Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Saturday Morning News
Sandy Gets the Late Night Treatment; President Obama Holds Ohio Rally; Sandy Claims 106 lives in the U.S.; Beer Plant Makes Emergency Water; Final Push for the Candidates; Jewish Vote Could Swing Florida; Long Lines For Early Voting In Florida; Candidates Battle For Wisconsin; Local "Saint" Helps Sandy Victims; Battle For Nevada; Battling For Control Of U.S. House
Aired November 03, 2012 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Good morning, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. I'm glad you're with us.
There are just three days left now until election President Obama and Governor Romney focus on the swing states as both candidates make their final push.
And in the aftermath of super storm Sandy, gas rationing starts in New Jersey today in an effort to cut down on those long lines at the gas station.
Plus, during this tragedy, a man has become a much-needed angel to one New Jersey community.
Just three days to go until Election Day and the presidential candidates are launching a weekend battleground blitz to win over undecided voters in those key toss-up states. Today, President Obama campaigns in Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa and Virginia. Mitt Romney stumps in New Hampshire, Iowa and Colorado.
Their running mates are also going nonstop. Vice President Joe Biden in Colorado today and Paul Ryan in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Florida and Ohio.
Ohio could be the biggest battleground of the election and the race there is tight. A just released CNN-ORC poll shows Obama ahead -- take a look here -- by just three points, well within the margin of error. An NBC/"Wall Street Journal"/Marist poll shows a wider gap with Obama leading by six points.
President Obama is speaking at a rally in Mentor, Ohio, this hour. CNN White House correspondent Dan Lothian is there along with him. Dan, good morning. So Ohio certainly critical to these candidates. What line of attack is the President expected to take there to widen his lead?
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Randi, it continues to be one that focuses on the auto industry. I'm told by a campaign official that the President will continue that theme that he was pushing yesterday while campaigning here in Ohio, that the auto bailout which he pushed, which he says that Mitt Romney did not support, helped to save thousands of jobs here in an area that the auto industry is very critical to employment here, so that's the theme that the President will continue pushing.
They expect that perhaps the President will again hit that ad that Mitt Romney had running where he suggested that jobs from a Chrysler plant could end up going overseas to China. And the President telling a crowd of supporters that he heard from one plant that there was concern among the work force there, going in talking to their bosses concerned that their jobs could be headed overseas to China.
So the President will be pushing that very hard at this rally here today trying to sort of draw that sharp contrast between his policies and the vision of Mitt Romney, saying that it's an issue of trust. And then helping the President out here in Ohio, the First Lady also, Mrs. Biden campaigning here in the state of Ohio.
And then he has some big name entertainers all across the battleground states over the next few days. Katy Perry, Bruce Springsteen, the Dave Matthews Band, Stevie Wonder, and Will.I.Am -- all of them getting audiences fired up for the President's message.
KAYE: And certainly leaning, as you mentioned Dan, on Bill Clinton. How much weight does he carry do you think for the President?
LOTHIAN: I think you know Bill Clinton certainly still is considered a big surrogate for the President. You know it's been pointed out by the campaign that no one can better sort of narrow down and to crystallize the President's message than former President Bill Clinton and so they consider him a very powerful weapon.
He's also a big draw when he's out there on the campaign trail. He can pull in a lot of supporters. They also believe he could appeal to those yet undecided voters, if there are any of them out there still. They believe that he has a way of sort of boiling down the message that can appeal to them.
KAYE: Dan Lothian, thank you, Dan. I appreciate that. And we should mention the President is expected to make those remarks just before noon Eastern Time. We'll be sure to bring those to you.
The Republican campaign making a last-minute play for Pennsylvania. This weekend, both Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are campaigning in the state. Ryan is in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, today. And tomorrow, Romney heads to Bucks County.
CNN Political Editor Paul Steinhauser live in Harrisburg now. Paul good morning. So polls show that Romney is narrowing the gap with Romney in that state. Can he realistically hope to take the state this late in the game?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: That's what the Romney campaign is hoping. You know no Republican has won Pennsylvania in the presidential elections since 1980. But here I am in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania right behind me here at the airport you're going to have a rally with Paul Ryan about two hours from now. You know what, Paul Ryan is not the only one who's coming to this state. As you mentioned Mitt Romney will be here in Pennsylvania as well tomorrow in suburban Philadelphia. That swing part of the state is really the part of the state that determines who wins the keystone states, 20 electoral votes up for grabs here in Pennsylvania Randi.
