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Ballot Bowl '08

Aired January 29, 2008 - 12:00   ET

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

DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello and welcome to a special edition of "Ballot Bowl '08."
I'm Dana Bash in Miami, Florida.

In Ballot Bowl, what we do is try to bring you the presidential candidates in their own words, unscripted, unfiltered, and do that as they try to go around the key crucial early contest states and try to get your vote. And, of course, as they try to secure their party's nomination.

Now, this hour we have a very, very busy hour ahead because where I am, here in Florida, it is primary day, and it is a very crucial day. Democrats and Republicans are already at the polls. They have been voting since early, early this morning. But for Democrats here in Florida, because of a squabble with the national -- the national party, it is sort of a beauty contest at this point, because there are going to be no delegates that will actually be seated at the national convention from Florida on the Democratic side.

But for Republicans, it is a crucial, crucial day in the state of Florida. Fifty-seven delegates are going to be at stake in today's race here in Florida. And the four Republican contenders, the candidates, who have really been campaigning here in Florida, as you can imagine, are all over the state trying to get every last vote before the polls close.

This is a very important state in Florida, particularly for Republicans, because it is the last important contest state before Super Tuesday on February 5th, where there are about two dozen states at stake. And this is also important because so far, no Republican candidate has really been able to capture momentum, the "Big Mo," as it is called in politics. So one of these candidates is hoping that they will be able to become finally a front-runner in the GOP contest after today's primary here in Florida.

Now, we have a very busy hour ahead, as I said. We also have some of my colleagues who are reporting on this important contest on the Democrat and Republican side.

Dan Lothian is in Orlando. He is at a polling station. He's been talking to voters as they've been coming out casting their votes.

And up north in New Jersey, in Blackwood, New Jersey, that is where we have Jim Acosta. And Jim is joining me now there.

Bill Clinton just wrapped up a rally. I think, Jim, you're in suburban Philadelphia, and Bill Clinton obviously was up there campaigning for his wife. And Jim, let us know just the gist of what Bill Clinton was saying.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Dana, it was back to those bread and butter issues that define the Clinton presidency -- the economy, health care, the budget deficit. A lot of people were wondering today which Bill Clinton would show up.

Would it be the Bill Clinton that we saw down in South Carolina with those sharply-worded attacks targeting Barack Obama, those attacks that created so much controversy and made a lot of people wonder whether or not he had actually damaged his wife's candidacy in a way that led, of all people, Ted Kennedy to go over and endorse Barack Obama? But what we saw here in New Jersey today is the Bill Clinton of old, the Robert Redford "Natural," if you will, of politics.

He went back to those domestic issues and talking about how his wife would make a better president, and it should be -- it should be noted that Bill Clinton did not mention any of the other candidates in this race, at least on the Democratic side, keeping things very positive at this event here at a community college in New Jersey. But here is Bill Clinton just a few moments ago talking about the issues that he believes will define this race for the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: After eight years of over 22 million new jobs and nearly eight million people moving out of poverty, we now have seven years of five million new jobs and five million people falling into poverty. Middle class incomes are stagnant. Most people think they're in a recession already.

People are paying more for health care, for housing, for education, for transportation. And now we have the looming specter of this home mortgage crisis.

These are tough, complicated times, but we can bring America back. We have done it before. She will lead us in doing it again and rebuilding the middle class.

(APPLAUSE)

The second thing we've got to do is to reclaim the future for all these young people in the audience. America has to -- America -- go ahead.

(APPLAUSE)

America -- she says America has to reclaim its leadership in science and technology. Often it generates more than half of our economic growth. And we've fallen behind in investment, and we've gotten too far off the track in letting politics and ideology interfere in scientific research on everything from stem cell research to human genome research to global warming. Get the politics out and the money in, and America will move forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Now, the closest Bill Clinton got to drawing a distinction between his wife and Barack Obama came towards the end of his speech when he talked about all of the things that had happened during the Bush presidency that voters didn't know about back in the 2000 election because they hadn't happened yet. And as he put it, you need a president who can handle all of that. But there was no use of the phrase "ready on day one," that phrase that became a bit controversial over the last few days because some people were suggesting that the president and Hillary Clinton were sort of overtly saying that Barack Obama was not ready to become president.

But also sharing the same stage was the governor of New Jersey, Jon Corzine. He did mention endorsements at the beginning of his statement to this crowd, warming up this crowd.

