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American Morning
John McCain Closes Gap, Leads Polls for the First Time; A Look at Palin's Budget Record; Hurricane Ike Threatens the U.S.; A Different Kind of Race With the Electoral College Factor; A Look at Sarah Palin's Faith
Aired September 09, 2008 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: State of emergency. Fifteen thousand tourists leave the Florida Keys. New Orleans on the lookout again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. BOBBY JINDAL (R), LOUISIANA: Now is not too early.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: As Hurricane Ike leaves dozens dead and hundreds helpless.
And read their lips.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'll keep taxes low and cut them where I can. My opponent will raise them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Talking taxes. McCain versus Obama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And I wouldn't leave 100 million out like John McCain does.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: How much you could pay under each president on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Welcome. Glad you're with us this morning. It's Tuesday, September 9th. I forgot what you look like in person. A two-week run at the convention.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: You, too. This is amazing to be back here in New York.
CHETRY: Welcome back.
ROBERTS: It was a lot of fun. Sorry I took yesterday off. Came down with a little virus. CHETRY: It was bound to happen. As soon as you slow down, that's when it usually hits, right?
ROBERTS: It's not always the way the adrenaline keeps you going...
CHETRY: Yes.
ROBERTS: ... and then you relax for a second and you get sick. It's great to be back. Good to see you.
CHETRY: It's great to have you back.
ROBERTS: We begin this morning with the "Most Politics in the Morning." And John McCain's surge at the polls. One poll showing McCain and Barack Obama dead even now while an average of national polls has McCain in the lead. We're going to break that all down in just a minute.
And both candidates will hit the battleground states again. McCain campaigns with running mate Sarah Palin in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Obama will be in Ohio and Virginia.
Hurricane Ike battering Cuba right now. The eye expected to move over Havana later on this morning. The storm has weakened to a Category one hurricane, but it is expected to strengthen again once it enters the Gulf of Mexico. Forecasters say Ike could make landfall again later on this week along the mid-Texas coast, probably somewhere south of Galveston.
Is Lance Armstrong staging a comeback? The online cycling journal "Velo News" reporting that the seven-time Tour de France champ will end his retirement and compete next year in the tour and other events with the Astana racing team. Team officials are denying the report saying, "Team Astana has no plans with him." Armstrong retired from cycling, you remember in 2005, after winning a historic seven Tour de France.
CHETRY: Well, the "Most Politics in the Morning" now. And CNN's latest poll of polls shows something we have not seen yet and that's John McCain leading Barack Obama. Still close, though, by two points, 47 percent to 45 percent. Eight percent of voters remain undecided.
This is the first time our poll of polls has McCain ahead of Obama. Also, a new CNN/Opinion Research poll showing that 70 percent of voters think Joe Biden is more qualified to serve as president compared to 50 percent who think Sarah Palin is. But more Americans have a favorable opinion of McCain's VP pick, Palin. Fifty-seven percent gave her a favorable rating compared to 51 percent for Obama's pick of Joe Biden.
Sarah Palin's record as governor of Alaska under intense scrutiny since John McCain introduced her to the nation as his running mate. We sent CNN's Jessica Yellin to Anchorage to take a closer look at the promises Palin's making on the national stage, and how they stack up to what she's done while governor. Hi, Jessica.
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kiran, good morning.
Well, Sarah Palin has built a reputation for trimming the fat out of the state budget, so we checked out the record.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
YELLIN (voice-over): Some Alaskans see Governor Palin as a modern day Robin Hood, slashing government spending giving money to the people.
KIM BRINK, ALASKA RESIDENT: She's helped to balance our budget. I mean, she's done a very good job with that. And then, she gave -- she fought to get us all a little extra money in these hard economic times.
YELLIN: And on the campaign trail, she's selling herself as a fiscal Rambo.
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Our state budget is under control. We have a surplus. And I have protected the taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending.
YELLIN: The facts? The state has actually increased spending under Palin's tenure. Still, Alaska does have a big surplus. Over the last two years, it put $5 billion into savings. But that's because a new tax on the oil companies here supported by Governor Palin has driven money into state coffers.
PALIN: I told the Congress, thanks but no thanks on that bridge to nowhere. If our state wanted to build a bridge, we were going to build it ourselves.
YELLIN: It's a big applause line but before she became Governor, Palin was for the bridge to nowhere. After being elected, she was against it saying it was too expensive. But Alaska kept the more than $100 million Congress gave for the bridge.
