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President Obama Gives Campaign Speech in New Hampshire; Presidential Candidates Campaign in Swing States; Hurricane Sandy Threatens U.S. East Coast; Movie Critic Reviews Political Films

Aired October 27, 2012 - 14:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta. We're keeping a close watch on hurricane Sandy, which his making its way along the Atlantic coast.

In the meantime, the campaigning for presidency continues. You're looking at President Barack Obama in Nashua, New Hampshire. While Obama as well as Mitt Romney will be modifying their touring, crisscrossing the battleground states because of the weather, for now, the president is taking advantage of this moment, talking to supporters there in Nashua, his tenth visit to New Hampshire. Let's listen in.

BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's 70 degrees and sunny. Can everybody please give it up for your outstanding United States senator, Gene Shaheen?

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Your next governor, Maggie Hessen. Your next congresswoman, Annie Custer.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: And I've got to say something special about one of the most talented singers, songwriters that America has had. He's a great friend, and this guy has been working his tail off on behalf of the campaign. I couldn't be prouder that he's working with us. James Taylor, give him a big round of applause.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: I love you back.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Ten days, New Hampshire. Ten days. Ten days and you'll be stepping into a voting booth and making a defining choice about the future of our country. Not just a choice between two candidates or two political parties. It is a choice between two fundamentally different visions for America.

We believe in the value of the largest middle class, the strongest economy the world has ever known, the promise that hard work will pay off, the promise that responsibility will be rewarded, the idea at the core of this nation that no matter who you are, no matter where you come from, no matter what you look like, this is a country where everybody gets a fair shot, and everybody does their fair share. Everybody plays by the same rules. That's what we believe here in America.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: We believe that we are endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights. We insist on personal responsibility. We don't believe anybody is entitled to success. We know we all have to earn it. We honor the strivers, the dreamers, the risk takers. Everybody who has been the driving force behind our free enterprise system, the greatest engine of growth and prosperity the world has ever known.

But we also believe that the true measure of prosperity is more than just a running tally of corporate balance sheets, quarterly profit reports. We measure prosperity not by how many millionaires and billionaires we produce. We measure prosperity by how well a typical family is doing, by whether our kids are getting a great education and go as far as their dreams and hard work will take them.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: We understand that in this country, people succeed when they've got a chance at a decent education, when they can learn new skills. And by the way, so do the businesses that hire them or the companies that they start. We believe our economy grows when we support research into medical breakthroughs or new technologies like clean energy and fuel efficient cars.

We know that our country is stronger when we can count on affordable health insurance and Medicare and Social Security.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: When we protect our kids from toxic dumping and mercury pollution, when there are rules in place to make sure we're not taking advantage of by credit card companies or mortgage lenders or unscrupulous financial institutions.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: We know we're better off when politicians in Washington aren't allowed to make decisions about health care that women are perfectly capable of making for themselves.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: That's what we believe. That's the vision that we embrace. I appreciate that.

Governor Romney now, he's got an entirely different view about what this country is about. Don't boo. Vote. Vote. He's been running around saying he's got a five-point plan for the economy. Turns out it's a one-point plan. Those at the very top get to play by a different set of rules than you do. They get to pay lower tax rates, outsource jobs. They want to let Wall Street run wild, make reckless bets with other folks' money. That was the philosophy when he was a CEO, that was his philosophy as governor.

And as President Clinton said, he does have a lot of brass, because he's not talking about change. But all he's offering is a big rerun of the same policies that created so much hardship for so many Americans. And, you know, Governor Romney has been out here making a lot of last-minute promises lately, said he's all about fighting for the middle class, said he would cut taxes for everybody and ask something from nobody.

But the problem is we heard those promises before. Keep in mind Governor Romney lives just a few miles south of here in the state of Massachusetts.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: I love Massachusetts.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: But during Governor Romney's campaign for governor down there, he promised the same thing he's promising now. Said he would fight for jobs and middle class families. But once he took office, he pushed through a tax cut that overwhelmingly benefitted 278 of the wealthiest families in the state, and then he raised taxes and fees on middle class families to the tune of $750 million. Does that sound familiar to you?

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Now, when he's asked about this, he said, these weren't taxes. These were fees. Keep in mind, there were higher fees to be a barber, higher fees to become a nurse. There were higher fees for gas. There were higher fees for milk. There were higher fees for blind people who needed to get a certificate that they were blind. He raised fees to get a birth certificate, which would have been expensive for me.

