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Round Two: Presidential Candidates Prep for Debate; Credit Concerns Spread to Europe; Palin Speaks to Supporters at Florida Rally; After Simpson's Guilty Verdict: Ron Goldman's Family Speaks Out
Aired October 06, 2008 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Countdown for the candidates. Less than a month for the election. They are prepping for tomorrow's debate. What you can expect to see.
And the gloomy global market. Credit concerns in Europe as crisis depress investors. More of the same on Wall Street? Or could the clouds break?
It's Monday, October 6th. I'm Heidi Collins. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Bailout fallout. The rescue plan ripples across the world and Wall Street braces for the backlash. Futures are way down, so expect a weak open at the bottom of the hour.
And while you were sleeping, overseas markets tanked. Throughout the night markets across Asia saw losses of 4 percent or more. Numbers also way down in Europe. Investors there showing deep concern as they face their own banking crisis.
The plunge in world markets is pulling down oil prices. They dipped below 90 bucks a barrel this morning. Nearly 40 percent below peak prices back in July.
CNN's money team is here to break it all down for you and your wallet. Adrian Finighan is in London for us this morning and CNN's Christine Romans is in New York.
Let's go ahead and begin with you, Christine. The gloom overseas is certainly casting its long shadows right onto Wall Street. So how do these dips in the world market affect the U.S. stock market?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're looking for stocks to open lower. You've got Dow futures are down some 170 points plus here so far and they've been week all morning, you know. The European markets and the Asian markets, it was their first chance to react to that Senate passage of the bailout bill on Friday. And there are concerns about their own contagion.
This is all about confidence and contagion. The credit market -- the indicators we watched showing that it is still choked up at this hour. And now we're talking about the consumer, the consumer reaction overall, too. You've got a credit market that's frozen up. You've got consumers now who are fearful. Credit is tight. They can't spend the money that they don't have, and they can't get -- borrow money to spend. Job losses are mounting. Food and energy prices have been rising for a year and home values are falling.
And so now even as you have hopefully, hopefully the credit market will start to respond in the next days, you have a consumer that has been watching these headlines and who is heading into a very important spending season and who says, perhaps, listen, I'm going to rein in my spending.
Two-thirds of the economy is driven by the consumer.
COLLINS: Right.
ROMANS: And then it becomes a vicious little cycle. There's one statistics that I think is interesting. Some 87 percent of purchases for the holidays are done on credit. A lot of people are having trouble getting credit.
COLLINS: Sure, out of line.
ROMANS: What is that going to mean? That's absolutely right, Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes. Wow. Oil prices, though, down to their lowest level in eight months. How do you explain all of that, especially when we look at gas prices, too?
ROMANS: I'm going to tell you there's a phrase in the economics textbooks called demand destruction. And what that means is that when you have fears of a global slowdown, when you have fears of a recession in this country, that means that demand for crude and crude oil products will go down and so that the prices go down.
And so you're seeing oil prices now below $90 a barrel for the first time in eight months. So that's good...
COLLINS: Right.
ROMANS: ... because the oil prices are lower, but it's also negative because it means that they're lower because people are so pessimistic about what's going to happen in the economy.
COLLINS: All right. Christine Romans, sure do appreciate that.
ROMANS: You're welcome.
COLLINS: And stay with us, too, because in about 25 minutes we're going to go live to Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange. Of course, CNN's Susan Lisovicz will be there for the opening bell coming up at the bottom of the hour.
For now let's go to London and CNN's Adrian Finighan for the very latest from there. Good morning to you, Adrian.
ADRIAN FINIGHAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Morning, Heidi.
Another extraordinary weekend where we saw a raft of last minute deals to prop up ailing financial institutions across Europe. Shares here have fallen pretty sharply today. London's FTSE down over 6 percent at one point. Not so much a negative response to the Senate passing the U.S. banking bailout plan on Friday, as much as the European government's lack of coordinated action to solve the banking crisis that's spread here that's affecting sentiment.
The government, it seems, are stunned by the changing developments and the pace of them as the markets -- the German government's apparent guarantee for all private bank deposits puts the UK under pressure to follow suit.
I say apparent because for a while it was difficult to clarify exactly what the German government did have planned. It seems Angela Merkel wasn't talking about a -- legislative solution but a political one. Had it been the legislative way, it would have been more trouble for the UK's public purse.
Money held on deposit in the UK running roughly twice that held in German banks. That issue was likely to be top of the agenda as Prime Minister Gordon Brown shared the first meeting of his new national economic council, a sort of war cabinet for the financial times, along with a proposal for the government to buy large stakes in British banks.
We're expecting a statement from the Chancellor Alistair Darling in parliament this afternoon about that. There's a real sense of crisis here in Europe today.
COLLINS: All right. Well, we will be watching for that alongside you as well.
Adrian, thank you. Appreciate it.
Want to go ahead and get a check on the Asian markets as well and we are waiting -- Andrew Stevens, who is in Hong Kong for us this morning.