He said that, "I was one of the first governors to endorse Hillary Clinton. I was right then and I'm right now."

So that was as close as we got to some of the stuff that has been coming up on the campaign trail over the last couple of days, some touchy moments for the Clintons over the last couple of days. And it appears that Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton are putting those days behind them.

Bill Clinton apparently will be taking on a prominent role, will continue to take on a prominent role with his wife's campaign. He is planning to campaign in Ohio, and then Barack Obama's home state of Illinois, before heading out West -- Dana.

BASH: Certainly a very different kind of tone as you describe, Jim.

I'm wondering -- you were reporting yesterday on the reaction in the Clinton campaign to Barack Obama getting Senator Ted Kennedy's endorsement. And I'm wondering what you're hearing, if anything, about any kind of sort of feeling of being a bit chastened, particularly because of reports that perhaps Ted Kennedy, one of the reasons why he endorsed Barack Obama, is because he was so angry at Bill Clinton for just what you were talking about, for the way he was perceived to have been treating Barack Obama.

ACOSTA: Dead silence from the campaign, Dana. They are acting as if all of this did not happen, by and large.

There was a conference call that Hillary Clinton led where she talked about these endorsements and, you know, basically saying endorsements come and endorsements go. But the campaign did put out a press release earlier this morning saying that they are expecting to announce a major endorsement -- that's their words, not mine -- at 1:00 this afternoon. So the war of the endorsements continues.

But as you put it, this was a kinder, gentler Bill Clinton. A softer -- a much softer Bill Clinton out on the campaign trail today. None of that rhetoric that we saw down in South Carolina, comparing, you know, the Barack Obama candidacy to Jesse Jackson and that sort of thing. All of that apparently is out the window, and those domestic issues are back in.

One thing we saw from Hillary Clinton yesterday is, as she was starting to redirect much of her fire at the Bush administration -- and that does get these crowds whipped up, as you know -- Bill Clinton did some of that earlier today as well. But as for these endorsements, as for what happened down in South Carolina, I think it's safe to say, Bill and Hillary Clinton are looking ahead and not behind them.

BASH: That's right, Jim. I love that, endorsements don't matter, but we have a big one coming at 1:00. That's classic.

ACOSTA: That's right. Exactly. Well, a mixed message, right.

BASH: Yes, a mixed message. Exactly. Jim, thank you very much.

And the very important Super Tuesday state of New Jersey, my home state, I should say.

Thanks, Jim.

Now, obviously we want to come back to Florida, where I am -- a very, very important day in the Republican race.

I mentioned that there are four prominent Republican candidates who have been campaigning here for quite sometime, particularly today as they try to get the very last votes as they try to win this nomination. But it is really important for one particular candidate, and that is Senator John McCain, because John McCain has had a couple of big wins. He won South Carolina's primary, he won New Hampshire's primary.

He has not called himself the front-runner. He has not wanted to use that word. And perhaps because he really isn't yet.

But, his campaign, every other campaign, acknowledges that the person who does win Florida could be perhaps the front-runner. So we want to take you to John McCain at a polling station in St. Petersburg earlier today as he tries to clinch the momentum, the momentum that really so far no one Republican candidate has gotten in this race.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm committed to working with him to address these serious problems ranging from the Everglades, to making sure that every citizen in Florida and across the gulf is able to have the assurance and the confidence that their home will not be wiped out in a hurricane. We've been working already on it -- Senator Martinez, Senator Nelson -- on a bipartisan basis. And I look forward to it.

And finally, could I just say that, I do have a bit of nostalgia here because my family stayed in Jacksonville. I went through pilot training in Pensacola. The first place I landed in the continental United States after I came home from prison in Vietnam was the naval air station in Jacksonville, Florida.

The people of Florida have been very good to me. And I'm very grateful. And I'm most grateful for the thousands and thousands and thousands of young Americans from the state of Florida that are serving our country in the armed services today. And I pledge I will keep them safe.

Any questions?

QUESTION: Senator, how critical is a win for you today in Florida?

MCCAIN: Pardon me?

QUESTION: How critical is a win for you today in Florida?

