Is Wisconsin Dean's Last Stand?
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Wisconsin windup. Is it Dean's last stand?</s>HOWARD DEAN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm going to do everything I can to win this nomination. And this isn't done yet.</s>BLITZER: Mass matrimony. Do San Francisco's newlyweds face mass annulments?</s>MAYOR GAVIN NEWSOM (D), SAN FRANCISCO: They know the limitations, they know the challenges, they know the hurdles.</s>BLITZER: Hostage hell. Behind the scenes of a prison standoff.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, we don't want.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One more breach, everybody goes.</s>BLITZER: Antibiotics and breast cancer. Is there a link? New research you need to know about.</s>ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Tuesday, February 17, 2004.</s>BLITZER: Up first, the Democratic showdown in the Wisconsin primary. That's under way right now. The focus is on the front runner John Kerry, and his two main rivals, John Edwards and Howard Dean. We have reporters covering the candidates in Wisconsin. We'll get to them. First, though, we're getting this just into CNN right now, what voters are saying as they're coming out of the polling stations. Joining us for that, our senior political analyst Bill Schneider. What are we learning?</s>WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well what we've seen so far in the exit polls is an amazing consistency. Kerry swept has Democrats, independents, liberals and moderates. We'll see if he does that in Wisconsin. What's behind it? Not really the issues. these primaries have not been driven by the issues, but by the personal qualities of the candidates. And that's true here today in Wisconsin. As in previous states, Howard Dean voters in Wisconsin say they're looking for a candidate who stands up for what he believes in, first and foremost. John Edwards voters, they like the fact their guy has a positive message and he cares about people like the voters. John Kerry voters have one thing and only really one thing on their minds -- they're looking for a candidate who can beat George Bush. Now all the major candidates make the claim that they can beat Bush. But Kerry has the unique that voters find convincing. Namely, he has experience. He military experience, he has experience in national security. And voters in most states have found that claim credible. So that seems to be the issue, electability, that's driving these primaries.</s>BLITZER: All of them, going right back to Iowa, the caucuses and the primaries. Bill Schneider will be with us all night. We'll be watching and waiting to see what happens. The polls in Wisconsin close 9:00 p.m. Eastern, 8:00 p.m. Central. Let's move on now. CNN's complete coverage of the battle for voters. Our national correspondent Kelly Wallace is in Middleton covering the Kerry campaign in Wisconsin. Our correspondent Dan Lothian is in Milwaukee with John Edwards' campaign. And our national correspondent Bob Franken also in Milwaukee, with the latest on the Howard Dean campaign. Kelly, let's begin with you.</s>KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, John Kerry's aides heading to this night, fairly optimistic believing another victory is possible, what would be the senator's 16th victory if you count Democrats overseas. But the public line from the campaign is they are taking nothing for granted. And that is why the senator was out shortly after sunrise, receiving the formal endorsement from 19 labor unions and their five million members. This labor coalition had originally backed Dick Gephardt but now is formally throwing support behind John Kerry. As for the expectations, if John Kerry wins but John Edwards or Howard Dean pull off a strong second, the Kerry campaign says in order to win this nomination, you have to win contest, not come in second. From here, John Kerry heads tomorrow to Ohio, one of the ten states holding contests two weeks from today on Super Tuesday, and one of the states expecting to be a key battleground in the general election campaign. With the Kerry campaign, I'm Kelly Wallace, CNN, reporting live from Middletown.</s>DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dan Lothian at the Edwards' headquarters in Milwaukee. Senator Edwards say that he's sensing momentum in his campaign. He's been sensing that over the last couple of days. And he says even if he doesn't have a strong showing here in Wisconsin, that he will still stay in this race. The campaign looking to have a pair-up between Senator Edwards and Senator Kerry, believing they can do well, if indeed that does occur. Senator Edwards was out this morning at a diner here in Wisconsin, shaking hands and greeting supporters. The he went to the University of Wisconsin where he met with some students there. And he urged them to get out and vote and vote for him.</s>SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So please, go out to the polls, touch as many people as can you today, get them to the polls. We've enormous energy and excitement around this campaign over the last several days, overflowed crowds everywhere we gone. I appreciate what all of you have done, but our work is not done. We still have enormous work to do.