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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Temperaments under Pressure; Potential Power Shift in Washington; Number Seven on the Ten Most Wanted Culprits of the Collapse
Aired October 17, 2008 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight, it is getting hot on the trail, 18 days until the election, Barack Obama, John McCain trading shots, a far cry from last night, when they were trading jokes and sharing laughs.
Today, each candidate reverting to type, the Republican saying the Democrat is going to raise your taxes, the Democrat saying the Republican is going to cut your Medicare.
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: When politicians talk about taking your money and spreading it around, you better hold on to your wallet.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Eight hundred and eighty-two billion dollars worth. Eight hundred and eighty-two billion dollars in Medicare cuts to pay for an ill-conceived, badly-thought- through health care plan that won't provide more health care to people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: That wasn't the only heat. A war of words erupting between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden; and Palin last night implying that some parts of these country are not pro-America. Biden today using that comment to hammer Palin and John McCain.
"360's" Gary Tuchman is "On the Trail."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want Joe Biden! We want Joe Biden! The next vice president, Joe Biden!
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the small New Mexican town where outlaw "Billy the Kid" went on trial for murder, vice presidential nominee Joe Biden had his figurative guns blazing about John McCain's statement that he's not George W. Bush.
SEN. JOE BIDEN, (D) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When I was a kid and you want to go hang out in the corner and there were guys your mother didn't want you to hang out with, you know mom I know those guys what they're going to do but, I'm not like that. And she said, honey, if it looks like a duck, if it quacks like a duck, if it walks like a duck, it's a duck.
TUCHMAN: Amid a packed crowd in a historic town square in Mesilla, New Mexico, Biden also gave what may be his most aggressive criticism so far of John McCain's running mate.
BIDEN: It was reported she said that she likes to visit quote, "pro- American parts of the country."
TUCHMAN: Indeed Sarah Palin did make a comment like that during a North Carolina fundraiser Thursday night.
GOV. SARAH PALIN, (R) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We believe that the best of America is in the small towns that we get to visit and in these wonderful little pockets of what I call real America, being here with all of you, hard working, very patriotic, very pro-America areas of this great nation.
BIDEN: We all love our country! In every part of this nation and I'm tired, I am tired, tired, tired, tired, of the implications about patriotism.
TUCHMAN: At around the same time Biden said this, Sarah Palin talked to reporters on her campaign plane about her original statement.
PALIN: Every area across this great country where we're stopping and where also the other ticket is stopping and getting to speak at these rallies and speak with the good Americans, but it's all pro-America.
It's not hinting one area of America is more pro-America or patriotic than another.
TUCHMAN: I talked with Senator Biden.
BIDEN: Now to go into North Carolina and say I'm glad to be paraphrasing, glad in a part of the country where people really love their country, I mean, what's that all about?
TUCHMAN: Sarah Palin did talk to reporters today that when she clarified her remarks saying that you get pro-America crowds, too, you and Obama. And she said -- her exact quote, actually for example and let me just tell you what the exact quote that what she goes, "Not any one area of America is more pro-America patriotic than others.
BIDEN: She's right. Every crowd we get is pro-American. Every crowd she gets is pro-American.
TUCHMAN: So do you take that as an apology from her and a pleasing apology?
BIDEN: It's a clarification I accept.
TUCHMAN: A campaign controversy may be over less than a day after it began.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Gary, this week you've been at Biden rallies, you've been at Palin rallies. What's the difference you see in the crowds and the whole tenor and tone?
TUCHMAN: Well, Anderson, it's one country but its two very different experiences. Here in New Mexico today at the Biden rally, people were very excited, but at the Palin rallies earlier this week it's like an emotional smorgasbord. There's more excitement, there's more passion, there's more electricity, but there's also a lot more anxiety and there's a certain amount of anger because of the way the polls are trending right now.
COOPER: And where does Biden go from here? I mean how often is he making stops, how often is he out there?
TUCHMAN: Biden yesterday was on two television shows out in California. He was on the "Tonight Show," he also taped an Ellen Show which will be on this Monday night. And tonight as we speak he's at a rally in a Las Vegas suburb of Henderson.
COOPER: And about how big are the crowds that you're seeing?
TUCHMAN: Well, here in this area today in Mesilla, New Mexico we probably had I would estimate between 1,000 and 1,500 people. The Palin rallies we were at earlier this week were much bigger. But you can't say that because a rally is bigger it's more successful.
I mean, there's no correlation between the size of the rally, the emotion of the rally and the final outcome. That remains to be seen, the final outcome.
COOPER: Gary, "On the Trail" thanks Gary.
