Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Saturday Morning News
Campaigning Heats Up for Mid-term Elections; Countdown to Election; "Too Disabled to Fly"; The Royal Good Grinch
Aired October 16, 2010 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR, SATURDAY MORNING: Good morning, everybody -- blackout in New York. The lights aren't out rather one particular channel is out and it could keep millions of sports fans from seeing playoff baseball and NFL football this weekend.
TJ HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR, SATURDAY MORNING: Also this morning, a major change in drug sentencing guidelines, guidelines that many people argued for years discriminated against African-Americans. Hello to you all from CNN center. This is your CNN SATURDAY MORNING, 8:00 a.m. in Atlanta, Georgia where we sit, 7:00 a.m. in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Wherever you may be, glad you're right here. I'm TJ Holmes.
BOLDUAN: I'm Kate Bolduan. Thanks so much for starting your day with us you guys. We've got a lot going on this morning. So let's get a check of some of our top stories. A gas explosion has killed at least 20 coal miners in China. At least 17 are still trapped. China said this week it has closed more than 1,300 small coal mines this year. China has one of the world's deadliest records for miners.
And the Mexican government has suspended a search for a missing Texan, David Hartley. Tiffany Hartley, his wife, says her husband was shot by drug pirates last month while they were jet skiing on the Mexico side of Falcon Lake which straddles the Texas Mexico border. After speaking with Mexican authorities Friday, Hartley's family hopes the search will start again Monday.
And rapper TI is heading back to prison after violating probation on a gun charge. A Federal judge sentenced him Friday to 11 months, saying he's quote, had the limit for second chances.
HOLMES: We of course just have 17 days to go now until the all- important mid-term elections and you know it's crunch time now. So you bet, they got the big dogs out there on the campaign trail including the president, President Obama. He is busy raising money for the Democratic Party. He's campaigning for an old friend in Massachusetts today. The Democratic Governor Deval Patrick who is in a pretty tough election contest right now. Also, the former President Bill Clinton, he was busy as well, campaigning for former political rival yesterday. He was stomping at a rally for the California Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown.
Also the Republican side, don't get much bigger this campaign season than former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. She was out or will be out with RNC Chairman Michael Steele. Both will be at a Republican rally in Anaheim, California, this evening. Democrats though important right now the task at hand for them is trying to bridge the so- called enthusiasm gap all over the country including in Maryland. There they are having what's called a get out the vote day. Union members are sponsoring the event in a predominantly black area of Maryland. Democrats hoping these two groups can deliver on election day and let's find our congressional correspondent Brianna Keilar in the middle of it all there in Maryland for us. Brianna, good morning to you.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, TJ. We're going to find out on election day whether that enthusiasm gap is so pervasive here in Maryland. Because here in Maryland, there's a straight up match when it comes to the governor's race here. You've got Martin O'Malley, the Democratic governor here and he is facing Bob Ehrlich who he ousted four years ago and that's the question. Are Maryland voters going to reverse themselves based on certain issues that they are facing here? Unemployment not as high as the national average. It's about 7 percent. Certainly jobs and the economy are the big issues here and even though Maryland trends Democratic, there's that question of whether Republican voters are just more enthusiastic and if they're going to come out. This race here, Martin O'Malley certainly would tell you it's a little closer than he would like to see, so certainly we're going to, essentially have a bit of a referendum here in 17 days TJ.
HOLMES: As you said, 7 percent unemployment, that is certainly better than a lot of places around the country. A lot of states would take that right now . Brianna Keilar, we appreciate you. Thank you so much.
BOLDUAN: Former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel is rallying the troops for his Chicago mayoral bid. Emanuel kicks off his petition drive today. He sent an e-mail to volunteers yesterday asking them to start gathering signatures this weekend. Emanuel needs 12,500 registered voter signatures by November 22nd to get on the ballot for the February 5th election.
HOLMES: We will be on the road here at CNN hitting the road next week with our CNN election express bus. We're trying to figure out what's on the minds of Americans. We know much of that have to do with the economy and jobs, but we're coming out to talk to you. I will be aboard all next week. You can watch us for our coverage as we go from Charlotte, North Carolina, on Monday to Columbia, South Carolina on Tuesday to Macon, Georgia on Wednesday, Jacksonville, Florida on Thursday and Friday we'll see you in Tampa, Florida. We want to hear from you ahead of this trip as well. What in those local economies do you want us to talk about? What should we highlight and quite frankly, where should we just go have lunch? Send me a tweet at TJ Holmes CNN or on Facebook, send a message at Facebook.com/tjholmescnn. Want to hear from you before we head out on that trip.
Also, this morning, need to turn and tell you about this as well. Two suspected U.S. drone attacks that killed 13 suspected militants in Pakistan. This happened Friday in a tribal region near north Waziristan, that problem area you have heard plenty of times before. The area borders Afghanistan and is known for militant activity. Pakistani intelligence says drones targeted two alleged militant hideouts. The Pentagon has a long-standing policy, do not talk about these drone attacks.
BOLDUAN: Happening now in France, growing unrest over proposed pension cuts. More street demonstrations are set for today across the country following a workers' strike earlier this week. The protest halting much of the nation's transportation and sparking fears of a fuel shortage. Let's bring in CNN's Jim Bitterman. He's live in Paris with the very latest. What's is the latest, Jim?
JIM BITTERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi Kate. We're in the fifth day of that strike and what's beginning to happen as refinery workers join the various other unions that are out on strike, there's starting to be fuel shortages. As you mentioned, one of the problems is at the airports. Both airports in Paris, Charles de Gaulle and Orly are fed by a single pipeline that's connected to a refinery. That refinery is on strike and so fuel supplies at the airports are running short. What they are saying is that they've got enough fuel, kerosene out at Charles de Gaulle airport to last through Monday night and then beyond that, they will have to figure out some kind of alternatives. They are some alternatives. They're already apparently warning pilots that they may not get all the fuel they want when they come in here, meaning they want to come in with enough fuel to get them back to their destinations. So it is causing a big headache and we're starting to see some lineups out on the streets here in front of the service stations as people try to get gasoline. The government was trying to avoid panic buying on the part of motorists, but motorists are trying to be prudent as well and they're worried that this could go on for some time yet. Kate.
BOLDUAN: At the moment, does it seem like it's now just more of a fear of the supply cuts beginning to affect motorists or are they actually starting to see some type of shortage?
