Return to Transcripts main page

Ballot Bowl 2008

Obama Campaigns on Fighting in the Democratic Party; Clinton Campaigns on Loss of Manufacturing Jobs in Indiana; McCain Campaigns in Democratic State Ohio on the Economy and Taxes.

Aired April 27, 2008 - 17:00   ET

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

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: My colleague Jim Acosta is out there in Indiana where the May 6th primary will be held. And Jim, over to you.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jessica, thanks very much. This is Hoosier country, you know, Jessica. So, they like to talk about basketball in the state and over the last 24 to 48 hours, we've seen Barack Obama not only talked about basketball but play basketball. He did that Friday night in Kokomo, Indiana.

And now, we see team Clinton talking about some hoops here in the Hoosier State. Bill Clinton, who is campaigning right now on behalf of his wife in New Castle, Indiana, just told this crowd a few moments ago, that normally on a day like this, he'd be watching the NBA playoffs but instead he is trying to help his wife get elected president.

So, let's go to Bill Clinton now in New Castle, Indiana.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER UNITED STATES PRESIDENT: I want to tell you why because there may be some undecided voters here. I want to tell you why because if you haven't voted, you can vote early. And then I hope you'll go talk to other people and pull them out.

When you get in a state like this, it's close and Hillary started at a big disadvantage, well behind. All the polls show it's about even now, but it's going to go to the side that wants it the most. That's what's going to happen. You want it the most?

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

CLINTON: So I'm going to try to give you some good arguments. But I think that let's start with the evident fact that you have two historic candidates. We are going to make history in America regardless. We've already made political history in this election and since the Democratic Party is a party of inclusion and expansion, that's all for the good, but the thing that matters now is who will make the best future for you. That is the issue.

And I want to tell you I think there are several reasons why Hillary would make the best future for you. First, I think she is by far the best to turn this economy around because she knows the most, has the most experience, and has the best ideas. I want to just give you some examples.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

CLINTON: First of all, most Americans experience this economy as flat wages and high cost. Would you agree with that? But you can't get wages up unless you produce more jobs.

In a 1990s, when you gave me the honor of serving, we had 22.7 million new jobs and in this -- in this comparable period our economy has only produced 5 million new jobs. In a country that's even bigger -- which should explain to you why in the 1990s we had a 60 percent reduction in the welfare rolls and almost 8 million people worked their way from the poverty up into the middle class.

And in this decade, 5 million people have fallen from the middle class back into poverty -- most of them while they were working full- time. And that explains your issue which is: In the 1990s after inflation, median family income rose $7,500 a year across all regions and all races in America.

But in this decade after inflation, median family incomes $1,000 lower today than it was the day I left office. While the cost of health care has doubled, college up 75 percent, energy bills up $2,000 until this year. This year alone, the average family will have a $450 increase in gasoline and a $250 increase in their food bills because of energy, and if you drive further or have more to feed numbers are higher. That's where we are.

So, the first thing we got to do is create more jobs in America. If you don't have more jobs and they're not everywhere in every state in the small towns and rural areas as well the big cities and suburbs, you cannot get incomes up. Incomes go up when the labor market tightens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: So there you have it. Bill Clinton there in New Castle, Indiana, talking about the issue of jobs. You almost heard Bill Clinton saying jobs, jobs, jobs there -- in those remarks to voters there in New Castle, Indiana -- sounding like his wife out on the campaign trail, Jessica. And Bill Clinton also talking about the historic nature of this nomination fight between these two historic candidates, and Hillary Clinton talked about this yesterday when she was campaigning in Indiana.

YELLIN: She sure did. You hear both candidates now trying to try to tone down some of the fiery rhetoric that we've seen between both Clinton and Obama of late and one way to show that they all get along, we heard Barack Obama say, "Come November, the Democratic Party will be unified." Well, the Clintons are continuing to promote the message that this is wonderful opportunity for both Democrats, for the whole party, they have two wonderfully historic candidates -- both are firsts, and the party should be excited rather than upset over this ongoing fight between them for the nominating contest.

Let's listen to what Hillary had to say, Hillary Clinton yesterday in South Bend, Indiana.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There is no doubt in my mind that despite the rather daunting challenges we face as a nation, we are up to it. We are Americans. You know -- we are the people who keep moving toward a better future, break down the barriers and obstacles to human progress. Create, innovate, imagine and then pass on those blessings and accomplishments to our children and our grandchildren -- expecting them to continue that forward movement of progress.

