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Sarah Palin Prepares to Address Republican National Convention

Aired September 03, 2008 - 15:00   ET

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

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN's live coverage of the Republican National Convention.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good afternoon. Welcome from the CNN Election Center in New York. I'm Soledad O'Brien, as we continue our coverage of the 2008 Republican Convention taking place in St. Paul, Minnesota.

You're looking at the hall, where tonight running mate Sarah Palin will introduce herself to the delegates and to the voters. She's currently reported to be secluded in a hotel room hammering out her speech with a pair of staffers. They are expected to continue to polish it right up until the very last minute.

Also tonight, three presidential runners-up, Mike Huckabee, Rudy Giuliani, and Mitt Romney will also be talking.

So, joining us now, one of the people believed to have been on Senator McCain's short list for a running mate. That would be the former Pennsylvania Governor and Homeland Security Chief Tom Ridge.

Nice to see you, Governor Ridge. Thanks for talking with us. Appreciate it.

TOM RIDGE, FORMER HOMELAND SECURITY CHIEF: Nice to join you again. Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Thank you.

I'm not telling you any news when I say that you were mentioned consistently to be on the short list as a V.P. pick.

RIDGE: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Give me now your assessment of Governor Palin as in fact the V.P. pick.

RIDGE: A bold, unconventional, very McCain-like pick, a fascinating personal story and personal life, a great family, I think a lot of appeal across the aisle to Democrats and independents.

And I think, albeit her service was very fairly short as governor, a tremendous amount of experience in those first couple of years that will play well as she and John McCain lead the country, particularly in the area of energy independence.

O'BRIEN: What do you mean by a tremendous amount of experience? Because, as you know, people have been talking and assessing her experience all along. And so many people, I think, would disagree with you on that. What do you mean by a tremendous amount of experience in her short tenure as governor?

RIDGE: Well, I think -- listen, I ran for governor. And the first year or two were probably the most active of a governor's tenure. You run on a particular platform, and you have to make decisions early on in order to get things done.

And take a look at her career in Alaska. She had tremendous reform in the ethics arena. She built a subcabinet level group to deal with climate change. She brought after years and years of controversy an energy pipeline that will be good for Alaska, good for America's independence. It will create thousands of jobs in Alaska.

So, she does a lot of things -- governors do a lot of things on a day-to-day basis that aren't necessarily measured with the legislative success every day. But they don't vote present. They have to make decisions. I frankly, think she probably made more decisions the first couple days she was in office than any senator would make, whether they are in the state senate or the U.S. Senate.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk a little bit about foreign policy and the presidential candidates themselves.

A recent poll talked about how the candidates are handling the issues. And if you look at the issue of Iraq, you actually see Barack Obama gaining ground on Iraq on John McCain. And some actually polls show him ahead. And then you look at who would better handle terrorism, and John McCain is far ahead.

So, explain to me, if you can, the difference in those two polls, and why you also think Barack Obama is gaining ground on Iraq, which has historically been John McCain's issue.

RIDGE: Well, you know, it's an interesting anomaly that -- the poll that you cite, you refer to points out. Fascinating that Iraq has proven to be successful, if -- think in terms of this. Had American chosen the path or gone down the path of Senator Obama's vote, where he voted no against money, no for the troops, no for the surge, he would not have frankly had the opportunity to visit the president of Iraq, because he wouldn't have been there.

O'BRIEN: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: With all due respect, sir, he also could have -- if he had gone with the people who voted no against the war, I mean, if we're going to speaking in hypotheticals, certainly, a Democratic strategist would say, go way back then, and you're also not sitting down with the president of Iraq, because there is no war to talk about, right?

RIDGE: Well, that's fair. That's a fair comment, particularly in a political arena. But the bottom line is, is that the surge proved to be successful. And even after that was demonstrated to be successful, Senator Obama has a difficult time acknowledging that. And his failure to even acknowledge that the two- or three-year effort that John McCain made publicly, much to his own political disadvantage, much to the consternation of a lot of people, proved to be successful, is I think a -- really a flaw in his ability to at least recognize the reality of what happened. John McCain was right.

O'BRIEN: Let me ask you a question about the economy.

A minute ago, we were talking to Ben Stein, who is a -- you know, fairly an expert on that issue.

RIDGE: Yes.

O'BRIEN: And he said that he thought that the choice of Governor Palin was absolutely perplexing, because he didn't think she had ever had to make an economic decision in her life as governor. You match that with John McCain, who has said as much as he's -- the economy is not exactly his strong suit.

