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Bailout Bonanza for Homeowners; State of Play in Florida; Attacking Obama: McCain Ties Rival to 'PLO Spokesman'
Aired October 30, 2008 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, everyone. I'm Tony Harris, and here are the headlines from CNN for Tuesday, October 30th.
A bailout bonanza for homeowners. Are you next in line for a little help from Uncle Sam?
Five days until Election Day in the United States, but expats are voting right now in the Middle East. We will take you to Jerusalem for a live report.
Also...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm the chief organizer. I'm the woman in charge. The buck stops here.
You and I together, OK? I'm the woman. I'm right here for you.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Be right there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Never mind. ACORN, criticized for some faulty voter registration lists, pulls the welcome mat on Drew Griffin's investigation.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Another installment of the big bailout in the works. A senior administration official says some homeowners are at risk of foreclosure could be next in line for help.
CNN Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis joins us now from New York.
And Gerri, if you would, give us a bit of an update on this plan that's being discussed.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Well, Tony, here's the details.
Keep in mind this plan is still on the table. It's not a done deal. Not by a long shot. But here's what's being talked about.
First of all, the government, the FDIC, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, would guarantee $500 billion in mortgage loans, these toxic loans that we've been talking about for so many months that have given homeowners such a headache, forcing some people to actually lose their homes. It could help, this plan, up to three million struggling homeowners.
It's going to cost about $50 billion. That's what our sources are telling us. That money would come out of the $700 billion financial bailout bill that we've talked so much about.
And so this is what's on the table right now. And, in fact, in front of the Joint Economic Committee, the Senate Joint Economic Committee this morning, Nouriel Roubini, a very well-known economist from the Sterns School of Business at New York University, speaking about what's going on with the economy right now. He's very well regarded because he called this whole mess. He said the risks of not doing something else are very, very high, indeed.
Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NOURIEL ROUBINI, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY: If we don't support Main Street, whatever we do to support Wall Street is going to be undone. Therefore, we have to do both things. And until now we spent $2 trillion ahead of us for Wall Street, and have done close to nothing for Main Street, for real America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIS: So, what Nouriel is saying there essentially is that if you do nothing now to help out Main Street -- and that's been the main criticism of what the administration has done -- that you risk wasting the money that we've already spent, this $700 billion bailout, the $300 billion bailout bill, because people will start defaulting and going into foreclosure all over again, another cycle of despair.
HARRIS: It's an idea of good money after bad.
WILLIS: That's right.
HARRIS: Yes.
WILLIS: Yes, that's right. So he says there are big consequences, but I have to tell you, the administration put out a statement this morning saying we are not signed on to this plan, not yet. I want to read you what they had to say this morning.
HARRIS: That's right.
WILLIS: Interesting response here.
They say, "We've been reviewing a number of housing proposals for some time. No decisions have been made on any of them. Any inference that we're nearing a decision on any one of these is wrong. The administration, including HUD" -- that's the Department of Housing and Urban Development -- "will continue to do our work and analysis on the various proposals." And that from the White House spokesman.
So, you know, it's on the table.
HARRIS: Yes.
WILLIS: Conversations are being had. It's being led by the FDIC. Sheila Bair there has been very outspoken saying more needs to be done to help Main Street to get housing prices on line, because let's face it, that has been the start of this whole economic tsunami.
HARRIS: There you go.
WILLIS: The housing market falling apart. A floor under those housing prices, she believes, would be something that could really start to turn things around in a fundamental way -- Tony.
HARRIS: Very good. Very good. All right, Gerri. Thank you.
WILLIS: My pleasure.
HARRIS: And for more on the financial crisis, just go to CNNMoney.com.
Barnstorming the battleground states. With just five days left, the presidential candidates are concentrating on key territory.
John McCain held a rally earlier today in Defiance, Ohio. He makes another stop in Ohio next hour.
Barack Obama on the trail in Florida. He rallied supporters in Sarasota last hour. And later today Obama heads for another crucial battleground state. That's Virginia.
The best political team on television is covering the candidates.
Let's go live now to Suzanne Malveaux in Sarasota, Florida.
Suzanne, Barack Obama just wrapped up a rally in Sarasota. What is the state of play there in Florida?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Tony, you know, Florida means a lot to Barack Obama. This really could put him in the White House, or not.
You take a look at that I-4 Corridor, central Florida, about 12 counties or so that could determine this race. He is in Sarasota County, Florida. The reason why very interesting.
