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Discussion on New GDP Growth Number; Romney Gives Speech on the Economy

Aired October 26, 2012 - 13:00   ET

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


SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Candy, thank you.

Want to bring in Ali here to talk about the economy on the road in Philadelphia. Ali, first of all, you're talking about 11 days left before the election. And you've got a good number that was out today, the GDP, gross domestic product, 2 percent growth in the third quarter. Better than what folks were thinking. I don't know, does that mean that people are actually living better, living well? Is this an economic indicator that people can feel?

ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Economic indicators have been a little whacky in the last few months. It's hard to know. They are completely divergent. There are some things that tell us we're headed towards recession and are not great, and there are other things that tell us that things are good, including, by the way, consumer confidence, which is more important than any of this stuff.

Consumers in America are actually feeling good. The jobs numbers are getting better. Next week is going to be -- next Friday, a week from now, is going to be the big number. That's the last jobs number before the election.

This GDP thing is interesting, though. We were expecting it to be 1.7 percent. It came in at 2 percent and compared to the second quarter of this year, which was 1.3 percent, we've shown some significant growth. That's got to help Barack Obama. But the question then becomes for those undecided voters who I have been out on the bus talking to, do they want a presidential candidate or a president who is good for the economy? Or do they want one who is good for me? And those are not necessarily the same things.

Unfortunately, I'm saddened, but I think that Candy is right and you know more about this than I do, Suzanne. I don't think we're going to see new stuff from Mitt Romney today. And that sliver of people who are undecided right now that would like details from Mitt Romney about how he is going to manage to create 12 million jobs in four years and cut taxes by 20 percent across the board without deepening the deficit. And that what they'd like from Barack Obama are specifics about how, if he has the same make-up in Congress, how he is going to get more done than he did in the first four years.

So I'm hungry for specifics like those undecided voters are. I don't think we're going to be knocked off our feet by what Mitt Romney has to say. I just don't think we're going to get the specifics, but if we are, I'll be most excited.

MALVEAUX: Well, we're waiting with baited breath to find out if we're getting specifics. I don't think that's going to happen, but let's take a look, let's talk a little about the numbers behind all of this. So far he's promised to balance the budget, tackle the deficit, not raise taxes, but so far the only specific things that we know that he is targeting is PBS, which has revolved of course around discussion Big Bird, and that he would cut out Planned Parenthood. Do we have any other ideas where serious cuts need to be made in order for his plan to work?

VELSHI: If you look at the budget, it's got a lot of big things. It's got entitlement, it's got defense, it's got nondiscretionary spending. That's where all the big stuff is. Once you get away from the stuff that you can't touch all that easily, you are left with a smattering of substantially smaller things.

He says he doesn't want to deal with Amtrak. Now, you can disagree on whether or not the government should be involved in Amtrak, whether the government should be involved in high speed rail, but even if you accept it, it's $1.3 billion or something. We're talking about cutting $4 to $5 trillion out of a deficit over ten years. How do you get there with those small numbers?

So the specifics actually do matter because once you start dealing with things like that, it is a matter of whether somebody likes Big Bird or somebody likes Amtrak or somebody likes this environmental protection. So the details actually matter. But, as you know, this is politics. They are hesitant to give us that. There's an undecided quotient of people in this country who really would like details and they will make their decision based on it. But why risk everybody else who's already going to vote for you by giving details that somebody can build an ad around?

MALVEAUX: You've been talking to folks out on the road. You're in the critical swing state of Pennsylvania. When you talk to folks who say they're undecided, why are they undecided? What are they waiting for? What are they looking for from Mitt Romney today or from the president over the weekend?

VELSHI: So many of these undecideds are leaning one way or the other. But they want some specific answers. And they're frustrated, for instance, in the debates, where a specific question is asked and a general answer is given. They were - some people say they were frustrated by Barack Obama's glossy pamphlet that came out on Monday, which, again, provides aspirations and hopes and goals very much like Mitt Romney's aspirations and goals of doing things without a road map.

You see, we've been burned in the last four and five years. We don't trust people. We don't trust that just because somebody says it's going to be OK, it's going to be OK. The undecided voters understand that Barack Obama and Mitt Romney want different things in the future, but they would both be better than the stagnation we've got right now. If you could convince them that your plan actually has a chance of succeeding, even if it's not the plan they agree with, they might actually come over and vote for you.

