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This Week in Politics

Reviewing the Week's Political Events

Aired September 07, 2008 - 14:00   ET

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

TOM FOREMAN, CNN HOST: After months of jockeying, they are at the starting gate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Crowd roar sends them away in a good start.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: Barack Obama is taking an early lead, but John McCain seems to be challenging on the inside. Dark horse candidate Sarah Palin is surging but can she hold off the veteran, Joe Biden. The mud is flying as they come around the turn and now they head into the home stretch of this historic election.

The finish line is finally in sight, and we will kick off the sprint to November right after a look at what's in the news right now.

(NEWSBREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Stand up, stand up, stand up and fight! Nothing is inevitable here. We're Americans and we never give up. We never quit. We never hide from history. We make history!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: This week in politics belonged to John McCain, the crowds, the balloons and the new headline-grabbing running mate. But with excellent opportunities come big risks. The Republican nominee is unlikely to get another chance like this one before Election Day. And according to the polls, McCain is still running behind. Did he do enough, can he pull off a victory at this point? To help me examine McCain's world, CNN's senior political analyst Bill Schneider is with the CNN Election Express on the campaign trail. And with me in Washington, Brian Debose, editorial writer for "The Washington Times."

Before we begin, let's listen to a bit more of John McCain's very big night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCCAIN: I will keep taxes low and cut them where I can. My opponent will raise them. I will open new markets to our goods and services. My opponent will close them. I will cut government spending. He will increase it. My tax cuts will create jobs. His tax increases will eliminate them. My health care plan will make it easier for more Americans to find and keep good health care insurance. His plan will force small businesses to cut jobs, reduce wages and force families into a government-run health care system where a bureaucrat -- where a bureaucrat stands between you and your doctor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: Bill Schneider, this has been one of those features that lights up the base, the conservatives. The question is, did this along with the selection of Sarah Palin ignite that base enough to make the churches and the preachers and the evangelicals say, let's really get out there and campaign for him instead of just voting for him?

SCHNEIDER: that job, I think it did. I think that Sarah Palin in particular drew an enormous amount of excitement. Lots of people like James Dobson who had real reservations about John McCain are now enthusiastically supporting this ticket. The problem is, if you count every republican in the country, it's only 28 percent of the registered voters. You can ignite the base and you're still only one quarter of the electorate. You've got to get a lot more votes than that.

FOREMAN: On the other hand, Brian, if you get the base ignited enough, that raises the floor from which you build your moderates. So same question, do you think it's enough, especially if those church groups, those people out there who are evangelicals, hard-core conservatives, now actively campaign for McCain?

BRIAN DEBOSE, "WASHINGTON TIMES": No, and Bill hit on it a little bit. If this is going to be about getting moderates, the focus of the campaign has to be on McCain. Sarah Palin was the focus of the convention. She was the one most talked about on the first, second and third nights. McCain pretty much only got one day to shine. Moving forward, he's going to have to be the voice of this campaign, not Sarah Palin. He's got to be able to reach out to those moderates. That's what he is, that's who he is.

And that's the only way he's going to win this election.

FOREMAN: A lot of people keep making noise about all the polls and how close they are. But look at this big map because this is the one that matters, this is the electoral map. And as you can see, McCain is substantially behind. Showing Obama with 243 electoral likely votes. McCain, 189, 106 in the toss-up range. Bill, this is really the problem, isn't it? He's got to get more of those toss-ups leaning his way or he's done?

SCHNEIDER: That's right. And that's why the entire campaign is going to be focused on a small number of battleground states. That's where they are this weekend and that's where they are going to be there the next two months. If you have the misfortune of living in Texas or California, you're not going to see any campaign because those states are a given. But if you live in Iowa, the campaign will never stop, or especially Ohio. They've got to fight for every last moderate swing voter in those crucial toss-up states. And the issue that's going to get them isn't the social issues and it's not even the foreign policy issues. It's the economy, the economy, the economy.

FOREMAN: Brian, there are new numbers out about the economy and they look really, really bad. The U.S. Labor Department says job loss hit 6.1 percent. U.S. has lost 605,000 jobs since January. One of the fundamental complaints about McCain at this convention seems to be that he did not offer specifics about how he's going to fix that. Did you hear the specifics?