The Obama campaign now bringing -- you were just mentioning Bill Clinton with Dan Lothian. Bill Clinton is coming here on Monday to campaign in Pennsylvania. And Jill Biden the wife of the Vice President is here today as well.
Both sides going up with a lot of ads now. I turned on the locals on the TV last night, watching the local news, tons of ads. Almost ten million ads in the last nine days here in the closing nine days of this campaign. And by a two to one margin, it's Romney or Romney allied ads that are running in this state.
Take a look at the polls as you mentioned it, here it is, here is the most recent poll from Franklin and Marshall just a four-point advantage for the President Randi. He used to have a double digit advantage in this state, which didn't see much action until these final weeks -- Randi.
KAYE: And earlier today Paul, Governor Romney was as at a rally in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Any news out of there?
STEINHAUSER: Yes, there was a little bit of news out of there. Romney of course knows New Hampshire very well. He's got a vacation home there. And he's going to have his closing event in New Hampshire on Monday night. But remember yesterday, the President, when he was in Ohio, when he mentioned Mitt Romney's name, some of the crowd booed.
And the President said no, don't boo. Just vote on Tuesday and that will be your revenge. Well Mitt Romney has really picked up on those comments. Take a listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Yesterday the -- the President said something you may have heard by now that I think surprised a lot of people. Speaking to an audience, he said voting is the best revenge. He told his supporters voting for revenge. Vote for revenge? Let me tell you what I'd like to tell you. Vote for love of country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: That's the man at the top of the ticket. Here are some live pictures of the running mate Paul Ryan. As we mentioned he is in Marietta, Ohio right now his second stop there. And of course Randi after he's done in Ohio, he's coming right to where I am here in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
I guess we'll find out on November 6th if Pennsylvania truly is in play. The Romney campaign says it is. They say they're broadening the map. The Obama campaign says this is a desperation move by Romney because they feel he can't win in some of the other battleground states -- Randi.
KAYE: And -- and Paul, Romney saying vote for love of country. It sounds like he's really softening the rhetoric there, not so much on the attack.
STEINHAUSER: You know, it is interesting, though. At other times in his stump speeches, he does criticize the President a lot for the economy and for -- for other actions the President's taken over the last four years, so we're hearing kind of a little of everything in these final closing days, Randi.
KAYE: All Paul Steinhauser in Pennsylvania. Paul, thank you.
A lot of people around the country are voting early to avoid the lines on Tuesday, but in Florida, early voting lines are extremely long. Some people waiting hours. Early voting has wrapped up in some states and ballots are already being counted.
We'll get the latest on superstorm Sandy and what's being done to help survivors.
Plus, we'll follow the National Guard as they go door-to-door in Long Beach Island New Jersey.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Now to the latest on Superstorm Sandy. There are reports that at least 22 million gallons of gas are headed to the northeast to relieve shortages there. It's made for miles' long lines as residents wait hours to gas up cars and get fuel for their generators.
To cut down on wait times, 12 New Jersey counties will go to a rationing system at noon today. By the way, AAA reports the national price for a gallon of gas fell 1.3 cents to $3.48.
So far, we know that the 900-mile storm has killed at least 106 people in the U.S., but the search for survivors continues.
CNN's Jim Clancy followed the National Guard as they went door to door in a search and discovery mission in Long Beach Island, New Jersey.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A sometimes forceful systematic search for survivors.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every time you clear the street --
CLANCY: Dozens of members of the U.S. Army and Air Force National Guard joined members of the Ocean County prosecutor's office to probe seemingly abandoned homes on Long Beach Island's Holgate community. In distress situations, they forcibly opened homes to call out for survivors. The prosecutors are on hand because they have jurisdiction if any bodies are uncovered. But in most cases, it was a straight forward call to ask if anyone was inside.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: National Guard.
MASTER SGT. RONNIE ESQUICHE, U.S. ARMY NATIONAL GUARD: This part of the mission is search and rescue. Pretty much nobody has been here. So we've been going in trying to see if any residents that had stayed over during the hurricane survived. That's basically what we're looking for here, any survivors.
CLANCY: Homes already ripped open by Superstorm Sandy were searched inside and out while these guard teams from New Jersey kept a sharp lookout for signs of life anywhere around a home, trying to ensure no one would be overlooked.
