Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Obama and Romney Crisscross Ohio; Iran's Leader Talks to the World; Student Versus Sheriff on Immigration; Get Bargains at Grocery Auctions; The Challenge of Going without Cell Phone; Government Urges FCC to Update Cell Phone Safety Regulations

Aired September 26, 2012 - 13:00   ET

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

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Suzanne Malveaux. This hour in the CNN NEWSROOM, we are watch two live events in Ohio. Both President Obama and Mitt Romney, they are campaigning. They're just about 30 miles -- 130 miles apart. They are speaking exactly the same time. Plus, world leaders are trying to intimidate to bullying his country. We're going to let you hear what he said to the United Nations and why the American delegation may even show up for his remarks. I want to get to it.

If you had any doubts about how important Ohio is in this presidential race, you got to consider this. You've got both the president and Mitt Romney there both right now. Their events set to begin at the same time just minutes away. Now, the president, he is holding a rally, this is in Bowling Green. Romney is about 130 miles away, he is in Bedford Heights. We're going to go live to both locations. We're going to be dipping into those event. We want to bring our own Jim Acosta in who's covering the Romney campaign. So, Jim, we've got some information. We know that polls are actually showing the president is leading Romney in Ohio. This is the CNN Poll of Polls, average of four most recent surveys. The president ahead 51 to 44 percent. Why do we think that is so significant right now?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I tell you, Suzanne, you know, the calendar is contracting for Mitt Romney. I mean, he has more than 40 days to go before this election, but keep in mind that the presidential debates, a series of presidential debates, and that vice presidential debate gets going next week. So, he doesn't have a whole lot of time on the ground to persuade swing state voters, like here in Ohio, that he needs them on his side. And you can see, he's got this economic message behind me right now in big letters behind me on that sign. It says, we need a real recovery. And he's been fine- tuning his economic message all morning long, trying to reconnect with voters in this state. He said earlier this morning at an event in Westerville, Ohio, in the middle of the state, that his heart aches for people who are struggling in this economy. Take a listen to a little bit of what he had to say earlier this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There are so many in our country that are hurting right now. I want to help them. I know what it takes to get an economy going again and creating jobs. I know there are a lot of folks that have jobs that wonder how they can make ends meet until the end of the month, how they can put food on the table for their family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And it's not just here in Ohio, Suzanne. There is that new "New York Times" CBS News (INAUDIBLE) poll that came out this morning, not just in Ohio, which showed a 10-point lead for the President in this state. But if you go down to Florida where the president has a nine-point lead according to that poll. And in Pennsylvania, a state that the Romney campaign was sort of keeping an eye on in the hopes of maybe going in there and making that state competitive, that state, the President, has a 12-point advantage. So, obviously, Romney has a lot of catching up to do. I had a chance to just e-mail back and forth very briefly with a senior Romney advisor, and they're already talking about debate expectations for next week. And Kevin Mayhew, who is a senior Romney advisor, described the president as Cy Young, one of the great all-time pitchers in baseball. You can't really set expectations higher than that for your opponent -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: OK. We know that President Obama actually won Ohio 51 to 47 percent four years ago. We were covering him all the time there. Clearly, Ohio very important here. You got 18 electoral votes, the second largest prize and one of the swing states. And I know that early voting begins next Tuesday, so why are they actually thinking that they've got some wiggle room here, that they've got some influence? What do they think they can do in the weeks ahead?

ACOSTA: Well, they're going to hit this economic message as much as possible. We heard the president -- we heard Mitt Romney talking about that earlier this morning. These polls that have come out do show that he still has an advantage over the President when it comes to who it best manage the debt and the deficit -- who would cut the deficit. And so, we heard Mitt Romney saying earlier this morning that the national debt stands at $16 trillion right now. If President Obama gets four more years, he predicted the national debt would skyrocket to $20 trillion.

So, he's putting that message out there. I had a chance to talk to Mitt Romney about some of this yesterday and, Suzanne, he did not seem concerned about this. He said polls go up and polls go down. And that was, essentially, the message from his political direction, he came to talk to us on his campaign plane yesterday saying that the Obama campaign is basically trying to spike the football on the 30 yard line, that there's still plenty of time left. And there is some truth to that, Suzanne. Keep in mind, during the primaries, we saw Mitt Romney trail Rick Santorum in some of these Midwestern states for a brief period, and then he was able to close the gap. So, Mitt Romney is a good closer. It will be interesting to watch these polls as the days going on as we get to the debates that are coming up. They'll be critical.

