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Ballot Bowl 2008
Tensions Dissolve in El Dorado Polygamist Standoff; Clinton Speech in Philadelphia Compares her with Rocky; Obama Takes Swing at Clinton-Rocky Comparison; McCain Gives Letterman a Taste of his own Medicine; Babies for Barack.
Aired April 06, 2008 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sometimes live, several minutes of these candidates during their stump speeches out on the campaign trail. I am in Philadelphia. The candidates are not in Pennsylvania. They are taking advantage of some of the time that they have before the big Pennsylvania primary coming up on April 22nd to campaign out west.
And with that I'll turn it over to my colleague, Candy Crowley, who is going to take a look at the Democrats who have been campaigning in Montana and the Pacific Northwest over the last couple of days. Candy?
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Jim.
Montana is holding its primary on June 3rd, but never too early to go out and start campaigning. Senator Hillary Clinton has just wrapped up a campaign swing through Montana. Today, she spoke to an enthusiastic crowd in Missoula.
At a rally in Butte last night she received a welcome worthy of Rocky Balboa, and you can bet she loved that. She talked about Montana's last in the nation June 3rd Democratic primary. It's a moment she acknowledged for the first time, that can't come fast enough.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Who said there aren't a lot of Democrats in Montana? There are people outside who couldn't get in tonight. This Mansfield-Metcalf dinner is a great place for us to celebrate the resurgence in the west of the Democratic Party. And I am so glad that this election will go on because by holding the last primary, the last best place is going to help choose the next president of the United States.
(APPLAUSE)
CLINTON: And, oh, it will not be a moment too soon. As I have traveled across our great country, the overwhelming feeling that I see expressed by not just Democrats but even Republicans, independents, and people who don't, frankly, get very much involved in politics, is that we stand on the cusp of a new beginning for America, and if you listen closely, you can almost hear it in the distance, the sound of the moving van pulling away from the back of the White House.
(APPLAUSE)
CLINTON: Now, we all wish that it would be tomorrow that President Bush would return to that ranch and cut that brush instead of cutting back on children's health care, and cutting back on veterans' health care, and cutting back on the future for our children. But I believe the whole world will breathe a sigh of relief when George Bush and Dick Cheney finally hand over those keys.
(APPLAUSE)
CLINTON: But that's not when our work ends, that's when our work begins. I don't think we even know how much damage has been done to our country by the failed policies and the wrong-headed priorities of this administration. For the past seven years, President Bush has conducted a dangerous experiment in extremism. It has failed our country.
He had two priorities, tax cuts for the wealthiest and the war in Iraq, and he hasn't paid for either one of them. He inherited a balanced budget and a surplus, and he's leaving behind a mountain of debt. He's mortgaged our future with his reckless spending while ignoring the problems that continue to pile up.
So here we are in April of 2008, and we are borrowing money from the Chinese to buy oil from the Saudis. I don't believe it is right to stick our children and our grandchildren with the bill for President Bush's failed presidency, and it will -
(APPLAUSE)
CLINTON: It will be up to us as Democrats to reassert the confidence and competence of our country's future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: It is worth noting that both Senator Clinton and Senator Barack Obama have stopped attacking each other, at least on the stump over the past couple of weeks, going instead, as you heard, after George Bush, and often after John McCain, the presumed Republican nominee.
Senator Obama is adding to his campaign war chest today with some private fundraising events in Northern California. Before he left Montana last night, Obama touched on the challenges facing America, chief among them, the economy and the war on terror. He also revisited the subject of a controversial campaign ad about a certain early morning phone call to the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: But in this election, you know, we're not here just because we want to be against something. We want to be for something. In this election we have to ask ourselves, what's next for America? What road will we take? What kind of future do we want for our children and our grandchildren? That's what's at stake right here and right now. That's why not only Democrats but independents and some Republicans have turned out in record numbers all across the country. It's because we know that this moment of great challenge is also a moment of great opportunity.
We know that this election is our chance to start over. To finally come together, to put aside the fear and the cynicism and the doubts and solve the problems we've been talking about for decades. To put America on a different path, a better path, to turn the page and start writing a new chapter in American history, and that is why I am running for president of the United States of America.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: The Republicans running for president, they could have offered this path, but their primary became nothing more than a contest to see who was best qualified to run for George Bush's third term. John McCain won that contest, and I have great regard for John McCain's heroism. He is an outstanding public servant for the American people, but let's face it, he is now offering four more years of the very same policies that failed us for the last eight.
