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"President Obama's Speech Moved Indoors; Politician Wives are Secret Weapons; Major Earthquake Off Coast of Costa Rica; The Latino Vote; Bill Clinton Speech at DNC Tonight; 9 States Passed Voter I.D. Laws."
Aired September 05, 2012 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Now's the time. I'm Carol Costello. Thanks so much for joining me today.
"CNN Newsroom" continues right now with Ashleigh Banfield.
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you so much, Carol Costello.
And, hi, everyone, I'm Ashleigh Banfield. It's 11:00 on the East Coast, which means it's 8:00 on the West Coast. Let's get right down to business, shall we?
This was the question hanging over the DNC like, I don't know, a dark cloud? And guess what? We now have the answer.
Within the past hour, convention organizers have had to announce that tomorrow night's nomination acceptance speech, the big one by President Obama, is not going to be taking place at the situation on the left of your screen.
Instead, it's going to be at the Time Warner Arena on the right of your screen. The weather is the reason. The risk of bad storms is just way too high at this point to be going to the Bank of America Stadium after all.
And that means that 50,000 stadium ticketholders who cannot be accommodated in the smaller venue are more than likely feeling as though there is rain on their parade.
CNN's Dana Bash joins me live now from Charlotte. Obviously, this wasn't news that we weren't expecting, but we almost expected to hear it yesterday if it was going to happen at all because of these remarkable logistics, the advance teams that need to switch gears, the security.
How did this happen and is it going to cause a huge problem?
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is and it's going to cause a lot more work and, as you said, it's going to cause a lot of heartache for tens of thousands of Obama supporters who were coming in here. Many were being bussed in from around the country to attend that event at that big stadium. What I'm told is that their hope is that they can do a few things. One, that they're going to try to create as many overflow rooms as they can in and around the Time Warner Cable Arena where they will actually be having President Obama's acceptance speech, but more likely than not, a lot of people just simply won't be able to come.
So, what they've already announced, Ashleigh, is that the president himself will hold a national conference call with people that can't come tomorrow and they made a promise with those who can't make it because there's no room for them will somehow get to come to an event or meet with the president in some way, shape or form between now and the election.
BANFIELD: Fifty-thousand people for breakfast at the White House, something like that? That's going to be a really tall order to fill.
BASH: Maybe it's more like come to an event in Iowa.
BANFIELD: I think so. I think you're absolutely right. You can have a sign and you can take it home.
Just quickly, let me read a tweet because in this day and age you get reactions like that. The tweets have been flowing in.
We've got this one from a ticketholder who is none too pleased about this. It's @Erika Glover. She says, "I waited 6.5 hours to pick up my credentials @TenishaCNN." That's our executive producer. "This is definitely not what I wanted to hear today."
I can only imagine she's one of all of those many, but I've got to ask you. Some of the conspiracy theorists jump in right away, too, Dana, and they say, you know what? This isn't weather. This is because they couldn't fill all those seats.
Is there anything to that?
BASH: Yeah, you know, I have been speaking to a number of senior Democratic officials inside and outside the campaign and they insist that they had given away 65,000 tickets or credentials for the arena.
Now, it holds a little bit more, but, of course, you need space to actually put the stage. In fact, one person who had just gone over there a couple days ago insisted that some of the seats were obstructed and this person asked, well, why is it obstructed? And the answer was, because we need the seats. That was the answer.
But I think another interesting point to make is something you just touched on, Ashleigh, and that is, if the Obama campaign has people who are so diehard that they were going to come all the way here from God knows where and now they're upset, that's the last thing that they want because one of the main goals of this convention, aside from messaging, is getting out the vote and energizing the base and organizing.
What they did in 2008 with that big speech at Invesco Field in Denver was organize. They had people with clipboards, signing people up. At that point, social media didn't exist like it does now. They did it with texting and e-mail and so forth.
Their plans this time were in keeping with today's technology with Twitter and other social media. They were really, really planning on using that as a major organizing tool and it just isn't available to them now. And that is a big disappointment for the Obama campaign when this comes to that fundamental, very important issue of organizing.
BANFIELD: All right, well, keep an eye on the fallout for us, if you would, Dana. Let us know what else you hear because this is all just sort of happening as we speak.
And, by the way, behind you is our boss, Ken Jautz, so say hi to him for me and don't step out of line.
BASH: I will.
BANFIELD: Dana Bash, thank you, live in Charlotte at the CNN Grill.
You know, another topic we've got to get to, as well. These people call themselves wives and mothers, but let me tell you, this year their biggest job is "campaigner-in-chief."
We're talking about Michelle Obama and Ann Romney. Both of those ladies, taking center stage at their respective conventions and trying to convince voters that the man they love is the best man for the White House.
