Return to Transcripts main page

Ballot Bowl 2008

Campaign Happenings; Candidate Appearances

Aired September 07, 2008 - 17:00   ET

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

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Welcome back to CNN's BALLOT BOWL. I'm Mary Snow, coming live from Albuquerque, New Mexico. This is your chance to hear directly from the candidates, sometimes on tape, sometimes live but always unfiltered.
Joining us again this hour: CNN's senior political analyst Bill Schneider. He's on the election express. And, of course, my co- anchor, Suzanne Malveaux, who's joining us from Chicago.

Hi, Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Mary. I was in Terre Haute, Indiana yesterday with Barack Obama. And the slogan for 19 months has been "Change that you can believe in." They had a discussion, a town hall meeting that called "The change we need" discussion with people there. Obviously, there's a lot of discussion over who is the real change candidate.

They are now hearing John McCain used those words that he is for change. Sarah Palin saying she is for change and reform. While Barack Obama and his team essentially saying you are corrupting (ph) our message and that is really not the real deal.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, TERRE HAUTE, INDIANA)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D-IL) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: 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.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

OBAMA: Everybody is talking about change. So, John McCain, he's -- over the last couple of days, John McCain has said...

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

OBAMA: John McCain has said 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.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: He says, I'm going to tell those lobbyists their days of running Washington are over. Who is he going to tell? Is he going to tell his campaign chairman who is 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 that he's going to tell that change is coming?

I mean, come on. They must think you are stupid. You know, I guess, you know, maybe what they're saying is -- Watch out, George Bush, you know, except for economic policies, and tax policies, and energy policies, and healthcare policies, and education policies, and Karl Rove style of politics -- except for all that, we're really going to bring change to Washington. We're going to shake things up.

What are these guys talking about? Do you think we haven't been paying attention over the last eight years?

Now, listen, we need change. But let's be absolutely clear about what change is and is not. Change is not continuing the same tax policies of George Bush, giving tax breaks to companies that are shifting jobs overseas. Change is making sure those tax breaks go to companies that are investing right here in Terre Haute, right here in the United States of America.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

OBAMA: Change is not saying that we made great economic progress under George Bush and then proposing tax cuts, $200 billion for corporations, including $4 billion to Exxon Mobil. Change is giving a tax cut to 95 percent of Americans, as I propose -- 95 percent of the American people would get a tax cut under the Obama plan. And I wouldn't leave 100 million out like John McCain does because you deserve some relief from high gas prices and food prices. You need a little more money in your pocket.

Change is not a healthcare plan -- this is what John McCain's proposed -- which says we're going to end the tax deduction for employers to give healthcare benefits to their employees, which means that employers will stop providing healthcare and then giving you a $5,000 credit to buy your own healthcare, except it costs $12,000 to $14,000. I guess that is change. It's just not the kind of change we need.

Here's what change is, saying to people who already have health insurance and the employers who are providing it, we'll work to lower your premiums by up to $2,500 per family per year. And if you don't have health insurance, you can get the same kind of healthcare that members of Congress give themselves and investing in prevention so people aren't going to the emergency room for treatable illnesses, and not waiting 20 years from now to do it or 10 years from now to do it, but doing it by the end of my first term as president. That's the change that we need.

(END VIDEO CLIP) MALVEAUX: Barack Obama and his campaign recognizing early on that this message of change really resonated with voters, attracted a lot of support.

Mary, obviously they do not want that kind of message or slogan to be tied with John McCain and Sarah Palin. So, you see this kind of fierce back-and-forth over who is really the change candidate -- Mary.

SNOW: Yes. Certainly, a strong back-and-forth, Suzanne. And Senator McCain, yesterday in Colorado Springs at a rally was trying to make the case that he is the candidate of change. He is trying to portray himself as a maverick.

Let's take a listen to what Senator McCain had to say about what he expects to change in Washington should he be elected.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO)

JOHN MCCAIN, (R-AZ) 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.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

MCCAIN: 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 earmark, 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.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

MCCAIN: We are 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.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

MCCAIN: 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 our shores and we need to do that.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

MCCAIN: 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, we will achieve energy independence in our time and we will protect our planet.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

MCCAIN: You know, Senator Obama thinks we can achieve energy independence without drilling and without nuclear power. We must.

