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CNN Saturday Morning News

Obama Chooses Joe Biden as His Running Mate; Tropical Storm Fay Still Hurting Florida

Aired August 23, 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 ANCHOR: Big news today. Obama-Biden '08, Democrats hoping it's the winning ticket and if you're just joining us, overnight, Barack Obama tapped Delaware Senator Joe Biden to be his running mate.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And Biden, a veteran U.S. senator who's got some blue collar roots and years of foreign policy experience. And he serves as chairman of the foreign relations committee. Right now, we're covering this story on all fronts from Delaware to Denver and all points in between.

We also will be live from Springfield, Illinois, when Obama and Biden hold a rally this afternoon. That's what you're seeing at the top right corner of your screen, a picture of the state house where that rally is going to happen in Springfield. And at the top left, you're seeing a picture of Biden's home in Delaware where our reporters are staked out. The best political team on television was the first with this story. Our reporters are all over this story again this morning.

Now, Wolf Blitzer at the Democratic convention site in Denver. Also our political analysts, senior political analyst, Bill Schneider. We'll hear from him later as well. And Jessica Yellin is in Springfield, Illinois today, for today's rally, also our senior political correspondent Candy Crowley is in Chicago. So, the whole crew is together this weekend.

NGUYEN: Yes. As you can see we are using our resources to bring you comprehensive coverage. So let's begin by bringing in Wolf Blitzer, live from Denver. It's been quite a morning, Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and it's an exciting day over here for the Democrats as they move forward with their decision, the Obama decision to pick Joe Biden as his running mate. There's no doubt that the Democrats have a plan. They are ready for action. They're moving forward right now and they understand that Senator Biden will be able to take a hit, but they think he can come back and give a hit as well. One of the reasons they decided to go forward. Senator Obama did with Senator Biden.

CNN's Jessica Yellin is standing by. She's been covering this campaign for all of us as a lot of our viewers know. She's in Springfield, Illinois, getting ready for the unveiling, the formal unveiling of this new ticket the Obama- Biden ticket. Jessica, they've got a plan ready to go there. Set the scene in Springfield, Illinois, at the old state capital building, what we can expect. JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Wolf. In just about six hours, the two men are expected to take the stage behind me, this area will be packed, a smaller crowd than those mega forums you've seen but it will be an enthusiastic crowd no doubt. Folks in town are talking about it already this morning and it is still quite early here.

I'll tell you, inside the building, people are setting up to take photos of the two families together and perhaps an official portrait, you can imagine, of Biden and Obama. The joint ticket for the Democratic nomination. The two men when they take the stage, that will give us the first sense of the chemistry between the two of them. You can expect to see very different styles.

You know, Obama always described as sort of cool and detached on the stump, but eloquent and Biden, always more of the guy's guy, chatty, casual and sometimes speaks in a more colloquial manner. We'll see if he brings out the more humorous side of Barack Obama and brings him, sort of, into an more earthy connection with the crowd.

And then we expect the two of them to go off perhaps in their separate ways, we'll see, as they campaign each of them with very different strengths. Biden, no doubt, being sent off, our expectations are, to blue collar America, small town America, where he connects with voters in a deep way that sometimes has been lacking from the Obama campaign so far. Wolf.

BLITZER: And at the state capital, Jessica, are there going to be hundreds of people, tens of thousands of people, give us a little flavor of how they orchestrated this formal unveiling of the Obama- Biden ticket?

YELLIN: Sure. My guesstimate, and I'm awful at crowd guessing, but it's thousands. I would put it in the 2,000 maximum range. This is not a 10,000 person-capacity environment. We're in a grassy area for an - of the old state capitol. It's really a museum behind me and it's the site where Abraham Lincoln held the famous, many of those famous Lincoln-Douglas debates where Abraham Lincoln years ago argued cases before the court and before Judge Douglas. He even delivered the very famous "House Divided" speech here.

So, it has enormous historical significance. It's very important not just here in Springfield but throughout the state of Illinois and it's also the site where Barack Obama kicked off his own presidential bid in early 2007.

So he's bringing his own campaign full circle with a real allusion to another American leader who had not had many years experience when he took office. Abraham Lincoln had served very few years in government when he actually became president. So look for a very excited crowd and there's already, you know, Secret Service teaming around here and people talking in the town. It's going to be a big turnout, Wolf.

BLITZER: Another milestone in this race for the White House. Stand by, Jessica. We're going to be coming back to you and of course, we'll have live coverage here on CNN of the formal unveiling, the presentations, the speeches by Barack Obama and Joe Biden in Springfield, Illinois.

