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Campbell Brown

Continuing Coverage of Campaign Events

Aired April 19, 2008 - 20:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOWARD DEAN, DNC CHAIR: There's about, 65 percent roughly of the super delegates have voted. There are about 320 some odd left to vote. I need them to say who they're for starting now.

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D) NY: I just heard that my opponent has put up an ad attacking my health care plan. Which is kind of curious, because my plan covers everybody and his leaves out 15 million people, just leaves them out in the cold.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We are going to be unified in November. But right now, there is a choice to be made. Because Senator Clinton's essential argument in this campaign is that you can't change how the game is played in Washington. Her basic argument is that the slash and burn, say anything, do anything, special interest driven politics is how it works.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, again, everybody, I'm Rick Sanchez. We are live in the city of Philly. This is a special edition we're going to be bringing you tonight of ELECTION CENTER. What's special about this is that this entire state is energized. It's been awhile since they've been in a situation where they really mattered. And boy do they matter. And by the way, have you heard? This thing has tightened up. Seriously tightened up. This is a state that a while ago was considered, well, not a shoo-in but certainly a big lead for Hillary Clinton. Barack Obama strangely enough, after the tough week that he's had, has been gaining ground here in Pennsylvania. Both of them have been out campaigning throughout most of the day. It looks like they're going to have to campaign to the very last minute because as it stands right now, it's that one hand you failed to shake that may make the difference in who wins and loses in the state of Pennsylvania. And we don't have to tell you if somebody wins big in Pennsylvania, then suddenly this thing could be, if not over, real close to being over.

I'm right her in Pennsylvania. You can see Philadelphia behind me. These are the steps. Have you seen the movie, "Rocky"? In the movie "Rocky" he comes running up these steps, comes to the very end and puts his arms up like that. I've been watching people one after the other over here as they do the same thing. And I guess the question is -- I love the music in the background. Keep it up, keep it up. I guess the question is, how long before Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama are going to be able to do that victory or celebration dance, and will it be captured Tuesday night or are we going to have to wait? The way things are going right now, it seriously is tight. Like a four-point difference in what we call the poll of polls, which is essentially a gathering of all the different polls that have been done.

Suzanne Malveaux's been following this throughout the day, she's good enough us to join us now. Is this a surprise that this thing would be this tight, especially considering the kind of week that Barack Obama had, or is there just a difference, Suzanne, between what voters really think and what the media's stories are?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Either one of these candidates could run up those "Rocky" steps. And Rick, I'll have you know I ran up those steps a week ago. We have been here in Philadelphia, we've been in the suburbs, we've been everywhere, essentially following both these candidates who are fiercely, fiercely fighting for Pennsylvania. What we saw today, Barack Obama, this whistle stop tour, he's on the train, tooting the horn, saying "All Aboard," he wants a lot of voters to turn out. Obviously, they are looking to really narrow that lead. It looks like they may have done that. But there are still undecided voters and those are the voters Senator Hillary Clinton is courting today and throughout the weekend. Now, she is going from place to place, town to town, and she is making her case here specifically to the working class voters that she is one of them, she gets it, she understands their problems, and she has the solutions to try to turn the economic recession around. Here's Hillary Clinton earlier today. This was in York, Pennsylvania.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: I'm asking you to be part of this campaign in its closing days. We need people to phone and to knock on doors and to talk it up. We need you to be part of this incredible effort that we are waging across Pennsylvania. Because on April 22nd, you will have a chance, and thank goodness Pennsylvania does have that chance, to pick the next president.

This has been a vigorous contest. It's gone on for about 15 months. But who's counting? It has been a privilege and an honor to travel across this country, to see the goodness and the resilience and the energy and the optimism and the can-do spirit of the American people. Now we just need a leader who's as ready and willing to roll up "her" sleeves as our people are to start doing what we need to do to solve these problems. And I'd like you to think about it as sort of an extended job interview. Because after all that's really what it is. You're trying to anything you're out who to hire to be your president. And every single person, every voting age American, is the boss. Because you get to make that decision.

