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CNN Saturday Morning News

Mitt Romney Gives Speech in Ohio; Both Presidential Campaigns Avoid Afghanistan War; Man Found Innocent Remains in Jail; Tropical Storm Heads to Cuba; CNN Hero Gives Comfort to Cancer Patients; Political Strategists Debate Presidential Campaigns

Aired August 25, 2012 - 10:00   ET

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

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: From CNN world headquarter in Atlanta, this is CNN Saturday Morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Four or five people got shot in that corner. They were just stray bullets.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: A disgruntled employee opens fire in New York City. Brand-new surveillance video reveals exactly what happened.

It's supposed to represent the party, but for Mitt Romney, is it a help or an inconvenience? All morning we're putting the Republican platform in focus.

And a man serving 27 years in prison declared innocent by a judge. So, why is he still behind bars two years later? We'll explain.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. It is 10:00 on the east coast, 7:00 a.m. out west.

Cuba, the Gulf coast and Florida are bracing for a brush with tropical storm Isaac. Preparations for the oncoming storm are already under way in Cuba, which is Isaac's next target. Crews have been piling up sandbags and barricading homes, and we are already getting a firsthand look at what the powerful storm can do. Isaac's gale force winds and pounding rains have been battering fragile Haiti for hours now. Power has been out on the southern coast, homes are damaged, trees uprooted, but the biggest danger may be still to come, and that is landslides.

CNN's Martin Savidge has been getting tossed about by the winds and rains in Jacmel, in southern Haiti. Martin, any letup there yet? You've been getting the winds and the rains now for hours.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Randi, we're seeing a bit of an improvement, at least as far as easing of some of the wind. The winds are not as severe as they have been throughout the night. We suffered since about 11:00 last night is when they really kicked up, and throughout the middle of the night and early this morning, this part of Haiti really took a pounding from the wind. But even though it's eased off some, the rain continues to come down, and at a pretty good clip.

And that is the biggest fear in this country. They always knew the winds wouldn't be too bad because it's a tropical storm, but the amounts of rain they were projecting, anywhere from 10, 14, up to 20 inches of rain in certain areas. Remember, Haiti has some very steep mountains, and a lot of the mountains have had the trees cut away as people have burned the wood or used the wood for construction. So, the water comes racing down those mountains and then comes blasting into the communities.

Jacmel is one of those that historically is prone to flooding. They've had severe floods in the past. The mayor I spoke to yesterday is worried about the same circumstance. I tried to reach him several times today, communication here very difficult. The power is out in this particular area. As you said, there is some structural damage and we have a lot of trees and tree limbs that have come down, power lines that are down. Emergency services, as you know well, Randi, in this country are extremely rudimentary. So, it's difficult at this hour to give you any real kind of scientific study as to injuries, hopefully, no fatalities, and the extent of the day. In Port-au-Prince, we're told it's not as bad, and that's only bright spot for you.

KAYE: In terms of the tent cities where people have been staying, about 400,000 people or so, where are they in relation to these landslides?

SAVIDGE: Well, you know, if the landslides come, it really depends on where the earth moves, how severely, whether we're talking about just flash flooding or if we're actually talking about the side of a mountain giving way. So far we have not heard of that, but, again, communication is so weak, we probably wouldn't know unless we saw it happen before our very eyes, and we fortunately haven't seen anything like that.

The tent cities, last night -- I have to tell you, we are in a cement structure, a guest house. Even this place was shivering in the blast of the wind and the rain that was coming down. You couldn't imagine that if you were a family trying to survive in a tent, what it must have been like, how frightening it would have been and how dangerous. Hopefully, we have not heard of any injuries or fatalities. We'll keep hoping it continues that way, but it will be a long time before the information really comes in, Randi.

KAYE: All right, CNN's Martin Savidge from an update from Jacmel, Haiti. Martin, thank you.

And we want to take you live now to Powell, Ohio. You can see there, that is Mitt Romney speaking to the crowd there. Paul Ryan at his side, both talking about the economy. Remember, just two days before the Republican convention begins, so they have a whole lot to say, given how important Ohio is. Let's listen in.

MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is not his words that people have to listen to, it is his action and his record, and if they look at that, they'll take him out of the office and put people into the office who will actually get America going again. (APPLAUSE)

ROMNEY: And so Paul and I, we've made our commitment to you. With every source of our energy and passion in becoming president and vice president, we will endeavor to make America stronger. We'll endeavor to protect our freedoms and rights, to encourage the dreams of individuals. We'll do the very best with all of our energy to ensure that America is stronger, stronger in our homes, stronger in our values, stronger in our economy, stronger in our military, and military from America must be so strong, no one would ever think of testing it.

(APPLAUSE)

ROMNEY: I love this country. I love what it stands for. We are unique in the history of the earth because of our founding documents and our commitment to freedom. We're going to bring America back by reasserting and reaffirming and restoring those principles. We're not going to become Europe. We're going to stay America, we're going to remain the shining city on the hill, and Ohio is going to help us win the White House! Thank you so much! Thank you!

(APPLAUSE)

(MUSIC)

KAYE: There you have it, just the tail end there, listening to Mitt Romney trying to get the crowd pretty excited there leading up to the Republican convention, and certainly, they are responding. Romney and Paul Ryan, this is apparently Mitt Romney's eighth visit to Ohio, a very, very important state come Election Day.

Police say a man dressed in a business suit and carrying a briefcase opened fire on one of the busiest streets in America, and now we're getting a look at the chaos as it unfolded.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back. Nine minutes past the hour. This morning we are learning more about the office grudge that led to a deadly shooting near the empire state building. We are about to show you some video that you may find disturbing, but we're showing it to help illustrate how the chaos unfolded. Our national correspondent Jason Carroll has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Police surveillance video captures the shooting in front of the empire state building. 58-year- old Jeffrey Johnson suddenly appears to pull a gun when confronted by two police officers. Police fire. Johnson goes down.

Amateur video shows a different angle. Johnson is still moving after being shot. He dies a short time later. Nine bystanders are hurt during the shooting, including Robert Asika, a tour guide. ROBERT ASIKA, SHORT IN THE ARM: When I turned around, I saw a guy in a suit had pulled out a gun. Then I guess he shot at the police officer and the police officer shot him, and one of them shot me in the arm and I fell.

CARROLL: None of the bystanders' injuries were life-threatening. Police fired 16 rounds but were quick to explain why so many innocent people had been hurt.

COMMISSIONER RAY KELLY, NEW YORK POLICE: There were flower pots and other objects around, so when the officers did fire, their bullets fragmented, and, in essence, that's what caused the wounds of the bystanders.

CARROLL: Police say the shooting happened moments after Johnson shot and killed a former co-worker, 41-year-old Steven Ercolino. Johnson was an accessories designer at Hazan Imports. He was laid off a year ago but had a grudge over sales of his designs. Witnesses say Johnson used his .45-caliber pistol to shoot Ercolino in the head and then kept firing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We heard pow-pow, continued it's a construction site, like metal fell. Then we heard four more, like pow-pow-pow, we're like, OK, that's gunshots. We all scoot over and see a guy in a gray suit walking away.

CARROLL: Johnson's neighbors say he lived alone at this apartment building on New York's upper east side with his cat. One had recently died.

GISELA CASELLA, SUSPECT'S NEIGHBOR: I'm in shock. I can't believe this. He was the nicest guy. I think he snapped or something, I don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: And Jason Carroll joins me now from New York. Jason, good morning. So, do we know how this suspect got the gun?

CARROLL: Well, according to the mayor's office, Johnson purchased the gun legally in Sarasota, Florida, back in 1991. However, the mayor's office says, Randi, that Johnson did not have a permit to carry the gun here in New York. And as you know, New York's mayor, Michael Bloomberg, has been very vocal, very critical about all the guns on the streets. This now just adding more fuel to that debate.

KAYE: Yes, and it sounds like the two of them had a real history together.

CARROLL: Without question. I mean, everything that we're hearing that these two men, Johnson and Ercolino back at Hazan Imports never liked each other, had some sort of a run-in, had actually, according to police, filed reports against each other. And so this long-standing grudge all coming to a head yesterday.

KAYE: Jason Carroll, thank you very much for your reporting. Will the ongoing war in Afghanistan take center stage at the RNC or the DNC, for that matter? More than 80,000 American troops in Afghanistan right now, but you might not know it from the campaign trail. So, why is the war not at the forefront of the race for the White House?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: From gun control to energy and jobs, President Obama and Mitt Romney have a lot of talking points. Case in point --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You need somebody who's going to wake up every single day and fight for American jobs and investment here in the United States. That's what you need.

MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In my first term, we will add 12 million new jobs to America. We will have more jobs and more take- home pay.

I will set a national goal -- North American energy independence by 2020.

OBAMA: Governor Romney explained his energy policy this way -- you can't drive a car with a windmill on it.

Four years ago, I promised to cut middle class taxes by a total of about $3,600 for the typical family.

ROMNEY: I will not raise taxes on the American people. I will not raise taxes on middle-income Americans.

This nation invented education. We've got to fix our schools and make them the best in the world.

BOLLING: Especially when subjects are hard, you've got to be willing to work at it. It doesn't come easy. That's the nature of a good education.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: But there is one topic noticeably absent from both campaigns. Maybe you caught it there, the war in Afghanistan. Currently over 80,000 of our servicemen and women are serving there. Over 2,000 have lost their lives there. Yet the troops in "Operation Enduring Freedom" have generated barely a whisper on the presidential campaign trail. Let me bring in Pete Hegseth, a former army captain who served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay. He is also the CEO of Concerned Veterans for America. Pete, good morning. Thank you for joining us this morning.

PETE HEGSETH, CEO, CONCERNED VETERANS FOR AMERICA: Good morning. Thanks for having me.

KAYE: Why do you think the candidates have been so quiet when it comes to the war?

HEGSETH: It's a tough issue, you know? The president doubled down by surging in Afghanistan, but at the same time, set a deadline. As someone who just came back from Afghanistan in January, things aren't going as good as we'd like. That deadline is difficult. The Taliban have been trying to resurge. You've seen the insider attacks. It doesn't mean it's inevitable that the war won't end well, but it isn't going well. So a sitting president doesn't particularly want to be talking about a difficult war.

When it comes to Romney, there are no easy solutions, either. The alternative, he doesn't want to be talking about endless war, but he also wants to talk about removing the deadline, which isn't helping, the withdrawal deadline and talking about conditions. There's a lot of nuance in there, and, as you heard in the clips, not a lot of nuance in politics oftentimes when you come down to the finish line. So it's just complicated. And counterinsurgency is difficult and it's hard to distill into sound bites.

KAYE: Let me share a Gallup poll with you, showing veteran support Mitt Romney over Barack Obama as president, a big lead. But in 2008, McCain also had a big lead but in the end lost the election. So, do you think it will be different this year?

HEGSETH: I think, you know, veterans and military members are oftentimes seen as a monolith, that we vote only because of the war or only because of veterans or V.A. benefits. Concerned vets of America did a poll asking veterans, military members who have served what they think the biggest issues are facing our nation -- jobs and the economy, debt and deficit were the top two, 72 percent combined. So, veterans are concerned about the same exact things.

And if they think Barack Obama or Mitt Romney are presenting more solutions to our spending problems, solutions to our debt, bringing out our free enterprise system, they're going to go in that direction. I think that's where veterans' minds are even though every day, I can tell you, every day I think about the guys in Afghanistan and what they're doing and what they're going through, and it does frustrate me that that's not a part of the public conversation, because it should be. But at end of the day, I think veterans and military members are going to the ballot saying how do we get our economy back on track, because that's what undergirds our military strength.

KAYE: Both campaigns, though, pretty unclear when it comes to their policy on military spending and defense cuts. Do you feel the military is being forgotten in this election?

HEGSETH: Well, in a sense, but we've had this long conversation about sequestration, which is Washington speak for across-the-board budget cuts that are looming in January 2013, which I've argued will, you know, I agree with Secretary Panetta, they'll hollow out the force. But at the same time, any veteran will tell you there is fat to be cut in the defense budget. And we've got to be serious about reforming defense so we can also be serious about reforming entitlements like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security and getting our debt under control. Until that's under control, there are not enough defense cuts that can be made to balance our budget, just like there are not enough tax cuts to be raised in order to balance our budget. We have to reform these big programs that are drivers of our debt and deficit in order to get back to sort of a sound fiscal basis. And therefore, we're not attempting to balance the budget on the backs of the DOD.

KAYE: Pete Hegseth, thank you so much. Appreciate your time this morning.

HEGSETH: Thanks for having me.

