become a fan. thanks for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." "john king usa" starts now. you might call this kiss and make up day in the republican party. at the center of it all, christine o'donnell. she is the latest tea party candidate to defeat a better known better funded establishment opponent. yesterday, many senior republicans called her a nightmare. tonight, move the are trying, at least in public, to make nice. to democrat, o'donnell is the newest member of what they call team extreme. tea party nominees the democrats say are way out of the mainstream. voter, that means you, settle voter, that means you, settle that one in 48 days. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com joining a long list of republicans who say she has no prayer of ringing in november. when i talked to the chairman

today, he had a stern message for those naysayers. >> how can you claim defeat before you attempt victory? it makes no sense. so stop it. >> more from chairman steele in a moment. we'll hear from the conservative senator who spent the primary season helping all those tea party candidates shock the system, jim demint of south carolina. who is christine o'donnell, and what does her victory mean? a great group with us to talk it over. gloria borger, roland martin. let's begin with christine o'donnell. she won last night. she gave a big speech. with not much sleep, she got up this morning, made the round of tv shows to say "don't count me out." >> they never thought that i could win this race and i believe that we can win without them. let me say that they also said that ronald reagan wasn't electable. >> ed rollins, you were among the doubters last night.

you're among the doubters last night. you helped that guy, ronald reagan, get elected. >> i did. she's an unknown. obviously, delaware's a small state. if the party doesn't help her, she may get conservative money to at least run a decent campaign. at this point in time, you know, that race has been assumed to be ours. i don't ever believe they're ours until we win them. think we have to wait a little and see, two, three week, can she be a credible candidate? the probability is no. there are other places, like west virginia and other places, that three weeks ago we never thought was on the radar screen so -- >> a big point everybody around her makes and some republicans who aren't so sure make is, wait a minute, you know, all of the idiots who say she can't win in november are the same idiots who said she couldn't win last night. >> right. >> first, i find it interesting that michael steele is making so much sense and he's now going against the same establishment that never liked him. and so what, now tea partiers are going to rally around steele? so, this is -- what's so intriguing about this whole deal

is it sort of reminds me of democrats and alvin greene in south carolina. it's like, where did this person even come from? what is going on here? >> well, you know, they know where she came from because they spent a lot of money trying to defeat her. today, after telling all of us we're not going to give her a dime, suddenly today, right, they gave her $42,000, which is the max they're aloud. i talked to a senior republican strategist who's doing a lot of senate races who said, look, we're pragmatists here. if she becomes a viable candidate, meaning in single digit, right, then we're going to give her money. but do we believe she's going to be a viable candidate? absolutely not. but we're not stupid because what they want to do more than anything else is win control of the senate, and that's why they're so mad at her. >> hang on one second. another thing they don't want to do is if they dump on her too much there are activists like the ones who supported her in delaware all across the country important to this election. so let's take a closer look at exactly who christine o'donnell is. i want to begin first, before we get into her record, into airing

one of the republican doubts, comes from a very senior republican, many you will recognize. he was called the architect in the bush days. he was on fox news last night saying "i don't think so." >> wasn't impressed of her abilities as a candidate. again, serious question, how does she make her living? why did she mislead voters about her college education? how come it took her nearly two decades to pay her college bills so she could get her college degree? how does she make a living? why does -- >> so, john avlon, you talk about independent voters. people in the middle might settle this race. the democrats i assume are going to turn to their friend karl rove here are they not? >> of course. especially in delaware. the middle is where elections are won or lost. o'donnell can win a close partisan primary. that's part of the story last night. close partisan primaries can be hijacked by activists and ideologues. but they have a hard time

connecting with voters who decide who wins and loses. she is a social conservative activist with no crossover appeal. and that's bad news for republicans. mike castle had deep crossover appeal. that's why he looked like he could take that biden seat and move it in the republican column. >> that is, if you look at the paper and past campaign, that certainly is a solid argument. the question is, is this year different, erick erickson? and let's go through some of the positions that have gotten o'donnell in trouble here. this is what the democrats called her extreme views. number one, she called obama anti-american in 2008, in an interview. she opposes abortion in all circumstance, including rape and incest. an a-rating on gun control from the nra. conservatives wouldn't consider that extreme, some on the left do. she says she's a constitutional conservative. on health care, she was a big opponent of the obama health care law. she says it's bad and wants it

