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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Obamas Join Clinton for Philadelphia Rally; Clinton, Trump Make Final Pitch in Battleground States; Clinton Speaking Now in Philadelphia. Aired 9-10p ET

Aired November 07, 2016 - 21:00   ET

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

[21:00:00] BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'll be honest, I have had to bite my tongue after a lot of the nonsense I've heard people say about Hillary in this election. I can only imagine what Bill and Chelsea been going through.

The vicious, crazy attacks, the double standards applied to her, they're nothing we've ever seen before. And what makes it worse is that most of the people saying this stuff, they don't really believe it. They know better.

Don't forget, when Hillary was a senator, when she was my secretary of state, she was really popular. People saw how effective she was. How she crossed party lines to get things done.

Before she announced her candidacy for president, Republican leaders described her, and I'm quoting now, as very impressive, someone who does a magnificent job, one of the most effective secretaries of state. Well, they were right then. I agreed with Republicans then. Hillary did a great job for America. She's a big reason why we're more respected around the world. But then, when it was politically expedient, those same Republicans began tearing her down.

And look, when you're subjected to unrelenting negative fire, it takes a toll. But here's the thing about Hillary, she doesn't complain, she doesn't buckle, she brushes it off. Like the American people, she is strong and tough. And she knows that government service is not about her, it's about you, your struggles, your dreams.

Throughout her career, Hillary has followed that Methodist creed her mom taught her. Do all the good you can for all the people you can in all the ways you can, for as long as you can. And she doesn't plan on stopping now. And that's how I know she will work her heart out for you.

For everybody who's still in need of a good job or a raise, for every child who needs a sturdier ladder out of poverty, for every student who needs relief from student debt, every immigrant who wants to contribute to this country they love, for every American who has not yet felt the progress of this past eight years, she will work and she will deliver. She won't just tweet. But she will need your help and she'll need help in Washington.

If you want Hillary to continue the progress we've made, you need to give her allies in the Senate like Katie McGinty.

You cannot -- there she is right there. You cannot just stick Hillary with Republicans in Congress who are already promising even more unprecedented dysfunction in Washington. That would be hard to do, but they're promising it. More shut downs, more obstructions, years of hearings and investigations.

You know, gridlock is not mysterious. It's not something that happens because both sides are being equally unreasonable. It has been a stated Republican strategy since I took office. And the only way to break it is to make those who engage in it pay a price by electing more Democrats tomorrow.

Look at Katie McGinty's opponent, Pat Toomey. Don't boo. Vote. I've given them credit for working with us on background checks, that 90 percent of Americans support. But you know, that position rings hollow when he supports a Republican leader, who blocked that bill. And it doesn't come close to making up for his repeated votes to give tax cuts to the wealthy, just like Donald Trump would. To block a higher minimum wage, just like Donald Trump would. To repeal the Affordable Care Act, just like Donald Trump would.

We do not need a Trump/Toomey economy. We need someone who's never forgotten her working class roots, the daughter of a restaurant hostess and a Philadelphia beat cop, somebody who went to college with the help of scholarships and student loans. Katie McGinty won't just be with you part of the way, she'll be with you all of the way and that's why you've got to vote for her.

Katie.

AUDIENCE: Katie! Katie! Katie!

[21:05:03] OBAMA: Pennsylvania, if you think endless gridlock will help your family, you should vote Republicans, but if you believe America can do better than that, if you care about creating jobs that families can live on and child care they can afford, if you care about equal pay for women and a higher minimum wage for workers, you need to vote for Democrats up and down the ticket. People like Hillary, people like Katie McGinty, people who will roll up their sleeves and move America forward.

Listen, I know we live in a cynical time and I know elections and all the negative ads tend to heighten that cynicism.

Just last week, a journalist asked me if I still believe the optimism I expressed that night back in Boston 12 years ago, that we were more than a collection of red and blue states, that there wasn't a liberal America or a conservative America, a black America or a white America, there was just the United States of America.

He asked me if I still held on to the hope of 2008, if I still believe in change. After all, he said, the country is so divided. Hillary's in such a close race with someone who stands in total opposition for all that you've ever stood for. Maybe your vision was misguided, he suggested, or at least very naive. And it was a fair question. I had to acknowledge that I hadn't fully accounted on the instruction we'd see when I first came into office and had to save the economy. I didn't anticipate the way social media would magnify our divisions and muddy up facts. Not of us knew then how deep the great recession would cut and how many people would suffer and how it would make so many people anxious about their futures and their kids' futures, even after the economy recovered.