Palin has used her line item veto to cut funds for special interest programs called earmarks, but Democrats criticize her for slashing programs even for people with disabilities, a group she's vowed to defend. Her Democratic critics complain she has the wrong priorities.
LES GARA (D), ALASKA STATE REPRESENTATIVE: For a drop in the bucket, every single kid in the state could have health insurance. For a drop in the bucket, we don't have to be one of the worst states in terms of high school graduation rates in the country. And for a drop in the bucket, we could offer pre-K education to families who want their kids to succeed.
(END VIDEOTAPE) YELLIN: Now, Kiran, all that said, under Sarah Palin's tenure, she's seeing to it that the residents get more money back from the state. They get $1,200 extra this year. Each man, woman and child from that oil profits tax for a total of more than $3,000 back for the state to every citizen. And Palin says she's had to make some tough choices cutting some state programs -- Kiran.
CHETRY: You also talked about some report talking about Palin billing taxpayers for travel costs. What can you tell us about that?
YELLIN: Yes. That's a new report out this morning from "The Washington Post" that Sarah Palin actually billed the state for 312 nights that she spent in her home. She called it per diem travel expenses. Her home is in Anchorage and her other home where the state capital is, is in Juneau, the state capital. So she says time spent at home is travel and taxpayers should pay.
CHETRY: All right. Jessica Yellin for us in Anchorage, thank you.
ROBERTS: Meantime, Barack Obama's campaign is attacking the McCain/Palin team over a new ad touting themselves as the original mavericks who will make history and change Washington. Obama responded with his own ad claiming his Republican opponents are anything but champions of change.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, CAMPAIGN COMMERCIAL)
NARRATOR: He's no maverick when he votes with Bush 90 percent of the time, and Sarah Palin's no maverick either. She was for the bridge to nowhere before she was against it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The Obama campaign says the ad will air in battleground states.
New this morning, President Bush will announce today that another 8,000 U.S. troops will be withdrawn from Iraq by February of next year. The president says he's making the decision based on recommendations from his generals. About 145,000 U.S. troops are now serving in Iraq.
And it's been a year and a half since the so-called troop surge. And last night, reporter Bob Woodward told CNN's Larry King the administration was deeply at odds over the escalating violence and how to deal with it. And in his new book, "The War Within," Woodward claims the president never gave a hint of that in public.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB WOODWARD, AUTHOR, "THE WAR WITHIN": He never found a way to level with the American people and say, look, I know it's not working. We're going to fix it. He would go out and say it's tough, but then he would say things like we're absolutely winning, we're winning, when he knew we were not, when the generals knew we were not. (END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: White House Press Secretary Dana Perino is firing back at the claim saying, "I don't necessarily think that the conclusions are supported by a lot of the facts in the book."
CHETRY: Ike's next strike. Texas prepares for a direct hit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Complacency is not the game to play now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Disaster declarations issued for 88 counties. National Guard members are on stand by. We're tracking the killer storm. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Five minutes after the hour now and a Tuesday morning. Our Ali Velshi is here. This is the first chance I have to see you since you rode out the hurricane in Grand Isle, Louisiana.
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You were looking out for me there. I appreciate that.
ROBERTS: Great job.
CHETRY: I was teasing him, too. I said he's the only reporter with no hair, yet he was the one who wore the hood being there all the time.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Yes. (INAUDIBLE) water at least (ph) everywhere. So even with that --
ROBERTS: It was a great job, but don't you ever do that again.
VELSHI: I won't.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: He had a leash.
VELSHI: I know. And I appreciate the concern. Thank you for that.
ROBERTS: Hey, Ali is here with more on the series on issue number one. We're talking energy today.
VELSHI: Right. We're comparing the presidential positions on energy and I want to just give you -- I'm going to do this more over the course of the morning. I'll give you timelines and give you a sense of when they want to do some of the things they want to do. But let's start with John McCain and what he wants to do to reduce America's dependence on imported oil and increase, as a result, America's energy security.
First of all, as you've all heard I'm sure by now, he wants to lift the ban on offshore oil drilling. This is a change in position from where he's historically been, but he feels he can do this very quickly. There's been criticism that this will take too long. He says you can start getting oil within a year if we start drilling in those areas that are banned from offshore drilling. He wants to construct 45 nuclear plants to create electricity by 2030.
