a little bit longer to take this thing farther into space on the first stage.
BALDWIN: OK.
MYERS: Nothing is a problem. Now, it was great redundancy. It's like a 747 able to fly on three instead of four engines.
BALDWIN: OK. So now that we know it's a-okay, Tariq, back to you.
I read that the capsule, you know, it's ferrying cargo, right, so it's supplies and food and gear. And I read there was a late edition of some ice cream as well. What is the mission once it arrives up there?
MALIK: Well, basically this is a cargo flight. And, as you mentioned, it's carrying 1,000 pounds of cargo to the Space Station. It will arrive on Wednesday morning. Astronauts on the station will grab it with a robotic arm and park it and then they're going to unpack it for the rest of the month. After three weeks, they're going to load it up with not trash or unneeded things, which they would do with other cargo ships from Russia, Japan or Europe. They're actually going to put in a science experiments, a gear that maybe they could repair, or stuff that they want to send back down to friends or family. And that's going to come back down on October 28th. Splash down in the Pacific. The SpaceX folks will go pluck it out of the ocean and deliver that cargo back to NASA. It's the first of its kind in terms of an unmanned cargo mission that, you know, bringing stuff back more. And they're bringing -- and I'm sure the astronauts are pretty excited to get some chocolate vanilla swirl.
BALDWIN: OK. So, seriously though, ice cream aside, I mean it's significant, they're able to bring cargo, but this is the beginning of I'm sure what they hope will be an ability to ferry astronauts. Chad and I covered the final retirement of the Atlantis, that final flight last summer. And so how long, Tariq, before these private entities are able to send astronauts so we don't have to rely on the Soyuz.
MALIK: Well, SpaceX, in particular, actually planned to use this unmanned Dragon spacecraft, basically to scale it up into a seven- person spaceship. That was kind of their primary goal the entire time when they were building it. They have always said, and they said again last night, they told us that in three years they expect to be ready to fly humans on a version of this spacecraft. They are one of four companies competing for NASA contracts to do that, to ferry Americans into space from an American space port. And that will basically regain the capability that we lost last year when the space shuttle fleet retired.
BALDWIN: OK. So three years.
Chad, what do you want to ask him?
MYERS: I just want to know if you know where the name Dragon came from?
MALIK: Oh, you know, it's a funny story.
MYERS: I'm sure it is.
MALIK: Both the Dragon and the Falcon 9 rocket, that launched it (ph). In 2002, when SpaceX's CEO, Elon Musk, founded the company, a lot of investors, a lot of folks kind of criticized and they thought it was a pipe dream, that he was going to build his own rockets and launch them into space. So he named it Dragon after Puff the Magic Dragon, the imaginary dragon from -- BALDWIN: That's funny. That's funny you mentioned puffs also with regard to the engine.
Tariq Malik, thank you so much, from space.com.
Just a quick heads up to you, and to you, we're talking to Richard Branson next hour, who's another one of those fellow competitors. I don't know if he's been in touch with Elon Musk, but has already has a list pretty thick of people who want to go up as far as space tourism. So we'll be talking to Sir Richard Branson next hour.
MYERS: Good stuff.
BALDWIN: Join me for that.
A quick reminder to all of you. Also, any minute now, we will be seeing the president in California. You can see some of these live pictures. This is Keene, California. The president expected to take the stage there as they are dedicating the Cesar Chavez monument. Could he, might he be responding to Mitt Romney's blistering foreign policy speech from earlier in the day? We will, of course, be watch for that, as will you. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Just into us here at CNN, meningitis, that meningitis outbreak is now growing. The Centers for Disease Control now says the number of people infected with meningitis has now jumped from 91 to 105. The death toll also up from seven to eight. These infections have been traced to spinal steroid injections. They were contaminated with a deadly fungal meningitis. Health officials say 76 medical facilities and now 23 different states received the contaminated injections.
The average price of a gallon of gas crept up just three cents nationwide over this past week, but the average, this is according to AAA, hides a gigantic spike in California, where I know a lot of you are feeling it. This is where the price of a gallon of regular unleaded climbed, a whopping 50 cents. You saw those prices. It has hit $4.67 a gallon. Problems at two refineries are being blamed for the price hike. California Governor Jerry Brown actually has now ordered a switch to a cheaper blend of gas just to try to increase supply and bring those prices down.