Devastating waves broke on these beaches, ripping away huge amounts of sand hat was then carried across the island, leaving two or three- story homes perched dangerously atop their now shallow pilings. Today, some of those dunes are six feet high, making road access impossible.
Not waiting for those roads to be cleared, the Coast Guard joined in the search and rescue mission, ferrying the search parties to the far southern end of the island.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: National guard. Anybody home?
CLANCY: Their work almost done, the search teams mark each street and each street with red tape to document which homes have been checked.
They found some residents, but none wanting to leave. Like Carl Clark, who rode out the storm and still refuses to leave, but thinks it's a good idea to keep the island closed for now.
CARL CLARK, HOLGATE, NEW JERSEY RESIDENT: That is a good thing, in my opinion. We have to restore this infrastructure. We can't have everybody back yet. I'll stay here, look after our home, our neighbor's home, watch out for, you know, looting, anybody that doesn't belong here.
CLANCY: Carl and the residents who are not on the island can rest assured that the 100-plus National Guard troops marching through freshly plowed sand drifts are also on the lookout, for everyone.
(on camera): Just about every home in this Holgate community has been damaged or perhaps even devastated. That's property damage. Personal injury is something else, and members of the Army and Air National Guard as well as the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office say they're going to continue to knock on doors until they can ensure that everyone who wants to get out can.
Jim Clancy, CNN, on Long Beach Island, New Jersey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: After much criticism, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg cancelled the New York City marathon for the first time in its 42 years. It was set to take place tomorrow. Bloomberg insisted the race would not have required diverting resources from sandy's recovery effort, but he said it was clear the marathon had become controversial and divisive. Right now, drinking water is much needed for survivors of the storm. So Anheuser-Busch in Georgia has switched over one of its lines from producing cans of beer to producing cans of emergency drinking water.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT VAIL, PLANT OPERATIONS MANAGER: Personally for me, it does mean a little bit more because I do have family that had been affected by it.
SAM MCELVEEN, PLANT EMPLOYEE: Makes us look great. You know, a lot of people will have opportunities to help so we look at this as actually an opportunity to help.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: The company estimates they'll produce and ship about 44,000 cases of drinking water, all free of charge.
Ohio, no Republican president has ever lost the state. We'll talk to a Romney senior adviser about the last-second push to swing Ohio the Republican challenger's way.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: The harried pace of both campaigns highlights just how close this race really is.
Joining me now is Barbara Comstock, a member of the Virginia Statehouse and a senior adviser to the Romney campaign. Barbara, good morning. Welcome. You're in Cincinnati today, so why don't we start there in Ohio.
BARBARA COMSTOCK, SENIOR ADVISER TO MITT ROMNEY: Yes.
KAYE: A key swing state, one of the big groups that either candidate needs -- of course the autoworkers there. Here is Mitt Romney's pitch as you know it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who will do more for the auto industry? Not Barack Obama. Fact checkers concern his attacks on Mitt Romney are false. The truth, Mitt Romney has a plan to help the auto industry. He's supported by Lee Iacocca and the Detroit News. Obama took GM and Chrysler into bankruptcy and sold Chrysler to Italians who are going to build Jeeps in China. Mitt Romney will fight for every American job.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I'm Mitt Romney and I approve this message.
(END VIDEO CLIP) KAYE: All right, Barbara so forget for a moment that both General Motors and Chrysler have decried this ad as either false or misleading but in the ad Governor Romney says he has a plan for the auto industry. I'm curious what that is and why we haven't heard much about it until now just a week before the election.
COMSTOCK: Well as the ad itself says, Lee Iacocca and -- and major executives support Governor Romney and I'd point out people who were on the Obama economic council are supporting Mitt Romney because he does have a plan on day one to turn this country around in terms of jobs.
And with the auto economy and everything else, you need to put people back to work --
(CROSSTALK)
KAYE: But -- but --
COMSTOCK: -- and on day one he's going to get the energy economy going and allow us to have the Keystone Pipeline open up, be able to drill offshore in my home state of Virginia so we can get those good jobs going. And then he is going to, you know, increase economic opportunity for everybody. So that's why he's having so many people, even people on the President's own economics council, are supporting Mitt Romney because he and Paul Ryan have a plan for day one to get jobs.
