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CNN Live Event/Special

Ballot Bowl: Countdown to Election Day

Aired October 31, 2010 - 14:00   ET

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

ED HENRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Ed Henry on Capitol Hill. That building behind me completely up for grabs on Tuesday.

You're watching BALLOT BOWL, CNN's comprehensive coast-to-coast look at the most important campaign events and rallies leading up to the midterm elections. For the next two hours, we're your ticket to the rallies, the speeches, the candidates on this final weekend before Election Day.

And in Las Vegas, we have my colleague Jessica Yellin.

Jessica, another huge weekend just two days ago.

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN ANCHOR: So much at stake.

Ed is right. Just two days from now the voters are going to decide who controls Congress, a decision that could reshape the Washington agenda, but also have a very dramatic effect on every American.

And for us it all starts today in Ohio. Just minutes from now, President Obama is going to hold his last major rally before Election Day.

From there, we're also going to take you to Delaware, where Republican Senate hopeful Christine O'Donnell, someone we've all talked so much about, is going to hold a rally in Wilmington. We'll have it live.

We'll head also to Alaska for a live update on the dramatic three-way Senate race with a Republican, a Democrat and a write-in candidate.

And we'll take to you Rhode Island, where former president Bill Clinton seems to be enjoying his status as the most in demand Democrat. He's taking the stage to help a Democratic governor candidate who might be best known at this point for telling President Obama to shove it when the president said he wasn't going to endorse that candidate.

Of course we're also going to continue to update the terror investigation involving those package explosives that were discovered on Friday. And our own Fredricka Whitfield is standing by in Atlanta. CNN is tracking this developing story all over the world, and we will bring you developments as they happen. Now, Ed, I just want to make a point. Where I am, I'm in Nevada, one of the most closely watched Senate races that pits Democrat Senator Harry Reid, the majority leader, against a Tea Party insurgent, Sharron Angle.

This race, so close, that it's about the get-out-the-vote effort. Who will get out the most votes?

And today I'm at a Democratic headquarters for phone banking where folks are trying to get out every last vote. I want to make it clear, we did ask the Republican Party. They turned us down, but they say they have aggressive efforts across the state as well. And we'll talk more about that throughout the day.

But, Ed, over to you. I know you have a big event to get us to.

HENRY: That's right, Jessica.

It's with President Obama, and I was with him yesterday in a couple of states. And I can tell you, inside the White House they are very nervous about the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid. They are worried. They thought they had a firewall out West with him in Nevada, Patty Murray in Washington.

They're very nervous about those races. But right now the president is focused on Ohio.

You see the live picture in Cleveland. This is going to be the president's very last rally before the midterm election, Cleveland State University. He's going to be coming up to speak about 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time. He has been crisscrossing the country, as I mentioned.

I was with him yesterday. I spoke to Senator Dick Durbin from Illinois when the president came home to Chicago, got a chance to sleep in his own bed. And Dick Durbin told me there was this private meeting at the White House a month ago with Democratic leaders. The president called him in and said, look, I am going blow up my schedule in order to try to keep control of Congress in Democratic hands.

And he said that -- he told his scheduler if he gets tired, he said, just tell me -- when I say I'm tired, tell me to keep on going. We're not going to give up.

Dan Lothian hasn't been giving up either. He's been traveling all around the country with the president. He's our White House correspondent. He's on the ground in Cleveland.

And Dan, it was interesting, because the president told this huge crowd, about 35,000 people, just a few blocks from his house in Chicago last night, that it was nice to be home, he was going to sleep in his own bed. He looked a little bit tired, but he might be rested after sleeping in his own bed, Dan.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you know, we all have been doing these live shots, end up doing it outside. We decided to come inside where we could get a little bit of the feel of what's going on here. And now I'm competing with (INAUDIBLE).

He's warming up the crowd. He was also in Chicago, warming up the crowd, trying to get them energized. The president and the vice president will be out here shortly to do the same.

The message from President Obama will be twofold. First of all, that these Democrats need to head out to the polls on Tuesday. But secondly, that they also need to encourage their friends and their family members to get out there and vote as well.

