Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Ballot Bowl: First Lady Stumps for Reid in Nevada; President Speaks at Dem Party Rally in Connecticut; Stewart and Colbert Unite Thousands in D.C.

Aired October 30, 2010 - 15:00   ET

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

DANA BASH, CNN CO-HOST: I'm Dana Bash in Bridgeport, Connecticut. You're watching CNN's BALLOT BOWL coverage of the mid-term elections. We're taking you to campaign events all over the country, and I am where one is about to start.

President Obama is just moments away from taking the stage here at a Democratic Party rally. We're going to bring it to you live as soon as it begins.

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CO-HOST: And I'm Jessica Yellin in Las Vegas. Let's preview some of the other stops we're also going to be making over the next three hours.

The man who wants to be the next Speaker of the House of Representatives, Republican John Boehner of Ohio. We're having a little bit of a wind problem there. He's on the campaign trail, and we'll catch up with him this hour.

We'll also head to Alaska and get the latest on that state's tight race for the U.S. Senate, and we'll take you out west to California and get an update on the super expensive campaign for governor and the high profile race for the U.S. Senate.

And, of course, also we're going to bring you the very latest developments on the terror plot to send explosive packages into the U.S. Our own Fredricka Whitfield is standing by in Atlanta where CNN will continue tracking this developing story in multiple locations all over the world.

It's a whole lot coming up. Dana, I'm going to throw it over to you now.

BASH: Throw it over to me before you get blown away. Hang in there, Jessica. I have been there. I've been there.

Well, listen, we have been watching this Stephen Colbert - as you mentioned, Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart rally all afternoon on the National Mall in Washington. Somebody who knows both of those men very well is our own Pete - Pete Dominick.

You might note him - know him from "JOHN KING USA", "Pete on the Street", but maybe you don't know that Pete Dominick used to do warm up for both of those men. So, he has a special perspective on the kind of comedy that they can put out there. And, Pete, you have been out there. You have been sitting with the crowd. You've been watching this event for the past several hours. Give our viewers a sense of - of what exactly it was like.

PETE DOMINICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's - it's just wrapping up right now, Dana. But Jon Stewart had a pretty lengthy speech at the end. He wanted to make the point, and I think he did.

He said we live now in hard times, not in end times. He said if we amplify everything, we hear nothing. He said we shouldn't live our lives, and we don't every day, as Republicans and Democrats, that we make concessions every day. We make choices every day, not as liberals and conservatives, but as Americans. It was a - a speech of unifying the people here in the country, in a way, and it was pretty well received here.

We also got beat up pretty good in the cable news media, the 24-hour news cycle. He took a shot at all of the - the mainstream news. And he made his point pretty loud and clear, and I'm looking forward to hearing what everybody says about this tomorrow, and Jon made the point that he was, too.

Back to you guys.

BASH: Well, you know, you talk - and - and Pete, you talked about the point. What was the point?

We saw that this rally was part rock concert, people like Kidd Rock and Sheryl Crow. It was part comedy. And there was some politics here. What do you think - because this was so cloaked in mystery, what exactly they were going to do - what do you think the point that John Colbert and Jon Stewart were trying to make with this rally? What was it?

DOMINICK: What it says about Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert?

Well, these guys are comedians. I think they're icons.

BASH: And what was the point? Yes.

DOMINICK: I think they're two of the smartest - they're two of the smartest, funniest people in the world, and two of the smartest, funniest people I know and I've ever worked with. It really was a speech of unify - unification, bringing people together. Even though we disagree, that we should try to agree.

And, I'll tell you, they did it through my favorite medium - of course, comedy, my favorite art form, and I think they did a pretty good job. But, of course, I'm biased, having worked for both of them for five years.

BASH: All right, Pete. Well, thanks for hanging out there and - and battling the crowds.

DOMINICK: Yes. BASH: It looks pretty - pretty intense there. And, certainly, you know, I know you don't cover a lot of rallies in Washington. We certainly have here at CNN.

DOMINICK: Yes. That's right.

