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Campbell Brown
Politics of Disaster; Interview With Cindy McCain; Obama Opts Out of Public Financing for General Election
Aired June 19, 2008 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Campbell Brown is off tonight.
In the ELECTION CENTER, the politics of disaster. President Bush and presidential candidate John McCain see the devastating impact of the Midwest floods firsthand. Barack Obama has been there already -- tonight, new worries about the fragile levees protecting thousands of homes.
Also, the congressman who was caught with cash in his freezer. For Representative William Jefferson, legal trouble is now a family affair.
Plus, a CNN exclusive from Vietnam. Cindy McCain, on a mission of mercy, is more than willing to talk politics. You're going to want to hear what she tells our own John King -- all that coming up.
But we begin with breaking news right now: the massive disaster in America's heartland. In parts of Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri, the floodwaters are gushing through breached levees. The waters stretch as far as the eye can see, inundating homes, businesses, and farmland.
And the danger is far, far from over. All this water is heading down the Mississippi River toward new arguments.
Our meteorologist Chad Myers is at the CNN Severe Weather Center.
Chad, tell us about the latest information we're getting on where these floodwaters are heading.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, it's funny, Wolf, because everything has changed over the past few hours.
Because these levees are breaking, all bets are off on the old forecasts. Water now that was in a one-mile Mississippi River is now in a six-mile Mississippi River. When the waters go out like that, they slow down. And so will the crests.
The crests are now slowing down because what was a crest for today in Canton may not happen until Sunday, because that water has gone out so far. Then, it's going to have to come back into the river and then go down the river again.
Here are some of the expected numbers again. And these have changed probably by 48 hours or so. Remember, we're talking about Canton, Quincy, Hannibal, Clarksville. And Saint Louis may not peak until Tuesday because of how these levees have happened. And one more thing I want to show you. Here's what happens when a levee breaches. This is a river gauge on the Mississippi River at Quincy. Every time a levee breaks, the gauge goes up and down, up and down, because the water is either going up or going out the other side into Illinois or into Mississippi or into Missouri.
Every time -- this is going to be an impossible forecast to pick when the highest part of this river is. But every time a levee breaks, that means the water doesn't go as high downriver, like in Saint Louis. The old forecast in Saint Louis was 40 feet high. Now the forecast is only 37. That may not be enough to save everybody down there -- Wolf.
BLITZER: We can only hope.
MYERS: Yes.
BLITZER: And we will wait and see.
Chad, stand by.
There may be worse to come. Tonight, all eyes are on some of those fragile levees, some of them very fragile, protecting the low- lying cities near Saint Louis. One of those right in the path of the floodwaters, the city of East Saint Louis in Illinois.
Drew Griffin of CNN's Special Investigative Unit is there tonight for us.
Drew, you talked to the head of the Army Corps of Engineers there in Saint Louis. Does he think there are too many levees, and that may actually make the problem worse?
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, he wouldn't answer that question directly, because he said he just didn't know.
But backing up what Chad said, he did tell me this afternoon -- this is Colonel Lewis Setliff -- that so many levees have been topped up north that it's taken the pressure off here in Saint Louis and especially in East Saint Louis, which we have been talking about for the last day or so.
But there is a much bigger question going on here, Wolf, over how we manage this river. And the fact is, maybe we're managing it too much.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GRIFFIN (voice-over): The problem may not be that the levees are failing, but too many levees are holding. Up and down this massive river basin for hundreds of years, farmers and cities and land developers have been trying to hold back one of Mother Nature's largest drainage pipes, the Mississippi.
TIM KUSKY, PROFESSOR, SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY: Since the 1700s, we have built more than 2,200 miles of levees along the whole river system. And, altogether, that has had a major, major effect.
GRIFFIN: Saint Louis University natural sciences professor Tim Kusky says the effect can be sign quite clearly from the air. Once huge natural floodplains are developed into towns and shopping centers, entire cities. Levees are made even stronger, so that people living behind them feel safer.
KUSKY: So, what happens is that we build levees along the river. Then we restrict the flow in a very, very narrow channel, and the same amount of water has to go through this narrow channel. So, it rises higher and higher and higher. And then people think the levees are strong and they're going to protect them. Then we find out that they're weak and they could potentially fail. So, we have the situation where the river has risen 15, 20 feet higher than it would have without the levees, and when it fails, it does so catastrophically.
GRIFFIN: Winfield, Missouri, today, says Kusky, is a classic example. That's a levee supposedly built to withstand a 500-year flood. This is not a 500-year event. The levee is breached in so many places, it's hard to tell it's even there.
Unfortunately, he says, history has shown the reaction will be to rebuild the levee even higher and stronger.
