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CNN Saturday Morning News

Obama Picks Joe Biden as Running Mate; Tropical Storm Fay Still Hammering Florida

Aired August 23, 2008 - 08:30   ET

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

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody on this Saturday morning. A big news day for a lot of us.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.

NGUYEN: I'm Betty Nguyen.

HOLMES: And I'm T.J. Holmes. If you're tuning in to see "HOUSE CALL" with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, sorry, you're stuck with us. We'll be showing it tomorrow over at this time, but we have a lot of major political breaking news going on this morning about the Democratic presidential ticket.

NGUYEN: Yes, the headline if you're just joining us this morning, if you didn't get that text message, Barack Obama picks Delaware Senator Joe Biden to be his running mate.

HOLMES: Our political team was the first to break this story around 12:30 a.m. Eastern time. We're following it now on every major front. Obama and Biden will appear together this afternoon, a rally in Springfield, Illinois, planned for around 3:00 Eastern Time. You will see that live right here on CNN.

CNN's Ed Henry joins us now from Washington with some insight on how all of this played out. And a lot of people wondering, why 3:00 a.m.? Does it hearken back to maybe, I don't know, a Hillary Clinton ad?

ED HENRY. CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Probably doesn't have anything to do with that 3:00 a.m. phone call ad. I think they're trying to build some buzz overnight perhaps so that this weekend maybe they'll get a little energy heading into the kickoff of the Democratic convention on Monday in Denver.

I think what you're going to see, obviously, Joe Biden out on the campaign trail. One of the assets Democrats believe he'll bring is that when he was running for president, he was very energetic. And you'll probably see that at the rally and also probably, obviously, see him praising Barack Obama as he has in recent television appearances on behalf of Obama as he was sort of doing a tryout, perhaps, to be the running mate.

But Republicans, simply the campaign of John McCain this morning, are pointing out that that's not always the way it was. A statement from McCain spokesman Ben Poritt saying, "There has been no harsher critic of Barack Obama's lack of experience than Joe Biden. They point out that in some of those debates last year, it got a little testy.

And they have a new TV ad out this morning, in fact, showing that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: What does Barack Obama's running mate say about Barack Obama?

GEORGE STEPHANOPOLOUS: You were asked is he ready. You said I think he can be ready, but right now I don't believe he is. The presidency is not something that lends itself to on-the-job training.

SEN. JOE BIDEN (D), DELAWARE: I think that I stand by the statement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: That, obviously, is something that Joe Biden is going to have to do some explaining about once he starts doing his first big round of media interviews at the convention or thereafter to explain why he said that just a year ago, and how he thinks Barack Obama in just one year, that was last August, now has the experience to be commander in chief.

But obviously, the Republicans can only push that so far. John McCain is going to go next week. We expect him to announce his pick as early as this Friday at the end of the Democratic Convention. And one of the frontrunners for John McCain, of course, is Mitt Romney.

And obviously, you can go back and find a lot of tapes from some of the CNN debates, for example, where John McCain and Mitt Romney, if he's the pick, and I stress if he's the pick, didn't quite see eye to eye. So obviously, this happens a lot in the primaries. People fight it out. Now that the primaries are over, obviously, we're seeing Biden and Obama come together, Betty.

NGUYEN: So it does seem like Biden fills a lot of voids for Obama. But at the same time, is it also an admission that Obama isn't very strong on foreign policy?

HENRY: I think clearly that Barack Obama sent a signal here. They wouldn't quite put it the way you did, obviously, because they want to spin this, but the bottom line is that this race is much closer than Barack Obama's team thought. And I think Obama himself, the senator, is sending a signal, that he realizes this is tight. He realizes it's tight in part because John McCain has made this a referendum on whether Obama is ready to be commander in chief.

And while he may have wanted to go with a Washington outsider to underline the change message, he had to pick a Washington insider it seems. He's sending that signal because he had to check that box. He had to show and admit basically there's a hole in his own resume. And that's why in part I think we're seeing this pick, Betty. NGUYEN: OK, so when it comes to Hillary Clinton's supporters, what does Biden say to them? I mean, does he fill the right void? Will they be satisfied to throw their support behind the Obama/Biden ticket?

HENRY: That's not a question we can answer today. You're asking the right question, though. And I think we're going to see that play out in Denver on the floor of the convention. And Tuesday and Wednesday night when we see Senator Clinton and then former President Clinton speak. Both of them insist that they're on board now. I think Senator Clinton maybe has been a little more forceful than the former president in showing that. The former president has been a little less than enthusiastic I might say in his support of Barack Obama publicly.

