Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Spotlight Remains on McCain's Surprising Choice for Running Mate; Day Two of Republican National Convention; Aftermath of Hurricane Gustav
Aired September 02, 2008 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And good afternoon. Welcome, everybody.
Soledad O'Brien at the CNN Election Center here in New York City.
The gavel will come down in just a few hours for day two of the Republican National Convention, but don't expect politics as usual. In the wake of Hurricane Gustav and with at least three more tropical storms on the way -- that's right, there are three of them right now out there -- the Republicans keep dialing back on the partisan attacks.
We've got the very latest on who is out of tonight's convention lineup, who is in the lineup tonight, who's not going to be around in person, but still there.
All the while, the spotlight remains on John McCain's surprising choice for a running mate, the Alaska governor, Sarah Palin. And today, there are still more questions about her qualifications, and some questions about her family, too.
John Roberts is standing by for us in St. Paul. But before we head out to John, lots we have to do -- to talk about on the weather front. Gustav barely passed, already talk though of other hurricanes, other tropical storms lining up in the Atlantic.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: We're going to, of course, be keeping an eye on the weather situation throughout this hour, including a trip down to New Orleans to check out the levees.
First, though, let's get you out to John Roberts. He's at the CNN Grill in St. Paul this afternoon -- John.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Soledad, thanks so much.
You'll remember last week, we were coming to you from the CNN Grill in Denver, just outside the Pepsi Center. Well, now we're across the street from the Xcel Center here in St. Paul, Minnesota, where the Republican National Convention gets under way tonight after a truncated program yesterday in which they pretty much did some official business to get the convention under way.
And we're joined by Senator Sam Brownback from Kansas. He's with us today.
Good to see you, sir.
SEN. SAM BROWNBACK (R), KANSAS: Good to see you, John.
ROBERTS: Now, you've got a speech on Thursday. Have you figured out yet what you want to say?
BROWNBACK: As I had mentioned, I'm in the second draft. It'll probably end up in seven drafts, but I'm going to get pretty close to it.
I'm just going to talk a lot about my experience with John McCain and where he wants to try to take the party. You know, he's a bit of a different guy. I call him from the Teddy Roosevelt wing of the Republican Party, and I want to talk a little bit about what that means.
ROBERTS: Now, of course the theme of tonight is all about who is John McCain? But it seems, after the last 48 hours or so, that all anybody wants to know about is, who is Governor Sarah Palin?
BROWNBACK: That's true. Boy, she's brought an excitement into this that hasn't been on our side for some period of time. I've had people coming up to me saying, "I want to get in and behind this now." And we've had -- a lot of people really are active who were sitting on their hands the last couple of years, and they're pumped now.
ROBERTS: She's also brought a lot of questions too as to who is she and how much do we know about her? And that surprise that came out yesterday with her daughter, there are also lingering questions about her involvement in the firing of the public safety commissioner there in Alaska.
How much do you really know about her?
BROWNBACK: Well, I think you're seeing some of these things come out. But for instance, this daughter being pregnant and then them handling this situation, they're saying, OK, we're going to have the child, they're going to try to make a go of it as a family, we're going to be behind them, that's the sort of thing that I want communicated to the country. This is a tough situation, but they're dealing with it I think in a very instructive way to the nation and telling you a lot about Sarah Palin and their family.
ROBERTS: Right, that is one particular issue where she has been firmly against abortion. She also decided to carry a child that she knew would be afflicted with Down syndrome to term. Those two things taken together, how powerful a message do they send to the base of the party?
BROWNBACK: Well, I think they send a powerful message to the country. You know, 90 percent of the children are killed in utero that have Down syndrome. Ninety percent. And yet she chooses to have this beautiful child and look at it and say, this is a blessing and a gift. I think it's just a great statement to the country about the sanctity of life and somebody willing to live that statement.
ROBERTS: You know, she has some very conservative positions -- teaching creationism in schools, abstinence only, education -- no sex education in schools. And I'm thinking that part of the reason why she was brought on the McCain ticket, according to people we've talked to, was try to peel off some of those disaffected Hillary voters. But other than gender, is there anything they would really have in common?
BROWNBACK: Reform agenda, the difficulties of struggling and raising a family, five children. I mean, I think they would identify very much with her.
Her spunkiness. A lady in my office is looking and saying, "I like that woman. She's spunky."
And also, you know, finally cracking through the glass ceiling. And now you can appeal to anybody that wants to do a his historic vote in this election, says I want to vote for the first minority president, I want to vote for the first female vice president. Either way, you're voting for history. And people in America, I think we want to show that to the world, and she's going to help us do that.
ROBERTS: You know, there's questions about what happened in her family, there's some debate over whether it should remain private or whether anything can remain private in a presidential election contest, particularly the most heavily contested one since 1928. But there are other questions about experience and positions that are really unknown.