Columbus Day could also be election day for voters in more than a dozen states. Take a look at the map and I'll tell you that early voting beginning today in California, Indiana, and Oregon. Ten other states have already begun. In all, 36 states and the District of Columbia offer some form of early voting. Democrats, they do tend to vote early, far more than Republicans. But whatever your political bench (ph), if you have already made up your mind, voting early can help you avoid those long lines this upcoming November 6th.
And, again, a quick reminder, you see the crowds here, this is Keene, California. The president will be dedicating the Cesar Chavez National Monument. This is actually the first such honor to honor any kind of contemporary Mexican-American. You think about the timing, less than a month until elections. Obviously it could potentially help boost any sort of Latino voter turnout for the president.
At the same time, we are also potentially anticipating the president to react to the blistering comments from Mitt Romney earlier today when he spoke at VMI. About a 20-minute in length speech on foreign policy. Will the president respond? You know we'll be listening. We'll dip in and take some of that live as soon as we see the president there in Keene, California.
But from President Obama to his challenger. As I mentioned, today, laying out his foreign policy plans. The thing is, they actually don't sound dramatically different from that of President Obama, except for one major detail. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: We're going to delve deeper now into Mitt Romney's indictment of the president's foreign policy. And for that I want to bring in Hala Gorani of CNN International.
Good to see you.
HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL: Good to see you.
BALDWIN: Often times we talk Middle East and we talk Syria specifically and that's certainly one of the topics that Mitt Romney touched on today when he was speaking at the Virginia Military Institute. So, take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In Syria, I'll work with our partners to identify and organize those members of the opposition who share our values and then ensure that they obtain the arms they need to defeat Assad's tanks and helicopters and fighter jets. Iran is sending arms to Assad because they know his downfall would be a strategic defeat for them. We should be working no less vigorously through our international partners to support the many Syrians who would deliver that defeat to Iran rather than sitting on the sidelines. It's essential that we develop influence with those forces in Syria that will one day lead a country that sits at the heart of the Middle East.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Mitt Romney is saying, arm the rebels. Again, the question being, how well do we know them, how do we know which rebels we should be arming, that's the question for you.
GORANI: And the wording there is interesting, because he's not saying I believe the United States should arm the rebels, he's saying --
BALDWIN: That they should be armed.
GORANI: We want to make sure that they obtain rebels with the help of our partners. And some would argue, look, the vetting of these rebel groups is being done already by the Obama administration. There are reports of a CIA presence there at the border already trying to figure out who is who, who is friendly, who is not so friendly, who should, you know, benefit from at least the moral and technical support of the United States, if not arms already. So there is daylight there in the sense that the word arming the rebels, those words were pronounced by Mitt Romney, but the positions are still more or less similar there.
BALDWIN: What about the fact it was last week we had Nic Robertson up there, right --
GORANI: Yes.
BALDWIN: And he was talking about how, for the very first time, Syria hit Turkey, their neighbor to the north. But then for the first time, Turkey retaliated and hit back.
GORANI: Right.
BALDWIN: And, you know, the sort of idea that Syria -- that Turkey would be dragged into some sort of war. I imagine that's the last thing that they want. Is that correct?
GORANI: No, absolutely. I mean, there is no appetite, if you will, on either side for this to turn into a regional conflict. The Assad regime is doing everything it can, and has been for 19 months now, to try to crush this rebellion. The last thing they need is a war on their borders. But when you have mortar shells falling 150 meets or I should say 150 yards, we're off of International now, into someone's territory, it can --
BALDWIN: Four people dying.
GORANI: Exactly.
BALDWIN: Right.
GORANI: And this was a few days ago. You haven't had deaths in recent days. But you can easily see the situation where there -- this would spiral out of control.
So, you know, arming the rebels coming from Mitt Romney, I don't know. I mean, is this something that is going to help rebels in a substantial way inside the country? This is still talk.
You're still talking about vetting groups. We're months away from identifying groups that will be armed in a sort of -- in a way that can help them fight against the regime that is extremely militarized.
