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CNN Newsroom
The Final Polls
Aired November 03, 2008 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Coming at you now, a final look at polls on who will vote for him or him, where and by how much.
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R-AK), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I know that we have patriots here.
SANCHEZ: Also, who won't vote for her, or will, and by how much? A shocking result.
Final attack ads, guilt by association.
Palin pranked. Ouch.
Obama gets caught on coal. Ouch.
You asked. Why isn't tomorrow a national holiday? Good questions. Great comments. The newscast for Americans who want to be connected starts right now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Hello again, everybody. I'm Rick Sanchez.
And we are getting ready to get into it. Why? Sixteen hours, that's exactly how much time is left before the very first polls open across the East Coast.
And this is essentially where it stands right now. And we're going to be taking you through this. And we're also wanting you to send us a response or just send us a tweet letting us know what you think has to happen for John McCain to pull this out and beat Barack Obama, if you think it is possible at this point.
And this is why some people are saying that this comes down to a question of plausibility. It's because at this particular point with just a day left, we are looking at a situation where Barack Obama is winning in most of the states that Kerry one, and he's also up in many of the states that Bush won.
This is the national poll right now, CNN's national poll, Opinion Research. You see there is a differential of about, what, seven, 53- 46, doing the math here with you, making sure. So, there's a seven- point differential in the likely voters' choice for president. Now let's look at the poll of polls. And this is where we take polls all over the country and combine them to come up with an average of where things stand. And there, too, the numbers are different, but, again, the differential, if I'm doing the math right here, is also seven. So, that's pretty much the difference between both candidates as they stand right now.
But, remember, these elections are not decided by a national vote. It's decided state to state on an electoral basis.
That's why we're going to bring in Mark Preston now for "Preston on Politics" to take us through this.
Mark, how are you?
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey, Rick. Good afternoon.
SANCHEZ: All right, let's break this down. What does John McCain need to do? Let's look at those essential battleground states. I think, on our map, they're going to be seen as yellow. This is not the right map.
Let's get -- OK, this is the one that we're going to be using then. Mark, this is not exactly what you and I talked about, but let's go through these, nonetheless.
Tell me which states here -- and I think the good thing about this map is, as we look at it, we will know what the latest poll is on them. Which of the states does John McCain need to win right now?
PRESTON: Well, Rick, let's start with the baseline right now. John McCain has 157 electoral votes, according to CNN's estimate as of today.
He needs to win seven states and run the table on what CNN describes as tossup states. Let's go through them very quickly, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, North Dakota, and Montana. And if he sweeps those states, that will get him to 247 electoral votes.
To win the White House, you need 270. So, let's go on to the next scenario. What states are left? He needs to pick up Pennsylvania, a state he has invested very heavily in television advertising, as well as many, many campaign trips to that state. That would give him another 21 electoral votes, two shy of 270.
So, from there, let's look out West, some of the states that John McCain thinks he could pick up, perhaps Iowa, perhaps a state such as Nevada, Colorado, or even up north in New Hampshire.
Now, let me give you one more scenario. If he does not win Pennsylvania, talking to a Republican official today, this official seemed pretty confident that Virginia could be on the board for them. If they pick up Virginia, that's 11 electoral votes. They would need to pick up two or three of those states that I just said. John McCain would be president tomorrow night. SANCHEZ: All right. So, the bottom line is, he's looking at states where when you look at it from a difference in terms of what he has to do, many of the states that George Bush won outright, Barack Obama is winning in right now. That's a problem for John McCain. Isn't it?
PRESTON: Yes, absolutely. It is a problem. And a lot has to do with Barack Obama's organization that he built up during the primary. A lot of people said that the primary between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton would be devastating to the Democratic Party.
In fact, I think that has helped Barack Obama build an organization and keep that organization running in all those states. And Barack Obama has a huge financial advantage. And we have seen that in terms of television advertising in these key battleground states.
And, Rick, look, it is a narrow path for John McCain to traverse to try to win this. But you know what? It is a path that could happen. And we will have to see what happens tomorrow night.
SANCHEZ: Yes, and there's a reason it could happen now, perhaps even more than the conversation that people were having a couple of days ago.
Thanks so much, Mark Preston.
Let me tell you what that reason is. The reason has to do with a comment that's being brought back into the campaign now that was made by Barack Obama. Did he actually say that, under his plan, there would be a possibility of bankrupting coal power plants? Now, think of what states are important, states like West Virginia, states like Pennsylvania. We are going to be talking about that in just a little bit.
Also, did Palin actually think that she was talking to the president of France? Did she think she was talking to the president of France? And whose fault would that be? We're going to ask that question as well.
Stay with us. We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: All right. We're getting ready to go here.
I have got to my right, and appropriately so, Martha Zoller from Martha Zoller on the radio. And to my left, appropriately so, we have got Mike Malloy standing by. And he's never been a miss for words, trust me.