He wants to invest $2 billion in clean coal technology and before all of you bloggers go nuts about what clean coal is, there are some people who think it's not an environmentally friendly way of dealing with coal, but coal still produces 53 percent of this country's electricity. So better clean than not clean, I suppose. And he wants to give tax breaks to investors who invest in and develop alternative energy.
Over to Barack Obama and what he wants to do, he wants to invest $150 billion in renewable energy -- forms like solar and wind and things like that. He also has now changed his position to say he will allow limited offshore drilling and we're expecting Congress to back that up starting this week. He would like to mandate 10 percent of electricity from renewable sources as early as 2012 and would like to see one million plug-in hybrids, cars, on the road by 2015.
So Barack Obama is a little more concentrated on reducing demand for energy, electricity and oil while John McCain and the Republicans are a little more concentrated on increasing supply, although this is at the margins. In the heart of their proposals, they're very similar. We need more energy and we need to use less of it.
ROBERTS: All right. By the way, Tom Friedman has got a new book out...
VELSHI: Yes.
ROBERTS: ... called "Hot, Flat, and Crowded." It's all about the need for a green revolution in America. We'll be talking to him this morning in our third hour.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROBERTS: If you're around at 8:00, stay tuned for that.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: A lot of buzz about that book.
ROBERTS: Yes.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROBERTS: Ali, thanks so much. VELSHI: Good to see you.
ROBERTS: I'm glad to see you back in one piece.
VELSHI: Thanks, John.
ROBERTS: All right.
CHETRY: Comeback kid, who fought back from cancer, won the Tour de France seven times. Even tried his hand at marathon. Is the cycling champ dusting off his bike? You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, we're tracking breaking news this morning. Hurricane Ike closing in on Havana as it hammers Cuba. The now Category one storm flooding the island, demolishing buildings and destroying precious crops of sugar and coffee. The storm is expected to skirt past the Florida Keys which just a few days ago was bracing for Ike's arrival as a Category four storm. The next stop, the Gulf of Mexico, where it is expected to strengthen once again.
CNN's Rob Marciano is live in the hurricane headquarters for us this morning. So this path has changed a little since we checked in with you yesterday.
Hey, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It's been changing day-by-day. That's why it's so important that when we show you the track and we go out three, four, five days, it's not usually focused on that line because that does change and the margin of error over the last -- for day three, four and five is huge.
All right. Here we go. Hurricane Ike, Category one, 80 mile-an- hour winds. It scooted offshore last night and kind of have been skirting the southern coastline right now, about 80 miles of the south of Havana. So Havana won't get a direct hit but it's on the nasty side of the storm. So they're going to be getting hammered with more rain, more wind and even the potential for tornadoes as this thing begins its trek westward.
About 30, 40 miles an hour, this part of Cuba not nearly as mountainous as the eastern side so it shouldn't really have too much of a, you know, knocking down effect.
Here in the Florida Keys, Key West through Marathon, Islamorada, back through the Upper Keys, or some heavy showers and thunderstorms here. You will see battering waves as well, with the storm surge, one, two, three, maybe four feet and that will do some minor flooding.
Here's the forecast track. We'll get to Cat two as we get in through the Yucatan, straight there, into the central Gulf of Mexico. And then we have shifted the track a little bit or the National Hurricane Center has, Kiran, to bring closer to the Mexican border. So, that would bode well for folks in New Orleans and Houston, but not necessarily for folks in Brownsville south of New Mexico. We'll see what this track does over the next couple of days. Timing of it is such late Friday into Saturday morning at least for now.
CHETRY: And so, yesterday, we were talking about some of the concerns with the levees in New Orleans. Does it look like this will completely miss, Ike will completely miss Louisiana now?
MARCIANO: Well, you can't rule it out in terms of the north at this point. But certainly, the lulls (ph) have been shifting south. We got a huge area of high pressure that's kind of building to the north to protect much of the continental U.S. We still have four or five days to get this thing on land again before we can re-decide (INAUDIBLE).
CHETRY: All right. Rob Marciano, thanks.
MARCIANO: OK.
ROBERTS: 17 minutes after the hour and time to fast forward to see what stories will be making news later on today.
At 10:00 Eastern, a new 9/11 memorial will be dedicated to Boston's Logan's International Airport. The $3.5 million design consists of a glass cube with the names of those who died onboard the two planes that departed Logan and crashed into the World Trade Center towers seven years ago on Thursday.
