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Will Character be a Deciding Factor for Voters?; Dolly Parton Helps Children Read; Election Stress. Aired 8:30-9:00a ET

Aired November 02, 2016 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00] COREY LEWANDOWSKI, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: So at the end of the day, Mike Pence talked about this, Republicans are coming home. States like Arizona are going to be off the table. You know, it was a week ago, a week ago where they were saying, Hillary Clinton is going to win in Texas and Hillary Clinton is going to win in Georgia. You know what they're saying today? Hillary Clinton is going to Detroit, Michigan, on Friday because she is so desperate to keep that state that she has to go and campaign there with four days to go.

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, NATIONAL SPOKESPERSON, MOVEON.ORG: Alisyn.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Last word, Karine.

JEAN-PIERRE: Alisyn, a couple of things here. The fundamentals of this race has not changed. Hillary Clinton still has multiple paths to 270, while Donald Trump is still trying to cobble up one path to 270. And that is just the state of the race. Now, granted, the Democrats need to keep their foot on the gas and not leave anything on the table, which is why she's going to Michigan. And the last little -

CAMEROTA: Yes.

JEAN-PIERRE: The 72 hours post that letter from Comey -

CAMEROTA: Yes.

JEAN-PIERRE: The Hillary Clinton campaign raised $11.3 million.

CAMEROTA: Got it.

JEAN-PIERRE: So they're not leaving anything on the floor (ph).

CAMEROTA: Three important -

LEWANDOWSKI: (INAUDIBLE) down six points since -

CAMEROTA: Corey, no, you're not going to have the last word.

Election Day is almost here. And you can join us next Tuesday for "Election Day in America." We have every race and every result covered. You can stay with CNN until the last vote. There's a lot of people with a lot of feet on a lot of gas pedals right now, Corey.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, I'm not the one with the gas, but I'm saying Corey sounded like a FedEx guy there, how fast he's talking.

So, if political candidates are judged on their character, let's be honest, Trump and Clinton are not doing well. How can the final days of the campaign determine who comes out on top? The question becomes, what is the question that voters are going to ask when they enter that booth? And how will they answer it? Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:35:34] CUOMO: Trump has a very simple message, Clinton is crooked and Obamacare is terrible. On Clinton being crooked, it's all about the e-mails right now. Clinton is saying if this is a character contest, you have to pick me. And she is going after all the things that he has said and done.

So, if it comes down to character, if that question when people enter the voting booth is, which one of these people do I really see as president, who's going to win? CNN political commentator and author Carl Bernstein joins us now.

Please answer that definitively, Carl, so we can all go home.

CARL BERNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: First of all, I think the task for Hillary Clinton is to define herself beyond the server. And the server has, to a large extent, defined her in this campaign. Really, her task is to turn out as many women, blacks, Latinos, as she can and get a message across to those few voters who have not made up their minds yet that Donald Trump is indeed unfit to be president of the United States and remind voters of what his record as a human being, and a businessman, is, which is to say that he is a sociopath that we've seen it in this campaign. That he lies pathologically. That he has no program of substance for America that goes to the best of who we are as a people, and to demonstrate that her life has been dedicated to a kind of public service that is different than what we've seen in the e-mail controversy.

But her task is a very difficult one. She's got to keep this coalition together, as well as enthuse those who thus far have not been willing to come out and say, we must vote for Hillary Clinton. She's got to hold it all together and get some more people to the polls.

CAMEROTA: Well, look, I mean her task is also challenged by the fact that so many Republicans, and certainly Trump supporters, think that she has bad character. I mean we just saw - we just ran a whole piece of interviews of people who wait online for Trump rallies, and they have their whole laundry list of things that they think where she's fallen down on the character issue. Do you think that when people go into the polling booths character is what they're voting on next week?

