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Romney Speaks Any Moment in Florida; Romney Speaking at Florida Event; America's Choice 2012; SNL Makes Fun of Christie; Storm Response Effect on the Election; Last Day to Vote Early in Iowa; Sports Superstitions and White House Race

Aired November 05, 2012 - 09:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Soledad. And good morning to all of you. Stories we're watching right now in the NEWSROOM.

Long lines for early voting in Florida leads to chaos and anger.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is not Cuba. This is not China. We cannot allow this to happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: One lawsuit already filed. A sign of things to come?

Super storm Sandy also affecting your vote. It's hard to get to the polls when you can't gas up your car.

And RG3, that fabulous rookie may have lost the game for the Redskins, but he could have decided the election.

NEWSROOM starts now.

And good morning, thank you so much for being with me. I'm Carol Costello. Just a warning, Mitt Romney will begin speaking any moment in Sanford, Florida. That's near Orlando. When Mitt Romney takes the mic we'll take you to Florida live.

So on with the newscast right now. Counting down and knotted up just hours before Americans head to the polls, the slightest ripple could decide a presidential race that's too close to call. According to our new CNN/ORC poll Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are tied at 49 percent among likely voters.

And today that has both men racing across key battleground states. Here's a look at the rest of his day. As you can see in red, he then travels on to Virginia, Ohio and New Hampshire. President Obama in blue goes from Wisconsin to all important Ohio. And finally to Iowa.

We have CNN crews scattered across the country. These crucial last hours of campaigning. Jim Acosta is with the Romney camp in Sanford, Florida. Dan Lothian is at the President's first stop in Madison, Wisconsin.

Gentlemen, we're going to ask you to read the tea leaves. Two reasons for confidence at each camp and one reason for doubt.

So, Jim, I'd like you to go first. Romney's feeling good about his campaign's ground game. Mitt Romney's people are also pegging a lot of hope on voter enthusiasm. Please expound.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. That's right. You know, I talked to a senior Romney adviser earlier this morning. And they say that their message today is going to be focused on those last few undecideds. And that is where that ground operation comes into play. They know that they're going to have to outperform these recent battleground state polls across a number of swing states showing that the GOP nominee is trailing the President in places like Virginia, in places like New Hampshire. One came out in Iowa yesterday.

So I was talking to the finance chair for this campaign over the weekend, Spencer Swick. And I was asking him, Carol, I said, why are we still seeing these fundraising appeals from the GOP nominee going out to supporters? And this is where the ground game is crucial. A lot of that money, he said, is going to be going to vans to round up voters and supporters and get them to the polls and to make sure that volunteers are getting out in the neighborhoods, canvassing areas where they know they are strong and making sure that every door is knocked on to make sure every possible voter that might be leaning towards Mitt Romney can get to their voting place and cast a ballot for this GOP nominee.

So at this point they know that they've got to prove the pollsters wrong. And that means getting out the vote -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Dan Lothian. We can't get to you because as you can see Mitt Romney has taken the stage. He's shaking hands with the former governor of Florida, Jeb Bush. He's about to speak to a very lively crowd. Thousands of people in attendance. Let's listen.

(BEGIN LIVE FEED)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: That is quite an Orlando welcome. Thank you so very much. What a way to start a day. This is fabulous. What a way to start an election.

And I am -- I am so looking forward to getting the chance to work with Senator Connie Mack. You going to make that happen?

(CHEERS)

And I also appreciate the great leadership of Jeb Bush, Governor Jeb Bush, one of the best this country's ever known.

(CHEERS)

Thank you to Governor Scott for welcoming us here and Lieutenant Governor Carol. Thank you also to Jeff Atwater. As you know, Jeff is the chief financial officer of the state. But he's been the co-chair of my effort here along with Adam Putnam who, as you know, is the commissioner of agriculture. Appreciate their work. Will Weatherford, the speaker of the House, has addressed you and I appreciate his support.

Senator Mel Martinez is here. And I appreciate Mel being here.

(CHEERS)

I think I've -- oh, I didn't mention Congressman John Micah. Where's John? Hanging out here. He's over here. Hi, there.