MCCAIN: Oh, I think it's very important. And frankly, it's not only -- I think the governor will tell you that it's not only important in a primary, but if any Republican is going to win a national election, that we have to carry the state of Florida. So it is a very, very important state.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

MCCAIN: Well, it began, of course -- Governor Romney has been campaigning that way. He spent millions of dollars in attack ads against Governor Huckabee in Iowa. He spent millions of dollars in attack ads against me in New Hampshire and in South Carolina.

I mean, that's just the way he campaigns. So we have to respond.

I mean, I was just -- I guess -- I guess the desperation level was that I'm a liberal now. That was particularly entertaining.

But, look, he can run on his record as governor of Massachusetts, where they had huge job losses, third worst economy in the United States of America, $730 million in tax increases. The state is now saddled with a $245 million debt because of his government-mandated health care plan.

But the real key I think here in Florida is who can keep America safe? Who is it that's got the experience and background and knowledge to take on the challenge of radical Islamist extremism?

Governor -- Governor Romney has no experience there. In fact, he wanted to have a timetable for withdrawal at a very difficult time. I think that's why the people of Florida will make the judgment on my behalf.

QUESTION: Where do you go from here? I know you're focused on Florida today, but where do you go?

MCCAIN: You know, we have a schedule, I think, of going around obviously to the February 5th states. And I'm usually the last to know.

QUESTION: Senator McCain, are you confident this morning?

MCCAIN: Yes, I'm feeling good. I think, you know, endorsements matter. Endorsements matter.

And when I'm able to stand here with the most popular and most important member and politician, elected official, in the state of Florida, it helps. And after Governor Crist endorsed us, we did see a tick up -- uptick in the support. And I'm always going to be extremely grateful to him for that courage, because it would have been very easy for Governor Crist to just say, look, I'm not going to get into a contested primary.

I'm very grateful and very appreciative.

QUESTION: Senator McCain, what's your opinion about the National Catastrophic Fund?

MCCAIN: We've been -- Governor Crist and I, and Mel Martinez and Bill Nelson, have had very long, detailed discussions about that. We're going to get the governors, the regulators, the -- and the state officials together and we're going to create a situation where going across state lines, we're going to have pools of money so that every person -- not just in Florida, but every person who's subject to hurricanes is going to be able to have a hurricane insurance so that they won't lose their homes.

I'm sure we can do that. And I'll give you a little straight talk. And so will Senator Martinez and Senator Nelson.

The bill that passed the United States House of Representatives, which has no insurance reform, which is a vital part, will never pass the United States Senate. But we have been working together with the regulators, the governors, the legislators together, and we will work this out.

And as president, it will be one of my highest priorities, because we can't have people with this kind of vulnerability. And I'm proud that Governor Crist has made it his top priority.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: Well, all politics is definitely local. There you heard Senator John McCain, a candidate for president, but talking about something very important to a lot of Florida voters, and that is the fact that their home insurance has gone through the roof over the past several years, a big campaign issue here in Florida.

Also, talking very tough against his chief rival here in the state of Florida. That is the former Massachusetts governor, Mitt Romney, going after him on national security. And specifically, again, something that was quite controversial over the weekend, saying that Mitt Romney supported a timetable for withdrawing troops in Iraq, something that Mitt Romney vehemently denies and says actually that John McCain is being dishonest about when he says that. And we're actually going to hear from Mitt Romney after the break. He is one of the many candidates that we're going to bring you in his own words throughout this hour of Ballot Bowl.

We're also going to hear from Democratic candidate Barack Obama.

And we also want to remind you that it is of course primary day here in Florida, so you want to tune in tonight to our special coverage of primary day, and that is at 8:00 Eastern.

Stay with us. A lot more Ballot Bowl ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BASH: Welcome back to CNN's Ballot Bowl. I'm Dana Bash in Miami, Florida.

Florida is D-Day here for the Republicans. It is primary day, 57 delegates at stake. It is a very important day. It's winner take all, which means that the person who captures those delegates here in Florida on the Republican side will be in a very good place to perhaps be the front-runner, something we have not seen in the almost month- plus of voting in the Republican primary contest.

Now, before the break we brought you John McCain. He, in every poll, appears to be in a neck-and-neck race with the former Massachusetts governor, Mitt Romney, to actually win Florida's primary. You heard John McCain with some pretty tough talk against Mitt Romney.