But despite all of that, I told him, the answer is yes. I still believe in hope. I'm still as optimistic as ever about our future and that's because of you. The American people.

In my visits to schools and factories, war theaters, national parks, and the letters you've written me and the tears you've shed over a lost loved one, I have seen again and again your goodness and your strength and your heart.

In 2008, you gave me a chance, a skinny guy with a funny name. And for these past eight years, I saw how hard you worked in the face of impossible odds. I saw the values you teach your children. I saw the way you treat strangers in need. I've seen the young men and women in uniform who meet every mission, and the military families who serve and sacrifice just as well, and the wounded warriors who never, ever quit.

You bet on me all those years ago, and I will always be grateful for the privilege you gave me to serve. But I'll be honest with you. I've always had the better odds, because I've always bet on you. And America, I'm betting on you one more time. I'm betting that tomorrow, most mom and dads across America won't cast their vote for someone who denigrates their daughters from the highest office in the land. I'm betting that most Americans won't vote for someone who considers minorities and immigrants and people with disabilities as inferior. Who considers people who practice different faiths as objects of suspicion. I'm betting that tomorrow, true conservatives won't cast their vote for someone with no regard for the constitution. I'm betting that young people turn out to vote because your future is at stake. I'm betting that men across this country will have no problem voting for the more qualified candidate, who happens to be a woman. I'm betting that African-Americans will vote in big numbers, because this journey we've been on was never about the color of a president, but the content of his or her character. I'm betting that America will reject the politics of resentment and the politics of blame and choose a politics that says, we are stronger together. I am betting that tomorrow, you will reject fear, and you'll choose hope. I'm betting that the wisdom and decency and generosity of the American people will once again win the day. And that is a bet that I have never, ever lost.

[21:10:20] Philadelphia, in this place, where our founders forged the documents of freedom, in this place where they gave us the tools to perfect our union, if you share my faith, then I ask you to vote. If you want a president who shares our faith in America, who has lived that faith in America, who will finally shatter a glass ceiling and be a president for each and every one of us, then I am asking you to work as hard as you can this one last day to elect my, fellow Americans, this fighter, this stateswoman, this mother, this grandmother, this patriot, our next president of the United States of America, Hillary Clinton!

It's going to be permanently there for you.

HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hello, Philadelphia! Oh, thank you! I am so grateful to be here tonight to spend this time with all of you here in this historic spot. And to all the volunteers, the activists, the union organizers of the hard hats I see in the audience tonight. Thank you for coming out for one last rally before Election Day tomorrow.

And personally, I am so happy to be finishing this campaign with my husband and my daughter by my side. We've been traveling across the country, separately, trying to cover as much ground as possible and talk to as many voters as we can, but I'm really glad that we're all together tonight in Philadelphia with you.

And how great was it to have Jon Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen with us?

But in addition to all of that, what is so special for me is that we have our amazing president and first lady with us, because for now nearly eight years, they have served our nation with grace, strength, brilliance, and a whole lot of cool and they have shown us again and again, as Michelle said, right here in Philadelphia, back at our convention, when others go low, we go high.

I'm pretty sure, as they said tonight, that the best way to thank them is to do something really important tomorrow, to vote. Every single one of you and every person you know, because as the president just pointed out, there is a clear choice in this election. A choice between division or unity, between an economy that works for everyone or only those at the top, between strong, steady leadership or a loose cannon who could put everything at risk. So make no mistakes, our core values, our being tested in this election.

We know enough about my opponent, we know who he is. The real question for us is what kind of country we want to be and what kind of future we want to build for our children.

I'm proud that I had the chance to serve in President Obama's cabinet. And I am proud that I could watch the extraordinary service of our first lady. And one thing I know is that like them, I love America and I know you do, too. We love this country. We love what it stands for, not that we are blind to its flaws, its problems, its challenges, but I believe with all my heart that America's best days are still ahead of us if we reach for them together.

We choose to believe in a hopeful, inclusive, big-hearted America. An America where everyone has a place, everyone's included, everyone has a chance to live up to their own God-given potential.

There have been so many memorable moments in this election for me, and most of them revolve around the people that I've had the privilege of meeting. And last night, in Manchester, New Hampshire, I had the honor to be introduced by Kaiser Khan, whose son, Captain Khan, was killed serving our country in Iraq. Just as he did here at our convention, Mr. Khan again reminded us of the responsibility we all share to protect and defend our constitution.