I mean, this President --
(CROSSTALK)
KAYE: But -- but I was asking you about the -- I was asking you about the jobs, I was asking you specifically about the plan for the jobs for the auto industry. And I do want to mention, too, that even Chrysler's chief executive officer has debunked this ad. The Jeeps will not be made in China. He said that certainly not at the expense of the American workers. Chrysler is just expanding their (inaudible) so I want to -- I want to clear that up.
(CROSSTALK)
COMSTOCK: No, he said -- no and that's -- that's what the ad points out that that is going -- they are doing that. He obviously we want to have more cars made here. We want to have more trade.
KAYE: But it's not at the expense of American jobs is the point. It's not at the expense of American jobs --
(CROSSTALK)
COMSTOCK: There will be -- well, this President has lost. There are fewer jobs today in all -- in pretty much every industry under this President. Unemployment has been stagnant. He said if we spend $1 trillion that we would have a 5.2 percent unemployment and instead it went up this week, 7.9, higher than when the President came into office.
(CROSSTALK)
KAYE: Well let's --
COMSTOCK: The President has failed on all of his metrics. He said he'd turn the economy around with that $1 trillion. He didn't.
KAYE: Let's talk about jobs. Let's talk about jobs because the last jobs report before election offered good and bad really for both campaigns. The unemployment rate as you said is up slightly, added about 171,000 jobs. We know where you stand on that, but in terms of you saying that there are fewer people working.
In fact, our research shows 194,000 more people are working today than when the President took office in January 2009 so what do you say to that?
COMSTOCK: Well, we know in order just to keep pace with population growth you need to have job growth of 250,000 a month. And we have never -- we don't hit that with this President and he has no plan except to spend more money and do all the things that have gotten us further into the ditch. He has not turned around the economy, and he said if he couldn't get the job done in four years, that it would be a one-term proposition. And we absolutely agree.
And Joe Biden said that, you know, the middle class has been buried and certainly here in Ohio we've seen, you know, where average income is going down. Now you have a great governor here in Ohio. I would say there were 30,000 people last night at the Ohio rally, with their Governor, Senator Portman and they are doing all these policies to turn around the economy.
They need a partner in Washington with Mitt Romney who is going to work with your Governor, work with your Senator, to do the things that will get more jobs for Ohio.
(CROSSTALK)
KAYE: Ok.
COMSTOCK: And get this economy turned around and get those people back to work instead of having a $1 trillion welfare economy that nobody is happy with.
(CROSSTALK)
KAYE: Let's talk --
COMSTOCK: People want to go back to work.
KAYE: Let's talk about your home state of Virginia, a coveted prize certainly for both candidates. What makes the Romney campaign think that they can capture Virginia at this point?
COMSTOCK: Well, we are leading in Virginia with Independents, just like we are leading in Ohio and everywhere, and in Virginia we are very concerned about, first of all, the President's tax increases are going to hit our economy just like they are going to hit Ohio very hard.
Two-earner families are going to get hit hard and our small businesses will really get crossed. We have a big small tech industry in Virginia and the tax increases that the President want us to put will hit our small businesses at the same time it's going to be hit the --
(CROSSTALK)
KAYE: But Virginia -- but Virginia -- let me just interrupt you here -- because Virginia unemployment though is among the lowest in the country at 5.6 percent, so how will you combat that?
COMSTOCK: Well, Virginia's unemployment is low because we've observed what President Obama didn't and did the absolute opposite. We cut spending. We cut taxes. We made jobs our number one focus which is why we're one of the number one places to do business, number one place for jobs.
But again, just like Governor Kasich and your folks here, we need a -- we need a President who will work with us, not work against us.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Barbara Comstock, senior adviser for the Romney campaign. Thank you.
The state of Florida looks like a virtual toss-up between President Obama and Governor Romney. Find out why the Jewish voting bloc could become pivotal in that state.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back. I'm Randi Kaye. 28 minutes past the hour.
Both candidates are offering their visions for America. In exclusive opinion articles for cnn.com President Obama says in part, "I believe America's prosperity was built on the strength of our middle class. We don't succeed when a few at the top do well while everyone else struggles to get by. We're better off when everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share and everyone plays by the same rules."
And here's an excerpt from Mitt Romney's opinion piece. He says "I am offering a contrast to what we are seeing in Washington today. We've watched as one party has pushed through its agenda without compromising with the other party. We've watched gridlock and petty conflict dominate while the most important issues confronting the nation like chronic high unemployment go unaddressed. The bickering has to end, I will end it."
