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It's the Last Weekend Before Election Day: Candidates Are Still Busy Campaigning; Early Voting Across the Nation; Asian Voters Could Make a Difference; Fighting for Battleground States; Cleaning Up Voting Myths and Misinformation
Aired November 01, 2008 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: All right. It's just about over folks, all right? The speeches, the road trips and some of those bitter campaign ads -- all about to be over in a matter of days. Three days until the nation elects a new president.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: And why don't you take a look at this? We have seen extremely long lines for early voting all across the nation. And today, no different.
HOLMES: Also, we take a look at the Asian vote. Yes, Asia voters could make all the difference in who becomes our next president. So, let's see.
We're covering a lot of politics this morning here in the CNN NEWSROOM on this Saturday, the first day of November.
Hello to you all. I am T.J. Holmes.
NGUYEN: Yes, good morning, everybody. I am Betty Nguyen. It is 10:00 a.m. here in Atlanta, 7:00 a.m. in Los Angeles.
So let's get you up to date on news from around the world. First up, John McCain just wrapped up a rally at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia. You saw it live right here on CNN.
Well, Barack Obama, he is cranking things up today as well with a noon rally at the Coronado High School football field in Henderson, Nevada. We'll be dipping into that.
In the meantime, though, let's see where the candidates and their surrogates are for the rest of the day. After Virginia, McCain heads to Pennsylvania. Obama follows his Nevada with trips to Colorado and Missouri.
Now Sarah Palin opened her day in Florida. Up next for her, though, North Carolina and Virginia.
Man, they are all over the place. Just look at this map. Joe Biden is in Ohio and Indiana. Even Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton on the campaign trail for Barack Obama. Mitt Romney doing his share campaigning for John McCain.
HOLMES: Well, a critical state is Virginia. Usually not (INAUDIBLE) that critical because it's usually reliably Republican. It hasn't gone for a Democratic presidential candidate since LBJ back in 1964.
Well, McCain and Palin are both there today. Dan Lothian, there as well, Newport News.
Dan, good morning to you again, sir. What does this tell us? What does this say, that both these candidates, Palin and McCain, had to stop in this state at this late hour?
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it says that this state is very much up for grabs. It is a battleground state, a new battleground state, as you pointed out, that a Democrat running for president has not won in this state in 44 years.
It has been trending, though, Democrat. The last two governors have been Democrat. You had Senator Jim Webb, who won here in 2006 who's also a Democrat. So certainly, though, very competitive this time around. That's why you see Senator John McCain here today.
The experts will tell you that, in order to win the state of Virginia, you have to win in the northern part of the state, northern Virginia, the most populous part of the state. And you also have to win in another area, which is Hampton Roads, which is where we are today. This is a heavily military and veteran population.
Now as you mentioned, Senator John McCain was at a rally here earlier today. We touched on some of the typical themes, such as fixing the economy, such as becoming energy independent.
But he also reached out and took some swipes on Senator Barack Obama saying that he's a far left lane of American politics. But he also talked about the importance of winning here in Virginia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We need to win Virginia on the 4th of November. And with your help, we are going to win.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LOTHIAN: Senator Barack Obama has also been in the region, in fact, this week. He made two visits in 48 hours. He is currently leading the polls. We'll see numbers anywhere from seven to nine percent.
But, clearly, the fact that Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain have been spending so much time in this region, in this swing region, it gives you a sense of how important this is in winning this battleground state -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right. A battleground that we didn't expect to be a battleground, but as you've said, have been trending Democratic the past several years.
Dan Lothian for us there in Newport News. Good to see you. Appreciate you this morning.
Also, some news about a member of Barack Obama's family, who may have been living in the United States illegally. Associated Press reporting that a Kenyan aunt Obama speaks about in his memoir has, in fact, been living in the U.S. illegally for the past several years. You're seeing a picture of the home here where she does live.
The Associated Press says she remains in government housing in Boston, even though an immigration judge denied her request for asylum four years ago. The "Times of London" is putting out this story and a photo of her on their Web site.
Her refusal to leave the country is considered an administrative matter and you deal with immigration issues, not necessarily a criminal matter. However, she is still here illegally, considered an undocumented immigrant now.
But CNN not been able to verify the aunt's immigration status, even though we are looking into it. We have also asked the Obama campaign for a comment. We have yet to hear back. When we do, we will pass it along to you. We did talk to Immigration and Customs Enforcement who said they are prohibited from commenting on any one individual's immigration status.
NGUYEN: In the meantime, though, we do want to check the political ticker. North Carolina has extended early voting hours. The state's Board of Elections ruled Thursday that voting sites will be opened an additional four hours a day. North Carolina's governor says half of the state's 100 counties are accepting early voting ballots until 5:00.
All right. That's Hollywood director, Spike Lee, right there, working early voting lines in Miami. Yes, he's actually putting himself to work. He joins a string of celebrities encouraging voting. He says he gave up Halloween with his kids to be there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SPIKE LEE, HOLLYWOOD DIRECTOR: I believe in Barack and Joe Biden. And when I got the call, Spike, we need you in Miami, I said, I'm ready.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Well, John McCain putting some muscle behind his campaign. You know that guy, right there on the left-hand side of your screen? Well, now he's kind of out of range but that is California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, with the Republican candidate yesterday in Columbus, Ohio.