So is this the end of the fireworks between Palin and Biden? Don't bet on it. With a race this close, every advantage is being used, every comment commented on and the candidates are fighting it out in battleground states that haven't seen this kind of action in decades.
Virginia, red since 1964 in play. Florida it appears to be safely red until a few weeks ago very much in play. Candy Crowley has the "Raw Politics."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: You can see it in the size of the crowds and hear it in the urgent voices of the candidates.
MCCAIN: We fight for what's right for America.
OBAMA: I need you to stand up.
CROWLEY: Eighteen more days until the election.
OBAMA: I'm sure Virginia is ready for change. CROWLEY: Looking to turn a reliably Republican state into a newly Democratic one, Barack Obama campaigned in Roanoke, a conservative patch of Virginia where he courted the only age group favoring John McCain, seniors. Obama charged that McCain pays for his health care plan with a 20 percent cut in Medicare.
OBAMA: It would mean fewer places to get care and less freedom to choose your own doctors. You'll pay more for your drugs, you'll receive fewer services. You'll get lower quality care.
CROWLEY: Obama's figures come from an analysis by a liberal group and there's no evidence McCain would cut Medicare benefits.
In a statement, the McCain campaign said Obama is simply lying.
MCCAIN: Jose El Plomero, we're going to fight for Joe!
CROWLEY: In Miami with its sizeable Cuban-American population, John McCain promised not to talk to Castro while he continues to talk about Joe the Plumber which has begun to catch on with Republicans.
MCCAIN: Senator Obama says that he wanted to spread your wealth around. All he had to do to say to Joe the Plumber and millions of small businesspeople around this country, I won't raise your taxes, but he couldn't do that because he's going to raise your taxes.
CROWLEY: Obama says he'll only raise taxes on people making over $250,000 a year, that includes some but not most small businesses. Off the campaign trail, Democrats are crying foul over McCain Robocalls ringing into at least six states.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello. I'm calling for John McCain and the RNC because you need to know that Barack Obama has worked closely with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers.
CROWLEY: Even some Republicans worry this is not the best way to win friends and influence voters.
Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins, up for reelection, asked McCain to stop.
The campaign via Sarah Palin is also continuing to press the issue of ACORN, a group under investigation in several swing states for alleged vote registration fraud.
PALIN: John and I are calling on the Obama campaign to release communications it has had with this group and to do so immediately.
CROWLEY: The Obama campaign, which did pay an affiliate of ACORN to help get out their primary vote is pushing back. Chief Counsel Bob Bauer suspects Republicans are behind the allegations suggesting quote, "an unholy alliance of law enforcement and the ugliest form of partisan politics." He wants an investigation. McCain aides call the charge outrageous.
All in a day's campaign. Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Tit for tat.
Coming up, more from Sarah Palin's rare talks with reporters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PALIN: If I felt that I was not ready, I would never have said yes. I want to take on this responsibility to just challenge this opportunity to run for vice president as his partner.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Palin was asked about Reverend Wright as well and their strategy in the coming days.
Also we'll look at Obama and McCain's temperament. How do they handle pressure and what does that say about their performance in the White House? Surprising revelations about past presidents and how different they were from their public image.
And we name another name to our list of the "Ten Most Wanted Culprits of the Collapse." Who is he? Here's a hint. He got a golden tan, a golden touch and a way of getting powerful lawmakers to do his bidding. His name and his story how much he has cost you? Tonight on "360."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, you said that, you know, Obama doesn't see America the way you and I see America.
Do you think Obama loves America as much as you do?
PALIN: I know Obama loves America and I'm sure that is why he's running for President. It is because he wants to do what he thinks is in the best interest of this great nation. I don't question at all Barack Obama's love for this great country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Sarah Palin today actually taking some questions aboard the campaign plane. She says she doesn't question Barack Obama's love of America though she has said he pals around with terrorists in the past.
Let's talk "Strategy" now with CNN's senior political analyst David Gergen, and CNN contributor and GOP strategist Bay Buchanan who supports John McCain and Obama supporter and Democratic strategist, Jamal Simmons.
David, what do you make of where the race is now I mean with 18, almost 17 days left to go?
DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Barack Obama is in a commanding position. There are tracking polls which do show a tightening.
It's interesting, Gallup actually now takes two polls. They have one poll which people by based on their history of who votes they show a two-point race. But then when they include people who say they're going to vote this year for the first time, a lot of these new young or minority voters, then Obama has a six-point lead.
COOPER: Even with our CNN poll of polls, there is a two-point tightening between these two men.
GERGEN: Yes, there's a little tightening now that's going on. So that's good news for John McCain.
COOPER: Does that mean that these attacks these "Who is Barack Obama," these Robocalls that we've been hearing about, is this working?
