ABC's 'This Week' Transcript (10-26-08)

Appearing on the program with George Stephanopoulos were SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, R-S.C., REP. RAHM EMANUEL, D-ILL., and JACK WELCH, FORMER CEO, GE. Read the complete transcript.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Heading into this final full week of the presidential campaign, Barack Obama is holding a steady lead. Our latest ABC News tracking poll shows him with a 9-point advantage over John McCain . One big reason -- fewer Americans now call themselves Republicans. Four years ago, the parties were even -- 37 percent of likely voters were Democrats; 37 Republicans. Today, Democrats are still at 37 percent, but Republicans have dropped to 29, the biggest gap in a generation.

With that, let me bring in our debaters this morning, two of the candidates’ closest friends and advisers. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. He’s actually in Iowa with John McCain today. And joining us in the studio, Congressman Rahm Emanuel . Welcome to you both.

Senator Graham, let me begin with you. As you saw in that poll there, the GOP brand has really taken a beating. How can you get them back in this final week without turning off moderates and independents?

GRAHAM: Well, I think the independent voter will decide the election, and Senator Obama doesn’t show much independence when it comes to saying no to the Democratic leadership since he’s been in Congress. His budgets increase spending, they increase taxes, and all Americans -- Republicans, Democrats and independents -- generally don’t like the idea of having taxes increased on anyone in a weak economy or making Washington larger.

So we have to make our case to the independent voter that John McCain is truly an independent, stood up to his own party, will keep your taxes low, and rein Washington spending in, and I think that’s a winning message for us. It’s not time to raise taxes or increase spending.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Congressman Emanuel, he raises the issue of taxes. Senator McCain and Governor Palin are also raising the prospect of having Democrats in control of the entire government. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, R-ARIZ.: We can’t have Obama, Pelosi, Reid running Washington and running our country.

GOV. SARAH PALIN, R-ALASKA: If big government spenders control the House and the Senate, and heaven forbid, the White House too, they will be unchecked.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANOPOULOS: Independents in our poll do say they would prefer to have Republicans in control of Congress and a divided government.

EMANUEL: First of all, this is a party that for six years run up the largest national debt, $4 trillion, under a Republican watch. When you had a Democratic president, we balanced the budget. The records are clear.

Second, there is a point here, and I think it’s a very, very important point, which is, in 2004, when Republicans won the White House, the House and the Senate, they went off and tried to prove their ideology by trying to privatize Social Security, and thank God Democrats stopped them. Second, they ran off on a tangent on Terry Schiavo, which the nation rejected.

The warning is to make sure you stay to your knitting and focus on the challenges facing this country and the middle-class families. Reforming energy to make sure you have independence and alternatives. Reforming health care to make sure you have cost control and expanded coverage. Reforming taxes so it’s simple and fair. Reforming regulatory oversight for the financial sector to make sure you have transparency and accountability.

If the Congress is known as the reform Congress, which I think the 111th will be known for, then we will have done our policy job and our political job. And the main problem, and why the country has rejected the Republicans and basically less people are identifying themselves in your poll as Republicans, George, is because the Republican Party has basically ran up a huge, $4 trillion nation debt; they have seen jobs be shredded, and we will be -- what the Republican record will be known for is an endless occupation and a jobless economy.

'Face The Nation' Transcript (10-26-08)

Campaign surrogates for Obama and McCain appeared on FTN with Bob Schieffer. Also appearing representing the 2 presidential candidates, Governor Tim Pawlenty and Governor Ed Rendell. Read the complete transcript.

SCHIEFFER: Well, when you talk about a stimulus package, are you talking about some sort of massive public works program like President Roosevelt put into effect during the Great Depression?

Or are you talking about something like we’ve seen recently where you just give people a check, a government check?

RUBIN; Bob, I would say it’s neither of the two, quite the way you described it. I think what we need to do is to have a very large program of -- and people have been talking -- some of the numbers around are $150 billion, perhaps more than that. And it should consist of -- and Senator Obama has talked a lot about this. In fact, he started talking about it a few months ago, and strongly advocated it, and I think rightly.

And it could consist of help for cities and states that are now running into difficulties, so they could continue with their programs.

It could have infrastructure in it, as long as the infrastructure is ready to go right now. Because these have to be programs that give you a very large return, in terms of economic demand relative to the cost, and also that go into effect very quickly.