BERNSTEIN: I think it's difficult to generalize. I think, though, that there is no question that she has been defined by the server. Her character has been defined for tens of millions of people in America by the server as - and setting it up and her comments about it, which have been less than truthful, that this has defined her in a way that goes back to a quarter century in public life of the Clintons in a way that is very, very hurtful. Remember, her favorable ratings when she came out of office as

secretary of state were sky-high. And they have now gone into the dumps. That the country is in a place where clearly it wants some kind of change. And, again, it's a vast generalization. But she is stuck with being the person who has been in public life for 25 years, has been a lightning rod for Republican hatred, Republican animus, on top of which the character issue is one that has dogged her and Bill Clinton for a quarter of a century. And, remember, we are looking at an election year in which most voters are disgusted with the choice and so it's a very -

CUOMO: Well, but that's right, Carl. So what is - what is someone getting wrong if they're saying, look, I've had it. It doesn't work in D.C. It's all about money. It's never about me. These people are all the same. It doesn't matter what they say. Forget it. I'm trying something different. I'm going with Trump. How much worse can it be? What are they getting wrong?

BERNSTEIN: There are a lot of people who feel that. The thing that I would say they're getting wrong is to look at the record of Donald Trump as a citizen and a businessman, and look at it against the record of the Clintons. No matter what their politics, Donald Trump's record as a citizen and a businessman is one of a scam artist, a con man, a bigot, somebody who sows hatred among racial and religious groups. It is not what America is about in the sense that we think of ourselves in our traditions in this country. It is a real break. And if that is - and that's a big part of his vote, unfortunately. This - this election is not just about Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

[08:40:23] CAMEROTA: Yes.

BERNSTEIN: This election is about the people of America and where they are in their lives and their beliefs.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

BERNSTEIN: And that is why Hillary Clinton is in trouble as well.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

BERNSTEIN: And why Donald Trump has done as well as he has. He has appealed to a set of conditions -

CAMEROTA: Right.

BERNSTEIN: And frustrations that has put him where he is and put the country in a place -

CAMEROTA: Yes.

BERNSTEIN: In a dangerous place where it has never been before on the eve of an election with this kind of demagogue -

CAMEROTA: Yes.

BERNSTEIN: Running for president as the nominee of a party. CAMEROTA: Carl, thank you for your perspective. Great to have you on

NEW DAY.

All right, we do have some breaking news that we want to get to right now. We have an update on one of our top stories.

Police in Iowa have identified a suspect they say in the ambush of those two police officers in the Des Moines area who were shot and killed this morning. There was a massive manhunt underway for this - there is, I should say, still a massive manhunt for Scott Michael Greene. Police say he is armed and dangerous. Be very careful if you know anything about him. The officers were ambushed separately in their cruisers, early hours this morning. The shootings happened about 20 minutes apart from each other and within blocks of each other.

If you have seen this man on your screen, Scott Michael Greene, if you have any information about him, call your local 911 and they will put you in touch with the right authorities.

CUOMO: All right, we're going to stay on that throughout the morning. And, remember, the authorities are saying, if you see him, contact them. Do not approach yourself.

We're also covering the election this morning. There are new developments. Let's say one thing that everybody has in common who's watching this show right now, stressed out. How can you make it six more days? And then what happens when this is over? Is there going to be some kind of PTSD? We'll discuss, next.

First, this morning, Dolly Parton. We all know her and love her, right? Famous country singer. But did you know she's also helping children around the world to learn how to read?

CAMEROTA: How can she get any better?

CUOMO: Oh, this is how. This week's "Impact Your World." Take a watch.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DOLLY PARTON, ENTERTAINER (singing): Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene.

CUOMO (voice-over): Dolly Parton is one of the most award winning female country singers of all time with a chart topping career spanning six decades. Music isn't her only passion. She's also a big advocate for literacy.

PARTON: If you can't afford to go to school, if you can read, you can educate yourself. There's a book about anything out there.

CUOMO: In 1995, Parton started the Imagination Library in honor of her father.

