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Romney's New Speech On The Economy; Monster Hurricane; Lance Armstrong's New Rock Bottom; $112M In Donations To Romney; Virginia Senate Race Tight; Hurricane Sandy Targets Northeast U.S.; Robot With "Common Sense"; Battleground: Iowa; Most Expensive Campaign In History>
Aired October 26, 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: Thank you. Same to you, Suzanne.
And hello to all of you. I'm Brook Baldwin.
All eyes today on Hurricane Sandy barreling northward. And the new forecast show the storm slamming the Northeast. But right now we have to talk about Florida, because parts of Florida now under this tropical storm warning. Also in Virginia, the governor there already declaring a state of emergency. So in just a moment we'll give you the brand new update of the storm's path.
But first, we have to talk politics here. The latest poll numbers confirm this will be a nail biter of a presidential election. But, today, the two campaigns were all about this one specific number. That number, 2 percent. That is the annual rate at which the nation's GDP, the gross domestic product, grew from July until September. It's really the broadest grade on how the economy is doing.
Now, if you talk to the president about this, he says it's really more proof of a recovery since the last GDP the previous quarter was 1.3 percent. That was quarter one. But his challenger is also using 2 percent in his favor. No surprise. Mitt Romney just gave an economic speech in Ames, Iowa, at Kinzler Construction. It's a small business that, as it turns out, received nearly $2 million from Obama's stimulus programs.
And so let's go straight to Gloria Borger, who I know was watching this speech.
We were all watching this speech here, Gloria.
My question, number one, for you is this. I don't -- I didn't hear a lot new in this speech. I'm guessing you didn't hear much new in this speech either.
GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Right.
BALDWIN: So given that fact, isn't it a bit risky, though, to introduce new policy here with, what, 10, 11 days to go? Really isn't this about getting voters excited, getting out to vote?
BORGER: It's about getting independent voters to really take a look at you as somebody who is reasonable. As you said, this is really not about new ideas. This is about a different tone. A different kind of appeal. Talking about change. I mean, four years ago, remember, Barack Obama was the candidate of change. You can't do that when you're the incumbent. But it's easy to do when you're the challenger.
So you make the case for change. You admit, as Mitt Romney did, that Barack Obama was kind of dealt a bad hand. But then you say, but you know what, he didn't do enough to get us out of this. He didn't do what he needed to do. And I am optimistic -- show some optimism to voters -- that you can do a better job in the future. So really this wasn't so much about, you know, specific policy prescriptions. Nothing new right now. This was -- this was more about the mood music.
BALDWIN: OK.
BORGER: To appeal to those independents.
BALDWIN: I want to just hit pause on this conversation.
We also have Ali Velshi standing by as well.
Speaking of the mood music, I just want to play a little chunk, in case you missed it. This is -- this is Mitt Romney speaking in Aims, Iowa, moments ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In just four short years, he borrowed $6 trillion nearly, adding almost as much debt held by the public as all prior American presidents combined. He forced through Obamacare, frightening small business from hiring new employees, and adding thousands of dollars to every family's health care bill. He launched an onslaught of new regulations, often to the delight of the biggest banks and corporations, but to the detriment of the small, growing businesses that create two-thirds of our jobs.
New business starts, they're at a 30-year low because entrepreneurs and investors are sitting on the sidelines, weary from the president's staggering new regulations and proposed massive tax increases. Many families can't get mortgages and many entrepreneurs can't get loans because of Dodd-Frank regulations that made it harder for banks to lend.
The president invested taxpayer money, your money, in green companies now failed that met his fancy and were sometimes owned by his largest campaign contributors. He spent billions of taxpayer dollars on investments like Solyndra and Tesla and Fisker and Enter One (ph), which only added to our debt. Energy prices are up, in part because energy production on federal lands is down. He rejected the Keystone pipeline from Canada and cut in half drilling permits and leases, even as gasoline prices soared to new highs.
No, the problem with the Obama economy is not what he inherited. It's with the misguided policies that slowed the recovery and caused millions of Americans to endure lengthy unemployment and poverty. That's why 15 million more of our fellow citizens are on food stamps than when President Obama took office. That's why three million more women are now living in poverty. That's why nearly one in six Americans today is poor. That's why the economy is stagnant.
Today we received, by the way, the latest round of discouraging economic news. Last quarter our economy grew at just 2 percent. After the stimulus was passed, the White House promised that the economy would now be growing at 4.3 percent, over twice as fast. Slow economic growth means slow job growth and declining take-home pay.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Mitt Romney there just referencing the GDP news that we just got in today.
