from washington, the mclaughlin group. the american original. for over two decades, the vogeico, committed to providing service to its auto insurance customers for over 70 years. more information on auto insurance at geico.com or 1-800-947-auto any time of the day or night. if. for such a small if i live to a hundred. if social security isn't enough. if my heart gets broken.

if she says yes. we believe if should never hold you back. if should be managed with a plan that builds on what you already have. together we can create a personal safety net, a launching pad, for all those brilliant ifs in the middle of life. you can call on our expertise and get guarantees for the if in life. after all, we're metlife. guarantees for the if in life. issue one, stumping obama. >> if everybody who voted in 2008 votes in 2010, we are confident we will win this election. >> the scene is rhode island. where the most heavily reported race is a three-way bid for rhode island state governor. the democratic party in rhode island endorsed gubernatorial candidate, frank caprio, who is currently state treasurer. caprio is opposed in the

governor's race by john, and one term republican u.s. senator, lincoln chafey. who turned independent in 2007. chafey comes from a republican family. his father john was rhode island governor and u.s. senator. in 2008, lincoln chafey endorsed barack obama during the presidential campaign and 63% of rhode islanders gave obama their vote for president. third in the nation ii's 72 and this year, mr. obama did not endorse either the independent lincoln chafey or frank caprio, the official nominee. caprio was asked what he thought about obama's silence. >> i never asked for president obama's endorsement. you know, he could take his endorsement and shove it as far as i'm concerned. >> one day later, caprio was interviewed. >> let's get the reality.

lincoln chafey is a friend of the president. >> on late sunday night on the eve of before the president was coming into rhode island, an odd trip, a reporter contacted us, not the white house. we are more than happy to stay silent about this. but they political sized it, so that's the reality. >> if for some reason the president were to contact you and say i need every governor in my corner. i really want to support you, i want to endorse you, would you welcome that endorsement? >> like i said, i have the hig president. i would be happy to field this call. >> question, why did obama, president obama go to rhode island? pat buchanan. >> he went in to save patrick kennedy's seat. that seat, you would be surprised is up for grabs and the president wanted to save it. but this is a general disaster. caprio should not have done that. because you don't insult the president of the united states. secondly when your base is the same as the president's, that's foolish. the president should not have

gone into rhode island and leaked the word that i'm not going to endorse the democratic candidate. it was a bad day for everybody, especially caprio, who i don't think is going to win. i think chafey is going to be the next governor of rhode island. >> is this the end of the kennedy dynasty? >> it will be unless one decides to run in massachusetts. i think the kennedy's could come back. >> the son of what, santa monica? he the last kennedy in politics? >> a couple kennedy's holding office, but this next congress will be the first time there won't be a kennedy in the office in more than half a century. the white house didn't leak that he wasn't going to endorse the democrat in rhode island. they did a phone call on sunday afternoon. i was on the phone call. it was not a secret and i do think it is personal loyalties to lincoln chafey. he was in the senate with obama and endorsed him over john mccain.

so i think he was returning that. it's also a signal that this president, despite all of the labels that the other side puts on him that he is a socialist, he is not a democrat through and through. he acts under other obligations as well. but i think what he did in rhode island, john, that's your home state. it's a very democratic state. he is trying to rally his base, which is young people and african americans and i think he is having some success there typically the lowest turnout in these midterm elections. >> the most democratic state with the exception of those two others. but why is obama -- is obama damaged goods, do you think? you saw the "new york times." the job approval rating is 45. >> he's no more damaged goods than ronald reagan or bill clinton was at this time in their first term. he is hurting because the economy is hurting. the democrats are going to take