PARTON: My own father didn't get a chance to go to school. He couldn't read and write. It really bothered him a lot.

CUOMO: According to a U.S. Department of Education survey, 32 million adults can't read. Parton's Imagination Library strives to lower that number by providing new, free books every month to preschool age children.

PARTON: My dad was so proud when the kids would get the books. He just was prouder of that than probably my great success in show business.

CUOMO: The charity has given out over 82 million books in the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia.

PARTON: What could be better than reading?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:47:48] CAMEROTA: Both candidates, of course, trying to carve that path to 270. That has both candidates and their surrogates hitting the trail targeting, of course, the swing states. Donald Trump is in Florida today, while his vice presidential candidate is trying to turn some red states blue, or actually the other way around, right?

CUOMO: Yes.

CAMEROTA: Yes. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton and her high profile friends are crisscrossing the U.S. to get important votes in swing states as well.

Let's get to "The Bottom Line," shall we - it can't come soon enough - with CNN political analyst David Gregory.

Good morning, David.

DAVID GREGORY, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning.

CAMEROTA: What is your bottom line today?

GREGORY: Well, I think what's so important for Hillary Clinton, and you look at that surrogate map, it is her coalition of voters. It's younger people. It's African-Americans. The Hispanic vote, which may be particularly ascendant this year in states like Arizona and other states as well that are so important.

And fighting whatever enthusiasm gap may exist right now. And that gap may be the difference between her core supporters coming out and Republicans who might be coming home, not so much for Trump, but maybe in some of these swing states where you have competitive Senate races. Take Ohio, Rob Portman winning big, are those voters who are coming out to vote for him, might they also vote for Trump? So that enthusiasm, I think, is really important right now for her.

CUOMO: So, I had a Clinton person trying to sell me on the proposition that Comey coming out with essentially a nonevent helps them because they're spinning it as, you see, you see the resistance? You see how crazy it is if you don't have the right person in there? Is that just wishful thinking? GREGORY: It's in part wishful thinking. I also think there's some

precedent for that. What have Clinton's enemies done over the years? Not just of her, but of former President Bill Clinton? They've often overreached. And there has been a counter reaction among their supporters.

I do think that there's some hope for that. I mean, look, if you see an enthusiasm gap, there's a lot of concern that African-American may not show up in the same numbers in certain states like a North Carolina that they did for President Obama. Could something like this where she seen embattled actually help get people out and see this as really essential as the race looks like it's tightening as we get to a week out? I think there's the potential for that.

But the other reality, Chris, as you know, she's not able to go on offense as much. She's trying to do it. She's trying to really make this about his qualification and fitness for the presidency, to make it about him. Right now it's about her, it's about her server, it's about the potential for corruption.

[08:50:10] CAMEROTA: It certainly looks like the race is tightening. If you look at the ABC/"Washington Post" daily tracking poll. So we'll put that up. And that - they're both at 46 percent, 46-46. It couldn't be any tighter. But then you need to look, of course, at the CNN poll of polls which crunches all of the top five polls so that you don't get any one particular outlier, and there Clinton still has a five point lead, 47 percent to 42 percent, David.

GREGORY: Yes, and I think the electoral map shows how still difficult this is for Donald Trump. Our friend Ron Brownstein was on the program earlier talking about the blue wall, the phrase that he coined to describe that Democratic advantage. It still gives her an opportunity to kind of hold on to key states like that and to tack on Colorado and Nevada, et cetera, so she can lose some of these big battlegrounds we're talking about and still get to 270. He's having to campaign, as are his primary surrogate in Mike Pence, going to states like a Michigan, like a Wisconsin, where there's scant evidence that he's really got an opportunity to turn the state blue there, but it's competitive enough to give it a try. And I still think that gives her the advantage.

CUOMO: Hey, quickly, David, what is the realistic ability to change anything between now and Election Day?