But you could do all of that -- and it needs to be done in a very short period of time, in order to stimulate economic demand in a time of a weakening economy.

As I said a moment ago, it’s a measure that Senator Obama has been calling for, for a long time. And I think that you can combine that with the other kinds of measures I have just mentioned, and then an effective use of the remainder, which is the predominant part of that very large program that was put in place a little bit ago, $700 billion.

And I think you have an enormous aggregate of public policy. In addition, continued cooperation around the world is imperative.

[...]SCHIEFFER: All right. Well, Mr. Rubin, we want to thank you for joining us this morning.

We’re going to turn now to Douglas Holtz-Eakin, the McCain campaign senior policy adviser.

Let me just start where Mr. Rubin left off. Do you think it is going to be necessary to bail out, give more money to the auto industry?

HOLTZ-EAKIN: I think the top priority, the one that Senator McCain has endorsed, is to take the $25 billion that the Congress has already put out there for loans to build facilities for next- generation automobiles, the kinds of autos that will not only keep Detroit running but which will keep us from having to import so much oil, expose us to the dangers of international oil markets. That money needs to get out the door, and the top priority should be to get it out quickly, not take 18 months, which seems to be the current plan.

SCHIEFFER: What about Mr. Rubin’s idea that what we need is a big stimulus package, $150 billion? Where would McCain come down on that?

HOLTZ-EAKIN: I think if you step back, the real big difference in this crisis situation is sort of where do you place your faith? Do you place it in the institutions that have failed us, which quite frankly are in Washington and on Wall Street, or do you put the money in the places where we know we can get effective results? And John McCain has not advocated sticking the money into Wall Street banks and the like.

Let’s put the money into the housing market. That’s where this problem started. Let’s get people in mortgages they can afford. Let’s get the bad mortgages off the books, so there’s cash on those books and banks can make loans. And let’s take care of the small businesses.

A remarkable fact is that in this bad economy -- and let us stipulate that it is a very bad situation -- small businesses have created 331,000 jobs this year. Don’t raise taxes on them. Don’t make their lives harder. And, you know, let’s take care of the institutions, the small businesses, the home owners, that have been successful in America. And that’s the McCain strategy. SCHIEFFER: What about this idea, though, of a stimulus? Giving people a government check, some sort of a rebate? Or some sort of a public works project?

'FOX News Sunday' Transcript (10-26-08)

Tim Kaine, Democratic Governor of Virginia appeared FNS with Chris Wallace. Read the complete transcript. Also the usual appearance by Karl Rove.

WALLACE: Governor Kaine, Obama's running mate, Joe Biden, made a remarkable statement last Sunday. Let's listen to it.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

BIDEN: We're about to elect a brilliant 47-year-old president of the United States of America. Remember I said it standing here. If you don't remember anything else I said, watch, we're going to have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

WALLACE: Governor, here is his own running mate saying, "Elect Obama and expect an international crisis."

KAINE: Well, listen. If you ran that clip a little bit longer, what you would hear Senator Biden say is, "This is a guy who's got steel in his spine and he's up to the challenge."

I think the comment was pretty much what most Americans, frankly, understand, which is the world is going to throw a lot of challenges at whoever the next president is.

With two wars, significant challenges in energy and food prices, and economic challenge here at home, there are going to be major tests on inauguration day. I think this will be the most challenging inauguration day since FDR was inaugurated in March of 1933.

The issue, then, is if we know the next president will face challenges, let's make sure we put the right person in. And I go back to...

WALLACE: But, Governor...

KAINE: ... what General Powell said last week. You've got to pick somebody with very, very steady and sober judgment who has good people around him and can negotiate through very difficult times...

WALLACE: But, Governor, respectfully...

KAINE: ... and I think Senator Obama has demonstrated he is.

WALLACE: Governor, I know — I know that that's been the Obama camp spin — "Oh, well, he was saying any president — any new president will be tested." But that isn't what Biden said.

I mean, if you listen to it — and you're quite right, he did say that Obama has a spine of steel, but he also said, "Here's a 47-year- old guy and they're going to want to —" and I've got the quote, "that if you don't remember anything else I said, we're going to have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy," not the new president, this guy.

KAINE: Well, and that — you know, and that is, Chris, what all Americans are wrestling with as they make their choices for president. They want to have somebody who's got the right judgment to steer our economy back in a positive direction and deal with these international challenges.