Why? Because the president and other Democrats realize how much is at stake right now, potentially losing the House, and certainly losing a number of seats in the Senate as well. And so the president wants to convey a sense of urgency.

The message that we'll also hear from the president is much like we heard yesterday in Chicago, and that is that this election will be about choice, about the people that he says got America in the jam that they're in now and the people who are trying to get America out of this economic slump. The president will take this crowd through, as he called it, memory lane, laying out the economic problems that existed before he came into office, and then pointing out what his administration has done and plans to continue to do to fix the problem.

So, the president expected to really get everyone energized here, the final hours before Tuesday's election, try to pull out the stops and trying to make sure that these folks head to the polls.

Back to you.

HENRY: Thanks a lot, Dan.

I know Jessica is there in Vegas.

We've got a lot of these hot Senate races. You're watching Nevada, but that's hardly the only Senate race making news this morning, Jessica.

YELLIN: That's right. And we have coming up on BALLOT BOWL, not only President Obama, but Bill Clinton and Christine O'Donnell in a Senate race that's being watched because it was so unexpected.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENRY: I'm Ed Henry on Capitol Hill. You're watching BALLOT BOWL.

A beautiful day here in Washington for trick-or-treating, maybe a little bit of football, but also a lot of politics. This is an intense final weekend, one of the most closely fought midterm elections we've seen maybe in decades. And there is so much up for grabs.

In fact, both chambers of Congress behind me up for grabs on Tuesday. And when you talk to senior Democrats privately, they say -- they have one word basically for what they think about the House control gone, is the word.

They are very worried about losing the House. They are nervous about the Senate. They're hoping to hold onto it.

The president has been crisscrossing the country to try to make sure particularly he saves some of those Senate seats. This morning he is in Ohio. We're going to hear him early this afternoon now at Cleveland State University.

You see a live picture. As soon as he takes the stage, we will be going to him live.

But there's all those Senate races all around the country. And as I bring in my colleague Jessica Yellin in Las Vegas, one of those hot Senate races, Nevada.

Another big one, of course, is Delaware. So many people have been watching that one, Jess.

YELLIN: That's right, Ed.

And Delaware has so many eyes on it, not necessarily because it's a close race. In fact, all the recent polling shows that the Democrat is significantly ahead. But Christine O'Donnell, the Republican contender in that race, was such a surprise candidate.

She beat Congressman Mike Castle, a longtime Republican who was considered basically a shoo-in to the seat had he won his primary, but she was one of these come-from-behind Tea Party favorites who got the endorsement of Sarah Palin and wowed everyone by an insurgent win on primary night. And then we all know she's made some -- somewhat controversial remarks since then and has captured everyone's attention and interest by defending them.

She is facing off with Chris Coons, the Democrat in that race. And again, as I've said, he has a lead. But we are going to bring you now to a rally where Christine O'Donnell is going to be cheering her supporters, and that's where we find Kate Bolduan, in Wilmington, Delaware.

Kate, give us a sense of what people can expect from this rally.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Jess.

Well, people are already gathering here. We're on the riverfront here in Wilmington, Delaware. People are gathering here.

Christine O'Donnell will be joining with the Tea Party Express here on the riverfront in Wilmington, Delaware. The Tea Party Express, this is their second to last day of their nationwide bus tour that they have embarked on.

They're going to be joining with Christine O'Donnell. As you mentioned, the Tea Party endorsed Christine O'Donnell back during the primary, as well as former Alaska governor Sarah Palin. They're going to be joining forces, if you will, today. Christine O'Donnell, we're told she should be speaking within the next hour or so. As with these events, the times are slipping a little bit.

But as you noted, Jessica, she has all along been at a disadvantage in the polls. The O'Donnell campaign did receive some surprise welcomed news this week when one poll actually showed that -- one set of polls showed that she may be closing the gap on the Democratic contender, Chris Coons, showing that she may be only 10 points behind, versus a poll a couple of weeks ago saying she was 19 points behind.