The state of the U.S. economy is going to be the focus of a hearing on Capitol Hill today. Three of the country's leading economists will go before lawmakers to talk about the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bailout, and the impact of a new stimulus package.
And Apple computer is at it again. After fueling weeks of speculation, the company is set to unveil its latest gadgets today in San Francisco. Among the rumors, a new iPod.
CHETRY: The real race.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. TERRY JONES, UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI/ST. LOUIS: Organize, identify who they are. Reach them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: The national polls might be tight but remember 2000? Tom Foreman on what really matters and who is really winning. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is a contest between two different visions of our country and our future. There are good people on both sides. The other side just happens to be wrong!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: That's Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail for Barack Obama. It's her first appearance since John McCain picked Sarah Palin as his running mate, and that choice has helped catapult McCain in the polls. The latest CNN poll of polls showing John McCain leading Barack Obama by two points, 47 to 45 percent. Eight percent of voters remain undecided. And this is the first time our poll of polls has McCain ahead of Obama.
But the White House is won state by state and it's the electoral college, not the popular vote that determines the winner. And as CNN's Tom Foreman shows us, it's a whole different ball game.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As close as the polls put the popular vote right now, CNN's projection of the electoral college standings paint a sharply different picture.
Keep in mind many of these state polls were taken before the conventions, but they show Barack Obama has had a substantial lead; 243 electoral votes, either safely his or leaning his way. John McCain, only 189. That's why McCain and his running mate Sarah Palin were in the toss up state of Missouri.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe I can inspire a generation of Americans to serve a cause greater than themselves.
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We got back to the basics, and we put government back on the side of the people.
FOREMAN: People here may be ripe for the Republicans to pick. Missouri's population is the 13th oldest in the country, and Obama struggles with older voters. He barely beat Hillary Clinton here.
What's more, 37 percent of Missourians are evangelical Christians according to the Pew forum, compared to only 26 percent nationally. And Evangelicals are excited about Palin.
Terry Jones at the University of Missouri says that matters.
DR. TERRY JONES, UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI/ST. LOUIS: In Missouri, the state Republican Party invested a considerable organizational effort primarily in 2001 and 2002, to organize the evangelical vote, identify who they are, find ways to reach them and they've been very good then at mobilizing them.
FOREMAN: McCain needs more than Missouri, but maybe not much.
(on camera): If McCain could tilt Ohio and Florida his direction, for example, with their big electoral votes, he would pull just ahead of Obama. Republicans know that's a tough trick. (voice-over): But both of those states also have older populations giving McCain hope. Just as he has closed the popular vote gap, he may be able to bridge the electoral gap too.
Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: The white giant.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TARA WALL, "THE WASHINGTON POST": You need to make sure you're reaching out to the black votes and the Hispanic votes that support you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Didn't spot many minorities at the Republican Convention? You weren't alone. Joe Johns looks at why the Republican's big tent is shrinking. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: 26 minutes after the hour now. Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning."
Governor Sarah Palin was plucked from relative obscurity to be John McCain's running mate and as a devout Christian, McCain is hoping that she can energize the evangelical base. But as buzz about her faith increases, so does the scrutiny.
Tony Perkins is the president of the Family Research Council. He joins us now from New Hampshire.
Tony, it's good to see you. So, for a couple of decades, she was a member of the Pentecostal Assembly of God church in Wasilla. About six years ago, she changed to the Wasilla Bible Church. And she hasn't talked much about her faith. The campaign will only say she has deep religious convictions.
And I read an article in which one of her former pastors suggested that they may be playing down her faith because there may be some misunderstanding about her Pentecostalism. What do you think about all of this?
TONY PERKINS, PRESIDENT, FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL: Well, John, I think, you know, obviously, people, the polling data would suggest people want a leader or leaders that believe in God, pray and I think there's some sense that there's a greater accountability there. But I think the campaign, John, is at a very critical point and that I think John McCain made an incredible selection. He has turned around the campaign that I think was moving south. And there is enthusiasm, excitement and hope among social conservative voters. But, the next, I think the next few days, next couple of weeks are going to be very critical because, just as you pointed out, her faith has become an issue. It's being attacked, it's being used as a weapon against her. And people are watching. And it's going to be very important how the McCain campaign handles this.
If they become defensive and run from it and try to hide the fact that there is this element of faith, then I think it's going to turn off social conservatives, Evangelicals, orthodox Christians. But if they say hey, why should someone have to check their faith at the door and move toward the base, I think it's going to energize the, you know, socially conservative voters more. So it's very important in how they deal with this in the next few days.
