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CNN Sunday Morning

Obama-Biden Debut; Possible Republican VP Picks; Tropical Storm Fay Winding Down; Youth Politics; Beijing Olympics Close, London Prepares; Georgian Train Blast; Flood Zone Aid in Vietnam

Aired August 24, 2008 - 09:00   ET

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

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: From CNN Center in Atlanta, hello everybody, on this Sunday morning, I'm Betty Nguyen.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: And hey there, I'm T.J. Holmes, Sunday August 24, it is.

NGUYEN: All right, so Barack Obama, Joe Biden. Dare we call this Democratic ticket "Obiden" or I think somebody said "Joebama." There's a bunch of names floating around out there.

HOLMES: I thought about that. It didn't sound appropriate, though.

NGUYEN: No, not at all. But the introductions, they are hardly over and the gloves, well, they are off in this presidential campaign.

HOLMES: Also, can you believe it's over? They're passing the torch already. Beijing saying good-bye while London says come on to the Olympics. We're live from both cities this morning.

NGUYEN: Up first, Democrats get ready to kick-off their convention in Denver after a debut of what they hope is the winning ticket. Obama- Biden '08. And soon the focus turns to John McCain and his vice presidential pick. CNN's Jim Acosta is in Wisconsin where Obama will be campaigning today and our Dana Bash is in Denver, the site of the Democratic National Convention.

So Jim, let's start with you, there today. What are you expecting to hear?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we are expecting to see and hear is Barack Obama here in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. This is one of the blue states Obama needs to stay in the Democratic column and he will be spending some time here at the Rod and Gun Club here in Eau Claire. It's not one of those stops you would expect to see Barack Obama making on the campaign trail, but he'll be talking to field and stream Democrats, hunters and fishermen here in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

And as for Joe Biden, his new running mate, he has gone back to Delaware. He has some work to do to get ready for the upcoming Democratic National Convention starting tomorrow in Denver. But, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, there they were yesterday in Springfield, Illinois looking very much and sounding very much like running mates and trying to answer the questions and concerns for many Democrats as to whether or not this ticket can go on attack and take the fight to the Republicans. Barack Obama and Joe Biden, yesterday, showing that they can do just that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have seen this man work. I have sat with him as he chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and been by his side on the campaign trail. And I can tell you that Joe Biden gets it. He's that unique public servant who is at home in a bar in Cedar Rapids and the corridors of the Capitol, in the VFW hall in Concord, and at the center of an international crisis.

JOE BIDEN (D), VP CANDIDATE: Barack has a vision and what you can't forget, you know his vision. But let me tell you something, he also has the courage, the courage to make this a better place. And let me tell you something else, this man is a clear-eyed pragmatist who will get the job done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Now, as for Joe Biden, yesterday, a lot of Democrats were wondering can the senator from Delaware become the attack dog for Barack Obama. He did just that yesterday, accusing John McCain of engaging in swiftboat-style attacks on Obama. That is exactly music to the ears of many Democrats. They were hoping to see Joe Biden get turned off his leash yesterday and go after John McCain's pant leg like a Rottweiler and he did just that, talking about the seven homes -- seven kitchen tables that John McCain would need to sit at to go over his own personal budget.

But, there's a new poll out that the "USA Today" an Gallop folks did on this Democratic ticket and asking Democrats out there whether or not they like Joe Biden as a running mate. Some 65 percent of Democrats surveyed are either excited or very happy about this pick. So, that is good news if that poll is indicative of how all Democrats feel, that's good news of Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

And as we mentioned, Joe Biden not here in Wisconsin, today, he has gone back to Delaware to prepare for the convention. But, Obama at the gun -- at this Rod and Gun park here in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. He was just in Virginia a couple days ago, probably got a few pointers on how to appeal to gun owners and Obama will be trying to do just that here in Wisconsin.

NGUYEN: Yeah, and Biden will speaking at the convention on Wednesday. So, a lot a head this week. Jim, we do thank you.

ACOSTA: You bet.

HOLMES: All right, we'll turn to Denver, now. The site of the Democratic National Convention, it's opened up tomorrow. CNN's Dana Bash, there early for us, as always, getting a jump on things.

So, are things in place? Are they ready to rock 'n' roll out there?

DANA BASH, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: They are starting to rock 'n' roll here for sure. And you know, just going off of what Jim was just talking about, obviously the big news yesterday, with Barack Obama picking Joe Biden, the reaction here among the delegates beginning to come here to Denver, certainly is overwhelmingly positive about the ticket that they have to push forward for November. But, you know, they also know they have a lot of work to do, T.J., to get Barack Obama in a much more comfortable position.

And the official convention starts tomorrow, but one thing we're going to see today is something that shows that Democrats perhaps have learned some of the lessons from some of the defeats that they have had over the past several election cycles. And that is the fact they are going to have an interface ceremony, interface actions here to kick-off, so the unofficial kick-off for the convention and that is basically to people around the country that Democrats do have a strong belief in their faith, basically, across the board. That is very much to reach out to different kinds of Democrats and maybe even Independents even as they're gathering for the Democratic convention, T.J.

