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This Week in Politics
The Week's Political Events in Review
Aired September 27, 2008 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN HOST: The financial community is in a crisis. The pillars of Wall Street are falling. On Capitol Hill, frantic politicians race to hammer out a rescue plan. The president makes an emergency appeal, and even the candidates rush to save the nation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Danger, election.
FOREMAN: Yes, this week the candidates rushed to Capitol hill, rushed to the White House and rushed right back to the campaign leaving a cloud of trail dust behind them. Specifically, John McCain and Barack Obama headed down south to their first face-to-face debate. I'm Tom Foreman and welcome to "This week in Politics."
Like the candidates, we're going to deal with the looming credit crisis in just a few minutes, and there is news on that front. But let's begin with the heated words that kicked off the final sprint to election day. Here to help sort through them, CNN's Ed Henry, who's actually at the White House today instead of out on the campaign trail.
And with me in the studio is Anne Kornblut of the "Washington Post." So let's start by hearing what the candidates thought of their own performance. The McCain campaign didn't even wait for the debate to end to get this one up on their website.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Barack Obama's answers at the first presidential debate -
JIM LOEHRER, MODERATOR: If you have something directly to say, Senator Obama, to Senator McCain about what he just said?
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I think Senator McCain is absolutely right that we need more responsibility. Well, Senator McCain is absolutely right that the (business taxes) has been abused. John mentioned that business taxes on paper are high in this country and he's absolutely right.
ANNOUNCER: Is Barack Obama ready to lead? No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: In contrast, the Obama staffers took all night to get this one done and on television. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ANNOUNCER: Number of minutes in a debate, 90. Number of times John McCain mentioned the middle class - zero. McCain doesn't get it. Barack Obama does.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: So, Anne, let me start with you. This is starting to look like the old Politburo. It doesn't matter what happens in the debate, both sides are instantly going say our man won hands down.
ANNE KORNBLUT, "THE WASHINGTON POST": You bet. I was getting e-mails before it did end. In fact, before it even began that the Obama campaign predicting the whoppers that McCain would come up with. And before it was over each side has declared victory all the way through to today. Each side saying the other one is still trying to compensate for the failures of night before. So that's why it's really important for people like you and me to decide what really happened.
FOREMAN: Excellent. Let's talk about the quality of the debate to begin with, though. You've seen many, many of these. Was it is a good debate overall?
KORNBLUT: I actually really did. It was very substantive. They talked about not only foreign policy, which was the subject at hand that they've prepared for but also the economy, and the economic crisis. We really got to hear them dig into the issues, and they talked a little bit back and forth with each other, which we don't always get to see. There were a whole lot of zingers, not just a sound bite debate.
In that way, it didn't resemble any of those that we saw during the primaries with eight people on the stage where they can only get in a sentence. They really were able to talk. Now, they talked past each other and they did have some prepared statements that they kept going back to, but it really was substantive.
FOREMAN: What about you Ed, do you feel like they got enough off just the talking points that voters who really wanted to learn from this could learn a lot?
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Not really. I disagree with Anne just a little bit about the fact that I thought it was actually kind of a very slow debate for the first 30 or 40 minutes and I thought the moderator, Jim Lehrer, who I respect greatly, kind of let it go a little far field early on. It's fine to talk about the economy, the financial crisis at the top, even though it was foreign policy debate. Obviously, that's issue number one. But then to let it go to the earmarks for a long time which is a really, really small part of the budget and also is a key talking point for John McCain ended up a big chunk of this debate being right in McCain's wheel house on a subject that had nothing to do with foreign policy.
Though I do think about 30, 40 minutes in, when they start talking about Iraq and Afghanistan it really heated up. Both sides got in there shots, but I think at the end of the day, it really looked like a draw in the sense that they both got their points in, but there wasn't really a strong, you know, one guy or the other really getting far ahead of the other. That might be a slight edge for Obama because obviously McCain has an edge on foreign policy and so a draw could be at least spawned by the Obama camp, as a slight edge, but I think it will put a little more pressure on Obama going into the second and third debates when they talk more about domestic issues. That's supposed to be in his wheel house. So the pressure will be on there.
FOREMAN: You mentioned Iraq. Let's listen to a little bit of that exchange, because that one really was one of the best exchanges of the night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Senator Obama said the surge could not work, said it would increase sectarian violence, said it was doomed to failure. Recently on a television program he said it exceeded our wildest expectations but yet after conceding that he still says that he would oppose the surge if he had to decide that again today.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: John, you'd like to pretend that the war started in 2007. You talk about the surge. The war started in 2003. And at the time, when the war started you said it was going to be quick and easy. You said we knew where the weapons of mass destruction were. You were wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Do you think Anne, when you listen to that that this was a lot of talk about a very, very important issue. Right now one that the American voters aren't that interested in?