repealed. in 1997, she said she didn't want federal funding going to treatment for people in aids treatment. she thought that money should go to broader diseases like heart disease and the like. in the past, she's had trouble raising money. back on -- august 25th, she had only $20,000. her opponent, chris fen coons, the democrat. they've raised over half a million dollars so far online, so fund-raising in the short term won't be a problem. when you look at the record and some of the other positions, can she be painted as extreme and not acceptable to the center? >> you know, she can be painted as extreme. any kncandidate can. that's what politics is about, painting your opponent as awfully as you can so voters in the midrl turned off by them. her opponent, the democrat, can be painted as an extremist as well. the buzzword for democrats this year is "extremist infringe." their buzzword on november 3rd

for most of these candidates is going to be "winner." because most of these are ahead in the polls. then said the same thing about rand paul, about ken buck. on the republican side, the same republicans who said we needed to support castle are the exact same guys who supported specter and crist. >> what i'm hearing karl rove say is not necessarily talk about her politics but talk about her ethics. >> oh, yeah, yeah, that's going to be an issue that she's going to have to answer for. >> -- going to be ripped apart in a general election campaign on those very issues. >> one of the questions in the short term, with resource, especially if she's a candidate on the bubble, that's not an usual, on the bubble, in terms of her competitive nature, she's going to need help fast. the senatorial committee gave her that money. >> that's all they're going to give her. >> you're probably right. the question is will demint raise money, will palin raise money? will the national party sneak in some soft money? that's the big question now. that's part of the reason i put the question to chairman steele today. i want you to listen to his exchange about what he thinks is

the downside of talking down christine o'donnell's chances. >> you have made a very good point of trying to grow and re-establish the republican big tent. >> yeah. >> as you know there are whom have been backing these tea party candidates who say i would rather not have a majority if the majority means having castle in the united states senate. a moderate, what they consider liberal republican. is that a good idea? >> everybody's entitled to their own opinion. i'm not going to tell you what to think or not to think about mike castle. >> yesterday, john cornyn says, i'm worried if she wins because she can't win statewide in november. castle said today he will not endorse her because she can't win statewide. are they hurting the party? >> i don't know if she can win until we try. how can you claim defeat before you attempt victory? this makes no sense. it makes no sense. so stop it. stop it. >> that's your message to them, stop it?

>> let's get behind our nominees and win the election. then we can have a meeting and sit down and talk about all that stuff. >> when they say things like that, those establishment politicians in washington are ignoring the message that we have seen, again, not just from delaware, florida did it for senate, we've seen it in colorado, in kentucky, in alaska and elsewhere, are they ignoring the message? >> again, you have to ask them. i can only speak to what i'm trying to do as the national chairman. i'm not trying to throw anybody under the bus today, okay. >> he wouldn't name names. roland and ed, to the point it matter, people out there say so what, it's one race in delaware, but when you put together the pieces of the puzzle, they need 39 to pick up the house, they need 10 to pick up the senate, and a lot of people are thinking if we get to election night and we lose this one, the one we could have taken away from the democrats in delaware that that could be it. >> since the beginning of the game, which has been going on for a year now, this was the one

seat we thought for sure we were going to win. once again, we shouldn't have that premise. now we can't put that in the win column. i think we should still try, see how she develops. but we have to draw to an inside strength. if we'd talked six months ago about any potential winning senate, we'd laugh. people now are talking about winning 60 seats in the house. they're nuts. i've run the congressional committ committ committee. we may win 41. but expectations are an absurd place. >> democrats should not have to try to have a money conversation. she beat money. at the end of the day, you can run ad, do all that stuff, but as ed knows, if you don't get folks to the polls you're not going to get the votes. so for her, if she focuses on the ground game and she has these people who renn neare enthusiastic that can spell trouble for democrats. if you don't have the ground game, she could win in delaware. >> she could get out the democratic bashgs though, don't

forget. >> could, but still to get them out and the enthusiasm gap is so wide right now if the democrats don't focus on the ground game, you can have all the money in the world but they have to come out and vote. >> yet another example of something happening in america that we don't have a complete understanding of yet and we may not until election day. everybody standby. when we come back, we'll broaden the conversation. christine o'donnell is one, she's a tea party candidate, she's one of a half dozen tea party candidates who have shocked the republican establishment. do those candidates bring new energy, new grassroots enthusiasms to the party, or, as the democrats say, are they the extreme team? stay with us.

