CBS' 'Face The Nation' Transcript (11-2-08)

Campaign surrogates David Axelrod and Lindsay Graham appeared on FTN with Bob Schieffer. Read the complete transcript.

SCHIEFFER: If Obama does win, what do you think the one thing will be that tipped it toward Barack Obama?

Mr. AXELROD: Well, I mean, I think that we started with the theory of the case, which is that we really need change from the Bush policies, that they've led us in the wrong direction here and abroad and that we need a new direction; and not just in our policies, but in our politics, that we had to get beyond the big divisions in our country and start actually solving problems. One of the heartening things about what's going on right now, Bob, is that we're campaigning in states that were so-called red states. We're spending all our time there because we feel we have a chance to win many of them. And one of the things that we wanted to do from the beginning was shatter this red state/blue state paradigm and emphasize the fact that we have a common--we have a common destiny, common interests, and we have to work together to solve these things. So it would be a healthy thing if we could do well in these states on Tuesday.

SCHIEFFER: Well, let's talk about one that the Democrats won the last time, and that is Pennsylvania. John McCain...

Mr. AXELROD: Mm-hmm.

SCHIEFFER: ...and Sarah Palin have spent a lot of time in Pennsylvania. They still believe that they can take it, that Pennsylvania would be key if they do put together a coalition that gets them to 270 votes. What do you think about Pennsylvania right now?

Mr. AXELROD: Well, I agree that it would be a key. I think it's a state that we've both worked very hard to win. I feel good about what I see in Pennsylvania, starting with the fact that we have a registration edge that's twice as large as we had four years ago. It went from 300,000 in favor of Democrats to 600,000. So that right away gives me encouragement. But everything we see from the state is encouraging. And I know that there've been a couple of late polls that suggest otherwise, but I've seen many more that work in our direction. And beyond which I just feel, based on the organization we have on the ground, the reaction that we're getting, that we're going to do very well in Pennsylvania. We're going to work really hard at it. And we've got great supporters like Ed Rendell and Bob Casey and others working day and night there for us. But I feel good about Pennsylvania. That's a state, Bob, that's felt the lash of these Bush economic policies very, very harshly, and they understand we can't keep doing the same thing. We can't keep doing the same trickle-down deregulation policies that have really led us into a ditch and that John McCain wants to continue. They know that. I think they're going to come out for Barack Obama on Tuesday.

SCHIEFFER: Do you really believe these polls that--we hear all this stuff about the Bradley effect. Do you believe, David, that there is a Bradley effect, and that is people telling pollsters one thing and then going into the voting booth and doing something else when a minority candidate is on the ticket?

Mr. AXELROD: Look, I don't want--I don't know about 1982, when that happened in California. There are a lot of pollsters who tell you that was sort of an illusory interpretation. But--and I--and I don't deny that there are some voters who are motivated by race yet in our country. But the big story is not how much race has been a factor, but how little it's been a factor. We're--I mentioned we're in Springfield here. This is not a very racially diverse area, and yet, you know, 40,000 people out last night. I think people are recognizing that we have bigger issues in this country to tackle and they're--they affect all of us, and they want to come together and solve these problems. In the primaries, Bob, I--we didn't see any of that. In fact, we never under polled our number in any primary that I can think of. And so I see no reason to believe that's going to happen on Tuesday, and I think it'll be good to shatter that myth once and for all.

SCHIEFFER: All right, David Axelrod, thank you so much.

Mr. AXELROD: Thanks for having me.

Meet The Press Transcript (11-2-08)

Read the complete transcript.

MR. BROKAW: All right. Thanks, Chuck. We'll see you later on MEET THE PRESS in our roundtable.

We're joined now by former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson, who has been a surrogate and an advocate for his friend John McCain.

I hope you understand the spirit in which I say this, but when I was a kid hanging around Bud's pool hall, you're the kind of guy I thought I probably would encounter. So you, you know the meaning of the phrase "run the table."

FMR. SEN. FRED THOMPSON (R-TN): I've heard of it, yes.