HOLMES: And of course, this is the big week for Barack Obama, big week for Joe Biden, big week for the Democrats out there in Denver, but McCain is not exactly going to be quiet, we anticipate, this week. Already, past two days, we have seen two campaign ads come out -- attack ads I guess you could call them -- from McCain. Let's take a listen to one of them and then I'll ask you about it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: She won millions of votes, but isn't on his ticket. Why? For speaking the truth on his plans.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You never hear the specific.

ANNOUNCER: On the Resco scandal.

CLINTON: We still don't have a lot of answers about Senator Obama.

CLINTON: On his attacks.

ANNOUNCER: Senator Obama's campaign has become increasingly negative.

CLINTON: The truth hurt and Obama didn't like it.

JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm John McCain and I approve this message.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Well, you know, the past two days, the only thing we have heard in those ads from McCain is: I'm John McCain and I have approved this message. He is using the words of Joe Biden and now using the words of Hillary Clinton against Obama. Now, this is a sensitive topic for a lot of those Hillary supporters to hear this. Is he trying to tap into that tension?

BASH: That's exactly what he's trying to do. Not tap into it, but really drive a wedge into it, exploit the tension that is very real that is going to be an underlying theme throughout this convention, the tension that still does linger among supporters of Hillary Clinton, many of whom are going to be here and supporters of Barack Obama, but specifically, what John McCain is trying to do is make the point that Hillary Clinton supporters, many of them, are upset that perhaps Barack Obama didn't show her the kind of respect that she wanted and John McCain, frankly, wants Hillary Clinton and needs Hillary Clinton supporters. So, that's what the ad is all about, trying to tap into the tension that's already here.

HOLMES: Well, we will see if it works. I believe someone said 40 percent of the people attending that convention voted for Hillary Clinton, anyway. So, (INAUDIBLE), it'll be a big party with maybe some tense moments, as well, but our Dana Bash, joining us this morning. again, and it is now bright and early, finally, it was dark and early when we talked to you earlier.

BASH: Sun is up, finally.

HOLMES: Finally. All right. Good to see you, Dana, thank you so much.

BASH: Thank you.

NGUYEN: But as you mentioned, though, it will be interesting to see if unity does prevail at that convention.

You know, just a few days from now, the dynamics of the presidential election will change dramatically, because on Friday, John McCain reveals his pick for vice president.

HOLMES: Yes, we don't know how much advice McCain is getting from ordinary voters, but we've got, you know, some opinions we could pass along to him, if he's watching. Our Josh Levs here to tell us what folks out there are saying.

Good morning to you, Sir.

JOSH LEVS, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you. Yeah, you know, we hear plenty from pundits and analysts and that's just great, helps break down the race, but obviously, in the end, it's about the voters.

Last hour I talked to you about who some of the top contenders are for John McCain's VP slot. Now I'm going to tell you what some voters are saying through our i-Report system. Let's go to this first one, right now. We have it here. This is someone who thinks it should be Mitt Romney:

"I think Mitt Romney would be a great VP. McCain doesn't' really have a strong economic side to him and Romney is outstanding when it comes to economics. It makes sense." That's from Chris in California.

Next, someone wants Tim Pawlenty get the slot: "Let's face it. John McCain is about as exciting as Bob Dole. He is a great guy and a true hero, but old and not very charismatic. He also has soe issues with his conservative base. McCain needs a young, conservative Washington outsider, and preferably governor of a battleground state. The answer is Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty."

Now, this is an interesting one, someone pushing for John Boehner to get that slot. He says, "My selection is John Boehner of Ohio. Name recognition is key, good looks helps, and no one is even considering him. Is this the surprise on the way?" From Abrahem Hamadeh, Scottsdale, Arizona.

Finally, someone who wants to see Huckabee get it: "Mike Huckabee has already shown us he can win southern states. These states are needed to win. Mike is a man of integrity and honor. Also, McCain and Huckabee have a mutual respect." That's from Eileen Simes in Exeter, New Hampshire.

Now, if you want to know who the top contenders are, the pros and cons on the different sides, just go to CNN politic politics.com. Let's close in really quickly, you can learn more about some of the candidates right here. This is Tim Pawlenty, who you were just hearing about, but also some of the less likely candidates, Bobby Jindal, who keeps saying it's not going to be him, but he is still possible. Also, let's see, we just saw Tom Ridge a little bit earlier and I'll show you one more, John Thune, his name gets floated some times, senator from South Dakota. We obviously don't know who it is and that's where all the speculation goes to, right now. And we are hoping to get that big announcement Friday, which means, guys, probably it'll be another big weekend for us on Saturday.

NGUYEN: Not a doubt.

HOLMES: People think good looking is something you should consider when picking a vice president.

NGUYEN: They also be the tall, if they have nice hair. I mean, all these other things that really don't weigh into the decision making, but yet they are a factor.

LEVS: Everyone talks about that, you got it.

NGUYEN: Interesting. All right, thank you, Josh.

LEVS: Thank you.