Let's turn to our senior political correspondent, Candy Crowley. She's in Chicago. That's where Senator Obama still is. The first rule of selecting a vice presidential running mate, Candy, is do no harm. The second rule is try to get someone who can really help you. Tell us a little about the impact of Joe Biden on the Obama ticket.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: We talked so much about balance, Wolf, need to balance the ticket. I think we can write off geographical simply because Delaware isn't a big state in play with three electoral votes and pretty solidly Democratic. But you have the ultimate Washington insider and this could be a problem certainly the Republicans will hit on how the candidate of change has gone to a man, a real insider, for more than three decades in the Senate.

He has vast foreign policy experience, which has been a huge weakness of Barack Obama's. Certainly one that John McCain has taken out after. Biden, by the way, has more than a decade more experience than John McCain does. We are also getting someone who is not afraid to pull out the sledgehammer and deliver some blows and certainly that's the traditional vice presidential role. It's something that Joe Biden can do, and do with some flair. So that you almost don't see how cutting the remarks can be because he does it with a smile.

So they are getting some real balance here in the ticket clearly when the question was, do you want to go with the theme and do change and take an outsider like Tim Kaine of Virginia or Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, what they opted for was not someone with just foreign policy experience but someone who understands how Washington works.

He has deep ties in Washington. He also has deep ties with labor organizations and some of the real core groups within the Democratic party. Beyond that, he has very working class roots. He is the poorest member of the Senate. He relates very well to people on the campaign trail. He is a very one on one person, very good at that.

I followed him around Iowa for a while, inside those homes where the lesser known candidates are prone to go in Iowa and New Hampshire. They loved him because he was very, very good at answering their questions, at knowing such a broad range of subjects, particularly on foreign policy.

So they have gone for balance. There's the age and the experience versus the youth and the hope of Barack Obama. I should add that Joe Biden fully understands that kind of precocious career, if you will. He was 29-years-old when he was first elected to the Senate. A very young man and really has had a successful career that has as well been marred by personal tragedy.

As you know, he lost a wife and a toddler daughter in a pre- Christmas crash right after, in fact, he was elected to the Senate before he was sworn in. His two children, two boys, were severely injured in that accident. Joe Biden was sworn in at the bedside of one of his sons after that accident. So he has a personal story as well. Triumph over tragedy, that kind of thing. So there is a story to sell here to the American public about a man who has seen quite a lot in his 65 years and brings certainly some depth to this ticket.

BLITZER: He certainly does. And he has those working class roots as you say, Candy. He's Catholic and presumably he can help Barack Obama in some of those areas where he's been relatively weak, at least to date, and that's I assume one of the major reasons they decided to go with him in addition to all of his foreign policy experience.

He is a strong advocate. He's a good talker as all of us know given the numerous interviews we've done with him over the years, and he's prone at times to, with some colorful language, Candy. We'll talk a little bit more about that with you and all of our reporters and our analysts and our guests.

T.J. and Betty, we have a lot more coverage coming up from the Democratic convention here in Denver. Remember, we're also standing by later today to go to Springfield, Illinois, and to hear directly from Senator Obama and Senator Joe Biden. In the meantime, back to you guys at the CNN Center.

NGUYEN: All right. Thank you, Wolf. We will be going back to you shortly. But in the meantime --

HOLMES: Yes, how much time in the next couple days or so, you think we'll see the first campaign ad criticizing Biden?

NGUYEN: Oh, no. It didn't take but I don't know, maybe an hour.

HOLMES: Was it an hour even? Yes. They did not waste time coming right out with a campaign ad that takes shots at Obama-Biden.

NGUYEN: So check out the new T.V. ad that the McCain campaign brought to us. Yes, to our doorstep very early this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 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), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I think that I stand by the statement.

ANNOUNCER: And what does he say about John McCain?

BIDEN: I would be honored to run with or against John McCain because I think the country would be better off.

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

HOLMES: And Senator McCain is expected to reveal his running mate next week. The McCain camp has said he will make an announcement on August 29th in the battleground state of Ohio, August 29th will be the day after the Democratic convention ends. It's also McCain's 72nd birthday.

You may remember that white powder mailed to the Denver campaign office of Senator McCain. Well, today Marc Ramsey is facing charges in that case. He's already in jail in Colorado on other charges. Investigators haven't identified that powder but they say it is not anthrax or anything deadly. McCain campaign staffers got a package with the threatening letter and that white powdery substance on Thursday.

NGUYEN: Let's get you back to the Democrats now and you can get the first official look at the presidential ticket a little bit later today. Senators Obama and Biden will appear together for the first time as running mates in Springfield, Illinois. That's the same place where Obama's campaign began more than 19 months ago. A rally happening at 3:00 Eastern outside the old state capitol. You can see it live right here on CNN.

We do have another big story today. Tropical storm Fay. Familiar with that one? Well, it's still dumping rain and stirring up winds in Florida.

