>> hey, you're okay. >> of a performance artist called day frank. >> you'll be fine. >> reporter: but i prefer my emergencies with greater urgency. jeanne moos, cnn, new york. >> they're all okay. remember, you can always follow a story in "the situation room" or on twitter. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." john king usa starts right now. thanks, wolf and good evening, everyone. 36 days until the midterm election and john biden has a message for the liberal base, stop whining. if you don't think whining is why the democrats are in trouble this midterm election, then maybe you agree with the 2004 presidential nominee, massachusetts senator john kerry, the problem in senator kerry's view is that the voters are not really paying that much

attention, and as a result are too easily swayed by a simple slogan rather than the facts or the truth. whatever the cause of the democratic doldrums, it's sure to be a fascinating week, the president and much of his cabinet are fanned out across college campuses. the new cnn polling tonight raises the question of whether it might be too late. seven in ten americans tell us things are going badly in america today, history suggests the president's party is in for a big hit. no whining allowed here. cnn contributor eric erickson, author of the new book "red state uprising." and with me here, former george w. bush strategist and now national journal columnist, maureen dowd. i'll start with you, because now i have this year figured out. either the voters aren't that

smart because they're not paying as much attention or you democrats need to stop whining, is that the solution? >> i think the vice president was talking about a particular phenomenon on my side of the aisle which is the left. you have a number of prognosticators saying that the president hasn't been progressive enough and at a time when we have had bold, fundamental change and other issues that have been really hard in this election cycle so i think the vice president had a real message which is you know what happens when democrats don't vote, republicans win. >> it would have been good if he had said that, but he did not say that. it's not really a good idea to blame voters right before an election, because they actually might sit at home instead of going out. >> you said a lot of polling and a lot of focus groups, when you say things like that, do voters stop whining? or you're just not paying attention? you're not just listening to me?

>> voters are not going to take that and pile it on everything else that they think washington is disconnected from their lives. not only are the policies, things they don't think have improved they lives and they don't trust governmenters now they hear people in government saying they think they know better than them about what happened. john kerry's thing is a perfect example of the fact that voters cannot believe that washington listens to them. and when they believe that, they get to decide these elections, not john kerry, anding when they get to decide that. >> i want both of you saying to listen to the president, if he did an interview this morning with nbc news, he had a specific issue with what the new house republican plan, the pledge to america, let's listen to the president about why he's saying this on the other side. >> they said we're going to balance the budget, they propose $4 trillion worth of tax cuts and $16 billion in spending cuts and then they say that we're going to somehow magically balance the budget.

that's not a serious approach. >> john, you have the vice president yelling at the liberal base, stop whining, i'm saying uh-oh, all the independent voters in the campaign seem to be running for the other guys. that's the president's way of reaching out and pulling them back? >> he realized, he's got a credibility gap when it comes to spending so he's trying to make the issue, actually the process of governing, don't just be angry, take a look at what they're proposing, and if you care about balanced budgets, if you care about fiscal responsibility, then these numbers don't add up, trust me, with governing, don't just trust the slogans on the other side. >> so eric erickson, the vice president of the united states, he didn't just tell the left to stop whining, he was trying to give his dissertation, cut taxes

up here, welt and good jobs will trickle down to everybody, listen to how the vice president put it. >> they really do, they really do think it trickles down, it's like snowflakes, they think somehow -- you know, no, i'm serious, they believe it, otherwise they wouldn't say the things they're saying, by the way, they really believe it. >> eric, are you going to stop whining and watch the snowflakes. >> the last time they seriously attacked the republicans on economics reagan won the white house. the problem for the democrats is that most voters have now decided the democrats really don't have a serious approach, it didn't help them to jokingly make jokes about the farmers. none of these people in washington are serious, to most

