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Ballot Bowl 2008

News from the Campaign Trail; Speeches by the Candidates; Obama Press Conference

Aired September 06, 2008 - 15:00   ET

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

SNOW: Yesterday, today, they're going to stay together for a few more days. It wasn't the first plan, but they're diverting from that a little bit. Some of the same themes they've been hitting on in the past couple of days. Senator John McCain trying to push this image of being a reformer repeatedly referring to the word" were the maverick," something that was associated with him back in 2000 and something you're hearing more and more of on the campaign trail since he announced his running mate. Just a few minutes ago, he talked about the subject that he continues to pound and that is pork barrel spending. And making the case to cut wasteful government spending. Here's Senator John McCain just a few minutes ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know you know, my friends, that I've been called a maverick and that's somebody who marches to the beat of his own drum and sometimes it's meant as a compliment and sometimes it's not. But what it really means is that I understand who I work for. I don't work for a party and I don't work for a special interest and I don't work for myself. I work for you and I pledge to work for you as your president and only you.

And all Americans. And I fought corruption and it didn't matter, it didn't matter if the culprits were Democrats or Republicans, I fought the big spenders, my friends. Both parties who waste your money on things you neither need nor want. And I want to promise you as president of the United States, the first earmarked pork barrel laden big spending bill that comes across my desk I'll veto it, you'll know their names and I'll make them famous. I'll make them famous. I'll make them famous.

We're going to stop corruption, we're going to stop corruption and it is corruption. And we're going to stop it. And you're going to help me every step of the way. My friends, I fight for you and I fight for energy independence, we've got to stop sending $700 billion a year to countries that don't like us very much. We must achieve energy independence. We must achieve it and we will. My friends, we'll attack this problem on every front.

We'll produce more energy at home. We'll drill new wells and we'll drill them now and we'll drill offshore and we immediate to do that. We'll build more nuclear power plants. We'll develop clean coal technology. We'll increase the use of wind, tide, solar and natural gas. We'll encourage the development and use of flex fuel hybrid and electric automobiles. My friends, when he achieves energy independence in our time. We will -- you know, Senator Obama thinks we can achieve energy independence without drilling and without nuclear power.

We must -- my friends, my friends, we have to store spent nuclear fuel and we have to reprocess it. The French, we always want to imitate the French. The French, the British and the Japanese, they all reprocess, we can, too. It was a decision by Jimmy Carter that kept us from reprocessing spent nuclear fuel. By the way, my friends, we now have a pro-American president in France, which shows if you live long enough anything can happen in this world and he's a great guy, so thank you.

And this great national cause will create millions of new jobs, millions of them. We can create 700,000 new jobs by building 45 new nuclear plants by the year 2030. We can do it. We're Americans. We can lead. And we can do it and we'll meet this great national challenge. And it's an ambitious plan, of course it's ambitious, we Americans are ambitious. We lead and we will lead the world in our best days are ahead of us, my friends. And that means we won't send any more money overseas to these countries, we'll keep it and spend it here at home and create new jobs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNOW: Senator John McCain just moments ago here in Colorado Springs where he has wrapped up a rally with his running mate. One of the other things that he talked about in passing, he alluded to the headlines we're seeing today about the treasury department set to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, also Sarah Palin making reference to that, making the point that these -- in the next administration, she says, there needs to be in her words "smaller and smarter and more effective ways for the government to be involved."

Now didn't really elaborate on the economic proposals for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac but did make a passing reference to both of them. Suzanne, one other thing that we heard today from Sarah Palin which we hadn't heard before is her mentioning of Senator Joe Biden, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, where she called Senator Biden a decent man in her words, but she points out that he has many Washington friends who are saying that she does not believe his admirers can call him an agent of change.

So far right now, we are seeing Sarah Palin with Senator McCain on the campaign trail, later this week, we expect her to go out by herself solo where she will be defining herself more and more and also this big question though of course for a lot of reporters as you can imagine is when she will face the press. Right now, there are no plans for a press conference just with her. Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Mary, it's a fascinating, a lot of people talking about this idea of change and also realizing that the top issue for voters here is all about the economy. So how do they actually talk about, make the case if you're going to change the economy? We saw Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana, very popular senator here use to be the governor as well, introducing Barack Obama at his event here in Terre Haute. He was a big Hillary Clinton supporter. Well now he is backing Barack Obama and he was really able to use the kind of looking at the state, use the demographics of the state and also socially conservative message to win the governorship as well as become senator looking at parts of the southern state, southern portion of Indiana as well as the northern west industrial base of Gary.