John McCain has called Islamic fundamentalism the transcendent challenge of our generation. Do you have any idea what her views are on that issue?
BROWNBACK: I don't. But I don't particularly know Barack Obama's either.
You know, if you're looking at a foreign policy experience base, I think she has more foreign policy experience than Barack Obama does. And you follow the leader in it. I mean, it's John McCain, it's the presidential nominees that set the policy agenda. We know that.
ROBERTS: What's the basis for your belief that she has more foreign policy experience than he does?
BROWNBACK: Has dealt with Canada on a bilateral relationship, deals with energy issues internationally, has worked with military issues as far as from a National Guard perspective. And you don't have any of that with Barack Obama.
Now, I'm not saying you should just judge it on that basis. But I'm saying if you're going to throw that rock at her, then that one comes right back on Barack Obama, who probably has less experience.
ROBERTS: What about the flip side of that coin, then? The McCain campaign has made Barack Obama's lack of experience a big issue by taking her on now. Do they negate that? Is it a point of comparing and contrasting?
BROWNBACK: I think really from this point out in the campaign, John, it's going to be about where you want to take the country.
ROBERTS: So you think the experience question is off the table for both sides?
BROWNBACK: I think it's less on the table. I really do. I think from this point on out, people say, OK, I've got two tickets. Where do they want to take the country on energy, where do they want to take the country on taxes, where do they want to take the country on dealing with the war on terrorism?
ROBERTS: As far as foreign policy experience go, some people have quipped that Governor Palin has stared down the Russians every day across the Bering Sea.
(LAUGHTER)
ROBERTS: Senator Brownback, it's good to see you.
BROWNBACK: Good to join you, John.
ROBERTS: Look forward to your speech on Thursday.
BROWNBACK: Thank you very much.
ROBERTS: Thanks -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: All right, John. Thanks.
From that, we get right to our panel of political analyst. Amy Holmes is an independent conservative. Ed Rollins is a Republican strategist, CNN contributor too. Hilary Rosen is a CNN contributor and political director of The Huffington Post.
Nice to see you all.
Amy, let's start with you.
The theme today is "Who is John McCain?" To what degree has the hurricane and everybody's sort of focus being on the hurricane and the other ones that are preparing to roll through taken away from the GOP's message? Or has it helped?
AMY HOLMES, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, you know, starting the convention on Labor Day was never going to be a big media day. And certainly the hurricane has taken attention from the GOP convention.
But what I think it has done, it's focused attention on John McCain the leader. When he said take off the partisan hat, put on the American hat, it also focused attention on those Republican governors who worked so well and so closely together yesterday to help their region. So I think it's kind of a mixed thing. And I think today the convention starts in earnest. O'BRIEN: Is it a missed opportunity -- Laura Bush, Cindy McCain, who people were looking forward to their speeches, I'll play a little chunk of what they had to say. Their focus was on relief efforts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY: Americans are known for coming to the aid of their fellow citizens when crises such as these arise. Today and in the coming days, let's work together to provide those affected with the means to restore and rebuild their communities.
CINDY MCCAIN, JOHN MCCAIN'S WIFE: I would ask that each one of us commit to join together to aid those in need as quickly as possible. As John has been saying for the last several days, this is a time when we take off our Republican hats and put on our American hats.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Taking off your Republican hat, putting on your American hat. When it comes to the goals of a convention, is that a worthwhile thing, do you think, Ed?
ED ROLLINS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, first of all, you have to define John McCain. And it's astonishing, a man that has been around as long as he has. But who is he? And part of the drill is he was going to separate himself from George Bush.
That may be one of the benefits of yesterday, that the president and former president weren't on the show. They're now prime time again. So it gets harder in a shorter convention to basically walk away.
I mean, I would hope the president tonight talks about the hurricane relief and what have you from a presidential perspective and moves away from the partisanship. But John McCain has got to define who he is and how he's going to be different in leadership and in policies from this president.
O'BRIEN: I mean, you look at the speech from Cindy McCain, much different focus than Michelle Obama, who everybody was sort of watching her make what they were calling could be the speech of her life. Was there a loss at not having Cindy McCain out front and center, doing the same, let me tell you who John McCain is. Let me tell you about the man I know and I love and who he is.
Isn't that a downside?
HILARY ROSEN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, that was probably never really going to be Cindy McCain's job anyway. And it's not just -- she's had a very low visibility this entire campaign.
I think John McCain has been pretty well known to the news media. Introducing him to the public, I think, gives the Republicans a chance to yet again redefine John McCain. Because who is John McCain is a big question Democrats have been asking. Is he the guy who was for an immigration bill, and now he's against it? He is the guy who was for energy independence and now he's against it? Is he the guy who was against tax cuts for the wealthy and now he's for them?