voters democrats or republicans to independents and yet, independents republicans are largely to blame for the problems in washington and they still want the republican party to go back and fix it. >> barack obama has this saying that he always set throughout this election is why would you trust the people that drove it into the ditch. the problem is that the american public has waited 20 months for the tow truck to show up. when barack obama makes an intellectual argument in an election that is an emotional, passionate election which we have seen race after race. he has to come out and talk to their heart or their guts. >> this all play into the elite problem the democrats have. you would really have liked health care if you only understood it, okay? and you're not -- republicans weren't serious, right? and i think that's a problem for them. >> the president and the democratic party does need to communicate, not only how the economy is right now, but how they actually are going to make

it better and they have to communicate a series of ideas of how -- of what their leadership really means and what their republican leadership really means, and how they have a vision for the future and what the republican vision is. he's not just talking about what he's done, he's going to talk about what he will do. >> the small business bill is important. the fact that you're making that case now and you have made it before, here's what happens if that's the case, this is what the american people think to eric's point earlier. we ask people in our new polling who's more responsible for the economic problems in the country today in 41% say republicans in congress, 35% say democrats in congress. the republicans are more responsible for getting us into this mess. now who do you trust to get us out? who is more likely to improve economic conditions? republicans in congress, 47%, democrats in congress 41%. so to matthew's point that the

tow truck hasn't shown up in 41 months and they're willing to call the guy who put them into the ditch to pull them out now. >> let's just hypothetically take john kerry at his word that voters buy into slogans, they bought into yes we can in 2008 and they have clearly bought into no we can't. they're really tired of business as usual in d.c. and they're not happy with the bums they sent in four years ago. they're perfectly happy to throw out the incumbents. >> in an election that the republicans want nationalized, they're helping them nationalize it by making all these big arguments. what i think they should do is go state after state after state after state and make a particular argument in a particular place. there's enough people that are potentially unqualified on the republican side, they're nationalizing at a time the republicans want a national election. >> but now they're trying to

nationalize it by talking about george w. bush, because people believe that he drove us into the ditch. >> it doesn't matter. >> but they don't associate these republicans in congress who are running for reelection necessarily with george w. bush which is what the democrats would like. >> and if you think that you have seen stories of how they're actually trying to localize the races, candidates themselves are talking about their opponents and people and independents when they see some of these actual back grounds of some of these candidates republicans have put up in their fury, do get recoiled from that, so i do think that the right has taken over the republican party, gives us opportunities district by district to make that case. obviously we have to continue promoting good ideas. >> that will hurt -- that will definitely hurt republicans in some individual races, independent who is might otherwise be voting for

republicans on fiscal responsibility grounds are turned off by the apparent -- bill clinton said the other s y stay -- if it's a choice, he said, between a democratic record of governing and a republican policy proposals, then they've got a better shot and that's what i think the president's trying to do, but there's still this i feel your pain gap that he's facing, he's got towns that independents have been angry since day one, they're angry at both big government and big business. >> it's not just independents who are angry, it's the electorate, it's democrats who are angry and it's republicans. >> our side is a little more depressed. >> when we come back, do you think the country is on the right track or the wrong track, consider your opinion, and we'll show you how it matches up. don't go anywhere. ♪

i love my grandma.

i love you grandma. grandma just makes me happy. ♪ to know, know, know you grandma is the bestest. the total package. grandpa's cooooooooool. way cool. ♪ grandpa spoils me rotten. ♪ to know, know, know you ♪ is to love... some people call us frick and frack. we do finger painting. this is how grandpa and i roll. ♪ and i do [ pins fall ] grandma's my best friend. my best friend ever. my best friend ever. ♪ [ laughing ] [ boy laughs ] ♪ to know, know, know you after this we're gonna get ice cream. can we go get some ice cream? yeah. ♪ and i do ♪ and i do ♪ and i do

36 days from now, you decide who controls congress and

whether the president will have an easier time or a much, much harder time getting his agenda through that congress. m matthew before the break, you suggested that the candidates go state by state to make their case. i think that's what david axelrod mod whent he said this. >> i think this is going to be an idiosyncraticic election. democrats are going to win in places you didn't expect them to win. i'm eager for november 2, i think it's going to be an interesting night. >> we call that putting on a good public face, i'm not sure he's so eager. >> i have known david for a long time. we have done races together. when he says i'd oy it owe. >> -- you would both say let's get past this election as quick as we can. >> i think there's a big wave coming of the democratic party.

