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Colin Powell Endorses Obama; Obama's Eight-State Campaign Blitz; McCain: Mourdock Must Apologize; Candidates Fight For Ohio Voters; Suspect In Custody In Libya Attack; Hurricane Sandy Could Affect U.S.; Arrests In Pakistani Girl's Shooting; FBI Joins Probe Of Phony Voting Letters; Airline Ends Longest Non-stop Flights; Bin Laden Raid Comes To TV

Aired October 25, 2012 - 10:00   ET

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


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

Stories we're watching right now, in the NEWSROOM, the President picking up a key endorsement this morning. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, a Republican, is backing Obama for a second term.

No escape, seems every commercial break has some sort of political ad. Imagine what would happen if you sat down and watched 45 straight hours of campaign ads while locked in a room. We'll talk with one crazy man who did just that.

Not one, but two, movies about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. One of them will be shown two days before the election. A political stunt or legitimate film?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And I'm Rob Marciano in your Hurricane Headquarters. Hurricane Sandy, a Category 2 storm heading through the Bahamas, it will impact the U.S. We have your forecast. Top of the hour, the NEWSROOM is now.

COSTELLO: And good morning. Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Carol Costello. Just 12 days before the presidential election and Barack Obama is getting a big boost from iconic figures of both parties.

This morning the Obama camp announced that former President Bill Clinton will stump with him next week. It will be their first joint appearance of this election.

But the bigger boost may come from a Republican who offers vast crossover appeal. Just a couple of hours ago, former Secretary of State Colin Powell announced that he is endorsing Obama.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: General, you worked for several Republican presidents. Are you still a Republican?

GEN. COLIN POWELL (RET.), FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Yes. I think I'm a Republican, more moderate mold, and that's something of a dying breed, I'm sorry to say.

But, you know, the Republicans I worked for, President Reagan, President Bush 41, the Howard Bakers of the world, people who were conservative, people who were willing to push their conservative views. But people who recognized that at the end of the day, you've got to find a basis for compromise.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But then, General --

POWELL: Compromise is how this country runs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you then saying you think you may have to leave the Republican Party if it continues in the direction that it's going?

POWELL: No. I didn't say that at all, Charlie, but nice try.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: CNN political editor, Paul Steinhauser is in Washington. So you know, I'm always not sure of how much of an impact endorsements really have. But what about this one?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: They don't hurt, right? They're like chicken soup. They definitely don't hurt. How much of an impact will it have? Carol, probably not as big as four years ago, when Colin Powell made history when he endorsed the president, that was a very big deal.

But still this does matter to a degree. Why? Colin Powell, I think, still has a lot of appeal, especially to independent voters, maybe some undecided, uncommitted voters who haven't made up their minds. They look at Colin Powell and they see this news and that could change some minds. Also his comments on Mitt Romney on the morning show were interesting when he was very critical of Mitt Romney's foreign policy.

Take a look at this, though, favorability of Colin Powell still pretty high. Here's our most recent CNN/ORC poll on Colin Powell, and you could see right there, 7 out of 10 Americans have a favorable opinion of Colin Powell.

Carol, the flip side is what if Colin Powell hadn't endorsed the president and instead endorsed Mitt Romney I think we would be talking a lot about that.

And the other news you just mentioned, Bill Clinton, listen we know Bill Clinton is a big, big surrogate for the president. We saw the two men together at the convention. We saw Bill Clinton give the nominating speech at the convention. He's been in ads for the president, but this will be the first time the two men have teamed up on the campaign trail at rallies. Three of them on Monday in the big three states, Ohio, Florida and Virginia.

Bill Clinton is definitely a big surrogate for Barack Obama and we're going to see it again on Monday -- Carol.

COSTELLO: You know, Obama's not only blitzing six states, but he is blitzing our television screens too. It's insane.

STEINHAUSER: Yes. He is. He spent some time last night -- I don't know where he found the time did jet out to Los Angeles and was on Jay Leno's show, "The Tonight Show," which was seen, you know, by a pretty sizable audience.

And he was talking about a number of things including that controversy surrounding Richard Mourdock. Of course, Richard Mourdock is the Republican Senate candidate in Indiana.

And he had some controversial comments two days ago at a debate with his Democratic opponent when he said that pregnancies caused by rape were intended by God.