i'm ahmed mady and i'm a homebuilder. my father brought me up to give back to society... felicia jackson promised her late sister that she would take care of her children. but she needed help. i used my american express open card to get half a million points to buy building materials to help build the jackson family a new home. well, i know if my dad was still around, he would have told me, with no doubt... he would have told me it's a no brainer and i knew that from the start.

it was an honor. booming is moving forward by giving back. to everyone who wants to go to college and everyone who started college but never finished... to late bloomers... full-time moms... and everyone who is good at something but wants to be great. welcome to kaplan university. the university that's changing the face of education... to undergraduate degrees, graduate degrees... degrees that can give you a leg up... in a tough job market... in any job market... welcome. welcome to kaplan university. call kaplan university now or visit us on-line to take our free learning assessment.

you see the pictures right there, six republican candidates for senate, six tea party favorites who beat establishment republican candidates who were favored by the establishment. ken buck in colorado. rand paul in kentucky. joe milner alaska. sharon ang untron angle in neva. and last night's surprise winner, christine o'donnell in delaware. what does this mean? democrat say this is a bonus for them.

tough in some races but perhaps some new energy for their party. let's continue the conversation with our great group. let's look specifically at some of these candidates. let's start with sharron angle out in nevada because she's running against the highest profile democrat in these races. we'll see swleeters say. she opposes abortion. she called for phasing out and privatizing medicare and social security. and she says the separation of church and state does not arise out of the constitution. er erick erickson, you're a supporter of these conservative candidates. again the democrats will say that's extreme and you would say -- >> i would say that they're no more extreme than trying to nationalize health care, take over gm, perpetuatie ining t.a. long past it was needed. the american people will be focused on jobs and the economy. they don't care about angle's position on abortion. however much the democrats want to demagogue it.

i would add rubio and toomi to that list as well. >> i stopped on sharron angle for a reason because we have new polling at cnn that, a, shows you democrats can call them extreme, sharron angle is still very competitive, and, b, this gives you a look at the intensity gap. republicans have more intensity. look at these numbers. because this spells it out for you. if you poll registered voters, in nevada this is what you get. harry reid. sharron angle. this is all registered voters. this one's backwards. let me look at it right here. reid's 42%. angle, 34%. reid with a 12-point lead among registered voters there. look at this among likely voters. dead heat. sharron angle, 42%. harry reid, 41%. if you're the democrat, roland martin, you've got a problem. >> you've got a huge problem because also what is the consistent message? you can paint sharron angle, you

can paint any of these candidates as being extreme, but you have to still address the fact that democrats have controlled congress for four years. the president has been in the white house for two years. what is the argument you're making to the public that what we did made a difference to get the economy back on track? you could talk about putting it r, putting it d, but you have to clearly explain it. and i still believe democrats are failing on this. as long as they keep trying to run away from what they've done you can't win. >> this is about personality. you cannot make harry reid into a likable candidate in nevada. you may be able to do that nationally. they know him. he's polarized. if this race is about him, and don't think you can't knock out majority leader, ask tom daschle. the bottom line is nevadans have the highest unemployment, that's guy. if it's about him, she wins. if it's about her -- >> overall, when you look at the enthusiasm gap, you'll see that if you do registered voters

versus likely voter, the republicans do better with likely voters, because those are the folks who are going to come to the polls -- >> register voter polls always lean to the democrats though. look at kentucky. i mean, with registered voters, it's tied. registered voters always lean towards the democrats. one thing angle has to worry about veis registered voter pol don't lean that far to the democrats in nevada. but she's got headway. >> i want to show our viewers, so they can learn more about tea party candidates. ken buck, the nominee in colorado. he beat the establishment republican candidate. here are the positions that his critics say are extreme. again, he opposes abortion in all circumstance, including rape and incest. he says social security is not what the founding fathers intended although now it's in place, he just wants to raise the retirement age. he wants to wind down the education department, send those powers back to the state. cut the national endowment for the art, national endowment for the humanities, some other federal agencies.