First, take a look at what happened last night when First Lady Michelle Obama took center stage at the DNC.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE OBAMA, U.S. FIRST LADY: Believe it or not, when we were first married, our combined monthly student loan bill was actually higher than our mortgage. We were so young, so in love and so in debt.
And that's why Barack has fought so hard to increase student aid and keep interest rates down, because he wants every young person to fulfill their promise and be able to attend college without a mountain of debt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Ah, so in love and so in debt. If you look at some of the headlines, just really quickly, there's "The Daily News." She's a hit.
We saw the same headlines with Ann Romney, as well. She was a hit, too, so how did Michelle do, since we're on the news, and what about Ann Romney and the effect of Ann Romney?
I want to bring in CNN contributor, Margaret Hoover ,who's also the author of "American Exceptionalism." Oh, excuse me. "American Individualism." I want you to talk about exceptionalism, so give me the rundown and how you think Michelle Obama's speech went over last night and then we'll get to Ann Romney as well.
MARGARET HOOVER, AUTHOR, "AMERICAN INDIVIDUALISM": Look, First Lady Obama was a huge hit, and, you know, I'm a Republican but I watched her and I was really moved. Frankly, no feeling person couldn't watch her without being moved.
She spoke passionately and convincingly and compellingly about her husband's legacy, about her love for her husband, her husband's love for his children. He's a dad, also, at the end of the day. He has dinner with his family almost every night in the West Wing. It helps to work above your office, live above your office.
But she did a very good job. She also painted them as very connected to the middle class and this is going to be one of the sticking points in the campaign.
You're going to hear over and over from all the surrogates for President Obama that they're trying to paint Mitt Romney and Ann Romney as out of touch with the middle class by intentionally reminding the American electorate that they're of and from the middle class.
And that was a common thing you heard from Michelle Obama last night.
BANFIELD: All right, so, they were basically pitted against one another, if you look at all the assessments of the First Lady and the wannabe-first-lady.
I want to throw to a little comparative of the two of them as they both try to sell their husbands. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANN ROMNEY, WIFE OF MITT ROMNEY: As his partner on this amazing journey, I can tell you Mitt Romney was not handed success. He built it.
OBAMA: Barack knows what it means when a family struggles. He knows what it means to want something more for your kids and grandkids. Barack knows the American dream because he's lived it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: You know, if I could -- if I had a nickel for every time I saw a reporter or an analyst in politics say, they're bringing out their secret weapons now. Every politician's wife seems to be a secret weapon.
So, the question is, when you see these kind of excellent and exceptional performances, do they have the sticking power that they need or are they a zero-sum game?
HOOVER: They're absolutely not a zero-sum game. I mean, what - basically, first, for every surrogate, the bottom line is do no harm, and neither of these women did harm.
What they did do is gin up their base. They made independents across America remind - humanize their husbands. And, frankly, they are a part of the mosaic of what is part of the presidency.
I mean, the First Lady has a prominent role and is viewed by Americans and people across the world, so, look, they both did what they needed to do.
I think, at the end of the day, the question is going to continue to be, what are going to be the major issues in this campaign? Of course, they both talked about the role of women. President Obama and Mitt Romney need women. President Obama is doing much better with women.
The question is, are women's issues, per se, going to be the issue or the argument Ann Romney and the Republicans will make is, are all women's - are all issues women's issues.
I mean, given that two out of every three businesses started out -- are started by women, are jobs and the economy going to trump the specific, single issues that women are supposed to care more about.
BANFIELD: So, then why is, Margaret Hoover, my friend, my colleague, my mentor, why do we keep seeing headlines about the costs of their dresses? I didn't see anyone asking about Julian Castro's fabulous suit and the matching suits between his brother and him, but I tell you what.
We even know because of all the coverage and the tweeting what the cost of Ann Romney's Oscar de la Renta dress was and what the cost of the Tracy Reese designer dress that Michelle Obama wore and it's a big deal to a lot of people because that's real expensive on the left and it's not so expensive on the right.
Why is it that the coverage goes there?
HOOVER: Well, I think the coverage goes there because there is this larger narrative about who's in touch with the middle class and who isn't.
But, I mean, let's point out the facts here, Ashleigh, too. Four years ago, when Michelle Obama talked at the Democratic convention in Denver and accepted her nomination speech, you know, the designer who designed her dress was Maria Pinto and their price-points were around $1,000.
When you're the First Lady of the United States, you have a bevy of designers who are going to design dresses for you that are far out of reach of ordinary Americans and that is no different for Michelle Obama than for Ann Romney, but, of course, this plays into the narrative and, so, that's why, I think, you're seeing this focus on it.