MR. BROKAW: Your senator have to run the table?

SEN. THOMPSON: Well, he has to get several of these, these battleground states, there's no question about it. Some people liken it to an inside straight. I think that's probably making it too tough, tougher than it is. It looks to me like it pretty much boils down to the undecided vote, which a lot of experts think will break heavily for John McCain. If they're decided, they're probably already for Obama. And so he's got a shot. He's, he's closing. I think the direction things are going in is, is equally important as where the numbers are today. And the direction is, is--they've been pretty much--seems to be going in John's direction.

I've been in Ohio and Pennsylvania recently and I've seen the turnout. I think Sarah Palin had about 25,000 in rural Missouri the other day. The enthusiasm is tremendous. People are really focusing now on what's at stake. And John's a closer, he always has been. He often is given up for dead, you know, literally and politically. People have been wrong about him before. He's in his element now, and he's, he's feeling good about it. So I would not count him out by any stretch of the imagination. I think the, the election is yet to be decided.

MR. BROKAW: The Economist has described a group of voters that has crossed over to vote for John McCain. They call them "Obamacans." These are disaffected Republicans and Libertarians. A couple of very prominent conservative columnists have commented on all this. We want to share with our viewers this morning what Charles Krauthammer in The Washington Post had to say on Friday.

"The National security choice in this election is no contest. The domestic policy choice is more equivocal because it is ideological. McCain is the quintessential center-right candidates. Yet the quintessential center-right country is poised to reject him. The hunger for anti-Republican catharsis and the blinding promise of Obamian hope are simply too strong. The reckoning," he says, "will come in the morning."

And then Michael Gerson, who was a speechwriter for President Bush said, "Yet there is little doubt, given a likely (though not certain) McCain defeat, that the conservative movement would enter a period of intense soul-searching. The issues that have provided conservatives with victories in the past - particularly welfare and crime - have been rendered irrelevant by success. The issues of the moment - income stagnation, climate disruption, massive demographic shifts and health-care access - seem a strange, unexplored land for many in the movement. And McCain, though a past reformer, did little to reaffirm that reputation during his campaign."

The senator is at the head of a ticket in a--of a party that's been in power eight years now. The president, who's the head of that party, has historically low approval ratings. The country is saying, 85 percent, we're off on the wrong track. Isn't he swimming against a tsunami?

SEN. THOMPSON: Yeah. Yeah. He is--he's going into the strongest headwinds that I've ever seen for a candidate in a presidential race. Some might say that it's, it's amazing that he has a chance to win this race. You mentioned the factors, plus the fact that in this country, you know, we swing the pendulum. We, we have one side in for a while and then another side in for a while. The president gets credit or blame for anything that's happening. We know the numbers, we know the generic ballot and all those kinds of things, and then, you know, shortly before the election, the bottom seems to drop out of the economy. I mean, just to, you know--in case we hadn't gotten the point yet, it seems, that fate's playing with us. So, yeah, it's, it's remarkable. We nominated the, the only fellow that'll have a chance, I think, under these circumstances. And it's because of, of several things. But, but because of the character of, of the man. Here is a guy who has spent his entire life demonstrating courage, honor, dedication, duty, putting his country first, sacrifice. Someone who has been willing to stand up to power, whether it be Democratic or Republican power, whose entire life has equipped him to be the leader of the free world. Charles is right about the national security part. It's really no question. Here's a man who has been involved one way or another in the major issues facing this country for the last 25 years.

On the other hand, you have a fellow who is the most inexperienced and least qualified from a national security standpoint of any Democratic candidate I've seen in my lifetime.

Sarah Palin Gets Punked by Canadian Radio Comedians (Audio)

Listen as Sarah Palin gets duped by canadian radio station hosts posing as French President Sarkozy. Palin shows what a dope she really is. How does a campaign allow a vice-presidential candidate be conned this way. This is without a doubt the most incompetent presidential ticket in American history.