Schwarzenegger used the appearance to poke a little fun at Barack Obama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: I want to invite Senator Obama, because he needs to do something. He needs to do something about those skinny legs. We are going to make him do some squats and then we are going to give him some biceps to beef up the scrawny little arms. But if we -- if we could only do something about putting some meat on his ideas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Getting a few jabs there. Well, you know, you can check out our political ticker for all the latest campaign news. Just log on to CNNpolitics.com, which is your source for all things political.
HOLMES: Yes. They have attacked each other on everything else. They can go out to each other's scrawny little arms now. That's what we're down to.
NGUYEN: They behaved. They -- do share that, right?
HOLMES: They do?
NGUYEN: That's one thing in common, would you say?
HOLMES: No, not at all. Actually.
NGUYEN: Arnold said it, not us.
HOLMES: Yes. Not the all.
We got to go to Sean Callebs. He's had to use his arms and -- not scrawny arms down there necessarily.
NGUYEN: By any means, Sean.
HOLMES: But you're certainly been working down there. You've been getting pushed around a little bit yourself. You know, it's not always together and orderly when it comes to voting in Florida.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, it isn't. And you got to feel sorry for the state because it has become the butt of so many jokes since 2000. But when you see something like today and you see the frustration on people's faces, the difficulty that they're coping with.
Look at this line, OK? Up there, somewhere, about 100 feet is where people will go in and vote. The polls just opened. A lot of excitement here. But let me show you where this line is now, guys.
OK, it goes down here by this library.
HOLMES: Wow.
CALLEBS: Then it extends out by the trees. Wait, wait, wait. You haven't seen anything, T.J., across the lagoon, down the road, all the way down. Can you believe this?
NGUYEN: And this is early voting. CALLEBS: I want to chat with somebody. He's -- this is early voting. So far, about two million people have voted. A lot of those people voted through absentee ballots. But a lot of these people are willing to wait, like my buddy, Lee, here.
Lee, where are you -- where's your wife at? You have any idea?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're somewhere over there. I was on duty to throw away the garbage.
CALLEBS: You -- you had your coffee, had your newspaper.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
CALLEBS: How long have you been in line so far?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, this is the second place we went to. We went to some (INAUDIBLE) and it was too long, so my wife dragged me here but we'll probably be here for a couple of hours.
CALLEBS: Democracy in action or is this a nightmare? Which one?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There has got to be a better way. I mean, we're talking about the Internet. But we know there'll be hackers on there. So -- but you hope somewhere down the road we could figure something better than this out.
CALLEBS: Do you -- actually, you remind me of hurricanes. Obviously, you are a loyal Floridian.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely.
CALLEBS: Do you get a sense of why people across the country roll their eyes when people talk about Florida and voting in the same sentence?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I mean, I was here in 2000. So it was -- it was pretty crazy. You know? But we're all out here, you know, trying to get it done, because who knows what Tuesday will be like.
CALLEBS: And this is an important state. I mean, do you think people realize the significance -- the historical significance of this election right now?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely. I mean it's been all over the news. Looking at the last two elections, this pretty much decided it so I'm -- pretty excited, I'm hopeful it will swing the right way this year.
CALLEBS: OK. Great, Lee, thanks a lot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.
CALLEBS: Good luck.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You take care. CALLEBS: Enjoy the time. Pace yourself.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
CALLEBS: Could be a long day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.
CALLEBS: Put sunscreen on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I appreciate it.
CALLEBS: OK, thanks, Lee.
Just -- it's staggering to see all these people out here. Everybody for the most part is in a pretty good mood. If you go up and down the line, I think everybody knew they're going to have to wait a long time. I don't think people thought they got to wait this long, guys. But you know, you do what you have to. Right, guys?
HOLMES: You know maybe Lee could just enjoy this time he'll get to spend with his wife there in line.
But something else to point out, if you can, Sean, quickly. A lot of people -- we've seen a lot of these long lines. But it's important to reiterate that only a few polling places are open right now. On Tuesday, a lot more will be voting but there will be also a lot more polling places open.
CALLEBS: Yes, you're right. Let's take Broward, for example. I mean it's a big county. They have 300 students, let alone -- 300,000 students rather. Think about that. That's more people they have in Anchorage, Alaska. So this is a very big county. Now they'll have 300 polling places open on Tuesday, November 4th. But right now, for early voting, and it's been this way the entire early voting, only 17.
HOLMES: Wow.
CALLEBS: So only about five percent of the polling places are open.
And quickly, too, people can do absentee ballots. Those are now coming in. We saw about 100,000 in Palm Beach County being screened for the first time. Tabulated, not counted. And that's a whole another story we'll go into later -- T.J.
NGUYEN: So, would you say it's safe to say that on Election Day, you're not going to see lines nearly this long?
CALLEBS: Well -- you know we've had a debate about that, our producer, Rich Phillips, who likes to hear his name on TV. We've discussed this.
(LAUGHTER)
CALLEBS: He thinks the lines are going to be really, really small on Tuesday. I'm not so convinced, because you got 11.2 million people who could critically vote in this state. And right now -- Jerry's laughing, I can't (INAUDIBLE), everybody is enjoying this today.