Of course, Mitt Romney has endorsed Mourdock and he appears in a Mourdock ad. Here's what the president had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't know how these guys come up with these ideas. Let me make a very simple proposition. Rape is rape. For politicians to want to intrude in this stuff often times without any information, is a huge problem and this is, obviously, a part of what's at stake in this election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: I think a lot of this also is the battle for the female vote for women voters and of course, abortion is a topic that is of much interest to them and that's what this may be playing out as -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Paul Steinhauser reporting live for us from Washington, thank you.

The 2008 Republican presidential candidate is also weighing in on Mourdock. John McCain says Mourdock must apologize in order to keep his support. So far Mourdock has only said he's sorry some people misinterpreted his comments.

Here's what John McCain told Anderson Cooper.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) ARIZONA: It depends on what he does. I think it depends on what he does. If he apologizes and says he misspoke and was wrong and he asks the people to forgive him, then,, obviously, I would be the first.

You know, as I said, I'm not sure how big mistakes I have made but in the years that I've been around, I've made a few, Anderson, and I've asked for people's understanding and forgiveness when I own up to it. It's when you don't own up to it that people will not believe in you.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: McCain's threat to withdraw his support makes him the highest profile Republican so far to distance himself from Mourdock's comments.

OK, talking about the Mac daddy of all battleground states that would probably be Ohio. Yes, both candidates have been hitting the buckeye state hard. President Barack Obama has already spent more than $49 million on campaign ads there while Mitt Romney has spent more than $26 million.

And you would think both campaigns were based in Ohio. Obama has been there 24 times so far. Romney has almost doubled that, been there 41 times.

Ads, flyers, robo calls, it's driving voters crazy. In fact, my mother tells me that all the time because she lives in Ohio. I thought she should share some of our conversations with all of you so I'm calling my mom on the phone right now. Mom, are you there?

RAE WHITACRE, MOTHER OF CAROL COSTELLO (via telephone): I'm here.

COSTELLO: OK, I had to convince her to do this. My mother lives in -- my mother lives in Stark County. That's near Canton, Ohio. And as you know, Stark County has decided every election. So tell me, Mom, when you sit in your kitchen, how often does the phone ring?

WHITACRE: Well, basically maybe five or six times a day. I give you, for example, Tuesday evening between 6:00 and 9:00, we got four political calls.

COSTELLO: Do you even answer the phone anymore?

WHITACRE: Not very much. Look at my caller ID or if I'm on TV, switch the channel.

COSTELLO: Tell me what it's like watching television when you watch the local news, political ads are the only commercials that are on, right?

WHITACRE: Just about, yes.

COSTELLO: So --

WHITACRE: But I do listen because I do like to know the ideas of both parties and since I'm not an early voter I like to hear both sides as often as I can.

COSTELLO: But you've pretty much made up your mind, right?

WHITACRE: Definitely.

COSTELLO: So is any political ad or robo call going to change your mind at this point?

WHITACRE: No. Not at this time.

COSTELLO: So, is it sort of driving you crazy?

WHITACRE: Yes, it is. Especially when you are in a wrong area of the house and you have to run to the phone because you can't see the caller ID. It is very annoying.

COSTELLO: But you've heard from a lot of interesting people, what, Mike Huckabee called you --

WHITACRE: I talked to Mike Huckabee and Pat Boon and Joe Biden called yesterday. In fact, Joe Biden called this morning and Betty Sutton. You know, we have local politicians who also do the telephone robo calls.

COSTELLO: Well, I don't think it's going to stop any time soon, mom. But thanks for sharing your frustration because I'm sure a lot of other people across the country, especially those who live in swing states feel exactly the same way. Thanks, mom.

WHITACRE: Thank you very much, Carol. Bye-bye.

COSTELLO: Bye-bye. To learn more about the candidate's spending, check out our website, CNN.com/explorer.

President Obama is on the next leg of his eight-state campaign blitz, just minutes ago he wrapped up his event in Tampa and is now on his way to Virginia for a couple of events there. Then on the way back to the White House for a quick layover in Chicago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: I'm going to stop in Chicago. I'm going to do some early voting in Chicago. I can't tell you who I'm voting for. It's a secret ballot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: In the meantime, Mitt Romney is focusing his efforts on Ohio, of course. He has three events scattered across this all- important state. As I said, and as we've said repeatedly, no Republican has ever been elected president without winning Ohio. In the next hour, he'll speak at a campaign event in Cincinnati. We'll carry part of his remarks live.

Libya, and who knew what when. The political fight is one thing. The search for justice is another. This morning there are new details about a man in custody who we're learning is the key suspect in the attack on America's consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans including the U.S. ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens.

Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss says the man is being held in Tunisia. Sources tell CNN the suspect is connected to extremist groups in North Africa. CNN has learned that the U.S. first became aware of this man when he posted details of the attack on social media while it was happening.

And we're now getting new insight into just how quickly the State Department knew about the sophistication of the assault. Intelligence correspondent Suzanne Kelly has that part of the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I've said it and I'll say it one more time, no one wants to find out what happened more than I do.

SUZANNE KELLY, CNN INTELLIGENCE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Secretary Hillary Clinton came out firing today, after e-mails obtained by CNN made clear that shortly after the attack began, the State Department notified officials from the White House, the top intelligence agency, the Pentagon and FBI.

That an attack was under way and that Ambassador Stevens was in the compound. Just two hours later another e-mail indicated the Libyan extremist group Ansar al-Sharia was claiming responsibility for the attack on social media web sites.

REP. MIKE ROGERS, (R-MI), HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: What you saw in the e-mails in that real time was a real description and if you notice there was no talk of demonstrations or other things and it was clearly very early identified with a terrorist affiliate of AQIM.

KELLY: Clinton said, quote, "Cherry picking a document does not tell the whole story and an initial claim of responsibility is not solid intelligence."

CLINTON: Posting something on Facebook is not in and of itself evidence and I think it just underscores how fluid the reporting was at the time and continued for some time to be.

KELLY: The group denied being responsible the next day. In fact, intelligence officials do not believe this Libyan group is solely responsible. A U.S. government official tells CNN that the latest intelligence suggests the core group of suspects that launched the initial part of the attack on the mission was somewhere between 35 and 40.

Around a dozen of them are believed to have ties to either al Qaeda in Iraq or al Qaeda and the Islamic Maghreb. Still others were believed to be part of Ansar al-Sharia and many of them were said to be Egyptian Jihadists. Still others were looters say officials, and unarmed.

Suzanne Kelly, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Have to talk about the weather now. Hurricane Sandy takes aim at the Bahamas after pounding Cuba. The Category 2 hurricane is blamed for at least two reported deaths, one in Jamaica and another in Haiti.

And people living along the U.S. East Coast could be affected by Sandy. Rob Marciano is here. He's tracking Sandy. So who is she going to hit? MARCIANO: I'll tell you what. It's kind of late in the season for this, but looks like everybody on the east coast, directly on the east coast, will be affected by this storm. Right now winds of 105 miles per hour, re-emerging into the Atlantic and it goes through the Bahamas as a Category 2 storm.

So they are going to get beaten around pretty good. Still raining heavily in places like Cuba and the Island of Hispanola, places like Florida, the east coast especially will get affects from this as well.

It will not make a direct hit, but it will be close enough to get tremendous amount of waves. We'll have 20 to 30, maybe higher foot waves breaking across the east coast of Florida later on today, tonight and into tomorrow morning.

Expect it to sustain a Category 1 status until about Cape Paters and waters get cooler and winds will start to interact with it. These winds which are associated with a tremendous amount of cool air that's barreling down Canada right now could bring it back towards the northeast.

Meaning kind of retrograde it, throw things in reverse and put it back out to sea, which is what looked like originally was going to happen. But right now, a lot of our computer models are kind of hedging towards the east coast.

A few of them, every line represents a single computer and its forecast solution. You can see bring them to the Delmarva, up to New York and after Maine as well. By this stage of the game, it would be more of a hybrid storm with some cold air entrenched.

And regardless going to have some winds, some waves and certainly a lot of rain and even snow in the mountains so a lot of aspects to this storm. It's very complicated, but we'll watch it. Right now, it's a Category 2 storm heading through the Bahamas -- Carol.

COSTELLO: We appreciate that because it looks like spaghetti right now.

MARCIANO: Getting hungry.

COSTELLO: I know. Rob, thank you.

Could a movie affect the outcome of the presidential election? A new movie about the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden will air right before the election and conservatives they're not happy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It's 16 minutes past the hour. Checking our top stories now, Pakistani police have arrested six men in connection with the shooting of a Pakistani school girl who spoke out against the Taliban, the primary suspect still at large. His mother, brother and fiancee have been detained, but so far they're not accused of the shooting.

The FBI has now joined the investigation to those phony letters sent to dozens of Florida voters questioning their citizenship just two weeks before the election. The letters were sent from Seattle and claim that recipients would not be able to vote if they did not submit a reply form. A Florida election supervisor calls the letters, quote, "a major concern."