But I don't know that anything's going to happen between now and November 6th that is going to give these voters the specificity that they want, that's exactly the same specificity that we want as journalists to say tell me how you get there. Don't just tell me where you want it to be. I mean, Suzanne, I can tell you I want to look like Brad Pitt and have a full head of hair too, but unless I tell you how that's going to happen, it's of no use.

MALVEAUX: Of no use. Maybe there's hope there, Ali. I want to bring back Candy here. Ali brings up a point about people looking for details and maybe that's us, maybe that's everybody. I'm not even sure here. But do you think that there's even enough time for either one of these candidates to change voters' perceptions of who they are and what they are this late in the game?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: To the extent that there are still undecided or persuadable voters out there, perhaps. But if nothing has moved them so far, in the end, I think this is an internal choice by those voters who remain undecided with the information they have at hand. And I'm not sure -- Ali obviously has been talking to people that want to know how this candidate is going to get to Point A and how they're going to get to Point B.

But what we have had, I think, through most campaigns has been goals. They call them plans, but they're not plans. They're goals. You know, I want to have better education. That's a goal. That's not a plan. I think both sides are guilty of this, but I also think that in general voters look for the direction of a candidate. And I don't think that between now and the 11th -- I mean, I'm sorry, between the 11 days between now and the 6th, that voters are going to get some line by line specificity budget.

Now, Mitt Romney has also said in addition to the things that Ali talked about, I'm going to go through the budget line by line and say, "Is this program worth borrowing money from China for?" That's his way of saying is this worth going into debt for? We don't know what those are in the big programs. We know that will both of them want reform, but we don't exactly know where they'd take reform, much less what they could get out of Congress. So I think that, in general, elections are made on big directions as opposed to little details because candidates have always been reluctant to put out some big long report with a bunch of numbers that, you know, people can then throw arrows at.

MALVEAUX: Candy, talk a little about what we've been hearing from the surrogates, because you have one of Mitt Romney's surrogates, John Sununu, telling our Piers Morgan that he believes the former Secretary of State Colin Powell is voting and supporting President Obama because of his race. You have other members of Congress like Mourdock talking about abortion and rape. How difficult has it been for Mitt Romney's campaign to stay on message and to push for an economic plan that people are paying attention to? .

CROWLEY: Well, to the extent that they are being asked about these things, it's a distraction for the Romney campaign and for the candidate. But to the extent that they were these kinds of things will lose votes for Mitt Romney - I don't think they do. Again, these are things that happen. And if you already have an impression of a candidate that's going to cause you to vote for him or against him, these are small enough things, sort of fibrillations, not heartbeats, and people vote on the heartbeat. And so they kind of know who they're going to vote for, most people.

I think this is -- becomes part of the background noise as we go forward. And you're right. It's a distraction from Mitt Romney insofar as he gets asked about it. Is he going to get -- is he going to say he doesn't want to be in Richard Mourdock's ads? Is he going to say this? Is he going say that? They don't want to be talking about that. But in terms of actual votes lost, I don't think they're looking at it that way. I'm not sure there are any.

MALVEAUX: All right, Candy, Ali, we're going to get back to you in just a moment. Mitt Romney, of course, giving his vision for the future for the American economy. Set to speak any minute now in Iowa. We're going to bring it to you live.

We are also watching, of course, the weather this hour. We're talking about a massive storm that could be barreling towards the Eastern Seaboard. Already claimed more than 20 lives. We're going to get the latest on Hurricane Sandy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Live pictures from Ames, Iowa, where Mitt Romney is going to be speaking any minute now. We're looking at Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa introducing Mitt Romney during this campaign. They're calling it a major speech on the economy. Whether or not there will be any new details is another matter.

We're getting some insights from our political team here, and what we think is the highlights. I want to bring in our Ali Velshi to talk a little about comparing these two visions here: the role of government from Mitt Romney's perspective and President Obama's perspective.

You got this five-point plan that Romney lays out. It's very generic. You got energy independence, providing Americans with skills to succeed, trade that works for America, cutting the deficit, and championing small businesses. You've got the Obama plan that talks about very similar issues: providing American manufacturing, energy made in America, growing small businesses, quality education, cutting the deficit by more than $4 trillion and, of course, that the whole Obamacare putting you in charge of your health care, protecting retirement, security.

These are all kind of generic talking points. Give me the specifics in terms of what is the difference between these two candidates.