So I'm asking you, who would you hire to turn the economy around? Who would you hire to move us toward universal health care? Who would you hire to end our dependence on foreign oil and move us into a clean energy future? Who would you hire to make college affordable and end no child left behind? Who would you hire to help our veterans and end the war in Iraq?

Well, if you're ready to make that hiring decision, I hope that you will go to the polls on Tuesday, bring as many of your friends and neighbors with you, and vote for the person you believe would be the best commander in chief to protect us and defend our country and the president to turn this economy around and get it working for Americans again.

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MALVEAUX: Hillary Clinton making sure that every voter, as many voters as possible, see her resume and actually cast a vote to hire her, her campaign saying that they are knocking on more than 100,000, if you can believe that number, 100,000 doors over the weekend to talk to voters directly, and that they're making about 1 million phone calls. It is very clear that outreach is very important to Hillary Clinton. What we have seen in the weeks just these past couple of weeks is Barack Obama narrowing her lead when it comes to Pennsylvania. He has been gaining steam. He's been gaining momentum. There has been times when it looked like there were points after the debate or controversies that might have made him stumble.

But it seems as if at least the polls are indicating that those don't necessarily matter so much to the voters. They are focusing on some other issues. The economy as well as Iraq. And we see Obama earlier today on the whistle stop tour trying to go through, get as many people in southeast Pennsylvania talking about those type of issues and going after Hillary Clinton..

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OBAMA: There is a real choice. Senator Clinton is an intelligent person and she has worked hard on behalf of her constituents in New York. There's no doubt about it. But the fact is she has a different idea about what is at stake in this election than I do. Because she is comfortable with the way Washington works. She thinks that the problem is we just have to change political parties. I think we have to change political parties but we also have to change how politics is done in Washington.

She's comfortable -- she's comfortable taking PAC money and lobbyist money. She said in a debate in August, she said, well, they're real people. I don't know how many of you have lobbyists representing you. I suspect not many. I don't think they're part of the solution. I think they're part of the problem. But Senator Clinton sees it differently. And now she's run an ad saying, well, Obama's taking lobbyist money, PAC money, all this stuff. Running another negative ad.

Let me tell you something. What we do is not perfect but I can tell you this, in this presidential campaign, I have not taken a dime of lobbyist money, I have not taken a dime of PAC money. We've competed because you've written $25 checks and $50 checks, because I think we've got to take our country back, our government back. That's part of the change we need. That's part of the choice you've got in this election.

I think if you're taking their money, then they're going to have an impact. And right now, you have to feel some confidence that whoever gets into the White House is going to be fighting for you. That's what you need.

But that's not the only difference between myself and Senator Clinton. She also I think takes the textbook Washington approach, which is that you can say one thing over here and another thing over there.

So she can talk about supporting NAFTA when her husband was president, and she says, you know, she's out there campaigning for it, then suddenly she's running for president, says she opposes it. She says, you know, that she really didn't vote for the war, she voted for diplomacy. Even though the title of what she voted for was "Authorization to Use Military Force in Iraq." Everybody knew it was a vote for war.

Now, we can have real differences in policy. Understand, there are good people on many sides of different issues. But what you can't do is take one position when it's convenient politically, then take another position when it's convenient politically, because right now what we have to do is restore a sense of trust between our citizens and our elected officials. Otherwise, we can't solve these problems. They are big problems. And it requires an honest conversation.

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MALVEAUX: Senator Barack Obama outlining all the issues that he believes Pennsylvania voters are really focusing on. The Iraq War, the state of the economy. Also, both of these candidates talking about their character as well. It has become an issue lately. But there are a lot of Obama supporters who have been calling for Hillary Clinton essentially to hang it up and let it go, that they don't believe that she can win. Barack Obama has not said that. But certainly a lot of her - his - her - his opponents - his supporters, rather, have. And Senator Clinton, we understand, Rick, while she's sticking in this for the long haul, she has no intention of bowing out any time soon, she's very well invested in Indiana, North Carolina, and many of the other states looking forward. Right, Rick?