At the very same time, many other polls, including one by CNN and "TIME" magazine, still show O'Donnell behind by about 20 points. But polls aside, people here are very much a supporter of hers, and one of the things that they point out when we talked to them, why they are supporting her, they're supporting her because she's running as the outsider.

They acknowledge that she may not have the same experience as other candidates may, being Chris Coons, and maybe even Mike Castle during the primary, but the like the fact she is an outsider, because they say Washington is not listening, something that we've heard all along during this campaign season. And that's why they are out showing their support for her today -- Jess.

YELLIN: Kate, curious, any sense of how large the crowd seems? I know you don't want to give an estimate of crowd size, but is there a significant turnout? And have you seen any efforts to organize people to get out the vote there?

BOLDUAN: Right now it seems that the crowd is still gathering. I would say it's a healthy crowd. It's not in the thousands. They are still gathering here. They are actually still setting up the podium and stage actually to get her out here.

But we are told that the Tea Party Express is bringing three busloads of people, so we'll have to see how many people kind of come off of those buses as they start arriving. They should be arriving actually any minute now.

YELLIN: All right. Thanks so much.

That's our Kate Bolduan in what looks to be a chilly Wilmington, Delaware.

And I should note that the Tea Party Express is going from there to where I am. They're going to end up here in Las Vegas before Election Day, because this is the race that they consider to be dead hot and where they want to be when the returns come in.

I'll also note that I'm seeing in the double box in there that Ohio Governor Ted Strickland is speaking now. That is one of those governor's races that's all important. Both sides watching that so closely.

And I'm going to throw it over now to my co-anchor, Ed Henry, to talk more about what's coming up.

Hey, Ed.

HENRY: Well, Jess, good to see you again.

It is interesting. Ted Strickland, he's there in Ohio. President Obama will be taking the stage. We'll go there live as soon as we see that.

You also mentioned the Tea Party Express going in to Las Vegas. Well, first lady Michelle Obama will be there as well trying to help Harry Reid.

A lot going on from coast to coast. We want to bring it all to you live here in the next two hours.

What's also interesting is this midterm election largely fought out on domestic issues -- the economy and jobs, health care, et cetera. All of a sudden, terror back on the radar, though, as well, and there are new details emerging right now about what was inside those two explosive devices from Yemen.

That's next. Plus, new suspicions they may have flown on passenger planes as well.

We're going to bring you all those details coming up right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

YELLIN: Welcome back to CNN's BALLOT BOWL. I'm Jessica Yellin, in Las Vegas on this final frenzied weekend before the midterm elections.

I am at a phone bank where volunteers are trying to get out the vote across Las Vegas and Nevada. This race, so close, that both sides expected to come down to so few votes, they just need to stay on these phones all weekend and get out every last voter.

But this isn't the only hot race. There are hot governors races as well. One of them is in Ohio.

And I'm going to bring in Ed Henry to talk a little bit about the event that's happening there.

Ed, a big race for everyone.

HENRY: That's right, Jess.

You just did a cover story on CNN.com about it, really putting it front and center. Governor Ted Strickland, the incumbent Democrat there in Ohio, really facing a hard charge from John Kasich, the Republican. And President Obama will be taking the stage there in Cleveland in a short time.

But right now at the podium is Vice President Joe Biden. He's actually done far more campaign events than the president, well over 100 campaign events in this midterm election season. He's at the podium. Let's go there live right now in Cleveland.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

JOSEPH BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They want to do what they've always done. They're not bad guys. They just have a whole different view of how real folks live.

Ladies and gentlemen, these guys want to continue to give tax breaks to companies who send their jobs to China. They don't think -- this is real though. This is not just political banter.

They don't think we should be giving tax credits for renewable energy so that you can make the windmills and solar panels and lithium ion batteries right here in Ohio and hire thousands and thousands of Ohioans.

(APPLAUSE)

They don't think we should provide the tax breaks to middle class families to help send their kids to this great university. They don't think that's -- literally. That's what we're doing, but they don't think we should. As a matter of fact, they don't even want to make the middle class tax cuts permanent unless we provide $700 billion in tax cuts to their wealthy friends, increasing the burden and the debt $700 billion.

