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Campbell Brown

Discussing Puerto Rican Vote; What Next for the Campaigns?

Aired June 01, 2008 - 17:00   ET

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

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I think first of all she wants -- I think there is a realization inside the Clinton campaign that this isn't going to happen. For her, though, they're fighting the good fight. She's going to claim that she's got over 17 million in the popular vote.
And then I guess the question that everyone seems to be talking about is what's next for her? One scenario people talk about is use the -- go back to the United States' Senate -- use the Ted Kennedy model. Become a super legislator which is where a lot of people believe Hillary Clinton could excel and become a historic senator. Others say she ought to run for the governorship of New York, she ought to become majority leader of the Senate. I don't think Harry Reid thinks that it's such a great idea.

But I think, you know, when you think about her going back to that Senate, it's not going to be a real comfortable place for her. A majority of the Democratic senators who have committed --have committed to Barack Obama. So, he has gotten more of those and so...

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: Does that matter, I mean, when you are in the Senate?

BORGER: I think it makes a tad uncomfortable. But you know, look, John Kerry went back. Joe Lieberman went back so - and Ted Kennedy, again, as a model, went back and he became a hugely important senator without becoming a member of the Senate leadership.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR ANALYST: She has overcome bigger obstacles than this before. Remember, she arrived in the Senate in 2000 where 40-plus members of that body had voted to impeach and convict her husband. So, that was a pretty hostile environment.

BORGER: Right.

TOOBIN: And she turned into a very effective first term senator. She's only been there for eight years which is not long for a Senate career. So, I think that she could do a lot of good there. I mean, Ted Kennedy has a big advantage over her is that when he returned to the Senate, he was in his 40s. She's 61. So, she's not going to have the same amount of time to build up the seniority that Kennedy did.

BORGER: And of course, we're not mentioning the vice presidency yet.

COOPER: Or some sort of a cabinet position.

BORGER: Or a cabinet position. I mean, anything -- there are a lot of options for Hillary Clinton. Let's put it that way.

DONNA BRAZILE, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I don't know what Hillary Clinton wants but I know what her supporters would like her to do and that is to stay and fight for the 31 remaining delegates in Montana and South Dakota. They believe that Hillary Clinton has been treated unfairly. And therefore, they would like her to fight for every delegate, to fight for every vote and to continue to make her case as long as she possibly can make the case.

But I would hope that her supporters understand that at that of the night on Tuesday, sometime, I don't know -- hopefully it's not like Indiana and we're still here waiting for the votes to come in -- but sometime on Tuesday, perhaps Wednesday, Senator Obama may reach 2,118. I keep saying 2,118 because one of the friends says 2,117 because Congressman Baldwin (ph), if he - well, when he resigns from Congress, you know, that seat will not be filled until the fall.

But when Senator Obama wins the nomination, when he gets over the top 2,118, it's time to unify the party, bring the party together, and to really reach out to the supporters in both camps and to ensure that we have a successful campaign this fall.

COOPER: We're anticipating Hillary Clinton speaking shortly. We have the live shot up in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The crowds have assembled. Clearly, an overwhelming victory for Hillary Clinton in Puerto Rico. Right now, a 29 percent of the vote in, Hillary Clinton is leading with 68 percent; Barack Obama 32 percent. I mean, a crushing win for -- crushing loss for Barack Obama here in Puerto Rico.

TOOBIN: It's a loss. I don't think today Barack Obama is crushed. I think Barack Obama is looking like he's going to be the nominee.

I'd just like to say one thing about that rally we saw in Mitchell, South Dakota. Mitchell is a city of 15,000 people. That rally drew apparently 2,200 people.

The crowds he is drawing are without precedent in recent American history. Seventy-five thousand people in Portland, Oregon. You know, John McCain hasn't drawn 2,000 people very often in this campaign. And he routinely draws 20,000 and 30,000 people.

Tuesday night, he's going to be in St. Paul in the stadium where the Republican convention's going to be. He is going to get 20,000 people there. I think that's significant that someone is capable of drawing that kind of enthusiasm.

BORGER: It is. But having said that, I still think, if you look back since March 4th, Obama's only won 6 of the 13 contests. And so you've to say that he is kind of limping across the finish line here. He's going to finish. He's going to become the Democratic nominee but he -- it's kind of been a tough slog for him lately.

Hillary Clinton got her momentum, I think, too late in the process.

BRAZILE: I think they've made a strategic decision to stop competing against Senator Clinton and begin pivoting to the general election. Senator Obama has reached out and called Senator Clinton today. I heard that from a little bird and apparently she took the call and so hopefully they had a great conversation.

We might hear more from Senator Clinton but the truth is that you have two incredible candidates. This is an unconventional year. We've talked about this in a number of occasions. A historical election season and the Democratic Party now is poised to nominate its first nonwhite male and I want to say that because I may not be able to say it after tonight. This is a historic opportunity.

Hillary Clinton, had she won the nomination, again, a historic moment.