MALVEAUX: OK. I'll have to beef up on my sports analogies as well. Thank you, Jim. Good to see you.

Just a reminder that we'll be dipping into both President Obama and Mitt Romney's campaign events in Ohio. The president, he is in Bowling Green. Romney, he is in Bedford Heights. You see them both on your screen there. I'm going to go live to both locations. And to New York, it is the one time of the year when nearly every world leader in the same place, a lot of them at least, the United Nations General Assembly. Kings, prime ministers, presidents get a few minutes at the podium to address the rest of the world. They get their undivided attention unless, of course, certain delegations decide to walk out in protest or not even show up.

Well, that's what happened today. The American mission to the U.N. essentially did not show up as the president of Iran walked in. More than just about a minute or so -- here's a bit of a speech just a few minutes ago by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Now, it was not a redefining message by any stretch of the imagination, he pretty much repeated what he has said along the lines of western world domination as he rallied against Israel as well as the United States. Let's listen in as he talks about the U.N. as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, PRESIDENT, IRAN (translator): The need to remove the structural barriers and encourage the process of universal participation in global management has never been greater before. The United Nations lacks the efficiency to bring about the required changes. If this inefficiency persists, nations will lose hope in the global structures to defend the rights. If the United Nation is restructured international interactions and the spirit are collected global cooperation will be tarnished and the standing of the United Nation will be damaged.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: I Want to bring in Jill Dougherty, she's our foreign affairs correspondent in New York today and she's been watching all of this. Jill, you and I have covered many of these U.N. General Assemblies and Ahmadinejad clearly always makes a little bit of a splash, if you will, but this one, I didn't hear a lot of the kind of fiery rhetoric that we usually do. Do you know why he kind of almost seemed to tone it down this year?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, yes, tone it down, but maybe our expectations were a little high because after all, what he's trying to do is really lead the charge for the non-aligned nations of the world, the people who are beaten down, in his view, by the capitalists. And he mentioned capitalism more than he mentioned Zionism which I thought it was interesting. This is very much an economic speech. He was saying that, you know, Marxism is dead, capitalism rules the world and it's unfair.

And also, at the United Nations he said, we have to have a restructuring because what's going on at the United Nations also, you know, puts a boot on the neck of countries that don't have power. So, it is a message that resonates with some countries, and it didn't sound maybe as fiery, but there was -- there was a bit of his vision. After all, don't forget, this is his last one, his swan song at the United Nations, because he'll be out of office as president of Iran in June of next year. MALVEAUX: Does anybody really pay attention very much to what he says? I mean, we know the American delegation really -- they didn't even show up to listen to him, but other people, they sat there. Did -- do they talk about what he actually has to say? Do they think, well, this guy really doesn't have a lot of power, not even in his own country?

DOUGHERTY: Well, that's -- in a way, that is true. I mean, he does not have a lot of structural power in this country, and also he is -- as president, I should say, because after all, it's the ayatollahs who do. But he does -- it's an interesting speech for him to make because although he says, you know, the economy is important and we have to help nations to develop, he is a man with a lot of economic problems. Unemployment. Iran, look at its oil exports right now, they are very much diminished because of the sanctions. So, he's got a lot of problems at home.

And the message, I think, though, was to the world. Suzanne, you mentioned the United States did not even walk in. They didn't walk out, because they were not there. Maybe we should show exactly the reason. I think we have the statement by the United Nations, the spokesperson for the United States at the United Nations, saying, over the past couple of days, we've seen Mr. Ahmadinejad once again use his trip to the U.N. not to address the legitimate aspirations of the Iranian people, but to, instead, spout paranoid theories and repulsive slurs against Israel.

Now, actually, he didn't do a lot of that. So, perhaps his statement, you know, coming in advance was kind of based on things he had said in the past. But as I said, there were just a couple of references to Zionism, and they were kind of par for the course.

MALVEAUX: All right. Jill Dougherty, thank you so much, I appreciate it. Here's what we're working on for this hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I still remember the (INAUDIBLE) the desert, having to sleep in the desert, because it was getting late and we had been walking for hours. You know, just prayed that nothing would happen.