We know where that road leads. We've been down that road before, and at this moment of challenge and opportunity, we can't afford to go back. We need to go forward, not backwards. We need to look not to yesterday, but to the future.
We can't afford four more years of the kind of judgment that led us to invade a country based on faulty intelligence and a misunderstanding of the real threats that we faced. We can't afford four more years of a foreign policy that asks us - asks our troops to risk their lives in a country that won't take responsibility for its own future, where we're mired in a war that isolates us from the world and distracts us from the fight against al Qaeda in Afghanistan.
And I'd just -- a little side note here. Just in case you're wondering who you want answering that phone call at 3:00 o'clock in the morning.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: There are - there are three candidates left. And I think you might want the one who is going to read the intelligence reports and ask some tough questions before we authorize a war and who has the judgment to weigh the costs and benefits of any military action. There are three candidates left, and there's one who already showed good judgment. You might want to consider that one to answer that phone call at 3:00 o'clock in the morning.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: We can't afford four more years of a economic policy that offers just one solution to every problem under the sun. Tax breaks for the wealthy, tax breaks for the biggest corporations and the wealthiest few, people who didn't need them and weren't even asking for them. That's not a policy. It's a dogma. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: Once again, Barack Obama in Butte, Montana. Hillary Clinton was also there as I bring in my colleague, Jim Acosta, who's up in Pennsylvania.
You know, Jim, I've covered a lot of politics, and I have been to Montana for some pretty exciting Senate races, but to see both these Democrats in Montana which is generally is a flyover state. I mean, it is usually Republican presidentially almost all the time, so Republicans go by it taking it for granted, Democrats go by it because they don't think they have a chance, a whole new race this year.
ACOSTA: Absolutely, and speaking of Montana, I think you perhaps pointed out earlier that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton see Montana as a state that could go blue this time around.
And we remember back in 2004 when John Kerry lost Montana by a wide margin to George W. Bush. It was on that same day that Brian Schweitzer, the Democratic governor of Montana was elected on that day. He's the bolo-wearing governor of Montana, and a fierce supporter of gun rights.
So obviously, yes, it's going to be an interesting race out there in Montana this year, and it's interesting to see those candidates out there. It shows how this year has been like no other, at least in recent memory.
And Candy, coming up after the break here on BALLOT BOWL on CNN, we'll be looking at the candidates and how they have been honoring Dr. Martin Luther King on the 40th anniversary of the civil rights leader's assassination.
That's coming up after the break. This is BALLOT BOWL on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: Welcome back to BALLOT BOWL on CNN. I'm Jim Acosta in Philadelphia.
And it was April 4th, 1968, when Martin Luther King was struck down by an assassin's bullet there just outside of his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. Well, on that 40th anniversary of that day, the candidates in the race for the White House, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, and Barack Obama all paid tribute to the slain civil rights leader.
We're going to start first with John McCain on Martin Luther King.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If we think only of the day, that day and that moment, there is no inspiration to be gained. The man we remember was a believer in the power of conscience and goodness to shape events. But this place will always stand as a reminder that cowardice and malevolence laid claim to their own victories.
No good cause in this world however right in principle are pure in heart was ever advanced without sacrifice, and Dr. King knew this. Dr. King knew this. He knew that men with nightsticks, tear gas, and cattle prods were not the worst of what might be lying in wait each day and night.
He was a man accustomed to the nearness of danger, and when death came, it found him standing upright in open air and unafraid. We see him today from a distance of four decades, more time than the man himself lived on this earth, and it would not be unusual if his stature or reputation had faded with the passing of the years. It happens sometimes that the judgments of history overrule contemporary opinion indifferent to the fame and approval of the moment.
But this has not been the case with the first-born son of Alberta and Martin Luther King, Sr. He only seems a bigger man from far away. The quality of his character is more apparent. His good name will be honored for as long as the creed of America is honored. His message will be heard and understood for as long as the message of the gospels is heard and understood.
OBAMA: On the eve of this day, Dr. King gave a sermon in Memphis about what the movement meant to him and to America. And in tones that would prove eerily prophetic, Dr. King said that despite the threats that he had received, he didn't fear any man because he had been there when Birmingham aroused this conscience of a nation. He had been there to see the students stand up for freedom by sitting at lunch counters, and he'd been there in Memphis when it was dark enough to see the stars, to see the community coming together around a common purpose.