DEBOSE: No, I didn't. He did talk about his tax policy, cutting tax for the top brackets. Cutting taxes on corporate America. Those are some of the things the Democrats have hit him with as being bush policies. He's got to turn that around. There's one mistake the Republicans can make, this is a five-year low. It hasn't been this bad since 2003. But it's still a lot better than it has been in previous years. Some people can remember when unemployment was in double digits. So it's going to be a mistake if they try to make the" it's not that bad" argument. That's just not going to fly with the American people.

FOREMAN: Bill Schneider, are you hearing the same thing? People want more specifics on what he's going to do about the economy and if so what could he offer at this point?

SCHNEIDER: Well, what they did not hear was anything particularly new. They heard a lot about keeping taxes low, about keeping spending under control. Those are traditional Republican formulas. But that sounds a lot like what Ronald Reagan talked about in 1980, nearly 30 years ago. There wasn't a lot of fresh, new ideas here. I don't know that Obama has a lot more fresh, new ideas. But at least he comes across as someone who's smart, who's done a lot of new thinking, who has new ideas.

FOREMAN: Whether his ideas are there he has a fresh face ...

SCHNEIDER: I think McCain has got to make an effort ...

FOREMAN: One last thing here. One of the real themes in all of this was the Republicans kept saying Barack Obama is the most liberal candidate ever, thinking that that will have real traction. Bill, do you think it will? Is that enough to turn off some of those moderate voters and say, we better stick with the Republicans no matter how much we may have disappointed by the past eight years?

SCHNEIDER: Well, that sort of name-calling, Americans are used to. They've heard it for a long time. You're a right wing reactionary conservative, you're a filthy liberal. They've heard it for a long time. What they want to know really is, what are you going to do? What are you going to do to solve the problems? If the liberal comes up with answers that sound reasonable, they'll be open to that. What they want is change and that's what Obama's talking about. And that's what McCain is trying to talk about. They're essentially both saying the same thing. They're both candidates of change and they both say they can unite the country because they know Americans are looking for that. I think ideology doesn't really matter in this campaign.

FOREMAN: And Brian, same question to you. Does the liberal tag do any good for the Republicans if they keep flinging it around? Or do you think they're going to have to look at another tactic?

DEBOSE: They're going to have to look at another tactic. Haley Barbour mentioned that to us in an editorial board earlier this year. And he kept hitting it. Kept hitting it. Kept hitting it. I haven't seen it gain a lot of traction. It certainly didn't help bring in those social conservatives. Only Sarah Palin ended up doing that. They're going to have to definitely come up with another track. And to be honest, the real problem is Republicans are starting with a deficit. They've had 12 years running Congress and now eight years in the White House.

FOREMAN: And the time is running out to November and it's running out here. So, Brian and Bill, thanks for being here. We've got a lot more coming up. Of course, all our regular features, late-night laughs, fast track and the semi legendary one minute in politics.

And we'll do a fact check on John McCain's new running mate. And here's one fact, listen closely. The Republicans played Heart's classic song "Barracuda" on Thursday in honor of Sarah "Barracuda" Palin. According to their publicist, however, the rock group Heart said they had not been asked for permission of the song and they said if they had been asked, they would have refused. That may or may not be the most serious of a number of claims, allegations and accusations swirling around Governor Palin.

We'll look at the ones that are true and which are false when we come back. But of course, apparently she doesn't care much about what he think.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PALIN: Here's a little news flash for those reporters and commentators, I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion. I'm going to Washington to serve the people of this great country.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PALIN: My mom and dad both worked at the elementary school in our small town and among the many things I owe them is a simple lesson that I've learned, that this is America and every woman can walk through every door of opportunity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: From the moment her name was announced, Governor Sarah Palin has been under fire, particularly from Democrats who say she is too much of an unknown, too inexperienced and too involved in questionable matters. So we're rolling out the THIS WEEK IN POLITICS fact check on Sarah Palin. And to help us, we're joined by executive editor Jim Vandehei of "The Politico." He spent the whole week on Palin patrol. Let's start off looking at her resume, first of all.

Her experience, Alaska governor since December of 2006, chairwoman of Alaska's Oil and Gas Conservation Commission in the early 2000s. Mayor of Wasilla a town up there in the late '90s. Before that, two terms on the city council.

Education, she graduated from the University of Idaho, a degree of journalism and her family, of course, husband Todd, five children.