You can read their complete opinions by logging on to our Web site. Just go to CNN.com/opinion.
It is going to be a tough race in Florida between President Obama and Governor Romney. Aside from the Hispanic vote, another voting bloc that could be pivotal is Florida's Jewish voters.
CNN's John Zarrella joins us live from Plantation Florida to tell us more about that. Good morning, John.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Randi. And to preface it, we are here with early voting here in Plantation, Florida, Broward County. Lines two and a half, three, sometimes four hours long as folks are exercising their right to vote in the polls.
You know, we have seen a lot of advertising and a lot of advertising money spent in Florida to basically target the Jewish voter, and that is a group that in the past we just haven't seen targeted like this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA (voice-over): Not all the talk in Florida this year revolves around the Spanish vote and how it will decide which the state goes.
And it's not just about that stretch of asphalt between Tampa and Daytona Beach in Central Florida called the I-4 Corridor where all the swing voters live.
Some say for the first time in memory the deciding factor in Florida could well be a block of voters who have always been steadfast Democrats.
ROBERT WATSON, LYNN UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR: There's no way a Democrat can win Florida today statewide without two things happening. One, a large turnout in the Jewish vote here in Southeast Florida, and secondly, an overwhelming Democratic vote in the Jewish community here in Southeast Florida.
ZARRELLA: Romney backers are doing everything they can to peel away Jewish voters especially in South Florida.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I voted for Barack Obama.
ZARRELLA: There are television ads paid for by the Republican Jewish Coalition featuring professed lifelong Jewish Democrats who have switched.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was a big Obama supporter. Had a fundraiser in my home and believed in what he stood for.
ZARRELLA: Romney "Better for Israel" fliers are stuffed in mailboxes. Along the turnpike and on Interstate 95, billboards read, quote, "Obama, oy vey, had enough?"
RABBI KURT STONE, OBAMA SUPPORTER: There's a British word that means to throw up. When I see these, I want to pull off the road.
ZARRELLA: Rabbi Kurt Stone supports President Obama. He says the Republicans are pandering and it's not going to work.
STONE: The notion that the first thing all Jewish voters look at is where a candidate stands on Israel. That is making a certain narrow view of the Jewish people that I find to be, a, not true and b, it makes me angry.
ZARRELLA: The Obama campaign is taking the Republican challenge seriously, firing back with an ad focused on Israel.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Our bond with Israel will be unbreakable.
ZARRELLA: The co-chairman of a group called "Florida Democrats for Romney" says it's absolutely not all about Israel.
ROGER WISHNER, ROMNEY SUPPORTER: I think we need to look at this as a business, and we need to put somebody in there that can run this country and bring back the jobs.
ZARRELLA: Four years ago, Obama won 78 percent of Florida's Jewish vote. Political scientists say the GOP attacks could cost the president as much as 5 percent of that support, the equivalent of about 25,000 votes. In a close election, perhaps the difference.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA: Now, Jewish folks in Florida make up 3.5 percent of the state's residents, but 8 percent of all the voters, which makes them a significant, significant voting bloc, Randi. So we can see why both sides really want those voters, and they are going after them hard.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, they certainly are. It is getting down and dirty. That's for sure. John Zarrella there in plantation. Thank you.
Campaign workers in Wisconsin knocking on every door and asking people to vote for their candidate. We'll tell you if their efforts are paying off.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Let's take you live now to Chesapeake, Virginia. Bill Clinton is there. You see him there campaigning for President Obama at Indian River High School. Let's listen for a bit.
FORMER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON: You want to know one simple difference in the choice you have today? When there's Tea Party Congress led by the current nominee of the Republican Party for vice president got a hold of the House, they changed the rules on the GI bill and they said that states could decide whether or not a returning veteran was eligible for in-state tuition.
There's a great story in the paper last week about a woman veteran whose husband was in the military. She was from North Carolina. They went to Texas to train. They were sent overseas. They came back. She goes back to North Carolina. They judge she's not eligible for in- state tuition and it blows away all the benefits of the GI bill, 250,000 veterans are already there.
I'm for Barack Obama because he wants the people to have education and health care and jobs when they come home to the America -- KAYE: And you can see the rest of Bill Clinton's speech on cnn.com/live. We have it for you there.