And, Ali Velshi, let me bring you in, our chief business correspondent, in Philadelphia today.
And, Ali, you know, we've learned now that the GDP, gross domestic product, it grew, you know, 2 percent last quarter.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
BALDWIN: The anticipation was that it would be up 1.7. So, you know, Team Obama can say, hey, this is great news.
VELSHI: Sure.
BALDWIN: We just heard, you know, Team Romney saying, look, this is disappointing. Cut through the spin. What does this mean for you and me?
VELSHI: They're both right. Two percent is way better news than 1.7. It's also substantially better news than 1.3, which was the last quarter. So we're going in the right direction and we're going a little faster in the right direction.
It's not 4 percent, which is what Mitt Romney says he'd like to have. Four percent would be really good. That claim that Mitt Romney keeps making about 12 million jobs in four years --
BALDWIN: The 12 million jobs.
VELSHI: Yes. Well, that's based on 4 percent growth. If you had 4 percent growth, you could actually get that.
You know, I keep claiming that if it happens, I'll wear a dress for a week. If you get 4 percent growth, I'm going to have to wear a dress for a week. What we still don't have is a recipe as to how you get to that 4 percent growth. But at least people can start to think about it this way. Two percent growth is not a good economy. It's better than 1.7. it's better than 1.3. but that's not a good economy. Four percent growth would actually be a good economy.
Just to give you some sense of it. China is above 7 percent growth. India is above six.
BALDWIN: OK.
VELSHI: We're not going to get to those rates. If America had 4 percent growth, we'd be cooking with gas.
BALDWIN: Well, here's hoping America gets to see Ali Velshi in a dress, because we all could use that --
VELSHI: It would be a good day for America if I have to -- if I have to keep that promise.
BALDWIN: How about this fact, though? You know, this is one number we keep honing in on. Not just GDP, but we want to talk about those jobs numbers because, you know, when you look at the latest polls, they keep giving Mitt Romney the edge in who would do better when you ask Americans who would do better in terms of dealing with the economy.
VELSHI: Right.
BALDWIN: But the big jobless report, that final one, next Friday, the last one before the election day --
VELSHI: That's right.
BALDWIN: Is it really do or die? I mean that's the big number.
VELSHI: In a race this tight, it might be do or die.
BALDWIN: Yes.
VELSHI: I would normally say it affects you on the margins. But, I mean, I can't believe these poll numbers that we keep seeing.
BALDWIN: So close.
VELSHI: Everything is so, so close. So, yes, you know, when I'm going around on the bus talking to Americans, there are a very small number of undecided voters who could actually decide how this election goes, and about half of them say who is better for the economy, right, the larger economy -- GDP growth, things like that.
BALDWIN: Why are you doing air quotes on the economy?
VELSHI: Because I mean the economy, the big economy. The things you measure. Durable goods and imports and exports and things like that.
BALDWIN: OK.
VELSHI: As opposed to your job, which is the biggest component of your economy. So that's the distinction that it -- who is better for the economy and who is better for me and my job. And I think a lot of voters are trying to weigh those two against each other, but the job's going to win. And both of them have made exactly the same promise, 12 million jobs in four years. And both of them depend on the same thing. Europe not going into the toilet and 4 percent growth occurring. And that's not something a president can have all together that much to do with. They can affect us on the edges.
BALDWIN: OK. Ali, thank you.
I want to bring back Gloria Borger, because here we are, strategy wise, 11 days left. We're counting every day. The Romney camp, you know, seems to be featuring more of Mitt Romney, you know, Mitt Romney the man. And you've spent quite a bit of time with the woman who's been instrumental in that, Ann Romney.
BORGER: Right.
BALDWIN: Tell me more about that.
BORGER: Well, Ann Romney has kind of become their secret weapon here. You know that Mitt Romney has a large problem with women voters. Ann Romney is out there now trying to appeal to women.
She's also sort of been Mitt Romney's character witness. Because his big problem has been that average voters say he doesn't care about my problems. He doesn't understand my problems. He's too rich. He's too out of touch. He doesn't get it.
So Ann Romney's job, and she's been pushing for this in the campaign, is to kind of humanize him, open Mitt Romney up and kind of say to people, you know, actually he does care about you. She pushed for more of that. You heard a little bit more of that at the convention. You heard some of that in the debates.