We are at risk of breaking that chain of progress. We stand at a point where there is nothing guaranteed that will make it an absolute promise that the American dream will continue unless we choose to act now to make sure that we can see the progress continue. In order to do that, we need a vigorous debate in this election -- about what direction we should be heading, and what the various solutions are that we would offer to the people of our country.

I've been very specific across Indiana and America to talk about solutions, because my campaign is about solutions. Not speeches. It is about working to make the changes that we know we must have. If change were so simple, if it could just be wished into existence, Evan and I would be the happiest people you could find. Because we work every day against some pretty tough odds to try to make a difference and we know how hard it is.

Politics is a process by which we choose our leaders to make decisions but it doesn't end there. Every one of you have your own opinions. You're members of groups and organizations, labor unions. You work for certain kinds of businesses. You have an idea of what you want to see happen.

We have to hammer out a consensus. We have to come to a majority opinion. And then we have to execute.

So, it's important that when someone comes to you asking for your vote, you assess what it is that person tells you, he or she wishes to do. And so, I have been very specific.

On the economy, I've made it clear that we have to end the unfairness in our tax code. The counter productivity that would give a single penny of your tax dollars to any company that moved a job out of South Bend, out of Indiana to a foreign country. That makes absolutely no sense. And how unfair is it that a Wall Street money manager making $50 million a year would pay a lower percentage of his income in taxes than a teacher or a nurse or a truck driver right here in South Bend makes less than $50,000?

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

CLINTON: And we need a 21st century trade policy because what we had in the 20th century no longer works in the 21st century. I have said that we will renegotiate NAFTA. We will have core labor and environmental standards that will be enforceable, because any time we do business with someone else, we should try to make it a win-win. You sell something. You buy something. And we both should be satisfied.

But what has been happening with our trade agreements is that we open up our markets and nobody else opens up theirs as broadly and widely as we do. I'm finished with that. As your president, I'm going to say I believe in trade but let's make sure we do have a level playing field where when we trade with you, you are going to follow the same rules and have the same beliefs about what we're trying to accomplish.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YELLIN: Senator Clinton in Indiana, assuring voters that she would do more to help the economy, improve the economy for average Americans rather than making it ideal economy for fat cats at the expense of everyone else. These are the very same issues we hear Barack Obama talking about on the stump, as well, as both of them are going after the sort of a "lunch bucket" vote, trying to appeal to people who really feel that the little guy has not gotten a fair shake lately and need a president who will stick up for them.

So, Barack Obama is talking about gas prices, oil companies and he also addressed Senator Clinton's talk of more debates. She is saying it's time for us to continue debating. Barack Obama saying, "Hey, we've already had 21 debates. Let's go out and just meet with the voters."

Again, this is Barack Obama in Anderson, Indiana yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you watched the last few weeks of this campaign, you would think that all politics is about is negative ads, and bickering, and arguing, and gaffes and sideline issues. There's no discussion, serious discussion about how we're actually going to bring back jobs to Anderson. That's not what's being debated. That's not what's being discussed. But that's the politics that we become used to over the last 20 years. I'm tired of that politics because it doesn't solve problems.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

OBAMA: You know, when I was -- when I was in the state legislature, I got a reputation for being able to work with Republicans, work with people who didn't agree with me on everything but agreed on some things. You know, that's how we were able to provide health care to people who didn't have it, give tax breaks to folks who needed them, and to pass ethics reform legislation.

I have done the same thing at the federal level, working with people like Dick Lugar to lock down weapons of mass destruction and nuclear material that could fall into the wrong hands. So, one of the things that we've got to do is bring this country together and stop being distracted by, you know, back-and-forth tit-and-tat bickering. I have been trying to resist this in this campaign and I will continue to resist this when I'm president of the United States of America.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

OBAMA: The third thing is telling the American people the truth about our situation. You know, I want to -- I want to roll back the Bush tax cuts on the top 1 percent. People making $200,000 and $250,000 a year, I want to roll back the Bush tax cuts so that we can also provide tax cuts to people who are making $75,000 or $50,000 a year or $30,000 a year. Folks need a break. So, we're going to provide an offset to the payroll tax worth $1,000 to couples like Tiffany and her husband, what they have in their pockets so that they can deal with rising costs of food and gas and so forth.