HOLMES: Reynolds Wolf keeping an eye on this storm for us today.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Fay is the seemingly never ending storm that continues to rip through parts of Florida with winds right around 45. Some gusts have been stronger, topping 60. The storm has caused all kinds of damage throughout the state. You see some video here. Floodwaters continue to rise in many places, dropping in others, and now this mess is moving to the west.

We'll show you how long the storm is going to last, who it's going to affect. That's coming up in a few moments right here on CNN, your hurricane headquarters.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Obama and Biden, that's the Democratic presidential ticket for '08. Senators Obama and Biden will appear together for the first time as running mates in Springfield, Illinois, this afternoon. That's the same place where Obama's campaign began more than 19 months ago. A rally happening at 3:00 Eastern outside the old state building which you see right there, will take place and you will see it live right here on CNN.

HOLMES: Well this horrible story now, news to bring you, story we brought you last weekend. It was a tragic story that we thought would have a happy ending. Turns out it does not. New York's miracle baby has died. This story -- he was delivered by C-section after a terrible bus accident trapped his mom under that bus. These are some of the pictures here.

The bystanders, about 30 of them, came together, lifted that five-ton school bus off of her. Well she was killed in the accident. She wasn't able to be saved. But the child survived, was born about an hour later, was born two months premature, had been in intensive care but word that the child did not survive, was three pounds, six ounces, when that baby was born.

And now to turn to that plane crash in Spain. We got some new developments on that crash. A source close to the investigation saying that the plane was not on fire as it took off from Madrid's airport on Wednesday. Instead, it lifted slightly into the air and fell back to the ground and then caught fire. 153 people aboard were killed. About 80 bodies have been recovered from the wreckage. Only 80 of those have been identified. Nineteen people did survive and are still in the hospital this morning.

NGUYEN: We have bean talking about the weather today as well because it's another big story and there have been a few deaths associated with tropical storm Fay, which has not faded away. It's making what, its sixth landfall today.

WOLF: Yes, and could possibly make its seventh landfall if you can believe that. I mean, let's go back and count them real quick. We've got, let's see. Two landfalls in Cuba, one near Guantanamo Bay, and the second one near the south of Havana and past just to the east of that point. Then you had the Florida keys, that would be the third landfall.

The fourth one would have been the south of Tampa, not far from Naples. The fifth, near Jacksonville. The sixth, right across Apalachicola Bay, Florida. And then possibly another one near the (inaudible) keys. You're looking at the potential seven landfalls, one storm.

And what a pain this storm has been. Producing heavy rainfall around the state, some places well over 20 inches of rainfall. We've had flooding, power outages, even some tornadoes have popped up from this storm. We had some damage earlier that we showed you in parts of Tallahassee. We've got the flood watches and warnings out there, and now a tornado watch that will be in effect until 3:00 p.m.. For parts of South Georgia, taking you right along i-75 to the i-10 corridor and then southward, you go past Gainesville and then even into Tampa Bay.

So, you have the potential of those tornadoes and when you have the tornadoes with these kind of systems, they usually don't last very long. Not at all. They usually are also very weak. But they tend to be rain wrapped meaning there's not a lot of warning when these things strike. So you really need to be careful today through parts of Florida and into Georgia.

As far as south as Orlando, conditions are getting a little bit better. We have a live image for you from Orlando. Here you go. Hello from O. Town. That's the i-4 corridor that you see right there, on one side of the screen it's a beautiful day out by the Lake Eola. You might want to get out there and enjoy yourself, beautiful fountain there, a great day to take some pictures. They do have wi-fi I'm told out there and you know what, if you want to go to CNN.com or at least i-report and send us some great pictures over there and show us how things are looking after the storm.

But although things are getting better in Orlando, things are going to be getting worse for other people in other parts of Florida. Back into Alabama, even into Mississippi, Louisiana and perhaps even parts of Arkansas because that's where the storm is headed. The latest path from the National Hurricane Center pushes everything off to the west, doing so at a rate of seven miles per hour. Maybe a little bit of fluctuation with that forward speed.

Definitely slowing down as we get into Monday and almost like a heavy truck going downhill, screeching on the brakes, notice the storm beginning to slow down right near Lake Pontchartrain as a tropical storm and then weakening to a depression and then boom, it makes the turn to the north into Wednesday and into Thursday.

And this certainly is some bad news. You don't need the rainfall. But trying to find a little bit ray of sunshine in this. You have to remember much of the southeast has been dealing with a severe drought. So, although we don't need the excessive rainfall, some rainfall certainly good news. So you got to find that silver lining with the clouds, so to speak. You can always find it. You're always happy, you guys at the anchor desk. It's always a good time for you. So being positive here.

NGUYEN: You say it like you need to convince us.

WOLF: I'm trying so hard.

NGUYEN: Yes, you are.

WOLF: There you go.