So now his message is two-pronged. Yes, I can talk about the economy, but, yes, I also understand your problems. And we'll see if more and more people believe that he does, because he runs substantially behind the president when it comes to economic empathy, if you will. And she's part of that plan to get people to think that he does get it.
BALDWIN: Well, we'll be hearing much more from this secret weapon. I know tomorrow we can all watch your interview with Ann Romney tomorrow night. It's a CNN special. We're calling it "The Journey of Ann Romney." Set your DVRs or sit there and watch it with us, 7:30 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
Gloria Borger and Ali Velshi, we thank you so much.
And now to this. You know, suddenly, race, sex and virginity, yes, virginity, becoming part of the conversation between these two campaigns. We're going to get to that in just a moment.
But coming up next, bracing for Hurricane Sandy. This monster storm targeting the East Coast, especially in the Northeast. And I have a brand new update fresh from the weather center. Chad Myers all over it, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Now to Hurricane Sandy. There are tropical storm warnings and watches in effect all the way from Florida, up towards South Carolina. And in anticipation of Sandy slamming into Virginia, the governor there just declared a state of emergency. Sandy has already claimed nearly two dozen lives across the Caribbean.
And take a look at this. This is so unique because we can look at Sandy here swirling. This is obviously from space. This hurricane so huge it would cover the distance from Memphis, Tennessee, to Los Angeles, just to give you some perspective here.
Chad Myers, obviously looking from space, this thing is huge. How bad does it look?
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And that's the issue, that it's going to have a very big wind field. Even 400 miles away from the eye we could have wind over hurricane gusts. So if you get that over the I-95 corridor from New Jersey to New York or even down to D.C., everybody there is going to get hit with something. There will be so many trees down, so many power lines down. It will be days before everybody gets back power.
BALDWIN: So if we're talking -- we just said Virginia, state of emergency.
MYERS: Uh-huh.
BALDWIN: And there's fears that the temperatures would be so, so cold. Are we talking snow?
MYERS: Not Virginia, but West Virginia for sure.
BALDWIN: OK.
MYERS: Ohio, Pennsylvania, the western side of Pennsylvania, the Alleghenies, not so much the Poconos, I don't think, because as the hurricane comes in, it will bring in warm air with it. That cold air will be on the west side. It will be Michigan and Ohio. That's where the snow might be. But this thing still has a lot to evolve.
I'll just go to the map here. I --
BALDWIN: We're still talking Monday/Tuesday, right?
MYERS: We are. And you know what, Brooke, you asked me as we walked on, you said, what do I expect? And I said there are computer models out there, they're just finishing now. There's one that goes up into Long Island and just does terrible things. There's another one that goes into Washington, D.C., but not too bad. And that's kind of the -- you know, those are the outliers. Where does one go, where does one start and where does one end? I guess that's the point.
The storm doesn't look that good right now. There's a lot of dry air in here. This is great news. This storm, it just looks terrible overnight, too. But the forecast is for it to stay in the warm water of the Atlantic and the gulf stream and then turn to the left. The models here, again, the cone, all the way from Long Island, all the way back to North Carolina. It's where it could be, the center somewhere there around the Delmarva peninsula. It's the wind field that I'm really concerned about. And, of course, storm surge and, of course, flooding. But when you have a big high pressure that's going to be out here in Michigan, and this big low pressure center here, when these lines get so close together, Brooke, the winds could be 80 to 100 miles per hour in a wide swath of the Northeast.
BALDWIN: So you mentioned flooding. And I sit here and I think of Irene, which we were covering for days and days after that.
MYERS: Right.
BALDWIN: After that it. And there was so much inland flooding issues there, especially in the Northeast. I think Vermont. Could that be a problem here?
MYERS: It could. Certainly.
BALDWIN: It could.
MYERS: And it could because one of the models that we're talking about actually turns this whole thing, stops it over Pennsylvania for about 24 hours and then sends it up into Canada. So if you can imagine an inch of rain an hour for 24 hours, I can do that math. That's a flood.
BALDWIN: OK. Chad, thank you.
MYERS: You're welcome.
BALDWIN: We'll keep talking about that for sure.