KAYE: Now to the road to the Republican national convention. The convention starts on Monday in Tampa, Florida, but Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are in Ohio today. CNN political editor Paul Steinhauser is there in Powell, Ohio, right now. Paul, how did that rally go? What'd you hear from them?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, a pretty crowded rally here, Randi, just wrapping up, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan speaking for about a half hour, a little bit more. And Randi, listen, we don't have to downsize this at all, Ohio is extremely important in this battle for the White House. These 18 electoral votes are being courted heavily by Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan and by President Obama and byJoe Biden.

You know, this is the eighth visit to Ohio by Romney since the start of the general election back in April, and guess what -- the president's been here seven times. The rally today really concentrated on the economy, mostly, and Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan very much criticizing the president for not delivering on the promises they say he made four years ago. That was their theme today here in Powell, Ohio.

This is a very Republican county, just north of Columbus, the state capital. This is a place, Randi, where Mitt Romney needs to get out the vote if he wants to win here in Ohio.

Randi, it's interesting, there were some protesters here outside the event, about 15 or 20 protesters talking about hands off Medicare and saying, "Go home, Ryan." Mitt Romney did reference them and he joked about it -- Randi.

KAYE: And he also made a joke earlier this week about the birth certificate, his birth certificate, in fact. Anything more about that today?

STEINHAUSER: Not at all. Of course, that was the big story line yesterday for the Romney-Ryan rally in neighboring Michigan, of course, and that was very controversial and a big suit story in the media. No reference of that at all today by Mitt Romney or Paul Ryan. I guess you could say they're maybe playing it a little safer. They want to get the message back to the economy because they've been distracted and on other issues.

But there was a plane above the rally site as the rally gab, and it had a sign on it that says "America can do better than birtherism." So maybe a plane from the Democrats trying to keep that issue alive.

KAYE: Certainly. And what are we seeing in terms of the national poll numbers?

STEINHAUSER: You know, it's close here in Ohio and it's close nationally. Take a look at our national survey of likely voters, 49 percent of likely voters saying they would support the president, 47 percent for Romney, about as tight as you can get. We have been in a very close contest since April when the general election started. It remains close. We've got the conventions coming up starting on Monday, after that, the debates. So we'll see if the dial moves at all -- Randi.

KAYE: Well, I know you'll be watching it and we along with you. Paul Steinhauser, thank you.

And be sure to stay with CNN for complete coverage of the Republican national convention. Tomorrow we have a special look at Mitt Romney followed by a preview of the convention. Then Monday night at 7:00 p.m. eastern, the convention kicks off.

We are getting new tornado warnings for the east coast. We'll tell you where in just 90 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Meteorologist Bonnie Schneider joining us now. Bonnie, you have a new tornado warning on the east coast to tell us about.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's right, Randi. We've been talking so much about Isaac, but severe weather is breaking out in southeast Virginia. Let's take a closer look in the Norfolk area. That's where we have a tornado warning, and this strong thunderstorm as reported, Doppler radar has indicated some rotation, so we may see this develop into a tornado at any time, and it is working to the northwest, towards the Portsmouth area. So, if you're in this region, keep in mind that this tornado warning continues for at least the next 20 minutes. You can see strong storms rolling through the Norfolk area right now -- Randi.

KAYE: And Isaac, we were talking about Isaac quite a bit. It seems to have lost a little punch over Haiti, right?

SCHNEIDER: Well, you know, it's lost some of its punch over Haiti, but it certainly has not lost its punch entirely. In fact, Isaac is still in the forecast to become a hurricane. Right now, the storm, we're looking at most of the activity over Haiti as it works towards Cuba over the next 12 to 24 hours, but we are seeing a burst of convection well in advance, and that's impacting the Florida keys right now, so we're getting some strong winds, almost tropical storm force in the region and heavy downpours of rain with frequent lightning.

But the track shows that Isaac will be on the move and it will become a category 1 hurricane. Now, depending on how much it interacts with the mountains into Cuba certainly will depend on whether or not we see that intensity burst earlier than later. But one thing's for certain, the storm looks like it's headed straight into the Gulf of Mexico. The wide cone of uncertainty stretches across the panhandle, taking it eventually onshore by the time we get to the middle of the week and then stretching further off into areas inland, possibly into Alabama and even into Georgia as we go into the latter part of the week. So, that's something that we're keeping our eye on very closely.