In money news, Singapore Airlines plans to stop flying the world's longest route next year. The 10,000 mile nonstop flight from Singapore to Newark, New Jersey, takes almost 19 hours. The carrier blames rising fuel prices and lower passenger demand.

The International Space Station's population has doubled. Three new crew members has arrived a short time ago. They are joining three others who have been on the orbiting lab since July.

It's been more than a year since Navy SEALs killed Osama Bin Laden in a raid that's about to get a lot of theatrical attention. A major motion picture, "Zero Dark Thirty", is set to open on December 19th, but another movie will air on television just two days before the election.

Brian Todd joins us now from Washington. Brain, some say the timing of this movie is suspect.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They do, Carol. That's one of the reasons that the -- that they're being accused of staging a political stunt here. There are a few reasons for that.

You know, this new movie on the Bin Laden raid, as you mentioned, slated to air on the National Geographic Channel on Sunday, November 4th, just two days before the election.

That timing along with some of the clips in the movie and the information we have now on who is backing this film have drawn political fire.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to be the team that takes out Osama.

TODD: The real-life plot that can certainly draw viewers. The Navy SEALs raid that killed Osama Bin Laden, but can it also draw voters and is it designed to?

"SEAL Team Six," a new drama about the Bin Laden mission is set to air on the National Geographic Channel just two nights before the election. It's got some real news clips of President Obama in it depicting the president in the days surrounding the raid.

And the film is backed by Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, a big-time Democratic donor. All those factors have conservatives saying the movie is a political stunt.

ANA NAVARRO, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Any time you've got a movie coming out two nights before the election and being made by Harvey Weinstein, a prominent Democrat and huge supporter of President Obama's, of course, it raises eyebrows. TODD: The director said it was Weinstein who suggested adding more actual news footage, including footage from the White House, after he saw an early version of the movie.

(on camera): It was not done to, I guess, play up the president's role or make him look particularly good?

JOHN STOCKWELL, DIRECTOR, "SEAL TEAM SIX": Not at all. We don't pretend to sort of get inside the president's head. Harvey Weinstein came in to the editing room very early on and his only questions to me were, how did you know this? Are you sure this happened? He was attempting to get to the veracity of the story.

TODD (voice-over): Stockwell says there's less footage of the president in the finished cut than there was in an earlier version. Contacted by CNN, Harvey Weinstein rejected the idea that that film has a political agenda, saying it's about history.

Ken Robinson has been in both worlds a former Special Forces officer. He was creator and writer of an NBC drama about the inner workings of the Pentagon.

(on camera): In the production of movies like this, is there often pressure to put in a political slant, subtle maybe?

KEN ROBINSON, CREATOR/WRITER, NBC's "E-RING": I've never seen that. And I've been on the Fox lot, the Warner lot, the Paramount lot and not seen that. The creative process is pretty priced.

TODD (voice-over): But the timing of the film's release on November 4th still wranglers some conservatives like media critic Brett Bozell who has this suggestion.

BRENT BOZELL, MEDIA RESEARCH CENTER: If it doesn't have a political agenda as they say it doesn't and there aren't any political purposes behind this as they say they aren't then simply put it off by two days.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: A spokesperson for National Geographic says they have to air it on November 4th because they have to give the movie to Netflix by November 5th.

Both National Geographic, which is partnered with conservative mogul Rupert Murdoch's Fox Cable Networks and the Director John Stockwell deny political motivations releasing the film November 4th -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Great story. Brian Todd, thanks so much for joining us this morning.

"Talk Back" question for you this morning: did Donald Trump make a mockery of presidential politics? Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COSTELLO: Now is your chance to talk back on one of the stories of the day. The question for you this morning, did Donald Trump make a mockery of presidential politics?

In case you missed it, because you were afraid your brain would wither and die, Donald Trump, a passionate birther, is now offering $5 million to President Obama's favorite charities if the president releases his passport applications and college records.

This was the Donald's October surprise. Please humor me as I read a few choice tweets. Quote, "Today's Gallup poll will be completely useless since it will have been entirely conducted before the Trump offer." And this one, quote, "Me to Donald Trump: go away, please."

Here's Trump on CNN's Piers Morgan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, ENTREPRENEUR: I'm looking at it in a very positive way for the president. I think it's a tremendous thing for the president. He gets to give $5 million to a --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: I just didn't want to torture you any longer. At least the president has a sense of humor about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: This all dates back to when we were growing up together in Kenya.