GERGEN: I don't think we know that for sure, but obviously there's a correlation. We don't know if there's causation. We don't know if one -- or people are having some second thoughts about Obama or there's a natural return of people to the Republican side.
I mean, we always thought that there's going to be some closing, but the fact that the candidates are both campaigning in essentially Bush states, and red states, means that both campaigns think that McCain is in trouble and he's on the defense.
So the campaigns don't show the same kind of thing we're seeing in the polls. I also think Anderson, any day that goes by with McCain behind and in which he doesn't dominate the news in advance the story is not a good day for him. This was a pretty quiet day, all things considered.
COOPER: Bay Buchanan, do you take heart in this little tightening in some of these polls?
BAY BUCHANAN, GOP STRATEGIST: You're absolutely right Anderson. I sure do. I've been watching it now for over a week. It's not as much as I'd like, but we've got two more weeks. If it remains this steady, this thing could be turned around.
I think what would happen is if it really started to close even more significantly than it has, there will be so much talk about it and focus on that that I think it will encourage and energize Republicans; Independents will see that maybe John McCain can do it.
COOPER: So what do you think is working, Bay? I mean if --
BUCHANAN: Well, you know, you've got to remember why Obama is ahead. It's not because of this terrific campaign he ran, his personality, his issues. It's because of the collapse of the economic system. I think people are so teed off at the bailout and all that's happened in the financial world that they just rejected Republicans outright.
And now I think they're settling in and saying, all right, I was really teed off and I'm still teed off, but do I want to go so far as to vote somebody far to the left of my policies? And that's the big question. Will they kind of come back to a more moderate position, which would be John McCain?
COOPER: Jamal Simmons, are you concerned? Do you see a tightening?
JAMAL SIMMONS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I think there probably is a tightening. The reality is American elections are built to be close. There's typically a two, three, four-point race at the most; not a six or seven-point race.
And in fact, if you think about Democrats, a Democrat hasn't gotten more than 50 percent of the vote in a national election for president since 1976, that was Jimmy Carter, he got 50.8 percent after Watergate and Vietnam and pardoning of a President by Gerald Ford.
He got 50.8 percent. So we have always expected, the Obama campaign, has always expected that this is going to be a close race.
And if you look at the Electoral College as David said earlier, that's really where the magic is here. They are playing almost exclusively on a red battlefield. And that's going to be very beneficial in the long run.
COOPER: Do you agree with that, David?
GERGEN: I do. I think that the more the campaign is conducted in Virginia, and North Carolina, Florida and Ohio, the more it looks like all Obama has to do is probably is win one of those four.
COOPER: Peggy -- sorry Bay, I want to read you something that Peggy Noonan wrote today after watching Palin for seven weeks. She says there's little sign that she's basically qualified. She says, "In the end, the Palin candidacy is a symptom and expression of a new vulgarization in American politics. It's no good, not for conservatism and not for the country and yes, it is a mark against John McCain, against his judgment and idealism."
I mean her piece was brutal on Sarah Palin from a very well-respected conservative. Has Palin hurt McCain?
BUCHANAN: No, absolutely not. Palin might be one of the smartest vice presidential nominees in our history. I mean certainly in my lifetime.
COOPER: Wait. You just said that --
BUCHANAN: Look at what she's accomplished. I don't know any other vice presidential nominee that came on a ticket and really resurrected the ticket by herself, single whole handedly.
COOPER: Did you say she may be one of the smartest vice presidential nominees or the smartest choices? BUCHANAN: Well, that one of the smartest choices for the nomination of vice president. Absolutely. That's what I meant. And it's clear that's the case.
She has really, really overnight energized the party. Everybody agrees, the Republicans are completely in line with McCain now. They were not just a month or so ago.
And what she's done several times -- in the debate she held her own. She's appealed to an interesting group. She had 70 million people watch her debate and that was because of Sarah Palin.
SIMMONS: Anderson.
COOPER: Jamal?
SIMMONS: Anderson, Sarah Palin may be very smart on the inside, but we haven't quite seen her exhibit that in her public demeanor and how it is she's been campaigning. This is a woman who's already had to come off and back off a statement again today. She went out and said that Barack Obama is palling around with terrorists even though he was eight years old when this guy Bill Ayers was doing what he was doing and he's been repudiated.
I think Americans felt like John McCain's whole campaign was sort of undermined by the choice of Sarah Palin. He lost this notion of experience. He lost the notion of a steady hand. And that's the thing that I think that really is hurting him.