Now, I mentioned as well some new changes for the track, and with that, we also want to keep everyone aware of the fact that we have hurricane warnings that are posted now all along the south coast of Florida from Bonita Shores all the way to Florida Bay, and we have a hurricane watch extended northward of that towards Golden Beach. So, the entire Florida Keys are now under a hurricane warning. We're likely to see hurricane force winds, especially within the keys, within the next 24 hours, so it's something we're going to be talking more about on Sunday. If you haven't made your storm preps, like taking things that are loose outside indoors and making sure you have your supplies in case you lose power, now is the time to do that in this region -- Randi.

KAYE: And as far as the Republican convention, we're still not exactly clear yet if it will hit Tampa?

SCHNEIDER: Looks like right now it's forecast to move into the gulf away from Tampa, but the proximity could be close enough for an impact, so it's something to monitor, absolutely.

KAYE: Bonnie Schneider, thank you very much for that.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

KAYE: A California man is serving a life sentence even after a judge ruled him innocent two years ago. So why is he still behind bars? That answer is complicated.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. Bottom of the hour, let's get straight to the news. Checking top stories now, tropical storm Isaac is headed toward Cuba and possibly Florida's west coast. It packed a powerful punch in Haiti. Isaac's gale force winds and heavy rains damaged homes and uprooted trees. Power is out in some areas, and there are fears of mud slides as the downpour continues.

And $1 billion, that's how much Samsung must pay Apple for violating patents on mobile devices. A federal jury ruled that Samsung willfully violated those policies on their new phones. Samsung says they will appeal.

Casey Anthony is now free to leave Florida. The department of corrections has announced that her probation is over. Anthony was on probation for a year on a check fraud conviction. Before that she was acquitted in the death of her two-year-old daughter. Her exact location in the state is still a secret.

And in sports news, a blockbuster trade could be finalized today. The L.A. Dodgers and Boston Red Sox nearing a deal that would send big names like Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, and Carl Crawford from Boston to L.A. That represents around $260 million in outstanding salaries over the next few years.

A California man is serving 27 years to life in prison despite a judge's ruling declaring him innocent. Daniel Larsen was convicted under California's three-strikes law nearly 14 years ago, but an appeals court judge reversed the ruling two years ago on grounds his legal counsel was incompetent and eyewitnesses who say they have the wrong man. So, why is he still in prison? Randy Page of our affiliate KCAL explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDY PAGE, REPORTER, KCAL: More than 100,000 signed petitions calling for the release of state prison inmate Daniel Larsen were wheeled into the Ronald Reagan state office building today. They'll be delivered to state attorney general Carmella Harris.

JAN STIGLITZ, CALIFORNIA INNOCENCE PROJECT: Danny Larsen was wrongfully convicted and is an innocent man.

PAGE: California Innocence Protect co-director Jan Stiglitz was joined by Larsen's fiancee, Christina Combs.

CHRISTINA COMBS, LARSEN'S FIANCEE: They robbed him of his life and he needs to be set free.

PAGE: Larsen was convicted of possession of this dagger in 1999 after two LAPD officers said they saw him throw it under a car outside of this bar. Since he had two burglary convictions it was his third strike. Larsen was sentenced to 21 years to life.

A decade later the Innocence Project found two new witnesses, one a former chief of police, who testified in court they were only five feet away and saw somebody else toss the knife, not Larsen. The federal magistrate ruled had the jury been able to hear the new evidence, "no reasonable juror would have found petitioner Daniel Larsen guilty beyond a reasonable doubt." But the state attorney general is disputing the credibility of the new witnesses and arguing Larsen took too long to file his federal appeal.

JUSTIN BROOKS, DIRECTOR, CALIFORNIA INNOCENCE PROJECT: I hear people all the time talk about people getting out of prison on technicalities. This is a guy sitting in prison due to a technicality.

PAGE: Joining the Innocence Project, one of their success stories, Brian banks, a former high school football star recently exonerated of rape after his alleged victim admitted the rape never happened. Banks' advice for Daniel Larsen --

BRIAN BANKS, EXONERATED AFTER FIVE YEARS: I'd definitely tell him to just hang in there and keep his head up. It's a day-to-day process, but he has the best people around him.

(END VIDEOTAPE) KAYE: Once again, that was former high school football star Brian Banks there, who we actually had on this program. He was exonerated with the help, as the reporter said, of California Innocence Project after spending five years in prison for a rape that he did not commit. Thanks to Randy Page of our affiliate kcal there.