JAY LENO, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": Yes. I got to give you that one.

OBAMA: We had, you know, constant run-ins on the soccer field.

LENO: Yes.

OBAMA: You know, he wasn't very good and resented it.

LENO: Yes.

OBAMA: You know.

LENO: Have you --

OBAMA: When we finally moved to America I thought it would be over.

LENO: No.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: And to think Donald Trump teased us with a pseudo presidential run, force an American president to release his birth certificate and endorsed and was at one time embraced by the Republican candidate for president.

You laugh but in April of 2011 trump led the Republican pack for president in public policy polling of primary voters, 11 points ahead of Mitt Romney. isn't American politics grand?

"Talk Back" question for you today: did Donald Trump make a mockery of presidential politics? Facebook.com/carolcnn. Your responses later this hour.

Mitt Romney's Mormonism not always in the spotlight, but seems to be more and more. His involvement in the church is becoming a talking point in the election.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: We're coming up on 30 minutes past the hour. Our top stories. Good morning to you. I'm Carol Costello. South Florida prepares for winds and rain from Hurricane Sandy.

Several school districts are sending students home early today and canceling after school activities. Sandy is blamed for two deaths, one in Jamaica and another in Haiti.

It turns out it was, indeed, a great white shark that killed a surfer in Southern California. Experts say the shark was between 15 and 16 feet long. That's based on the size of the teeth marks left on the surfer's board. The beach remains closed.

U.S. Air Force asking for $3.5 billion to rebuild a fence in space. Yes, a fence in space. It's called a space fence. It's actually a series of radar signals that track orbital debris. That debris can pose a danger to manned space flights and satellites.

And we're learning more news about the economy this morning. Durable goods orders are up almost 10 percent. That includes machinery, electronics and appliances. Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange to tell us why this matters.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It matters because this is a big deal for the economy. First let's go to the number, 10 percent higher in September and you look at the numbers in this report, it was really boosted by a big rebound in transportation orders.

You know what, you can thank Boeing for that, because what happened was Boeing took in 143 aircraft orders in September after booking just one order in August.

But here's what's good about this, because even when you strip out the transportation orders, you take them out of that number, the numbers that you see are actually better than expected.

This is a good sign because it's been one of those weeks where these companies have been coming out with their earnings reports and there's been a lot of concerns about durable goods manufacturers like Caterpillar and 3M.

They've all talking about the slowdown in the economies overseas in Europe and in Asia, mainly because of the European debt crisis.

You also have to remember that manufacturing, it was really the main sector that pulled us out of the recession a couple years ago, but lately it's been struggling and hasn't been something that everybody's been relying on to pull us out of the kind of slowdown that we've been in.

So it really is, Carol, good to see some progress for the country's factories at this point. Carol?

COSTELLO: Alison Kosik reporting live from the New York Stock Exchange.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

COSTELLO: The line between religion and politics can be a delicate one to walk, but as the 2012 campaign winds down, there seems to be more of an effort to showcase Mitt Romney's time as a leader in the Mormon Church. It actually started at the Republican convention and it's continuing now in a brand new ad.

Joining me now is the Reverend Mark L. Hutchins, a civil rights leader here in Atlanta, who's also been involved in the political process, working on campaigns and running for Congress himself.

Thanks so much for being with us.

REVEREND MARK HUTCHINS, CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER: Thank you for having me.

COSTELLO: We had a bit of breaking news, actually that I would like to start with.

Colin Powell came out and endorsed President Obama again for a second time. Do you think that will help energize the African-American community because President Obama needs that vote bad?

HUTCHINS: Absolutely. I think it will not only energize the African- American community, but I think Colin Powell's endorsement sends a strong signal that our men and women in the military have confidence, and military practitioners like General Powell have confidence in our commander in chief. I think that is very significant.

COSTELLO: Is the African-American community, are they energized to vote for President Obama?

HUTCHINS: I think so. I don't think there's as much visible enthusiasm in 2012 that we saw in 2008 because of the historic nature of the president's candidacy then, but I think there is a great deal of excitement and enthusiasm.

And I believe that African-Americans will again go to the polls and vote in record numbers because, as we've suggested, all around the country, Carol, there were people in the civil rights movement -- and that is the tradition out of which I come -- that gave their blood, sweat and tears for us to have the right to register and vote.