KORNBLUT: I think they're still interested in it. It still is the number two issue but it's a long way behind the economy. So they had to talk about it for sure. What we saw them doing was each of them reverting back to their point of view that they've had all throughout this campaign. They each got to explain it very clearly and I think, it's arguably one of Obama's strongest points of the night where he was really able to go after McCain on foreign policy, which is of course, supposed to be McCain's strong suit.
I think they get into trouble when they start quoting each other and saying you said this, you said that. It was very hard for the average viewer who hasn't been following it to know which parts of that are true or not. But in the end I do think in terms of foreign policy, arguably one of the most interesting point, parts for voters who are still concerned about Iraq.
FOREMAN: It seems to me that the biggest problem that John McCain faces now, the closer we get, is that every time we look at the electoral map, and I want to bring that up briefly to show the states that seemed to be leaning towards Obama or leaning towards McCain. When you look at this or the popular vote, time and again over weeks and weeks and weeks, about the best McCain has ever done is pull even. And if all he can do is pull even it doesn't look like he'll win.
HENRY: Well, we'll have to see. I mean, you're right. It certainly puts him in a tough position, but on the other hand look what John McCain is facing this election with the Republican brand in really, frankly in shambles. And he knows it and that is why he is trying to run as an unconventional Republican. And the fact that he is within the margin of error, sure Obama maybe up, but up only slightly in these battleground states and in some of the battlegrounds, McCain is up slightly too. But it's within the margin of error. It tells me there are still at least as we see from a lot of these polls about 10 percent of the electorate that has not made up its mind.
John McCain in these next two debates really obviously has to go after them. And I think in a year that's supposed to be so awful for republicans, the fact that he's even within striking distance, sure, it doesn't mean he's ahead. But just being in striking distance at this late stage shows he's in this game.
FOREMAN: And one superdelegate on the democratic side said to me this week that he is very worried that despite all these numbers and he's very because he says so much of the Obama wave is new voters and new voters often have trouble showing up or voting with new machines in a way that gets counted. And he was saying, look, if Obama has a lead of three or four points, that's the same as being even.
KORNBLUT: Sure. A lot of Obama supporters have the same concern in Iowa during the primary, during the caucuses there, rather, and those new voters did turn out. But that's also why you see -
FOREMAN: Those are caucuses, those are different.
KORNBLUT: Absolutely. But I think the Obama campaign is feeling, I think for one thing pretty confident about their machinery. They've doing this now all year. And another thing is they're not just going after younger voters. They're also going after older voters. They're going after the middle and they haven't focused their intensity on that at this point.
FOREMAN: So Ed final word to you as we turn out of this first big debate. We all waited for it. We have more on the way. What is Washington saying now? Still a tight race going down to the wire?
HENRY: Absolutely.
FOREMAN: OR somebody's got the edge?
HENRY: Absolutely. I think tight race down to the wire and the most fascinating part for me was at the very top when both candidates were asked directly, are you in support of this bailout plan which they had both been here at the White House a couple of days earlier to deal with. Neither would give a straight answer. This is the biggest issue facing the nation. Neither would give a straight answer. Finally McCain pressed by Jim Lehrer basically said he'll likely support it. But I thought it was fascinating that when voters are looking for authenticity, straight answers, direct answers on the biggest issue facing the country both of them were not direct on that. And that was pretty fascinating.
FOREMAN: And we wonder why people get disappointed in both parties.
Anne, Ed, thanks for being here. We appreciate it.
We got a lot more coming up on "This Week in Politics." We'll shine a light on campaign falsehoods and a preview of what could be the foot- in-mouth face-off. Yes, we're talking about the vice presidential debate there. And as usual, we'll have our late night laughs. And in case, you think that the late night shows are just for fun, look what happened when John McCain begged off David Letterman's show saying he had to hurry back to Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST "THE LATE NIGHT SHOW": Let's just punch up Katie Couric's interview. And Keith, you can go back to wherever you came from. Let's just see what he has to say here. This will be interesting. I wonder if he'll mention me? Hey, John I got a question. You need a ride to the airport?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: That song by notorious B.I.G. says it well, the more money we come across, the more problem we see. And this week on Capitol Hill, they were talking about a mind-boggling amount of money. Nearly three quarters of a trillion dollars. Yes, that's trillion with a t, and yes, they are having problems. Brianna Keilar has been following this weekend's intense negotiations on Capitol Hill and in our New York bureau, a man who never shows up with good news, CNN's senior business correspondent Ali Velshi.
Brianna, let me start with you. Everybody seems to agree that there is a problem. Everybody agrees something needs to be done. How come they can't agree on a deal?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's a major sticking point and it seems to be over ideology. Because you got House Republicans who are really the holding - they're really holding up the situation on Capitol Hill. Whereas the Treasury Department, congressional democrats, Senate Republicans seem to have agreed on what people are short handing as a Paulson-plus plan. That $700 billion taxpayer bailout along with other add-on taxpayer protection, just a number of add-ones and actually we aren't privy to the exactly the details that they're working out. The House Republicans do not want to the see taxpayer money used to bailout the financial markets and there are some House Republicans who simply not going to bail or not going to move on that issue, Tom.