</s>LOTHIAN: Senator Edwards is hoping that his positive message will resonate with voters. Dan Lothian, CNN, Milwaukee.</s>BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Bob Franken in Milwaukee where the state of Wisconsin is looking to decide the fate of Howard Dean, that is at least one interpretation. Of course Dean is acting like a candidate who is very much interested in winning this nomination. He toured a diner, he toured a root beer factory this afternoon. Dean is trying to convince people that Wisconsin can live up to legacy and come up with a surprise which will once again propel him into the running. Of course, there's an awful lot of pressure for Dean to be pulling out of the race, but a candidate who is Still running is not about to admit that he is thinking of pulling out. So when the question comes up as it so frequently does, he has an answer. He's still in.</s>DEAN: I will tell you this, we are interested in winning. And if I don't win, we are interested in having a Democratic president in the White House. And that is what I intend to do.</s>FRANKEN: After the results are tallied in Wisconsin tonight it's back to the home in Vermont to decide what these result meant, and exactly where the Dean campaign should go if anywhere -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Bob Franken in Milwaukee. Thanks, Bob, very much. And we'll very much more on the Howard Dean campaign and the Wisconsin primary just a few minutes. I'll speak live with Dean's former campaign chairman, Steve Grossman. But joining us now with his take on the candidates and their chances in the Wisconsin primary, our CNN political analyst Carlos Watson. If Howard Dean doesn't do well tonight in Wisconsin, means he hasn't won any state so far, must he drop out or can he continue another two weeks through Super Tuesday?</s>CARLOS WATSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I think one, he can stay in. Obviously, he's been able to raise a significant amount of money. Many people don't know this, but since the beginning of the year, Wolf, John Kerry's raised about $7 million. No. 2 is not John Edwards but rather it's Howard Dean who's raised $5 million. So could he raise more money and have a Jerry Brown-like campaign? Remember Jerry Brown, '92? Sure. What do I think will happen, and none of us really know. But I suspect he will drop out. I don't think he'll endorse John Kerry right away. Instead, if you recall in 2000, John McCain took two months to endorse George Bush, Bill Bradley took longer. He took four months. But I do think you'll start to see the some of staffers, junior staffers at first, but later more senior staffers join the John Kerry campaign, again, assuming a loss in Wisconsin.</s>BLITZER: What about John Edwards? How well does he have to do tonight in Wisconsin to really remain a viable candidate?</s>WATSON: You know, I'm going to be honest with you, Wolf. I don't think John Edwards is a viable candidate anymore for the actual nomination. Again, absent some major scandal a la what we saw with Gary Hart in 1988. But I do think he can both help himself and interestingly enough he actually can help John Kerry, the front runner. He can help himself because again he has an opportunity in California, New York, Ohio. And if you move beyond there to March 9 states, which we haven't talked a lot about, Texas and Florida, he gets a chance to showcase his skills as a possible vice presidential nominee. Or if for some reason the Democrats don't win in 2004, maybe he has a trial run for 2008. On the other hand, the great thing he does for John Kerry is he probably helps Kerry sharpen his message, and he allows Kerry, frankly, to get free media, maybe $5, $10, maybe as much as $15 million's worth in these key states to the extent that there still is a race. Remember, if he were to drop out and Howard Dean were to drop out, you and I and others wouldn't be covering this in the same way. And Kerry would lose a lot of important free media.</s>BLITZER: So there is some silver lining for John Kerry in the fact that he still has opponents in the race. Carlos Watson will be with us throughout the night as well. Thanks, Carlos, very much. And to our viewers, an important programming note. Please join us tonight for live coverage of the Wisconsin primary. That begins with a special edition of "LARRY KING LIVE" at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, 6:00 p.m. Pacific. That's 8:00 p.m. Central time when the polls actually close in Wisconsin. That will be followed with "NEWSNIGHT" with Aaron Brown at 10:00 p.m. Eastern. And then I'll be back at 11:00 p.m. Eastern anchoring a special hour, "AMERICA Votes 2004." High priority. The U.S. military reenergizing efforts to catch Osama bin Laden with new tactics on the ground in Afghanistan. We're live from the Pentagon. On the record on gay rights issues. A sensitive political topic. We'll take a closer look at Democratic front-runner John Kerry's voting record. Plus, this.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I can be married to Susie (ph) for a day, it's worth standing out here in rain, snow, doesn't matter.</s>BLITZER: Countdown in California. The state mulls a halt to the mass matrimony, a developing story. We're waiting to hear possibly this hour from the court, and we'll bring you any decisions live. Stay with us.