So for us to do anything but to come out in record numbers in this critical election would be a disgrace.

COSTELLO: OK. Now I would like to get to the mix of religion and politics.

Paul Ryan on the campaign trail yesterday in Ohio said Mitt Romney cares deeply about those without jobs and the poor. He cited that Mitt Romney's pastoral counseling of people who didn't have jobs, as a way to lift people out of poverty, he said that's how Mitt Romney is going to help people with no jobs. He's going to give them hope, but maybe through religious channels.

HUTCHINS: Well, I think one thing that we have to consider is how much damage control those statements from Mr. Ryan may actually have been. I think they are still trying to escape the whole 47 percent remark that Mr. Romney made in that secretly recorded video.

But I think it's really curious that this is the first time this election cycle that we have heard the Ryan-Romney camp talk about issues of poverty and suffering.

And, look, the question for us is really not how much of a good pastor Mitt Romney was, but how much of a president he would be in the policy and the practices that he would put in place to deal with or not deal with the issues of the suffering masses of people that we see in America today.

COSTELLO: Well, I think Republicans have a point when they say there are a record number of people using food stamps right now, there's still lots and lots of people out of work, and President Obama just hasn't figured out how to help those people.

HUTCHINS: Well, I think we are dealing with an extraordinary set of circumstances. And look, this was something, this crises (sic) in our economy, is something that the president inherited. It will certainly take more than four years to undo all the damage that was done to the underclass in the eight years that President Bush was in office.

So we cannot assign all of the responsibility for where we are as a nation in terms of our economy and how that is impacting the least of these on the president. We've got to deal with the fact that the President of the United States inherited a horrible economy and those are the bottom are suffering the most.

But we have every hope that the next four years will bring promise to those people stuck in the margins of our society.

COSTELLO: OK. I would like to talk about the Reverend Billy Graham. He's taken out two big -- well, he's taken out more than one ad in Ohio, in the newspapers there. And I just want to read you a bit of what he said. Let's see.

This is a full page ad he took out in Ohio, nationally urging Americans to vote for, quote, "...candidates who support the Biblical definition of marriage between a man and a woman, protect the sanctity of life and defend our religious freedom." You know, first off, is this an appropriate role for a religious leader to take, because he's walking right up to the line? He's not saying vote for Mitt Romney, but President Obama has embraced same-sex marriage, so he certainly means vote for Mitt Romney.

HUTCHINS: I think it's very curious, number one.

Reverend Graham took a -- somewhat of a public vow after his endorsement of Nixon many, many years ago that he would stay away from partisan politics.

And so for him now to emerge in such a visible way to engage in partisan presidential politics is curious.

And I think one of the things that we know is that Reverend Graham is at a very seasoned and elder stage of his life, so we have got to wonder how much of this is genuinely coming from Billy Graham and how much is being fed to him and propositioned and heaped upon him by those who are around him -- for example, his ultraconservative son, the Reverend Franklin Graham.

The reality is that it's, for me, very curious as -- that all of a sudden the evangelical Christian right wing is willing to stand in solidarity with Mitt Romney and his religion, not just his denomination, but his religion, is curious and has theological perspectives that run in direct opposition to Bible-thumping fundamentalist Christians. And yet they cannot support or suggest that they won't support the president because of his perspective on marriage equality. I think it is just bipolar.

COSTELLO: Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts. Thank you for being with us today.

HUTCHINS: Absolutely.

COSTELLO: We sure appreciate it.

HUTCHINS: Thank you for having me.

COSTELLO: Clint Eastwood is back. But this time he left the chair at home. He's starring in a new Romney campaign ad. We'll show you.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

COSTELLO: Fresh off his performance at the Republican national convention, Clint Eastwood is back and starring in a new campaign ad endorsing Mitt Romney. "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" anchor A.J. Hammer is following the story.

Good morning.

A.J. HAMMER, HLN HOST: Good morning, Carol. Yes, Clint's doing more than talking to an empty chair in this ad. It's called "At Stake". It was produced by a Republican super PAC. Let's show it to you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINT EASTWOOD, ACTOR (voice-over): Obama's second term would be a rerun of the first, and our country just couldn't survive that. We need someone who can turn it around fast, and that man is Mitt Romney. There's not much time left and the future of our country is at stake.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: Now normally I would say give that man a lozenge, but it is Clint Eastwood.

