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Stormy Weather on the East Coast; Caylee Anthony Case; Bhutto's Husband in Charge;

Aired September 07, 2008 - 17:00   ET

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

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: All right. If you think that Hanna is bad, just wait until you meet Ike. Oh, boy, our severe weather experts are trained on both storms. We are getting pictures. We are getting reaction. We are getting interviews. We'll be all over this story.
Then, the case of the missing toddler, Caylee Anthony. Her mother's out of jail again, but there's even more drama; fist fights, chloroform. New details, we'll bring them all to you. Stay with us, because we'll have all this.

Then his wife was a political heroine, but what will he do for Pakistan? That story as well.

OK, here we go. Hi, everybody. I'm Rick Sanchez. We got a lot of stuff to get through this late afternoon. It's one of those weather is the news, news is the weather kind of weekends. We're going to be watching two big storms right now, and you should probably be watching them as well. One is a big rain-maker, the other one really who knows?

You see them there on the screen. The one in the top left is Hanna. The one on the top right, as you're looking at the screen, is Ike. Ike is really the one who could end up doing the most damage, but Hanna is doing some damage right now, at least as far as the United States is concerned. As you can see, in some places, folks are getting ready for the storm. In other places, folks cleaning up after the storm.

By the way, Ike is a Category four storm, did we mention? Where is it going to hit? How strong is it going to stay? Will people be ready when it comes? All of these unknowns are keeping a lot of smart people very busy this Saturday afternoon, lots of CNNers among them. Let's get right to it, if we possibly can.

First of all, let's get some more information on the storm itself. This is the latest on the storm as it's coming in now in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. There you see some of the pictures. Not that huge wave action, but remember, when the storm does get close, that's when you'll get a little bit of that surge that tends to come into the area.

Our Jim Acosta has been following the storm. He's going to be joining us from the area. I see he's got his hoodie ready to go and he's getting rained on aplenty. You're in Babylon, New York. Is that right, Jim? JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rick, we've moved over to Port Washington, New York, which is on the north shore of Long Island, facing the Long Island Sound. You can just start to see these boats behind me. They're starting to do that little dance, Rick. That is the dance that tells everybody here that this storm is coming. Tropical Storm Hanna making its way up the East Coast. It's gone through the Washington, D.C. area over the last several hours, and dumped a bunch of rain down there. It is expected to come through here, sweep through the New York City area, the tri-state area, over the next five to six hours.

Forecasters are saying some six inches of rain are expected. So folks are being encouraged to stay inside, off the roads. Even though this doesn't look very treacherous out here, I have to be totally honest. The winds are a non-factor at this point. The conditions are going to slowly worsen over time. And so people are being advised to stay at home. If you want to scoff at Tropical Storm Hanna and say, this is no hurricane, scoff from the comfort of your own living room. That's the best piece of advice at this time.

But, you know, this has had an effect already in this area, Rick. The U.S. Open, which was being held as we speak right here in New York City, that event had to postpone. Some matches -- had to start some matches early. Threw the tennis folks there over at Flushing Meadows for a loop there, because they had to deal with this weather. So it's already having an effect on this economy, already having an effect on people who made lots of plans to attend that event.

So over the next several hours, we're going to be keeping an eye on this storm as conditions worsen. We'll stay on top of it and get those conditions to you just as quickly as we can.

SANCHEZ: In these conditions, if you're watching college football today, here is some advice: bet the under. Some of these games look like mud bowls since we've been watching them. All right, Jim, keep an eye on that for us. Let us know if anything happens. We'll get right back to you.

Meanwhile, let's go to Susan Roesgen now. She's in Key Largo, Florida. She's watching for Hurricane Ike. There was a chance there for a while that Hurricane Ike was going to hit the southern part of Florida. By the southern part of Florida, I mean the more populated parts like Miami, Ft. Lauderdale. But now it's starting to look like it might even veer a little south of that. Either way, she's keeping an eye on it. What are we hearing? What are they saying down there, Susan?

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What they're saying, Rick, is another day in paradise. Beautiful day, but, yes, something is out there, Hurricane Ike. I'm standing really at the lifeline for the Florida Keys. This is US-1. It runs 100 miles between Miami, the mainland, and then all the way down to Key West, the very tip of the Keys, the last of the Keys and the closest right now to Hurricane Ike.