BASH: We haven't seen anything like this. So pretty - pretty remarkable.

DOMINICK: Thank you, guys.

BASH: Thank - thank you so much, Pete.

DOMINICK: All right. Thanks, guys.

BASH: And we have a lot more of BALLOT BOWL campaign rallies all over the country, including where I am, Bridgeport, Connecticut. President Obama is going to take the stage momentarily to get out the Democratic vote here for the Senate race and others.

Stay with us. We're going to take a quick break, and we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BASH: Welcome back to CNN's BALLOT BOWL. I'm Dana Bash in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Right now, the candidate for Senate here, the current attorney general, Richard Blumenthal, is speaking to the crowd. He is going to come before the man who they brought in to help him and other Democratic candidates here. That man is the president of the United States, Barack Obama, and he is going to address this crowd, trying to make sure the Democrats get out and vote.

Now, Richard Blumenthal is quite far ahead in the polls, even though his Republican candidate has spent about $50 million of her own money, which is - which is quite remarkable. We're going to monitor this and wait for the president to speak.

But, meanwhile, we want to take you to something that happened in California earlier this week. It was the president's wife, Michelle Obama. She has been out there on the campaign trail, something she was - we're told by many Democratic sources, reluctant to do, but she did get out there.

And she was speaking at a Democratic fundraiser, and she appealed for patience from everybody who voted for her husband, President Obama, those people who were seeking change.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: Change hasn't come fast enough. But, believe me, it hasn't come fast enough for Barack or for any of us, not when so many folks are still looking for work. Not when so many folks are still struggling to pay the bills and worrying about how they're going to take care of their kids. No. It - it hasn't come fast enough for any of us.

But - but I think that many of us came into this expecting to see all the change that we talked about happen all at once, right away. The minute Barack walked through the Oval Office doors, it'd be fine.

But the truth is, it's going to take a lot longer to dig ourselves out of this hole than - than any of us would like. The hard truth is that this is the hard part. This is the hard part of change.

But I - I've encouraged people that I've talked to over these past weeks to remember that that's - that's exactly what Barack told us, right? I mean, that's - that's exactly what we all told each other, during all these months on the campaign trail, right?

I mean, he told us that change is hard. He said that change is slow. He said change doesn't just happen on its own. I mean, we all understood that change takes struggle and sacrifice and compromise. From the first days as a nation, every time folks have tried to make change, they faced fear, they faced doubt, they faced setbacks and disappointments - every time.

But, as Americans, we have always pushed passed the cynicism and kept moving forward every time. And that is what we have to do again today, people. We have to push past the cynicism, because there is too much at stake right now.

We don't have time to play. There's too much at stake. For our future but, more importantly, for our children's future, there is too much at stake, and we have come much too far to turn back now. We've come too far to stop giving our kids the chances in life they deserve. No. We have come too far for that.

We have come too far to stop rebuilding that middle class security for all of our families, right? We've come too far. We - we've come too far to stop putting the American dream that I know, that my husband knows, that Nancy knows, that all of you here know, within reach for every single American. We've come too far.

But it is not going to be easy. No. Because real change never is.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: That's Michelle Obama, speaking earlier this week at a Democratic fundraiser in California. I want to bring in my co-anchor, Jessica Yellin.

And, Jess, it has been really interesting to talk to Democratic sources about the Michelle Obama dynamic, because, as you know, she is the remaining really popular Obama in that household. I mean, she still is incredibly popular -

YELLIN: That's right.

BASH: -- and there has been some frustration, at least the Democratic sources I talked to, that she hadn't been out there early enough. She really had been, I think, guarding her time and her efforts politically, but she had been out there in the past - past week or two, for sure.

YELLIN: Well, that's - that's true. She hasn't been on the trail the entire season. But when she has gone out, she has been the one that the candidates want - want most, it seems, want first.

And when the Obamas go out, we should remind people, they're really there to get out die-hard Democrats, rally the vote, among people they already think are on the team. They're not, at this stage, really trying to persuade voters to come across to their side, because, at this stage, it's really all about getting out the vote.