Forty-five percent of the voters here are Republican, 33 percent Democratic. But take a look at the early voting numbers. Democrats outnumber Republicans by about 1,000 or so. That being the latest figure from state officials, from county officials.
They have not supported a Democratic presidential candidate since 1944, but if you take a look at those numbers, if those numbers continue to trend the way they are, then essentially Barack Obama could have this area. He could have Florida. He could have the White House.
So the idea now is, Barack Obama shows up, the voters will show up. That was his message today, to simply vote early, get out, bring your friends. They are hoping, hoping that they can get this particular area and that that could do it for him -- Tony.
HARRIS: Suzanne, if we could, let's turn back the hands of time just a bit to last night. Thirty minutes of air time for an Obama infomercial on some of the major networks.
What are you hearing about that telecast?
MALVEAUX: Some people are calling it an Obamamercial, Tony.
HARRIS: Yes.
MALVEAUX: It really was kind of an extraordinary thing that happened last night. A lot of people we talked to, they said that they actually did watch last night, 30 minutes or so. Covering the campaign for the last 12 months, I can't tell you there was anything really new in the message, but it really was the delivery, the tone, it was very conversational.
He was the narrator of some vignettes talking about families and how they struggled. You would have thought perhaps they lived right down the street from Barack Obama the way he was expressing himself, but the idea behind it was to present a sense of calm, but also sound presidential.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: As president, here's what I'll do: cut taxes for every working family making less than $200,000 a year; give businesses a tax credit for every new employee that they hire right here in the U.S. over the next two years; and eliminate tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas; help homeowners who are making a good-faith effort to pay their mortgages by freezing foreclosures for 90 days. And just like after 9/11, we'll provide low-cost loans to help small businesses pay their workers and keep their doors open.
None of that grows government. It grows the economy and keeps people on the job. This is what we can do right now to restore fairness to the American economy and fulfill our commitment to the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: So, Tony, the idea was for Barack Obama to sound empathetic, reassuring, to counter what John McCain has been trying to portray him as, distant, or risky, that type of thing. What was also striking, Tony, in this 30 minutes was, not a word of John McCain, not an image of John McCain.
Essentially, the message being here is that this is a message post- election. They've gotten beyond John McCain. That Obama not only wants to appear presidential, but he wants people to think, hey, I'm the president, this is how I would approach these problems. And he went directly to the voters. That was the idea behind that message -- Tony.
HARRIS: And you've got a couple knuckleheads behind you there, Suzanne. We're going to let you go because we know you've got to get to Virginia for the next stop for Barack Obama.
Suzanne Malveaux for us in Sarasota, Florida.
The McCain campaign focusing on a new attack. This time the campaign is accusing the "Los Angeles Times" of suppressing an important videotape. It shows Barack Obama at a 2003 banquet with a man who McCain calls a spokesman for the Palestine Liberation Organization, the PLO.
McCain went on Miami radio to demand the tape be made public.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I guarantee you, if there was a tape with me and Sarah Palin and some Neo Nazi or one of those, do you think that that tape wouldn't be made public?
(END AUDIO CLIP)
HARRIS: Well, McCain also raised questions about that tape on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE."
Our Tom Foreman decided to do some fact-checking.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The PLO has of course long been tied to past terrorist attacks against Israel. And McCain was raising questions in an interview with CNN's Larry King.
MCCAIN: Frankly, I have been in a lot of political campaigns, a whole lot. I have never seen anything like this, where a major media outlet has information and a tape of some occasion. Maybe it means nothing. Maybe it is just a social event. I don't know. But why should they not release it?
FOREMAN: The "Los Angeles Times" says, look, we reported back in April that people at that banquet spoke against Israel, against American policy, and that Obama called for Palestinians and Israelis to find common ground.
Furthermore, the paper says it got the tape from a confidential source on the condition that it not be released to the public. The Obama campaign says Khalidi is not a political ally. They were both neighbors and professors at the University of Chicago. But Obama says he stands firmly with Israel and often disagreed with Khalidi about the Middle East.
Khalidi told "The Washington Times" in 2004, as a professor, he spoke to news reporters about the PLO, but never for the group.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Tom Foreman says bottom line, unless McCain has some evidence he is not rolling out some of what he is hinting at is misleading, the rest appears to be flat-out false.
We should also note some liberal bloggers are trying to link McCain to Khalidi because a group McCain was involved with funded research about Palestinian's (INAUDIBLE) company once connected to Khalidi. Four men confirmed such a deal but says suggestions that McCain and Khalidi have any relationship also appears to be flat-out false.