It's quite a gathering today.

(CHEERS)

This is -- it's quite a welcome that you provided me. Your --

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

Your voices -- you're voices are not just heard in this hangar, they're being heard all over the nation.

(CHEERS)

And even though -- even though Ann is in a different city this morning, they are being felt, your voices, in both of our hearts. And I want you to know how much we appreciate all that you've done, all the doors you've knocked on, all the phone calls you've made and the fact that you voted early. I saw how many hands went up when you're asked. That was very good.

(CHEERS)

And some of you have put signs in your yard.

(CHEERS)

Some of you have put signs in your neighbor's yard.

(CHEERS)

And I just -- I know how many as well have talked to co-workers and tried to convince people to vote for Paul Ryan and me.

Look, we have one job left and that's to make sure that on election day we get -- make certain that everybody who's qualified to vote gets out to vote. We need every single vote in Florida.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

Now what makes this rally and the -- and your work so inspiring is that you're here because you care about America.

(CHEERS) This is a -- this is a campaign about America. And about the future we're going to leave our children. We thank you. We ask you to stay at it all the way, all the way to victory on Tuesday night.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

Tomorrow we begin a new tomorrow. Tomorrow we begin a better tomorrow. This nation is going to begin to change for the better tomorrow. Your work is making a difference, the people of the world are watching, the people of America are watching. We can begin a better tomorrow, tomorrow. And with the help of the people in Florida, that's exactly what's going to happen.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

Now there may be some of your friends and family members who haven't made up their mind yet who they're going to vote for. So I'd ask them to look beyond the speeches and beyond the attacks and even beyond all the ads.

Look to the record. You see, talk is cheap. But a record, that's real. And it's earned with real effort. And some --

(CHEERS)

I mean, the President promised a lot of change. But change can't be measured in speeches. It has to be measured in achievements. And four years ago, Candidate Obama promised to do, oh, so very much. But he's fallen, oh, so very short.

I mean, you know some of these things. He said he'd be a post- partisan president. But he's been most partisan. Attacking, dividing, blaming. It's not only Republicans he's refused to listen to. He's also refused to listen to independent voices. He was going to focus on creating jobs. Instead he focused on Obamacare and that killed job. He was going to cut the federal deficit in half, instead he doubled it.

He said that by now unemployment would be at 5.2 percent. And last Friday we learned that it's 7.9 percent. Now that's --

(CROWS BOOS)

That's nine million jobs short of what he promised. Unemployment today is higher than when Barack Obama was elected president. Think of that. He promised that he would propose a plan to save Social Security and Medicare. He didn't. Never even proposed a plan. Instead, he took $716 billion out of Medicare and used it to pay for Obamacare. Though we didn't want it.

(CROWD BOOING)

He also said he would lower the health insurance premiums of the average family in America. This year we'd be down $2,500 a year. Anybody see that yet?

(CROWS SHOUTING)

Actually, they're up $3,000 a year. Think what impact that has on a middle income family in America. And, of course, the average American family now pays about $2,000 a year or more for gasoline than they did when the President was elected.

One more thing, let me mention. He said he would reach across the aisle on the most important issues that the country faced. To you realize he has not met on the economy or on the budget sequestration or on jobs with either the Republican leader or the -- of the House or the Republican leader of the Senate since July?

That is not working across the aisle. That's not bridging the divide. It's making the divide wider. So now we've had --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unacceptable.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Liar (ph).

ROMNEY: -- a lot of debates in this country. And not as Republican or as Democrats, but as Americans that look at the issues that are before them. And you've watched what's happened in the country over the last four years with an independent voice. You hope that President Obama would live up to his promise to bring people together and to solve problems. He hasn't. I will.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

And you know why he fell so short. You know why he fell so sort of what he promised. He cared --

(CROWD SHOUTING)

He cared more about a liberal agenda than about repairing the economy. Did Obamacare create new jobs?

CROWD: No.

ROMNEY: Did his war on coal and gas and oil put new jobs in the marketplace?

CROWD: No.

ROMNEY: Did the Dodd-Frank regulations help banks make more loans to people?

CROWD: No.

ROMNEY: Does raising taxes create more jobs?