NGUYEN: You're doing a good job at it.

WOLF: We do what we can.

HOLMES: We really do appreciate you.

And we have our Wolf Blitzer, standing by for us this weekend in Denver. He's there now. He's going to have a lot more coverage of Barack Obama's running mate pick.

NGUYEN: We also have a profile of Joe Biden for you that you don't want to miss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: All right. Take a live look. There the state house in Springfield, Illinois. So much history there, and it's also the place where Obama launched his campaign some 19 months ago, and today, it's a big stage for Obama's pick as a running mate, that being Joe Biden.

And they will step on stage together as the Democratic ticket at 3:00 p.m. Eastern right there in Springfield, Illinois. CNN will have live coverage. You know the best political team on television is bringing you comprehensive coverage of the Obama-Biden ticket.

HOLMES: And who else to lead that coverage but CNN's Wolf Blitzer who joins us once again from the Democratic convention site in Denver. Good morning to you again. Is there -- no, it's early there but still a lot of buzz about what we saw overnight?

BLITZER: Yes. There's a total amount of buzz over here in Denver. People are very excited. I got in very late last night, but you know what, this is going to be the center of attention over the next several days. Our chief national correspondent John King is here in Denver. He's been here, you got here yesterday morning, I got here late last night.

This decision by Senator Obama, what does it say about him as the Democratic presidential nominee, because if he would have picked someone else, Evan Bayh or Tim Kaine or Hillary Clinton would have said something, what does the Joe Biden decision say, John, about Senator Barack Obama?

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think the two biggest thing it says, one there's been this narrative out there saying here's a guy with this huge ego. He think he's always right. Well, Joe Biden is no shrinking violet. You know him very well, Wolf. He is not going to be shy if he disagrees with Barack Obama, he will do it in the private of the campaign meetings or in the Oval Office if they get that far, but Joe Biden will state his opinion and he will state it quite firmly and passionately.

So Barack Obama is proving here that he's willing to bring somebody in who might challenge him on a lot of things, who challenged him quite a bit in the Democratic debates. The other thing, the other big factor is the big question for Barack Obama in a year where the Democrats are fundamentally favored giving all the political dynamics in the country, is he safe? That is the question. People are asking a 47-year-old guy and yes, the first African-American major political nominee, is he safe to be commander in chief? Is he ready?

Joe Biden brings a long resume of foreign policy experience that if you're a conservative Democrat who's sort of on the fence or if you're somebody out there who's asking the commander in chief questions, that could help them, could.

We'll see how the campaign plays out, go and say here's a guy, you trust his judgment, you think he needs a little bit of help, a little bit of backup, very similar I think and Republicans are going to light up my Blackberries with e-mails, but remember George W. Bush, the question was is this guy ready to be commander in chief? He picks an establishment figure like Dick Cheney who the country knows, who has a lot of experience. I think you can draw some parallels to that.

BLITZER: And remember, on the eve of his announcement, on the eve of his decision, he was saying I don't want a yes man. I don't want a yes person. I want someone who's going to go back and forth with me and make me a better president. If we know Joe Biden he's not a yes man. He's got a lot of strongly held views, not just on foreign policy, but on domestic issues, economic issues. He was chairman of the senate judiciary committee and had very. Very controversial hearings on Supreme Court nominees.

KING: You make a key point because the first challenge is to electrify, unify, excite the Democratic base. There's already a great deal of enthusiasm on the Democratic side. The one thing that Barack Obama did not want to do is pop that balloon. On the judiciary committee, Joe Biden very well liked by the groups that are involved in the judicial selections. The ACLU, groups like that that tend to lean to the left.

On foreign policies issues, that's the interesting question on foreign policies. Remember in one of the debates early on, he was much more muscular than the rest of the Democrats saying if you think it's genocide in Darfur, you might have to send troops, not just talk about it. So, that will be an interesting (INAUDIBLE).

Joe Biden in the Democratic debates a, did a very strong job, just didn't have the resources of Obama or Clinton, but b, was a much more scoop Jackson like, don't be afraid to use muscle as well as the mouth in the bully pulpit of the United States.

BLITZER: The mobile phones were going off at 3:00 in the morning, not that long ago, and an e-mail to supporters from Senator Obama. "I have some important news that I want to make official. I've chosen Joe Biden to be my running mate. Joe and I will appear for the first time as running mates this afternoon in Springfield, Illinois, the same place this campaign began more than 19 months ago."

Then he goes on to talk a little bit about that and asks for help from their supporters. We're going to talk a lot more about this. John, stand by. We'll, of course, have extensive live coverage of their first joint appearance in Springfield, Illinois. That comes up later this afternoon.

Lots more of that action going on right here in Denver as well. We're going to get Republican reaction from Senator McCain and other Republicans, lots more of our coverage coming up on this important day in the race for the White House.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Welcome back, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.