let's look at rand paul in kentucky. he was one of the big upsets, who put the tea party on the national map. help says the federal government overreached in some ways in some civil rights legislation. he believes the american with disabilities act puts too much specific mandates -- especially one or two person small businesses. he wants to abolish the energy and education department. and he says obama was at time un-american in his toughness against bp. john avlon, these are positions, politics is a rough sport. you can look after the polling after weeks of attacks, saying rand paul is ahead or a dead he'd. buck is ahead or in a dead heat. maybe the american people want to send these people to washington to stir it up a bit. >> this year is a giant republican wave. these folks are surfing it, some better than others. they agree with all the tea party on the core ideas of bringing down the deficit. but when you slide over into

obama derangement syndrome, when you start calling the president un-american, when you take some of these positions that are even further out that starts alienating independent voters. the fact that republicans in general have tried an obama agenda makes them more vulnerable. extremes are always their own simd side's worst enemy. >> these people are going to get elected. >> some. >> it's not unlike 1980 when with reagan there was kind of a wave of republican senators, you will recall that -- swept in, they were called the accidental senators, if you recall. >> i didn't call them that. >> some of them were swept right out. >> i called them mr. senator, thank you. >> but my question, it's sort of going to be interesting, there are going to be there, and when they're there, what's mitch mcconnell going to do when they go to the floor of senate and say you know what, i don't think social security or medicare is such a good idea. >> there's nothing on that list that you read about buck dealt

with the economy. none of that stuff matters. department of education? that sounds like 1984. it is going to come down to an economic message. and if the republicans are able to say what they've been doing is dead wrong, vote for us, they win. if democrats can't articulate a clear economic message, they lose. it's -- we can talk about everything else, but it will not matter unless it deals with the economy and jobs. >> erick, we'll bring you back into the conversation a bit later in the program. gloria just raised the point what happens if some of these guys get elected? that will be among our topics when we come back. just moments away from going one on one with senator jim demint of south carolina. he has made many establishment republicans angry by backing all these tea party candidates. we'll talk to him. when we look at tonight's headlines, we'll also look at the tax cut debate. the president weighed in today. democrats and republicans on capitol hill weighing in. which party is this a wishing

issue? and pete dominick out on the street tonight. the primaries are over so pete has some questions for me. words alone aren't enough. our job is to listen and find ways to help workers who lost their jobs to the spill. i'm iris cross. we'll keep restoring the jobs, tourist beaches, and businesses impacted by the spill. we've paid over $400 million in claims and set up a $20 billion independently-run claims fund. i was born in new orleans. my family still lives here. i'm gonna be here until we make this right. she starts at dawn and so does her back pain.om. that's two pills foa four hour drive. the drive is done. so it's a day of games and two more pills. the games are over, her pain is back,

that's two more pills. and when she's finally home, but hang on, just two aleve can keep back pain away all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is rachel, who chose aleve and two pills for a day free of pain. ♪ and get the all day pain relief of aleve in liquid gels. ♪ this is power with efficiency. this is an interior that exceeds even the promise of the exterior. this is the all-new jaguar xj. the stunning result of taking a very different road.

everyone knows a fee is a tax. you raised some taxes during that period, particularly the property tax as well as a lot of fee increases. as you know, there's a big difference between fees and taxes. but...they're the same.

it's a tax. it's a tax. it's a tax. it's a tax. there's a big difference between fees and taxes. fees and taxes are one in the same. if it comes out of my pocket, it's a tax. now he says it isn't true. we didn't raise taxes. what? still doing the same thing, paying out more money. typical politician. definitely. welcome back. let's check in with joe johns who is right here with the latest political news you need to know right now. >> a senior democrat source with knowledge of the decision tells cnn later this week elizabeth warren will be named to a special advisory role in order to help set up the government's new consumer financial protection agency. a senior administration official adds the move will allow the president to lean on warren to help set up the agency but to bypass a potentially difficult senate confirmation battle. it took until this afternoon

but new hampshire officials say former attorney general kelly ayote narrowly won the republican nomination for the united states senate. and a new cnn poll of likely voters in s is in ohio's race governor shows republican challenger john kasich with a lead over strickland. insider or outsider for cassic? he spent a lot of years on capitol hill fighting those inside battles. >> he spent a lot of years on capitol hill fighting inside battles. but that is one of ted strickland's arguments that he was part of that washington that nobody likes. he also works for lehman brothers. you know, they had a televised debate last night. we were out in ohio, the show was, last week, your home state. they had a televised debate last week. i want to play something kasich said in his closing statements that sounded very familiar. >> well, about a week ago, ten days ago, i walked into a bob evan's.