So, Dr. King had been to the mountaintop. He had seen the Promised Land. And while he knew and while he somewhere deep in his bones that he would not get there with us, he knew that we would get there.
CLINTON: That he had that kind of impact on millions of people of all colors, faiths, ages, and walks of life. It tells us something about the reach and power of his vision. It was a vision big enough and bold enough and grace-filled enough to embrace every last one of us.
And when he came here to Memphis to speak out on behalf of workers, he wasn't only speaking for those sanitation workers who were denied their rights, who had seen two of their fellow workers die in a cascade of garbage a few weeks before. He was speaking out for all workers everywhere who are exploited and abused and denied their basic rights. When Dr. King protested the Vietnam War, he wasn't just speaking on behalf of black soldiers, but all soldiers and civilians, Vietnamese and American alike.
When he worked on behalf of the poor here in America and around the world, he wasn't just speaking for the poor he knew, that he could see with his own eyes, but the poor who knew no boundaries of geography or color. And when we stood against discrimination, he wasn't just seeking to free African-Americans from the shackles of slavery and the past that had been shaped by that abomination. He was seeking to break the shackles of hatred on the hearts of us all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: There you have it. It's something on BALLOT BOWL the candidates can all agree on, the legacy of Martin Luther King.
Coming up after the break here on BALLOT BOWL on CNN, we'll check in with our very own Josh Levs on how the candidates are clicking online: The race in cyberspace.
That's coming up after a break. This is BALLOT BOWL on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CROWLEY: Hi and welcome back to CNN's BALLOT BOWL. This is the Sunday edition. I'm Candy Crowley in Washington.
We've been showing you a little bit of what the candidates are doing out on the campaign trail, but they are also making good use this year of the Internet. They're trying to connect with voters and their contributions. Visitors to John McCain's site can watch a video describing his life and beliefs. The Democrats' Web sites offer similar affair.
Josh Levs is in live - live with us in Atlanta with more on the candidates' online offensive. Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN.COM DESK: I'm also in live with us, absolutely.
You know something, Candy? One of the figures I can't wait for when the whole election is said and done at the end of the year, I want to see how much money was put into online videos and online presentations of these sites, millions and millions. It's amazing, especially when you look at how frequently they change.
As you were just saying there, character presentations, John McCain right now is pushing new video that presents who he is. So, what we're going to show you here, we're taking a look at this this weekend, it's a montage we've got now of the three major candidates in videos they have on their Web sites presenting who they are.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: The son and grandson of admirals. His grandfather, an aviator., his father, a submariner. They were his first heroes, and earning their respect has been one of the lasting ambitions of his life.
They gave their lives to their country and taught young John McCain lessons about honor, courage, beauty, perseverance, and leadership. Lessons he didn't fully grasp until later in his life when confronted with challenges he never imagined.
OBAMA: The biggest blessing in my life is my family. I've got a wonderful wife, Michelle. We've been blessed with two beautiful daughters, and we're active in our church, Trinity United Church of Christ. My family life, I think, is most important to me, and it's the main thing I do when I'm not working in my political life.
I just want to stand in strong support of this bill working for a number of organizations throughout the states that are trying to deal with this homelessness issue. I think this is an example ...
One of the things I'm very proud of is the fact that I've been able to get things done whether I'm in the minority party or the majority party and we've been able to build bipartisan coalitions around a lot of these issues.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's battle-tested. Anybody that thinks they're going to be able to push around he madam president, they've got another thing coming. I have always found Hillary to be very approachable. She's a very good listener.
She and I have talked about a lot of things over the years from, you know, the changing of her name to whether or not her husband should run for president when he did, and she's always been able to, you know, bring a lot of different perspectives to bear.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: Each of these videos last a lot longer. You can see more at all the Web sites. And you really can't miss them because the way they're designed, when you get to these Web sites, you see this big link that says video. It takes to you these sites.
And it is very interesting to me to see at any given point in the campaign, we report so much on the dynamics, you can tell what the dynamics are in a lot of ways by seeing what videos they're pushing. Character presentations are getting a lot of attention right now.
What I'm going to do now here, something cool. We have a camera facing this computer behind me, I'm going to turn around and show you some of the hottest messages going on on these major sites right now. Let me turn around. Are we here? Good, right there.
This is of course, the CNNPolitics.com page where I always like to begin. So, you can get a reminder of how good it is to visit there. But take a look here.