Michelle Obama will be here, where I am, in Nevada, on Monday, rallying to get out the vote for Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, who is in danger of losing his seat. It is one of those seats that Democrats have, for many millions, are trying to hold. But the other side has outnumbered them with money, and the support here seems intense.

This will be a closely watched race, perhaps the most closely watched in the nation. Michelle Obama, again, coming here Monday.

And we will also have President Obama himself speaking live where Dana Bash is. We are going to bring that to you, coming up, and many more political rallies around the country.

So, stay with BALLOT BOWL. We're going to take a quick break, and we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. We'll have more on the BALLOT BOWL in a moment.

But first, a look at this breaking story out of Yemen. Police in Yemen have arrested a female suspect in connection with that foiled terror plot. She was surrounded in a house in the Yemeni capital of Sana'a.

Two suspicious packages with explosive devices were intercepted on Thursday aboard cargo planes in Dubai and the United Kingdom. They were bound for the U.S.

The U.S. post office has stopped accepting international mail originating from Yemen, at least temporarily, and Britain is now reviewing its security procedures for cargo flights.

Our Mohammed Jamjoom is in Baghdad, monitoring the swift-moving developments nearby in Yemen. What are you hearing right now?

MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, as you mentioned, the latest news is that a female suspect in the capital city of Sana'a has been arrested by Yemeni security forces. Her house have been surrounded by security forces for the last few hours.

The president of Yemen earlier, in a - in a press conference had said that they expected an arrest to happen at any time, gave no further details about this female. He referred to her as a girl. We do not yet have any details as to who this is, if she has been linked to any terrorist activities in the past, why she was suspected.

When the president was giving his press conference earlier, he had mentioned that he has spoken with American and British officials yesterday, that he had been told that they had been tipped off by Saudi Arabia.

And he also mentioned that Yemen is in an ongoing struggle against al Qaeda. They're doing all they can to fight and eradicate al Qaeda in that county. They need help from the international community and they want to make sure that they can get it under control - Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And so, Mohammed, you've done some extensive reporting in Yemen. Right now, you're in Baghdad.

But give me an idea whether any of your sources are saying anything about whether there were other people in this home that was surrounded, the same place where they arrested this one woman?

JAMJOOM: Well, Fredricka, as of now, no other sources are saying if there was anybody else present in this home or if anybody else is under suspicion. The president had said that this female suspect is under suspicion of sending out those parcels that may have had explosives.

And then, one interesting point that the president made, that he said that he had not gotten confirmation from any American or British officials yet that there actually were explosives or traces of explosives in any of those parcels. That's interesting because so many other sources from the international community since yesterday have been saying there were traces of explosives in there.

But Yemen is in an ongoing struggle against al Qaeda, and the fact that the president came out so quickly and got in front of this story, just about 24 hours after it hit, really shows that they are very concerned about how they're being perceived by the West. They want to really sort of show the western community, the western world, that they are very actively involved in fighting al Qaeda and finding out who is behind this because they want to make sure they continue to receive aid and support from the Americans and the British and other - and other countries - Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Yes. That is very interesting that Yemeni authorities are saying they are unclear about whether there are explosive materials in those devices. We heard it yesterday definitively from the White House as well as the Homeland Security.

Thanks so much, Mohammed Jamjoom, there in Baghdad.

And we're going to of course keep you up to date on the development out of Yemen and beyond because this is now a worldwide investigation. Meantime, we'll have much more of the BALLOT BOWL, including President Barack Obama back on the campaign trail.

There he is, right there, from Bridgeport, Connecticut. More of what he has to say, after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BASH: Welcome back to CNN's BALLOT BOWL. I'm Dana Bash in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where President Obama has now taken the stage to campaign for Democratic candidates for governor, Senate and the House. Let's listen.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... who couldn't afford to send their kids to college, too many families who couldn't go see a doctor when they got sick, too many Americans working two or three jobs just to make ends meet, and too many Americans with no job at all.