(CROWD BOOING)

MCCAIN: My friends -- my friends, we have to store and spend 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.

(CROWD BOOING)

MCCAIN: 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 (INAUDIBLE).

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

MCCAIN: 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 lead 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 and our best days are ahead of us, my friends. And that means we won't send any more money overseas to those countries. We'll keep it and spend it here at home and create new jobs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNOW: There you have it, Senator John McCain yesterday in Colorado Springs. And as you heard, change is the word that's become very popular on the campaign trail from both candidates. Is it just rhetoric? Can these candidates actually make change in Washington?

Joining us now: our senior political analyst Bill Schneider, who's been canvassing the country on CNN's Election Express.

And, Bill, all this talk about change, how is it playing?

BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, it's exactly the theme that people want for this year after eight years of the Bush administration. What does change mean? It means essentially -- new people, new policies. But the big puzzle in this election is -- what's the best way to get that?

Barack Obama certainly is a new face in politics. He's only been around a couple of years. He's only been in Washington for a couple of years. So people instantly saw him as a new face and he was a sensation.

Now, John McCain put a very new face on his ticket, Sarah Palin. She's a Republican, but she hasn't been around Washington very much. That's his way of dramatizing -- you elect McCain, you're going to see some very new faces, and he adds, some new policies in Washington.

Well, who, pray tell, represents the Bush administration? Who represents the status quo? Answer? Nobody -- because nobody wants the status quo.

People want change. Both parties recognize that and both parties are competing with each other to offer it.

SNOW: Yes. And, Bill, certainly a fierce fight there over that change mantra. Thanks very much, Bill Schneider. We're going to be check in with you later.

Let's head back now to Chicago and Suzanne Malveaux.

Hi, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Hey, Mary. Well, we want to get a kind of a reality check on the candidates. Obviously, there is a lot of back-and-forth over who's the real change candidate, their economic plans, what they bring to the table.

I want to bring our own Josh Levs out of Atlanta, to talk a little bit about that.

Josh, what do you actually seeing? What's the real deal here?

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, you know, it's really -- you were just talking about the economic plans. We keep hearing more and more and more about taxes. And this is one of the issues that is just so easy for all different sides to jump on because our tax problem -- the situation in the United States is so complicated in the first place. I want to show you one of the latest attacks that was issued today. Then we'll give you the reality.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, FROM ABC'S THIS WEEK)

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC CORRESPONDENT: Yesterday, that independent report came out, here's what John McCain said. He said, "My tax cuts will create jobs. His tax increases will eliminate them."

OBAMA: You know, John McCain has been peddling the story about me increasing taxes when every independent analyst has said my tax cuts provide three times the amount of tax relief to middle-class families than do John McCain's.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: All right. I like showing you that exchange in ABC this morning because it gives you McCain's side and Obama's side. But neither side gives you the reality. So, I want to do is tell you how you can get that. The best analysis of tax policies on both sides comes from place called the Tax Policy Center. Now, ignore the numbers. I want to show you something in the screen behind. Let's close in on this because this says so much about politics and taxes.

Just look in really quickly. I want you to show -- there's two sets of words here. This is their analysis. Look at this. Tax proposals as described by campaign staff.

Now, let's go down here. Tax proposals as described in stump speeches. And these are completely different numbers which means when this place that does the best analysis, talks to the campaign versus when they listen to people on the stump, they get totally different numbers. But in general, I have a good summary for you about how these taxes break down.

Let's go to this first graphic here. This is the summary from what the Tax Policy Center says. This is the idea, Obama would give larger tax cuts to low and moderate income households and pay some of the costs by raising taxes on high-income taxpayers. In contrast, McCain would cut taxes across the board and give the biggest cuts to the high-income households.

So, let's just keep that up for a second because this -- you can think about where you fall in the economic system. Within this study, if you're high income, it means singles over $200,000, families over $250,000 a year -- that's the basic idea on where both these people break down.