Folks, these guys have a different view.

Mr. President, a lot of folks here have been knocked down. They've been knocked down pretty hard by the economic policies supported by John and Rob and their Republican friends. A lot of folks have been hurt.

But let me tell you something, Mr. President. These folks in here you're going to talk to in a second -- and you know from being here -- they're tough. These folks don't stay down.

(APPLAUSE)

They believe -- I believe you all believe like I do and like I was raised. My dad used to say, "When you get knocked down, there's only one thing to do. Get up! Get up!"

(APPLAUSE)

And, folks, when you get up, make sure the same thing doesn't knock you down again!

And, folks, we're getting up, and we're going to make sure the bankrupt policies of the Republican Party don't knock us down again. We're getting up and we're staying up thanks to the leadership of President Obama and because of this great governor, Ted Strickland.

We're starting to get out of this God awful mess the Republican Party left us with. We're creating jobs. We're making college affordable to the middle class again.

We're revving up America's research engine, finding new energy technologies, cures for diseases. We're working to uphold that distinctly American promise that the next generation will have it better than we had it, that we'll leave our children and our grandchildren better off than what we inherited.

Mr. President, it's because of you.

Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome my partner, the president of the United States of America, Barack Obama!

(APPLAUSE)

HENRY: I'm Ed Henry on Capitol Hill.

You just heard Vice President Biden there really trying to make the case for Democrats. President Obama, as you can see, just starting to take the stage.

We're going to take a very quick break. On the other side, directly to President Obama in Cleveland.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENRY: I'm Ed Henry on Capitol Hill.

Welcome back to BALLOT BOWL, two hours of live programming, going to all these key rallies around the country. That Capitol behind me completely up for grabs with two days to go.

President Obama right now making had his final pitch in Cleveland to try to keep the Capitol in Democratic control. He's in Cleveland.

Let's go there live and hear his final pitch.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Marcia Fudge, of course. For some reason, Marcia wasn't on the list.

Is Marcia here? Where's Marcia?

We love Marcia and she wasn't here. That's all.

I love Marcia. That's my girl.

We were acknowledging those folks who were in the crowd, but we love Marcia. And Marcia is going to do a great job.

But Joe Biden and I -- Joe Biden and I have been traveling all across the country, and there are a lot of places where we're doing a lot of great work. But there are very few places where we are doing as much good work as we were doing right here in Ohio.

And Cleveland, in just two days -- in just two days you've got the chance --

AUDIENCE: Yes, we can! Yes, we can! Yes, we can! Yes, we can!

Yes, we can! Yes, we can! Yes, we can! Yes, we can!

OBAMA: I can't hear you. Did you say, "Yes, we can"?

(APPLAUSE)

In two days you have the chance to set the direction of this country and this state for many years to come just like you did in 2008. You can defy the conventional wisdom, the kind of conventional wisdom, the stale wisdom that says you can't overcome cynicism in our politics, that says no, ,you can't overcome all the special interests and all the special interest money, that says no, you can't tackle the biggest challenges in this country.

In two days you've got the chance to once again say, yes, we can.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, Cleveland, there is no doubt that this is a difficult election, and that's because we've gone from an incredibly difficult time as a nation. And nobody knows that more than the folks in Cleveland and the folks in Ohio.

For most of the last decade, middle class families have been struggling. This didn't just start a year ago. It didn't just start two years ago.

Between 2001 and 2009, the average middle class family saw their incomes across the country go down by five percent when the other side was in charge. Between 2001 and 2009, job growth was slower than any time since World War II. Meanwhile, the cost of everything from health care to sending a child to college kept on going up and up and up. Too many families couldn't send their kids to college. Too many families couldn't visit a doctor when somebody got sick.

Americans, too many were working two to three jobs and couldn't make ends meet. A whole lot of folks couldn't find a job at all. These problems were then compounded by the worst economic crisis, the worst financial crisis since the great depression. Think about it.