He's got to really step up if he wants to show once and for all that the tension is over. I think Joe Biden maybe can try to be somewhat of a peacemaker here. He obviously serves in the Senate with Hillary Clinton. He worked with Bill Clinton a lot. Maybe he'll be a go between here to say let's bring this all together, Betty.

NGUYEN: We'll be watching. OK, Ed Henry joining us live. Thank you, Ed.

HENRY: Thank you.

NGUYEN: So who is Joe Biden and what does he bring to Barack Obama's campaign?

HOLMES: A lot of people asking that question this morning. Josh Levs is maybe asking as well. And he's found some answers and some online resources to help you get that answer. Hey there.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, do you guys kind of feel like it's 2:00 in the afternoon already?

NGUYEN: We've been here a long time.

LEVS: Yes, I don't remember leaving yesterday, but here's the deal. We have for you something I want to show you right now because a lot of you waking up learning this news may be wondering what was a way to how he made this decision, what the pros and cons were for some other leading candidates.

We have something great right here at CNN.com where we broke it down for you. Let's zoom in. I'm going to show you. Starting off with Biden, obviously, the big pros, obviously, he's got the foreign policy experience. Chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. We're going to hear a lot about that.

And the cons we list here. You know, we hear a lot about change in this campaign. This man's a 36 year Senate veteran. Also, he does wander off script a great deal.

Let's move over to Evan Bayh, because he got a lot of attention. A lot of people thought it might be him. I thought it might be him. Evan Bayh, senator from Indiana. Also, foreign policy experience. Service on the Senate, Intel, and Armed Services committees. Some negatives there, one big one, was his early support for the Iraq War. And we know Barack Obama's campaign largely runs against that.

Also want to flip over quickly to Bill Richardson, who got a lot of attention as well. Also foreign policy experience as a pro for him. Former ambassador of the U.N., to the U.N. for the United States.

But there's also an interesting question here. Would it be too much for some Americans to have the first African-American and Latino on the same ticket? Also, he kind of came along to support Obama relatively late in the game.

Well, a lot of you are weighing in already. We're getting flooded with iReports already. The one that I'm seeing so far this morning, mostly negative against this choice. Let's start off with a couple right here.

We've got one from Kimberly I want to show you. She writes us this. She's in Fort Washington, Maryland. "Biden over Hillary? What is this world coming to? I'm in a state of shock. Obama had a chance to change history...I think he better go back to the drawing board!"

Another from Lucian, who also says he doesn't think Biden brings much to the table. And he says now "if McCain will choose Romney then I believe the Democratic ticket will expire in November."

But earlier this week, we did receive some very pro Biden. Let's go to one of those just to balance it out here. We'll end with that. I want to read this to you from Nick Parsons, who wrote us this.

"If Obama knows what's good for him, the party, and America, he'll place his bet on Joe Biden. Biden has the foreign policy experience that Obama sorely lacks, and his knowledge of the energy crisis is second to none. He's tough and has the wisdom to consider consequences before decisions are made."

You can weigh in at ireport.com. And guys, we'll keep bringing you people's quotes throughout the day, keep it interactive. Let us know what you think. Because in the end, it's all about the voters. Betty, T.J.?

NGUYEN: Absolutely. And we want to get back to Hillary Clinton and her supporters' take on all this, because I asked Ed Henry a little bit earlier if Joe Biden, being the VP nominee on the Obama ticket, if that's going to satisfy those supporters. Well, he said we may have to wait to the convention to hear word of that, but we're getting a little bit of information right now.

HOLMES: From Hillary Clinton who certainly has done and said all the right things publicly. And now we are getting a statement from her about, in fact, this Joe Biden selection. And there it is. You can read it with me.

"In naming my colleague and friend Senator Biden to be the Vice Presidential nominee, Senator Obama has continued in the best traditions for the Vice Presidency by selecting an exceptionally strong, experienced leader and devoted public servant. Senator Biden will be a purposeful and dynamic Vice President who will help Senator Obama both win the Presidency and govern this great country."

That statement from Hillary Clinton, who many thought certainly could help an Obama ticket, the dream ticket as some referred to it as. But certainly she just made comments a day or so ago, we saw from her, saying hey, I never said I wanted the job and was saying all the right things. But a lot has been coming out about whether or not Hillary Clinton was even vetted officially to be on the ticket.