SANCHEZ: Oh, absolutely. As a matter of fact, she has said time and time again, I'm a fighter. I come from a family of fighters. And I think that's important. That's her calling card so to speak. But consider this. In politics there's something called the expectation game. And in this situation, at least as it's looked through the purview of this state, Pennsylvania, what it means is that if Hillary Clinton was supposed to win this state, some have argued that she was supposed to win the it by some pretty large numbers. Then for Hillary Clinton, it's not just about winning. It's about winning and even winning big. Whatever that means. Because again, it's about the expectation. If Obama's supposed to lose this state, if he even makes it close, then you know his guys are going to be -- his handlers are going for saying, well, that's a win for Barack Obama. So the question is what will Hillary Clinton be doing in the next couple of days, in the next couple of hours, mind you, to make sure she pulls the right levers?

In fact, we've got some pics coming in now, live pictures, Hillary Clinton has just gotten to the mike. Let's do this. We're going to take a quick break. She's just getting warmed up. When we come back, we'll take this live and let you listen in as Senator Hillary Clinton continues this from California, Pennsylvania. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back to our special edition of election coverage. We are now looking at Hillary Clinton. She is speaking in California, Pennsylvania. Let's take a listen.

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CLINTON: That's why I have proposed a very specific plan to begin to invest in clean, renewable energy jobs. The jobs of the future. The jobs that can't be outsourced. Jobs in energy efficiency, weatherizing homes, solar and wind, geothermal and hydrogen, biofuels and clean coal that will benefit the people right here in Pennsylvania.

And how would we make these investments? I want to create a strategic energy fund. It will be the vehicle by which we invest in these new technologies. Train people for green collar jobs. And where will we get the money? We're going to take the subsidies away from the oil companies. They don't need your money to make these huge profits.

In fact, I just am all amused whenever I hear the Republicans, they're trying to give even more tax subsidies to the oil companies. Well, I'm going to take them back. Because we've got to begin investing in the jobs of the future, and those are jobs that we can create right here in Pennsylvania. I really commend your governor because he's been moving in that direction and working to create a good energy plan right here in Pennsylvania that will give people an idea of what we're going to be able to do together. But he needs a partner in the white house, and I will be that partner to make sure Pennsylvania has what it needs. And I'm excited about this because it's also how we will combat global warming, how we'll make ourselves more secure. I don't know about you but the idea we are more dependent on foreign oil today than we were on 9/11 just makes me sick.

If we should have done anything after 9/11, it should have been for us to move away from our dependence on foreign oil. But that is not what President Bush decided to do. And so now we live on borrowed money from foreign countries to pay the interest on the debt which has been driven up under President Bush. And we use foreign oil.

Now, we're not going to make any changes until the two oilmen are out of the White House. But as soon as they are, let's get to work to make it clear we're going to have a different energy future in America again. We're also going to invest in our infrastructure, our bridges ...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Senator Hillary Clinton making her case to Pennsylvania voters. She needs every voter in this do or die contest. Many people seeing this as a chance for her to win this state and convince those superdelegates, those all important superdelegates, that she is the stronger candidate when it comes to winning big states and she would make a stronger candidate when it comes to the general election over Barack Obama.

We'll have much, much more of this political coverage. Also other news of the day, including the pope's visit to the United States. Specifically to New York City today. All of this right after the break as a special edition of CNN ELECTION CENTER continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez and we are live in the City of Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love. As you know sometimes politics is an awful lot like religion.

Certainly in this case, where in the case of a religion or a religious leader, the pope is who we are speaking of, who has to almost in a sense win the hearts and minds of many Americans in the aftermath of the sex abuse scandal that affected this country. This is the first time the pope has come to this country after that, but this new pope, I should say, has been in this country after that sex scandal.