and as i walked through the restaurant, i saw a man and a woman, and i went over to them and they were writing numbers on a piece of paper. i said, what's -- what are you doing there? they said, well, my job was downgraded. the lady says , my job was downgraded. we're sitting here working on the family budget. trying to figure out how to make it work. >> you wouldn't be surprised that democrats senate, they question just about everything he says. one blogger in the state wrote this anthony fosakaka wrote, like much of tonight's debate, the words come out of john's mouth were fiction. someone please send me a photo of the ohio couple in the bob evan's with the napkin and i'll personally apologize the next time i'm at the country club. i was at the bob evan's because that's where we met kasich to interview him when we were in ohio. there's the couple right there. >> right in the bob evan's.

>> john walked in and he was working the room before our interview and he did talk to this couple. we listened to it. it's not exactly the way congressman kasich talked about it in the debate, the language, but you can see the note pad on the table. i actually talked to them outside, after -- >> the question would be, are they -- is it a plant? >> you know, they said no. this is near his hometown. other people applauded when he came in. i talked to them outside the restaurant. i said what was the conversation about? he used to build homes, he gave that up. she used to have a real estate license. and they're doing other things to make due. they said they were talking about how tough it is to keep the family budget going in this tough economy. >> it's incredible to actually have pictures of the thing the guy was talking about. >> that conversation -- we're not here to pick sides and congressman kasich needs to explain himself, governor strickland can explain himself, but that conversation actually did happen. little coincidental fact-checking i guess we'll call

that one. it was interesting. when we come back, one on one with governor jim demint of south carolina. a tea party favorite. not always friends with the republican establishment.

republican senator demint of south carolina has the golden touch, endorsing conservatives who in most cases have turned into winners. christine o'donnell being the latest example last night in

delaware. some republicans aren't happy. one republican source telling cnn they're frustrated with the senator because in their view he pushes purity over the practical. senator demint joins us now to go one on one. how do you answer that point among your colleagues? you've heard it throughout the primary season, that you're a guy who wants conservatives who think like you at all costs, even if, your critics would say, the nominee is someone one who can't win. >> i haven't heard that from my colleagues and i'm certainly not interested in purity in the party. >> let me help our viewer understand a bit more about you because more and more people around krunt hearing about you. is it your view, then, that jim demint would rather be in the minority than to, say, elect a mike castle in delaware or charlie crist in florida who you view as too prone to dealmaking? would you rather be in the minority than in the majority with republicans like that? >> i came into the senate with 55 republicans.

a strong majority. majority of republicans in the house. bush in the white house. we spent too much. we borrowed too much. we lost the faith of the american people. and we got thrown out. so there's no need in focusing on the numbers if we don't have any principles to back it up. again, it's not about purity. it's about pretty commonsense ideas now that i think are right at the mainstream of where america is. we can't keep spending our way into prosperity, growing the government. we can't keep taking over auto industry and the health care industry. these things have americans alarmed. so it's not about the trivial political labels of moderate or conservative or liberal. it's about survival or bankruptcy right now in our country. >> i want you to listen. hear the voice of someone who knows you well when it comes to christine o'donnell. karl rove has worked on many conservative campaigns over the years. i want you to listen to rove's take on christine o'donnell. >> it does conservatives little

good to support candidates who, at the end of the day, while they may be conservative in their public statements, do not advance the characteristics of rectitude and truthfulness and sincerity and character that the voters are looking for. and we'll see how she can answer these questions. she didn't answer them thus far. >> you hear karl rove. he thinks by helping o'donnell get the nome that's correct you may have denied the republican ace chance for a senate majority. >> well, christine was going to win, with or without me. i just wanted her to know i was behind her. she's saying the same things that i'm saying. i think karl's comments are very unfortunate. christine's been maligned by millions of dollars, a lot of amds that misrepresent who she really is. the fact is christine has not been on the government payroll like many here in washington. and she has struggled, like many americans, but she is a great person. i think she's going to be a great candidate. i think the more people in delaware get to know her, the

