Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

John McCain Addressed the Crowd in Tampa, Florida; Gov. Sarah Palin in Lakewood, Ohio; Senator Barack Obama Thanking Supporters

Aired November 03, 2008 - 09:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Closing arguments. Each candidate making his final case. Coming up, their rallies, your referendums.
And global market gains, new month, new direction? Wall Street opens this hour.

It's Monday, November 3rd, election eve. I'm Heidi Collins. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Seven states in 17 hours. Senator John McCain blitzing the country this final day of the campaign. His first rally, just minutes away in Florida. Then, it's on to Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Indiana, New Mexico, Nevada, and finally home to Arizona.

His running mate, Governor Sarah Palin, also set to meet supporters this hour in Ohio. She moves on to Missouri, Iowa, Colorado, and Nevada.

Senator Barack Obama tries to close the deal with voters in the battlegrounds, Florida, North Carolina, and Virginia. Senator Joe Biden concentrates on three other swing states, Ohio, Missouri, and Pennsylvania.

Whew! The best political team on television will bring it all to you, starting with CNN's Ed Henry covering McCain's final campaign swing, and Suzanne Malveaux keeping up with Obama.

Let's go ahead and begin with you, Ed. Senator McCain starting off his extremely busy day in Tampa, Florida. What are we going to hear?

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Heidi.

What's interesting is Senator McCain wakes up to some good news here in Florida. CNN's latest poll of polls has this to a race where he's only down two points in the sunshine state. These critical 27 electoral votes.

McCain aides believe they're surging in some of these battlegrounds, but they also know they have very little room for error.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY (voice over): John McCain trying to close strong by deploying a tactic he never uses -- a late-night rally, midnight in Miami.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: America faces a big choice and there's just one day left. Pundits have written us off, just like they've done before. And my opponent is measuring the drapes in the White House.

(CROWD BOOS)

MCCAIN: They may not know it, but the Mac is back.

HENRY: McCain and running mate Sarah Palin are hitting a total of at least a dozen contested states in a mad dash across the country on the final full day of barnstorming.

The problem is, the ticket is spending most of its time defending states carried by President Bush in 2004, such as Virginia, where Democrats are bullish about winning for the first time in 44 years.

BRIAN MORAN (D), VIRGINIA DELEGATE: Barack Obama's support is in the small towns, big cities, farming communities, as well as subdivisions, in the exurbs, so I'm -- feeling more and more confident that we will turn Virginia blue.

HENRY: So the most critical piece of McCain's final strategy is to offset potential losses in Republican states by flipping a monster Democratic battleground, Pennsylvania, and its 21 electoral votes.

That's why he campaigned there Saturday and Sunday, where he's charging Barack Obama's tax policies will make the economy worse.

MCCAIN: Senator Obama is running to spread the wealth. I'm running to create more wealth. Senator Obama's running to punish the successful, I'm running to make everyone successful.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY: And this long day will end for John McCain with yet another midnight rally, this time in his home state of Arizona, originally just supposed to be a homecoming, but now it could also be a sort of get-out-the-vote rally.

In these final days, the polls have even tightened in McCain's home state, a sign of the difficulty ahead for him -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Well, Ed, wondering about tomorrow and where everybody is going to be actually on Election Day. I guess McCain is going to be in Colorado, right?

HENRY: That's right, actually, two states. What's interesting, Heidi, normally the candidates try to rest a little bit, wait for the returns in their home state, but tomorrow John McCain going to both Colorado and New Mexico, a sign that he's going to try to work this thing right down until the final wire.

But, also, he realized Barack Obama making a strong charge in the mountain west. John McCain needs to defend his turf there as well. I guess we were all hoping to get at least a little bit of sleep, but John McCain is going to keep us awake a little longer, Heidi.

COLLINS: No siree, Bob. All right, Ed, we sure do appreciate that. And we are going to go back to Tampa the minute Senator McCain begins speaking. It's the first event on what promises to be a grueling final day on the campaign trail.