You know, I - I want to give you guys a sense of perspective. In the six months before I took the oath of office, we have lost four million jobs. We lost 750,000 jobs the month I was sworn in, 600,000 the month after that, another 600,000 the month after that. We lost almost eight million jobs before we had even put our economic program in place.

Now, my hope was that we'd have both parties putting politics aside during this crisis, to meet this once in a generation challenge, because although we are proud to be Democrats, we are prouder to be Americans, and we believe that we could bring people together.

And I know - I know there are plenty of Republicans that feel the same way. But, Republican leaders in Washington, they made a different decision. They realized, boy, we really made a big mess of this economy.

Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me, everybody. Let me - let me just say this. Excuse me, young people. Let's - let me just say this. You know, these folks have been - you've been appearing at every - every rally we've been doing, and we're funding global AIDS, and the other side is not, so I don't know why you think this is a useful strategy to take.

So, what we would suggest, I think it would make a lot more sense for you guys to go to the folks who aren't interested in funding global AIDS and shout at that rally, because we're trying to focus on figuring out how to finance the things that you want financed. All right? You got (ph) the same things.

Now - now, it is going to take - all right. All right, you guys have made your point. You guys have made your point. Let's go.

Now, look - let me just understand. Everybody's - we're all right. Come on, guys. All right, everybody. Come on.

All right, everybody. Hey, listen up, listen up. Listen up. Listen up. Look, listen up, everybody. Listen up, everybody.

First of all, this is one of the great things about Democrats, is we always like to be heard, and that's a good thing. That's part of - that's part of what this democracy is all about. The second thing is it's very important to remember that an issue like global AIDS is very important, and the question we've got is which party is most likely to actually fund it in ways that help people around the world. All right?

So - but we're not going to be able to do anything unless we get the economy fixed, unless we can put people back to work, unless folks feel more confident about the future, it's going to be hard to move forward on all these initiatives. And - and our hope was when we came in in the midst of crisis that we could get all parties to come together to focus on these challenges.

But, you know, what happened was the other side, particularly the Republican leaders in Congress, their basic calculation was, look, this economy is so bad, we made such a mess of things, that our best strategy is to stand on the sidelines, obstruct, say no, and since it probably wouldn't be fixed completely in two years, we can just point the finger at the - at the Democrats and - and pretend like they're to blame.

That was the strategy. In other words, they were counting on amnesia as a political strategy. That was their strategy. We had a different strategy. Our strategy was, let's fix the problem. As a consequence of the steps we've taken, an economy that was shrinking is now growing again. We've seen nine consecutive months of job growth.

But here is the thing, folks, we have to remind ourselves that our job is not yet done. We've got a lot of work to do. This election is a choice. Because the other side, basically, what they want to do is go back to the exact same policies that got us into this mess in the first place. We know, by the way, what those policies are. Cut taxes mainly for millionaires and billionaires. Cut regulations that curb special interests and then cut middle class families loose to fend for themselves.

If you are out of a job, tough luck. You're on your own according to this philosophy. If you don't have health care, too bad. You are on your own. If you are a young person who can't afford college, pull yourself up by your own boot straps. You are on your own. We know how that philosophy worked. It did not work.

We have tried what they are selling right now. We tried it for eight years. It did not work. We are not going back to that. That is the choice in this election.

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: President Obama is speaking here in Bridgeport, Connecticut, giving his classic and at this point standard stump speech trying to get Democrats to go out to the polls warning about what he says are the dangers of going back to Republican reign when it comes to the United States Congress. You might have seen the president get interrupted. It turns out that it was about 14 protesters, our producer here Adam Reid counted them. They were protesting in favor of more funding for global AIDS to fight global AIDS. It took a little while for him to quiet them. They were escorted out. This is not the first time protesters for that issue have interrupted President Obama as he has given speeches around the country. We are going to continue to listen to President Obama. We are going to give you more of him on the other side of the break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BASH: I'm Dana Bash in Connecticut where voters will go to the polls in just three days to vote for races for governor, for Senate and for the house. That is why President Obama is here in this city of Bridgeport where Democratic voters tend to reside. He is trying to get those Democratic voters to the polls on Tuesday. Let's listen.