most likely they are to vote for her. >> help us understand what happens post election. let's say several of these candidates win. what happens in the republican conference come january, when joe miller, the tea party favorite coming out of alaska, he told me a couple of weeks a look, we can't afford social security, that should be a states rights program. what happened when he says, jim, how do i get an amendment on the floor to do away with social security for future generationings? >> social security is a promise we have to keep. as joe has said, people have paid for it. we don't need to change anything for people, particularly those over 55. but he's saying the same thing i am. this congress has been spending social security dollars that should be saved. and if we're going to take money from people's paycheck for their retirement, we need to save it for their retirement instead of spend it. we can work together on that. the first thing that's going to happen after this election is there's going to be a moratorium on earmarks that republicans helped to pass. because we cannot work for the national interest if our focus

is always on self-serving parochial politics, taking bacon back home so we can get a press release. i think once we get rid of that conflict of interest, we can focus on fixing our tax code, fixing social security, repealing obama care, and balancing our budget. >> will you help mitch mcconnell if he says, jim, i need your help convincing these guys that, yes, i know they're principled, but every now and then we got to be prague prague ma i.t.s? >> mitch is already a good leader and i support him. i just want folks that will help us move the country in the right direction. in the senate, we tend to move to the lowest common denominator in our party. if we have four or five people voting with obama and pelosi, it's hard to show the country we're an alternative to that direction. so i think after this election, you're going to have some republicans who represent mainstream america and are going

to vote for those limited government ideas that america's crying out for right now. >> and does what you just said raises the question, what about senate republican baenlt incumbents, in the next cycle, susan collins, olympia snowe, two year, three years down the line, would you support a conservative challenger to them? >> we need to see what happens after 2010. i want to work with all my republican colleagues. we nd to make sure that americans have good choices of people who are focusing on our constitutional responsibilities. frankly, didn't think we can, if most of the year we're working on 10,000 earmarks back home. so that's obviously a big priority for me. i don't think we can serve the interests of a nation this concept of limited government if every congressman and senator thinks they need to get all of these pork barrel projects for their homeastly, a lot of people look at what you've done, helping these conservative, and say if he

wasn't thinking about it six months ago, there's no way demint is not thinking about running for president now. >> i'm not thinking past 2010. i have no interest in running for president right now. >> right now? how about in 2011, 2012? >> i have no plans to run for president. i'm focusing on my job here and my own re-election. >> senator jim demint, south carolina, appreciate your time, sir. a quick break. when we come back an update on the top stories. the nulgs you need to know. also, our correspondents and analysts will talk about jim demint's rising influence in the republican party and some tensions over these tea party victories. please stay with us. sure i'd like to diversify my workforce, i just wish that all of the important information

was gathered together in one place. [ printer whirs ] done. ♪ thanks. do you work here? not yet. from tax info to debunking myths, the field guide to evolving your workforce has everything you need. download it now at thinkbeyondthelabel.com.

welcome back. let's check in with joe johns for the latest political news you need to know right now. >> sarah palin goes to louisville, kentucky, tomorrow, to raise money for u.s. senate candidate rand paul. she'll be in iowa on friday. our new poll among likely voters in washington state shows democrat senator patty murray of washington leads republican dino rossi by nine points. late this afternoon at the white house, president obama turned up the pressure on congressional republicans to extend the bush tax cuts his way. >> we should be able to extend them right now. middle class tax relief on the first $250,000 of income. which, by the way, 97% of americans make less than $250,000 a year. >> so, john, it looks like the president is at least trying to make people know he's trying to sweeten the pot right before election day. >> he's trying to make that a choice between democrats and republicans, but, joe, one of

his problems, everybody at the table knows it, is just today, our congressional producer just sent this down, dana was covering this story today on the hill, democrats who face tough re-election builds have signed a letter to speaker pelosi extend all the tax cults. because a lot of them are worried about raising tax cuts in a recession. did raise the number. let's go back to the is now nte we just had with senator jim demint. erick erickson is still with us. you're friends with senator demint. an ally with demint. if you listened, he said, i'm going to back mitch mcconnell for the leader. i think he needs some people around him to help him. that's one of the things he said. what did he mean by that? and he also wouldn't answer directly when i said what about the main moderate, susan collins, olympia snowe, people like them, when they're up two years or four years from now, is he going to find a tea party challenger to go after them?