Let's move to the issues that have been raised, though, Jim. First of all, this big buzz about the law enforcement investigation, whether or not she used the power of her office to push out a guy in the public law enforcement arena there. Is it true or not?

JIM VANDEHEI, POLITICO.COM: The truth is we're not going to know for sometime. There's an ongoing investigation about whether or not she did abuse her power to have a state trooper fired. That's certainly the allegation that Democrats are jumping on. They obviously deny anything improper or illegal on her end. The investigation's ongoing. We should know something in the next couple of months.

FOREMAN: Before the election or do we know?

VANDEHEI: Potentially before the election, there's chatter that there's efforts to try to delay the investigation as long as possible but it does look like we could know before the election.

FOREMAN: What about the question of earmarks? One of the other things that's been buzzing around the blogs is people are saying she has not been against earmarks. She is being touted by the McCain campaign as being somebody who's very much about reforming government and being against these. What's the truth?

VANDEHEI: Like most politicians, she undoubtedly talks a good game on it but has also looked for some of those earmarks, whether it was for sewer systems or public works projects. She's been happy to take some of those funds both as mayor then as governor for her state and for her locality. That's not unusual. Almost every politician in politics today at the federal and state level looks to those earmarks because they need that money to do stuff at the state level.

Obviously it's not the most popular thing to do politically right now.

FOREMAN: Specifically, there's a lot of talk about the Bridge to Nowhere project. She is saying, the McCain camp has been at least hinting that she helped stop the bridge to nowhere. True or false?

VANDEHEI: Still not completely clear. It seems like she was for it in the beginning and raised concerns about it later. But it does not look like she was a steadfast opponent of it from the beginning.

FOREMAN: There's all sorts of buzzing about her political history, the notion that she may have been involved with this group that did or did not favor independence for Alaska. Making it an independent nation. What do we know about that?

VANDEHEI: Number one, I don't think that's that exotic of a concept in Alaska. Seems to be very popular for that wing of the party. Certainly she's been a Republican, she's run as a Republican and governed as a Republican so that seems like a distraction.

FOREMAN: So no real evidence she ever said, I want Alaska to be an independent nation as far as we can tell?

VANDEHEI: Right, and I doubt if they win the presidency that she's going to advocate for that.

FOREMAN: And what about this question of her personal history? There's been talk about her husband with a drink driving arrest. Other things. Is there anything we've found in that that would be a real poison pill in the well?

VANDEHEI: Nothing at all, undoubtedly her husband had this DUI some 20 years ago. I don't think people are going to hold her responsible for that or hold her accountable for that. In fact, I think a lot of people, especially in small towns, know somebody who got a drunk driving at some point in their life. There's been talk about a violation for one of the wildlife ordinances in the state. If you're a hunter or fisherman, that's not uncommon. So there's nothing we've seen so far that would seem disqualifying. And I put a big asterisk next to that because I don't think she was as thoroughly vetted as many candidates are and there's a lot of imponderables. But what we know so far, it doesn't seem like any of that would really hamper the McCain-Palin ticket in any way.

FOREMAN: All right, thanks so much. Remember, we're doing this fact check simply because we want you the viewer to know the truth of these candidates as best we can and you decide on your own whether you like them or not. But that's our fact check on Sarah Palin for this week.

If you look at the blogs and we do, you will find some of the most pointed discussions about Palin are happening among women with lots of comments being made.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: What do you think of Sarah Palin as a vice presidential candidate?

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's an awesome choice. Either way, Barack Obama is the president come November or Senator John McCain -- either way history will be made.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: Of course, not everybody feels that way. More on that straight ahead.

But first, a look at the miracle of manners. Just part of our weekly political sideshow.

Ah, St. Paul, where people are known for their manners. Maybe not the police and the protestors, but the taxi drivers sure don't resemble their big city cousins.

Many of St. Paul's cabbies are proud graduates of charm school. It was mandatory for all of those who wanted to work the Republican convention. And some cabs actually got a white glove test, no grime here. Makes up for all the mud being thrown around inside the hall.

Here's a couple of hot items for a political fanatic. A family in Midland, Texas, is selling the house once occupied by George and Laura Bush, with all the appliances, fixtures and original draperies. A perfect buy just waiting for guided tours and a gift shop. But if you're not into Republicans, well, a woman in Chicago is selling her Jeep Grand Cherokee, the car driven by Barack Obama during his days as a state senator. But you'll have to wait on that one. The owner's not putting it up on eBay until after the election when it could be worth a lot more or a lot less.