You know, they're going to have to do a lot of explaining I think. Well, now they've got a shot, only they're going to do it in a time frame where it's coming right up against the president's speech, a guy who John McCain has supported 95 percent of the time in Congress. How he's going to separate himself from the president I think is his big challenge this week.
O'BRIEN: Is a bigger question who is Sarah Palin? I mean, a lot of what we're learning about her has to do with some of the work she's done in Alaska, certainly, but there are questions about her foreign -- national security experience and also, you know, new questions about her family members, which both sides have said family is off the table.
One, should family be off the table? Anybody jump in on that.
ROLLINS: Family should be off the table. Family should be off the table. Joe Biden's son as a lobbyist has done lots of things that probably would not withstand scrutiny, should be off the table. And her daughter should be off.
And I think to a certain extent, the reality is, we've got a real catch-up to find out who she is and what kind of a governor she's been. She's excited our political base. And obviously any time you get introduced in an arena where you've got thousands and thousands of reporters and thousands and thousands of political activists...
O'BRIEN: Hello -- suddenly.
ROLLINS: ... it's not the best place to start. But I think she -- I think there's a great story there. There's a compelling story. And we've heard nothing but compelling stories last week coming out of the Democratic convention. I think if she gets the chance to tell her story, it's a very powerful story.
ROSEN: Family's off the table, but the issues that it raises aren't off the table. They're very much on the table.
I look at it this way -- how Sarah Palin and her daughter choose to live their life and the decisions they make in their own personal business is their business. Where it crosses the line is that Governor Palin's position is that all women have to make the same choice that they made. So that's where the personal becomes the policy.
And so...
O'BRIEN: Which has nothing to do with her daughter, only has to do with her policy.
ROSEN: Right. And so I'd like to not see people shy away from an examination of that policy with the Republican side.
And wait, wait, wait. You know, we're not talking about the personal. So the fact is that they want the government to make these decisions for all women. That's where she has been. And they don't want to give people the same choices that they're making for their own family.
O'BRIEN: We're out of time. That'll be our final word for now. But we'll have you back and we'll continue to talk about this, because we want to talk also about foreign policy experience, national security experience, as well, coming up later on.
Coming up, we've never seen -- thank you to our panel.
We've never seen anything like this in modern political history. From the change of tone to the line of speakers, Republicans kind of making it up as they go this week. We'll see how that's going. Members of the best political team on TV look ahead to tonight, whether the convention can recapture its political momentum.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: We're back with you this afternoon from the CNN Grill, across the street from the Xcel Center in St. Paul, where the Republican National Convention really gets under way tonight. They had that truncated program last night, just enough business to make sure that John McCain can, in fact, be the nominee, and that they can get that federal money to run the election campaign with.
All kinds of things to talk about, from opening night, to lingering questions about the vice presidential running mate. And with me to talk about all of that, three members of the best political team on television. Dana Bash is with us, along with Ed Henry and Gloria Borger.
Good to see you all.
So on this, for what is, for all intents and purposes, opening night, how far off message are they, Gloria?
GLORIA BORGER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Pretty far. First of all, not their fault. A hurricane. They clearly made the right decision in every which way, they had no choice but to do what they did. And in terms of postponing partisanship -- and they turned this into one big tell telethon to raise money for the Gulf Coast. And that's the only thing they could do.
I think at this point now they're reevaluating, and they'll probably get more to the red meat later in the week. But Sarah Palin has also taken them off message.
ROBERTS: Well, that's actually what I meant when I asked the question.
(LAUGHTER)
BORGER: Taken them off message because now there's all kinds of controversy about, in fact, the process of choosing her as vice president.
ROBERTS: So Dana, you talk to the campaign all the time. How much effort are they spending trying to beat back all of these rumors and reports about Sarah Palin? How much time are they spending defending?
DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A lot. I mean, a lot, particularly on this issue that the vetting wasn't done properly.
I mean, I have just -- I just got an earful from one senior adviser pushing back hard on this idea that she wasn't properly vetted. Going through the idea that (INAUDIBLE), the lawyer who was really in charge of this, interviewed her for three hours, that there was a 70-question questionnaire, very personal, given to her, that this was done for months. There was a 25-person team done, and that they did this very intensively and they left no stone unturned.
Having said that, the reality is, four people, John, four people in the senior part of John McCain's campaign really had anything to do with this. And it was really close hold (ph) for that reason. They didn't go up to Alaska and really personally interview people. So they say that they left no stone unturned, but not sure.
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: And this is the first time she's getting national media scrutiny, so it's going to be a messy process. But I think there's -- more importantly, what do the delegates think? And then down the road, what do general election voters think about Sarah Palin?
When she speaks this week, she'll finally get a chance to make her case without the media filter. That will be interesting.
But secondly, these delegates, as Gloria can tell you, when the media stays at hotels around here, around the conventions, you stay with delegations. And we were with the Oklahoma delegation this morning as we were walking out of our hotel, and a woman came up to both of us and gave us an earful about how the media is too tough on Sarah Palin, she just came out, give her a chance.
