[Rick Sanchez, Cnn:] Hey, on the hurricane front, we're going to bring you two pieces of information that are important. Bobby Jindal, the Republican governor of Louisiana, is going to be holding a press briefing. We'll bring you that. Also, we'll take you to Mississippi, where the Republican governor of Mississippi, Hali Barber, former head of the Republican party, is going to be holding a news conference as well. When those come up, we'll bring them to you.Program note, here's how we're going to be handling things throughout the night. I'm going to be here in Atlanta. I'm going to be bringing you up to date on everything that's pretty much hurricane-related. Meanwhile, Wolf Blitzer is going to be handling things for us political, all things politically related as we gear up for the convention. I know both stories are kind of going to be intertwined somewhat. With that said, I should let you know throughout the night, we're going to have that little bug you see that little bug down there, the little hurricane going up the coast, that just tells you what's going on with it. Any advisories, we'll bring them to you right away. In the meantime, let's get you now to Wolf Blitzer. He's going to bring you up to date on what's going on convention wise. Wolf, how are you?
[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn Anchor:] Rick, thanks very much. It's an important night for the politicians, although all of them right now, indeed all eyes here in the United States are on what's going on in the Gulf of Mexico as you know. And Rick Sanchez is going to be watching that very, very closely. Stay with CNN throughout the night for all the latest updates on this hurricane category 4, a powerful monster that's moving potentially toward the Louisiana coast, maybe Mississippi, maybe Texas. We don't know yet for sure. But this is a story that has enormous, enormous ramifications. And all the politicians were here in St. Paul getting ready for the Republican National Convention. They're watching it really closely. The president of the United States, the vice president, they're supposed to be here in St. Paul Monday night to address this convention. We don't know if that's going to be happen. They're going to be reviewing tomorrow, Sunday, all of their plans to see what they need to do to make sure they do the right thing as far as the convention is concerned. It's supposed to go on for four days, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. But with a hurricane moving closer and closer toward the Gulf coast, you never know what the what Senator John McCain and other Republicans are going to do. We're here with Gloria Borger. We're getting ready to listen to Senator McCain and his new running mate, the Alaska governor, Sarah Palin. And later, back-to-back from that, we'll be hearing from Barack Obama and Joe Biden. It'll be the first time there will be back-to-back events between these two presidential tickets. It will be fascinating to compare and contrast both of those. I want to go right to Dana Bash. She's on the scene for us where Senator McCain and Governor Palin will be speaking. Dana, set the scene for us. We know that McCain and Palin are expected to arrive momentarily, is that right?
[Dana Bash, Cnn Correspondent:] That's right. Expected to arrive momentarily on a very familiar bus, the straight talk express. We expect that to come right into this baseball stadium, where this rally is being held for a made for TV moment, they hope, to showcase this new Republican ticket. This kind of rally that you see here, Wolf, this is incredibly, incredibly unusual. In fact, pretty much in fact all the time I've been covering Senator McCain, unprecedented, the size of a rally. And that is the point. And that is required right now for where he is at this stage of the campaign to try to get people out and especially and only day two of trying to introduce the country to the shocker of a pick in Sarah Palin. One thing I want to mention that I just found absolutely remarkable. I've been spending some time waiting for the crowd, talking to people here in Washington's Pennsylvania, which is in southwest Pennsylvania. And it has really shocked me how much people who, some of whom were kind of, you know, vanilla about John McCain, if you will, were going to maybe vote for him but not enthusiastic, to a person, they said to me, you know, now that he has picked Sarah Palin as his running mate, because of people's conservative socially conservative values here in southwest Pennsylvania, they said to me that they are much more enthusiastic about Senator McCain. Others who came here who said that they were Independents, which is a big number of people in this part of the state, also said that they were on the fence and that they were probably going to vote for him now because of his pick in Sarah Palin. Either because of the fact that she is socially conservative, or because in the case of some female voters here, because she's a woman. Totally unscientific. But it is always interesting to get a sense from the voters in very important places like this and to see how that really jives with what people kind of in Washington and the leaders around are saying about what a potential what potential impacts something like this can have. So I thought that was interesting to see and hear from people who John McCain absolutely needs in order to win in November. And it sounds, at least in this part of this country where Republicans and Independents are, there's at least initial enthusiasm. Obviously, she's very much unknown. So we'll see what happens in the 60 something days to come as people get to know her better, Wolf?