VELSHI: It's ultimately the role of government and the role of government is directly related to taxation. So Obamacare is a difference between them, obviously. And they both say they'll create -- the same number of jobs will be created under them over the next five years. So it comes down to taxes and the conservative belief that if you tax people less, you let them keep some more of their own money in their pocket. They will use this money that they're not giving to the government to do something, to conduct some economic activity -- spending it, buying things, investing it -- in a way that will be beneficial to this economy.

The fact is now that we're in a global economy, it's not as certain that that happens. It's not as certain that people invest in a way or spend in a way that has a direct relationship to creating economic growth. So the government -- the Obama administration, the more liberal perspective on this is that in the absence of higher consumer and business spending, government should fill that gap and that it's not time yet for the government to pull out of that spending. It will be time, but it's not time yet.

Mitt Romney thinks that if you pull out now and you give people their tax money back, they will stimulate the economy on their own. Fundamentally, it is a decision on the role of government. You can look over to Europe and say pulling out too quickly and imposing austerity was the wrong thing to do, but they increased taxes while pulling out government spending. Mitt Romney's talking about decreasing taxes while pulling back on government spending.

The question is how you do that without getting into a further deficit. Mitt Romney says his plan is revenue neutral and that is something most people have not been able to do the math and come to the same conclusion on.

MALVEAUX: Ali, I want to ask because there's so many things that impact really the state of our own economy here. We talk about the Eurozone, we talk about the increase in the power of China and many different things that are moving our own economy. How honest is this discussion when they are talking about the edges, really, the things around the edges? When you talk about the taxes and that type of thing? Are they really -- do they realize that? I mean, I assume that they do, but they're kind of selling this to us as voters.

VELSHI: Foreign policy is something that's important to hear presidents talk about because they can have influence over it. Economic policy presidents get altogether too much blame and too much credit for -- creating jobs or high GDP.

The fact is what they can do is about this much in the spheres of influence of the global economy. What Europe is doing is about this much in the sphere of the global economy. And you can't do anything about that. Neither of these two guys can do anything about Europe. So you'll notice, even in the foreign policy debate, they skipped Europe and went right to China, because you could actually saber rattle about China. There's nothing you can do about Europe.

So saying that the economy will grow at a rate of, let's say, 4 percent, which is what I think the underlying assumption is for Mitt Romney's projections on job growth and deficit. To say it's going to grow 4 percent -- we're at 2 percent. We just learned that today. We're at 2 percent right now. The best projections are for 3 percent next year, and Europe is still in a recession, and China is slowing down. And India is slowing down. Where do you get that extra full percentage of growth from?

Both of these candidates are guilty of the same thing. Tell us where you think you get it from, and if you don't know where you get it from, be honest with us and tell us it's going to be a little tougher in the last four years than you thought.

MALVEAUX: OK. We're going to see what Romney's got to say about all this. Mitt Romney, of course, giving his vision of the future of the American economy set to speak any moment now. We're going to take a look at live pictures there. The introduction to the candidate, Senator Chuck Grassley will have more after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Mitt Romney speaking out in Ames, Iowa, about his economic plan. It's a state with six electoral votes on the line, and one that President Obama won with a big margin back in 2008. Right now, the state looks like it is up for grabs. Interesting fact here: the construction company where the speech is taking place, this is Kinser Construction Services, actually received $1.25 million of stimulus money back if 2009. That was shortly after the stimulus plan that was signed into law by President Obama.

Let's listen to Mitt Romney.

(BEGIN LIVE COVERAGE)

MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The economy struggles under the weight of government and fails to create the essential growth and employment that we need. The same time, emerging powers seek to shape the world in their image: China with its model of authoritarianism and a very different way jihadists with Sharia and repression and terror for the world.

We'll phase our subsidies once an industry is on its feet. Rather than investing in electric, auto, and solar companies, we'll invest in energy science and research to make discoveries that can actually change our energy world. By 2020 we will receive North American energy independence.

(APPLAUSE)

Three, we'll make trade work for America. We'll open more markets for American agriculture and products and services and we'll finally hold accountable any nation that doesn't play by the rules. I'm going to stand up for the rights and interests of American workers and employers.

And four, we're going to grow jobs by making America the best place for job creators, entrepreneurs, for small business, for innovators, for manufacturers. This will mean updating and reshaping regulations to encourage growth by lowering tax rates while lowering deductions and closing loopholes and by making it clear from day one that unlike the current administration, we actually like business, and the jobs that business creates.