NGUYEN: You know, at the top of the hour, CNNs Wolf Blitzer is coming and LATE EDITION, live, they are coming to you from Denver. Wolf talks to key Democratic leaders at the DNC. That's coming up at a special time, 10:00 a.m. Eastern.

HOLMES: Well, Fay has made herself comfortable here in the U.S. The storm just will not go away.

NGUYEN: Downgraded, but still dangerous. We're going to check in on the latest flooding and find out from Reynolds Wolf where Fay is headed now.

HOLMES: We also have a marijuana bust to tell you about. Not just any marijuana bust, here. As our Reynolds Wolf said earlier, and we will explain why there were record sales at the food court at one mall.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, Tropical Storm Fay, finally weakens to a depression, but leave as growing death toll behind. The storm is now blamed for 12 deaths in Florida and Georgia. Fay's torrential rains unleashed flashflooding across much of Florida and rising floodwaters filled thousands of homes.

In Tallahassee, emergency crews, they were out in full force rescuing people from the flooded homes. And a little but later this morning, Florida governor, Charlie Crist will hold a news briefing. It's hard really to believe, Reynolds that we have been talking about this storm for so long. Finally, it's a tropical depression, but could it still, you know, grow into something more?

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, I don't think so. I think it's gone in stages, but one of the big problems whit this, Betty, often is the possibility of seeing some tornadoes with the dying system. But, there's always the issue of some flashflooding. But in terms of becoming another big tropic system, I think it's pretty much done for.

NGUYEN: But, we've heard that before, though.

WOLF: We have heard that before, but this one, I really think it's done now. But still, the big threat we're going to be dealing with is the potential of some tornadoes also, there's going to be the possibility of getting some flashflooding.

Now what I'm going to is I'm going to step off the screen for just a little bit. We've got some new information that just came now. I want you to keep your eye on the screen, I'm going to zoom in one spot. We have a tornado warning that just popped up seconds ago, it always seems to happen. This is live television, of course, so these things do happen.

You'll notice just north of Montgomery, we see on individual cell that's beginning to pop up, this cell that we have here is actually near southeastern Coosa County, east central Alabama, near the community of Equality. Now, just to give you an idea, this -- there's been no visual confirmation of a tornado with this particular cell, but what we have is a little of rotation that radar has picked up, so you have what is called a TVS, which is -- indicates that rotation, meaning that a tornado is possible.

As we zoom away a little bit, you'll notice that you've got these long bands that continue to come out, spinning around that center of circulation that is right now over parts of south Alabama and Mississippi. So, there's a potential we could see more of these.

Now, when you have tornadoes associated with systems like this, they tend to be very weak and don't last long that, but still, they tend to be also rain wrapped, so you don't have a whole lot of warning with them. Rain, as I mentioned, is going to be the big threat of all, where we have flashflood watches and warnings in effect throughout much of the southeast, this time. The rain really can stack up in places like Hattiesburg, maybe New Orleans, but I think most of it's going to be into Mississippi and Alabama as we go through the rest of the weekend and into the rest of the week.

Now numbers, Tallahassee pretty impressive, over nine inches of rainfall. This happened mostly during the overnight hours. If you go through parts of Valdosta, Georgia, nearly eight inches of rainfall. In Troy, Alabama, and back over to Beaufort, South Carolina, even in Meridian, Mississippi, we see anywhere from say, an inch-and-a-half to about five, nearly six inches of rain. That is really going to really begin to mount up as we make our way through the afternoon hours. That is the latest on your forecast, let's send it back to you at the news desk.

NGUYEN: But, you know, really quickly, the strength of the storm is just incredible, because even here in Atlanta, the winds are gusting and I assume it's the remnants are at least part of what's left of Fay.

WOLF: Absolutely, well, I mean, you got remember, this was a storm that was hundreds of miles wide. You also have high pressure that's building up in parts of eastern seaboard, so it wasn't springing in, at the same time, is that not only the cloudy skies, but a lot of the wind, as you mentioned. One great positive thing, just to the southeast, anytime that you happen to have a day in August, where temperatures are barely in the 80s, you have to be a happy camper. And trust me, for the rest of America, you have people in parts of north Georgia into Alabama that are smiling at this time that are ecstatic with the conditions. But still, a lot of people in Florida cleaning up a huge mess the storm left behind and our hearts go out to them, no question about it.

NGUYEN: Absolutely. OK, thank you, Reynolds.

WOLF: Anytime.

HOLMES: All right, in a mall, you got, what? Macy's, you got the Gap, you got Nordstrom? In one mall in Miami there was a store by the name of Buds 'R' Us. This was at a Miami shopping mall, these folks were growing marijuana in the mall. They set up a sophisticated lab inside a 400 foot storage area. Authorities actually estimating this was stuff was worth in the millions. This was at a mall, folks. Agents won't say how they found out about the growing business, but they say...

NGUYEN: Well, look at all of that. How could you not see it?

HOLMES: How could you not smell it?

NGUYEN: You think those are just plants for sale? Hey, look mom what I picked up at the mall.