Senator Barack Obama is eyeing three states today, all in the south, all traditionally Republican. CNN's Suzanne Malveaux with the Obama campaign this morning in Jacksonville.

So Suzanne, polls are showing Obama with a lead over all, but several states, as we just talked about, are tightening. Are they worried about jinxing themselves a little bit here?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I have to tell you, I think Ed said none of us are going to get any sleep, I think that's true on all sides, Heidi. I think this is going to be an incredibly long, long day. This last-minute blitz here.

And I have to tell you here, there is a sense from the Obama campaign, there's a lot of excitement, there's a lot of enthusiasm and some confidence. We heard Barack Obama for the first time yesterday telling supporters that maybe, just maybe he could win this thing.

But I talked to a lot of people, and while there's excitement, there's also this sense, people say I'm terrified, I'm terrified that something is going to happen unexpected that we don't know, that somehow my vote is not going to count.

And -- the Obama understands, realizes there's a lot of anxiety and fear around him. And they're really trying to using it to motivate voters, to go out, essentially, and make sure that family and friends are going to come out to the polls tomorrow and vote.

And especially here in Jacksonville, Florida, Duval County, you may recall the 2000 voting debacle that happened. There were 26,000 ballot that were not valid because of improperly punched, that kind of thing, hanging chads.

So people here they don't forget that and they -- a lot of people really feel like they've got to have their vote count this time, they feel it didn't happen back in 2000, so they are motivated to come out and Barack Obama trying to get them to do just that, Heidi.

COLLINS: Well, as we've been talking about here now, both campaigns are breaking with tradition and going to do the campaigning on Election Day.

Tell us where Barack Obama will be focusing his campaign tomorrow.

MALVEAUX: It's going to be the neighboring state of Indiana, next to his home state, obviously, Chicago, Illinois. And the significance of that, obviously, it's Republican leaning, but the CNN Poll of Polls showing now that it is actually McCain who is leading, but by only by one percentage points. So they feel very confident that it is competitive, but it is possible he gets that state. You know that because we're connected at the northwest corner there, side by side, that they share a TV market in Chicago, people very familiar with Barack Obama, so he feels he can tap into that familiarity and hopefully get some folks to come out and vote for him.

COLLINS: Well, Suzanne, here's to your last good night of sleep in a couple of days, anyway.

Suzanne Malveaux, nice to see you, coming to us this morning from Jacksonville.

MALVEAUX: Nice to see you, Heidi.

COLLINS: Thank you.

Well, much of the election talk has been centered on the Republican and Democratic candidates, but you should know and remember there are, of course, other parties on the ballot.

Bob Barr is running for president on the libertarian ticket. He's joining me now here on the set to talk a little bit more about this.

Good morning to you. Thanks for being with us.

BOB BARR, LIBERTARIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Always a pleasure, Heidi.

COLLINS: Thank you.

First thing I want to do is look at one of our latest poll. This, of course, is a CNN Opinion Research Corporation Poll. Let's go ahead and put that on the screen for everybody so they can see it at home here.

You see the numbers. This is likely voters' choice for president. Barack Obama, 51 percent, John McCain 43 percent, Ralph Nader, 3 percent, and you are there at 1 percent.

Tell me about what you're hoping to have happen tomorrow. What's the goal here?

BARR: Well, what we're hoping for and what we expect to happen is that that 1 percent will increase significantly, you know, certainly not enough to vault me into a runoff for the presidency, but to make sure that the American people look at the results on November 5th, the day after the election and say, by, golly, yes, there is a real choice.

And it -- you know, the sky did not fall because we voted for the libertarian candidate. To make people understand and realize that the libertarian platform, a much smaller federal government and more individual liberty, really is a mainstream, relevant political philosophy. COLLINS: Because there certainly has been an awful lot of talk during this election cycle about how big the federal government could potentially grow.

How do you explain that to people? How do you explain that this is not something that your party believes is going to be effective or beneficial to the people?

BARR: Both the Democrats and the Republicans have handed us the perfect illustration of why the current system that results in ever- bigger government isn't working, and it's these bailouts.