We had a recession that was so bad we lost 4 million jobs before Joe and I were even sworn into office. Then we had another 750,000 jobs lost the month we took office, 600,000 the month after that -- 600,000 the month after that. We lost almost 8 million jobs before our economic policies could even be put into place.

Now, when Joe and I got to Washington, our hope was that both parties would put politics aside to meet this once in a generation challenge because although we are proud to be Democrats, Cleveland, we are prouder to be Americans.

We had confidence and continue to have confidence that there are Republicans out there that feel the same way but the Republican leaders in Washington, they had a different calculation. Their basic theory was, you know what, the economy is so bad we made such a mess of things, that rather than cooperate, we'll be better off just saying no to everything.

We'll be better off not even trying to fix the economy and people will get angry and they'll get frustrated and maybe two years from now they will have forgotten that we were the ones who caused the mess in the first place.

In other words, their basic political strategy has been to count on you having amnesia. They're betting all of you forgot how we got here. Well, Cleveland, it's up to you to let them know we have not forgotten. It's up to you to remember that this election is a choice between the policies that got us into this mess, and the policies that are leading us out of this mess.

If they win this election, the chair of a Republican campaign committee promised to pursue the exact same agenda as they did before I came into office. Now think about that. We know what that agenda is. It does have virtue of simplicity. You can describe it very quickly.

You basically cut taxes for millionaires and billionaires. You cut rules for special interests and then you cut middle class families loose to fend for themselves. If you don't have a job, tough luck, you're on your own. You don't have health care, too bad. You're on your own.

You're a young person who can't afford to go to college? Pull yourself up by your own boot straps. You're on your own. This is an idea, this notion of theirs that turned a record surplus into record deficits. You hear them talking now about how they are going to cut debt and deficits. These are the folks who ran up the deficit.

These are the folks that allowed Wall Street to run wild. These are the folks that nearly destroyed our economy. Now, I bring this up not to re-argue the past. I bring it up because I don't want to relive the past. We've been there before. We've tried what they're selling and we are not going back.

We are not going back. Cleveland, imagine the Republicans were driving the economy like a car and they drove it into the ditch and this is a very deep, steep ditch. And Joe and I and Ted, we had to put on our boots. We had to repel down and it's muddy down there and dusty and hot.

Somehow the Republicans they fled the scene. Now they are up on the street looking down and we call them down to help and they say that's all right. They're slipping slurpies. They're fanning themselves. They're saying you're not pushing hard enough.

Sometimes they kick dirt down into the ditch. Make it harder for us, but that's OK. We kept on pushing. We kept on pushing. We kept on pushing. Finally we got that car back on level ground. It's moving -- it's pointing in the right direction. It's a little banged up. It needs to go to the body shop. It needs a tune-up. It's pointing in the right direction and just as we're about to go we get a tap on our shoulders. We look back. Who is it? It's the Republicans.

They are saying we want the keys back. Cleveland, we can't give them the keys back. They don't know how to drive. You can't give them the keys back.

HENRY: OK, if I had a dime for every time I heard the president on the campaign trail tell that story about the Republicans in the ditch, I would be a very wealthy man.

It's become kind of an inside joke with the press corps and White House staff about how often the president uses it, but I have to tell you, even though we heard it before, each time it goes to a new city, it's the first time they've heard it and that slurpee line about Republicans sipping a slurpee is the biggest applause line of the president's speech.

He's even embellished it a little bit. I had a little detail last night in Chicago and you just heard it there as well, but the Republicans now not just sitting there, but kicking dirt on the car in the ditch. So there's the president getting fired up. We see him out there on the trail, but even if he does this after various rallies.

He's been getting briefings and updates by his chief Homeland Security adviser John Brennan who's been updating him on that situation with the packages sent from Yemen Thursday into Friday and became a big terror scare. Here in the U.S. and all around the world.

We're just getting this information into CNN that the suspect in Yemen who had been detained by authorities yesterday has now been released along with her mother. This is a Yemeni student who's been released, but we should point out. It's a conditional release.