BITTERMAN: Well, it depends how you look it at the situation. But in fact about 200 or so gasoline stations have been shut down because they are out of fuel. So that just adds to the sort of impression that fuel is running short. Now, both petroleum companies and the government are saying that there's enough reserve supplies to go around at least for a week or so and that people shouldn't panic but that hasn't really left much of an impression with motorists especially those who have to commute.
BOLDUAN: When you see demonstrations continue to go on, it doesn't make motorists feel very confident it will wrap up in a week or so. All right, Jim Bitterman in Paris for us, thanks so much, Jim.
HOLMES: For so long during the Gulf oil disaster, we kept hearing day after day that so much of the Gulf waters were being closed to fishermen. It was just killing their business. Well, business is coming back because they are getting the green light to go back to many of those areas. We'll tell you just how much of that water is now open to fishing again.
BOLDUAN: And bullying without boundaries. They can harass their victims on the Internet. We'll tell you how to protect you and your kids from this. HOLMES: But first, before we go to this quick, quick break, can you answer this question? Seventeen days until the midterm election. We've been talking about this a lot so you should know this, but we've got a political news quiz for you. How many Senate seats are up for grabs in this year's midterm election? Is it A, 59, B, 37 or C, 19? We know the DC correspondent sitting next to me knows the answer. It's nine past the hour. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Ten minutes past the hour. Before the break we asked you this question. We had a political news quiz for you. How many Senate seats are up for grabs in this year's mid-term election, A, 59, B, 37 or C, 19? I will hand it to my DC correspondent sitting next to me who certainly knows the answer to this question.
BOLDUAN: Yes. As I'm sure you all know as well. Everyone is a political junky this year. The answer B, 37 Senate seats are up for grabs this election. There are 100 total Senate seats, 59 of those are held by Democrats. For more on all things politics, everything you need to know, go to cnn.com/politics. So, what else?
HOLMES: What else? Well, how tough is it would you say finding a parking spot around southern California these days?
BOLDUAN: I know in Washington, DC it's very hard.
HOLMES: It's hard in DC. We've kind of got it easy in Atlanta quite frankly. Parking is no big deal. It gets a little tricky out there in California. They had to go this route. San Diego police investigating the case of a Corvette that was left parked in the Pacific. They soon discovered a couple was nearby. They may, may allegedly had too much to drink. They tried to run from the scene. Our affiliate there KGTV reports the two were arrested for public intoxication. The Vet was a actually rental. They claim a man they met in a nearby bar was driving the car.
BOLDUAN: It's this guy. They don't know his name. They just know that he was driving it.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Doesn't it hurt your heart seeing something as beautiful as that car being eaten away by something that corrosive.
BOLDUAN: You think once you hit the sand, you'd know maybe we should stop.
HOLMES: I buy their excuse now. There's no way if you owned that car, you would treat it like that. It had to be a rental.
BOLDUAN: (INAUDIBLE)
WOLF: It could be a pacer. (INAUDIBLE) It has to be a nice looking Vet.
HOLMES: Good morning to you. You said maybe a bad start to the day but we could end up in a really good spot.
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: We do have a picture of -- it will be a while before we get a picture of the child. We're playing a song, Alicia Keye, congratulations to her and her new husband (INAUDIBLE) just welcomed their first child, a son. They named him Egypt. He was born October 14th in New York. These two got together. It was very quiet and hush-hush for quite some time. You all ridiculous on that couch.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Because we're all so tall.
BOLDUAN: I love that you said that we're tall.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: You need to be in the middle.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: I'm sorry. Congratulations like we were saying to Alicia Keye. We're going to move on now to an honor that's normally reserved for athletes, action heroes and other famous folks, but check it out. How much fun does that game look, guys?
WOLF: That's a game?
BOLDUAN: Maybe this is the rough draft.
HOLMES: This is the actual game. This is a game for those 33 now free miners in Chile. A design firm has put this together, this flash game. It recreates the ups and downs of the capsule that carried each man up to the surface.
LEVS: I don't think it does.
BOLDUAN: That's the point. You help each man into the capsule. Bring him up to the surface and then supposedly they come out.
LEVS: Give it a couple months. We'll have a good 3D game.
BOLDUAN: This is the prototype.
HOLMES: Let's skip that all-together. Let's go now to the University of Michigan. We have this video here ready, these guys.
BOLDUAN: I don't even know this one.
HOLMES: Check this out. These guys are in their 70s, would you believe that? They're University of Michigan alum, pretty talented group of cheerleaders.
WOLF: Good gosh almighty.
HOLMES: 70 years old.
BOLDUAN: A 17 year old couldn't do that.
WOLF: He's pretty limber.
BOLDUAN: I have just fallen in love.
LEVS: I'm really impressed with these guys.
BOLDUAN: I have fallen in love. This is now why of course we actually have all of us on the couch because you guys were going to reenact.
WOLF: As if. Look at this. My gosh.
BOLDUAN: That's why you are wearing the same color scheme.
WOLF: That's pretty amazing. One bad fall and you're supposed to take it easy when you advance in age. These guys are going all out. Impressive, very cool.
BOLDUAN: I love that.
HOLMES: One more here, this one on another note. You guys know and certainly on the weekend we've been covering this guy for some time. TI is going back to jail. This young man just got out of prison at the end of last year, spent the first part of this year in a halfway house. This is video of him leaving the Federal courthouse yesterday. Judge sending him back for 11 months for a parole or probation violation. He got a pretty sweet deal. You guys will remember right beforehand. You all remember he was facing up to 20 years possibly in prison. And the deal he got to keep him out of prison, he only went for a year.
BOLDUAN: Is that when you interviewed him?
HOLMES: Interviewed him right before he went to prison and right after he got out. Take a listen to what he told me after he got out of prison.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLIFFORD "TI" HARRIS, RAPPER: I don't feel the need to make any assurance to others. I think you watch me live my life and you see how I move different than I did before and you see how I behave different than I did before, I think that that in itself will be your assurance. I mean, I think that's the main question everybody wants to know. How do we know it's not going to happen again? How do we know. I mean, you know, you have to sit and watch and see. You know what I'm saying? I know it's not going to happen again but I can't convince you without action.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: We were sitting at his house when he told me that. I was in the courthouse yesterday and the judge was just -- everybody was disappointed. But he says, his attorneys say, this was a matter of a drug addiction. He's a young man, now he was caught with ecstasy, marijuana, out in California.