So we want to bring you, as we do here on Ballot Bowl, a long portion of what Mitt Romney was telling voters in Jacksonville, Florida, as he was making his closing argument to voters about why he wants them to vote for him, not John McCain or any of the other candidates. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: About three weeks ago everybody was saying it was Mayor Giuliani's race and we might as well stay home. But somehow we got our message out that we wanted to see change in Washington and that we're the right team to do it.

(APPLAUSE)

You see, we've had the fun of going up and down the country and hearing what people had to say about Washington politicians and how much they want to see change. We've heard for many, many years, Washington politicians tell us that they would finally solve the problems in Social Security.

But they haven't. We will!

(APPLAUSE)

We heard Washington politicians say they would cut back on the pork barrel spending and the earmarks.

They haven't. We will!

(APPLAUSE)

We heard Washington politicians say they would live by high ethical standards.

They haven't. We will!

(APPLAUSE)

You know, the politicians told us that they'd find a way to get everybody health insurance that was affordable, and they could keep it throughout their lives.

They haven't. We will!

(APPLAUSE)

And they told us they'd end illegal immigration.

They haven't. We will!

AUDIENCE: We will!

ROMNEY: And you know -- and you know right here in Florida, you've heard it time and time again, we value and appreciate legal immigration. It is a great source of vitality for our country. People come here from all over the world seeking opportunity. But illegal immigration, they said they'd stop that.

They haven't. We will!

AUDIENCE: We will!

(APPLAUSE)

ROMNEY: You know, when I was in the primary in Michigan a couple of weeks ago, I think people learned that when you tell the American people they can't do something, the American people give a big surprise. I was behind in the race there to Senator McCain, and we came there and talked about how we're going to fight for every good job in that state, we're going to make every effort we can to protect every job in this country, to have good jobs for our citizens and to strengthen the economy.

And Senator McCain, having gone from way ahead, ended up falling a significant degree behind. And we're going to do the same thing right here tomorrow.

(APPLAUSE)

AUDIENCE: Go, Mitt, go! Go, Mitt, go! Go, Mitt, go! Go, Mitt, go! ROMNEY: You know -- you know, one of the -- one of the great experiences I've had in my life has been to have a job in the business world, in the real world, to understand how the real...

(APPLAUSE)

ROMNEY: And I learned a lot by doing that. Twenty-five years in the real world has taught me a lot about how the real world works. And frankly, if you want somebody who understands how Washington works, you can elect the other guy. But if you want somebody who understands how America works, elect me and our team.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, I've got a friend here with me I want to introduce to you because he's kind of unusual. He came to me about, I don't know, 20 years or so -- 20 years ago, and he said, "I have an idea."

He said, "You know, when big companies want to buy office supplies and computers and printers and paper, they get big discounts. It's real cheap. But if you're a little guy with one or two people in your business, you have to pay through the nose. Office equipment and supplies and furniture are so expensive."

He said, "I want to open a store almost as big as this hangar and sell office supplies at 50 percent off." And so I said, "Boy, that sounds like an unusual idea."

I went out and talked to people and said, what do you think of this idea? People said it's a lousy idea. They said, people don't want to have to get in their car and go buy office supplies. They'd rather have them delivered, and at the beginning we didn't have the idea of delivery.

But I decided this guy was a pretty good guy. And we studied his business thoroughly, and we put the first dollars in the first Staples store.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: And that's former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, trying to close the deal as a former businessman, explaining and really pleading with voters here in Florida to understand that he believes that the economy is the number one issue and should be the number one issue for them and their vote. And he insists, as he has been, frankly, over the past several contest states -- in Michigan, and in South Carolina and in Nevada -- that he believes that his experience in the private sector as a venture capitalist should be -- make him the best person to be the Republican nominee at this point.

Now, we want to switch over to the Democratic side and give you some news for Barack Obama.

It's another day and another endorsement. He is going to get, we are told, later today the endorsement of Kansas' governor, Kathleen Sebelius. You probably saw her last night giving the Democratic response to the president's State of the Union address. She is going to, we are told, give Barack Obama an endorsement in Kansas. Kansas is a -- one of the many Super Tuesday states that is going to vote on February 5th.

Barack Obama is going to be in El Dorado, Kansas, later today. Barack Obama has some connection to Kansas. His mother is from Kansas. His grandfather, I believe, is actually from that town of El Dorado.