The authorities have made clear they could bring her back as well as her mother back for more questioning at any time in the future. So we're watching that story even as we keep a close eye on this final run-up to the midterm election.

After the break, we'll have more information about the terror investigation and then we'll take you live all across the country in these final 48 hours going into the midterm election right here on "Ballot Bowl."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta. We'll get back to the "Ballot Bowl" in a moment.

But first, we're learning new information right now involving that terror plot in connection to those explosive devices that were found in plane cargo. We understand now that the two women who were arrested in Yemen in connection with the mailing or packaging of this plane cargo. We understand according to the father of the young woman who is also a college student who was studying engineering, the father says that the two women, the mother and the daughter, have actually been released. We'll try to get more information on the circumstances of their arrest and now possibly their release.

Meantime, other information we're receiving now, a high level official says the devices found Friday at two airports may have been flown on passenger airlines before one was detected aboard a cargo plane. The U.S. Transportation Security Administration is sending six inspectors to help improve cargo security in Yemen that's where the packages originated and officials say they believe this man that you're about to see right there, top al Qaeda bombmaker, Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri is connected to the plot.

We'll try to get the latest on the investigation now from Richard Quest in London. We know, Richard, the U.S. and Great Britain working very closely on this. What is the latest?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's not just the United States and the U.K., authorities in the UAE and Dubai and Abu Dhabi and all the Gulf States are also intimately involved in the investigation for a very good reason.

One of the devices ended up in Dubai, the HP printer that was stuffed with high explosives in what's described as a professional job of wiring. So actually it looked like a printer. It would have been very hard to actually detect through the screening process. That's in Dubai tonight.

Now, to this question of did one or other of the devices fly in a commercial plane, as a passenger plane, it looks likely the answer is a firm yes. Getting from Yemen to a Gulf State and beyond, we believe, we don't know which carrier whether it was Qatar Airways, some say it was. There's some confusion.

But, Fredricka, what does seem to be clear is that the screening process that is designed to detect suspicious items either wasn't carried out properly or was simply not up to the standards of this very professional explosive device.

WHITFIELD: All right. Richard, thanks so much. Now generally on passenger flights there is a rather more thorough screening of packages and luggage opposed to cargo flight. If a passenger plane was part of this equation, the question is where was the gap here in that screening process?

QUEST: That, of course, is the fascinating part. First of all, the TSA in the United States since August 1st has required domestically 100 percent of all cargo on passenger flights to be screened.

But internationally that's just about impossible to be implemented at the moment. It ain't going to happen. The resources simply aren't there. However, what they will be looking at those inspectors going to Yemen to advise is how they can beef up. Fredricka, the core thing to remember is beefing up the point of entry into the system and in this case that was Yemen.

WHITFIELD: All right. Richard Quest, thanks so much from London. Appreciate that. We'll check back with you throughout the day. Appreciate that.

Meantime, back in this country with only two days left until the midterm elections, President Obama and Vice President Biden are making the Democrats closing arguments this afternoon at a rally in Cleveland, Ohio.

There's the president there. We'll hear more of what he has to say in CNN's "Ballot Bowl" next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HENRY: I'm Ed Henry live on Capitol Hill. This is "Ballot Bowl." We're taking you coast to coast this final sprint leading up to the midterm election, so much at stake.

Next hour you're going to hear from both sides, Republican Christine O'Donnell, the Senate candidate in Delaware and also former President Bill Clinton, he's stumping today in Rhode Island, the big governor's race there.

But right now, President Obama making his final case in Cleveland.

(IN PROGRESS)

OBAMA: ... for decades to come. That's the reason so many of you knocked on doors and made phone calls and some cast your vote for the very first time.

It turns out as I said at the time, change isn't easy. Power can't seize nothing without a fight and so throughout the past 20 months we have been pushing and working and I've had a great partner in Joe Biden, couldn't have a better vice president.

And I've had a great partner, Ted Strickland, couldn't have a better governor than Ted. We've made progress, but I know that sometimes as we're grinding out this change and there are all the negative ads and pundits on TV. And there's still a lot of unemployment out here and sometimes people feeling discouraged and I know that some of the excitement of election night and inauguration day starts to fade.