And he's already an international sex symbol and an invader of small neighboring countries but now you can add wildlife expert to the growing resume of Vladimir Putin. The Russian media is reporting during a visit to a national park, the prime minister shot and sedated a tiger with a tranquilizer gun as it escaped and was about to attack a nearby camera crew.

With all the anger at the media here, you have to wonder if any of our politicians would even bother.

Watch your back. THIS WEEK IN POLITICS is on the hunt.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOREMAN: Yes, the delegates are pumped. Perhaps even a bit delirious. But can either candidate get that legendary convention bounce and make it hold up until November? And what is a bounce anyway. Well, our devil's dictionary defines bounce as a temporary lift caused by massive outbursts of hot air.

Joining me to discuss it all are two experts in political hot air. Rich Galen who worked on the presidential campaign of former Senator Fred Thompson and writes a blog on mullings.com and with me in Washington, where irrational exuberance is a way of life, Democratic strategist Steven Elmendorf.

Rich let me start with you. The Republicans come out on this thing really needing the lift. The numbers say they've got to have it. Are you happy with the tools that the Republicans have to work with or what do you think they need to work on more?

RICH GALEN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, I think everybody thinks this is unlike any other election we've ever seen. I suspect a year ago if you looked at the polling literally September '07, the smart money was all on Hillary and on Mitt Romney. That's all gone. Nobody, nobody could have assumed that these two tickets would be the way that they are set up now.

And the other thing, Steve, I'll think you'll agree with this is that we've never had two conventions so close to each other so the bounce polling is largely weekend polling which we both know is always very squirrely. I think Republicans are probably far better off -- I know, they think they're far better off than they have any reason to believe given the economy, given energy prices, given the state of Iraq and Afghanistan. And the fact that these things are pretty much within the margin of error, is that exuberance you were talking about.

FOREMAN: My guess is that Steve, even if you agree with them on some things, you'll say, sure, the Republicans are better off than maybe they ought to be, but that will only be consolation in defeat unless they come up a little bit harder.

STEVE ELMENDORF, ELMENDORF STRATEGIES: I agree with Rich that the fact that both conventions were so late after the Olympics on top of each other limits the bounce for both parties. But I think the Democrats went into their convention with a slight edge and have come out of both conventions with an edge. I think the Democrats did what they needed to do at the convention, they got united. The Clintons got on board and I think the Republicans did what they needed to do about the convention, they got the base fired up about John McCain. But it doesn't change the fundamentals of the election, which are, the Democrats have an advantage.

FOREMAN: Steve, what do you need to see from your party as you move in those next 60 days, though? Because those can be very treacherous waters. What do you think your party needs to do if they want to keep that advantage and seal the deal?

ELMENDORF: I think the enthusiasm gap on our side in our favor needs to stay the way it is. And I think it's going to. I think the first polling after the convention shows that the Democrats are more fired up about Barack Obama than people are about the McCain/Palin ticket.

FOREMAN: What about you, Rich? The Republicans certainly got fired up this weekend. But that's a hard thing to sustain for 60 days.

GALEN: Well, everything -- what happens typically is that after the initial bounce on both sides, after the convention, there will be a slight little swale. And everbody will pick back up in October. And the real home stretch is the last 30 days, so we've got about 30 days of sort of figuring it out, raising money, getting organizations in place and going on. Let me make sure our viewers understand the nature of political polling. It's a little bit like figure skating used to be where you take the high and the low, you throw them out because you knew the East Germans and the French were cheating and/or lying. What's in the middle is probably right. Throw out the high and the low, and what's in the middle is probably right. And I think that's where we are now which shows Senator Obama with a five, six- point lead.

FOREMAN: But the problem it seems to me when you look at that Rich is that he's had some kind of lead all along. And you know Republicans all over the country are looking at strategists and saying, how are you going to make the difference? What's the answer?

GALEN: Well, I think the answer largely lies with the selection of Governor Palin, which completely changed the nature and the scope of this election. The debate changed instantly. The arguments changed. All the talking points had to be thrown out and the opposition research brought into a new realm.

So I think that's going to be a big part of it. One of the things, Steve, that I think may be a little bit of a danger for your guys is when Senator Obama talks about Senator McCain having been there for 26 years with all these awful things happening, so has Joe Biden and it's a little hard to forget that he's out there.