MIKE MALLOY, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: No, no, no.
SANCHEZ: So, we're going to be getting into this in just a minute. Here's where I want to start you guys. You ready? This is important because it's a brand-new conversation and it's something that John McCain is jumping all over. It's a comment that's been made by Barack Obama in the past. And it has to do with coal plants and the possibility of bankruptcy. Uh-oh for battleground states.
Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: In a new video talking about his policies on coal, he told, guess who, a San Francisco newspaper -- quote -- and this is what he said -- "If somebody wants to built a coal-powered plant, they can. It's just that it will bankrupt them."
(AUDIENCE BOOING)
MCCAIN: Now, how out of touch is that?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: All right. That what John McCain says that Barack Obama says. And, obviously, he's not only getting into the letter of what he said, but the spirit of what he said, as politicians are apt to do.
Now, to be fair, let's listen to what Barack Obama actually said. And then, between the three of us, we will parse through this.
Here we go. Play it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I was the first to call for 100 percent auction on the cap and trade system, which means that every unit of carbon or greenhouse gases that was emitted would be charged to the polluter.
That will create a market in which whatever technologies are out there that are being presented, whatever power plants that are being built, that they would have to meet the rigors of that market and the ratcheted-down caps that are placed -- imposed every year.
So, if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can. It's just that it will bankrupt them, because they're going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that's being emitted.
That will also generate billions of dollars that we can invest in solar, wind, biodiesel, and other alternative energy approaches.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Now, a lot of people will look at this and they're going to say that this could hurt, legitimately hurt, Barack Obama in some of those states. Remind -- let's remind viewers. What he's saying is, if they try to build a coal power plant and do so in a way that doesn't burn coal cleanly, they're not going to be able to do so, unless they're willing to bankrupt themselves.
To you, Martha.
MARTHA ZOLLER, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: I mean, he's saying, we will generate billions of dollars, but not from a bankrupted company.
You bankrupt the company, you're not generating anything. It's just like the idea of raising capital gains taxes in a year where nobody has capital gains.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: But is this a real entree for John McCain?
ZOLLER: Oh, it certainly is. If you can get this message out in West Virginia and Pennsylvania and Ohio, if they're getting it there, there's enough white-collar folks -- I mean blue-collar folks that are working and affiliated with coal companies, that they're going to say, wait a minute. I thought he was for clean coal.
SANCHEZ: But he's saying -- yes, he is. He's saying, look, the only kind of coal I am going to let you guys produce or use in the United States is clean coal.
Mike Malloy, over to you.
MALLOY: This is another example, Rick, of taking something that Barack Obama said that is important. It has to do with the law. It has to do with corporations conducting themselves in a lawful way.
McCain reaches in, snags a couple of words, and comes out and says, oh, he's going to bankrupt us.
It's nonsense. This is another one of these last-minute attempts to try to divert attention.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: But here's the states -- we have got a map. I have created a map of the states where this could actually play.
ZOLLER: Right.
SANCHEZ: Think of the coal states, right?
What have we got? West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky, and Wyoming. Now, this is important. I mean, look at the number of power plants in those places and the ones that would be affected by something like this.
Let me ask you about the battleground states, by the way, before we move anywhere. Do you think that John McCain can pull this out by winning those battleground states that he needs to win at this point?
ZOLLER: Well, it's the only way that he's going to pull it out. And we will know based on Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania is the Florida of 2008.
SANCHEZ: But he doesn't need just Pennsylvania, Martha.
ZOLLER: Oh, he needs all of them, absolutely.
SANCHEZ: He needs Pennsylvania. He needs Nevada. He needs Colorado.
ZOLLER: Absolutely. He's got to he's got to do -- you know, he's got to have a very, very good night tomorrow night. There's no doubt about it.
But regarding the coal thing...
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Is it like the third quarter and you have got to throw not one, but two Hail Mary passes to win?
ZOLLER: Well, he's thrown a threw Hail Mary passes already that have been successful, and, yes, he's got to get the last one in with a minute to go.
MALLOY: What Hail Mary pass has been thrown that's been successful, Martha?
ZOLLER: No, what I'm talking about is, no one thought he would be the nominee. And he pulled that out by supporting the surge.
MALLOY: Oh, you're going back two years. Oh, OK.
(CROSSTALK)
ZOLLER: I'm not going two years. It's less than a year ago.
SANCHEZ: Is this the reason that he's suffering, as some intellectual conservatives will tell you? This is a brand-new poll...
(CROSSTALK)
ZOLLER: As opposed to me.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: Well, no, you're a part of the -- well, you're actually a mix, because there's the social conservatives and the intellectual conservatives.
ZOLLER: I know. I know. Just kidding.