We just read in the paper today that the AIG bailout, which -- for which they've already gotten over $100 billion, actually isn't working, isn't doing anything. When the federal government steps in and takes taxpayers' money, takes money out of our pocket, and tries to manipulate the market instead of leaving it to the free market forces, things don't work properly.

This is the best example, this $1 trillion bailout or series of bailouts that we could hope for.

COLLINS: But to be fair, this came up after -- long after you decided to run for president.

What is it that made you want to run for the highest office in this country?

BARR: What made me run -- want to run for president is the fact that both the Republican and the Democratic parties are not responding to the basic needs of our history and the people of this country to empower people as opposed to empowering government.

COLLINS: In fact, you say that they don't understand the constitution.

BARR: They really don't. For example, these bailouts, there's no constitutional authority at all for the federal government to be doing what it's doing, but very few people outside of the Libertarian Party and a few constitutional scholars are raising that as a legitimate issue, which it is.

COLLINS: So you feel like the American people should be really upset about this?

BARR: They ought to be tremendously upset, particularly young people, because it's the young people that are going to be paying years into the future for this massive spending, and the inflation that's inevitably going to come from it.

COLLINS: I know you've been doing an awful lot of traveling, just like the other candidates have been doing. We discussed the battlegrounds are the same battlegrounds for you, of course.

When this is over tomorrow, possibly into Wednesday, God forbid, what do you hope to take away from this and what will you do next? BARR: Well, of course, I'm a working stiff, like you are, and so many millions of Americans, after, I'm going to get back to work, practice law, do consulting work and writing as I have for many years.

But I'm also going to remain very active politically. And what we hope will happen on Election Day is that the Libertarian Party will obtain a sufficient percentage of the popular vote in order to influence public policy in much the same way that Ross Perot's ideas took hold after the '92 election, even though he didn't win, because he got sufficient votes so that the other two parties could no longer ignore him.

COLLINS: We call it a spoiler.

BARR: No, we call it a public policy advocate. And that's the way, by getting a sufficient percentage of the vote so the other two parties can't ignore you, that way you can make sure that those issues that are important to your party and to the American people are actually heard.

COLLINS: All right. Well, we will be watching. We sure do appreciate your time here.

BARR: Thank you.

COLLINS: I know it's been a long, long run for everybody. We appreciate it. Presidential candidate and former congressman, Bob Barr.

Thank you, Bob.

BARR: Thank you, Heidi.

COLLINS: Early voting lines that twist, turn, and snake around the block. That's a picture from Los Angeles where our iReporter said she waited four hours and was happy to do it.

In Oklahoma City, an iReporter tell us she was surprised to see so many Democrats in line in a traditionally red state. And in Jacksonville, Florida, it leaves voters got to wait in the sun.

You can get into the iReport action, too. Just log on to iReport.com and upload your election pictures and video.

Rob Marciano standing by now with the Election Day forecast. Where should we be? What's the best place to go stand in one of those lines, Rob?

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, you -just -- you know, East Coast for the most part.

COLLINS: OK.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MARCIANO: Tomorrow should be nice, whether you're heading to the beach or to the voting booth. If you are heading to the beach, go vote as well.

COLLINS: Yes, yes. Good idea. All right, Rob. We'll check in later. Thank you.

MARCIANO: See you.

COLLINS: Promises, promises. Candidates make them, but can they keep them? A hard look at the budget shortfall the new president will inherit.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Around the world on the eve of the U.S. election, investors offer their own vote of confidence. In Asia, the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong closed up 2.7 percent. Australia's market also ended higher, up 5 percent.

In Europe, markets in Britain, Germany, and France have been in mostly positive territory this morning, too. See good news there.

Early numbers point, though, to a flat start on Wall Street. The opening bell, of course, coming your way at the bottom of the hour.

For now, though, we told you there are going to be a whole lot of events taking place today for all of the candidates. Want to take you directly now to Governor Sarah Palin. She is in Lakewood, Ohio. Let's listen.

GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I thank you for that warm welcome and for that kind introduction also. Thank you so much.

It is so good to be here in Lakewood, Ohio. Good to be in the buckeye state.

Someone, first, I would like you to meet, and that is my husband, Alaska's first dude, John Palin. Up in Alaska, Todd is a commercial fisherman and he's a North Slope oil production operator, blue-collar, hard worker, member of the United Steelworkers Union, and Todd is the four-time world champion of longest snow machine race in the world, 2,000 miles across Alaska, the Iron Man.

So he knows a little something about racing and how to win. Now, Ohio, you are so welcoming and it is so good to get to be here. What I like seeing, also, is so many of these blue stars and blue star moms out there. We appreciate you, blue star moms, because they have a loved one fighting for all of us over in the war zone and we respect them.

And speaking of that, I know that we have patriots all over in this audience. Those of you who are veterans or serving today in uniform, raise your hand. We're going to thank you guys. And we do thank you.

USA! USA!

(CROWD CHANTING)

PALIN: And we do, we thank you for your service and for your sacrifice.

Now, Ohio, Election Day is just hours away now and the time for choosing is so near. Ohio, are you ready to help carry your state to victory? Are you ready to make John McCain the next president of the United States? And are you ready to send us to Washington to shake things up and get to work for all of you?

So as that time for choosing draws near, really the choice could not be clearer. Our country is facing tough times, and now more than ever, we need someone tough as president, and only John McCain has the experience and the courage and the wisdom to get this economy back on the right track.

See, John has a pro-private sector, pro-growth agenda that is going to get this government back on your side. Ohio, never be led to believe that it isn't your government. It's of the people, by the people, for the people. It should be working for you, not you working for government. We're going to put it back on your side, Ohio.

Now -- as president John McCain, he's going to have the guts, also, to confront, finally, the $10 trillion federal debt that the federal government has run up. $10 trillion that we're expected to hand to our children and have them pay off for us. And that's not right, and that's not fair, and that will not happen on our watch.

So we'll impose a spending freeze to cover all but the most vital functions of government, like defense and taking care of our veterans and our seniors. We will balance the federal budget by the end of our first term and we're going to lower your income taxes.

Here's where we'll go. We'll double the child tax deduction for every family and we will cut the capital gains tax. We will bring tax relief to every American and every business. See, John McCain and I, we have a very basic and fundamental disagreement with our opponents on this whole issue of taxes.

Now is the worst possible time to even think about raising taxes on you and our small businesses. Small businesses are the backbone of this economy. This is the worst possible time to even consider this. And yet, we know that that is what Barack Obama is now stating in plain language will happen.

And we know from an independent analysis that our opponent's economic plan will kill nearly 6 million jobs over the next decade. But, see, Senator Obama has an ideological commitment to higher taxes. It's like he just can't help himself. It's ideological with him.

And though he seems to adjust his tax plan pronouncements nearly every day now, we're hearing flip-flopping around on the details, you need to pay so close attention to what they're actually saying with this tax plan and how they're wanting to take more from you and from our small businesses. His commitment to higher taxes never changes and all you have to do is look at his record, and it is not mean spirited, it is not negative campaigning to call someone out on their record, their associations, and their plans for this country.

It is not -- it is not negative campaigning to call him out on his record and we're going to do so because it is in fairness to the electorate. And you would be so surprised to find out what we found out even in the last couple of days, 11th hour of this campaign after two years, 11th hour here, and more and more light, though, thank the Lord, more and more light is being shown on his plan and his record.

So let's start with that record. He voted 94 times for higher taxes, 94 opportunities he had. All those opportunities he had to be on our side, and instead he chose the side of bigger, more controlling government, taking more from you and from our small businesses.

Now 94 times there, even supporting increasing taxes on hard- working, everyday American just making $42,000 a year. And now he's committed to nearly $1 trillion more in new government spending, but he won't even bother to tell you, I don't even know if he's been asked by mainstream media, where is he going to get the $1 trillion to pay for all these new proposals.