And this is the number-one issue in everybody's polling for Americans. How big of a concern is that the two people who are now headlining your ticket, the economy is not what they do?

RIDGE: Well, Soledad, I think, at the end of the day, people are going to look at both presidential candidates in terms of what do they see as the role of government? Who wants to raise taxes? Who wants to cut taxes?

Who is looking to build a -- frankly, an economy around energy independence. One of the things -- one of the major contrasts between the two candidates is in the area of energy. It has a competitiveness impact and an environmental impact and a job relation -- job creation impact.

Until today -- still, today, Senator Obama doesn't want to drill, doesn't like nuclear, has kind of short-shrifted clean coal technology. I know he's into renewable energies. Everybody is.

But the bottom line is, is that, if you want to drive the economy, you're going to reduce taxes, if you can, not don't raise them. And I don't think anybody in America thinks seriously that all these programs that Senator Obama has talked about can be funded with across-the-board tax increases.

And when you have the Democrat House and Democrat Senate, you can almost bet on it.

O'BRIEN: Former Governor Tom Ridge talking with us this afternoon, it's always nice to see you, sir. Thanks for your time. Appreciate it.

RIDGE: Soledad, nice talking with you as well. Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Thank you.

Coming up, we will take a look at what's happening on the campaign trail. That's coming up next. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: That's Barack Obama earlier today in New Philadelphia, Ohio, a little further along the trail now at a barbecue in Dillonvale, Ohio, which is also where we find Suzanne Malveaux, who is with him.

Hey, Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Soledad.

Well, after the first day of really hearing a lot of red meat by the Republicans on the first day of the convention, a lot of criticism against Barack Obama, Barack Obama back on the campaign trail, really hitting back hard on a number of issues. He is talking about specifics, his economic plan.

He is also using the words of McCain's own campaign manager, Rick Davis, against him to portray the Obama camp as not a campaign of lacking image or lacking substance, but saying that they are the ones that are really the ones who get it here, Obama portraying himself as really the issues candidate, not the image candidate, making the case that they don't get it. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK DAVIS, MCCAIN CAMPAIGN MANAGER: He said it's not going to be about issues. It's going to be about personalities, which probably explains why last night, when they were speaking, all these speakers came up. You did not hear a single word about the economy.

Now, think about it. Not once did people mention the hardships that folks are going through. Not once did they mention, what are we going to do about keeping jobs here in Ohio? Not once did they mention, what are we doing about all these retirees that are losing their pensions?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: And, Soledad, one of the things, too, that Barack Obama is often criticized about is whether or not he can provide the kind of specifics to back up his economic plan.

He told voters that, look, he is not this kind of big-time liberal spender. Then, he went on to talk about how he was going to pay for giving that tax break to 95 percent of the voters.

One of the other important things that is happening here is that he is specifically reaching out to female voters. We saw him earlier today with a student at Kent State University. She's a single mom. She has a minimum-wage job at a bakery. And he specifically talked about how his economic plan would provide $3,000 for her alone, that there would be other tax incentives, health care benefits, these type of things.

They believe that these are the kinds of things that voters are paying attention to, that they are listening for. If they can be more specific on his economic plan, the better, and he is also trying to counter that -- perhaps that pull that you would have with female voters because of Sarah Palin on McCain's ticket -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Suzanne -- Suzanne Malveaux traveling with -- as the Obama campaign travels through Ohio as well.

Thank you, Suzanne.

Let's dig a little bit deeper now with Kiki McLean. She's a Democratic strategist. She's also an Obama supporter.

Nice to see you, Kiki.

KIKI MCLEAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Good to see you.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk a little bit about the bounce, the numbers. Depending on the poll you look at, but if you look at sort of the poll of polls, it just shows a small bounce. It's just a couple of points. That's got to dismay you coming out of a convention, right?

MCLEAN: Well, Suzanne, after this whole year with polls, I'm not really dismayed by that.

Plus, I don't think we will know where some of the polls are, frankly, until next week. Both conventions are over. We certainly had a hurricane, but I do think what is great is, today, we have seen Barack Obama talking about the economy.

And, last night, we saw a group of Republicans who weren't. I thought it was interesting in the convention last night -- and I watched most of the prime-time coverage of it -- that it was only in the tribute video to Ronald Reagan that you heard about the economy. You only heard about it out of a video from someone who hasn't been in office for 20 years. That's a long stretch for Republicans to go without being willing to talk about the economy.