CROWD: No.

ROMNEY: Does an avalanche of new regulations help small business build new jobs?

CROWD: No. ROMNEY: You passed the test.

(LAUGHTER)

I mean --

(LAUGHTER)

Look, I'm happy to sit down and discuss this with anybody who'd like to. But almost every measure the President took made it harder for the economy to recover. And it hurt our fellow Americans. And we're not just talking about a handful of people. We're talking 23 million Americans are struggling to find a good job.

One in six Americans are poor. And the middle class, even those that have jobs, the middle class is being squeezed with lower incomes every year and higher prices for everything to health insurance to gasoline and electricity bills. It's been tough for middle income Americans, even those that are employed.

This weekend I spoke with a wife of a 60-year-old man. He's worked as a welder for 40 years. But he just got laid off. And she said, what's he going to do? She asked what I could do to help him. And she made it very clear. They're not looking for a government check. He wants a job. The President thinks -- the President thinks more government is the answer.

No, Mr. President. More jobs. That's the answer for America.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

I mean, the question of this election, the question of this election really comes down to this. Do the people of America want four more years like the last four years or --

CROWD: No.

ROMNEY: Or do you want real change finally?

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

CROWD: One more day. One more day. One more day. One more day.

ROMNEY: Now -- I think you know that the President promised change, but he couldn't deliver change. I not only promised change, I have a record of achieving it. I actually --

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

I actually built a business. I helped turn around another business. I helped get the Olympics back on track. And then with a Democrat legislature, 85 percent Democrat, I helped turn my state from deficit to surplus. From job losses to job growth. And from lower take home pay to higher take home pay. That's --

(CROWD BOOING) That's why I'm running for president. I know how to change the course the nation is on. I know how to get us to a balanced budget and how to build jobs and make rising take home pay happen again. See, accomplishing real change is not just something I talk about. It is something I have done and it is something I will do as the President of the United States.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

(CROWD CHANTING)

If you believe we can do better. If you believe America should be on a better course. If you're tired of being tired, then I ask you to vote for real change. Paul Ryan and I will bring real change to America from day one. When I'm elected, of course, the economy and the American job market will continue to be stagnant. But I won't waste any time complaining about my predecessor.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

And I won't spend my effort trying to pass partisan legislation unrelated to jobs and growth. From day one I'm going to go to work to help Americans get back to work. And, you know, people all over the country are responding to Paul Ryan and my five-part plan to create more jobs and rise in take-home pay. Part one of that is taking full advantages of our energy resources, our oil, our coal, our gas, our nuclear renewable.

(APPLAUSE)

On day one, on day one, I'll act to increase the number of leases and permits to drill on federal lands.

(APPLAUSE)

And I'll act to speed the approval of the Keystone Pipeline from Canada.

(APPLAUSE)

Number two, I will move to boost trade, particularly with Latin America. It's an enormous opportunity for us. We need to take advantage of it.

And I will finally designate China as a currency manipulator. We all have to play by the same rules.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, third, I'm going to send to congress a Retraining Reform Act to make sure every worker can get the skills they need for a good job.

And number four, I'm going to tackle out of control spending. I'm going to send Congress the first of several fundamental reforms. This first one will be called the Down payment on Fiscal Sanity Act. And it is going to do something that's been spoken of but never done. And that is we're not just going to slow down the rate of federal spending, we're actually going to cut federal spending and get ourselves on track to a balanced budget.

(APPLAUSE)

I'm not -- I'm not just going to take office on January 20th. I'm going to take responsibility for that office as well.

(APPLAUSE)

(CHANTING)

And number five, I'm going to act to boost small business, and all business, by the way. I'm going to enact executive orders for straightening problems holding the economy back. The first is going to grant waivers from Obamacare to help begin its repeal.

(APPLAUSE)

The second will launch a sweeping review of all Obama era regulations with an eye to eliminating or repairing those that are killing jobs.

(APPLAUSE)

And, by the way, for the first time, for the first time in four years, every entrepreneur, every small business person, every job creator, is going to know that the President of the United States and our government likes them and likes the jobs they help bring to Americans.