BOLDUAN: They say he needs rehab. He doesn't need jail.
HOLMES: He stood up in front of the judge, and said I'm sorry. I screwed up and I need help. The judge was not hearing it.
LEVS: Right after all the drama that happened in Atlanta this week when authorities say that he helped through a video message talk someone down from potentially committing suicide on top a major building in mid town.
HOLMES: That was part of his defense. They actually brought in an Atlanta police officer and said look at how he helped this young man. A lot of people thought that it was a hoax and might have been staged. Atlanta police certainly don't think so. A lot of people just disappointed and hurt right now including the judge who went out of his way to what he called an experiment to keep him out of prison all those years and maybe he can do some good.
BOLDUAN: More celebrities in prison.
HOLMES: He's going back, six kids, just got married. A lot of people depending on him, but two weeks has to turn himself in once again. So we'll continue to follow that saga. Just giving you guys a hard time. Not used to seeing three people on the couch. It works. Quick break. We're going to rearrange some furniture. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BOLDUAN: With texting, e-mailing and the Internet, bullying doesn't just happen in the school yard or on the street anymore. We've seen this end in tragedy with the news we've been covering in the past few weeks. Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi (ph) is believed to have committed suicide after his roommate streamed video of an intimate encounter with another man. Another case you may recall, 13- year old Megan Myer. Her parents say she killed herself after being bullied by a classmate and the classmate's mother on Myspace. That was in 2007. Cyber bullying really shows no signs of going away though, being 2010. But there are some things you can do to stop online bullying. To get down to that, joining me now is our digital lifestyle expert Mario Armstrong. Hey Mario. Thanks so much for joining us. This is a serious topic.
MARIO ARMSTRONG, DIGITAL LIFESTYLE EXPERT: Absolutely.
BOLDUAN: I know you have done some research on this. Talk to me about -- parents feel helpless in this situation. What can parents do? What's the first step parents can take if they know this is happening to their kids or how to help this from happening to their kids?
ARMSTRONG: I hear your pain in the question. It's one as a parent myself, I have an eight-year-old son. He goes to a school that actually has students that in that school carrying cell phones so I absolutely understand what parents are going through and what they're feeling. I think the first thing I like to do is try to give some practical steps today that parents can take. There is no silver bullet to this Kate. But I think the first thing you can do is set up what's called a Google alert. You can place in basically a Google alert is free to use. You go to google.com/alert and you can type in your child's name or even your child's friends' names and when their name is posted on the Internet, you receive an e-mail as to where that name is posted. So at least that gives you a little sense of monitoring their name. That's one easy step that a lot of people can take.
BOLDUAN: You've also mentioned before that parents should get on Facebook and on other social media to get involved. Why do you say that?
ARMSTRONG: Here's the deal, 42 percent -- this blew me away. Almost 50 percent of fourth through eighth grade students are being cyber bullied. I think a lot of people think this is a teenage thing and we have a lot of teens as well as younger audiences on places like Facebook and other social networks. So as a parent, you have to join Facebook. Get over your fears of it. Get over the fact that you don't think it's something that's necessary. It's not going anywhere. You need to take some basic classes. You can go online to look up Facebook 101 or you can go to your area community college. Some are free, some charge a small fee to get the tutorial on how to use Facebook. Basically Kate, we need to become online hall monitors if you will. We need to become friends with our kids online and let them know that we're watching what they're doing in their best interest.
BOLDUAN: In their best interests. So you talk about social media. You also earlier mentioned cell phones. What about mobile bullying? Is that a problem as well?
ARMSTRONG: A huge problem. Ask any kid if they are carrying a mobile device, nine out of ten, they're going to have a mobile device on them and that becomes harder to parent against because it's not the big computer in the living room or the laptop in the bedroom. It's a small device. You can do it anywhere. So a couple things to be aware of, if you are really worried about what your kid may be sending or receiving, there's a website you may want to look at called mymobilewatchdog. It's a way to monitor text messages that are coming to and from cell phones. It doesn't cover all phones, but a few of the phones out there it will cover. Also, the other thing you can do is turn off image notifications. In other words Kate, I can send out a text message with a racy image, but if my phone doesn't accept those images via text, I won't even see it. The last thing is if you're getting any type of messages on your cell phone that seem to be harassing in nature, save them. Do not delete them. That's becomes part of your evidence as to why action needs to be taken against someone else.
BOLDUAN: I can talk about this for much longer. Per usual we don't have enough time. Mario, thank you so much. Those are some really helpful hints and tips for parents and as well as kids. So thanks so much.
ARMSTRONG: No. It's my pleasure. I put some of this stuff up on the blog because I know it's a lot to talk about. We'll be doing a phone call Monday on Judge Hatchet's (ph) parentpowernow.com network for any viewers that have actual questions.
BOLDUAN: That's great. Thanks so much, Mario. Join us every Saturday, like today, at this time for our tech guru, Mario Armstrong. He's going to give you the scoop on the technology you can use, as well as big, important issues like this.
We'll be back right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Well, that's 32 minutes past the hour.
Now, take a look at some of the stories making headlines. Two suspected U.S. drone attacks have killed 13 suspected militants in Pakistan. This happened Friday in the tribal region near North Waziristan. The area borders Afghanistan and has been a problem area known for militant activity. Pakistani intelligence says drones targeted two alleged militant hideouts; it has been the policy of Pentagon to not comment on these drone attacks.
Also botox is supposed make you beautiful a little longer, right? Well, it's been approved for other forms of treatment, treatment of chronic migraines. FDA says the drug should be injected maybe every three months around the head and neck area to try to dull some of the symptoms of those migraines. It hasn't been shown to work against other forms of headaches however.
Also France right now in the middle of protests; people there objecting to some reforms by the government, in particular raising the retirement age from 60 to 62. Some people have been striking there, a general strike. And it has shut down a lot of business around the country but also in particular 10 of 12 oil refineries and right now that's causing a pretty good shortage.
People starting to line up at gas pumps and is threatening now to halt operations at France's two major airports or at least slow operations there. The president says, President Sarkozy, the government is not going to back down on this.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: It is 17 days until the much anticipated midterm elections. Time to check your Political Ticker with "The Best Political Team in Television".