But about 2 million people have voted so far so fewer than 20 percent. If they get like 70, 80, 85 percent turnout...
HOLMES: Wow.
CALLEBS: ... you know you could see big, long lines on Tuesday. And who wants to say, I tried to vote and couldn't?
NGUYEN: Oh yes. That's the worst. I've been telling T.J. that, because he is waiting until Tuesday.
HOLMES: Yes. Yes.
NGUYEN: He thinks that the line is going to be short because there is more polling places open. So we shall see. We may be interviewing him in line.
HOLMES: I'll report back.
NGUYEN: Come Tuesday.
All right. Thank you, Sean.
CALLEBS: OK. Great.
NGUYEN: You know voters at the polls with critical questions, indeed.
HOLMES: Yes. The question is not just about who to vote for but how to vote. We'll discuss a lot of the myths and the misconceptions out there. Some of you are going to run into it. And you also need to keep in mind what you wear...
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: ... even that when you go vote.
NGUYEN: It matters.
HOLMES: Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. Let's talk about counting your vote. You know there is a concern given some of the problems that we've seen in the last two elections. Our voter hotline has identified some problems in the process already. But there are plenty of other voting myths and misinformation to talk about.
We have Janai Nelson who is an advocate for voters' rights. And she joins us now from New York this morning. Janai, let's get right down to it. What kind of identification do we need when we go on Tuesday or even during early voting when we show up to vote? What do we need in hand?
JANAI NELSON, ST. JOHN'S UNIVERSITY: Well, it depends on the state in which you live. Certain states have very stringent voter identification requirements and other states just require a signature. It's important that voters find out up front what is required.
Now, all voters, if they have registered for the first time this year, have to produce a photo identification if they registered by mail and did not already send in a copy of their identification.
NGUYEN: All right. So to avoid any confusion, you need your driver's license, maybe even a passport. You need some form of photo I.D., correct?
NELSON: Absolutely. If you have it, I'd bring it to the polls. If you don't have it, I would not let that discourage you. But certainly, the better prepared you are to vote, the better your chances are to casting a ballot that would be counted.
NGUYEN: So let's say I'm walking up to the poll and my name is not on that voter's registration list. What happens next?
NELSON: Well, there are about three things you can do. You can insist that they double check the list to make sure that you're on it. If that doesn't solve the problem, then you should insist that someone at the polling site contact the state registrar to ensure that you are not on the state registration base and perhaps at the wrong polling site. And if all else fails, insist on casting a provisional ballot.
NGUYEN: Gotcha. And we're working on that camera in front of you right now. I have a little bit of problems with that. We'll get that fixed in just a second.
But in the meantime, you can answer this. Say I go to vote and I'm wearing a t-shirt that says either John McCain or Barack Obama on it, maybe a button or something like that, is that allowed?
NELSON: That's a very important issue that's been coming up a lot. There are general rules about election nearing and campaigning within a certain distance of the polling sites. And in some states, they consider wearing a button or a cap or a t-shirt passive election nearing.
You have to find out what the particular rules are in your locale and be prepared to, you know, turn your t-shirt inside out, take off that baseball cap, remove that button, if necessary, in order to vote.
NGUYEN: And what about folks who have a criminal conviction? Are they allowed to vote? I mean, there's a -- there's a lot of information out there. Some people are worried about showing up. Will they be allowed to vote?
NELSON: Absolutely. Again, like every other election rule, this varies state to state. In certain states, you can vote the moment you get out of prison. In two states, you can vote while in prison. That's Maine and Vermont.
But in most states, there are some rules that regulate who can vote whether on parole or probation. So, you should find out in advance. You can certainly show up to the polls and find out if you're on the rolls and cast a provisional ballot as well if you believe that you are a validly registered voter and are entitled to vote.
NGUYEN: As for folks who are working on Tuesday, a lot of us are, do employers have to allow you time to leave work and go and vote? Is that something that they absolutely have to do?
NELSON: Again, that's a state-level issue. Sadly, there is no federal law that requires employers to give you time off to vote. However, many state laws -- states have enacted laws called voting leave laws or time-off to vote laws that require employers in both the private and public sector to allow their employees to vote so long as there is not a sufficient number of hours prior to starting work and after leaving work in which you can vote.
NGUYEN: Gotcha. All right, so we busted through a lot of these myths and misinformation, especially as people were waiting in line, preparing to wait in line to cast their ballots on Tuesday.
Janai, thank you so much for talking with us today. We do appreciate it.
NELSON: You're very welcome.
HOLMES: I am going to need to check out the Georgia law on that.
NGUYEN: On what?
HOLMES: To see if employers are required to give people time off to vote.
NGUYEN: Because you need some time.
HOLMES: I'm going to need some time, Betty.
NGUYEN: You may be waiting in line for a while.
HOLMES: I didn't go early vote like you did and...
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: No, you had absentee, actually.
NGUYEN: I did absentee because I...
HOLMES: Yes, absentee.
NGUYEN: You never know in this business where we're going to be on Election Day, so. HOLMES: Good point. All right. I'll let you know. Pick them for my iReport.
NGUYEN: We'll be talking to you.
HOLMES: Yes.
Well, everybody, of course, wanting to vote right now in this election. But as we just heard there, we've been hearing the past several days and in past several years, not always that easy.