So you are looking now at all of these cars heading north, heading away from Key West. Very few going in the other direction. The only way in, the only way out, and right now there is a mandatory evacuation for all tourists in the Keys. This is something that Florida officials always do, get the tourists out first. Then we'll see what the locals are going to do.

So the tourists are getting out today, mandatory evacuations. But the locals are worried about this hurricane, too. What we have here is we've got tomorrow a mandatory evacuation for the locals. They are going to get them out as well. But, as you know, Rick, in this part of the world and along the Gulf coast, mandatory does not mean actually forced. The police will not be going around to get people out of their homes here in the different keys. If people decide to stay, then they will be responsible for their own safety.

The big fear here, Rick, is when you look at this, basically, flat area, nothing really to block a storm surge, which could be twice as high as I am tall. So that's the big fear here. Tourists are getting out and locals are paying attention.

SANCHEZ: Let me speak to you not so much as Rick Sanchez, the guy who does the news on CNN. Let me speak to you as Rick Sanchez, the south Floridian for his entire life. Category four is different. I know that people have hurricane parties on Category ones, sometimes twos. Threes they take very seriously. Four to five? We're not talking hurricane party here. Even those folks in the Florida Keys, who do tend -- who tend to not be so -- I know. I heard you guys in the control room. I'll get to that in just a minute. Even people in the Florida Keys, when it comes to a Category four, that's when they really change their tune a little bit. That's when they prepare themselves for something like this. I think they'll be a lot less hardy when comes to this, and they'll skedaddle (ph) as well.

I'm being told by my producers now --

ROESGEN: This thing can move, of course. These things wobble. Look what Hanna did. So we did talk to some people here. There's a Shell Gas station behind us, Rick, not a lot of traffic right now. But you may be able to see that even the gas station has its storm protection up, its tin along the windows. We talked to people here who are not taking this thing lightly. They're not going to have any parties tonight. They're thinking about getting out. Here's what they said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's a big threat. I think regardless of how far south it goes that, you know, we're definitely going to get something about it. Look at Hanna. It did so many different things. This had could take a jog north and we'll really get it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anywhere else you go, you're going to do the same thing. You go New Orleans or anything like that, you're going to get the same thing. So try to ride it out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think with it shifting more so towards the south, it's a little bit of a reassurance. But they keep saying it's going to be great if it goes to Cuba. Those poor people suffer, too.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROESGEN: Rick, as you know as a south Floridian and I know as a New Orleanian, we always say, push it away, anyplace but where we are. It's very difficult to find someplace these days that's completely uninhabited. All we can hope is that it doesn't do a lot of damage and people are safe, wherever it winds up going. Rick?

SANCHEZ: I love those parts where you are right there right now. Great seafood restaurants, by the way, Susan. If you get a break, I could recommend a couple of places. I'll email them to you.

ROESGEN: I'll call you. OK.

(WEATHER REPORT)

SANCHEZ: Let's talk about Haiti, because that's where this storm has been. Boy, Haiti's getting just really hit hard. Not just by this storm, but by Gustav as well. Tropical Storm Hanna has already killed more than 130 people in Haiti. That's just this week, on its way to what some think will be parts of the United States, hopefully not. Most of this is due to devastation. Look at the map. You see the map there of Haiti? You can see that it obviously, from a topographical standpoint, it's got a lot of hills and a lot of mountains.

Beautiful land, by the way, especially some of the areas around the beaches. But what happens is when they get hit with sudden rain, you get flash flooding, as Jacqui will tell you. Flash flooding is really what's caused the problem in some of the really poor areas.

Here is where U.N. relief supplies have been arriving. We've got that video as well, that we're sharing with you now. Tons of food, bottled water, medicine, shelters and water purification equipment as well. Also arriving, ambulances and trucks and boats to try to help in the search and rescue missions that are going on there as well. You know, Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere. It's already endured three major storms this year, including Hurricane Gustav. This is just in the past 30 days. Now here comes Ike.

CNN's Carl Penhall is on a flight with the U.N. right now. We're going to hear from him, we understand, just shortly. In fact, as soon as we're able to pop Carl up live, we'll bring you that shot and let you hear from Carl what exactly is going on there. It's a desperate situation for many of those folks.