>> we all hear about the wave and then we hear about a candidate outside the main stream in delaware. i have been in campaigns, i know we have to work every day to win. >> so when you talk to people who are involved these this races, some are up to 55 or 60. others say they have about 30, 35. my question to john and eric first of all, how much do you do the race by race look in figuring this out? well are the races going today 7 in 10 americans think the race is going in a bad direction. how do people feel this country's direction is going, if those numbers hold, will republicans have any excuse if

they don't get at least one c m chamber of congress? >> we see this year democrats going in and in some places really viciously attacking, like alan grayson down in florida, his republican opponent sometimes with distorted attacks, it's kind of icky out there in some of these races, i do think some republicans are setting themselves up for failure if they don't take one house of congress. john boehner is going to be out of a job given the expectations that they're going to. it's become a nationalized election guess what, the recession was over last year. jay leno's great line is that it's as imaginary as your job. >> i want you to listen to this ad, if you go state by state, race by race, you see interesting things, you see a

lot of democrats running against nancy pelosi, some democrats running away from barack obama. this is a democratic incumbent house member, listen to who he braises here. >> when george bush proposed a medicare prescription drug plan, earl pomeroy voted yes. >> yeah, look, two years is a long time in politics and bush is looking pretty good to a lot of people these days. but i mean that's clearly a guy running in a red state trying to keep his job, but the overall fact is, look, we do have a republican white summit, democrats should not be in denial about that. and at the end of the day, high intensity low turnout elections favors republicans. but democrats are going to show some surprising strength. a poll came out the other day showing jack conway within two points of rand paul. not a lot of people saw that

coming, but he's still behind and the wave is still coming, but you're still looking at a couple of races. >> democrats are ill prepared. unlike 1994 when this wave came and democrats were shocked but it, at least now they understand what's coming at them. >> i do think we will see big fluctuations, we see women changing, women voting, seeing more support for the democratic party from women. i think there's actually a lot of people who are reacting to the polarization and some of the crazy statements coming out from some of these people and you'll see a big change. >> there's not a whole lot of historical evidence that says the numbers in power, in the final six weeks of a midterm. it's always usually the challengers who get better as people get madder and madder and madder. they're not going to get madder and madder and madder and then vote for a democrat.

>> what can you do or is there much you can do to pull the levers using the greatest power in the world, the rose garden, the pulley pulpit, the presidency, is there much more that he can do? >> i think they should feed the expectation game at this point for the republicans and feed it as much as possible. get off the intellectual argument, get off the nationalizing elections and let the republicans, let it feed, so whatever happens with the republicans is not going to be as good as people thought it was going to be. that's what i would do if i were them. start having meetings. >> i think if they came out of the white house, if that kind of robert gibbs like statement where we're going to lose the house comes out, you'll see democrats, the problem with that advice is that it will depress turnout even more. and what our party needs is -- >> you should have been aimed a it the white house and the truth, they don't want to pay attention to the truth because

that's the truth. >> going back to gloria's point, democrats have seen this coming unlike 1994, and the rats are threeing the ship a lot faster now, you got guys openly attacking obama, you've got democrats fleeing for nancy pelosi, you've bomb pomeroy campaigning for george bush. >> we got to get a quick time-out here. we'll see you again very soon, we got a lot to talk about here. and when we come back, one of the things we'll talk about is your privacy, cyber security is a big issue, the government wants the power to keep track of terrorists and drug dealers, but won't they be snooping on your private messages if they do that? you might argue there's plenty for congress to do, are they wasting their time? outsourcing your jobs, is it about policy or just politics. and pete dominic knows the

election is coming close and he's looking at going negative. 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. [ evan ] ah it's cool. ah... ah. ah. ah. ah. ah. ah. ah. ah. ah! ah! whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, what is that? how come my dap wasn't like that? huh? it's just an "us" thing. yeah, it's a little something we do. who else is in this so-called "us"? man, i don't know. there's a lot of us. [ chuckles ] ask your friends what it's like to be part of a group that's 40 million strong. state farm insures more drivers than geico and progressive combined. it's no surprise, with so many ways to save and discounts of up to 40%. so call an agent at 1-800-state-farm or go online.