HOLMES: Well, mall officials are actually cooperating with this investigation. I would hope so. So far, nobody has been arrested?

NGUYEN: I don't understand this story at all. How did you not know it was there and how is no one arrested? Obviously we have video, plenty of marijuana plants.

HOLMES: We got to follow up on that one.

NGUYEN: It's going to be a good one.

HOLMES: All right, well the summer games are wrapping up today already.

NGUYEN: You know, it is good-bye Beijing and hello London. We're going to take you live to both cities in just a few minutes.

But fist, it's not an Olympic sport just yet, but barefoot water skiing is on the agenda for somebody. Our Larry Smith takes us "To the Top" of an extreme sport to meet a man who actually walks on water.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY SMITH, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It's fast, it's furious and it's all about putting your best foot forward or backwards, at speed in excess of 45-miles-an-hour. Thirty-year-old Keith St. Onge is considered the best barefoot waterskier in the world. He's the current world champion and holder of two world records, a goal he set as a 9-year-old growing up in New Hampshire.

KEITH ST ONGE, BAREFOOT WATERSKIER: I was starting to be successful at a young age and I wanted to move to Florida. I wanted to run a barefoot waterski school and ski professionally.

SMITH: And now, he's turned that supreme sport into a living and become a legend on the lake.

ST ONGE: I've always loved the water, I've always been around the water. This is my office and I can't beat it, really.

SMITH: St. Onge runs his won barefoot waterski school in Winter Haven, Florida and travels the world coaching and training.

ST ONGE: It's been great. It's been a dream come true.

SMITH: He's won nine national championships in 12 years and he's preparing to defend his title at the world championships in New Zealand in January.

ST ONGE: And the way I stay motivated is just thinking about my competitors. How hard are they training? How hard do they ski? How bad do they want it? Because I know I want it just as bad, if not more.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: That is Chris Daughtry performing the '80s classic, "Feels Like the First Time" that's in a special music video for the League of First Time Voters. That song reports a constant on any playlist of mine. You can join in on the league and vote yourself, you can just lot into to our Web site at CNN.com.league.

NGUYEN: Speaking of League of First Time Voters, let's talk about that for a minute, because the Obama-Biden ticket, what do young voters think about it? Well, Heather Smith is with Rock the Vote, the movement that encourages young people to get interested in politics and she joins us now, live from Denver.

Good morning to you.

HEATHER SMITH, ROCK THE VOTE: Good morning.

NGUYEN: All right, so when it comes to young people, what are the issues that really matter to them?

SMITH: Well, young people right now care about the thing that is affect their lives and their futures. They are concerned about everything from the economy, the war in Iraq, healthcare to the environment. And it is those issues that are mobilizing them right now to get engaged in this election.

NGUYEN: But, do they feel like they're getting answers from the candidates?

SMITH: You know, I'm not -- we're not hearing really clear answers. What we're hearing is the candidates actually addressing young people for the first time. But I think, as we get closer and closer to election day, we're going to see young people continue to demand answers, demand change, demand action on these issues in a way that's relevant to them as young people.

NGUYEN: Yeah, they are speaking directly to young people. I mean, just take a look at the Obama campaign. Yesterday, a text message about Joe Biden came out around 3:00 a.m. in the morning, a lot of those college kids were probably still up, coming back from partying. But, this is a sign that they are getting hip to the ways of young people and they're trying to speak to them directly, isn't it?

SMITH: Yeah, it absolutely is. I mean, for the past couple of cycles, young people have increased their participation and what we saw in the early primaries was that young people turned out at two, three, four times the rate of even four years ago. There are so many of them, they are registering in such massive numbers. I mean, with Rock the Vote we've registered over 1.2 million people and last week was our biggest week so far, this season. So, they are registered, they're engaged.

NGUYEN: Let me ask you this, in the past, Heather, you registered a lot of folks, especially when it comes to young people, but sometimes it doesn't translate at the polls. Yet, in the primaries and the caucuses, we see a large number of young people heading out to those polls and making their vote count. What's different this time around?

SMITH: Well, this time around, I believe there's enough of them. It's almost like we've hit a tipping point where as a generation, we're starting to believe we're large enough in number, our voice is being heard, the candidates are responding, they are using text messages, they're using on-line message, they're coming to our campuses. And it's really giving us hope that we can make change. And so, as a generation, we're joining together and honestly there are enough of us to decide who wins this November.

NGUYEN: All right, Heather Smith with Rock the Vote joining us live from Denver. It's going to be a big week. We thank you for your time today.

SMITH: It is. Thank you so much.

NGUYEN: Sure.

OK so, wonder how conventions actually work? Well, how about how much they cost and who's paying for that bill. Check our special on-line report about the Democrats and Republicans at CNN.com/convention.

HOLMES: Well, it was a dream for many Democrats, an Obama-Clinton ticket. Biden is the name now. Right?

NGUYEN: Not happening.

HOLMES: OK, yeah. The dream is now officially dead.