It's got to come from higher taxes. Now you can do the math, or you can just go with your gut, either way, you draw the same conclusion. Based on his record, Barack Obama is for bigger government, taking more from you, and increasing your taxes. So beware of this.

Now this whole tax plan of his, it's -- so phony that's it's already starting to unravel and more and more American voters are understanding this. It seems like every day now we're hearing a new definition of what mill class is, those whom he promises not to slam with that tax increase, as he talks about.

Well, first, remember, it started off as if you make $250,000 a year, you wouldn't be hit with a tax increase. Then it dropped down to $200,000 a year. Then it dropped down to $150,000 a year.

And then just the other day, finally, we hear more through candidness, a spokesperson who's working so hard to get Obama elected so that they can implement this tax plan, now it's down to those making $120,000 a year and under.

And he does not realize, evidently, or he's not being forthright with you, $120,000 a year and under, you know how many small businesses fit into that category that are going to be slammed with a tax increase?

Again, that -- what that does is, it squashes the entrepreneurial spirit of our small businesses that allow this country to grow into the greatest country on earth with that kind of tax plan.

Now -- USA! He calls all of this, he calls all of this spreading the wealth, taking more from you, and then dolling out these dollars according to some politician's priorities. He calls it spreading the wealth.

Joe Biden calls higher taxes patriotic. But good ol' Joe the Plumber there in Toledo, Ohio, thanks goodness for Joe the Plumber. Joe the Plumber succeeded where the rest of us had failed. Joe the Plumber called him out, asked him a straightforward question, and got more than just a handshake and a campaign button at a photo op that was staged to make Obama look good, and yet, Obama ended up walking away from that encounter not looking really pleased, because Joe the Plumber just asked a straight forward question, desiring an answer.

Obama, what is your intention with these tax increases? And of course, Obama had to, unscripted, be candid, finally, and let him know that that was the intention there. Now, Joe the Plumber, he said to him, what all this sounds like is socialism, and now is not the time to experiment with socialism.

Now our opponent's plan is just for bigger government and that is the problem. That's not the solution. So John and I, we have the complete opposite commitment in all of this. Instead of taking more of what you earn and produce and spreading your wealth, no, we're going to spread opportunities so that you can create new wealth and new opportunities for our children, especially, new opportunities.

So, Ohio, if you share our commitment and if you work hard and if you know what hard work feels like, and if you believe that America is the land of possibilities, and if you don't want your dreams dashed by the Obama tax increase plan, then, Ohio, we are asking for your vote.

Do you share our commitment and can we count on you tomorrow, Ohio?

We will win!

(CROWD CHANTING)

PALIN: I'll tell you, this is the right place to be for us to kick off this final day of campaigning. This is the right place to be. And you can just feel it here, you can just feel it here in Ohio, victory's coming. We can do this. We can win. We can win, Ohio. And we must win for you.

Look, there are so many things we've got to get to work on in this country to put it back on the right track. One thing, energy independence. John and I will step this nation firmly on a path towards energy independence.

And we're going to develop new energy resources, we'll tap into what we've already got to. You know, we have billions of barrels of oil warehoused underground. We have hundreds of trillions of cubic feet of clean natural gas and we have more coal in this free country than all the oil wealth in Saudi Arabia. We need to be tapping into it.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

It makes no sense, what we're doing today. We've had 30 years of failed energy policy in this country. We're circulating hundreds of billions of dollars, your U.S. dollars into foreign countries, asking them to ramp up production so that we can purchase supplies from them. We have the domestic solutions right here.

You know those hundreds of billions of dollars. A lot of times, those dollars end up in the hands of volatile foreign regimes that do not like America and they use energy as a weapon. Those hundreds of billions of dollars need to be circulated right here, creating jobs for all of you.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

So, using the safest methods, we will drill here, drill now. We'll drill, baby, drill, and mine, baby, mine. You betcha! We will.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

Now, to gain this energy independence for our country and to create the jobs that you so deserve, we're going to make the most of what we have with our nation's vast supply of coal.