FOREMAN: Well, a lot of them are getting pressure back home from voters who are saying they don't want taxpayer money going that way.
KEILAR: Yes and just to give you a sense of how much pressure, we have heard I heard from one democratic senator who said she received, and this was as of Thursday night, 28,000 e-mails. We heard from another member who is a Republican who said he was receiving a lot of e-mail, and it was 1,000-1 against this bailout proposal. So you got especially when you're talking about House Republicans, who are holding this up. They are very much beholden to their constituents, especially this is an election year, Tom, not just for the president. The entire House of Representatives is up for re-election, and if they see a bailout that is not popular that really puts them in quite a sticky situation.
FOREMAN: So, meanwhile, Ali, everybody is sitting up in New York, all of these businesses watching Washington, watching the pressure cooker and saying, what's going to come out of this?
ALI VELSHI, CNN, SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, they need to step up. The house Republicans in particular, if they don't like this deal and there are very many reasons not to like the proposal, that Henry Paulson put up to Congress, but if they don't like it, we need leadership. We don't need the absence of leadership. What is happening here is everybody is fearful about the tempers in America are rising about this. You know, it might be standing in front of this deal and you might end up looking like a hero to your constituents' board. But there has just not been good communication of the major message here, and that is Tom, that if the financial system continues to grind to a halt, it's like all of these squirrels taking their acorns and hanging on to them. The acorns are the money and nobody can get the money that they need to borrow, business could drive to a halt. There could be major corporations that can't make payroll very soon.
We will see more banks fail. Now, to be sure, Tom, we're going to see a lot of that happen anyway. We're going to lose more jobs, we're going to see more businesses fail. But this is not a time to let your anger stop you from doing something. Anybody who got a better suggestion should be locked in a room right now doing it and there are some people in Washington who are doing that right now. Everybody else had better get on the party, because this could be much worse than what some of them think.
FOREMAN: Brianna, it seems part of problem here is that this is a perfect storm. Something needs to be done now seemingly, but whatever is done, as Ali mentioned, won't produce results necessarily next week or the next week, that people can see on Main Street, and the election will come out and those angry voters will say you spent all this money. What did you do? Jobs are still being lost. Homes are still being lost. You didn't fix it.
KEILAR: Well, I think there's really a sense here on Capitol Hill that something does need to be done. I mean, I'm not hearing from anyone who doesn't - who argues with the fact the financial markets are in a serious situation. There was a tangible fear here on Capitol Hill among I think almost every member of Congress, Tom, that something needs to be done, or this is going to be a serious situation and if nothing is done, I mean obviously, the sense is there is going to be a bailout package. But the sense is, if it doesn't accomplish what it needs to accomplish, this is going to be, of course, a disaster for the country, but in terms of politics, I think everyone will have a very difficult time, all democrats and republicans, how are they going to explain themselves to constituents On one hand, you know, perhaps democrats would say, well, look. It was such a big problem. The Bush administration, the Republicans created, we just couldn't even - we tried, but at that point it was too late. They got us into this. We couldn't do enough. Perhaps the Republicans say they feel railroaded, but in the end, if this doesn't work out, this isn't good for anyone politically.
FOREMAN: Let's listen to both of the candidates, and what they to say about this very problem that we're facing right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Yes, we've got to solve this problem short term, and we are going to have to intervene. There's no doubt about that. But we're also going have to look at how is it that we have shredded so many regulations and we did not set up a 21st century regulatory framework to deal with these problems and that in part has to do with an economic philosophy that says that regulation is always bad.
MCCAIN: This isn't the beginning or the end of this crisis. This is the end of the beginning. If we come out with a package that will keep these institutions stable and we've got a lot of work to do, and we've got to create jobs in one of the areas, of course, is to eliminate our dependence on foreign oil.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Ali, Treasury Secretary Paulson this week several times warned that if there were too many punitive measures attached to this package, that all of these Wall Street firms wouldn't go along with it, they wouldn't participate. If Wall Street is as afraid as you say they are of this big collapse, shouldn't they be sucking it up and -
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: I think they will. Anybody that offers Wall Street money it going to get their terms not Wall Street terms. But I don't know what John McCain was talking about at the end there. I'm as much as into energy as anyone in the world. I don't know how he pegged that on to the end of this discussion. You know, the magic of Barack Obama is that he can sit there, and take any complicated issue and somehow come impassioned and communicate it. He didn't do that in the debate.
John McCain's magic is that he can come into a room where people are completely on different sides and get them to talk, which is what he said he was going to Washington to do and he didn't do it. So when your previous guest Anne said that was a substantive debate, I'd like to join her for the next debate and understand what she was watching. Because I watched that same debate I thought that it was empty, particularly on the economic side. The one place we needed leadership was from that debate and we didn't get from those two candidates and we're not getting it from Capitol Hill right now.