welcome back, let's check in with joe johns for the latest political news you need to know right now. >> hey, john, california governor arnold schwarzenegger just convicted -- just granted a convicted murder a one-day reprieve from his scheduled execution. this the gives his attorneys until thursday to finish filing appeals. president obama is on his way to new mexico now, it's his first stop on a campaign swing that also includes wisconsin, iowa and virginia. senator susan collins says an inspector general report reveals the u.s. postal service which

wants to raise stamp prices is wasting at least $800 million a year. >> the i.g. found stunning evidence of contract mismanagement at the collapses final waste and excessive executive perks. >> one perk collins cited the government picks up the full cost of health insurance for 835 top postal executives. and congressional quarterly says a party of committees have compromised on what could become the first comprehensive law addressing cyber security but it probably won't pass this year and as i understand it, john, the "new york times" is also reporti ining today that the administration would like to wiretap encrypted communications, it's fascinating, but you have to wonder whether people even understand what it is. >> it is fascinating, i was

e-mailing -- you can send blackberry messages or maybe you skype at home, maybe you peer to peer message with your friends at home on facebook what. the administration says it wants is power to wiretap to get wiretap power in case terrorists or drug dealers or some other criminals could be using this technology because so many people now communicate on the internet, not in the old-fashioned way on the television or even on the cell phone conversation. so they want to look at what you're doing on here. i could send, you know, i send my wife a message sometimes, what time do we meet for dinner and then it gets encrypted and then it comes into the receiving device and it becomes uncoded. they want the encorruption key so it can keep track of the bad guys. they want to be able to unscramble those encrypted

messages, they want to intercept messages and to intercept those peer to peer messages, that are encrypted. one of the concerns about this, it could be very expensive for the technology firms to set up that gateway for the government to get the information. some say it could slow and impede innovations. and here's another big concern, it could be exploited by others, hackers and spying, once you open a portal to get the encrypted communications that could be a problem as well. the administration says it's a huge law enforcement debate. who's right, who's wrong? do you want the government to have this power? when we come back, we have got the general council of the aclu, the counter terrorism advisor for george w. bush, different views on a huge, huge emerging issue. >> what about my privacy? seems like the bottom line. >> i'll send you a message. we'll be right back. full-time m. 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. there's a moment where everything comes together. where there's magic. and you now understand what nature's been hiding.

♪ at dow we understand the difference between innovation and invention. invention is important. it's the beginning. it's the spark. but innovation is where we actually create value for dow, for society, and for the world. ♪ at dow, we're constantly searching for how to use our fundamental knowledge of chemistry to solve these difficult problems. science is definitive. there is a right answer out there. [ male announcer ] the same 117 elements do the fundamental work of chemistry. ♪ the difference, the one element that is the catalyst for innovation, the one element that changes everything to crt a greenerh in the a and in our factories. ♪ to find cleaner, more efficient ways to power flight.

♪ and harness our technology for new energy solutions. [ female announcer ] around the globe, the people of boeing are working together, to build a better tomorrow. that's why we're here. ♪ congressional committees are working on legislation and the administration wants new powers when it comes to cyber security. the administration says that's necessary to fight terrorism. but already, it's raising red flags about privacy and giving the government too much power to read virtually every electronic message that anyone could be sending. the former white house security advisor frances on ttownsend.