(APPLAUSE)

See, Paul Ryan and I believe in limiting government instead of limiting the dreams of our fellow Americans.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, our choice tomorrow is going to lead to one of two very different outcomes. And people across the country, I think, have the information they need to know where those outcomes would be. They could judge what kind of America we'll have based upon who they vote for.

If, for instance, they were able to re-elect President Obama, he will still be unable to work with Congress and the people there, because he's ignored them in the past. He's attacked them. He's blamed them.

The debt ceiling that comes up from time to time is going to come up again. There'll be threats of shutdown and default. And, of course, that scares the heck out of the economy, freezes job growth.

I think the President was right the other day when he said he can't change Washington from the inside, only from the outside. We're going to give him that chance.

(APPLAUSE)

That's his way.

My way is quite different. When I'm elected, I'm going to work with Republicans and Democrats in Congress. I'm going to meet regularly with leaders in both parties. And I'm going to endeavor to find good men and good women on both sides of the aisle that care more about the country than they do about politics.

And they're there, and we can make that happen.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, there's no question but you know that regardless of what he says, if the President gets re-elected, he's going to continue his war on coal and oil and natural gas.

I have a very different path. When I'm elected, we're going to change course on energy to build jobs, to help put the price at the pump. We're going to achieve North American energy independence in eight years.

(APPLAUSE)

If the President were to be re-elected, I'm convinced he will continue to crush small business with his plan to raise taxes on them, to force employees to join unions whether they want to or not, to expand regulations, and to impose Obamacare, which also kills jobs.

I care about small business. I see it as a means for a people to fulfill their dreams.

Last week, I met a woman in Richmond, Virginia, named Rhoda Elliott. She's been running her family restaurant for a number of years, Bill's Barbecue -- a business that's been in her family for some 82 years.

At the high point, she had 200 employees. She just closed it down. And she told me that it was the Obama era taxes and regulation, Obamacare and the Obama era economy that put her out of business. And she teared up as she was talking about it.

This wasn't about money. This was about the future for her family. And the future for the families of the employees that worked there.

I want to help the hundreds of thousands of dreamers like Rhoda and I will.

(APPLAUSE)

(CHANTING)

You know, if the President were to be re-elected, he's going to say he's going to improve our schools. But he'll do what his largest campaign supporters, the public sector unions, insist on. And your kids will have the same schools with the same results.

When I'm president, having learned lessons from Jeb Bush and the experience of Florida -- (APPLAUSE)

I'm going to be the voice of the children and the parents across the nation because there's no union for the PTA. I want to make sure the kids of the nation get what your kids here get. I want to make sure they receive the information about the school their kids are going to, to know whether it's exceeding or failing. And I want every child to have the choice they need to pick the school where their child can succeed.

Now, I'm proud of the fact that in my state, we took our schools to the top of the nation, number one of all 50 states. But we did that by working together, Republicans and Democrats -- by listening to the good advice of our best teachers who've dedicated their lives to helping others. Listening to parents and always putting the students and their education first. And I'll do the same thing as president.

Now, these last -- these last few months of the campaign, you've noted that we've gathered strength. It's become a movement across the country.

(APPLAUSE)

You see it -- you see it not just in the size of the crowds that gather and the energy and passion, but also in the shared conviction we have. It's made me strive even more to be worthy of your support, and to campaign as I was governed, to speak for the aspirations of all Americans.

I learned as the Governor of Massachusetts that the best achievements are shared achievements. I learned that respect and goodwill go a long way and are usually returned in kind. That's how I'll conduct myself as your president.

I'll bring people together. I won't just represent one party. I'll represent one nation.

(APPLAUSE)

Throughout the campaign, using every argument he can think of, President Obama has tried to convince you that the last four years have been a success.

(BOOS)

And so his plan for the next four years is take all the ideas from his first four years. You know, the stimulus, the tax increase, the borrowing, Obamacare, and do them all over again.

(BOOS)

He calls this plan "forward". I call it forewarned.

That same path means $20 trillion in debt. It means continuing crippling unemployment. It means depressed home values. Stagnant take home pay, and a devastated military. Unless we change course, we may be looking at another recession as well. And in his closing argument, did you hear this just the other day? President Obama asked his supporters to vote for revenge.