MALVEAUX (voice-over): She spoke no English when she was brought to the U.S. as a little girl, and she's been here illegally ever since. What to do about illegal immigration? It's a big issue divided Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama.

Plus, when you would hear the word auction, you think of paintings and antiques, but what about food? It's possible you could save money on your grocery bills at food auctions.

And could you go a full day without your cell phone? Think about it. No emails, no social networking sites, just experiencing the world around you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) MALVEAUX: All right, you're going to hear a lot of spin on the campaign trail when it comes to big issues. So, CNN, we're helping you to cut through some of the noise and tell you where these candidates actually stand on some of these issues. We're going to size up how President Obama and Mitt Romney plan to tackle the challenges that are facing our country one issue at a time today. We've got Casey Wian, he's taking a look at the illegal immigration through the eyes of a sheriff on one side and a student on the other.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Angelica Hernandez was nine when she first crossed the border with her mother and sister.

ANGELICA HERNANDEZ: I still remember the crossing at the desert, having to sleep in the desert because it was -- it was getting too late and we had been walking for hours, and my mom would hold, you know, my sister in one arm and me on the other arm, and, you know, just pray that nothing would happen.

WIAN: But their human smuggler was pulled over for speeding and they were deported. Their second crossing succeeded. Entering school as a fourth grader, Hernandez was teased because she spoke no English. Pinal County, Arizona sheriff Paul Babeu has spent much of his military and law enforcement career battling human smugglers. Deputies in his county, seven miles north of the border last year engaged in 350 high speed pursuits involving drug and human smugglers.

PAUL BABEU, SHERIFF, PINAL COUNTY, ARIZONA: They look at these people, these humans, as product. They don't care about their safety. They'll leave them for dead. They get in a wreck and just walk away.

WIAN: Babeu He strongly supports Arizona laws cracking down on illegal immigration.

BABEU: The impact has been so tremendous, not only billions of dollars in impact to our budget, but the crime's that are associated. Many crimes committed against the illegals themselves.

WIAN: The sheriff and the student, one trying to enforce the law, the other trying to stay a step ahead of it. Angelica Hernandez, the little girl who couldn't speak English this week begins work on her Master's degree at Stanford. Hernandez graduated from Arizona State despite losing a scholarship twice because of Arizona laws restricting benefits for illegal immigrants.

ANGELICA HERNANDEZ, UNDOCUMENTED STUDENT: Being undocumented, it's something that gives you so many different qualities and strengthens you because you learn to overcome so many things.

WIAN: Now she's filling out paperwork to apply for President Obama's Deferred Action Program, giving temporary legal status to young illegal immigrants.

HERNANDEZ: It is an election year, so we don't know if he did it because of that or, you know, he's trying to get the Latino vote. But in the end, we knew it was a win for us.

WIAN: Not for Babeu who sees it as an unenforceable federal mandate and another lure bringing hundreds of thousands of people through his county illegally.

BABEU: President Obama wants to talk about, what do we do with these 10 million to 20 million people? Well, a lot of Americans, including myself, say before we have that discussion, let's secure the border. We as a country have not enforced the law. And because of that, we're at the situation we're at today.

WIAN: Hernandez is ineligible for a driver's license in Arizona. On this day, she's going to have her photo taken for her deferred action application, essentially breaking the law to become legal. She worries Mitt Romney would end the Deferred Action Program leaving her ineligible for the job she wants in alternative energy when she finishes grad school. Babeu worries President Obama will legalize more illegal immigrants and keep his deputies busy chasing smugglers.

Casey Wian, CNN, Pinal County, Arizona.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Auctions, they make you think of Picassos, Monets right? But what about a full box of potato chips? That's right. Food auctions actually can save some big bucks on your grocery bill.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: We're awaiting two live events. Want to show you them both. We're going to go to live -- live to them as soon as they begin. But these are essentially dueling campaign events. You've got President Obama, he is in Ohio in Bowling Green. And then -- that is actually at screen left. And then on the right side of your screen there you've got Mitt Romney. He is in Bedford Heights. Both of them competing for those Ohio voters. Very important, the independent voters there. They're only 130 miles apart from each other. They're going to speak almost at the same time. We'll dip into both. We'll take them both live to see just what kind of message that they're trying to get across to Ohio voters to appeal to them as well. It is extremely competitive. But the latest poll of polls showing that President Obama actually leads in the battleground state of Ohio.