(APPLAUSE)

Finally as we create more opportunity we'll make sure that our citizens have the skills they need to succeed. Training programs are going to be shaped by the states where people live, and schools will put the interests of our kids and their parents and their teachers above the interests of the teachers unions.

(APPLAUSE)

Look, when we do those five things, this economy is going to come roaring back. We're going to create 12 million new jobs in just four years. We'll see rising take-home pay and we'll get America's economy growing at four percent a year -- more than double this year's rate. You know, after all the false promises of recovery and all the waiting, we're finally going to see help for America's middle class. It is about time.

(APPLAUSE)

And Paul and I aren't going to stop there. When we take office, we're going take responsibility to solve the big problems that everyone agrees can't wait any longer. We'll save Medicare and Social Security both for current and near retirees and for the generation to come.

We'll restore the $716 billion President Obama has taken from Medicare to may for his vaunted Obamacare. We'll reform health care. The payments' growth and the costs that's been going skyrocketing to provide for those with preexisting conditions as well and to assure that every American has access to health care. We're going to replace government choice in health care with consumer choice. Bringing the dynamics of the marketplace to a sector that's too long been dominated by government.

Now, these things, among others, we can only do if we work tirelessly to bridge the divide between the political parties. We're going to meet with Democrat and Republican leaders in Washington regularly. We're going to look for common ground and shared principles. We'll put the interests of the American people above the interests of the politicians.

(APPLAUSE)

And I know something about leading. Because I have led before. In business and in the Olympics, in my state, I brought people together to achieve real change. As you know, I was elected a Republican governor in a state that has a legislature that was 85 percent Democrat. I came into office, we were looking at a multibillion dollar budget gap.Bbut instead of fighting with each other, we came together to solve the problems. We actually cut government spending. We reduced it. We lowered taxes 19 times. We defended school choice. We worked to make our state business friendly and our state moved up 20 places in job growth. Our schools were ranked No. 1 in the nation. We turned a $3 billion budget deficit into a $2 billion rainy day fund. I know it because I have seen it. Good Democrats can come together with good Republicans to solve big problems. What we need is leadership to make that happen. (APPLAUSE)

America is ready for that kind of leadership. Paul Ryan and I will provide it. Our plan for a stronger middle class will create jobs, stop the decline in take-home pay, and put America back on the path of prosperity and opportunity. This will enable us to fulfill our responsibilities as the leader of the free world. To promote the principles of peace. We'll help the Muslim world combat the spread of extremism. We'll dissuade Iran from building a nuclear bomb. We'll build enduring relationships throughout Latin America. We'll partner with China and other great nations to build more stable and peaceful world.

Look we face big challenges, but we also have big opportunities. New doors have been opened to us to sell our ideas and products around the world. New technologies offer the promise of unbounded information and limitless invasion. New ideas are changing lives and hearts in diverse nations and among diverse peoples. If we seize the moment and rise to the occasion, the century ahead will be an American century. Our children will graduate into jobs that are waiting for them. Our seniors will be confident that their retirement is secure. Men and women will have good jobs and good pay and good benefits, and we'll have confidence that our lives are safe and that our livelihoods are secure.

What this requires is change. Change from the course of the last four years. It requires that we put aside the small and the petty and demand the scale of change we deserve. We need real change. Big change. That time has come.

(APPLAUSE)

Our campaign is about that kind of change -- confronting the problems that politicians have avoided for over a decade. Revitalizing our competitive economy, modernizing education, restoring our founding principles -- this is the kind of change that promises a better future, one shaped by men and women pursuing their dreams in their own unique ways.

This election is a choice between the status quo, going forward with the same policies of the last four years or instead choosing real change. Change that offers promise, promise that the future will be better than the past. If you're ready for that kind of change, if you want this to be a turning point in America's course, join Paul Ryan and me. Get your friends and family to do the same and vote now for the kind of leadership that these times demand.

(APPLAUSE)

I'm counting on Iowa. Iowa may be the place that decides who the next president is. It may decide whether or not we're going to have real change. So I'm counting on you to vote to get your friends to vote, to work at the polls, to bring people out. We've got to take back America and make sure that we have the kind of change that gets America strong for not just for not, but for coming generations. Thanks, you guys. Great to be with you. God bless America. God bless Iowa. God bless you. Thank you so much.