ROBERTS: Tony, you said that people are attacking her because of her faith. Are they attacking her...
PERKINS: No.
ROBERTS: ... or are they asking legitimate questions? Such as, when she said at the Assembly of God church back in June, she visited there to give a lecture to people who were assembled. She talked about U.S. troops in Iraq and she put it this way. She said our national leaders are sending them out on a task that is from God. Even some Pentecostals say that could be taken to mean that the U.S. is in a holy war with the Muslim world.
PERKINS: Well, you know, I think there's some things that are said in the context of the church that we saw, you know, defended against what Pastor Wright said. People said, well, you know, that was conditioned in the environment in which he was in. I think some of what he said went overboard.
But, I mean, I think it's important that you see where these convictions lead her on policy issues and I think that is part of the scrutiny that she is going to undergo from socially conservative voters is --
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: Do you have any idea at this point of how her faith will inform how she governs?
PERKINS: No. Well, I mean, there's not a lot of evidence in Alaska other than, you know, she's conservative. I mean there's not -- and you can't point to a lot of policies that people could say, well, that's because she's a conservative evangelical. You don't really see a lot of that.
I think what people are looking for in the McCain campaign is he's made a great selection. He has their attention. He's built hope and enthusiasm.
Are they going to move away from this faith element? Are they going to move away from, you know, the base trying to keep her from being too aligned with him or are they going to run to their strength? That is going to be a critical decision that they make in the next several days.
ROBERTS: I know that this choice, Tony, has made you much more comfortable with John McCain as the leader on the Republican ticket. All right. Can we check back with you from time to time just to see how you're feeling about the whole thing between now and November 4th?
PERKINS: I'd be happy to talk with you, John.
ROBERTS: All right. Tony, it's always good to have you on. Thanks for joining us.
PERKINS: Thanks.
CHETRY: It's now 30 minutes past the hour. A check of our top stories.
Hurricane Ike roaring across Cuba leaving a path of devastation behind. The storm downgraded to a Category 1 but it is expected to strengthen in the Gulf, and could hit Texas just north of the Mexico border later this week.
Nearly seven years after September 11th, an independent study warns the United States is still, quote, "dangerously vulnerable to chemical, biological and nuclear attacks." This report from the Partnership for a Secure America says thousands of chemical plants remain unprotected and cites the lack of international cooperation in preventing terrorists from obtaining weapons of mass destruction.
The report also says worsening relations between the U.S. and Russia could complicate matters. And a national push to raise the minimum age for getting a driver's license. The National -- The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says that teens should be 17, even 18 years old instead of 16 before they can get a license to drive. The head of the research group which was funded by the auto insurance industry admits it will be tough sell but he says thousands of lives can be saved. Traffic accidents are the biggest cause of death among teens.
And turning to politics now. Hillary Clinton hitting the campaign trail for Barack Obama. But don't expect her to take on Sarah Palin directly. In an appearance in Florida, Monday, the New York senator barely mentioned Palin's name and made it clear that she won't attack her personally.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know what? I don't think that's what this election is about. This election is about the differences between us and the Republican Party. And, you know, anybody, anybody who believes that the Republicans, whoever they are can fix the mess they created probably believes that the iceberg could have saved the Titanic.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP) CHETRY: And a former Clinton campaign official says anyone hoping for a, quote, "political cat fight" shouldn't hold their breath because it's not going to happen.
John?
ROBERTS: After record gains four years ago the number of African-American delegates at this year's Republican convention hit an all time low. CNN's Joe Johns is looking behind the numbers to see if the GOP can stop the bleeding and attract voters of color.
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Kiran, at one point during the Bush administration, the Republican Party almost look as if it was starting to make a little progress on outreach to African- American voters. But now even black Republicans admit things are not looking so good.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHNS (voice-over): When you compare the racial diversity of the Republican and Democratic conventions this year, the differences were well, pretty stark. At the Democratic convention, out of 4400 delegates, 1,079 were black. That's 25 percent. At the Republican convention, out of 2,380 Republican delegates in St. Paul this year, 36 were black. That's right, 36 black delegates out of almost 2400. The fewest in 40 years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're back here with our old 90 percent going to Democrats regardless of the issues. And the issues are what really counts.
