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American Morning
Tornadoes Tear Through Midwest; First Votes Cast in Nation's First Primary; New Developments in Kenya; Panel of Current and Former Political Leaders Making Big Push For Bipartisan Approach
Aired January 08, 2008 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Plus storm front.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you see the devastation in there, it's unreal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Tornadoes tear through the Midwest. Extreme weather on the move on this AMERICAN MORNING.
And welcome. Glad you're with us on this AMERICAN MORNING. It is Tuesday, January 8th. It's primary day here in New Hampshire. And boy this restaurant, in particular, is quite a buzz. I mean, there's a lot of excitement in this state this morning with the election.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Absolutely. John Roberts along with Kiran Chetry. We're coming to you from the Chez Vachon Restaurant in Manchester. This place has been hopping for a couple of hours now. This is a great place for political discourse on this New Hampshire primary day. And the candidates already out and about shaking hands with people at some of these polling places.
The Brookside Congregational Church, I saw a couple of very prominent Republicans out. A little bit earlier today, Mitt Romney was out there shaking hands with people. He had some of his supporters out there in full force now. You know, obviously, he can't vote in this primary, though he does have a vacation home here. You know might be able to qualify. But out there with his wife and shaking hands with people saying, good to see you this morning. Not saying, hey, vote for me. But just a subtle suggestion of that as well.
CHETRY: And a bit earlier, we saw Rudy Giuliani. He was also out there this morning, bright and early. The sun wasn't even up yet when he was out shaking hands with voters as well as they made their way to the polls there. We see some of the video there.
You know the interesting thing is while a lot of people are heading out early before work, there are still others who maybe want to read a little more, maybe hear from the candidates a little more in television interviews before they make up their mind. And if you are one of those people today, it is the place to be because we have talk to many of the candidates. We're going to hear more from them. We have an interview coming up, a little bit later with Fred Thompson as well.
ROBERTS: And at the same time as all of this is going on, in Norman, Oklahoma over the last couple of days, there was this bipartisan gathering including Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Christine Todd Whitman, former Republican governor of New Jersey, Senator Chuck Hagel and so many other people discussing the way forward in American politics.
A lot of people wondering if that will set the groundwork for a third party run for Mayor Bloomberg. So we'll be talking with Christie Todd Whitman about that coming up.
CHETRY: And it will be interesting, this will be a state to target. Since there are a lot of independent, as well as a lot of liberal Democrats and also very conservative members of the GOP here. A real melting pot in New Hampshire. So we're going to continue to follow the latest, as people make their way to the polling sites throughout the day.
Meanwhile, on the Democratic side, Barack Obama is going into today as the clear favorite. Polls showing a growing lead over Senator Hillary Clinton. Our Jessica Yellin has been covering the Democrats. She is inside of a polling station this morning.
Tell us a little bit about the turnout, Jessica.
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kiran, good morning. Well so far it's been pretty busy here. I'm inside a polling place. It's hard because we're in tight quarters for you to see. But there has been a steady trickle all morning and it is early still.
250 voters have already come in and we're expecting in this state a record high turnout. That's what the state officials are predicting. People feeling motivated both by the issues, by the stakes in this race and also by the candidates. Many people, especially on the Democratic side, are telling us anecdotally in events that they really feel satisfied, that they have a very good group of candidates to choose from.
Now as you point out, the polls are showing Senator Obama with a heavy, decisive lead in the state but also Senator Clinton and John Edwards. Governor Richardson, still in the fight and still waiting to see how they can finish today. I'll tell you, so much of this vote hinges on how independents go.
In this state, independents can show up and decide at the moment to go either with the Democrats or republican. And we actually saw one here. Somebody came in a little bit earlier. Said, I have been up. I haven't made up my mind. So I have to decide now and actually just tossed a coin.
Hopefully most people aren't making their decision that way. But I can tell you that across the state, they are expecting a very high interest because this race has drummed up so much attention and so much focus on these candidates. Huge, huge, huge turnout at the events we've attended. People asking about health care reform, the economy, the war in Iraq. Incredible interest this year in this presidential race.
Kiran?
CHETRY: Jessica Yellin for us at one of the polling sites here in Manchester. Thank you.
ROBERTS: Well, the first votes were cast in the nation's first primary while you were probably sleeping. Voters in the teeny tiny villages of Dixville Notch and Hart's Location way up as far north as you can get in New Hampshire chose Senators Barack Obama and John McCain.
Here's actually the way it broke down. McCain got four votes, Romney two, Giuliani one, Obama seven votes, Edwards two, Richardson one. State law here in New Hampshire allows towns with fewer than 100 people to open the polls at midnight. It's a longstanding tradition that folk in Dixville Notch and Hart's Location. The first ones to vote. Its symbolic if anything but it may say something more this year.