I mean, that doesn't mean we're going to back off. She needs to be scrutinized. But I think the point is that a lot of the delegates here are happy with this selection and they want to hear from her. They're saying, look, you're going to do your stories, but let's hear from the woman, let's give her a chance.
BORGER: But in talking to Republicans, I think the question -- and lots of Republicans are very enthusiastic about Sarah Palin. But the question is, as Dana was talking about, is the process that got to Sarah Palin, and what does that tell you about the way that John McCain works? This was all about a surprise. And this was all about stepping on whatever bounce Barack Obama might get coming out of his convention. ROBERTS: Well, you know, the surprise is supposed to be for the people out there, not for you. But let me switch gears a little bit, because we're also going to hear tonight from Senator Joe Lieberman.
Now, I talked to him this morning and I said, "In your wildest dreams, did you ever think that you would be speaking before the Republican convention, sandwiched between President Bush and Fred Thompson?" He said no, but that just shows you what an interesting journey life is. And he also added this -- let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (I), CONNECTICUT: I feel very good to be here. Obviously, crossing party lines to support John McCain because, to state it simply, country matters more than party. And I just feel so strongly that John McCain is the best candidate for president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: You know, I've got to wonder what kind of position Joe Lieberman is going to be in if McCain does not win the presidency and the Democrats increase their margins in the Senate.
BASH: Look, I mean, it's not a secret that they are not happy with him at all inside the Democratic Caucus, in the Senate where he usually is. Obviously, he's the chairman of the committee because of the fact that they only have a one-seat majority and they can't anger him.
But I've got to tell you, just following these guys around the campaign trail, there's really nobody who makes John McCain more happy than Joe Lieberman. He changes. He changes when Lieberman is with him.
ROBERTS: Do you think that he really would have wanted to take him as the running mate but just couldn't?
HENRY: I think the political calculation, as Dana knows, is that conservatives would have been a lot less happy than they are now about Sarah Palin because Joe Lieberman supports abortion rights. But I think the reason why he's still getting a primetime slot is that this is all about John McCain's case not to just the delegates, but to the broader audience at home, that he's an Independent, that he's a maverick.
The case he wants to make, that here's Joe Lieberman, he was the Democratic vice presidential candidate eight years ago in Los Angeles. We all remember that so well and how dramatic that was. Eight years later he's at his first Republican convention. So they want to make the case, at least, John McCain can pull in people across the aisle.
BASH: The theme tonight is "The Original Maverick."
ROBERTS: Quickly.
BORGER: And as I think he told you this morning, Joe Lieberman's not going to attack. They don't want to attacks tonight.
(CROSSTALK)
BORGER: No Rudy Giuliani tonight. So Joe Lieberman is going to tell you why he feels so strongly about John McCain.
ROBERTS: But who can forget back in the 2000 campaign when Joe Lieberman used to say, that politics is like a car. You want to go backwards, you put it in R. You want to go forward, you put it in D. Not so much anymore -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Yes, I heard you talk to him about that a little bit earlier.
John, thanks.
Much more ahead from the Republican convention.
Another big story, of course, is developing right now. Down in Louisiana, we're getting our first good look at the extent of the damage that's been caused by Hurricane Gustav. We'll take a look at that right after this break.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: While we're covering preparations for the RNC, we also wanted to check back in on the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav. Lots of eyes on the levees in New Orleans and how those levees handled the rain from the hurricane.
CNN's Chris Lawrence is live for us in New Orleans, right there with levees.
Hey, Chris. So how did they do?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Overall, they really did well, Soledad. And they did what they were supposed to do.
They overtopped, they did not breach. I mean, nobody saw, witnessed more destruction than you during Hurricane Katrina. So you understand the power of water and what it means to hold back that power during a major storm.
What this was, was a last-ditch effort to shore up one of those levees, sandbags by the thousands. You can see this sign here, "Times are hard," and that can be the motto for a lot of the families who are living here.
During the height of the storm, this levee was massively overtopping, it was starting to shoot through the bottom. They were really afraid that this was going to possibly give. And as you can see, this is an entire neighborhood right here, hundreds of homes that were threatened. These homes took on 10 feet of water during Katrina, and they were worried that something similar could happen here. But again, they got to these sandbags, the Army Corps of Engineers used some siphons and pumps to alleviate the pressure on the levee. And then on this side, the workers were sandbagging even as the back edge of the hurricane was passing through. It came that close -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Chris, we don't have a ton of time, but I want to just give you -- you showed the houses over your shoulder. So what kind of damage did they sustain? Or are they fine?
LAWRENCE: Yes, none at all, really. I mean, you can see the yard's a little bit flooded. So, you know, again, if they have a basement, they might have taken on a little bit of water. But no -- it can't be anything more than some minor damage. No major structural damage to the homes here.