I want senior citizens $50,000 a year or less, I don't want you to pay income tax on your Social Security. You're already under enormous stress and enormous strain. But I believe in paying for my tax cuts so I'm going to roll back the tax cuts on the wealthiest folks and we're going to close the tax cuts on some of these corporations that are using tax havens and tax loopholes.

Now, when I made this proposal about changing the tax code, I didn't do it in front of a Union Hall. That would have been easy. Everybody would have cheered and clapped.

No, I went to Wall Street. And I said in front of a bunch of CEOs so they would know that they'll pay slightly higher taxes because they're making millions of dollars. And I told them, our economy doesn't work when only the folks at the top are doing well. Our economy works from the bottom up when people who are working hard every single day are getting a decent break in life. That's what I told them.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

OBAMA: Energy. I have to be honest with you. I'm not going to be able to bring gas prices down overnight. Because this is a problem that is decades in the making. So if somebody comes to you and says, well, you know what? I'm going to just -- I'm going to lower gas prices. We'll have a holiday on the -- on the federal tax on gas. This is one of John McCain's latest schemes.

You know, he'll save you about $25. So that's the federal highway fund that we use to build our roads and bridges. You remember that bridge in Minneapolis -- we're already short on money in terms of investing and for what -- for $25?

So what I've said is, "Look, we'll go after the oil companies, for their win fall profits to get some of that money to provide people who really having trouble heating their homes, getting to work. We are then going to make sure that we investigate any price gouging that's taking place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YELLIN: Barack Obama in Indiana yesterday, hitting hard on some pocketbook themes. He is driving home the message there that he will do as much as he can to help the average American. It's a message Senator Clinton is also hitting hard because both of them competing for that blue-collar vote. And one of the big issues that's come up in the last few days is this question: Should they really try to draw out the differences even more ahead of that tough contest in Indiana by holding yet another debate?

I want to bring in my colleague Jim Acosta who is right there in Indiana. Jim, we know Barack Obama had said, "We've 21 debates, it's enough. The voters know where we stand." And now, Senator Clinton is say, "Why don't we have a Lincoln-Douglas style debate where we question each other and we don't have any moderators there, so we can focus on the issues that matter to us."

So, Jim, let me ask you. You're there in Indiana. Have you heard any voters say what we need are more debates?

ACOSTA: You know, we haven't heard that yet from any of the voters here in Indiana and I think what the voters are doing is sort of sitting back and watching this exchange go on between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

And it was striking to hear Hillary Clinton propose this Lincoln- Douglas style debate, when she emphasized the words "no moderator," she seemed to say: Well, Senator Obama, I know things didn't go so well for you over there in Philadelphia, in that much-criticized debate that was held between those two candidates a week and a half ago, before the Pennsylvania primary. And so, by throwing this out there, she seemed to say: Well, why don't we take that out of the equation here and just go one-on-one, toe-to-toe, with no referees?

And what the Obama campaign essentially saying, we talked to David Axlerod about this yesterday is that -- no, no, no. They would rather at this point get away from this confrontation that they've been having with the Clinton campaign and just make a direct appeal to the voters out there, Jessica.

YELLIN: You know, it's fascinating because both Obama campaign, but also Clinton in the past have been very critical of the media and the way the media in general has conducted these debates, the kinds of questions that have been asked, et cetera -- so, an interesting proposal to move away from it. And Barack Obama saying, 21 debates, everybody know what is we have to say, and yet, that last debate that was so widely criticized, had the highest viewership of any debate to date, so it seems there's still an enormous interest in hearing these two candidates hash out their differences.

We'll have to see if there's -- it turns to be more debates down the road. Jim, I think we have to take a break now. I think on the other side of the break, we'll come and talk about John McCain. We'll hear from him on the campaign trail. So, stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

YELLIN: Welcome back to CNN's BALLOT BOWL. I'm Jessica Yellin in Washington. The campaigns continued to battle it out. Barack Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton are looking ahead to the May 6th primary in Indiana and North Carolina. Senator Clinton is heading to a campaign event in Wilmington, North Carolina, this evening. Barack Obama made an appearance at church this morning and spoke to reporters afterwards. He's having a down day after that in Chicago with no public events.