Is that certainly something that Barack Obama is also trying to do, appeal to people here in Terre Haute, who are just folks, some of them economically struggling, some of who have lost their jobs. They're looking for some solutions and some change when it comes to the economy. It was clear that Barack Obama was addressing them. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The first thing that I've learned is that people are anxious out there. People are hurting. And they are concerned. They're concerned about themselves but they're also concerned about their children and their futures. You know, Evan started talking about the problems that people feel. Many of you have read the statistics. We have the highest unemployment rate in five years. We have the highest foreclosure rate, home foreclosure rate since the great depression. Wage and incomes have flat lined.

When Bill Clinton was president, the average family saw its wages saw its total income go up $7,500. Since George Bush has been in office it has gone down $2,000. So people are taking in less money, they're seeing their jobs shipped overseas, 47 million people without health insurance, people's pensions are being threatened. And because less money is coming in and more money is going out, at the end of the month, paying those bills gets tough. And people sit around the kitchen table trying to figure out, well, maybe we'll pay this one now, we'll have to put off that one later.

Folks aren't even thinking about being able to save for retirement. They can't even conceive how they're going to pay for a college education for their kids. So people are worried. And they're not just worried about themselves; they're worried about the future and the next generation. And one of the things that I am absolutely convinced of is that we are at a defining moment, both in terms of our economy and our national security. And if we don't make some good choices right now, if we don't decide that we are going to move in a different direction and get this country back on track, then we may be the first generation in a very long time that doesn't pass on a country that's more unified and more prosperous than the one that we inherited from our parents and grand parents.

That is a not a future I accept. That's not a future you accept and that's why I'm running for president of the United States. Because we're going to create a different future. Now, we had a great convention in Denver. And then the Republicans had their convention and that's part of democracy, everybody gets to present their platform. And since the beginning of this campaign, we've been talking about change. Everywhere I go, we've been talking about change. That's been the theme of this campaign. We must be on to something because I notice now everybody is talking about change now.

Everybody is talking about change. So John McCain, he's over the last couple of days, John McCain has said -- John McCain has said that change is coming. That's what he says. Now think about this. This is coming from the party that's been in charge for eight years. They've been running the show, been up in the White House. John McCain brags, 90 percent of the time I have voted with George Bush. He and I, we're right there. And suddenly, he's the change agent. He says, I'm going to tell those lobbyists that their days of running Washington are over.

Who's he going to tell? Is he going to tell his campaign chairman? Who's one of the biggest corporate lobbyists in Washington? Is he going to tell his campaign manager, who was one of the biggest corporate lobbyists in Washington? Is he going to tell all the folks who are running his campaign who are the biggest corporate lobbyists in Washington? Who is it he's going to tell that change is coming?

I mean come on. They must think you're stupid. You know, I guess, you know, I mean maybe what they're saying is watch out, George Bush, you know, except for economic policies, and tax policies and energy policies and health care policies and education policies and Karl Rove's style of politics, except for all that, we're really going to bring change to Washington.

MALVEAUX: Barack Obama out of Terre Haute, Indiana, here talking about he is the real agent of change, a lot of back and forth between John McCain, Sarah Palin, Barack Obama, Joe Biden over the issue of whether or not -- who is really the best candidate to bring about economic change, specifically, but there is kind of a departure here from the partisanship we've been hearing, some of the fighting between these two candidates just over the last 24 hours.

We've got a statement just a few hours ago, from both of these campaigns, a joint statement saying that on the anniversary the 7th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, these two will campaign together, they'll at least appear together to acknowledge that moment, there will be a day absent of politics, but they will come together, this joint statement from them, I'll just read it quickly. All of us came together on 9/11 not as Democrats or Republicans but as Americans. In smoke filled corridors and on the steps of the Capital; at blood banks and at vigils we were united as one American family.

This, kind after rare moment, between these two candidates and these campaigns to come together on the anniversary on the September 11th attacks on that Thursday to talk about Americans aside from party politics and what brings us all together.