And Kansas is the reddest of red states in this country. In fact, no Democrat has actually carried the state of Kansas since 1964. Yet, there is a Democratic governor, so perhaps Barack Obama is hoping against hope, if he -- if he were to become the nominee, he'd have a little bit more of a chance there because of his ties to the state of Kansas.

And speaking of Barack Obama, I said we're going to hear from him later on this afternoon, but meantime, we want to bring you back to a big endorsement that he got yesterday, an endorsement from a senator who is well very known to all of our viewers, and somebody who Barack Obama is hoping is going to give him a lot of weight with Democratic voters who still have a bit of nostalgia for his name. And his name is Kennedy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe that's true for millions of Americans. I've seen it in the offices, in this city, where portraits of John and Robert hang on office walls or collections of their speeches sit on book shelves. I've seen it in my travels all across this country, because no matter where I go or who I talk to, one thing I can say for certain is that the dream has never died.

The dream has never died.

(APPLAUSE)

The dream has never died. It lives on.

It lives on in the older folks I meet who remember what America once was and know what America can be once again. It lives on in the young people who have only seen John or Robert on television, but are ready to answer their call.

(APPLAUSE)

It lives on in those Americans who refuse to be deterred by the scale of the challenges we face, who know, as President Kennedy said at this university, that no problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. And it lives on in those Americans, young and old, rich and poor, black and white, Latino and Asian and Native American, gay and straight, who are tired of a politics that divides us and want to recapture the sense of common purpose we had when John Kennedy was president of the United States of America.

(APPLAUSE)

That is the dream we hold in our hearts. That is the kind of leadership we long for in this country. And that is the kind of leadership I intend to offer as president of the United States of America.

(APPLAUSE)

APPLAUSE: Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama!

OBAMA: So make no mistake, the choice in this election is not between regions or religions or genders, it is not about rich versus poor, young versus old, and it is certainly not about black versus white. It is about...

(APPLAUSE)

It is about the past versus the future.

(APPLAUSE)

It is about looking backwards or marching forwards. It's about whether we are going to seize this moment to write the next great American story, so some day we can tell our children that this was the time when we healed our nation, this was the time when we repaired our world, and this was the time when we renewed the America. That this was the time that we renewed the America that has led generations of weary travelers from all over the world to find opportunity and liberty and hope on our doorstep.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: And that was Senator Barack Obama of Illinois speaking yesterday after getting a coveted endorsement from Senator Ted Kennedy. He of course was there with his son, Congressman Patrick Kennedy, and Caroline Kennedy, the senator's niece and, of course, the daughter of John F. Kennedy. That is an endorsement that Senator Obama is still hoping will have him do well, not just with people who are nostalgic for the Kennedy name, but perhaps with the vast connections that Senator Kennedy still has tremendously across the country in the Democratic -- in the Democratic community and party.

Now, we're talking about the Democrats now, but we have a big, big story here in Florida. It is voting day. It is primary day here in Florida, and it is most important for the Republican. It could be a game-changer for the Republicans.

We're going to go to our Dan Lothian, who is at a polling station in Orlando, Florida, and we're going to talk to him about something that you might be interested in, in terms of Florida voters. Don't worry, it's not hanging chads, but it's an interesting fact about the votes going on here in Florida today.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: And we're going to talk to him about something that you might be interested in terms of Florida voters. Don't worry, it's not hanging chads, but it's an interesting fact about the votes going on here in Florida today. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BASH: Hello and welcome back to a special edition of "Ballot Bowl '08." I'm Dana Bash in Miami, Florida, where it is primary day here in Miami.

And what we try to do in Florida, all of Florida this primary day, but what we're trying to do here in "Ballot Bowl" is bring you the candidates as they are trying to appeal to voters in the very last moments here in Florida, like they are trying to get every last vote. But we're also trying to put this in context a bit for you because Florida, of course, is incredibly important. Democrats and Republicans have been voting today. In fact, the polls have been open for about five hours.

But for the Democrats, it is not as important. It's probably more of a beauty contest, as some are calling it, because the national party for the Democrats, they sanctioned or punished the Democrats here for moving up their primary to today, so there are no delegates at stake. But there are 57 delegates at stake for Republicans here. It is absolutely crucial for the Republican candidates in this race.

And it comes just one week -- just one week -- ahead of Super Tuesday. Super Tuesday will have more than 20 states at stake. It is a very, very big day. And actually about 1,600 delegates will be up for grabs in that Super Tuesday contest. Again, that is just one week from today.