(CROSSTALK)
FOREMAN: Ali, very importantly on that front, what do you think Wall Street thinks of these two candidates right now?
VELSHI: I got to tell you - I don't think - I don't know that they are confident. And I don't think anybody should care at this point. Wall Street gummed to tough up. Wall Street should keep its mouth shut for a very long time, take the money that's given to them and fix the problem.
FOREMAN: We'll see if Wall Street can do that. Ali, thanks for being here, Brianna as well.
We're going to move on a fact check on both campaigns but you be sure to stick with CNN and all this weekend for the latest on this ongoing financial crisis, there are developments every hour it seems. Speaking of which here's a key to understanding all of the news conferences and speeches about the economy. It's this week's "Quick Tips."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Is it a Wall Street bailout or a rescue plan for the American way of life? Which phrase politicians use will tell you a lot about how they're planning to spin it during the election. A daring rescue plan that prevents a meltdown of the entire economy keeps the wolf from your door, and the Chinese from foreclosing on the Treasury Department. Well, that's a good thing, but a bailout for the rich is bad. Democrats hate helping the rich, and the Republicans hate bailing out anyone. So watch their words. It will tell you how any given candidate is leaning in this whole mess and whether or not you want to support them in the future. That's our "Quick Tip."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOREMAN: The famous political pundit George Costanza once told Jerry Seinfeld, "just remember, it's not a lie if you believe it." Today it's hard to know what to believe out on the campaign trail. Here to help us separate a very few facts from a whole lot of fiction is Chris Cillizza. He writes the "Fix Blog" for the "Washington Post.com." thanks for joining us, Chris.
We're going to start off first with social security and what Barack Obama said about John McCain. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: If my opponent had his way, the millions of Floridians who rely on it would have had their social security tied up in the stock market this week. Millions would have watch as the markets tumbled and their nest egg disappeared before their eyes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Say that down in Florida, with so many retirees, Chris, explosive words. But are they true?
CHRIS CILLIZZA, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Well, you know, the issue here is that it's the function of this social security privatization or partial privatization that George W. Bush pushed after the 2004 election and went nowhere. It would allow younger people to voluntarily put some of their money into the stock market, but no, older voters would not be required to do so. This is in effect the democrats have used very effectively though in both the 2006 election and congressional candidates are already using an echo of that attack in 2008 as well.
FOREMAN: So all of those older folks there's are actually under no threat at all from McCain's plan? It's about what younger people might do in the future and McCain has always said, this is not instead of social security. This should be in addition to social security, correct?
CILLIZZA: That's right. That's exactly right. It's an option that you can opt into. But remember, social security isn't called the third rail of American politics for nothing. The old, you touch, you die kind of thing. People are very worried about having their benefits either taken away or reduced in any way should it performed. And that's why it makes for a good political attack.
FOREMAN: So, we'll take a look at the true false chart. We're going to put a big false under that plan by Barack Obama.
But now let's turn to another one by John McCain about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCAIN: Two years ago I called for reform of this corruption of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Congress did nothing. The administration did nothing. Senator Obama did nothing. And actually profited from the system of abuse and scandal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Boy, with all the worries about the economy right now, the republicans and John McCain would like nothing more, Chris, than to attach the democrats to those problems. Is this a fair attachment?
CILLIZZA: You know, profit, I think is probably the wrong word. You know, both of these candidates have ties to folks who have ties to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Rick Davis, John McCain's campaign manager, was revealed recently that he was getting $15,000 - his firm I should say. I'm sorry. His firm was getting $15,000 a month, still from Freddie Mac. There have been questions about Franklin Raines, and his ties to Barack Obama. How tight are they? How loose are they? This is one of those ones where I don't think anyone is immune. It is not as though John McCain has no ties to Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae or Barack Obama has no ties to them. You're right though, Tom. This is an attempt to brand what is obviously a political loose or ties to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac onto Barack Obama. I'm not sure that it sells.
FOREMAN: We're going to put a check mark in these case in both boxes. It's a little bit true but it's a little bit false. But certainly misleading no matter how you look at it. And one more item here, it has to do with equal pay for women. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: It's not that Senator McCain doesn't care about what's going on in the lives of women in this country. It's, I like to - I like to think it's just that he doesn't know. Because why else, why else would he oppose legislation to help women get equal pay?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: So did he oppose legislation to give women equal pay?
CILLIZZA: You know, Tom, this is the reason why a senator hasn't been elected to the presidency directly since 1960 in John Kennedy, because in the Senate, as you know, you vote quite a bit and you vote on things that have parts of legislation that is obviously appealing, and parts that are less appealing. John McCain has voted against equal pay, but it was part of a much larger package. Now remember in 2004, context doesn't always matter in politics. Remember John Kerry's famous I voted for it before I voted against it about the funding, the $87 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan. Now that was technically true. He has was an amendment -
FOREMAN: Sure.