You remember the story of Captain Khan, the son of immigrants, himself, brought here as a young child, who grew up to join the United States Army. And on that fateful day, with his unit, he saw a suspicious car and he moved toward it to try to determine whether it was a danger or not, telling his men to stay back. The car was rigged, the bomb went off, and he died protecting his men. He was awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

And what Mr. Khan said last night is something I want us all to remember. He said, after the many derogatory and insulting comments that we've heard from Donald Trump, would his son, would Captain Khan have a place in Donald Trump's America? That's an important question for all of us, because we don't want to shrink the vision of this great country. We want to keep expanding it, so that everyone, everyone has a place to pursue your dreams, your aspirations, the future that you want to create for yourselves and everyone else.

[21:20:02] Think about that when you go to the polls tomorrow, think about how throughout our history, generations of Americans just like us, have come together to meet the tests of their time.

And yes, as President Obama said, it started right here in Philadelphia. When representatives from 13 unruly colonies came together to launch the greatest experiment the world has ever seen. Our parents and grandparents defended that democracy. They built the great American middle class. They marched for civil rights and voting rights for workers' rights and women's rights, for LBGT rights and rights for people with disabilities.

And tomorrow, we face the test of our time. What will we vote for, not just against. What will we decide is on the ballot, because although my name and my opponent's name may be on the ballot, every issue you care about is on that ballot.

If you believe that America thrives when the middle class thrives, then you have to vote. If you believe all of our kids should have good schools and good teachers, no matter what zip code they live in, then you have to vote. If you believe college should be more affordable, you have to vote. If you believe we must reform our criminal justice system so everyone has respect for the law and everyone is respected by the law, you have to vote. If you believe we need to protect out kids and pass common sense gun safety reforms, you have to vote. If you believe we must raise the minimum wage and finally guarantee equal pay for women, then you need to vote.

Now, you know, every time I say that last part about equal pay for women, my opponent accuses me of playing the woman's card. Well, you know what I say? If that's playing the woman's card, then deal me in.

So it is not just my name or Donald Trump's name on the ballot tomorrow, every issue you care about is at stake. And that is just the beginning, because we have to bridge the divides in our country. I regret deeply how angry the tone of the campaign became.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not your fault.

CLINTON: And by the way, did any of you see those debates? Well, I stood next to Donald Trump for four and a half hours proving conclusively I have the stamina to be president and commander in chief. But I have to say ...

AUDIENCE: Hillary! Hillary! Hillary!

CLINTON: I have to say that there were so many really troubling things that my opponent has said, but probably the most horrifying was at the end of the last debate, after he has insulted everyone, more than half the population, by the way, immigrants, African-Americans, Latinos, POWs, Muslims, women, he then launches an attack on our democracy, refusing to say whether or not he would accept the outcome of the election. Well, let's show tomorrow there will be no question about the outcome of this election.

[21:25:14] But I also want you to know, I will be a president for all Americans. Democrats, Republicans, independents, not just the people who support me in this election, everyone, because I believe we all have a role to play in building a better, fairer, stronger America. Building on the progress that we have enjoyed under President Barack Obama over the last eight years.

I am not going to let anybody rip away the progress we've made and turn the clock back, sending us back in time where people are free to question the foundation of our country, what our founders here did, you know, they did not agree on everything, in case you haven't remembered. There were lots of contentious arguments, but they saw a higher purpose and they came together. That's what I want us to do and we can take the first step tomorrow. Please, make a plan to vote.

Pennsylvania, it all happens tomorrow. If you text the word plan, P- L-A-N to 47246, we will walk you through where to vote, when to vote, how to get there. You can do that right now. And please tell your friends, your family, your neighbors. And you can go to iwillvote.com and get all the information you need.

Every person who lives in Philadelphia lives within five blocks of your polling place, that's it, just five blocks. And the polls open at 7:00 a.m. and they close at 8:00 p.m. And remember, if you're in line at 8:00 p.m., they have to let you vote.

And so we need your help. In these last hours, we need your help, knocking on doors and making phone calls, helping to turn people out, maybe helping people who need assistance to get to the polls. You can still volunteer by going to hillaryclinton.com, because none of us want, none of us want to wake up on Wednesday morning and wish we had done more.

Years from today when your kids and grandkids ask what you did in 2016, when everything was on the line, I want you to be able to say that you did vote, you voted for an inclusive, big-hearted, open- minded country, future, that will make sure that we all keep moving together, because I do believe we are stronger together.