Of the 17 votes that were cast in Dixville Notch, Hillary Clinton was shut out. So was Iowa winner Mike Huckabee. But again, only 17 votes cast. We have seen a dramatic shift of support here in New Hampshire, from Hillary Clinton to Barack Obama. And the New York senator had an emotional moment on Monday at a campaign stop in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Hillary Clinton was asked how she keeps it all together despite the rigors of the road.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, I have so many opportunities from this country. I just don't want to see us fall backwards. You know so -- you know, this is very personal for me. It's not just political. It's not just public. I see what's happening. We have to reverse it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: A lot of people started talking about that immediately after it happened. Senator John Edwards even rang in to say that he would be able to weather the storms of life in the White House and would not succumb to the stress. Perhaps an oblique dig at the senator there.
A little while later, I sat down with Senator Clinton and asked her about coming to the brink of tears on the campaign trail.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: Well you know, I actually have emotions. I know there are some people who doubt that, but you know, I really am so touched by what I hear from people. It's usually a mother who throws arms around me and says thank you for the Children's Health Care insurance program, or a man who drove all the way here from New York to tell people that I'd saved jobs in New York. I mean, that's really moving to me. Because that's how I judge the job I'm doing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Clinton, though, is fighting an uphill battle here in the Granite State against Barack Obama after leading in the polls for the past year. Leaving a lot of people, Kiran, to wonder what's going to happen to her campaign if she racks up loss number two of this primary season here in New Hampshire.
CHETRY: And as you say, history is on the side of the person who wins both Iowa and New Hampshire in a row. Very rarely do they not go on to become the nominee. And that's something very likely that Barack Obama could pull out this evening.
ROBERTS: Yes. At least in the last two contests. Gore and Carey won vote Iowa and New Hampshire. Of course, both went on to become the nominee.
CHETRY: All right. Well, we're going to talk more about that throughout the morning as well. On the Republican side, Mitt Romney has been under attack by his opponents for changing his positions on some key issues.
Well, earlier on AMERICAN MORNING, I asked him why his proposed national health care plan is different from what he did as governor of Massachusetts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I like what we did in the state of Massachusetts, but we don't mandate that all states follow exactly the same plan. We have a principal of federalism in this country to encourage states to create their own ideas and hopefully from time to time come up with something better than we did in our state. But my view is that we will encourage each state through incentives to put in place a program that gets all their citizens insured.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Romney is trailing McCain in the polls. He was out at a polling station in Manchester in the past hour just after the polls opened meeting and greeting voters.
Well, we're also going to be talking with Fred Thompson later in the hour from his plan to fix social security to his decision to leave New Hampshire and head to South Carolina a little early.
He's going to be joining us from the road at the bottom of the hour. Keep it here for all of the latest on New Hampshire primary day here on AMERICAN MORNING.
ROBERTS: As you saw, they are spending this morning shaking hands with voters. And at one point, GOP hopefuls Rudy Giuliani and Mike Huckabee bumped into each other and shared a light moment. Take a look. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUDY GIULIANI, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Good luck.
MIKE HUCKABEE, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: May I have your vote today?
GIULIANI: I don't think either one of us is voting today.
HUCKABEE: Same-day registration. OK, good luck, Rudy.
GIULIANI: Good to see you again.
HUCKABEE: Great to see you. Thank you. You, too.
GIULIANI: Good luck.
HUCKABEE: Are we walking your way? Is that the idea?
GIULIANI: You're going in.
HUCKABEE: Hey, you know what, we could bang in your car. That would be a photo I'd like to see. See you along the way.
GIULIANI: OK. See you there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Huckabee and his wife shared coffee with supporters. At one point tried to sway a voter with a cup of Joe asking him, what else can I do to convince you.
Of course, we're going to be covering the candidates all day long. And remember, if you're away from your television set, head to cnn.com/live to see the rallies and the events streamed live on our website.
Then primetime coverage begins tonight at 8:00 eastern with Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper, Lou Dobbs and the rest of The Best Political Team on Television. And then join us, bright and early Wednesday for AMERICAN MORNING. Our special post-election edition begins an hour early at 5:00 a.m. eastern.
CHETRY: You know, I still remember the early days of the primary campaigns. We were asking Mike Huckabee, hey, are you going to be the vice president of Rudy Giuliani. You all get along so well. You never have a bad thing to say about each other.
ROBERTS: Maybe it will be the other way around now, who knows?
A lot of other headlines new this morning. Alina Cho in New York following those for us this morning.
Hi, Alina.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, John, good morning. We begin with the extreme weather. Tornados in the Midwest over night. Two people killed near Springfield, Missouri. Tornadoes also believed to have touched down in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.