Good morning to you, Andrew.
ANDREW STEVENS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Heidi.
Well, as Adrian was saying, that sense of crisis certainly being felt thousands of miles away here in Asia. Big falls across the region today. It's really people are looking at what's been happening in the U.S. over the past three or four weeks and now what's happening in Europe and thinking to themselves, where is this going to end and how bad is it going to be?
It's not that people in Asia think that the banks in Asia are going to be hit by the same sort of problems that you've been seeing, but the banks are being hit in Europe and the U.S., and that means the global economy is going to take a hit, and Asia being the engine room of the global manufacturing world, at least...
COLLINS: Sure.
STEVENS: ... is certainly worried about what the impact is going to be here. So you see the big exporting firms right across the region taking big hits today. The commodity stocks taking big hits as well because the price of oil is falling. And that's just signaling to people that the global economy is going too slow.
So the beat of the moment is slowing global economy means bad news for the Asian stock markets and there really is no end in sight yet to these falling markets here in Asia, Heidi.
COLLINS: Well, I think you're right about that. All right, we sure do appreciate it.
Thank you, Andrew.
The nation's banking crisis and the battle for one of its casualties now at the center of it, Wachovia. On either side two rival bitters fighting for control. Citigroup says it will appeal a court ruling that favors Wells Fargo.
Both companies are trying to strike a deal with the troubled bank. Whoever wins control of Wachovia and its 3300 branches would immediately catapult into the top tier of U.S. retail banking.
Next hour on Capitol Hill, Lehman Brothers goes under the microscope. House committee members want to take a closer look at what caused the legendary investment house to go bankrupt and what the effects are today.
The collapse three weeks ago helped trigger alarm over the nation's financial crisis.
Four weeks and counting in the race for the White House. The major party candidates aren't wasting a moment criss-crossing the country in search of votes.
Republican presidential hopeful Senator John McCain stops in Albuquerque, New Mexico, today. His running mate, Governor Sarah Palin, is stumping in Clearwater, Florida this hour.
We're going to be hearing what she has to say.
And Democratic presidential nominee, Senator Barack Obama, in Asheville, North Carolina.
A death in the family will keep Senator Joe Biden off the campaign trail today and tomorrow. Biden's mother-in-law died yesterday in Pennsylvania after a long illness.
Supporters and pundits are heading for Nashville, Tennessee, where the two major party presidential tickets will face off for the second time.
CNN's Jim Acosta is following Senator Obama in Asheville, North Carolina for the moment.
So what's going on there now, Jim? All I can see is a bunch of fog behind you.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Heidi, this is supposed to be a picturesque backdrop behind me. We are nestled in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains here in western North Carolina, and if all this fog weren't behind us, you would be able to see some of that.
But we'll have to work with what we've got this morning, Heidi.
Barack Obama is prepping for tomorrow's presidential debate with John McCain. That is happening in Nashville, not Asheville. But Barack Obama is already finding out what it's like to campaign in the last month of a presidential contest.
It can get very ugly very fast, and over the weekend Sarah Palin launched some verbal grenades at the Illinois senator bringing up his past ties to a '60s radical. Barack Obama in front of a huge crowd in Asheville, North Carolina, here yesterday, about 20,000 people, took Sarah Palin and John McCain to task over that character assault and essentially went after John McCain saying that the Arizona senator is both out of ideas and at this point running out of time making the point that he's doing quite well in this race and that John McCain perhaps, the Illinois senator is saying, is going for the personal attacks as a way to try to bring himself back up in the polls.
But Barack Obama is also talking about the issues. He took an aggressive posture this weekend on the issue of health care, went after John McCain and his plan on health care, calling it a radical approach because Obama says John McCain would like to raise taxes -- to levy taxes on people's health care benefits. That is a charge the McCain campaign is calling a lie.
And -- so you know, we're just 24 hours from this debate, Heidi, and it's getting ugly out here.
COLLINS: All right. CNN's Jim Acosta for us in Asheville, North Carolina. Sure do appreciate that, Jim.
John McCain spent the whole weekend getting in shape, in fact, for round two of the debates.
Dana bash is in Washington for us this morning.
So, Dana, the McCain ticket shifting its strategy a bit?
DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Definitely. You know, we just have to look at the McCain campaign new ad out this morning to get a sense of where they're going in the last 30 days.
This is an ad about some comments that Obama made at a McCain -- that the McCain campaign seized on the issue. It's supposed to be about Afghanistan.
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, CAMPAIGN COMMERCIAL)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Congressional liberals voted repeatedly to cut off funding to our active troops, increasing the risk on their lives. How dangerous. Obama and congressional liberals, too risky for America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Now using those words "dangerous" and "risky' to describe Obama is the kind of thing we're going to hear more and more about for the next 30 days. And here's what it's all about, Heidi.
Given all of the fundamentals against John McCain -- an economic slump, an unpopular president, an unpopular war -- McCain aides always believe their best shot is trying to make undecided voters ask, OK, things might be bad, but do you really trust this newcomer Barack Obama, instead of somebody who's been around for along time?