O'BRIEN: Wow. What a relief.
All right. Chris Lawrence for us, updating us on how things stand the day after the hurricane roared through.
Thanks, Chris. Appreciate it.
Now, somebody who is very close in touch with the situation in Louisiana is retired Lieutenant General Russel Honore. As you'll well recall, he led the military response both to hurricanes Katrina and Rita. He's now a CNN contributor. He's at the CNN Center in Atlanta.
Nice to see you, General. Thanks for being with us.
Why was this one so much better this time around? Was it a combination of preparation and just that the storm wasn't as fierce?
LT. GEN. RUSSEL HONORE, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, that's a two-part question, if you don't mind, Soledad. Part one is the evacuation worked. A plan that had been worked on for three years.
So the evacuation worked, people heeded. The government did what they're supposed to do. That's the number one point of success -- over.
O'BRIEN: In addition, though, the storm seemed to come a different direction. Chad was telling us all day -- and I know you were standing right there with him -- that it wasn't coming up the same exact path that Katrina took, which spared the city to a large degree.
HONORE: Absolutely. The difference is, Soledad, during Katrina, we had a 17-foot wall of water into Lake Pontchartrain. We didn't nearly meet that on Hurricane Gustav. The highest level of surge that we saw was between 12 and 14 feet, but that did not get into Lake Pontchartrain.
O'BRIEN: Outside of the evacuation, which you pointed out went far more successfully than it did the last time around in Katrina, what lessons were learned from Katrina that were really put into place this time around?
HONORE: Yes, evacuation of the city, no shelters of last resort. I mean, extensive planning on getting the medically challenged patients out of hospitals. And then, the state having a backup plan.
There were issues with some buses that had been contracted. They didn't show up, and bam, the National Guard's in there, they take the people out.
So, again, that is a result of good planning and good heads-up command and control which was provided in the state and the inner agency that caused them to be able to overcome. Then the issue now, of course, is the absence of power throughout the state -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Yes. I was going to ask you about that, and also mention those press conferences, press briefings by Governor Jindal and Michael Chertoff were really, really helpful, I thought, in keeping everybody up to speed. But now you've got a million people- plus who don't have any power.
How soon should they go back in? Because, you know, some people will say, hey, power, I can live with that. Let me go back to my home. You'd advise no, I know.
HONORE: Well, for the coming day or so anyhow because you're in a dilemma because people who left New Orleans, some of them were staying in Lafayette. But they're in hotels in Lafayette that don't have power. The issue here is that the storm attacked from one side of the state to the next. And about 30 parishes are affected now without having power, which also that storm took down the cell towers. So if you're in a hotel and you can't talk and you don't have power, many of them, their assumption is listening to some of the local talk radio, folks would rather go back home and be without power than being in a distant hotel without power. On top of that, we've got about 58,000 people in Red Cross shelters in 10 states.
O'BRIEN: So you would advise, don't stay home and be without power, stay where you are and be without power, that's better.
HONORE: That is -- until the local officials tell you it's time to come back in. And that's a big dilemma for local officials because people want to get back to their homes. They'd rather be home, but they have to clear the roads.
O'BRIEN: Yes, they've got to make sure it's safe.
Retired Lieutenant General Russel Honore. Always nice to see you, sir. Thanks for talking with us. Certainly appreciate it.
You will recall during last week's Democratic Convention, John McCain didn't lay low. Kept campaigning. Stay with us, we'll tell you what Barack Obama is up to today and whether he plans to return that favor. That's right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) O'BRIEN: This may be the GOP's weekend. Traditionally, the opposing candidate goes dark during the opponent's convention. But tradition was kind of thrown out the window in this election.
CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is part of the best political team on TV. She's live for us in Chicago with much more on that.
Hey, Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: What's the very latest on what Barack Obama, the other guy in the race, is doing this week as we focus on the Republicans?
MALVEAUX: Oh, well, you're absolutely right, Soledad. Tradition is really thrown out the window when it comes to this time around. Obviously he's not laying low for long. He is here in Chicago, the site of his headquarters. But yesterday he was still campaigning in Michigan, Wisconsin, key battleground states. A very important day talking to unions on Labor Day. I mean, he is not going to take a break.
What he is doing, however, is trying to adjust this delicate balancing act, if you will. Both of the candidates trying to appear to come out on top, ahead of responding to the victims of Hurricane Gustav. We heard from Barack Obama yesterday, cutting his speeches a little shorter, about 10 minutes apiece. But nevertheless, making the case here that union support was important, that he would be working for the employees of America.