We also have some still pictures coming in of the Gulf Coast residents. This is what it looks like there when they were told they had to evacuate as a result of some of the hurricanes. These are some of the people now -- these are folks returning from Gustav. They're getting their first look at their homes, their towns, the damage that did or didn't happen as a result of Gustav. Yes, that's how powerful that storm surge is. That's what it can do to a boat, take it on land and in some cases blocks and blocks inland, believe it or not. Of course, they wonder now whether they'll have to evacuate again if Ike skirts through Florida, comes down the Florida straits and then goes back up the Gulf and into their area once again. That's why we have Jacqui Jeras, and that's why we're going to continue to follow this thing.

If you'd like to get involved in relief efforts for some of the people affected by the most recent hurricanes, visit CNN.com's Impact Your World page. You'll find links to groups providing food and shelter and people in need. That's all at CNN.com/Impact.

The mortgage meltdown; it's hitting Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Are the Feds ready to step in? More importantly, how much is it going to cost you? There's another bank that seems to have gone under. We'll tell you what it is and what's going on with the economy.

And did we mention the unemployment numbers? We'll be back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: It's Twitter.com/RickSanchezCNN. A lot of folks are getting on there right away. You saw me. I posted that question just moments ago. Already getting a bunch of them. Dave, go ahead and show them on that big plasma that we've put in there.

This guy is writing in from Florida. Coffee Grinds says, "not in Florida, but Avalon, New Jersey is getting a ton of rain. All the projectiles are batten down." Let's hope so. I'll go through some more of these as we continue the newscast. I'll look through them during the commercial and I'll be sharing some of them with you.

Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez here in the world headquarters of CNN. Yet another bank is closed. This time it's called Silver State Bank in Nevada. It's the 11th bank nationwide to be shut down by the FDIC so far this year. By the way, Andrew McCain, the son of presidential candidate John McCain, sat on the board of the Silver State Bank and its parent Silver State Bank Corps. He resigned for personal reasons just a couple of weeks ago.

Silver State's branches will reopen Monday as Nevada State Bank in Nevada and National Bank of Arizona in Arizona.

Anytime now, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are going to get some much-needed help from the government. They're the latest in the number of mortgage finance companies struggling under the weight of the slow economy. Reports say that the Treasury Department is ready to finalize plans to try to stabilize them by bringing them under government control. So far, no one is calling this a, quote, takeover. Consequently, this move could cost us tax payers billions of dollars.

Boeing negotiations were a no-go and away went the workers. Nearly 30,000 Boeing machinists decided to strike at exactly 12:01 this morning. They're at an impasse, we understand, over benefits and pay. For you and I, a Boeing strike won't affect our flights, but I'm going to tell you what it does do. It pushes the 900 orders for the new fuel-efficient Dreamliner jets back even further. They're already two years behind the scheduled delivery dates.

The votes are in. Pakistan has a new president. What does it mean for President Bush's war on terror? And who is this guy? We'll tell you. Stay with us. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez, here in the CNN NEWSROOM. We do have some comments already. We've been asking the question, when you get a Category four staring down at you, what do you do? Here's a comment just came in, our first Florida resident, by the way. We've gotten a ton of responses, but not yet from Florida. This one comes in, "Florida resident here. A lot of evac is taking place." That means a lot of people are moving on and moving out. That's good to hear because you don't play with a Category four hurricane. No, you do not.

Let's change subjects and talk about Benazir Bhutto. Benzir Bhutto family member -- now, the widower of Benazir Bhutto, Asif Ali Zardari is Pakistan's new leader. He is replacing former President Pervez Musharraf, who was forced to resign last month.

Now, this is important. Remember how much money the United States has given to Pakistan to help in the war to stop the Taliban and al Qaeda. So Zardari was overwhelmingly voted in, but with his victory came some controversy and violence as well. Let's go to Nic Robertson. He's been filing this report from the streets of Islamabad on what the reaction is there and how it will affect us. Nic?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the celebrations are just beginning for the victory of the now-President Zardari, President Asif Ari Zardari, elected easily by the assembly, by the Senate, by the provincial assembly, as predicted by his party representatives.

But it hasn't been a day without its downturns as well. A suicide bombing in the town of Pesharwa (ph), very close to the border with Afghanistan, close to tribal regions. A suicide bomber tried to drive a car full of explosives through a police checkpoint. Ten policemen killed, other civilians killed as well, more than 50 people wounded in that suicide bombing attack.