Congressional correspondent Brianna Keilar is joining us live in Oxon Hill, Maryland. Where a get out to vote rally is being held. Brianna, what is topping our Political Ticker this hour?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, here we have trending Kate, on the Political Ticker Sarah Palin. She made some comments on Thursday night at a conservative forum that are getting a lot of attention. She was talking about being proud of U.S. troops and she said -- you know, when I hear people say or had said during the campaign that they've never been proud of America, haven't they met anybody in uniform yet?
Of course, referencing those comments that Michelle Obama, the First Lady, something she said during the campaign that she caught a lot of flak from conservatives for -- so a kind of bringing up the past there.
And then you know that really hotly contested Senate race in Nevada between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and the Tea Party backed Republican candidate Sharron Angle? Well, it's really turning into a battle of money.
Because Sharron Angle as we know in third quarter raised about $14 million. That's a huge amount of money, Harry Reid just under $2 million. As you can imagine, her campaign is really touting that number.
And then, this is my personal favorite on the Ticker today. Alaska's Miller channels the Old Spice guy in a new ad. This is really actually quite funny because if you've seen this ad and you like this ad, and I know I do, I think it's hilarious, it's a -- sort of he's got that -- that sort of sultry voice in this ad and he's saying, "Hello voters look at your ballot". Look back at him, look at your ballot, look at her.
And this is a -- sort of a funny way to take on Lisa Murkowski who is the incumbent Republican who is staging obviously a write-in candidacy. It's pretty funny and worth a look on the CNN Ticker, Kate.
BOLDUAN: And always fascinating how they can find the most unflattering photos of their opponents to put in those types of ads with them. It's always amazing.
KEILAR: Of course.
BOLDUAN: All right, we'll be talking to you the next -- in the next Brianna I'm looking forward to it. Thanks so much, Brianna.
And hanging over this entire election season, frustration: Voters dissatisfied with just about everything -- the president, the Congress, both parties, the war in Afghanistan. Josh is here with more on that, as well as more from CNN.com Election Center. Hey, Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN ANCHOR: Hey there.
Yes, look I mean, it -- it -- every midterm election season seems to have its own theme, right? I mean, we all remember the one after 9/11 when there was a lot of patriotism and others focused on that and there's other that are focused on war. Well, voter frustration all over the place is really determining so much of what's happening in our country right now in these final days leading up to the election. And you'll learn a lot about that from the election center.
I just want to show you, we have a section about polls. Let me just show you some of the major polls. When you look at them back to back, it's really astounding where things are politically in our country; 55 percent of Americans telling us they disagree with President Obama on the issues that matter most to them; 58 percent are opposing the U.S. war in Afghanistan; 66 percent are saying they disapprove of Congressional Republicans; 64 percent are saying they disapprove of Congressional Democrats. What we have and this is a tremendous sense of frustration.
And let's take a look at this. Maybe we can zoom in here a little bit. This is what's happening right now. What's up for election and what's not? This is the race in the U.S. Senate right here. What you have here are 40 Democratic seats that are not up this year; 23 Republican seats that are not up right here and the balance of power all hangs right here in the middle in those 37 seats that will determine where we go from here.
Let's take a look over at the House. You have on this side 237 incumbents on the Democratic side; 157 Republicans there. And it's inside here that you have open seats as well and obviously it being the House everything right there.
Now, you can learn more it all at CNN.com/politics. Just click on Election Center and you will learn everything you need to know including the nifty Political Ticker that Brianna was just talking about. Guys back to you.
BOLDUAN: All right, thanks so much, Josh.
LEVS: You got it.
HOLMES: Well, it's 37 minutes past the hour. We of course, we'll always be talking about a lot of politics here on CNN. It's your spot for politics. But you can't talk politics without money. And it is a lot of it out there. We're going to be following the money trail coming your way at the top of the hour. Stick around.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: That's exactly what one man wanted to do. He just wanted to -- to fly out of there. But he was called too disabled to fly by the airlines.
BOLDUAN: US Airways pulled him off the flight for what the airline calls safety reasons. The man you see him right there, he's in a wheelchair. He has cerebral palsy, but he has flown for 20 years in his role as a motivational speaker. The airline though, said he couldn't help himself or others if there was an emergency on the plane.
But the passenger he says the airline was just plain wrong.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNNIE TUITEL, MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER: I immediately thought something was up with my family. I let him take me off the plane. This is a flat out issue of civil rights.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Very well. BOLDUAN: He has traveled nearly a half million miles in 20 years and has -- and no airline before has ever taken him off a plane. Well, that of course is until now.
HOLMES: We will see how this works out.
BOLDUAN: Yes.
HOLMES: But possibility of some legal action coming.
Forty-one minutes past the hour. A quick break, we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: That was just because Kate is here this weekend. Christmas at least two months away now but there seems to be a royal candidate for Grinch of the Year already -- The Queen, Queen Elizabeth. Yes. She has canceled this year's Christmas party for the 600 staff members of Buckingham Palace. But before you start criticizing her majesty, it's actually maybe not such a bad thing.
Our editorial producer, Nadia Bilchik here with this one. First, let's put the party in perspective. This is a big deal for people that work there.
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: Yes. Because what happens is it only happens once every two years.
HOLMES: In two years.
NATY: She invites all the staff, 600 plus you can bring a partner.
HOLMES: Yes.
BILCHIK: And you can imagine, this is a chance to really see the Queen and she'll dance with the footmen and Prince Philip will dance with the maids and a time to breach that barrier. So yes, a big deal and she says she's canceling because of restraint.
HOLMES: Yes.
BILCHIK: She's showing solidarity for the fact that Britain is facing a tough economy and that there is the biggest budget deficit in many, many, many years and she's showing restraint.
But the question is, let me think about this, this comes from her own budget and she gets around $12 million a year.
HOLMES: Yes.
BILCHIK: The party only costs $80,000.
HOLMES: $80,000 so ok. Now let's understand this now. Is it really to -- to send -- and this is more so to send a message or -- or is her budget a little tight?
BILCHIK: It's PR, it's to send a message.
HOLMES: PR, because they can afford it as those budget.
BILCHIK: Right. She's worth about $450 million --
HOLMES: Ok.
BILCHIK: -- if not more and that's not including the estates and all of the jewelry. You know my feeling in reading the story is, she's damned if she does and she's damned if she doesn't.