Joining me now is Jan Stiglitz, also featured in that report, Daniel Larsen's attorney general and co-director of the California innocence project. Jan, good morning. An appeals court judge reversed this conviction two years ago. How is the California attorney general able to block his release and why do it?

JAN STIGLITZ, INNOCENCE PROJECT: Well, the state has the right to appeal any decision that goes against the position they're taking, and they've chosen to appeal instead of consider the possibility that Danny, in fact, is innocent. One of the disturbing things about their reaction to this case is they've never once interviewed the witnesses we've brought forward and never, from our perspective, gave serious consideration to the possibility that there had been a wrongful conviction. Their actions have been reflexive defense of the conviction, and we've never really had the opportunity to sit down with them and say, hey, talk to these people.

KAYE: The CNN, of course, we've reached out to the attorney general there, and they told us that they don't comment on their ongoing legal cases, but the attorney general has said that he should remain in prison on this technicality becaeause he missed a deadline to file for appeal? Doesn't that seem extreme in light of what the judge ruled, that he's innocent?

STIGLITZ: Well, we think it's extreme. I mean, the fact that the attorney general of the state of California would take a position that innocence does not matter, and that even if someone is factually innocent, because of a technicality, they should stay in prison, that's just wrong.

KAYE: Also, as we heard in that report, the attorney general is disputing some of the credibility of these witnesses who have come forward. What is your response to that?

STIGLITZ: Well, the trial was fairly close. The only witnesses the prosecution had were two police officers who changed their stories a number of times and couldn't even remember which one was driving the car and who was where when they observed what they claimed to have seen. We have neutral witnesses who are literally within five feet of the incident, and they tell a very, very different story.

KAYE: Why wait the two years to circulate these petitions to the attorney general?

STIGLITZ: Well, it was just a question of timing and getting together with Change.org. They were very, very helpful and supportive of this case. It's sometimes difficult to get the public involved in these convictions. You know, it's just a matter of getting people to recognize that there's an injustice being done, and particularly in this case by the chief law enforcement office of the state of California.

KAYE: And how is Daniel doing? How's he handling all this?

STIGLITZ: He's in good spirits. He's in good spirits, but it's an emotional roller coaster. You know, whenever we get a ruling that's favorable to Danny, he gets very excited, and then when the other side opposes and then when you have delays, and here we've had two delays on the appeal with no end in sight, he gets depressed, he gets angry. So, this whole process from the time we got involved has been a terrible emotional rollercoaster for him.

KAYE: I'm sure. Jan Stiglitz, do keep us up to date on what's happening in Daniel Larsen's case. We appreciate you coming on the show this morning.

STIGLITZ: And we appreciate your attention to this important story.

KAYE: Countdown to the Republican convention, do you ever wonder what's in it for me? We'll take a closer look at the message Republicans need to convey and who they are trying to reach.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: We are just a couple days away now from the start of the Republican national convention. All eyes will be on Tampa next week. But in the run-up to the showcase, the Republican Party has been scrambling to get back on message. It seems that they've lost a little focus in the wake of the Todd Akin legitimate rape controversy, the expected arrival of tropical storm Isaac in Florida and Mitt Romney's birth certificate joke at a rally just yesterday.

Joining me now as they do every week to talk politics, CNN contributor Maria Cardona and Amy Holmes, anchor for GDTV's "Real News." Good morning to both of you. Amy, I'll start with you this morning. Do you think these distractions have hurt the Romney/Ryan momentum heading into the convention?

AMY HOLMES, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, it certainly hasn't been helpful, I think we can say that. This sort of three's a trend? Is that what they say in journalism? So it's knocked them off message, in part because of the media focusing on that, but once the convention is under way, that's a huge news event in itself. So, unless the hurricane wipes everything out, I don't think Republicans have too much longer to have to be dealing with all of this.

KAYE: Maria, your take?