The PAC behind the ad says that they wanted Clint to add his iconic weight to their message and Clint Eastwood's delivery is pretty effective there. He's bringing Dirty Harry. So I'm sure there are a lot of Republicans, Carol, who are loving this commercial, although if you live in a swing state, I don't know how you're dealing with all the political ads. You know, I'm insulated here in New York City.

I'm going to Florida next week and I understand that if I turn on the television it's all I'm going to see. So (INAUDIBLE).

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: Well, you know, I'm actually interested because I talk to a lot of people in New York who say they feel neglected because everybody knows which way New York is going to do, so none of -- nobody from the news is paying attention to them.

HAMMER: Yes.

COSTELLO: They're like the unheard voter.

HAMMER: (INAUDIBLE) at each other, yes.

COSTELLO: OK. Let's talk about Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake, because I saw the pictures of their wedding and it's just unbelievably beautiful.

HAMMER: Yes. They're coming to us from "People" magazine. This is from Justin and Jessica's Italian wedding. And while just releasing the cover picture for us to show you, the story inside does reveal a really romantic and very special ceremony.

The bride's choice of a pink wedding gown is raising some eyebrows but she's not the first celebrity to wear pink walking down the aisle. Reese Witherspoon did it; Anne Hathaway did it. So I'm thinking it's a new trend. We'll probably be seeing more of it from celebrities and elsewhere.

And, Carol, we haven't heard any new music from Justin Timberlake in quite some time but we at least know that he's written one new song and he serenaded his bride with it as she walked down the aisle, presumably without any 'N Sync dance moves or anything like that. But Justin Timberlake may never reveal that to us but I think that's pretty darn romantic.

COSTELLO: That is. My husband did the same thing -- not.

HAMMER: Wow. Oh.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: Thanks, A.J.

HAMMER: All right.

COSTELLO: For the latest entertainment news, watch "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" 11:00 Eastern on HLN.

Political commercials, you heard A.J. say it, they're flooding the airwaves in swing states. But imagine being forced to watch those ads for 45 hours while you're locked in a room. We're going to talk to a guy who did just that and didn't go crazy.

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COSTELLO (voice-over): All right. This is Cincinnati, Ohio, and these people are waiting for Mitt Romney to take his place behind the podium to give a big campaign speech. When Mitt Romney begins talking, of course we'll take parts of his remarks live; that should happen at the top of the hour. We'll keep you posted.

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COSTELLO: A million dollars buys a lot of TV ad time. And at this stage of the presidential campaign, both candidates are spending tens of millions of dollars on a flood of political advertising.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mitt Romney understands the value.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Make your voice heard, vote.

ROMNEY: I'll get us on track to a balanced budget.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Obama ended the Iraq war.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a foreign policy failure on the president's part.

ROMNEY: And make government more accountable.

COSTELLO (voice-over): Can you imagine a hellish post-apocalyptic reality where all you see are political ads?

(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: Well, one brave soul boldly went there. He locked himself in a hotel room in the battleground state of Ohio and watched an avalanche of political ads for 45 hours straight. Joining me now, slate.com contributor Seth Stevenson.

Oh, Seth, why?

SETH STEVENSON, SLATE.COM: Well, you know, the people of Ohio have to do it, why shouldn't some brave souls from other parts of the country get a concentrated dose of political advertising?

COSTELLO: So did you -- did you remain awake the whole 45 hours?

STEVENSON: I think I drifted in and out of sleep, but the ads sort of infiltrated my dreams. I would hear the candidates saying "I approve this message" as I nodded off and woke up. I'd wake up and suddenly there would be a super PAC ad on. I never turned the TV off. It was a little frightening.

COSTELLO: It was a lot frightening.

So when all was said and done and you left the room, I mean, was your brain just tired and you wanted to sleep for 400 years?

STEVENSON: Oh, I think if you had done a brain scan you would have seen some sort of physical changes in it. I was completely fried when I left. I mean, also, my thumb hurt from clicking the remote control for 45 hours straight. I didn't want to watch any kind of commercial, political or for a product or service ever again.

COSTELLO: OK. So you saw these ads enough to notice some extreme focus. So what were some of the tiny details that you took away from this experiment?

STEVENSON: Sure. Well, I noticed that in pro-Obama ads you would always see Mitt Romney in a crisp suit looking like a million dollars, because they wanted to make him look like an out-of-touch plutocrat.

And then in pro-Romney ads, you'd see Romney wearing an open-collar windowpane shirt and concerned expression like he's a person of the people.