Now, you want numbers? We've got numbers. Let's go to the next graphic. This is what they said because the fight we keep hearing is about the middle-class, the middle-class.

So, what would happen to the middle class? By 2012 under Obama, middle-income taxpayers would see their after-tax income go up about 5 percent -- this is an average -- or nearly $2,200 annually. So, they're saying, under Obama in general, on average, the middle-class would end up with an extra $2,000 after paying taxes each year.

Let's go to McCain. Again, they're saying, overall, the middle-class would come out ahead. McCain would lift after-tax incomes, average about 3 percent, about $1,400 annually for middle income taxpayers.

So, again, either way, you come out ahead if you are in the middle- class. That's again on average according to this study. Now, let's think about what that study or that claim was just now from Barack Obama.

He was saying that he would offer the middle-class three times more savings, basically, each year. Where is he getting that from? How do they justify that? Here it is. I'm going to show this one.

This is also from the Tax Policy Center. His campaign is pointing to this -- this is where he gets that claim.

He says that he would give three times the middle-class tax relief and this is because one version of what this Tax Policy Center provided did say that if you were in that specific income group right there, if you're between $38,000 and $66,000 a year -- so it's one specific group -- that you would get an average tax cut of about $1,000 under him and about $300 under McCain. So, that's where that three times thing comes from.

As you saw behind me, with this crazy numbers thing, the numbers keep changing. Now, if you want to really dig in and your brain works like the matrix, and you want to see lots of numbers, go to Tax Policy Center or if you want something easier which is go to CNNMoney.com. They now have a regular feature where they're going to breakdown this tax thing.

We're going to keep coming back to this, Suzanne, because as you know, we keep hearing these attacks land back-and-forth, all day long. I would like to pop in once in a while and say -- hey, based on the best studies out there, the best studies done, this is what we know about the reality, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: It's great, Josh. My brain is not like the matrix. So, I appreciate your trying to figure all of this out. Thanks a lot. A lot of information to digest and analyze, you did a great job.

Coming up after the break, we're also going to get a chance to take a look at Governor Sarah Palin and essentially her take on all of this, the election and her effort to pump up the GOP. We are also going to get the very latest on Hurricane Ike. Stay with us, you're watching CNN's BALLOT BOWL.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta. Battening down the hatches in the Caribbean and beyond as Hurricane Ike moves closer to the U.S., Cuba is preparing for a direct hit from the storm. It was just downgraded back to a category three status. There's new information and video just in from Cuba's state-run media. Take a look.

Mandatory evacuations are now in effect for the Florida Keys, as well. President Bush declared a state of emergency in the Sunshine State this afternoon. Forecasters project this storm could hit the U.S. mainland later on in the week.

And Tropical Storm Hanna, we are still feeling the effects as that storm drops a lot of rain. And the storm is now tracking toward Newfoundland. The National Weather Service is trying to determine if Hanna spawned a damaging tornado yesterday near Allentown, Pennsylvania. We'll check in with Jacqui Jeras. She's keeping a close watch on all of these storms -- Jacqui. JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Ike is the biggest one we are concerned about right now, Fredricka, still a major hurricane, category three with winds of 120 miles per hour. It's been weakening a little bit today. It's going through what we call an eyewall replacement cycle. So, that's a little bit of good news. Any kind of weakening we can get here bodes a little bit better anyway for Cuba.

It's about 75 miles away from Guantanamo right now. And so, we could see a landfall later on this evening. You can see it's shifting to west. We have a little bit of a wobble northerly but we think, overall, it's continuing on that and do westerly track.

Hurricane watches have been posted for the Florida Keys, by the way, as the storm is expected to get at least close to there, if not moving in there, some time on Tuesday. Prior to that, it will be moving over Cuba which should weaken it down a little bit more. But back over the open waters of the gulf of Mexico means more time to strengthen as those waters remain very warm. So, a major hurricane could be hitting the U.S., it looks like, late next week, either Friday or, I guess, this week, it's Sunday, isn't it? Either Friday or Saturday.

WHITFIELD: Yes. All right. Thanks so much, Jacqui. Appreciate it.