OBAMA: Putting people to work building an infrastructure adequate for the 21st Century. That's the future we see. We see an America where we invest in home grown innovation and ingenuity so we can export jobs, not just import goods. We want to make it easier to start a business or patent an invention. We don't want to keep giving tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas. We want those tax breaks to go to companies that are investing here in Bridgeport, small businesses and American manufacturers and clean energy companies, because we don't want electric cars or solar panels or wind turbines made in China or Asia or in Europe, we want them made right here in the United States of America with American workers.

That's the choice in this election. We see an America where every citizen has the skills and the training to compete with any worker in the world. We can't allow other countries to outpace us when it comes to math or science or college graduation rates. We used to be number one. Now, we are number nine. That's not acceptable. That's why we made historic investments in education. Set a goal that by 2020, we would be number one again. That's why when the other side says, we want to cut taxes for billionaires and millionaires, $700 billion tax cuts that would go only to the 2 percent wealthiest Americans. They want to pay for it in part by a 20 percent cut in education, we have to reply to them, education is the key. China is now cutting education spending by 20 percent. Germany is not cutting education by 20 percent. They are not playing for second place and the United States of America does not play for second place either. We play for first.

That's why we took tens of billions of dollars that were going in taxpayer subsidies, unwarranted subsidies to big banks and sent that money to where it needed to go, to students and families to help them pay for college. That's why we have a new college tax credit worth $10,000 in tuition relief to every student. That's the future we believe in. That's the choice in this election. That's the America that we believe in. We see in America where corporations live up to their responsibilities to treat consumers fair and play by the same rules as everybody else. That's why we made sure insurance companies couldn't jack up your premiums for no reason or deny you coverage just because you were sick. That's why we made sure credit card companies can't hit you with hidden fees or companies. Taxpayers will never again be on the hook for the irresponsibility of a few on Wall Street. That's the America we believe in, an America where we don't pass on a mountain of debt to the next generation.

That's why we are going to attack the trillion dollar deficit I inherited when we took office. We are going to do it in a responsible way, not by cutting education by 20 percent. We won't do it by putting the burden only on our children or our seniors or veterans or middle class families. We won't do it by borrowing another $700 billion for a tax cut we don't need. We will do it by asking for shared sacrifice from all Americans. That's the choice in this election, Bridgeport. That is the America I see.

Now, we've got a lot of work to do in these next few years. We need to work together, Democrats and Republicans to get it done. Frankly, I've got to see some cooperation on the other side. The Republican leader of the House said, and I quote, this is not the time for compromise. The Republican leader of the Senate said his main goal over the next two years, his top priorities meeting m priorities beating me in this election. So he didn't say jobs was his top priority, improving the economy was his top priority. His top priority was beating me. He was thinking about the next election. This one is not even over yet. That's the kind of attitude we are fighting against, Bridgeport. That's the politics we have to change. Politics that says it is all about scoring points rather than solving problems that's where all of you come in.

The only way to fight this system, the only way to match the millions of dollars of negative ads that special interests are pouring in is with millions of voices. Those of you who are ready to finish what we started in 2008. So we need you to get out and vote. If everybody who voted in 2008 shows up in 2010, then we will win this election. A lot of you got involved in 2008, because you believed we were at a defining moment in our history. You believed that this was a time where the decision we make, they won't just affect us but our children, our grandchildren for decades to come. That's why you got involved. That's why you knocked on doors. That's why you made phone calls. That's why some of you voted for the very first time.

You know what, delivering that change isn't easy. When we wanted to years ago, that was just the start. That wasn't about electing a president. That was about building a movement to change the country for the better.