But before we look ahead to next week, we want to, of course, get to the important day today here in Florida and that is voting. And we want to bring in our Dan Lothian who is actually at a polling station in Orlando, Florida.

And, Dan, you know, it's been fascinating to watch obviously not just that voters are going to the polls today, but there is -- this is one of the 30-plus states here in Florida that actually allows voting to start I think January 14th. So almost a million voters have already cast their ballots.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, they have. It started in mid-January and then wrapped up over the weekend. So, yes, about a million or so voters have already cast their ballots. But today, obviously, is that critical day, as you mentioned, when both Republicans and Democrats are coming out here and voting.

And you did mention that Democrats don't have the delegates to drive them out to the polls to get them to the polls to motivate them. But nonetheless, there are Democrats who are going out and voting because, a, they feel that this is their duty, this is something that they must do. They have done it for years and so they're not going to back down. And they're also hoping that perhaps something might change. We know that Senator Hillary Clinton has been lobbying to get those delegates to count and they're hopeful that perhaps something will happen along the way and that their vote will not be done in vain. And also, secondly, there are the local races driving some of the Democrats out to vote as well. So those two key components making this important for Democrats, as well as Republicans.

BASH: It is really interesting because, you know, we talked about the fact that voters, almost a million have already cast their ballots. Four hundred thousand of them apparently are Democrats. They're voting for a contest which apparently won't really matter when you're talking about actually picking the Democratic nominee because they're not seeding them at the convention, which is sort of quite interesting.

But I what to ask you, from your perspective there, Dan, what kind of turnout are you seeing? I know that there's been a lot of talk about the fact that there is an important ballot measure on property taxes, which is very important in any state, but especially important here in Florida. So what's your sense of turnout there?

LOTHIAN: We've seen pretty good turnout here. In fact, we touched base with local officials here in Orange County here and they told us that they're seeing a quite high turnout. They couldn't give us any specific numbers at this time, but they say that they believe it's pretty heavy. Statewide expected to be heavy as well.

And, you know, one of the things, as I was talking to some of the voters who are coming here, they are driven by some of the issues, at least the Republicans here, driven by some of the issues that the Republicans are laying out there. Also this tight contest that we're seeing between Romney and McCain. That has engaged a lot of these Republican voters.

And I was talking to one lady here, she will be 84 in two weeks. And she says she's voted every single time. She's a loyal voter. She said she couldn't miss this at all.

But one of the things, and this goes back to something that you've been talking about in the past half hour, the negative campaigning. What we have seen. These sharp attacks that have been taking place between Romney and McCain.

And, you know, as you talk to all of these people, including this woman who will be 84 years in two weeks, she said that she was turned off by the negative campaigning. That politics should not be about this. It should be about honor. It should be about the issues. It should not be about this negative campaigning because she says that it sort of lowers it. It lowers this, you know, what this campaign should be about. What politics should be about.

So, obviously, at least the voters that I've talked to, they're turned off by the negative campaigning, but they also feel that it's important to come out and vote. And in this particular case, this woman I'm talking about, she is an evangelical who is voting for Mitt Romney. And in her case, she said that, you know, everybody's been talking about, you know, Romney being a Mormon, being turned off by that. She says I believe in what he stands for an that's why I'm voting for him.

BASH: That is very interesting, particularly given the controversy over Governor Romney's religion. And, you know, the negative campaigning, Dan, as you know, every voter says that they don't like it. But as we see these races get tighter and tighter, it is as sure as the wind in Florida that we're going to see negative campaigning. And we've certainly seen that over the past couple of days.

Thank you very much, Dan. Thank you for that.

And Dan, of course, was talking about an important -- about what's going on here today in Florida, and that is the voting. And it is, perhaps, important to -- most important to somebody who has spent more time here than any other of the Republican candidates, any other candidate at all, and that is the former mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani. We caught up with him this morning as he was searching for every last vote. He was actually at a coffee shop in Ft. Lauderdale. We're going to hear from him what he told voters there, what he told reporters there right after the break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BASH: Hello and welcome back to CNN's "Ballot Bowl '08." I'm Dana Bash in Miami, Florida. And, you know, what we try to do here on "Ballot Bowl" is give you, the viewer, a chance to see a lot more of the candidates. Perhaps some of what we, as political reporters, get to see on the stump and as we witness these candidates try to convince voters to vote for them, to give them their party's nomination.