Coming up after the break, I'm going get a chance; we'll get a chance to talk to my colleague Bill Schneider aboard the CNN Election Express in Wisconsin. He is really focusing on some of those toss-up states and how Barack Obama will actually fare in those states. We are also going to hear as well a little bit more from Sarah Palin out of Colorado Spring, Colorado. Some of the things that she has been highlighting today from the Republican side. So please stay with us. You're watching CNN BALLOT BOWL.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Welcome back to CNN'S BALLOT BOWL, I'm Suzanne Malveaux in Terre Haute, Indiana. Joining me on the CNN Election Express, Bill Schneider in Wisconsin. Bill, I understand that you've been keeping on eye on a lot of polls and how Barack Obama, how the campaign is really shaping up when it comes to those polls in those tossup states. What are you learning?

BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, of course, the only polls that really count are the polls in the states. Here in Wisconsin, I'm in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, right now, Wisconsin is leaning towards Barack Obama. It's got 10 electoral votes. This is a state that's voted Democratic in most recent elections. And this, we are putting down as an Obama state. Indiana is where Obama is a campaigning today. In Indiana, well, that's a very close state. McCain 45, Obama 43 in the latest polls.

Indiana has not voted for a Democrat since 1964. And for that state to be as close as it is means this is going to be a real tight race. Ohio is another Midwestern state that's very hotly contested. The latest poll, this is a CNN poll came out last week showed Obama 47, McCain 45.

Again, two-point spread in the case of Ohio in Obama's favor. So a lot of these states, these tossup states remain very, very close. We'll be watching them, particularly in polls that are taken after the Republican Convention starting this weekend. Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Bill, what is the electoral map? How is that shaking out in terms of the candidates?

SCHNEIDER: Well, what we have in our latest CNN electoral map is 243 electoral votes in states that are safe or leaning towards Barack Obama. That's short of the 270 electoral votes you would -- he would need to win the election. He's got 243 right now.

McCain, 189. So he's trailing in the states, 106 electoral votes are still in toss-up states. Those are up for grabs. So this race is far from decided. In fact, just in the past week, we moved two states from the tossup category to the leaning Obama category. They were Minnesota, where the Republican convention was just held and Iowa, which voted for George W. Bush in 2004, Al Gore in 2000. Very much a toss-up state. Both of those states, Minnesota and Iowa, according to CNN polls, have moved into the Obama category. But it's far from over yet. Obama's leading in the states and in the electoral votes but still shy of the majority that he needs. Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Bill looks like a very, very competitive race. Thank you, Bill.

Coming up next, we are also going to hear from Barack Obama's running mate, Joe Biden. We're going to be hearing about what he has to say about change and the economy and the other side, the Republicans.

Also an update on tropical storm Hanna as well as hurricane Ike, this after a very brief break when BALLOT BOWL continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Hello again, everyone, I'm Fredricka Whitfield the at the CNN Headquarter in Atlanta. More BALLOT BOWL in a moment, but first a closer look at the weather systems out there. Tropical storm Hanna and hurricane Ike, keep close watches on those. First, tropical storm Hanna, well it made landfall this morning near the north and South Carolina border. It's been moving northward and dumping plenty of rain along the way. We're getting rainfall totals upwards of five inches and more throughout North Carolina. CNN's Jacqui Jeras is in the Severe Weather center, hurricane headquarters as we should say as well. Keeping close watch on both of them. What should we worry about?

JERAS: Starting with Hanna, do you don't want to write this storm off because it is a tropical storm, because it really has a lot of impact for a lot of people today. Particularly for folks in Virginia on northward. It's moving quickly so it's not going to lose too much steam, 50 miles an hour, and 50 to 60 miles an hour gusts are going to be common here. The center is just getting about 70 miles to within the Washington, D.C. area and it is going to continue to make this curve on up into the north and east, but when we're talking 50 to 60 miles an hour wind, that's enough to break off sizable tree branches and cause a lot of power outages.

So I think a lot of folks are going to have problems with power. Travel is difficult. Stay home today if you can. You don't need to go out in this mess and travel delays by air as well. A big issue going on in this area. Also, Ike a major hurricane, a category 3 now with 115 miles an hour winds moving west-southwest towards Haiti and Dominican Republic. The forecast track brings it near or over Cuba throughout the weekend and then heads on up to the Gulf of Mexico. We could see landfall Tuesday. Something to watch out for there and the northern gulf coast late next week.

Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: Thanks for the warning, thanks so much, Jacqui.

We'll have the latest on both storms and the government's apparent bailout of the beleaguered mortgage industry. More BALLOT BOWL right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Welcome back to CNN's BALLOT BOWL, I'm Suzanne Malveaux, here in Terre Haute, Indiana; this is where Barack Obama spoke earlier in the afternoon. Both of the campaigns talking about who is really the change candidate. Barack Obama essentially saying he has the reform and the change message since 19 months ago when he first started his campaign, Mary Snow you were in Colorado Springs, Colorado where you hearing from the Republicans. Obviously, they feel differently about this. They feel they're the real McCoy here; they're the one, the true reformers, Mary.

SNOW: Yeah, absolutely, Suzanne. Republicans are trying to make the claim that John McCain and Sarah Palin are reformers. They're outside of Washington. And as you mentioned, they're keeping up the jabs. Senator McCain and Sarah Palin just boarded a plane, they finished up this rally and will be heading to New Mexico, but certainly, they kept up their lines of attack, particularly with the Alaska governor taking aim at Barack Obama as she, as you said, is trying to say that Republicans are the message change. Here's what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH PALIN, (R) VP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know the choices that presidential nominees make or running mate, they say a lot about them. When our running mate went for his choice, he went for a fine man, a decent man. Senator Biden can claim many chairmanships across many years in Washington and certainly many friends in the Washington establishment, but even those admirers would not be able to call him an agent a change. Senator McCain has called the two of us a team of mavericks. He knows...

(APPLAUSE)

John McCain knows that we've done some shaking up in Alaska...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNOW: Governor Palin actually talking about Joe Biden, the Democratic vice presidential candidate. Really, Suzanne, the main theme, as you said, they're trying to get across that they are reformers, they keep using the word "maverick" and trying to paint Obama as S Washington insider as well as Joe Biden -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Mary, obviously, the Obama campaign really hitting back and hitting back hard here at the suggestion that McCain and Palin are now the change ticket here, that their message has somehow been co-opted. It's been a very successful appeal to lot of voters who are looking for something different than the Bush administration in Washington when they lock at the economic situation, when they look at the situation in Iraq.

We heard Barack Obama today simply saying, taking some swipes at Palin saying at first, she was someone who promoted earmarks and then now she was a champion against earmarks, he also went directly after John McCain as well saying this someone who spent 26 years in Washington as part of the establishment and therefore part of the problem. Let's take a listen to Barack Obama.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: I know the governor of Alaska has been, you know, saying she's change and that's great. She's a skillful politician, but you know, when you've been taking all these earmarks when it's convenient and then suddenly you're the champion anti-earmark person, that's not change, come on. I mean, words mean something. You can't just make stuff up. You can't just make stuff up. We have a choice to make and the choice is clear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Barack Obama taking on the issue of change and reform, but specifically mentioning Sarah Palin. Obviously, a back and forth between those two, Sarah Palin going after Barack Obama on issues of experience among other things, Barack Obama hitting back saying that some of these things, in his words, are just stuff that is" made up" -- Mary.

SNOW: Yeah, Suzanne, McCain campaign is trying to push back on that, trying to say that Obama does not have a record and that's kind of the line of attack they have been pushing forward.

Now, one of the other topics that Senator McCain talked about and he has done in the past several days is energy independence and this is where they see Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska, as a strength to the ticket. I mean, talked about it again, here in Colorado Springs. Let's listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCCAIN: We're going to stop -- we're going to stop -- we're going to stop sending $700 billion a year to countries that don't like us very much. It's going to stop.

Some of that money ends up in the hands of terrorist organizations. This is an economic issue, this is an environment issue and this is a national security issue. It is something that we, as Americans, can do. And my friends, we'll drill new wells offshore and we'll drill now. We'll drill now. We'll drill. And we'll get a new supply of oil.

CROWD: Drill, baby, drill. Drill, baby, drill. Drill, baby, drill.

MCCAIN: I don't know who thought of that one but that's a very popular one, now.

We'll produce more energy at home. We'll build more nuclear power plants. My friends, nuclear energy is cheap, all we have to do is store and reprocess the spent nuclear fuel. My friends, the French, the British, the Japanese, they do that. We can, too.