and in our new york bureau, laura murphy, the director of the american civil liberties union, washington legislative office. laura, i know you object to some of this, why shouldn't the government, as long as it exercises it's power carefully, have the right to monitor these communications? >> the government needs to establish why it needs to monitor these communications and present us with the evidence why they don't have access to these communications. the government also needs to establish some sort of check and balance. we just can't give them a blank check to the internet. our financial information, our health care information, our personal communications, everything we do nowadays goes through the internet and if the government has access to it, what makes us so secure that hackers won't have access to it? so we need the government to come before congress and put evidence before congress that they need new authorities because this is a huge transition that will be very

costly that will change the structural architecture of the internet and it will make a big difference to the american people. >> big brother is her argument, you can't give the government such unfettered access and unfettered power? >> really what the government is asking for is the ability to keep up with technology. the government has less access to the type of information that they're legally entitled to intercept. so what the government's really asking the fbi general council issued a statement "today" they're just trying to keep up with the technology that's available today. >> we're not talking expanding authority, we're talking about preserving our ability to execute our existing authority. let us do what we can do with a hard line, telephone or a cell phone. there are 50 million blackberrys worldwide and you can do peer to peer. people don't have skype, people

don't have facebook. what is to stop it to laura's point to say, maybe over here, casting a wide net and looking at everybody until maybe they find something or maybe they don't, but then my privacy has been invaded. >> there is a legitimate concern, i think the government does need to do a better job at explaining what are the current legal authorities, what they can do and what have they been prevented from collecting because of the advances in technology. they haven't done a very good job of explaining that. i testified before susan collins committee on the cyber bill that they're putting on. the government needs to do better in terms of explaining how they're protect this information and what the protections and oversight of congress will be. i think that's an important piece here. >> i agree. >> but is there a reasonable compromise so that the bad guys out there, just to protect my rights and your rights that the bad guys aren't protected as well? >> well, listen, before we get to the issue of compromise, i

think we need to get to the issue of what is necessary. this happened in 1993, the government said, look, people are going to wireless phones, we need to switch from copper wire land line phones to wireless phones and we need new authorities. they went through a rigorous process of presenting evidence of making their case before congress, they need to make their case to the american people. this is not a mere transfer of authorities, we're talking about a different technology, a different platform, and we're also talking about international components, what they want is a master key to the internet, it's like us giving master keys to the local police to our houses, we need to have our values carried forward in this new age of searching for terrorists. we need to make sure that the government has checks and balances, that they just don't go through our e-mails, our personal records, our health care forms, our bank records, we have over a trillion dollars a

year in cyber crime. what is the government going to do about cyber crime. before we create a backdoor to all of our internet communications, they need to establish what they're going to do to protect our rights. they can't just have unleashed authority and say we need it because technology's changed. >> i'm exaggerating a little bit. but you have had access to some of the most sensitive information in the united states government, is there evidence that osama bin laden is on skype? but again, the terrorists are using these technologies to communicate in critical ways? >> there's intelligence, there's law enforcement information that they are using advanced technologies like the internet, like peer to peer, like skype to get around law enforcement capability. they do keep up, we know that bin laden himself was using a satellite phone. when it was proven that we had the capability to intercept it, he never used it again.

they look for advanced technologies to get around us. and it really is a collection of all things on the internet. this is not the master key, what they're looking to do is consistent with their legal authorities have the capability to intercept those materials. >> have they reached out to your community at all, as the administration looks for this, is there a good dialogue or is it my way is the highway? >> we have had meetings with the fbi but not the -- we have stake holders who are very concerned about these issues, the fbi has made many mistakes, there was just an inspector general report about unwarranted spying released today in the "new york times" commented on it. so the fbi isn't a perfect place, they're made up of human beings and they need to be made accountable by interest groups by congress, so that we can be protected. >> it's a fascinating debate, we'll continue it on another day. and when we come back, we'll

continue the conversation with some of our reporters and analysts. and some words from the loser in that delaware republican senate primary, we don't want to miss what he had to say. cards promising 25,000 miles a flight only to be told... there's nothing for 25. but they will let me give you the same seat for a big miles upcharge. how's that sound? for that many miles we'll be stuck taking a "staycation." [ imitates engine revving ] [ angie ] i'm through playing games. i switched to the venture card from capital one. vacation, here we come! [ male announcer ] don't pay miles upcharges. don't play games. get the flight you want with the venture card at capitalone.com. whoo-hoo! now this is a vacation. what's in your wallet?

