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Campaign Trail; Early Voting Lines; Murtha Missteps; Stevens Guilty
Aired November 01, 2008 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: John McCain puts his faith in the American people, and if you share our commitment, and if you work hard, if you know what hard work feels like and if you want to get ahead, and if you believe that America still is that land of possibilities and you don't want your dreams dashed by the Obama tax plan increases then, Florida, we need your vote. We want to get to work for you.
Florida, do you share our commitment and can we count on your vote on November 4?
(APPLAUSE)
Now, John and I do, we're going to set this nation firmly on a path toward energy independence. We're going develop -- we're going develop new energy sources and we'll tap into what we've already good to, safely, ethically, our oil, our hundreds and trillions of cubic feet of natural gas and our coal, we will drill, baby, drill and mine, baby, mine. Yes.
(APPLAUSE)
CROWD: Drill, baby, drill! Drill, baby, drill! Drill, baby, drill!
PALIN: You bet. We will do that. We will do that because Florida, it's nonsense what's going on right now. We've had a failed energy policy in this country for 30 years where we're circulating hundreds of billions of your dollars to foreign countries asking them to ramp up production for us.
Hundreds of billions of dollars, many of these dollars ending up in the hands of volatile, foreign regimes that do not like America and they use energy as a weapon. How much sense does that make for us to be beholden to them? No.
These hundreds of billions of dollars should be circulated right here, creating new jobs for all of you with energy independence.
So, look, we will adopt the "all of the above" approach as needed to meet America's great energy challenges and that means harnessing alternative sources too, like wind and the vast solar that you have here and good to has so richly blessed you, Florida. Yes! Yes! And we have biomass and we have...
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: All right, Republican running mate there, Sarah Palin there in Polk City, Florida. She'll be criss-crossing three states this weekend in the last push before Election Day. Meantime, on the right hand side of your screen we're seeing Vice President Dick Cheney. He's in Laramie, Wyoming. Let's go back to listen to his comments.
DICK CHENEY, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: ...wise decision by the president, as well as the outstanding work of people in law enforcement, intelligence, Homeland Security and the United States military. In my years as White House chief of staff, as congressman, as secretary of defense and now vice president, I've had no greater privilege than working with the brave men and women who wear the uniform of the United States.
(APPLAUSE)
And Afghanistan and Iraq and around the world, they are fighting and sacrificing to defend the rest of us. We can never thank them enough.
(APPLAUSE)
In these decisive years we've seen, above all, the importance that leadership can make by making a decision and setting a course and putting the interest of the nation ahead of any partisan agenda or personal advantage. Our nation's been fortunate to have that kind of leadership when we've needed it most, and in three days we'll choose a new steward for the presidency and begin a new chapter in our history.
It's the biggest decision that we make together as Americans, a lot turns on the outcome. I believe the right leader for this moment in history is Senator John McCain.
(APPLAUSE)
And John is a man who understands the danger facing America. He's a man who has looked into the face of evil and not flinched. He's a man who is comfortable with responsibility and has been since he joined the armed forces at the age of 17. He's earned our support and confidence and the time is now to make him commander in chief. I'm delighted to support John McCain and I'm pleased that he's chosen a running mate with executive talent, toughness and commonsense in our vice president, Sarah Palin.
(APPLAUSE)
Today, as we get ready for the final push in the campaign here in Wyoming, I want to express once again my deep gratitude for the privilege of serving our state and public office. It's a responsibility that has taken me far from this familiar sites of Laramie, kasper, Cheyenne and Casper Hall. I've been humbled by the honor, I've been awed by the splendor of America and by the character of its people, honest, enterprising, patriotic and resilient.
We have so much to love in this country, so much to pass on to our children and grandchildren, so much to value and protect, and I want you to know that of all the privilege I've had serving as an elected official, the first will always carry special significance. When you're a member of the House of Representatives the speaker of the House calls on you not by name, but according to your state and for better than a decade I proudly answer to the title of "the gentleman from Wyoming."
(APPLAUSE)
For that I will always be indebted to the people of this state. Now, I have one more request. In these remaining hours of the campaign, go out and do everything you can to turn out to vote for our Republican ticket. Mike Enzi, John Barraso (ph), Cindy Loomis are not taking anything for granted and neither can we. The stakes are high and it all comes down to the donors and the volunteers at the grassroots.
Your energy, your commitment, your time in the field will make all the difference. It will pay off in a big way on Tuesday night and with your help we'll see a great victory for the team that is right for Wyoming. Thank you very much.