Now, here's something, another revelation, 11th hour, thank goodness, at least, 11th hour, but the sun is shining on this issue also with coal. Just recently, Senator Biden made it very clear that in an Obama-Biden administration, there would be no use for clean coal. And from Wyoming to West Virginia, especially right here in Ohio, America's coal resources, so rich -- again, greater than the oil supply there in Saudi Arabia. But Joe Biden says, nah, sorry, Ohio, it's not going to be put to use here. Maybe in China, he says, but not here.

And then just yesterday, just yesterday, revelation, an audiotape surfaces. People are starting to hear, in his own words, what Senator Obama's intention is for the coal industry. You got to hear this tape. You're going to hear Obama saying it, talking about bankruptcy -- bankruptcy there in the coal industry. He's explaining all of this to the "San Francisco Chronicle." And he says, and there must be something about San Francisco and he, because it's like -- I heard on Fox News today, it's like a truth serum, where when he's there, he seems to be more candid and, remember, it was there that he talked about -- there you go, the bitter clingers, the cling-ons, all of us, I guess. You know, holding on to religion and guns.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

So something about he being there in San Francisco. So he's talking to the "San Francisco Chronicle", and he says that, sure, if industry wants to try to build these coal-fired power plants, they can go ahead and try. But they're only going to be able to do it in a way that bankruptcies, the whole industry, the coal industry.

Now, he's comfortable with this happening, and then he talks about -- it's a given, your electric prices are going to go sky high also. He says it right there. And again, a day before the election, I'm glad at least Ohio will get -- will get wind of what his intentions are there.

See, John McCain and I, we will not let that happen to the coal industry. Instead --

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

Because, see, we understand, this is a matter of national security and economic prosperity, this energy independence we need, when we know that we have the resources here, instead of using in foreign lands their resources. We will make clean coal a reality, a priority, and we're going to help power the American economy with it, and clean coal technology.

We're going to look to the hard-working people of Ohio to help us get there.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

So by developing this technology, we're going to deliver not only electricity, but jobs to some of the areas that have been hardest hit in these economic times of woe. Now, we will achieve energy independence for our country. That means American energy resources, brought to you by American ingenuity and produce --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEIDI COLLIS, CNN ANCHOR: From the vice presidential running mate to the presidential candidate. John McCain, he is getting ready to address the crowd there in Tampa, Florida. Let's go ahead and move over to him, and his crowd there. Listen in for just a few minutes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you. Thank you, Mike Alstad for your courage. Thank you for inspiring Americans. Thank you for your great, great contributions, both on and off the field. Mike Alstad, thank you for everything.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

His wife, Nicole, and children here, are also here. Thank you, Nicole. Thank you very much.

And the next first lady of the United States of America, Cindy McCain.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

Thanks to our great governor, Charlie Crist. Thank you for the great job you're doing. And a truly, truly great United States senator and my friend and comrade, Mel Martinez, who is the American dream, who served this country with honor and distinction and his wife, Kitty.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) And the man who had the courage to stand up and go across the aisle and support my candidacy because he believed in America first, Joe Lieberman.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

Senator Richard Burr of the State of North Carolina and his wife, Brooke. Thank you, Richard. Thank you very much.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

Thank you all for being here. With this kind of enthusiasm and this kind of intensity, we will win Florida and we will win this race tomorrow.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

There's one day left -- there's one day left until we take America in a new direction, my friends.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

And we need your help. We need your help and we will win. Volunteer, knock on doors, get your neighbors to the polls. I need your vote. We need to bring real change to Washington and we have to fight for it.

My friends, I've been fighting for this country since I was 17 years old, and I have the scars to prove that.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

If I'm elected president, I will fight to shake up Washington and take America in a new direction from my first day in office until my last.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

I'm not afraid of the fight, I'm ready for it!

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

And you know, I bring -- I bring best wishes from my partner in that fight, Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

And my friends, I can hardly wait to introduce her to the old boy network and the cronyism and corruption in Washington, D.C. She'll clean it up.