And a lot of people wondered just how much of a mea culpa he would lay out for the American people. Lay out the plan. He has been doing a lot of speaking on this and many, many other issues. And today was a special day for the pope as well. Today was the day the pope was in St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, and he delivered mass. Actually delivered the homily, which is the Catholic version of the sermon with his own very personal message. Our own Jim Acosta is there. He's been following the story for us throughout the day and he joins us now live to catch us up.

Jim?

ACOSTA: Hi, Rick. The Holy Father talked about growing up in Nazi Germany today, after a day of music in this field outside of St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, New York. And all of this was taken by young Catholics here with one description -- they refer to it as Popestock.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA (voice-over): Score one for the Vatican. Landing recording artist Kelly Clarkson as the warm-up for pope benedict. Beaming out to the world the image of a new church for a new century. The Holy Father then got serious, describing in sobering detail his own teenage years to the thousands of young Catholics on hand. Those were the years Pope Benedict spent in the Hitler Youth and the German army during World War II. The pope has long said he was forced into those roles, roles he made clear he rejects.

POPE BENEDICT XVI, THE POPE: His influence grew, infiltrating schools. As well as politics. And even religion before it was fully recognized for the monster it was.

ACOSTA: It was another example of the pope's concerted effort to get real with American Catholics. Speaking openly about his own past. Just as he addressed the church's own dark history of child sexual abuse. At the nation's most well-known Catholic house of worship, St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, he again called on the greater church to rid itself of abusive priests.

POPE BENEDICT XVI: I join you in praying as this will be a time of purification for each and every particular church and religious community and a time for healing. And I also encourage you to cooperate with your bishops who continue to work effectively to resolve this issue.

ACOSTA: And it was that message of healing the pope carried with him to this youth rally. He blessed a group of disabled children and sought to inspire a crowd of young seminary students preparing for a life in the priesthood. Again, it was another attempt to grapple with another challenge facing U.S. Catholics. Recruiting young men to give their lives to Christ.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have been responding to his visit. They are all looking forward to him, to see him, especially to hear his words which are so inspiring.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA (on camera): And tomorrow the pope will visit America's hallowed ground as he travels to Ground Zero to pray for the victims of September 11th and then it's off to his final event, Sunday mass at Yankee Stadium. Rick?

SANCHEZ: You know, it's interesting. We're going to be doing a special tonight from here. In fact, we're going to be expanding our coverage from 10:00 p.m. all the way to midnight tonight because of everything going on behind me here in Philadelphia. And one of the topics has a lot to do with the pope. It was about Bill Maher on his show recently said some extremely unkind words about the pope, essentially saying he'd been a Nazi at one point, and going on to say that the Catholic Church was a cult. It's been very controversial. The Catholic League has hammered Bill Maher for this. Last night Bill Maher apologized for this comment. We're going to go into that tonight. We're going to expand that whole situation with - well, I guess the whole theory of anti-Catholicism that many people is prevalent in the United States. Bill Maher's comments and reaction to that.

We're also going to be bringing you the very latest tonight between 8:00 and 10:00 on how tight these polls have actually become, and there's a new wrinkle in the argument about whether or not what Barack Obama said was elitist. That's right. "Rick on the Road" tonight, you're going to hear African Americans who say they are now involved in a backlash against Hillary Clinton, because they believe that the term "uppity black" is what they are doing to Barack Obama. It's a totally different way of looking at this story. Is it possible that this situation with Barack Obama and the comment that he made will actually end up now helping him because it victimizes him?

There are some people who believe that. We're going to be introducing them to you tonight right here at 10:00. In the meantime we're going to break now, we're going to be back in a little bit and let you know what's is going on with the latest comments being made by Senator Hillary Clinton. She is in California, Pennsylvania, of all places. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Welcome back to our special edition CNN ELECTION CENTER. I'm Suzanne Malveaux. I want to take you to one of my colleagues, Campbell Brown, she sat down with a group of panelists really to get a sense of the pulse of Pennsylvania. That critical state leading to the Tuesday primary. Very interesting and provocative discussion. Let's take a listen.