Our I-reporter, Kevin Kilgore, sent us these pictures from Loves Park. That's just north of Rockford, Illinois. Railroad cars were knocked off the tracks. They downed power lines and dozens of drivers were trapped.
Also check out this I-report from we're about to show you from Roland Cavazos from Kenosha, Wisconsin, there. Amazing pictures. You can actually see a funnel cloud being lit up by lightning strikes. 11 homes were destroyed there and the stormy weather isn't over yet.
Jacqui Jeras tracking all of the extreme weather. And Jacqui, just an ago, we talked to an affiliate reporter and it was still raining down there. Are they going to get more rain today?
(WEATHER REPORT)
CHO: Other news now. President Bush is about to embark on what some are calling the most ambitious trip of his presidency. Mr. Bush is leaving for Israel tonight. His first trip there as president. He'll be meeting with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. There has been no progress on a peace accord since leaders met in Annapolis back in November.
To developments now in Kenya. The president of Kenya and his rival, the opposition leader, are now agreeing to talks to help end the violent fight over presidential elections there. Kenyans are also closely watching the U.S. election with pride. Barack Obama's father was born in Kenya.
State department correspondent Zain Verjee is live for us in Nairobi. Zain, first to the diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis there. I understand President Bush has issued a statement. What is he saying?
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Alina, this is really a success story for U.S. diplomacy. Under U.S. pressure, the Kenyan president and the opposition leader have said, OK, we'll sit down, we'll talk and we'll meet to try and break the election deadlock. More than 500 people have been killed and about 250,000 have been displaced in the violence here in the election aftermath.
The good news is that they have agreed on a mediator. The African Union Chairman, John Kufuor, who is also the president of Ghana. And he's going to be arriving in Nairobi tonight.
President Bush has thrown his support behind this process and behind the African Union and has said that he welcomes the visit of John Kufuor and says this in a statement. I now urge both sides to enter this dialogue in good faith to earn back the trust of the Kenyan people who deserve a political process that reflects their dedication to Democracy.
The situation here has been intense, Alina. The opposition has been accusing the government of stealing the election, of rigging it. And the election violence that broke out was really split down ethic lines.
Alina?
CHO: Zain, we want to touch on one more thing before you go there. As you well know, the New Hampshire primary is today. Everybody watching the U.S. election very closely. I know, Kenyans are watching the election closely too because Barack Obama, the leading Democratic candidate has Kenyan roots. His father is from Nairobi. So what are people there saying about Obama?
VERJEE: Yes. Even -- in spite of the big mess here with Kenyan elections, they are paying attention to the U.S. election race for the White House. We spoke to people who said that they love Obama. He's really a rock star here. They are proud of him. He's the son of Kenya, they say. And they want him to win. Some people we spoke to said though, that even if he does win, it's not really going to make a difference to any ordinary Kenyan lives.
We looked at the editorial cartoon in the newspaper yesterday that actually showed Barack Obama in a boxing ring and Hillary Clinton and John Edwards had been knocked out. And the caption that they had there was only Obama can beat Obama.
Alina?
CHO: Interesting. All right. State department correspondent Zain Verjee live for us in Nairobi, Kenya, this morning. Zain, thank you.
We're going to send it back to Manchester, New Hampshire now at Chez Vachon and over to John.
John?
ROBERTS: All right. Thanks very much, Alina. It's coming up on 15 minutes after the hour now. Could he still make a play? New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg making a splash at a bipartisan conference out west. We're talking third party politics coming up.
And he says he has a plan to solve social security. But could it cost you? Senator Fred Thompson explains the risks and the possible rewards to fixing a broken system, when he joins us live ahead on this special edition of AMERICAN MORNING, live from the Chez Vachon restaurant in Manchester.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: While the candidates were last-minute campaigning here in New Hampshire. A panel of current and former political leaders was making a big push for a bipartisan approach. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg was in Norman, Oklahoma, for the unity conference. Let's take a listen to what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK MAYOR: People have stopped working together. Government is dysfunctional. There's no collaboration and congeniality. There's no working together. No, let's do what's right for the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Bloomberg's neighbor, former New Jersey governor Christine Todd Whitman was also at the conference and she joins us now. Governor Whitman is in Oldwick, New Jersey. Good morning to you.
Governor Whitman.
CHRISTINE TODD WHITMAN, FORMER NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR: Good morning.
ROBERTS: Judging by the tone that we heard at that unity conference, you think the state of politics in the United States is in pretty sorry shape. The conference is closing statement began with the phrase, America is in danger. How bad do you think it is?
WHITMAN: Well, we think it's pretty bad. In order to get 17 people of the stature that you had in Norman, Oklahoma, for that meeting yesterday, these are people who have been part of the process, who have served their country, and we are really concerned. We are concerned about the state of politics.