I understand some of the excitement has faded since election night, inauguration night. Beyonce was singing and Bono was up there. I know I look a little older now. I have a little more gray hair than I did. Michelle still looks good. I'm looking a little older. I know that. For all the progress we have made, it is so hard. Folks get so angry and maybe it's not worth it but I want all of you to understand, don't let anybody tell you this fight isn't worth it. Don't let them tell you we are not making a difference. Because of you, there is a woman who no longer has to choose between losing her home and treating her cancer. Because of you, there are parents that can look their children in the eye and say, you are going to college. Because of you, there are small businesses that were able to keep their doors open in the depths of recession. Because of you, there are 100,000 young brave men and women who are now home because we are not fighting in Iraq. Because of you. Don't let them tell you change isn't possible, because the truth is, change has always been hard.

This country was founded on hard. 13 colonies coming together defied the British Empire, that's hard and then drafting a document with principles that had never been tried in the world before. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal endowed by their creator with certainly inalienable rights that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That's a hard idea. Nobody was sure it was going to work. We had to overcome slavery. Folks had to work for women's suffrage. They had to work and fight for workers' rights. They had to struggle some more to make sure that fascism was defeated and depression was overcome. At each and every juncture, success wasn't guaranteed. There were setbacks and people who said maybe this won't work. There were nay sayers. Imagine if our parents and grandparents and great grandparents had listened to the cynics 50 years ago or 100 years ago or 200 years ago, we wouldn't be here today. The only reason we are here is because they faced down their doubts, they faced down their fears, they pushed forward in the face of difficulty. They pushed forward in the face of uncertainty. That's why we are here.

BASH: President Obama speaking here in Bridgeport, Connecticut, rallying Democratic voters.

If you need a word to sum up the message here, it is patience, patience. He made very clear he knows things are not as good as they should be, not as good as anybody wants them to be but he warned over and over about in his words dangers of turning back to Republican control of the United States Congress in any way, shape, or form. This is a state that is very blue, very Democratic. The Senate seat had been very competitive or a while.

Right now, talk to Democrats and Republicans. They tell me they believe the Democratic candidate for Senate, Richard Blumenthal is going to win the Senate race. I am told by Democratic sources they don't want to take anything for granted in this particular city. Bridgeport is one they have lived with. There are Democratic voters. They need every single one to go to the polls, not just for us but also for the government choices and for the house race. So, as President Obama continues to speak here, we are going to go to break.

Before we go to break, I want to remind our viewers we have a lot of campaign events we are going to live all day through "Ballot Bowl." Also, some of you are going back to what has happened earlier in the week. One of those is the president's formal rival, John McCain is out stumping fore Republican candidates. We are going to go up to the state of Alaska where there has been a fascinating Senate race. We are going to go to due after the break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Welcome back to CNN's "Ballot Bowl." I'm Jessica Yellin coming to you from Nevada where there is a very close Senate race, one of the most closely watched is here but another closely watched race is in Alaska, where there is a neck and neck contest for the U.S. Senate and it is between a Republican, Joe Miller, and someone who's not even on the ballot, incumbent Senator Lisa Murkowski, who is sitting right now in the U.S. Senate, but did not win her primary there because Sarah Palin swooped in and endorsed her opponent. Murkowski decided to wage her own battle as a write-in candidate. She's one of 161 official write-in candidates in that state, 161 write in candidates. She's going to have to hope people know how to spell her name and put it on the ballot. We're going to be talking about that. The other person in that race, Scott McAdams the Democrat, hasn't been much of a factor trailing behind the other two, but the Democratic Party sees an opening and have been pouring money in there in the most recent days, hoping to give a surge to the Democrats. I want to turn to our own Drew Griffin who is in Alaska, has been talking to all these folks. Drew, I want to -- why don't you give us the latest sense of where this raise stands. It's very tight, isn't it?