So, if you're trying to save money by cutting down on your grocery bill, there's one way to do it. It's kind of odd. I haven't heard this before. It is a food auction. You bid on your groceries. I want to bring in CNN's Eatocracy editor, Kat Kinsman, who recommends it. She's joining us from New York.

And, so, Kat, is this really like going once, going twice, potato chips, you know, like, is that how it sounds?

KAT KINSMAN, EATOCRACY EDITOR, CNN.COM: Yes, it pretty much does. I haven't gotten to go to one myself, about my colleague, Jonathan Hellman (ph), went and reported that people are saving huge amounts of money on their groceries by participating in these auctions. Now, people -- you're not bidding against your fellow bidders or anything. You're coming together on a -- the maximum price that people will pay, and then everybody gets to pay that price. It's a win-win situation all around. You can buy, you know, snacks, frozen items, whatsoever, but people are saving between 40 and 90 percent on their groceries this way.

MALVEAUX: Wow. That's pretty extraordinary. Now, how does it actually work?

KINSMAN: OK. So a distributor will, say, buy too much of something that is seasonal or they just happen to have too much of it or it's out of date, and so multiple lots of things will come up on the auction block. And people aren't bidding against each other. They're bidding to set the highest maximum price that people will save -- will pay for it. And then everybody gets that price. Some of the stuff might surprise you because it might be scratched, dented, maybe something they don't want to sell in the store.

MALVEAUX: And you said that some of this has an expiration date on them and it's passed the expiration date. Is that actually safe?

KINSMAN: No, here's a funny thing. I didn't know this before. That is actually not a federally regulated date. That is for freshness, not for safety. So just because something says, you know, that the date has passed, that doesn't necessarily mean it's all bad to eat it. It might not be at its peak of flavor freshness. But the best thing you can possibly do is just, you know, open it up, use your eyes, your ears, your nose and see if, you know, if it still looks and smells good to you. But, really, except for infant formula, this stuff is not federally regulated.

MALVEAUX: All right. And, Kat, two more questions for you. First of all, it seems like it would be kind of time-consuming if you were doing all of this bidding on your groceries. So does it take more time than just to simply pick up something that's a little bit more expensive? And then, secondly, how do you find out if you've actually gotten like a food auction that's in your neighborhood?

KINSMAN: OK, you're saving money, not necessarily time. But the great thing is that these come -- these have become a great rallying point for communities and people really use it as social interaction and they end up swapping and trading and often giving the excess away to charity.

Now, you can go to the National Auctioneers website, which I believe is auctioneers.org, and find out if there is an auctioneer near you. And handy dandy Craigslist will help you find all of these in your neighborhood as well.

MALVEAUX: All right. So, tell me how it turns out when you go and you auction for your groceries. I want to follow-up here. I want to see if you -- if it's as much fun as it looks.

KINSMAN: For you, I will do that.

MALVEAUX: OK. Thank you, Kat.

KINSMAN: Thank you.

MALVEAUX: It is a fathers dying wish. He hopes Iran's president is going to be the one to actually grant it.

Don't forget, you can watch CNN live on your computer while you're at work. Head to cnn.com/tv.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: I want to go to President Obama. He is campaigning in Ohio. At Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Let's listen in.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I love you back. I'm glad -- I'm glad to be here. Now, it's great to be here with your next congresswoman, Angela Zimmann. I'm thrilled to be with all of you. And unless you live under a rock or your cable is busted, you may have noticed that there's an election going on here in Ohio. By the way, those of you guys who have seats, feel free to sit down. I'm going to be talking for a while here. And those of you who don't, make sure to bend your knees because sometimes people faint, fall out. Not because I'm so exciting, but just because you've been standing a long time.

So there's an election going on here in Ohio. And in case you're wondering what kind of impact that's having, I was talking to my campaign manager. He was meeting with this couple who had this adorable four-year-old son named Sammy. And they were very proud that Sammy knew what was going on. And there was a picture of me up on the wall and the parents said, "who's that, Sammy?" And Sammy said, "that's Barack Obama. And then -- and then the parents asked, "and what does Barack Obama do?" And Sammy thinks for a second and he says, "he approves this message."

True story. True story. That's what I do. I approve this message. And, Ohio, that's because starting on October 2nd, which is just six days from now, you get to start voting. You get to have your say. You can register to vote all the way up until October 9th, but if you're already registered, can you start voting in six days.