And again, as General Powell said last week, on both the steadiness in dealing with these economic challenges and the capacity, really, to be a great leader on the world stage — I think Senator Obama has demonstrated to the American people that he's ready to take on that mantle at a very difficult time.

Even the hardcore Republican Rove admits McCain is in trouble.

ROVE: Yeah. And from Thursday — last Thursday was the most recent map before this one, and from Thursday there were 46 individual state polls in less than 48 hours, and they moved Indiana from being toss-up into the Obama column, giving him his largest lead thus far this campaign.

In order to — in order for McCain to win, he's got a very steep hill to climb. He's got to win all of the toss-up states, 64 electoral votes, all the yellow-shaded states on the map.

Then he needs to strip away Ohio and Indiana with 31 electoral votes to get him to 252. And then he needs to either win Colorado and Virginia, which gets him to 274, or win one of them plus Pennsylvania, which would get him to 282 or 286. It's a steep uphill climb.

John McCain on Meet The Press: Transcript (10-26-08)

Read the complete transcript.

MR. BROKAW: Senator, in the last of the presidential debates moderated by Bob Schieffer, you drew greater distinction between yourself and George Bush. You said, "I am not George Bush." And then this past week in The Washington Times, a newspaper in Washington, this was the account, "Senator John McCain blasted President Bush for building a mountain of debt for future generations, failing to pay for expanding Medicare, and abusing executive powers, leveling his strongest criticism to date of the administration whose unpopularity may be dragging the Republican Party to the brink of a massive electoral defeat.

"`We just let things get completely out of hand,' he said of his own party's rule in the last eight years." But then we have an account of you on MEET THE PRESS going back to June 2005.

SEN. McCAIN: Yes.

MR. BROKAW: And this is what you had to say about your relationship with President Bush at that time.

(Videotape, June 19, 2005):

SEN. McCAIN: The fact is that I'm different, but the fact is that I have agreed with President Bush far more than I have disagreed. And on the transcendent issues, the most important issues of our day, I have been totally in agreement and support of President Bush. So I strongly disagree with any assertion that I've been more at odds with the president of the United States than I have been in agreement with.

(End videotape)

(Videotape, March 5, 2008):

SEN. McCAIN: Well, I'm very honored and humbled to have the opportunity to receive the endorsement of the president of the United States, a man who I have great admiration, respect and affection. I intend to have as much possible campaigning events and--together as--in keeping with the president's heavy schedule, and I look forward to that opportunity.

(End videotape)

MR. BROKAW: Senator McCain, both in tone and language, you are very close with President Bush in those appearances. The Congressional Quarterly did a review of your votes, 92 percent of the time you voted with President Bush. So it's a little hard for the public to separate you from this administration, isn't it?

SEN. McCAIN: Well, it may be the way you describe it. And, by the way, the last interview that I did with The Washington Times, of course I've been repeating for the last eight years that the spending was out of control. That's why I voted against these projects--these pork barrel spending. I was the harshest critic of the failed strategy in Iraq and pointed it out in hearing after hearing and fought against it. I've supported action to address climate change, from--since 2000 and said we've got to do something about it. There were sharp disagreements there. There were a number of disagreements on general overall philosophy. I am a Republican. I respect the president of the United States. Of course we let spending get completely out of control, and I've been talking about it for a long, long period of time.

Now, I know how it is on this show. You show various segments and comments that we make thousands of, and I understand that. But the fact is I am not George Bush. The fact is that I was not popular within my own party. The fact is that when I said that we were failing in Iraq and we were going to lose, I was criticized by Republicans. The fact is when I did campaign finance reform with Russ Feingold, I was opposed by my own party and my own president. So do we share a common philosophy of the Republican Party? Of course. But I've, I've stood up against my party, not just President Bush, but others; and I've got the scars to prove it, including taking up, with Ted Kennedy, immigration reform, knowing full well that that was going to hurt my chances in the primaries. So I could go down a long list of issues with you.

Do I respect President Bush? Of course I respect him. But I pointed out we were on the wrong track in a whole lot of ways, including a $10 trillion deficit, including saying we got to rein in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and, and propose legislation to try to fix it before that triggered the housing collapse, including today when I'm saying they should be going out and buying up these mortgages and giving people mortgages that they can afford rather than bailing out the banks.