It's a down time in the economy and, I think, you know, there's an attempt to suggest, again, that the Romneys are out of touch with middle-class Americans, which, you know, that's going to be up to the American electorate to decide, but I think this story plays into that narrative.
BANFIELD: And I just want to button this up with something else that we now see so prevalently now, Margaret, in this day and age of digital media.
The number of tweets that were rolling in per minute when it came to Michelle Obama, 28,000 tweets per minute while she was speaking. She's not even the candidate.
Look how it compared to the left. Mitt Romney's measurement was only 14,000 tweets per minute.
But let's finish it this way by saying, as you said, she's not running. She may have an effect, but she's not running, important to note that.
HOOVER: And she's also the First Lady of the United State, and she's been in a very prominent role for five years now, so let's -- you know, I think balance it by the reality that she's not a world leader yet.
BANFIELD: Hoover, you're great. Thank you.
HOOVER: Thanks.
BANFIELD: Have fun down there.
All right, so CNN's primetime coverage of the Democratic National Convention is going to kick off tonight, 7:00 p.m. Eastern, with Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper and the rest of our crack team.
And then during the 10:00 p.m. hour, the "Big Kahuna" coming, or you should say the "Kahuna," the "Second Kahuna," Bill Clinton is going to address the delegates and a lot of people have been waiting on this speech.
Then at midnight, Piers Morgan is going to wrap up the first night of the 2012 Democratic convention and it will be terrific from top to bottom.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: We have some breaking news we want to bring to you. We're just getting word now of a major earthquake off the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica, which in itself, at 7.6, is significant, but it's the tsunami warning, as well, for much of the Caribbean that may be even more significant.
Let me bring in my colleague, Chad Myers, who's live with this. Give me all you can with such little information that we're getting, you know, officially, what this can mean for that region.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It's truly all over the map, everything that we've seen in the past 10 minutes about this earthquake, 7.9, 7.6, 10 miles deep, now, 40 miles deep, off the coast, not off the coast. Tsunami warning for the Caribbean and then that was canceled. Tsunami warning for the Pacific. Now, that's still valid, so I think things are still shaking out here, literally, here.
The coast of Costa Rica, right through here, a very populated area when it comes to tourists. Not too many people live here, even this here, Samara here, Costa Rica, only 1,500 residents, but that earthquake was less than 10 miles from that town.
And it's only - if it's even 20 miles deep, it is going to be a big shake, about 75 miles or so to San Jose, a big city there. We were seeing some pictures out of San Jose of buildings rattling, literally, even though it's so far away.
There's an awful lot of damage that still could happen even that close, 75 miles at a 7.6. There's some of the video right there. I'm just seeing it right here off one of my cameras right here. There you go, shaking there and that is far away. That's almost 100 miles away, considering you add the depth and then the hypotenuse over to the city. And that camera is rattling around.
We think there's some rattled nerves there. There may even be some damage, especially closer to the epicenter which is close to the coast.
The tsunami warning or watch for the Pacific is going to be here or there. Basically, the tsunami would already be on shore if it was Costa Rica, all the way over toward Panama, maybe even up toward Mexico.
The risk here is not so much like a tsunami that we had back in Banda Aceh where the earth moved a lot under the ground, because this shake actually happened under the earth, not under the water.
There could still be some movement. There could be landslides. Those landslides can push water away.
That could push water even toward Hawaii. We have no indication yet of anything around the Hawaiian peninsula - the Hawaiian Islands, but if it does go that way, If there could be a tsunami, we will certainly - we'll have plenty of time. We'll have hours and hours to know it's on its way, but we have not watch or warning for that right now.
BANFIELD: And just again, quickly, with the geography that we're looking at, there's a tsunami watch - yeah, it's a little crazy there, but just with the tsunami watch in the Caribbean, and yet we're on the Pacific Coast ...
MYERS: Yeah, the Caribbean one was canceled.
BANFIELD: What's the deal?
MYERS: The Caribbean watch and warning, that was all canceled. That was printed out on air, I'm sure. That was the chaos in the first couple of minutes. When seismologists see 7-anything, you know, they just start pushing buttons and I think that the Caribbean one was on the wrong side of where the earthquake was and, so, that's why it got canceled right away.
BANFIELD: Yeah, I mean, that got me a little confused when you get your map up there and you see that's not the right coast and it said Brazil, Mexico, many Central American countries at risk here, so would you keep an eye on that as well and just let us know?
MYERS: Certainly. It's going to take a few minutes for everything to settle down for them to find the real epicenter, how deep it really was and was it even onshore or offshore because those numbers are still moving around.