(END LIVE FEED)

MALVEAUX: Seventeen minutes of speech. The Mitt Romney campaign laying out economic agenda in Ames, Iowa. They billed it as a major announcement, major economic speech. Candy Crowley is in Washington. Jim Acosta is with the Romney campaign in Ames, Iowa. Ali Velshi on the road in Philadelphia. First of all, I want to go to you first, Ali, because one the things that I heard here is that the GDP figure, the two percent increase in the third quarter.

VELSHI: yes.

MALVEAUX: Despite the fact that most economists didn't expect this. It was good news. We heard Mitt Romney say that this was a disappointment, that it wasn't the four percent that was necessary. So, you know, voters are tired of all the spin. Which is it? Was it -- is it good news? Is it bad news? Help us understand that figure.

VELSHI: Well, it's better news than he we thought it was going to be. We thought we were getting 1.7 percent growth, and we ended up getting two percent. It's better. Two percent is not what is going to propel this economy forward. It's not going to create 12 million jobs in four years, which is why I found it interesting. They said this was major economic news. There wasn't a piece of economic news in it, but Mitt Romney did start to attach the four percent GDP growth, the four percent economic growth to his claim to create 12 million jobs over four years.

Now, finally I will tell you, Suzanne, that math actually works. All I need to know is how you get to four percent economic growth when we're at two right now, and there's not an economist around who predicts four in the next few years. But at least he is saying we need four percent GDP growth, double what we have now, in order to create 12 million jobs over four years. We edged a little closer to having an absolute full equation. We still haven't got the how you're going to do it part. Beyond that, there wasn't a piece of economic news in that. That should have been billed as a major pep rally, not a major economic speech. There was nothing major about it, and it was hardly economic.

MALVEAUX: Ali, what would you be hearing, what would be looking for to actually fill in the gaps, if you will, because you say that -- you're still left pretty dissatisfied, unsatisfied with this.

VELSHI: Right. So you have -- there are a few things you have to look for, for economic growth. You do have -- it is tied to increased employment, because the more people who work, the more people who spend. That's economic growth. Then businesses start to expand. We start to export more, and we produce more. Energy is connected to producing more. The exporting part, he didn't really talk about both President Obama and Mitt Romney talking generalizations about exporting more. That requires more trade deals. Energy, they are both -- while Mitt Romney paints Obama -- he said he has a disdain for coal and a war on oil and something about gas. It is true that Mitt Romney is friendlier towards the energy industry and there are many people who think that that will be an engine of growth. Housing is the other engine of growth, and finally something that was inPpresident Obama's jobs act that the Republicans didn't like was the idea of an infrastructure bank. Government financing part of a bank along with the private sector to undertake major infrastructure bills. That's the stimulus that actually would work. There are a lot of ways to get to it.

MALVEAUX: Right.

VELSHI: We need to see the pie a little bit.

MALVEAUX: All right. We're seeing the crowd there. Taking pictures at the rally as he wraps up the speech.

I wanted to go to our own Jim Acosta who is actually there covering the Romney campaign. Nonstop, Jim, I know. Been there. Give us a sense of, first of all, you of all people can dissect this speech, whether or not you heard anything new, because you hear this day in and day out, hour to hour, state to state. Anything that you heard that makes this something -- some sort of major economic speech in your mind? .

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Not really, no, Suzanne, just to be frank with you. We heard a lot of this from Mitt Romney yesterday. He debuted this new theme of big changes, and just to read one portion of this speech that I think really boils this all down in terms of what Mitt Romney is talking about, and listen to the number of the words -- number of the times he uses big.

"Our campaign is about big things because we have we happen to believe America faces big challenges. We recognize this is a year with a big choice, and the American people want to see big changes."

So, no big change form the stump speech in terms of what Mitt Romney had to say out here today. I think at one point during this speech, Suzanne, you did hear Mitt Romney talk about that latest report that came out today from the government on the GDP that the economy grew by two percent in the third quarter. Obviously the GOP nominee came out here and said that's not going to be good enough. Because of that sluggish growth that we're seeing here in the economy, he says that's going to result in declining take-home pay. He connected it back to a subject that he brings up a lot on the campaign trail, which is declining take-home pay. He has those words splashed across the side of his campaign bus. This is a message that they wanted to hit home in a battleground state.