joe johns our senior correspondent is here, dana bash, and jessica yellin. also with us eric erickson, a columnist for the daily beast. eric, i'll go to you first, you work in this community, you're posting all the time. obviously the government has

some law enforcement interest in these communications, where is the line? >> you know, it's not an easy line to draw. i do agree with fran's point that this isn't the government trying to encroach on to other technology in a new way, but to extend its existing powers to a new technology. government does a very bad job of keeping up with the times, with technology, i mean goodness, we were still paying the phone tax for the spanish american war up until a few years ago. it's very hard for government to evolve. politically, this is going to be a very tough fight with republicans and his base. it's his base that wanted guantanamo closed and these national security powers restricted and they're not. >> when you talk to people on the left, it's one of the things they do grumble about, not only the promise to close gitmo hasn't been honored. but in fighting for proterrorism powers, this administration has done above and beyond what the

bush administration has done. >> that has been a criticism. a lot of these original round of concerns were addressed in the patriot act. this is deeply complex. privacy concerns are one of the real urgent issues of our time, as is cyber security and the reality that we can't wait for a digital pearl harbor to take these seriously. it's the right of law abiden citizens to protect privacy. i think that it does make sense to keep the role of government up to the pace of change, but we need to be vigilant that whenever government asks for more power. >> is the government up to the pace of this? i was on the train several months back, i read that george tenet is doing a ton of work in this field now, advising corporations on cyber security and his take was that the government was asleep at the switch. >> i talked to a democrat who was plugged into this debate on

capitol hill today and they were basically stunneded when they read this in the newspaper. they didn't know that the administration was coming with this stuff at this time. there are also privacy advocates on the right who don't like it ethier and they squeeze the middle and it's what you call the halloween coalition and nothing gets done. >> the senate majority leader, the democrat in charge of the united states senate just told our congressional producer ted barrett he didn't know about this until he read it in the newspaper and he's not going to be briefed until tomorrow. and dianne feinstein said just minutes ago said she would have to see exactly what they're talking about. but she did say, she sees enough intelligence material that she knows how important it is. >> the debate about communication sharing is always left hand right hand. >> it's such a remind they're the difference of the president on the campaign trail versus

governing, he was a fierce critic of the nas wire typing, and guantanamo. yes, he will have challenges with his base but this will become a complicated issue broadly because independents and mott rats tend to support it. >> remember, the president was engaging on middle east peace during the election instead of talking about -- what is the guy doing bringing this up when the democrats aren't even going to be meeting for more than another week? >> i think this was a beat reporter doing his or her job. you can act all happy about it at the white house that somebody talked to this reporter. we're going to take a quick break. you know, elections are about moving i'm out. there's a big debate on capitol hill tonight. yes, your congress is actually at work on outsourcing. stay with us. and i'm like, "oh, promise mommy

you'll never ever pick up a cigarette." and brian looked at me at eight years old and said, "promise me you'll quit." i had to quit. ♪ my doctor gave me a prescription for chantix, a medication i could take and still smoke, while it built up in my system. [ male announcer ] chantix is a non-nicotine pill. that stays with you all day to help you quit. in studies, 44% of chantix users were quit during weeks 9 to 12 of treatment, compared to 18% on sugar pill. it's proven to reduce the urge to smoke. ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. and find out how you can save money on your prescription at chantix.com. some people have had changes in behavior, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice agitation, hostility, depression or changes in behavior, thinking or mood that are not typical for you, or if you develop suicidal thoughts or actions, stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. talk to your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems,

which can get worse while taking chantix. some people can have allergic or serious skin reactions to chantix, some of which can be life threatening. if you notice swelling of face, mouth, throat or a rash stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away. do not take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to chantix. tell your doctor which medicines you're taking as they may work differently when you quit smoking. chantix dosing may be different if you have kidney problems. the most common side effect is nausea. patients also reported trouble sleeping and vivid, unusual or strange dreams. until you know how chantix may affect you, use caution when driving or operating machinery. chantix should not be taken with other quit-smoking products. ♪ my benjamin, he helped me with the countdown. "ben, how many days has it been?" "5 days, mom. 10 days, mom." i think after 30 days he got tired of counting. [ male announcer ] talk to your doctor about chantix. find out how you can save money on your prescription and learn terms and conditions at chantix.com.

