Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill on Democratic Divide
BLITZER: Most of the polls have now closed in Indiana. Some of the polls remain open, but the first raw numbers are now coming in, and trickling in. A very, very small percentage, less than 1 percent of the numbers are in. But we will show them to you as they're coming in. Right now, with less than 1 percent, a lot less than one percent, Clinton with 66 percent, Obama 34 percent in Indiana. If you take a look at the hard numbers, 2,421 for Hillary Clinton, 1,262 for Barack Obama. Remember, though, this is very, very early. The polls in all of Indiana will be closed at the top of the hour. They will all be closed in North Carolina at 7:30 p.m. Eastern, a half-an-hour after that. All right, so, stand by. We're watching the numbers come in. You will see them come in at the bottom of your screen. And we're also getting more information on what the voters are actually thinking. Our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider, is keeping track of the exit polls. You have got more numbers, Bill. What are we seeing?</s>SCHNEIDER: We're seeing something we haven't seen in any of the earlier Democratic primaries. Namely, the red/blue culture divide in the country is now dividing the Democratic Party, as Hillary Clinton adopts more populist cultural values and also supports a tax cut that John McCain also supports. Take a look at the vote among liberal and moderate and conservative Democrats in Indiana. The more liberal the Democrats, the better Obama does. He carries liberal Democrats. He splits moderate Democrats with Hillary Clinton. Conservative Democrats, and there are a significant number of them -- almost 20 percent of the Democrats in Indiana call themselves conservatives -- they are voting for Hillary Clinton, not for Obama. Look at the pattern in North Carolina, liberal Democrats for Barack Obama, moderate Democrats, too, a little bit less. Conservative Democrats are voting for Hillary Clinton. This is the red/blue divide that has just come up in the Democratic Party. It's affected the country, and now it is dividing the Democratic Party, as one of the candidates, Hillary Clinton, adopts a more populist political style and message -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: All right. Stand by. I know you're going through more numbers, Bill. We will be back with you shortly. Let's talk about this and let's talk about what's going on with a key supporter for Senator Barack Obama. Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri is joining us now live. What do you make of this divide that seems to be taking place within the Democratic Party right now, Senator?</s>SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL (D), MISSOURI: Well, first of all, I don't trust exit polls. They have been wrong in every single contest. And if the top number is wrong, then you have got to question all the data underneath it. Secondly, I think that there certainly has been a rough couple of weeks for Senator Obama, but if this is about the superdelegates, Wolf, in the last two weeks, Barack Obama has won the contest with superdelegates. In fact, he's been winning the contest with superdelegates since the 1st of February. There has been nothing that has stopped a 5-1 ratio of superdelegates going to Barack Obama since Hillary Clinton has won primaries, since the Reverend Wright said those outrageous things. Continually, the superdelegates are coming to Barack Obama. And I think, tonight, we will define success by who wins the most delegates.</s>BLITZER: And, if we see a continue the split, though, between now and June 3, when the final primaries are now scheduled, and no one by then has that magic number of 2,025, potentially, Senator, this could go all the way to the convention at the end of August.</s>MCCASKILL: No, I don't think it can. I think that the math is unforgiving. Two plus two does not equal five. I think that, once the primary season is over, you're going to have most of the superdelegates will have decided. We're down to only about 250 superdelegates left out of almost 900. And, you know, at this point, I think we will have a decision in June. And I think a lot of these Democrats, regardless of how they feel right now -- and there's some passionate support for Hillary Clinton, as there is for Barack Obama -- but as we turn our attention to John McCain, and we look at the economics that are going on in this country right now, and we look at foreign policy, I think that our nominee is going to be in a very strong position once this nomination is decided.</s>BLITZER: Senator, as you know, there are a lot of angry Democrats right now in Michigan and in Florida who feel they have been disenfranchised, no fault of their own, but because of politicians, if you will. And they could take it out on the Democrats in November. Is there any way you could see that these Democrats in Michigan and Florida will have a say in determining and selecting the party's nominee?</s>MCCASKILL: Well, all of us look forward to cheering our nominee with the delegates from Florida and Michigan. And all of us are confident that that will happen. We just have to make sure that we don't change the rules in the middle of the contest. The voters in Florida and Michigan are not at fault here. It was the leaders of their party that decided to go ahead and break the rules, and they knew when they were doing it they were breaking the rules. And we have got to play by the rules. After all, that is what our country is about. A democracy is about having rules for elections and following them. But all of us want them to be included. All of us want them to be seated, and they will be. It's just going to probably not be determined how or when until more of these primaries take place.</s>BLITZER: I spoke with your colleague, Evan Bayh of Indiana -- he's a supporter of Hillary Clinton -- in the last hour, and I asked him, why not let the Florida and Michigan voters have their say? They have scheduled primaries August 5 in Michigan, August 26 in Florida, still in time, potentially, at least, before the end of the Democratic Convention at the end of August. Would you be open to letting those already-scheduled primaries include a question about Hillary Clinton vs. Barack Obama on the ballot?</s>MCCASKILL: Well, I think it's premature to make those kinds of predictions as to whether or not that's a good idea or a bad idea. It may very well be that one of our nominees has the 2,024 before that.</s>BLITZER: Obviously. But, assuming neither does, would you be open, as Senator Bayh is open, and he said he was speaking only for himself, not for the Clinton campaign, to letting Democrats vote, people in Michigan and Florida vote on August 5 and August 26, respectively, so that their vote could count in selecting your party's nominee?</s>MCCASKILL: We will figure out some way to make sure that Michigan and Florida are seated on the convention floor. And, frankly, I hope they have the best seat in the house. I don't know how we're going to figure it out, Wolf, but we will figure it out. And I trust the Democratic Party, along with Senator Clinton and Senator Obama, to find the solution, so that those people are included. They should be.</s>BLITZER: Would that be better than having an all-out credentials floor fight at the convention?</s>MCCASKILL: It would certainly be better, not for you guys, but it certainly would be better for the Democratic Party for us to decide our nominee before the convention. We have got to get busy. We have got to remind the people in America that John McCain is four more years of George Bush.</s>BLITZER: And you admit you have got to make sure that those voters in Michigan and Florida don't feel alienated, so that they will come out and vote, from your perspective, for the Democrat, whoever that would be.</s>MCCASKILL: No question about it. I think we do have to reach out. I think we do have to make them feel included. I think that's very important. But, at the end of the day, Wolf, they're just as upset about the war in Iraq. They're just as upset about an economy that's left everybody but the very wealthy behind. They're just as upset about gas prices. And, frankly, I think that we can convince them that the Democratic Party is where they need to be this year. I think we do need to reach out to them, and that will happen in time.</s>BLITZER: I wrote about this on my blog at CNNPolitics.com. Senator, thanks very much for coming in.</s>MCCASKILL: Thank you.</s>BLITZER: The Reverend Wright factor -- exit polls tell us how Democrats feel about the impact of Obama's former pastor. And would Clinton voters support Obama if he's the nominee in November? And what about Obama supporters if she's the nominee? How committed are they to voting for the Democrats if their guy or gal doesn't get the nomination? The best political team on television is standing by.