HOLMES: And hello to you, all. I'm T.J. Holmes.

NGUYEN: Well, the political headline this morning. It's Biden. Barack Obama picks Delaware Senator Joe Biden as his running mate.

HOLMES: And our political team first broke this story last night around 12:30 Eastern Time. The text message, though, from the Obama campaign went out just after 3:00 a.m. That text said, "Barack has chosen Senator Joe Biden to be our VP nominee. Watch the first Obama- Biden rally live at 3:00 p.m. Eastern, spread the word." The campaign e-mail went out as well, it said, "Friend -- I have some important news that I want to make official. I've chosen Joe Biden to be my running mate."

NGUYEN: Well, the bottom line on what Senator Biden brings to the table, one word, experience.

HOLMES: Experience.

NGUYEN: During the primaries, Biden raised questions about Obama.

HOLMES: Yes, but in an interview last month, he did say that he would choose Obama's judgment over John McCain's experience.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Look, you have brilliant, relatively young man, who is the nominee of the Democratic Party, who's leading John McCain on every area except the one where experience, just intuitively, suggests people think if you're experienced, you must know more.

But, 20 years of experience that has not been very solid in terms of being projecting what was going to happen, doesn't make you a better commander-in-chief. We don't need as a commander-in-chief a war hero. John's a war hero. We need someone with some wisdom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well, Biden's stock began to rise in the VP stakes in the past several days and certainly began to rise as well after he made a recent trip to the Republic of Georgia.

NGUYEN: Want to get you now back to Denver and our Wolf Blitzer who's following all of this morning.

Wolf, it has definitely been a busy morning and a lot of buzz around this pick.

BLITZER: He's certainly the man of the hour right now, Joe Biden. A lot of Americans know him, but they're going to know him a lot better over the coming days and weeks until November 4. Bill Schneider has been studying Joe Biden for a long time. He goes back well of 30 years in the United States Senate. He came as a very young man from the state of Delaware.

But, as he comes into this process, that history that he has, will certainly affect this race.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: It certainly will. Change and experience, that's the ticket.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER (voice over): What does Joe Biden bring to the ticket? The ability to speak knowledgeably about issues like these: BIDEN: What's going on in Pakistan this very moment, as I speak to you, what's going on in the subcontinent overall, the Korean peninsula, China, Hugo Chavez rewriting the constitution to make himself leader for life in the deed (ph) democratization of Latin America. Ladies and gentlemen, there's a great deal at stake.

SCHNEIDER: Biden is it the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he's been in the Senate for 36 years, he knows Washington, he knows the world, two areas where Barack Obama's credentials are a little weak, and he's from Delaware. Delaware? Just three electoral votes. Pretty reliably Democratic. How does Biden help Obama politically?

Biden is a Catholic and Catholics are swing voters he has roots in Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania is a swing state, one that Obama lost to Hillary Clinton in the primaries.

KING: You're getting national security experience, you're getting enthusiasm and you hope you're getting some help in those white working class, blue collar towns where Barack Obama needs help.

SCHNEIDER: Biden talks a great deal. Sometimes saying things he shouldn't say.

BIDEN: I mean, you got the first sort of mainstream African- American, who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice looking guy, I mean, that's a storybook, man.

KING: The rap on him is that he talks too long, his speeches don't end and occasionally he goes off the reservation.

SCHNEIDER: Can Biden control his tendency to say too much? He's certainly trying.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An editorial in the "Los Angeles Times" said in addition to his uncontrolled verbosity, Biden is a gaffe machine. Can you reassure voters in this country that you would have the discipline you need on the world stage, Senator?

BIDEN: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER: Biden has had two of the most important jobs in Washington, he's been chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and that's reassuring to some voters who worry about Obama's lack of experience.

BLITZER: And he suffered a major personal tragedy after he was elected to the senate, as a young man.

SCHNEIDER: He was elected as a very young man in 1972, in November, one month later, in December, his wife, his first wife, and their daughter, were killed in an automobile accident and his two sons were critically injured, they both survived. He was sworn in for his first term as a Senate in the hospital room at the bedside of one of his sons.

BLITZER: I read a lot about that and I've spoken with him about it. And one of those sons is now the attorney general of the state of Delaware, he's in the National Guard and he's about to go serve a tour of duty in Iraq. We're going to talk a little bit more about that later. A fascinating, fascinating development.

Also, T.J. and Betty, one of the things we're going to be looking into is Hillary Clinton. Was she snubbed in this entire process? A lot more on that. A lot more on what's going to happen later today in Springfield, Illinois. Our political coverage certainly will continue. In the meantime back to you guys.

NGUYEN: Oh, yes. Lot of reaction to come, thank you, Wolf.