They have to triangulate all this stuff.
BANFIELD: Yeah.
MYERS: It doesn't happen - you know, it's -- right now, it's still a vacuum. We take just about 15 minutes we'll have it all nailed down for you.
BANFIELD: I'm glad you know your geography, my friend. Chad Myers, thank you so much. We do appreciate it.
We'll stay on the story, like I said, and we'll check in with Chad to find out if there's any updates to that. Back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: So, again, we just wanted to bring you up to speed. A 7.6- magnitude earthquake striking Costa Rica on the Pacific Coast.
Where you see the red dot is the epicenter, essentially, but if you go inland to the center of the country, that's where you find the capital, San Jose.
And, in fact, I'm joined right now by Alvaro Salas, who is the manager of the Gran Hotel in Costa Rica in San Jose. Sir, can you hear me?
ALVARO SALAS, OPERATIONS MANAGER, GRAN HOTEL IN SAN JOSE (via telephone): Yes, I can hear you.
BANFIELD: Mr. Salas, tell me exactly what you felt, how bad it was and what it meant for everyone in your hotel.
SALAS: It was a movement of like 15 seconds. We proceed to the evacuation. Everybody is safe. Just a minor inconvenience here at the hotel, but everybody is safe and we are pleased to note that. And in San Jose, no serious damages to the structures.
BANFIELD: I'm seeing some movement of a camera that was fixed to a building, and it looks like it's shaking, as you mentioned, but this wasn't something that created any mass panic or anything among your guests or anyone else that you know, was it? SALAS: No, we were able to have evacuation in like one minute, and everywhere left the building, in our case, and also in the buildings close by.
And we are safe, as I mentioned, and the tremor was felt by everybody, of course, in the country and we are receiving reports from all over the country.
BANFIELD: I know you're not on the coast, You're inland in San Jose, but, you know, there have been a lot of reporting and misreporting, as well, about a tsunami warning.
You know, at first, it was the Caribbean that was at concern. Now, we're being told it may be the Pacific Coastal region that's of concern.
How is the information going? Are you getting what you need from your government? Are you getting everything you need for your guests and for how they may be able to get out of there if they need to?
SALAS: Well, of course, we are in the capital. We will not be affected by any kind of tsunami, if that is the case, and we don't want that, but there is an alert right now. They are supposed to tell us in, like, five minutes what's going on exactly. There is a tsunami alert at the Pacific Coast that has been delivered.
BANFIELD: Is your television and your radio communications all still intact? You're getting everything you need from major broadcasters there?
SALAS: Yes, we are receiving the signals from the different channels and, also, international channels, as well. And we have radio and telephone connections.
BANFIELD: Okay, well, I'm glad to hear that you're in good shape where you are, but again, you're miles away from the coast where the epicenter was as we look on our map.
So, Alvaro Salas, thanks so much for your information and we will touch base with you as is needed and as information warrants. Thanks so much, again.
This is Alvaro Salas who is the manager of the Gran Hotel, Costa Rica, in San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica, and a 7.6-magnitude earthquake striking within the last hour in that country.
And, you know, obviously, information, fast and furious, a tsunami warning to our knowledge, at this point, for the Pacific Coastal area where that red dot is, not for the Caribbean. That was originally reported on the east side of the country, but that has been switched out now. There is no tsunami warning for the Caribbean nations and the islands that are obviously in that area as well.
We'll watch the story for you.
In the meantime, we still have another big story that we've been covering and that is this -- America's Choice 2012.
Because we've got a new generation of rising political stars, folks. They bring diversity, they bring appeal, and each of them brings a story about the American dream, as well.
And boy, does it go over well on a stage. At the Republican National Convention, there was Florida Senator Marco Rubio.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SENATOR MARCO RUBIO (R), FLORIDA: My dad was a bartender. My mom was a cashier, a hotel maid, a stock clerk at Kmart. They never made it big. Just a few decades removed from hopelessness, they made possible for us all the things that had been impossible for them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Now, that was some pretty good stuff and, last night, we had a repeat of good. It was at the DNC. This is San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro with his identical twin brother introducing him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR JULIAN CASTRO (D), SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS: My grandmother never owned a house. She cleaned other people's houses so she could afford to rent her own, but she saw her daughter become the first in her family to graduate from college. And my mother fought hard for civil rights so that instead of a mop, I could hold this microphone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: No one will argue that is some strong stuff, too. And with that speech, Mayor Castro made history. He is the first Latino to deliver a keynote address at the DNC ever.