Just ahead here, more fallout today. A new rock bottom for Lance Armstrong. The latest development will rewrite history books.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: And again here a new rock bottom for Lance Armstrong. Hours ago cycling's governing body asked Armstrong to return all the prize money for his seven nullified Tour de France wins. History books will now show no winner for the Tour de France all the way from years 1999 through 2005. Those are the years Armstrong won allegedly with the help of performance enhancing drugs. He had already lost the titles, stepped down from his cancer charity, had been dumped by so many major sponsors, including Nike. So let's talk to CNN International sports anchor Alex Thomas.
And, Alex, in terms of this prize money, how much money are we talking about here?
ALEX THOMAS, CNN INTERNATIONAL SPORTS ANCHOR: Brooke, I think it's something in the region of $5 million to $7 million. Much of it is still a disputable or being working out because it depends on bonuses and that sort of thing. But it's no doubt another blow to Lance Armstrong.
Interesting to see the UCI, cycling's world governing body, making this statement after a board meeting earlier today. We heard from them earlier in the week when they confirmed Armstrong's lifetime ban from the sport, as well as stripping him of those seven Tour de France titles after they ratified what the United States Anti Doping Agency had said about Armstrong taking drugs, although he continue to deny it.
But what was really interesting, as well as asking for the prize money back, which we expected, as well as saying no other rider should be awarded the Tour de France titles instead of Armstrong, because we know that doping's widespread and they couldn't be sure that any of the runners up were free of taking drugs as well. What's the really interesting thing is, the UCI announcing what they say is going to be a fully independent, external commission set up to examine themselves. The UCI wants an independent commission to look at how they have run the sport in a desperate attempt to answer all the critics that are saying the president, Pat McQuaid, should stand down and also their honoree president as well, Mr. Brovogen (ph).
BALDWIN: So just to hit the point that you made a moment ago, the fact that they're not elevating any other cyclists simply because they can't figure out if there are any other clean cyclists who would then -- would have won that price. So that's huge, number two. Number three, you know, in terms of Lance Armstrong, lost his reputation, resigned from his cancer charity Livestrong, gotten dumped by sponsors, yet he is really, for the most part, you know, he's staying pretty quiet. Do you think, Alex, he will ever come forward, say anything about all these allegations?
THOMAS: It's hard to believe that he can continue to deny it until he goes to the grave, Brooke, but then I wouldn't bet against it. This guy is someone that has proved throughout his cycling career that he will just never say that he will quit. Although he did quit when it came to trying to stand up in a sports court or even a legal court and answer any of these allegations. He may yet have to if some of the companies that have mentioned about taking possible legal action go through with it, then presumably they're just going to take all that United States Anti Doping evidence and just bring it forward as part of their legal case, in which case Armstrong really will have to face the music.
I suggest, Brooke, that when all the sponsors have quit him, when he's really running out of money, maybe the only money to be made for Lance Armstrong and the rest of his career is in the sort of admitting it all business and asking for forgiveness.
BALDWIN: Yes, I suppose. All he said last weekend in Austin was, you know, life's been better, life's been worse. And that's really all we've heard from him so far and perhaps all we ever will.
Alex Thomas, thank you so much. We appreciate it.
Tomorrow night, on this story here, we are airing, it is a powerful documentary all about Lance Armstrong, reviewing this case against him. It's called "The World According To Lance Armstrong." 9:00 Eastern right here on CNN.
Forget the x factors. Money might be the key to this election. Mitt Romney outraising President Obama recently big time. So with 11 days left, what are the Republicans going to spend the cash on? Where exactly will they spend it? Does this give Mitt Romney an 11-hour advantage? That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Bullets and bombs today shattered Syria's fragile ceasefire. A car bomb ripped through a public square in the capital city of Damascus where families had gathered to celebrate the Muslim holiday.
You can see the smoke there at the end of the street. The smoke, the flames. State media say at least five people were killed, 32 injured. Rebels say 10 people were killed, most of them children.
The ceasefire was supposed to last for days. The length of the Muslim holiday. Thousands of protesters across Syrian demonstrated against President Bashar al-Assad. He Syrian army says the rebels attacked first today and government forces returned fire. More than 32,000 people now have died in Syria's civil war. Opposition groups say at least 70 people were killed today across the country.