But he also did something, as well. He was not only on the phone with Homeland Security, Secretary Chertoff, as well as New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, but he reached out to this tremendous mass e-mail index that he has and asked people to contribute some $5 or $10 or so to the American Red Cross. All of this in an effort to appear responsive to the needs of those from the hurricane. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You can plug into the American Red Cross, make a small donation, find out if there are ways that you can volunteer. Because one of the things that all of us believe -- I think, John McCain believes it, I think George Bush believes it, I think all of us believe it -- is that in times of need, there is no political party. In times of need, there are no red states or blue states. In times of need, there's a United States of America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: So, Soledad, both the candidates, obviously, trying to appear above politics, above the fray. But one of the things that's important too, I mean not only can he tap into this and say this wide range of e-mail and texting, the kind of resources that he has through the convention, through the caucuses, but he says go to Red Cross or go to barackobama.com. It simply allows him to generate more of that information that you're looking for to recruit folks to become a part of their campaign. So, obviously, all of this working in their favor, as well, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Yes, that's how it works in politics, doesn't it, Suzanne. Always helps to do good and then also get some more people into your fold, I would imagine.
MALVEAUX: Exactly.
O'BRIEN: Suzanne Malveaux for us. Thanks.
Let's take you back to St. Paul now. That's where John Roberts is with a couple of outspoken CNN contributors with him.
ROBERTS: Outspoken.
Outspoken would be the understatement of the century.
We're back where the Republican Convention opens with pretty much a full program tonight after the truncated program that we saw yesterday because of Hurricane Gustav. Alex Castellanos and Roland Martin here to talk more about this.
So, you know, I put this question to Senator Brownback when he was here, that tonight is supposed to be all narrative all about John McCain. But the narrative, at least in the media, is all about Sarah Palin. How much of a problem is that for John McCain?
ALEX CASTELLANOS, REPUBLICAN CONSULTANT: It's a real challenge because, you know, this is the week we're supposed to introduce our vice presidential nominee. This is a week that's supposed to define her. But define her on our terms. She's supposed to be the point of the spear for the Republican message for the McCain campaign.
She is reform. Her message was change Washington and this country can achieve anything.
But now when you look at her, is that the first thing you think of? No. I think a lot of people are listening and hearing other things. So the challenge for Republicans now is to get back on message.
What does that mean? They're going to have to be more aggressive this week. I think they're going to have to be a little tougher on the Democrats than maybe they'd planned.
ROBERTS: Well, as you know, Roland, the McCain campaign is being very aggressive in attempting to defend Sarah Palin, to try to knock down all of these reports. You know, the report that they're particularly incensed about is this idea that the vetting program was not thorough enough with her.
ROLAND MARTIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, obviously, because what you don't want is, you don't want the questions to begin to percolate in the minds of people about John McCain's judgment. And so you want to nail that as quickly as possible. But let's just be honest. I don't think they were prepared for this kind of blowback in terms of this whole issues of her daughter. And when you look at it, even with that -- even the broader issue even with that. And that is, it brings up the governor's position on sex education, abstinence only funding, and the fact that we have a national crisis when it comes to teenage mothers. Those who are having children out of wedlock. And so I think they have to confront that as well.
And it was amazing, Lynn Sweet talked about it on her blog at "The Chicago Sun Times." Just yesterday, the Republicans voted for more abstinence-only funding, on the same day, Mrs. Family Values had a daughter who was born out of wedlock. So, obviously, abstinence didn't work in her household. They've got to deal with that sort of weird kind of deal going on there.
CASTELLANOS: Look, Rielle Hunter didn't get pregnant because there isn't enough sex education in this country. There's tons of sex education in this country. You can't -- I don't care what age you are, if (ph) you haven't heard about condoms. So there's plenty of that.
You know, abstinence works every time it's tried. And I think if we're talking about a values elections, at the end, that's not bad turf for Republicans. And if we're talking about experience every day from now until November, you know, Barack Obama's the one who's running for president and he has less experience . . .
MARTIN: He can't afford more questions.
CASTELLANOS: And he has less than Sarah Palin.
MARTIN: He can't afford more questions.
ROBERTS: You think there are other questions swirling out about what was her role in "Troopergate" ...
MARTIN: Well, look, earmarks.
ROBERTS: Earmarks, yes.
MARTIN: I mean, they've got to deal with that. And that in terms did (ph) she hire a lobbying firm.
ROBERTS: And just a little bit of background on that. "The Washington Post" reported today that, as mayor, she hired a lobbying firm that helped attract almost $27 million in earmarks over the course of four years. Which, Alex, doesn't that put her really at odds with her message of reform with John McCain?
CASTELLANOS: Well, we're going to have to get those earmarks out on the table and we're going to find out what they are, you know. She also turned down over $200 million for, you know, the famous bridge nowhere.
MARTIN: Which, Alex, which she did support initially. CASTELLANOS: There's nothing wrong -- there's nothing now, wait a minute, let's finish answering the question. The question is, should -- there's a small town in Alaska, just like every other town in America, had a right to get some of its tax dollars . . .