COOPER: From a nonpartisan perspective, David, I mean clearly she has energized a core conservative base, but she has certainly also energized Democrats against her and McCain and clearly now it seems like some conservatives, I mean some conservatives Peggy Noonan and others, kind of rethinking.
GERGEN: I agree with that. I think that Bay is absolutely right. She did enormous good for John McCain early on. But increasingly her positives are going down, her negatives are going up. They're higher than her positives now. And she is rallying other people outside of the base of the Republican Party to support Obama.
And they think that she's a very risky choice. So you know, from that point of view -- and also I have been surprised by the number of conservative columnists, like George Will and Peggy Noonan, David Brooks today in the "New York Times" talking about Obama's temperament, how well suited he was and how impressed he was.
There are a number of conservative intellectuals who have really come the other way. It's been quite, quite interesting.
BUCHANAN: You hit it on the nose. Intellectuals, intellectuals, they aren't the ones that are in there and fighting for our causes. You know, those who really know about this Republican Party and about the conservative cause --
COOPER: Intellectual is a dirty word now? BUCHANAN: They are fully, fully behind Palin. And to suggest her ratings are up, her negatives are up, that's her job. She's the attack dog, for heaven's sakes.
COOPER: We're going to have more from our panel coming up.
Up next, the Congressman who got elected talking about family values, guess what? His family values seem to include adultery. Anyone even surprised by this anymore?
And later Sarah Palin talking about not talking about the pastor who John McCain doesn't talk about?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you ask John McCain to bring up Reverend Wright more on the stump and what was your response for this?
PALIN: No, I have not asked him to bring it up, you know. It's up to him, you know, and what he chooses to discuss.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: And see what's moving the market now, sending investors on another terrifying up and down ride today.
That and more when "360" continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: More politics ahead. Word that Colin Powell may make some sort of an endorsement this weekend. We'll tell you who he may endorse and why.
First Erica Hill joins us with the "360 News and Business Bulletin" -- Erica.
ERICA HILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, the U.S. Supreme court today blocked a lower court order requiring Ohio's Secretary of State to provide lists of new voters whose registration information doesn't match records in other government databases. The court found the Ohio Republican Party did not have standing to file that suit. Within hours later, a registered Republican voter renewed the battle by filing his own legal challenge.
Congressman Tim Mahoney of Florida admits he had at least two affairs but said he broke no laws and will not resign. He is in a tight reelection battle now as the FBI investigates whether he doled out jobs or other favors to those two women.
And on Wall Street today the DOW giving up 127 points after another day of big swing; both the NASDAQ and the S&P also fell slightly. But for the week all three major indices are up about four percent.
And you really need to be hungry for this one. Say hello to the beer barreled Belly Bruiser. The heart attack in a bun, it weighs more than 20 pounds, including 15 pounds of beef. This man ate all of it as part of a pub contest in Pittsburgh. It took him four hours 39 minutes. He got 400 bucks and Anderson as he said a burger hangover.
COOPER: What is it, it's a burger?
HILL: It's a burger; 15 pounds of meat, you know, lettuce, tomatoes, some mild banana peppers to round it out.
COOPER: Wow.
HILL: I don't think so.
COOPER: All right, here's tonight's "Beat 360" photo. John McCain and Barack Obama, sharing some laughs at last night' Alfred E. Smith dinner. That's New York Cardinal Edward Egan right between them. And here is the caption from our staff winner Joey. And of course, he wins every night. "After one too many bad jokes, Cardinal Egan suddenly longs for the separation of church and state."
HILL: That's why Joey wins.
COOPER: That's why Joey wins.
Do you think you can do better? Go to AC360.com, click on the link, send us your entry. We'll announce the winner at the end of the program. And the winner, of course, gets the "Beat 360" t-shirt, much coveted.
Coming up, the temperament of Obama and McCain. How are they different? History showing the candidate you vote for is rarely the same in Office. We'll explain ahead.
And later, our "Ten Most Wanted Culprits of the Collapse." Find out whose name is being added to the list tonight and how much this guy is costing you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCAIN: It is now on the verge of maybe perpetrating one of the greatest frauds in voter history in this country maybe destroying the fabric of democracy --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Barack Obama giving a reaction there. The final presidential debate, gave voters another chance to see Obama and McCain side by side. And the contrast was striking. And no matter who you support, it's pretty clear their styles and personalities are practically opposite.
With just 18 days to go, and both men under incredible pressure, we're wondering how the candidates' temperaments are playing with voters.
"Up Close," here's Ed Henry. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They could not have been more different in the final debate; John McCain relentlessly dishing out rapid-fire charges while Barack Obama was killing him with calmness.
MCCAIN: We're not going to do that in my administration.