BALDWIN: What about Syria though? I know you have sources in Syria and one line that stood out to me was Mitt Romney quoting a Syrian woman basically saying we will never forget that you forget us and paraphrasing. But you know, the idea that the U.S. is forgetting Syria, what do Syrians tell you?
GORANI: Well, what Syrians say, those who are on the side of the anti-regime movement, and those who support the rebels, is, look, we're dying every single day. This country is bleeding. Its ancient sites are being destroyed. Our children are being killed.
The house is on fire, don't throw a glass of water at it is what I'm hearing. But then you have others, and even those against the regime who say interestingly, look, arming the rebels at this stage, especially if it is gulf countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar who are doing it, could present some level of risk.
Because who are you arming? Are these groups who are motivated by, for instance, sectarian sort of -- sectarian motivation? Are these groups who have inclinations toward an -- a desire to establish an Islamist state, for instance.
Who are we arming? I think there is still -- there are questions out there regardless of where you stand in terms of your position.
BALDWIN: It was two very different situations, it sounds eerily similar to a conversation we had at Libya, whether or not to arm -- who do we know, who can we trust?
GORANI: But in Libya, the situation was much clearer. You had an eastern opposition that was organized. You were able to identify them. You were able more or less to -- to militarily from the air assist that rebellion against Moammar Gadhafi. That's not possible in Syria.
BALDWIN: Hala Gorani, we'll keep the conversation going. Thank you so much.
Also coming up, he beat a younger and much more energetic opponent. So what are the people of Venezuela saying about six more years of Hugo Chavez?
And what does his presidency mean for oil prices? What does this mean for us in the U.S.? We'll show you next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Well, he won. That means six more years for Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
The socialist leader saw a tight race this time around, but he beat out his opponent by well over a million votes. CNN's Paula Newton is in Caracas for us today where millions are celebrating, but millions are not -- Paula.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, what a night it was here in Caracas. This city exploded with celebration. Behind me, fireworks lit up the sky. Their candidate, President Hugo Chavez, scored a decisive victory against Enrique Capiles, a young energetic campaigner at 40.
And believe me, his supporters were crushed. It was a choice between two very different options in Venezuela. The revolution here, Hugo Chavez, says is the only way to trickle down those oil profits to the people that need it most, the poor and lower middle class here in Venezuela. And Enrique Capiles saying, look, Hugo Chavez is going to bankrupt the country using these oil profits for his own purposes and he was warning that the economy could go off the cliff.
Some economists today, Brooke, agreeing and saying that Venezuela could see a devaluation perhaps even default in the next few months, but for Hugo Chavez it was a decisive victory and you can see he was relishing this.
He basically took the opposition to task and said how dare you not believe in the greatness of Venezuela? Brooke, this means a lot for the United States. We get about 9 percent of our gas from Venezuela. Any kind of destabilization here could affect gas prices and what you and I pay to fill up -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: Paula Newton for me in Caracas. Now with more on how Chavez's win really impacts Venezuela's relationship with the U.S., let me bring in our senior Latin American affairs editor, Rafael Romo.
Good to see you. You're functioning on four hours of sleep, staying up, staying at work, watching this election here. Look, you talk about U.S., you talk about Venezuela, the relationship has been what word do I use, chilly?
Chilly in the past, you know, Hugo Chavez has called the U.S. and our allies imperialists. What do we think we see over the next six years for him?
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICA AFFAIRS EDITOR: Remember, just a few years ago when President Bush was still in power that he called him the devil. So that gives you a piece of very good picture of how Hugo Chavez feels about the United States.
And what is going to happen in the next few years is Chavez has said already, he's going to deepen the 21st Century kind of socialism that he's been espousing for all these years.
What this means for not only the region, but also for the United States is that many of the American companies that have some sort of connection to Venezuela may be at risk of being nationalized by the Chavez government.
It has happened already, an Illinois company that was taken over by the Chavez government. And the reality is that nobody really knows what is going to happen. So that's something that can be expected in the next six years.
BALDWIN: Here is why we care and why we're talking about it. Paula Newton touched on just a second ago, gas, oil, right? Let me look down. They're the fourth largest exporter of oil to the United States.