(BOOS)

For revenge.

Instead I ask the American people to vote for love of country.

(APPLAUSE)

(CHANTING)

(END LIVE FEED)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: All right. We're going to break away from this. You hear Mitt Romney. He looks kind of tired as does President Obama.

It's been a long road for both the men. You hear Mitt Romney say he's ready to begin a better tomorrow tomorrow. We'll parse his speech, talk more politics and also talk about voter anger in Florida when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Long lines, chaos and confusion are leaving many early voters in Florida quite angry. People were in line for up to four hours on Saturday just trying to cast a ballot. And if that wasn't frustrating enough, Governor Rick Scott refused to extend voting hours, promising state Democrats to, yes, file a lawsuit.

If that didn't catch your attention, maybe this will. More chaos erupted when people trying to cast absentee ballots were locked out of my Miami-Dade's election headquarters after too many people showed up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been waiting here since 12:30 to pick up an absentee ballot. And now, they're telling us we've got to go home. That's just ridiculous.

CROWD: Let us vote!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: At least he kept it classy and said ridiculous. A lot of people were saying much more nasty things. About an hour later, Miami-Dade officials reopened the doors causing more confusion. At least a couple more people got to file those absentee ballots.

John Zarrella live in Miami for us this morning.

What's the deal in Florida?

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is Florida, right, Carol?

You know, I think that what you have to do is take a look at where this all started. Four years ago, early voting lasted 14 days. The state legislature changed that down to eight days this year. There were repeated efforts by the League of Women Voters, Democratic Senator Bill Nelson and others to get Governor Rick Scott to extend early voting past Saturday.

He would not do that. You had the chaos. You had the long lines for early voting. Early Sunday morning, the Democratic Party filed that suit saying that people were not given a meaningful opportunity to go to the polls.

They attached affidavits from people who attempted to vote and waited in long lines. For instance, here's one. "I came to the Coral Reef Library at 11:45 a.m. to early vote. I had to wait six hours to vote."

Here's another one. "I spent four hours in line waiting to vote. I tried five times over the last three days to find a lull. No luck."

So that was part of the lawsuit. What Miami-Dade County did yesterday and Palm Beach County was say, OK. You can come to our offices and pick up an absentee ballot and file that absentee ballot.

Problem in Miami Dade was, when that word got out they were overwhelmed. They had printer problems, only one machine working. They did as you mentioned close the office, then reopen it.

It is open again today for -- for this absentee ballot returning. And we understand that the lines are very, very long again this morning -- Carol.

COSTELLO: OK. So what is Governor Scott saying? Any sightings of Governor Scott at any of these long lines, you know, consoling people, saying it's going to be OK?

ZARRELLA: Well, he said Thursday, he said that he thought everything with early voting was going just fine. That was Thursday. And that he hoped that everyone would have an opportunity to vote.

But since that statement Thursday, we have not heard anything from Rick Scott. And, you know, the clock is obviously ticking now. And it's going to be very, very difficult for anyone to do anything in advance now of tomorrow's actual Election Day voting, other than what Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties are doing to actually allow people to show up at the supervisor's office, pick up an absentee ballot and file it right there.

But, again, the lines are long.

COSTELLO: Shouldn't it be easy to vote in America? Maybe I'm just kind of crazy, I don't know. John Zarrella reporting live for us from Florida this morning.

ZARRELLA: Sure. COSTELLO: Remember Chris Christie's praise of President Obama and how he handled disaster relief after superstorm Sandy? Well, Mitt Romney, he finally commented on that. We'll tell you what he had to say.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Thirty-five minutes past the hour.

It is the last day of campaigning for President Obama as he tries to hold on to his job. One challenge remains, though -- trying to get more white Americans, particularly men, to turn out to vote for him. A new CNN/ORC poll released last night shows only 40 percent of white likely voters support the President compared to 57 percent for Mitt Romney.

It's a challenge not lost on comedian Chris Rock. Listen to this appeal he made to white voters on ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS ROCK, COMEDIAN: Hi, I'm Chris Rock with a special message for white people. In times like these, you need a white president you can trust. That white president's name is Barack Obama.