MARIA CARDONA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I agree with Amy, it certainly hasn't been helpful for them, and it certainly has been a focus of the media, but there's a reason for that, because what Todd Akin said clearly was a stupid thing to say, but when you look at his policy positions, Paul Ryan holds the exact same policy position on abortion as Todd Akin does. And so, that is certainly something that the media has underscored and it is absolutely something that the Democrats are going to keep reminding, especially those all-important independent women. Romney already suffers from a huge gender gap, and this certainly isn't making it any easier. But what really was puzzling to me was yesterday when Romney took a swipe at Obama on the birther joke in a clear embrace of the ultra-rightwing conservative birtherism wing and thought, in terms of the GOP. So, that certainly wasn't helpful.

KAYE: Just to be fair, I know that's how you see it, but Mitt Romney did tell CBS it wasn't about the president. He was just making a joke about being back in Michigan. But our new CNN/ORC poll shows a dead heat in the race, Obama by two points, well within the margin of error, of course.

This is in our first look at likely voters, though, instead of just the registered voters. But I want to show you another pretty important number here -- 87 percent say they've already made up their minds, 11 percent could still be swayed. So, Amy, how do the Republicans try and reach that 11 percent come the convention week?

HOLMES: Well, I think with the focus that they want to get back to, which is the economy and jobs. And I think these other issues are distractions, distractions which Democrats are welcoming, by the way. Claire McCaskill, who is in a very difficult race in Missouri, was thrilled by the Todd Akin remarks and she was encouraging him to stay in the race. So, you know, she wasn't so much about women and supporting women so much as supporting her own reelection.

But looking at those numbers, you have the 11 percent that is going to be the hotly contested, fought-over ground for both Democrats and Republicans. And in order to win those voters you're going to have to win their confidence. And moving into the future, things are going to be looking up and that these economic numbers that have been dragging down the president are going to be turning around. Both candidates will be trying to send that message.

But I do want to say one thing on the abortion issue, that on the Democratic side, you hear that the pro-choice position is the women's position. And that simply isn't true. Women are not a monolith, evenly divided on this issue. Gallup found in May that women who regarded themselves as pro-choice were 44 percent of those surveyed, while pro- life were 46 percent. So, I think we need to respect that women have a lot of different positions on this.

KAYE: Maria, I wanted to share with you another number that sticks out, enthusiasm. Look at the difference here between four years ago and today. President Obama rode that enthusiasm wave, we know, to victory, but if you look here, the excitement isn't there. So, can the Democrats fix that with a little hope and change, perhaps?

CARDONA: Oh, of course the Democrats can fix that, Randi. And let's just say that it's going to be after the conventions when everybody's going to be focused on the general election. And what President Obama's team has done very well is that they have put in place a ground machine, a ground game, if you will, that I think is second to none. They have had many years to continue that, the same ground game that put them in victory in 2008. And it is difficult to replicate the enthusiasm, but certainly, Republicans are helping us with the kinds of social issues that they're focusing on.

And let me just say that Amy's right. I mean, women will go into this election focused on the economy as will most Americans. But you also don't go into the voting booth in isolation. You are going to look at other issues in terms of making this choice, especially when Romney is not the most likable candidate here. The most likable candidate here is President Obama, and most Americans believe that he's the one that understands what middle class families are going through. And I think that's going to be a big, big advantage for the Democrats.

KAYE: All right, let me jump in here, because I want to share with you a little bit of -- we had this young Republican and young Democrat on the air this morning, earlier on CNN Saturday Morning, and I want to play a bit of that for the two of you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People such as myself are attracted to the Republican Party for what the Republican Party has to offer.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On the Republican side, you have a candidate that's saying, telling college students to shop around or borrow from their parents. What about the students that aren't in an opportunity to do so? President Obama's looking out for all young Americans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Now, on the Republican side, that was Katie. On the democratic side that was Alejandra. They're 21 and 25 years old. And I got to thinking, they reminded me of a couple of women I know just little bit. They really got into it, those two. Did you see a little bit of yourselves there?

(LAUGHTER)

HOLMES: Are you suggesting that we're not still young? Oh, boy.

KAYE: No. I'm just suggesting they may grow into this a little bit.

(LAUGHTER)

CARDONA: I absolutely -- yes, I think you're right, Randi, and I think that that underscores the closeness of this election, which I think Amy will agree with me on this, and that every single vote on every single issue is going to be contested here. And so I think that's why the conventions are going to be so important, but especially what the candidates do for the general election.

KAYE: They really were a lot of fun to watch and they got a little fiery, just like you two, so --

CARDONA: There you go!

KAYE: It was a lot of fun to have them on.