(APPLAUSE)
WHITFIELD: All right. Vice president Dick Cheney there in the last push for John McCain and everyone else on the Republican ticket in his home state of Wyoming, underscoring that no one can take anything for granted. Just a few days out now from Election Day and that's why we're seeing, in fact, all of the candidates and their running mates taking nothing for granted, especially in those battleground states. They are criss-crossing the nation. There to the left of your screen you see Republican running mate, Sarah Palin, there in Polk City, Florida. She is going to be criss-crossing three states this weekend alone while her running mate, John McCain, is going to be in the battleground states of Virginia, as well as making his way to Pennsylvania and then to New York where he will be on SNL, "Saturday Night Live," this evening.
And Barack Obama is in Nevada. We'll be taking you to Henderson, Nevada, when he arrives there as well as Colorado and then his running mate, Joe Biden is in Indiana and Ohio. So, no one taking the votes for granted. In fact, neither are a lot of voters. There are early voting scenes taking place throughout the country. It has been wildly popular this year, some polling station are extending the hours and today is no exception.
Yes, in Florida, people are casting ballots. Live now our Sean Callebs, he's in Plantation, Florida. Let's go to Sean.
What's the scene look like?
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fredericka. Take a look that the line. This is something that has began early this morning at 6:00, we had folks out here. This line -- about 100 people by Florida law, we have to stay back this far. Take a look at that, it comes through here, then winds down through this side of the library, extends on out underneath the trees, continues to go out by the road and that's a long haul. I mean, if they -- people who get to the point where we are right now they've been waiting about a couple of hours in line, just to give you an idea. People are going to spend the time, here.
So far, about two million people have voted early in Florida. A lot of those people, however, have voted through absentee ballots. Now, one reason the line is so long is because right now only a small percentage of the polling places that will be open on Tuesday, November 4, are open for early voting.
For example, in Broward County there will be 300 sites open on Tuesday the 4th, but for early voting only 17. I want to bring in a gentleman.
Fred, you've been through this before. You're 27 years old, young voter, you voted in 2000, you voted in 2004. What brought you out today? What makes you want to stand in this long, long line?
FRED, FLORIDA VOTER: I mean, the rights that Obama's going to do, the rights for to keep jobs with in the U.S., the fact that he's trying to make taxes so he can give the money to younger generations rather than give the money to the big corporations.
CALLEBS: What do you hear from people out there, people from both sides. I'm sure you have friends who will vote for the GOP candidate. Are people really, really caught up in this race?
FRED: Yes, this is -- '08 is definitely the year for change, so yes. They talk about all of the different points in voting and everything, so, yes, it's definitely different.
CALLEBS: Take a look down that line. You have faces of all colors. We have faces of all ages. Were you surprised when you saw the line like this?
FRED: No, because like I said, this is a big year for the election, so I pretty much set aside like three hours to go out and vote, so here I am.
CALLEBS: Well, the bad news is you have to go to the back of the line because we took you out. No, I know there's some good people who are going to let you back in. Fred, thanks a lot and congratulations for talking advantage of your constitutional right, here.
I want to point out one more thing. We've got Ethia (ph) back here. Her job is to keep the peace out here, right?
Thumbs up, thumbs down, are you doing a good job? OK.
All these people out here, it's not easy, but so far people have been pretty controlled, Fredericka. A lot of people are ready to vote today and that line is just amazing. They close at 4:00 Eastern Time, anybody who is in line, even if it goes all the way down that road they can still cast their ballot today -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Very unique, you know, on this Saturday setting just a couple of days before Election Day, folks are taking advantage of this early voting, but the lines that you're seeing today are pretty indicative of the kinds of early voting lines you've seen in Florida all week?
CALLEBS: Oh, without question. We've been here throughout the week and the amazing thing, like, look at this young lady with her two little girls, here. There have are all kinds of kids out here and they've done great. I mean, I don't know how they get the patience to go through all this, but we have seen this throughout the week. We've been out here a number of times, actually to this polling precinct. We know all the rules, we know exactly how far 100 feet is this way, that way and that way. But, everybody's been really good out here and they've been patient. They know it's going to be a long wait, but this is an important election to a lot of people.
I mean, they're talking about a huge turnout in Florida. Now, one thing that people do talk about, what -- you know, all these polling places are open on Tuesday. Will there be long lines? It's going to be interesting to see because people may be spending a long time in line just to make sure they get to have their voice heard -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Right, because a lot of folks feel like the psychology if they go ahead and stay in long lines during the week, during the early voting, then that might mean that come Election Day, the lines will not be so long, but then there is the flipside to that thinking too where folks are just afraid that the lines are going to be long no matter what.
CALLEBS: Exactly. Exactly.
WHITFIELD: All right, Sean Callebs, thanks so much from Plantation, Florida.