FOREMAN: Steve, what about this question of Sarah Palin? She's certainly energized the republicans more than anything else out there. Democrats keep saying, well, she's essentially a lightweight. We don't need to worry about her. But your party clearly is paying attention to her. What do you think your party has to do to neutralize her if you're going to win?

ELMENDORF: I don't think we need to do much. I don't think she's a lightweight. I think she's going to solidify the Republican base.

And with all due respect to Joe Biden and to her, I think in a couple of weeks, the vice presidential candidates are going to be going around the country working on the bases, on smaller media markets and this election is going to be between Barack Obama and John McCain.

GALEN: I absolutely agree. Steve is absolutely right. And that's the way it should be, frankly. People are electing the president. The vice presidents live over in the Naval Observatory. They know the exact time but that's about it.

FOREMAN: Let me ask you this. Rich, what is the one thing that you most want to hear or see out of your candidate in the next 60 days?

GALEN: What I would like Senator McCain to do would be to give us a good, solid set of reasons why the country should vote for him. We know his history and we know his bio. We know why Republicans think we shouldn't vote for Senator Obama. But I don't think we've turned that corner and come up with the language necessary to say, OK, to put the poll into action ...

FOREMAN: Steve, what's the one thing you want to hear out of Barack Obama ...

ELMENDORF: I think Barack Obama needs to keep doing what he did in his convention speech, lay out the contrast with John McCain and lay out the positive case for why he should be president. I think debates are obviously the next big thing. For Barack Obama, that's the final tests. He's passed all the tests so far. He's got to stand on the stage next to John McCain and people have to be comfortable he can be the next commander in chief. And I think he's going to pass that test.

FOREMAN: And with that we'll wrap it up. Thanks, Rich, thanks, Steve. Coming up, putting words into the candidates' mouths. The secretive world of speechwriters. But first, a few words about our programming.

In two weeks, CNN will air a special program on the challenges facing the next president. Our distinguished panel, all former secretaries of state, including Madeleine Albright, James Baker, Colin Powell, Henry Kissinger and Warren Christoper. This is your chance to ask a question about foreign policy, global conflicts and the United States' role in the world. Send your video questions to ireport.com/worldofchallenges or e-mail questions to worldofchallenges@cnn.com.

In just a moment, Sarah Palin, women and the role of gender in this historic election. But first, this week's TWIP tip.

Yes, it's all about faith. Democratic strategists have found the word faith sets focus groups on fire, especially when they talk about faith in government, faith in your neighbors, faith in your leaders. County and state Dems are being advised to push it. So watch for faith to start showing up in Democratic ads and speeches in your local elections. That's this week's TWIP tip.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: What do you think of Sarah Palin as a vice presidential pick for John McCain?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like her.

FOREMAN: You do?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do.

FOREMAN: Why?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like her because of what she stands for.

FOREMAN: Which is?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You don't know?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think she's an accomplished woman. Don't get me wrong. But the fact that they think they can just hijack Hillary Clinton and insert Sarah, it just doesn't ...

FOREMAN: Do you think that's what this is all about?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: Sarah Palin is anything but anything but an ordinary girl. First, she's a woman. And second, her entry into the presidential campaign has set off a vigorous debate among women. How it plays out matters because polls indicate women, particularly those undecided or independents, will probably decide this election.

So to talk it over, we have two guests in our New York bureau, Keli Goff who started off as an intern on Hillary Clinton's campaign for Senate in 2000 and is now a contributor to the Black Entertainment Television Network.

And Leslie Sanchez, a Republican strategist and CNN political contributor. Keli, let me start with you, I have heard so many differing opinions from women this week -- some saying she's a mother with a large family who has no business running for such a demanding office. Some saying it is outrageous that anyone would say that about her. Some saying that she's being brash and too sarcastic and others saying, no, she's just being strong. Good heavens. Where do you come down?

KELI GOFF, BLACK ENTERTAINMENT TELEVISION: First of all, I think the great news out of the Palin story sit reinforces firmly to the media that women do not speak with a monolithic voice. We are individuals who speak for ourselves. What I would say is I think that men, including some of the men in the McCain campaign who are instrumental in drafting her for the ticket, are probably a lot more surprised by the criticism her pick has elicited or some of the lack of unity among women. But any woman would have been, had they been asked.