Much more of the CNN's BALLOT BOWL right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SNOW: Welcome back to CNN's BALLOT BOWL. I'm Mary Snow in Albuquerque, New Mexico where Senator John McCain and his running mate, Governor Sarah Palin have been campaigning. Today, no public events but they did go out to a local restaurant to shake some hands before they head back on the campaign trail.

And also, we've learned that Governor Palin will be doing her first sit-down interview with a national network. This will happen later in the week. It will be with ABC News, this, after everyone was waiting when she would do her first interview after being chosen as John McCain's running mate. She has been on the campaign trail, though, with him.

And one of the things she has been talking about is Senator John McCain's military experience. Also, taking aim at Barack Obama over the surge in Iraq.

Now, let's listen to Sarah Palin in Sterling Heights, Michigan. This is from Friday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, STERLING HEIGHTS, MICHIGAN)

GOV. SARAH PALIN, (R) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Michigan, you took care of my boy when he was doing what he loves to do. And now, that boy is a man serving in the U.S. Army. He's going to take care of you and this country that we love.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

PALIN: John S. McCain also has loved and served this country in good times and in bad.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

PALIN: Maybe you remember, it's just about a year ago when things with the war looked very, very bad. Some in Washington declared that the McCain campaign was doomed because he refused to hedge his commitment to the security of our country. They told us that all was lost and that there was no hope for this candidate who said he would rather lose an election than see his country lose a war.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

PALIN: But the pollsters and the pundits, they forgot one thing when they tried to write him off. They forgot the caliber of the man himself -- the determination, the resolve, the sheer guts of Senator John McCain.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

PALIN: Of course, the voters knew better and maybe that's because they realize there is a time for politics and a time for leadership. There is a time to campaign and is there a time to put our country first.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

PALIN: John McCain is a man who wore his country's uniform for 22 years and he refused to break faith with our troops in Iraq who have now brought victory within sight. And as the mother of one of those troops, that is exactly the kind of man I want as commander-in-chief.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

PALIN: Good judgment in the commander-in-chief can make the difference between victory and defeat, between avoiding a crisis and inviting a catastrophe. And the best case in point is the surge in Iraq which our opponent opposed because he said it was doomed to fail But just last night...

(CROWD BOOING)

PALIN: Last night, though, our opponent finally admitted what we've known all along. And that speaks to the skill and the valor of American troops, the surge in Iraq is working.

(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)

PALIN: Our opponents had said the surge, quote, "has succeeded in ways that nobody anticipated." But it was anticipated. There was one leader in Washington who did predict success, who refused to call retreat, who risked his own career for the sake of the surge and for victory in Iraq. And ladies and gentlemen, that man is standing right next to me, a true profile in courage, John McCain.

CROWD: John McCain! John McCain! John McCain! PALIN: Now, had America failed in Iraq, the consequences would have been terrible and far reaching. If the United States military had suffered defeat at the hands of al Qaeda in Iraq, our nation would be less safe today. And millions of innocent people would have been left to a violent fate. That tragedy would have happened if Barack Obama had gotten his way and Congress had cut off funding for the surge. It did not happen though because John McCain was right.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARY SNOW, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Republican vice presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, in Michigan on Friday. She is expected to campaign with John McCain for a few more days before heading out solo on the campaign trail.

We have lots more to come. Stay with us. We'll take a quick break.

Coming up, Barack Obama, we'll hear from him about rebuilding America's infrastructure. We'll take a listen to the Republican candidates on offshore drilling. Stay with us. We'll be right back.

(ON THE GO)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN's "BALLOT BOWL." I'm Suzanne Malveaux.

In Chicago, we are following Barack Obama. He is talking about his economic plan specifics. We saw him earlier this week in Pennsylvania. He toured a glass factory and he addressed blue collar workers, talking about the need for American to build its infrastructure and also to put kids through college. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I want to rebuild our infrastructure in this country. Think about it. Why don't we have high-speed rail in America? They've got it in every other industrialized nation. And, by the way, since I'm tired -- I know you are, of having to take off your shoes when you fly commercial, right? You would rather get on a train. So we can build high-speed rails. We could rebuild our roads, our bridges, our sewer lines.