(LAUGHTER)

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: He raised fees -- he raised fees for marriage certificates and fees for funeral homes. So there were literally cradle to grave tax hikes and fees. And when he left office, there were only three states in the country that had created fewer jobs than Massachusetts. And, by the way, one of them was Louisiana, that had been hit by hurricane Katrina.

He talks a lot about small businesses, still talks about it. Says I'm a business guy, I know about small businesses. Massachusetts when he was governor ranked 48th in small business creation. And one of the two states that ranked lower was Louisiana that had gotten hit by hurricane Katrina.

So this is a guy who has a track record of saying one thing and doing something else. On the other hand -- on the other hand, when I ran four years ago, I made promises, too. I promised to cut taxes for middle class families, and I did, by $3,600.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: I promised to cut taxes for small business owners. And I did, 18 times. I promised to end taxpayer funded Wall Street bailouts, and we have. And by the way, we got every dime worth of money we used for the bank rescue, and we got interest with it, too.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: I promise to take on those financial institutions that were charging too much for student loans, and as a consequence we were able to make college more affordable for millions of Americans.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: I promised I would never walk away from the millions of jobs that were in jeopardy when the auto industry was on the brink of collapse. We decided to ignore Governor Romney's business advice when he said Detroit should go bankrupt, and now, America, we are building the best cars on earth. Four years ago, I promised to end the war in Iraq, and we did. I promised that we would begin the transition in Afghanistan, and we are. I said we'd go after the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11, and thanks to the brave men and women in uniform, the courage of our Navy SEALs, Al Qaeda is on the path to defeat, and Osama bin Laden is dead.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: After losing 9 million jobs under the theory that Governor Romney is now promoting, our businesses under the ideas we've been working with have added more than 5 million new jobs over the last two and a half years -- manufacturing, highest job growth in manufacturing since the 1990s. The unemployment rate is falling. Manufacturing is coming back to our shores. Our assembly lines are humming again. Housing prices are starting to pick up. Housing starts are on the move.

We've got a lot of work to do, but New Hampshire the country has come too far for us to turn back now. We can't afford to go back to the policies that got us into this mess. We've got to continue with the policies that are getting out of the mess. We've got to move forward, and that's why I am running for a second term as president of the United States.

(APPLAUSE)

CROWD: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!

OBAMA: Now, I'm going to do it with you. We can do it together. You know, now, unlike Governor Romney's plan -- he doesn't like to talk about it too much -- I have a plan that will actually create jobs, that will actually lower our deficit. And will actually provide the middle class with a greater sense of security. And the good news is my plan, the math actually adds up.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: If you want to check it out, you can go to BarackObama.com/plans. And I want you to share it with your friends and your neighbors and your coworkers. There are still people out there who are trying to make up their minds. Some of you who are here may be trying to make up your mind. Maybe your girlfriend dragged you out here. I don't know, maybe grandma said you have to go to the Obama rally. And you're still trying to figure it out.

So I'm asking you to compare my plan with Governor Romney's. I want you to know what we're proposing, each of us, and see which plan is better for you and what is better for the future of America.

So, number one, I want to end tax breaks for companies that are shipping jobs overseas. I want to reward small businesses and manufacturers who are putting down roots here, hiring American workers, creating American products stamped with three proud words "Made in America." We can bring those jobs back to our shores.

Number two, I want to cut our oil imports in half by 2020 so we control more of our own energy. Because of the work we have already done, increasing oil production, increasing natural gas production, but also emphasizing renewables like solar and wind and biofuels, today we are less dependent on foreign oil than at any time in the last two decades. That's good for your pocketbook. That's good for our national security. It's good for the environment.

And one reason we have been able to -- we have confidence we can keep on making progress is we have doubled the fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks. So in the middle of the next decade, you'll go twice as far on a gallon of gas.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: I want us now to build on that progress. We've got to keep making those investments. I don't want fuel efficient cars and long lasting batteries and wind turbines and solar panels produced in China. I want them produced right here in New Hampshire. I want them made right here in America, and we can do that.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Number three, we have to make it a national mission to educate our kids and train our workers better than anybody else in the world.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: I want to recruit 100,000 new math and science teachers because we know that's an area where we can't afford to fall behind. I want to train 2 million workers at our community colleges for the skills that businesses are hiring for right now. And I want to work with colleges and universities to make sure that tuition does not keep on going up because our young people can't afford the debt that they're taking on. And that's something we can do.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Number four, my plan will reduce the deficit by $4 trillion over the next ten years in a balanced way. We're going to cut out spending we don't need. We have already cut out a trillion worth of spending. We can do more.