This partisan paralysis that has locked Washington in so that we don't get good decision making on major problems. It's hurt our stature in the world. We really think that America is close to a tipping point here.
ROBERTS: When you say a tipping point. Tipping into what?
WHITMAN: Well, tipping into a place where it's going to be very difficult to get it back. To rebuild our stature abroad. To rebuild trust of the American people here. To get our political system back working. There are a lot of major issues that need to be decided.
But what we were focusing on is you can't even begin to discuss those problems until you can get people across and over this partisanship that says that everything is a political issue not a policy issue.
ROBERTS: Now, one of the chief organizers of the unity conference, David Boren, said that partisan bickering this year could open the door to Mayor Bloomberg or somebody else launching an independent candidacy for the president. What do you think? Is there a reason and room for an independent candidate in this campaign?
WHITMAN: Well, that's not what we are about. We are about saying, how do we fix the system the way it is today because we are -- we believe in the two-party system. All of us are been products of it. So we are supportive of it. But certainly, if there's ever a year where a third party might have an impact, they haven't been historically very successful except as spoilers, this would probably be the year. But that's not what the conference is about.
ROBERTS: No, I understand. But you know, they are suggesting that it may open the door. To your thinking, would Mayor Bloomberg be a good national candidate?
WHITMAN: Well, clearly, if you're going to have a third party, coming in as late as any third party person would at this point. You're going to have to have a lot of independent dollars. Because at the end of the day, a third party candidate has to be able to get their message out in order to excite the public enough to go to the polls. Because that's always been the big failing and that's parties provide as they offer the organization to get the voters to the polls.
And unfortunately, we don't do a very good job about in this country of accepting our responsibilities in a Democracy. And that's another thing we were talking about. This isn't just the party's failings. This is a failing of the public as well. When we only get, maybe 50 percent, 51 percent voting in a presidential election. I think we've done a good job. That's pretty sad. We've got to reengage the public.
ROBERTS: Now, Mayor Bloomberg has got a terrific record on fiscal responsibility. But on some of the other issues like gun control, abortion rights, gay marriage, he's left of even some of the most liberal Democratic candidates. Could he build the sort of bipartisan coalition that he would need to win an independent bid for the White House?
WHITMAN: Well, he said he's not a candidate so I'm not going to speculate on what it would take for him to build that kind of a coalition. If he was to decide he was going to run, then he would have to take obviously those things into consideration and how he would present himself.
But knowing him, he'd present himself as who he is and what he's done and what he wants to do for the country. But whether that's enough or not, who knows. That's his decision. He's not a candidate. We weren't discussing that. We weren't discussing his candidacy.
ROBERTS: Well, you might not have been, but everybody else is. Former governor...
WHITMAN: Yes, I know.
ROBERTS: Thanks for joining us this morning. It's good to see you.
WHITMAN: My pleasure.
ROBERTS: Kiran?
CHETRY: All right. Here we are still at the Chez Vachon restaurant where it is buzzing. Well, they just got quiet. You guys can talk, it's all right. They were buzzing about politics in breakfast this morning. Some haven't gone out to the polls yet. Some people are already coming here after paying a visit to the polls, picking their candidates. Others are waiting until the last minute. Maybe they want to hear a little bit more. Do a little bit more reading. Maybe hear from the candidate before they ultimately cast their vote because they know how important it is.
We are looking at possible record turnouts here. They are talking about the fact that so many people living in New Hampshire are engaged in this process and are proud to be the first primary in the nation.
So we're going to find out what those results are a little bit later. We're going to talk more with another candidate coming up as well. Senator Fred Thompson is going to be joining us.
Interestingly enough, instead of making a last-minute push here in New Hampshire, he's decided to move on to the next primary state of South Carolina. We're going to talk to him about some of that strategy. Some of those strategies as well as some of the big issues that are going to be confronting the nation and whether or not he can convince voters he's the man for the job. Coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Well, the votes are in, but there's not going to be a ceremony to honor the winners. The Golden Globes show has been canceled. NBC has scrapped plans to air the ceremony because actors were promising to boycott it in support of the striking writers.
Instead, NBC will hold a news conference on Sunday to announce the winners. No one is sure yet how many stars, if any, will show. I tell you, it's going to be the best-dressed news conference that anybody has ever attended.
CHETRY: Right. Because if they already pick their dresses for the Golden Globe, maybe they'll wear them in the news conference. How about that?
Well, let's take a look. 8:25 right now here in New Hampshire. And Ali Velshi is "Minding Your Business". Some news about the economy. Jitters and concerns, are we possibly talking recession?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well you know, I've been talking about recession all morning. Everyone is telling me I'm like the king of doom. So I decided I'm going to talk about jitters of a different sort.