This is an opportunity for the American people now to see, you know, exactly what the country needs to do in terms of moving forward. The party will begin to talk about change, will begin to talk about a new direction, and to move beyond the Bush years. That's what this moment is also about.

It's not just Hillary and Obama competing, who's limping, who's strutting, who's jockeying. It's about who's prepared to lead the country.

COOPER: Well, Gloria was talking about Barack Obama limping across the finish line. Obviously yesterday, we saw him resigning from his church of long standing, 20 years. We're going to talk about that when we come back. We're going to take a short break.

We're also anticipating Hillary Clinton speaking. It's now about six past the hour. Probably in the next couple of minutes, she is supposed to take the stage in San Juan, Puerto Rico. We'll bring you that live as well. Stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: And we are anticipating comments from Hillary Clinton live in San Juan, Puerto Rico. We will bring all of those comments to you live. Of course, that should be in the next five to 10 minutes.

We're also getting some news on the so-called "pastor problem" that Barack Obama has faced. As you well know yesterday, he sent a letter to the new pastor at his church in Chicago, telling that pastor that after consideration, he and his wife have decided to separate themselves from that church. This, of course, in the wake of comments made by Reverend Pfleger most recently when he was guest speaking at Senator Obama's church.

At Reverend Pfleger's church today, in Saint Sabina Church in Chicago, Reverend Pfleger has actually apologized. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, CLTV)

REVEREND MICHAEL PFLEGER, CATHOLIC PRIEST: I am deeply sorry and I pray that my apology will be accepted even by those who have told me they won't accept it. As a result of this, over 3,000 e-mails of hate and threats and name-calling who have gone so far to say "kill yourself, take your life." (END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Those comments made at Reverend Pfleger's church, Saint Sabina Church. We also have comments made by, in case you missed them, by Barack Obama yesterday, in discussing Reverend Pfleger's comments. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D-IL) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The recent episode with Father Pfleger, I think, just reinforced that view that, you know, we don't want to have to answer for everything that's stated in a church. On the other hand, we also don't want a church subjected to the scrutiny that a presidential campaign legitimately undergoes.

I mean, that's -- you know, I don't want Reverend Moss to have to look over his shoulder and see if his sermon vets or if it, you know, is potentially problematic for my campaign or will attract the fury of a cable program. And, so, you know, I have no idea of how it will impact my presidential campaign. But I know that it's the right thing to do for the church and for our family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: That's Senator Obama yesterday.

Roland Martin is joining us live in Chicago.

You know, Roland, a lot of folks, critics of Senator Obama, say this was a decision about politics, pure and simple.

ROLAND MARTIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Obviously, that there's no doubt that you're going to hear folks say that. And of course, politics plays a role in this, because as he just said, do you want to be in the position where you are constantly having to answer to comments made.

But one of the critical issues that I have heard from people who are very close to Senator Barack Obama, that he was very bothered by the intense scrutiny of the church when he heard the reports of people who are sick and shut in, folks calling them up and inquiring how will the church taking care of them.

You have people who are members of the church who called into my show in WVON, say that they were very afraid who they were sitting next to, were they recording something. Do they have a video recorder? There seemed to be just this -- I don't want to say paranoid but folks were walking on egg shells and so he has told folks that it bothered him they were under that kind of pressure. Well, there's no doubt people are going to say politics plays a role in this because, again, he's likely to get the nomination, going into the general election.

COOPER: But, I mean, it's more than just - you know, you said there's no doubt people are going to say politics played a role. There's no doubt politics played a role. MARTIN: Of course. I mean, it is a part of this entire campaign. And that is the comments from Reverend Jeremiah Wright, then, of course, with Father Pfleger. Then, what the church has done, who they talked to in the past, how does that play in terms of what his positions are. He was being there 20 years. All of that. There's no doubt about that.

And so, it was certainly a very sad thing for him to do, because he expressed that yesterday with the amount of sadness. But no doubt those who criticize him would, no doubt, say politics was the only reason that decision was made.

COOPER: Does this now inoculate Senator Obama for any other videos that come out down the road from guest pastors at that church, from the current pastor, from old videos of Reverend Wright? Does this?

BORGER: I doubt it.

MARTIN: I think...

COOPERT: That was to Gloria.

BORGER: I just -- and Roland, you know, you may disagree with me, I don't know. I think it puts a lid on it for now, but when you get into a general election campaign, John McCain has already asked the question: Why was he a member of this church for 20 years and even though he has now left the church, there's still going to say that he has to account for things that occurred when he was a member.

You know, these general elections are hard ball and I think you can be sure that if there are anymore issues that come up with Reverend Wright, that it's going to be...

COOPER: I want to ask our Republican strategist about this for a second, but I actually want to ask Roland another question which is: Do we know -- is Senator Obama shopping around for another church? If so, what is he going to have to look for in a church? He's going to have to be careful, I guess.

MARTIN: Well, first of all, he is not right now shopping for another church. What he said in the letter that he sent -- actually, what he said yesterday is that that he and Michelle and their children will likely wait until after January to know what the situation is because, obviously, if he becomes president, they'll will in Washington, D.C.