HOLMES: Yes.
BILCHIK: Because she's trying to do the right thing in terms of image. Let's show restraint and not be ostentatious. That's fine. And she doesn't need to hire the Mandarin Tokyo Hotel --
HOLMES: Oh in Japan. Are we -- are we going to get that in today.
BILCHIK: But you know, they are -- and she doesn't need to do something lavish but couldn't she maybe cut corners and still have the party?
HOLMES: So there is no plan for anything?
BILCHIK: There is no plan for anything. She's saying we are canceling the party. So can you imagine, this is your year to go and you've invited your partner? It's supposed to be on December 13th and you are going to meet the Queen and you know, we live in a country that doesn't have a monarchy so we don't understand what it is to meet the Queen.
And by the way, if you do meet the Queen --
HOLMES: Yes.
BILCHIK: You first have to call her "your majesty" and then "ma'am" and then she has to put her hand to shake it before you do.
HOLMES: And then she'll party with you?
BILCHIK: Yes.
HOLMES: In this morning, all right, Nadia we appreciate you. That's another interesting story. We're going to get to that hotel in Japan at some point. All right.
BILCHIK: We've got to talk about the expensive hotel in Japan.
HOLMES: All right, Kate let me hand it back over to you for now.
BOLDUAN: He's a football legend, there's no question about that. But recently Brett Favre's personal life is overshadowing his professional one. He's under fire for sending some racy text messages, voice mails and pictures to a Jets employee. Is he getting preferential treatment from the NFL? Well, we'll get the opinion of sports business analyst, Rick Horrow, right there on that level.
RICK HORROW, CNN SPORTS BUSINESS ANALYST: Here it is.
BOLDUAN: We'll be back right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
Bolduan: And checking the top stories right now. There are new sentencing guidelines for those convicted of possessing crack cocaine. Instead of five grams it will now take 28 grams or an ounce of the drug to trigger a mandatory five-year sentence. A ten-year mandatory sentence would kick in at 280 grams up from its previous possession threshold of 50 grams.
And in West Virginia, the 31st annual Bridge Day festivities are not under way at the New Gorge Bridge near Fayetteville. More than 100,000 people are expected to attend the one-day event including as many as 700 base jumpers and rappelers.
And a dispute over programming feeds between CableVision and News Corp has as many as 3 million people in the greater New York area without Fox television channels. Meaning some, wanting to watch weekend baseball playoff games or football games are simply out of luck. News Corp pulling the plug at midnight despite calls from the FCC to find a resolution -- T.J.
HOLMES: Yes. We're going to get our Rick Horrow's take on that particular situation up there where some folks might be without baseball and football this weekend up in the New York area.
And also we're going to be talking to Rick about this era of high paid athletes. We are pulling the question about baseball budgets out there. Does a huge payroll guarantee you a trip to the World Series?
Well, take a look at this. Of the four teams left in the playoffs, two of them have payrolls above $100 million, the Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies.
Also, a story of survival and redemption really; a baseball manager testing positive for cocaine almost ends his career. Instead his team wins their first playoff series ever.
Also, Brett Favre allegedly sending those inappropriate e-mails and pictures and voice mails to a New York Jets employee. There's concern now this morning about some superstar preferential treatment.
So let me bring in the aforementioned Rick Horrow, our business sports analyst here with me. Rick good morning to you. Let me get your take on what's happening in New York right now. A lot of folks up there are without Fox. They won't be able to see NFL football this weekend. Playoff baseball this weekend either. Will they get this worked out in case the beloved Yankees make it to the World Series? Some folks are not going to be able to see it up there. HORROW: Well, they hopefully will get it worked out by the World Series. But people want it worked out by this afternoon. And remember, when there is a labor dispute, you always maximize leverage before you get a settlement down. This is significant leverage for three plus million people. And pulling the plug usually happens when the sides are so entrenched that they are ready to come to terms hopefully.
It can't last very long. I can't imagine how people are going to be without their loved football and the Yankees during the playoffs. This is big-time leverage as we've seen. World Series for Fox doesn't start until next week but the National League Championship series with them certainly does. So we have a deadline.
HOLMES: All right. Let's move now to big money. Big money budgets for these teams. If they have big money, does that mean -- it sounds like at least, it looks like two out of the four got pretty big budgets. You can buy yourself a championship.
HORROW: Well, you can buy yourself access and an opportunity. But you can also spend a lot of money and not get there. Ask the Cubs, the Dodgers, the Angels and how about the Mets? Of the teams that have $100 million plus payrolls, only two of them, the Phillies and the Yankees are still in and were still in at the beginning of the playoffs.
So of the World Series, by the way, 30 in the last 30 years obviously, 18 World Series champions different teams; so here's the philosophy in baseball and in life. It always helps to have money but money doesn't always guarantee you happiness. How's that?
HOLMES: Well, I don't subscribe to that theory. But $55 million for Texas Rangers -- is that a little misleading? We just assume that they have such a small budget that they won't able to compete.
HORROW: Well, good to know you don't subscribe to that theory but the Texas Rangers certainly don't have to as well, by the way, because obviously they went through bankruptcy. Nolan Ryan emerged as one of the owners of the team. They, at least through seven innings last night were in pretty good shape; about to take 1-0 lead in the series. Of course, they did not; the Yankees came back and won Game 1. But the bottom line is you don't automatically need to have a lot of money to be successful.
HOLMES: And a great story with the manager there in Texas.
HORROW: Yes. Ron Washington. Listen, there was a cocaine issue. Nolan Ryan and his people stuck with him. It is perseverance. And of course, the bottom line there is he's a great baseball person, knows how to deal with people but also knows how to deal with tragedy and also some negativism in his life and of course that helps in baseball. There are a lot of peaks but also a lot of valleys.
HOLMES: Would you say Brett Favre and this whole issue with these allegedly racy text messages he sent to a woman who was not his wife. Is he getting preferential treatment right now? The NFL is investigating but is he being treated like a superstar right now?
HORROW: Well, he is until we know what the NFL is going to do and until we know what facts actually are. Remember, Wrangler Jeans has a big campaign tied into his equity and talking about longevity and stability. His flip-flop ad, that could have happened and now he's with the Vikings. Vikings are 1-3. He makes nearly $20 million a year as far as overall endorsements and dollars are concerned. They need to get to the bottom of this, my friend, very quickly.