I also noticed that in Romney's ads, when he's telling you about his biography, he's often -- he's driving a car and he's looking to the side and talking to you like you're shoulder to shoulder, sort of sitting at the bar together or watching a game together; whereas when Obama is telling you something on camera, he's usually locked in, looking straight at you, sort of like on a first date or something.

And you start to notice. You start to fixate on these little things. In one ad I saw a pro-Romney ad, you see Romney, he's talking to a voter and Romney gives a gulp.

And I couldn't help but wonder after I'd seen this ad 20 times, you know, did the edit team decided they would leave the gulp in because it made Romney look more human and concerned? Did they think about taking the gulp out because it would make Romney look weak? You know, you -- these are the things you start to fixate on when you see something 20 times in the space of a short time.

COSTELLO: Well, and even people who were not locked in a room, they see these campaign ads 20, 30, 40 times. I mean, at what point during the 45 hours did you just completely zone out and not care anymore?

STEVENSON: Oh, I would say about a third of the way through I started to be overwhelmed. And by halfway through, it was a nightmare to see the same ad for the 18th time. And I would notice these tiny little things.

I remember there was a woman in a pro-Obama ad, there's a woman in a grocery store who's comparison shopping because she's trying to save money and she's looking at these two cans of tuna. And I kept wondering wondering which one she was going to pick and you never find out. And you see the ad for the 19th straight time, you start to go a little batty.

COSTELLO: I know. Is that the one that haunts your nightmares?

STEVENSON: Yes, among many, yes.

COSTELLO: Seth Stevenson from slate.com, thank you so much -- from slate.com -- for joining us.

STEVENSON: Thanks a lot.

COSTELLO: You're a crazy guy. That's all I have to say.

It's been a waiting game for many Facebook employees. They've had to sit on their stock for months. Now some of them could be millionaires.

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COSTELLO: Facebook might have produced a few more millionaires as current and past employees of the social media giant finally get closer to being able to sell their shares. Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange.

Took long enough.

KOSIK: Tell me about it.

You know, today is a day, if you're a Facebook employee, it's the day that you've been waiting for for years, because many of these people are going to be able to start feeling a lot more like their very wealthy founder, because today restricted units given to past and current Facebook employees, they become fully vested, meaning they turn into common shares.

So this is basically when what was once the promise of future money for workers becomes actual money. It's no longer just a vision or a dream. And this kind of works out nicely that Facebook shares yesterday spiked 19 percent. It means the total sum, Carol, available to employees is more than $5 billion.

And while those shares are going to be vesting today, they're not going to be available to hit the open market. They can't sell them today; they actually have to wait to sell them on Monday. And a big chunk of these shares are going to be withheld. They're going to be held back, so Facebook can cover a huge tax bill from the State of California. Carol?

COSTELLO: So what happens if all the employees decide to sell on Monday?

KOSIK: Isn't that the money question? Well, what's good for the employee may kind of be kind of bad for the company, because when millions hit the market all at once, the stock usually tanks. It's the main reason you have these lockup periods to stagger the release of shares after a company goes public.

It doesn't always lessen the pain though ,because you look at what happened when Facebook's last lockup period ended in August, a comparable amount of shares to Monday's release, when they hit the market, we saw Facebook shares lose 6 percent -- not to say that will happen again on Monday.

But don't be surprised if it does. Right now we are watching Facebook shares fall about 1 percent. Remember, it did jump 19 percent yesterday, Carol.

COSTELLO: OK. We'll check back on Monday. Alison Kosik, thanks so much.

"Talk Back" question this morning: did Donald Trump make a mockery of presidential politics? Facebook.com/carolcnn. Your responses, next.

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COSTELLO: "Talk Back" question today: Did Donald Trump make a mockery of presidential politics?

This from Joey: "At our dinner table, when one of my kid brothers needed attention, my mom would say, 'Stop what you're doing, stare at your brother; he needs your attention.' Everyone stop and stare at Trump!"

This from Tyler: "Donald Trump should stick to what he knows best -- I can't think of anything, either!"

This from Raymond: "Trump can do whatever he wants to; this president has already made the president's position look bad. But who am I to say? I'm only a taxpayer.:

And this from Laurie: "Donald, you are FIRED!" I wondered when that one would come. Please keep the conversation going, Facebook.com/CarolCNN. And thanks for the avalanche of comments. You guys are on fire, you were today and yesterday, and I so appreciate it.

CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Ashleigh Banfield.