SANCHEZ: The social conservatives love Sarah Palin, the intellectual conservatives not so crazy about her. Take a look at this poll. This is the quintessential Sarah Palin poll this weekend. People were asked this question about Sarah Palin. Who has the personal qualities that a president needs to have? And when it comes to Americans, they love the personal qualities question.
Biden, 65 percent say yes, Biden has these personal qualities. Sarah Palin, only 40 percent of America. So, here's the question. Does Sarah Palin drag down this ticket?
ZOLLER: Absolutely not, because she has energized the base. Without Sarah Palin, John McCain is really 10 points down, not bouncing around the polls.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: You don't think Huckabee or Romney would have given him that same base, plus given him more?
ZOLLER: Not in the way Sarah Palin did.
SANCHEZ: OK. Back over to you, Mike.
MALLOY: Well, Sarah Palin brought out the crazy people. That's what the Republican base is.
The Republican base are people who don't want the queers to get married. They don't want a woman to have a right to privacy. They want to do away with capital gains taxes, which has nothing whatsoever to do with their life.
What Sarah Palin did was bring out the knuckle-draggers, the mouth-breathers, the people that say, I'm going to vote for -- nobody -- anybody in the Republican Party who understands Republican politics is shocked that he picked Sarah Palin.
(CROSSTALK)
MALLOY: Why appeal to the base? The base is already there.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: To be clear with our viewers, you're using some of that language figuratively, though, right? Like when you used the used referring to...
(CROSSTALK)
ZOLLER: No, Mike is not.
SANCHEZ: You think that's what they think? Mike Malloy is not using that word.
MALLOY: What word?
SANCHEZ: The queer word.
MALLOY: Well, yes, what they think.
SANCHEZ: OK.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Just to be clear.
ZOLLER: With all due respect, I spend a lot more time with Republicans, I think, than you do.
This is -- Sarah Palin brought out women, conservative women, the squishy women we have talked about before who are the ones who get the work done. That's right. They sometimes vote Democrat, sometimes Republican. She got the work done, because they admire her for what she's been able to do.
I don't know should have, could have, would have, if it would have been better to put Romney in there. Maybe.
SANCHEZ: You have got the last word.
ZOLLER: OK.
SANCHEZ: But we're coming back to both of you. The conversation continues.
In fact, two big last-minute endorsements, Hugo Chavez and Dick Cheney. Which one will do more good or more damage? Think about that. We're coming right back.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: And we welcome you back.
And many of you are talking about Chavez and Cheney. And there's a lot of comments there already. And we're going to be talking about that in just a little bit.
But two radio hosts get through to Sarah Palin and pretend to be President Sarkozy of France. She buys it, hook, line, and sinker. But can you blame her? These guys are really good, and they have done it before to other people. Now, shouldn't the real blame be aimed at her staff, who put her in that position by handing her the phone and telling her it was the president of France?
Now, you're going to be able to listen to this entire prank for yourself. We will just report it. You decide. That's ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: All right. We have still got Martha and Mike Malloy with us here. And they are going to be joining us in MSNBC of this conversation in just a little bit. But the first thing I want to do right now is show you some tweets. We got almost 30,000 people who follow this newscast every day as we're doing it.
And here's one right now. This is in response to Sarah Palin getting pranked. "Her staff, as usual, they are so behind the times. They didn't even look at the caller I.D. to find out that it wasn't the president of France, Sarkozy?"
All right, here's another one regarding Chavez and his endorsement of Barack Obama: "Chavez is actually a good endorsement. So many countries just want to open a dialogue. We have had a one-way administration for eight years. Well, many would beg to differ," as I'm watching Martha over here shake her head.
Speaking of Hispanic countries, let's talk about Hispanics who live inside the United States.
Let's go to Florida for that. You know, there was a time where if you lived in South Florida, the vote there was monolithically Republican. So was the ideology. Well, now we're learning that is no longer the case.
Watch this report filed by our own Sean Callebs.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hundreds of thousands of absentee votes are in. And when you wander down the long lines in Florida's early election, in many ways, the faces are a pretty good indicator of the racial make-up of the state's electorate.
Right now, the state's Elections Department says 12 percent of the voters are African-American, 13 percent Hispanic. And with the large turnout, Hispanics are a critical demographic.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have your parents already voted?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
CALLEBS: But they aren't their parents. Young and old, the face of Latino voters is changing, and this changing demographic could be a deciding factor in the battle for the state's 27 electoral delegates.
For example, the traditionally all-important Cuban American votes.
AL CARDENAS, FORMER FLORIDA REPUBLICAN CHAIRMAN: Cuban American vote 12 years ago 66 percent of the Hispanic vote in the state, it's now going to be 33, 34 percent of the overall vote in the state.