And Senator Clinton's surrogate in chief, Bill Clinton, is on the campaign trail right now. He is in New Castle, Indiana. And you are looking at a live picture of him speaking there now.

We will continue to monitor that for you while we turn for now to another candidate, John McCain, who is also been on the campaign trail today. And just a few days ago, we want to take a listen to something he had to say on Friday in Little Rock, Arkansas, when he was with Mike Huckabee. He addressed the "oh so obvious" that while the Democrats are battling it out, the Republican Party has the time to come together behind him and he is making the point that the unity is real.

Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Talk about the political nature of it, as well, and the benefits you might receive from being able to take a tour about like this and talk about domestic issues while your opponents on the Democratic side are sort of embroiled in a maybe dirty primary fight. And then also maybe -- if you could talk about the struggles of a race in Arkansas, especially against a potential Clinton.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I really -- I can control a lot of things between now and November the 4th. I can't have any input or influence over the race between Senator Obama and Senator Clinton. And whether it's good for me or bad for me or my political fortunes, that their races continue to -- I have no idea. Nor do I think much about. I observe it, obviously, as a lot of Americans do. But I don't know if whether it's helpful or harmful to my chances in November.

But what I need to do is focus on my own campaign, my own priorities, establish my credibility, tell the American people my vision and it's time for change and it's time for action now. Again, I think that Governor Huckabee was elected and re-elected as more than once as governor of this state. He -- I just happened to have noticed the other day he still has a 65 percent approval rating here in the state of Arkansas.

They do say sometimes that people judge you by the company you keep. I hope that that will be the case with the voters. Not only of the state of Arkansas, but I would point out to you that in the primaries -- in fact, I'm sorry to remind you, in the primaries, most of the southern states, not all, but most of the southern states were carried by Governor Huckabee because of his unique appeal and his ability to reach out to the voters. So, I'll be relying on him not only here in Arkansas but all over this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YELLIN: John McCain emphasizing the party is united behind him and crowing about the support of Mike Huckabee. I can say, I spoke to a prominent John McCain supporter this weekend who says, "Wow, I just want to thank the Clinton and Obama campaigns for doing our work for us. They are making this general election fight a lot easier for us."

So, the McCain camp clearly feeling cheered that the Democratic primary is getting so fierce and tough.

We will continue to bring you more news from the campaign trail, but first, on the other side of this break, a check of the news happening today including those wildfires out west.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN headquarter in Atlanta. More BALLOT BOWL in a moment, but first, these headlines.

Burning out of control in Southern California: A wildfire in Sierra Madre is threatening at least 350 homes. Firefighters say they only have a sliver of the 400 burning acres of brush contained. Mandatory evacuations are ordered for thousand people living in the area. Some 50 people in a wedding party were evacuated from the fire zone by helicopter. Officials think the fire is man-made.

Meantime, a second fire is burning north of San Diego and it has scorched at least 50 acres. We have new video of that just in. We understand no homes have been burned. No homes are immediately being threatened and there are no mandatory evacuations in place, only voluntary evacuations.

Jacqui Jeras is in the weather center. Thank goodness they don't have winds to deal with, but you mentioned the heat and low humidity certainly make it challenging.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. We are talking about record heat, Fredricka. You know, temperatures are way up there in the middle even possibly upper 90s before the day is done.

The winds have been calm all morning. But now, they're starting to pick up a little bit. They're kind of in the teens in terms of miles per hour. So we've been seeing 10, 11, 12 miles per hour. It's an offshore wind, so that means it's been a very, very dry wind and the relative humidity is down there in the teens, as well, in terms of percentage.

Look at the temperature here in Los Angeles, only up there at 94 degrees. So, this is extremely hot and we could even see a few triple digits in this area. I found a Web site that I wanted to show you, just kind of a cool picture. This is from UCLA, from the department of physics and astronomy from Mount Wilson Observatory. It's up there, it's about 5,700 feet up in the San Gabriel Mountain.

But there you can see all of that thick smoke that just kind of hovers into the area and that's something to think about, you know, when there's not a lot of wind, that smoke just kind of there and can be very thick and it is hazardous to your health. So, if you're impacted by that smoke, make sure you stay inside.