But now she's come out in support of Joe Biden, her friend.

NGUYEN: And she always has.

Well, Joe Biden's son is a captain in the National Guard. And he's heading into harm's way, in fact, deploying soon to Iraq.

HOLMES: So, how does his father feel about all that? Also, what is the senator saying now about the war in Iraq?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: We can finally stop the guessing game. Obama has officially made the announcement that Senator Joe Biden of Delaware will be his vice presidential pick. He made that announcement a short time ago around 3:00 in the morning Eastern time through his Web site, through e-mail to supporters and also through his text messages.

The two will appear together in a short time. Well, around 3:00 Eastern time, 2:00 Central time in Springfield, Illinois at the same spot where Barack Obama actually made his announcement that he would be running for president. But you're looking at a live picture there of the state house in Springfield, Illinois.

So we are keeping an eye on this live location. We're also keeping an eye on in Wilmington, Delaware. This is where reporters have been staked out for some time now, keeping an eye on Joe Biden's home. We have seen a few police cars, a few big SUVs go in. They have not examine come out, expecting a motorcade. Everybody trying to get a glimpse now on this first day that Biden is officially the vice presidential running mate of Barack Obama.

We have an eye on all of it. Our best political team on TV all over this story. Stay here with CNN.

NGUYEN: Let's give you some more information on Senator Biden and his family, in fact. Biden initially supported the use of military force in Iraq. But he later became an outspoken critic of the conflict. And Biden's son Beau is due to be deployed to Iraq. He is attorney general of Delaware, but is scheduled for a tour of duty with his National Guard unit this fall.

Now in the debate during the presidential primaries, Senator Biden talked about possible timetables for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: There's not a single military man in this audience who will tell this senator he can get those troops out in six months if the order goes today. Let's start telling the truth.

Number one, you take all the truths out, you better have helicopters ready to take those 3,000 civilians inside the Green Zone where I've been seven times and shot at. You better make sure you have protection for them or let them die. Number one. So you can't leave them there. And it's going to take a minimum 5,000 troops to 10,000 just to protect our civilians.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: An Iraqi official says Baghdad and Washington have reached an agreement for bringing U.S. troops home. That proposal calls for a complete U.S. military withdrawal by the end of 2011. Iraq's government can ask for the troops to stay beyond that deadline if it feels they are needed.

Now top U.S. officials say the deal still needs approval from President Bush and the Iraqi parliament.

HOLMES: Well, tropical storm Fay is now a history-making storm. It's killed at least six people in Florida. That's not the history making part. Neighborhoods right now are under water. Now this morning, Fay is bashing the coast again for a record fourth time.

Susan Candiotti in Panama City Beach, how in the world do people continue to I guess just deal with and tolerate this onslaught that Fay is bringing them?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's fair to say that everyone is storm weary of tropical storm Fay. That's for sure. And here on Panama City Beach, you can see just a few people are out taking a morning walk. It is a light misty rain at this time, but we're experiencing all kinds of squalls.

There are reports of off and on power outages during the night in nearby Gulf County, which is just to the east of us now. But other than that, tropical storm Fay is proving once again that you don't have to be hit by a hurricane to get a pounding from this storm.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): More than 100 nursing home residents had to be evacuated by boat to escape rising water at a facility near Jacksonville. One by one, the elderly were led into waiting row boats and transferred to other facilities out of harm's way.

The question everyone's asking...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When is it going to stop?

CANDIOTTI: ...hard to predict when the rain will stop. It's been pounding the state for nearly a week.

On Friday, emergency management officials said radar indicated tornadoes slammed the area. Whipping winds sliced into this gas station near Gainesville, tearing apart a canopy. Unrelenting rain weakened the ground around this tree and it fell on to a mobile home. Debris littered streets after Fay rumbled across a wide swath of Florida, from the central part of the state to the northeast corner, and then meandered back across the panhandle.

As much as 27 inches of rain in some areas, combined with high tides, forcing some rivers to overflow their banks. Florida's Governor Charlie Crist promised FEMA's help to those who need it, but warned the storm's not over yet.

GOV. CHARLIE CRIST (R), FLORIDA: Fay is not out of Florida yet as you know. So stay vigilant, stay calm, and stay focused.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI: And in fact, 1,500 homes have been destroyed so far by this storm. People are weary of it. And the panhandle, now it is its turn to take a pounding as the day goes on. Back to you, T.J.