That is -- the question that the McCain campaign is pushing. That's something that you're hearing Sarah Palin give in just a moment...
COLLINS: Yes.
BASH: ... talking about his association. And you're going to hear John McCain talk about this on the economic side later this afternoon in New Mexico.
COLLINS: OK. Very good, Dana Bash. Thank you.
In fact, we want to go directly live now to Governor Sarah Palin speaking in Clearwater, Florida at a rally there. Let's listen.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ... I know that earlier some of the experts this year were kind of tough on the race. I have been there, but what a difference this season can make, and now the race in the playoffs for the first time ever.
So...
(CHEERS)
PALIN: Florida knows a little something about turning an underdog into a victor, and together that's what we can do.
(CHEERS)
PALIN: How about it, Florida? Let us do that for Senator John McCain.
(CHEERS)
PALIN: So the last time our campaign came to Florida, it was up in the villages, and it was so much fun. Thousands of people out there, golf carts everywhere. We got such a kick out of that. That was cool.
Thousands of people out there to hear our message of reform and positive change, and they came there like you today because the people of Florida are ready to shake things up in Washington. Yes.
(CHEERS)
PALIN: So John McCain and I, we are taking our cause and our case for reform to every voter of every background in every region of America. Whether you're a Republican or a Democrat or an independent, maybe you don't belong to any party at all, we're asking for your vote, and it's going to be a hard-fought contest.
Right here in Florida it's going to be a tough contest. With your support though, we'll win, Florida.
(CHEERS)
PALIN: We'll win for you!
So I had wanted to come here a couple of days earlier, but I had an appointment in St. Louis that just wouldn't wait. So on Thursday night I had a little debate with Senator Joe Biden, and...
(BOOS)
PALIN: Joe is a fine and decent man, he is, and I enjoyed meeting him for the first time, and I was so proud, though, to get to meet -- to make the case for the next president of the United States, John McCain.
(CHEERS)
PALIN: As I explained to Senator Biden, John McCain is the only man in this race who will solve our economic crisis and not exploit it, and he's the only man in this race with a plan that will actually help our working families and cut your taxes and get our economy back on track.
(CHEERS)
PALIN: He's the only man in this race who talks about the wars that America is fighting, and he isn't afraid to use the word victory.
(CHEERS)
PALIN: Our opponents give speech after speech about the wars that America is fighting, and it sure would be nice if just once he'd say that he wants America to win.
(CHEERS) PALIN: See, our opponent voted to cut off funding for our troops even after saying that he would never do so. And he said that our troops in Afghanistan are just, quote, "air raiding villages and killing civilians."
(BOOS)
PALIN: And that's not what our brave men and women in uniform are doing in Afghanistan. The U.S. military is fighting terrorism and protecting us and our values.
(CHEERS)
PALIN: And they're building schools for children in Afghanistan so that there is hope and there is opportunity in that country. That is what our troops are doing, and they deserve our gratitude and they deserve our support.
(CHEERS)
PALIN: See, John McCain is a different kind of man. He believes in our troops and their mission and as the mother of one of those troops, that's exactly the kind of man I want as commander in chief.
(CHEERS)
PALIN: Man, some of your signs just make me want to cry. Thank you so much. I -- you guys.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We love you!
PALIN: Thank you.
(CHEERS)
PALIN: Senator McCain -- Senator McCain served our nation in uniform for 22 years, 5 1/2 years he was a POW. In fact, it was after graduating from the Naval Academy he was stationed right here in Florida. That's where he had learned to do what he does, here in Florida.
(CHEERS)
PALIN: And Florida, it was in your skies that he trained to become a naval aviator, and Senator McCain is proud to have been part of Florida's strong tradition of military service, and today we're proud of all the Floridians who have worn our country's uniform.
Your state is home to millions.
(CHEERS)
PALIN: Florida is home to millions of our veterans and many of our nation's active duty soldiers and airmen, and they continue to keep our nation strong and secure, and I know that here in the audience there are veterans, there are those who are serving today. Would you do me the honor, raise your hand, let us applaud you. Thank you, guys. Thank you so much.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
PALIN: Thank you, guys. Thank you, guys. And we thank you and we love you guys. Thank you -- and gals. Thank you.
Florida, in just 29 days, it will be the time for choosing in this election, and here is how I look at the choice that we face.
In politics, there are some candidates who use change to just promote their careers, and then there are those leaders like John McCain who use their careers to promote change. This is a moment when principles and political independence matter a lot more than just the party line, as Senator Lieberman just told you.
It matters a lot more than just the party line. John McCain is his own man. He doesn't run with the Washington herd, and he and I don't just talk about change. We're the only candidates in this race with a track record of actually making change happen.
(CHEERS)
PALIN: As mayor and as a governor, I reminded people that government is not always the answer. In fact, government too often is the problem. So we got back to basics, and we put government back on the side of the people.