NGUYEN: Not at all. You know, when you register and then you vote, well, you think it's a done deal.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: Well, there are some voting irregularities. And we're going to look into that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. Barack Obama due to speak at Coronado High School at Henderson, Nevada. Just about -- what time is he planning to speak?
Suzanne Malveaux, out there in Nevada, exactly -- yes, tell me exactly what time is he supposed to speak. And also, tell us what is the plan? Is the plan really just to run out the clock these last couple of days?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he's going to speak in a couple of hours. He woke up in Las Vegas after a red eye. And I'll tell you, T.J., I think we all have red eyes by this point because it has just been a blitz, a whirlwind, the last year covering Barack Obama.
He starts off here in Nevada and he's going to go on to Colorado and Missouri. They feel confident, they feel good about this. One other thing that they are looking at is that these early voters, the numbers of Democrats as opposed to Republicans that are coming out, very much outnumbering them by large margins in some key states.
They are also looking at places like Nevada here. This went to George Bush twice but it was really, really tight the last time around when it came to Kerry. But to take a look who is actually voting, and they say 43 percent of the registered Democrats who voted here in this state early, early voting polls closed yesterday, they were either first-time voters or sporadic voters. So, they really feel that they've energized a lot of people participating in the process.
And we caught up with Barack Obama yesterday. He was in Iowa. That's where it started, the Iowa caucuses. That is where he clinched the victory that really kind of set the stage for his campaign.
And he sat down with our own Wolf Blitzer. He talked a little bit about what his priorities are if he becomes president and also what he is seeing in terms of the advantage of turning out those early voters.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: A lot of people were skeptical about young people coming out, about, you know, people who traditionally haven't participated in caucuses getting involved. And here's where we, I think, proved that we can get people much more engaged in the political process than they have been before.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: And T.J., just to give you a sense of kind of a level of engagement, there's a lot of enthusiasm, excitement, when you take a look at these crowds. And they point to some numbers here.
They say, just take a look at Florida back in 2004, there were 20,000 more Republicans than Democrats who are participating in that early process. They say reverse that now. It's now 200,000 Democrats outnumbering those Republicans.
So, you know, the campaign manager said yesterday they believe in some states the dye has been cast. They are looking at this, and they're feelings pretty good -- T.J.
HOLMES: OK. Well, they feel pretty good and certainly a lot of the polls we have seen have given them reason to feel pretty good about a lot of things. So tell us, what they are saying, maybe even publicly on the record or maybe even quietly behind the scenes about what actually does worry them right now.
Is it a place like Pennsylvania, in some of these internal polls from the other side? And some of the -- some people have been scratching their heads. Why in the world is McCain in Pennsylvania? So what? Something like that? What does give them pause right now?
MALVEAUX: Well, you know, I mean, there is a little worry here of overconfidence. They don't want to appear that way. And there is a lot of unchartered territory, unchartered waters here because they've just never seen this before. I mean they don't know -- there's a lot of voters turnout.
But you know the Republicans have a machine as well, a very strong machine. They can rally at the last minute. They certainly can come out in large numbers on voting day. One of the things that they have to do, they know they have to do, is they have to hold all the states that John Kerry held last time around.
But they also have to win by small margins, a big bunch of those battleground states. And that is what they're hoping to do. That's why you see them advertising now, very, very telling in Georgia, North Dakota, and even Arizona now, McCain's home state, trying to make it competitive, trying to get all of those Republican-leaning states so they can make a clean sweep. But by no means that this is over here. So they are continuing to press hard in the next couple of days. We're going to see us traveling just about everywhere, T.J. It's going to be a blitz to the very end.
HOLMES: I would imagine so. And yes, they're advertising in McCain's home state of Arizona. That's got -- that's just go to hurt a little bit on the McCain side.
Suzanne Malveaux for us there in Nevada. Unfortunately with the red eye, but eyes look just fine this morning. Suzanne, we'll see you again a little later.
MALVEAUX: All right.
NGUYEN: Well, the CNN voter hotline is receiving thousands of calls from people concerned that their votes will not be counted.
HOLMES: Why is that always because...
NGUYEN: Always. Every time.
HOLMES: A lot of people don't have confidence in the system.
Josh Levs joins us now with one of those folks.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. You know, you guys, you're totally right.
You know what, I just got the latest figures. We have had -- get this -- more than 20,000 calls to this hotline. What I'm going to play for you now comes from a voter who lives in Denver. She's out of state. She has not received her absentee ballot.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
CHAWNTE WILLIAMS, DENVER, COLORADO RESIDENT: I applied for an absentee ballot before October 6th, never received it. Called to check up on it. They said that there was printing problems in the Denver area, printing and that I would not get my ballot until this week. Still, I have not gotten it.
So I called to check in and see what was going on. And they had no record of it. So, because of somebody's clerical error, now it looks like I might not be able to vote.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
LEVS: Well, this is one of the many that we jumped on. We spoke with the Colorado secretary of state. Here's what we were told. Let's zoom in on the board. I want to show you something here.
"We are told that people who are -- have not received in Colorado, not received their absentee ballots can go to GoVoteColorado.com and access the state's voter registration search engine." And what this is designed to do, it's designed to let you track the status of your absentee ballot. Just go to GoVoteColorado.com. It'll link you over there.