HOLMES: Yes. We're going to find out more now about that pounding. Susan Candiotti for us, thank you so much.

Meteorologist Reynolds Wolf been tracking this thing all week.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Cut to the chase, want to go right to it.

HOLMES: Let's get to it. Tell us, please.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HOLMES: All right, Reynolds, we appreciate you again.

WOLF: Any time.

NGUYEN: Well, Joe Biden is the pick. And we have extensive coverage today about Barack Obama's VP choice.

HOLMES: And we stress extensive. We are on it from Delaware to Denver, including all points in between, and the two senators first event as the Democratic ticket.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right, those of you expecting to get that text first, going to be the first to know about Barack Obama's pick.

NGUYEN: Supposed to be at 3:00 a.m.

HOLMES: It came at 3:00. You wanted to be the first to know, blame this guy for you not being the first to know, our John King. There he is.

NGUYEN: He was the first to know.

HOLMES: He was the first to know. Really, John King, some -- really some great work last night in getting that word out and getting that confirmed, but he joins us now this morning. And what do you think now, John King? It's Joe Biden.

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is Joe Biden. It's a dramatic pick by Barack Obama. And you're going to see a dramatic day of stage craft today. And it's all part of the Democratic ticket. Now we can say the Democratic ticket's effort to build excitement before the convention starts right here in Denver on Monday.

If you look at the pick of Joe Biden, you can see why. Barack Obama, relative newcomer to the national stage. Joe Biden a guy with more than three decades of experience in the United States Senate.

Barack Obama, everyone says well, could he be commander in chief? Does he know the world? Joe Biden, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, a man who has traveled around the world broadly, been involved in many of the international crises during those three plus decades in the United States Senate. So it is a fit in that regard.

But T.J. and Betty, you've already been airing this out this morning. The McCain campaign and Republicans are going to say this guy's not new and different. He's been in Washington forever. They will say he clashes with Barack Obama's message. And they'll also try to make a lot of hay. And you get more mileage out of this in the age of YouTube and the Internet. And all those very harsh statements Joe Biden just said about Barack Obama, including thinking nice guy, just not ready to be president.

So it's an interesting contrast, 47-year-old Barack Obama, 65- year-old Joe Biden. One thing Joe Biden is, I would call him a happy warrior. You'll see him scrapping. You'll see him eager to debate policy issues. He's a very close friend with John McCain, but he also loves to debate on policy. They have a lot of differences.

So as McCain makes his pick now, here's the calculation I think everyone should consider this morning. John McCain knows when he picks a running mate, he better have somebody who will not be shy in the vice presidential debate.

HOLMES: John, it sounds like, will anyone be able to criticize this pick besides Republicans? Because you talk about there's a good contrast, but it seems like you have that perfect balance, the young newcomer, the old statesman with the foreign policy chops.

I mean, it sounds like a ticket that has a good balance. But at the same time, the Republicans, of course, are going to jump on it no matter what it is. But does this -- anybody besides the Republicans really going to be complaining about this pick?

KING: Well, you'll see reporters and political analysts peel back the layers of this and say, why didn't he go for Evan Bayh and try to put a red state like Indiana automatically in play or Tim Kaine, the governor of Virginia, immediately try to put a state that voted Republican in the past several, many presidential elections, tilt that his way. You can analyze it that way and not criticize but question this pick.

But on a global perspective, Democrats are quite happy. You've seen the positive statement from Hillary Clinton this morning. Joe Biden not only has that international experience, but he is a blue collar kid from Scranton, Pennsylvania, has a very compelling life story, a lot of support among the labor unions. So there is in the votes that matter most right now for Barack Obama, how he manages his convention here over the next week, Democrats are going to be almost universally happy with this pick.

Now, he has to sell it to the country. And the Republicans will say it doesn't fit with Barack Obama's message of hope, new, different, bringing change to Washington. But presidents in the past, nominees in the past, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, for example, have picked guys who beat them up pretty good in the primaries. And many of those cases have worked out quite well come November.

NGUYEN: All right. John King joining us live. Of course, we'll be talking to you a lot more throughout the morning. And good job, again, on breaking that news that Biden is Obama's pick for VP. Thank you.

And we are following breaking news all morning long. Barack Obama picks the Delaware Senator Joe Biden as we've been telling you about as his VP running mate.

HOLMES: And coming up at the top of the hour, Wolf Blitzer, he's going to pick up some of our extensive coverage here. He is in Denver this morning for the Democratic convention.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)