We've been following this. HillaryClinton.com regularly does this. It's a device that works well for them. They, front and center, show graphs that show how much money they're trying to make right now. I know it looks pretty small on your site, but these little bars are how far they are toward each goal in Pennsylvania: TV air time, signs and online ads.
And she has another site, here, I'll make it a little bigger so you can see, showing how well she is doing on each goal. She's trying to make $2.5 million to raise money for TV air time just in Pennsylvania alone. Right now, she's about $271,000. It's a device people see numbers right in front of them, encourages people to give.
I'm going to jump over to John McCain because just now we were talking about his site, his video presenting who he is. Well, front and center, the story of John McCain. He is in the midst of an effort to present who he is right now. You can't miss it.
Also right here, you guys, just minutes ago, talking about Martin Luther King. He has kept right here on his main page, "Honoring the Dream," looking at Martin Luther King.
Finally, I'm going to over here at Barack Obama. Now, I'll tell you, in a way, me showing you this gets a little boring because this, front and center on Barack Obama, almost always stays exactly the same, and that has to do with if it ain't broke, don't fix it. They certainly are, you know, having a system that they believe works.
One thing they do often right here is bring people over to their blog. And I'm just going to show you an example page and I'll make it bigger. They're encouraging people all the time to take part in discussions on these blogs.
So, what they've been going on right now is a bunch of supporters who got together to clean up their community. And according to this blog post on BarackObama.com, these people were inspired to clean up their community by Barack Obama's message that when people come together, they can improve the world around them.
That changes often on the Obama page, the blog sites that he brings people to. I'm going to bring it back to CNNPolitics.com because you can't see that enough, the one that you see over there.
So, Candy, when we take a look at what we're seeing on these major sites each day, you know, keep in mind, this is branding. It's not random. They don't just grab something and stick it up there. They're very careful about this.
They got very smart minds saying, what message do we need to push if someone is only going to show up at our site for 10 seconds, what one thing do we want to draw them in with. And that's why I show you those main pages. Now, I'll tell you, it seems to be doing well for all three of them, Candy.
CROWLEY: Absolutely. And it dovetails really with what they're doing on the campaign trail. Barack Obama, who has been criticized, of course, as being all fluff and no substance, always says go look at my blueprint, go see the specifics that I have. Hillary Clinton, of course, under the gun in terms of fundraising, though she raised $20 million which is astonishing, he raised $40 million. So, giving people a reason to come on, I need your money to keep going. And John McCain, of course, has been on this bio tour.
LEVS: Right.
CROWLEY: So, they're really sort of using both the trail and the Web site to kind of, you know, push it forward. I'm interested to know who gets the most hits.
LEVS: Yes. You know, when I was looking at the latest traffic reports, so I could get a hold of, Obama. And that's why one thing, when I say it ain't broke, don't fix it. It is interesting to me, I see so many more changes. I look at all of these sites every day, and going back to last year I do with all the major candidates.
And I do regularly see the Clinton sites and the John McCain site change more often. Barack Obama's system seems to be working for him. When you get there, it draws people in.
And also, a lot of people are drawn in by his videos, his race speech. You can watch it right there on his site just like they did with the "Yes We Can" video. So, he draws people in with that. While, he's there, you're right, he's like, hey, check out my blueprint, check out my issue page, they all have that.
So, we'll continue to follow it right here, CNN.com/politics. Of course, we're always there for you to get all the information you could possibly want on all the candidates. Candy?
CROWLEY: Josh Levs who knows all things Internet. Thanks so much, Josh.
News headlines are next, including an attempt to put out the Olympic torch. You're watching CNN'S BALLOT BOWL.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: I'm Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN Center in Atlanta. More "Ballot Bowl" in a moment, but first these headlines.
Evacuees of a polygamist sect raided by Texas authorities are giving caretakers a glimpse into their secretive society.
CNN's Ed Lavandera is our man on the ground in El Dorado. He joins us now with the very latest -- Ed?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. Officials here in El Dorado have spent a great deal of the day moving the more than 200 people that have been removed from the compound, the 1600-acre ranch where this polygamist sect has been living. They moved them about 40 miles north of El Dorado to the town of San Angelo where they're huddled together in a western outpost type of a center where people go almost like a tourist attraction.
They're now being there where they continue to be interviewed and will continue to do so over the next few days. Authorities here have pulled out more people, in all 219 have been pulled out, 157 of those are children. Officials here say that the children are holding up as best as can be expected, but they do describe them as terrified.