CAMPBELL BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: This weekend the Democrats will be trying to make as many stops, shake as many hands and win over as many Pennsylvania voters as possible. But exactly which voters do they need most, and why? Well, we've asked Tom Foreman to break out his maps and show us.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Campbell, Pennsylvania is expected to be the kind state to Hillary Clinton because it has a lot of the type of voters she's been doing well with. Almost 16 percent of Pennsylvanians are 65 or older. They're more likely to be typical rank and file Democrats and that's been a power base for her. Only Florida has a bigger elderly population. The median household income, about $40,000. That's below the national average. Again, if you have lower income, you tend to favor her. If you have a college degree, you're more likely to support Obama. But only 22 percent of Pennsylvanians have graduated from college. And the population is 85 percent white. That means Obama will not enjoy that big boost he's had in states with larger black populations. All of these things are real advantages for Clinton, which Obama is hoping he can counter in part by maybe drawing in large numbers of those new, moderate voters, just like he has in other states.

Campbell?

BROWN: And Tom, ahead of the Democratic Party still pushing hard for the superdelegates to just get this contest over with. Let's listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: There's about 65 roughly percent of the superdelgates have voted. There's about 320 some-odd left to vote. I need them to say who they're for starting now. They really need to do that. We cannot give up two or three months of active campaigning and healing time. We've got to know who our nominee is and there's no reason not to know after the last primary on June 3rd.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So Tom, kind of mathematically what hope does Hillary Clinton have at this stage?

FOREMAN: It's a good point to say mathematically. Mathematically it's tough. This whole race is down to 10 states and territories in dark blue here and the undeclared superdelegates that Howard Dean is talking about. In all, about 900 or so delegate votes are still up for grabs. And look at Obama's lead. We've said this for weeks and it's still true. Clinton must do better than 10 percent across the board from here on out, at least that's how the math has got to work out, if she wants to be more or less just tied with him by convention time. That would force the decision into the hands of those superdelegates anyway. So some Democrats are saying why prolong this inevitable tough choice, do it now and quit letting John McCain roam around unopposed looking presidential and rising in the polls. Obviously that's something the Clintons don't want to hear.

Campbell?

BROWN: All right.

Tom Foreman for us. Tom, thanks. Heading into Tuesday's all- important Pennsylvania primary the state is a mirror of the entire country when it comes to issues. Check this out. This is a poll of Pennsylvania Democrats. It shows the economy is issue number one, followed by the war in Iraq and health care. And reinforcing what Tom Foreman just told us the poll also reveals Barack Obama winning among voters in their mid 30s and younger, as well as among college graduates and newly registered voters. While Hillary Clinton wins among voters over 55 plus those with less education, lower incomes and in other words I guess the blue collar workers we've been hearing so much about. So who do the voters trust to actually fix these problems? And that's where I want to start with our political panel. "Time" magazine correspondent Amy Sullivan is joining us from Southfield, Michigan, she is the author of "The Party Faithful: How and Why Democrats are Closing the God Gap."

"Washington Times" deputy editorial page editor Tara Wall is in Washington, DC for us, she is a former Republican national committee director of outreach communications. And here in the election center is "Time" magazine editor at large and senior political analyst Mark Halperin.

Welcome to everybody. Mark, why don't I start with you? I've got these numbers here, 200,000 manufacturing jobs lost in Pennsylvania since 2000. The economy really is the issue there. We've been seeing both candidates with these sort of I feel your pain photo ops. I think Obama out with factory workers today in Erie, Pennsylvania. But honestly, on the issues, on the policy stuff, these guys are pretty much in lockstep. So as you go into the final days in Pennsylvania, how do you decide?

MARK HALPERIN, "TIME": Well, they are in lockstep. And neither of them is doing a very good job of explaining what they're for. I follow this pretty closely. If you said to me, quick, what does Senator Obama say he's going to do about the economy, what's Senator Clinton say? It's not really clear. They have a laundry list of proposals. I think neither of them is breaking through on policy, neither on photo ops. What matters for most voters are who do they trust to fight for them every day using the levers at the White House? And again, on that score, it remains to be seen. If either closes strong on that point in the last two days they'll win this primary.