And one of the things he also talked to - it's very interesting. You look at how we analyze who goes to church and where they go, and a lot of people -- I have been reading some of the blogs, some of the e- mails -- folks have been saying - now, wait a minute. You know, not only got to the point of they've asking - well, where are you going to go next? How are you watching somebody's church.

But no. He has not decided where to go to church. He's running for president. What happens in November will, frankly, determine where they spend most of their time. COOPER: Alex Castellanos, I hear, from the Republican standpoint is -- what happens going forward in Senator Obama's former church now relevant?

ALEX CASTELLANOS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I think it's going to be because he's been there for 20 years. In some ways, Barack Obama is a lot like George Bush. In this election, he is positioning himself as the great uniter, not the divider. He's the transracial, transpartisan candidate who's going to bring people together.

And that's why I think it's a bit of a shock to find out he's been sitting in church pews for 20 years where quite a bit of division has been espoused and that that's not I think something that a lot of Americans are comfortable with. I think he still has to explain that. He certainly says he's learned a lot there. The title of his book, "The Audacity of Hope" comes from there, but not the audacity of division.

COOPER: Jamaal, as an Obama supporter, how much of this do you think boils down to, you know, different kind of churches, different tradition in the African-American community, a different tradition in other churches -- and people just not understanding that and not -- and being uncomfortable with another church's traditions?

JAMAAL SIMMONS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Yes. For many African- Americans, going to church on Sunday is part revival, part political meeting, part social gathering. I mean, it really serves as a very big communal aspect. How would you like to be the pastor that Barack Obama shows up at his church in January saying I'm going to join?

I mean, now, all of a sudden, everything you've ever said or done comes under the microscope or everything you say in the future comes under the microscope of CNN and every other major outlet and the Republican Party. It's a dangerous place for many African-American pastors to be.

What I think may happen here - what I hope may happen, as the Democrats and all the -- not (ph) an Obama supporter, is that this has somewhat of an affect on how ministers and pastors of whether they're evangelical, right wing pastors or they're more liberal theologians, how they engage in politics. Because what we're seeing now is that when you get religion in politics in the same bed together, they don't always mix very well.

And so, I think a lot of people will take a second look before a minister comes out publicly and says something, do I really want to weigh in to U.S. politics?

COOPER: Hilary - go on.

HILARY ROSEN, CLINTON SUPPORTER: I just don't think John McCain will get very far with this argument. As a practical matter, Barack Obama's faith and is quite authentic and his family and teachings in a church, any church are quite authentic. So...

COOPER: Will it be so much a religious decision? Will it be more about patriotism, about America you're living?

ROSEN: But here's my point. I think, if John McCain tries that argument about Barack Obama's church, the white evangelical church over the last, you know, 20 years, has been a bastion of intolerance, distaste, and divide in this country with their politics, with their anti-gay stuff, with their anti-women stuff.

I just think, if you want to have an argument over whose church is more intolerant, which I don't think either Barack Obama or John McCain want to have, I think Democrats are going to have plenty of ammunition there.

(CROSSTALK)

LESLIE SANCHEZ, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I think, well, first of all, we have to say many evangelicals are going to have or take issue with that. I think that is completely way off the mark. But that being said, I think the Democrats discount and I know Kevin Madden, you know, a Republican strategist, talks about this. It discounts the motivation factor that faith has to a lot of voters.

Probably about 20 percent, 25 percent that are going to look at this and say - Barack Obama is doing something that's politically motivated. Is he leaving that church because he politically has to distance himself? And, is he giving up a part of his faith? What does this mean in terms of integrity and character? And those are important issues that they should be looking (ph).

COOPER: But, from that perspective, aren't you kind of damning him if he does and damning him if he doesn't? I mean, he stays then he's -- you're not focusing on his faith.

SANCHEZ: He tried to transcend that. I mean, he made the speech, you know, he went on and on and he ultimately had to make that decision but it's political.

COOPER: OK. Let's bring in Roland Martin.

Roland, in moving -- go ahead, Roland.

MARTIN: I'm sitting here right now in the Bible belt -- Houston, Texas, my hometown. And here's - and you made the point. I understand the question to Jamaal as it relates to people not understanding of what happens in African-American churches but I think a lot of people don't even understand what happens in southern churches, in politically active churches.

You know, I can go to many churches in Houston right now where there are largely white congregations and white pastors where you will hear a strong, political, socially conservative agenda. The issue is what are people comfortable with?

Are we comfortable with hearing messages coming out of the pulpit that is highly critical of abortion, homosexuality, gay marriage, et al - you know, crack, drugs and anything along those lines or are we also uncomfortable hearing people talk about white entitlement, talking affirmative action, those politically hot button issues?

The reality is -- white churches, black churches, Hispanic churches, they have it all of these combinations. Some focus just on the Bible, some talk about politics. It's not a matter of race.