He and that twin brother, Joaquin, spoke with our Piers Morgan last night, and here's what Julian said about his historic speech.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CASTRO: The importance of tonight and of this election is which one of these candidates is going to ensure that America remains, unquestionably, the land of opportunity in the coming years and, tonight, my speech was about why I'm convinced that's President Barack Obama.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: All right, so, let's go to our senior Latin affairs editor, Rafael Romo, who joins me live now.
So, the star was Julian Castro and the impact he may have on Hispanic voters.
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AFFAIRS MANAGER: That's a huge impact, Ashleigh. He touched all the right buttons, he said all the right things and he helped the audience understand the immigrant experience, the Hispanic experience by mentioning the sacrifices that his mother and grandmother had to go through.
But he also connected with the audience in a very special way, I think, Ashleigh, by speaking Spanish and that phrase that he used at the very end when he said, "Que Dios los bendiga," -- may God bless you -- that is something that is very dear to many Latinos and I know that personally because that's what my mother tells me when I leave, every time I leave - (INAUDIBLE) -- Son, may God bless you -- and I'm sure that connected with many Hispanic voters.
Also, the clip that you mentioned where he's talking about the fact that his grandmother and mother worked very hard jobs for him not to be able to hold a microphone instead of a mop. I think that resonated with many, many Latino voters.
BANFIELD: And I don't think you can underestimate the power of the two of them together, Julian and Joaquin, out on that stage together. I daresay, dressed almost identically, as well. They had the same shirt, different ties.
But it's a real image to see those two together and Joaquin for his own right is also a rising star.
ROMO: I mean, this is an incredible American story. You have twin brothers. Their grandmother comes from Mexico and, only two generations later, they go to some of the best schools in the world.
They're both in politics, they're very successful, very well spoken and they're rising stars in the Democratic party.
And one of them, Julian Castro, people are even talking about the possibility of him running for president in four years.
So, just think about the fact of this happening in just the span of two generations. That's just incredible and that's something that only happens in America.
BANFIELD: Okay, so, notwithstanding the very strong political differences and cultural differences between Julian Castro and Marco Rubio who introduced Mitt Romney at the GOP convention last week -- this is a two-part question.
A, did Mitt Romney get the Hispanic bounce that he may have been wanting the person who introduced him to deliver, and B, what does this tell us about those very significant, different, cultural differences between these two, rising stars?
ROMO: Well, I was listening to both speeches, last night Julian Castro, last week Marco Rubio and they are both very similar. They both are talking about their families and the sacrifices they had to make coming from different countries, Marco Rubio talking about his grandfather and how he appreciated the freedom that his family gained here in America.
Now, the problem on the Republican side when it comes to Latinos, is not that Marco Rubio didn't connect. I think he did a remarkable job and he did very well.
The problem is Mitt Romney has associated himself with people like Kris Kovach who is the architect of some of the immigration laws in places like Arizona and a lot of people in the Hispanic community really don't connect with that.
It has been a turn-off for many, many people, but it's not because Marco Rubio didn't connect. It is because of other things that the campaign, the Romney campaign, has done.
BANFIELD: All right, Rafael, thank you. I couldn't help thinking, Rafael, when I saw Julian Castro, thinking, wow, that could be one of the next presidents of the United States and then I thought, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, Castro, on a ballot in Florida? I'm not so sure. That would be a tricky state to ...
ROMO: A different Castro.
BANFIELD: Different. Totally different. All right, thanks so much, Rafael.
By the way, to have a chance at winning the White House, Mitt Romney's campaign has said publicly that the, quote, magic number of Latino voters that they need is 38 percent.
But based on the latest Gallup poll, only 29 percent of registered Latino voters said that they would support Mitt Romney.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: I want to bring you back an update on that earthquake we've been covering for you that just happened in the last hour in Costa Rica. You can see Samara, the epicenter, the red dot on your screen. This is a 7.6 magnitude quake that has resulted in tsunami warnings for the Pacific coast as well, but not for the Caribbean. That was a warning that went out erroneously earlier. Not for the eastern shores of Costa Rica. Certainly anyone there and landlocked in the center of that country, but Samara is one of the main cities and that's really close to where the epicenter is.
An American named Bill Root, who has lived there for 14 years experienced this firsthand, he joins me on the telephone.
Mr. Root, can you hear me?
BILL ROOT, SAMARA RESIDENT (via telephone): Yes, I can.
BANFIELD: I understand you're from San Diego but you've been living in Costa Rica for 14 years. You're close to the epicenter here.
ROOT: It was a very strong earthquake. Everything was falling off the shelves and the ground was rolling. It was a good one.
BANFIELD: So you're the owner of the phoenix hotel in Samara? Is that right on the beach, so you're literally --
(CROSSTALK)
ROOT: Yes, it's on the beach.