[Blitzer:] Yes, Dana, it looks like the straight talk express right now is just arriving. We can see it on our screen. And the Republican presidential candidate and the new vice presidential candidate, they're going to be emerging from that bus. The former governor of Pennsylvania, Tom Ridge, is with them, as well as former as well as Lynn Swann, the former NFL Hall of Famer, who has run for office statewide office unsuccessfully in Pennsylvania. He's a Republican. This crowd, Dana, very enthusiastic. And as you point out, the conservative base of the Republican party really reassured by Senator McCain's decision to pick the governor of Alaska as his running mate. If that was one of his intents, it certainly has paid off. You see a lot of endorsements quickly coming in from the religious right, the conservative base. And I assume that was one of his intents. And it certainly is, at least right now, paying off, Dana.
[Bash:] Well, it seems that way at least initially. And as you said, there's no question that that was a big part of the reason why they thought she was such a good pick, because of the fact that it's no secret that John McCain has had a pretty rocky relationship with his base. And I just I felt that here in talking to people, many people wanted other Republican candidates, not John McCain, to be the person running for them for the White House. They weren't that enthusiastic about him. But they feel better, at least for the social conservatives in this part of Pennsylvania, they feel better about the fact that she was chosen. I also asked a lot of people the key big question. What about the fact that she's very young and she's only been in elected office or at least in the executive position in the state for two years? But most people said to me is yes, that does give them question and give them a little bit of pause. But the fact that she is number two on the ticket, not number one on the ticket, people here feel better. Obviously, this is a crowd, just the fact that they come to see Senator McCain means that they're either enthusiastically for or at least leaning towards Senator McCain. The big question is what people outside this baseball stadium, people outside in and around the country are going to think when they see and hear this ticket together, especially again really for the only only for the second time, especially since Governor Palin is such an unknown. She's such a question mark. She really needs to and will try to make a first impression here.
[Blitzer:] And there's the Republican presidential candidate, John McCain and his wife, Cindy. We can see them right in the middle of the screen. They'll be he'll be speaking. And Governor Palin will be speaking, but there will be some introductory remarks by some others. And the formal introduction of Senator McCain will be from Tom Ridge. We're told that Senator McCain will speak after that and that Governor Palin will follow. Gloria Borger's here. By all indications, from the political standpoint, John McCain selected Sarah Palin as his running mate in part because she would rally that conservative base in part because she's a woman and might be able to attract some of those disappointed Hillary Clinton supporters. Also, because she does have that element of change in her as a 2-year governor of Alaska. Tom Ridge, the former governor of Pennsylvania, is about to introduce Senator McCain. And what's interesting, Gloria, he was one of those who was on the short list as well.
[Gloria Borger:] Yes, he was. But of course, he supports abortion rights. And that would have really not gone over well with exactly those people who love Sarah Palin. I mean, I think what the campaign gets from her is not so much that they weren't going to get their base together, Wolf. But the intensity of the support that they now have from that base, the money they are now raising from that base, the fact that they can now get the voter roles, the e-mail lists from evangelical conservatives handed over to the campaign, they can raise a lot of money off of this. And they're sure that those people now will come out to vote. Otherwise, they may just have sat at home. And...
[Blitzer:] As many of those religious right or the real conservative base, they were sort of lukewarm as far as John McCain was concerned.
[Borger:] Right.
[Blitzer:] They were waiting a little bit. But what this has done, it's galvanized them. And...
[Borger:] Right.
[Blitzer:] ...it's brought them, you know, really into this presidential race.
[Borger:] And in important states like Iowa and like Ohio, where there are many evangelical conservatives, John McCain now believes that he can count on them. That's very important for him, Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Let's go back to Dana. Dana, I know you're there on the scene. And let me reset the scene, Washington, Pennsylvania, in the southwestern part of Pennsylvania, a blue collar area. This is an area that Hillary Clinton did well when she beat...
[Bash:] Yes.