Well, you don't have to wait until Monday for the reaction from the Democratic National Convention. You can join Wolf and the best political team on television tonight at 8:00 Eastern for a CNN kickoff special. They are coming to you live from Denver.

In the meantime though, John McCain's campaign quickly reacted to the news Biden would be Obama's running mate. A McCain spokesman issued a statement saying, "There has been no harsher critic of Barack Obama's lack of experience than Joe Biden. Biden has denounced Barack Obama's poor foreign policy judgment and has strongly argued in his own words that what Americans are quickly realizing is that Barack Obama is not ready to be president."

HOLMES: Well, they reacted there with a statement, but would you believe they reacted already with a campaign ad? Yes. They've got one out already. Check it out, a new TV ad, the McCain campaign brought to us, dropped off to us at our Washington bureau.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

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

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 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.

BIDEN: I think that I stand by the statement.

ANNOUNCER: And what does he say about John McCain?

BIDEN: I would be honored to run with or against John McCain because I think the country would be better off.

MCCAIN: I'm John McCain and I approve this message.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: So, did Barack Obama make the best choice for a running mate? CNN's Tom Foreman examines that and looks a ahead at the Democratic National Convention, catch that this afternoon on "THIS WEEK IN POLITICS" 2:00 Eastern Time.

NGUYEN: Well, the secret revealed.

HOLMES: Finally, we're following this story if you have not noticed. Senator Barack Obama has picked Delaware Senator Joe Biden to be his running mate.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: We will continue with our coverage of the new Democratic ticket that we have gotten official word of. We'll talk about that more in just a moment, but now also another big story, Tropical Storm Fay we're keeping an eye on. This storm's torrential rains are just -- got a bull's eye on Florida, right now. What you're seeing is a picture of a nursing home that had to be evacuated in Jacksonville.

You know, it's just been relentless and ruthless. Tropical Storm Fay has killed at least six people in Florida -- neighborhoods, basically swimming in water, and this morning, Fay is bashing the coast again for a fourth time. It's a record. Our Susan Candiotti is in Panama City beach, she joins us live.

And right now, behind you doesn't seem too bad, but I know it's really going to be coming in and really affecting a lot of folks.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Betty, it comes and it goes. We're in the middle of a very light rain squall, right now. They're expecting upwards, as many as 12 inches of rain here in Panama City Beach, but they could very well get much less than that. As you can see, the wind coming in from the west right now, the surf not too, too bad, in fact, people are out for a morning walk because it isn't so bad, right now. But, the fact is, the state has been taking a pounding for a week, now.

(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 rowboats and transferred to other facilities out of harm's way. The question everyone is 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 CHRIST, 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, I just spoke with officials at Florida's Emergency Operation Center. The latest death toll is eight, eight storm related deaths since this storm, Tropical Storm Fay, began hitting the state about one week ago and that is why people have to remain vigilant because you never know what could happen if you are not careful in storms like these. Back to you -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Well, this indeed has been a record storm and as we first mentioned six people have been killed, we understand from you, that is now eight. All right, thank you so much, Susan, we do appreciate it.

HOLMES: And our meteorologist, Reynolds Wolf has been keeping an eye on this thing all week and still keeping an eye on it.

Can't believe you're still having to watch this thing and still talking about landfall.

WOLF: I know, T.J. I know.

HOLMES: Sorry.

WOLF: It is amazing. This storm has really defied all logic. I mean, it's made landfall twice in Cuba, once in the Florida Keys, once south of Tampa not far from Naples, another time just south of Jacksonville near Neptune Beach and then boom, another one this morning near Apalachicola and we can see another one towards Perdeto Key, Florida.

You know, Susan Candiotti brought up really two incredible points in the last little bit that she had for us and one thing was you have eight people dead and the other thing is this is a tropical storm. So many people get the idea that as soon as they hear the word hurricane that's when they go crazy, that's when they really want to start taking action. But remember, a tropical storm, even a tropical depression, can be deadly, so you really need to take heed whenever the storms come calling.

Let's show you what we have in terms of some of the damage. We've got some video for you from earlier in -- this is actually near Tallahassee, right near the state capital. You see the trees, those live oaks, beautiful, beautiful trees, great root systems, but still when you have winds that come in excess of say 60 miles-an-hour, usually something is going to give and unfortunately those trees often fall victim and you see when they fall they usually, you know, at time they can take out a home, in this case a mobile home, and certainly a bad thing to see.

Farther to the south in Orlando, though, things are getting a little bit better for you. We've got a live image, I believe, a tower cam out of Orlando, just picture sunshine, looks pretty good. Looks really good, there. And the reason why is because everything is lifting up and going to the west and northwest.