FOREMAN: Let me follow up on that, Kelli, very quickly here. One of the complaints or concerns that you hear from the right and to some degree from the middle is many, many women when Hillary Clinton was running, were more than happy to say, it is important for a woman to move ahead. But now they're saying, but not that woman. What do you make of that and how do you reconcile that?

GOFF: Again, I think that part of that -- I hate to play the blame game with the media, but i think part of this is a lot of these conversations get oversimplified in the media. I get it. I'm part of the crew. We get 30 second to make our case. But that being said, it was a lot more nuance than that. I don't think if you asked the traditional Hillary Clinton voter they would say, I want to see any woman, any woman at all, over my dead body in the White House. It was more complex than that. People have specific issues they vote along. And I think it's a little insulting to women to say a woman will vote for anyone who has the right anatomical equipment.

FOREMAN: All right, Leslie, let's jump in here on your side of the equation.

Because certainly one of the concerns on the flipside is people have been saying on the Republican side, people who would have criticized a woman with a family running like this saying you're not being a good mother, are now saying, no, no, in her case, it's perfectly fine. I don't frankly know what to make of any of this.

LESLIE SANCHEZ, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: There is a misconception that Hillary Clinton voters were going to rush to the Republican ticket. That wasn't what this was about f. They were feminist voters who were over a certain age, they were inclined to be frustrated with the Democratic ticket because Barack Obama and not their candidate was at the top. But they were fundamentally either not going to vote or going to embrace the Democratic Party in November. The difference was these liberal Republicans or conservative Democrats, independent conservatives who were flirting with the idea of an Obama candidacy and see Sarah Palin and go wait a minute, this is exactly the type of commonsense approach I want to see in government. That's why you see this engagement.

So you're exactly right. These women are different. We're talking about married women versus younger single women, income makes a difference. Race makes a difference. It's not all one group.

FOREMAN: And yet there has been if we look at the polls, some indication that there is a trend. Obama tends to do better among women than John McCain does. Keli, why?

GOFF: I think one of the dirty secrets of American politics is that women are extremely tough on female candidates and they're particularly tough on female candidates with small children. Jane Swift, the former governor of Massachusetts comes to mind. She was another rising star in the Republican Party and a moderate Republican. I think she had a very bright future on national politics but she ran into some problems with trying to balance her responsibilities raising newborn twins with being a governor.

FOREMAN: We might be coming up on the line here but at the same time, Leslie, same question to you -- why are women leaning toward Obama instead of John McCain?

SANCHEZ: Look at the bottom line. Republicans bottomed out in 1992 with the women vote. There is a gender gap. George W. Bush was able to close that gap tremendously and he won four critical states because of the women's vote and not necessarily winning it against John Kerry but closing it. Those are states like Ohio, Iowa, New Mexico, Florida. It's critical that women -- women are swing voters. They split tickets. They want to look at the candidate. Their common sense approach.

Can they reach across the aisle and get things done? That's why she's so engaging. This is a candidate who's proved she can take on special interests, she can be a mother, a leader and a wife and do it well and a lot of women respect that and respect the fact she's decided to serve the public.

GOFF: The issue of choice is off the table. I have to say that. The issue of choice is off the table. And the majority of women are still pro-choice in this country.

FOREMAN: We're running short on time. Keli, let me ask you very quickly, how do we get these accusations of sexism from both sides off the table because right now there are accusations from both sides? How do we move past that to a point where women will be comfortable and the rest of us will be comfortable and say, no, candidates are being judged on their quality alone?

GOFF: I think until the women are dominating most of the major decision-making positions in the media, I don't know that it will ever be off the table. But I don't think it's an argument where anybody wins. One of the things that Barack Obama has been very smart about is not crying racism, if you've noticed. After Hillary Clinton ran into some problems she told "The Washington Post" she believed she was the victim of sexism. Never heard the words out of Obama's mouth. I think it's a lose-lose whenever you start blaming the media.

FOREMAN: Leslie, jump in. Final word?

SANCHEZ: You know, bottom line, there's no doubt that Sarah Palin was smeared at the beginning of this campaign by many folks in the media. Many folks on the left tried to discredit her and tried to embarrass her. But once she was able to speak and introduce herself to the public, I think America is starting to fall in love with her. And that's the distinct difference.

FOREMAN: We're going to have to have you both back. We'll have a lot more discussions about women in elections. Because I'm telling you, these folks are going to decide this election.