As mayor, I eliminated taxes on personal property, and I eliminated taxes like small business inventory taxes. Those burdens on our small businesses, we got rid of them. Property taxes were too high.
Every year that I was in office, I reduced that mil levy, and as governor I brought the same agenda of positive change on a state level. I came to office promising to control spending, by request if possible, but by veto if necessary, and today our state budget is under control, and we have a surplus.
And I put the veto pen to nearly half a billion dollars in wasteful spending.
(CHEERS)
PALIN: We suspended our state fuel tax and I'm returning a chunk of our surplus money right back to the people of Alaska. It's their money, and they can spend it better than government can spend it for him.
Imagine that. Imagine that. Having that principle, and that's what we're going to bring on a national level also. That principle, knowing that, no, the people, our families, our businesses, they know best, so let them keep more of what they earn and produce and not have this government take trying to, quote, "solve all the problems for our families and our businesses." No, we're not going to do that. I have always known I was accountable to the people who hired me. There it was the people of Alaska and in a McCain/Palin administration, I promise you that we will never forget, that we'll be there in D.C. to work for you, the people of America.
(CHEERS)
PALIN: So one mission of a McCain/Palin administration will be to set this nation firmly on a course of energy independence.
(CHEERS)
PALIN: That's right. Across Florida and all across America, high gas prices, making a full tank at the pump seem like a luxury and the cost of living, of course, is going up, and the cost of grocery is going up, everything is going up. But the value of your paycheck is going down, and that's because of high energy costs.
So to meet America's great energy challenge, we're going to need an all of the above approach, and that in a McCain/Palin administration will mean developing new alternative energy sources, and it will mean requiring to build more nuclear power plants, and in Florida it means alternative sources of energy like wind and solar.
God has so richly blessed you here. Yes.
(CHEERS)
PALIN: Look at these sources of energy here in Florida that are still sitting untapped, and we'll tap into them, along with environmentally friendly offshore production. We do need to drill here and drill now. Now you can chant the drill, baby, drill. Yes.
(CHANTING)
PALIN: Yes. It's as simple as this, Florida. In a McCain/Palin administration, we will achieve energy security for our country. It is a matter of national security and economic prosperity. That means American energy resources brought to you by American ingenuity and produced by American workers.
(CHEERS)
PALIN: And we're also going to bring tax relief to every American and cut taxes for businesses so you business owners, you can hire more people. That's how jobs are created.
(CHEERS)
PALIN: Here again, John McCain is the real reformer. In this election he is the real reformer, and he can do this, and he has a record to prove it, and so do I, as a mayor, as a governor who cut taxes for the people of Alaska, and, you know, in this campaign, in this election, I think the phoniest claim in a campaign that's been full of them is that Barack Obama is going to cut your taxes? I mean, think about it. He's built his whole career on doling out tax money, first as a Chicago politician, and then raising taxes as a senator. He's voted 94 times to raise taxes.
(BOOS)
PALIN: Even on middle class, everyday working Americans making $42,000 a year, voted to raise those taxes, and he tried to waste $1 million a day just on his requested earmarks, and now he's committed to almost $1 trillion in new government spending, and yet he never bothers to explain where all that's going to come from to pay for all of that, and doggone it, no one seems to be asking him how is he going to pay for the huge government growth that he wants?
No one is asking him? So you all just do the math. Either do the math or just go with your gut, and either way you're going to come up with the same conclusion -- Barack Obama is going to raise your taxes. So there's a pattern here of a left-wing agenda that is packaged and prettied up to look mainstream policies, and everybody knows that this country has got to be put back on the right track.
But the problem with our opponent's agenda is that higher taxes and bigger government and activist course and retreat in war, that's not the right track for our country. That's another dead end.
We have that plan to put our country back on the right track. OK, now, Florida, evidently, there's some interest in what I have been reading lately, and I think that this comes from -- it's a result of probably a less than successful interview that I had recently with kind of mainstream media.
(BOOS)
PALIN: No, no, no. You know what? In response to critics after that interview, what I should have told them was I was just trying to keep Tina Fey in business, just giving her more information.
(CHEERS)
PALIN: Job security for "SNL" characters. All right.
Really in that interview, I was just getting really impatient because I was so convinced that Americans want to hear about the issues that are so important in your life, how to win the war, how get the economy back on track, public education, accountability in our schools, more choices for our parents with education, those things.
So I do have to apologize, though, for being a little bit impatient, a little bit annoyed. But anyway, so one of the questions about, well, what do I read everyday, and my answer was sort of flippant.
Well, I was reading my copy of the "New York Times" the other day, OK? And I knew you guys would react that way, OK. So I'm reading "The New York Times" though, and I was really interested to read about Barack's friends from Chicago at the "New York Times" today.
Now it turns out one of his earliest supporters is a man named Bill Ayers.
(BOOS)
PALIN: And according to "The New York Times," he was a domestic terrorist and part of a group that, quote, "launched a campaign of bombings that would target the Pentagon and our U.S. Capitol."