CILLIZZA: You know, one of these very political parlance things but it turned into an effective political attack. I think especially we know women are a key, crucial voting block in this election. Barack Obama hoping to woo them. John McCain with his selection of Sarah Palin hoping to woo them. This is something I think we're going to hear a lot more about in the future, but remember. The senate is a - they vote a lot. It's a very complex body. So we're saying it's probably half and half.
FOREMAN: We're going to check true, yes, it happened but McCain has said unequivocally he is for equal pay for women. We haven't had a vote on just that issue. Chris, thanks for joining us. We really appreciate it. We have a lot more "truth and false" coming up on "This week in Politics" in the weeks ahead as we burn down to the election.
Straight ahead though a look what could well be the highlight of this political scene, I'm not kidding you. We're talking about the face- off between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin. And to get you in the mood, a ballad of the ballot years in our weekly pick of the best viral videos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN (voice-over): On the show we always welcome a good campaign ballad but we really love the bad ones.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, FUNNYORDIE.COM)
MUSIC: Sarah, Sarah Palin, queen of the Alaskan frontier.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: First up, the ballad of Sarah Palin".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MUSIC: Disagree with her and she'll blow (bleep) away
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Funnyordie.com even got a bit philosophical.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MUSIC: Why did they call it a group of goose as geese, but not a group of moose is meese? Oh no, it's weird but she shouldn't kill them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: And mama mia, an endorsement from Italy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, YOUTUBE.COM)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obama, oh, oh.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: These gondoliers, of course, can't vote and apparently they can't sing either.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, YOUTUBE.COM)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, there's Obama to bring back the American dream.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: And finally, Theonion.com brings us a brand new economic plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, THEONION.COM)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: John McCain announced details of his new economic recovery plan under which every American would marry a wealthy beer heiress.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: But don't expect the vege (ph) to set up your dating profile. You're on your own.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, THEONION.COM) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This isn't a government handout. No one is going to be given a beer heiress. You'll have to woo one on your own.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: No problem. While I try to catch an heiress, you can catch these commercials and we'll meet up after the break.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon here at the CNN world headquarters. Here's what's happening right now.
First up, some breaking weather news to tell you about. Let's go straight to our Jacqui Jeras in the CNN severe weather center -- Jacqui.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Don. Well, Kyle is a hurricane now. It's been strengthening very slowly throughout the day today. Maximum sustained winds are now up to 75 miles per hour with gusts beyond that. Moisture already being fed into the northeastern corridor with some heavy showers due to a different system which was already in place, so very difficult conditions. Not a great night for travel on the highways or by the airways.
Flash flood watches and warnings have been posted because some of these rain bands have been very heavy. Look at that pushing into the Boston area right now, and then you can see the heavy rain along I-95 up towards Portland, and we'll watch this spread inward throughout the rest of the evening.
There you can see those watches which are in place. We also have tropical storm warnings in effect from Port Clyde all the way up towards Eastport, and there you can see some of the delays at the airport. It's going to be a rough couple of days. The winds arrive, by the way, Don, tomorrow afternoon.
LEMON: All right. Jacqui, thank you very much.
And our other big story here, the country on the brink of financial collapse. A team of negotiators from both parties and both Houses of Congress are hard at work at the Capitol right now. There you see a live picture.
They are trying to reach a deal on that proposed $700 billion financial rescue plan. There is talk a deal is possible as soon as tonight. It can happen at any moment so you want to stay tuned. Both parties agreed there is still a lot of work to do, but they're saying they're possibly close to some sort of decision or plan.
I'm Don Lemon. Now back to "THIS WEEK IN POLITICS."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SONG BY ELVIS PRESLEY: You look like an angel. Walk like an angel. Talk like an angel, but I got one. You're the devil in disguise. Oh, yes you are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: The king had it right way back in the '60s, and we've got it right right here in our devil's dictionary, which defines a running mate as a politician who attacks the other guy on purpose and you by mistake. And this week it sure seemed like the two vice presidential candidates weren't doing any favors for the top of the ticket.
On CBS, Sarah Palin could not quite remember what financial regulations John McCain had pushed over all those years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, FROM "CBS EVENING NEWS")
KATIE COURIC, CBS ANCHOR, "CBC EVENING NEWS": I'm just going to ask you one more time not to belabor the point. Specific examples in his 26 years of pushing for more regulations?
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'll try to find just some and I'll bring them to you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: And I don't know what it is about Katie Couric, but she got Joe Biden to take a shot at a commercial from his own campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, FROM "CBS EVENING NEWS")
SEN. JOE BIDEN (D), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I thought that was terrible, by the way.
KATIE COURIC, CBS ANCHOR, "CBS EVENING NEWS": Why'd you do it then?