And today Barack Obama is. And I think where Barack Obama and Joe Biden have been, in Pennsylvania, in Michigan, in Ohio, those are the real heartland, heart belt, Rust Belt states where they are going to really care about the economy. And he's out there talking to them about it.

O'BRIEN: John McCain stole a lot of thunder with his announcement of his V.P. pick last week at the end of the Democratic National Convention.

What are the plans for doing a similar thing -- or are there plans -- on the Democratic side, as the Republicans are in the middle of their convention?

MCLEAN: Well, we already announced our V.P. pick, to great success. O'BRIEN: Yes, I'm aware.

(LAUGHTER)

MCLEAN: So, we're pretty proud of Senator Biden and we think that went very, very well.

I think what is going to happen is, coming out of the convention, you are really going to have the most clear choice ever. You will have heard from all the surrogates. Voters will have heard about who's really out there pushing four more years of the last eight years.

And you're going to hear from a ticket on the Democratic side that is going to be talking about the future and what kind of change we can bring to America. And that's really important, because once you get both tickets out on the road, campaigning in the same circumstances, not one in a convention and one out of a convention, then you will really have that head-to-head comparison.

I actually think it's one of the great benefits of having these two conventions right next to one another, because you were really able to see what Barack Obama and Joe Biden want for America. Obviously, Republicans were blunted by a day with the hurricane, with the surprise of their vice presidential pick, who really just shores up what John McCain wants to do, which is really not where the country is.

And I think then coming out, you will see all of these candidates get on the road.

O'BRIEN: Will we hear Barack Obama talk about Governor Palin? Because, of course, we haven't yet. And she also mentioned Hillary Clinton. She mentioned Geraldine Ferraro in her speech over the weekend. And they haven't weighed in either.

(CROSSTALK)

MCLEAN: Well, you know what? I think you are going to hear Barack Obama talking about what he and Joe Biden plan to do for the country.

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: So, he's not going to talk about Governor Palin?

MCLEAN: Well, he's not running against Governor Palin. He's out on the road campaigning on his message. He's running against John McCain and a ticket. I think it will be clear from both campaigns what they want to do.

I think it couldn't -- I mean, this whole conversation or lack of a conversation about the economy from the Republicans last night, and you see a real focus on the economy out in the heartland today from Senator Obama makes it kind of clear. O'BRIEN: But Republican strategists will tell you that they are rolling out their convention, much as the Democrats rolled out theirs, that there is a plan, and that the plan includes attacks on the Democrats and also talking about the economy. There is a map of it.

(CROSSTALK)

MCLEAN: They get to have a plan. And I think you think that you will find that some of the attacks they're launching won't really stick. I think you will find that when Democrats and Democratic leaders like Senator Obama and Senator Biden are talking about the economy and talking about issues that matter to Americans, it makes a difference.

I think if you go with a wholly negative campaign, you're not going to get anywhere. It doesn't mean you shouldn't point out differences, Suzanne. You know, I'm a big believer in pointing out the differences. And we certainly did in our convention. We talked about the choices that you have in front of you with an Obama/Biden ticket vs. a McCain/Palin ticket.

And I think voters are going to come out of both of these conventions with a very clear choice. They are going to hear from the candidates. We go into debates, and we are off.

O'BRIEN: Kiki, I thank you very much.

I hate to point out that you're not talking to Suzanne, who I know you're mistaking me for. This is Soledad.

(CROSSTALK)

MCLEAN: I'm sorry.

(CROSSTALK)

MCLEAN: Soledad, I'm sorry.

O'BRIEN: I love being mistaken for Suzanne. Happens all the time. No worries. No worries. But I just thought I would correct you the second time around.

(CROSSTALK)

MCLEAN: No, I'm glad you did, because you're in my ear and I don't see you on the monitor.

O'BRIEN: I know. I know. I can see you, but you don't get to see me.

Thanks, Kiki. Appreciate it.

We are going to have much more convention coverage coming to you in just about 15 minutes, throughout the day as well.

In New York, I'm Soledad O'Brien at the CNN Election Center. We are back to Atlanta and CNN NEWSROOM after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Man, just look at that. That is Louisiana after Gustav. This is what some people who fled New Orleans are coming home to. Whether the city is ready or not, they're coming home to it.

And here's Hanna, not to the Gulf Coast, but possibly South Carolina or Georgia or Florida. That's some time this weekend. Our Chad Myers is keeping a watch.

And a Sarah Palin prepares for the speech of a lifetime, our Kyra Phillips checks in from Alaska with the life and times of a little- known governor.

Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon live here at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

So, as parts of the East Coast keep a close watch on three tropical storms in the Atlantic, it's day two of damage assessment and cleanup on the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Gustav. That storm slammed into Louisiana on Monday morning and spread its damage into Mississippi. At last count, almost 1.5 million people in Louisiana did not have power, 92,000 more in Mississippi.

But some good news today for New Orleans residents who want to come back home. Mayor Ray Nagin says they won't be turned away, even though an evacuation order is technically still in effect until midnight. Gustav got quick attention from President Bush. He's been in Baton Rouge to get an update on the damage and the federal government's response.

Louisiana's capital city took a serious blow from Gustav's wind. Other parts of the state got wind and water damage as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. BOBBY JINDAL (R), LOUISIANA: Tropical Storm Gustav, Hurricane Gustav, whatever unit to call it, continues to cause great, great damage in our state. I think this shows the strength of this storm, the impact it's having on Louisiana. Monroe literally got, from last night, 9.29 inches of rain. Alexandria got over eight inches of rain, more than -- somewhere between three to six inches of rain are expected in addition to that.

Ouachita Parish alone reports at least 135 homes were damaged by flooding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: That was Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.

And along the Mississippi coast, Gustav was a bad storm, but it was no Katrina. Much of the damage there was from the storm surge. These scenes are in Gulfport, where water swept across the main coast road, U.S. Highway 90. Still, nine of the area's 11 casinos can now reopen, putting thousands of people back to work.

Well, they're grateful for the help, but they have got a bad case of the blues. About 1,500 New Orleans folks who were flown to Louisville, Kentucky, where they stayed for days at the Kentucky Expo Center, some say all they want now is to go back home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But the stressful part about it is, you want to go home and feel safe and secure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, for some of the storm evacuees in Louisville, Gustav brings back a lot of memories. They also had to leave home for Katrina three years ago.

After Katrina, when so many people had no idea what happened to their loved ones, the Red Cross set up a Web site to help. It's called Safe and Well, the Safe and Well List. All you have to do is click on it and let your friends and family know how you're doing. They in turn can search the same site for information about you. Just go to disastersafe.redcross.org.

Well, from Florida, up through the Carolinas, coastal residents are trying to decide whether they should stay or go. Regardless, they're boarding up and stocking up just in case Tropical Storm Hanna comes their way. By then, it could be a hurricane. And two, possibly three more are lining up right behind it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHARLIE CRIST (R), FLORIDA: This is a lot. The tropical activity is this time of year. It is the season, after all. But Floridians are strong, and I know that we will get through this together. I urge residents on the East Coast to monitor Hanna's forecast and make sure that you have your hurricane supplies stocked up and you get a plan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Meteorologist Chad Myers keeping an eye on all the trouble in the tropics.

Chad, what do you have for us?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I think Florida needs to keep its eye on Ike, to be honest.

LEMON: Wow.

MYERS: And Ike is a much bigger storm than what Hanna will become. Hanna is very torn up right now, rain showers across Arkansas and Louisiana. And some of these storms are spinning today. There's tornado watches in effort, a couple tornado watches as well. Not a lot of storms out there, and these are not big F-5 tornadoes. But, if they hit your house, even with an F-0, at 100 miles per hour, it is going to do some damage. Just be careful out there in Louisiana today. Sunshine is out. Some storms are there.

Here is Hanna, very disorganized right now. It's going to have to do a lot to get itself back together. And I believe it will. Look at this path. Look at that wiggle. You can't forecast that. And you really probably can't even forecast where it goes right now. We are going to try. I think it's going to miss Florida. Maybe not. But it's not in a cone. Florida is not in the cone now. That cone has shifted to the east all the way from a near miss all the way over to Savannah.

The next storm, though, back out here, Ike, could be a Category 3 approaching South Florida, though, by it looks like Monday or Tuesday. This is a much bigger storm and a much more organized little buzz saw right there -- Don.

LEMON: Yes, Chad, we have been talking about all the people who are returning after the storm and what is going on there. My family, just was able to get in touch with them about two hours ago.

So, I want you to help me out with this, because I'm going to ask our viewers to send us some information in, Chad -- maybe you can help me answer -- at Twitter.com/DonLemonCNN, Twitter.com/DonLemonCNN. We're sharing your storm stories. So, log in there and share them with us. And maybe we will get some of them on the air for you.