COOPER: We're going to have to continue with this discussion but we're going to take a short break. Probably on the other side of the break, we're expecting Hillary Clinton to speak. We'll bring you those comments to you live. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: And that is the crowd waiting for Senator Hillary Clinton in San Juan, Puerto Rico. With 51 percent of the votes in, Senator Clinton's in the lead with 68 percent, Barack Obama 32 percent. She, of course, expected to be the winner in Puerto Rico, is the winner in Puerto Rico so far.

Jeff, in terms of what she comes out and says this afternoon, how much is about Barack Obama? Or is none of it about Barack Obama by name?

TOOBIN: I think over the last month since Indiana and North Carolina, she has ratcheted down her rhetoric about Obama to nothing, because she recognizes that the one thing that she could do that would really encourage people to try to usher her off the stage would be to add to the divisiveness of the primary.

So, she is going to continue, I assume, the positive rhetoric, the anti-McCain rhetoric, but the one implicit criticism of Obama will be her emphasis on the electability theme because that is the one and only argument that the superdelegates might be interested in hearing.

COOPER: Into what degree, Gloria Borger, that she'll carry forward - what we've heard from Harold Ickes yesterday, we've heard from Harold Ickes on Wolf's show today and what we've heard from Terry McAuliffe, just, you know, a couple of hours ago?

BORGER: Right. Well...

COOPER: In terms of yesterday being, you know, a bad day for democracy in terms of what happened, the deal with Michigan and Florida.

BORGER: Taking it to credentials committee.

COOPER: Right. And taking her delegates away.

BORGER: You know, I was listening to him very closely in all these things today and it's -- there are words and then there's the music. And the words are pretty strident. You know, we reserve the right. Reserve the right is the key phrase there. But the music is, you know, anyone who knows Harold Ickes and know you, you know, Harold Ickes.

He can get really angry and this is not the angry Harold Ickes. This is the Harold Ickes reserving the right in case anything, anything can happen and to allow Hillary Clinton to fight until the very end and to finish what she began, which is to finish all of the primaries and to give those people who are adamant about this, something to walk out of that meeting on Saturday with.

So, I don't think it is likely in the least that this is going to go to the credentials committee. I do not believe it, but I believe it's something that -- he's not lying about it but it's something he said for their supporters because they want to continue to finish this race.

TOOBIN: And also, in an environment like this, in a rally in front of civilians, they don't want to hear the inside baseball about rules challenges and the credentials committee. They want to hear about Iraq, they want to hear about the economy.

COOPER: Should she come out and say, you know, the process was hijacked yesterday?

BORGER: No, I don't think she does that at all.

TOOBIN: I don't see any way she says that. I'd just think that would go over like a lead balloon there and politically wouldn't help her.

BORGER: And she's look like a sore loser. I mean, you know, those are the things that your people say. Your surrogates can say that for you, but as the candidate, you take the high road I think.

BRAZILE: I think Senator Clinton will announce at some point that she is going to campaign nonstop from now until Tuesday night when the polls close in Montana. They're going to South Dakota. They're going to Montana. They will compete for every vote and every delegate.

She is going to end this race the way she started this race. She is going to talk to voters. She's going to have a conversation. And she is going to ask them for their votes.

TOOBIN: And hardwork. This is a candidate who works harder than anybody including her husband and does way more events than Barack Obama. And isn't it astonishing to watch how hard she works? And I think - that's right, through November...

BRAZILE: Bu you're not surprised that women work harder than men?

BORGER: No, are you?

TOOBIN: What - yes, I thought women -- you knew this.

BORGER: Women's work is never done.

BRAZILE: And never rewarded.

TOOBIN: I'm going to try to say something funny and I want to praise myself for not saying it.

COOPER: I think we're all relieved.

TOOBIN: And it's just such a good thing.

COOPER: It's very early. I think we move along.

TOOBIN: Exactly.

BRAZILE: So much love here.

COOPER: Let's get off the air without any drama.

BORGER: But you know, as you watch this thing play out -- should I get you off the hook now by the changing the subject?

TOOBIN: Entirely, yes.

BORGER: As you watch this thing play out, you talk to the Obama people, they figure they need, you know -- 25 or 30 more superdelegates in addition to what they're going to get out of Puerto Rico, South Dakota, Montana to get this to the 2,118 number that they need. Then we have to start to thinking about -- OK, how does this -- how does the endgame work here? When do all these superdelegates start coming out? Do they wait until after Tuesday? Does Hillary Clinton start letting it be known that that's OK?

COOPER: Well, it would seem that they would try to get as many superdelegates to come out before Tuesday so that Tuesday night...

BORGER: That's what the Obama people would say.

COOPER: Right. What they want so that the Obama people on Tuesday night can say -- this is it.

TOOBIN: I don't think Hillary Clinton has a store of superdelegates that she's been keeping in reserve. I mean, if she had them, they'd been out there.

BORGER: But would you wait before the votes or if your thesis had been and you had told all of your constituents -- because a lot of these people are elected officials -- I'm going to wait until all the votes are cast and then come I'm going out. Just because it looks like Obama's going to be the nominee, you can't come out before all the votes are cast.