OBAMA: If I can answer the question. Number one, I want to cut taxes for 95 percent of Americans.
HENRY: McCain, who has a reputation for senate temper tantrums played into Democratic charges that he's erratic, by abruptly rushing back to Washington to deal with the financial crisis.
MCCAIN: I'll suspend my campaign and return to Washington.
HENRY: In contrast, Obama has won high marks for appearing unflappable through the crisis. But a new "Time" magazine cover story notes the temperament voters perceive in a politician is not always what they actually get when a candidate makes it to the Oval Office.
RICHARD STENGEL, MANAGING EDITOR, TIME: One of the examples was John Kennedy who also seemed very cool and unruffled. And the historians said that actually when he was in Office he was often hot tempered and fiery and except for the Cuban missile crisis he often lost it at some time.
HENRY: As a candidate, Ronald Reagan faced Democratic charges he was dangerous and too rigid a conservative. And yet he was an effective president in part by reaching across the aisle to work with Liberal Democratic speaker Tip O'Neil.
MCCAIN: Senator Obama wants government to do the job.
HENRY: To his supporters, McCain's feistiness shows he's ready to take charge in a crisis. Though all the eye rolling suggests that as President he may not always listen to contrarian views.
Obama's deliberate style might help him build consensus as President. And yet even some Democrats worried this summer that he just didn't have enough fire in the belly.
STENGEL: Temperament ultimately is in the eye of the beholder. Is it impulsive or is it decisive? Is it angry or is it determined? I think when people are watching the candidate, they make that determination themselves.
HENRY: In the end, it's a gut check for voters about how a candidate's personality may have a major impact on how they eventually govern.
Ed Henry, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE) COOPER: One is fair game says the McCain campaign, the other off- limits, Bill Ayers and Reverend Wright. Sarah Palin talked about Wright today. We'll show what she said.
And it's not just the presidency at stake this November. Longtime Washington Republicans like Elizabeth Dole and John Sununu are suddenly fighting for their political lives with their senate seats in jeopardy.
What would it mean if the Democrats won the House and Senate and the White House?
Joe Johns takes a look.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Isn't Reverend Wright a lot more relevant than Bill Ayers?
GOV. SARAH PALIN, (R) VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: That's for John McCain to decide. That's true, he sat at the pews for 20 years -- you've heard Reverend Wright say things that I think most people would find concerning. But again, that's John McCain's call.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Governor Sarah Palin on her plane today actually answering questions from reporters, one of them about Reverend Wright. Palin says she hasn't brought up Obama's former pastor with John McCain. McCain has made it clear the Wright topic is off limits.
Some Republicans are all but pleading with him to bring it up, saying Obama's association with Wright is fair game and perhaps a big chance to turn the campaign around.
Let's talk more about that and others in our strategy session. With me again: CNN senior political analyst and former presidential advisor David Gergen; Republican strategist, former senior advisor to Mitt Romney, Bay Buchanan who supports John McCain; and Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons who's also an advisor of the Democratic National Committee and supports Barack Obama.
Bay, given that Obama's relationship with Wright is more established than Ayers, should Wright be off limits?
BUCHANAN: I don't think Wright should be off limits. I think it's very legitimate. It goes to character. It goes to who is Barack Obama?
American people have a right to have some better feeling of this since he is so new to the political scene. So, yes, it's a very legitimate issue, and I think it should be playing out there.
COOPER: So by the same token, then, is Sarah Palin's church a legitimate issue or her involvement with her speaking to the Alaska independence party?
BUCHANAN: Sure. It's been raised and she's explained it. If the Democrats want to say more about it, fine. I ask you, Anderson, and the other panelists, if indeed John McCain had gone to David Duke's home for a fundraiser a year ago, do you think that would be out there as a key issue? The press would be all over it.
These are legitimate. It goes to your judgment and who you are. Who you associate with, basically, says -- gives some indication of who you are yourself.
COOPER: Jamal, I'll let you take that question, obviously the comparison between David Duke and Reverend Wright is probably something you'll take issue with.
SIMMONS: I won't get into the comparison and contrasting of David Duke and Reverend Wright. But I will say this. I think if we found out like we did -- it pains me to say this but perhaps Hillary Clinton did Barack Obama a favor in the primary by pulling this band-aid off of this wound and exposing it so that it could heal a little bit by the time we got to the fall.
If we had just found out about this, I would imagine the press would be having a field day with it. The reality, though, is we all dealt with this in April. Barack Obama gave a speech that four million people watched on television and they were basically pretty satisfied with his answer.
What we do know is that people really don't want to hear about any of this stuff. They actually want to hear about somebody who is going to help solve their problems.