But here a sense of celebration. The gun fire we can hear in the background right now, that celebratory gunfire for the victory. Mr. Zardari, now President Zardari is seen by some here as a divisive figure, a man marred with allegation of corruption. He spent 11 and a half years in jail here. He married into the political dynasty, the Bhutto political dynasty, more than 20 years ago. His wife, Benazir Bhutto, was assassinated late last year. He took over the leadership of her party. He's built a strong political coalition to get elected now.

But the government here is a very weak government. The challenges he faces, that the government now faces, the challenge of rising Taliban violence, the falling economy, all of these things face the President Zardari right now and the government. One of the very big and most immediate pressures on him -- here we have some of the electoral posters here celebrating his victory already. But some of the pressures that are going to fall on the new president very quickly, the pressure to hand off powers that fell to the presidency under the leadership of former President Pervez Musharraf, who was forced to step down, the power to dissolve the assembly, the power to appoint the Army and Navy and Air Force chiefs of staff, and the power as well to appoint the four provincial governors.

A lot of pressure now on President Zardari to hand over those key powers. Right now, right here, the celebration relatively small and perhaps that is well reflecting the fact that while President Zardari has been elected by law makers, the population itself quite divided over him, whether or not he can actually deliver what they want: security, security from Taliban attacks, and to turn around the tanking economy.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Islamabad, Pakistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: They're another story we're following, before they debate issues and policy, John McCain and Barack Obama are going to share a platform to mark the seventh anniversary of 9/11. Both presidential candidates say they will come together as Americans, putting political affiliations aside to honor the memory of each and every American who died, and to grieve with the families and the friends who lost loved ones.

A surprise 3:00 a.m. visit, a huge protest, and then suddenly a fight breaks out. This is just the latest in the search for the answers in the case of Caylee Anthony. We're going to be breaking this one down for you and showing you the latest. I'm going to be joined on set by own security expert. He's got a real handle on this, as well.

As we go to the break, one more time with the big board over here, with some of the folks on Twitter who have been writing to me. This guy was impressed with our coverage so far, especially mentioning Haiti. That really doesn't get a lot of play in the general media. "Rick, thanks for reporting on my country Haiti, man. The situation is worse there than anywhere in the world, even before Hanna."

I've got to tell you, I've spent a lot of time in Haiti. I've been there. I've been to Sic du Soleil. I've covered the Babaduq (ph) regime, as well as the Papaduq (ph) regime. We know the situation it's in, and we're going to be keeping a keen eye on it. That's why our correspondent Carl Penhall is on the way. We will let you know what's going on in Haiti, hit now by not one but three storms. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. Talk about a story that's just captivating people's attention. This is Casey Anthony, out of jail once again. She's the mom, by the way, not to be confused with Caylee. It remains to be seen for how long, though.

First, take a look at this. These are people fighting outside the house. This is what this has come to. It's almost like a circus like atmosphere that's developed. This is the house in Orlando. Protesters are out there. They're getting in fist fights with neighbors.

And that's not all. Police now say they've turned up a handgun in the home where Anthony is staying, which would be a violation of her release. But the thing most people care about is where is Anthony's three-year-old daughter Caylee? That's what really this all comes down to. She's been missing now since June. It seems like the entire country wants to know where she is. Why is the mother being so secretive? If your child were missing, wouldn't you be saying everything you possibly could to help authorities find her? Wouldn't you be giving your whereabouts, every cousin, every relative's name?

We're being joined by one of the best, CNN security analyst Mike Brooks, who has been looking into this. Now, I understand -- before we get started on all of that. What's going on with the chloroform?

MIKE BROOKS, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: They found significant -- results from the FBI lab came back and they said they found significant traces of chloroform in the trunk of Casey Anthony's car.

SANCHEZ: Why would that be important?

BROOKS: OK, what have we found so far in the trunk of her car? They say there was human decomposition in the trunk. They found some hair that they believe is Caylee's with some decomposition of the hair. Now we find chloroform.

SANCHEZ: Goodness, that's like a trifecta.

BROOKS: Evidence just keeps mounting and mounting, Rick. Why have chloroform? There's no reason to have that in the trunk of the car.

SANCHEZ: How long did it take this woman to report to police that her daughter was missing?

BROOKS: She said on June 9th she dropped her daughter off at a baby-sitter's house, OK? But then on June 15th, Cindy, her grandmother, had taken Caylee to an old folk's home to visit a relative. That's the last time the grandmother ever saw her alive.