NGUYEN: Oh yeah, so what do Hillary Clinton supporters think about that and what will it mean for the election and the convention? Stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, welcome back everybody to CNN SUNDAY MORNING, I'm T.J. Holmes.

NGUYEN: Yes, hello everybody, I'm Betty Nguyen.

You know, Tropical Storm Fay has finally, finally weakened to a depression after killing at least 12 people in Florida and Georgia. That storm dumped staggering amounts of rain, as much as 26 inches in some areas. I mean, you're looking at the flooding now. And if fact, it has flooded thousands of homes.

Well, the curtain comes down in Beijing. The closing ceremony held today at the outdoor stadium known as "The Bird's nest." China passes the torch to London. London, host city for the 2012 Summer games. and London? Well, it's celebrating, of course.

HOLMES: What...

NGUYEN: That was Larry Smith, he's celebrating, too.

HOLMES: What is that?

(LAUGHTER) NGUYEN: He's getting the festivities started early, because London, indeed, is celebrating with a party and a concert in front of Buckingham Palace. We're going live to both cities in just a couple of minutes.

HOLMES: Somebody has to tell me what Larry was doing.

NGUYEN: Although, Larry debuted a little early, but that's OK.

HOLMES: Oh, goodness.

NGUYEN: Live television, folks, things happen.

HOLMES: And I'm told he was actually trying to get out of the way of the camera shot so we could see, so it didn't work perfectly. Thank you, Larry.

Well, the Democratic duo makes its debut. Barack Obama introduced Senator Joe Biden as his running mate at a rally in Springfield, Illinois, yesterday. And during his speech, Biden evoked the name of the country's16th president in his own state.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: President Lincoln once instruct instructed us to be sure to put your feet in the right place, then stand firm. Today, Springfield, I know my feet are in the right place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And our latest poll of polls giving Barack Obama a four point lead over John McCain. The poll consists of three national surveys and it shows Obama ahead 46 to 42 percent, as you see there. The surveys in the poll of polls were conducted before Obama named Biden as his running mate.

NGUYEN: Democrats, the rally behind the Obama-Biden ticket, but are Hillary Clinton, her backers onboard? That's a big question. Here's CNN's senior political analyst, Bill Schneider.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR POLITICAL ANALYST (voice over): Remember the dream ticket?

OBAMA: I'm sure Hillary would be on anybody's shortlist.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, what about -- Senator Clinton what do you think about a Clinton-Obama or Obama-Clinton ticket?

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I have to agree with everything Barack just said.

SCHNEIDER: That dream is over. Now the Democratic Party has to pull together. Will Barack Obama's choice of Joe Biden as his running mate make it easier or harder? Just over half of Hillary Clinton supporters in the primaries now say they intend to vote for Obama, about one in five say they will vote for McCain and over a quarter are undecided or may vote for someone else.

Neither Clinton or supporters seem to have a problem with Joe Biden.

HILARY ROSEN, POLITICAL ANALYST: I think for Hillary Clinton supporters, they see somebody who's up here, they see somebody who has a similar amount of experience...

CARL BERNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: My guess is she thinks that next to herself, Biden is probably the best choice.

SCHNEIDER: Clinton supporters are not complaining about the choice, but some are complaining about the process.

PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: I think there are a lot of Hillary voters who are going to say, hey wait a minute, man, you said you were going to put her on the shortlist. You know, you didn't even vet her, you didn't call her, you didn't seek her advice.

SCHNEIDER: Don't expect Clinton to express any resentment.

ROSEN: I think everyone wants to be asked, but I don't think that she's dwelling on it and I don't think she has dwelled on it. I think she's moving on.

SCHNEIDER: She and her husband are likely to be good soldiers and try to influence their supporters to be the same, because there's a larger principal at stake beyond personal ambition -- there is a legacy.

BERNSTEIN: One of the thing the Clinton's have always been about, and the Clinton presidency was about this stopping the march of the Republican right -- never forget that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER: Now, guess who is formeanting trouble for the Clinton and Obama camps? The McCain campaign released an ad that features Hillary Clinton: "She won millions of votes, but she isn't on the ticket," The narrator says, "Why? For speaking the truth." Followed by Clinton criticizing Obama. Now, when was the ad released? 3:00 a.m. -- Betty.

NGUYEN: But, of course. And they did another one yesterday morning, too. So, we'll see what happens tomorrow. But in the meantime, Hillary Clinton is speaking at the convention. The big question though is, is it going to lend itself to some party unity and if her supporters are going to instead be bitter and vote the other way?

SCHNEIDER: Oh, I think the speech will try to rally her supporters. She's doing everything she can, but she has a number of supporters, not most of them, but there are a minority of her supporters who feel slighted and they feel that there is pervasive sexism in the press and in the party and that there should be more recognition of her signal achievement, the first woman candidate to win more than one primary, and they want that recognized. And the Obama campaign is going to have to make effort to make sure that what she achieved is given due recognition.

NGUYEN: OK, so very quickly, aside from speaking on Tuesday night, are we going to see her anywhere else during this week?