President Obama well ahead of Mitt Romney in Wisconsin. CNN's latest poll of polls shows Obama with 51 percent of the vote, Romney trailing at 44 percent. But campaign workers on both sides are still knocking on doors to make sure that they get people to come out to vote for their candidate.
Our Ted Rowlands is just one of the CNN reporters covering the battleground states today. He has details now from Wisconsin.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is what the political ground game looks like in Racine, Wisconsin. Chelsea Shields and Adam Grass are part of Team Romney. Terri Jackel is with Team Obama.
Each side is armed with addresses of people that support their candidate. Their job is to meet them face to face. If nobody's home, leave a pamphlet. If somebody answers, get them to vote.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, I'm Chelsea.
TERRI JACKEL, OBAMA VOLUNTEER: I hope I'm making a difference. I believe I am.
ROWLANDS: Both campaigns believe going door to door and making phone calls --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, my name is Ben and I'm volunteering today for Mitt Romney.
ROWLANDS: Makes a big difference even though a lot of times the people answering the phone --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some people just don't want to talk.
ROWLANDS: Or the door.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No? OK, thank you very much for your time.
ROWLANDS: -- aren't in the mood to talk.
CHELSEA SHIELDS, ROMNEY VOLUNTEER: It gets old after a while getting all these political calls, getting people at your door all the time. It's one of those things where you can understand their perspective.
NATHAN CONRAD, ROMNEY/RYAN: While they may say they're upset that they're getting contacted, at the end of day, it's a higher possibility for them to get out and vote.
ROWLANDS (on camera): Historically, it's the Democrats that have had much stronger ground games in part because Republican voters are more reliable. But things are different this time around here in Wisconsin. Both sides are very well positioned to get out the vote.
CORY MASON, OBAMA/BIDEN: Both campaigns I think have realized that if you don't have a real field operation in Wisconsin, you do so at your peril. I would love the say that we have a ground game and they don't but they do.
ROWLAND (voice-over): According to a Marquette Law School poll released this week, President Obama is up in Wisconsin by eight points over Mitt Romney among likely voters, but when you look at the people who are both likely to vote and follow politics, that lead shrinks to only two.
Both sides acknowledge that getting out the vote is crucial and a huge part of doing that is finding the volunteers willing to keep calling and knocking until the election.
(on camera): Is this your life now until a week from tomorrow?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. We're just going to keep going right up until the very end. Keep making calls. Keep doing doors until the polls close.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, you're out there, I'm going to be out there more.
ROWLANDS (voice-over): Ted Rowlands, CNN, Racine, Wisconsin.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back. It is always remarkable how during times of tragedy, so many people rise up and show their humanity. I met a guy like that when I was in Belmar, New Jersey this week covering superstorm Sandy.
That town was hit hard and many people were trapped in their homes, but one man decided he was going to help, and here's his story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE (voice-over): If ever this Belmar, New Jersey neighborhood needed an angel, they found one. They call him Saint Michael here. His real name is Michael Irwin. For the last two days, he has been boating people to and from their homes working 12 hour shifts.
MICHAEL IRWIN, BELMAR, NEW JERSEY RESIDENT: There are a couple of people that had to get out. Our neighbors, Ron and Pat, we got out and their dog. Chuck we got out and his dog, Lucky. There are a couple of other people we got out to other families. To make sure they got to dry land.
KAYE: Lucky for his neighbors, Michael is a surfer and a kayaker so he had a wetsuit. He was also a boy scout so he says he is always prepared.
(on camera): This is known as the 8th Avenue neighborhood and the water that we're in right now, this is normally a street or an avenue is about four feet deep. So luckily most of the residents not all of them, but most of them did evacuate before Hurricane Sandy even hit.
(voice-over): Irene McCann evacuated to her son's house, but now that she has returned she needs Michael's help to reach her home.
(on camera): How much damage is in your house?
IRENE MCCANN, BELMAR, NEW JERSEY RESIDENT: We are pretty high up almost to our porch. We have a very tall, high porch. We are right down the corner here. The house with the red trim down there and it is right up. The cellar is gone. The hot water heater, furnace everything is gone. My husband's tools, everything.
KAYE (voice-over): This is a tight knit community where neighbors help neighbors even the councilman, Brian Magovern, came by in his kayak to see how everyone is doing.
BRIAN MAGOVERN, BELMAR COUNCILMAN: The situation is the worst I've ever seen it. I have lived here in Belmar for 60 years, nothing has ever come close. At 8:00, I called my wife and said what is that white stuff in the lake and it was a wave. And then pretty soon, within the next couple of minutes, our house was inundated by the water.