CALLEBS: Here's why that change is so important. In 2000, Cuban Americans voted as a GOP bloc and proved a vital asset to George Bush in the Florida recount. In 2004, Bush had 78 percent of the Cuban American vote. But a new generation of Cuban American cares less and less about Fidel Castro and more and more about the economy, health care and Iraq.
REP. ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN (R), FLORIDA: I think it's wonderful for our community not to be monolithic so that all parties want to talk about the issues that are important to us, and it's not just about freedom for Cuba, it's also domestic issues as well.
CALLEBS: And while Cuban clout may be diluted, Hispanics from other areas, like Puerto Rico and Central American, who tend to vote Democratic, are the fastest growing population in the state, especially in the all-important I-4 corridor. That's the central section of Florida stretching from Tampa to Daytona Beach.
But how many will actually go to the poll on Election Day?
SUSAN MACMANUS, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA: We don't know who's actually going to follow through with voting. And the groups that tend to be the most iffy in turnout tend to be younger voters and particularly those independent voters.
CALLEBS: It's clear the face of Florida has changed. What we don't know yet is how much of that change will be reflected in the results on Tuesday.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: And Sean Callebs joins us now live for a little amplification on that.
Is that the situation in Florida or is that something you think we will see around the country?
CALLEBS: Well, I think Florida is somewhat unique because, for years, as you talk about, the people down in (INAUDIBLE) the people down in South Florida, they did vote as a bloc. They voted Republican because they remember the Bay of Pigs and they talk about freedom for Cuba.
But now their sons and their daughters are business leaders and they have seen their 401(k)s evaporate. They have seen their neighbors, themselves, lose jobs. So, they're more concerned perhaps about broad issues. And people here in Central Florida, they have had a massive, massive influx of Hispanics here in the middle section of the state.
Now, the upstate still very strongly John McCain territory. The question is, how will McCain do in that central part of the state? So, really, Florida is its own animal, Rick.
SANCHEZ: Yes. And you know what's interesting, as I'm listening to you talk, that I-4 corridor between Tampa and Orlando tends to be more, demographically speaking, Puerto Rican than it is Cuban.
CALLEBS: Right. SANCHEZ: In South Florida, it's more Cuban than it is Puerto Rican. And there is a difference, as both groups will tell you, as any two groups of any different types of countries will tell you.
Sean Callebs, thanks so much. My producer is saying let's get out, so I will do that. I love talking to you. We will get back to this.
A righty who says that Obama isn't ready and a lefty who says that Palin gives her pause.
LOFTV, the League of First-time Voters, the final edition -- when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: And, as usual, tens of thousands of you are tweeting and joining us on Twitter or on MySpace or Facebook.
Let's go to one of those. This is MySpace, by the way.
Here's a comment to something we were talking about just a moment ago, Mike Malloy, and Martha Zoller, and myself.
"McCain's 30 years of building a career in politics went down the drain in the last two months because he selected Palin. I am a Canadian, and I think I would have had a better run for the American V.P. position than her. How embarrassing." And there's the punctuation as well. We will get to many more. We try to, of course, be as selective as we can, but we try to bring some from both sides of the argument. So, we promise that we will be looking in that direction.
All right, LOFTV, what does it stand for? The League of First- Time Voters. We have been going around the country now for the better part of the last five, six months, finding groups who are getting energized or are ready to vote for the first very time.
Here now, our final installment, we think, unless this thing ends up tied. Here now, LOFTV.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't agree with either candidate.
SANCHEZ: So, who are you going to vote for then?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know what? I might give the third party a try.
SANCHEZ: Bob Barr?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why not?
SANCHEZ: What is it that you believe Barack Obama has that will set him apart? BETH BACHMAN, OBAMA VOTER: Women's rights, the right to choose when she starts her family.
LORIE MOORE, MCCAIN VOTER: I think Obama is a brilliant orator. He's fantastic.
SANCHEZ: He is a good speaker?
MOORE: He is a very good speaker. But he's preaching change.
SANCHEZ: But you think he's a smart guy? You have to be smart to be a good orator. You can't just go up there and fake it.
MOORE: Well, that's not necessarily true. He doesn't write all of his own speeches. If I'm a good orator, I'm a good orator. I can take anybody's words and put it out there.
SANCHEZ: So, you don't think Barack Obama is a smart guy?
MOORE: I think he's a smart guy. To get where he is right now, in this short period of time and at his age, I think he's a very smart guy.
SANCHEZ: But you don't agree with his policies?
MOORE: No, absolutely not, I mean, a lot of them, no.
SANCHEZ: Do you think John McCain is a smart guy?
BACHMAN: Yes. I mean, he's -- he's gone through a relentless vetting process. I don't think that he would be nominated for the republican candidacy if he wasn't a smart guy and was up for the job.
SANCHEZ: Who is more qualified, Joe Biden or Sarah Palin?