>> i think there's a gamble by a lot of the senate conservatives and those who help them that susan collins and olympia snowe may see what's going on this year and change their voting a little bit heading into 2012. now, on the issue of who mitch mcconnell is surrounded with, he's going to back mitch mcconnell. the issue is lamar alexander more than mcconnell. alexander has been make a lot of conservatives in the senate and staffers bristle with some of his pleas for finding commonalty with the other side. so jon kyl might be an acceptable alternative. i doubt you'll see someone like demint stand up for the leadership post. i don't think he could win. but i think he can make a legitimate argument that the rest of the senate will have to listen to, lest he run someone against them that conservatives deserve a seat at the table. >> he had a great record in the primary season. john cornyn, who runs the committee that's supposed to get republicans lee, elected, did

not. i want people to listen. >> my record will be determined after november 2nd, and how many pickups we'll have. i'm not making predictions today. we do have about a dozen seats in play, and i think november the 2nd will be -- that's when my report card will get graded. >> he's a tad defensive there. what's the -- his mood and the broader mood when you have a shock like l.ast night was? >> there's no question about it, that's why initially last night, when this news came that christine o'donnell won, we had some anonymous sources telling us, you know, some pretty nasty stuff about how they didn't think they were going to support her. when the sun came up, light bulbs went off and said, wait, she's a republican, we have to get behind her. the last thing they want to do, not just in delaware, erick knows this, across the country, is anger these people who they need to keep that energy up

against the democrats in november. >> john, if john avlon was here, he'd be saying about that whole comment from demint, put some people around him to help him, which really means, we're not going to work with anybody on the other side. if i'm the democratic party, i'm targeting in thes by saying they don't want to work with anybody. they don't want common ground. you've got to get your people out. if they're able to sway some in thes who say thindependents whot to work together. >> there's also a reason we see independents trending republican. here's what will be in "the new york times" story tomorrow in their new poll. the view of the movement among independent voters grew more negative. since the time the poll was conducted. now 30% of independent voters have an unfavorable view o the tea party. more than half no opinion. so one of the battlegrounds is independents. >> it's also a very volatile

election rat. we've seen that again and again. people are shifting. but one of the things i found very interesting, you talk about republicans running scared and confused. democrats fascinate me with this sort of bluster. oh, we're so happy to see these candidates winning. the thing -- you look -- i look at is 1984 or so when a lot of democrats were walking around capitol hill, scoffing at the contract with america. and it looks very much like that. to me, democrats get overconfident and they also are in a situation right now where they're not a lot of people interested in the election -- >> time-out, anchor-ordered time-out. we have to save time for what we need to do after this quick break. bill maher and michael steele both weighing in on the conversation that obama has a world view. ♪ where'd you learn to do that so well. ♪

♪ where'd you learn to do that so well. ♪ the new cadillac srx. the cadillac of crossovers. cadillac. the new standard of the world.

my joints ache so bad, i wake up in pain every day. i want to know why. i want to know why my hair is falling out. how did this happen? how did this happen? a little pain in my knee. that's how it started. that's how it started, this rash on my face. now it's like my body is attacking me. i want answers. announcer: when you don't have the right answers, it may be time to ask your doctor the right question. could i have lupus?

back with our group to continue the conversation. one of the thins generating a ton of buzz, was an essay by the former house speaker newt gingrich earlier this week. he said that to understand barack obama, you had to understand that he had a kenyan anti-colonial world view. that has many of the president's supporters up in arms. among them, bill maher, who was on "larry king" last night. listen. >> how are they going to outfirebreathe each other? it's only 2010 and we're having newt gingrich, as we were talking about before, calling him an anti-colonial loud tribesman. loud tribesman. that's the new kenyan, larry. kenyan, of course, was code for [ bleep ] but that's where they are. they can't say it out loud. but that's where this whole campaign is going to be. you asked about racism, it's all about racism. they cannot fathom this idea