And you voted for an America where we build bridges, not walls. And maybe most importantly, you voted in great numbers to demonstrate conclusively, once and for all, that, yes, love the trumps hate.

Let's get out and vote, Philadelphia, tomorrow. Let's make history together. Thank you and God bless you!

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Hillary Clinton tonight making the final pitch in battleground states.

I want to get some quick reaction from the panel. We have a full panel tonight. I also want to bring you comments Donald Trump is making. We're going to bring you that to you as soon as we get it.

David Axelrod, I mean, we heard from Michelle Obama, we heard from President Obama and now we see them all coming back on stage together.

DAVID AXELROD, FORMER OBAMA SENIOR ADVISER: Yeah. Well, I heard that -- I read that they cancelled a planned fireworks display on the Hudson River tomorrow night and apparently they decided to have their fireworks display tonight. They fired up all of their biggest guns here and it speaks to the importance of Pennsylvania.

You know, I think I understand that if they block him here that that's one more wall that he can't -- that he can't climb.

[21:30:01] COOPER: And let's watch and listen to this moment.

The history of this moment, the former president of the United States, the current president of the United States, potentially, the next president of the United States, the first lady, her daughter, I mean, so much American history on that stage.

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Torch passing on the Democratic Party. President Obama passing the torch to Hillary Clinton, and then making reference to the Bill Clinton economy. Sixteen years ago, Bill Clinton left the White House, but think about the history there, when you talk about the Bushes in the past, the Bush dynasty, if you will.

Sixteen years after Clinton left the White House, there's a possibility of Clinton gets elected to the White House tomorrow. But it's interesting you have the two presidents there and you have the candidate there, and you have the woman, Michelle Obama, who has been, I think, the breakout star surrogate.

AXELROD: What about this tableau, you know, for all these -- for these centuries of American history, we've had 43 presidents, all white men, and on that stage, you have the first African-American president and potentially the first woman president. Pretty extraordinary.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: And we've gotten so used to President Obama being our president, because he has been for, you know, the past eight years that you, you know, it's important, I mean, you will never, never forget the moment, obviously, when you got him elected for the first time. But it's important to take a step back and remember that. That this is the first African-American president and, you know, no matter what your politics, the fact that it is possible that she could make history tomorrow night.

COOPER: And Jon Bon Jovi. Just pointing that out in case you're wondering who that was.

VAN JONES, FORMER OBAMA ADMINISTRATOR OFFICIAL: But for me, like -- I still don't get used to it. I mean, when you came out, you know, Michelle, you know, it's still very emotional, I think, for a lot of people.

And you remember eight years ago, you know, my kids were little and he walked out there with Michelle and his kids were little and we were sitting there and everybody was crying, because 400 years. You know, 400 years. And my father had just passed away. And you know, I just wished that he could have been there to see it. The last thing that my father saw and smiled was seeing Barack Obama runs for president. And so it's -- I'm not used to it yet. I'm not used to it.

JEFFREY LORD, TRUMP SUPPORTER: I think one of the -- speaking of this tableau. One of the things that I think hits home tonight when people see this in places like Pennsylvania, Western Pennsylvania, Central Pennsylvania, they see not the things you're seeing, they see a collection of political insiders. And, in this year of rebellion against this, it's very interesting, Bruce Springsteen's line here, we've got one last chance to make it real in "thunder road". And of course, a variation of that is what Donald Trumps has been saying in these last few days. We've got one last chance to get this country back on the right track.

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, TRUMP SUPPORTER: It does seem a bit tone deaf when you hear President Obama up there touting the progress we've made with ObamCare, you know, weeks after wee learned that premiums are going to go up by 120 percent in some places, touting the economic recovery when we know 24 million working age people are not in the labor force. So it's worth mentioning the historic moment, Van, absolutely ...

JONES: Yes. I agree with that. Yup.

MCENANY: But that aside, there are a lot of Americans hurting out there and they want change and they want to take the city back for the people.

JONES: Did you use the word tone deaf? I mean, I'm sorry.

PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: For instance (ph) about the presidency, is that the more optimistic candidate wins. Watch Hillary Clinton tonight, watch that tableau with her husband, with the current president, with the first lady, and then let's watch Donald Trump, we saw Governor Pence a minute ago, who's the more optimistic candidate?