Now, let me just say, Casey has not said one thing to police since day one -- when she was reported missing on July 15th. Since day one, she has not told them anything truthful. On June 9th when she allegedly dropped her off at this apartment complex, she took law enforcement there right after she made the report on the 16th, she took law enforcement there, this is where I dropped her off to a baby sitter. That apartment, Rick, had been vacant for 142 days.

SANCHEZ: Look, you're a cop.

BROOKS: Yeah.

SANCHEZ: It's in your blood. You've done it from a local level, a state level and a federal level. So explain this to me -- if there's circumstantial evidence, if there seems to be questions about her whereabouts, if there seems to be now, as we're talking about physical evidence as well, why is it so -- why are we not seeing a formal charge yet or at least being able to keep her in jail?

BROOKS: The only thing she's been charged with is child neglect, making false statements and obstruction of justice. That's all she's been charged with the first time.

SANHEZ: That does not a murder case make.

BROOKS: No. She's been charged with theft. But now they are -- you know, are they, what, baking her a cake, are they moving toward that? I've always said being Rick, I don't believe if she was involved in this that she was acting alone. That there may be someone else involved in this case.

SANCHEZ: Why do you think this story is so captivating? I'm looking at attention on this from all over the country.

BROOKS: Oh, it's amazing.

SANCHEZ: What is it?

BROOKS: Here you have a seemingly just beautiful little girl.

SANCHEZ: Innocent.

BROOKS: A mother who has lied to police since day one. A grandmother, Cindy, who still says that her had granddaughter is alive. She thinks she's somewhere in either Texas, Mexico or Puerto Rico. But all the evidence and even the commander, Matt Erwin, says all of the evidence so far leads us to believe that Caylee is deceased.

SANCHEZ: It has all the characters, including the person not telling the truth, thereby they're the bad guy in all of this, at least in the eyes of many.

BROOKS: Exactly. Right, right. To be continued.

SANCHEZ: Good to see you.

Let's go back to Jacqui Jeras. Maybe we've got more information about not one, but two storms she's got her hands on.

Jacqui, what have you got?

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We're watching Ike, a category 4 hurricane, a major storm with winds of 135 miles per hour. It's moving west-southwesterly, getting close to Haiti and the Dominican Republic and also Grand Turk Island. They're going to be seeing nasty conditions in the upcoming hours. The forecast track bringing it more westerly by tomorrow, bringing it over or near Cuba. If it moves over land, it will decrease in intensity very significantly. But if it takes more of a northerly track, it will be a stronger storm and be more likely to impact the keys on Tuesday, affecting the northern gulf likely late in the week.

As for Hanna, it's still 50 miles per hour. Hanna is still something to deal with throughout the evening hours from Philadelphia on northward. Watch for strong wind gusts, potential power outages, and some flash flooding to go along with that -- Rick?

SANCHEZ: Thanks so much being Jacqui Jeras joining us on that, following the situation with these storms.

Boy, I'll tell you, if there's any of you out there who are following things for us in the area there where Hanna is going to be making landfall, let us know. Let us know how you're coping, dealing, and if there's any way we can help you out.

What do you do now? If you evacuated Louisiana because of last week's Hurricane Gustav, should you be going back now with Hurricane Ike looming? Interesting question, huh? Guess who's going to be there to talk about this. General Russel Honore, the man.

We'll be back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Let's get back and talk about these storm. You know the gentleman to my right who is faithfully writing notes. General Russel Honore is going to be talking to us about a couple of things.

Dave, look at this one coming in right here. It says -- this had is coming in from Ft. Myers. She says, "Looks like we should be OK here in Ft. Myers, but if you're in the Florida Keys, get out now.

Underscore, General, why that person is right when they say that.

GEN RUSSEL HONORE, CNN ANALYST: Absolutely. You're talking about a category 3 storm, can put the elevation on the Keys is about 4 feet. A category 3 could put a 10 to 14 foot, category 4 up to a 50, 60-foot surge, which means the water overtops the Keys.

SANCHEZ: What that means is there's no land where you could be.

HONORE: Nada. Everything is covered in water. Now, that surge will come in and go back out, but it will be very hard for people to survive unless they're up in elevation. There's not many tall buildings there.