We have other weather to talk about today. Some showers and thundershowers across the lower Mississippi River Valley again, putting down some very heavy rainfall. You could pick up a quick one to two inches of rain across parts of Mississippi right now with these showers and thunderstorms. It's kind of a bit tough for travel, not a great day to get outside. Some stronger thunderstorms have been moving through the Columbia area.

And while we don't have a lot of wet weather going on across the northeastern corridor, most of the moisture pulled offshore, we still have some overcast conditions and we have a lot of problems at the airports as a result of that. Those thunderstorms causing a ground stop at Charlotte, and there you can see LaGuardia and Newark, looking up some delays and ground stop there as well until the top of the hour. So, travel -- a little tricky really about the eastern half of the United States. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much for the warning, Jacqui.

Reno, Nevada, still on shaky ground. More than 100 aftershocks have rattled the region since an earthquake hit Friday night. The 4.7 magnitude quake knocked items off store shelves, cracked walls in some homes and even set off some rock slides. Scientists are urging people to be prepared for stronger quakes. The Reno area is hock rocked by the series of quakes since the end of February.

An extremely disturbing story is coming to light in Austria. Authorities say they discovered a 42-year-old woman who says her father used her as a sex slave for two decades. The victim says her now 73-year-old father has kept her chained in the basement since she was 18. Police say she had at least six children by her father. And that the elderly man's wife had no idea what was going on down stairs.

A long road home but fallen U.S. soldier Matt Maupin has finally been laid to rest. Hundreds attended his funeral today at a Cincinnati stadium. Maupin was kidnapped four years ago by Iraqi insurgents and executed. A tip from an Iraqi led U.S. troops to his body just last month.

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama stumping hard and running even in Indiana. That's next when the BALLOT BOWL returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Welcome back to BALLOT BOWL. I'm Jim Acosta in Indianapolis, Indiana.

We saw Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton beginning to spar once again over the last 24 to 48 hours here in the Hoosier state. We saw much of this in Pennsylvania. And Barack Obama seeming to learn that lesson from those bruising confrontations from the New York Senator, recalibrating his message here in Indiana. And he talked about some of this yesterday at a campaign stop in Anderson, Indiana. He spoke at a high school cafeteria to a big crowd of supporters.

And the subject came up during the Q and A session after his remarks about whether or not Barack Obama needs to go negative against Hillary Clinton, perhaps get a little tougher on his Democratic opponent. But Barack Obama says right now he is going to resist the urge of going tit for tat.

Here's Barack Obama in Anderson, Indiana.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARACK OBAMA, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: John McCain and I have real differences but I always make a point of saying I respect him as a person. I respect his service to our country. I think he is a good person. I don't -- you know, so we can have arguments and disagreements without running the other person down.

But -- but, you know, that requires a president who has the confidence to stand there and sometimes you take some hits. I mean, even during this campaign, I've been taking some hits. And, you know, people, it's interesting. When I don't always hit back, then folks go, what's the mat we are him? How come, you know -- maybe he's not mean enough or tough enough.

You know, well, one of the things I learned in the school yard was folks who were talking tough all the time, they're not always that tough. Right? If you're really tough, if you're really tough, you are not always looking to try to start a fight. If you're really tough, sometimes you just walk away. If you're really tough, sometimes, you know, you just save it for when you really need it.

And so, what I'm interested -- I'm not interested in fighting people just for the sake of scoring points or getting on the cable new shows. If I'm going to fight somebody, it's going to be fighting over the American people and what they need. I'll fight for health care. I'll fight for a good education system. I'll fight to make sure that people have good jobs and good wages. I'll fight to the death to make sure that America's safe. Those things I'll fight for.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: So there you have it. Barack Obama stirring up that crowd there saying he's not going to fight just for the sake of fighting. That he's not going to fight to just get on the cable news talk shows. We hope he's not referring to BALLOT BOWL, of course.

But as we switch gears here to his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, she was always campaigning hard in Indiana over the weekend and has been for the last several days.

As a matter of fact, on Thursday in Gary, Indiana, Hillary Clinton traveled up to northwest Indiana to try to cut into a base of support for Barack Obama. A little known fact about Indiana is that that northwest corner is essentially a part of the Chicago suburbs. And folks in that part of the state get their television news from Chicago. So obviously, they hear a lot about Barack Obama and have heard a lot about Barack Obama over the last several years. but nevertheless, Hillary Clinton went up to there to talk to a big union crowd up there and the issue once again was issue number one, and jobs, jobs, jobs.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: First, the way that I see the steel industry is that it's a core industry. It's a base industry. If you don't have a strong steel industry, then you are dependent upon foreign countries to import everything from autos to airplanes. That you have got to have a defense sector that is able to rely on a steady supply of steel. We cannot be dependent on foreign countries to meet our basic defense manufacturing needs. So this is not only about our economy, this is about our national security.