So, maybe Wednesday would be the day where you'd see a huge melt or you have the press conference of Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi and Howard Dean, and then you start seeing those (INAUDIBLE).

COOPER: Well, I think what Donna earlier said Wednesday is the big day (ph).

BORGER: And Donna.

BRAZILE: I didn't tell you the time of the day or the hour or the show.

BORGER: How about it?

BRAZILE: A woman needs to keep her secrets, as well.

BORGER: OK. But then it's going to happen. You know, and I think then it could happen pretty - I think it could happen pretty quickly this week.

COOPER: They want to know Al Gore and Donna Brazile, those are the two. That's what everybody is waiting for.

BRAZILE: I don't get too close on the same company. Al Gore is a super, superdelegate.

COOPER: I see.

We'll just take a quick look at the crowd shot, San Juan, Puerto Rico. We're waiting to hear from Hillary Clinton. There's a speaker speaking with the crowd, getting the crowd warmed up.

We'll, of course, bring you Senator Clinton as soon as she steps on the stage to hear what she has to say.

In terms of her schedule, do we know, Gloria, I mean, it's just nonstop?

BORGER: Yes. And then she is...

TOOBIN: She's going to South Dakota.

BORGER: She's going to South Dakota, she's going to South Dakota. But we're not sure where she's going to be in election night.

TOOBIN: They have not announced that. But clearly she's going to be campaigning more in South Dakota and I think I saw some Montana events, too, but, definitely, South Dakota.

BRAZILE: Bill Clinton has been in Montana all day. He is holding Solutions for America tours all throughout the state. I don't know anything about Montana. It is one of three states I have not visited and therefore I'm a little bit upset about that. I can't talk about Montana.

BORGER: You have to come visit me in Montana.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Bill Clinton's role on the campaign trail so far -- He's obviously been used smaller events and we have seen a lot of states going to places where politics normally don't go. We've seen him talking out of the back of pickup trucks to small crowds, kind of impromptu gatherings. Not a lot of national media coverage by design, not a lot of questions from national reporters by design. How has he been on the campaign trail?

TOOBIN: Interesting article came out today in "Vanity Fair" magazine by Todd Pernum (ph) about Bill Clinton and about how rough this campaign has been for him. Not so much on him physically but on his reputation, on his stature. This is not been a good several months for him. He's not been I think a tremendous help to Hillary Clinton. There have been a couple of embarrassments. And I think one of the things that is will happen this fall is that Bill Clinton will use this as an opportunity to try to restore his brand somewhat, as well.

BORGER: Yeah. I think the interesting thing to me about Bill Clinton is how rusty he seems to be in terms of campaigning. Losing his temper on the campaign trail, never really a good thing to do with journalists, picking up the story of Tusla (ph) after it had already died causing his wife grief that way, South Carolina, becoming quite controversial.

So it's kind of interesting because I think Bill Clinton's a rock star in the Democratic Party. He's terrific on the campaign trail generally when we all covered him. And now I think he wasn't -- not really used to it.

TOOBIN: There's an interesting quote in that story from Mike McCurry, his former press secretary, where he said the last time Bill Clinton really ran was 1996 when he was running for his own reelection. And said we didn't have instant Internet. We didn't have the cycle moving as fast as it did now and that's in the world is different now and hasn't caught up.

ANDERSON: We'll take a short break before Hillary Clinton speaks. Again, we're anticipating her speaking in just a couple of minutes. We'll bring it to you live. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Welcome back to the CNN Election Center. I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting.

Hillary Clinton wins in Puerto Rico today, an impressive win. 57 percent of the precincts have now reported in Puerto Rico. She maintains her two to one advantage over Barack Obama, 68 percent to 32 percent.

Let's take a look at the actual numbers with almost 60 percent of the precincts reporting in Puerto Rico right now. There they are. 131,300 for Clinton, 61,000 for Barack. She wants a huge advantage there to be able to brag that she has scored more of the popular vote over these past six months going back to early January as opposed to Barack Obama. Don't know if she is able to do that as a result of Puerto Rico. Doesn't look like the turnout in Puerto Rico today is as huge as she would have liked, but we'll watch it very closely and see what else is coming in. And we'll update you as it comes in.

This is a scene right now in San Juan where she is ready to address the supporters in Puerto Rico. They're excited because she did win impressively even if the turnout wasn't as large as she would have liked.

Once Hillary Clinton starts speaking in Puerto Rico, we'll be listening in and covering her speech. We want to hear what she says to see what signals she is giving about the threat, the threat that was delivered yesterday by one of her top strategists, Harold Ickes. Reiterated here on CNN, by the chairman of the presidential campaign, Terry McAuliffe, that they're looking at the options whether or not to challenge that decision by the Democratic National Committee and bring a challenge before the Credentials Committee. That would prolong this process even, even if Barack Obama manages to declare that he is the winner later this weekend after Montana and South Dakota. That all is up in the air.