BACHMAN: Hands down, Biden.
LORIE MOORE, MCCAIN VOTER: I think Palin. She sticks on her issues, she doesn't flip-flop. She doesn't try to cover up for herself. I think Biden would make a great foreign policy, you know, position, somewhere in that perspective.
SANCHEZ: Would Palin make a good foreign policy expert?
MOORE: Expert, no. I think it goes back to what I just said about Obama. I'm not going to cross up here. She's been a governor of Alaska, has she dealt with --
SANCHEZ: Would she make a good economic expert?
MOORE: I think so, yeah, absolutely.
SANCHEZ: All right. Back over here. Sarah Palin/Joe Biden?
AMY ECKLES, YOUTH VOTER ORGANIZER: I think Sarah Palin has done wonders for the McCain campaign. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Biden, hands down. Hands down.
SANCHEZ: Do you think he's a more qualified candidate?
JASON WALTON, UNDECIDED VOTER: More qualified, he's had more time in the senate. She's been a governor for, how long, a few years maybe.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: L.O.F.T.V. It's been fun to bring you those. By the way, we have another comment coming up. Let's go to our Twitter board if we possibly can. Here's a comment over the report that we just brought you from South Florida. This is that generational divide that we talk about an awful lot on this newscast, because we really have audience members that span the generational gaps. My parents, says Gabe watching this show, can't get over the bay of pigs or Elian. They tell me it's because of taxes, et cetera they vote McCain. I know it's history. That's a good point, isn't it.
MARTHA ZOLLER, MCCAIN SUPPORTER: That's a very good point. Very good point. Those kinds of events really shape the direction that people vote in. I mean, much like McGovern shapes the people that voted for McGovern and they continued voting that way. You see this kind of age divide even in the black community. The older folks, even though most are going to vote for Obama, a large majority you see that kind of worry in the older folks versus the younger folks.
SANCHEZ: The question is will the younger folks turn out? We've been hearing that we're going to have a whole new type of vote this time around because so many young people who the pollsters can't get to because they use cell phones, are going to be out there voting. Is that going to be the case. We're going to be talking about that when we come back. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: And we welcome you back. I'm Rick Sanchez here at the world headquarters of CNN. There's something else to take note of. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is saying this. I send on overture to the black man from us here who are of indigenous black, Caribbean, South America race. I'm ready to sit down and talk. That must be music to John McCain's ears. In fact, John McCain has an ad out now where he tries to link Obama with Venezuela's Hugo Chavez. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you see who Obama wants to talk with? [ bleep ] Barack Obama says that he would meet Chavez without conditions. [ bleep ] [ bleep ] He said he would meet in his first year in office.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: And there it is. Well, is that the only endorsement that is fueling an attack today? No. Here's another one. Dick Cheney this weekend came out and endorsed John McCain. Guess what? Music to the ears of Barack Obama. And he jumped all over that one, almost immediately in his weekend stump speeches. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Do you think Dick Cheney is delighted to support John McCain because he thinks John McCain is going to bring change to Washington? Do you think John McCain and Dick Cheney have been talking about how to really shake things up? Get rid of the lobbyists and put Halliburton on the sidelines and put an end to the old boy's club in Washington? Come on.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Come on. All right. So here is the question. Whose endorsement does more good or more damage? Insert joke here, both of you, of course. More on that, just ahead, stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHEIRESA MCRAE, CONSUMER AFFAIRS EDITOR, BLACK ENTERPRISE: Generally, Americans aren't great savers. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Americans save less than 3 percent of their disposable income.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And many cash strapped consumers are wondering about their financial future.
MCRAE: The economy has greatly affected how people are saving. With tomorrow in mind as opposed to three years from now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You should have money put away to cover at least three to six months of expenses.
MCRAE: It's very important to build a savings cushion, especially if you come into a point in your life where you have an economic crisis.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Before you start to save, sit down and create a budget.
MCRAE: Keep track of everything that you spend every day and then this list will help you decide how much of your money is going toward needs and how much is going toward wants.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Then make saving money a habit.
MCRAE: One way to build your savings is by treating your deposits as if it were a bill and staying committed to that deposit and paying that amount in full each month.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And that's this week's "Right on Your Money." (END OF VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: All right. This is what so many of you have been e- mailing me and tweeting me about and sending messages and we've seen the threads on Facebook and Myspace. The now-famous Sarah Palin prank call by two comedians on the radio in Canada. Here it is.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes hello, Mrs. Governor.
GOV. SARAH PALIN, (R) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hello, this is Sarah. How are you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fine and you. This is Nicolas Sarkozy speaking. How are you?
PALIN: Oh, so good. It's so good to hear you. Thank you for calling us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, it's a pleasure.