Ballots are coming in from all over the world for the U.S. presidential election. Lots of them. How about more than 40,000 registered in Israel?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And this just in. A judge has denied Michael Vick's request -- Michael Vick, formerly of the Atlanta Falcons -- his request to enter a guilty plea to state dogfighting charges by video conference. And the judge has ordered him to appear in person on November 25th to answer to those state charges.
We will keep you posted on this story.
Americans abroad eager to cast ballots in this election. Israel has a huge population of U.S. citizens. They've been lining up at a makeshift polling station all throughout Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem, in fact.
Our Paula Hancocks is live in Jerusalem.
Paula, good to see you.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello there, Tony.
Well, certainly we know that Barack Obama and John McCain came here to campaign in Israel. They understand how important this Israeli- American vote can be, especially when you consider that some estimates say almost a quarter of all American overseas voters live right here.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HANCOCKS (voice-over): This is one way to get the youth of today voting -- set up a polling station in a bar. The Brainwaver (ph) owner David Cohen (ph), who says this U.S. election is the most important he can remember.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the person at the helm of the ship is going to be making some very, very important decisions.
HANCOCKS: So what are the decision that matters most for Americans in Israel?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Foreign policy and security, which go hand in hand.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Israel very much needs a president that has a little more credibility to push a peace process forward, instead of continuing the policies of the Bush administration, which did nothing for the country.
HANCOCKS: Nonpartisan group Vote from Israel is helping promote absentee voting and is predicting a record number of ballots.
(on camera): It feels like Election Day already at this polling station in Jerusalem. Officials here say that of 125,000 Israeli- Americans who are eligible to vote, some 42,000 have registered to vote. That's a higher percentage that in any other country outside the U.S.
(voice-over): Organizers tell us the demographic of these voters could be crucial.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In Israel, we have Americans from Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania. Very crucial swing states in the last couple of elections that have determined the election.
HANCOCKS: In an exit poll for this night's voting, unscientific even by exit poll standards, some 800 people surveyed, the vast majority from Jerusalem, the vast majority religious.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who did you vote for? Seventy-six percent John McCain, 24 percent Barack Obama.
HANCOCKS: Suggesting the more observant Jews here favor McCain.
And here in Israel, the American economy is not the number one issue.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So over here, where national security continues to be imperative, McCain has an overwhelming majority.
HANCOCKS: A mirror image of expected votes in the U.S. The latest gap Gallup polls gives Barack Obama 74 percent of the Jewish vote.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HANCOCKS: And, of course, the number one vote over here is always security. How good a friend will the next U.S. president be to Israel? What will they do as regards to Iran? And will they be able to help Israel hammer out a peace deal with the Palestinians?
Tony.
HARRIS: Paula, good to see you.
Paula Hancocks live in Jerusalem for us.
You know, it is coming down to a state-by-state slugfest. And we will have some new poll results from crucial states at the bottom of the hour.
And how do you save on gas? Maybe you need a driving coach.
Poppy Harlow will have our "Energy Fix." That's next in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: You know, driving, we're told, is getting more competitive. But instead of competing for speed, many are trying to win the battle for fuel efficiency. Makes all the sense in the world here.
CNNMoney.com's Poppy Harlow has our "Energy Fix" from New York.
Hi, Poppy.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Hey there, Tony.
Yes, not really the need for speed anymore. It's all about saving on those gas prices, even though they're down. And you know what? A good coach can certainly make all the difference in sports.
Ford, that automaker thinks the same is going to be true when it comes to driving efficiently. They have a new smartgauge that will appear in their 2010 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan.
Take a look at it here. What this thing does, it shows you miles per gallon right here. These leaves and these vines right there, they also become more lush as you drive more fuel efficient.
HARRIS: OK.
HARLOW: Pretty much an incentive there. Ford says people who own hybrids, they don't feel right now like they're getting the fuel efficiency that they expected.
Toyota is doing a similar thing with their Camry hybrid. That already has this thing built in on the dashboard. It actually flashes "Excellent" at you when you average 35 miles per gallon or better. It's kind of neat. Kind of like a video game -- Tony.
HARRIS: Well, let me ask you, with or without these devices, how do drivers drive more efficiently?
HARLOW: Yes, there's a few key things you want to think of. First, ease up on that gas pedal.
HARRIS: Yes, absolutely.
HARLOW: No pedal to the metal. Not only is that not safe, it wastes gasoline.