Let's take a look at the facts. For the first two-thirds of his life, Barack Obama was known as Barry, which is the third whitest name on Earth, right after Cody and Jeff. These are the white people who raised Barry, Madeleine and Stanley Dunham. They're so white they have to wear sunglasses because they're hurting each other's eyes.

After college, Barry went to --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: That's pretty funny, but telling. I'm joined now by one of the President's surrogates, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed.

Welcome, Mayor Reed.

MAYOR KASIM REED (D), ATLANTA, GA: How are you doing, Carol?

COSTELLO: I'm pretty good.

Has President Obama sort of given up on white men at this point?

REED: No. The President's not giving up on anyone.

I mean, let's be real clear. Bill Clinton didn't win white men. So, this isn't new for Democrats.

No Democrat has won the majority of the white vote since Lyndon Baines Johnson. So, this has been an issue for the party. Fortunately, we have a broad tent and people are coming to the President's side.

So, he definitely does not give up. He never takes a single vote for granted. And that's why he's out working so hard right now. COSTELLO: Well, a lot of analysts say the election will come down to single white women. And President Obama does much better with single women than he does with white men.

Why is that?

REED: Well, because he speaks to their issues and their values. The first bill that he signed was the Lilly Ledbetter Equal Pay bill. This was very important.

I believe the health care legislation, the American Affordable Care Act, was essential. All of these are areas that women care about, certainly their reproductive freedom and the right to have a relationship with their own doctor where they make their own decisions about their health.

Now, these are issues where the President has stood again and again and again on the side of women.

So, women are doing what intelligent people do. They vote with people who care about their interests. When you contrast that to Governor Romney, he stands shoulder to shoulder with a person like Senator Mourdock who makes awful, unacceptable comments about women. He hasn't sided with women on one single issue.

When n you go and talk to Mitt Romney, he won't even answer the question about whether he believes in equal pay for women or whether he would sign the Lilly Ledbetter Act.

That's why women are siding with the President. They're just voting their values and they're voting their issues.

COSTELLO: I think -- I think, though, mayor --

REED: I want to challenge you on that.

COSTELLO: I think, though, Mayor, one of the overriding issues for all voters is the economy, remains the economy. And also this huge debt the country is carrying right now.

And many analysts say that's why Mitt Romney's message is resonating. That's why the election is so close, virtually tied right now.

REED: Well, it's virtually tied nationally. But I don't hear many analysts denying that the President is in the strongest position to be re-elected.

The bottom line is this election is going to be decided in the Electoral College. And the President's going to win. He has an advantage that Mitt Romney can't make up right now.

So I don't know what analysts you're referring to, but I refer to the analysts that show that the President is winning in almost every battleground state. That's a day before the election. And he's going to get 270 electoral votes. So they can raise these issues because the only thing that they have right now, Carol, is a confidence game. They have to go out and act like they feel good and that they feel confident. When you go to the battlegrounds, which is where this election is going to be decided, the President is winning. You can argue about the margin in almost every single battleground.

COSTELLO: OK.

REED: No sane or normal person would want to be Mitt Romney today.

COSTELLO: I don't know if many Republicans would agree with you there.

REED: We'll see if they agree with me tomorrow, though.

COSTELLO: We'll see. Tomorrow will be a telling answer. Maybe.

That's my last question to you. Will the election be decided tomorrow? Florida, voting is kind of chaotic there already.

In Ohio, they're thinking maybe with these provisional ballots, they're going to have a lot of them. They may have to count them. You know, you can't count provisional ballots until 10 days past the election. Maybe the election won't be decided tomorrow.

What do you say?

REED: I feel very strongly that the election's going to be decided tomorrow in a comfortable fashion. I was actually in Florida yesterday. I think the President's going to win there, too.

You might remember, Carol -- you and I sat a day or two before the Supreme Court decision when I said that the court was going to affirm the Affordable Health Care Act. And now I'm telling you that we're going to win on tomorrow in a comfortable fashion with the President of the United States being re-elected and securing 270 electoral votes, which is the whole show on tomorrow.