SNL Spoof Michelle and Barack Obama: Transcript, Video (10-25-08)

Saturday Night Live continues it's parody of the presidential election. This week SNL parodies Obama's purhased 30 minute network time. Read excerpt below. Read the transcript of more of the show.

FRED ARMISEN AS SEN. BARACK OBAMA -- "Good evening, my fellow Americans. I am
Barack Obama and this is my wife Michelle. This coming Wednesday, our campaign
will run a special thirty-minute address on all four major networks.

MAYA RUDOLPH AS MICHELLE OBAMA - "This airtime was initially purchased so that
we could speak to you one last time about the issues."
ARMISEN AS OBAMA - "However, with poll numbers putting us so far ahead - we
decided now's the time to play it safe.

RUDOLPH - "Instead of a conventional address, we're going to carefully manage
our lead and well, shake things up. .

(THE LIGHTS COME UP ON STAGE. THERE IS A LARGE SILVER "O" ON THE FLOOR OF THE
STAGE)

ARMISEN AS OBAMA - "With the 'Barack Obama Variety Half-Hour!' It's time to
have some fun.

RUDOLPH AS MICHELLE OBAMA - "Because we got a lead in the polls and we built it
up."

ARMISEN AS OBAMA - "We built it up."

RUDOLPH AS MICHELLE OBAMA - "We built it up."

ARMISEN/RUDOLPH (TO THE TUNE OF "SOLID" BY ASHFORD & SIMPSON)
"AND NOW IT'S SOLID,
SOLID AS BARACK,
THAT'S WHAT THIS LEAD IS,
THAT'S WHAT WE GOT,GOT, GOT, GOT, GOT"

ARMISEN AS OBAMA - "All your favorites from the campaign will be stopping by for
songs and skits. Including House Democrats, Barney Frank, Nancy Pelosi, and
Rahm Emmanuel.

KRISTEN WIIG AS PELOSI (TO THE TUNE OF: C.S.N.Y.'s "OUR HOUSE"):

"OUR HOUSE, IS A VERY, VERY FINE HOUSE,
WHEN THE REPUBLICANS WERE IN CHARGE"

ANDY SAMBERG AS EMMANUEL/BOBBY MOYNIHAN AS FRANK:
"LIFE USED TO BE SO HARD"

WIIG AS PELOSI:
"NOW EVERYTHING IS EASY,
'CAUSE OF YOU"

ARMISEN AS OBAMA
And of course, a party is never complete without Bill Clinton.

DARRELL HAMMOND AS CLINTON:
(SINGING TO THE TUNE OF SIMPLE MINDS' "DON'T YOU FORGET ABOUT ME")

"DON'T YOU FORGET ABOUT ME,
DON'T, DON'T, DON'T, DON'T"

ARMISEN AS OBAMA - It's been a long campaign, so let's have some good
old-fashioned fun with Senator Joe Biden.

SUDEIKIS AS BIDEN - "Thanks for inviting me to dinner, Barack."

ARMISEN AS OBAMA - "So, Joe, I'm gonna ask, why did you say that if I was
elected a foreign power would test me with an international crisis? Hey, what
are you eating?"

SUDEIKIS AS BIDEN - "Oh this? (HOLDS UP A RUBBER FOOT) It's my foot...in my
mouth!"

(THEY LAUGH LONG AND HARD)

ARMISEN AS OBAMA - "You'll even see Reverend Jeremiah Wright and University of
Illinois at Chicago, Professor Bill Ayers."

(TO THE TUNE OF: "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley)

KENAN THOMPSON AS REV. WRIGHT (with BILL HADER as AYERS on keyboards):

WHITE DEVILS BE CRAZY!
WHITE DEVILS BE CRAZY!

RUDOLPH AS MICHELLE OBAMA - "And some serious moments like Barack meeting the
spirit of John F. Kennedy."

JON HAMM AS THE SPIRIT OF JFK - "Barack Obama. Over the years there have been
many pretenders in the Democratic Party but you truly are the heir to my
legacy."
HAMMOND AS CLINTON - "Guys, I'm standing right here."

ARMISEN AS OBAMA - "Bill Clinton, everybody!"

RUDOLPH AS OBAMA - "So join us this Wednesday for the 'Barack Obama Variety Half
Hour.' I promise it will be...