But we'll be listening very closely to see if she herself delivers some strong words, makes some sort of veiled threat to continue this process.

We will be hearing a lot from her as we anticipate a lot about her scoring the popularity winning the most of the popular votes, albeit those popular votes aren't what decides the Democratic presidential nominee. The delegates decide, the superdelegates and the elected or pledged delegates going to the convention in Denver at the end of the summer.

We'll wait to hear from Hillary Clinton. When she starts to speak, we'll go there. But these are some of her supporters who are introducing her.

Let's walk over to Anderson and resume the analysis of what we go on as we await her remarks.

And I think it is interesting to hear what she has to say because maybe we'll get the nuggets about her political intentions in the immediate days ahead.

COOPER: Yeah. It's very possible.

Gloria Borger, you saying earlier you don't anticipate an echoing of the comments of Harold Ickes and Terry McAuliffe that the process is hijacked?

BORGER: No. No, I think she's...

COOPER: There is real vitriol out there. We see it in the analysis we get all the time. There's a lot of anger among core Hillary supporters that feel she is being wronged.

BORGER: Hillary Clinton doesn't have to get angry. She can stand above it all. And as Donna has said over and over again, you know, Hillary Clinton doesn't really went to divide the Democratic Party at this point. And so it doesn't serve her interests or her political future I might add to...

COOPER: But does it serve her interest to stoke the fires? We've heard from her about, you know, early in the campaign she talked about, you know, not voting for her because she is a woman. Increasingly, we have heard from her saying, you know, I'm running out there for women who, you know, never thought they would see this...

BORGER: These are the people who are sticking with her.

COOPER: Right.

BORGER: Those are her peeps out there and she understands that. And as she finishes this, I believe that that's really what she is thinking about. She's thinking I'm finishing the race for those people who have been with me since day one. I think she thinks more -- I don't know what she is thinking about in her head but I assume, Anderson, that there's a lot of thinking going on about the historic nature of the campaign and that she has finished so well and should be really proud of what she has done and the votes that she has received. And I think that's what we'll hear her talk about today. There is no benefit to her doing anything other than taking the high road and talking about her achievements and talking about uniting the Democratic Party.

TOOBIN: The long view, eight years from now Hillary Clinton will be three years younger than John McCain is now. So this is a woman who has a big future ahead of her and does not want to do anything to jeopardize that.

BRAZILE: You know, throughout her campaign in Puerto Rico, the last couple of days, she's given voice to I think residents on the island who feel they're being left behind in terms of economy, jobs, rising fuel prices. And I think one of the things she'll talk about tonight is pretty much this whole -- this message about how she can bring about the kind of change and solutions in terms of health care.

I don't want to divorce Hillary from the message she's been giving throughout the campaign, talking about real solutions, having the best health care plan and having the best plan to help people who are facing mortgage foreclosure. I think Hillary Clinton will continue to talk about those issues.

COOPER: Let's move over to our back panel again as we await Hillary Clinton speaking in San Juan.

In terms of what you heard from Barack Obama earlier today, Jamal Simmons, clearly he is trying to be as respectful as possible to Senator Clinton as a candidate at this point. How do you see him continuing to try to reach out not just to her but to those core supporters of her?

JAMAL SIMMONS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Someone said earlier, you will hear things about policy to come out. But you know, he's doing things staff wise that are making real gestures. Anita Dunn has joined the campaign for the communications. Linda Douglas, a very famous journalist, she's joined the campaign to be on the trail as a spokesperson with the Obama campaign. so you are starting to see the women sort of come from the forefront. Penny Frisker (ph), the finance chief, and somebody who will probably be highlighted a little bit more.

COOPER: That's interesting. So part of that is you think is a real desire to reach out to women by highlighting women around Barack Obama?

SIMMONS: I think so. You will start to see the women more visible in the campaign. A lot of them have been there already. The ones that have been there already, but weren't visible. There are new people joining the campaign. There will probably be people from the Clinton campaign who will be coming over. You start to hear a little -- yesterday we were in the back halls of the DNC meeting. You could hear little chitchat about, you know, who might be interested, who might not. You're starting to hear about that. So they'll bring in some Hillary Clinton people into the campaign. They'll put forward some of the Barack Obama people. There will be more policies that talk about women and women's issues. The candidate himself is very generous talking about Hillary Clinton's contributions to the campaign.

COOPER: Is it going to be enough though, do you think? To get the voters that send us e-mails all the time saying no way to vote for Barack Obama?

HILARY ROSEN, CLINTON SUPPORTER: Well, I do think that the resentment is real and I think it is organic. But so much of how we go forward depends on both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. The messages they send. The kind of leadership they give. I take Senator Clinton at her word if Barack Obama's a nominee, she'll do everything she can to bring the supporters to the table.

As a practical matter for women, I think, you know, one big speech by John McCain on choice or on judges is going to galvanize women as much as anything anybody else is going to do. We're desperate to win this election. We don't want another four or eight years of a Republican president. And I think that's going to be hugely galvanized.