Well, of course, no big reported problems there, but we do want to hear from you. If you happen to run into any problems at the polls whether it's today or maybe even on Tuesday, Election Day, call the CNN voter hotline, help us track the problems and then of course, we'll report the trouble in real-time. Call this number 1-877-462- 6608. We're keeping them honest all of the way through the election, and of course, beyond.
All right, Barack Obama's campaigning in Nevada this hour, a CNN poll of polls calculated Friday, has Obama leading McCain in Nevada with 50 percent to McCain's 43 percent with seven percent unsure. Our Susanne Malveaux joins us now from Henderson, Nevada.
And so it looks like a pretty thick, huge crowd behind you. Have we seen the man of honor as of yet?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Fred, he'll be here very shortly. He woke up in Las Vegas after taking a red eye. I think all of us have red eyes by now, this blitz, this campaign blitz until the very final day.
They are trying to tap into the excitement here in Nevada. Early voting ended just yesterday, but to give you a sense of the enthusiasm, the numbers here, they believe that 600,000 people already voted in the state of Nevada. They think it's about 60 percent of likely voters that are simply trying to get out the rest of the folks that they think will come out and actually vote on Tuesday and what the Obama campaign is excited about is when you break down those numbers in Clark County, here in the Las Vegas area, those who have voted -- out of those who voted Democrat, 51 percent to Republican's 32 percent. So, they believe that that clear she working in his favor.
One of the things that they're looking at is a lot of labor support. Those unions critical in the state of Nevada, as well as the Hispanic community, which has grown tremendously since the last election and a big, big issue here, Fred is the foreclosure rate, it is the highest in the country. So everybody is paying very, very close attention to those economic plans from both of the candidates -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, top priority for everyone across the country, indeed. All right, Suzanne Malveaux, thanks so much.
Meantime, his competitor, John McCain, well, he's campaigning in the battleground state of Virginia, to become a battleground state. He's due to speak in Springfield at a road to victory in Virginia rally. We'll also be bringing that to you live as it happens.
All right, meantime, U.S. foreign policy. If Israelis could vote would they -- who, rather, would they pick to be our next president?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Here's a look at the results from our latest poll of polls from the battleground state of Pennsylvania. It has Obama leading McCain by 11 points, 53 percent to 42 percent and five percent undecided. Pennsylvania is also proving to be a battleground for incumbent Democrat John Murtha. Live now to CNN's Brian Todd in Bucks County.
It's not necessarily a shoo-in for him. It seemed like maybe just a few weeks ago he had it made, but what's happened?
BRIAN TODD, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredericka, just about a month ago, as you mentioned they thought they had the seat locked up, but it was tightened up because of a series of perceived missteps by Congressman Murtha. About two-and-a-half weeks ago he made a comment to the "Pittsburgh Post Gazette" saying that "everybody knows that western Pennsylvania is a racist area." Now, he apologized that later and he did try to put it in context, by saying, you know, by racist I meant that there are a lot of elderly, white voters who are not necessarily receptive to change and a new kind of candidate in Barack Obama. He was making the argument that it might be tough for Barack Obama to win I his district because of that reason. But it got John Murtha into a lot of trouble.
I was in his office shortly after he made that comment in his own district, and he was flooded with angry phone calls. He really got a sense there was an uprising among his constituents there. About a week or so after that he made another comment that got him in trouble saying this whole area, years ago, was a bunch of rednecks and again, you know, that led to a real backlash against him in his district. His opponent, Republican Bill Russell, who was pretty much out of this race about a month ago, has exploited that. The Republican Party kicked in some money to help him buy ads that have exploited that. The race has now tightened and John Murtha, a congressman who's been there for 36 years, a very powerful member of the house appropriations committee and a guy who has brought millions in pet projects back to his district and was once in the running to be House majority leader, is now on the ropes in danger of losing that seat.
WHITFIELD: And so when we say it has tightened -- this race has tightened between he and Bill Russell, are we talking about it being a neck-and-neck race that the point, that it is that close for Bill Russ to have gained some momentum because of these missteps?
TODD: Well, it depends on some of the polling. Some of the recent polling has not been necessarily reliable. It's been skewed to party lines, but we do know that the polls have tightened up considerably and Russell is within striking distance. Look, the Republican party would not be taking out ads and giving Bill Russ what we think is about $80-some thousand to buy new ads, if they didn't think this within striking distances.
John Murtha, considered very vulnerable at this point and it does play into the presidential race, too, because this is an area of conservative Democrats. That is just the kind of constituency that John McCain and his team want to target in those areas around Pennsylvania, outside of Pittsburgh, outside of Philadelphia. The Republicans think that they have ground that they can really hit there and capture some key votes.