SCHNEIDER: Oh, I think she'll be around. And of course, her husband speaks Wednesday night and that speech, too, is widely anticipated because he seems to have more trouble reconciling himself to her loss than she does.

NGUYEN: It's going to be interesting to watch, no doubt. All right, Bill Schneider, joining us, live. Thank you, Bill.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

NGUYEN: And, you know, at the top of the hour, CNN's Wolf Blitzer and LATE EDITION, live, coming to you live from Denver, of course. Wolf talks to key Democratic leaders at the DNC. That's a special time, 10:00 a.m. Eastern.

HOLMES: Well, Fay is heading toward the Gulf Coast, now, and New Orleans is getting ready. Nearly three years now after Hurricane Katrina, the area could see several inches of rain. Emergency crews are handing out sandbags in St. Bernard Parish where some of the worst Katrina flooding happened. Rescue workers on standby at this point. CNN's Sean Callebs is with the Army Corp of Engineers, there. We'll check back in with him a little later for his reports.

NGUYEN: Speaking of Fay, though, where is this storm and how much is left of it? Hopefully, not much, because we've seen way too much of this thing called Fay.

WOLF: Oh, no question. Well, the storm is in its -- oop, dropped my clicker, there. This storm is -- free, this report from the ground up, I'll tell you, this storm is really in its dying phase, but still we could see some scattered showers with it and there's also going to be the potential of flooding.

Now, are we going to see the magnitude of rainfall that we saw in Florida? Probably not, but we're still going to have enough that you're going to drenched areas, you're going to have saturation in much of the soil in parts of the Gulf Coast, including Louisiana and you have the potential for runoff, and with the runoff, you could have that flashflooding.

Right now, we also have the threat of tornadoes. We've had some tornado warnings in parts of central Alabama. North Alabama now getting the worst of the heavy rainfall, but even then, just scattered showers mostly along parts of I-65 from Florence back over to (INAUDIBLE) the Tennessee River, heading to parts of Mississippi, we're seeing the rain pick up a little bit. Nothing too heavy, at this time. But down toward (INAUDIBLE) and north towards Winsburrow (ph), we're seeing some heavier scattered showers. In Baton Rouge out by Tiger Stadium, the rain will continue to fall there in New Orleans, just a little bit of very sporadic activity. Could see more of later on today. We have some flashflood watches and warnings in effect from Mississippi back over to, still, parts of the Florida Panhandle, Alabama to Georgia, and even into Arkansas and, of course, Louisiana. That is the latest and we're going to have Sean Callebs coming along fairly soon to give the very latest in the Crescent City and I'm sure we're looking forward to that report.

Let's send it back to you, at the news desk.

NGUYEN: Yeah, a city that's still reeling from Hurricane Katrina. Last thing it needs is more flooding.

WOLF: No question.

NGUYEN: OK, thank you, Reynolds.

WOLF: Anytime.

NGUYEN: You know, we talked to Olympic superstar, Michael Phelps, this morning and he says he is ready to get back in the pool.

HOLMES: The man can't stop swimming. Beijing barely over, now he's talking about his plans for the next Olympics. Come one Michael Phelps, how many medals do you need?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right, 2008 games officially over, already? Ending with a closing ceremony and with Beijing passing the torch to London, the host city for the 2012 Summer games. And CNN's Larry Smith has been covering the competition, the controversies, all that stuff in Beijing and now he is covering the closing.

And our Jim Boulden is in London were a celebration is taking place outside Buckingham Palace. We want to start with Larry in Beijing.

Can you believe it's over, already?

LARRY SMITH, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I can. When you've been here for three weeks on the ground and personally, I've done almost 300 live shots and reports. Mark McKay (ph) is probably done close to that, as well. So, we've been very busy, but it's been a lot of fun. It's a lot of work, but we've got the best crew in television. Sorry, Wolf and the political team, you guys are good, too. But these guys are fantastic.

Hey listen, couple of quick results for you. Dream team, the Redeem Team, I should say, redemption is theirs. They beat Spain today in men's basketball, 118-107. Dwayne Wade scored 21 of his 27 points in the first half, but he needed to hit three late in the game to kind of seal the deal against the reining world champions. And so, Kolbe Bryant and crew, they get the gold medal that the U.S. failed to win in Athens. Again, 118-107 was that file.

Also a gold medal for the men's volleyball team. They did not lose a match here in Beijing. They defeat Brazil 3-1, three sets to one. And what a great moment, I'm sure for the head coach. Hugh McCutcheon, you may recall, it was his father-in-law stabbed in a knife attack, here at a tourist spot in central Beijing on the first day of competition. His mother-in-law also seriously injured in that. She's underwent several hours of surgery, is not back in the states recuperating. In fact, the players wrote both of their initials on their shoes throughout this tournament and they get the gold for him. Though, he told me a week ago, that he almost -- it was not that important to him because it wouldn't bring Todd back to he and his family.

So, once again, that's the story for now. The medal counts: China takes the gold count with 51 total, the USA 110 total medals, and that is a U.S. record at an Olympics that was fully participated -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right, well, this one quick thing, here, and help us settle this. Who actually -- us there a winner? Do you go by total medals, do you go by gold? Who won the Olympics?