All right. We will also talk about the Republican Convention and Sarah Palin, as well, if you want to write to us about that. The woman who calls herself a hockey mom, Sarah Palin, takes center stage tonight in St. Paul, Minnesota. That's far from Wasilla, Alaska.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's a political rocket ship. It's amazing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: A daughter of Alaska bursts on to the national stage. Our Kyra Phillips will have a career snapshot of Sarah Palin. That is just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right, a hearing is under way in Detroit today to decide whether Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick should be removed from office. Kilpatrick is accused of using $8 million in city money to cover up a scandal linked to a steamy text message -- or steamy text messages he exchanged with a former aide.

Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm is holding the hearing. And if she finds Kilpatrick guilty of misconduct, she has the power to remove him from office. Kilpatrick also faces two criminal trials linked to the same allegations.

Well, the Bush administration is promising $1 billion to help the Republic of Georgia rebuild from Russia's invasion. Word came as Vice President Dick Cheney arrived in neighboring Azerbaijan, home to some of the largest oil and gas reserves in the former Soviet Union. That's the first stop of a tour of three former Soviet republics, all worried about Russia's intentions. Cheney is also going also to Georgia and Ukraine.

Sarah Palin taking to the stage in just a few hours to accept her party's nomination for vice president.

Our coverage of the Republican National Convention continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: And good afternoon. Welcome. We're coming to you from the CNN Election Center in New York.

I'm Soledad O'Brien with our continuing coverage of the 2008 Republican Convention, which is taking place in St. Paul, Minnesota. A very big night in store. You're looking there at the floor. And it's been kind of a busy day, too.

John McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, will be the featured speaker tonight. She and some top McCain staffers are reported to be polishing her speech right now. She's coming under some new criticism, as well, today, one from conservative pundit Ben Stein, who told me earlier that Governor Palin could go down as one of the oddest choices in the history of presidential politics." We'll talk more about that in just a moment.

New polls to talk about, too; John McCain's arrival in the Twin Cities and much more perform.

Digging deeper, let's get to CNN's political analyst, Gloria Borger -- Gloria, big stakes tonight, certainly, for a woman who has -- many people don't know much about her.

What really is at risk here?

GLORIA BORGER, SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I think everything is at risk here. I think she has to make the case for herself. She's working with some top McCain speechwriters, as you just pointed out. She's going to make the case for herself both on substance and personally.

She's going to talk about energy policy and how as governor of Alaska, that's been one of her key issues. And, of course, that's key to the economy. And she's going to also make the case for John McCain and be his character witness. And I'm sure she's going to take a few jabs at Barack Obama, comparing her experience, perhaps, to his.

But also, on a personal level, I think she has to convince people through this speech that she's somebody they can relate to, that she's likeable and that she's really up to the job.

And I think, given the folks she's working with, given what they're putting into this and given the fact that, after all, she is a politician who's been on the scene for quite a few years, I think we probably shouldn't lower expectations. I think she'll do just fine.

O'BRIEN: Yes, I think the bar is fairly high. You know, earlier I was talking to Representative Boehner, who, as you well know, was also on the short list for the V.P. position. And I was asking him about the lack of a passport. I was told that in 2007 was the first time that the governor got a passport. And I was asking him kind of what kind of an impact they thought they had.

And this is what he told me.

Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), MINORITY LEADER: When, if you look at their age and the number of kids they've had, they've clearly had their hands full at home. And so to use that as an example of her lack of experience I just don't think matches up at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: One, the passport issue. Does anybody -- you know, David Gergen said that he thought it was pretty surprising.

But I'm curious if that has a bigger impact. And, number two, I thought in Boehner's comments he's basically saying well, she's been a busy mom, she hasn't had time, which kind of argues against their own candidate, I think.

BORGER: Well, the passport issue is an example of kind of the cultural divide in this country, if you will. You know, we looked at the numbers last night. Only 27 percent of the people in this country have passports. So the fact that she doesn't have a passport isn't going to strike a lot of people as strange. It's going to strike people who have foreign policy experience as strange, who believe that perhaps it shows that she doesn't have the foreign policy credibility to be vice president of the United States.

But the whole interesting thing about Sarah Palin is that there is a cultural divide in this country. And what John McCain has decided to do is split it wide open.

In choosing her, he went for the conservative/social conservative base of his party, which polls showed he has wrapped up. He believes he's going to get some women to vote for him as a result of this choice. And without women and without cultural conservatives, John McCain could not become president of the United States.

So this is a political choice for him. It's a true gamble, a real risk. There's hardly any margin for error here with Sarah Palin. She's got to do well tonight. She's got to do well on the campaign trail because of all the things you've been talking about. A real risk -- risky choice by him. But a gamble that could pay off. We just don't know.