Secondly, you don't want to speed. Not because you just don't want a ticket, but also because your fuel economy drops off when you're above 55 or 60 miles an hour, depending on the vehicle.
And finally, take it easy on the brake. Ease into those stops. Remove any excess weight also from your vehicle. That's another thing you want to keep in mind.
After all, think about it, if you spind money on a hybrid over the summer when we saw those record-high gas prices, you want do get your savings from that investment.
HARRIS: Well, what about safety? Is it good for consumers to stare at these displays? Come on. That can't be safe.
HARLOW: No, that's a very good point, right? You have this cool thing...
HARRIS: Yes, very cool, but come on.
HARLOW: ... on your dashboard and it's flashing "Excellent" at you and you're staring at it. Don't do that. Keep your eyes on the road.
But what Ford did is they put this through a number of tests. They said the drivers were really able to look down at a quickly. That's why it's a simple display. And then head on their way safely, because safety comes first, obviously, for these automakers. That's why they made it a simple design.
Obviously, it can be really dangerous if you go extremes to get these to light up, like hypermiling. Don't take risks on the road. But it's kind of neat. You see what you get for your buck, and it saves gas at the same time.
HARRIS: And all you need is a glance.
HARLOW: Yes.
HARRIS: That's really all you need.
HARLOW: Yes, just a glance.
HARRIS: All right, Poppy. Great to see you. Thank you.
HARLOW: Sure.
HARRIS: OK. Enough with the macroeconomy overload here. What is happening in my town, right down the street?
CNN correspondents gauge the global economy with a walk in their neighborhoods. Hugh Riminton is in Hong Kong, Jill Dougherty in Washington.
But we start with Jim Boulden in London.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM BOULDEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is my street in southwest London. It's called Upper Richmond Road. Very busy, very congested street.
Up there, you have Richmond Park, with the queen's deer. And over there, the River Thames. So this High Street area is crunched between the two.
I thought I'd ask a few of my friends who are storeowners here and shopkeepers how they're being affected by the credit crunch.
I'll definitely have the quarter-pounder and a Diet Coke. Before you do that, tell me, do you think there's any impact yet? Have you felt any impact?
CAROL JACKSON, CAROL'S CAFE: UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, yes, definitely. We've seen it first because, you know, the guys out in construction coming here. And we're (INAUDIBLE).
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): My neighborhood, Foggy Bottom, is in downtown Washington, D.C., just a few blocks from the White House. Miriam's Kitchen, a welcoming place for the homeless to eat, open five days a week.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good morning. Would you like grits?
DOUGHERTY: This morning, grits, scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, and a fruit smoothie.
For Harry Powell, homeless for three months after being in prison, this meal is crucial.
HARRY POWELL, HOMELESS: Ain't got nowhere else to eat. No money in your pocket. Nobody -- no work nowhere.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HUGH RIMINTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At Fresco, it's jam night. The music is free both to customers and the bar's owners. This is a favorite hangout for the town's musicians.
Joyce Pun, who runs the bar, and another across the street, says even in tough times, people need a place to go.
JOYCE PUN, FRESCO'S: Some regulars, they worry about they might lost their job. The people come here, they escape from the stress.
RIMINTON: Hugh Riminton, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Pretty good, huh?
Five days out from the big election, and we've got new poll numbers out today from the critical states of Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Nevada. We will share them with you next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: All right. Let's take you to the New York Stock Exchange right now for a look at the Big Board. About three hours or so into the trading day, the Dow, as you can see, in positive territory, but off session highs. The Dow up 45 points, the Nasdaq up 12 at last check.
We'll be following the market throughout the day with Susan Lisovicz, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
New poll numbers out with just five days until the presidential election, and they show Barack Obama widening his lead over John McCain in crucial states. Our CNN/"TIME"/Opinion Research Corporation poll shows Obama with a double-digit lead in Pennsylvania. Fifty-five percent of likely voters say they're backing Obama, compared to 43 percent for John McCain.
In North Carolina, Obama is up by six percentage points, 52-46 percent. He was up by four points in last week's poll.
And in Nevada, Obama is ahead by 7 percentage points, 52-45 percent. He led by five points just a week ago.
The latest polls are based on likely voters, but the challenge for pollsters is figuring out exactly who they are. Why is that such challenge this time around? It's all about the X Factors.
Joe Johns explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Like other national pollsters, Michael Dimmock of the Pew Research Center is poring over spreadsheets and trend lines and grappling with a big problem. If you don't know who will vote, you can't do an accurate poll.