(on camera): Back in 1993, this whole area was under 10 feet of water. A smaller levee had failed and turned this into an entire floodplain. What did they do? Well, instead of allowing Mother Nature to take its course, they built an even bigger levee there to protect it from the Missouri River just beyond those trees.
(voice-over): And right in that floodplain is one of the largest strip mall developments in the United States.
ADOLPHUS BUSCH, GREAT RIVERS HABITAT ALLIANCE: After the '93 flood, we were told, of course, that there would be no more levees, no more projects, no more developments in the floodplain, because everybody had learned their lesson. And that went on for a few years, but, of course, people soon forgot again, and the development started.
GRIFFIN: Adolphus Busch -- yes, one of the beer family Busches -- now heads a group called the Great Rivers Habitat Alliance. There's no mistake he wants to stop levees from being built and stop development in the floodplain, let the Mississippi flow naturally.
BUSCHES: That's exactly what's happening now from Iowa all the way down to Saint Louis. All of these levees are breaking as the water comes through. Of course, that relieves the pressure for all of us downstream.
GRIFFIN: Mark Twain, who lived along this river, once said, 10,000 river commissions with the minds of the world at their back cannot tame that lawless stream.
Why, say critics of our current efforts, do we think our levees can do any better? (END VIDEOTAPE)
GRIFFIN: Wolf, the Corps of Engineers says they build levees. That's what Congress tells them to do, and they build them well. Right now, it doesn't seem like anybody is looking at the bigger picture, which is whether or not they should be built at all -- Wolf.
BLITZER: A complicated story, indeed.
Drew Griffin, thank you.
Despite all the work and the worry in the disaster zone, at least one couple will be very happy tomorrow. Iowa National Guard soldier Curtis White and his fiancee, Daniele Ritter, will finally have a chance to get married. They planned to tie the knot yesterday, but he's been on duty since Saturday fighting the floods.
They're planning an outside ceremony in the middle of the now closed Highway Bridge near Columbus Junction, Iowa. His troop chaplain will officiate.
Congratulations to the happy couple.
Both presidential candidate, as well as President Bush, have now visited this disaster zone -- the result, three very distinct displays of political stagecraft. You are going to want to see how all three visits compare.
But up next, five members of a Louisiana family in big trouble with the law, and one of them is a congressman.
Plus, a CNN exclusive: the emotional reason that brought Cindy McCain to Vietnam.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: This just coming into the ELECTION CENTER.
We're getting word of Senator Barack Obama's personally doing some damage control. He phoned a couple of Muslim women today, apologizing for the actions of some of his campaign's volunteers.
The women say the volunteers refused to let them sit near the senator at a campaign rally in Detroit on Monday, so the women's head scarves wouldn't appear in photographs with Senator Obama.
Moments ago, the senator also issued a written statement.
Let me quote: "The actions of these volunteers were unacceptable and in no way reflect any policy of my campaign. I take deepest offense to and will continue to fight against discrimination against people of any religious group or background" -- that statement coming in moments ago from Senator Obama.
Let's go to the politics of Louisiana right now. Its state motto is union, justice, and confidence. When we last heard from Democratic Congressman William Jefferson, he was trying to explain that cool $90,000 stashed in his freezer.
Well, he's back and running for a 10th term in the House of Representatives, even though his trial on corruption charges is set for December. And it seems that legal troubles perhaps run in his family. Four of the congressman's relatives have also been charged with federal crimes in the past year.
Joe Johns is here, and he's working the story for us.
What's the latest on the Jeffersons?
JOE JOHNS, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the latest really is that, Wolf, Congressman Jefferson's sister Brenda entered a guilty plea yesterday to concealing a felony in a federal fraud investigation. It would have been a fairly unremarkable court proceeding, except for the legal problems her family is facing. And the guy who has got some of the worst problems of all is Congressman Jefferson himself.
BLITZER: And, you know, the problems go back. Let's review. Let's talk about this a little bit, because it's sensitive. He was caught with, what, $90,000 in his freezer. We all know that. He was indicted, right?
JOHNS: He was indicted, certainly.
BLITZER: But he got reelected.
JOHNS: He got reelected. And, this time, he will be running for reelection after being indicted, which is a very big deal.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: He got reelected last time. He may get reelected this time, too.
JOHNS: He has several other family members, each of whom has difficulties with the law, most of whom are in the state of Louisiana right now, in fact, in New Orleans. Two of them are going to arraignment tomorrow.
The one, as I said, Brenda, pleaded guilty to what is misprision of a felony, essentially, covering up the felony of fraud. So, there's a long list of troubles...
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: But this is unrelated to Congressman Jefferson?
JOHNS: Totally unrelated to Congressman Jefferson.