Straight ahead, a look at what's behind these soaring political speeches. But first, a new feature on THIS WEEK IN POLITICS. While you were sleeping, a story you may have missed if you ever took your eyes off the news.

Last week, Internet searches for pictures of Sarah Palin went wild. According to "Time" magazine, in just two days, these searches reached a peak higher than for any other political personality in the past three years. Searches for Governor Palin were almost four times as popular as those for Obama, eight times as popular as McCain and over 10 times more popular than searches for Joe Biden. And that sexy cover you think you found is a Photoshop and not a very good one.

But we're the real thing and we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: Leading off this week's viral videos, a look at a career in the food business.

In a few short months, President Bush will be out of the White House and out after a job.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Holy moly. What am I going to do now?

FOREMAN: Have no fear. In this game from 2D play, you help W in his next career as a hot dog vendor. Of course, with the economy going the way it is, maybe we should all get ready for that job. Keep practicing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I stand for change, come on and vote for me.

FOREMAN: From German television, a preview of the general campaign.

Clearly both candidates are ready to plunge right into the issue of climate change.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Singing)

FOREMAN: And finally, we're not the only ones having an election.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What has 37 years of Mayor McCheese gotten us?

FOREMAN: McDonaldland is in turmoil and over at funnyordie.com, the negative ads were coming out faster than Big Macs on a Saturday.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Grimace, keep your hands off our buns.

FOREMAN: Even veteran observers are shocked.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, Ronald, Mayor McCheese has sold out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: So much for the search for an honest burger. Back to reality. Clips of Sarah Palin's convention speech are all over the Internet right now. Just check it out. And even her vice presidential opponent Joe Biden says it was incredibly well-crafted and delivered. He also said it lacked substance.

But back to his first point, in the meticulously planned world of modern campaigning, good speechwriters are priceless and in this election, as Palin's speech made very clear, they're earning every dime.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN: Just like John McCain and Barack Obama, they're speechwriters are a study in opposites. For McCain, it is Mark Salter, 53, a political partner for almost 20 years, helping the senator craft policy, write books and handle crises. Salter likes writing early in the morning and mindful of McCain's preference for free-wheeling question-and-answer sessions, he keeps it short.

MCCAIN: Let me just offer an advance warning to the old big-spending, do-nothing, me-first, country-second crowd -- change is coming.

FOREMAN: The top speechwriting job for Obama belongs to John Favreau, only 27 years old. He used to write for John Kerry. Obama famously likes to sit up late scribbling ideas onto yellow legal pads. Then he passes them on to Favreau who puts on the polish.

MCCAIN: John McCain likes to say he'll follow bin Laden to the gates of hell but he won't even follow him to the cave where he lives.

FOREMAN: But that's too simple. The truth is, in big league politics these days, every speech is a collaborative effort, involving the candidate, one or more writers, advisers and pollsters. And that's not all. Just ask the woman who used to write for former Senate majority leader Bill Brist, CNN contributor Amy Holmes.

AMY HOLMES, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I know on the McCain campaign, everything goes through legal. You want to make sure you've got your Ts crossed and your Is dotted but you don't get into any trouble because this is being broadcast around the world.

FOREMAN: No wonder one of the greatest nightmares for a speechwriter is a campaigner who goes off script. Ronald Reagan was famous for it and Bill Clinton was, too.

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT: We went through a zillion rewrites.

FOREMAN: David Gergen advised both of them.

DAVID GERGEN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Clinton especially would go off on a riff. A speech to him was like jazz. He'd get to a certain place and he'd leave the text. If you look at Martin Luther King in "I have a dream" that speech begins to soar when he leaves the text, you want a person capable of doing that. But I can tell you, if you're the one that wrote the speech, your heart's in your mouth.

FOREMAN: But that's also where the magic comes from. When a candidate takes cold words on paper and makes them come alive.

GERGEN: Toward the end, the candidate has to seize the speech away and say, this is what I want to say, this is who I am. A good speech is one that first and foremost comes from within and then communicates something to within the people who are listening.

FOREMAN: And a good speech can make good money. The top speechwriting position at the White House is worth about $170,000 a year. Straight ahead, we've got fast track, everything you need to know about the next week in politics and late-night laughs where as you can see even the best scriptwriters think a like.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY LENO, TALK SHOW HOST: It turns out Governor Palin is a lifetime member of the NRA and a long time hunter. Another vice president who is a hunter. What could go wrong there?