(CROSSTALK)

MCENANY: But we're talking about ... COOPER: To that point, actually, we're going to take a break and get Donald Trump speaking in New Hampshire. We'll be right back.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Think of this. I started on June 16th. A long time ago, from way back. Can you imagine this? And now I can say, you have one day but it's no longer one day. It's like, just, like, tomorrow morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[21:38:18] COOPER: Donald Trump just wrapping up an appearance in New Hampshire. He has yet another event even later tonight in Michigan. Trump, as you know, likes to point to polls when he's ahead and the rigged system when he's not. He also says that whatever the polls say, the country should get ready for the kind of surprise Great Britain had when voters chose to leave the European Union, what became known as Brexit.

Let's talk to the panel. I mean, what about that possibility, that there is -- I mean, everybody, you know, the polls in England showed, you know, didn't -- people were surprised by the Brexit result.

AXELROD: Yeah, one thing, there's a difference in polling here ...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.

AXELROD: ... and in Britain, there's a lot more data available to pollsters here to enrich polling. Secondly, we've got early vote, which is another in the kitchen. Thirdly, we're voting for candidates here and not simply on ...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That was a referendum.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right. It was ...

AXELROD: So, on a referendum. So there are many differences. Obviously, that's in the air and people are going to be wondering about that. That's good. They'll participate. They'll watch the results and so on. But there's nothing in the data, so far, that would suggest -- any -- there's much more polling on this than there was on Brexit.

I just -- yeah, go ahead.

JONES: But, I mean, I think, you know, the fear of -- your hope, my fear, you know, your joy, my terror is that ...

AXELROD: Is that poem? Are you making a poem?

(CROSSTALK)

BEGALA: Country music too.

JONES: But I -- there are a lot of people -- the data is only as good as the polling sample. And I do think that there are a lot of people who are off the grid, both for Trump and against Trump, who may come pouring in.

[21:40:05] And so if you're going with likely voters, I think you have a -- you may have some first-time white voters of this.

MCENANY: I do think there is ...

AXELROD: This is one of the problems with public polling, because it's done random digit dialing. But the campaigns are doing more sophisticated polling off a voter list ...

BASH: Right.

AXELROD: ... where they have vote history, so they know who likely voters are. And it makes a difference. We had a big gap in 2012 between the public polls, which had the race even, and Obama's polling, which had the race at a four-point ...

BASH: But your modeling turned out to be right.

COOPER: I hate to add in some facts and data, but actually let's get John King who actually is at the magic wall with some information on the polling and then we can continue the discussion. John?

KING: Guys are having way too much fun. Why do you want facts and data? I just want to hear the rest of Van's poem.

Let me show you something, to David's point about a lot of data, this is our CNN Poll of Polls, the averaging of the five most recent national polls. So heading into the election, the night before Hillary Clinton leads by four points, 46 percent to 42 percent. This is a lot of data rolled into this.

Now, this is our CNN Poll of Polls. If you go to Real Clear Politics site, which does this all the time, in their poll of polls, they're averaging, for 98 straight days, Hillary Clinton has been on top of this race. There been one or two or three national polls showing Donald Trump ahead from time to time, individual polls have shown that. But when you've average them all in, five polls at a time, for 98 days, she has led the race. That's why a lot of people, the technical people, the people that do this for a living say it's not a Brexit situation. But that's what Donald Trump is counting on 46-42 in the national polls.

I just want to show you because we pick presidents by state, here a lot of the states getting attention today on this final day, this battleground state. And when you look at this, you say, OK, it's plus two on average in North Carolina. That's within striking distance, right? That's a turnout election. It's tied in Florida, 29 electoral votes. The best candidate will win tomorrow. Pennsylvania's five. That's where it gets a little harder. You're just on the outside of the margin there, is that possible? You know, that's Jeffrey state and he'll tell you he's expecting to defy the polls by having this giant upswing in blue collar turnout. Can it happen? Yes. Five points, that's hard. It's hard to bend an averaging of so many polls. That's just not one poll, it's an averaging of polls. That's what we're going to test tomorrow. New Hampshire is three. You see Donald Trump up there tonight because he wants those four electoral votes.

Again, this is a bunch of polls averaged out. Can you -- can a ground operation beat a three-point deficit? Yes. One of the big questions, especially when you go through each of these states, in some states, the Republican operation is better than in other states. But that's the big question tomorrow. If you're behind in the polls, you can defy them with a great operation. Donald Trump in many of these places is just counting on it being this huge, come out of the woodwork.