Now, as you go back to the weather computer we're going to see the storm continuing its march off to the west. Right now, though, flooding is the big story that we have. Flash flooding possible not only through Florida, but into Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, even Louisiana and Arkansas and then you couple that with the possibility of tornadoes.

A lot of times when these systems make their way onshore, these dying tropical systems can spin off tornado, they're usually very weak, they usually don't last that long, usually F-0, EF-0 in terms of their intensity, but still, we're talking tornadoes here, they can definitely take out trees, cause all kinds of damage. This tornado watch in effect for parts of Georgia, into Florida, is going to be in effect until 3:00 p.m., today. So, certainly keep that under advisement.

Meanwhile, the storm is not going to remain in place, it's nonstationary. It's going to move at a cowl, moving at seven miles- per-hour, expected to go right along the coastline, not far from Destine, right near Perdeto Key. If you're heading out say to Fort Morgan, Fort Gains, maybe (INAUDIBLE), today, you're going to be dealing with some heavy surf right along the coast and of course some rain showers, squalls heavy at times. As Susan mentioned you could see some places in excess of a foot of rainfall.

Then the storm makes its way near New Orleans, not far from Lake Pontchartrain, and notice this very quickly, from Monday into Tuesday, it's going to weaken, but it's going to move very, very slowly. That's where you're going to have a real threat of water, a lot of -- big, big threat of flooding in parts of Louisiana, back into Mississippi and then it begins to turn to the north according to the National Hurricane Center's forecast and then by Thursday, winds only 25 miles-per-hour, but possibly a big rainmaker and flooding may be a tremendous story for a lot of people, as we get into Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of next week, already a huge story throughout much of Florida.

Back to you.

NGUYEN: I can't believe it, it's still hanging around this long.

WOLF: I know, it's amazing. Once it's gone though, it's gone for good. The name Fay will be retired, you bet.

NGUYEN: Well, let's hope.

WOLF: You bet.

NGUYEN: OK, thanks, Reynolds. HOLMES: Thanks, Reynolds.

NGUYEN: You know, she was on the short list, but didn't get the call.

HOLMES: Yes, what Hillary Clinton is now saying about Barack Obama picking Joe Biden as his running mate.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, here it is, Obama and Biden. That is the Democratic presidential ticket for '08. Senators Obama and Biden will appear together for the first time as running mates in Springfield, Illinois, this afternoon.

HOLMES: And they will be appearing at this place, that's the same spot where Obama began his campaign more than 19 months ago. That's the State House, the old State House there in Springfield, Illinois. That rally happening around 3:00 Eastern Time outside of that Old State capitol and you will be able to see that live on CNN.

NGUYEN: So, what are those on that short list saying today about Obama's pick? Well, we have a statement now from Obama's former rival, Senator Hillary Clinton and she praises Obama's decision. Clinton says, "In naming my colleague and friend, Senator Joe Biden, to be the vice presidential nominee, Senator Obama has continued in the best tradition 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."

As you know, the best political team on television is bringing you comprehensive coverage of the Obama/Biden ticket.

HOLMES: Yes, CNN's Wolf Blitzer joins us again this morning from the Democratic Convention site in Denver.

You heard that statement there, Wolf, from Senator Clinton. Some say she hasn't done enough really to show support for Obama. Everybody else saying maybe she's done the exact right thing and saying all the right things. This statement coming out now, once again, is she saying the right thing?

BLITZER: Well, it's going to be one of the major, major themes of this convention here in Denver, guys, whether or not the Obama wing and the Clinton wing can really unify and leave Denver, go forward with a unified Democratic Party. It's not going to be easy by any means, because there's a lot of bad blood still out there.

Paul Steinhauser, our deputy political director, is here in Denver watching all of this. She issued a very gracious statement, praising Senator Obama's decision to pick Senator Joe Biden and she really does like Joe Biden. I think she's happy about that, but some of her allies, as you well know, Paul, they're not happy with the way she was treated by Senator Obama, looking forward to this vice presidential selection.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: And that's key, so crucial. Because yes, she came out publicly right after she dropped out of the primaries and backed Barack Obama, but her supporters, 18 million in the primaries, and right here in Denver, she still controls about 1,500 delegates. That is going to be the big story, one of the big stories this week. Will they accept this ticket now that she's not there?

And the news yesterday that we heard that she wasn't even vetted, I think that's upsetting some of her allies, too, some of her supporters. They were hoping for that dream ticket, that ticket that you mentioned at that debate back in January in Los Angeles. A lot of people wanted to see that dream ticket, a lot of Clinton supporters.

BLITZER: A lot of her supporters. Yesterday in "THE SITUATION ROOM," both James Carville and Paul Begala, our CNN political contributors, Democratic strategists, strong friends of the Clintons, they were both irritated that even though Barack Obama said she would be on anyone's short list, apparently, she was never vetted for that process, she was never really questioned, and James was really upset that he apparently never really consulted with her about who he should select as his running mate, so there clearly is some work to be done in order to unify this Democratic Party.