Meanwhile, as he tries to run his reelection campaign, we have looked a little bit into his legal defense fund. Apparently, during all of 2007, he only raised about $20,000. And this could be the type of case that's very expensive to defend, very complicated, and could last a long time if it goes to trial. BLITZER: Joe, you went to law school. You understand how federal prosecutors operate. Even though the relatives were -- the charges and the conviction now, presumably, unrelated, they're going to try to use this, aren't they?
JOHNS: Well, certainly. It's sort of the domino theory.
First, you get one person in the row to fall, hoping the rest will fall and come into place. This Brenda was the youngest of 10 children in the family. So, now they're hoping that she will turn state's evidence. We are told she is cooperating with federal authorities in this investigation as it continues. So, some of the other people in the family could be facing serious exposure.
BLITZER: Because, very often, they will agree to give -- be more lenient with one if they cooperate fully. And I assume what these federal prosecutors would love is some evidence against Congressman Jefferson.
JOHNS: Well, they would. Obviously, they would be looking for some type of nexus, some type of link between Congressman Jefferson here in Washington and his legal troubles and the things going on in New Orleans.
But, right now, we're told by people over in the legal camp representing William Jefferson that, no, there is no tie; there is absolutely no link between the cases here and the cases down in New Orleans.
BLITZER: Joe Johns with an interesting story.
We will continue to watch the legal ramifications and the political ones as well.
Joe, thanks very much.
Coming up: Big oil says offshore drilling could solve our energy crisis. So, why aren't they drilling yet on millions of acres where it's already allowed? Ali Velshi standing by live with a reality check.
Also, one on one with Cindy McCain. She tells our own John King what she would do as first lady. They're both in Vietnam. We have the story when we return.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: The U.S. imports more than 4.5 million barrels of oil a day from just three countries, Canada, Saudi Arabia, and Mexico. U.S. domestic production is about 5.1 million barrels a day, and gas prices right now still very much sky-high.
Now, also, we're starting to see some angry demonstrations. More than 100 big trucks blocked the streets around New York's state capitol in Albany this morning. New York Governor David Paterson told the truckers he supports a moratorium on gas taxes and suggested the truckers take their protests to the big oil companies.
Gas prices are lower today, but not by much. The national average for a gallon of unleaded is slightly more than $4.07. Prices have fallen for three straight days, but the declines don't even add up to a penny. Crude oil prices dropped today as a result of Saudi Arabia promising to produce more oil and China raising oil prices, which should slow down demand.
President Bush and John McCain hope to lower prices by allowing more offshore drilling, even though the oil companies already have permission to drill in a huge area, and don't.
Our senior business correspondent, Ali Velshi, is here with a reality check. He's watching all of this.
Ali, those opposed to offshore drilling say the oil companies already have almost 70 million acres that they're not drilling on. First of all, where is all of this untapped oil?
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: All right, Wolf, let me show you what we're talking about here.
As we know, we drill for oil in the Gulf of Mexico. That's about a quarter of all the oil that we produce in the United States and some spots off California and Alaska. So, all around the East Coast here and around Florida, you see those not signs for drills, and over here on the West Coast around California up to the Pacific Northwest, that's where we don't drill.
There's been a ban on drilling, and it's in place until 2012. Let me show you where we do drill right new, right here in the Gulf of Mexico, the west and central part of it. You can see it here. What it is, is the Gulf is broken up into grids. And those grids are leased to oil companies. And those oil companies have a choice when they lease that grid to actually go and put a rig or a platform on it and drill for oil or to just sit idle and own the lease. And that's what many of them are doing right now -- Wolf.
BLITZER: So, Ali, the question is this. If there's such this -- such a huge area that the oil companies already have access to, why aren't they drilling?
VELSHI: Well, around this area that is open, there's about 17,000 of these little squares, 17,000 of these leases available. There are about 4,000 rigs and platforms in there right now.
So, as you know, there are all those other ones that aren't there. The bottom line is, one of these leases is a possibility that there is oil. We don't know, under each one, how deep it is, how much oil it will yield. So, the companies take them because they have got them. And if oil prices continue to be high, they will try and tap it. They will do some exploration.
What they want is the government to open up the entire country to these leases. They will buy lots of them, lots of them. It doesn't mean that they will actually be able to produce oil from those leases on the -- over the water. So, that's why they're not drilling in many of them -- Wolf.
BLITZER: As everyone knows, Ali, gas prices are averaging over $4 a gallon, a lot of places in the country a lot higher than that. Clearly, there's a need for more oil. Don't the oil companies have an obligation, even perhaps a financial interest, to drill in the areas they have already leased?
VELSHI: Well, here's the thing, Wolf.
It's kind of like, don't the refineries have the obligation to create more gasoline? At the moment, oil is running at $135 a barrel, $130 a barrel, and nobody is running out of it. People are prepared to pay that kind of money for it.