I was in Virginia last week where 40,000 people have lost their jobs in the last eight years; 159,000 people last month lost their jobs nationwide. Here in Georgia we have got hundreds of thousands of people who are going out and voting early. People actually want to vote about real issues that affect their lives.
COOPER: And yet, David, there is this tightening in some of the polls and a lot of the stuff that Palin and McCain have been talking about are issues other than the economy.
GERGEN: Yes. First of all, let's take the David Duke comparison off the table. That's just wrong. I just think it's -- it's hard to have to even deal with that.
We don't know why the race is slightly tightening. It is slight, but it's modest and it's important and worth watching. It may well be that people are coming home who were naturally inclined to vote Republican. It may be a lot of reasons. It may not be this other stuff.
But I do think at this point, I don't think John McCain can go after Reverend Wright. You know, this table is set. He took that off the table. If we were to do it now in the last couple of weeks, it would seem very, very desperate. It would be as if the Obama people suddenly started saying we want to see all the health records of John McCain. We want to see what they indicate about his age. We want to see what they indicate about his cancer.
That's a legitimate question, too, but, you know, it's too late now to raise those questions. I think it ought to be now about the big mega issues of our time. We're facing mammoth problems as a country. The next president is going to have to deal with these problems and the public wants to know what kind of president are you going to be?
The temperament question is far more important than these questions about Wright or health records or --
COOPER: Do you think in the next coming days, there's now this talking point about what if the liberals take over the House, the Senate, and the White House? Joe Johns is going to be looking at this later on in the program. That's something the Republicans are going to be talking about do you think a lot in the coming days?
GERGEN: Well, I think they may be. And I do find there's a concern about it. I met with a couple of groups here in New York today, including both Democrats and Republicans. I found among Republicans it was eating away at them; that it was a big concern.
But what the surprise was that Alex Castellanos and Bill Bennett both talked in the debate that McCain ought to raise it this week. He didn't. He let it go.
COOPER: Rick Davis mentioned it right after the debate talking to Wolf Blitzer.
GERGEN: Yes, right.
COOPER: But we'll see if it comes up. David Gergen, we've got to leave it there, I'm sorry. Bay Buchanan, Jamal Simmons, always great to have you on; thank you.
Just ahead, more on what happens if the Democrats end up sweeping the election.
Also, our "Ten Most Wanted List: Culprits of the Collapse." Tonight we're adding a seventh name to our list, a guy who created a company that sold more subprime mortgages than anyone and made himself a lot of money.
Plus, an update on number two on your list, the former CEO of Lehman Brothers, Richard Fuld. He's already testified before Congress and now it looks like he'll be answering a lot more questions. He's going to be forced to.
And art imitating life imitating art. Tina Fey and Sarah Palin are about to have even more in common. That's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COOPER: So the political landscape as it stands tonight, the CNN electoral map there. Now if the election were held right now, based on our estimate, Barack Obama would receive 277 electoral votes, enough to become the next president.
Of course, these are just predictions. We have no way of knowing what's going to happen in 18 days. That seems like a lifetime away.
Some conservatives, as we talked about already, sounding the alarm of a seismic shift in Washington, warning that the Democrats could end up in control of Capitol Hill and the White House, even saying Democrats could get a supermajority in the Senate.
We wanted to know if that really could happen and, if it did, what would it actually mean? No hype, just facts.
Joe Johns tonight with answers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: While you were distracted by the race for the White House, something unusual started happening on Main Street. Polls show Democrats could reach the Holy Grail of congressional politics: a big majority in the House and what's known as a 60-vote supermajority in the Senate.
Will it happen? Not so likely. But could it happen? Absolutely. And that would mean they'd have more power and more control over the government than any time since the mid 1960s.
STUART ROTHENBERG, ROTHENBERG POLITICAL REPORT: The Democrats are going to be able to change the direction of this country, but we'll have to see whether they're going to go very far or they'll decide that they have to be more delicate and more sophisticated.
JOHNS: Stuart Rothenberg tracks this stuff for a living.
ROTHENBERG: What's happened is the financial crisis combined with the overall desire for change is just benefiting Democrats across the country.
JOHNS: It's basic math. In the House there are 236 Democrats, more than enough to control the place, and they're expected to pick up more in November.
The real action is in the Senate. Out of 100 seats it's pretty much tied up right now, 49 Democrats and 49 Republicans. But two independents who caucus with the Democrats give them the edge. That means Democrats need nine more seats to get to 60, the number you need to shut down filibusters, force votes and ram through your agenda, though it's not always that simple.
