Moore Wants Caroline Kennedy for V.P.
BLITZER: She's heir to one of the country's richest political legacies. But Caroline Kennedy has largely stayed out of politics -- until now. She's playing a key role in Barack Obama's campaign and some are even suggesting a bigger role if he's elected president. Mary Snow is working this story for us. All right, Mary, what exactly is Caroline Kennedy up to?</s>MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, she's been discreetly vetting vice presidential choices for Barack Obama. And some say for Caroline Kennedy, it's a sort of coming out on the political scene.</s>SNOW (voice-over): Caroline Kennedy is one of a few people to have Barack Obama's ear when it comes to choosing a vice president. She is tight-lipped about being a member of Obama's search committee, but she's been very vocal about her support for Obama. It's a new role for President Kennedy's only surviving child, who's known for shunning the spotlight. (</s>BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM FEBRUARY 3) CAROLINE KENNEDY, OBAMA SUPPORTER: I'm here today because I have never had a candidate who inspires me the way people say that my father inspired them. But I do now.</s>SNOW: But filmmaker Michael Moore says he is inspired by her and wants her to be Obama's V.P. In an open letter, he calls on her to, in his words, "pull a Cheney" -- referring to Dick Cheney, who vetted V.P. choices for George Bush but then wound up as vice president.</s>TED SORENSEN, FORMER JOHN F. KENNEDY ADVISER: There's no chance that Caroline is going to pick herself.</s>SNOW: Ted Sorenson, former adviser to President Kennedy and an early Obama supporter, says he helped introduce Caroline Kennedy to Obama. He says the fact she is even involved in this campaign is significant.</s>SORENSEN: Now, Caroline, Caroline, who prefers family life, who guards her privacy was willing to step out and endorse a candidate after all these years. That had impact.</s>SNOW: Kennedy has campaigned before. She's also been active in the New York City school system, heads the Kennedy library, has authored books and is a lawyer. But long-time friend, Greg Craig, who also works for the Obama campaign, says Kennedy's January endorsement of Obama opened a new chapter.</s>GREG CRAIG, KENNEDY FAMILY FRIEND: I think her coming out as a political person was when she endorsed Senator Obama and went on the stump for him.</s>SNOW: Some observers are watching to see how much of a political person Caroline Kennedy will be.</s>WILLIAM KEYLOR, BOSTON UNIVERSITY: I think the big question will be whether, if he wins, she will actually join the administration or whether she will, perhaps, seek out a political career of her own.</s>SNOW: And Caroline Kennedy declined a request for an interview. Expect to see her Monday night, when she's slated to speak at the Democratic Convention. And a campaign spokeswoman says after that, Kennedy will be back out campaigning for Obama -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Thanks very much, Mary, for that. Barack Obama today addressed voters' concerns that things are going wrong with America. He also said flatly where he thinks John McCain is wrong. The Democratic candidate spoke in Martinsville, Virginia. Listen to this.</s>SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESUMPTIVE NOMINEE: And 80 percent of the country says the country is going in the wrong direction. Eighty percent. So I think -- I think people are shaken out of their apathy. The problem goes back to what I said before. I think people have gotten so cynical that they're not sure the Democrats are going to fix it anymore than the Republicans. And, look, I mean John McCain, let's face it, he's got a compelling biography. He's a POW. And so that's what people kind of think about, instead of focusing on the fact that he wants to continue the same economic policies that George Bush has been doing for the last eight years. So my job in this election is to say I honor his service, but I don't honor his policies and I don't honor his politics. And we need a change. Now my second job is to is to give people confidence that we, as Democrats, that we're going to do the job. So we've got to, you know, we've got to do a better job of listening to the American people and working on behalf of the American people. Not everybody in Washington who's tied up with special interests are Republicans. Heaven forbid, but it turns out that Democrats are getting big campaign contributions, too, and sometimes aren't looking out for the interests of ordinary Americans. And so that's why we've got to change the culture in Washington. And change is hard. But part of what this campaign has been about is convincing people -- you know what, I don't make promises I can't keep. I'm not going to say that every job is going to come back to Martinsville just because I'm elected president. I'm not saying that suddenly all of the schools will be fixed. But what I can do is I can say I'm going to wake up every day thinking about you and thinking about how to make your life a little bit better. And if you can trust me to do that and I'm and I'm organizing a bunch of smart people like Mark Warner to come up with innovative ideas, that will give you a little bit of a fighting chance, that will make your life a little bit better. You're still going to have to work hard. You're still going to have to sacrifice. We're still going to have some struggles. But if I can make things a little bit easier for you and you can trust me to do that, that that's the reason I'm in politics, that's my orientation, I think we can convince enough people to win this election and then we can convince even more people to start doing the work.</s>BLITZER: We're also going to be hearing what John McCain has been saying today. That's coming up just ahead, as well. It's an area in the Gulf of Mexico and it's called the dead zone. Nothing can live there. No fish can survive. What caused it? Why are scientists so worried? Plus, disaster of a different kind -- thousands of homes in Florida flooded as a drenching storm stalls out.