HOLMES: And we know big football day today -- college football. Reynolds standing by; Reynolds and I are going to be spending some time together after work, heading over to Auburn, Alabama.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Should be a heck of a day; should be a great day not only for us but for a lot of great teams around the country. Northwestern by the way -- the Wildcats not playing this weekend; they happen to be off, Rick.
HORROW: Yes, I know.
WOLF: Here's a look at your football forecast. Ohio state and Wisconsin, number one versus number 18; they're going to play in Madison. 58 degrees for the kickoff, should be a great game.
Boise State and San Jose State -- Boise State is the number 3 team; they get things started at 8:00 p.m. 72 degrees. Nebraska and Texas -- you know, if Texas loses this game, it's going to be the first time they've had three consecutive losses since 1997. Oklahoma and Iowa State they play in Norman; kickoff around 7:00 p.m. 70 degrees with hazy skies. And number 7 Auburn Tigers versus the number 12 Arkansas Razorbacks gets under way at 3:30 this afternoon at Auburn.
T.J., I hate to say it but I'm telling you Auburn is the number 10 pass defense in the SCC (ph) meanwhile, Arkansas has got the number one passer. And yes, this does not look good. Rick, what do you think?
HORROW: Here's the deal. Which one of you two is driving? Because one of you two is going to be darn unhappy if you go in together after work. The bottom line is the Auburn team, number seven; they look pretty good especially with their guy, Ken Newton (ph). But Arkansas, you have Malick, Ryan Malick (ph). It's going to be a heck of a game. I'm not throwing this because this is plastic. The bottom line is, I think these guys are going win right here -- the Razorbacks -- T.J.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: You know what? Rick is good for something every once in a while.
WOLF: And I'm thinking T.J. is walking home. That's right.
HOLMES: All right. Fellows, appreciate you.
HORROW: Now I know who is driving.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: Quick break. Fellows, appreciate you as always. We're right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BOLDUAN: Dance --
HOLMES: You're allowed to dance.
You all don't dance too much in D.C.
BOLDUAN: We don't. If you saw in that bump shot, we're not very good dancers.
HOLMES: I wasn't going to say this. But check this out. Let's just show this picture. Very cool picture of the White House. It looked like it was washed --
BOLDUAN: Pink.
HOLMES: Yes. That's a pink house for a night. You can imagine why -- pink lights in honor of breast cancer awareness month.
BOLDUAN: Exactly. President Obama tweeted that the building, the White House, would be bathed in pink lights from 6:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday. The administration of former president George W. Bush started the tradition in 2008.
And it's not just the White House observing breast cancer awareness today. Survivors of the disease are hitting the road for a special two-wheel salute.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's very empowering to be on the bike. It's something that just puts you out there and you can just feel like you're free.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: I love this name. It's called "Heels to Wheels". This is the third year for the women's only cycle ride. But guys, you can get into the action as a bosom buddy, serving as a chauffeur for the cancer survivor they love.
HOLMES: That's very cool. That's very cool.
BOLDUAN: It's wonderful. I love that.
HOLMES: Well, 17 days as you know coming up on those midterm elections. We've got the latest from the campaign trail coming up in just a sec.
BOLDUAN: That's right. And coming up in our next hour, politics and money, they are also closely intertwined -- the impact and the influence. Stick around for that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Can money buy an election? We are asking that question this half hour. Welcome back to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes along with Kate Bolduan here. This time every Saturday, we spend this 9:00 Eastern half hour digging a little deeper into an issue that directly affects you.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And this morning's topic, politics, money, and the midterm elections. We're going to follow the money as well as we can and that can often tell you a lot about the candidates themselves.
HOLMES: All right. So take a look and let me know what you think this tells you. In the Senate race alone, the Democratic senatorial campaign committee has raised more than $101 million. On the Republican side, $86 million. And again, we're just talking about party committees here.
BOLDUAN: That's right. We're also going to be taking a look at money coming in from outside groups. A big factor in this election. Conservative groups have spent about $121 million on the midterm election so far. Liberal leaning groups about $79 million. We'll tell you how that could affect the outcomes this year.
And also we're taking a look at the money raised by candidates themselves. Look at this. Arizona's Republican Senator John McCain spent about $27 million. Nevada's Democratic senator, Harry Reid, $19 million. New York Senator Charles Schumer, $18 million. That's a lot of money. In Wisconsin, Senator Russ Feingold about $14 million. Your eyes are probably glazing over at this point. $11 million raised for the Republican candidate in Ohio, Rob Portman.
HOLMES: Also, look at this. According to opensecrets.org. This midterm election has already cost $3.5 billion. We still got a couple of weeks to go.
BOLDUAN: That's right. Let's get started by taking a look at some candidates who are spending millions of their own money to run for office. It's a lot of money going around this election cycle.
Our congressional correspondent Brianna Keilar is joining us once again live from Oxon Hill, Maryland, with a look at the money and politics. Brianna, specifically looking at these self-funders as I like how they're called this cycle. Who are these big self funders and in general how are these, do these candidates pour their money into the race and is it fair?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Is it fair and also does it even work? Because you know they say money can't buy you love. The question is can it get you a Senate seat? So let's take a look at a few of the people who are still in contention.
Carly Fiorina, she is a Republican from California. She is a Senate candidate or the nominee for Republicans there. And she herself has funded about half of her campaign. She's put about $5.5 million into her campaign. She's a former CEO of Hewlett Packard. Then you have Linda McMahon. Also a Republican in Connecticut. She's the nominee there for the Senate seat. She has put in $22 million funding. I think like 99 point something percent of her campaign. Of course, she's a former mogul, world wrestling mogul.
But the ones to really end all of self-funders, Kate, is Meg Whitman. She is the Republican nominee for governor in California. And can you even imagine this. She has put in $139 million of her own money setting a record for any candidate for all time. Recently eclipsing Michael Bloomberg for the amount of money that he put into his last re-election bid. I mean, that is just a whole lot of money. The question is does it work?
Well, for these folks, yes, they are still in the race. They have a very tight race. They've got a shot. But there's a whole lot of other self-funders where it just hasn't paid off. In fact, this might seem counterintuitive. A lot of them fare a whole lot worse than other candidates who are not wealthy like these former CEOs and these moguls and in the end, they end up, you know, being booted out of the race and don't win. Kate.