SMITH: That's an excellent question and the debate goes on. It seems to me that many around the world look at gold, many Americans look at total. Talk amongst yourselves, you know, it's a -- but, I'll tell this, the USA is very, very happy with what they've done. They have 36 golds and that equals the number of golds they got in Athens and think of the gold they might have won in track and field, if it hadn't been for the dropped batons and all that.

HOLMES: Yeah. All right. And our producer is begging me ask to ask you about this escalator move we caught you doing a little while ago.

(LAUGHTER)

We were tying to get you out of our camera shot, we caught you doing something that you shouldn't have been doing.

SMITH: Yeah, I didn't realize we were...

HOLMES: But, hey.

SMITH: Well, no. We were 10 minutes away and didn't realize and we just were messing around here because we're thankful, three weeks of hard work is over. We were having fun and there you have it.

NGUYEN: And that's his story.

HOLMES: We will...

SMITH: Hey, but listen, it's good move. It's good move. You got to admit. I haven't done that in years.

NGUYEN: So, hold on. It was actually a dance move? I thought, you know, there was a UFO coming in for a landing and you were just ducking out of the way. It was a dance move?

SMITH: Nope. I put an escalator right here in makeshift studio in the 10th floor of...

NGUYEN: Is that what it was?

SMITH: I did an elevator, too, but you missed that one.

NGUYEN: Oh, no.

HOLMES: We're going to let you go. We know you've done 300 live shots, you've been over there, been out of town for a month. You don't have all your wits about you right now. So Larry, good work over there. Thank you so much, we appreciate you, all the work you've done for us here on our weekend show.

HOLMES: Thanks so much, buddy.

NGUYEN: Yeah, he deserve as little celebration.

SMITH: Thanks, we'll see you.

NGUYEN: OK, well, as we said, London is preparing to host the 2012 Summer games and it will have a tough act to follow, no doubt, because China spend $40 billion on its game. So, we'll take you live now to CNN's Jim Boulden in London. And a big party is going to be taking place, today.

JIM BOULDEN, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. Can you believe it, Beijing is over already? Well, London is now the official host of the next games and those games, of course, will be in 2012.

Big concert, here, big party going on, Buckingham Palace here, on the mall. I think some 40,000 people have shown up, here, but they've also got dozens of large screen TV around the country, so people can watch the closing ceremonies in Beijing and also to soak this atmosphere. One person they're still waiting to hear from is the swimming sensation, Michael Phelps. So, I spoke to him earlier this morning. He said this, sort of zoned out, very tired, can't wait to get back to the U.S. But, I did ask him how soon will he start to get ready for the next games in four years time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL PHELPS, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL WINNER: Being here in this atmosphere, right now, you know, it's going to get me -- starting to get exciting again -- excited again and you know, get me ready to get back into training and, you know, look forward to coming back over here in four years and competing, because I think it's going to be, you know, a great Olympics and then, you know, a new experience for me to compete over here. I've never competed in London, so, it is something I'm looking forward for the next four years, and hopefully, I'll be able to come over here and experience more things over here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOULDEN: You know, it may be a big party, today, but tomorrow, they got to get ready for the serious business of getting ready for the games in four years time. The International Olympics Committee says London's doing fine, they've already started building a number of the venues and they feel very confident that they'll have it all ready a year early. Of course, we've heard that from other cities before, haven't we?

NGUYEN: A year early. Yeah, we'll see how that plays out. OK, Jim, thanks for joining us, live.

HOLMES: Well, earlier today, we talked, of course, about the flooding from Fay, that tropical storm, now tropical depression, but, you have been dealing with and seeing some flooding in a different region of the world.

NGUYEN: Yeah, no doubt. I've just returned from Vietnam where dozens have died from floods and I want to show you the effort to get aid to people living in the flood zone.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: We got some dramatic pictures to show you now, out of the former Soviet Republic of Georgia, this morning. Take a look here, this was actually a train that was carrying fuel. Hit a mine and burst into flames near the city of Gori. This explosion started a massive fire, as you see here.

We're told no one was hurt. This comes a couple of weeks after, of course, Russian troops invaded that U.S. ally. Two days ago, Russian troops just pulled out of a Georgian military base that was nearby Gori where this explosion happened.

Meanwhile, a U.S. warship has arrived in Georgia to deliver humanitarian aid to the former Soviet Republic. The relief supplies come as Russian military forces make a partial withdrawal from Georgia. Moscow's invasion has rekindled Cold war tensions with Washington. And the USS McFall is the first of five American ships scheduled to arrive this week.

NGUYEN: Several countries in southeast Asia are still recovering from some of the worst flooding in decades. In Vietnam, upwards of 150 people have died in landslide and high water and it's not over. Monssons are expected to continue flooding the already swollen Mekong River which flows into the southern Delta region.

Now, I just returned from Vietnam, the country where I was born and there we brought aid to communities that sit in the path of the potentially deadly flooding.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice over): The muddy Mekong Delta may look picturesque, but make no mistake, villages along Vietnam's rice belt are bracing or the annual monsoons which often bring death and destruction.