And a reunion to tell you about for the Pakistan teenager shot in the head by a Taliban triggerman for standing up for girl's rights to get an education. Malala Yousufzai's parents and two brother are now there by her bedside in this hospital. In fact, this is the first video you're looking at here of the 15-year-old since she was shot and evacuated to Birmingham, England, a little earlier this month. Her father, who arrived from Pakistan just last night, spoke of the emotional reunion.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZIAUDDIN YOUSUFZAI, MALALA'S FATHER: I love her. And, of course, this morning, last night when we met her, there were tears in our eyes. And they were out of happiness, I say. Out of happiness.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: The shooting has sparked widespread outrage. Thousands have protested just across Pakistan alone. And now public anger has turned against the Taliban and her father vows to return with his family back home to Pakistan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YOUSUFZAI: When she fell, Pakistan stood and the world rest (ph). And this is a turning point.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Malala's British doctors say she is progressing well. Her head wound is no longer infected and she doesn't appear to have any brain damage. How about that? Point blank she was shot. Her vision and hearing also both good. Her father says she's asking for her school books. Unbelievable. Italy's former prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, has been sentenced to four years behind bars for tax fraud. An Italian court said today that Berlusconi was guilty of tax evasion involving his media and television empire. Berlusconi is likely to appeal the sentence and he may not end up serving any prison time at all. Why? Because the case dates back to 2006 and the statute of limitations is set to expire next year.
Proof. Proof of Mitt Romney's momentum, not just in the polls, also in the donations. His campaign coffers are bursting for the month of October. In fact, in just the first half of this month alone, Team Romney says it's brought in $112 million. So, where will the GOP spend it? Let's talk to Peter Hamby, for us in Washington.
Peter Hamby, the obvious answer, the swing states, but which ones specifically?
PETER HAMBY, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Yes. Well, we just learned today, actually, Brooke, that the Romney campaign made a small ad buy in Minnesota and then the Obama campaign kind of went up with their own little ad in Minnesota. You know, this could be seen as a little bit of a little bluff by the Romney campaign. The Obama campaign kind of going back in there and spending money trying to push them back down.
No one really thinks Minnesota is going to go Republican, but you know, basically the spending is going to be focused on television and get out the vote operations in all the toss up states that we know of, Ohio being the central focus of the campaign right now.
But speaking of TV, I mean, both campaigns acknowledged at this point. TV ads aren't really moving numbers. They are not persuading people. They're kind of there to hold things the way they stand.
Most of the effort is right now in this campaign is going into early voting, absentee voting and preparing for Election Day to get out to vote.
That both campaigns says it is sort of a mobilization election rather than one that's going to be based odd persuading a large amount of independent voters as we know -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: President Obama himself early voted last night in Chicago and on him, his whole in terms of dollars and cents, it's impressive, not as quite as high as Mitt Romney. What has the president -- what has Obama campaign received so far here in October?
HAMBY: Yes. The first couple of weeks of October, they pulled in about $90 million. They announced. That's less than Mitt Romney, but they are showing a lot of donations from new donors.
Most of their money this year, more than half, has come from small donors in this campaign. But you pointed out just a moment ago, Brooke, what this Romney number demonstrates is that burst of momentum that he got after the first presidential debate.
On October 3rd, this period, this fundraising period sort of covers the first couple of debates. When the Republicans were openly talking about abandoning Mitt Romney, sending their money to Senate and House races toward the end of September, they thought this campaign was a lost cost --
BALDWIN: That changed.
HAMBY: Yes, it really changed in that first debate and it's reflected both in the poll numbers and as we're seeing the money.
BALDWIN: What about the big picture, Peter Hamby? The money in this presidential campaign I understand totally breaking records?
HAMBY: Yes. I mean, we're on pace to break a billion dollars raised.
BALDWIN: A billion with a "b"?
HAMBY: A billion with a "b," big "b" between both the Obama and Romney campaigns would probably cross that threshold. We're at the point in the race right now where the money is coming in and they're spending it immediately.
What's really surprising to me is this is just money for the campaigns and they're affiliated committees, the DNC and the RNC. The campaign money has capped donations at $2,500 apiece. The committees can raise substantially more than that, but not as much as the soft money air of politics.
So it is pretty striking that with those restrictions in place for specifically campaigns, they've managed to each hit this billion dollars threshold. And this is not counting all the outside groups we've focused on this year, labor unions and some of the more conservative groups. They are outspending Democrats in the swing states -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: Wow. Peter Hamby, thank you.
HAMBY: Thanks.
BALDWIN: Speaking of money, it is pouring in here for the U.S. Senate race in Virginia. You're following this one. The winner there could be the difference between which party controls the Senate next year.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: All right, you know this. We've been talking a lot here about this tight presidential race, but there are several other very, very important races here nationwide. The margin really is razor thin.