BOLDUAN: So if history suggests using one person's own money doesn't necessarily pay off, there must be some advantages obviously of pouring in so much of your own money or the candidates wouldn't do this, right?
KEILAR: Well, you'll hear some of the candidates when they run ads. For instance, Rick Scott in Florida, running for governor there, a Republican who has put in at least $50 million of his own money. His ad says "Look, I'm beholdened to nobody because I didn't have to raise money from special interests" and so that's something that these candidates can sell to voters.
But there's a whole bunch of disadvantages and experts will tell you the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. First, you got the relateability issue. One that can put $139 million of their own money into their campaign. Can you really relate to them as a voter? Especially when you are talking about the economy being what it is. Kate.
BOLDUAN: It just shows there are high stakes at play in this. I was just looking this up as a point of comparison. You said 139 million for Meg Whitman pouring her own money. In the 2006 gubernatorial election there, all of the candidates combined at about $40.5 million. So this is far surpassing this.
KEILAR: Sure.
BOLDUAN: It's amazing.
KEILAR: Yes, and what struck me is when you said the DCCC, the political arm in the House for Democrats, they raised what did you say $101 million in total. That's significantly less than just this one candidate in what she's putting towards her own race. BOLDUAN: Yes. Watching that closely. Right now, I think the CNN poll shows that Jerry Brown is holding a lead but we've got 17 days left. We'll keep watching. Thanks, Brianna.
KEILAR: Very close.
HOLMES: Well, you can often find out a lot about a candidate by looking at the source of some of their money. And when we come back, we're going to be looking at some of those sources. I'm talking to the executive director for the Center for Responsible Politics who is going to tell what all that outside money really means. She's standing by. We'll chat with her after the break.
KEILAR: But first, just as we said, 17 days until the midterm elections. So we have another question from our political news quiz. Out of 435 House seats, how many of them are up for election, up for grabs, this year? 435, 236 or 156? We'll have that answer after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. Folks, welcome back. We got 17 days to go before the midterm elections and no one pulling any punches right now. You have seen the ads on the airwaves. Some of them are ugly. Pretty expensive too. Who is funding them though? The cash is funneling to various campaigns outside groups some of which remain anonymous.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They have these innocuous names like Americans for Prosperity or Americans for Apple Pie.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Here's what the president is talking about exactly. Take a listen to this now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Boucher has failed to protect our jobs. Now it's time Rick Boucher loses his.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have no idea who these individuals are. This could be a foreign entity. It could be someone who has a corporate identity in the United States. It could be a very wealthy individual.
ANNOUNCER: Rick Boucher is trying to deceive you ...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Republicans not the only party with wealthy friends with money to better than. Democrats also benefiting from these so-called shadowy outside groups.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ANNOUNCER: Congressman Steve Pearce, named one of the most corrupt members of Congress.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to use this one shot that we have in order to fight this fight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: All right. All this perfectly legal. A decision by the Supreme Court allows corporations to give cash to help defeat or promote candidates, sometimes you don't have to disclose the donors. With the backing of the Supreme Court, it has gone beyond who is giving, it is now who is giving more. Conventional wisdom says it's Republicans. It that necessarily the case though?
We want to bring in Sheila Krumholz. She's the executive director for the Center for Responsive Politics, joining me this morning to help us sort through some of these numbers. First of all, just give us an idea in comparison to midterm elections in the past so that we go back two years, four years or just in history.
How are we on collecting money right now? Let's just say, how are they but as far as the money coming in and being spent in this mid term, how does this compare to midterms past?
SHEILA KRUMHOLZ, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CTR. FOR RESPONSIVE POLITICS: Well, it's coming in fast and furious this cycle just as was predicted after that Citizens United versus FCC Supreme Court ruling. We had predicted back in March based on historical trends that this election would cost $3.7 billion up from just $2.8 billion in 2006. So based on spending that we've been seeing and the receipts coming in, I think we're on track to at least match that 3.7, if not surpass it.
HOLMES: Would this make a record midterm year?
KRUMHOLZ: It would indeed. In fact, of course, we say that each cycle that we're breaking the past records but this cycle I think may go beyond that typical trend.
HOLMES: And how much do you blame the spike we're seeing on that Supreme Court decision? Do you put all of the blame on that? Is that why we see so much more money?
KRUMHOLZ: No. I think that there's a lot of money going directly to the candidates and parties as well surprisingly given this down economy. And that has nothing to do with this outside spending other than maybe they are able to generate more money in order to combat those independent groups spending money against them. So I think this is an unusually expensive cycle. Of course, another factor, a huge factor is the intensity and the high stakes.
HOLMES: Will that just be the case, will we ever have you on during a midterm and you say, yes, actually there's a little less money going to be spent this time around in the last midterm. What will it take to start to bring these numbers back down again? KRUMHOLZ: You know, I think it's going to take a radical shift that I don't see on the near term horizon for this cycle or likely next election cycle either. So we typically see an upward trend beyond the rate of inflation and even though this economy is so tough and so many people are hurting, clearly the people who are generating campaign donations are able to deliver as much or more than before.
HOLMES: What have you all been able to find on this story that was sparked about a week or so ago. The president coming out and he said it out be on the stomp, essentially saying that the Republicans and some of these shadowy groups that are giving money to Republicans have been able to find a way to give foreign money into our election cycle.
Now they didn't offer any evidence of that. That was part of the controversy but from what you all are seeing, is there foreign money coming in and influencing this election?
KRUMHOLZ: The bottom line is that we have no way of knowing. The contributions going to these outside groups - they've spent so far $173 million and that's not counting all of the independent spending by the parties. And so it's huge sums of money. Hundreds of millions of dollars anticipated by November 2nd and much of that money will go undisclosed.
The organizations, of course, will say that it's not foreign but we have absolutely no way of proving that. I think it's not responsible to accuse organizations of foreign donors unless we have evidence. Of course, with the Chamber of Commerce, we know that they do collect dues from foreign corporations. They are saying that they segregate the funds.
HOLMES: Yes. And the Chamber of Commerce who specifically the administration did call out. Another thing here to you. All of this stuff, all the collecting of the money and spending of the money is legal but in your estimation, is it right?
KRUMHOLZ: You know, I think information is good. And these organizations, these independent groups, ideological, business associations, unions, purport to provide us with important information that the voters need to have on election day. If they were doing so in a transparent way and if they were saying here's what my organization stands for. Here's who we are. And here's where we're getting our money, I think that would be OK. We should not censor information.