And this is important because you've got a big choice to make. And it's not just a choice between two parties or two candidates. It is a choice between two fundamentally different paths for America. Two fundamentally different choices for our future. My opponent and his running mate are big believers in top down economics. They basically think that if we just spent another $5 trillion on tax cuts that favor the very wealthiest, then -- don't boo, vote. Vote. Vote. Vote. That's it.

But their theory is these tax cuts for folks at the top, then prosperity and jobs will rain down on everybody else. Deficits will magically go away, and we will live happily ever after. There's only one problem. We just tried this during the last decade, during the previous presidency. It didn't work. Top-down economics never works. The country doesn't succeed when only the rich get richer. We succeed when the middle class gets bigger -- (APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: -- when more people have a chance to get ahead, more people have a chance to live up to their God-given potential.

Look, I don't believe we can get very far with leaders who write off half the nation as a bunch of victims who never take responsibility for their own lives.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: I've got to tell you, as I travel around Ohio and as I look out on this crowd, I don't see a lot of victims. I see hard-working Ohioans.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: That's what I see.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: We got students who are trying to work their way through college.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: We have single moms who are putting in overtime to raise their kids.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: By the way, your outstanding president of this institution, Bowling Green -- charming woman, really smart.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: There she is right there.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: We were talking because we both were raised by single moms. She was telling the story about how -- her mom worked at a resort in West Virginia, but, you know, she was doing the hard work and ended up raising one college president and one federal judge.

(SHOUTING)

OBAMA: That's what we believe about the economy -- when you give folks a chance. I see, in this audience, senior citizens who have been saving for retirement their entire lives, veterans who serve this country so bravely.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Soldiers who are today defending our freedom.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: We -- look, let's just get something straight in case anybody is confused. We don't believe anybody is entitled to success in this country. We don't believe government should be helping people who refuse to help themselves. But we do believe in something called opportunity.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: We do believe that hard work should pay off.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: We do believe that in America everybody gets a fair shot and everybody is doing their fair share and everybody is playing by the same set of rules --

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: We believe that in America, where no matter who you are, or what you like, or what your last name is, or who you love, you can make it if you try.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: That's the country I believe in. That's what I have been fighting for for four years. And that's why I'm running for a second term as president of the United States.

(APPLAUSE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: President Obama there in Bowling Green, Ohio.

Want to dip in to Mitt Romney now, who is also in Ohio. This is out of Bedford Heights. Let's listen in.

MITT ROMNEY, (R), FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: -- because people haven't got the skills that they need to fit those jobs, and so he is concerned, as I'm concerned, to make sure that our people have the skills they need to succeed. We have 47 different federal government training programs, and they report to eight different agencies. They spend $18 billion on these programs, but too often they don't match the needs of our people. So I want to take those dollars and send them back to Ohio, or each state, so they can fashion the programs to meet the needs of their own workers.

(APPLAUSE)

ROMNEY: And I would like people to have personal re-employment accounts where a person has an account which they can use to get the training they feel they need for the job of their future. We need to really think about how to help people, make sure and match the skills that they have with the needs of our economy so people could get good jobs. Look, we've gone four years. In four years, we've lost 582,000 manufacturing jobs. 582,000. This -- we can't afford four more years like the last four years. We've got to get this economy going again.

(APPLAUSE)

ROMNEY: So -- and so with no further ado, I'm going introduce someone who you have seen on wonderful Ford Motor Company ads, a guy who you have seen for eight years in some of the dirtiest jobs in America, a man who cares about the American worker like almost no one else, my friend, Mike Rowe.

(APPLAUSE)

MIKE ROWE, HOST, DIRTY JOBS: Wow. You stood up. Look at you. You spoil me.

Hello, Ohio.

(APPLAUSE)

ROWE: So nice to be back. Always nice to be back in this state. Although, I will confess, some days have been better than others. First time I was here, I think, was 2004. "Dirty Jobs" was just getting off the ground. We weren't exactly sure what the show was going to be, and I came out here and spent a very long day in the middle of July with the guys over at the Department of Transportation, specifically in their Road Kill Clean-Up Division.

(LAUGHTER)

ROWE: You'll be pleased to know, Ohio, that you do, in fact, have a Road Kill Clean-Up Division, and they are excellent at what they do. You'll also be pleased to know the road kill itself here in Ohio is second to none --

(LAUGHTER)

-- both in volume and variety. So that was great. I have been assured by the governor and his team that today will not be anywhere near as bloody or smelly as my last time in Ohio. And so far, so good.