MICHAEL DIMMOCK, PEW RESESARCH CENTER: Gauges turnout effectively in a poll is a very tricky thing to do. Not everyone we talked to in the survey is actually going to end up voting on Election Day.
JOHNS: Accurately defining a likely voter is a huge deal. Using its traditional likely voter model, Gallup has Obama up just 3 points. But when Gallup expanded the definition of likely voter in anticipation of record turnout, Obama's edge jumps to 7. What makes identifying likely voters so hard this time are the X Factors.
X factor one -- new voters. If a vote has no history of voting, do they really mean it when they say they're pumped up, determined 20 vote?
MICHAEL DIMMOCK, POLLSTER: It may well be that even though they're telling us they have every intention of voting and they're telling us that they're very excited and engaged in this campaign, which they are, that they may actually not turn out at the rate we might expect them to.
JOHNS: X factor two -- cell phones. For the first time ever, major national polling organizations are calling not just land lines, but mobile phones as well. DIMMOCK: People who are cell only, maybe not surprisingly favor Obama by a wider margin than the rest of the country, mostly because they're so much younger. We're in untested waters here.
JOHNS: And it's possible that younger, less rooted voters won't, in fact, turn out at the same rate as older land liners.
And then there are the fence sitters. Five percent to 10 percent of the electorate who say they are likely voters but are still undecided. Most pollsters expect them to get off the fence any day now. But, guess what? They may not.
DIMMOCK: Experience has shown in the past that a lot of these folks really don't end up voting. You know, they're so conflicted. And at the end of the day, they don't have a clear enough preference for them to really be motivated enough to get out there and show up.
JOHNS: Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And this reminder, CNN has all the bases covered for your election night viewing, from the first vote to the last. We are bringing you the results from across the country.
"Ten Issue, 10 Days." Countdown to the presidential election. So far this week, we've looked at the candidates' stands on the economy, taxes, energy, health care, and education. Today we turn to housing. And here are some of the contrasting plans.
Barack Obama proposes a $10 billion foreclosure prevention fund. John McCain wants to spend $300 billion to buy bad mortgage loans from banks and homeowners. Under the Obama plan, troubled homeowners could refinance with loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration. McCain's home plan converts bad mortgage loans into low-interest loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration.
Our Veronica De La Cruz has been monitoring the election discussion on the web as she has been keeping an eye on our FaceBook page.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ours.
HARRIS: And she joins us now with some comments.
Veronica, good to see you. What are you hearing from folks?
DE LA CRUZ: Hey, good to see you.
And, yes, "our" is the opportune word.
HARRIS: There you go.
DE LA CRUZ: Yes. And great discussion is all taking place on our page, Tony.
Let's go ahead and take a look. It's called Veronica De La Cruz in the CNN NEWSROOM with Tony Harris. It is our page. There is "our" picture off to the side, though you can't really see me. I don't know, I think we need a new picture.
HARRIS: There you go.
DE LA CRUZ: We have to find something else. But, you're right, Tony, the discussion for the past hour has been on the issue of housing.
Let's go ahead and show you what David Oakley says. He shares a personal story here. He says, "my mother lost her house to foreclosure after 22 years. Now she is living in state subsidized housing. She is retired, living on Social Security. It kinda rocked our whole family."
And, Tony, Aaron Rose, a student at Seton Hall, says, "what should be happening is that the banks should be forced to keep those loans and, if possible, renegotiate the loans, giving the homeowner the opportunity to keep the home and pay what they can afford."
Brandon Cooper backs the McCain proposal. He writes, "McCain wants to have the Treasury Department buy up the mortgages and re-issue fair mortgages to the homeowners who are on the brink of losing their homes. That's putting money into the economy, creating wealth and giving homeowners a low interest government mortgage so that they can stay in their homes."
Tony, Nick Carroll in Tampa, Florida, disagreeing. He says, "buying up 3 million homes and selling them at market price is a horrible loss. Even if they take a $10,000 loss on every house," that's a conservative estimate, "it causes a $30 trillion loss. We need a candidate with a solid business sense. Having a 90 day moratorium on house foreclosures allows people to get back on their feet."
So go ahead, log on to FaceBook right now. If you do have an account, you can search Veronica De La Cruz in the CNN NEWSROOM with Tony Harris.
HARRIS: Nice.
DE LA CRUZ: And then tomorrow, Tony, we're going to be talking about homeland security.