BANFIELD: Are you in the path of any potential tsunami, now that we know there is this warning?
ROOT: We're getting conflicting reports on the warning. Some say it was issued and then canceled. But we're 50 meters from the beach.
BANFIELD: I asked someone in San Jose, which is a long away from San Jose, I understand, and he said communications is fine. Are you as updated as you need to be?
ROOT: No, our phone lines just started working again. Cell service just started working again. Water lines work, electricity works.
BANFIELD: I'm sorry, did you say the electricity is out?
ROOT: It's out, yes. I'm being told there was an erroneous tsunami warning that went out for the Caribbean on the east coast of Costa Rica. That was dropped. It was a mistake, but there was still a warning, to our knowledge, that was for the Pacific coast where you are, and now we're being told that was dropped as well.
BANFIELD: You've got guests in your hotel. Were they informed?
They checked out after the earthquake. They went to higher ground.
BANFIELD: What's happened with everybody else in that vicinity and you included?
ROOT: A lot of people are on the beach looking at the ocean, walking around just trying to assess what's going on. It's a little bit frightening.
BANFIELD: Do you feel safe?
ROOT: Not especially, no.
BANFIELD: Mr. Root, I hope you get more information and I hope you're able to assess what's happened.
ROOT: I have some people calling me up from San Jose giving us updates on what's going on.
BANFIELD: At least we can tell you that the tsunami warning is now gone. On our screen right now, we have tsunami warning area reduced, but I am receiving word that it's been switched. It's been reduced to certain areas. Sorry, I can't be more specific for you than that, but without question, I hope you're getting the communications that you need.
And I appreciate you giving up this firsthand account from the beach in Samara. Thank you, sir.
ROOT: Okay, thank you. BANFIELD: That was Bill Root, a former resident in Washington who has lived in Costa Rica for 14 years and owns a hotel on the beach.
I'm sorry the communication is so scattered, but sometimes that happens when you're trying to figure out what's happening and where the warnings are coming in. The most we can tell you is the tsunami warning for that Pacific coast has been reduced, but I can't tell you reduced to where. We're going to continue to collate this information, gather it and we'll bring that to you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: All right, just before we get to our political coverage, I want to give you a further update. Just as we were going to the break on our breaking news about the earthquake in Costa Rica, a 7.6 point magnitude earthquake in the city of Samara. There have been changing reports about tsunami warnings, originally that it was for the care beep. That was canceled. Then it switched to the Pacific coast. Then we were told it was reduced, gone altogether and then reduced. Now we have a bit more clarification on the tsunami warning, and this is what I can tell you. Reduced, but not really. The entire coast of Costa Rica is apparently still under the tsunami warning. And add to that the coast of Panama and Nicaragua as well.
So our team is calling our guest back, Bill Root, who owns the hotel there and says many of his guests are on the beach looking out at the ocean to let him know. Their communications are spotty at best. That's the updated information, and you have to understand so much of this comes in in spotty waves, but they're doing their best to clarify exactly where these warnings are, and the latest information we've been given is for that warning to the entire coast of Costa Rica. That northeast coast that you're looking at and the Caribbean, there is no concern for the Caribbean islands or any coastal regions in the Caribbean. We'll get what we can and give it to you at a breaking pace. But it can change certainly with the weather reports.
Back to the other top story, Democratic National Convention. Big moment coming, about 36 hours off, but President Obama is setting up for Charlotte in less than two hours. And that's where, sometime tonight, the fellow Democrats will put him on the ticket for 2012 after what is sure to be a barn burner of a nomination speech by the last Democratic two-term president, Mr. Bill Clinton.
CNN political editor, Paul Steinhauser, is watching all the comings and goings.
This is a big deal. A lot of people are looking forward to a very big speech by President Clinton. He is known for giving excellent speeches. I don't know if they're barn burners but they are very effective. Does President Obama need a Bill Clinton?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: In a way, yes, he does, Ashleigh. Bill Clinton has a favorable rating right now, 66 percent. That's in our may poll for CNN. He's very popular with a lot of Americans. The Obama campaign embracing Bill Clinton. He's a good surrogate for this president as he runs for reelection. And they haven't seen any details of his speech yet, but they're fine with that. When Bill Clinton gets behind me at the arena tonight at the 10: 00 hour, they think he'll be an effective surrogate.
Ashleigh, they say, it's a similar story line, that Clinton came into office in 1983 in very tough economic times, like President Obama did four years ago. And they think Bill Clinton will tell an effective story of why his policies will be more going forward than Mitt Romney's -- Ashleigh?