But I'm also going to ask the wealthiest Americans to pay a little more so we can invest in the research and technology and education that will keep new jobs and businesses coming to America.

And under the guise of reducing the deficit, I will never turn Medicare into a voucher system, because no American should have to spend their golden years at the mercy of an insurance company.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: And, by the way, I think we saw just this past week, we don't need a whole bunch of politicians in Washington, most of whom are male, making health care decisions for women.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: I don't think your boss or your insurance company should be making those decisions either. I believe women should be making their own health care decisions for themselves.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: That's why the health care law we passed put those choices in your hands where they belong, and that's where they'll stay as long as I'm president of the United States.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Finally, number five, we're going to use the savings from ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to put our people back to work. Let's do some nation building here at home. Let's rebuild our roads, our bridges, our schools. Let's lay broadband lines into rural communities all across the country.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: And as we're doing that, we're going to be putting our veterans back to work. We've got to serve them as well as they served us, because nobody who fights for this country should have to fight for a job or a roof over their head or the care that they have earned when they come home.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: So that's the plan we need, New Hampshire. That's how you build a strong, sustainable economy. That's how you make sure that middle class jobs that pay a good wage are out there. That's how you encourage new businesses to start here and stay here in America. That's how you increase take-home pay, not just by talking about it. That's how you build an economy where everybody who works hard can get ahead. And that's what we can do together.

Here's the thing, New Hampshire. It's now up to you. It's your choice. It's up to the young people who are here to choose a future that is worthy of all your dreams. It's up to the not so young people here, including me -- I'm included in that category -- to make sure that we're leaving the kind of America we want for future generations.

You know, you can choose the top-down policies that got us into this mess, but I think we need to build on the policies that are helping us to make real progress all across this country. You can choose a foreign policy that reckless and wrong, or you can choose the kinds of leadership that I provided, that's steady and strong. You can choose to turn back the clock 50 years for women and immigrants and gays, or in this election, you can stand up for that basic principle enshrined in our founding documents that all of us are created equal.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, young, old, rich, poor, gay, straight, able, disabled, no matter who you are, no matter what you look like, no matter where you come from, you've got a place in America. You can make it here if you try. That's what we believe.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: New Hampshire, we've been through tough times. But we've been through tough times before and we're tougher. We always come out on top. We always bounce back, because we pull together, because we look after one another, because we don't leave anybody behind, because when we succeed, we prop that door open and bring those who are following behind us. We pull them through. That's who we are.

Our destiny is not written for us. It's written by us. We don't go backward. We look forward to that distant horizon, to that new frontier.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: We imagine a better America, and then we work hard to make it happen. That's who we are. That's why I'm asking for your vote. And if you give me your vote, I promise you, you will always have a president who hears your voices, who will fight for your families, who will spend every waking moment thinking about how to make your life a little better.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: New Hampshire, I still believe in you. I need you to keep believing in me. And if you're willing to work with me and roll up your sleeves with me, knock on some doors with me, make some phone calls for me, we'll win New Hampshire again, we'll finish what we started, and we'll remind the world why the United States of America is the greatest nation on earth. God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.

(APPLAUSE)

WHITFIELD: All right, President Barack Obama in Nashua, New Hampshire, calling his promise to America steady and strong, spelling out his accomplishments and then reaffirming his pledges for the next four years.

We have our political team in place as well. Brianna Keilar is traveling with the president, and we'll check in with her right after this, as well as our Peter Hamby in the political unity in Washington, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, President Barack Obama wrapping up his trip there in Nashua, New Hampshire. He spent quite a bit of time in that state even though it only has four electoral votes. You heard the president just moments ago spell out his many accomplishments from reducing taxes for small business owners and the middle class by $3,000 to helping college kids and the auto industry, and then spelling out some of his vision for the next four years, including ending tax breaks to companies that ship business or jobs overseas.

Our White House correspondent Brianna Keilar is there traveling with the president. The president almost has become a resident there in New Hampshire given he's been there so many times. Why so many times?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: This is the tenth time he's been here just this year, Fred, and even though, as you say, it's only four electoral votes, that's just a testament to the fact that no single electoral vote is being taken for granted by either campaign. Four electoral votes, but New Hampshire could be pivotal as both of these candidates try to get to 270 votes.