Yes, there's not really a whole lot that's new. Inside these remarks here, if you take a look at these remarks in terms of what he said out here today, but they are hitting this theme hard, Suzanne. That Mitt Romney is the candidate of change. That President Obama is the status quo. And, Suzanne, you well know because you were out there covering President Obama four years ago, it was almost, you know, an exact role reversal. President Obama was casting himself as the candidate of change, and that John McCain at that time was part of the Republican status quo, so Mitt Romney these last couple of weeks is trying to turn the tables on the President and run with his message and se if it carries him to victory.

MALVEAUX: All right. Jim, we're going to get back to you. Want to bring in Candy to the conversation here, and, Candy, one of the things that everybody seems to be noticing here is that there isn't a lot there in terms of new news. Is that important at this point for either of the candidates to bring forth anything new to the table, or they are just simply trying to make sure that when voters go to the polls, they've got those talking points and they remember those talking points, so they're trying to keep it simple at this point?

CROWLEY: Politically speaking, it is incumbent on them not to add anything new. You have a dead even race, you have very close races in these battle grounds. You don't want to put anything new out there to have people pick it apart. Neither one of these men are going to do this. I would see this less as a talking point, than a candidate playing to his strength.

Bringing to the table -- remember that -- the polls that we talked about kind of earlier right before this speech where it showed that more people think that Mitt Romney could improve the economy than then Barack Obama could. And so, he is, in your closing arguments, in your final days, what you want to do is go out there and talk to the topics or talk to the issues that have brought people to your side. And for Mitt Romney, it is -- they have always tried to sell his economy, his sort of can-do I understand business, I've been in business, I know how this all works. He is returning to that, that was his first, that's how he entered the race, it's going to be how he exits this race and into voting day, is as saying listen, I'm a business guy, I get it, this isn't good enough. What we have now is just the very sharp contrast, they clearly wanted to say, "here's what happened under his watch, this isn't good enough, we can't do another four years, and here is my strength." So I think this is a -- part of the closing argument that plays to his strength

MALVEAUX: Candy, thank you for your analysis, as always. Candy, Ali and Jim. Thanks again, we'll be watching of course, wery closely, every step of the way on this campaign. We're also watching a very important story. This is a monster, monster storm already claiming more than 20 lives. Could be now headed to New York, among many other major cities. We are getting ready for hurricane Sandy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: National Weather Service has --

Virginia to Massachusetts. Sandy has killed already 21 people in the Caribbean, but floods, heavy rains in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and it has kicked up powerful waves off Fort Lauderdale. It's got cloud fields stretching more than 1, 600 miles, and storm prep is already high in New Jersey. Sand bags and crews and weather expert Chad Myers following this for us. Chad, first of all, where is it headed?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Three to three and a half days. We're dealing with the storm that could be anywhere from -- to Massachusetts. Our window, or our cone is still very large, because the computers are not agreeing. Sometimes the computers agree right away. Those models say here is where it's going, and we al say, okay, everybody get ready. The problem with this one is that some computers are left, some models are too the right. They are literally all over the place, so until they agree, we just have to tell you that here are the possibilities. The possibility that this becomes an 80 to 100- mile-per-hour storm because there's a big high pressure to the west, not that the core may be 100 miles per hour or a cat two even, but when you get high on one side and low on the other, you can really get some tremendous winds. A lot of wave action up and down the east coast. We're eroding a lot of the beaches here. Now, here's what I kind of let you know. A couple days out, here's, like, 36 hours away. This is how wide the cone is. Just that. That's it. We know it's going to be in the ocean. When you move that cone ahead, all of a sudden that cone gets significant ly wider. That's Rhode Island all the way to North Carolina. There's a big difference in that cone.

It could be here, it could be here. There are models taking it out this way and bringing it into New York harbor. You have to stay with us. This is going to be one of the bigger storms, maybe the biggest, I've seen in my 26 years doing TV weather. It could be that significant for the northeast. By Monday and Tuesday, there probably won't be any air travel. You can't fly planes around in 50, 60 mile per hour winds. And the airlines don't want them on the ground. So travel across the northeast coast Monday and Tuesday will be nonexistent if you're not going by train.

MALVEAUX: Are we talking about Windsor rain or snow? A combination of many of these things coming together?