HARRIS: Can't wait for those thoughts, yes.
DE LA CRUZ: So we're going to be watching that FaceBook page closely.
And, you know, if you have any thoughts on the picture. You know what, Tony, I think what needs to happen here is somebody needs to photo shop both of our publicity shots to make it look like we're in the same room. I mean I know that you're there . . .
HARRIS: You keep this up, I'm going to blow up that page. If you keep this up -- cease and desist. Although . . .
DE LA CRUZ: You love that page.
HARRIS: Veronica, good to see you. We'll talk again tomorrow.
DE LA CRUZ: You're on it all the time.
HARRIS: Yes, All right.
Let's get a check of weather now. Our Chad Myers.
Boy, you know, Chad, I took a -- what was all that? We took a peak behind you at the map there and, boy, you've got some extremes in temperatures, don't you?
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: How about this. A big night for the Philadelphia Phillies last night and the fans? Here it is. Ninth inning. The Phillies leading four to three. The pitch -- Katie, bar the door. The Phillies take the series over the Tampa Bay Rays in five games in. Ain't the champagne cold. Time to celebrate. And streets of Philadelphia quickly filled and tens of thousands of fans cheering the city's first major sports championship in how many years? How many? Count them. Twenty-five. It's just the Phillies' seconds series title. The other coming in 1980. A parade planned for tomorrow.
Like father, like son. A down-to-earth guy sets a record that is really out of this world.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: You know, it's not unusual for a son to follow in his father's footsteps. But if those steps happen to be in space, now we're talking history here. Joining us now from our London bureau and video game pioneer Richard Garriott, son of former NASA astronaut Owen Garriott. Richard just returned from the International Space Station. How cool is this?
Richard, great to talk to you.
You know, is this really true, that as a child you never had much of an interest in what your dad did for a living?
RICHARD GARRIOTT, CEO, NCSOFT AUSTIN: Well, Tony, you know, that's not exactly true. You know, I had an interest in all of the (INAUDIBLE) toys.
HARRIS: Well, good. Clear this up for me.
GARRIOTT: Yes, yes. So my dad was always bringing great high-tech toys through the house. A photomultiplier tube, like a night vision scope. And all kinds of cool techno toys. I was very fascinated in. But I didn't articulate it as I wanted to be an astronaut until I was told by a NASA physician that my poor eyesight would prevent me from becoming an astronaut. And then suddenly I kind of said, wait a minute, you can't tell me I can't be a member of the club that all of my dads' friends and families were involved in. So I devoted myself to the privatization of space and finally made it. HARRIS: So what was this like for you? I'm going to ask some very basic, juvenile questions here because I really want to know what it was like for you to be in this Soyuz and taking this trip? Give us a little bit of that flavor, if you would, please.
GARRIOTT: Well, first of all, the Soyuz spacecraft is an amazing vehicle. And when you see it in person, even before it launches, you realize just by looking at it how hard it really is to put people into space. I mean, the amount of technology and the amount of fuel, the amount of personnel it takes to launch this thing is pretty amazing. It's an amazing spectacle.
And to ride onboard it on the wait up is like a beautiful and powerful ballet that this orchestra of events that it takes to really quite gingerly, though, just this calm launch. It just lifts off gracefully and slowly. The acceleration increases until eight minutes later, the engines turn off and you're free-floating in space.
HARRIS: Any concerns, any trepidation at any point along the way here? And I guess I'm thinking specifically of re-entry?
GARRIOTT: In fact, you know, launch and re-entry are the two potentially hazardous points. And especially the last two re-entries previous to mine did have some problems with having some event that caused what's called a ballistic or uncontrolled re-entry. And so we were a little concerned, you know, at least at that moment.
When you're going through your flight data files during re-entry, when you come to the page where you're separating the people into parts, which is what is suspected as the cause before, you know, you pay close attention on that page. But the separation went very cleanly and we actually came to the ground within 500 meters of the predicted target from when we were in space. And that basically means we landed right on top of the rescue team. So a perfect landing.
HARRIS: I know you're a crazy adventure here. And reading about you, you've done some amazing things. Where does this rank in terms of the great adventures of your life? And what do you think about now when you think about this trip you've taken?
GARRIOTT: Well, of course, space is a pinnacle experience in so many ways. But, you know, I have to say another -- you know, I've had two or three of these kind of pinnacle experiences. Antarctica is another really amazing place to go, as is the deep sea floor, down to hydrothermal vents in the "Titanic" and, you know, really deep salvage operations. And, you know, my interest in these is all quite related. I'm a big explorer of the reality we live in. And then that -- those results often show up in the -- kind of my create output into games and things that I've created.