And my opponent -- my opponent says: "We'll develop clean coal technology. We'll increase the use of wind, tide, solar and natural gas. We'll encourage development and use of flex-fuel hybrid and electric automobiles." My opponent -- my opponent says that he's more energy independence, but he doesn't want to drill offshore and he doesn't want nuclear power. You tell me how you get there from here?

CROWD: (booing)

MCCAIN: My friends -- Americans know better than that. Americans know better than that. We must use all of our resources, all our technology, and we'll create millions of new jobs. And that's an ambitious plan, of course it is, but Americans are ambitious by nature and we have faced greater challenges. It's time for us to show the world again that America leads. America is the greatest nation on earth.

CROWD: USA. USA. USA.

MCCAIN: My friends, I'd like to give you some straight talk that you know. These are tough times for many of you. State of Michigan, times are tough. You're worried about keeping your job or finding a new one. Many are struggling to put food on the table, even stay in your home. All you've ever asked of government is for it to stand on your side, not in your way. And that's what I intend to do, stand on your side, and fight for your future.

I'll keep taxes low and cut them where I can, my opponent will raise them. I'll open new markets to our goods and services, my opponent will close them. I'll cut government spending, he'll increase it. My tax cuts will create jobs, his tax cuts will -- his tax raises will eliminate them. My healthcare plan will make it easier for more Americans to find and keep good health insurance, his plan will force small businesses to cut jobs, reduce wages and force families into a government-run healthcare system where a bureaucrat -- where a bureaucrat stands between you and your doctor. Again and again, I've worked with members of both parties to fix these problems...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNOW: That was Senator John McCain, I should make this distinction, that was yet in Sterling Heights, Michigan, where he was campaigning. You heard him talk about a number of issue, energy independence, the economy. Today, similar comments, but he also alluded to the expected bailout of the home loan agencies Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and he also pointed out and made mention of the unemployment number that came out, 6.1 percent, the highest in five years, saying that Americans are having to struggle.

And Suzanne, Senator John McCain is leaving here in Colorado Springs, but touching upon the economy, as you know, Democrats have been so critical about him this week, saying that he left that off the table to a large degree.

MALVEAUX: And Mary, obviously, Barack Obama is talking a lot about the economy as well, issue No. 1. He has been stressing the fact that 95 percent of families would get tax cuts under his administration. Essentially, he is not going to renew the Bush tax cuts, but allow them to go by for those who are making more than $250,000. He's also talking about an economic stimulus package in the tune of some $50 billion to help struggling states, to help build highways and roads and bridges and even aid and education housing, these type of things.

This is clearly something that voters are listening and paying attention to, how these two candidates are going to be dealing with the housing crisis, the energy crisis, this is what we heard from Barack Obama just within the last hour, here in Terre Haute.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: John McCain's campaign manager said -- this is just two days ago, he said: this campaign not going to be about issues, it's going to be about personalities.

Personalities? I mean I think I've got a pretty good personality. But, that's not away I'm running for president. I'm running for president to put people back to work, to give them healthcare, to make them have college that's affordable. This is not a personality contest.

And I think it's become they don't think it's about issues or they don't get what's going on, that you've seen some of the proposals they've been making. Look, John McCain, the centerpiece of his economic policy is $200 billion in additional tax breaks to some of the wealthiest corporations out there -- $200 billion, $4 billion of that would go to Exxon Mobil. Exxon Mobil. And 100 million of you middle class folks would not get a dime of tax relief, not a dime under John McCain's plan and he's got the nerve to be running TV ads saying I'd be raising taxes.

Let me tell you my plan. Ninety-five percent of Americans would get a tax cutut under my proposal -- 95 percent -- 95 percent. Nobody disputes this. Nobody disputes it. Under my plan, the middle class would get three times the amount of relief as under John McCain's plan, because I'm not giving those tax breaks to folks who don't need it, I'm giving to some relief to ordinary families that are struggling filling up the gas tank or paying home heating costs. So that's part one of this plan. And by the way, in terms of changing our tax code, we're going to stop giving tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas and we're going to give them to companies like chef (ph) that are investing right here in the United States of America. That's just common sense.