[Blitzer:] ...Senator Obama in the Pennsylvania primary. It's an area that will help determine who carries Pennsylvania, which is clearly a battleground state. Let me share with our viewers, Dana, the latest CNN Opinion Research Corporation poll numbers in Pennsylvania, Obama, 48%, McCain, 43%. Four point sampling error. Go ahead, Dana.
[Bash:] That's exactly right. And you know, in the lead-up to this kind of a warm-up act, they've been here pretty much all afternoon. We heard a lot of women speakers, Wolf. We heard a lot of women speakers. One even making the point that the other ticket, meaning the Democratic ticket, they shunned a woman. Well, this ticket, the Republican ticket, they decided to bring one in and to highlight one. They played the song "I am woman, hear me roar." It is not a subtle message that they are trying to get across, that they are trying to lure and to woo women, particularly in this area. And you nailed it, Wolf, you know, this is an area it's a critical area for John McCain to win the state of Pennsylvania. And that means critical for him to win the White House. And it went overwhelmingly for Hillary Clinton. Not just here. We actually spent a little bit of time actually at a shopping mall trying to get a sense of voters in this area. And we did speak to several women who said that they voted for Hillary Clinton and they just don't feel comfortable with Barack Obama. That is exactly the kind of voter that John McCain is trying to get with Sarah Palin. And I have to tell you, many of those people who are still undecided about Barack Obama, some of them are not sure about Sarah Palin, not just because she's a woman, but because they don't know anything about her and they are a little bit worried about her lack of experience. So that is why this rally behind me and obviously every single time she is out there in the next couple of days, especially when she makes first impressions, they're going to be so key for these voters especially in these critical areas like where I am right now in Washington, Pennsylvania.
[Blitzer:] And Dana, while we await the preliminary remarks by the former governor of Pennsylvania Tom Ridge, the former Secretary of Homeland Security, he's introducing Senator McCain. As soon as Senator McCain starts speaking, we'll listen in. Give us the latest reporting. I know you're doing some you and John King, among others, doing some important reporting on what Senator McCain is thinking about doing as far as this four-day Republican convention. We're here outside the Excel Energy center in St. Paul, Minnesota. But tell us some of the options that they're weighing right now because of Hurricane Gustav, a category 4 monster that's moving into the Gulf of Mexico and is expected to hit the U.S. Gulf coast over the next 48 hours or so, maybe a little bit longer.
[Bash:] Well, you see what's going on behind me right now. It's obviously a party-like atmosphere. I'm told by an adviser to Senator McCain that this is exactly the kind of thing he is worried about going on during the convention while Hurricane Gustav is touching down on any place in the United States. And that is why I'm told that one of the things that Senator McCain and his campaign, they're considering if it does, in fact, wreak havoc the way it looks like it might is changing the convention into kind of a service event. That's one of the things that's on the table. They have a lot more things that are, sort of, out there as contingency plans. They're watching it just to see what goes on. And I think here comes Senator McCain.
[Blitzer:] All right.
[John Mccain , Presidential Candidate:] ...serving as a great governor. Thank you for your service in the Congress of the United States of America. And thank you for your service in the Vietnam War. Thank you, thank you.
[Sarah Palin , Vice Presidential Candidate:] Thank you. Thank you so much, senator. And it is so good to be here in Steeler territory, where the wild things are. Oh, I thank you for that warm welcome. And it is warm. Something I'm not really used to, but this is absolutely gorgeous. And what a beautiful park. And thank you so much for that welcome. I am honored to be here with all of you, and in the company of John and Cindy McCain, the next president and First Lady of the United States.
[Blitzer:] All Right, I'm going to get a thought stand by. All right, so there you heard the governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin. You heard the Republican Senator John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate. Both making a joint appearance right now in Washington, Pennsylvania. That's in the southwestern corner of the state. Pennsylvania, key battleground state. We're going to talk some more about this. Remember, we're also awaiting Senator Obama and Senator Biden. They have their own appearance. That's coming up momentarily in the next door state of Ohio. We're going to watch and we're going to listen. We'll take a quick break. Much more of our special coverage here from St. Paul and the Republican National Convention right after this.