WHITFIELD: Great, a pivotal state for both presidential candidates, both spending considerable amounts of time in Pennsylvania along the way, as well. Well, we know that John McCain will be making a stop in Pennsylvania this weekend, as well. All right, Brian Todd, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
TODD: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: So, when a race gets tight, just as we were talking about, can you say just about anything to win? Is liable an issue? Our legal guys look at this very interesting case coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, we have a couple of legal cases of political persuasion, so we called upon our regular legal experts, Avery Friedman is a civil rights attorney and law professor and joining us from Cleveland, right, today?
AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHT ATTY: Good to see you, Fredericka.
WHITFIELD: Good to see you. Richard Herman is a New York criminal defense attorney and law professor.
Good to see you, as well.
RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTY: Hi, Fred.
WHITFIELD: Well, let's begin with Senator Ted Stevens. He was just convicted of felonies, yet his name is likely still on the ballot come Tuesday. He say he's still running to protect his seat that he's had for many, many decades and he says, you know what, "as far as I'm concerned I have no black marks on my record" because he is appealing. So Avery, how much of what he is saying is right, in terms of no black marks even though he's got a conviction. He can still carry on his life as he would had he gotten an acquittal.
FRIEDMAN: Sorta, kinda. Look, if he's a convicted felon he can't even vote for himself, but you know what, Fredericka, he technically is not. That conviction, by the jury, doesn't take effect legally until the sentencing which looks like it's going to be in February. So, when he says...
WHITFIELD: So, you mean, that conviction hasn't been entered, so there's no record of him, so he's kind of right when he says he has no black marks on my record until that sentencing takes place?
FRIEDMAN: He clearly has black marks all over the place, but he doesn't have a technical conviction until the U.S. district judge enters it.
WHITFIELD: So, that's why he can still vote come Tuesday.
FRIEDMAN: Yeah, it's pretsallized thinking and I don't think folks in Alaska are buying that kind of argument.
WHITFIELD: Really? When you see the photographs of people looking for his autograph there, oh, I'm sorry. You know what, Richard, we need to take that box off your face at least for this segment, don't we?
(LAUGHTER)
HERMAN: Get out of there. What was that?
WHITFIELD: Well he says, you know what, I'm still going to vote because I can. OK, there we can see you now, clearly.
HERMAN: As you should.
WHITFIELD: Clearly. So you have to wonder then there when there are so many felons across the country who are not able to vote yet he's going take an opportunity to, it seems like a double standard.
HERMAN: It's a technicality. Avery is accurate. It's not a technical conviction until the sentencing takes place. That's just how it is all over the country, that's a fact. But, what's more appalling is that the Republican party in Alaska is pushing him to continue the election and continue to run for senator for the great state of Alaska. Do you know anybody else who's from Alaska in politics? Anyway, they want him to continue. They want him to run and be the senator even though he's got this conviction and apparently our founding fathers didn't deem it fit to preclude anybody from the senate with the felony conviction.
FRIEDMAN: That's right.
HERMAN: But a two-thirds vote of the Senate will cause expulsion and this guy will be expelled and extolled and they're going to get rid of him. His career is done.
FRIEDMAN: That's true, but bottom line if you're 30 years old and you have a residency you can be a United States senator.
WHITFIELD: Wow! It's interesting. I mean, Avery, you talk about his popularity, not a chance, but you look at the front page of the "New York Times" and you see this photograph of him handing out and doing autographs because people in Alaska or maybe even other places have really embraced him because he has had history.
FRIEDMAN: Fredricka, he's brought billions of dollars, including the bridge to nowhere. I mean, he has been a very popular senator, a nasty guy, he concedes that he is, but the folks up there love him. I think the race is a very, very close one.
HERMAN: Fred, he lied and he got convicted of lying on a Senate disclosure form, seven felony counts, each one he went down on. It's unbelievable that he's continuing on.
WHITFIELD: All right, let's talk about another case. Wait a minute, are we out of time for the whole thing?
HERMAN: Oh, no! The next one's a riot.
WHITFIELD: OK. Real, real quick?
HERMAN: Yes.
WHITFIELD: We go east, we're talking about North Carolina, we're talking about Elizabeth Dole and now she's being accused of carrying out a very nasty campaign calling Kay Hagan, her opponent, godless and now we're talking about a lawsuit, defamation libel, does this have a chance -- Richard.
HERMAN: Hey you know, Don Henley wrote a song, great song, "Desperado." I mean, obviously Senator Dole is quite desperate, she's making these crazy allegations. There's going to be a defamation lawsuit. She should not bring a defamation lawsuit. They're extremely difficult to prove, she has to prove...
FREIDMAN: Yes, there is. Yes, there is.
HERMAN: And if she doesn't prove the lawsuit then the perception in the public is going to be, well the allegations were true, very dangerous. She should not file that.