SANCHEZ: If you're on the island, there's no place to go. Listen, a category 4 being we know we talk a lot about all hurricanes being dangerous, but there is a vast and huge difference between a 4 and a 1. HONORE: Absolutely. Destruction, the surge alone. You know, a category 3 surge or a 4 can push water inland, even in southern Florida, up to eight miles.

SANCHEZ: As we saw with Andrew.

HONORE: Absolutely. So the impact of the surge, impact of the wind, it is time for them to leave. I think the people down there are prudent. They've got their decision points, get the visitors out, get all the tourists out, get the elderly out, get those that require medical attention, batten everything down and get off the island.

SANCHEZ: That's the situation with Ike if it were to hit the Florida Keys. Hopefully it won't. Hopefully it will steer away and avoid people in populated areas.

Let's talk about Hanna. Hanna's a different kind of animal because she's not a big storm but enough to be a pest and bother people. What do you say to people who are now along the eastern coast of the United States who are dealing with this thing?

HONORE: Well, flooding. There's going to be a flooding event, localized in low lying are areas. As Hanna goes up the east coast, mountains push water to the ground.

SANHEZ: That's the flash flooding we talked about.

HONORE: That's right and the valleys. People need to be aware, have the weather radio on, listening to tornadoes that might spur off from this. Just keep their awareness and stay out of driving through water. You know, a foot of water can flood an SUV.

SANCHEZ: Better to stay inside.

HONORE: Absolutely.

SANCHEZ: Great to have you here to take us through this stuff. Thank you.

HONORE: See you later.

Let's go to Rob Kurtz on Governor Palin. That's going to be an interesting conversation. It's about CEOs in the United States and what they say about Governor Palin. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: We certainly have all seen the devastation that natural disasters can leave. We've also seen people step up and save lives in the aftermath, people like today's "CNN Hero." So happy to be able to bring you this story. This is a story about a guy named Tom Henderson.

(CNN HERO)

SANCHEZ: And if you want to get involved, all you do is go to CNN.com/heroes. And the most outstanding "CNN Heroes" will be honored at an all-star tribute on Thanksgiving night. You'll see it on CNN.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. Change is the big theme today on the campaign trail. I want you to take a look at some of Senator Barack Obama there in Terra Haute, Indiana, changing his message a little bit. He launched his first direct attack today against Sarah Palin, John McCain's running mate. He said she's suddenly a "champion anti- earmark person" but she's actually accepted federal spending in the past, in fact, to the tune of $27 million for Wasilla, the town where she was mayor.

Senator John McCain, on his end, on point in Colorado Springs talking about the economy and about taxes. In fact, we got some of his message. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My friends, these are tough times. The jobs number is bad. Another reminder that today we're looking at a federal bailout of our home loan agencies. You're worried. You're worried about keeping your job, finding a new one. And you're struggling to put food on the table and stay in your home. All you've ever asked of government is to stand on your side and not in your way. And that's just what I intend to do, stand on your side and fight for your future. I'll keep taxes low. And I'll cut them where I can. My opponent will raise them. My opponent will raise your taxes. I'll open markets to goods and services. My opponent will close them. I'll cut government spending. He'll increase it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Obviously we're committed to giving each candidate equal time here at CNN. Obama's comments will be coming up just ahead. We did record those as well.

Right now I want you to think of the election process strictly as a job interview. Ink Magazine is doing just that, as a matter of fact. Senior editor of ink.com Rod Kurtz is joining us now.

I understand that you guys focused on the Republican party's new star, of course, Sarah Palin, who else?

ROD KURTZ, SENIOR EDITOR, INK MAGAZINE: How are you, rick? It's been quite a week. I mean, forget Hurricane Hanna. We've of Hurricane Sarah passing through the United States this week. It's been unbelievable. I was a political science major in college. I've never seen anything like this.

We did just what you said. We wanted to look at this for both John McCain and Barack Obama making this pick, their number two, is the most important hiring decision either of them would make. And being of course, a lot of scandals started coming, a lot of controversy started coming out after the Palin pick. And questions emerged essentially, how well did John McCain know her? He had only met her, I believe, once before he interviewed her.

We're non-partisan. We don't have a horse in this race. We don't endorse candidates. We want to look at this process. You hear this buzz about executive experience. We rounded up executives and asked them what they thought.

SANCHEZ: And the results?