This is a state where registering for voting actually ends today. However, voters can register to vote on Election Day and vote. So President Obama really at this point trying to energize people, trying to get out the vote, and the Obama campaign feels that even though this was a strong state for Mitt Romney during the Republican primaries, that they have a leg up here because they have 24 campaign offices to Romney's nine. But certainly, he's looking toward Election Day, and this is a place as well that we'll see Vice President Biden visiting on Monday as well.

WHITFIELD: So it also seemed as though the president spent a lot less time talking about Romney, and spent a lot more time talking about his accomplishments including ending the war in Iraq and going after Osama bin Laden, and spelling out his plan for the next four years. Where is his next stop and is this kind of the new speech that is being unfurled here by the president to spend more time on how he sees the next four years and to remind people of what he has done in the last four?

KEILAR: You know, he did talk about those things, and I also noticed, Fred, that he was talking to women as well, something that we have noticed before. But he spent a considerable amount of time knocking Mitt Romney and his record as the governor of Massachusetts, trying to frame him as someone who raised taxes or fees on the middle class while giving tax cuts to the wealthy. And that's something that was actually new during this speech and really the one thing that really was new that we heard here today in New Hampshire.

President Obama, this is his only event today, Fred, that's true, but from here he actually goes, I believe, inside this middle school we're at and he'll be doing a number of interviews. He's got a national television interview, a few radio interviews he's doing, one here for stations in New Hampshire, but also for a station in Florida and another one in Ohio, key battleground states.

And then he's going to be back out tomorrow. He was supposed to head out on Monday to Florida, heading out tomorrow in anticipation of disruptions from the big storm heading our way. And for the first few days of this coming week, he's going to be very busy. Right now on his schedule, and this could change depending on the storm, Florida, Virginia, Ohio, Wisconsin, he'll be in Colorado, and then he'll be back in Ohio on Wednesday. So a lot of attention, of course, to that key state. He'll be making three stops just in the next few days.

WHITFIELD: Brianna Keilar traveling with the president. Thanks so much.

Of course, later on today in the 4:00 eastern hour, we'll be taking the comments of candidate Mitt Romney, who will be spending time in Kissimmee, Florida, as he continues to campaign and stump for support. We'll have his comments in its entirety at 4:00.

In the meantime, in a moment we're going to go to Washington, D.C. another member of our political team, Peter Hamby, will be joining us to talk more about this neck and neck race and how that storm Sandy just might impact not just the campaign trail but even the ballot boxes, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: President Barack Obama stumping in New Hampshire while Republican candidate Mitt Romney later on today will be stumping in Florida. But timing couldn't have been worse while they tried to make their last swing through many battleground states just 10 days away from Election Day with a storm also threatening the Atlantic coast.

CNN's Peter Hamby joining us from Washington. So Peter, these candidates, the president and Mitt Romney, are having to modify their travels as a result of the unpredictability of Sandy. How potentially damaging or how impactful just might this be?

PETER HAMBY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we actually just learned, Fredricka, that Mitt Romney has canceled all his Virginia events scheduled for Sunday and he's going to campaign in Ohio with his running mate, Paul Ryan, instead. What that means is Romney was supposed to campaign in northern Virginia and Richmond on Sunday, two big, bellwether media markets in Virginia, and now he's going to be campaigning in three small towns in Ohio. So this really shows you how the storm is impacting the schedule.

The flipside is that the storm could potentially, if it's damaging, take President Obama off the campaign trail as well and have him come back to D.C. for emergency purposes to be the president of the United States, which, we remember, is his job. So you know, we have to see how this plays out, but schedules are being adjusted now through Tuesday, so far. So we'll see what happens.

WHITFIELD: That's as it pertains to the campaigning. Then, long term, there are some states, Connecticut among them, that have already declared states of emergency, and there are potential scenarios if some of the states take direct hits from the hurricane, power out for days if not more than a week, then that would impact the electronic balloting for many places, potentially, come Tuesday November 6th, Election Day. What kind of preparations, if any, can be made right now for that?

KEILAR: Yes, the electronic voting machines are being used in Pennsylvania, which may or may not be a battleground state, counties in Virginia, New Hampshire, those are the key states along the east coast.

I think a bigger question, Fred, because it's such a hypothetical right now is just the weather impacting turnout. If the rain continues, our bureau chief reminded me if it takes a western track, it could hit parts of eastern Ohio. That's a very rural part of the state. So if there's tons and tons of rain in eastern Ohio next week, that could be an issue for turnout. And low turnout, you know, traditionally sort of favors Republicans who, you know, are more of a high turnout voter set.