GREGORY: I really think it's about who shows up, Chris. And so if you're the Clinton campaign, you've got all these surrogates, you can touch all of the demographic buttons on the electoral map, you've got to see that as an advantage for her. But again, Republicans seem to be coming home. You have the Republican committee out there, the party out there, for these swing state Senate races that bring a lot of those Republican voters home. But, you know, there's so much that's happening now that we can't see. It's about who's showing up.

CAMEROTA: David, thank you. Great to talk to you.

GREGORY: Thank you. Thank you. CUOMO: All right, so, how do you feel? How is this race making you feel? The American Psychological Association says there are a lot of people who are feeling very stressed out. Fifty-two percent of U.S. adults say the presidential race is a very or somewhat significant source of stress in their life.

CAMEROTA: You think?

CUOMO: Let's discuss -

CAMEROTA: I mean so many people say it. It's everywhere.

We want to bring in psychotherapist Sue Elias.

Sue, how often are you hearing this from your patients?

SUE ELIAS: Daily.

CAMEROTA: And what do they say?

ELIAS: It ranges from, what can we do, what can - how are you feeling? How are you managing? From, I have to put relationships on hold. I can't even talk to anyone who doesn't agree with me. This is too inflammatory.

CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh.

CUOMO: And that's just from you.

ELIAS: It's so flooding (ph).

CUOMO: That's just from Alisyn, who we should probably disclose is one of your patients.

Let me ask you -

CAMEROTA: That's hilarious.

CUOMO: Is it - is it our fault? Why are they so stressed out? How much of it is us?

ELIAS: Well, I do think there's a flood of information that is available. And for people who are interested, they are getting lost in it. And I think some of the social media, obviously, can start on one area and all of a sudden you find a lot of time has passed and it's very inflammatory. There's a lot of anger. There's a lot of strong feelings. And I think that gets internalized. And it can add to feeling more stressed by the time you're finished, rather than just feeling more informed.

CAMEROTA: It is information overload. I mean even though we're in the information business, absolutely. There are polls that suggest that if you are often on social media your anxiety spikes. Here's the poll. Social media and election stress in the U.S. somewhat or significant source of stress, the adults who use social media, yes, here we go, 54 percent feel stressed. Adults who are not using social media, 45 percent. So exactly the invers.

CUOMO: One more reason to watch TV.

CAMEROTA: Yes, there you go. I like that.

But, Sue, what - what I was interested in is that some of your patients, not only are they coming in with sort of anxiety and emotional response to this, sometimes physical response to this. What are those symptoms?

ELIAS: Certainly I think depending on people's own personal history that the sense of misogyny, bullying, narcissism, that the amount of dysfunction that has been on this election, that it has been very triggering for post-traumatic stress, that it's brought up memory states that have been repressed over the years.

CAMEROTA: Well, hold on a second, meaning that women in particular who, when there's a lot of talk about sexual assault or sexual harassment, they're coming in to you with old memories?

ELIAS: Absolutely. From things that, again, have gone buried for a while and they've been reactivated. Thinking especially about the fact that they - should have they said something. Would they have been told they were liars. That this is very powerful. It's brought up certainly dream states about whether they are being followed, or -

[08:55:03] CUOMO: Wow.

ELIAS: Or are they safe. So, absolutely.

CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh.

CUOMO: That's terrible. I mean what I see more in the specific anecdotally, and I wonder how you see it, is with the kids. Kids echo what they hear from their parents, right, or whatever they pick up on social media. A lot of them, once they get to be like 11, 12, if they're not monitored, who knows what they're seeing. And there's this anger, this extremism that comes through these kids where it's not just, I like Bush, I like Clinton, you know, or here, I like Trump, I like Clinton. It's, they hate. They hate. They use the word, I hate Trump. I hate Clinton. What do you do with that?

ELIAS: That's the flood of the intensity. Again, the language, the inflammatory nature that is certainly being modeled throughout this election. Of course it comes down to kids, and maybe in some ways that's a wake-up call they it helps us to acknowledge how pathological this is. And, certainly, I think that's something that is a good conversation to have.