ROTHENBERG: Getting 60 seats I think is a psychological win. It's important psychologically. But let's remember that it's going to be on a case by case basis, whether Republicans try to filibuster and whether Democrats can get a supermajority. JOHNS: OK. So what's the evidence this might happen on election night? Well, a lot of Republican senators, 11, in fact, are having a pretty tough time trying to get reelected, including big names like Elizabeth Dole in North Carolina and John Sununu in New Hampshire.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look, experience matters.
JOHNS: And it's not just them. Folks who have been around the Senate a long time now looking more vulnerable. Of course, just because they're in tough races doesn't mean they all go down.
ROTHENBERG: You have to remember in many elections when you have a wave developing all the close races go one way. And if that happens to the Democrats, they could get to 60 or even 61 senators.
JOHNS: Which means the fight for Senate Republicans may now mean trying to hold onto their right to hold things up.
Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Coming up next on 360, who's to blame for the financial fiasco that's costing all of us money? We name another name to our "Ten Most Wanted List." This "Culprit of the Collapse" and his company preyed on untold numbers of homeowners. Do you know what he did to you? Find out.
And remember that woman who said Obama was an Arab? Well, she showed up yet again, sort of. This time she got a whole lot of laughs. We'll show you what she said.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: That's our "Ten Most Wanted List, Culprits of the Collapse," those who helped create the crisis that's keeping millions of Americans up at night worrying about how they're going to pay their bills and hold onto their home.
There are a lot of movers and shakers who helped get us into this mess, Democrats and Republicans. And few, if any, are taking any responsibility. We think you deserve to know their names.
Tonight we add another name to our "Ten Most Wanted List," Angelo Mozilo, founder of Countrywide Financial, which made him king of the subprime mortgage market.
Here's 360's David Mattingly.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When it came to the American dream, no one was better at selling it than Angelo Mozilo. As founder of the mortgage giant Countrywide Financial, Mozilo found ways to put people into houses who never thought they could afford it. Turns out many of them couldn't. If Mozilo was here right now, what would you say to him?
LISA MADIGAN, ILLINOIS ATTORNEY GENERAL: How dare you? How dare you put people into loans when you knew they didn't understand them, you knew they couldn't afford them, and you knew they couldn't get out of those loans?
MATTINGLY: Illinois attorney general Lisa Madigan joined a suit with California against Mozilo, accusing him of directing his company to put people into risky subprime mortgages without regard for their ability to pay.
Mozilo's Countrywide became the nation's largest originator of subprime mortgages: $120 billion worth in just three years and setting a profitable example for other companies to follow.
MADIGAN: In many ways, Angelo Mozilo, he's like one of those cartoon characters, the evil genius cartoon character who wants to dominate the world. He's been successful because in this situation we haven't had a superhero to come in and save us.
MATTINGLY: Illinois was hit hard by the foreclosure crisis. In May, there were 9,670 foreclosure filings, up nearly 42 percent from last year. California, Countrywide's base, was among the worst, with in July, a staggering 1 in every 69 households foreclosed on.
JERRY BROWN, CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Countrywide is a gross example of the rip-off that we now are paying for.
MATTINGLY: In March, Mozilo told Congress the main reason for the flood of foreclosures wasn't bad loans. It was a bad economy.
ANGELO MOZILO, CEO, COUNTRYWIDE FINANCIAL: For the first time since the Great Depression, there's a nationwide deterioration in single family real estate values combined with now increasing unemployment.
MATTINGLY: An attorney for Mozilo says that Countrywide was only acting in line with the goals of both the Bush and the Clinton administrations by extending homeownership to less affluent Americans. He says the company used the tools already available to it, including subprime mortgages.
But California Congresswoman Maxine Waters believes Mozilo was all about profit and thrived on lax regulations.
REP. MAXINE WATERS (D), CALIFORNIA: Mr. Mozilo basically tried to have people believe that he was only helping these poor people and these minorities get into a home. That is not to be believed. He was making extraordinary amounts of money.
MATTINGLY: Mozilo retired after Bank of America bought Countrywide and put a stop to subprime loans. Mozilo defended his $44 million retirement package as deferred compensation and retirement savings from the decades he grew Countrywide.
Still, critics say he left a trail of red ink in neighborhoods across the country, and that's why Angelo Mozilo is on our list of "Most Wanted Culprits of the Collapse."
David Mattingly, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, let's make it official.
Angelo Mozilo, the founder of Countrywide Financial, now joins our "Ten Most Wanted Culprits of the Collapse."
We began last week with Joe Cassano from AIG. Then there was Richard Fuld from Lehman Brothers, Chris Cox from the SEC, Senator Phil Gramm of Texas and former chairman of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, and Ian McCarthy, CEO and president Beazer Homes USA.