And authorities here are continuing to investigate them trying to get to the bottom of this allegation that brought them here in the first place, which was an allegation made last Monday to children protective services that a 16-year-old girl had been abused. Authorities here say they still haven't been able to locate that woman. And they haven't arrested the man that is accused of abusing her.
BVC MARLIEGH MEISNER, TEXAS CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES: I think they're doing remarkably well considering the circumstances. It's very difficult any time child protective services removes children from their parents' home. It's one of the most difficult things we do.
Those of you who are parents, you need to think for a second what that would be like for your children to be uprooted like this from the only home they've know.
So we're very aware of that and we're really trying to make certain that their needs are met, but I would say right thousand they appear to be doing very well.
EVC
LAVANDERA: Fredricka, if you remember last night was actually -- there were several tense hours here last night after we saw ambulances and medical personnel brought into the compound Saturday evening. That lasted -- kind of tense moments lasted for about three or four hours as the investigators and authorities wanted to search the temple on the grounds of the compound.
We understand they did have to make a forceful entry, that there was some peaceful resistance by some of the members of the sect who didn't want the nonmembers of their faith to go inside this temple to search it. We're told there were no injuries, that everything has settled down so those tense moments that existed last night have seemed to die down today -- Fredricka?
WHITFIELD: All right, Ed Lavandera, thanks so much for that update.
Meantime, Skyway Airlines has made its last run. The regional carrier won't be operating anymore flights after its parent company, Midwest Airlines, cut nearly 400 jobs. SkyWest Airlines, based in Utah, is expected to take over those Midwest routes. The Skyway company isn't shutting down completely. It will handle catering and other services for Midwest Airlines.
And protests in London disrupted the Olympic torch run today. Let's take a look at the video. Demonstrators are demanding China relinquish its control of Tibet. Many scuffled with police, as you see there. One protester tried to put the torch out with a fire extinguisher. Dozens were arrested. The torch is on its way to Beijing for the summer games.
Heavy rains falling across parts of Florida today. Let's check in with meteorologist Bonnie Schneider.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We're still looking at heavy rain working its way across central Florida.
(WEATHER REPORT)
SCHNEIDER: Fred, snow in April.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Bonnie. Overseas, three American soldiers were killed today in separate rocket attacks in Baghdad. At least 31 other U.S. troops were wounded. The attacks came in the heavily secured Green Zone and a U.S. outpost elsewhere in the city.
President Bush is expected to address the nation later on this week on Iraq. Administration sources say it will happen Thursday morning, and it will focus on troop tours of duty and future plans in Iraq. CNN, of course, will bring that to you live.
And we'll get you right back to "Ballot Bowl" right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BVT
CNN REPORTER: Boutiques, exquisite sushi bars, and the scent of cherry blossoms -- the things you can expect to experience during a vacation in Japan or Japantown.
PETER FISH, SUNSET MAGAZINE: Everybody knows San Francisco's Chinatown, but a lot of visitors from outside the Bay Area don't realize San Francisco also has a really cool reviving Japantown. It's a fun place to go to experience Japanese culture.
CNN REPORTER: Just a mile from San Francisco's Union Square, visitors to Japantown enjoy karaoke lounges, restaurants, theaters, and merchandise from the Far East.
And after that long day out in the city, why not relax like the Japanese?
FISH: The Kabuki hot springs, which is really quite inexpensive compared to a lot of your day spas. You have communal bathing options if you want and you can pretend you're in Kyoto or some place.
EVT
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Welcome back to "BALLOT BOWL. I'm Jim Acosta in Philadelphia. "BALLOT BOWL" is always a chance for you to hear the candidates in their own words. And this past week some of those words have involved comparisons between some of the presidential candidates out there, namely Hillary Clinton and a certain Italian stallion, Rocky Balboa.
And with that I'll toss to my colleague in Washington, Candy.
Candy, I'm just going to mention, for just one moment, I am not making this up. Five seconds before we went on the air, a Winnebago with Philadelphia Eagles stuff all over the side of the Winnebago was blaring the Rocky music as it was making the circle in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I can't make this stuff up. I promise it's true.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Right on cue. Thanks, Jim.
ACOSTA: Exactly.
CROWLEY: Where else would you talk about Rocky Balboa but in Philadelphia, specifically in Pennsylvania where the primary is just over two weeks away?