When I was in New York yesterday looking at these big hydro turbines, we could replace a lot of the stuff that was built in the 1930s in these dams, make them more energy efficient, produce electricity, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, but we've got to have a vision from the White House to do it. We could create 2 million new jobs. That's why I've said, short term, in addition to wanting to accelerate a tax package, a stimulus package to put immediate tax relief in your pockets, $50 billion, we want to also take some money to invest in fast-tracking infrastructure development and fast-tracking some of the projects that have been sitting there. If I ask the congressmen right now what projects need to be done here in his district, he could give you a list like that. We should start funding those immediately to put people back to work.

Finally, long term, in terms of economic development, we've got to fix our education system. We've got to fix our education system because countries that out teach us today will out compete us tomorrow.

During the tour, I asked folks here, what are the things they need most support from the federal government in terms of continuing to expand facilities here and creating new jobs and economic development? They talked about tax credits for solar because that's a growth area. They talked about the importance of R&D, and the congressman has been helpful and the others have been helpful in expanding this facility.

But what they also said was, you know the biggest thing we need? We need more American-born PhDs, more American-born engineers, more American-born scientists. We are not investing in -- we're not giving our children the skills they need to continue to create good jobs here in the United States.

So what I said is, look, we are going to invest in early education. We are going to pay our teachers more money. We are going to give them more support in exchange for additional accountability. We are going to emphasize math and emphasize science. What we say to young people is if you graduate from high school, then we are going to guarantee that you can afford to go to college in exchange for community service. We will pay tuition for you to attend college because that's part of the American dream and that's part of what we need to rebuild this economy.

Those are some very specific plans. Give people immediate relief with the tax cuts. Rebuild our infrastructure. Develop clean energy. Make college more affordable and fix our schools. Fix our health care system to make our businesses more competitive, and to give you some relief. So if somebody asks you, what's he going to do? You now know five things that I just mentioned.

Now, compare that to what you heard at the Republican National Convention over the last three days. John McCain does not have a plan for education. John McCain does not have a plan for health care, other than to eliminate the tax deductibility of health care benefits given to employees, which means folks, they would say to themselves, can we afford to keep on giving health care if we are not going to get a tax break? What John McCain says he'll give you a $5,000 tax credit, which is great, except your health care may cost $12,000 or $14,000. Good luck trying to get health care if you've got a pre- existing condition or if you are 55 or 60, close to retirement. Good luck trying to go out on the open market without an employer-sponsored health care plan.

So they don't get it. And that's the choice in this election.

This is not about personality. You want this to be about personalities, we'll go out for a beer some time and we'll talk. You don't have time. You would rather spend it with your family. What you do want to know is that you are going to have somebody who is fighting for you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Barack Obama making the case that he has a plan to help struggling Americans.

Coming up next, we'll hear from his running mate, Joe Biden, reacting to the jobless numbers, some 84,000 jobs lost in August. Stay with us. You're watching CNN "BALLOT BOWL."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Welcome back to CNN's "BALLOT BOWL." I'm Suzanne Malveaux in Chicago.

We are following Barack Obama's running mate Joe Biden, and what he is talking about the economy in Langford, Pennsylvania. That is where earlier in the week he was addressing specifics, those jobless numbers. 84,000 jobs lost in the month of August, a five-year high. He also slams the GOP for what he says is not providing specifics at their convention and actually helping struggling Americans. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. JOE BIDEN, (D), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Folks, when I listen -- when I listen to the parts of the Republican convention, I could hear -- because I was traveling. A lot of time I was in the air. I went from, you know, all what it from Battle Creek, Michigan back to Pittsburgh to Scranton down to the west coast of Florida, east coast of Florida. Then on the west coast, then back up into North Carolina and to Virginia then onto D.C. So I've been on the road. No complaints.

I haven't been able to see all I wanted to see, but I tell you, it's not so much what I heard in the Republican convention, when you heard John speak last night, or not so much what I heard when I heard part of what the governor had to say, the vice presidential candidate. It's what I didn't hear. The silence -- the silence of the Republican Party was deafening. It was deafening on jobs, on health care, on environment, on all the things that matter to the people in the neighborhood I grew up in. Deafening.