KURTZ: The results, as far as John McCain as a CEO here, pretty mixed I'd have to say. I mean, we asked these people to look -- we rounded up CEO, and executives, entrepreneurs, recruiting experts. We said, from what you know about this process, did John McCain go about it in the right way, the way you'd go about hiring a senior vice president or somebody really important for your company? They said it struck them as a gut decision, something the old John McCain, the maverick, may have done on a whim. The last thing you want either as a politician or in business is a surprise.

SANCHEZ: Well, and to be fair, they've gotten a surprise, haven't they?

KURTZ: Absolutely.

SANCHEZ: I mean, the -- you hate talking about it, but the fact that her had daughter is with child, the fact that there's been some information, Barack Obama capitalized on today, about some of the earmarks. I think she was mayor of Wasilla for four years and, in that time period -- this is a town of about 7,000 to 9,000 people -- she got $28 million in earmark funds. Now, that's not someone who is not -- who is trying to stop waste of government money, right?

KURTZ: And according to, at least some media reports, the McCain campaign dispatched a team to Alaska after the fact to sort of vet further this pick because this flood, this avalanche, to use an Alaskan term of information...

SANCHEZ: Well, what does that tell you?

KURTZ: I think according to the people we talked to, it's cause for concern.

The reason this is an important issue is because, yes, the president of the United States is commander in chief but, to a lot of people, he's also the chief executive. Again, looking at McCain as a CEO here, the CEOs we talked to said there's no way they would go about it in this manner. I'm actually interviewing intern candidates for the fall, and we generally meet with them more than once. A lot of companies saying this isn't how they would approach it, gives them cause for concern.

SANCHEZ: You're not trying to keep a secret while at the same time you're vetting people.

KURTZ: That's true.

SANCHEZ: I mean, this guy... KURTZ: The interns know we're looking at them.

SANCHEZ: He was up against it. He didn't want anybody in the media or anybody who is in the Republican Party, who was going to pick up the phone and call us at CNN or one of the other networks, to know about this. So, you know, in fairness, it's hard to pull something like that off, you know. Who knows? I guess history will tell us whether it worked well or not as information comes in and really the vetting -- the public vetting process continues.

Rod Kurtz, senior editor of Ink.com. Good to see you. Thanks for being with us.

KURTZ: Good to see you, Rick.

SANCHEZ: Likewise.

So, was Governor Sarah Palin the right choice to be John McCain's running mate? Tonight at 10:00 eastern, we're going to focus on Sarah Palin and bring you special reporting and coverage on this and let you know about the superstar quality of Sarah Palin, and who she was before she got that moniker.

We'll be back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Back to politics, if we may. We heard from John McCain just a little while ago on the campaign trail. Barack Obama is out there today as well. He's taking on John McCain's new running mate, Sarah Palin, for the first time.

Barack Obama told an Indiana crowd, that he, not the Republicans, represents the real change, he says, in this election.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So don't be fooled. These are the folks who have been in charge. John McCain's party, with the help of John McCain, has been in charge. I know the governor of Alaska's been saying she's changed and that's great. She's a skillful politician. But when you've been taking all these earmarks when it's convenient and then suddenly you're the champion anti-earmark person, that's not change. Come on. I mean, words mean something. You can't just make stuff up. You can't just make stuff up. We have a choice to make and the choice is clear.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: You can hear more, by the way, from the candidates this weekend with the return of "CNN's Ballot Bowl," extended excerpts from the campaign trail. The candidates unfiltered in their own words. You can catch "Ballot Bowl" Sunday 4:00 p.m. eastern only at CNN.

As we leave you, go over here to our plasma. Look who's watching TV right now and sending us a twitter, Miles O'Brien, one of the most brilliant people I know. What's that thing he's wearing there? Oh, it's a cap. He's telling us there's terrible weather in Manhattan. He says his doorman, Jesus, says he loves a rainy days though. Can't wait to get home and have some soup.

You go, Miles, O'Brien.

We're going to break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: One man's wake-up call is another's inspiration. Here now, Dr. Sanjay Gupta's "Fit Nation."

(FIT NATION)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: We've got people writing to us right now. They're in Port-au- Prince and they want to know what's going on. At least you're on the backside of the storm, but it's a monster of a storm, folks.

By the way, this show you're watching right here is moving to 3:00 p. m., Monday through Friday. We'll be on just like what we're doing now, talking to you at 3:00 p.m., just before Wolf. We'll see you again tonight.