My friends, we're going to cut taxes for working families and we'll cut business taxes to help create jobs and keep American businesses in America.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) Senator Obama's massive new tax increases would kill jobs, make a bad economy worse. I'm not going to let that happen. We need pro-growth and pro-job economic policies, not pro-government spending programs paid for with higher taxes.

AUDIENCE: U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!

MCCAIN: My friends, if I'm elected president, I won't spend nearly $1 trillion more of your money, Senator Obama will. I'm going to make government live on a budget, just like you do and I will veto every pork barrel earmark bill that comes across my desk. You will know their names and I will make them famous.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

We're 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 of Wall Street and Washington.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

I have a plan to fix our housing market, to get home values up, and keep people in their homes. That's the American dream. And I'm going to protect it.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

You know, their latest tax and spend idea, the Democrats are talking about taxing your 401(k) contributions. I'm going to protect people's retirement, not tax it. I'm going to protect social security. I'm going to protect Medicare, and I'm not going to let this Congress tax away your retirement.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

My friends, if I'm -- when I'm elected president --

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

We're going to -- we're going to stop sending $700 billion to buy oil from countries that don't like us very much, including Hugo Chavez and Venezuela, my friends.

We'll invest in every energy alternative -- wind, solar, tide, hybrid cars, clean coal, safe nuclear power. We will lower the cost of energy and create millions of new jobs. We will have environmentally safe offshore drilling. Senator Obama opposes it, we will drill offshore and we will drill now.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

And you know what? We're going to take more of those revenues and we're going to share them with the State of Florida. (CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

I believe that Governor Charlie Crist and the legislature knows how better to spend that money than the bureaucrats in Washington, don't you?

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

You know, a couple of weeks ago, there was an interesting thing that happened in American politics and in American life. Senator Obama told Joe the Plumber that he wants to, quote, "spread the wealth around."

Senator Obama is running to be redistributionist-in-chief, I'm running to be commander-in-chief.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

Senator Obama is running to spread the wealth, I'm running to create more wealth.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

Senator Obama is running to punish the successful, I'm running to make everyone successful.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

This is the fundamental difference between Senator Obama and me. We both disagree with President Bush on economic policy. The difference is, he thinks that taxes are too low and I think that spending has been too high.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

My friends, I'm not -- I'm not George Bush. If Senator Obama wanted to run against George Bush, he should have run four years ago.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

If we're going to change Washington, we need a president who has actually fought for change and made it happen, even by taking on the leaders of his own party. Senator Obama has never taken on the leaders of his party on any issue. The next president won't have time to learn how to change Washington or get used to the office. America faces many challenges here at home and many enemies abroad in this dangerous world.

You know, just the other day, Senator Joe the Biden --

(LAUGHTER)

The gift -- the gift that keeps on giving -- he said -- he said, mark my words -- mark my words, he warned that Senator Obama would be tested with an international crisis within the first six months due to his youth and inexperience. And at the same time, Democrats in Congress are talking about deep defense cuts. We have troops fighting in two wars and the Democrats answer is to lower our defenses and put someone in office who our enemies will test? I've been tested. I've passed that test! Senator Obama has not!

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

He's been wrong during this whole campaign. He said he would sit down, unconditionally with dictators. When Russia invaded Georgia, Senator Obama said the invaded country should show restraint. What's that all about?

He opposed the surge strategy that has worked in Iraq and will work in Afghanistan. When I'm president, we're going to win in Iraq, win in Afghanistan.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

And our troops will come home with victory and honor and not in defeat!

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

So let me give you some straight talk about the election, my friends. America faces a big choice and there's just one day left. The pundits have written us off just like they've done before. And my opponent is measuring the drapes in the White House.

Now -- and by the way, one of my first acts as president will be to ban the delaying of the World Series by any infomercial.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

You know, my friends, the pundits may not know it and the Democrats may not know it, but the Mac is back!

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

And we're going to win this election.