BROWN: Amy, I'll ask you this. Do you think given all the attention and the time spent on this that anybody is still undecided in Pennsylvania right now?

AMY SULLIVAN, "TIME": Well, we know from the polls some people are. But I think mark's right, there's no real substantive difference here, particularly on something like the economy, which is why I always turn to these weird measures of, you know, who do you think relates to you better? Who can really understand your economic concerns? And we look to things like, who can bowl? Who can drink a shot? Who knows which cheese to order with their cheese steak? And that's not really a good measure, it's more of a personality profile. Which isn't really getting us to the crucial answer that voters really have.

BROWN: Right. Tara, we're heading into weekend two, where people are probably going to tune out a couple of days I think. Is there anything that either Clinton or Obama can do before Tuesday that's really a game-changer?

TARA WALL, "WASHINGTON TIMES": They're doing everything they possibly can. In fact, Obama's getting a little criticism by Democrats in Pennsylvania as we reported, because he's just -- I guess he's just blasting the media with all of these ads that are just -- it's in some people's opinions overkill. But he probably has to, given a little bit of some of the lack of support he's got because of his comments. I think too that there's been some points made by John McCain as it relates to the economy. Jobs are one issue and the democrats look the same in that area. Except for Hillary Clinton's green job proposal, whatever that means. Most of them -- most of the Democrats are focusing on strengthening unions and things of that nature as it relates to jobs. But taxes and the tax issue is going to become and is a big issue I think that's going to be at the forefront, as John McCain mentioned, going into the debate that we saw this week, and we'll see some distinguishing difference between those tax plans.

BROWN: All right, guys, stay there. When we come back, I want to ask you if Hillary Clinton pulled the rug out from under her campaign's central argument with just three little words.

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(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: The CNN ELECTION CENTER is the place to be next Tuesday. I'm going to be here along with the best political team on television as votes are counted. Prime time coverage begins at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time. You will not want to miss it.

But just days before the voting starts Hillary Clinton may have thrown away her best card. Let's get back to our political panel. We've got "Time" magazine's Amy Sullivan, "The Washington Times" Tara Wall and "Time" editor at large Mark Halperin.

Amy, Hillary Clinton's last big argument has been electability, she can beat John McCain, he can't. It was the central theme of Wednesday's debate. Let's listen to what she had to say.

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, FORMER CLINTON STAFFER: Do you think Senator Obama can do that, can he win? CLINTON: Yes, yes, yes. Now I think that I can do a better job. I mean, obviously. That's why I'm here. I think I am better able and better prepared in large measure, because of what I've been through and the work that I've done and the results that I've produced for people, and the coalition that i have put together in this campaign.

BROWN: So, Amy, let me ask you, for any fence-sitting superdelegates, did she with that yes, yes, yes undermine her main argument?

SULLIVAN: Well, it certainly has gone against the kind of case she's been making for herself with superdelegates, that Barack Obama simply cannot win in November. There she just kind of blew it up. But I think it was really the first step towards reconciliation in the party. And it was the first admission on her part that, you know, the last six weeks have been very tough for Barack Obama, and yet he has continued to widen his lead in the national polls and really shrink her lead in Pennsylvania. And this may be a recognition that the end of the road is very near for her.

BROWN: And Mark, I want to go to you and ask about John McCain quickly, which is because while we're all focused on Pennsylvania, he's going out next week and starting his forgotten -- I think it's called the forgotten American tour, where he's visiting poor parts of the country, African American communities, places generally Republicans don't go or don't seek out votes and maybe he's not seeking out votes. But what is he doing? What's the strategy behind this?