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is super tight, Jessica, between the Republican and the Republican. Scott McAdams is not making any headway in attacking this poll. Let me show you the poll that we have, the CNN poll. It shows Miller, the tea party candidate, with 37 percent, Murkowski the write in with 37 percent and then you have McAdams, who is still trailing and really not a factor in this neck and neck race between what is really coming down to a race Jessica between the tea party and the Republican Party. When you say who has the advantage here in this kind of case, Murkowski certainly has the name power, but she's not on the ballot. When it comes down to it, the people of Alaska are going to have to go in there and either check Miller's name, check McAdams' name or scroll down and take a look at all these people that are write-in candidates. We can show that on the elections division. This all happened this week. There were just a few people on the write-in ballot. The division of elections decided they were going to hand out little cheat sheets for anybody who wanted to be a write-in candidate. Miller's people decided let's get everybody we can -- [ inaudible ] that led to this tremendous list that if people asked for it, they're going to be given this list. Here's the 161 people that want you to write their name there and down the list, there's Murkowski, please spell it right. It's a crazy situation.

YELLIN: I've never seen anything like that. It's remarkable. I know Lisa Murkowski has been running TV ads showing people how to spell her name, how to fill in the ballot but she still has to hope they get it close enough to write that she can win. I want to ask you about the other big factor there Drew which is Sarah Palin. She has been the special ingredient in this race, because she has this long-standing difference with the Murkowski family, perhaps one of the reasons she did not endorse Lisa Murkowski, and she's played a big factor in this to this day, hasn't she?

GRIFFIN: Yeah, she truly is. I was out with some people who are very, very close to one side in this campaign and they insist, Jessica, there is no family feud between the Murkowskis and the Palins, but it's really hard to imagine that's not the case. It's Palin who knocked of Frank Murkowski, Lisa's dad as the governor. When Governor Palin quit being the governor, it was Lisa Murkowski who said Palin quit on the people of Alaska. Palin has single handedly brought Joe Miller into the fray here knocking Murkowski out and this has even come into the debate. The person who is not on the ballot, the issue of Sarah Palin in this state is so strong that in their last debate, the candidates were asked would you support Sarah Palin for president? Here's what they had to say.

SCOTT MCADAMS (D), ALASKA SENATE CANDIDATE: Do I think that Governor Palin is qualified to be president of the United States? I think that in a strict sense, she is. She isn't somebody whose ideology I support I agree with.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Miller?

JOE MILLER (R), ALASKA SENATE CANDIDATE: Of course she is. You look who we have in office now and compare the two, there is no comparison.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Senator Murkowski?

SEN. LISA MURKOWSKI (R), ALASKA: If she were to run right now, I would not support her as president.

GRIFFIN: A lot of people, Lisa Murkowski saying she wouldn't support Sarah Palin -- [ inaudible ] if she were to run for president. What's the strategy here of Murkowski, why they think they're going to win? They think the latest poll shows McAdams such a non-player, that Democrats who are vehemently opposed to a tea party candidate will vote for Murkowski just to spoil it for Joe Miller. There's so much strategy, include thing potential personal feud. It's going to be an interesting race to watch.

YELLIN: Yeah, you are in one of the best places for politics on Tuesday. That's going to be a fascinating one to cover. Drew, thanks for the report. Stay warm. It looks very cold there.

I should add, again, this is a meaningful race, Alaska, because we are all looking at the balance of power. Will Republicans pick up enough seats to win there and if the Republican, Joe Miller, the tea party candidate, loses to Lisa Murkowski, she's not running as a Republican. So that's not a pickup necessarily for the Republican Party. She will be an unknown factor, and probably very powerful in the U.S. Senate, should she win. So we'll be watching that one very closely, as where Dana Bash is over in Connecticut. Hey, Dana.

BASH: Hey Jessica. That is a fascinating state and as somebody who covers the Senate and watched what happened when Lisa Murkowski decided to run as a write in candidate and watched how disappointed her Republican colleagues were, it will be very, very interesting to see how she is treated if she does pull off this upset and is able to win in this unconventional way to get back into the Senate. Talking about the Senate, Jess, we've talked about the state of Alaska and West Virginia and watched the president here in Connecticut where there is another big Senate race, we're going to put this all in the big picture for our viewers. After the break we're going to talk about the balance of power and why all of these races are so important to the way Washington and the way Congress will look next year. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)