COSTELLO: Mayor Reed, thank you so much for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.

REED: Thank you for having me.

COSTELLO: Next, the other side of the argument. I'll talk with the spokesperson for the Republican National Committee. We'll be right back. There he is.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It's a cynical view, but what in politics isn't today? Superstorm Sandy and the government's response might hand President Obama second term. Those pictures of the President working alongside a political enemy and Romney supporter were inescapable, even on "Saturday Night Live."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Also, I would like to give a sincere thanks to President Obama for how he handled the situation. On Election Day, I'm voting for Mitt Romney, but if I had to pick one guy to have my back in a crisis, it would be Barack Obama. He's been amazing. You know, so kind, such a leader, a true inspiration.

Again, I'll be a good soldier. I'll vote for Romney. But I'm going to hate it. Do you hear me? I will hate it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Some conservatives are not so happy with Christie. But Mitt Romney in Pennsylvania finally reached out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: Thanks, also, to the Governors that are dealing with this tragedy, particularly I think about the Governor of New Jersey, Governor Christie. He's doing a -- he's giving it all of his heart and his passion to help the people of his state. They're in a hard way, and we appreciate his hard work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: With me now, Sean Spicer, communications director at the Republican National Committee.

Welcome, Sean.

SEAN SPICER, RNC COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: I noticed Governor Romney did not mention President Obama along with Christie in praising relief efforts. Dare I ask you why leave Obama out?

SPICER: He was talking about -- Governor Christie is a surrogate of his. I think he wanted to praise him for the job and the effective leadership he's done in New Jersey. And look, I mean, Governor Christie is doing a great job leading the state of New Jersey during a crisis.

But what he's also showing is not only the leadership in his state, but that he'll work with whoever is willing to lend him a hand to help the people of New Jersey. And the same reason that Governor Christie is supporting Mitt Romney is because Mitt Romney's got a track record of reaching across the aisle to get things done. When he was in Massachusetts as Governor, he had a legislature that was -- a legislature that 85 percent Democrat. He reached across the aisle, worked with other people to get things done and turn his state around.

And that's the kind of President that Mitt Romney's going to be, that says, hey, whether you're a Democrat or Republican, you want to fix the problems that this country faces, I'll work with you to get it done. COSTELLO: And -- and you know, that's been a campaign theme recently for Governor Romney. He accuses President Obama of not being able to reach across the aisle. But in New Jersey, it sort of looks that way.

SPICER: Well, I think the President here, the final end of his campaign after four years, is -- is reaching out in particular to -- to Governor Christie. But for four years that hasn't been the case.

I mean, it's been since July that he's had a meeting with either the Republican leader of the Senate or the leader of the House. He didn't want to deal with anyone when it came to Obamacare. So there is no track record of him reaching across the aisle to get things done.

Conversely, with Governor Romney, his whole life has been about reaching across and partnering with folks to get the job done whether in the private sector or his time as governor.

So there is a difference in terms of both of their track record as far as who actually is willing to sit down with people from all sides to get -- put -- put solutions in place to tackle problems.

COSTELLO: If you look at the national polls, the race is essentially tied. But of course, only the swing states matter. Does the response to Sandy really matter in Ohio or Virginia or Florida?

SPICER: Well, I think the race is going to come down to what I call the three I's, intensity, independence and issues. On intensity, our base is extremely enthusiastic and much more so than the Democrats. When you talk about -- when you look at the polling and find out who has more intensity going out to vote, knocking on doors.

Two, on independents, every one of those polls that has come out nationally or even privately shows Governor Romney with anywhere from a nine to a 20 point lead when it comes to independents and they're going to be crucial going into tomorrow.

And last on issues that do matter to voters what they're casting that vote on issues like the economy and debt and deficit. What you're talking about with the Mayor earlier again, it's -- it's the American people giving Governor Romney the lead when it comes to who's most effective to deal with those tough issues that we're voting on.

So that's what I think people are going to be looking at tomorrow. That's why I think we're going to get put over the top and Governor Romney is going to have a -- a huge win tomorrow night.