BANFIELD: Often I wonder if it's a double-edged sword. Republicans are suggesting that Bill Clinton might just remind voters that Barack Obama is not Bill Clinton. In fact, Reince Priebus referred to Mr. Clinton as a bit of a secret weapon. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REINCE PRIEBUS, CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: I think Bill Clinton is actually going to help us because he's going to illustrate to the American people that Barack Obama is not Bill Clinton.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: So what do you think, Paul?
STEINHAUSER: Yes, that's what Republicans have been saying. Listen, you look back at the mid-1990s, a very economic time and Bill Clinton was presiding over that, and they said they think Bill Clinton will hurt rather than help President Obama. A lot of campaign officials dismissed that. We'll see. We'll find out I guess on November 6th, down the road, but that's what Republicans are saying.
Ashleigh, two more people we need to talk about who are speaking in prime time: Sandra Fluke, she's become a household name. You remember her very public fight with Rush Limbaugh over the fight for contraception. She speaks at the 9:00 hour. At the 10:00 hour, a gift for the base, former Obama campaign official, Elizabeth Warren, who is now the Senate nominee in Massachusetts -- Ashleigh?
BANFIELD: Paul Steinhauser, thank you, sir. You have your work cut out for you. Do appreciate it.
Reminder to everybody. Do tune in to our coverage. It begins at 7:00 p.m. eastern. Democratic National Convention coverage with our top team, Wolf and all the folks from CNN. Also Sunday, we're going to bring you a behind the scenes look at both presidential candidates. 8:00 p.m., it's "Romney Revealed: Faith, Family and the Road to Power," followed by "Obama Revealed: The Man, The President." Fantastic reporting. I urge you, if you are a voter or thinking about going to the polls, watch these two documentaries. They are very insightful.
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BANFIELD: It was a holiday outing with a special twist, a ride on a helicopter. But the helicopter fell from the sky, erupt into flames and Laura Sharp was inside. She survived it but just barely, and four years later, Laura Sharp, a name you should know, helps other trauma survivors and she does it using something called art therapy.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta has her story.
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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Memorial Day weekend 2008, Laura Sharp and her stepdaughter are headed out of town on a 14-minute flight from Long Beach, California to Catalina Island.
LAURA SHARPE, HELICOPTER CRASH SURVIVOR: There were four of us traveling with two of the helicopter company's staff, and life changed. There was a mechanical failure, and we lost power.
GUPTA: Three of the six aboard died in the crash. Laura's stepdaughter, badly injured herself, saw her unconscious mother and dragged her from the wreckage by her hair.
Critical care specialist, Dr. Andrea Feinberg assumed responsibility for Laura's treatment.
DR. ANDREA FEINBERG, INTERNAL MEDICINE, PULMONARY & CRITICAL CARE SPECIALIST: She had literally fallen out of the sky and every part of her body was either fractured or suffering in some way. I wasn't sure how she would survive everything.
GUPTA: Laura suffered burns to more than half her body, severe brain trauma, dozens of fractures and collapsed lungs, not to mention severe psychological trauma.
SHARPE: I am newly configured from head to toe. They did such a beautiful job putting me back together. I'm like humpty dump by. It definitely took all the king's horses and al the king's men. Never fly faster than your guardian angel can fly.
GUPTA: Today, Laura is moving forward, expressing herself through art. She believes in art therapy so strongly, she founded Artists for Trauma. It a nonprofit helping other survivors to heal.
Shelly Jones lost her ability to see following a stoke as a result of a defection in her heart. She's been paired with pottery.
SHELLY JONES, ARTISTS FOR TRAUMA PATIENT: It is difficult to see when I have the clay, but I can feel it.
GUPTA: And Laura feels like she has found her purpose.
SHARPE: Tempering distraction of the survivor and their pain. Bring them the love.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
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BANFIELD: So far, at least nine different states have passed laws saying that voters cannot cast ballots unless they show a photo I.D. issued by the government. Now why would they do this? Supporters say these laws are needed to prevent fraud, voter impersonation fraud, and who doesn't want to stop that in America? But the question is do we have a voter impersonation crisis leading to stolen elections?
Here to help answer that question is John Fund, who is the author of "Who's Counting: How Fraudsters and Bureaucrats Put Your Vote at Risk." Also it happens to be his second book on this topic. His first book is called "Stealing Elections: How Voter Fraud Threatens Our Democracy. He's also a columnist for the "National Review Online."
John Fund, thank you so much for being with us.
Oh, my gosh, this is starting to sound like a crisis.
JOHN FUND, COLUMNIST, NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE & AUTHOR: Thank you, Ashleigh.
BANFIELD: But I am hearing otherwise, it is not the crisis that people are making it out to be. Make your case why it is.