One of the top oil producing countries in the world, but more than 35 percent of the population lives below the poverty line. As Paula mentioned, economists are worried they could go off the cliff here. She mentioned default in a couple of months. Listen to what some economists are saying.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID REES, CAPITAL ECONOMICS: They have already reached point where the current situation can't continue, a continuation of the current policy framework could culminate in a crisis effectively.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: I mean, right now, at least, we need the oil when you hear the precarious situation that is their economy, should we be worried?
ROMO: I find the situation very ironic. We, the United States, get about 8 percent to 9 percent of our oil from Venezuela, a socialist country. Venezuela, a socialist country, sells about 40 percent of its oil to the United States and if you add the Caribbean to the mix, it is about 75 percent of the oil.
So Venezuela cannot afford to sever relations with either the United States or the Caribbean because, what are they going to do? Are they going to ship owl the oil to China? It is not economically feasible.
So that relationship has to go on in spite of what Chavez says, in spite of his rants against what he calls the empire of the United States.
BALDWIN: He has in the past, you know, railed against the U.S. as we mentioned. He supported leaders like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran. Is Venezuela -- is the international threat here to the U.S., how much of a threat is there with him at the helm?
ROMO: Well, number one, he has slowly, but surely driven Latin America to the left, supporting regimes like, of course, Cuba, but also Ecuador, Nicaragua, Argentina, Bolivia, given them oil and all kinds of resources.
And, yes, he is a friend of people like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, now he's there, but he gave a sword, very symbolic sword in Venezuela to Moammar Gadhafi.
And he's friends with people like Russian leaders, the president of Belarus, and that gives you an idea about how in the future this can be a problem, big problem for the United States, because he is friending people who have friends nowhere else in the world, and strategically it is a problem for the United States.
BALDWIN: six more years, we're watching closely. Rafael Romo, thank you.
ROMO: Thank you.
BALDWIN: Politicians, how about our kind of politicians, we have seen them all kiss babies, tell jokes, all in an effort to woe you, the voter.
But now, candidates have left social media now to woe the voters. Take in Romney's frosted pumpkin bread. You have Big Bird looking for a job on Twitter. We're going to take a closer look at the online battle for votes next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: My goodness, this massive wedding fight in a hotel lobby turned deadly over this past weekend. And, of course, there is video. Take a look at this. This was taken by an onlooker and uploaded to YouTube.
You can hear the sounds, the screams, you see the police. This is Philadelphia. They used batons and tasers to get control of this fight involving two separate wedding parties.
Police say during the fight, a 57-year-old man suffered a heart attack and died after being taken to the hospital. Here is one of the brides. Geez. Officers arrested three people, the cause of the fight, still unknown.
As we have been mentioning here looking at the live pictures in Keen, California. President Obama, here we go. Not quite the president yet, we're waiting, expecting to take to the stage here.
Will he respond, might he respond to Mitt Romney's accusations that the president is not a strong leader on foreign policy? We're going to listen in and take you to Keen, California, coming up.
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BALDWIN: For the very first time, four years ago, the presidential campaigns took the plunge into the world that we now live in, that being social media.
Now they have pretty much a president in every facet of the internet, from Pinterest to Tumbler, Spotify to Instagram, not to mention huge followings on Twitter and Facebook.
So John Sutter is here with me. Hello.
JOHN SUTTER, WRITER, CNN.COM: Hi.
BALDWIN: -- from cnn.com, you cover science, technology, politics, just back from a pretty interesting trip to Hawaii. Let's talk about this because I think this is kind of fascinating.
We have pictures I think we can hopefully ultimately throw up. Basically now we are no longer just seeing, you know, they're not just updating their status on Facebook pages or tweeting, but now seeing Ann Romney's -- the pumpkin bread recipe on Pinterest, for example. Why?
SUTTER: It is really wild. I think the goal of this is to personalize the candidates. If you see Ann Romney and her, you know, recipe list, it makes her a human.
I think that's what the campaigns are going for. They have social media directors, digital directors who are really mining the spaces and trying to create new audiences.
BALDWIN: Here is the picture on Pinterest. I'm not even Pinterest hip yet, are you?
SUTTER: I use it some. Not as much as the others.