HALPERIN: I think this is going to be close no matter who the Democrats nominate. I think the two parties are pretty evenly divided. McCain has some strengths. If he wins this election we may look back at this period and say he won it during this period. Before the Democrats settled on a nominee. Not just because they're fighting but he's doing things like reaching out to groups to show he's trying to be more inclusive, to try to send a different message than he thinks the people saw in President Bush. President Bush did this too. Didn't win a lot of minority votes but did win a lot of those white suburban votes who want to see an inclusive president.

BROWN: All right, got to end it there. Mark, Amy, Tara, thank you all, appreciate it.

MALVEAUX: And we're keeping an eye on live events happening right now. Senator Hillary Clinton in California, Pennsylvania. California, a town not necessarily the state in Pennsylvania. She just wrapped up. She is talking to people. She is talking about the things that she believes they want to hear. Most notably about the economy, jobs, gasoline prices, as well as Iraq. We're also taking another look at a live shot here of Barack Obama. He is in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He essentially on this kind of whistle stop tour through southeast Pennsylvania, obviously trying to narrow that lead with Senator Clinton, trying to get every vote that he can. And also trying to counter some of the bad publicity that he's gotten over the last couple of weeks.

We're going to bring you these live events and much, much more. Also the presumptive Republican nominee John McCain after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Barack Obama live in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He just took the stage. We're going to get back to that live event to see what kinds of things he is actually emphasizing to voters in Pennsylvania. Obviously talking about the economy. We want to bring you Senator John McCain as well. This is from earlier in the week. This is on Tuesday in Pittsburgh. And he really was outlining his own plan. He was comparing it, contrasting it to the Democrats, Obama and Clinton saying that he believes that they will raise people's taxes if they're elected. And he wants to simplify the tax code. He believes that his plan is superior and he's trying to convince the voters that he has the best economic ideas, the best economic strategy. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Our tax laws and those who enforce them should treat all citizens with respect, whether they are married or single. But mothers and fathers bear special responsibilities. And the tax code should recognize this. Inflation has eroded the value of the exemption for dependents. I'll send to Congress a reform to increase the exemption with a goal of doubling it, from $3,500 to $7,000 for every dependent in every family in America. The tax laws of America should also promote and reward innovation, because obviously innovation creates jobs. Tax laws shouldn't smother the ingenuity of our people with needless regulations and disincentives. So I'll propose and sign into law a reform agenda to permit the first year expensing of new equipment and technology to ban Internet taxes permanently. To ban cell phone taxes.

This one might appeal to this audience. To ban new cell phone taxes. And to make the tax credit for research and development permanent. So that we never lose our competitive edge. It's not enough, however, to make these little fixes here and there in the tax code. What we need, what we have a compelling requirement for, is a simpler, flatter, and a fairer tax code.

As president, I will propose an alternative tax system, an alternative tax system. When this reform is enacted, all who wish to be under the current system could still do so. And everyone else could choose a vastly less complicated system with two tax rates and a generous standard deduction. Period. Period.

Americans don't resent paying their rightful share of taxes. What they do resent is being subjected to thousands of pages of needless and often irrational rules and demands from the IRS.

We know from experience that no serious reform of the current tax code will come out of Congress. That's another little straight talk. So now it's time to turn the decision over to the people. We're going to create a new and simpler tax system and give the American people a choice. Better tax policy is just one part of a pro-growth agenda that includes smarter regulation, a leaner, more focused government, and among the many benefits to America, these reforms will help to create jobs, improve the investment climate, attract global investors, and strengthen the dollar. Strengthen the dollar.

Also, Americans worry about stagnant wages. Which are caused in part by the rising costs of health care. Each year employers pay more and more for insurance, leaving less and less to pay their employees. As president, I will propose and relentlessly advocate changes that will bring down health care costs, make health care more affordable and accessible, and help individuals and families buy their health insurance with generous tax credits. And enable you to keep your insurance when you change jobs.

I can't tell you the number of people that worry about when they change jobs and their ability to keep their health insurance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Senator John McCain talking about simplifying the tax code and notably Senators Clinton and Obama have also discussed that as well as eliminating the tax breaks for the wealthiest one percent of Americans and trying to have tax cuts, tax breaks, for the middle class. We are still awaiting for Barack Obama, he's in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He is going to be speaking. We'll get right back to that. Obviously trying to capture the attention and win the support of voters in Pennsylvania. All of that is going to come up at the other side of this break as this special edition of CNN ELECTION CENTER continues.