WHITFIELD: Avery.
FRIEDMAN: No lawsuit, case dismissed. It's not going anywhere.
WHITFIELD: OK, but you know what? It really could impact the election because apparently, according to the local polls there, now Elizabeth Dole's popularity is slipping as a result of.
FRIEDMAN: It was dirty, but protected speech.
HERMAN: She gets away with it. Desperado.
WHITFIELD: All right well, thanks so much. Thanks for squeezing it. Sorry to rush you guy, but we got to go.
HERMAN: We understand.
WHITFIELD: All right, Richard and Avery, that's so much. It's the last push before Election Day, we have a lot to cram in involving this election season. So, a reminder CNN has all of the bases covered for your election night viewing. From the first vote to the last we're bringing you results from across the country.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, happening right now across the world, food and water arrive today at an overcrowded refugee camp in Congo. A shaky cease-fire between government and rebel forces is holding. An estimated 1 million people have been displaced.
All right. Police confirm that they have found the gun used in the killings of actress Jennifer Hudson's mother, brother and young nephew. It was found in a vacant lot near where the boy's body was found on Chicago's west side. Nobody has been charged in these killings.
And the government is warning nearly 400 passport applicants that a security breach may have left them open to identity theft. Most of the applicants live in the Washington, D.C. area.
All right, last lap, last weekend for all the presidential candidates and their running mates to criss-cross the country as best they can, trying not to take any vote, any jurisdiction, any state for granted.
Our Bill Schneider is in New York with a good look at the race and as we take a look right now -- to the left, I believe, we're there in Henderson, Nevada, where they're awaiting Barack Obama to arrive and on the right, I think we're seeing the back side there of John McCain who is in Springfield, Virginia. We will be taking to all of them as soon as the candidates themselves take to the podium.
Meantime, let's go to Bill Schneider. And Bill, you know, we're talking about Virginia here and Nevada, both have become battleground states and we heard Vice President Dick Cheney earlier say no Republicans, no candidate, really, can take any state for granted and we're seeing that demonstrated by these two candidates really fighting for the battleground states. WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, the battleground states -- almost all of these battleground states where the four candidates, two for president, two for vice president are visiting this weekend were states that were carried last time by President Bush, like Nevada, like Virginia and Florida and North Carolina and Indiana and Ohio.
But the only battleground state that anyone is visiting this weekend that was carried by the Democrats last time -- John McCain is going to go to Pennsylvania where he still has hope that he can take that away from the Democrats, but the polls don't look particularly good.
And how's this for an agressive strategy? Barack Obama has started running ads in Arizona, John McCain's home state, Arizona, where he thinks he has a chance. The polls show McCain ahead, but only by about four points. Plus Georgia, where you are, Obama's running ads in Georgia where McCain has generally been ahead and North Dakota. North Dakota is a state we just moved from a leaning McCain state, too. You can see it up there in yellow at the top of the map. North Dakota is now a toss-up state along with North Carolina, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri. There is North Dakota, too close to call.
WHITFIELD: Wow. And very interesting, you know, Bill, because we talked about the strategy of, you know, trying to reach all these voters, particularly in the battleground states. And now, we're seeing, while John McCain may be in Springfield, Virginia, today right there, he's also going to be making his way back to Pennsylvania as you mentioned.
And then, he's going to make a stop in New York, take advantage of the viewing audience of SNL, "Saturday Night Live," perhaps a response to Barack Obama on primetime for 30 minutes uninterrupted during the week?
SCHNEIDER: Yes, that's one way of getting a very, very big audience. Barack Obama got about 33 million people watching that half-hour infomercial this week. McCain has not been able to match Obama in money though the Republican Party has some money and they're likely to spend a lot in these last few days. They may even outspend the Obama campaign. But McCain is really playing catch-up on the exposure on television. Of course, "Saturday Night Live" is free.
WHITFIELD: Yes. And you know, you talk about John McCain kind of playing defense. You know, Arnold Schwarzenegger coming out in a big way campaigning for him in Ohio, but some are saying that's a little too little too late. They should have happened long ago.
SCHNEIDER: Well, there have been two strategies and John McCain has pretty much gone the straight, traditional, conservative Republican approach. Sarah Palin, she's on the ticket with him. She has a lot of appeal to conservatives.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is a very different image of the Republican Party. He gets a lot of support from independents and Democrats, otherwise how could he possibly have gotten elected twice in California, a very Democratic state where Obama is way ahead. Here at the end of the campaign, suddenly Arnold Schwarzenegger is showing up to campaign for John McCain, but McCain could have used some help with Democrats and independents for a long time now.
WHITFIELD: All right, Bill Schneider, thanks so much in New York. Appreciate it.