PALIN: Thank you sir. We have such great respect for you John McCain and I. We love you and thank you for spending two minutes to talk to me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I follow your campaigns closely with my special American adviser Johnny Holiday, you know.
PALIN: Yes, good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, I see you as a president one day, you, too.
PALIN: Maybe in eight years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I hope for you. You know, we have a lot in common because personally one of my favorite activities is to hunt, too.
PALIN: Oh, very good. We should go hunting together.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Exactly. We could go try hunting by helicopter like you did. I never did that. Like we say in France (SPEAKING FRENCH).
PALIN: Well, I think we could have a lot of fun together as we're getting work done. We can kill two birds with one stone that way.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just love killing those animals. Take away life that is so fun. I'd really love to go as long as we don't bring your vice president Cheney.
PALIN: No, I'll be a careful shot, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. You know, we have a lot in common also because except that from my house, I can see Belgium. That's kind of less interesting than you.
PALIN: Well, see, we're right next door, different countries. So we all need to be working with, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some people said in the last days -- and I thought that was mean, that you were not experienced in foreign relations. You know, that's completely false. That's thee thing I said to my great friend, the prime minister of Canada.
PALIN: Well, he is doing fine, too.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I must say something else, governor. You've been pranked by the master (INAUDIBLE.). We're two comedians from Montreal.
PALIN: Oh, have we been pranked? What radio station is this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is for CKOI in Montreal.
PALIN: In Montreal? Tell me the radio station call letters.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: C-K -- Hello? If one voice can change the world for Obama, one Viagra can change the world for McCain.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I have to let you go. Thank you.
(END OF AUDIO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Says the staff member. You don't know whether to just be uncomfortable or grimace or laugh or -- here's a comment we got just moments ago. This is from somebody on Myspace. This is Victoria Hill. Victoria, you see her picture there, she says to us, let's remember what really matters about the fake Sarkozy call. That it was really funny.
MIKE MALLOY: It was very funny. So many times I have listened to the show. I watch you on television. I love this program you do. And, you know, I think very much we should do this more often.
ZOLLER: I think he's Italian, not French.
SANCHEZ: Somewhere in between. By the way, there was a response from Palin's camp, and they responded the way that you can. I mean, here's what she says. "Governor Palin was mildly amused to learn that she had joined the ranks of heads of state including President Sarkozy and other celebrities in being targeted by these pranksters. C'est la vie." That's Tracey Schmitt, Palin spokesperson. Let's go to our youth panel real quick. We've had two people that we've invited that we want to be with us on this. This is Karen Agness. She founded Enlightened Women, there she is, a conservative organization. And we've got Connor Knighton, he's the host of Current TV. Weigh in on this, guys. As you watch it, how will young voters be affected by this, if at all? Conner?
CONNOR KNIGHTON, HOST, CURRENT TV'S "INFOMANIA": In terms of that Palin clip, what I've noticed so much in this election are the e- mails and viral videos and everything that's getting forwarded to me. And the funnier that is, well the better. And this is certainly, I mean I've got it sent from everyone from my mom to college friends.
SANCHEZ: In other words, young people -- because they live on the internet, they live in places where they share information more so than our generations or the generations before us, this is the kind of stuff that hits home with them?
KNIGHTON: Definitely.
SANCHEZ: You agree as well, Karen?
KAREN AGNESS, FOUNDER, NETWORK OF ENLIGHTENED WOMEN: I do. I agree it's something that definitely hits home with the young people. I don't think this hurts the McCain/Palin ticket at all. In fact it might help because it adds some more humor to the campaign and it's a way to reach people. We've seen the Obama campaign be effective. This might actually help the Palin campaign.
SANCHEZ: But let me ask you and let me ask Martha as well. Do you think that her staff -- what does it say about her staff, the people around her? If they can be conned that easily, do you have a problem?
ZOLLER: Definitely. It's a real problem with her staff and I'm sure somebody's head is rolling over that. But on the other hand --
SANCHEZ: They handed her the phone and said, governor, here is the president of France.
ZOLLER: And of course, she should believe that's it's the president of France. So, you know, I think it's more a staff issue than her and I think she handled it as well as she could. I mean it was her Borat moment.
SANCHEZ: Borat moment. Let's talk about the youth vote if we can. You guys, we've been hearing all along the difference is the youth, the guys you can't reach on cell phones. Are they going to turn out tomorrow?
KNIGHTON: I'm really optimistic about that. That said, we've been hearing that for several elections now. In 2004, there was a bit of a bump from I think like 40 percent in 2000 to 49 percent in 2004. It's still less than the rest of the electorate, so it's a little disappointing. I think this will be the election where that will finally change.
SANCHEZ: Can you prove that to me? Can you quantify, Karen. Is there anything out there -- because you know we've heard this before and they're just words. Karen?