O'BRIEN: And everybody will be watching her speech tonight. No question about that.

Gloria Borger for us.

Thanks, Gloria.

Appreciate it.

BORGER: Sure.

O'BRIEN: Coming up next, another name that was mentioned widely as a potential running mate before McCain chose Governor Palin, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison will be our guest right after these messages.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON (R), TEXAS: I think that it shows that he is bold and independent. I think that Governor Palin's reputation is the same -- that she is bold and independent, a reformer. And they want to shake things up. I think they're going to challenge the Obama campaign's change mantra.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: That's Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison. That was Friday, when John McCain announced his choice of Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska, to be his running mate.

Now, Senator Hutchison has had several days to let it all sink in. We want to bring her back to get her thoughts on the pick. Senator, nice to see you. Thanks for talking with us, as always.

HUTCHISON: Thank you, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Do you think that Governor Palin has been treated differently than, say, male V.P. picks, not only in this particular race, but in any race?

HUTCHISON: I think she's had harsh treatment, I do. And I think the American people relate to her life and her family and what she's going through. But I think it's been much too harsh. And I hope that we can turn that around and start letting her show who she is and what she wants to do for our country and, hopefully, let our differences on the issues come out rather than any kind of personal attention.

O'BRIEN: So you think -- so the focus on her personal life is -- should be off the table, as far as you're concerned?

HUTCHISON: I do, especially because of her daughter. It's unfair for her 17-year-old daughter to be going through something like this. And, hopefully, she's being shielded. But I just don't think it's right. That should be off limits. I think we've had a tradition of that in this country. So let's let them have their family time and their private time and enjoy something that should be a joy. It is a great honor for her and they should be able to have the time to savor that.

O'BRIEN: Republicans have been on the air, certainly with me, pretty much most of the day, arguing that Governor Palin has plenty of executive experience. And what you've said is she has great promise.

Is promise enough, do you think, to sort of have the number two job and literally be a heartbeat away from the presidency itself?

HUTCHISON: You know, I think what John McCain has done is say this is going to be theme of our campaign. He is a maverick. He is a reformer. He wants to change the ways of Washington.

I think he looked for a soul mate -- someone who had a record of doing that and someone who would be bold and different. And he found that person in the governor of Alaska, who has done much of the same thing in her state -- gone against the establishment. And I think he chose that over the normal experience.

I thought he had some very good nominees for vice president. I thought Mitt Romney was a wonderful nominee. I thought there were other women -- Meg Whitman and Carl I Fiorina.

But I think he looked at all of the grid and he said here is someone who fits with what I want for America. And in the end, Soledad, I believe the people of America are going to decide who they vote for based on what those people want to do for American families and what is it going to do for our country going forward.

O'BRIEN: When you look at the poll numbers, the polls would agree with you very heavily on that. People are really interested in the economy. It outweighs all the other issues by a significant chunk.

Here's what Ben Stein, who is a conservative, as you know, had to say about Governor Palin as a choice.

Let me run a clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN STEIN, AUTHOR, "HOW TO RUN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA": I don't think she has said a word in her whole life about the national economy, which contributes to making this one of the oddest chases in the history of presidential politics. I think this may go down as the most peculiar vice presidential choice that has ever been.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Does that concern you, when you have a guy who is apparently an expert on this topic saying she hasn't really spoken about the economy?

McCain himself has said it's not really his greatest strength. And this is what the American people want to talk about. HUTCHISON: Well, what she has done and what Senator McCain has done is try to cut budgets rather than raise taxes. I think that's a very important part of an economic agenda. They are both for creating more energy supply in this country. And that's going to be a big difference between the Democrats and the Republican ticket.

The Republicans believe you cannot bring down the price of gasoline at the pump and food in the grocery store without increasing supply. That means nuclear power plants. It means drilling for our own natural resources. It means solar and wind power. It means conservation. It means a balanced plan.

But what the Democrats are putting forth has no production in it, no increased supply. If that's not an economic issue, I don't know what is.

O'BRIEN: Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison joining us this afternoon. Nice to see you. Thanks for being with us. We appreciate it.

We've got much more convention coverage for you throughout the day and the evening, too.

I'm Soledad O'Brien in New York at the CNN Election Center.

We're going to send it back to Atlanta and CNN NEWSROOM right after our break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Hello, everyone.

I'm Don Lemon.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. It's Sarah Palin's big night. Alaska's governor checked out the podium this morning for her prime time vice presidential nomination acceptance speech. It will be aimed largely at those wondering whether Palin has the experience to be vice president.