All right, let's take a trip down to Virginia right now where John McCain is about to step up to the mic there in Springfield at the Road to Victory in Virginia rally and that's where we also find our Dana Bash -- Dana?
DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fredricka. You can probably maybe see and certainly hear behind me his sidekick on the campaign trail, his best friend Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina is warming up the crowd and he is really trying to get some energy into this crowd. He generally tries to do that and does it successfully and certainly has been throughout this campaign and throughout the trip, particularly in Ohio and here in Virginia.
You hear that he's introducing John McCain and he's going to start in a minute and I will just briefly, before he starts, tell you -- you were talking a little bit with -- about this with Bill Schneider. This state of Virginia has obviously suddenly become so critical to John McCain. Fredricka, every state we're in, we talk about the fact that this is a must-win state for John McCain, primarily because every state he's going to is a must-win state.
But this is one that is so unusual for any Republican. The Republicans have not lost here on a presidential level since 1964, LBJ, Lyndon Johnson was the last Democratic candidate to win. That is why it is so unusual and it is why the Republicans are certainly very worried. This is the state that we're all going to be looking at on election night to see what happens.
John McCain is about, in our Poll of Polls, seven points down. There are about seven percent of undecideds, so what he's trying to do here is convince those undecides not to break for Obama, to come his way.
And he's starting to speak, let's listen to what he's saying, Fredricka.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ...Alaska, Sarah Palin ...
WHITFIELD: All right, actually, Dana, what we're going to do -- we're going to take a short break and then, we come right back. We are going to go back to Springfield there and listen to what John McCain has to say and as well as Barack Obama, who's just entering there at Henderson, Nevada. Back right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: All right, back now to Springfield, Virginia. To the right of your screen, John McCain there and to the left of your screen, we're seeing Barack Obama. For the first time, we're seeing him today campaigning at a stop in Henderson, Nevada.
But let's first listen to John McCain.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
MCCAIN: I haven't asked for earmarks. Senator Obama, in his short time in the United States Senate has asked for almost $1 billion worth and, my friends, you know, let me tell you -- let me just tell you an example. $3 million for an overhead projector for a planetarium in guess where: Chicago. Is that what we want for America when our economy is hurting, we want to spend $3 million for an overhead projector or we want to give you your tax dollars back so you can spend them?
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
MCCAIN: I'm not going to spend $750 billion of your money just bailing out the Wall Street bankers and brokers who got us into this mess. Senator Obama will. I'm going to make sure we take care of the working people who were devastated by the excesses, greed and corruption of Wall Street and Washington.
And, my friends, there is corruption in Washington. We just saw the conviction of a member of the United States Senate. We have members of Congress sitting in federal prison because of this corruption. I will clean it up. We will restore trust and confidence in the American people again.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
MCCAIN: I have -- my friends, I have a plan to fix our housing market so that your home value doesn't go down when your neighbor defaults, so that people in danger of defaulting have a way to stay in their home. That's the American dream, and I'm going protect it. We got to keep people in their homes. Give them a mortgage that they can make. Reverse this decline in home values and bring America back again.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
WHITFIELD: All right, John McCain there in Virginia and then, he's off to Pennsylvania and then later on to New York where he'll make an appearance on "Saturday Night Live."
We've heard from the Republicans all day today. Sarah Palin, McCain's running mate, in Polk City, Florida today and even Vice President Dick Cheney stumping for McCain and other Republicans from his home state of Wyoming.
Right now, let's go to Henderson, Nevada, where for the first time today in this last Saturday before Election Day, we're seeing the Democratic presidential contender, Barack Obama. (JOINED IN PROGRESS)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ...few moments over the last eight years where he's broken from George Bush. But when it comes to the economy, when it comes to the central issue of this election, the plain truth is that John McCain has stood with this president every step of the way: 90 percent. Ninety percent of the time. Voting for the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy that he said didn't make sense. Voting for the Bush budgets that took us from surplus into debt, calling for less regulation 21 times just this year, those are the facts.
After 21 months and three debates, John McCain still has not been able to tell the American people a single major thing he'd do differently from George Bush when it comes to the economy. I mean, think about it. You've been watching all their ads. Do you have any sense whatsoever of what he would do that was different from George Bush?
(BOOING)
OBAMA: That's because he spends all his time talking about me!
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: But if you look at his plans, here's what you see. When John McCain wants to give a $700,000 tax cut to the average Fortune 500 CEO, then you know that's not change. It's not change when he wants to give $200 billion to the biggest corporations, $4 billion to the oil companies. ExxonMobil made $14 billion last quarter, the most of any corporation in history and he still wants to give more tax breaks.