AGNESS: Well, yes. But in 2004 and 2006, the youth vote has increased as Connor mentioned. And also I think this campaign unlike --
SANCHEZ: But, no, no, they're talking about a revolutionary difference this time around. We're not talking about incremental differences. We're talking about that they're going to own this election. Why and if so, can you prove it?
AGNESS: Well, I don't think the youth vote is going to own it. Let's remember they only made up 16 percent of the electorate even when it increased in 2004. So I think there's going to be a sharp increase, but I don't think it's going to be a revolution and I don't think it's going to, you know, really drive the election.
SANCHEZ: Connor, finish this up?
KNIGHTON: I think what the candidates have done, they've owned the space where the youth hangs out. These technologies that weren't really even prevalent in 2004 like Twitter, like Facebook, like Myspace, they've reached young people through those platforms and so that really could be the change. We don't know, we've never seen Twitter involved in an election before. Facebook was new as of 2004. So that could be the difference. There is no data on that.
SANCHEZ: You know what's interesting about this too is, there's a lot of people who were saying you want young people to vote. Heck, you want everybody to vote. You better make tomorrow a national holiday. Because those lines are long and by law, employers only have to give them two hours to vote. It may not be enough. I see you shaking your head. We're going to pick that up, guys. We'll have all of us back in just a little bit. We'll have that conversation
Also, Joe Biden is about to speak any moment now. We at CNN have been running all the candidates all day long. So he's up next. And you'll hear from him as well. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Here's one question we just asked people to weigh in on and already people are doing that. Let's go to our Twitter board if we possibly can. This is bigpeachrunner who's saying, "I fully agree that if all states aren't going to offer early and absentee voting, Election Day should be a national holiday." Interesting. We've got a lot of people talking about this. We also have a lot of people who've been responding to the question that we've had about Chavez or Cheney. Who hurt which side the most? Is it Dick Cheney endorsing John McCain? Martha Zoller has an interesting comment on this by the way, you might be surprised to hear. Or was it Chavez all but endorsing Barack Obama? Let's bring all four of us back into this. Karen Agness who founded Enlightened Women, Connor Knighton from Current TV, we've got Martha Zoller over here on my right and we've got Mike Malloy over here on my left. All right guys, who gets hurt the most by this? Connor, why don't you start us off. Is it Chavez or Cheney? I think the Cheney comment hurts more only because, Chavez says all kinds of things, he's not someone that most Americans are even that familiar with, certainly not to the level that they are with Dick Cheney. And so when everyone, the Obama has been trying to paint that connection, McCain equals Bush. SANCHEZ: You think it reinforces it.
KNIGHTON: Oh --
SANCHEZ: Let's go to you Karen.
AGNESS: Oh I think the Chavez endorsement definitely hurts more. Some of the democrats don't like Dick Cheney but overall he's not, an international threat like Hugo Chavez is.
SANCHEZ: That's interesting. Martha, you said that the Cheney thing was a mistake. You don't think Cheney, if he's going to wait this long to make this endorsement, he shouldn't have made it at all.
ZOLLER: Yeah, I think neither one helps or hurts that much, but Cheney should have just stayed out of it. I mean he's probably got lower approval numbers from the president, he didn't need to say it. That late date, people aren't paying attention to endorsements.
SANCHEZ: Mike Malloy, I'm almost afraid of asking you what you think of this one, go ahead?
MALLOY: I think Chavez, the endorsement if that's what we're going to call it, I think all he was saying.
SANCHEZ: A quasi endorsement.
MALLOY: Yeah, it's just, you know that's talk. I think this is very important because it sends a signal I think to the rest of the world that the rest of the world is going to have somebody that they can actually talk to now, not somebody who is going to be threatening all the time. Cheney is definitely a threat. It's the Cheney foreign policy I think that Bush has acted on.
SANCHEZ: Is there a generational difference? Because here you've got three a little older folks out here on this main set and two real young folks out there on satellite. Do you think young people see this whole debate conversation, dialogue thing differently than other Americans do? I mean here Obama says I'm willing to talk to these guys like Chavez, for example and Ahmadinejad. And young people say ok, go ahead and talk to them. Old people say no, no, you'd better not talk to them or it says something about you. Go at it guys, Connor, Karen?
KNIGHTON: Yeah I think the big picture young people have, view this whole process a little differently. It's tough to stay engaged for two years basically that we've been going at this election. But in terms of participation involving their peers, registering voters, I've never seen the level of that participation in any of the two other elections I've been able to vote in.
SANCHEZ: Karen, I went to Indiana and I talked to conservatives, very religious and they said we don't have a problem with Obama saying he wants to talk to our enemies. As far as I'm concerned, the bible says that you should. What's your take on this?