that there is a black president. >> michael steele is the republican party's first african-american chairman. it's an issue i raised with him earlier today. >> former speaker of the house, a man who is moving around as if he might run for president, said the president of the united states has a kenyon anti-colonial view of the world. >> who said that? >> newt gingrich. >> okay. >> is that an appropriate way to have this conversation, as a republican leader and as a black man? >> i don't know what being black has to do with it -- >> you don't think sayingth president has a kenyon world view is perhaps trying to play lowest common denominator -- >> no, i don't think so. how do you make that stretch? where's his dad from? >> what does that -- >> he's of african descent. he has an african continental, you know -- that descent. i don't understand where you're going with that. >> you don't think it's race -- >> no, i don't, i don't see that stretch. i no probably some folks out

there want to, but i don't see that. i know newt. i know that's not his mind set on that. >> -- debate somebody, a butt dance, they sit in a chair, they start moving around. he was doing a butt dance with that question. michael steele knows exactly what you were asking. he needs to stop dancing around the whole question. answer the question. he doesn't want to criticize newt gingrich because he's been a big supporter of his. here's the other deal. the president's father left them when he was around 2 or so. he didn't even know the guy. so it's not like he grew up around his dad, listening to him all the time. also, when has been colonialism a great thing? >> talking to democrats, i know you have, privately, we'll say, some of the anger they hear in they districts, they say there's no doubt some of it is latent racism. they can't prove it -- >> oh, good lord.

when republicans start talking, they scream racism. it's the last best trick of a losing democrat, is to accuse the republicans of racism. the issue here has nothing to do with race. the issue has to do with nobody, republican or democrat, has figured out what this guy's world view is. and the republicans are starting to set the narrative for 2012 already that this guy's world view is fundmentally anti-american. >> erick, you're not going to say the president of the united states who is sworn to defend and protect the constitution, has an anti-american view. no what he wants to do -- >> i think he has a view of america that views america as one of many nations and not the last best hope for mankind. >> first, if you look at facts, we are one of many nations, so let's deal with that. when they have financial criescy taking place across the globe it also affected us, so we can't act like we're the only country out here. you will not sit here and call this president anti-american when he represents the united

states of america, including you. >> i think his world view is an anthema to the -- >> so what's your world view? >> my world view is that america is the last best hope for mankind for freedom and obama doesn't view it that way. >> it's president obama and he is an american and it's insulting to sit here and have gingrich talk about this kenyan view. we know what he was saying there. it made no sense whatsoever. he should be ashamed of himself. and apologize for it. he's an american and he's a christian just in case you were confused. >> i'm going to call it between roland and erick here. the other panel i. ists silent during that. i appreciate the respectful debate between the two of you. what's the word on the street? our secret weapon next. i want to give my 5 employees health insurance,

but i just can't afford it. i have diabetes. i didn't miss a premium payment for 10 years. and i'm worried if i lose my job, i won't be able to afford insurance. when i graduated from college, i lost my health insurance. the minute i got sick, i lost my insurance. not anymore. not anymore. not anymore. america's healthcare reforms change lives for the better. to find out how it can help you, visit us at americasfairhealthcare.org it's not just fair, it's the law. to everyone who wants to go to college and everyone who started college but never finished... to late bloomers... full-time moms... and everyone who is good at something but wants to be great.

welcome to kaplan university. the university that's changing the face of education... to undergraduate degrees, graduate degrees... degrees that can give you a leg up... in a tough job market... in any job market... welcome. welcome to kaplan university. call kaplan university now or visit us on-line to take our free learning assessment.

"rick's list" prime time coming up. let's check for a preview. >> everybody's talking about o'donnell but the tea party sensation out of new york is carl paladino. who is he? what does he really believe? you're going to find out because i asked him, and this is a

pretty confrontational interview that's already going viral. you'll see it right here on "rick's list." >> okay, pete dominick, day after the big primary, sent him out on the street. he wants to play stump the anchor. pete. >> i want to try to stump you tonight. i don't know if i can. if i do, i think, like rick sanchez said, maybe we can go viral. so today the big story is this christine o'donnell win in delaware. the liberal blogs, john, are just slaying this woman all day, showing these videos of her being anti-sex before marriage, anti-masturbation, for gay conversion. my question to you is, at what point do we take her for her word from videos ten years ago, will she be answering these questions? how are we supposed to know what she thinks? >> yes, she will have to answer questions. she was part of a conservative social group that teaches abstinence. she was views on gay rights.