STEINHAUSER: And I think her supporters will see that and feel that she got snubbed. Recent polling shows that almost half of her supporters in one poll may not yet be onboard with Barack Obama. That's a problem they're going to have to try to solve this week, here in Denver.

BLITZER: And the whole notion of placing her name in nomination, it's supposed to unify the party, but doesn't that simply revive a lot of those old bad memories for these Democrats going forward in the battle against McCain?

STEINHAUSER: It could, and it could give us a lot of drama right here this week when they do that roll call. It will be interesting to see what happens this week.

BLITZER: As far as the Republican vice presidential selection is concerned, will Senator McCain now have to reassess his -- whatever he's been thinking in light of the fact that Joe Biden will be debating that Republican vice presidential contender in that one vice presidential debate? And Biden's a very good debater.

STEINHAUSER: A very good, and we saw that over the course of a number of debates last year. It almost reminds you of 1988, when Lloyd Benson really kind of took to task Dan Quayle, and I don't think the Republicans want another moment like that.

BLITZER: Although Quayle and Bush wound up winning the contest when all the dust settled, even though Quayle may not necessarily have done that well against Lloyd Benson, the Senator from Texas.

All right, Paul, standby, you're going to be a busy guy over these next 70-plus days. We have a lot more coverage coming up here from Denver. Remember, we're standing by. Later this afternoon we'll be going to Springfield, Illinois. They'll be unveiling the ticket formally, Obama and Biden. Senator Biden getting ready to leave Delaware and head off to Illinois. Senator Obama still in Chicago, right now.

Much more of our coverage right here when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right, the reaction to Obama's announcement still pouring in here to us at CNN.

NGUYEN: Josh Levs has been sorting through hundreds of e-mails this morning. A lot of people weighing in on the Obiden (sic) pick and also weighing in on how Obama really decided to go about this announcement.

HOLMES: OK, I got to stop you -- that's the second time you've done that, Obiden.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's going to catch on, Obiden. It's catching on.

HOLMES: Obiden. You said it again.

NGUYEN: I said "Obiden," really?

HOLMES: You didn't realize you said it, but Obiden.

NGUYEN: It's becoming a household name.

LEVS: Thanks to Betty, they have a new slogan. In fact, their campaign...

NGUYEN: The bumper stickers are being made as we speak.

LEVS: Well, remember on March 17 when you did O'Bama with an apostrophe? I mean, if they had Biden already, I mean it, it would be Obiden.

All right, let's look at some of these e-mails. Basically go two going on all at the same time. And man are you all weighing in. We have some i-Reports this morning on your thoughts on the choice of Biden. We've been looking at those, we'll do it again in a few minutes.

But we have another question going. We invited your e-mails about how Barack Obama did this announcement. Do you feel that you were first to know, given that his text came out at 3:00 in the morning? And by the way, we had it a few hours before that. So, let's look at the e-mails, starting with this first one from Linda in Merritt Island, Florida:

"OMG! You guys just don't get it. The text message was sent when all the college kids are still out and about. I think Mr. Obama nailed this one."

Now to David Larson who writes us this: "To be sure the 3:00 a.m. Saturday announcement as sophomoric at best, idiocy at worst. It leads me to believe that both Senator Obama and his staff are far too engaged in "all things IT."

This is an interesting one now from Hakimah Shahid, "I first found out by tuning in to a local news program and then I immediately went to my cell p hone to find a text message verifying the story. What a great way for the Dems to involve and inform the people."

But not everybody had an easy time. For example, James Pike, who says: "I signed up for the text message and got none. I had a very hard time on his Web site. I had to call customer service just to log back in. This makes me nervous about the way things may happen during his presidency."

Now, we have not had a lot of reports like that, but our executive producer, Margie (ph), did not sign up for it, she did get it anyway, and she doesn't know how they got her private cell phone number, unless maybe she got the one that was supposed to go to James Pike.

If you want to weigh in on this, here's the e-mail question for you today. Write us at weekends@CNN.com. Let us know, what do you think about how Obama handled the VP announcement. And guys, I'll be back in about 15 minutes to take a look at some of these i-Reports behind me where people are weighing in on whether Biden was a good choice or a bad choice, or as we might be saying for the rest of the day, whether Obiden was a good choice or a bad choice -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Well, you know, it's pretty smart how they did this in the sense that they got all of those phone numbers...

HOLMES: Got your number, yes.

NGUYEN: So, when it comes time to make those phone calls so people can go to the polls, they've got them.

LEVS: And no public financing, hence no limits to whether they can get that money, absolutely.

NGUYEN: There you go. OK, thank you.

HOLMES: Thanks, Josh.