And Senator Hillary Clinton has been stumping across that state telling blue collar workers she'll fight for their jobs. Pennsylvania has been hard hit losing manufacturing jobs to foreign competition.
Tuesday at a stop in Philadelphia, Senator Clinton compared her fighting spirit to local movie hero Rocky.
BVT
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know taking on Senator McCain in November won't be easy. The Republicans are not going to give up without a fight. And no matter how beautiful your rhetoric, the Republicans are not going to turn off their attack machine. It does not have an off switch. But one thing you know about me is that when I say I'll fight for you, I'll fight for you. I know how to fight for you, and that's exactly what I will do throughout this campaign.
Look, I know there will be hurdles and setbacks between now and November, but I also know I'm ready. I know what it's like to stumble. I know what it means to get knocked down. But I've never stayed down. I never will, and neither will you and neither will America. We're on the comeback trail as a country!
This is one of the most important elections we've ever had. There is so much at stake.
You heard, as President George talked about what a difference it made to go from a Republican governor and Republican senators and Republican members of Congress. Well, we've got to finish the job. And it's so important that the people of Pennsylvania have their voices heard and their votes counted.
Senator Obama says he's getting tired of the campaign. His supporters say they want it to end. Well, could you imagine if Rocky Balboa had gotten halfway up those art museum stairs and said, well, I guess that's about far enough? That's not the way it works.
Let me tell you something. When it comes to finishing the fight, Rocky and I have a lot in common. I never quit, I never give up, and I know that we're going to make it together, not just up those stairs, but we're going to climb that mountain to a better day for America. We have so much work to do, and we won't get there if we quit or we walk away. We'll get there by staying and fighting and standing up for what we believe in.
But I don't need to tell any of you this. No one knows better than organized labor how important it is to have a fighter on your side. When you send someone to the bargaining table, you need the strongest, toughest, most determined person you've got. Not someone who is just going to talk about problems, but someone who will roll up her sleeves and get the job done for you.
EVT
CROWLEY: Now, word of Senator Clinton's Rocky comparison made it back to her rival. And Senator Obama couldn't resist taking a swing. Here he is on the same stage in Philadelphia a day later.
BVT
SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know there's been some talk about Rocky Balboa over the last couple of days. And, you know, we all love Rocky. We all love Rocky. And the last time I checked that was the underdog in this state. So, you know, I like the Rocky story.
But we got to remember Rocky was a movie, and so is the idea that somebody can fight for working people and at the same time embrace the broken system in Washington where corporate lobbyist used their clout to shape laws to their liking. We need to challenge the system on behalf of America's workers. And if we're not willing to take up that fight, then real change, change that will make a lasting difference in the lives of ordinary Americans, will keep getting blocked by the defenders of the status quo.
I believe I can bring about the kind of change that's needed because I'm the only candidate in this race who has actually worked to take power away from lobbyists, by passing historic ethics reform in Illinois and in the United States Senate. I'm the only candidate who isn't taking a dime of Washington lobbyists' money. They have not funded my campaign. They will not run my administration. And they will not drown out the voices of the American people when I'm president of the United States of America. Your voices will be heard.
EVT
CROWLEY: And that's the story of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Rocky Balboa, and how their paths met up there in Philadelphia, where we find my colleague Jim Acosta.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Yes. And Candy, we do know how Rocky turns out. At least Rocky won. Rocky Balboa does not win in "Rocky," as we all remember there.
But coming up after the break here on "BALLOT BOWL" on CNN, our very own Jeanne Moos, who has been having as much fun with this election as all of us, on the not-quite-youth vote -- babies for Obama. That's coming up after the break. This is "BALLOT BOWL" on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: Welcome back to "BALLOT BOWL" on CNN.
If you are a watcher of "The Late Show" with David Letterman, you know that David Letterman has been taking a lot of shots at John McCain over the last several weeks with his John McCain is old jokes. For example, Letterman will say McCain is so old that when the phone rings, he picks up the remote control, and so forth and so on.
Well, John McCain made a guest appearance on "The Late Show" on Tuesday night, and he gave David Letterman a taste of his own medicine.
BVC
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You look like a guy whose laptop would be seized by the authorities.
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW": What? Uh-huh.
MCCAIN: You look like a guy caught smuggling reptiles in his pants.
You look like the guy who the neighbors later say, he mostly kept to himself.
LETTERMAN: Uh-huh.
MCCAIN: You look like the night manager of a creepy motel.