Yesterday at this time, I was telling about how McDonald's is making inroads on to Starbucks. Well, today we have news now that Starbucks is making some changes to its own operation. The founder, Howard Schultz, is moving back in as the CEO. He was CEO of the company from 1987 to 2000. Lately, there's been another guy, Jim Donald, who was the CEO. He is stepping out as CEO. Howard Schultz is moving back in and Starbucks is going to make changes to try and become a little bit more competitive.
We've seen that stock and that company starting to suffer a little bit in the last year. So they're going to close some underperforming stores in the United States. They're going to slow the pace of new store opening. I mean, it so rapidly expanding. They're going to slow that down a little bit but they're going to accelerate their global expansion. Because as we've been hearing, while the U.S. is suffering a little bit economically, many parts of the world are doing better.
So the jitters I'm talking about right now are a little bit different than the ones I've been talking about all morning.
John, enjoy your coffee.
ROBERTS: All right. We'll do. Thank you very much. The bearer of good news again today. Ali Velshi for us.
You are watching the most news in the morning. The president of France questioned about his new ally. We'll tell you what he said about rumors of his engagement coming up.
And it's primary day, obviously, in New Hampshire. So why is Fred Thompson already in South Carolina? We'll ask him next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. It is Tuesday, the 8th of January. That means primary day here in the granite state. We're at Chez Vachon which is a restaurant in Manchester that is hopping this morning. Everybody is talking politics over their poutine.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: That's right which is French fries and it's gravy and it's cheese curds and then some meat if you want it, famous dish, French-Canadian, by the way. Thanks to John, w had a chance to taste it this morning.
ROBERTS: It's a carbo bomb the likes of which you haven't tasted before but all kinds of excitement here today as a lot of people are coming in to talk about either who they voted for, maybe trying to make up their minds here at the very end to decide who they are going to vote for and early indications that we head for Dixville Notch overnight that McCain and Obama are the people to beat.
CHETRY: That's right, a little town. 17 registered voters, each of them with their own booth to vote in. Obama winning handily for the democrats and the winner on the GOP side, John McCain. Of course, he took the state in 2000 as well. So it will be interesting to see how it turns out tonight.
ROBERTS: Significantly, not a single vote for Hillary Clinton.
CHETRY: Or Mike Huckabee. 17 votes, there's a long way to go this morning. They are expecting record turnout in the state. We have a lot of stories also making headlines overnight besides today's primary. Alina Cho holding down the fort for us in New York this morning with the latest developments. Hi, Alina.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kiran. Until you guys get back from New Hampshire. Good morning, everybody. The late Benazir Bhutto's son is calling for the United Nations to investigate her assassination. He held a news conference earlier this morning as he arrived back at Oxford where he's studying law.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILAWAL BHUTTO ZARDARI, BENAZIR BHUTTO'S SON: She had requested protection by the government of Pakistan. It is our belief that had she been provided with adequate protection, she would be alive today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: 19-year-old Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was named his mother's successor as chairman of the Pakistan's People Party. But he's too young to stand for office so he's back at school while his father takes day to day control of the party. Now Benazir Bhutto's murder sparked rioting throughout Pakistan. Parliamentary elections there have been suspended for six weeks.
A Sri Lankan government official is dead, assassinated overnight in a roadside bomb attack. A convoy carrying the government minister was bombed while driving through a suburb outside the capital of Colombo. Police say rebels were behind the attack. It could mark a serious escalation in violence between those rebels and the government.
The president of France briefing the press on his love life. In a news conference earlier this morning, Nicolas Sarkozy told French media his relationship with former supermodel Carla Bruni is "serious." He even suggested marriage was possible. Over the weekend, newspaper reports said the couple would get married in early February. Sarkozy was divorced from his previous wife in October.
That's a look at the news headlines. We're going to send it back to Kiran in New Hampshire. Kiran?
CHETRY: Alina, thanks. Most of the candidates are making their final push for voters in New Hampshire. Former Senator Fred Thompson is already hitting an 11-day bus tour across South Carolina. It will be his first test in the south. Fred Thompson joins us from Greenville, South Carolina.
Thanks so much for being with us.
FRED THOMPSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you very much. Good to be with you.
CHETRY: Tell us why you are in New Hampshire -- why you're not in New Hampshire and actually in South Carolina on the day of the New Hampshire primary? THOMPSON: Well, it was all about getting out of Iowa with a ticket to come to South Carolina for me. We have not spent very much time or money in New Hampshire. We went up there for the two debates they had over the weekend. But it's all been about getting to South Carolina and then going from there. As you know, in February 5th, there are a lot of southern, western states that will be in place. And that's what we're concentrating on.
CHETRY: So are you conceding that you are probably not going to do very well in New Hampshire?