And here in Florida, it is primary day, it is voting day, and it is perhaps the most important, perhaps tell-tale day for Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City. He campaigned here for almost two months straight, if you add up all the days. Much more than anybody else.

He, for some time, had made very clear that because he did not intend, and did not do well in the earlier contest states, he was actually zero for six in all of those, that he had everything banking on the state of Florida. He, last night, actually said something interesting. He said, whoever wins Florida will likely win the nomination. And perhaps that was Rudy Giuliani's way of saying, given the fact that now he is in a distant third place in almost all of the polls, perhaps his way of saying he does not think he is going to get the nomination.

Nevertheless, he has been out campaigning. Campaigning very, very hard. Going from town to town, particularly in southern Florida where they have a lot of New York transplants there, people who are familiar with the name Rudy Giuliani. And we want to show you a bit of what he was talking about this morning at the Rascal House. The Rascal House, for people who don't know, is generally a good place to get the early bird special in southern Florida. He was there very, very early this morning greeting voters and talking to reporters about the reality of his chances here in Florida.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Big day for you. You spent a lot of time here in Florida. What do you have to say to voters heading to the polls right now?

RUDY GIULIANI, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Come out and vote. The main thing is get out to vote. We had a very, very strong, you know, early vote showing, 500,000 (ph) Republicans. A lot of Republicans went out and voted. (INAUDIBLE) only 500,000 Republicans. A million votes overall. So now we want people to come out and vote. Not to be influenced one way or the other by any polls, any predictions. Polls and predictions have been wrong as often as they've been right. And the way you prove them wrong is, you go out and vote.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And so what do you have to say about the polls that say that McCain and Romney are now tied for the lead?

GIULIANI: What I have to say about it is, a poll in New Hampshire had Barack Obama beating Hillary Clinton and it turned out the other way. You can find as many examples of polls that worked and polls that don't. Just get out and vote. People should go out and vote, make their vote count.

I believe I'm the candidate that has been the most relevant to the people of Florida. I'm the only one supporting the National Catastrophe Fund to help reduce insurance rates. I'm the only one who's proposed a tax reduction of the dimension of really one of the largest in history, the single-page tax return. We've talked about what has to be done to preserve the Everglades. We've talked about what needs to be done for the space program. And I'm the only one that's also managed an economy and been able to take it through a crisis. And, therefore, I think there are a lot of good, positive reasons for Florida Republicans to vote for me. And we've stayed out of the negative campaigning.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And where do you plan to go from here?

GIULIANI: Wherever they tell me. We're traveling up and down the state. I think we end up in Orlando later today.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You do.

GIULIANI: But I think we're going to Delray Beach at some point.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right.

GIULIANI: I remember seeing that on the schedule.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's (INAUDIBLE) Delray Beach kind of thing (ph). And what about the polls? And I've heard that this is a make- or-break day for you. How do you feel about that? Is that true in your opinion? Will you keep campaigning (ph) on? GIULIANI: This is a day that we're going to win. We contemplate nothing else other than victory. We've got people, you know, up until 7:00 tonight deciding whether to vote. We want them to vote. We want them to realize their vote counts. We want Florida's vote to count. We want them to realize if they go vote, we can win. The votes are there.

We've been organizing, how long, Bill?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For eight or nine months now we've had a tremendous grass-roots organization. Largest of many of these campaigns by far.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now we're here live actually with Rudy Giuliani who's at (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think you can (INAUDIBLE)?

GIULIANI: Pardon me?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Hispanic vote.

GIULIANI: Oh, I think the Hispanic vote is very important. We've had a very strong campaign specifically to reach the people in the Hispanic community. But I want to reach everyone in Florida. I think the Hispanic community in Florida is interested in the same things everywhere else is interested in.

They're interested in lower taxes. They're interested in less government spending. They're interested in greater opportunities in society. they're interested in help with their property insurance because, you know, there is a problem in real estate right now. And they're interested in -- I find that there's a tremendous amount of interest in the Hispanic community, in particular in my position, in school choice. That parents should deciding on the school that their child goes to.