CAMEROTA: And, Sue Elias, we know that you also recommend people take a deep breath, people do some relaxation exercises, people meditate. We will get through this.

ELIAS: True. But I also think that people deal with their anxiety in different ways. And for many that's very good advice. But I think there's also, for some people, information is very helpful and I do suggest that they also get out and talk to people. Not just isolate. Not spend hours alone doing this.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

ELIAS: Or, get involved in, you know, go out and help the voter or do something.

CAMEROTA: Sure, volunteer work.

ELIAS: Get active.

CAMEROTA: That's great. Sue, thanks so much for all of the tips.

CUOMO: Or take it and squeeze it all into a ball and put it deep down inside and then when it comes out it should be in just one rageful burst.

CAMEROTA: No (ph).

CUOMO: All right, so thank you very much, doc.

All right, let's turn to the anxiety that has now become laugh or cry. Jimmy Kimmel terrorizing kids across America again with his late night holiday tradition. Parents tell their kids, you know all that candy you got for Halloween? Oh, it's all gone I ate it. And we watch the reaction. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY KIMMEL, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE": Here it is. Sixth annual, hey, Jimmy Kimmel, I told my kids I ate all their Halloween candy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We ate all of your candy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (crying)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, step up. Look at - look at it again. All gone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (crying)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I ate all your Halloween candy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're just joking.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nope, I ate it all.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ahh!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We ate all the Halloween candy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (crying)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're sorry. We're really sorry. It wasn't -

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't like you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You don't like us anymore? Well that's - UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I ate all your Halloween candy last night.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's Jimmy Kimmel. It's Jimmy Kimmel.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not Jimmy Kimmel. (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're hiding the candy. I've seen this before. I watch YouTube.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The next time we go trick-or-treating, you don't do that, OK, or I'll have to put your butt and put you in your room.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We ate all of your Halloween candy. It's all gone. We're really sorry. Are you mad at us?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nope. How about tomorrow I'll bring my bag and we'll get some more candy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you forgive us?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yep.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was really yummy candy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I bet it was really yummy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We ate all your Halloween candy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, Jane.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You remember when we went trick-or-treating last night?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was fun, right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You remember all the candy we got?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, daddy ate all of it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You didn't.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, he did.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CAMEROTA: That was Jimmy Kimmel's own daughter Jane, but we didn't see the outburst.

CUOMO: I know.

CAMEROTA: What happens next?

CUOMO: It's on us. That's terrible.

How do you feel about that? Do you believe that it's mean to do this?

CAMEROTA: Yes! I think it's cruel. What about the one girl who was trying to process it and she was like, oh, look out the window now. I can handle it. I'm looking out the window.

CUOMO: She had some good inherent character. I think it is a very good teachable moment of life's very important lessons.

CAMEROTA: It's cruel.

CUOMO: Life is pain.

CAMEROTA: It squashes you like a bug, Chris Cuomo.

CUOMO: Anybody who tells you differently is selling you something.

CAMEROTA: That's his motto.

CUOMO: "Princess Bride."

You know who told me that? Carol Costello.

CAMEROTA: She did. I don't believe you.

CUOMO: Yes, she did.

CAMEROTA: Carol is the eternal optimist and it is time now -

CUOMO: When I came here she said -

[09:00:00] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: What?

CAMEROTA: No.

CUOMO: She said, nice to meet you, Andrew. I said, I'm Chris. She said, whatever, life is pain.

CAMEROTA: I don't believe you.

CUOMO: Welcome to CNN.

CAMEROTA: I don't believe him, Carol Costello.

CUOMO: That's what she said.

COSTELLO: No, I did say that to him, Alisyn. I did. CUOMO: She did. See.

COSTELLO: I admit it. We're freienamies (ph).

CAMEROTA: He deserves it.

COSTELLO: Yes.