Voters want to have all the information at their fingertips before they head to the ballot - to cast their ballot. But the problem is that so many of these organizations are essentially front groups. Shadowy organizations that we have no idea really what they stand for. They try to say they are issue organizations but they're really targeting our votes and they are not saying who is bankrolling their effort.
HOLMES: All right. Well, Sheila, stand by, we're going to talk to her again right after the break. And I'm going to start with the question of just how much does it cost these days to get a seat in Congress. More with Sheila right after the break.
BOLDUAN: But first, another look at our political quiz. Just 17 days until the midterm elections. So we have another question. The question we want to make sure you can give us the answer in our political news quiz. Out of 435 House seats, how many of them are up for grabs this election year? 435, 236, or is it 156? We'll have that answer after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BOLDUAN: Before the break we asked you another question from our political news quiz. How did you do? Out of 435 House seats, how many of them are up for grabs this election year? Is it 435, 236 or 156? The answer is A. All 435 house seats are up for election. House members are elected every two years as set by the Constitution. For more on the upcoming elections, go to cnn.com/politics.
HOLMES: I want to bring back in Sheila Krumholz. She is the head of the Center for Responsive Politics talking about - they track this money. I'm talking to her about where all this money has come from and where it's going and another record being set for these mid terms.
A question for you here. You know what how much - what is the going rate these days for a seat in Congress? Literally, how much does it cost on average if you will, a candidate to actually win a seat?
KRUMHOLZ: Well, it changes each cycle, of course, but in the last election cycle in 2008 a House candidate needed to raise at least $1.4 million on average to win their seat. And in the Senate, the average winning senate seat cost $8.5 million.
So clearly this is not a sum that most Americans can muster. These are people that either have the wealth themselves as you were speaking about the self-funding candidates earlier or have access to people who can provide this money.
HOLMES: Now, for the most part, does it translate if the person with the most money, does it end up, that person ends up winning?
KRUMHOLZ: Yes. The vast majority of the victors on election day are those who spent the most money. Of course, there are exceptions. Money is not enough in and of itself but it's a critical element so if you have got name recognition, charisma, good campaign skills, good campaign organization, and the money and you got more and in some cases a lot more than your challengers, then you are a viable candidate and in good stead to win on election day.
HOLMES: All right. Sheila Krumholz, I don't know how you keep up with all these numbers but you do a good job.
KRUMHOLZ: Thank you.
HOLMES: Again, from the Center for Responsive Politics, we appreciate you helping us wade through some of these numbers. Thank you so much. You enjoy the rest of your Saturday.
KRUMHOLZ: My pleasure. Thank you.
HOLMES: All right. 22 minutes past the hour here now. Stick around. We got something to show you here after the break. You know the Old Spice commercials, that guy, well, we have a political take on it from a candidate who is running, where else? For the Senate. Stay with us, we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Always fun this time of year. Right before the campaign season you see these wacky political ads.
BOLDUAN: I would and someone is gong to say, you're wrong. I think this election cycle, this midterm election has offered some of the most memorable ads that I've seen in a long time.
HOLMES: Now, this one we're going to show you. It's not necessarily wacky. I find it awfully creative. I think -
BOLDUAN: Well, you know how I feel about this guy.
HOLMES: I know how you love it. So this is what we want you to do, we want you to look at this ad and then look back at us.
(LAUGHTER)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Hello, voters. Look at your ballot. Now look at him. This is Joe Miller. Now back to your ballot. You see him name. Now look at her. Now back to your ballot. Sadly she's not on your ballot. Why? Because she lost. She lost to Joe Miller. Look up. It's Joe Miller, an officer in the U.S. Army who served in the first Gulf war.
Now look there. Joe Miller is the father of eight and was a respected judge in Alaska. Look up. It's Joe Miller in Washington restoring that thing you love called the Constitution. Now look again. It's money. Money Joe Miller has saved you by stopping the outrageous spending in Washington. Now look at your ballot. Vote for Joe Miller for United States Senate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: It even the whistle at the end. That is brilliant.
BOLDUAN: Notice two things about this ad. Well, one, I'm just happy he did not show up with the towel or on the horse himself.
HOLMES: That's okay. Give him credit for that.
BOLDUAN: Two, notice that whose name is not mentioned once in the ad.
HOLMES: He never said it.
BOLDUAN: Never said Murkowski. Why? Because she's now a write-in candidate. The last thing that Miller campaign want to do is remind everyone who the name is.
HOLMES: It's very clever. It's creative. And again she's not on the ballot. And people are going to have to be able to spell her name out there.
BOLDUAN: Right.
HOLMES: They say they might accept just Lisa M, something similar but people are going to be literally in there trying to spell Murkowski, to write her in.
BOLDUAN: She's going "why isn't my last name Smith"?
HOLMES: Smith. Something simple. But Joe Miller, give the guy credit. Creative ad. Well, politics is what we do here on CNN. We got the best political team up in D.C., which you are a part of, up there in D.C. but a part of our election coverage is that big bus. We got a big old bus. A roving office, you can call it. Our election express.
We're hitting the road again next week. I will be aboard. Another week of election coverage. We're coming to talk to you, Charlotte, North Carolina. We will see you on Monday. Tuesday, coming over to Columbia, South Carolina. Wednesday, Macon, Georgia. Make sure you got the nice China out. Thursday, Jacksonville, Florida. Then on Friday, we're going to wrap up in Tampa, Florida.
Now, this is what I want you all to do. Let me mow before I even hit the road if you are in those cities. What I need to know about those cities, possibly what I need to cover, who do I need to go talk to and maybe even what restaurant I need to stop by. And you can do this by getting a hold of me at tjholmes CNN on Twitter and also facebook.com/tjholmescnn. So let us hear from you before I even hit the road.
BOLDUAN: You're going to get an earful, I'm sure. Voters are ready to talk. No, I'm just saying, it's really great that you're going out. There's a lot to talk about. 17 days left.
HOLMES: 17 days. All right. So Kate and I will be back at the top of the hour. We'll have more live news for you as always as "CNN Saturday Morning" continues. But right now, I need to hand it over to my dear friend, Stephanie Elam with "Your Bottom Line." See you back here shortly.