COOPER: Hey, John, tomorrow, just for viewers at home, I mean, when do you think we'll start to get real numbers, start to get a sense of what's actually going on?

KING: I want to go to the 2012 map when you ask this question. Number one, the polls close first in the east obviously. Some states at 7:00. We start to get some data at 6:00, from some states to different time zones, they close their polls earlier.

So, there's a few things we'll look at. One of the states I'm going to look at early on is actually the state of Virginia, because a lot of people think that Clinton will win the state of Virginia. The Trump campaign thinks it's surging at the end. But it's a state where Clinton has been consistently ahead. In the end, it's a new poll today, six points. It's been in that ballpark late in the campaign it was larger. But the reason I'm going to look at it, number one, you do have -- you see all these red areas out here? You have a lot of white working class voters, white rural voters. We'll see if the turnout in these areas is higher than it was in a pretty close Obama/Romney race.

So, even if we think Clinton is winning Virginia, we'll learn a lot about conservative Republican rural turnout. Plus, if Donald Trump is to win this race, if he's going to surprise us and come back, guess what, he's going to have to do better in the suburbs than Mitt Romney did.

And so you have the Northern Virginia suburbs here just outside of Washington, very telling. The ones close in and then as you move further out 20, 30, 40 miles away, places like here, here, you come to Prince Williams County, used to be a Republican swing county in Virginia. President Obama won it, look at that, 57-41. This has been the biggest change in American politics over the last 25 years.

Democrats taking the suburbs away from Republicans. If Donald Trump's going to win tomorrow night, we'll start to see this. Again, even he loses Virginia, if it's closer than we thought, then that bodes well for Donald Trump when you go to North Carolina, when you move on to the suburban areas of Florida, when you get to Pennsylvania, which tends to count a little slower, and when you get out to Ohio the suburbs around Cleveland, the suburbs around the Columbus.

COOPER: All right, John, come on back to the table. We'll continue the discussion with the panel. Van, what are you going to be looking at tomorrow?

JONES: You know, I'm just obsessed with this millennial vote, especially the blacks and Latinos, because they have had a hard time warming up to Hillary Clinton.

You know, there's two things. One is, you know, the heartburn from the Sanders' enthusiasts, but also around this concern about criminal justice and she was on the wrong side, et cetera.

But what I've been so excited about is some of the younger organizers have been able to found a way to break through. And part of it is talking about these local elections for district attorney, that these local D.A. races in Florida and Ohio, they've been able to get young people excited about that.

[21:45:02] Hey, listen, the prosecutor never prosecutes the cop, always prosecutes your cousin. Let's get better prosecutors in there. And that's been an effective, in this past week, effective way of getting people over the hump and a group called color of change, which I had a role in back when I was young, has really figured this out. They've using textathons (ph). I mean, they're doing all kind of creative stuff to overcome this. I'm just going to be really looking at those numbers to see if they were able to be effective.

COOPER: Jeffrey?

LORD: Well -- yeah. When you look at this rally tonight in Philadelphia, John is right here, when you were earlier citing some statistics from Philadelphia in 2008 in terms of the Romney vote, et cetera. I look at this -- that rally and I see people trying to prop her up, essentially, that the enthusiasm for her is not there.

And so the question that's going to translate in terms of Philadelphia is, how many people do they get out? Because if the rest of the state is, as I think it might be, surging, the only way to defeat that is to have a huge massive turnout along the lines that you were suggesting in 2012 for President Obama. I don't see that there. And that's why they're on the stage with all the glitz they can put in there to get this juiced up. The question is, have they succeeded?

MCENANY: And I also think something to look at, you know, when we talk about this Brexit effect, what does it look like? One of the most interesting facts I read today was on cnn.com that in North Carolina, there's a 42 percent surge on independent voters. That is striking.

Independent voters, we know, are breaking for Donald Trump in most national polls to the tune of 12 to 15 percent. They broke for Romney by 5 percent. I think if we see a Brexit effect, it's going to come in this swing of independents. We know 1.2 million unaffiliated voters turned out in Florida.

If we see a Brexit effect, it's going to come with the independents. And if they turned out big, it's bad news for Hillary Clinton. AXELROD: And actually not true that independents are breaking by those numbers. In fact, in the Wall Street Journal poll, Hillary Clinton was winning among independents in some other polls that just came out in the last few days. It was a few points in Trump's favor.