Having said that, Barack Obama has a lot of work to do and, you know, he's got to be prepared to do it. I assume he will be.

COOPER: Jessica Yellin, in this San Juan outside the venue where Hillary Clinton will be speaking any moment now. Of course we're going to bring that to her live.

Jessica, what are you hearing from the Clinton campaign today? They have to be happy about the numbers seeing in terms of the percentage of vote in Puerto Rico.

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: They're very happy about the margin of victory. Disappointed that though -- not acknowledging they're disappointed, but they have to be disappointed she didn't get a larger turnout overall. She wanted as many bodies to go and vote for her as possible to pump up that popular vote totals. So that will be a bit of a disappointment and heavy spin on why that vote total wasn't higher.

But I will tell you that here on the island there just wasn't the kind of intensity of passion about this campaign that we have on the mainland in part because folks here don't -- know they can't vote in November. Not as many stakes are high here.

I'll tell you, I expect the Clinton campaign and Senator Clinton trying to walk this fine line. She won't try to be decisive. She won't try to be attacking Obama in any way. But they're clear they want to remind Americans that she is in their view the popular vote winner. And this key question that she appeals to Latinos. They are convinced that she could do better against McCain no matter how this plays out. That's a message they will carry out and continue to remind us until the very day she does leave the campaign if she is to leave the campaign. So expect her to hit that theme as well as many of the things you heard Hilary Rosen talking about there, and Donna, some of the issues that matter to voters here.

COOPER: Jessica, do we know in terms of the turnout and the reality, what they actually got?

YELLIN: Oh, well, they wanted -- you know, they were hoping for close to two million. That would have really put her over any kind of question about a popular vote photo finish for her. She got, we're told by local election officials, and it's very sort of anecdotal here, maybe 20 percent here of the turnout. They're used to 80 percent here, Anderson, because it's all local issues during most local elections. There's a lot of fever and passion. People get very engaged. So they get very high turnout here for local issues. Not a good comparison to past presidential elections because primaries don't happen in this way that often. But 20 percent today as compared so 80 percent for a local election, that's got to be a disappointment.

COOPER: And in terms of the speeches she's been giving recently, can we anticipate what she will be saying in the next few moments when she does speak about Barack Obama, about some of the event that is went on yesterday?

YELLIN: You know, she has been very careful to avoid commenting on the DNC decision. And that's the big question, what will she say about that. She's focused intensely in the last days on local issues more than on the larger campaign and we'd expect to see her to broaden out her message.

She is talking to the superdelegates. They have not given on trying to deliver the message to the superdelegates that she's more electable, has the popular vote and then pivot to address to address some of the local issues here because it's a question of enfranchisement. Many people here in Puerto Rico feel they don't have a voice because they don't get to vote in the general election. That dovetails with the message of Michigan. So you could see her hit on that theme, as well.

COOPER: Where does she go -- do we know her schedule for a couple of days?

YELLIN: Well, yes. She goes from here, going on to South Dakota. The question is -- supposed to go back to New York City. Does she have her events in New York City, her election night event there? And then we know she'll be in Washington on Wednesday. And we are told she will be working the superdelegates aggressively beginning the moment she arrives in Washington trying to sell this message that she is more electable, she has the Latino vote, she has the popular vote and they should give her the nomination. She does not have an end in sight at the moment.

COOPER: In terms of money, how's she doing? Do we know?

YELLIN: Well, well, that's the ongoing question. They claim that they're continuing to raise money. But clearly they're behind. You know, that's a huge struggle for this campaign. And it's also something that they have sort of calmed down on. They know it will be resolved in some sort of a way. And with the end of the primaries in sight, it's not as much of an issue at this very moment, but it's not a pretty picture for her on the money front.

COOPER: Jessica Yellin reporting live from San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Again, we are anticipating Hillary Clinton speaking any moment. It was supposed to have happened about 20 minutes or so ago. They still have a speaker talking, getting ready to introduce her. We're not sure if this is the last speaker to introduce her. There have been several. We'll bring you her comments live. Should be interesting to see what she says.

Jeff Toobin is watching with batted breath, as well.

TOOBIN: I can't wait. You know what's interesting? Are they going to have a...

COOPER: Please, tell me.

TOOBIN: Are they going to have to translate her remarks as she goes? That could slow things down a lot.

COOPER: I don't think they'll be doing that.

TOOBIN: You don't think so? I wonder about it. I don't know.

BORGER: I think the 20 percent turnout is Jessica talking about is very interesting because clearly...

COOPER: That's what her argument is boiling down to, the popular vote and present that to the superdelegates.

BORGER: And in conversations, Terry McAuliffe has with people, he always talks about, look at Puerto Rico. There's a large number of voters in Puerto Rico, two million voters we could get to turn out and really help us with the popular vote argument. It didn't happen.