that was the moment of truth. medicare by itself doesn't cover everything. i don't want to spend my life worrying about what would happen if one of us got sick. [ male announcer ] now more than ever, you may be wondering: do i have the right medicare coverage? talk to the health plan experts at securehorizons to get the answers you need. [ woman ] life's too short to worry about health care. i hate to worry. [ male announcer ] in these changing times, the name on your medicare health plan may be more important than ever. choose a company you can depend on. call now.

welcome back. let's check in with joe johns with the latest political news you need to know right now. >> john, a senior democratic strategist tells cnn the party may release campaign ads attacking former bush campaign strategist karl rove and his ties to a new conservative group called america's crossroads. and after losing the senate primary to christine o'donnell, mike castle blames the losses on distortions of his voting record by conservative party members and the tea party express. he said some of the smarter people understood the bailout probably was essential to keep us from going into a deeper recession, also i understand that people now understand it was getting paid back, it was not the loser it was painted to be. the one thing about it is that you kind of wonder if people are really concerned about the t.a.r.p., not because it's getting paid back or not, but

because the t.a.r.p. was the kind of thing that people still didn't see any real results in their own pocket books. >> mike castle is city considering, he says it's a distant possibility. he's still considering a write in campaign, if he were to run, but look across the country, what's happened to campaigns this year, i wouldn't be singing the praises of t.a.r.p. >> i think you're exactly light. and he was talking about this in the context of the republican electorate, but it's not just the republican electorate, it's the electorate at large. we were talking to ardent democratic voters. we haven't seen any help, why are you bailing out wall street? >> it's the original sin of this political cycle, most people you talk to right now, when you talk to tea party active it ises, they go back to the bailout, the bailout, the bailout. and the fact that wall street got so much quick help while

wall stre-- they're still struggling. >> you know, listen to his words at the beginning of the statement, the smarter people, i was ask the other day if this was a republican versus democrat election it is really not in my mind it really is more washington versus those not in washington and you see that polling reflected in democratic races as well as republican and this view that somehow, voters are -- some voters smarter than others and they go along with me, well, maybe so but the majority of the voters didn't vote for him in the primary. >> eric has a point, does he not, john, even if the politicians think that, they shouldn't say it that way? >> look, elitism doesn't play well ever in america and the american people are smart but especially during a recision. the problem is it is a matter of getting out the facts. first of all this is delaware there are a lot of banks in tell wear. hostility to t.a.r.p. may not

make all the sense in the world. the second is the key issue in his race it was a close partisan primary, fundamentally unrepresentative of the state as a whole. most of the money that came in to fund christine o'donnell was with out-of-state money and t.a.r.p., dirty little secret, has worked very well, and get paid back, probably on time. not staying is a political winner but sometimes practicality matters more than spin. >> 7:50 in the east coast, a live picture of the united states senate, have a seat if you want that is the united states congress and your senate is at work tonight. >> wow. >> at work tonight, but we can't promise you what they are debating is ever going to reach the president's desk. dana bash, tell us what is going on here. >> not only not prom mir, you can guarantee it won't happen, certainly wouldn't happen in the next four days and that is the amount of time congress has left before they go home for the election. the reason why they are there late tonight is because senate democrats are desperate to try to -- and democrats in the house as well, desperate to try to put votes on the floor in the time