Mitt Romney won independents by 5 percent last time. So Romney would have to do a lot better with independents than these polls are showing.

COOPER: To Trump, Trump.

AXELROD: I mean, Trump.

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: Paul?

BEGALA: What you're looking at is two campaigns are closing the way they want to. You know, this is not advisers or folks (inaudible). Hillary began this race with a message of "stronger together." That's what she really believes in. That tableau that I know Jeffrey thinks is propping her up, that's what she believes in.

She believes in men and women and African-American, Latinos and white, so she believes in that, in that tableau that she's got on that stage there. And that's -- so in her closing ad, she says, is America dark and divisive or hopeful and inclusive? I want to be a president for all Americans, not just those who support me. I want a stronger, fairer America. That is Hillary's closing argument.

Mr. Trump's closing argument is, our movement is about replacing a failed, corrupt, political establishment, special interest and he has pictures of George Soros, and Janet Yellen, and Lloyd Blankfein, which is a very dark and horrific and has been criticized by Dana Milbank in the "Washington Post" as anti-Semitic. That -- just for Mr. Milbank thinks. That is how Mr. Trump wants to go out in this campaign.

COOPER: We're going to take a quick break. We'll continue with the panel. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[21:52:08] COOPER: We've seen (inaudible) tonight over the last two hours. It is not over yet. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump both holding more campaign events. Secretary Clinton would been rolling North Carolina, Donald Trump in Grand Rapids, Michigan, stay tune for that. Both making their final, final closing arguments. Whatever else happens tomorrow, this election will make history for all the votes that have already been cast.

Record early voting nationally, and a real eye-opener in Florida, CNN Politics executive editor Mark Preston is here to break it all the down. He joins us now.

So hours away from Election Day, getting some last minute data, early voted data, what is it show especially in Florida? MARK PRESTON, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, CNN POLITICS: Well, Anderson, no doubt I have some numbers for the panel to argue over after we get through this. More than 40 million in 39 states right now have cast early ballots. Of course, you know at midnight we'll see ballots cast in Dixville Notch, will be the first official votes that we will actually see.

But as you said let's look at the state of Florida right now, what John King likes to call the Latino effect right now. More than 6.4 million people have actually cast votes in Florida. And who has the lead? Democrats have the lead but they only have the lead by 2 percentage points. Why that's interesting is that if you go back to 2008, a year of most comparable data, they had a lead by a little more than 4 percentage points of the overall early ballots cast. That's very important.

Let us go into the demographics of the Florida race right now and who is casting ballots right now. If you look at right here, of course, the white vote is always going to be on top. We're looking at a little more than about a million extra votes right now that we've seen cast from 2008 to 2016 among white voters. The African-American voters, we're looking at about 90,000 more ballots cast in this election. But this is the column right here, this is when John talks about the Latino effect.

You are looking at 429,000 more Latinos have cast ballots early in 2016 than in 2008. And again, that is a concerted effort by the Democratic Party to try to get out the early vote. Twenty-nine electoral votes in Florida are alone, Anderson. You know, Barack Obama only won Florida by less than 1 percent in 2012.

COOPER: What about Colorado?

PRESTON: Yeah. So, a state that we have seen a lot of interesting, certainly, this past week, it's in Old Mill Inn vote state. But let's take a look at Colorado right here. We do not have demographic information when it comes to Colorado. We do know that 1.8 million people have already voted so far in the early vote in Colorado.

And in the lead right now, the Republican Party has a 7,000 ballot advantage over Democrats which you would think is pretty good but quite frankly, they had a 31,000 ballot advantage over Democrats when you look at 2012.

Now, what's interesting about Colorado is that when you look at the population of Colorado, 21.3 percent of the population is Hispanic, and while the state doesn't actually give us demographic information on who the voters are, you would have to think that Democrats were able to cut into the Republican lead because of the strength of the Hispanic vote.

[21:55:07] If you go back to 2012, Barack Obama won Colorado by 5.4 percent. Back in 2008, he won it by 9 percent. So, nine electoral votes right now on the CNN map, Anderson. Colorado leads Democrat. Florida we looked at it before right now, straight out battleground. Anderson? COOPER: Yeah, a lot to watch for tomorrow. Mark Preston, thanks very much.

Back with the panel in this closing final minutes. Nia, just in terms of what you're looking at tomorrow?