Now the clerk for the county where that caller lives tells us, you can call or fax an application for replacement absentee ballot. But unfortunately, as of yesterday, she tells us her situation has not been resolved. And we're hearing similar things, guys, from other states as well. Some folks in Florida and other states around the nation.
Let me let all of you know you can, first of all, get more details on this at the CNNpolitics.com. And if you have a concern or any trouble at the polls, give us a call to CNN voter hotline.
Help us track the problems. We're reporting them in real time. The number is right there on your screen. 1-877-GO-CNN-08. It's a little easy to remember. 877-GO-CNN-08 or 877-462-6608.
And I see now, we're keeping them honest all the way through the election and beyond. I mean, we're going to be looking into this for a couple of weeks based on what happens Tuesday, guys.
NGUYEN: All right. Thank you, Josh.
LEVS: Yes. Thanks a lot.
HOLMES: And we're also inviting all of you who have voted early to e-mail us today. We want to hear about that experience. I won't be e-mailing in, because, as we have documented this morning -- you put me out there, Betty.
NGUYEN: You're going to be standing in line on Tuesday.
HOLMES: No. I'm telling you. We...
NGUYEN: You think the line is going to be short?
HOLMES: I'm telling -- that there's that many more polling places.
NGUYEN: That's true. There are more polling places but...
HOLMES: There'll be more polling spots. Yes.
NGUYEN: ... there are a lot of people waiting like you on Tuesday thinking the lines will be short.
HOLMES: And maybe so many people were worried about Tuesday, they voted early, and that's why we saw the long lines.
NGUYEN: All right.
HOLMES: Boy, you're going to laugh at me next weekend.
NGUYEN: We shall see. Exactly. When I get that phone call, guess how long this line is.
OK, so T.J., just for you. HOLMES: All right.
NGUYEN: Two-minute warning, crunch time, the bottom of the ninth, if you will, you like all those sports metaphors?
HOLMES: You have to speak in terms I can understand.
NGUYEN: Yes, exactly.
HOLMES: Sports metaphors as we get those.
We still have time, though, for some final campaign strategies. And if that's not enough, we also have Mr. Reynolds Wolf.
Good morning to you, sir.
NGUYEN: Hey, Reynolds.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning to you, guys. You know we got a lot of people now waking up on the West Coast. Temperature 63 degrees in Portland, if you're enjoying your coffee this morning in 53 degrees. Get the rain falling outside. 52 in Billings.
If you're waking up in New York, it's 57 degrees outside. But it's also 10:29. You're sleeping in late. Get up. Get the weekend started. Coming up, we're going to let you know what you can expect weather-wise, not only for the rest of the day, rest of your weekend, but also Election Day as T.J. goes and sits in the polls, waiting and waiting.
See you in a few.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: It maybe a good idea to finalize your traveling plans now.
CHRIS MCGINNIS, EXPEDIA.COM: Get a discount at all you need to book your trip at least 21 days in advance so that means about December 3rd for Christmas.
NGUYEN: Because of the economy McGinnis says, don't expect too much of a break on airfares.
MCGINNIS: Generally holiday season fares are looking about 10 to 20 percent higher if you live in a major city with low fare carrier service. If you're trying to fly to a smaller town, you're looking at fares that can be 20 to 30 percent higher than last year.
Travelers ought to consider alternate airports this year. These are airports that -- nearby airports that may have low fare service. Fly in to that cheaper airports, then rent a car to get to your final destination. NGUYEN: If you are on a budget, timing is everything.
MCGINNIS: Try to travel on off-peak days around the holidays. Another good tool that you'll find are fare calendars where you can look at entire months and see when the cheapest day to travel.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: OK, three days ago, we have been counting them down by giving you a better look at where the candidates stand on the major issues. Our own top 10 you might say, so since we started this for you last Saturday, and we've looked at here it goes, the economy, taxes, options on energy, health care, education, the housing mess, and relief for homeowners; also on our list, Homeland Security.
And today, we are looking at that right there, foreign policy. Now, the top two foreign policy challenges are Iraq and Iran. Here is where they stand on Iran.
Barack Obama says he would approve talks with Iran's leaders but would leave military options on the table. John McCain also believes in leaving all the military options in place. On Iraq, John McCain voted for the war and he said that the original plan was flawed but was a big supporter of the so-called surge strategy. Now, Barack Obama has been on the opposite side, opposing the war and the surge.
And tomorrow, we will tackle the Supreme Court. Not literally. But we will examine how either candidate would affect the makeup of this court in the future.
HOLMES: All right, all the candidates, their surrogates out and about this weekend. They are getting the message out to voters. The message, have we not gotten the message yet? Is there anything left for these candidates to really say?
Well, somebody has something to day. And we're going to check-in with Democratic strategist Maria Cardona is with us, also Republican strategist Cheri Jacobus.
And ladies, I will start with that good morning. I'm glad you could be here, but is there anything left to say? Cheri, tell me what else is there another case that needs to be made? We've been listening to this for a couple of years now.
CHERI JACOBUS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I think what we're finding now is that the American people are really starting to pay the attention. And the McCain/Palin message is getting through.