MARTIN: Oh, I agree.
CASTELLANOS: Democrats on the party, they say, put all your money into Washington. You don't want to give any of it back.
MARTIN: But, Alex, but when you have Mr. No Earmark saying no to all, it causes a problem. It's a message problem and you know it. Good spin, but you know you've got to deal with it.
CASTELLANOS: We've got to get some of that cash back.
MARTIN: No, no, no, no, no.
ROBERTS: Well, you know, even Ron Paul was taking advantage of it while he could too.
Roland Martin, Alex Castellanos, it's good to talk to you. Thanks.
MARTIN: And we were not outspoken.
ROBERTS: No, not at all.
MARTIN: Soledad.
ROBERTS: Take note of that, Soledad. They're not outspoken in the least.
O'BRIEN: I stand corrected. My apologies.
ROBERTS: They're (ph) shrinking violets.
O'BRIEN: To both of those quiet, shrinking violets, wall flowers you had on just a moment ago. Thank you.
Once again, we're going to refocus on this hour's other developing story. Want to talk about some of the worst damage from Hurricane Gustav. It didn't take place in New Orleans. The storm, in fact, surprised everybody by pounding the entire state from the Gulf Coast to the northern border. Up next, we're going to take a look at an area that folks weren't expecting things to be so bad. But take a look at those pictures. We'll tell you exactly what happened in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome back to the CNN ELECTION CENTER, coming to you from the center in New York.
We've got this word just in. President Bush will be addressing the convention, the Republican National Convention, in St. Paul, Minnesota. It will happen tonight. It's going to happen by satellite. He'll be live from the White House. The first lady, Laura Bush, will do his introduction. She's attending the convention. So she will be there. She will then introduce him. He'll be on satellite from the White House. That's the word we're just getting from the White House. President Bush will be taking part in that convention via satellite.
Now, we want to turn and check back in on some of the folks who were hit by Hurricane Gustav. Flooding has become a big concern. Ed Lavandera is in Lafayette, Louisiana, with much more for us.
Hey, Ed.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Soledad.
Well, you know, for the most part, officials across the south central and southeast Louisiana are saying that, you know, they're happy about the way they've been able to weather through this hurricane. But it's not necessarily the case in every turn that you find.
We're here at the home of 27-year-old Keith Duhon. He was the only victim of Hurricane Gustav here. He died in his home, we're told by local officials. He was actually sleeping inside his home and this huge tree in his backyard collapsed on to the house.
It's almost impossible to tell that there's even a house back in here inside of all of this debris. So you can imagine what a horrifying scene this must have been. The hole that you see dug out here was actually carved out by firefighters. This is how they had to come in and try to pull out the body of the 27-year-old victim.
So there were two other elderly victims that died a similar way in Baton Rouge. So even though, for the most part, officials around the area are saying they are happy with the way everything has weathered the storm, there are several sad and tragic cases like we have seen played out here.
And, of course, the flooding continues to be a concern as river levels and creek levels continue to crest here as the rain has fallen and moved out of the area for the most part. But that is still something they're monitoring.
And, of course, power. There's still some 1.4 million people across Mississippi and Louisiana that are still without power. And the governor says it will take some time to get all of that power back online, including some hospitals that are running on backup power. And the governor here in Louisiana says that getting those hospitals back with electricity is the top priority. And then they'll work their way down from there into the residential neighborhoods.
So that's the way it'll play out over the next couple of days, Soledad. But for the most part, as we've driven around, everyone seems to be -- pulled through this storm rather well -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Yes, a big sigh of relief, although a little bit of a road ahead as they get through that lack of power.
Ed Lavandera in Lafayette, Louisiana, for us this afternoon.
Ed, thank you for that.
A big movement underway to tell you about, politically speaking. It happens, as there is, each and every election year, to get as many new voters and young voters as possible to sign up and take part in their right to vote. Heather Smith is with Rock The Vote. She was in Denver last week. She's in St. Paul today the CNN Grill.
Hey, Heather, nice to see you. Thanks for being with us.
DNC down, RNC, you know, day two underway. What's been the reaction from -- and I'd like to focus on young people at least right now, what's been the reaction from young people about how these two conventions have gone so far?
HEATHER SMITH, ROCK THE VOTE: Well, you know, we've done events at both the Democratic and the Republican convention, really celebrating the youth movement that's exploding in our country. And, you know, there's different young people, Democrats and Republicans, at both.
But we've had events at both. They've been packed to the gills. People celebrating, pledging their commitment to go out and get registered, get their friends registered, and really Rock The Vote this election cycle. So it's been great.
O'BRIEN: I know you've had a goal of having 2 million people sign up. How are you doing so far in meeting that goal?
SMITH: You know, we are having an incredible time registering voters right now. We just crossed 1.3 million young people who signed up to register on our web site. And last week was our biggest week so far with over 60,000 young people downloading a registration form from rockthevote.com.