BIDEN: I didn't know we did it, and if I'd anything to do with it, we would have never done it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: So we can only hope that the vice presidential debate next week will turn into a demolition derby.
Joining me for a preview are two aficionados of mutually assured destruction. In our Los Angeles bureau, nationally syndicated radio talk show host, Stephanie Miller, and also joining us equally nationally indicated radio talk show host, Ben Ferguson.
Stephanie, let me talk with you. Are these the kind of vice presidential candidates the candidates need at the moment?
STEPHANIE MILLER, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Well, I think, you know, Sarah Palin, at this point, is kind of a Category Five disaster. I think if the Charlie Gibson interview was the "Titanic," the Katie Couric one was kind of the "Hindenburg." No wonder they're trying to get the vice presidential debate cancelled.
FOREMAN: Well --
MILLER: Did you see that move? If John McCain hadn't showed up for the debate, she's like, oh, but we can have it when the vice presidential one is supposed to be. Unbelievable.
FOREMAN: Yes, but at the same time -- at the same time, many people have said she's not that experienced.
Ben, Joe Biden is hugely experienced for him to be saying things like this ad should never run is stunning.
BEN FERGUSON, "THE BEN FERGUSON SHOW": Yes. Or how about the one that no one's talking about, which is the fact he said FDR in 1929 went on TV and told people things are going to be OK. Well, he wasn't president when there was a big crash in the markets then, and they didn't have TVs in 1929.
So, you know, I mean, this guy has been saying, hey, you know, FDR really calmed people down on TV. I'm going, do you not even know who the president was then? Did you not realize there wasn't TVs back then? I mean, you know, this guy's got the experience. So they take shots at Palin.
The point is it's tough day in and day to answer a whole bunch of questions. And when someone wants to knock you down and they go after you on something, they think that you may not remember that moment, you know, it's going happen. But when you're claiming that, you know, TVs were around when they weren't, you can take the same shot.
I think this debate, though, I hope, it gets to real issues and then get for this whole tit-for-tat I got you stuff. I hope they get to have a real debate because the American people, honestly, after all we've seen, they really deserve it.
FOREMAN: What do you think they should be talking about, Ben, what issues?
FERGUSON: Well, I mean, obviously, I think the biggest thing is going to be, especially these two guys, is the economy. I mean, they need to be able to talk to you about the economy. They both think that they have more experience than the other person. They obviously need to be talking about energy and gas prices. That's something that should play very well to Sarah Palin's hand. And Joe Biden is going to be the guy that's going to want to talk about national security because he's going to claim he's shaken more hands with foreign leaders than Sarah Palin has. So, you know, I hope --
(CROSSTALK)
FOREMAN: Steph -- hold on, Stephanie will jump in here.
Are those the issues you want, Stephanie?
MILLER: Excuse me. FOREMAN: And do you think this will play into your --
MILLER: Excuse me, that's all Sarah Palin has done is shaking hands. That was her foreign policy safe dating.
FERGUSON: So, same with Barack Obama.
MILLER: She's like -- she's like -- she's like the spokesmodel category.
FERGUSON: That's same with Barack Obama.
FOREMAN: Ben, give Stephanie a chance to jump in here.
MILLER: I'm star search.
FOREMAN: Go ahead, Stephanie.
MILLER: But she's like the spokes -- she's not even a vice presidential candidate. She's a vice presidential spokesmodel. Since when do you only get photos after meeting with foreign leaders? You're not allowed to ask questions?
FOREMAN: Hold that aside, Stephanie, what about those issues? What about those issues Ben is bringing up there. Are those the issues you want to hear your guy engage Sarah Palin on?
MILLER: Oh, absolutely. I can't wait to hear the foreign policy debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin. Please, his FDR thing, I think, you know, he misspoke about saying on TV. The fact is he did try to calm people and cleaning up after we got another Republican economic mess.
(CROSSTALK)
FERGUSON: Misspoke? He claimed --
MILLER: So this is exactly what the Barack Obama administration is going to have to do.
FERGUSON: Stephanie, he claimed -- he claimed that a president -- he claimed that a president did something that he didn't do and claimed he had this great speech on TV when there wasn't TV. I mean, at least own up to it when there's an oops in your campaign.
MILLER: Oh, please, Ben.
FERGUSON: It's a legitimate oops.
MILLER: Like that misspeak of McCain and saying that you can see Alaska or you can see Russia from your house, and that's foreign policy experience, not knowing what the Bush Doctrine is. Are you kidding me?
FOREMAN: Let me ask you guys about something else here.
MILLER: Sarah Palin is a disaster.
FOREMAN: We were looking at the votes missed by some of these folks during the course of this whole thing. John McCain missed 412 votes in the current Congress. Obama missed 295 votes. They're in the top four vote missers, as you can see here, in this whole process.