I'll keep my comments fairly brief, but I do want to pick up on a few things the governor said. The short version is this. I wanted to be here today because the governor invited me. He answered a letter that I had written to a lot of people over the last five or six years. The reason I'm writing these letters and the reason I'm going around talking to groups is because I personally and honestly believe that we have unintentionally disconnected ourselves in a really fundamental way from the most important part of our work force. I'm talking about the men and women who do the kinds of jobs that make civilized life possible for the rest of us, the people who keep the lights on, the people who allow the toilets to work, the people who pick up road kill, the people who paint the bridges, the people who farm, the people who mine, those are the heroes of "Dirty Jobs." And they have --

(APPLAUSE) ROWE: They have provided me with something that I didn't think the show ever would. They provided me with an education. They've given me some perspective that, quite honestly, I didn't have in 2001 when I started this program.

"Dirty Jobs" is a tribute to my granddad. He is a guy a lot of you know. You have never met him or heard of him, but he only made it to the eighth grade, but by the time he was 30, he was a licensed electrician, a plumber. He was a master of every trade I knew, from welding to carpentry. He could build a house without a blueprint. "Dirty Jobs" is a tribute to guys like that. And the reason it's still on the air today is because, back in 2008, as many of you know all too well, the headlines in the country started to catch up on --

MALVEAUX: You've been watching -- this is Mike Rowe, host of Discover Channel's "Dirty Jobs." He is there as a guest of Mitt Romney.

I want to bring in Paul Steinhauser.

I guess it's not surprising is he there with Mitt Romney. The whole idea, you have these careers that are under appreciated. That there should be enthusiasm for the working person who might have a dirty job, not the kind of job that everybody wants to have. Is that the message that Mitt Romney is trying to embrace here that he gets it, he understands the folks who might have a dirty job?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: You know, this is the second rally today where you are hearing Mitt Romney saying those kind of words, and maybe it's a little bit of make good for those controversial comments from the hidden camera video that really dominated the campaign trail last week when Mitt Romney talked about 47 percent of Americans who are dependent on the government. Maybe this is part of Mitt Romney satisfying, yes, I hear you, I understand you, and I am going to be fighting for all Americans. He had similar language at his first rally earlier this morning in Ohio, and are you hearing it again right here, Suzanne. You are also hearing a similar message from the president. Both candidates at dueling events in Ohio, two by the president, three by Mitt Romney today. Both are reaching out to middle class Americans -- Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: Paul, explain why it's specifically important for folks in Ohio, the fact that they're in Ohio when it comes to manufacturing jobs, when it comes to the auto industry, and even this relationship with China, our trade relationship, with China. People are paying attention it that in Ohio. Why?

STEINHAUSER: Oh, very much so. Especially the China issue, and that's why both campaigns use it in ads as well. Because of the trade embargo -- or the imbalance with China really affects people on the ground in states like Ohio where, of course, it is a crucial battleground state as well. Remember, no Republican has won Ohio in modern times, nor won the White House in modern times without carrying Ohio. That is why this state is so crucial. Its 18 electoral votes are being really grabbed at by both the president and Mitt Romney. Both candidates spending so much time there. And, Suzanne, the thing about Ohio from Romney, it really is a must- win state. We talk about whether states you must win or not. Capturing Ohio, also capturing back Florida, such -- so important for Mitt Romney. And the new poll numbers there are really not really helping Mitt Romney's case right now. I don't know if you have them, but we put together an average of the last four polls. There it is. There you go. You can see the president by seven points over Mitt Romney in Ohio. A similar story in Florida and a bunch of the other battleground states.

Of course, it's five and a half weeks until the election. Anything can happen, and we have those debates coming up one week from today. They start, Suzanne, that could also change the needle on the polling.

MALVEAUX: Certainly could. Right around the corner there.

All right, Paul. Thank you very much.

Obviously, President Obama, Mitt Romney competing for the very important state of Ohio, a swing state.