KAYE: And Michael has his own troubles too.
IRWIN: When it came like 7:00 or something like that, within a half an hour, we were flooded.
KAYE: He took us by kayak to his house.
(on camera): This is your house here behind us.
IRWIN: Right there.
KAYE: Are we in your front lawn?
IRWIN: In my driveway.
KAYE: So your front lawn and driveway you are standing in it.
IRWIN: Right.
KAYE: You are also in about three feet of water.
IRWIN: I'm in four feet of water.
KAYE (voice-over): Michael says he has about six feet of water in his house and no power or heat, which is no surprise considering the amount of water here.
Ocean Avenue is just a few blocks away and the ocean dumped water into nearby Sober Lake, which overflowed into Michael's neighborhood. One look at this submerged car and you can see the water won't be receding anytime soon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: They were working on bringing in some big pumps to try to get that neighborhood pumped out so hopefully it worked.
For more information about how you can help those affected by superstorm Sandy, check out cnn.com/impact.
Nevada was very badly hit by the recession, but is the state getting back to work again? We have those details for you.
And a Georgia woman needed to change her career in order to pursue the sweet life. Victor Blackwell shares the story of how she got started.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Andra Hall has found a way to handle life's hard knocks. She bakes.
ANDRA HALL, CAMICAKES CUPCAKES: I always enjoyed baking. It was the one thing I did when everything else was not going so well.
BLACKWELL: In 2006, Andra's 1-year-old daughter, Camille, almost died during the surgery.
HALL: We had to do therapy to kind of get her back up to speed. I quit my full-time job. I had to work a midnight graveyard shift at a hotel because she could no longer go today care. So it was tough.
BLACKWELL: During that quiet late shift, she worked on a business plan for a bakery.
HALL: I decided that it was time for me to do some soul searching and do what I felt like I was born to do. My passion has always been baking, so I decided to open a candy cakes, which is named after my daughter, Camille.
BLACKWELL: Camicakes specialized in gourmet cupcakes and Andra hoped there would be an appetite for them.
HALL: When we opened, we only had $500 left to our name. On our very first day, we sold out within a few hours. So it was success from the very beginning.
BLACKWELL: And Camille is happy to help out, especially with the tasting.
HALL: Right now, there are four Camicakes Cupcakes stores. My life is my business and my business is my life. So everything just merges together. Let's rock 'n' roll.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Nevada is an important state in the presidential election. Its economy is in disrepair. Unemployment rate is high and many homes are in foreclosure. So how are people in Nevada planning to vote?
Our Miguel Marquez is just one of the reporters covering the battleground states today and let's just say he's covering Nevada from a unique perspective.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here we are top of the Stratosphere in Vegas, baby. About 70 percent of the votes in the state are right here in Clark County as this county goes, so goes Nevada.
(voice-over): In a city that fell harder and faster than just about any place in the country.
(on camera): This better be a very close election.
(voice-over): The Stratosphere like all of Vegas suffered the worst of the recession.
(on camera): At some point you had to make a decision either go big or stay home or shutdown?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was sort of the pieces, yes.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): The Vegas landmark sunk more than $20 million into upgrades including a new restaurant and that sky-jump thing, and most importantly, more than 100 new jobs.
(on camera): Do you think Las Vegas is through the worst of it?
PAUL HOBSON, GENERAL MANAGER, STRATOSPHERE CASINO HOTEL: It feels like it. You know, I mean, I drive to work every day and I see stuff going on that I haven't seen for a little while.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): Things like construction and homes being built in a place that once had the nation's highest foreclosure rate. Chef, Rick Giffen, charts Vegas' decline and rise by a sort of entree index.
(on camera): At the low point of the recession, how many dinners were you doing and how many doing now?
RICK GIFFEN, EXECUTIVE CHEF, STRATOSPHERE CASINO HOTEL: We were doing about 250 a night, 250 to 400. Now we're doing between 450 and 700 a night, yes, big recovery.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): Comedy icon and Clark County voter, Louie Anderson who does four shows a week at the Palace Station -- says the city is struggling back, but he knows just how torn the country is.
LOUIE ANDERSON, COMEDIAN: I think it is hard to be excited about Obama if you have not worked. I love Obama. I understand the appeal of Romney in this situation.