And I spent a Saturday about two weeks ago traveling with Senator Bayh. We went from one end of the state to the other. We started down in Allison Transmission and went to AM General, talking about why we have to keep defense sector manufacturing jobs in America. In every one of those plants they're using steel. And I want those supplies to come from right here.

So this is really looking at it more comprehensively. I think we have gotten too chopped up. We talk about trade over here. We talk about health care over there. We talk about what we're going to do to get tough on the Chinese. We talk about how we're going to have an energy policy that won't bankrupt the steel companies. You have to put it all together. And the president has to set some goals. And one of my goals is a strong, vibrant manufacturing sector with a strong, vibrant steel manufacturing sector. And I will -- I will do whatever I can to achieve that.

We're in a global competition now. You know? When the steel industry grew up here in Gary, we were pretty much the only game in town. Well, that's all changed. It is not the other country's fault if we let them take advantage of us. It is time for us to say, wait a minute, this is not working for America. So what do we need to do to fix it?

Here's some things that I would do. Number one, you've got to have a new set of trade agreements that have core labor and environment standards in the agreements, that are enforceable. And the reason that it's going to matter is because, with the global economy the way it is, if we don't enforce our trade agreements, and you know this -- the steelworkers have been on top of this for years now -- then it becomes a race to the bottom. It becomes an unfortunate imbalance where we are exporting jobs and, in return, we're getting goods and products that we used to make here.

And it is just as serious as losing steel production, as we were for a number of year, until the industry went through its transformation, to now getting back lead-laced toys and contaminated pet food and polluted pharmaceuticals. So we have to get tough on trade.

I will have a trade time-out. No new trade agreements until we know how we're going to get those core labor and environmental standards, how we'll be able to enforce our health and safety standards. I'll renegotiate NAFTA because I don't think that it is working as well as it needs to, to make it as beneficial as it should for our country.

And I will get tough on China in particular. But China's not the only one. You know, we are competing with a lot of other countries so we have got to get tough on China, to set an example and to rein them in. But we also have to look at all of the other country that is wanting to import into our markets but not open up their markets.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: So there you have it. Hillary Clinton talking about trade, a trade time-out she's calling for up there in Gary, Indiana.

Coming up after a break here on BALLOT BOWL on CNN, we'll check in with John McCain who traveled to Youngstown, Ohio, where free traders aren't all that popular. That's coming up after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Welcome back to BALLOT BOWL.

Clearly, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are not the only ones on the campaign trail. John McCain has been hitting some Democratic strongholds of late, selling the message of being a different kind of Republican, a person who will reach out, reach across the aisle to constituents who have typically been Democratic voters.

He visited this week a crucial battleground state of Ohio, a must win for any candidate in the general election. He was in Youngstown, Ohio, and talking not just about the economy but about taxes, your taxes. He promises he will cut them and keep them down. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN MCCAIN, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Raising taxes on businesses in Ohio and elsewhere, as both my opponents propose to do, will not bring the old jobs back and it sure won't create new ones. Raising taxes is not the answer. It is not the answer to your challenges.

Our government already imposes the second highest tax rates in the world on manufacturing and other industries. And it's driving businesses and jobs overseas. Our foreign competitors wouldn't mind it at all if we kept it that way. But change is need and I'm going to lead it.

If I'm elected president, we are going to get rid of that drag on growth and job creation and help American workers compete with any company in the world and the same goes -- the same goes for your own wages and the jobs you have now or the ones you hope to have.

And we can start, my friends, by doubling the tax exemption for every dependent child of every worker in America. They need that. Families need that and they need it today. The current exemption has lost much of its value because of inflation. And besides, in tough times, working mothers and fathers should not have to give away more and more of their paychecks to this government. They should not. They need to invest. They need to invest more in their own families and their own futures and we should help them.