THOMPSON: No, no, I think that that's pretty clear cut there. I'll swap the snow for the mild temperatures, and we're off and running down here. Going to be on a tour going all across the state getting reacquainted with a lot of people we already know here in South Carolina. It's home territory.
CHETRY: Let's talk about some of the issues. We heard President Bush yesterday speak and talked with one of the first times recently of the growing economic concerns. We're talking about rising oil prices, the home heating and the oil problems, as well as, the mortgage problems and a weakening job market. What is the first thing that you would do to get the economy back on track to avoid and try to tamp down some of this recession talk?
THOMPSON: I think they've got to look at a stimulus package possibility for the economy. It's not just the sub prime market. It's poured over into the general housing market. People are having great difficulty in selling their homes or refinancing. That's poured over into the credit market. And it's showing up in automobile sales. It's showing up in credit card rates and things like that. So I think consideration needs to be given for a tax cut on the bottom 10% rate that would last for one year. And have those checks go directly to those people. Somewhat like we did in 2001 in order to make sure that this downturn doesn't turn into a recession.
CHETRY: You've also talked a lot about social security a little bit more than some of the other GOP candidates. You'd want to allow people to set up an individual retirement account and the government would then match that. Why do you think that's the solution?
THOMPSON: Yes, as far as social security is concerned, yes, social security is going bankrupt. No one wants to talk about it, but we're working through the so-called social security surplus. We're spending it as we speak. Pretty soon that will end up sitting with the retirement of the baby boomers. We're simply going to lose what we have there. We need to do some common sense things to save it. One is individual retirement accounts, let people save more during their working years for their own retirement. That with indexing the initial benefit to inflation over a period of years would make social security actuarially sound and would let the average worker retire with a few hundred thousand dollars.
CHETRY: Would that to be supplement or eventually to replace social security checks that people are accustomed to getting?
THOMPSON: No it would be a supplement. It would be an add-on.
CHETRY: All right. Let's talk a little bit about immigration as well. It was a huge topic of the debates over the weekend. And some brought up the point that a lot of the GOP candidates have been holding up Ronald Reagan and saying, look, I'm the new Reagan, yet, he was really the one president who did give blanket amnesty as a possible solution to the immigration problems back in the '80s. How would you take a look and tackle the crisis that has only grown since then when it comes to the number of illegals living here?
THOMPSON: Yeah, I have a difficult time understanding what some of my colleagues were saying about that. It was like, well, Reagan did amnesty, implying that amnesty is okay. We're not for amnesty. So I'm not sure what their point was there about Ronald Reagan.
But the fact of the matter is there was, back in the '80s, a deal that we would secure the borders for a small amount of amnesty. And that didn't work. So we certainly should have taken that example as something that did not work and should not be attempted again. So we, obviously, must do what's necessary to secure -- necessary to secure the border.
We must help employers make sure that they're not employing illegals and stop sanctuary cities and say we're going to cut federal funding off to them and require them to learn the English language if they become citizens later on, after playing by the rules.
So those are the steps that we should take. And then we would have enforcement by attrition. The situation would begin to reverse itself and we wouldn't have the continuation of the illegal crossings. It's not just the 12 million that we're concerned about today. It's the next 12 million, the next 12 million after that if we don't do something about it.
CHETRY: Senator, one thing that all of you agreed on at that debate was that you should enforce the laws on the books now and do all that you can to tighten security at the borders. We haven't seen that happen, even though everyone in the GOP and in the senate seems to agree that's the case. How, if you were president, would you make that happen?
THOMPSON: Well, more officers to enforce the border. We need at least 25,000 on the borders. We have technology now. We need to finish the fencing that's required on the books. It's not a matter of know-how. I mean, to coin an old reference, you know, we put a man on the moon not too long ago. We can secure a border. It's a matter of political will.
The real issue is what's your attitude, what's your position, Mr. Candidate, once they get here? I don't care how secure the border is. There are going to be some people that get across. A lot of my colleagues seem to think if you make it in, it's home free and you can get social services and we can give you jobs and have sanctuary cities and that sort of thing. It doesn't work that way. Securing the border is a matter of will. That's no problem. But what happens when people get here is a much more complex problem. And that's the question that people need to address.
If we enforce the law for a period of time, the situation would reverse itself and people would start going back if they knew they couldn't come back and forth across the border, have a job waiting on them and a city to protect them from detection from lawful authorities.
CHETRY: Senator Fred Thompson, moving on to South Carolina, the day of the New Hampshire primary. Thanks for spending some time with us this morning on AMERICAN MORNING.