And I think our 12 commitments to the American people, which we outlined originally in New Hampshire, have, you know, tremendous amount of relevance to people in the Hispanic community. Really to everyone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Talk about a raw moment, there's the former New York City mayor, Rudy Giuliani, over a bowl of Raisin Bran explaining to voters and to reporters why he thinks that he is the best person to be the Republican nominee. He says because of his experience on the economy and also on national security. He says that he's the whole package.

Well, you know, we talked about that raw moment and we have a very interesting, very fun, unscripted moment that we just got in from former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. You don't want to miss this. Stick around until after the break. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BASH: Welcome back to CNN's "Ballot Bowl." I'm Dana Bash in Miami, Florida, where it is voting day, it is primary day, here in Florida for Republicans. It is absolutely crucial. Fifty-seven delegates at stake here.

And one of the Republican candidates who has been spending some time here in Florida, but also been already looking ahead to the Super Tuesday contest states, particularly those in southern states, is a fellow southerner, and that is the former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.

Now we told you that what we try to do here on "Ballot Bowl" is bring you some of the raw and unscripted moments from these candidates. Some of the things that we get to see on the campaign trail. So we want to bring you a bit of what happened this morning in Tampa, Florida, when Mike Huckabee was at a polling station trying to get some more votes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE HUCKABEE, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Which -- let's see, you hold this hand. It will be like Mitt Romney eating fried chicken, right? Oh! I hit left-handed, so that wouldn't even work would it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a club.

HUCKABEE: How are you? Great to see you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning, (INAUDIBLE).

HUCKABEE: Has anybody thrown a rotten banana at you or anything like that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. No, everybody's waving.

HUCKABEE: Oh, that's cool (ph). With all their fingers?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: If you couldn't tell, that was a polling station at a golf club apparently. And Mike Huckabee standing there and voters came up and handed him a golf club. The former Arkansas governor trying to make clear, as he does throughout his campaign, that he's not necessarily a golfer, he's more of a hunter and a no-so-subtle dig at Mitt Romney there.

So it was sort of an interesting moment, but telling in terms of what he was trying to do, Mike Huckabee, and that is, he just went to a couple of polling stations in Tampa. And we're told from our producer, Peter Hamby (ph), on the scene, that there weren't a lot of people with him. In fact, a group of home schoolers home schoolers are sort of a natural coalition of people who are with Huckabee. They traveled from one polling station to the other to sort of be around him. To sort of be there for the cameras. So that is kind of a bit of color from the campaign trail. Mike Huckabee is now already gone from Florida. He's in Missouri hoping to do well there on February 5th.

And we have a lot more of "Ballot Bowl," a lot more of the important day here, campaign day, primary day here in Florida. We'll tell you a lot more about that after the break.

And we also want to make sure you tune in to CNN tonight to talk about and get the firsthand experience of the results from today's primary. That is at 8:00 Eastern tonight. Don't want to miss it. Stay with us.

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BASH: I'm Dana Bash in Miami, Florida. A very windy Miami, Florida, where it is primary day here in Florida. And voters have been at the polls now for about seven hours and they close at 7:00 tonight. So we are going to be covering the campaign, covering the primary, all day just as we have during this hour of "Ballot Bowl." So you want to stay with CNN all day long.

We also want to remind you that tonight when the polls close, we are going to have very special, very in-depth coverage of this Florida primary. That is going to be at 8:00 tonight Eastern. And also we are going to have what we did for you today here, "Ballot Bowl," where we try to bring you the candidates and very large portions of what they say to voters, and what they say to the reporters, how they try to explain and defend their candidacy really. That is going to be every day this week at 12:00 Eastern.

And we also want to remind you that all day long you can log on to cnnpolitics.com, that's 24/7, where you will have the most up-to- date news from all of us who are out in the field and also all of the reporters, the producers. We have embedded producers with every single one of these candidates. So this is the place to get your most important political news.

And we also want to make clear to you that we hope that you understand and enjoy what we're doing here on "Ballot Bowl" because this is a chance, as we have said, for us, as reporters, to give you, the viewer, kind of an inside, more in-depth look at what we get to see on the campaign trail every day with these candidates. They have some unscripted moments. They also have a lot of scripted moments. But, nevertheless, they have very intense arguments for why they should be the next nominee for their party and why the others shouldn't. So you got to enjoy that today.

Thank you very much for joining us. I'm Dana Bash in Miami. Stay tuned for "Ballot Bowl" tomorrow and "Newsroom" is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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