JOHNS: But in 2004, there were 167 black Republican delegates at a time when the party was able to point out high-profile African- American appointees like Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell under President Bush. So, what's up with this year's numbers? The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies which focuses on issues of particular concern to African-Americans points out what may be a structural problem with the GOP.
DAVID BOSITIS, SENIOR RESEARCH ASSOCIATE: So long as whites and conservatives have the core of the Republican Party, African-Americans are going to be very, very reluctant to have anything to do with the Republican Party.
JOHNS: African-Americans are still not a major coalition within the GOP, and some black conservatives say outreach to the African- Americans is a waste of time. If they are not giving Republicans the time of day.
TARA WALL, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: You need to make sure you're reaching out to the black folks and the Hispanic folks that support you first before going above and beyond folks that would never vote for you, and that have no interest whatsoever.
JOHNS: And to be clear the GOP has been able to win national elections without substantial gains in African-American voters over the years. George W. Bush beat John Kerry in 2004 with just 11 percent of the African-American vote.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JOHNS: Even some well known conservative black Republicans have said they are giving serious consideration to voting for Barack Obama. At least in part because of the historic nature of his campaign. And while John McCain has pledged to go after the African-American vote, it's pretty much a given that he's not expecting to win a majority of it.
John and Kiran, back to you.
ROBERTS: Looking to Libya.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This one tank has $60 million of oil.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Warming to the west. Zain Verjee looks at how U.S. companies are leading the charge to tap huge oil reserves. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUDY GIULIANI (R), FORMER NEW YORK MAYOR: Drill, baby, drill. Drill, baby, drill.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Rudy Giuliani getting the crowd going at the Republican Convention. And the topic of oil drilling is all the rage on the campaign trail and the hunt for relief from high energy prices have some in Washington looking to a nation once deemed a sponsor of terrorism.
CNN State Department correspondent Zain Verjee travelled with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Libya. That's why the secretary's visit could signal a new chapter in relations between the two countries.
Zain?
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: John, Kiran, I'm standing in an oil refinery in Libya. This one tank alone has $60 million worth of oil. A Republican rallying cry has been drill, baby, drill. Well, Libya has oil, baby, oil, and the United States wants a piece of this action.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VERJEE (voice-over): The Az Zawiyah refinery is one of the largest in oil rich Libya churning out 120,000 barrels of oil a day. (on camera): The crude oil flowing through these pipes is refined here. Libya has the largest reserves of oil in Africa, and U.S. oil companies are signing big deals to explore it. There is a huge amount of untapped resources in this country, it's also a lot cheaper to produce oil, operating costs are low and you don't have to drill too deep.
(voice-over): Libya's experiencing its biggest economic boom in history, thanks to high oil price and warmer ties with the west.
(on camera): Millions of dollars in foreign investment is flowing in. Libya is using that money to upgrade it's oil industry and export more oil for the world market.
(voice-over): Libya produces two million barrels of oil a day. U.S. companies operating here produce about 700,000 of those barrels.
(on camera): This refinery sits along the African coastline. Oil is being loaded on to that ship for export to Europe and The United States. Right now, Libya exports about five percent of its oil to the U.S. but that number is expected to skyrocket.
SHOKRI GHANEM, LIBYAN NATIONAL CHAIRMAN: Our plan is to increase our production from it's existing level of about two million barrel a day to three million barrel a day by the year 2012, 2013.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VERJEE: While Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was in Libya, she told us that better ties with Libya benefit U.S. oil needs and she said that there's nothing wrong with that, adding too that it benefits world oil markets.
John?
Kiran?
ROBERTS: The secret war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's astounding.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The inside story on how the surge changed the game in Iraq. Larry King talks to Bob Woodward about his explosive new book.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somewhat compare it to the "Manhattan Project" in World War II.
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ROBERTS: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning." (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: President Bush is set to announce today that he will bring home about 8,000 U.S. troops from Iraq by February. This would bring the number of troops stationed in Iraq closer to pre-surge levels.
Now last night, reporter Bob Woodward, who's out with a new book "The War Within," spoke to CNN's Larry King about the secret behind the success of the surge.
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Good morning, Kiran and John. Bob Woodward was my guest last night talking about his new book, "The War Within." Most compelling of all his remarks were those about a top secret technique that's giving the surge such impact.
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BOB WOODWARD, AUTHOR, "THE WAR WITHIN": This accounts for a good portion, there's a debate about what proportion, but a good portion of our success. And when you look at the data and you see what they can do in these operations, it's astounding. Somewhat compare to it the "Manhattan Project" in World War II, which led to the atomic bomb.