LETTERMAN: Well, just what I need.
MCCAIN: And you look like the guy who enjoys getting into a hot tub and watching his swim trunks inflate.
EVC
ACOSTA: OK. Not sure why we had to end on that one, Candy, but it does give us a chance out on the campaign trail to not take things too seriously. And it looks like John McCain can not only take it. He can dish it out with David Letterman.
CROWLEY: Absolutely, Jim. Thanks. It's also sort of fun to watch how much fun John McCain was having. Thanks, Jim.
Senator Barack Obama is polling really well with a surprising demographic. If only they could vote.
As Jeanne Moos reports, Obama has won the online endorsement of a mess of American babies.
BVT
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It used to be that candidates were the ones kissing babies, but these days babies are kissing back, and even talking back.
BABY: Obama! Obama!
MOOS: Home videos of babies for Obama has become a genre on the web.
PARENT: Would you vote for Hillary or for Obama?
BABY: Obama.
PARENT: I got a crush on O?
BABY: Bama!
PARENT: Who do you want to be president, Ella?
ELLA: Barack Obama.
PARENT: Oh, Barack Obama?
MOOS: Lest you think we don't care about babies for Hillary...
PARENT: Put both your feet in the air if you will vote for Hillary no matter what? Well, maybe not that one.
MOOS: And there are kitties for McCain.
PARENT: Do we like Hillary?
BABY: No.
PARENT: Do we like Barack?
BABY: No.
PARENT: Do we like McCain?
BABY: Yeah!
MOOS: But the overwhelming number of babies parroting a preference are saying...
PARENT: Obama.
BABY: Obama.
PARENT: Obama.
BABY: Obama.
PARENT: McCain? Hillary? Obama?
BABY: Obama.
MOOS: Either parents are beating Obama into their kids or there's something about that word.
BABY: Obama!
MOOS: Speech development expert Professor Harriet Kline say ba and ma are two of the easiest sounds for a child learning to talk.
(on camera): It's a child-friendly word, Obama?
PROF. HARRIET KLINE, SPEECH DEVELOPMENT EXPERT: Yes, it's like repeating syllables, as children do. You know, they'll say da, da, da, da, da, da.
MOOS (voice-over): He's not quite 2 and Tyler Robinson is already an Internet hit.
PARENT: Tyler, say Hillary.
PARENT: Hillary?
TYLER ROBINSON: Obama!
MOOS (on camera): Your son sounds possessed.
(voice-over): Tyler's dad says the family is split between Obama and Hillary.
(on camera): You never sat with him and said Obama, Obama, Obama?
PARENT: No, we never made like a point of like drilling it into him.
MOOS (voice-over): Dad thinks Tyler keeps repeating the word because he likes all the attention it gets him.
TYLER: Obama!
MOOS: It's ironic that after all the talk of Obama's name being a political liability, it goes over big with the youth vote.
(on camera): The word Obama is very similar to babbling.
KLINE: To the babbling sounds, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba.
MOOS (voice-over): Linguistically, it's the next best thing to ma.
TYLER: Obama!
PARENT: OK, honey, shh.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
TYLER: Obama!
EVT
CROWLEY: What we may have here, Jim, is too many parents with too much time on their hands.
Let me get back to you, Jim, just in the final wrap up.
ACOSTA: And maybe reporters.
CROWLEY: Exactly, exactly.
Back to the adult world, you're in Pennsylvania and we know the candidates are out picking up other sort of future states in the primary process. But do you get a feel at all there? I know the polls show she's got a pretty solid lead. What do you pick up there? ACOSTA: Well, as we look forward to the Pennsylvania primary, just 16 days away, you know, I get the sense that I don't know what to sense about this race. And I don't know because conventional wisdom hasn't had a very good track record, as we all know, Candy, over the last several months.
But it is interesting to see this race tighten in Pennsylvania. And we've seen this pattern before where Barack Obama starts way back in the polls and then starts to gain on Hillary Clinton. It's uncertain as to whether or not that will happen here. But we know that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have to go back to Washington as General David Petraeus gives his presentation to Congress. And then they will get back on the campaign trail and will probably end up back here in Pennsylvania.
CROWLEY: I'm with you, Jim. I don't know what's going to happen either. Just thought I'd ask.
Thanks so much Jim Acosta in Pennsylvania.
I'm Candy Crowley in Washington. "CNN Newsroom" is next.
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