HARRIS: Well, that's my last question to you. Anything from this experience in space that may show up in a game down the road?
GARRIOTT: I'm sure it will. In fact, already it has. My current game, "Tabula Rasa," we actually put a Soyuz model in the game and fictionally had it, the Soyuz, go through a worm hole and end up in my game versus back here on the earth that the players were playing. And while I was in space, I also sent them a secret message that I held up during launch written in the symbolic language of my game. But in future games, I'm sure it will show up as well as my other adventures have done before.
HARRIS: Richard, terrific to talk to you. Terrific to get a chance to meet you. And I love the story. My kids -- obviously, love the games. And the best for the future. Can't wait for your next adventure. Go to talk to you.
GARRIOTT: Thanks, Tony. Appreciate it. Bye-bye.
HARRIS: African-American voters considering what it would be like to have an African-American in the White House.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I definitely feel like a kid on Christmas that's waiting -- I can't -- I'm waking up at 5:00 in the morning to vote.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Mixed emotions. A view from Brooklyn.
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HARRIS: In the buildup to Election Day, the rhetoric is really heating up. And it's not only coming from the candidates. Our Jason Carroll reports on the media under fire.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: John McCain drew barely 1,000 people.
JOHN KING, CNN: It makes a bad campaign even worse.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: McCain has some ground he needs to make up.
CARROLL: On TV and in print, some Republicans say Senator John McCain isn't always treated fairly by the media.
STEPHEN HAYES, THE WEEKLY STANDARD: Reporters, by and large, are generally more sympathetic with the world view that Barack Obama has campaigned on in the campaign and less sympathetic than with that of John McCain.
CARROLL: A new report by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism says he may be right.
MICHAEL DIMOCK, PEW RESEARCH CENTER: Over the past month or so of press coverage since mid September till last week, that the tone of coverage did tend to be more negative towards John McCain.
CARROLL: The non-partisan report says, since the convention, there have been almost twice as many negative news stories about Senator McCain as compared to Senator Barack Obama. But one liberal media watchdog group says the coverage reflects McCain's weakened standings in national polls.
PAUL WALDMAN, MEDIA MATTERS: Now conservatives are going to scream bias, but that's like saying that the sports pages are bias against the Rays because they're saying that the Phillies are up in the World Series.
CARROLL: So, are the polls resulting in the negative reporting or is it the other way around?
DIMOCK: It's a little chicken and egg at that point. While polls don't define media coverage, they do set the tone.
CARROLL: But political observers say it's not just polls driving McCain's negative media coverage.
MARK HALPERIN, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Some of the negative press John McCain has gotten is his own fault and the fault of his campaign. There have been loose lips and back biting and things said that have been errors.
CARROLL: But some conservatives say the negative coverage has little to do with what McCain is doing wrong.
HAYES: You have, in Barack Obama, you do have a historical figure and a first. And I think there are some reporters who, try as they might to remain objective about that, are in a sense subconsciously rooting for him to make this history, for the country to make this history.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: And Republican analysts say the media needs to be more objective when it comes to coving McCain. And while McCain can't do anything about how the media covers his position in the polls, those same analysts say McCain has to do more to stop the sniping and in- fighting inside the campaign from leaking out.
Tony.
HARRIS: Jason, appreciate it. Thank you.
The last laugh in the presidential race and not every vote will count. Two hundred thirty absentee ballots in Duval County, Florida, tossed out. Elections officials saying they were rejected because voters didn't sign the envelopes as the instructions require. Voters whose ballots were rejected will be notified by mail, but not before the election. County officials are examining about 1,300 other ballots with questionable signatures.
A Georgia woman is allowed to cast her ballot after a mixup at the polls. When Angela Brown showed up for early voting, she was turned away. An election worker said Brown was a convicted felon out on parole. Apparently there was another Angela Brown with the same Social Security Number and date of birth. Officials determined it was a case of identity theft.
A political demonstration ends with people walking on eggshells. Members of the Young Conservatives Group at Texas A&M say they wanted to draw attention to Barack Obama's economic policies, so they encouraged students to throw eggs at a large picture of Obama. It was supposed to symbolize throwing away your nest egg. Many in the crowd called it a personal attack on Obama.
