Nothing for Granted: Obama's New Hampshire Lesson; Battleground: Colorado; Warren Buffett: 'Be Greedy'
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And happy Friday, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. Just 18 days stand between you and the voting booth. Who will get the last laugh?</s>SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And we've talked about it. I told him, maverick I can do, but messiah is above my pay grade.</s>SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Contrary to the rumors that you've heard, I was not born in a manger. I was actually born on Krypton and sent here by my father Jorel to save the planet Earth.</s>HARRIS: Well, they have been poked, ribbed, and jabbed. Now the presidential candidates zing themselves. A political roast on our menu this hour in the CNN NEWSROOM. So let's get to it. The presidential candidates aren't joking around today. It is back to campaigning in key states as the campaign hits the home stretch. John McCain holds a rally in Miami next hour. Florida, one of the biggest battlegrounds. And this hour Barack Obama is on the trail in Virginia. We will take you there live when it begins. Obama trying to become the first Democratic presidential candidate to win Virginia in 44 years. Suzanne Malveaux, part of the best political team on television, she is with the Obama campaign in Roanoke, Virginia. And Suzanne, after a night of laughs at the Al Smith charity dinner in New York, it really is back to the sprint, isn't it?</s>SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It definitely is back to business, Tony. And you bring up a very good point. This really is an ambitious thing for Barack Obama to try to do. Essentially, it's been more than four decades since they could get a Democrat to actually win this state for the presidency, but they believe that they possibly can. He is taking his economic message here. He is reaching out to some of the conservative areas. He is also reaching out to Independents. That is why we followed him yesterday to New Hampshire. Forty- four percent of the electorate in that state are actually Independents.</s>MALVEAUX (voice-over): Despite a strong debate performance and increasing leads in national and key battleground state polls, Barack Obama says he's taking nothing for granted.</s>OBAMA: We are 19 days away from changing this country. Nineteen days away. But for those who are getting a little cocky, I've got two words for you: New Hampshire.</s>MALVEAUX: New Hampshire delivered Obama a stinging and startling defeat in its January 8th primary. Polls predicted Obama would be the clear winner after his victory in Iowa, but New Hampshire chose Hillary Clinton as the favorite.</s>SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D-NY), FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I listened to you, and in the process, I found my own voice.</s>MALVEAUX: New Hampshire give Clinton the comeback she needed to revive her campaign, just like her husband's second-place finish here in 1992.</s>WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you very much.</s>MALVEAUX: The state known for its fiercely independent voters also saved John McCain's campaign in 2000 against George W. Bush, and put him ahead of the Republican pack this primary season. At an apple orchard in Londonderry, Obama spoke directly to them.</s>OBAMA: New Hampshire, it is time to turn the page on eight years of economic policies that put Wall Street before Main Street, but ended up hurting both.</s>MALVEAUX: Obama also seized on pivotal moments from his final debate with McCain.</s>MCCAIN: My old buddy Joe... ... "Joe the Plumber"... ... people like "Joe the Plumber." To "Joe the Plumber," Joe, you're rich. Congratulations.</s>MALVEAUX: He poked fun at McCain for repeatedly addressing a plumber Obama met on the campaign trail.</s>OBAMA: He's trying to suggest that a plumber is the guy he's fighting for.</s>OBAMA: How many plumbers do you know making $250,000 a year?</s>MALVEAUX: And Obama continued to press that McCain would be no different than President Bush.</s>OBAMA: I'm not running against George Bush. I'm running against all those policies of George Bush that you support, Senator McCain.</s>MALVEAUX: Obama's campaign launched a new TV ad to back it up.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You may not be George Bush, but...</s>MCCAIN: I voted with the president over 90 percent of the time.</s>MALVEAUX: Tony, Barack Obama is going to be speaking shortly. You may hear the crowd getting excited. They're doing the wave across the stadium here. It is notable that this is the first time that Barack Obama or John McCain has visited Roanoke. It is really a conservative area. So Barack Obama has to work bit harder here. It's notable that this stadium is not completely packed, not completely full. We usually see all the stadiums completely full. So obviously, he's going to try to win over some of the voters, the Independents and the social conservative, but don't think that John McCain is giving up on Virginia. He's going to be here tomorrow in Prince William County to try and cut into Barack Obama's lead -- Tony.</s>HARRIS: Suzanne, I'm sorry. We didn't hear a word of what you just said. No, I'm just kidding. Suzanne Malveaux from Roanoke, Virginia. Suzanne, good to see you. Thanks. Colorado hasn't voted for a Democrat for president in 16 years. Barack Obama leads John McCain in the latest polls, but the race is tight. And Hispanic voters could be the deciding factor. Dan Simon now, part of CNN's battleground coverage from crucial states. He reports from Denver.</s>DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lunchtime at Denver's La Casita restaurant, a place known for its tamales. But owner Paul Sandoval has as much passion for politics as he does for spicy food. A former state senator and Barack Obama supporter, he says he knows his demographics.</s>PAUL SANDOVAL, RESAURANT OWNER: In all honesty, I think Senator McCain scores better on immigration than Senator Obama. That's my personal opinion. That's the opinion of a lot of people. But on the economics and education, no question that Obama scores better.</s>SIMON: Hispanics make up 20 percent of Colorado's population, about 12 percent of the registered voters. Most vote Democratic. Republicans are trying to win over some of those voters. (on camera): If McCain is going to win Colorado, does he have to do well with Hispanics?</s>SANDOVAL: He has to do extremely well. Not well. Extremely well. Simply because it being a swing state.</s>SIMON (voice-over): We asked this Latina voter Vivian Hansen, a registered Independent and McCain supporter, what the Arizona senator could do to gain more Hispanic voters.