We're starting to see demand seep off in the United States, but, worldwide, it's not. So, if you're an oil company, if you find that there's a need for more oil, you will tap those extra leases, and you will put a well and a drill on them. Until you need them, why do it right now? Why put all the extra expense into it? Right now, they're doing fine, as we know from their earnings report.
BLITZER: One final question, Ali, before I let you go. If oil companies already have millions of acres that they're not drilling on, why do they want to end the ban on offshore drilling, which is so controversial?
VELSHI: It's like an insurance policy, Wolf. If they have got all these acres that don't drill in, can you imagine if they did the same thing? As soon as the government opens this out and the states lift their ban, what will happen is, they will try and get leases in all of those areas. Virginia, Tennessee has already talked about it, Oregon, California. They will take those leases. They will sit on them. And if oil stays high, those oil companies will drill and make more money out of it -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Ali Velshi, thanks very much.
Coming up, we have a CNN exclusive. Our own John King is with Cindy McCain in the middle of a very important and emotional and journey. We're going to tell you what is going on, why she's in Vietnam right now.
Plus, a shocking agreement among some high school students. They're all doing the same thing. It isn't suicide or drugs. Wait until you hear what it is. You're not going to believe it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Senator Barack Obama is launching a new ad campaign. The 60-second spot entitled "The Country I Love" talks about his life, his family values, and his American roots.
Our senior political correspondent, Candy Crowley, is joining us now with more. Is this a new branding effort, Candy? What is going on? CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a rebranding. You know, Wolf, when they begin a campaign -- and now we are beginning the general campaign -- it is up to the candidate to define himself, so other people don't do it for him.
And, with Barack Obama, there really is an imperative that he start this and start it now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY (voice-over): Inside that Obama campaign, they know the doubts, about his faith, his patriotism, the most fundamental voter question about a candidate. Who is he?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, OBAMA CAMPAIGN AD)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I was raised by a single mom and my grandparents. We didn't have much money, but they taught me values straight from the Kansas heartland, where they grew up, accountability and self-reliance, love of country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: Called "Country I Love," it's Obama's first ad of the general campaign, aimed at voters who still know little about him, whose opinions formed around careless words and rookie mistakes, Internet-fueled rumors. He's heard it all.
B. OBAMA: He doesn't -- he's not wearing a flag pin, or he's got a funny name. Sounds like he's Muslim.
CROWLEY: It goes to the same question. Does he love his country?
A new FOX News/Opinion Dynamics poll found, 64 percent of registered voters think John McCain loves his country a great deal. Fewer than half think that's true of Barack Obama.
So, beginning Friday, Obama begins the push to define himself, so others don't do it for him. The ad will appear on the airwaves in 18 states, battleground areas, and, because he has the money to do it, some wishful-thinking targets, Republican states, buys designed to at least rattle Republican strategists, 60 seconds of Barack on Barack.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, OBAMA CAMPAIGN AD)
B. OBAMA: I approve this message because I will never forget those values. And if I have the honor of taking the oath of office as president, it will be with a deep and abiding faith in the country I love.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: The effort to provide the Obama framework will be a family affair. Michelle Obama will be talking more about the family. She took the message to one of morning television's most popular shows, "The View," which took up the subject of breakfast.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE VIEW")
MICHELLE OBAMA, WIFE OF SENATOR BARACK OBAMA: We're bacon people.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bacon.
(CROSSTALK)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: The details of biography are a vital part of the storyline in any campaign, but essential for a mold-breaker. The son of a white woman from Kansas, a black man from Kenya, he spent part of his boyhood in Indonesia, but was raised mostly in Hawaii by his white grandmother. She was too ill to travel to see him the night he clinched the nomination.
B. OBAMA: Thank you to my grandmother, who poured everything she had into me and who helped to make me the man I am today. Tonight is for her.
CROWLEY: Barack Obama did not lead an "Ozzie & Harriet" life, but it's his intention to show it is an American one.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Candy, as much as Americans have heard about Barack Obama over the past year, maybe two years, there are still plenty of Americans who really don't know much about him. And I take it, this is part of the strategy to introduce him to more people who might be paying attention right now.
CROWLEY: Absolutely.
And, of course, the fear is -- and it's showing up in some of the polls -- that people are making up their minds based on kind of bits and pieces. And that's why they want to get out here.
As you know, John McCain did a biography tour when it became clear that he would be the presumptive Republican nominee. And you can expect that Barack Obama will very shortly begin his own biography tour, going to the places, you know, going to Kansas, going to Hawaii, where he grew up.