MARQUEZ: Like voters everywhere, he is tired of the campaign.
ANDERSON: Obama has been here more than Celine Dion has.
MARQUEZ: But hopeful that results not politics tops the agenda come January. ANDERSON: If we're going to have the great county we had once, this is not going to be a Democrat or Republican thing. This is going to be in every single American thing.
MARQUEZ (on camera): Louie Anderson, a very funny guy, but also pretty serious in that moment. Recovery across Nevada is spotty at best. The best number though that we have heard while here is that the price of houses has gone up by 1 percent in the last month. It's the first time that number has risen since 2007. Miguel Marquez, CNN, Las Vegas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: CNN "NEWSROOM" starts at the top of the hour. Fred is here to tell us what she has.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, HOST, CNN'S "NEWSROOM": We're going to take the plunge but not quite like that.
KAYE: You couldn't pay me.
WHITFIELD: Go, Miguel. That looked like a lot of fun.
KAYE: My hero.
WHITFIELD: We're going to take the plunge into politics as well, presidential politics. The president will be speaking in Ohio momentarily. We're also following Mitt Romney as well as both candidates crisscross so many states in this last weekend push.
And then we're going to be joined by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and Congressman Tom Price. They're going to be talking strategy of these two candidates later on today. Just three days to go until Election Day, hard to believe.
And then, of course, we're going to talk about the third party candidates. They are indeed a factor. How much might they impact this race? Larry King is going to be joining us.
He moderated the one, the only debate involving the third party candidates. We have a lot straight ahead beginning at noon Eastern Time.
KAYE: All right, we will check in with you then. In the meantime, we'll take a quick break. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Democrats are hoping they're only three days away from taking back control of the U.S. House. As Athena Jones reports, they'll face an uphill battle.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Republicans want control of the House in 2010 riding a wave of victories by Tea Party backed candidates carrying a message of fiscal conservatism and strong opposition to Obamacare. So what's going to happen this time around?
Back in September, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi had high hopes for her party's prospect.
REPRESENTATIVE NANCY PELOSI (D), MINORITY LEADER: We had the very excellent chance to take back the House.
JONES: But so did Republican House Speaker John Boehner.
REPRESENTATIVE JOHN BOEHNER (R), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: I continue to feel confident about House Republicans' chances of holding on to our majority.
JONES: Republicans have 242 seats to the Democrats' 193. So Democrats need a net gain of 25 seats to win the majority. Analysts say that's not likely to happen.
STU ROTHENBERG, ROTHENBERG POLITICAL REPORT: There is little doubt the Republicans will control the House again after November. They'll probably suffer very minimal losses if they suffer losses at all.
JONES: For Republicans, Obamacare is still front and center along with the economy. Democrats have tried to link Republicans to vice- presidential hopeful Paul Ryan's plans to turn Medicare into a voucher program.
Something Democrats say would be disastrous for seniors. Republicans believe they neutralized that message by arguing Obamacare hurts seniors by slashing Medicare. Redistricting will have a big impact helping Republicans.
SHIRA TOEPLITZ, ROLL CALL: For the most part, Republicans, because they made such overwhelming gains not only in Congress, but in state legislatures last year, they were able to control the redistricting process in a lot of key states. For example, North Carolina where Democrats will probably lose a couple seats this cycle.
JONES: GOP gains look likely in districts from North Carolina to Arkansas among others. In fact, they even put traditional blue states like Rhode Island and Massachusetts into play.
Democrats are trying hard to unseat GOP incumbents in blue states like California, New York, and Illinois and could see gains in Maryland and Florida. So why do these House races matter?
Members of Congress will have to make big decisions in the coming months. Chief among them, reaching a deal to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff, a series of tax increases and spending cuts set to take effect next year.
TOEPLITZ: The decisions confronting Congress over the next four months are bigger than I think most of us have seen in our lifetime at least on the fiscal matters.
JONES: It's not just the fiscal cliff. ROTHENBERG: Most people think we need some fundamental tax reform, some cuts in spending and entitlement reform. And there's no indication that the new Congress will be willing to do that either short term in the lame duck or longer term.
JONES: So the forecast for the next Congress -- more of the same. Athena Jones, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: And CNN "NEWSROOM" continues with Fredricka Whitfield. I will hand it over to you.
WHITFIELD: Thanks so much. Have a great day --
KAYE: I'm going to go home and turn back my clock before I forget.