I have plans to make health care more affordable and affordable with generous tax credits. Losing a job is hard enough without losing your health care, too. We need reforms to make sure that employers spend more on wages and that your health plan is yours to keep.

I know that you know all too well Ohio has the highest foreclosure rate in this nation. Many here among the millions of Americans who played by the rules, yet now fear losing their houses because of the reckless conduct of subprime lenders. I've called for a Department of Justice task force to investigate possible crimes by these lenders so that they answer for the conduct in a court of law.

And under the home plan I've proposed our government will offer direct and immediate help to responsible subprime borrowers who played by the rules. If you can't make your payments and you in danger of foreclosure, you'll be able to go to any post office, pick up a form for a new home loan.

In place -- in place of your flawed mortgage loan, you'll be eligible for a new 30-year fixed rate loan backed by the United States government. Citizens will keep their homes. Lenders will cut their losses and everyone will move on. And lenders will follow the sounder practices that should have been observed in the first place. Reckless conduct and the abuse of power must be called to account on Wall Street and Washington or any place else.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

YELLIN: John McCain on the economy speaking earlier this week in Youngstown, Ohio.

Coming up, we're going to take a look at Barack Obama playing a game he is good at, basketball. And final thoughts from BALLOT BOWL on the other side of this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Welcome back to BALLOT BOWL or should we call it ballot ball? We are in Indiana, so obviously Barack Obama has been spending the last couple of days talking about one of the near and dear subjects here in Indiana. And that's basketball. On Friday night, down in Kokomo, Indiana, we saw Barack Obama playing three-on-three basketball with some high school students there and wearing a U.S. Marine Corps t-shirt there and showing some skills there on the basketball court.

And as I toss it back to my colleague, Jessica Yellin -- Jessica, I just wanted to mention that, at this point, I was planning to use various basketball and sports analogies to shape up the contest here.

YELLIN: But you know...

ACOSTA: But I'll share a few with you, if you don't mind.

YELLIN: Please.

ACOSTA: You probably do mind but I'll share them anyway.

That With respect to the call for debate from Hillary Clinton, rejection from Barack Obama. At this point, he appears to be trying to run out the clock while at the same time not fouling without voters. And, I'm not sure any of this is working right now, but I'll leave you with the fact that today I did wear my Brent Musburger-style blazer today, Jessica. Everything that -- the only thing missing is the CNN logo right there on the chest there.

YELLIN: We'll get you one, Jim. Would you wear it if we got you one?

ACOSTA: I would wear it, absolutely.

YELLIN: You would? OK.

ACOSTA: And the headphones with the microphone that comes up in front there. I don't know what...

YELLIN: I love that. That's a good luck.

ACOSTA: Need one of those as well. Yes, I think so.

YELLIN: We'll get you into sports casting one way or another.

I like that Barack Obama is now deciding to play a game he knows how to play opposed to bowling which didn't go so well for him. It seems like basketball is a very good call.

ACOSTA: That's right. Out with the gutter balls, in with the basketballs for Barack Obama.

YELLIN: Nice. I like it. I like it. Well, while...

ACOSTA: That's my last sports analogy.

YELLIN: Thank you. Because I can't take them any further. I know nothing about sports.

ACOSTA: Thank you. YELLIN: So while Barack Obama was on the basketball court, we had a different scene here in Washington, D.C. It was the White House correspondents' dinner, always an opportunity for poking fun at the president and for the president to poke fun at the press corps.

But in his speech last night, he actually teased the presidential candidates a little bit. It was some pointed joking. Let's listen to him, President Bush.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Next year, a new president will be standing up here. I have to say I'm kind of surprised we don't have more presidential candidates here tonight, like any. Senator McCain is not here. He probably wanted to distance himself from me a little bit. You know, he is not alone. Jenna's moving out, too. The two Democratic candidates aren't here, either. Senator Clinton couldn't get into the building because of sniper fire and Senator Obama's at church.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YELLIN: So there you saw it for a second, president Bush wrapped up the evening by conducting a Marine Corps marching band. He said it's something he's always wanted to do. He got quite a rousing applause for that -- Jim?

ACOSTA: Jessica, thanks very much.

That's all the time we have now for BALLOT BOWL or ballot ball. I forget. That's right, BALLOT BOWL.

Now we'll turn it over to our colleague down in Atlanta, Rick Sanchez, with the "CNN Newsroom." Thanks for watching.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)