And the idea is to, you know, show voters that they can relate to the candidate and the candidate can relate back. And, again, it's particularly important for Barack Obama, who obviously doesn't look like and hasn't had a background like all of the white men who have held the presidency up until now.
So, he needs to really work harder to kind of form that bond with the voter. And that's what this is about.
BLITZER: He's got his work cut out for him. All right, Candy, thanks very much.
Candy, as all of our viewers know, is part of the best political team on television.
Let's discuss this a little bit more, the politics of patriotism, as some are calling it. We will go to three very savvy political observers, our CNN senior political analyst Gloria Borger, former Bush adviser and Republican strategist Leslie Sanchez, and Democratic strategist Jonathan Prince. He's a former deputy campaign manager for John Edwards, a former Clinton White House adviser at the same time.
Thanks, guys, very much.
You know, Gloria, when I heard in Candy's piece that almost twice as many voters think that John McCain loves his country than Barack Obama does, that suggests -- maybe it explains why the first commercial of this general election season is the one that he did.
GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: You think? Values, faith, family values.
And, you know, Wolf, we saw this in the Democratic primaries also, that there were questions that even Democratic voters had about whether Barack Obama shares their values. So, as Candy was saying earlier, they know that this is their weak spot, and they're working on it from the very start of this campaign.
BLITZER: Is this an admission, in effect, Jonathan, that the Obama campaign has a perception problem out there?
JONATHAN PRINCE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I don't think so, Wolf. I think it's an understanding that there's a lack of information out there right now about Barack and that they need to get out there and communicate with folks around the country.
Exactly what his story is, that it's the quintessential American story. That it's uplifting and it's inspiring. And that this is a guy who loves his country so much like so many of us do and he's about to ask people for love of country to come together and start to change this country.
BLITZER: What do you think, Leslie? Is this campaign that he's undertaking right now likely to work?
LESLIE SANCHEZ, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I think it could have some drawbacks. I think I saw a blog posted today with the "Audacity of Hope" to think that he can advertise in 18 states, some that are very strong Republican strongholds, and really change mindsets in the way a lot of Barack Obama supporters will tell you they can.
They'd say it's transformational, that he's so different, he's so unique. But when it comes down to it, he's somebody America doesn't know if you think about the fact that about 50 percent of the Americans that are going to vote in November don't have a very good sense of who he is. I find striking also two things. One, this ad is very similar to Bill Clinton's 1992 ad. He talks about his grandparents. He talks about family values. One thing that he lacked early on in this campaign was talking about service. He said he was a civil rights community leader and organizer, voter registration. But service in the sense of even Democratic and Republican candidates of serving your country in uniform, that's going to be one glaring omission that I think ultimately is going to play --
(CROSSTALK)
BORGER: And that's John McCain.
SANCHEZ: That's John McCain.
BORGER: Well, that's what John McCain is clearly going to run on.
SANCHEZ: But even Gore and Kerry, you know, ran on this idea of their service for their country.
BORGER: Well, one more thing, Wolf. The wrap on Obama during the primaries was that he was the elite candidate, and you don't see any of that in this ad. This is about telling you about his humble roots, his humble beginnings.
BLITZER: Jonathan, let me just -- let me just let you weigh in because when he graduated from Harvard Law School, he was editor of the law review there. He could have gone to any Wall Street firm and made a ton of money. Instead, he went to Chicago to become a community organizer. That suggests that he was committed to service.
PRINCE: You got that right. I mean, this is a guy who had every option that you could imagine before could have made, you know, gads and gads of money. But instead what he did is he made a decision to go out there, start organizing, and then enter public service. He has given his whole life to public service.
I just found the ad to be a really uplifting ad, and I just imagine the kind of connection that it's going to make to millions of Americans who are going to see that. For all this talk of the exoticism of Barack Obama, this is a guy whose story is so classically American and so like so many of ours.
SANCHEZ: Jonathan, I have to say one thing. This is the guy whose story has changed. I mean, when he is talking about his first ad in the primary, he's saying he's a civil rights organizer, community organizer.
PRINCE: He was a civil rights organizer. He was a community organizer.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: That is a very different message from what he's talking about today. And I would say John McCain's message didn't change. PRINCE: But I think that's just silly. What Barack Obama --
SANCHEZ: He talks about strength in leadership and that he's still the same guy.
PRINCE: Leslie, come on, you know that's not true.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: I'm saying you're looking at two different things as the same --
PRINCE: Being a community -- being a community organizer is part of who he's been. Being a civil rights worker is part of who he's been. This is part of his story.
When you're coming out of the box into a general election, you're ready to introduce yourself to the whole country, you're going to go back to the beginning and tell your whole story. That's how it works.
SANCHEZ: Sure.