Let me ask you both a really simple question that I think a lot of normal voters might ask. If we're going to have presidential campaigns that last a year and a half or two years, should both parties be saying if you're a senator if you're a representative, if you're a governor, you should resign before you run, because nobody else gets to go on a two-year job interview while keeping their current job and doing it part time. Stephanie?
FERGUSON: Well, I don't know if --
MILLER: Well --
FERGUSON: Go ahead, Steph.
MILLER: He's throwing his voice now. You know, Tom, I think that -- you know, that's actually a fair point and I think, you know, McCain has tried this criticizing Obama for missing a vote when he clearly has missed twice as many, you know, and particularly on some important bills. So I think that, you know, you actually raise a good point.
FERGUSON: What important bills?
FOREMAN: Well, hold on. Hold on, Ben, when you say what important bills? Theoretically, the bills being brought over to U.S. Congress, shouldn't they all be important?
FERGUSON: I wanted to know what -- but my point is I want to know what important bill that John McCain didn't vote on that Barack Obama did vote on? Barack Obama wasn't going to go back to vote on the economy, and John McCain had to literally force him to go to Washington and do his job as a senator which he has not done. He's had the worst voting record overall of any senator...
(CROSSTALK)
MILLER: Oh, please. Are you really --
FERGUSON: ... since he got in office at the Senate right now.
MILLER: Oh, Ben, are you really going to defend this cheap political stunt that John McCain pulled that just backfired because now he looks -- now he looks like an even bigger idiot?
FERGUSON: Will see what the polls say.
MILLER: The fact that he's going to debate anyway, even though they don't have a financial bailout. He's not even on the committee that he would have anything to do with it.
(CROSSTALK) FOREMAN: Yes, let me ask you guys both. For all of your -- for all of your frustration over all of this, don't both of you every now and then just shake your head and say, look, cheap political stunts. Both parties have plenty of them to go around and both parties ought to get a little more serious about not doing them?
(CROSSTALK)
MILLER: Well, name one that Barack Obama has pulled.
FERGUSON: (INAUDIBLE) the economy. And what's been -- what's been going on with the economy? I mean, if it's cheap to go back to Washington and try to fix, when, by the way, the biggest bank failure in history happened this past week, you also had the largest Chevrolet dealership, because they couldn't get financing, not because of a scandal, close down in the same week, I think that's a good reason to go back to Washington and do your job like we're talking about as a senator and not fly around the country and say hey, vote for me.
MILLER: Ben --
FERGUSON: And I have not given an economic package yet...
MILLER: Oh, please.
FERGUSON: ... which Barack Obama has not done.
MILLER: You know it.
FERGUSON: And, Stephanie, I'll ask you again. I won't interrupt. Tell me what his position is for the economy.
(CROSSTALK)
MILLER: Ben, you know very well -- you know very well that John McCain is not even on the committee. He' not even allowed in the room that's negotiating this. Even Republicans have said that he is simply unhelpful in this process.
FERGUSON: Stephanie, you're right. He's just running for president and it's not a big deal.
FOREMAN: Well, as long as we got --
MILLER: He has been simply unhelpful.
FOREMAN: As long as we have folks like you two hashing it out, I'm sure we can get agreement on everything.
Good to have you. As always, Ben and Stephanie, come back. We got a few more weeks to go.
FERGUSON: Thanks.
FOREMAN: We still have a lot coming up here, too. The "One-Minute Week in Politics." You don't want to miss that. A look at a posterized Sarah Palin.
And straight ahead, a news item we'll just bet you missed.
And of course, our late-night laughs, which this week, weren't always that funny. I must say. Here's an example.
Bill Clinton appeared on David Letterman's show followed immediately by an incredulous Chris Rock. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, FROM CBS WORLDWIDE PANTS)
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What I think will happen is we'll get along toward the end of this race, the country will wind up liking both of them. A lot of people are going to that polling place, and you know, I really admire Senator McCain. He gave it all he can give to this country without getting killed for it.
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": Yes.
CLINTON: But I got to have a change and I think I'm going the other way.
CHRIS ROCK, COMEDIAN: Is it me or he didn't want to say the name Barack Obama? He did not -- he -- he would do everything he could do, well, like, Hillary would want to do with the economy. Hillary ain't running! Hillary's not running! What's going on?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOREMAN: Yes, remember the beginning of the troop surges in Iraq? Remember the benchmarks that the Iraqis had to meet? It all seems so long ago now.
Well, you probably missed it this week with the impending Wall Street crash, the imminent downfall of civilization and all that. But the Iraqi parliament passed one of the most important benchmarks after months of political in-fighting and not a small amount of real fighting, Iraqis will soon vote at the local level for representatives to the central government. Hopefully this will bring Sunnis and others into the political process and with any luck, hasten the process of withdrawing U.S. troops.
That's what happened this week while you were sleeping.