AUDIENCE: U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!

MCCAIN: My friends, I know you're worried. But you also know America is a great country. But we're at a momentum of national crisis that will determine our future. And let me ask you, will we continue to lead the world's economies or will we be overtaken? Will the world become safer or more dangerous? Will our military remain the strongest in the world? And will our children and grandchildren's future be brighter than ours? My answer to you is, yes! Yes, we will lead! Yes, we will prosper! Yes, we will be safer! Yes, we will pass on to our children a stronger, better country.

But we must be prepared to act swiftly, boldly with courage and wisdom. I am an American and I choose to fight!

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) Don't give up hope, be strong, have courage and fight! Fight for a new direction for our country and for what's right for America. Fight to clean up the mess of corruption, infighting and selfishness in Washington. Fight to get our economy out of the ditch and back in the lead. Fight for the ideals and character of a free people. Fight for our children's future! Fight for justice and opportunity for all! Stand up! Stand up to defend our country from its enemies! Stand up, stand up, stand up and fight! America is worth fighting for. Nothing is inevitable here. We never give up. We never quit. We never hide from history. We make history.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

Now, let's go win this election and get this country moving again. Thank you. God bless you. Get out to vote tomorrow. Win this election. God bless you and God bless America. Thank you.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain, coming to us from Tampa, Florida, today. Actually, he'll be in seven different states today. So, obviously, a lot of events to bring you live. You can get them all right here on CNN.

We also heard from Governor Sarah Palin a little bit earlier. Lakewood, Ohio, is where she began her day. We'll be back right here in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: 21 months of campaigning comes down to these final hours. Senator Barack Obama thanking supporters. Here he is, in fact, with the famous one, Bruce Springsteen. But Obama is also warning against overconfidence.

At each stop, he reminds supporters of the long road they've traveled and the hard work awaiting them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We began this journey in the depths of winter almost two years ago, on the steps of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois. And back then, we didn't have much money. We didn't have many endorsements. We weren't given much of a chance with the polls or by the pundits, so we knew we had a steep climb ahead of us.

But I also knew this. I knew that the size of our challenges had outgrown the smallness of our politics. And I will persuade as an Americans of every political stripe were hungry for new ideas and new leadership, for a new kind of politics. One that favors common sense over ideology. One that focuses on the values and ideals that we hold in common as Americans. In other words, I knew the American people. That they are generous and decent, that they're willing to work hard and sacrifice for future generations. And I was convinced that when we come together, our voices are more powerful than the most entrenched lobbyists or the most vicious political attacks or the status quo in Washington that just wants to keep things the way they are. And Cleveland, 21 months later, my faith in the American people has been vindicated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Obama's first event of the day is later on this morning in Florida. His vice presidential pick Senator Joe Biden speaks out next hour. We're going to bring both of those rallies to you as they happen.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Voters excited about the election and frustrated over the lines. Here at CNN, we've been getting calls from people like you on our election hotline. As of Saturday, we've taken in almost 25,000 calls. More than 8,000 of them about registration or voting issues. Here's a couple.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOICE OF CESAR JIMENEZ, PARKLAND, FL: It seems crazy that we're having to wait three, four hours to get to do this voting process. Something has got to change. This is crazy.

VOICE OF DAN ZOLADZ, COLUMBUS, OHIO: Six hours is ridiculous over here in terms of to be waiting in line out in the cold.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: If you want to know what voting problems are affecting your area, you can always log on to cnn.com/hotline. We've compiled a list of issues based on the calls that we've been getting.

And if you have a voting complaint of your own, don't forget to let us know. That hotline number is 1-877-GOCNN-08.

Hoping to connect with hearts and minds in the heartland. Joe Biden reaching out to voters in Missouri. We're going to bring it to you when it happens.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Just hours left until your votes are counted. We're listening closely to the candidates on this last day of the campaign.

Plus, new months, new mood? Wall Street opened for business. Are investors buying? It's Monday, November 3rd, election eve, I'm Heidi Collins. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.