BORGER: And by the way, McCain, you've got to say, was running more as a conservative during the primaries and now he's running really fast to the center, going to places like New Orleans. So McCain is changing his stick a little bit.
BLITZER: I think the bottom line -- hold on guys, I think the bottom line is they both have very compelling stories.
BORGER: Yes.
BLITZER: Barack Obama has a much bigger job introducing his story to people who don't -- simply don't know much about him. John McCain has been around a lot more, a lot longer than Barack Obama has.
Stand by, guys because we're going to continue this conversation. The ad wasn't the only news out of the Barack Obama camp today. He also made a huge decision about how he's going to foot the bill for the general election. And now, some people are calling him a flip- flopper or worse. We'll talk about that.
Then later, Cindy McCain opens up about Michelle Obama. You're going to find out what she's telling our own John King in Vietnam. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Barack Obama has out fundraised John McCain by nearly three to one in this campaign. And with all that money, there wasn't a huge surprise when Obama announced today he would opt out of public financing for the general campaign. But McCain, a proponent of public financing, called Obama, and I'm quoting now, "a typical politician."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) B. OBAMA: We've made the decision not to participate in the public financing system for the general election. This means we'll be foregoing more than $80 million in public funds during the final months of this election.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm especially disturbed by this decision of Senator Obama's, because he signed his name on a piece of paper. He signed his name himself on a piece of paper that said that he would, if, I, the Republican nominee, took public financing in the general election, that he would too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: The decision gives Barack Obama an enormous advantage because he won't be subject to spending limits. Let's discuss this and more with Gloria Borger, Leslie Sanchez and Jonathan Prince.
Gloria, I guess politically, in terms of the money that he can now raise, it's a no-brainer.
BORGER: Yes. Politically, a tactical decision. Take a short- term hit for, as what McCain said, not keeping his word, and in the long-term be able to raise hundreds of millions of dollars and not be limited to the $85 million or so you get from public financing, which, by the way, John McCain will accept. So it's going to be an uneven playing field, but Obama wants to win, right?
BLITZER: And he already got a little criticism, not just from Republicans, Jonathan, but from some Democrats as well. Specifically, Russ Feingold, the co-author with John McCain of campaign finance reform. Among other things, Feingold says, "This is not a good decision. While the current public financing system for the presidential primaries is broken, the system for the general election is not." He says Obama has made a mistake.
PRINCE: Look, I disagree with Senator Feingold. I understand that he's kind of a campaign finance reform at any cost kind of guy. But I think that if we want real, you know, public financing in this country -- real campaign finance reform, what we need is a president who's going to push that forward.
I think frankly that for Senator Obama to have done anything else would have been irresponsible. I don't know where the bloc of voters is in this country who wants the war to end, who wants universal health care, and is going to be disappointed in Senator Obama because he's not doing everything -- because he's doing everything he can to ensure that he wins.
And when you couple that with what we all know is going to be the gazillions of dollars that all these corporate interests are going to plow into the campaign through 527 of the RNC, you know, I just don't think that there was any other responsible choice.
SANCHEZ: You know, that's an argument the Democrats are trying to make. That these 527s, these outside organizations --
BLITZER: The unaffiliated to the campaign organizations.
SANCHEZ: Completely are going to come in and really run but, you know, for Republican candidates and do a lot of damage on Barack Obama.
BLITZER: Well, they did it.
(CROSSTALK)
PRINCE: We all remember the swift votes. We all remember the swift votes.
SANCHEZ: The reality is -- the bottom line though, Jonathan, is he broke his promise. You can't trust him on this issue. He was seduced by the money. He's going for it.
PRINCE: That's not accurate.
SANCHEZ: He's acting like every other politician.
PRINCE: That's not accurate. That's not what happened.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: And the second part is John McCain has talked about regulating these 527s, and it's Moveon.org --
PRINCE: John McCain --
BLITZER: Hold on. Hold on, guys.
All right. Jonathan, you say he didn't break his promise. Go ahead. You said that's not accurate, so explain.
PRINCE: He said that he would try and work with the Republican nominee to make a plan that both of them could agree to have public financing. Senator Obama disavowed 527s. He shut down 527s that were getting set up in his name. Senator McCain refused to do the same.
And what's more you want to talk about trust. Senator McCain is the guy who completely gained the system. Senator McCain went out there and said, I'm going to take public financing and try and win.
BLITZER: All right. Let's have Leslie respond.
PRINCE: He got a letter of credit. He got a loan to his campaign using that public financing as collateral, and then he pulled down the FEC themselves and said it was illegal.
SANCHEZ: You know, I don't think anybody is really going to buy the argument that he did not say that he would take public financing. He's under pledge to do so. I mean, if he really said this was part of his campaign's commitment and now he's trying to hide and dance around it and hope that people, like Gloria talked about it, are really not going to notice this point. PRINCE: If you want public financing in America, you've got to go to BarackObama.com and give him a good reason (ph) right now so he can be president of the United States.