(BOOING)
OBAMA: $300 billion to the same Wall Street banks that got us into this mess. It's not change when he comes up with a tax plan that doesn't give a penny of relief to more than 100 million middle-class Americans.
Look, we've tried it John McCain's way, we've tried it George Bush's way. You know, deep down -- deep down, John McCain knows that, which is why his campaign said that if we keep on talking about the economy, we're going to lose. Which is why I keep on talking about the economy.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: That's why he's spending these last weeks calling me every name except a child of God. Because that's how you play the game in Washington. When you can't win on the strength of their ideals, you make a big election about small things. So, I expect in the next couple of days, we'll see more of this stuff. More of the slash and burn, say anything, do anything politics that's calculated to divide and distract, to tear us apart instead of bringing us together. But that's not the kind of politics the American people need right now. Nevada, at this moment, in this election, we have a chance to do more than just beat back this kind of politics in particular election. We can end it. Once and for all, we can prove that the one thing more powerful than that kind of politics is the will and the determination of the American people to change this country. Yes, we can!
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
CROWD (CHANTING): Yes, we can!
OBAMA: We can prove -- we can prove that we are not as divided as our politics would suggest. That we're more than just a collection of red states and blue states. We are the United States of America.
(CHEERING)
OBAMA: We can steer ourselves out of this crisis with a new politics for a new time. We can build the future we know is possible as one people, as one nation. That's why I'm running for president of the United States, to bring this country together and solve problems.
And Nevada, I know these are difficult times. I know how tough it is right now in Nevada, but we've faced difficult times before. The American story has never been about things coming easy. It's been about rising to the moment when the moment was hard. It's about rejecting fear and division for unity of purpose. That's how we overcame war and depression, that's how we've won great struggles for civil rights and women's rights and workers' rights. That's how we'll write the next great chapter in the American story.
Now, understand, if we want to meet these challenges, we're going to have to get past some of the old arguments, the old ideological debates that divide left and right. For example, we don't need bigger government or smaller government, we need smarter government, we need better government, we need more competent government. We need more honest government, a government that fights for you and that fights for the values we hold in common as Americans.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: That's what we need and that's what we can stand up for in three days' time.
(CHEERING)
OBAMA: The choice in this election isn't between tax cuts and no tax cuts, it's about whether you believe we should only reward wealth or we should also reward the work and the workers who give it.
(CHEERING)
OBAMA: You know, I am going to give a tax break to 95 percent of Americans who work every day and get their taxes taken out of their paychecks every single week. (CHEERING)
OBAMA: And I'll help pay for this by asking folks who are making more than $250,000 a year to go back to the tax rate they were paying in the 1990s. John McCain calls this socialistic. I call it opportunity. I call it fairness.
Let me see a show of hands. How many people make less than a quarter million dollars a year? Raise your hand.
No matter what John McCain may claim, here are the facts: if you make less than a quarter million dollars a year, you will not see your taxes increase one single dime, not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains tax, no tax. The last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle class. You need relief and that's what we're going to do when I'm president of the United States.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: When it comes to jobs, the choice in this election is not between putting up a wall around America or standing around and doing nothing. Look, the truth is we're not going to be able to bring back every single job that we lost. Manufacturing has changed, industries have consolidated.
We can compete in the global marketplace, but that doesn't mean that we should keep on giving tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas like John McCain wants to do. It doesn't mean that we go ahead and sign trade agreements that don't protect workers and don't protect the environment.
We've got to make sure that we got trade deals that work for American businesses and American workers and as president, I will take away tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas and give them to companies that invest in jobs right here in the United States of America.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: We can create two million new jobs by rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges, rebuilding our schools. We can invest $15 billion a year in renewable sources of energy to create five million new energy jobs over the next decade. Jobs that pay well and can't be outsourced, jobs creating solar panels right here in Nevada, creating wind turbines, building the fuel-efficient cars of tomorrow, not in Japan, not in South Korea, but right here in the United States of America and put Americans back to work.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: When it comes to health care, we don't have to choose between a government-run health care system and the unaffordable one we have right now. If you already have health insurance, the only thing that will change under my plan is we're going to lower your premiums. But if you don't have health insurance, you're going to be able to get the same kind of health insurance that members of Congress get for themselves.
And as somebody who watched his mother at the end of her life in a hospital bed arguing with an insurance company because they claimed that her cancer was a pre-existing condition and didn't want to pay for her treatment, I will stop insurance companies from discriminating against those who are sick and need care the most.
(CHEERING)
OBAMA: It is wrong, and I will not allow it to happen when I'm president of the United States.
(CHEERING)
CROWD: Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama!