LENO: A vice president who likes guns. Well, what could go wrong there?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOREMAN: It's time to hop on the fast track. Everything to get through the next week in politics. Guess who has the fastest scooter on the track right now? Why it's Amy Holmes. Independent conservative and CNN contributor. How do the Democrats counter all the buzz about Sarah Palin?

HOLMES: It has been so fun to watch the Democrats twist themselves into contortions trying to figure out how to go after Sarah Palin. First they told us she was an inexperienced backwater rub and after that speech she's a veteran polished politician and we can go after her. So we'll see. FOREMAN: What about Sarah Palin herself, though, a lot of independents, a lot of media types who are asking real questions about her background, about her experience, about her talents. What does she need to do to answer those questions?

HOLMES: Well, she needs to do what the other three guys need to do. Get out there on the campaign trail and make her case to the voters. Rasmussen has a poll now that shows that she's actually more popular than her own presidential nominee, John McCain and Barack Obama, so I think she's doing pretty well so far.

FOREMAN: And Joe Lieberman showed up at the RNC convention and he made a big noise there. The Democrats were furious about it.

So what happens now?

HOLMES: What happens? Joe Lieberman apparently is going to banished to the hinterlands, so much for bipartisanship from the Democrats. They didn't like it when Joe exercised his bipartisan credentials.

FOREMAN: All right. Amy Holmes, thanks so much for giving us the read on the fast track. In a moment, the look at the week in a minute. A few minutes for our late night laughs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LENO: I don't want to say Republicans are distancing themselves from President Bush but did you see last night? When President Bush was speaking by satellite, they kept trying to change the channel.

CONAN O'BRIEN, TALK SHOW HOST: While she was addressing the crowd Sarah Palin spent a lot of time criticizing Barack Obama's campaign speeches for not having specifics. Obama was reportedly angry about the claim but didn't say exactly why.

STEPHEN COLBERT, TALK SHOW HOST: Exactly, we know nothing about Barack Obama. Only that he can give a great speech. And that is not enough. By the way, Governor Palin, great speech last night.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOREMAN: Even in big week for the Republicans we've done it again. In order to save you from having to watch politics all week, we've chained one of our staffer to a TV set and supplied him with endless cups of coffee. The results, one jittery staffer and another edition of "One Minute Week in Politics."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ramping up for primetime hurricane season.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People are extremely concerned.

GOV. BOBBY JINDAL, (R) LA: Hurricane Gustav. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The latest on Hanna.

GOV. CHARLIE CRIST, (R) FL: Ike and Josephine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The city right now is getting pounded.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: GOP to make major changes to their convention.

CINDY MCCAIN, JOHN'S WIFE: Take off our Republican hats ...

J. MCCAIN: And put on our American hats.

JON STEWART, TALK SHOW HOST: Given John McCain's history of melanoma, really, just wear an (EXPLETIVE DELETED) hat.

RUDY GIULIANI, FORMER MAYOR OF NYC: Obama has never led anything, nothing, nada.

FRED THOMPSON, FORMER SENATOR: He's the most liberal, most inexperienced nominee.

SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN, (CT), FORMER DEMOCRAT: Eloquence is no substitute for a record.

SEN. JOE BIDEN, (D) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They don't have a single answer how to dig us out of the hole.

OBAMA: He voted with George Bush 90 percent of the time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who is Sarah Heath Palin?

ALEX CASTELLANOS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: New kid on the block.

PAT ROBERTSON, TELEVANGELIST: Unify the evangelicals.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The McCain campaign obviously vetted her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The firing of the public safety commissioner.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bristol Palin.

LARRY KING, CNN HOST: Sarah Palin's pregnant daughter.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sexism.

GIULIANI: How dare they do that?

PALIN: Thank you so much.

BAY BUCHANAN, CONSERVATIVE COMMENTATOR: It's completely turned things around for us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She did a phenomenal job.

PALIN: The difference between a hockey mom and pit bull? Lipstick.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: John McCain takes the stage.

MCCAIN: I don't work for myself. I work for you. We're going to win this election. We're going to win.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN: Democrat, Republican, or otherwise all the way through the election every weekend we'll give you the full run-down right here on THIS WEEK IN POLITICS. I'm Tom Foreman, that's for watching. Straight ahead, "McCain Revealed."