Case in point Virginia specifically the Senate battle between these two former governors could be decided by a few thousand voters. Look at the numbers right now.
Democrat Tim Kaine leads, this is the October 11th NBC/"Wall Street Journal"/Marist poll, by just one single point. But look a little closer here. A week earlier, October 3rd, Kaine had a five- point lead over Republican George Allen.
So let's go straight to Virginia to Bill Fitzgerald. He is covering the race for our Richmond, Virginia affiliate WTVR. Bill, welcome.
BILL FITZGERALD, WTVR REPORTER: Great to be here.
BALDWIN: I worked in Charlottesville. I have interviewed both these men. These are political titans in the commonwealth I know and Virginians know both of them very, very well. It's so close, so late in the game. Are there really any undecided left?
FITZGERALD: That's a great question. If there are, they must have just moved in time to register or turned 18 right before that because as you say, they're very popular former governors.
George Allen fighting to get his Senate seat back, which he lost in 2006. They have had at least a half dozen debates going back to last year so there's been ample opportunity to get to know these two men.
As you said, it's razor thin. But one of the interesting aspects of that is that for Kaine he has always maintained a one or two or three or in that earlier poll, a little bit greater distance, but always within the margin of error.
Even as the presidential race tightened up here in Virginia, Kaine managed to keep himself afloat. That is above the one percent or two percent range. So these two races are not really moving on exactly parallel tracks.
That's one of the interesting aspects of that. As you mentioned they could be separated by a few thousand votes. Well, Tim Kaine says I'm expecting to get a few thousand votes from the split voters. Those are vote perhaps for Romney but then would vote for me.
BALDWIN: Well, Bill, you also know very well, we're just talking about this in the presidential race, outside money, cha ching, cha ching. It is pouring into swing states in record amounts, like Virginia.
The U.S. Senate race here in your state tops all others when it comes to outside spending nearly $30 million pouring in. You have Ohio and Wisconsin also in the top three for folks who are curious. You know, what exactly are the outside dollars buying?
FITZGERALD: Lots of air time and they're doing all the dirty, heavy lifting. Any commercial break, you'll see two or three spots from these outside groups.
According to the ones that are for George Allen, Tim Kaine is nothing but a taxer. All he wants to do all day long is tax. And the ones for Kaine talking about Allen say he's just a big spender. He spent while he was a governor. He spent when he was in the Senate so apparently we can't afford either of these guys.
BALDWIN: Let's talk the nasty level of the campaign here. We're going to play part of this debate. Question on Simpson-Bowles. It sounds like a pretty much agree, but still can't really play nice. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just so we can come to the quote of the viewers and you're hearing some laughter here because I think they are a little confused. Is it no and no?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If it's as is, we're both saying no.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now we have agreement and this may be the only time we have agreement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: I love how the moderator says am I getting this right? Are you agreeing no and no? Bill, give me some context there and are they agreeing on that?
FITZGERALD: Well, Tim Kaine is very careful to portray himself as a bipartisan figure. You might find it hard to believe given he was the head of the DNC for two years. But he would say Simpsons- Bowles was in the right direction.
I think $2 to $3 worth of cuts for every dollar of revenue is good. For his part, George Allen says that was kind of a framework, but he really uses it to say that why did the president abandon it?
Why didn't anybody push for this? It's not exactly clear how much he would accept in actual revenue increases. They do agree sort of in the middle though.
BALDWIN: Since I have you and we're talking Virginia, let's broaden this out, last presidential debate, Boca Raton, the president delivering a zinger, got a lot of air play. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: You mention the Navy, for example and that we have fewer ships than we did in 1916. Well, Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets, because the nature of our military has changed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: You know this, Virginia, home to the largest U.S. naval base, Norfolk, not too far down the road from you, huge military voting bloc in that state. How did that resonate with voters? FITZGERALD: Well, it is a big deal here. You can talk to fans and that is pretty much the number one issue in the presidential even the Senate race, too. Tim Kaine very careful to say he would not cut any programs, but portrays George Allen as a huge spender.
That he want to go over the top. George Allen says he'll basically fight to the death to protect all these jobs in defense and protect Virginia's supremacy in defense for that matter.
So defense is very big. It went over interestingly, let's say, because obviously the military has changed, but defense is a very, very big deal here.