And then there's even more to the story. Barack Obama says that Ayers was just someone in the neighborhood, but that's less than truthful. His own top advisers said that they were, quote, "certainly friendly."
In fact, Obama held one of his first meetings of his political career in Bill Ayers' living room, and they worked together on various projects in Chicago, and, you know, these are the same guys who think that patriotism is paying higher taxes.
Remember, that's what Joe Biden had said, and I am just so fearful that this is not a man who sees America the way that you and I see America, as the greatest source for good in this world. I'm afraid this is someone who sees America as imperfect enough to work with a former domestic terrorist who had targeted his own country.
This, ladies and gentlemen, has nothing to do with the kind of change that anyone can believe in, not my kids, not for your kids. What we believe in is what Ronald Reagan believed in, and that is America is an exceptional nation.
(CHEERS)
PALIN: USA!
(CHANTING)
PALIN: Remember Ronald Reagan used to talk about America being that shining city on a hill for all mankind to see, and that America is a good and honorable nation.
We are not a perfect nation, but we learn from our mistakes, and individually, no, we are not perfect, but collectively, together, America represents a perfect ideal. It's freedom. It's tolerance. It's respect for equal rights.
It is those things that our military men and women have fought and died for, and freedom is worth fighting for.
(CHEERS)
PALIN: So look at the contrast. On November 4th, you'll have that choice, the contrast. The only man who can take on Washington is Senator John McCain.
(CHEERS) PALIN: OK. So Florida, you know that you're going to have to hang on to your hats because from now until Election Day, it may get kind of rough.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's all right.
PALIN: That is all right. You're going to hear our opponents still go on and on about how they're going to fight for you. But since he won't say it on his own behalf, I have had to kind of make it my business to say it for him.
There is only one man in this campaign who has ever really fought for you.
(CHEERS)
PALIN: He has the courage to go on fighting for you. That man is John McCain, so God bless you for supporting John McCain.
(CHEERS)
PALIN: Thank you, Florida. God bless you and God bless America. Thank you.
COLLINS: Governor Sarah Palin at a rally in Clearwater, Florida. As you can see there, a lot of support and a whole lot of pom pom waving going on right there.
We are going to be hearing a little bit later on from the Obama camp. Hear a little bit more about all the jabs that have been going on. So we'll bring that to you in just a couple of seconds. Stick around, everybody.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: All right. The opening bell just a little while ago this morning, Monday, October 6th.
As you know, on Friday, we were down triple digits, but not by this much. Right now, straight out of the gate, Dow Jones Industrial Average is down about 233 points. We did expect a bit of a low open.
Everyone is watching this very, very closely, certainly, because of the world stock market -- global markets. We're going to be talking a little bit more about that and the shape that every country is in right now.
Meanwhile, just a few minutes ago we were listening to Governor Sarah Palin, Clearwater, Florida, the rally that she has there. As you know there's a lot of attack ads going on back and forth, and statements being made.
So we wanted to fair and make sure that we bring on a Barack Obama spokesman as well. We have, standing by on the line with us, Bill Burton. He's actually the national spokesperson for the Obama campaign. Bill, if you can hear me OK, were you able to hear any of Governor Sarah Palin's rally that was happening in Florida just a few moments ago?
BILL BURTON, OBAMA CAMPAIGN SPOKESMAN: I sure did, Heidi, and thanks for having me on. I appreciate the opportunity to respond.
It was most interesting to hear launch her -- her new set of attacks on Barack Obama, and it fit in with what I read in the "New York Daily News" this morning, reported by Tom DeFrank. A top strategist from the McCain campaign saying, and I quote, "If we keep talking about the economic crisis we're going to lose."
Well, it may be easy for the McCain campaign to not talk about the economic crisis, but it's something real that's happening in people's lives, and throughout the end of this campaign, we're going to keep talking about the economy and make sure that voters know the real choice here when it comes to who can be a strong leader in this time of economic peril for the middle class.
COLLINS: What exactly does your candidate think should be happening, specifically today when we're talking about the world markets? And I'm sure you heard me just report a few minutes ago, obviously, the Dow is down here in this country and the world markets are suffering.
BURTON: It's, obviously, very troubling. And what Senator Obama thinks we need to do is get a second stimulus in place so that we can give middle class families a tax cut immediately to help reinvigorate the economy, help create jobs, and help get the economy moving forward again.
You know, the stagnation that we've seen in wages and the raising of health care costs and energy costs has been a real problem for the middle class, and so what Senator Obama wants to do is make sure that we get help to the middle class right away and make sure that folks have the relief they need so that we can, A, help those families, and B, keep the economy strong.
COLLINS: Yes. I mean we've been talking with a lot of people, quite frankly, who do want to hear about the economy. They do want to hear about their money.
We have heard from both of the campaigns about what their candidates want to be doing. Are you saying that because of some of these attacks that happened over the weekend that Barack Obama's campaign will be launching zero attacks? We're not going to see any more of this up until November 4th?