When I woke up this morning and got my cup of coffee and start up the computer and went on line and saw on the Drudge report at the Zogby polls after tracking just yesterday that McCain is ahead of Barack Obama by one point. I thought, oh, my goodness, what a difference a day makes. I think, finally, folks are paying attention, they're getting the message about the problems with the Obama economic plan and what John McCain and Sarah Palin. This thing is not over. Even though you in the media have it called, this thing is not over.
HOLMES: Us in the media, we have not called this. That's why we have you ladies here.
Maria, do you agree, I heard you chuckle be there and don't be chuckling. But still, what other case needs to be made? And haven't we have seen a little evidence maybe not much, but some of the polls that this thing is tightening a bit. And maybe this whole Joe the Plumber message that he's been hammering home on McCain side maybe is resonating a bit.
MARIA CARDONA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I think what is resonating T.J. is the message of John McCain and Sarah Palin but the one that they would actually be four more years of the same that we have had, the failed policies of the past eight years.
What we have seen with the polls is that Senator Obama continues to enjoy a lead in the national polls. But if you look at the battleground polls; that is where we are feeling very, very good about where we are.
And in fact, we're expanding the battleground and we're in places as you know, like Virginia, and North Carolina, North Dakota, Arizona, and Georgia. Where places traditionally, a Democrat has no business being competitive.
So, I think that the message of Senator Obama in making a priority, once again, the relief and the tax relief of middle class families and working class families, that's what's resonating.
JACOBUS: I want to remind you all what happened in the Democratic primary where Barack Obama was enjoying his big lead in Pennsylvania over Hillary Clinton, and as you know, Hillary Clinton came through and won that thing.
So, the American people are paying attention. And the message is getting through that the Obama wants to spread the wealth. He said it several times himself. He hasn't backed down from that. And he doesn't want to just take money from American taxpayers and put it back into government programs or infrastructure, education. It's a direct give away, that message is getting through.
HOLMES: Go ahead, I'm not going to tell you to stop talking, you do it.
CARDONA: What I will say is that what we are doing right now, is we are running, as if we were 15 to 10 points behind, because we don't know what's going to happen. The actual poll that matters is the one that is taken on November 4th.
But what we have seen with early voting and we have seen with newly registered voters, is that everybody is so excited to bring the needed change that we have desperately needed and wanted after these past eight years of Republican failed policies. The middle class and the working class are they have been the ones who have suffered and Senator Obama will bring that change.
HOLMES: Maria, you talked about having to run like you are 10 or 15 points behind. How much do you believe that there are so many variables out there, including, yes, in fact, we have a black man who could become the first black President of the United States.
The young people he's bringing in, are they actually going to show up? Are there so many variables out there that you feel like, unless you are on that side, so many points ahead, I heard people say anywhere from 7, 8, to 10 points, if he's not ahead, he might lose?
CARDONA: That's right, T.J. That's why we are not taking anything for granted. We are going to continue to double down. We're not sitting back. We're not going to let up. And we're going to continue to articulate Senator Obama's message of bringing this change after again, eight years where the middle class and the working class have been left behind.
And he's going to bring relief to 95 percent of middle class --
HOLMES: Cheri --
JACOBUS: Yes, and that's the message said, that's the message that John McCain is cutting into.
CARDONA: Where John McCain, the only thing he want to do,
HOLMES: Go ahead, Cheri.
JACUBUS: That 95 percent is a false number. The American people are starting to figure that out, which is why John McCain drew ahead in the Zogby polls yesterday, that 95 percent is not for taxpayers.
CARDONA: You guys can continue to say that. But that's not the reality, you know. John McCain wants to give a Fortune 500 CEO $700,000 in tax breaks.
JACOBUS: Maria, Barack Obama admitted that that was -- Maria, Barack Obama admitted as much and basically said that if you don't agree with him, you're selfish.
HOLMES: That's going to have to be it. We will see if it resonates enough when we get to next week. Of course, the only poll that matters is the one we're going to see on Tuesday. Cheri Jacobus and also Maria Cardona a Democratic strategist, ladies, thank you so much for being here.
And we can stop debating about it finally on Tuesday and we'll all be able to move forward. But thank you, once again. Good to see you all as always.
JACOBUS: Thanks, T.J.
NGUYEN: Well, that got a little heated.
HOLMES: I have learned long ago that you really don't step in.
NGUYEN: Well, you just kind of let them go at it, all right.
Well, a man who steps into a lot of things these days; that would be Reynolds Wolf. But you know what, he handles it pretty well; seems like he got some experience of that.
WOLF: Yes, I would think, probably giving weather with the kind of passion we just saw unfold moments ago would probably not be the best of things; having an argument with myself on national television.
HOLMES: Why don't you try it and give us some of that same passion in this weather cast.
NGUYEN: Go ahead.
WOLF: There's a time and a place for everything, but an argument with myself, not going to happen.
NGUYEN: Wait until you get home.
WOLF: Hey, exactly, a take a look at what we have right now. 50 degrees in Chicago, it's an OK morning there. We did have fog in Detroit earlier. It is currently 46 degrees in Cleveland we've got currently temperatures into the 50s.
We have a live image for you out of Cleveland; let's show you that right now, a few scattered clouds. And we were just told that the image is now gone. It happens occasionally. These shots that we have sometimes don't pop up for us.