CARDONA: We're grooming them, Randi. (LAUGHTER)

KAYE: I'm sure you are. I'm sure you are. Maria, Amy, nice to see you both. Thank you.

CARDONA: Thank you so much.

HOLMES: Pleasure, thank you.

KAYE: Breaking news just in to the CNN newsroom. All nine people injured in Friday's shooting in front of the Empire State Building were wounded by police gunfire. We had some reports, of course, that there was some shrapnel and some of the victims were caught in the crossfire. Now we know all nine were injured by police gunfire. That's according to New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. We will continue to follow this and we'll bring you much more of the detail and a report on this coming very soon.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: It's 10 minutes before the top of the hour. I'm Randi Kaye. Let's get the latest now on tropical storm Isaac. It is setting its sights on Cuba after lashing Haiti, and it could be a hurricane as soon as tomorrow. CNN's Patrick Oppmann is in Havana, Cuba, and joins us now live. Patrick, how's the weather there right now?

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. We've been getting rain all morning, and just in the last hour or so, wind gusts have been picking up. Isaac is approaching Cuba's eastern shore, but here in Havana, we're starting to feel some of the effects of the storm.

You know, usually where I am right now, Randi, Havana sea front, you would see people out taking in the sun, taking in the ocean air. Right now we're seeing people take cover, Randi, just as the rain starts coming down. People have decided they don't want to be on the streets anymore and they're going to get inside, you know. Living on an island, you really don't have much choice other than to hunker down when hurricane or tropical storm like Isaac comes our way, and that's what people are doing right now in Cuba's capital -- Randi.

KAYE: Patrick, have people been heeding the warnings? I mean, did they take safety precautions or preparations in Cuba?

OPPMANN: You know, this morning, people take these warnings very seriously, and the government particularly starts advising people, sometimes door to door because communications can be very bad here, to take cover. And this morning I saw some fishermen getting their boats out of the water, saw some people getting their cars, seeing some of the old classic 1950s cars that you still see on the streets here, up to higher ground, away from areas that could flood.

But I haven't seen any plywood up yet, and we'll see if people start putting plywood up on the windows. It may just be that plywood is hard to come by here, but we are seeing people get off the streets, get out of the wet weather, Randi.

KAYE: Patrick, thank you very much. Try and stay safe there as well.

OPPMANN: He is a two-time cancer survivor. Meet this week's CNN hero. He's giving cancer patients support, encouragement, and hope by connecting them with others who have been down the same road.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: It isn't the news anyone wants to hear, learning they have cancer. But two-time cancer survivor Jonny Imerman has made it his duty to make sure nobody battles alone. Meet this week's CNN hero.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONNY IMERMAN, CNN HERO: All of a sudden, it was like, bam, it was like someone took a syringe and stabbed me directly in my left testicle. At 26, I was diagnosed with cancer, so I had to go right into chemo. In the hospital, I saw these people by themselves, I could see the fear. My goal was to get in there and motivate patients so that they wanted to jump out of their chemo bed and literally start swinging at this thing.

My name is Jonny Imerman. I'm a two-time testicular cancer survivor and I created an organization to make sure people who are diagnosed cancer are able to reach a survivor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep your immune system strong and listen to your body. It will tell you what to do.

IMERMAN: It started with a few survivors sharing information one to one with everyone diagnosed with the same cancer.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's a young healthy adult. Cancer is not a part of our language. I'm really happy that I have this community that Jonny has built.

IMERMAN: We have helped people in over 60 countries. We have matched over 8,000 total since inception.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's been like my guardian angel. Any time I call her, she's right there.

IMERMAN: It's a brotherhood and a sisterhood, and that's for sure. We help people of all ages, caregivers, spouses. We'll help the parents get hooked up with other parents, and we just get a ton of young adults who share stories. We listen, we learn.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was 31 years old when I was diagnosed, so I wanted to make it until my son was at least 5, and I'm still here today.

IMERMAN: You heal each other.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's exactly what you need to hear from someone who's been through it. There's really no other way.

IMERMAN: I don't really count the days since cancer, because every day is a good day. Like, you're happy you got out of bed this morning. Life's amazing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: And coming up next hour, charges of illegal doping against cyclist Lance Armstrong and the legal case that he's choosing not to fight.

And we are expecting our next advisory from the National Hurricane Center any minute now. Be sure to stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)