BURTON: I think you're going to see our campaign continue to make the contrast with Senator McCain's campaign on who's the better leader when it comes to the economy.
Are there issue that relate to that that we think speak to Senator McCain and his past and his plans for the future? Sure. Like, for example, we're going to be putting a new documentary on our Web site at noon, Eastern, today.
It's called -- the Web site is called "Keating Economics," and it's going to help to educate voters a little about the last economic crisis that we had in our country, the savings and loan scandal, John McCain's relationship to Charles Keating, the central figure in that scandal, and how it was that he was rebuked.
And so, you know, we just want to make sure that voters know the facts and are armed with the truth when they're making the decision of who would be the best person to be the steward for our economy going forward.
COLLINS: Has the McCain campaign put out mistruths?
BURTON: Oh, absolutely. Every day we see a new false attack from the McCain campaign, be it on, you know, some ad homonym character assault or on tax increases. You know they use some statistic on Senator Obama and tax increases.
Well, I tell you what, if you use their same rationalizing, John McCain has raised -- has voted to raise taxes on the American people almost 500 times.
Now, you know, we think that that's a phony way to calculate that statistic.
COLLINS: That would be hard, yes.
BURTON: Right. But that's exactly what they're doing. But what we think that is important to the American people is that they know that when it comes down to the choice in the economy, Senator Obama wants to get help to the middle class right away through a second stimulus, through tax cuts, through help on health care and energy costs, and with John McCain, he wants to get tax cuts to corporations and to the wealthiest Americans and...
COLLINS: And yet the other team...
BURTON: ... leave the 101 million American behind.
COLLINS: Yes, and the other team says that all we're going to have are tax increases with Senator Barack Obama. So the American people are left to, as always, decide for themselves.
We sure wanted to give you some equal time here because Senator Barack Obama does not have an event today, so that's why we invited you on, and, Bill, we certainly do appreciate your time.
Bill Burton...
BURTON: Heidi, thanks a lot.
COLLINS: ... national spokesperson from the Obama campaign.
Well, she created those unforgettable "Sex and the City" characters. Candace Bushnell now is here to talk about her new book. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: In these tough economic times, many retired people are feeling the pinch and deciding to cash in on their homes using something called a reverse mortgage.
Christine Romans explains an advice that's "Right on Your Money."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS (voice over): The AARP says nearly 60 percent of its members are having a harder time paying for basics like groceries and medicine.
Personal finance expert, Eric Tyson, says that's why reverse mortgages are so appealing.
ERIC TYSON, "PERSONAL FINANCE FOR DUMMIES": They are filling a need in the marketplace because there are seniors who get the retirement and that are house rich and cash poor.
ROMANS: Reverse mortgages let homeowners 62 or older tap a portion of their equity in monthly or lump sum payments. The loan does not have to be paid off until the home is sold.
TYSON: It can make the different between, you know, being able to do repairs on the home or, you know, do some traveling or meet other out-of-pocket expenses that otherwise a senior might not be able to pay.
ROMANS: The government reports reverse mortgages more than doubled from 2001 to 2005 thanks to the housing relief bill. They're expected to get even more popular. The new law caps origination fees and increases the maximum eligible home value for FHA insured reverse mortgages.
Still, Tyson warns these loans should be considered a last resort.
TYSON: If you end up only using the reverse mortgage for a few years and then selling the home fairly quickly, the effective interest rate that you're going to pay could easily be a double-digit rate.
ROMANS: Christine Romans, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Well, first, it was "Sex and the City," then "Lipstick Jungle." Author Candace Bushnell now has a way with turning New York women into entertainment icons. Her new book is called, "One Fifth Avenue," and she is here with us in the studio today.
Good morning to you. Thanks for being here.
CANDACE BUSHNELL, AUTHOR, "ONE FIFTH AVENUE": Good morning.
COLLINS: There's been a lot of excitement about the movie, about the series, and now a new book. Tell us a little bit about it.
BUSHNELL: Well, it's about a cast of characters in New York City, women ranging from the 22-year-old who comes to New York looking for -- looking for love and an apartment.
And...
COLLINS: Because that is really, really hard to find there.
BUSHNELL: Because that is really hard -- hard to find, and she has some fantasies about it. She quickly learns that it isn't -- it isn't all what it seems, and then there's a 30-something woman who is the wife of a hedge fund manager.
So the book is very contemporary.
COLLINS: Yes, very (INAUDIBLE)
BUSHNELL: Luckily he gets done in at the end which I think everybody is pretty -- will be pretty happy about, and then there's a 40-something woman who is a blogger. She starts to blog, and she realizes that she's been doing everything, and she is sick and tired of it. She's bitter as hell. She's not going to take it anymore.
When she asks her husband to get her toilet paper, he asks her if she can make a list. So I think that women will identify with this character, and then there's a woman in her late 40s who is an actress, who moves back to New York to find her career and find love, and then there's an 83-year-old gossip columnist who knows everything about the building and about everyone in it.