In Denver, we've got 49 degrees. 52 in Billings, it could be a nice day in Billings, where high temperatures going up to 69 degrees. Enjoy the warm spell while you can. Because, you could be seeing some major, major changes in the forecast in the northern plains back in the Rockies too.
Nashville, the high today, 73 degrees. No 30s yet for Nashville. In New York, we've got 60 degrees. 70 in Atlanta, what we can anticipate is this storm system. The one that's brewing out over parts of Alaska back over to the rather Gulf of Alaska, back over towards places like say Washington and back in to Oregon and even to California, this is going to bring you a chance of rainfall.
But in the higher elevations, we're not talking about rain. We're talking about snow, some of that could be heavy. For the Great Lakes, high pressure is going to be your dominating feature just beautiful conditions there, maybe shower in parts along I-95 and into Alligator Alley.
But as we fast forward into Election Day, this is where it gets a little bit interesting. We could see some scattered snow showers into the Rockies but into the Central Plains, we're talking about from the Dakotas, southward through the Twin Cities and into the Central Plains, look for a chance of afternoon showers and maybe thunderstorm too.
But beautiful conditions for Ohio, for Pennsylvania, key election states back into the Carolinas expect some rainfall and coastal showers for Florida, always tricky in Florida.
Let's send it back to you guys.
NGUYEN: OK, thank you Reynolds.
WOLF: Thanks guys.
NGUYEN: You know an emerging presence on the political scene, a minority group that could influence the election in a big way.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: With just days to go in this election, the Asian- American vote is among those that could determine who wins the White House, particularly in swing states like Virginia and Nevada. Well, it's a unique voting bloc; hard to gauge for many reasons.
But nowhere is that more evident than in California which is home to more Asian-Americans than any other place in the country.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: From the streets of Little Saigon to the airwaves of Chinatown, there are just a couple of days left to capture the Asian/American votes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will vote for Obama.
DENNIS LAI: I like to vote for John McCain.
NGUYEN: Fifteen million Asian-Americans live in the U.S. that's just three percent of the electorate but these voters typically turn out in large numbers and they could prove powerful in a tight race.
KARTHICK RAMAKRISHNAN, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, RIVERSIDE PROFESSOR: Even if it represents a smaller portion of the electorate and say the African-American vote or the Latino vote, you have the very large proportion of undecided voters.
NGUYEN: Karthick Ramakrishnan is a University of California professor who helped launch the first comprehensive study of Asian- American voting patterns.
In the past Asian Americans have spewed Republicans but that's changed.
RAMAKRISHNAN: So ever since Bill Clinton got elected in each subsequent election, the share of Asian-Americans voting Democratic has increased.
NGUYEN: A shift that's resonating with listeners who tune in to Chinese talk radio. Felix Guo anchors the "Morning Drive" in Pasadena.
FELIX GUO, RADIO ANNOUNCER: At this point we're seeing some support for a little bit support for Obama, simply because I think they kind of blame President Bush for some of the mistakes or some of the things that bad things that happens into this country.
NGUYEN: To find out more we headed to L.A.'s Chinatown.
RICHARD LIU, VOTER: Actually I voted a Republican in the past and this is the first time I think I'm voting Democrat.
NGUYEN: Others can't be convinced to switch.
ALICE LIMSON, VOTER: I've been a Republican for a long time and I like, I am comfortable with them.
NGUYEN: Over in the Little Saigon, section of Orange County, John McCain seems to have the edge among those we spoke with.
CHRISTINE VUONG, VOTER: I am voting for McCain.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm looking at Barack Obama right now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't like Obama, too socialist for me.
NGUYEN: But take a walk through the little Tokyo section and downtown L.A. and you'll find strong support for Barack Obama.
DAVID SHIBATA, VOTER: I think Obama will do a better job than McCain can and we need some change in this country so hopefully he can turn it around.
DENISE KOYAMA, VOTER: It's a tough decision, because I am a Republican. But I'm going to be voting for Obama.
NGUYEN: A sentiment that falls in line with the national Asian- American survey. Numbers just in for the second half of October show 52 percent of Asian Americans back Barack Obama. 27 percent are for John McCain and 20 percent are undecided.
Asian-Americans polled also said the economy is, by far, the most important issue in this election. Yet, we found very few willing to place blame.
KOYAMA: And I don't care whose fault it was. I just want them to fix it.
NGUYEN: But we all know that's no easy task regardless of who is elected.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Yes, an important point to take away from the Asian- Americans vote is a lot of times when the candidates really direct toward any particular minority group, it's easy just to get out the message, whether it's in English or Spanish.
But when you're talking to Asian Americans, you're looking at a number of different countries in a number of different languages. So that is very costly for campaigns. And which is why, a lot of times, Asian-Americans don't hear those ads, don't hear the sound from the campaign saying, you should vote for me because these are my issues.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: And they need it in their original language so that they can understand which way to vote.
HOLMES: So what do they depend on, maybe the word of mouth, talking to relatives, friends?
NGUYEN: Well, that too. They also and many of them read the newspapers in their original language.
HOLMES: Right.
NGUYEN: At least in the radio on their original language, but again, there you don't really see the ads and you don't see those kinds of endorsements in their particular language. And so therefore, sometimes it gets lost in translations.
HOLMES: Lost in translation.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: Well, we're going to be translating a few e-mails. From you all a good day, we have e-mail questions.