Beyonce was singing. Bono was up there. That was fun. Now it seems like work all the time and then you see me on TV. He's getting really gray. Did you see that? Starting to look old, you know. But look. Look, look, but look, Cleveland, I want you to remember this.

Don't let anybody tell you this fight isn't worth it. Don't let anybody tell you you're not making a difference. Because of you, there's a woman somewhere in Ohio who no longer has to choose between losing her home and treating her cancer.

Because of you somewhere in Ohio there's a parent who can look their child in the eye and say, yes, you are going to college. We can afford it. Because of you, somewhere in Ohio there's a small business owner who kept their doors open in the depths of recession.

Because of you there are nearly 100,000 brave men and women who are no longer at war in Iraq because of you. Don't let them tell you that change isn't possible. Here's what I know. It's always been hard to bring about change in America. You know, think about it.

It this country was founded on hard. We started off as 13 colonies, had to battle the most powerful empire on earth. A lot of people said you can't do that and then they decided we're going to try a new form of government. And they said we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal and with certain rights that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

That idea had not been tried before. There was no certainty of success. They knew it was worth trying. Over decades they had to work to make that idea real, had to abolish slavery, had to win women the right to vote, had to win workers the right to organize. All of that change was hard.

Imagine if our parents, grandparents, great grandparents said this is too hard. I'm getting discouraged. What if they had just given up and people had been calling them names and worse and then said, we want do this. They said, yes we can. They understood -- they understood that the only thing that prevents us here in America from achieving our dreams, the only thing that might prevent us is if we don't try.

The only reason we are here is because past generations have been unafraid to push forward even in the face of difficulty, even in the face of uncertainty. That's how can he came through war. That's how we came through depression. That's why we have civil rights and workers rights and women's rights and that's the spirit we need today.

Cleveland, the journey we began together was never about just putting a president in the White House. It was about building a movement for change that endures. It was about realizing that in the United States of America, if we are willing to fight for it, if we're willing to work for it, if we believe in it, anything is possible.

So Cleveland, I need you to keep on fighting. I need to you to keep on believing and I need you to knock on some doors and talk to your neighbors and I need to talk to your friends. I need you to go early vote. I need you to get your friends to vote.

If you are willing to step up to the plate, Ted will win this election. Lee will win this election. We will restore our economy. We will rebuild our middle class and we'll reclaim the American dream for future generations. God bless you and God bless the United States of America.

HENRY: And there you heard President Obama making his final pitch in Cleveland. He's been holding these large rallies around the country. I've been at many of them with him, but interesting there in Cleveland. The Democratic National Committee is saying the crowd size is about 8,000 at Cleveland State, an arena that holds normally about 13,500, 8,000 much lower than some of the rallies.

Just last night for example, the DNC was saying he had about 35,000 people in Chicago. I was there. It was very, very large, obviously his home city, but Cleveland is a large city as well. Interesting an organizer there was telling a reporter on the ground that Halloween trick-or-treating is going on with families, church, other things going on Sunday. Maybe that kept the crowd size down.

But you certainly heard the president fired up. The vice president fired up as well as that crowd and as I toss to my co-anchor Jessica Yellin in Las Vegas, he's been trying to get out there and DNC is putting out a press release saying when you add up all of the rallies in recent weeks, the president had about 250,000 people show up at some of these big cities around the country, Jess.

YELLIN: Right. He has been able to turn out some large crowds. I know, when he was in Ohio earlier. It was largest crowd a few weeks ago the largest crowd he's had since the election. They have a very sophisticated ground game in Ohio their state party there is working hard, but interesting to note that that stadium is far from full.

Ed, we have so much more coming up. We want people to stay tuned because we have President Clinton on the campaign trail, Christine O'Donnell will be speaking and we'll be checking in with the Best Political Team in Television, our own folks who are getting ready for election night.

That's all ahead so stay with "Ballot Bowl."

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