BALDWIN: Bill Fitzgerald, we'll be following that race there in Virginia. Richmond affiliate, WTVR, we appreciate it. Thank you.
FITZGERALD: Thank you, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Let's talk about this massive storm. This is something I know folks in Virginia will be dealing with. Up and down here in the sea board. Hurricane Sandy already claimed more than 20 lives. The latest on the storm's path after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Let's get you up to date here on Hurricane Sandy. It is going to be a long weekend of watching and waiting really all up and down the east coast. Let's take a look at these pictures. Look at this driver, deciding to go for it, I guess.
This is Fort Lauderdale. Storm warnings, watches already in place in Florida, South Carolina, in Virginia, just a couple of hours ago the governor there declared the state of emergency warning his state that Sandy could hit hard, bringing floods, high winds, power outages.
This could begin as early as tomorrow night. People are listening very closely because Sandy has already proven deadly killing 21 people across the Caribbean and just this last hour, Sandy weakened just a bit.
It is still hurricane strength. Look at this picture. This is obviously from space. And if you can see this, Sandy is so huge it would cover the distance all the way from Memphis, Tennessee to L.A. This could be a historic mammoth storm.
We're watching it closely. We'll talk to Chad Myers in a little bit more about Sandy.
But for now a robot, a robot with common sense. I know it sounds hard to believe, but a Boston company is using artificial intelligence to change how robots are used in factories. And Joe Carter has this techno-vation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JOE CARTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Manufacturing has come a long way since the classic candy factory scene in "I Love Lucy." And it's about to change a lot more. Meet Baxter, a new kind of factory robot.
SCOTT ECKERT, CEO, RETHINK ROBOTICS: Baxter is a super easy to use robot that can do all sorts of different tasks in a manufacturing environment, loading things into machines, packing things into boxes.
CARTER: Some industrial robots can pose safety hazards, but the company that makes Baxter says it uses common sense.
(on camera): How safe is it?
ECKERT: Let me just advertently get in the robot's way. See what happened? He just stopped. A typical robot would have kept on going.
CARTER (voice-over): It stands about six feet tall, has two flexible arms with grippers and a face that shows emotions.
ECKERT: It makes it easy for people from a distance to see is Baxter working, confused, does Baxter need help.
CARTER: Baxter can be programmed by just about anyone.
ECKERT: I told him to pick it up here, move the product over here in one minute.
CARTER: Rethink Robotics has been designing the robot for four years.
ECKERT: In here, the guys are working the robot control system.
CARTER: In companies like Niprobe have been testing it in their factories.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We work real hard to ensure that he's safe. That he would easily be trainable and that the people who are going to work with him are going to want to work with him.
CARTER: Baxter is selling for about $22,000 and about to arrive in U.S. factories. The question is, will it take people's jobs? Rethink Robotics says, no.
ECKERT: If you take Baxter, who's roughly 4 bucks an hour. Baxter does the simple task and the person who was doing that can now do a more highly skilled and highly valued added task.
CARTER: Joe Carter, CNN, Boston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: Joe Carter, thank you. Take a look at this with me. This was the cover of "The Des Moines Register" yesterday. If you look closely, it's making some folks really upset. This is a key swing state, Iowa. Coming up next, we'll tell you why and we'll break down what Iowa means really for each campaign.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Mitt Romney has wrapped up his big speech on the economy in Ames, Iowa just the last hour. Iowa gets more campaign love on Monday. Let me tell you why. The first lady, she is going to be making her sixth visit to Iowa.
This year alone appearing at rallies in Iowa City, in Sioux City and also, Iowa has gone Democratic in all but one presidential election since 1988. It has picked the winner in seven out of the last 10 presidential contests and went heavily for Obama just four years ago.
But this year, Iowa and its six electoral votes very much up for grabs. Let's talk to Carol Hunter. She's the senior news director with "The Des Moines Register."
Carol, welcome to you. It's nice to have you on. As we mentioned, your state pretty good at picking presidents, huge for Obama four years ago. Just tell me why this state is so important in this presidential race.
CAROL HUNTER, SENIOR NEWS DIRECTOR, "DES MOINES REGISTER": Well, it's pretty much like Ohio in that it's very much a toss-up state. All the polls are showing it pretty much dead even. There's a Rasmussen report that has them both at 48 percent.
The rolling averages are all within the margin of error. It's just going to be close, close right down to the wire. And how precious those six electoral votes are just shows how close the entire national campaign is.