Well, did you vote early? Tell us about that experience. We've got your answers coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Tracking the election on the Web, cnn.com -- making it easy for you to follow along for the final few days. Here now is CNN's Internet correspondent Abbi Tatton with a tutorial on how to track the election.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ABBI TATTON, CNN INTERNET CORRESPONDENT: We're now in the final days of this presidential election and if you want to know where the candidates are spending their time, where they are spending their money, how they are doing in the latest polls, you want to check here. This is CNN's election tracker, cnn.com/tracker. We have mapped all that information so you can see the story so far.
Let's take a look, first of all, at candidate visits. This is a sure fire way to see which states are deemed critical to these campaigns as having a look at how often the candidates are visiting them. So we put that information on a time lapse. It's going back to the middle of June. As these states darken, it means the candidates are visiting them more and more. As we go through the beginning of October here, you can see the battleground states light up. And as we go through to the end of October, Ohio, Pennsylvania darkened to be the states most visited.
That's how much time they have been spending in the states but they've also been spending a lot of money on ads in those states as well.
This is where you're going to see a real disparity between John McCain's spending and Barack Obama's. Barack Obama's with his massive campaign war chest. This is John McCain's map right here, the darker the state, the more money he is spending. More than $10 million in states like Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Now, take a look at that and compare that to this one. This is Barack Obama's spending. You will see so much more of it is colored in darker, all these states where he is spending month are than $10 million. If we look at some of the comparisons there, in Virginia Barack Obama spending $8 million; compare that to $6 million for John McCain.
There is a wealth of information on this tracker. Take a look around polling, fundraising. We are updating this all the time as we get new information. So please check back.
I'm Abbi Tatton in the CNN Election Center.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, a lot of useful tools there. Remember, for all the tools to track the race, complete coverage from the best political team on television, you can check out inn.com.
NGUYEN: Coming up in the next hour, we are going to introduce you to an up-for-grabs community in Virginia that could hold the key to winning the battleground state.
HOLMES: And coming your way at noon Eastern, politics and religion often intersect on the campaign trail but in North Carolina, some say it may have gone too far. Why one senate candidate says she is suing her opponent for playing the God card. Does she have a case? Our legal guys weighing in.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Can you imagine? Your big day is coming and you have got your dress picked out for your wedding and the place that is supposed to be making your dress and delivering that dress to you goes out of business. Yes. This happened to some brides in Connecticut.
They had an issue. Almost two dozens of them said they ordered gowns from a shop then that shop just suddenly and inexplicably shut down. Now, they are, as you see, they're getting their dresses as the state attorney general's office stepped in. Help comes just in time; some of these brides getting married pretty soon. They actually had to have state troopers there on stand by as the women picked up their dresses to make sure that emotions were kept in check. Can you imagine?
NGUYEN: No, I can't. That's like the worst. I've never been married once. So, no, I couldn't imagine.
Let's move on to something that I might know a little bit more about. That would be Halloween. How is that for a transition?
HOLMES: That's you, yes. That's more you.
NGUYEN: OK. Ghost, goblins and other ghoulish creatures haunted New York City's Greenwich Village last night during the ah annual Halloween parade. It is the nation's largest Halloween celebration. According to organizers -- boy, they're having a good time with that -- more than 2 million people estimated to have attended and noticeably missing though, about seven major parade sponsors.
Yes, the sign of the time with the financial crisis. Organizers say they were spooked by all of the losses on Wall Street.
HOLMES: Can you imagine, Betty, when you were a kid, I'm sure you trick-or-treated at some point, we all did.
NGUYEN: Yes, of course.
HOLMES: But can you imagine, knocking on somebody's door expecting to get some candy and they hand you a resume?
NGUYEN: Really?
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: Another sign of the times.
HOLMES: Sign of the times. This woman in Massachusetts, she is fed up with her job search, so she handed out her resumes actually to the parents. The kids did get the candy. That's not a bad way to do it.
NGUYEN: Can you imagine being that kid? I don't want that. Can you give me the candy already?
HOLMES: Karen Stallone is her name. She said it started as a joke after a really bad rejection.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAREN STALLONE, PASSED OUT RESUMES ON HALLOWEEN: I was just joking around with a friend saying, how else are you supposed to get your resume out to people these days? Nobody responds to e-mails. Nobody responds to phone calls. So, at this point, you know, one step away from knocking on doors. I figure, well, they are knocking on my door. I might as well just hand them my resume. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: That's a very good point.
NGUYEN: Yes, let them come to you.
That's not a good day for her or him either. The only way to stop that story is with the corpse bride. That's what this is all about and her charming groom or grooms. Boy, that is not the kind of walk down the aisle that I would particularly want. Oh, my goodness, the kids are getting involved.
HOLMES: Not the kids.
NGUYEN: Folks, this is not a joke. This is video from an actual Halloween wedding in Indiana yesterday. The couple got married at a haunted mansion where the bride works. It is closing actually for good. So the bride says that she always dreamed of getting hitched there.
HOLMES: What?
NGUYEN: So they made it happen.
HOLMES: That's going to be an ugly divorce if that's the wedding.
NGUYEN: That's the marriage.
HOLMES: All right. The next hour in the "CNN NEWSROOM;" let's get it started right now.