COLLINS: Well, that was an excellent tease. We should get you to start to write some of these for us.
Yes, has it surprised you how people have really started to identify with your characters? I mean, you have a bar that is set very high now when you go into new projects. Do you think about that or do you just kind of go with your thoughts?
BUSHNELL: You know, I always try to write the best book that I can write and -- I'm very much in the moment kind of a person, and I always have new ideas, and, you know, I just do the best job on what's in front of my plate, which is -- or what's on my plate which is -- the advice that I give to young women.
Just, you know, be the best at what you're doing right at the moment. You don't know what's going to happen in the future. So...
COLLINS: That's for sure.
BUSHNELL: You know, so "One Fifth Avenue" I loved writing and it's -- it's a fantastic read, and really, really fun. Even touches on the, you know, mortgage crisis.
COLLINS: Yes. BUSHNELL: And, you know, all the shoes and -- clothes are in there, but bloggers and the Internet and, you know, the stock market is in there as well.
COLLINS: Are we going to see a movie out of this? Just pushing forward a little bit?
BUSHNELL: I -- don't know. It's just too soon.
COLLINS: I know. I was trying to get some inside scoop with you.
All right, Candace, we sure do appreciate it. The book is "One Fifth Avenue" and we sure do appreciate your time.
Best of luck to you.
BUSHNELL: Thank you.
COLLINS: Thank you.
More global financial fallout. Concerns for Europe and credit affecting world markets. We're going to be checking on Wall Street with Susan Lisovicz coming up in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Heads up if you plan to vote November 4th. You could be running out of time to register. Check out the math now. Deadlines are set this week in 24 states and the District of Colombia.
That big yellow block that you're looking at highlights states where registration ends today. Among them, the highly contested state of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Florida.
Only one day to go before the second Obama/McCain match-up. And this time it will be held in Nashville, Tennessee at a private liberal arts university.
Reporter Deanna Lambert with affiliate WSMB takes us behind the scenes at Belmont.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TERESA CLARK, STUDENT: Yesterday I had to sign in in order to go on campus.
DEANNA LAMBERT, WSMB REPORTER (voice over): Teresa Clark lives on Belmont's campus and is adjusting to sharing it with her new neighbors.
Thousands of neighbors that require 60 miles of wire just to hook up phone and Internet to the massive media tent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 250,000 feet in the media tent alone, then we've got the parking lot and the studios outside here. LAMBERT: All to make sure the millions watching at home can see.
(On camera): This is where all the action will take place Tuesday. As you can see now, workers are still building the set where John McCain and Barack Obama will square off Tuesday.
As for the total number of people that will fill up this room, that will not be known until construction is complete.
PETER EYRE, COMMISSION ON PRES. DEBATES: And we know what the sight lines will be from every seat. We won't have a total number of tickets until really the very last minute.
LAMBERT (voice over): Now we're almost down to the final minute before an idea that started seven years ago.
DR. BOB FISHER, PRESIDENT, BELMONT UNIVERSITY: Well, the idea for the debate really began right about here when it was a parking lot, standing here with my Curb and we just began talking about what might happen in the Curb Event Center some day.
And one of the scenarios was imagined like you turn on your television and they say live from the Curb Event Center with the presidential debate.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Tune into the debate right here on CNN. We're front and center from Belmont University in Nashville with the best political team on television.
Opening bell on Wall Street. Will investors have that sinking feeling? Kind of looks like it. CNN's Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with more on this.
All right, Susan, so today we're expecting a downturn of a bit. And we certainly saw it in the Asian markets and other global markets as well.
SUSAN LISOVICZ CNN CORRESPONDENT: No question about it. What goes around literally comes around on Wall Street today.
You know, Heidi, we're coming off the worst week on Wall Street since the terror attacks of 9/11. But now you know, one of the -- well, actually a number of traders told me on Friday after that legislation was passed on Friday, everybody said we can focus on the fundamentals, OK, what the U.S. economy is doing, the status of the credit crunch.
Well, the fundamentals are lousy. And that's what the market is focusing on. Credit market remains nearly frozen. And you're seeing its play out. Asian markets plunged, as you mentioned. Europe indices are now down 4 to 5 percent each.
Russia's trading was halted repeatedly. We just got a report on the last 15 minutes that Brazil's stock market was halted because of losses of 10 percent or more.
That's the kind of fear that goes around. That's how connected we are. There's a lot of headlines. A lot of scrambling to try to fix this. The German government agreed on a nearly $70 billion bailout for big lender and real estate.
The French bank, BNP Paribas, agreed to acquire -- 75 percent stake in Fortis, a big Belgian bank. Meanwhile, Germany, Ireland, Greece also said they would guarantee bank deposits.
Of course, the U.S. continues to pump liquidity into the system. The Feds, this morning, says it will increase the amount of money it loans to banks by billions of dollars.