COSTELLO: And just on a human level, because you must be exhausted, it's been a long election. How will you feel after tomorrow is over?

SPICER: I think both personally and professionally just ecstatic. I think -- you know, I know what a great job Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan are going to do for this country. So it's been all worth it in terms of you know the hours and such.

Our volunteers have been out there making countless door knocks and phone calls. We have 150,000 volunteers throughout the country that have made 53 million voter contacts as of this week. It's just amazing to see that.

So it actually will just be exciting when -- when we go over 270 and continue on forward. You know whether it's up to 300, who knows. But I think it's going to feel great.

COSTELLO: All right.

Sean Spicer, thank you so much for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.

SPICER: You bet. Thank you Carol.

COSTELLO: If you have not voted in Iowa, the state gives you two options. Wait in line today or wait in line tomorrow. We'll take you to Iowa for early voting, next.

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COSTELLO: Today, obviously, is the last day to vote early. In Iowa, polling locations are expecting big crowds today as well as tomorrow.

CNN's Poppy Harlow is at a polling center in Des Moines. Poppy, I hope it's going better than it has in Florida.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's going a lot better, Carol. I mean, you can see this morning the line is already starting. They had 1,200 people vote here on Saturday, I'm told but not four and five- hour lines. And -- like in four, they have a lot more places open here.

Look, the early vote is critical in this critical battleground state. They say that there is a record number of early votes this year in this election. About 40 percent of the people that vote will have voted early. So both campaigns are trying so hard to get the ground game out.

Now, when you look at the numbers as of Friday, the Democrats, registered Democrats have a little bit of a lead, about 63,000 more early votes in than the Republicans do. But we're told that lead is much more narrow than it has been in past elections.

I want you to take a listen to two early voters that we talked to this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: The President won here by nearly ten points in 2008. The Romney camp says, look, we've really stepped up our ground game from what McCain had here four years ago. Can you feel that?

TRICIA, IOWA VOTER: I do. I actually voted for Barack Obama last -- last time. And really feel Mitt Romney's presence this time around.

HARLOW: Is there as much enthusiasm for the President as there was here in 2008 when he was running? NATALIE RIVERA, IOWA VOTER: Certainly not. I would say that people definitely have a little bit more grounding in reality this time. You know, there was a lot of being carried away with the enthusiasm of voting for the first black president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Oh, but not so much this time. So Poppy, you said the campaigns are pulling out all the stops. Give us an example.

HARLOW: Yes. Well they are. So today, later this afternoon, we're going to head to a Paul Ryan event that's going to be held at the Des Moines Airport. He is coming, the campaign tells me, to really lay into the crowd here and the supporters here in Iowa, get out the vote. It will be the Romney campaign's final presence here in Iowa.

Then tonight, right downtown here in Des Moines, Bruce Springsteen is going to open up as he is earlier today elsewhere for the President. President Obama will be here around 10:30 p.m. Eastern time tonight.

So you have both campaigns, big presence here in Iowa. Only six electoral votes. But Carol, in a campaign like this, you need every single one. And this state, too close to call. "The Des Moines Register" came out with their final poll on Saturday night. It has the President leading but only by five points -- Carol.

COSTELLO: I'm thinking Paul Ryan needs Kid Rock.

HARLOW: That's true. I think Romney has Kid Rock later in New Hampshire, right, Carol?

COSTELLO: I think you're right. Poppy Harlow live in Des Moines, Iowa this morning.

Washington football fans who are Republicans may not be so sad their team lost on Sunday. We'll explain the Redskin rule.

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COSTELLO: You've seen the polls, the electoral college maps and heard all the stump speeches. But guess what; it could be a couple of sporting events that have already decided the election, really.

Republicans swear by the Redskins rule. When Washington loses, the challenger wins. And the Redskins lost to Carolina yesterday. Since 1940, the outcome of Washington Redskins' last home game before the election has correctly predicted the outcome of the presidential race 17 out of 18 times.

But Democrats can rally around this stat. The San Francisco Giants won the World Series, two-thirds of the time a National League team has won the fall classic, the Democrats have won the White House. We'll leave you to figure it out.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM begins after a quick break.

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