No. 2, we're going to finally fix this healthcare system. You know, here's the sense of how out of touch these folks are. One of John McCain's top healthcare advisers the other day said, you know, I don't know why everybody always talks about the uninsured because you can always go to the emergency room and get care. So, we should stop calling them uninsured. Serious, serious as a heart attack. This is what he said.

So, I mean that's one way to solve these problems is you could just stop calling people uninsured. Or you could stop calling them poor. Or you could stop calling them unemployed. Instead of giving them a job, you just recategorize them. You're part of the leisure class.

You know, so here's what we're going to do, because I know that actually people are struggling and I know that it's not just employees who are struggle, employers are struggling, having to keep with rising health care costs, they need relief, too. It makes us less competitive. So, what we're going to do is we're going to say to employers if you are doing the right thing by employees an providing healthcare for your employees, then we're going to work with you by lowering your premiums by providing a catastrophic reinsurance fund and we can lower potentially premiums by $1,000 to $2,000 per family, per year.

And if you don't have a health insurance, then what we're going do is we're going to set up a plan so that you can get the same kind of healthcare that I have as a member of Congress, because you pay my salary with your taxes, I don't know why I should have better healthcare than you. See, pretty straightforward principle. All right?

No. 3, I want to revitalize manufacturing and I want to rebuild America and put people back to work. And let me tell you how we can do it. No. 1, we can start focusing on energy independence in a serious way and create clean energy jobs here in the United States.

Now, John McCain will talk about this same stuff, he's got TV ads with a bunch of windmills. You know, he's looking out in the distance, you know, talking about energy independence and it's the whole vision thing. You know? Here's the truth, though. John McCain's been in Washington for 26 years. And during those 26 years, John McCain kept on voting against tax credits for wind energy, tax credits for solar energy. He consistently opposed biofuels. He said no. So if he had his way in the United States Senate, that windmill he's standing in front of would be a gopher hole.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: You've been listening to Barack Obama from earlier today talking about energy policy as well as his economic policy. But, we're also keeping a very close eye, we expect Barack Obama to speak live about something that is widely anticipated, the federal government's, it's takeover of the mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, a move that potentially could costs taxpayers tens of billions of dollars and could be one of the largest government interventions when it comes to the financial markets.

We are standing by waiting for Barack Obama to discuss that very real possibility. Stay with us, right after this break because as BALLOT BOWL continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Welcome back to CNN's BALLOT BOWL. We are awaiting a live event with Senator Barack Obama, expected to talk about the comment about a highly anticipated action by the federal government to take over the mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. This is something that is meant to stem, at least curb, the housing and the mortgage crisis, but could cost taxpayers tens of billions of dollars. Barack Obama expected to make some comments about that very shortly. We're standing by.

But, you can follow all these developments 24/7 on the Web site, obviously, CNNpolitics.com where we'll be doing up to the minute updates regarding his own comments as well as what is happening in the federal government. Clearly this intervention would be one of the largest in U.S. history when it comes to intervening in those financial markets. This coming up after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Welcome back to CNN's BALLOT BOWL. What you're watching now and what is unfolding, a live event with Senator Barack Obama, highly anticipated move by the federal government, essentially, to take control of the mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Barack Obama expected to address this. If this does take place, it really could mark one of the biggest federal government's interventions when it comes to the financial markets, in history. He is coming up to the podium. Let's take a listen to Barack Obama. OBAMA: ...Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac situation. The extremely serious situation with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac affects millions of homeowners, our financial system, and our entire economy. I have been and I will continue to monitor the situation closely, and I'll evaluate whatever plan is put forth by the administration with the following three benchmarks in mind: First, any action we take has to be focused not on the whims of lobbyists and special interests worried about their bonuses or hourly fees, but whether it's going to strengthen our economy, whether it will help stabilize the housing market, help struggling homeowners who also being hit by lost jobs, stagnant wages and spiraling cost of everything from gas to groceries and will help stabilize the financial markets.

Second, we have to protect taxpayers, not bail out the shareholders and management of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This is a challenging situation that's been festering for a long time. There are some community and regional bank with potential exposure, including those serving low-income communities. We're going to have to carefully address those situations, but we must not allow government intervention to protect investors and speculators who relied on the government to reap massive profits.