THOMPSON: Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
ROBERTS: He says he went down there for the good weather. The weather is great here as well. Fred Thompson isn't the only candidate already looking ahead this morning. Rudy Giuliani has been picking his campaign on Florida. And next month's Super Tuesday as well. We caught up with him outside of the polling stations here. He talked to us a little bit his strategy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUDY GIULIANI (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're moving on. We're moving on to Florida. We'll be in Florida tomorrow. We think we're in very, very good shape in a lot of the states coming up. I think we're ahead in like 16 or 18 of the states. And we've seen this as a 29-state primary caucus in the first month. And whoever wins 16, 18 of them is going to be the person in the best position.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Giuliani wasn't exactly a stranger to the granite state. He says he made about 50 or so trips here ahead of today's vote.
Hillary Clinton fighting for her political life here in New Hampshire; a second loss to Barack Obama could be devastating to the Clinton campaign. There was a rare display of emotion on Monday from the senator from New York when a voter asked how she keeps up with the frenetic pace of campaigning. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have so many opportunities from this country. I just don't want to see us fall backwards. No. You know, this is very personal for me. It's not just political. It's not just public. I see what's happening. We have to reverse it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Clinton told me later in an interview that it was the supporter's concern for her well-being in the long and stressful campaign that nearly brought her to tears.
Hope and change, two words that are carrying Barack Obama right now. But how long can the optimism last? That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: We want to take you live to Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, along the border with Vermont there. Barack Obama is about to have his first rally of this New Hampshire primary day. Hasn't arrived just yet but will be there soon. Interesting to note, too Kiran, that when we came back to our hotel last night, Barack Obama was in the room next to me and Secret Service all over the hallway. Incredible.
CHETRY: I didn't know he actually slept or any of the candidates did for the last few days.
ROBERTS: I think it was just a little down time before the rally because when I woke up early this morning, he and the secret service were gone.
CHETRY: And you have to get up pretty early to beat John and I out of the hotel.
ROBERTS: He's spending an awful lot of time out on the campaign trail talking about his message of change and hope which seems to be resonating.
CHETRY: How far can that positive message take him? Joining us now to talk more about it is CNN political analyst John Dickerson. Barack Obama continues to talk about it. Yesterday on the stump he also responded to the calls that maybe he's not quite ready yet and made a quip about the establishment when he was sort of boiled the hope out of him. Let's listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: One of my opponents said, oh, you know, stop giving people false hopes about what we can accomplish. False hopes? False hopes? There's no such thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Will that theme of hope ever grow old?
JOHN DICKERSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I don't think so. We've seen in New Hampshire that he's building on his success with hope in Iowa. And it's at the center of his movement and people love to hear it. And that's what they are latching on to. And you see how quickly he can dismiss it. So unless Clinton finds a new way in, this seems to be working quite well for Barack Obama.
ROBERTS: Barack Obama seems to be the central figure in the democratic race but the republican race as well. Mitt Romney was mentioning him yesterday in the context of a potential John McCain win here in the granite state. Let's take a listen to how he phrased it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's a senator killer. He took care of Biden and Dodd and Hillary Clinton. He's going to take care of John McCain if he's our nominee.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: So, I mean, Mitt Romney working every angle here trying to stop John McCain from winning.
DICKERSON: This is how well it's working that even the republicans are stealing his message of change. Romney trying to say, I'm a changed guy, too. I'm just like Barack Obama. This is a little bit of a problem for Romney who has had many shifting different themes. But again it shows the message Obama has gotten is work willing for him.
CHETRY: New front-runner going into tonight is John McCain. If he has a win in New Hampshire, will that propel him nationally, revive his campaign nationally?
DICKERSON: It will revive him, bring in more money. The republican field has no money. They'll go to Michigan, then South Carolina but Mike Huckabee is strong there then Rudy Giuliani is waiting in Florida. McCain has some strength in South Carolina that he didn't have in 2000. He doesn't have an establishment candidate against him. Arguably, he could be the establishment candidate, which is hysterical when you think about John McCain's history with the Republican Party. But it's all still very much up for grabs. If McCain wins here, he does come out very strong the rest of the race.
ROBERTS: This could go on for some time. That's what our political unit is hoping. They don't want to be ignored between now and the conventions.
John, good to see you. Thanks very much.
DICKERSON: Thanks.
ROBERTS: Good luck today.
CNN "NEWSROOM" just minutes away now. Heidi Collins at the CNN center with a look at what's ahead. Good morning to you, Heidi.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning there, John. It is decision day in New Hampshire. All day right here in the "NEWSROOM," voters are at the polls for the nation's first presidential primary of 2008. I'll talk live with players from three campaigns.
And we take you to Africa to meet this lady. She's Barack Obama's grandmother.
Plus, Rhode Island's first baby of the year draws cameras, and that gets dad deported. Mom gets another shock when she gets home from the hospital. We'll have the story for you. Plus all the breaking news when it happens. You're in the "NEWSROOM," top of the hour. ROBERTS: Heidi, thanks very much. We'll see you soon.