BALDWIN: OK, so Pinterest, we also have President Obama, if we pull it up, he has his music list, his play list on Spotify.
SUTTER: Yes.
BALDWIN: -- personalized.
SUTTER: This is really wild. It has been showing up on tech sites and tech blogs. Spotify is the streaming music service. He and Mitt Romney both have a play list that, again, I think it is trying to give them the character or persona.
Mitt Romney has like Johnny Cash on his. Obama has Arcade Fire. I think all these, like -- I was listening to them this morning and just sort of -- you read so much into it, what do they mean by that lyric? What are they trying to say?
BALDWIN: Why are they choosing -- Arcade Fire. Who exactly mentioned they must have a group in charge of social media, which would be a pretty awesome job if you're a youngster out of college, right, and tweeting on behalf of the president or Mitt Romney. Is that who it is?
SUTTER: Yes. Mostly it is not the candidates posting.
BALDWIN: It is not?
SUTTER: Shocker. So there are people employed to do this. I think this came out of the 2008 campaign, you know, President Obama had a lot of success reaching out particularly to young voters on text messages and social networks. You mentioned that was more Twitter and Facebook then and now spreading into these other networks too like Tumbler or Spotify.
BALDWIN: How successful, ultimately, as you mention that young voting bloc that is so crucial and helped Obama in '08, how much now would this level the social media will actually translate to votes in less than a month?
SUTTER: I think it matters quite a lot. There is a segment of the population that gets most of their news from the internet and from social networks, might not see the TV ads that get a lot of press.
I think it is smarter than to reach into that demographic. If you talk to people on a campaign, almost any level, they assume that the older vote is going to be there, the people who are going to come out to vote, they have been for decades.
But young people may be more inclined to sit it out and watch it all happen without participating. They're trying to dive in and get the younger people engaged.
BALDWIN: I was -- I was doing something with the "Daily Beast" TV covering the RNC in Tampa and I got into this whole discussion with Howard Kurtz and John Avlon, a couple of folks about how -- who cares if the president is tweeting and hip with social media. Ultimately doesn't it matter, my texts matter, now that he's tweeting about his dog.
SUTTER: It is all peripheral if you think about it in the big picture. They're trying to create interest and intrigue. You see Obama in particular on Tumbler putting out a lot of gifts, animated looping clips, or pictures of Big Bird, like after the debate, or trying to, like, grab -- just grab attention. It is just little attention grabbers.
BALDWIN: If you want to personalize it, check out play list. That's kind of interesting. John Sutter, thank you very much.
SUTTER: Thank you.
BALDWIN: Come back, come back.
As we talk about the president, a quick reminder in a couple of minutes, we'll be getting an up close and personal look at the man who wants to be president.
I'll be speaking with PBS producer, award winning producer about this documentary, this upcoming documentary, which reveals the most decisive moments in Barack Obama and Mitt Romney's lives.
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BALDWIN: Let me take you to Keene, California, here he is, the president. He is there to dedicate the Cesar Chavez National Monument. Let's take a listen.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: -- it drew strength from Americans of every race and every background who marched and boycotted on behalf of La Causia and always inspired by the farm workers themselves, some of whom are with us.
This place belongs to you too. But the truth is, we would not be here if it weren't for Cesar. Growing up as the son of migrant workers who lost their home in the great depression, Cesar wasn't easy on his parents. He described himself as capricious.
His brother, Richard had another word for him, stubborn. By the time, he reached seventh grade, Cesar estimated he had attended 65 elementary schools, following the crop cycles with his family, working odd jobs, sometimes living in roadside tents without electricity or plumbing.
It wasn't an easy childhood, but Cesar always was different. While other kids could identify all the hottest cars, he memorized the names of labor leaders and politicians. After serving in the Navy during World War II, Cesar returned to the fields. It was a time of great change in America, but too often that change was only framed in terms of war and peace, black and white, young and old. No one seemed to care about the invisible farm workers who picked the nation's food, bent down in the beating sun, living in poverty, cheated by growers, abandoned in old age, unable to demand even the most basic rights.
But Cesar cared. In his own peaceful eloquent way, he made other people care too. A march that started in Delano with a handful of activists -- that march ended 300 miles away in Sacramento with a crowd of 10,000 strong.