My colleague, Kyra Phillips -- you may be wondering why she's not here. That's because she is in Alaska, where she has been looking into Palin's record.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Governor Sarah Palin of the great state.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): She's been Alaska's governor for just 21 months and she's hardly a household name.

So who is Sarah Heath Palin and is she ready to lead?

FRED DYSON (R), ALASKA STATE SENATE: She's a very capable person and very bright and tough and without being abrasive. And I don't know whether she can do it or not. Time will tell.

PHILLIPS: Most of her government experience is local -- two terms on the city council and two terms as mayor of Wasilla, a town near Anchorage -- population 7,000.

She earned a reputation as a tax-cutting conservative who limits spending, cleans up government and challenges the establishment.

MAYOR CURT MENARD, MATANUSKA-SUSITNA, ALASKA: She didn't settle for the status quo and she took on the establishment, whether it was in her own party or out of her party.

PHILLIPS: In her first state-wide position, as chairman of Alaska's Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, Palin even went after the head of her own state party in 2003 for alleged ethics violations. As governor, she signed an ethics bill and opened up the process for oil and gas bidding.

Her record as mayor of Wasilla gives ammunition to supporters and detractors alike. She did cut property taxes in Wasilla and while it's not exactly the Pentagon budget, reduced spending on the town museum while opposing a bigger library.

She was also mayor when the local sales tax was increased to build a popular sports complex.

And then there's the controversial "Bridge To Nowhere" -- a favorite target of Senator John McCain because of the enormous costs of building a bridge to a remote Alaskan community.

MCCAIN: The next vice president...

PHILLIPS: When John McCain introduced Palin to America last week...

GOV. SARAH PALIN (R-AK), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I told Congress thanks, but no thanks, on that "Bridge To Nowhere".

PHILLIPS: While running for governor, Palin supported the bridge, saying it was essential for local prosperity. But in office, she spiked it, citing rising costs and the needs of other projects.

A long-time opponent of Palin accuses her of a flip-flop.

ANDREW HALCRO (R), FORMER GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: It was a bridge to somewhere. And then when she got elected and the political winds had changed, it became a "Bridge To Nowhere".

PHILLIPS: Now, the governor's biggest problem -- an investigation by the Alaska legislature into why she fired Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan.

Did she abuse her power because Monegan wouldn't terminate her former brother-in-law -- a state trooper who was involved in a nasty divorce with her sister?

Monegan says the governor never raised the issue with him directly. Now investigators are expected to rule before election.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right. Our Kyra Phillips joins us now from Anchorage, Alaska -- and, Kyra, we just saw some of Palin's political history.

What else are you finding out about Sarah Palin, the woman?

PHILLIPS: Well, again, we've had a lot of time to talk to people here in Alaska -- men, women, families, children, even caught up with her pastor to find out more about her, her character, her reputation here in town.

You know, she's such a dynamic woman, Don. I mean I don't think anyone could argue that, no matter what your politics. She's pretty amazing. She's a renaissance woman in a man's world. That's basically how I've been defining it. I mean she's someone I would love to sit down and have a beer with, go fishing with, go hunting with and just see what she's all about.

And you see her with her family, you see her with people here in Alaska, and she's one of the most popular governors in the United States right now. So she's fascinating in that perspective.

But when I got out into town and I asked various people about issues -- is she qualified, can she lead -- yes, she's got this amazing personality and people love her and they feel connected to her and she's challenged her own party and that's how she won the gubernatorial election.

But does she know the hard issues, for example, foreign affairs?

Is she strong enough to lead this country and lead the free world, if she had to deal with the Iraqi war, if something happened to the commander-in-chief?

And here's what one man told me when we caught up with him leaving her church on Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN HARRIS, ALASKA VOTER: John McCain is going to set up that cabinet and he's going to establish the protocols for that office. So it's not like she has to go in and set everything up herself. She's got an experienced leader doing it for her. But you've got to remember, as the governor of the State of Alaska, she's already set up her own cabinet. And she came in and she cleaned house. And she took out old Republicans that didn't want to do it her way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Something else, Don, that I found interesting when talking to the women here in Alaska, you know, the fact that the governor has this newborn with Down Syndrome. The fact that she decided to keep the baby, raise the baby, really garnered a lot of respect from women here in Alaska. Here's what one woman told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH BROWN, ATTENDS PALIN'S CHURCH: She's in with her son and her recent son, the birth of her son -- to keep him and -- but because she's in the spotlight, I see that as a decision a leader has made. And I respect that -- what she has said to the public about the privilege and the responsibility it is to be Trig's mother. I respect that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, talk about privilege and responsibility. Tonight, Governor Sarah Palin is going to make the most important and the biggest speech of her life. And I can tell you, this entire state will have eyes on their television sets waiting to hear what she has to say and how well she does.