McCain on Saturday Night Live: Video, Transcript (11-1-08)

John McCain spoofs himself on SNL with Tina Fey playing Sarah Palin again. Transcript and video below (Transcript for McCain's 'Weekend Update' segment):

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN - "Good evening, my fellow Americans, I'm John McCain.

TINA FEY AS GOV. SARAH PALIN - "And, you know, I'm just Sarah Palin."

MCCAIN - "The final days of any election are the most essential. This past Wednesday, Barack Obama purchased airtime on three major networks. We, however, can only afford QVC."

FEY AS PALIN - "These campaigns sure are expensive. (She strokes the rich fabric of her jacket's lapel)

MCCAIN - "They sure are. So tonight, we come before you to give you some final remarks on our campaign."

FEY AS PALIN - "And, as part of our agreement with the QVC folks, we're gonna try and sell you some stuff."

MCCAIN - "This has been an historic campaign, so why not remember it with our line of collectible products. Such as ten commemorative plates that celebrates the ten Town Hall debates between Senator Obama and myself. They're blank, he wouldn't agree to those debates. Too bad. They're still nice plates.

FEY AS PALIN - "And who wouldn't want the complete set of limited edition 'Joe' action figures? There's 'Joe the Plumber,' 'Joe Six-Pack,' and my personal favorite, 'Joe Biden.' If you pull this cord, he talks for forty-five minutes.

(SHE pulls cord)

JASON SUDEIKIS AS SEN. BIDEN (O.C.) -- "I take the Amtrak to work every day. Then -- after work -- I take it home. Let me tell you something about Joe Biden..."

MCCAIN - "It's great if you want to clear out a party."

FEY AS PALIN - "Or keep deer out of your yard."

MCCAIN - "But we're not just here to sell products. We're here with a message. We are at a crossroads in American history. The leadership of the next four years will have many challenges and I believe my experience and my leadership will make a difference.

FEY AS PALIN - "Also too - sorry -- I need to remind you that there are just two minutes left in our 'Washington outsider jewelry extravaganza.'"

MCCAIN - "Are you someone who likes fine jewelry and also respects a politician who can reach across the aisle? If so, you can't go wrong with McCain Fine Gold.

(CINDY MCCAIN displays the "McCain Fine Gold" like a game show model)

MCCAIN (CONT'D) - "It commemorates the McCain Feingold Act -- and also looks great with evening wear. Thank you, Cindy."

FEY AS PALIN - "And what busy hockey mom wouldn't want to freshen up her home with Sarah Palin's 'Ayers Fresheners.' You plug these into the wall when something doesn't quite smell quite right. Also too, it's good because it reminds people about William Ayers."

MCCAIN - "Having trouble cutting through a tough piece of pork? Not anymore, with John McCain's complete set of pork knives. 'They Cut The Pork Out!'"

FEY AS PALIN - "So instead of going to one of those elite department stores with their liberal agendas and over-priced items and their gotcha return policies that violate your First Amendment rights, why not do your holiday shopping with us? (SHE turns to a different camera) Okay, listen up everybody, I am goin' rogue right now so keep your voices down. Available now, we got a buncha' these 'Palin in 2012' T-shirts. Just try and wait until after Tuesday to wear 'em okay? Because I'm not goin' anywhere. And I'm certainly not goin' back to Alaska. If I'm not goin' to the White House, I'm either runnin' in four years or I'm gonna be a white Oprah so, you know, I'm good either way."

MCCAIN - "What's going on over there, Sarah?"

FEY AS PALIN - "Oh...just talkin' about taxes." (SHE winks)

MCCAIN - "Look, would I rather be on three major networks? Of course, but I'm a true maverick -- a Republican without money. And I'm not like my opponent; my only showbiz connections are Jon Voight and Heidi from 'The Hills.' So, I'm here on QVC, and like QVC, this campaign promises you three things: quality, value and convenience."

FEY AS PALIN - "And great deals on juicers."

MCCAIN - "So when you go to the polls on Tuesday remember, 'Country First,' as a reminder all undergarments are non-refundable and Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!!!