(CROSSTALK)
BORGER: Jonathan -- I mean --
BLITZER: Hold on. Go ahead, Gloria.
BORGER: I think, isn't the bottom line here, Jonathan, that he talked about public financing before he knew he could raise $200 million or more? And now, that he can raise it and he wants to win, he wants to raise it. You know?
PRINCE: It was already clear when he talks about --
BORGER: He wants to raise more money.
PRINCE: When he talked about public financing, it was -- you know, I remember this very well because I was at, you know, at the average (ph) campaign at the time. He had already raised a record- breaking quarter. It was already quite clear that they were going to have enormous strength in terms of low-dollar donors. They had already shattered every record. So I just think that it was, like I said, the only responsible choice. There's too much at stake in this election.
BLITZER: I don't think Gloria makes a good point. Sometimes politicians would be wise simply to say, you know what, I changed my mind. People do that all the time, and in this case, he clearly changed his mind. And maybe he's got good reasons to do it.
Guys, thanks very much for coming in.
PRINCE: Thanks, Wolf.
BLITZER: Cindy McCain is in Vietnam and CNN is there with her. Coming up, the reason for her trip and how her money is being used in her husband's campaign. Stay with us. You're going to want to see this right here in the ELECTION CENTER.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Still to come in the ELECTION CENTER, John McCain's wife Cindy speaks out about her money, her privacy, her political ties, her family. All that coming up.
But first, Ted Rowlands has "The Briefing" on what's happening right now -- Ted.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, federal agents arrested hundreds of suspects nationwide accused of mortgage fraud. Among those suspects today, two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers. Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin surrendered to the FBI in New York. They're the first high profile executives charged in the subprime mortgage scandal. Prosecutors say they misled clients and urged them to invest in hedge funds linking to the collapse of mortgage market to the tune of $1.5 billion. The Feds also rounded up suspects in Chicago, Miami, Houston, and several other states.
More legal protection for workers who use their company's computer accounts to send e-mail and text messages. A federal appeals court put up a legal road block for bosses who snoop. The court says only employers who store e-mail on internal computer servers can read their workers' messages. Otherwise, bosses must get your permission.
And a group of teenage girls who attend Gloucester High School outside Boston admits signing a pregnancy pact. They told "Time" magazine they agreed to get pregnant and raise their children together. The principal says one father is a 24-year-old homeless man. Administrators say on average, there are four student pregnancies at the school a year. This year, there were 17.
"Time" magazine says about half of those girls signed that pregnancy pact. And as a father of two daughters, that is truly a horrifying story.
BLITZER: Wow. All right, terrible. Thanks very much, Ted, for that.
Coming up, John King's one-on-one interview with Cindy McCain in Vietnam. I think you're going to want to see this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: "LARRY KING LIVE" is just ahead. He's standing by with a little preview.
Larry, what do you got on top?
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Wolf, we've got a strange one tonight. The black widow killer or innocent grandmother? It's a question we'll be looking at.
It's the case of Betty Neumar, a 76-year-old who's been married five times and widowed five times, and has been arrested in connection with the death of husband number four. And now, authorities are looking into the death of husband number five. Quite a case?
We'll get into it and cover politics, lots more, on "LARRY KING LIVE." Wolf, once again, a yeoman-like (ph) job.
BLITZER: Loved being on your show last night. Good discussion on our old friend, Tim Russert.
KING: Thank you. Yes, it was.
BLITZER: May he rest in peace. Larry, thanks. Thank you.
In a moment, the president and the presidential candidates in a stagecraft behind their visits to the disaster area.
Also, from Vietnam, Cindy McCain talks about politics, privacy and much more.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Whether you're a president or a presidential contender, showing support and offering help to disaster victims is a job requirement. But when you're trying to generate some press coverage in the process, timing is everything.
Tom Foreman is here with a tale of three photo-ops in the flood zone -- Tom.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, if Hurricane Katrina taught politicians anything, it's that they better take the stagecraft of natural disaster response seriously. Remember this picture of President Bush days after the storm, just flying over and looking down at all the wreckage below. The White House was hammered over this.
So you can understand why both of the presumptive presidential nominees have waded right into the middle of the Midwest flood zone.
Barack Obama took the stage first, diving into a sandbagging operation there last weekend. Good choice. Surrounded by volunteers, this reminds people of his background in community assistance programs. Hefting sandbags and shovels point out his youth and his stamina, and it all shows a connection with working class people, which is one of the things that has been a problem to him. And of course, because he got there early, it makes his opponent look like he missed the opening curtain, Wolf.