Straight ahead, "Fast Track." All you need to know about next week but won't know. You need to know it until, well, you know. But first, this week's "Political Side Show."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MUSIC: Oh baby, signed, sealed, delivered I'm yours. (END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN (voice-over): Fresh off the Democratic dance fest in Denver, Barack Obama's campaign is hoping to keep the music going. Obama has release a musical soundtrack for the campaign. Yours for the low, low price of $30. Your copy of "Yes We Can: Voices of a Grassroots Movement" includes hits from Stevie Wonder, Sheryl Crow and Lionel's Richie.
Oh, so Barack Obama can dance to the music election night.
If Sarah Palin's busy schedule is keeping her from campaigning in your home state, here's a solution. Get your own personal Palin. A life- size poster of the VP candidate from wallmonkeys.com. It comes with American flags and McCain logos, unless you choose what they call the Democrat version. Then your personal posterized Palin comes with a rifle, a tiara and, of course, lipstick.
And finally, it appears that love is the loser in Russia's latest bout with the west. Members of Russia's parliament want to shield the young from destructive western influences like Valentine's Day.
Instead, they're pushing a new holiday called the day of family love and fidelity. Doesn't sound quite the same. Not quite sure what Russia has against true love. I always thought Putin was something of a ladies man.
This lady's man will be right back.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOREMAN: It's time for "Fast Track" where we load up the car and hit the road for all we need to find for next week in politics. And who better to guide us than our senior political analyst, the man on the road, Bill Schneider.
Bill, it's been all about the economy, the economy, the economy. Politicians in both parties looking for the latest indicators, what are they going to look for next week?
BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, there could be several indicators coming out, and they're likely to be bad, bad, bad. There's going to be unemployment figures. They could hit a record.
There are going to be figures on housing starts that could hit record lows. There are going to be figures on durable orders for heavy equipment. Also, likely to be very bad news. No one's looking for much good news next week.
FOREMAN: Is this something that the Democrats are looking forward to, or the Republicans are looking against, or what?
SCHNEIDER: Yes. Well, more or less both. The Democrats are expecting the news will be bad, and they'll be able to say, I told you so. And the Republicans are hoping against hope that it could be better than expected.
FOREMAN: Sarah Palin and Joe Biden are also debating next week. People think that might be better than we expect, and people expect a lot. What's the latest handicapping on that?
SCHNEIDER: There will be a lot of issues in that debate, particularly Sarah Palin, who is still an unfamiliar figure. But you know what? They don't know that much about Joe Biden, either. And when we ask people who do you think would do a better job in the vice presidential debate, it was almost just about a tie. About as many people said Biden as Palin. So they're going to go into that debate with even expectations.
FOREMAN: Thank you very much, Bill Schneider. We can always count on you. You can count on our "One-Minute Week in Politics" coming up in a moment, and as always, we can count on the late-night laughs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COMEDY CENTRAL)
STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, "THE COLBERT REPORT": We are on the brink of total financial extinction. Now, granted, it is the same brink we were on yesterday, but today, it is much, much brinkier.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO")
JAY LENO, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": They keep saying, we have to act now. We have to act now. Looks like a bad TV offer. Just 10 easy payments of $70 billion each, operators are standing by, but you have to act now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O'BRIEN")
CONAN O'BRIEN, HOST, "LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O'BRIEN: President Bush gave a speech about the Wall Street financial crisis. That's right. The title of Bush's speech was "Two more months, and it ain't my problem."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOREMAN: What a week this has been. So as a public service for those of you who may have missed some of the highlights while you were weeping over your 401(k), here it is, as always, our "One-Minute Week in Politics."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: The financial crisis, creating plenty of anxiety.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bear Stearns.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: AIG.
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Under FBI investigation.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Up to $700 --
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Billion
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Taxpayer dollars.
SEN. CHRIS DODD, (D), CONNECTICUT: There is no second after this.
HENRY PAULSON, TREASURY SECRETARY: The taxpayer is already on the hook.
BUSH: Our entire economy is in danger.
JOHN KING, CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Congress needs to act now.
CAMPBELL BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Act and act now.
REP. MIKE PENCE (R), INDIANA: The last time I heard that, I was on a used car lot.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Sarah Palin goes global.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Speed dating with world leaders.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Presidents of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Colombia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": These are all countries you can't see from Alaska.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: John McCain's political bombshell.
MCCAIN: I'll suspend my campaign and return to Washington.
OBAMA: Presidents are going to have to deal with more than one thing at a time.
MCCAIN: Obama doesn't understand it.
OBAMA: What's good for Wall Street.
MCCAIN: Corporate greed in excess and CEO pay and all that.
OBAMA: But not what's good for Main Street.
JIM LEHRER, MODERATOR: I'm just determined to get you all to talk to each other.
KING: The polls say Obama won.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Republicans here think this was a big win.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: It becomes a self- fulfilling prophecy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN: We've dealt with everything we can. That's it for THIS WEEK IN POLITICS.
I'm Tom Foreman. Thanks for watching.
Straight ahead, "LOU DOBBS THIS WEEK."