Ladies and gentlemen -- their America is not the America I live in. They see something different than I see. Ladies and gentlemen, literally, those of you -- I can't swear to this because I didn't see every bit of every speech, but I asked my staff to check. Do any of you recall either candidate on the Republican ticket utter the phrase "middle class"? Did any of you hear them utter the phrase "health care" and how we're going to help? Did you hear them talk about aid to get kids to college? Did you hear them talk about aid to education? Did you hear them put any more cops on the street to make us safer? I didn't hear a thing, a thing about any of the things that matter to the lives of the people in my hometown of Scranton, a neighborhood of Delaware called Claymont, where I was brought up and went to grade school and high school. The area of Wilmington that I live in. Ladies and gentlemen, Rick Davis, John's campaign manager, said two days at the convention -- and I heard this. He said, this election is not about issues. That's what he said. And everything I saw at the convention demonstrated that. It was about how well placed, and, boy, she is good. How a left jab can be stuck pretty nice. It's about how Barack Obama is such a bad guy. It's about how, in fact -- how, in fact, they've got great quips. They are like the kids, you know, when you went to school and you are very proud of the new belt you had and the shoes you had. There was always one kid in the class would say, oh, are they your brother's? Remember that kid? That's what it reminded me of. Oh, I love your dress. Was that your mother's? You know what I'm talking about.

What do you talk about when you have nothing to say? What do you talk about when you cannot explain the last eight years of failure?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Coming up next, we'll hear the Republicans talk. We'll hear from Sarah Palin as well as John McCain, talking about energy policy and specifically offshore drilling. Stay with us. You're watching CNN's "BALLOT BOWL."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SNOW: Welcome back to "BALLOT BOWL." I'm Mary Snow in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where John McCain and his running mate Sarah Palin have been campaigning. Last night, in a rally here in Albuquerque, both stressed the need for energy independence. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PALIN: In a McCain-Palin administration, we're going to drill and produce more of our own energy, including nuclear and alternative fuels. We're going to drill more.

We moved Alaska government so we could move energy to Americans, to all of you. And I'm ready to help John McCain regain control of our energy future.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'll continue to strand up. I'll stand up against the oil companies. And I'll stand up against the special interests. And I'll fight for energy independence. We must achieve energy independence. We must stop -- my friends, we must stop -- we must stop sending $700 billion a year to countries who don't like us very much. We will become independent. And, yes, my friends, we'll drill now. We'll drill offshore and we'll drill now. Yes. We'll drill now. Yes.

And Senator Obama doesn't want to drill offshore. And he doesn't want us to use nuclear power. And he says he wants us to become energy independent. My friends, that doesn't match up.

Let me just say to you again, we need all of the above. We need wind, tide, solar. Solar, that's the great future of New Mexico and Arizona. We need nuclear. We will develop flex fuel hybrid and electric automobiles. We'll give you a big tax credit in order to purchase one. My friends, America can do it. America can do it.

And by the way, nuclear power is clean and it's safe. There are veterans here in this audience who served in the United States Navy aboard nuclear-powered ships. And they'll tell you that it's safe. And by the way, we'll reprocess that spent nuclear fuel. And we'll use a lot of the talent and innovation that is right here in the state of New Mexico in our national labs in order to do that. Great talent. A great genius that is here by the way, in case you haven't noticed, the French, the French, who we always want to imitate, 80 percent of their electricity is generated by nuclear power. They reprocess spent their nuclear fuel. And if you haven't noticed, we now have a pro- American president of France, which shows, if you live long enough, anything can happen.

So, my friends, America is the greatest nation in the world. Our best days are ahead of us. We will do this. We will meet this challenge. We can meet it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW: You've been hearing that French joke a lot from John McCain. The McCain-Palin ticket, next head to Missouri.

That will do it from Albuquerque.

Suzanne, good to work with you today. Back to you.

MALVEAUX: Great to work with you as well.

Thanks for joining us. CNN "BALLOT BOWL" returns next weekend. CNN "NEWSROOM" with Rick Sanchez is up right after this quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)