O'BRIEN: All right. So some very good news on that front.
Now, you know the criticism, which is a lot of talk and then young people say they're going to vote and then, at the end of the day, you don't really see the needle move when you look back at an election. How do you avoid that this time around? Do you think it's going to be different?
SMITH: I do think it's different, Soledad. It's really interesting. Once young people are registered, they do actually turn out and vote. So in the past couple presidential cycles, 82 percent of all registered voters cast a ballot. But really that registration process has been the barrier of entry.
And right now, even at Rock The Vote, we've registered three and a half times the number of people we've registered in the past. We're seeing incredible levels of engagement, you know, in every community that we visit, on every college campus that we go to, at every convention that we've been to this year. I really believe young people are getting registered at record numbers, paying attention, which means they're going to turn out this November.
O'BRIEN: Let me ask you one quick question. We don't have a lot of time. What's the number one issue for young people?
SMITH: You know, the number one issue is the same as all voters. It's just from the youth perspective. So it's the war in Iraq, it's the economy, it's healthcare, it's the environment. It's just making sure that we're addressing those issues from the perspective of an 18, 19, 24-year-old.
O'BRIEN: Heather Smith is with Rock The Vote. Thanks, Heather, appreciate your time. Know you're busy, so good luck with this week.
And the debate is already underway. It could turn nasty. Who's got less experience? Is it Barack Obama or Sarah Palin? We're going to ask a top strategist if that's an argument that the Republicans can win, when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's day two of the Republican National Convention here in St. Paul, Minnesota. Actually, though, in terms of the overall political program, it really is day one because they're going to be launching with speeches tonight. President Bush will speak, as well as Senator Joe Lieberman, an independent who caucuses with Democrats here at the Republican Convention. It's kind of like that line from "Ghostbusters." You know, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria (ph). And, as well, we're also going to hear from former Senator Fred Thompson.
But right now let's hear from Terry Holt, a Republican strategist, and, as well, he was the spokesperson, national spokesperson, for Bush-Cheney '04.
Terry, how you doing today?
TERRY HOLT, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Great. Thank you.
ROBERTS: So what are you thinking about this whole thing with Sarah Palin? If you were on the inside of this campaign, what are you doing right now?
HOLT: Well, I think I'd keep it in mind that she makes a connection with the American people that almost no one else we could have chosen can. She comes from a blue collar family, a blue collar background. She struggled through the old boy network, Alaska. And we bring to our ticket a different profile that's going to be attractive to average people in states that matter, like Pennsylvania and Ohio and Michigan, where Barack Obama hasn't yet closed the deal. So I'm really excited about her.
ROBERTS: But that said, she's on the front page of most newspapers across the country. She's in every newscast across the country on television, talking about something other than how great the John McCain ticket is.
HOLT: And I think that's inevitably part of the story cycle. Whenever someone brand new comes to the national stage, there's a lot of fodder that gets thrown out there. And I think she just has to deal with it well. But when she makes her speech . . .
ROBERTS: Do we need to hear from her?
HOLT: Oh, absolutely. I think her introduction last week, I think she was -- it was one of the best, first speeches I've ever seen. And I think some of us in our party remember that Dan Quayle, though he was a very serious senator and a smart guy, that first impression really put him in a bad position for a long time. She made such a great impression that if we see her again and, let me tell you something, around here, the Republican women in this town that I've talked to and I've gone to the meetings with, these people are fired up about her. Ad the one group of people in America you don't want against you are Republican women. They will work their hearts out.
ROBERTS: Senator Sam Brownback was on earlier in this hour. I don't know if you saw him. He seemed to think that putting Governor Palin on the ticket takes the experience issue away on both sides. Is that wise because Senator McCain's campaign was really making some inroads attacking Senator Obama on that issue of experience.
HOLT: Well, experience doesn't win elections. Leadership does. And being able to connect with the American people does.
ROBERTS: But if you question experience, you can question leadership, as well.
HOLT: Well, but I think judgment and your ability to make tough decisions is a far more important thing to the American people. They want to be able to have trust that the commander in chief is going to protect the country. And I don't think anybody in this race, Barack Obama or Governor Palin, is going to be able to stand up to John McCain when it comes to being able to fill that role.
ROBERTS: Terry, we've got to run, but we'll hear from her tomorrow night. It will be the first time at length.
Thanks for being with us.
HOLT: Thank you very much.
ROBERTS: And, don't forget, we're back bright and early tomorrow morning with "American Morning" from inside the Xcel Center beginning at 6:00 a.m. Eastern.
Right now, back to Soledad.
O'BRIEN: All right, John, thanks.
Much more ahead as the best political team on TV gives you the best political convention coverage on TV.
Soledad O'Brien in the CNN ELECTION CENTER here in New York. We're back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