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MALVEAUX: Welcome back to CNN's special edition of CNN ELECTION CENTER. I'm Suzanne Malveaux. We've been promising to dip into this event, listen to Barack Obama in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Let's take a quick listen.

OBAMA: People would like to turn to their government, but worst of all, people have lost faith. They've lost trust in their leaders. They've lost trust in their government. They don't believe that anybody in Washington is listening to them, or standing up for them, or fighting for them.

That's why this election is so important. That's why we can't afford to wait. This is our chance to declare independence. Our own independence from a politics that's not working for us. A politics that is special interest driven. A politics that is all about scoring points. A politics that is about tearing each other down rather than lifting the country up. We are tired of that politics. And we are declaring independence from that policy. Right here in Pennsylvania and all across the country. That's why I'm running for president of the United States of America.

CROWD: Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama! OBAMA: Now, let me say this. I know a lot of Democrats have been a little stressed lately. They're worried, oh, gosh, you know. The party is divided. Are we going to be able to win in November? Let me tell you something. No matter who you're supporting in this primary campaign, the one thing we know for certain is that next November, we are bringing an end to the presidency of George W. Bush.

No more Katrina mishaps. No more warrantless wiretaps. No more Scooter Libby justice. And no more wars that should have never been authorized and should have never been waged.

MALVEAUX: Barack Obama talking about a number of issues and Pennsylvania voters, they say they really care about. Barack Obama also likes to tease Dick Cheney about his relationship with him. He claims that they are cousins. But what we're going to hear, we're going to hear from Dick Cheney himself. Both of them talking about this at the other end of the break. You don't want to miss it. Stay with us.

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MALVEAUX: Well, you never really know who you're related to until you start digging into your roots and that is exactly what Barack Obama did and he found he was in fact related to the Vice President Dick Cheney. He often uses this on the stump to elicit the biggest laughs if you will at his expense. This week it was time for Cheney to get even. Take a listen.

About Cheney now, so let's dip into that and take a listen.

OBAMA: So is it any wonder then that the laws coming out of Washington are very good for ExxonMobil, $11 billion in profits last quarter. Not so good for you, $3.50, $3.75 at the pump. So here's what we have to understand, that it's not going to be enough just to change political parties in the White House. We've got to change how politics is done in Washington. You know, every election, every four years, people come before you and they say, we're going to change things, we've got these 10-point plans, and I'm going to fight for you, I'm going to do this, I'm going to do that. Then they get to Washington and nothing changes. Because the lobbyists, they are spending their millions to get their way. And people start thinking more about how they're going to get re-elected. They want to take the safe boats. And they don't want to make waves. And then you get a part of some food fight going because that's always a good way to stir up the crowd. And get good ratings on ...

MALVEAUX: Barack Obama, we heard before he was actually saying, and I can almost rehearse this, because he says it so many times on the stump speech, about Cheney, he's related, a distant cousin. He wishes that he says he was related to someone who was more cool. We apologize we couldn't give you that sound from Cheney but essentially he was saying he understood Barack Obama also discovered he's related to Brad Pitt. So Cheney, very excitingly, said that he essentially is just two steps away from Brad Pitt, and that is why he's getting so much attention. All of that unfolding this week. I also want to give you a sense of what is later this evening, is at 10:00, we're going to bring back Rick Sanchez. It is a special "Rick on the Road." He talks to many, many different voters in Pennsylvania to really get the pulse of the community and what are they looking for on Tuesday's key primary. Also, LARRY KING LIVE is up next. He is going to take viewers inside that polygamy compound that you have heard so much about this week. Thank you very much for joining us. A special edition of CNN ELECTION CENTER, I'm Suzanne Malveaux. Thanks for watching.

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