FUND: Well, all of the states recently who have passed the laws have also addressed absentee voter fraud and the registration lists problems we have. The whole problem is not voter impersonation, but it can certainly happen. A 22-year-old white kid with an earring and a beard walked into a Washington, D.C., polling place in Washington in May, just asked if they had an Eric Holder and was handed his ballot. You can vote easily in the name of a dead person because they're no likely to complain. The Pew Research Center, a liberal group, says we have over two million people dead on the voter registration rolls. Absentee, it is really a problem, and we can crackdown by requiring people to provide a Social Security number or driver's license number when they send in the ballot. And the Pew Research Center says one out of eight voter registrations have major errors or are invalid. That is an engraved invitation to problems. If this is a close election, the one thing I want to avoid and all us should want to avoid is a Florida-style meltdown, another Gore v. Bush recount, except this time in several states, not just one.
BANFIELD: I'm with you. I don't like cheaters, and they should be met with the harshest of punishment. But I want to make sure we do the right thing and never ever manipulate a real, legitimate voter from being able to exercise his or her right. I am starting to wonder if this voter I.D. at the polls is targeting the right part of the problem. John, there are statistics that suggest that the biggest problem is really not in person voter I.D. infractions. I have stats here that I was shocked when I read them.
Let me start with this.
(CROSSTALK) BANFIELD: Whoa, whoa, whoa. You have cited incredible statistics so this is what News 21, a foundation -- the Carnegie Foundation of New York has backed this foundation, and based out of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism. And, if you lose Cronkite, you lose the country. They put together a study that was remarkable, showing 491 cases of absentee ballot fraud since 2000. And that has nothing to do with the voter I.D. issue at the polls. And 400 cases of registration fraud, which has nothing to do with the solution of making people show an I.D. at the ballot box. And 10 cases since the year 2000 of in- person-impersonation fraud. So 10 cases since the year 2000 have been documented. And yet we have nine states that found that 10 cases were so serious that we needed to put this initiative in place. I don't get it.
FUND: No. Look. The law covers voter I.D., and covers absentee ballot fraud and cleaning up the voter registration list. It is a package deal. Most of the studies you cite looked at federal and state prosecutions and almost all of the voter fraud prosecutions in the country just like our election system are involved to the county level. There are 3,056 counties in the United States and there are far more cases of voter registration fraud if you looked at all of the counties. You can't be a selective use of the statistics which is what most of the studies do. We know it is like shoplifting. Do we know all of the cases? No, it is an iceberg, and nine-tenths are below the surface.
BANFIELD: I get you.
(CROSSTALK)
BANFIELD: But those statistics are telling. And I want to run a sound bite like you from the Heritage Foundation --
(CROSSTALK)
BANFIELD: -- that has to do with --
FUND: Those are counties.
BANFIELD: But let me go to you and your analysis of the difference of the absentee ballot fraud and in-person fraud, which I will argue with you that these in-person I.D. laws target. They do not target -- according to the judges and according to those who are in the business of this, they do not target absentee ballots. And why there is a connection to this --
FUND: Ashleigh? Ashleigh?
BANFIELD: Wait, John. It's your words. These are your words, John. Let's listen and you can comment on the other side of it.
Roll it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FUND: I think it is a fair argument of some liberals that some people voter the I.D. part and ignore the absentee part, because Republicans like the absentee balloting more and they don't want to restrict it, but the bottom line on government grounds we need both good voter I.D. laws and absentee laws.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: That is troubling to hear, the connection of the political targeting of the absentee and in-person.
FUND: Ashleigh, Ashleigh, I argued against what they were doing because they should include absentee as a package of the balloting reform. But Pennsylvania and all other states have combined the absentee reform, and voter I.D. form and registration list reform. That is a package supported. Look, Rhode Island has a Democratic legislation, and the response was the only African-American Senator in the state, and the sponsor of the statehouse was the African-American speaker. You talk to them, and they say there is massive voter fraud they had to address, and they are Democrats.
BANFIELD: One thing I found troubling -- and I have to wrap it up, because of so much breaking news -- but I could talk to you for an hour about this is --
(CROSSTALK)
FUND: Please have me back.
BANFIELD: -- Pennsylvania House Republican leader, said in June, voter I.D. will allow Governor Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania. Done. And that is sad to hear.
You will come back because I guarantee you that I want you back when we have more time, and not the breaking news and we have more time.
John, thank you.
John Fund joining us live on this topic.
And again, I would not have cut him out, were it not for the breaking news of Costa Rica.
Thanks, everyone, for watching. Suzanne Malveaux with NEWSROOM starts after the break.
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