MYERS: Yes. I couldn't tell you where the snow is going to be yet because I don't know where the low is going to be yet. I can't tell you where the dramatic winds are going to be because we don't know if it's north or south. When you pack lines, these are lines of equal pressure. When you pack them close together, there is a lot of wind. And with it bringing cold air here and maybe even lake effect snow through ohio, big snow through parts of West Virginia and the wind blowing offshore here. That's if the storm is up here in New York hasher and into New Jersey. If it's down here, then all bets are off. All that wind is this way into New Jersey causing coastal erosion and flooding. I've seen estimates where four to five feet of coastal storm surge from all that wind blowing the water on to the land.

MALVEAUX: We'll be watching very closely. Thank you for the warning. Poppy Harlow with today's help desk.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're talking about saving money for college. Here with me to do that, Stacy, Francis and Lynnette.

STACY: My daughter just started high school, what's the best way of saving for me for college?

HARLOW: The key word she said there was extort. In an ideal world you should have started a long time ago. Even at that age, I assume she can still open a 529 plan. The problem is that those are typically better for younger kids, because over time, you want to reduce the amount of stock allocation that you have and make it a little less risky. Four years frankly isn't a lot of time. But don't feel that's the only way to save. Go after those scholarships. Those grants. You want to stay away from the student loans if you can, but by all means, tell your daughter to keep those grades super high and then the family's own resources, the colleges are going to expect you to contribute something.

LYNETTE: What do you think?

HARLOW: Definitely the 529 plan. You can also sign up for u-promise and every time you buy certain products it adds to the 529 plan. Keep the assets out of her daughter's name. Those are going to count against her financially. Keep it in the mother's name, use the 529 plan and most likely she'll get financial aid too.

FRANCIS: And daughter get a job.

HARLOW: Thanks guys. If you have an issue that you want our experts to take a look at, just up load a 30-second video to ireport.com.

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MALVEAUX: President Obama, Mitt Romney, dead even in the latest polls out of Colorado. Fewer than 1 percent of the voters are likely to decide who wins the state's 9 electoral votes.

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MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here we are, Rocky Mountain high in Golden, Colorado. This is Jefferson County. It's one of the most competitive counties in this state. Both campaigns are working this county very hard. It's because as little as 20,000 or 30,000 votes across the entire state of Colorado could paint this state red or blue.

(voice-over): That's as little as 1 percent of the overall votes statewide.

(on camera): This is always the scariest bit of this, isn't it?

SPENCER HENNIGAN, APEX EX ADVENTURE TRIPS: The first step is always the hardest.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): Spencer Hennigan has run Apex EX Adventure Trips for two years.

(on camera): So this is the office?

HENNIGAN: True, true.

MARQUEZ: Not a bad office.

HENNIGAN: I like it.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): Business has grown. Starting with four guides, he now has 20. This year the company's biggest, 3,000 trips, everything from rappelling to back country skiing.

HENNIGAN: It's a lot of hard work.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): The business expanded, he says, by keeping prices low and taking advantage of Coloradoans staying close to home.

(on camera): What do you hope for the next four years?

HENNIGAN: The more people that we can raise the bar for equal pay, the more that we can feel inclusion in this state.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): While some have weathered the recession well, Colorado continues to struggle. The unemployment rate across the state about 8 percent. Here in Jefferson County, it's about 7.4 percent, just a little better.

(on camera): This is the new restaurant.

LORENZO NUNEZ, EL CHINGON RESTAURANT: This is it.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): The Nunez family, all ten of them, pitching in on a new venture, a family restaurant. The restaurant's draw: authentic cuisine prepared by Gloria Nunez, who moved here from Mexico City when she was 21.

(on camera): How many recipes are in your head?

GLORIA NUNEZ, EL CHINGON RESTAURANT: I don't know. I can never count them.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): Now at 74 she is known as abuelita -- grandma.

(on camera): What do you hope to see in the next few years?

NUNEZ: Well, I think one of the most important things is the economy to go up a little.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): Now, the restaurant is run out of a strip mall. Soon a new building, liquor license and as many as 15 new employees. But this family is still agonizing over which candidate is best for the future.

(on camera): What makes this area so competitive?

L. NUNEZ: As you consider the numbers in terms of how the Hispanic population is growing not only here but across the country, we have an important voice.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): Latinos, business owners and newer residents ready to deliver Colorado's crucial nine electoral votes. They could decide who takes the White House.

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