BALDWIN: Carol, can we take about the front page of your paper? This is from yesterday. I want the viewers to look at it first here. Obama on the left, Romney on the right.
Carol, I understand it's created quite the flap among some of your readers because, you know, folks on the right are complaining that Obama looks more presidential and on folks on the left, say Obama looks like he's scowling. What does that say to you? Eleven days out, what has this race come to, Carol?
HUNTER: Once again, it's all about how intense people are feeling here in Iowa. We were covering dueling appearances. Both candidates were in the state on Wednesday.
The address by Obama, I think both pictures adequately and very appropriately captured the type of event. Obama gave a teleprompter speech. It was a very serious address. That picture shows him working the crowd and he has an intense look on his face.
Romney it was sort of a drop-in. It was actually at an hangar at an airport. The reporters who were there talked about the sound reverberating loudly off the walls and he was very optimistic. He looked very relaxed.
And those two pictures captured it. Some people said we were trying to make a statement about the campaign, but of course not. We were covering what happened at those two events.
BALDWIN: Speaking of a statement, I'm going to ask you a little bit about your endorsement that's coming out tomorrow night in just a second. But first, registered voters, Carol, compared to four years ago when Democrats so far outnumbered Republicans by just about 100,000.
Now when you put the numbers up from 2012, it's pretty much dead even. Do you think the race in Iowa will come down to uncommitted voters?
HUNTER: I think really now it's down to whichever party gets out the vote and I'll include in that gets out the no-party voters, those independent voters as well swings them over.
But we polled a month ago, and 90 percent of people in Iowa had already made up their mind among likely voters. So that truly uncommitted is a very small slice.
It's really going to come down to how many people get out to vote on election day and both parties are very much spinning the numbers. Iowa is one of the earliest voting states.
BALDWIN: No, spinning? Get out of here.
HUNTER: Right. Iowans have been voting for a month now and each party is very carefully tracking how many absentee have been requested and how many have been returned. Democrats jumped out to a very big lead.
They say they have the best strategy here and that that big lead in early voting will carry the day. Republicans say they can tamp down on the early voting and turn out more voters on Election Day and say they have the winning strategy.
BALDWIN: Carol, what about that endorsement? Four years ago, your paper endorsed Obama. Can you give me any hints? It comes out tomorrow night.
HUNTER: No hints whatsoever. The editorial board takes that decision very seriously and it's very secretive. No one else in the news room knows. We'll look at desmoinesregister.com at 7 p.m. on Saturday and all know that decision then too.
BALDWIN: Carol Hunter, "Des Moines Register," we appreciate you talking to me from Iowa. Thank you.
Speaking of swing states here, several swing states releasing more political advertising than ever before. This is how close this race is. We'll look at that.
Plus, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg expected to address preparations for this, Sandy, Hurricane Sandy any minute now. We're watching the storm's path for you. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: If you live in a swing state, it's practical impossible to turn on the TV, flip on the radio without being bombarded by all these campaign ads. There's a lot of money being spent, really it's unprecedented.
It's the most expensive presidential campaign in history. Let's be honest, a lot of these ads, downright ugly. And here we are 11 days out, expect it to get worse.
John Avlon is pulling back the curtain to reveal the wizards behind all that campaign air time. John Avlon, what did you find?
JOHN AVLON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Brooke, if you want to find out what's really going on in the late stages of a campaign, follow the money. The folks at the Wesleyan Project had been looking at ad, "Super PAC" spending and campaign spending over the last weeks of this campaign.
It is ugly. It outpaces anything we have ever seen before, especially in swing states. If you look at a map of how the money is being spent, the campaigns and the "Super PACs" are allocating it clearly in the swing districts of those swing states, Florida, Ohio, Virginia, Nevada, Colorado, Wisconsin.
That's where the ads are being placed and it's unprecedently negative. That's in part because of the impact of the "Super PACs." And a new study out by the folks at the Center for Responsive Politics show that it's unprecendently negative.
That three super PAC groups, conservative-leaning, Americans for Prosperity, Crossroads GPS, run by Karl Rove, and also the Chamber of Commerce, account for more spending in this campaign than the next 17 outside groups combined.
So you have got a late-inning money balm coming primarily from the right in terms of outside. Both campaigns are fighting it out hard. The tone is relentlessly negative. But that's where the campaign is being fought right now, on the airwaves. It's a race to the bottom, unfortunately, as well as a race to Election Day -- Brooke.