BLITZER: The opponent, referring to John McCain, may have missed the opening curtain, but he still wound up doing a pretty good job at the show.
FOREMAN: Yes, he did pretty good all things considered. He went for the more presidential look, the senior statesman, as he toured around there.
Look at this. He got a Humvee over here. He's got American flags in the background. All things that make him look very strong, stable, reassuring. Not bad when much of what you're selling, Wolf, is security.
BLITZER: But the McCain campaign couldn't have been very happy with the president touching down very, very nearby.
FOREMAN: That was -- this was a bit of bad stagecraft in many ways. Yes, the president was on the ground in almost the same place at the same time. The McCain camp made a point of saying, well, they never came within 30 miles of him, but this was still bad for several reasons.
One, it tied up local dignitaries who could have posed with McCain. Look at them all gathered around the president here. And accordingly, one of the other things it did is that suspended local press headlines. He could really use the support, particularly in these states, but instead the headline goes to George Bush. And all of this can't help but remind voters of the White House response to Katrina.
McCain has been critical of that response, but that's not stagecraft. That's a note in the program that most in the audience will just never read -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Tom Foreman, thanks very much. Good work.
One-on-one with Cindy McCain when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Cindy McCain is in Vietnam, working with a group that helps children born with facial deformities. She also took some time for this exclusive conversation with our own John King in Hanoi.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Let's talk about the role of the spouses in the campaigns. Let me start the threshold question, where's the line in your view? What's in, and what's out?
As you know, there's been a debate about the spouses, things you have said and done, things Mrs. Obama has said and done. Where's the line in your view?
CINDY MCCAIN, JOHN MCCAIN'S WIFE: Well, I do not think that spouses and family members, I'll broaden it out, are fair game. And I'm not saying that because of either treatment on either side. I just think that politics, there has to be some decorum left in politics and in American journalism as well.
And our husbands are the candidates. And what we're looking at are two vastly different sides of issues, two vastly different approaches to how we govern our country.
It's a -- people have a very clear choice. The choice is not whether, who's going to be the best first lady -- this is about our husbands. And this is far too important to muddle it up with things like that.
KING: You did step up forward at one point in the campaign when Mrs. Obama had said, for the first time she was proud of her country. You did step forward and said, Well, I've always been proud of my country. You saw a reason to say that, gave you some political opening?
C. MCCAIN: No, it wasn't political opening. There was nothing planned. It wasn't -- I'm just -- I'm an emotional woman when it comes to service to our country.
I watched many people's children leave and go serve. This is something that is the fiber of the McCain family. It was nothing more than me just saying, look, I believe in this country so strongly. That's all it was. It was an emotional -- an emotional -- emotional outpouring on my part.
KING: It was taken, as you know, as somehow -- a comment on your part that was trying to say you're more patriotic.
C. MCCAIN: No.
KING: Or her family's more patriotic. Your family's more patriotic.
C. MCCAIN: No.
That's not how I meant it and that is not, I believe, how it was represented. I think she's a fine woman, she's a good mother and, you know, we both are in an interesting line of work right now.
KING: Under steady pressure from the Democrats, your husband had said adamantly for a long time, your financial life was separate from his. You wouldn't release your taxes, and you were forced under political pressure to release the summary.
C. MCCAIN: It wasn't that.
KING: You don't like that?
C. MCCAIN: No, it wasn't the Democrats that forced it. I felt that if it was that important to the American people and there was a discussion, then, OK, I will.
I mean, sure I'd said no, but the American people said, you know, we really are -- we really think we should see, and I said, OK. That's fine. I didn't have to -- you know, I'm not always right.
KING: If you look at recent history, Hillary Clinton, of course, was very involved in politics and in policy. She had health care. Laura Bush has stepped out of the day-to-day policy fights but did get involved in literacy, and women's heart health was a top priority for her. What would Cindy McCain do at home?
C. MCCAIN: Well, I mean, I have a number one issue that's personal. I had a stroke. So certainly, women's health is extremely important. But also the adoption process is a big part of what I've -- we've been in the adoption process and have encountered it. So adoption, there's a lot of issues that revive me and vitalize me and I think that need a source of interesting -- people like me to be able to bring interest to them.
Certainly, the children and the veterans that have been wounded or have died as a result is a huge part of our society that needs to be cared for, in a nonprofit way.
KING: And so that the sentence would be finished, Cindy McCain, if allowed the privilege to be first lady would --
C. MCCAIN: Would do her best to never dishonor the office, and more importantly, do her best to inspire others to do the same and serve their country.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Cindy McCain speaking with our own John King.
That's it for us from the ELECTION CENTER. I'll be back tomorrow night. "LARRY KING LIVE" starts right now --Larry.