COOPER: Wolf Blitzer looking at the actual votes that have been cast so far -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Let's take a look at the votes coming in from Puerto Rico. 72 percent, a big chunk of the paper ballots that are being counted by hand in Puerto Rico. She maintains an impressive more than 2-1 margin over Barack Obama, 68 percent to 32 percent. 175,000 for Hillary Clinton, 82,000 for Barack Obama. That's less so far at least than a 100,000 margin for her. She was hoping for a 200,000 margin going -- coming out of Puerto Rico. Maybe she can still do that with the remaining percentage of the precincts that have to be reported. We'll watch closely. 63 delegates in Puerto Rico, eight of them superdelegates, 55 the pledge delegates.

These are the live pictures you are seeing from the rally in San Juan where she will be speaking shortly. And we'll be dissecting the words to see if it's a regular sort of stump speech or if she'll be giving the signals as to what her intentions are, how serious is this threat made by some of her key strategic supporters to challenge the decision of the Rules Committee to come up with this compromise solution involving the delegates from Michigan and whether this is a serious threat or not a serious threat.

The math, as we keep on saying, is really, really against her right now going into the final two contests in Montana and South Dakota. Contests where she will be competing on Tuesday but so far not a -- it's not over with yet. We have seen so many of these contests come and go over these past six months. And they'll be two more after today.

She's just been introduced. She is going to be walking in right now to this very enthusiastic crowd in San Juan, Puerto Rico. We'll be seeing her momentarily. And she'll walk up to that stage and deliver this victory speech in Puerto Rico.

One thing has been very clear throughout all of these campaigns. Hillary Clinton has done remarkably well with Hispanic voters, Latino voters throughout country. In part, she's popular there. Her husband is also popular in the Hispanic, Latino community. This clearly was demonstrated today in Puerto Rico, as well.

As she walks up, let's listen in a little bit to get some of the sound, the sights and sounds of this rally in San Juan.

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you so much. I have four words for you. [SPEAKING SPANISH], Puerto Rico. Never before have these beautiful islands had such an important voice in a presidential election. And I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here. I cannot thank you all enough.

Bill and Chelsea and I are so grateful to the bottom of our hearts for your generosity and your kindness.

And I hope that we have helped to draw attention to the concerns of Puerto Rico and we have also helped to spotlight the beauty and the spirit of this wonderful place. So I am grateful -- I am grateful for this show of overwhelming support. And I came to Puerto Rico to listen to your voices because your voices deserve to be heard. And I hear you. And I see you. And I will always stand up for you.

I also want to recognize Senator Obama and his supporters. Our two campaigns have turned out record numbers of new voters, determined to chart a new course for America.

Now, this primary election has been hard fought because there is so much at stake. And we must select a Democratic president. I am -- I am -- I am overwhelmed by this vote today.

I cannot complete this journey without your help. We have two contests left in South Dakota and Montana, and you can make the difference by visiting HillaryClinton.com and helping us make sure we go strong. Every contribution will help us make our case to the voters who are going to be heading to the polls. And I want you to know that this election is really about your future. You voted, even though some tried to tell you that your votes wouldn't count. You voted for the person you believe will be the stronger nominee and the strongest president.

And you are not alone. You are joining millions of people across the United States more than 17.6 million. Plus the votes that we've received today, people who don't always make the headlines who don't always feel like your voices are being heard.

I think about these people all the time, because that's who I care most about -- the nurse on her second shift who still can't pay her credit card bills; the worker who can't afford the gas on the way to work; the waitress on her feet without health care; the small business owners saddled with rising energy bills; the college student who can't afford to continue college; the farmer; the teacher; the trucker; the soldier; the veteran; the people yearning for a president who will rebuild the economy and a commander in chief who will restore our leadership and moral authority in the world.

I know that people face tough times. But what I've been impressed by is the resourcefulness and resilience that the people here and across the United States use to face whatever challenges they confront because they believe they can keep working for a better tomorrow.

The American dream may bend under the weight of challenges we failed to meet and presidents who have failed to lead. It may bend but it will never break because that's what keeps so many of us going, the thought of a better life tomorrow and a better future for our children.

I believe that the people of the United States need a champion in the White House, someone who will be a president in their corner and on their side. I believe -- you are voting because you want a president who will stand up for universal health care, who will stand up for action to address the housing crisis, who will stand up for better jobs to protect Social Security. You want to cut through the speeches and the sound bites to real solutions. And so today you've come out strong. You have defied the skeptics. More people across the country have voted for our country campaign. More people have voted for us than for any candidate in the history of presidential primaries. We are winning the popular vote. Now there can be no doubt. The people have spoken and you have chosen your candidate.

And it's important where we have won. We are winning these votes in swing states and among the very swing voters that Democrats must win to take back the White House and put this country back on the path to prosperity. Together, we've won the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Arkansas, West Virginia, New Hampshire, New Jersey, new Mexico, Nevada, and, yes, Michigan and Florida.

And I hope by my second term, regardless of what the people of Puerto Rico decide about the status option you prefer, you, too, will be able to vote for the next president of the United States.

So, when the voting concludes on Tuesday, neither Senator Obama nor I will have the number of delegates to be the nominee. I will lead the popular vote. He will maintain a slight lead in the delegate count.