And, finally, we must ensure that any plan clarifies the true public and private status of our housing policies. We have to make clear that in our market system investors can't be allowed to believe that like unlike working families they can invest in a heads they win, tails they don't lose situation. For too long Washington ignored the warning signs in the housing and financial markets and has been unwilling to take the kinds of action that I have been advocating for over two years to crack down on reckless borrowers and help struggling homeowners. We cannot afford more of this "wait and don't see" approach to our markets and our economy.

And, finally, with today's announcement as well as with the discouraging job report, Friday, I once again urge the administration as well as Senator McCain to drop their opposition to a second stimulus package and to come together around a package like the one I've proposed with immediate relief for families in a $50 billion package to struggling states so that they don't have to cut back on healthcare, education, and we can replenish the trust fund to help restore jobs and confidence in our economy.

So, with that, let me take a couple of questions -- Charles.

QUESTION: For the last few days, you've really been hitting the point of telling audiences not to be fooled by attacks, smears, rumors, that sort of thing. Do you feel that you and your campaign are doing a good job of addressing this, or is this a growing concern on your part?

OBAMA: No, I think we've been doing as good of a job as you can in the Internet age where, you know, lies can travel fast, and truth sometimes has to play catch-up. But, you know, we feel very good about how our campaign has addressed any misinformation that's out there. We're going to keep ratcheting it up. QUESTION: There's been a lot of discussion about either privatizing entirely, what Fannie and Freddie do, or going the other direction and making a -- creating some sort of a federal agency like a TVA corporation. Which would you favor?

OBAMA: Well, here's what I don't favor is a continuation of the neither fish nor fowl approach to the GSCs. We can't have a situation in which, during boom times, management and investors are soaking up huge profits, taking extraordinary risks and thinking to themselves that if they get into trouble because of these risky investments, that somehow the taxpayers are going to be there to bail them out. That's an unsustainable situation, it's a structural problem. So, I want to wait and see what is being proposed by the administration. I think we haven't had enough disclosure yet to get a sense of what the assets of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac look like, relative to their liabilities. You know, over the coming weeks and months, as we get more information, then it will be a top priority of my transition process, should I win, and then my administration to come up with a very concrete plan to address the issue -- Jeff.

QUESTION: Sir, have you been briefed on the specifics of this plan and do you plan to speak with the Congressional leadership in the Senate to have input on the front end of this?

I have spoken to Secretary Paulson; I had a lengthy conversation with him last night. Previously I had conversations with fed chairman Bernanke and others about the issue more broadly. Today, I talked to some of my key economic advisors including Paul Volcker and Larry Summers about it. And I will be reaching out to Chris Dodd and Barney Frank, the respective chairmen of the relevant committees to find out what their assessments are and whether it makes sense for us to proceed with any additional statutory language. Right now, Secretary Paulson feels comfortable that the plan they've put forward is within the parameters of what was given to them, the powers that were given to them by Congress. He did not indicate to me that they were necessarily looking for additional legislation, but I think we need to wait and see what exactly the details of the plan are before we pass judgment of them. OK?

QUESTION: Through those conversations have you received any concern that Freddie and Fannie and their leadership were not completely forthcoming with the administration on their status?

OBAMA: You know, I'll let the Treasury Department, when they brief you, when they present the plan, to comment on that. I think that there is no doubt that what was taking place in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was, in many instances, irresponsible. It may have been legal. It may have been them taking advantage of the GSE structure and their federal charter, but they were not, the management was not making decisions that were designed to help them meet what should have been the mission, which is simply to provide liquidity in the housing market. They were boosting profits as a priority, with the management bonuses that came with those profits. And I think that led to some of the problems. Obviously one of the things we've got to look at is, how do we make sure that the special interest lobbies are not able to block basic regulation that should have been in place long ago to prevent these things from happening? And that's why it's going to be so important to make sure that we change the culture in Washington and not just change how these agencies are structured. OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Barack Obama striking a cautious note about the possible government takeover of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, also calling for taxpayers to be protected, greater regulation of the financial markets and a need he says for a second economic stimulus package. Mary, obviously Barack Obama using this occasion to address an issue that is important to many voters, that is the economy. Mary.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Suzanne, that will do it for us today. Join us tomorrow for "Ballot Bowl," 4:00 p.m. Eastern. Right now, Fredricka Whitfield is standing by in the CNN NEWSROOM in Atlanta.