It was a big explosion. In this case, there's not going to be a big explosion. There's going to be a drop-off in violence and targeted killing of people who were the enemy leaders. And if you look at the chart, it's a ski slope right down in a matter of months, cutting the violence in half. This isn't going to happen with a bunch of joint security stations or the surge. These top secret operations, which, some day in history, will be described to people's amazement.
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KING: He said he can't say too much about it because, in his words, revealing more will get people killed. You can bet we'll be talking about the war within for a long time.
Kiran?
John?
CHETRY: Larry, thanks. You can catch "LARRY KING LIVE" every weeknight right here on CNN, 9:00 p.m. Eastern.
ROBERTS: Polls out this morning show the presidential race could not be any closer and both candidates are hitting the battleground states hard. Barack Obama campaigns in Ohio and Virginia today, and he told voters in Michigan on Monday that his opponents were "no team of mavericks."
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SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: John McCain says that he is going to tell all those lobbyists in Washington that their days of running Washington are over. Well, it sounds pretty good until you discover that seven of his top campaign managers and officials are, guess what? Former corporate lobbyists. So, who is it that he's going to tell? Is he going to tell his campaign chairman? Is he going to tell his campaign manager?
These are folks who have represented every major corporate interest, oil companies, foreign oil companies, foreign countries, banks, insurance companies, drug companies. Who is it that he's going to tell that he's going to change the system? He says, all right, so that doesn't seem very plausible.
When it came to the bridge to nowhere, she was for it until everybody started raising a fuss about it and she started running for governor and then suddenly she was against it. Do you remember that for before you're against it? I mean, you can't just make stuff up. You can't just recreate yourself. You can't just reinvent yourself. The American people aren't stupid.
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ROBERTS: Senator Barack Obama. Next hour, we'll hear from John McCain in his own words. 47 minutes now after the hour. You're watching "Most News in the Morning."
CHETRY: The comeback kid. He fought best from cancer, won the Tour de France seven times, even tried his hand at marathon. Is the cycling champ dusting off his bike? You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
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ROBERTS: Is Lance Armstrong making a comeback? An online cycling journal reports that the seven-time Tour de France champion is about to end his retirement and ride a series of races next year. Our Alina Cho is looking at his potential return and other star athletes who have tried it before.
This would be big news if it happens.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It would be very, very big news in the cycling world and the world in general.
John, good morning. Good morning, everybody.
Lance Armstrong has spent much of the past three years advocating cancer research, running marathons and, of course, dating a few high- profile women. A pretty good and a pretty busy life, many would say, which makes the news of his reported return to cycling all the more astonishing.
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CHO (voice-over): Lance Armstrong back on the bike? The cycling legend is reportedly returning to competitive racing and will ride in five races in California, France and Georgia. Armstrong overcame testicular cancer to win the Tour de France a record seven times before retiring in 2005. LANCE ARMSTRONG, PROFESSIONAL BICYCLIST: I decided that the Tour de France will be my last race as a professional cyclist. So, July 24th will be the last one after more or less 14 years.
CHO: Since then he's focused his efforts on the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which provides support for people affected by cancer. Armstrong turns 37 next week and has not commented on the report that he's coming back. If it's true, he wouldn't be the first high-profile athlete to quit, then change his mind.
Brett Favre retired this year from the Green Bay Packers, only to come back a few months later as quarterback of the New York Jets.
BRETT FAVRE, ATHLETE: This whole off season has been bizarre, whatever you want to call it. But, it is what it is. I'm a member of the Jets.
CHO: Roger Clemens is one of the kings of revolving door athletes. Since 2003, he stepped down twice, came back twice and then retired again last year amid a growing steroid scandal.
Michael Jordan left the NBA in 1993 to play baseball. But he came back two years later and won three more championships. Then he retired, came back, and retired yet again.
Mario Lemieux may have had the most inspirational come back. Making a triumphant return to the Pittsburgh Penguins after battling Hodgkin's Disease. But not every athlete has made a successful return.
Mark Spitz, who's record of seven gold medals at the 1972 Olympics held until Michael Phelps broke it this year, briefly came out of retirement in a failed attempt to make the 1992 U.S. Olympic team. And former Baltimore Orioles pitcher Jim Palmer fell short in his attempt to come back after he had already been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. So does Lance Armstrong still have what it takes? We may find out soon.