CHETRY: We have some new additions to the CNN family. Nancy Grace kicked off her return to the anchor desk last nice introducing her two-month-old twins, John David and Lucy Elizabeth. The adorable babies were delivered prematurely by c-section in early November. Nancy says they are now doing fine. She's doing fine as well and that she's never been happier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY GRACE: It's like nothing I've ever done before. You know, every time I would close a file or win a case in court, I thought that that was all there was, prosecuting violent crimes. My whole life, I never thought anything like this miracle could happen to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Clearly emotional Nancy Grace, first time mother. Certainly that will do that to you. We wish her well. Her babies, by the way, very, very cute. We're glad to hear they are doing fine. Nancy Grace, by the way, airs 8:00 eastern on HEADLINE NEWS. We'll be catching up with her tonight. We'll show you that tomorrow morning on AMERICAN MORNING.
So did the last-minute push sway any undecided voters? We'll be talking to some people here at the Chez Vachon Restaurant. Some of them haven't headed out to the polls yet and still haven't decided who they are going to vote for when they get there. We'll talk about it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
Roberts: So we're back from the Chez Vachon Restaurant in Manchester with a group of voters. One of whom is undecided. This is Dick Moquin, a democrat, undecided. We have Ray Scott. You are a former Green Beret?
DICK MOQUIN, UNDECIDED DEMOCRATIC VOTER: No.
ROBERTS: Who is the former Green Beret?
Somebody was supposed to be a former Green Beret. You have kind of the blue one on. George Pappa here also a McCain supporter and Curtis Schelzel looking like he's going for Huckabee. You are the undecided voter at the table. What you're looking forward to make up your mind.
MOQUIN: That's only partially correct. I like the top tier democratic candidates I find this is an extraordinary difficult year to make a choice. We've seen them all two or three times. We've had a chance to interact with them here. But I am most definitely going to vote for Obama this morning.
ROBERTS: You have made up your mind?
MOQUIN: Yes, I have. ROBERTS: What was it that put you over the top?
MOQUIN: I think the message of all the democrats is really good, and I want to vote for the guy who has the best chance of winning and I see that as being Obama. I think he's best chance of carrying the field for the democrats.
ROBERTS: George Papageorge is trying to keep himself awake sticking himself in the eye. He's sticking himself in the eye with a fork. Let's talk to George and Ray over here. Both die-hard McCain supporters.
RAY: Absolutely.
ROBERTS: Did you vote for him in 2000?
RAY: Yes, I did.
ROBERTS: What is it that has brought you back?
RAY: I've seen no reason to change my mind about him. I think he's eight years smarter. I think he's recognized that he's made a political mistake with this illegal alien issue. I think he will correct that. My biggest issue is that he knows the horrors of war. He knows how terrible things are that are going on there and I think he can get us out of this war with dignity and honor. And that's a big thing.
ROBERTS: George, what is it for you about McCain?
GEORGE PAPAGEORGE, MCCAIN SUPPORTER: I'm actually an independent. And I just decided yesterday for McCain. Basically, I think the most important issue is our national security. And I like his way of telling what he's going to do. He said something yesterday that really caught me. I saw the interview and he said, if I'm elected, I'm going to get Bin Laden. I like that attitude.
ROBERTS: What about you, Curtis. You are the Huckabee supporter here at the table. He's not doing as well in the granite state as he did in Iowa, but looks like carrying forward he could do well. What is it about Huckabee that you like?
CURTIS SCHELZEL, HUCKABEE SUPPORTER: I took a choice. There are so many good people to choose from. They all have charisma when they speak. One thing that I heard was that you take the issues and you put them in a line item; the economy, the oil, health issues, our national security. Then you put the candidate next to them. Do you agree with them or disagree with them? When you get to the bottom line, who is the winner.
ROBERTS: Gentlemen, thank you for talking to us this morning. We'll look at the results tonight and see you back here again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No more phone calls. No more phone calls.
ROBERTS: Believe me. No one will be calling you after today. They have four years of no phone calls.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nice meeting you.
ROBERTS: We'll be right back. Here on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Boy, this diner is hopping. The polls opened two hours ago in some places in New Hampshire. An hour ago in others; two and three hours ago right now. And there are some who still haven't made up their mind. But they are certainly discussing the issues over breakfast.
ROBERTS: These two fellows we've just talked to, they have been friends for 25 years and have literally talked politics every day; their special table over there which they couldn't get today.
CHETRY: It's also a shock to come from New York City where everyone is bustling and fighting over cabs to here where people are like, sit down at our booth. We sit at this booth every day.
ROBERTS: We have coverage coming up.
CHETRY: It continues right now with Heidi Collins at the CNN center in Atlanta. Thanks for joining us.
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