that they have left to try to use against republicans. this particular issue is outsourcing and it in an atmosphere where democrats are really in trouble with regard to the jobs and the economy, this is the one thing in races across the country that they think that they can use against republicans. they want to send your jobs overseas. they have done it with votes on trade deals, in positions that they have had business and we will try to help keep that there. >> give a little sample before we bring others into the conversation, a little sample of campaigns thought, democratic ads against republicans. here is a flavor. >> shipped jobs to china. >> congressman rob portman knows,grow the economy in china. >> politician adam kinsinger is trade agreements, deals that ship our jobs overseas. >> spike pledged to support loopholes for companies that ship our jobs overseas. >> i think we get the point. >> it works for democrats because it is a two fer. one it stays is not helping the

unemployment economic picture and two it ties into their larger message that republicans stand forcorporate interests over the little guy. whether it will play out, we have yet to see. since barbara boxer started airing her fiorina attack ad on the outsourcing issue, she has pulled a strong lead ahead in the polling, eight points in the latest polling. reason to believe she could lose that, for now it did help. >> democrats point to this particular ad, they believe that is the reason. >> she has pulled out. >> anger, anger, anger, democrats going negative early and you often is just about the last thing they are left with here. you can sort of drag somebody's positives down now and hope at the end of the day throw a knockout punch before they go to the polls. >> john and eric come in quickly on this as we close the conversation. go ahead. >> there is something bigger going to on here there is a neoprotectionism we have seen on the fridge.sof politics an getting mainstream, especially in the democratic party because

of the union base but there's also a constant refrain you hear, china. china is becoming a subtle election year issue, in large part because of the debt. people get the fact that china owns our debt and that is a subtle refrain you are also hearing throughout these ads. >> you know, i would say this is a message in desperate need of a message. the democrats have gone from attacking on social security to attacking on medicare to now attacking on this jobs front. i think it is pretty much locked in, particularly independent voters, the democrats have been battling jobs and the republican response is they want dodd a dog and pony show in the senate this week on this issue instead of dealing with the tax cut issue, not going to help them overall in the long-term. >> john's point on china, pollsters in both parties tell me if you look at focus groups and polling data, americans believe within a generation, china will surpass the united states as a world power. that is driving us there. thanks everybody for coming. when we come back, pete on the street goes negative. hmm. >> you're ever running for office, look at the camera. look at this face. look at this face.

an extra strength pain reliever with alertness aid to fight fatigue. so get up and get goin'! with new bayer am. the morning pain reliever. i'm a mortgage banker at quicken loans. mike and michiyo were looking to purchase a larger home to accommodate their family. matt was a star from start to end. he took care of us. he'll take care of you. we always like to follow up with clients and make sure that they know we're tracking their loan for them, and if there's something that makes more sense for them, we can present that as an option. the surprise was that there were no surprises. they have great technology, but they have people like matt. that's what makes the difference. it's an opportunity to help clients achieve the american dream. that's why i love quicken loans! ♪ that's why i love quicken loans! 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.

"rick's list" prime time a couple minutes away at the top of the hour, check in with rick sanchez, a preview. >> i have an interview tonight with ingrid bettencourt. she was running for president in

colombia. and she suddenly gets kidnapped, ends up in the jungle dealing with -- she's abused, some really bad guys out there, crocodiles, piranhas. the story she tells, john is amazing. you have got hear what it is like to be in captivity for six and a half years. we will have it on "rick's list." going negative. you will hear that a lot for the next 36 days until the elections, our offbeat reporter pete dominick found one reason going in negativiso popular. why? pete it isasy to do? >> that is it john king, exactly. i proved today that i can make anybody, even the nicest people seem like evil villains with a couple of the right elements. take a look. eric regularly strokes his beard in an evil fashion. barbara ice skates on dry land.

bob gets tired of being cared around. is this the kind of man you want for office? orlando can't smile. john has a little bit of chest hair coming out the top of his shirt. that the kind of man you want running washington? eddie thinks he is invincible from rain. this guy looks like anderson cooper if he was dressed up as ernie. bishop won't with even take the sticker off his hat. loretta is the friendliest looking human i have ever seen. she will never win in washington. bob won't get off the phone for one second. you think he will do work for you? aaron's too big and tall for washington. abby doesn't want to spit food out while she's talking. debbie likes to exercise and be healthy.