</s>VIVIAN HANSEN, MCCAIN SUPPORTER: Say to them, I'm speaking to the middle class, just as Obama did. You know, he says some great things, but he doesn't direct that to them. And so they're kind of feeling like, you don't really see us.</s>SIMON: Those decidedly for Obama said things like this as to why they're supporting him...</s>DAVID LOPEZ, OBAMA SUPPORTER: Just his positivity. You know? He just -- he seems like he's more focused. You know, he may not have the experience that McCain or any of that, but, you know, he has a political background also. So, you know, he's done some things in his time.</s>SIMON: The McCain campaign says it has stepped up efforts in large Hispanic areas in the state, including Pueblo County, south of Denver. It has a tendency to be more conservative.</s>TOM KISE, MCCAIN CAMPAIGN: George Bush didn't win the county, but it's a county that we're going to compete in, and we're going to compete aggressively and vigorously in.</s>SIMON: Nine electoral votes are up for grabs in Colorado, and one constituency could possibly decide it all. (on camera): Early voting here begins next week, and more evidence that this is perceived as a critical state to the GOP, Governor Palin expected to campaign in the state on Monday. And Senator McCain also expected to stump here at least one more time between now and Election Day. Dan Simon, CNN, Denver.</s>HARRIS: And some news just in to CNN. The United States Supreme Court now has weighed in on possible voter registration irregularities in Ohio. The Supreme Court is siding with Ohio's top elections officials in a dispute with the state Republican Party over voter registration. The justices today overruled a federal appeals court that had ordered Ohio's top elections official to do more to help counties verify voter eligibility. The secretary of state in Ohio faced a deadline, and the deadline actually today to set up a system to provide local officials with names of newly registered voters whose driver's license numbers or Social Security numbers on voter registration forms -- it gets convoluted here -- don't match records in other government databases. So the Supreme Court siding with the secretary of state in Ohio that the deadline was onerous. So there you have it. The U.S. Supreme Court weighing in on the story that we've been following for weeks now of possible voter registration irregularities in Ohio. Check out our Political Ticker for all the latest campaign news. Just another reminder here. Just log on to CNNPolitics.com. It is your source for all things political. President Bush trying to again calm your fears about the financial mess. Speaking this morning at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the president said Americans can be confident government actions will work.</s>GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I know many Americans have reservations about the government's approach, especially about allowing the government to hold shares in private banks. As a strong believer in free markets, I would oppose such measures under ordinary circumstances, but these are not ordinary circumstances. We took this measure as a last resort.</s>HARRIS: Well, billionaire investor Warren Buffett says it is time to be greedy with Wall Street stocks. At fire sale prices, Buffett says he is buying, and you should, too. CNN's Christine Romans is at the New York business desk for us. Well, Christine, when the Oracle of Omaha speaks, most listen.</s>CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: We sure do. And you know why, Tony? Because remember back in the dot-com boom and people said, why isn't Warren Buffett buying stocks? I mean, he is missing the boat here, this is a new economy. Come on. And he said, I just don't understand these companies. I can't invest in -- I just don't understand the economics of what's happening here. And you know, he was right. Well, he's got an awful lot of credibility. He is the world's most famous and probably successful investor. And when he says it's time to start buying stocks, people definitely, definitely take notice. What is he saying? He said in an op-ed in "The New York Times," you know, "Buy American. I am." He said his personal account chockfull of United States treasuries, and now he's going to start deploying those assets to buy stocks. He says, "Why? Well, a simple rule dictates my buying. Be fearful when others are greedy and be greedy when others are fearful." And he notes there's an awful lot of fear out there, Tony.</s>HARRIS: Yes.</s>ROMANS: I mean, we've seen it when you watch these numbers. There's an awful lot of fear out there, and he said all of this bad news makes opportunities for people. And he said if you're stashing your cash, it might feel good right now, but in the long term, that cash isn't going to do very much for you. It's not going to create wealth, it's not going to create more money for you. So he's in very simple terms saying why he wants to buy stocks. Now, he says in the near term, he can't say the stock market is going to go up. He doesn't promise that. He just says that longer term, five years, 10 years, he thinks the health of some of these companies is going to be good and those investments are going to pay off. And we know that in the near term it's rough. Right? We've got a housing starts number today that was rough again. Housing starts down more than 6 percent. And that's reflecting the reality in the housing market. There are a lot of unsold homes out there right now.</s>HARRIS: That's right.</s>ROMANS: People are paying much lower prices for the homes when they are doing a sale. We're still having a credit crunch here. So a lot of things to work through, but Uncle Warren is confident, and at least that's something positive to talk about in this gloom and doom economic scenario, right?</s>HARRIS: I'd be more than happy to buy some stocks if he'll offer a bit of a loan to me.</s>ROMANS: Yes, I wish I had an account that was full of treasuries that I could start buying stocks. But I'm afraid I don't.</s>HARRIS: Yes, exactly. All right, Christine. Thank you.</s>ROMANS: You're welcome.</s>HARRIS: A story we first brought you as breaking news last hour in the CNN NEWSROOM, bomb squads and emergency crews right now on the scene of an explosion in Georgia. The blast happened about two hours ago at a law firm near downtown Dalton. That's about 70 miles north of Atlanta. Witnesses say the blast wounded several people at the McCamy Law Firm. Windows of the building were blown out. Schools in the area are on lockdown. First pictures here of the scene. A local newspaper reports officials of a person in custody and are questioning him right now. White ties and tall tales. Presidential candidates go at each other for political laughs at a charity dinner in New York. Ahead, Barack Obama's standup.