We've loaded up with food and other aid in an effort to reach poor farming communities before they are inundated with floodwaters. This is my eight humanitarian aid trip to the region with the non-profit my family founded called Help the Hungry. And there are plenty here to help. They've lined the banks, both young and old. For many this aid will be a lifeline as they ride out the storm. It's a difficult journey but one that's so appreciated, especially when you consider what farmers here face. A family of six lives in this hut. What's not covered with tarp and leaves is open to the elements. There is only one bed and just behind the baby's hammock is a makeshift kitchen where they cook with scrap wood. They can't even afford to keep their daughter in school.

She starts to cry when we give them enough money to send her back to school and repair their house so it can withstand the monsoons. The key to breaking this vicious cycle of poverty is often found here, in the classroom. These students are among the fortunate ones, even if some are malnourished. This little boy is 12 years old, yet he's size of a 6-year-old. But what the people here lack, they seem to make up in hope. It's one of the few things the monsoons can't wash away.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

And it's so important for aid organizations to get into these areas before the monsoons just inundate the area by floodwaters, because a lot of folks really have no other help that's being provided to them. The government's not providing any kind of help, so many times when we get there too late, folks that you see right here, are literally inside their grass huts that normally have dirt floors, but they are halfway filled with water and they're just finding some way to try to ride out these monsoons and survive, and as you can see poverty is just throughout this region. A lot of folks don't even have shoes.\

But at the same time, like I said, there is a lot of hope and it's important that not only do they receive aid, but as we all know, T.J., education is a key to rising up out of this kind of poverty, and it's good to see that so many people, even if they live in huts like this, are trying their best to find a way to send their kids to school, because a lot of times if they don't have the money from books or pens, things as simple as that, they can't go to school and they're stuck at homeworking the fields trying to help put food on the table for their families.

HOLMES: Ann this is how many trips this has been going for you? This is what? Seven? Eight?

NGUYEN: This is the eighth one. We started in 2000 and it's been so rewarding just knowing that you can make a little bit of difference. And like I said, this aid is often a lifeline for the people that are trying to ride out the storms.

HOLMES: All right, well, we always -- we're glad to have you back, but we always enjoy what you bring back to us, and something that opens our eyes, always. A lot of people, of course, we try to help out here. We know you collect stuff from us, but other people are out there, certainly interested, as well. HelpTheHungry.org. Do I have that right?

NGUYEN: Help-The-Hungry.org and there's a lot of information on the Web site if you're interested.

HOLMES: All right, well, welcome back, again. For a lot of people who don't know, we haven't seen us together...

NGUYEN: I've been gone a lot this year, haven't I? This summer, especially: Myanmar, Vietnam. I think I'm here for a little while.

HOLMES: Yes, but then our schedules are such that I was gone, were you gone, I was gone, you were gone so we haven't actually worked together on three months.

NGUYEN: Kind of a reunion weekend.

HOLMES: Yes, it's been big. But stay here, we have one more thing for you before we wrap up today, an anthem, a rock anthem for Mr. Mom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right Jon Lajoie is his name. He's a comedian who writes funny songs about simple things. He had a little bit of an Internet hit with a rap he did called "Everyday Normal Guy." I don't have that one.

NGUYEN: Well, I don't either it's not on my iPod. But, now he has a new one that actually has become viral and it's a video. Josh Levs joins us now with this one, what speaking to Mr. Moms out there?

LEVS: Yeah, look, being a dad is the best thing in the world, right? But, I have tremendous respect for the 159,000 Mr. Moms that there are out there, the full-time dads, it's pretty incredible. You deserve an anthem. Now you finally have one. Let's watch.

(MUSIC)

All right, hot new viral video, like we were saying, from Jon Lajoie. He put it out there, jonlajoie.com, you can watch the whole thing and apparently this is really his life and (INAUDIBLE).

NGUYEN: Is that his baby?

LEVS: Yeah, apparently it is. And people eating this up, it's nice to know it caught on. And it's not one of the pathetic attempts at humor, it's actually legitimately funny, so good job...

HOLMES: What was his other one? "Everyday Normal Guy?" What was that?

LEVS: I don't rember that one. Apparently he had one, but this is the first on I remember.

NGUYEN: Well, that one didn't make CNN apparently, but this one has.

LEVS: This one has hit the standard of CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

HOLMES: What is the standard, by the way? We've been trying to define that one.

(LAUGHTER)

LEVS: Anyways, thanks to him for creating such a great song. Bring it back up, we'll close the show.

(MUSIC)

HOLMES: We got a trick, here. He have to find a way to get from this to Wolf Blitzer.

LEVS: Wolf would appreciate this, hopefully.

NGUYEN: He may not be stay-at-home dad, but he is obviously father in the year in many eyes, because he does it all.

HOLMES: Then Wolf is doing it all for us out in Denver, live this morning as a special edition LATE EDITION.

Wolf, it's all yours, sir.