And it could turn out to affect the get out the vote operations for both campaigns, because the Obama campaign is relying on their ground operation, on getting presidential year voters out to the polls. If power is out across the eastern seaboard states, I think people might be more concerned with food and power and energy, perhaps, rather than getting to the polls. That could be a problem.

WHITFIELD: We're all watching. Thanks so much. Peter Hamby, we appreciate that from Washington.

So folks are indeed getting ready for the worst all up and down the eastern seaboard. For hurricane Sandy, we'll get an update on its track next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: We're keeping a close watch on hurricane Sandy right now. It's about 335 miles southeast of Charleston, South Carolina, but it's making its way north. Kill Devil Hills is one of the areas that always feels like it's in the bull's eye when there's a threatening storm along the coast. George Howell is there. We're seeing this roughed up surf there, but the people feel like they're going to get a direct hit or a serious brush from Sandy?

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They're definitely expecting to feel the impact of the storm, Fredricka. Just to tell you about what's happening right now. We're feeling the rain. Again, earlier, we had the showers coming down on and off rain-showers, not too bad, winds 20, 25 miles per hour. Now I can tell you it's that sideways rain, pelting rain that's coming in. The winds have picked up just a bit. We can definitely tell the storm is moving into this area.

When you drive around this area, you don't find a lot of homes boarded up. I talked to a couple people here, longtime residents. And they say the big concern for them is this, it's not necessarily the wind that's coming in. It's how much water this storm system pushes into the area. They're concerned about flooding, about storm surge. So people are preparing by finding high ground and keeping a close eye on the radar.

WHITFIELD: Very good. Thanks so much, George Howell, appreciate that in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina.

Next, we're heading north to Virginia. What are being doing there to prepare for this impending storm?

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WHITFIELD: All right, our reporters are in place, tracking the storm called Sandy. Athena Jones is in Alexandria, Virginia. Right now, it looks great behind you. No weather changes, no rain, no wind. But it's what could potentially happen that people are preparing for. And what would that be, Athena?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fred. That's right, we're here in old town, along the shore of the Potomac River. Maryland is just across the way and D.C. is up the way. This is an area that floods very, very easily even if it's not a tropical storm or a hurricane, just your typical storm. Folks here are taking it seriously. It looks good, but they're stocking up. Businesses are stocking up with sandbags. People are going and getting batteries, even clearing out one hardware store we talked to, C and d batteries, water, tarps, that sort of thing in order to prepare in case the power goes out for some time.

I can tell you across the state of Virginia, the governor has declared a state of emergency. You have state police that are prepositioned along the eastern shore as well as Virginia National Guard troops that are on standby and ready to help with anything that should come about, whether it's debris removal or clearing road ways or security patrol if some of these folks end out without power. So people are preparing just as folks are up and down the coast.

WHITFIELD: OK, and even as these preparations are underway, there has been some early voting taking place in Virginia as well as neighboring Maryland beginning today. So in Maryland, as people head to the polls early, what are they also keeping in mind weather-wise? What are they doing?

JONES: Well, certainly they're doing some of the same things we have seen people doing here. They were handing out sand bags in Annapolis as well as Washington, D.C. and Virginia National Guard folks were preparing sand bags to hand out. Up and down, they're doing similar things. We saw a video of people in Baltimore going ahead and securing their boats in ports to make sure they're sheltered from the storm.

And so people are preparing, hoping they don't get the biggest brunt of it, but we know we could get several inches, up to a foot of rain in this immediate area, so they're preparing for that. Fred?

WHITFIELD: Athena Jones, thanks so much, from Alexandria, Virginia, appreciate that.

We're going to find out exactly where the storm is now and what its track is expected to be. Bonnie Schneider will be joining us momentarily right after this.

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WHITFIELD: We're tracking hurricane Sandy which at the moment is still a few hundred miles of the east coast. Meteorologist Bonnie is watching the storm for us. The closest big city it would be near is Charleston, South Carolina. But even then, there's quite a distance between the two, the storm and the city.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's right. And really, Fredricka, it's because the tropical storm force winds extend hundreds and hundreds of miles from the storm's center. So even though it's 300 miles away from Charleston, we're starting to see the wind and rain. Right now the movement at the northeast, it's a hurricane at 75 miles per hour. It possibly may intensify, will grow in terms of intensity over the next couple of days. That's something we're watching very closely.

Let's take a look at what we can expect from the storm system. First I want to show you the radar picture now, and you'll see heavy rain working its way across coastal sections of North Carolina all the way down to Charleston. We're starting to get the heavy bands of thunderstorms rolling on through. And that will continue as we go through a good portion of much of the evening hours.