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CHO: And wouldn't that be exciting. Now, the cycling journal, "VeloNews" is also reporting that Armstrong will post all of his blood work online. That will help to dispel any rumors of doping which of course had dogged him in the past. The report also says Armstrong won't raise neither for salary nor bonus, and an indication perhaps of why "VeloNews" may have come out with the story right now.
"Vanity Fair," John, is reportedly working on an exclusive article about Armstrong which will come out in an upcoming issue. And as you well know, we in the media, always like to get the scoop. But this would be very big news as you pointed out. One expert said it would be the biggest news in cycling since Armstrong won his seventh Tour de France.
ROBERTS: You mean the win that may happen in a couple of weeks time. And if he got back together with the Astana Team or got together with the Astana Team -- he'd never been on it before -- that would reunite him with Johan Bruyneel...
CHO: His former --
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ROBERTS: ...who was the team manager from Discovery and U.S. Postal.
CHO: That's right.
ROBERTS: It would be great to see him.
CHO: It would be. It would be exciting.
ROBERTS: Alina, thanks so much.
CHO: You bet.
ROBERTS: 53-and-a-1/2 minutes now after the hour.
CHETRY: The edge on energy.
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OBAMA: What were the Republicans hollering drill, baby, drill. We can't drill our way out of the problem.
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CHETRY: Obama versus McCain.
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MCCAIN: We must stop sending $700 billion a year to countries that don't like us very much.
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CHETRY: Who has the plan to help you at the pump? And exploring Sarah Palin's faith. Randi Kaye one-on-one with the governor's former pastor.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think there maybe issues of belief that could be misunderstood.
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CHETRY: Teachings of a church where many parishioners speak in tongues, whether her beliefs have a place in politics.
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GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He is the only great man in this race, the only man who is ready to serve as our 44th president and I am so honored to get to introduce to you my running mate, my friend, Senator John McCain.
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CHETRY: Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." That's vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin introducing John McCain at a campaign stop. As our Dana Bash reports, Palin is giving McCain much more than just a good introduction.
Dana?
DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John and Kiran, a new CNN Opinion Research Poll shows in the weeks since McCain picked Palin, there has been an 11 percent spike in Republican enthusiasm about voting this year. But if you come out on the trail with McCain when Palin is there, you don't need a poll to tell you that.
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BASH: Thousands of Missouri voters wait in line to get in.
Would you come if it was just McCain, pre-Palin?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Possibly, but for sure with Palin.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Probably, I would have been here only if Palin was here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would have stayed home and watched it on TV on CNN.
BASH: Sarah Palin's ability to draw unprecedented McCain crowds is a key reason he scrapped plans for her to campaign solo, and aids scrambled to arrange this in suburban Kansas City, where McCain must win big to take the state.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm leaning a lot more since he picked Palin.
BASH: Why
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like her spirit and I like her no- nonsense attitude.
BASH: Inside McCain and Palin played up that attitude as proof they are a pair of performers, offering new examples from her little known record as Alaska governor.
PALIN: And then I put the state -- our government state checkbook, I put it online for all the world to see. You're going to see every penny that we spend up there.
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PALIN: Doing that, though, of course, it didn't thrill all the bureaucrats.
BASH: But McCain aids concede the only way their agents of change message to sell is to discredit Barack Obama's. So, they are now hitting Obama for engaging in a ritual that's become known as the ultimate in Washington excess, earmarks for projects back home.
PALIN: In just three years, our opponent has requested nearly $1 billion in earmarks. That's about --
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MCCAIN: Almost $1 million for every single day he was in the United States Senate.
BASH: That's their claim, here are the facts. Since Obama was elected in 2004, he has requested $850 million in earmarks according to a non-partisan watchdog group. But this election year, he requested none. And though Palin boasts this --
PALIN: We've reform the abuses of earmarks in our state.
BASH: Her running mate, McCain has no tolerance for any earmarks and Palin has requested plenty. Just this year, she asked Congress for $197 million of earmarks for Alaska. That is lower than past years but still the highest per capita of any state. But McCain advisers are hoping that the wave of enthusiasm for Palin's persona not her record will be what voters want to ride.
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BASH: McCain and Palin now plan to campaign together through mid-week. Now important is to tap into that post convention excitement but it also gives Palin a bit more time to study up on foreign policy and other issues before she goes solo -- John and Kiran.