And we'll be there with them, Don.

LEMON: Yes, Kyra. Not just the state, really, the whole world.

And just before we did this in my last cut in, we were on Twitter -- Twitter.com/donlemon.cnn. And I said that we were going to Twitter about this story and also the storms, Kyra. And I have some people who sent me some questions for you regarding Sarah Palin. And I hope you don't mind. I can send them to you -- some of our viewers.

I believe we have you on camera now, Kyra.

Are you there?

PHILLIPS: You got me?

LEMON: Yes, I think we have you. There you are.

PHILLIPS: This is what happens when you're in Alaska.

LEMON: Yes.

PHILLIPS: It's sometimes hard to coordinate a live shot.

LEMON: Robert, put that up. Put that up here. It's Twitter.com/donlemoncnn. And I promoed Kyra's story on there about the governor, Sarah Palin.

And whatever viewers want to send, if you want to send some questions, I will send them to Kyra. And if they are valid, Kyra will get to them.

But go ahead, take it away.

What else are you going to be -- what else have you uncovered there? PHILLIPS: Well, I mentioned that, you know, she's such a fascinating woman. And we've been getting to know about her and her interests, you know, whether it's fishing, whether it's hunting. I mean this is someone I would really love to kind of get to know on a personal level, just as a female politician, but also a mother and someone that is extremely athletic and outdoorsy.

So I did a little hunting around, Don. And this is Sarah Palin's basketball when she won the state championship in 1982...

LEMON: Oh, gosh. Only you.

PHILLIPS: ...at her high school. Oh, yes. And right here, let me see if I can find it. She was number 22, by the way. And her signature is -- there it is, right there. Sarah Heath, number 22. I don't know if you can -- so what I figured is I'm going to challenge her, since I played basketball in high school, to hit the court one-on-one. And I hope that the whole McCain campaign is listening right now, because I figured that would be the best way to really get to know her and not only see her skills on the court, but, you know, her decision-making and also her leadership and teamwork skills.

And then I thought maybe just to be fair and to have balance within that, maybe we could invite Barack Obama and see the two of them play a little bit.

What do you think?

LEMON: You didn't happen to find her crown and scepter, did you, from the Miss Wasilla contest?

PHILLIPS: Actually -- actually, we do have a picture of her. I don't know if we would be able to roll that or not.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: I got her high school picture. And I got a picture of her when she was Miss Congeniality...

LEMON: Oh, there it is.

PHILLIPS: Do you see it?

LEMON: Yes.

PHILLIPS: OK. There you go. So I got her pictures, I got her basketball and one other thing for you here. This is her trophy, the Alaska School Activities Association, when they won the state championship for girl's basketball 1981-1982. And there's her name right there, Sarah Heath. And she was the captain of basketball team.

Not bad, huh?

LEMON: No. Not bad. I mean she seems to be a very accomplished woman when it comes to athletics. And, also, you know, she's a beauty queen. And when it comes to being a mother and wife and, you know, businesswoman, as well.

OK, Kyra. Very interesting.

PHILLIPS: Plus it will be interesting to watch her tonight.

LEMON: Yes. I can't wait to see what else you uncover there. And it looks beautiful, the mountains behind you.

We appreciate your reporting, again.

I'm going to send you some of the responses that we're getting on Twitter -- Twitter.com/donlemoncnn.

Our Kyra Phillips following all the latest developments when it comes to Sarah Palin, the vice presidential V.P. pick. And, of course, she is speaking tonight in St. Paul. And we're going to have that for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

In the meantime, don't forget that donlemon/CNN -- I'm sorry -- Twitter.com, I should say -- /donlemoncnn. Send me your responses.

I'm also blogging about -- or, rather, Twittering about your storm stories, as well. My family is from Louisiana and I was there and I can share some very interesting stories with you guys.

The closing bell is about to ring on Wall Street. We'll bring it to you in just a second.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. The closing bell ring right now on Wall Street. The Dow up 19 points in trading for the day.

Meantime, let's turn it over to "THE SITUATION ROOM" and Wolf Blitzer.

He is live at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota -- Wolf, take it away.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks very much.