Our forecast rainfall totals show some of the heaviest rain will work its way through the Delmarva. And this is over the course of days because the system is slow moving and so large, so flooding is going to be a huge concern with this storm as it continues to work its way onshore.

As we take a closer look at some of the winds, you'll see that the winds are gusting now and picking up quite a bit, almost to tropical storm force strength, including Wilmington all the way down to Savannah. Those winds are likely to intensify with gusts going into Sunday and Monday all the way up to New York City, and they could get as high as 70 miles per hour.

Keep in mind, even whether you have a tropical storm force gust, you can see a lot of wind damage. We're looking for a major way of power outages across much of this region. In fact, put this into motion. Watch this spread out from scattered to widespread to extensive power outages. I would advise everyone right now if you're in this vicinity, you will be impacted by Sandy, and it's important to make sure you're prepared. Have enough food and water for three days per person per household. And of course don't forget your pets and make sure you have flashlights because power outages will be a big issue with this storm.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. Good warning. Thanks so much. Appreciate that.

So what are some of your favorite political movies? Maybe "Dave," "The American President," perhaps? Next our movie critic ranks her favorite political films. See how hers match up with yours.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The countdown continues. We're just 10 days away from Election Day, and Rotten Tomatoes senior editor Grae Drake joins us from Los Angeles with a slightly different countdown, her top three political films. Good to see you.

GRAE DRAKE, MOVIE CRITIC: Hello.

WHITFIELD: So a lot of folks feel like they need a break from the polls, the election analysis, but they don't want to get too far away from it. They're still interested in a presidential race, this one especially, but they also want to see, you know, how it's all been depicted on the big screen and even DVD. So you've got three on your list of the best political films. Let's begin with I guess this would be three. Number three "Ides of March," or is that your number three?

DRAKE: I would say number three "Ides of March," because I didn't think it was a perfect film. I thought it was a little ham-fisted. But overall, George Clooney directed this movie that's about the optimism of youth getting crushed under the boot of age and treachery all during the Ohio primary elections. Now, Ryan Gosling stars as like a junior campaign manager for George Clooney, and he finds out a horrible secret. And the movie is really fun to watch. It's just the right amount of classy and gossipy.

WHITFIELD: That was a pretty good one, I must say. Your number two, "The Candidate." Why?

DRAKE: Because Robert Redford is one of the world's best actors and I totally buy him in the Senate race. He is a Democratic candidate who is brought in to lose, basically, against a Republican candidate. When he finds out exactly how badly he's losing, he starts to broaden his message as he gets -- so he gets more people to vote for him in the polls. And it's just the right amount of hilarity combined with, you know, a really interesting tone that still rings true today.

WHITFIELD: OK, and now, bringing us to the big number one, Grae Drake's number one pick, best political movie, it would be what?

DRAKE: It would be "The Best Man" starring Henry Fonda and Cliff Robertson. This is not very often talked about, but it's such a spectacular film because it's based on a play that was written by Gore Vidal. He did the screenplay for this. Pairing Henry Fonda and Cliff Robertson up against each other as competing for the Democratic presidential nomination, they actually leave it unspecified in the film, to be a little more proper.

But they're both very flawed characters. Nobody is exactly demonized in the film. That kind of writing kind of has a little bit of optimism about it. It's very true, just like the candidate, and I love this movie. It was definitely well received in '64, and Henry -- fun fact, by the way, Ronald Reagan was being considered for one of the roles, but producers didn't think he seemed presidential enough.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh.

DRAKE: And I know some people today who would agree with them.

WHITFIELD: Something about the classic films, there's lots of nuances. Sometimes that's what makes them so memorable and good, too. Let's take a quick peak and listen to "The Best Man."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To get here, some men will stop at nothing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is all this crap? A few years ago, your candidate had what is known as a nervous breakdown.

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WHITFIELD: OK, Grae, thank you so much for your picks. You're going to be back next week and we're going to talk about presidential picks but on the more comedic side, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a date. I'm Grae Drake and I approve these movies.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: Very good. We're always glad you do. Thanks so much. Appreciate it. Grae Drake from Rottentomatoes.com. If you want to see her rating -- should we call it a rating? You need to go to rottentomatoes.com.

A monster of a storm on the move. We'll have live coverage of hurricane Sandy, more of it and its impact and where it's heading next coming up in just a few minutes.

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