AGNESS: I'm glad you spent some time in Indiana. I'm actually from Indianapolis, myself. But what I have to say is like young people might relate to that more because it's harder for us to remember the cold war and Vietnam and Korea. So I think we have to look to our elders and remember that we have a long history and long relationships with these international leaders and while it's good to keep the telephones open, sometimes that's not always the answer.
SANCHEZ: Interesting. We've got 10 seconds, you want to wrap this up?
MALLOY: I was just going to say in most families, one way to keep a feud going is say I'm not going to talk to you. I'm not going to talk to you.
SANCHEZ: Back to the familiar. Wolf Blitzer standing by now to let us know what's coming up on "THE SITUATION ROOM." Wolf, you're in New York, what you got?
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks very much Rick. Straight ahead, excitement and anticipation building. We're only a few hours away from Election Day. Barack Obama and John McCain, they're blazing through battleground states. You're going to see them here live out there on the campaign trail and you're going to find out where they'll be when the results start coming in. Also, the next knock at your door could be the McCain or Obama campaign. How do they know whose doorbell to ring? You may be surprised how much the candidates know about voters like you.
And what happens if Election Day ends in a tie? 269-269. No one gets 270 electoral votes. We're going to lay out exactly what would happen if there's no winner tomorrow. All that and a lot more Rick, coming up at the top of the hour in "THE SITUATION ROOM."
SANCHEZ: Thanks so much, Wolf. Did you see Saturday Night Live? Did you see it, yes, you did, you saw Saturday Night Live?
MALLOY: No I didn't see it, I was up in the mountains.
SANCHEZ: You're about to, by the way. Karen, did you see it, Connor, you saw it?
AGNESS: I did.
KNIGHTON: Yeah, I watched the best parts online which is what I've done for the show for the last year.
SANCHEZ: Well, we're about to talk about that and we're going to be looking at that, that's coming up next. John McCain live on "Saturday Night Live" with Tina Fey.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SANCHEZ: Welcome back. Let's talk about young people real quick. Let's go to our Twitter board. I want to read something real quick here. This is Kelly, she writes to us, "You know I think the amazing grassroots movement of young people for Obama campaign will show us how they will show up. Again, we've been hearing that before, will it happen?" Bill says, "My daughter, 24 years old does not have a land line and has already voted for Obama." Well we'll just have to wait and see. Let's do this, "Saturday Night Live" this Saturday. John McCain makes an appearance. But nobody expected his wife was going to be there as well and then there was Sarah Palin or was that Tina Fey? Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Are you someone who likes fine jewelry and also respects a politician who can reach across the aisle? If so, you can't go wrong with McCain fine gold. It commemorates the McCain-Feingold act and also looks great with evening wear. Thank you, Cindy.
TINA FEY: And what busy hockey mom wouldn't want to freshen up her home with Sarah Palin's Ayers fresheners? You plug these into the wall when something doesn't quite smell right. Also too it's good because it reminds people about William Ayers.
MCCAIN: Having trouble cutting through a tough piece of pork? Not anymore. With John McCain's complete set of pork knives, they cut the pork out.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: A guy could laugh at himself and that's important. Let's go all the way around. We've got about a minute left. Mike, start us off.
MALLOY: That's it, Rick. That's exactly what John McCain and Cindy McCain should be doing when they have their defeat handed to them tomorrow. Go on the shopping network, that's perfect.
SANCHEZ: On QVC. Martha?
ZOLLER: That's what they're going to do at the White House Christmas party next year when they're president. They can do that little skit.
SANCHEZ: Connor?
KNIGHTON: I thought he was really likable. I mean he came off well, it was definitely the right decision for him to do it.
SANCHEZ: Karen, should he be making fun of himself like that?
AGNESS: Well it's another effort for him to reach the young people and "Saturday Night Live" is a good way to reach our demographic, so I think it was a good move by the campaign.
SANCHEZ: It's been great. All of you have been fantastic. Karen and Connor and Martha and Mike, we'll do it again. Voting starts 7:00 a.m. on the east coast and we'll be following it. Thanks to all our guests. Let's do this now, let's follow the market as we usually do at end of this newscast. That means we're going to be tossing things out to Susan Lisovicz, she's going to button things up for us. What is the market doing on this the day before the election? SUSAN LISOVICZ: Well it's not doing much Rick and that in and of itself is a headline. It's not doing much because it is the day before the election. We got more lousy news on manufacturing, construction spending and auto sales. But the main event will take place tomorrow. So expect another quiet day tomorrow. Frankly, it's welcome after what we had in shocktober, as some folks are calling it the worst month in decades but then we have the best week in decades and now a split performance for the Dow and NASDAQ was very quiet. Back to you, Rick.
SANCHEZ: The Dow is going to close almost at nothing. All right. Thanks so much, Susan Lisovicz. Wolf Blitzer standing by now, "SITUATION ROOM." Wolf?
BLITZER: Thanks very much, Rick.