A homeowner in west Hollywood, California, has removed an effigy of Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin. Boy, this was ugly. The mannequin hanging by a noose was part of a larger Halloween display. Earlier, neighbors covered up the display with sheets. Local politicians and city officials called the image offensive and urged the homeowner to take it down.
With the election just five days away, many African-Americans are daring to dream of an African-American man in the White House. What if Barack Obama wins? Our Lola Ogunnaike looking for answers in Brooklyn.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The first thing, I'm definitely going to cry. I know I'm going to cry.
LOLA OGUNNAIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You definitely know that you'll shed tears that day?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, I know I'll shed tears. One hundred percent. I definitely feel like that kid on Christmas that's waiting -- I can't -- I'm waking up at 5:00 in the morning to vote.
OGUNNAIKE: What would it mean for to you see a black man in the Oval Office?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it would mean that there's somebody who has a different perspective than all the other leaders who have been in that office that held that position. And, to me, that's a huge, huge shift.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not just about Barack. It's Barack, Michelle and those two little girls. We haven't seen an intact black family since the Huxtables. And they weren't real.
OGUNNAIKE: It's approaching. Does it get scarier as the days get closer?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
OGUNNAIKE: Or do you get more excited?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I get more excited. I've claimed it, you know. It's like when you claim something, it's it. It's it. He is our president.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's nerve-racking, but it's not because I think we're going to lose. It's because I'm afraid of that one little thing that may mess it up at the last minute.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Obama not being president. I've thought that through a number of times. And the best thing that I can come up with is, he'd give one heck of a concession speech. I haven't thought about the day after. I'm not sure that I want to.
OGUNNAIKE: So how are you going to spend election night?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Election night. I think I'm going to turn the TV off.
OGUNNAIKE: Really?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am going to turn the TV off. I think the emotions are going to be just too much.
OGUNNAIKE: Are you going to watch election night?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am going to let my son, who is five years old, stay up until we find out who's going to win.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm pretty excited. I'm hoping that through him like the inner city, like educational system gets improved. Because like, I'm just -- I'm so (INAUDIBLE). Yes, I can't -- I can't (INAUDIBLE).
OGUNNAIKE: You wake up November 5th, guys, and he has not won. You didn't even let me finish and you started shaking your head.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it would just be devastating. I'm at a loss of words right now even thinking about it. Like you brought reality back to me like, wow. I mean, I haven't even said anything. I'm like don't say it because you're going to jinx it, you know. You don't even want to speak of it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm very nervous, but I'm still very hopeful. Like I feel like it's going to be -- like November 4th is going to be a good day and that's all I'm thinking about.
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HARRIS: Boy. Looking for a way to pump up your town's economy? How about hiring a cat?
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a $10 million cat.
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HARRIS: Kyung Lah, you've got to be kidding me? A feline fix worth 10 million big ones?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: How about this? It's Japan's cat in the hat. And she's causing a big fuss, that's for sure. CNN's Kyung Lah traveled to see her.
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KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): It's the last stop of a country train line. The isolated town of just a few thousand people. The tourists are flocking here to snap what they call a once in a lifetime picture of her. Tama, the cat. Or as she's known to the Wakayama Railway, Super Station Master. A cat in a conductor's hat greets travelers, like Michiko Yoshihara, who traveled nearly six hours by train and spent hundreds of dollars to see Tama.
Tama belongs to the grocery store next door, but started hanging out at the train station. The train line heard about Tama and decided on a whim to start promoting her as the stop station master. Well, trainloads of tourists started turning up. Merchandise started flowing. And so did the cash, turning Tama into the ticket for one town's turnaround.
Before Tama, this train line was almost always empty and nearing bankruptcy. Not only has she brought this train line back to life, she's single-handedly pumped $10 million U.S. into the local economy.
This is a $10 million cat.
Seeing is believing, said the town, that's living an economic turnaround amid a national and global slowdown. Why would so many spend so much on a little cat?
"It's a chance to take a break from the problems facing Japan," says Haruto Miata (ph), who took the day off work to see Tama. "Call it an accident of life," says Kishikawa's Buddist Monk Takeo Teranaka. "Perhaps other towns should find their own special thing and maybe they'll see this kind of benefit, too."
Tama now lives full-time at the station with her mom and a friend. The prize of the town's locals who say in these tough economic times, they'll take a gift horse or cat where they can get it.
Kyung Lah, CNN, Kishikawa, Japan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Can we get a tabby to Penn Station or something?
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Finally, a useful way to work a cat.
HARRIS: CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Kyra Phillips.