Several Fed presidents are set to speak on the economy today. Of course, we'll be listening to that today.
And, you know, we're also watching oil prices. You know, this is one good thing. Heidi, this is sort of like this -- an extra stimulus check. Oil right now is down more than -- $2.50, trading just above $91 a barrel. That will eventually trickle down to us.
COLLINS: Yes.
LISOVICZ: And that is something that we can all use.
In the meantime, there it is again. The big board. The blue chips right now down nearly 250 points -- 240 points, or that's 2 1/3 percent. The NASDAQ's down 3, the broader S&P 500 is down, 2 1/2 percent.
I'm going to mention this, that one of the traders this morning had the Dow 10,000 cap on. Now I remember when those caps were passed out, and those were very different times.
COLLINS: Yes.
LISOVICZ: It was a time of celebration, a big bowl market. The Dow could hit 10,000 again. First reached that milestone in March of 1999.
COLLINS: All right, Susan. We're watching and hoping it doesn't happen.
All right, Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange today.
Want to get to this story now. O.J. Simpson convicted of robbery 13 years after acquittal on murder. Ron Goldman's family is joining us with their reaction.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: O.J. Simpson waking up this morning in a Nevada jail. He could face life in prison after being convicted over the weekend on charges stemming from a hotel room confrontation that happened last year. Jurors, meantime, are giving rare insight into their decision. Several of them said they were convinced by audio tapes and surveillance camera footage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE RENEE LYONS, JUROR: The thing that really clinched it for me and I think for a lot of other people was he drove the car. He came out of that room with items that did not belong to him. He let people put these items into his car. He transferred these items from his car to another car and continued to lie to conceal the entire crime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: It has been 13 years since O.J. Simpson's other trial when he was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman. The past few weeks have been emotional for the Goldman family, as you would imagine.
Joining us now from New York, Ron Goldman's father, Fred Goldman, and his sister, Kim.
Welcome to you both. Thank you for being here.
FRED GOLDMAN, RON GOLDMAN'S FATHER: Thank you.
KIM GOLDMAN, RON GOLDMAN'S SISTER: Thank you.
COLLINS: I want to begin by getting your reaction to some of the sound from the other side, meaning O.J. Simpson's side, if you'll listen with me for just a moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YALE GALANTER, O.J. SIMPSON ATTORNEY: From the beginning my biggest concern, and I told you this probably the day after Mr. Simpson was arrested, was whether or not jurors would be able to separate their very strong feelings about Mr. Simpson and judge, you know, him fairly, equally and honestly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Fred, to the people out there who may say that, yes, this really wasn't fair, they couldn't get the first trial, the first incident, out of their minds in order to judge him fairly on this.
F. GOLDMAN: Well, you know what, I -- there's always a sense that unless it goes his way, it's unfair. In the first trial, you know, he was found not guilty. And then it was OK.
Now when it goes against him, then it's unfair. I'm sorry, this is the system, and we all have to live with it. And unfortunately, in this case, or fortunately, as far as I'm concerned, he's found guilty and maybe he'll spend the rest of his life in jail. COLLINS: Kim, when you heard the news that that was a possibility -- of course, reminding everybody that the sentencing will be December 5th in Las Vegas. We don't know exactly what's going to happen. But it is true, as you well know, that he could get life in prison for this.
What was your reaction?
K. GOLDMAN: You know, I -- elation. I mean I absolutely feel that my father and I, in our pursuit of him for the last 13 years, helped push him over the edge. And I think that we're pretty confident that we had a hand in that.
And that's where he belongs. He got away with murder. And that's truly unfortunate. And it didn't stop him from thinking that he could commit other crimes. And this time he finally got caught. And hopefully, you know, he'll spend the time for that.
COLLINS: How is the rest of the family doing? We haven't talked with you guys for quite some time. And I just wonder when you watch all of this go down, particularly with the timing of it, 13 years after, to the day, I just wonder how everyone is doing -- Fred?
F. GOLDMAN: Well, I think we're all elated that this guy is going to be in jail where he belongs. And 13 -- the number 13 now will perhaps be a lucky number for us, and be an unlucky number for him. And hopefully he'll spend lots of time in jail.
COLLINS: All right, we-- go ahead, Kim.
K. GOLDMAN: No, I was just going to say I was able to tell my 5- year-old son what happened and tell him how proud that my father and I were that this day had come and that we can feel a little bit safer that somebody is off the streets that hurts people.
COLLINS: Well, we sure do appreciate you guys being with us today.
Fred and Kim Goldman, thanks so much. And again, we'll be watching...
F. GOLDMAN: Thank you.
COLLINS: ... for that sentencing to take place...
K. GOLDMAN: Thank you.
COLLINS: ... December 5th in Las Vegas.
First Monday in October. This hour, the Supreme Court begins a new session. We check the key cases on their dockets.
And financial boomerang. U.S. crisis impacts world markets. Now Wall Street feeling Europe's pain.
It is Monday, October 6th. I'm Heidi Collins. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