It wasn't so long ago when we lived without cell phones, right? What's it going to be like, right, if you were to go a full day without a cell phone? Harder than you might think. We actually tried it. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Here's a challenge -- might find it pretty hard, actually -- going without your cell phone for an entire day. Comedian and CNN contributor, Dean Obeidallah, actually tried to do it. He found himself desperately seeking out a place to check his emails. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN OBEIDALLAH, POLITICAL COMEDIAN & CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I saw the words Internet. Internet. Right there. Next to Panini. In small letters. It's right next to the adult video store, which makes it convenient, I think, on some level, you know? Is it busy all the time?

(on camera): Are people always using this?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. We have our regular clients.

OBEIDALLAH: You have regular clients that come in, hey, Yahoo!, G- mail, I like that. I need to check my e-mail. I could have had the break of my life, my dreams, and I have missed it all. I put $2 in this thing?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Put it into the machine. This one right here next to the gentleman, OK?

OBEIDALLAH: It turn out the last time I checked my emails, about maybe four hours ago, three to four hours ago, I'm not as important as I think. There's nothing life let inning. Everything here could have been answered tomorrow, frankly. I waited a whole 24 hours. I do feel a sense of relief that I read these, and there is nothing truly pressing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you enjoy the computer?

OBEIDALLAH: I feel much better. I feel relief because I know what's going on in the word. Thanks a lot.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Dean joins us from Sacramento.

All right, Dean. Wait. How long did you it take you before you had to check your e-mail?

OBEIDALLAH: It took -- well, actually about 10 minutes. I'm, like, I got to check my e-mail. I waited about four or five hours, and it probably took about an hour of asking people have you seen an Internet cafe? I walked down the street looking for a lost dog. Have you seen an Internet cafe? People were dumbfounded by that question. I found one.

MALVEAUX: Why were you so pressed about this?

OBEIDALLAH: Suzanne, I'm pretty new on this. I'm neurotic. I'm a comedian. I can't help myself.

(LAUGHTER)

But also, I'm a comedian. So I'm the president of my company, and I'm the product. I'm everything. I need to be in touch with people because if I have bookings offered or appearances offered, sometimes you have to get back to them welcome back an hour or so or you could lose it. That's one pressure. Secondly, I am neurotic. I'm holding my cell phone that I will not let this go again, CNN. Never.

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: I don't know if it's ego or neurosis or whatever, but I want to understand what you wrote here. This is in your CNN.com site. At first, you said, "At first, I felt liberated, like Neo in "The Matrix," when he took he red pill and could finally see the real world, and then things changed." Explain what first happened when you let go of the phone?

OBEIDALLAH: It was actually great because usually I walk around the streets of New York. I'm checking my e-mail, texts. I'm on the phone. I'm not looking at people on the streets of New York. That day I really took it in, and it really -- New York is a beautiful melting pot. All different backgrounds, races, faiths. People walking around the streets. About 20 minutes later, I'm like, I got to check my e-mail.

Also, the struggle is you can't access your voice mail. The only way to check your voice mail is to go to a payphone, which, in New York, the homeless people are apparently using as bathrooms because they're the most filthy thing I have ever used in years. Still, I try to check my messages.

(LAUGHTER)

And that's the struggle. I don't remember phone numbers. I had to write phone numbers down before I went out in the streets. It's a different world. I call it America, B.C, America before cell phones, a much more difficult, challenging time.

MALVEAUX: You actually write, too, when you were riding the subway that you started to, like, read the signage and the all kinds of things that became much more apparent to you. What did you actually see and discover?

OBEIDALLAH: Well, one thing was looking around at subway and seeing so many other people on their Smartphones playing games, listening to music. Just in their own little world. A crowded subway car, but everyone he's late in their own world. Second, and more importantly, I finally read the emergency evacuation sign in the subway, so in case of fire, if are any the subway, you see me, follow me. I know where to go. It's going to be fine. Remain calm. Help is on the way.

MALVEAUX: You know what, in English and Spanish, I'm sure. Final question --

(LAUGHTER)

OBEIDALLAH: Many languages, actually.

MALVEAUX: Was it lonely? Right? You're there. You're looking around, and everybody else is probably looking at their phones.

OBEIDALLAH: It really is because everyone is compartmentalized in their own little cell phone worlds or listening to their music. They're not talking to you. People aren't making eye contact in New York, which is a big thing. Oddly enough, after a few hours, I actually did feel lonely because I felt unconnected. I'm so used to e-mailing friends, texting friends, texting work things, you know, e- mailing people about work. You're walking like an island. I'm on the island of Manhattan, but feeling like I'm on my own little island. It was a little unnerving. I felt like a lonely person in the biggest city in the country.