OBAMA: When it comes to giving every child a world-class education, the choice is not between more money and more reform, our schools need both. As president, I'm going invest in early childhood education. We're going to help with school construction to make sure that kids aren't in overcrowded schools. We're going recruit an army of new teachers. Pay all our teachers more money, give them more support.
(CHEERING)
OBAMA: We'll insist on high standards and accountability, but we won't have teachers just teaching to the test, and we are going to make a deal with every American, every young American out there who has the will and the drive to go to college: if you commit to national service, if you are willing to serve your community or your country in the military, in the Peace Corps, work in a homeless shelter or work in a veteran's home, then we will make sure that you can afford your tuition, no ifs ands or buts. We're going to invest in the young people of America.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: When it comes to keeping this country safe, we don't have to choose between retreating from the world and fighting a war without end in Iraq. We're spending $10 billion a month in Iraq while the Iraqi government sits on a huge surplus. As president, I will end this war.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: I will ask the Iraqi government to step up, and I will finally finish the fight against bin Laden and al Qaeda and all those who killed Americans on 9/11. We should have never lost our focus on that.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: As commander in chief, I will never hesitate to defend this nation, but I will make sure that our service men and women have the best training and the best equipment when they deploy into combat, that we have a clear mission and an exit strategy and that when they come home, they get the care and the benefits that they have earned. That's what we owe our veterans, that's what I'll do as president of the United States of America.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Now, Henderson, I won't pretend that any of this is going to be easy. The cost of this economic crisis, the cost of the war in Iraq means that Washington's going to have to tighten its belt. We'll have to put off spending on things we don't need. You know, Bush has dug a deep hole for us. He's trying to pass the shovel over to John McCain.
But we're going to have to be the responsible ones. We're going to have to go through the federal budget, line by line. We'll have to end programs we don't need, make the ones that we do need work better and cost less. But as I've said from the day we began this journey, the change we need won't just come from government. We've got to change our attitudes. We've got to change our spirit. It will come from each of us doing our part in our own lives, in our own communities, from each of us looking after ourselves and our families and our fellow citizens.
So, yes, government has to lead the way on energy independence, but each of us can do our part to make homes and businesses more efficient. Yes, we have to put more money in our schools, but government can't turn off the TV set and make sure your child does your homework. You've got to be a parent to your child.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: We need a return to responsibility and we need a return to civility. So, we can argue and debate about our positions passionately, but all of us have to summon the strength and the grace to bridge our differences, to unite in common effort, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, Democrat, Republican, young, old, rich, poor, gay, straight, disabled, not disabled, all of us have to come together to move this country forward.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: We can't afford the same, old nasty politics. The same, underhanded tactics that pit us against one other, make us afraid of one another. Despite what our opponents may claim, there are no real or fake parts of this country. There's no city or town that's more pro-America than anywhere else. We are one nation, all of us proud, all of us patriots.
The men and women who served on our battlefields, some may be Democrats, some may be Republicans, some may be independents, but they fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag. They did not serve red America or blue America, they served the United States of America, that's what this election is about, uniting this country.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) OBAMA: It won't be easy. It won't be quick, but you and I know the time has come. The time's come to change this country. The time has come to come together. Some of you may be cynical, some of you may be fed up with politics and you have every right to be. But despite all of this, I ask of you what has been asked of the American people throughout our history. I ask you to believe, not just in my ability to bring about change, but in yours.
I know this change is possible because I've seen it over the last 21 months. Because in this campaign, right here in Nevada, I've had the privilege to witness what is best in America. I've seen it in the faces of men and women that I met at countless rallies and town halls across the country. Men and women who speak of their struggles, but also their hopes and their dreams.
And I still remember an e-mail that a woman named Robin sent me. We'd had a rally like this one in Fort Lauderdale and she had come and brought her son. And some time after the event, her son, who was in high school, nearly went into cardiac arrest. He was diagnosed with a heart condition that could only be treated with a procedure that cost tens of thousands of dollars. Her insurance company refused to pay. Their family didn't have that kind of money.
And in her e-mail, Robin wrote to me. She said, I ask only this of you, on the days where you feel so tired you can't think of uttering another word to the people, think of us. When those who oppose you have you down, reach deep and fight back harder.
Nevada, that's what hope is. That's what kept some of our parents and our grandparents --
WHITFIELD: All right, you've been listening to Barack Obama there stumping in Henderson, Nevada, and if you want to continue to hear more of what he's saying, you can go to CNN.com/live. And John McCain is speaking in Springfield, Virginia. You can do the same by going to that Web site and listening to him as well.
I'm Fredricka Whitfield here in the NEWSROOM. Straight ahead on a special election edition of "YOUR MONEY," we break down the candidates' economic plans so that you can figure out which one works for you. "YOUR MONEY" starts right now.