One more note: Richard Fuld, the former CEO of Lehman Brothers and No. 2 on our list, today we've learned he's been subpoenaed in connection with three grand jury probes into Lehman's bankruptcy filing, the biggest in American history.
He was grilled earlier this month in Congress, and prosecutors are now stepping up their investigations. They're reportedly looking into whether anyone at Lehman may have misled investors about the company's health or the value of its assets.
There's also news about another guy on our list: Joe Cassano of AIG. Congress is now demanding that AIG turn over records on his compensation and other documents. Yesterday, AIG said it was working with the New York state attorney general, Andrew Cuomo, to review Cassano's contracts and pay. We'll keep on top of that.
"The Shot" is next. Remember the woman who said Obama was an Arab at a McCain campaign stop, and McCain took the mike away from her? Well, guess what? She surfaced again, sort of, this time for laughs.
And at the top of the hour, new fireworks from the campaign trail. Palin says she likes to visit pro-America parts of the country. And Biden hits her hard for those remarks.
The "Raw Politics," the back and forth when 360 continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: So Erica, are you feeling any campaign fatigue?
HILL: Why would I feel campaign fatigue?
COOPER: I know. I don't know why either.
HILL: I mean, 18 days? I want more.
COOPER: I actually think it's very exciting.
Last night's Al Smith dinner was welcome relief. We've got some more tonight in "The Shot."
First, Sarah Palin is scheduled to appear tomorrow on "Saturday Night Live," where she may well come face to face with herself.
Tonight on David Letterman's "Late Show," Tina Fey talks about her uncanny knack for getting the details right. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TINA FEY, CAST MEMBER, NBC'S "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE": She's got that crazy accent that's a little bit "Fargo." It's a little bit Reese Witherspoon in "Election."
And also, I tried to base it on my friend Paula's grandma, because her grandma was this sweet, sweet old lady from Joliet, Illinois. And she would always say, like, "Oh, this and that and stuff like that." And we would -- if you call up looking for Paula, she'd be like, "Oh, no, Paula's sleeping. So, I can't wake her. She's sleeping." And I think that might be our next...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: All right. So there's more.
Remember the woman that John McCain had to grab the mike from at the rally the other day, talking about...
HILL: Indeed I do.
COOPER: ... Obama being an Arab? Well, take a look at "Saturday Night Live" last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRISTIN WIIG, CAST MEMBER, NBC'S "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE": I do not -- can't trust him, Obama.
SETH MEYERS, CAST MEMBER, NBC'S "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE": Why can't you trust Obama?
WIIG: Um, I read about him. He's a -- he's an Arab.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: I like that they got the hair right.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MEYERS: No. No, ma'am, he's not an Arab.
WIIG: No? No? Because I went to the library, and this little black girl helped me look up Obama on the computer pages. And let me tell you, it says he converts with terriers.
MEYERS: With terriers? No, ma'am. No, he does not do that.
WIIG: No?
MEYERS: No. WIIG: Maybe I heard I read that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: I've got to tell you, I think Seth Meyers, Kristin Wiig and Amy Poehler are like the funniest people on the planet.
HILL: They are good.
COOPER: Yes. Of course, Tina Fey, as well. And I love that they have the hair -- that woman's hair, they got perfect. Look at her eyes.
HILL: That hair, I was obsessed with the hair in that video. I've got to tell you.
COOPER: Time now for our "Beat 360" winners, our daily challenge to viewers to come up with a caption better than one that anyone on our staff could think of, meaning Joey.
Tonight's picture, John McCain and Barack Obama sharing some laughs at the Alfred E. Smith dinner last night, New York's Cardinal Edward Egan between them.
Joey's caption: "After one too many bad jokes, Cardinal Egan suddenly longs for the separation of church and state."
Our viewer winner is Michael from Chicago. His caption: "As long as you're so good at reaching across the aisle, how about passing me the ketchup?"
Hey, Michael, you're "Beat 360" T-shirt...
HILL: Here all week.
COOPER: ... is on the way.
So you can check all the entries that we get on our blog, and you can play along, as well, by going to AC360.com. You know what that is, Erica?
HILL: That is our Web site.
COOPER: That is our Web site.
HILL: You can do everything there. It's an amazing little place in cyberspace.
COOPER: It truly is.
HILL: You should make it your home page.
COOPER: Any big weekend plans, Erica?
HILL: I'm going to go see "Spamalot" this weekend.
COOPER: Oh, cool. Good for you.
HILL: I'm excited about it. You?
COOPER: I'm working.
HILL: I'm working, too.
COOPER: Yes.
That does it for this edition of $360. Thanks for watching.
Larry King starts right now.