A boycott of table grapes that began in California eventually drew 17 million supporters across the country, forcing growers to agree to some of the first farm worker contracts in history.
BALDWIN: President Obama speaking there, using little Spanish as he is helping dedicate the Cesar Chavez Monument in Keen, California. This is actually the first site in the entire country to honor this contemporary Mexican-American.
And Chavez, the founder of United Farm Workers really became internationally recognized, the voice of the disenfranchised, the poor, and also just think timing wise, here we are less than a month until the election.
The president knows the Latino voting bloc is key and would like to gain any of those voters he possibly can here. This is a practical and symbolic visit to Keene, California.
Meantime, Republicans, let's talk about the balance of power. We have to talk about Congress not just the presidential race here. Republicans obviously want to take control of the White House on November 6th.
But they also have their sights set on the Senate, where Democrats currently hold a majority, 53-47. Senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash joins me from Washington here with a look at tight races.
These are for two open Senate seats. We're going to talk one in Wisconsin, Dana, the other in Arizona. But let's begin with Wisconsin.
Democratic senator, retiring, the National Republican Senatorial Committee has now put out this ad that compares the congressional voting record of the Democrat on the race to Nancy Pelosi. What is the point?
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is a tried and true strategy for the Republicans to tie any Democrat to the Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi. But let's start with the Republican in the race, Tommy Thompson.
He was governor of Wisconsin for 13 years, from 1987 to 2001, really popular back then. Republicans were hoping that because of that him as their candidate would make this a relatively easy pick up for Republicans especially since as you mentioned the Democratic candidate who is the Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin. She is relatively liberal and she's from the ultra-liberal college town of Madison, which isn't necessarily how the entire electorate of Wisconsin, which tends to be more conservative.
That has really been one of the main arguments from the Republicans against her. Listen to this ad.
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NARRATOR: Can we really trust Tammy Baldwin? Baldwin pledged to protect Medicare, then broke her word and voted to endanger it.
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BASH: Now, despite that, an average of polls in Wisconsin show that Baldwin actually has a slight lead over Thompson.
And, privately, Brooke, and I can tell you Republican sources in Wisconsin say part of the problem is that Thompson has been out of the game for a while. He may be well known there, but he's actually rusty and Democrats have had success in whacking Thompson for ties to special interests because of the private sector work he did.
This is a very tight race and it is one that Republicans were really hoping would be in the pickup column for them to get those four seats that they need, the net four in order to regain control of the Senate.
BALDWIN: OK. Arizona, we know Republican Senator Jon Kyl is retiring. The Democratic Campaign Committee has an ad that attacks the Republican in the race for his record on issues impacting women. What is happening there?
BASH: Really interesting, Brooke.
This has been a sleeper race. The Republican congressman you're talking about, Jeff Flake, he is an affable Republican, known as a fiscal conservative. He was against earmarks before that was cool. But Democrats have been painting him as too far to the right as on social issues for the state of Arizona.
Remember how worried Republican leaders were about Todd Akin's comments about rape and abortion? This is why. Watch this ad.
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NARRATOR: Jeff Flake is hoping we remain silent as he votes to defund Planned Parenthood, denying us access to basic reproductive and preventative care.
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BASH: And another problem for Flake is the Democratic opponent he's running against is pretty much the last kind of Democrat you want to run against, especially in a politically purple, increasingly Hispanic state of Arizona. His name is Richard Carmona. He's a Latino in a state where Hispanics made up 15 percent of the vote two years ago and that percentage is rising really rapidly. He's a decorated Vietnam veteran, he's a doctor and he was surgeon general, again, he's running as a Democrat, under President Bush. That allows him to really play up the fact he's independent.
So this is going to be a tough one for Republicans. They didn't really expect it -- to hold on to it again if they want to have the net four gain to take control of the Senate.
BALDWIN: We're talking about the key couple of seats there in the Senate. We will keep having this conversation, the balance of power very, very important in addition to the race for president. Dana Bash, thank you.
BASH: Sure is. Thanks, Brooke.
BALDWIN: And as we continue on, top of the hour here, I'm Brooke Baldwin.