MALVEAUX: Dean, could you do it again? You tried it for 24 hours. Do you think it could go a little longer?

OBEIDALLAH: I need money this time. I'm not doing this again just as an experiment for fun for CNN. I need to be paid for this.

(LAUGHTER)

They wanted me to do it a week at first. I said, get out of here. Three days. I got it down to a day. OK. We'll do it a day. It was fun, but I don't think I would do it again.

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: All right. I'm going to call you and keep it touch with you. You got my phone right here. I'm not letting you go.

OBEIDALLAH: Thanks, Suzanne.

Please keep in touch. I have my phone.

MALVEAUX: I will.

Thank you.

OBEIDALLAH: Take care, Suzanne.

CNN's Our Mobile Society Initiative is taking an in-depth look at how global technology is changing the world, from health to personal relationships as well as business. For more of the coverage, go to CNN.com/ourmobilesociety or visit our Mobile Society Section of the CNN mobile apps.

As we just mentioned, people all over the world constantly connected their cell phones. But is it making you sick? Literally? Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains why you need to put it down.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: All this week we're looking at how mobile technology changing our world. It is CNN's Mobile Society Initiative. Today, we're looking at how safe it is to use your cell phone. The FCC has not set new radiation exposure limits in the past 15 years. A lot of research has surfaced instead, so much in fact that the government is now urging the FCC to update its safety regulations.

I spoke with Dr. Sanjay Gupta about how cell phones can be harmful.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: We know, for example, these phones can change your brain a little bit. They can increase the way your brain in that area absorbs glucose. It can -- they get hot. They can actually heat up certain areas of your brain. So what do these things do in the long run? That's part of what's prompting us. The world health organization already refers to cell phones as a possible carcinogen. Carcinogen means cancer causing agent.

MALVEAUX: Sure, sure. Is there anything -- so we love to use these. I'm not going to get rid of it. I don't think you're going to get rid of yours. Everybody is trying to reach you all the time. Do we -- how can we protect ourselves?

GUPTA: I think there is the good news, a couple of important tips. These are things I do in my own life. Remember this, if you have a really bad signal, it means your phone is work even harder than normal to try to get a better signal. It is letting off more radiation. So your best bet if you can't hear the person is probably say, look, I'll call you later, I'll call you when I'm in a better area or text the person. So that's one good tip. Something I do. But also simply using an ear piece. And I know this isn't particularly sexy and you look like a geek when you wear this. I have -- but I think doing that automatically pushes the phone away from your head. If you read the information pamphlet that comes with your phone, it says don't hold these phones next to your head, says keep it half an inch --

MALVEAUX: It actually says it in the pamphlet.

GUPTA: It says it right in the thing. That's why they give you ear pieces with your phones as well.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: The number of knee replacement surgery is up dramatically. That's according to a new study, an article in "USA Today." It says the number of total knee replacement surgeries rose 161 percent among Medicare patients over the past 20 years. That is based on the study by the "Journal of the American Medical Association." Numbers expected to go even higher as baby boomers age. It costs Medicare about $15,000. The annual tab around $5 billion. Researchers say that could have a major impact on health care costs moving forward.

Even President Obama has tweeted he hopes the NFL's regular refs get back on the job. We'll show you what a Green Bay TV station thinks of the replacements.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Griping over NFL replacement referees still going into overtime. Many of you still talking about that last-second call that cost the Packers a win Monday night over the Seattle Seahawks. One Green Bay station, WGBA, used a replacement weatherman. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 200 degrees below today, we're looking at. It is really going to heat up.

(LAUGHTER)

It is going to be like 346 degrees.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED METEOROLOGIST: Get out of here! What is going on? What you got here, a thunder hurricane?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: A replacement weatherman. Thunder hurricane sounds like a forecast nobody would want to replace. Wow. The grumbling continues. And, of course, Green Bay doesn't stop there. Another irate Packers fan offering free Lasik vision correction to the refs that called the game. Dr. Christopher Smith of the Optivision Practice -- this is in Appleton, Wisconsin -- told, affiliate, WFRV, he'll throw in a lesson on decision-making at no charge with the Lasik surgery. Meanwhile, talks are continuing in the dispute between the regular refs and the NFL. Hope they work that out.

CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Brooke Baldwin.

Hey, Brooke.