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Yeah. I'm interested in whatever the new coalitions are. We heard so much about the Obama coalition, the Clinton campaign insists there's a new Hillary coalition. In some of the early numbers in the states suggest that the strength of not only this Latino vote, but also Asian- American voters in some of these states. Florida is up 86 percent over 2008. In terms of the Asian turnout in North Carolina is up 60 percent. And even Georgia 167 percent from 2008 to 2016.

So I think we're going to see something tomorrow that looks different than what we've seen in terms of elections, in terms of the coalitions that we've focused on. I think it's also going to be important to see how well Hillary Clinton needs to do with the white vote in some of these states in North Carolina.

Last time Obama didn't do so well with the white vote. That was really why he lost. Typically, you've got to get like 40 percent of the white vote if you're -- the Democrat is -- if Hillary Clinton able to need that nationally and in some of the states.

BASH: Whether she not need it.

HENDERSON: Yeah, or -- exactly. Yeah.

AXELROD: This message of inclusiveness that Paul talked about and the scene that you talked about Jeffrey, is meaningful to some of these suburban voters and particularly suburban women, where Hillary Clinton has been doing well. And that's something to watch tomorrow night. Does she make inroads with that suburban vote to offset some of the games that Donald Trump has made among non-college educated whites.

BASH: And can I just say that we were talking before the break about kind of how these candidates are ending the campaign. As we were watching Hillary Clinton and others, Donald Trump was speaking in New Hampshire. And part of what he said there was talking about Elizabeth Warren, the senator from Massachusetts, reverting to calling her Pocahontas.

And to me that says, somebody who has watched him -- and we all have, but I've, you know, really studied his candidacy over the past year and a half, the ups and downs, that he's fallen off the discipline wagon. And perhaps it's because he doesn't think it's going to happen.

Now, I've been texting as we've been speaking with some people who are with him saying, oh no, that's not true. He's been confident yet humble. Maybe that's true. But the fact that he is lashing out -- there's no way that was in the teleprompter. I mean, no way.

COOPER: Well, we haven't heard that particular line for quite a while.

BASH: Exactly. And that, to me, that's kind of telling.

COOPER: Although, Hillary Clinton was sort of bringing back her greatest hits.

HENDERSON: Yeah. Oh absolutely.

BASH: Yeah. No question. No question. But this is -- this ...

COOPER: It's a different story (ph).

HENDERSON: It's a different -- right. And I think it goes to show that initial speech when he talked about Mexican immigrants as rapists, that in some ways could be the defining moment of his campaign, and one of the reasons why he might lose tomorrow because he's alienating so many different groups.

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: John?

KING: I was going to say always like an election need to step back and like not get too deep into the polls and just let people vote. This is a sacred process, let's finish it. But I do think we're going to have the most challenging presidential transition at least of my lifetime.

HENDERSON: Yes.

KING: We have record divides whether it's on racial divide, gender divide, education divide. You have both campaigns who don't think the other candidate is legitimate. Then you have all this talk about the rigged system, you've an undermining, I think, questions about the democracy.

Whoever wins this election, including who's going to come to meet with the current president. If you imagine a Donald Trump as president elect meeting with Barack Obama in the Oval Office on a Thursday. But whoever wins, I think is going to have -- it's not just about picking a cabinet between then and inauguration trying to heal the country's ...

AXELROD: This is why tomorrow night matters.

COOPER: Right.

AXELROD: How both these candidates behave matters tomorrow night.

COOPER: Right, and what happens after. I want to thank everybody.

A reminder in this presidential election eve, tune in to CNN tomorrow -- oh, we have a minute left. I want to give you close ...

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: Yeah.

LORD: I would just say no more turn out in the story here.

JONES: Right.

LORD: But when every story ends, as you certainly know in television, a new story begins. So, we are going to reach the end of this story of the 2016 campaign tomorrow night. And the minute somebody is declared the winner, the new story begins. What is it? What is the situation for the Republican Party?

COOPER: You just didn't like the CNN promo.

(CROSSTALK)

AXELROD: So does your campaign. So we'll be back here Thursday night talking about campaign 2016.

HENDERSON: Yes.

BASH: Bite your tongue.

COOPER: All right. We are going to go now. We going to -- be sure to stay tune to "CNN Tonight'. We brought you Hillary Clinton's speech live in this hour. Donald Trump as we said will be speaking surely in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The event scheduled for 11:00 Eastern. When it happens, you can see it right here.

[22:00:04] That does it for us. Thanks for watching. Time now for "CNN TONIGHT" with Don Lemon.