a hit. but i wouldn't align yourself, john, with the senate republican leader, mitch mcconnell who says he is going to devote the next two years to making sure obama is a one-term president. >> what is that? >> that's a fool daring. >> let me take a crack at that question about obama. here's the problem for democrats. this week harris released a poll showing barack obama at a 37% job approval rating. it took president bush years to get to 37%. it took barack obama a year and a half. he is a mill stone around the neck of most democratic candidates this year. huge majorities to the american people. reject every single big legislative achievement of this presidency and of this congress from the stimulous to obama care to cap and trade. unemployment at 10%. stagnant economic growth. we heard this week only a 2% growth rate. anemic. so what is happening is you have this curious phenomenon of

democrats running against their own president, running against their own agenda. this week we had this absurd development of a mississippi democrat named jean taylor blurting out, because he is panicked about his race. blurting out he voted for john mccain and not barack obama in 2008. > a conservative democrat. he will probably be a republican this time next week. >> the problem is the jobs. >> of course, that's all of our problem. >> you think he exhibited some problem for resolving that or keep dancing away from it? is he focusing on jobs? >> everyone monica said we are recovering, just slowly. >> well, of course he has a plan. he has been implementing it, but it's not enough. >> he has a broad economic plan, but can you see it siphoning out into job creation? >> absolutely. it's already happening. everyone has different views. i think more resources will be

pointed to -- congress it's probably not going to happen. >> john, nobody has a plan. nobody has a plan for jobs. look, obama -- tried with the stimulous bill. the federal reserve doubled the moneyment they put interest rates down to zero. the republicans are arguing for tax cuts. you aren't going to get those. you have a deficit that is 10% gdp. >> one more question on obama and the way he is conducting himself during this campaign. the question is, is his tone shrill? for example, he tells latinos to quote, punish your enemy. he tells democrats that the republicans have to be made to see that they should sit in the back. in the back of the bus. he is bringing that home. isn't that very unlike obama? >> in as much as you can take that language out of context, yes. >> you don't think those are cue words? >> i heard the speeches, john, i know. the fact of the matter is, that yeah, to be a president you have to preach optimism.

you have to give that -- >> not only optimism, but you have to be reasonable. >> clarence. what does punish your enemies mean? >> it means -- >> it means they are your enemy. let eleanor in. >> electing a democratic congress -- [ inaudible ] >> what is axelrod doing? is he feeding him this stuff? inherently, you don't see that in obama. it's out of character for him. >> he's trying to rally democrats who are angry at the other side. >> are you alleging democrats feed on this? >> i would like if it he had optimistic tone. excuse me. but he is succeeding, finally, in looking like he is fighting back. democrats felt like he was not aggressive enough. the republicans played him.

that he chased -- [ inaudible ] >> i would hardly say 37% -- >> let her finish. >> hold on, monica. >> the democrats feel that he really was played by the republicans, chasing this fantasy of bipartisanship and they are glad to see him fighting back. this is a fight. this is a real battle. people are getting stomped out on the campaign trail. >> i would hardly call a 37% job approval in his first term succeeding. the other part of his problem is that when he comes out with language like this, it is holy unpresidential. he is supposed to be the president of all of the people, including those who oppose him and his agenda. the other part of his problem is it violates the obama brand. the obama brand was bringing everybody together and healing what divides us. he has gone out there and been the most devicive. >> exit question. >> instead of hitting the campaign trail, president obama stayed in the white house with the democrats then have been in

multiple choice, a, would they be better off. b, would they be worse off? c, would they be about the same? >> they would be better off. but no. i think basically he helped some democrats. >> give me an answer. >> overall, it's a wash. >> which district? >> liberal districts he helps, no doubt about it. but he hurts -- >> in the unsafe seats, he might help. >> the blue dogs are going to be euthanized in mass on tuesday. >> the republicans won 54 seats in 1994 and the democrats basically won those seats back over series of elections. these are swing seats and a lot of them are going to fall back into the republican agenda. and i think the president has helped by fighting back. a president who retreats in the white house and doesn't fight sees that he isn't going to run again. >> the answer is a according to eleanor. >> caprio was thrilled that obama didn't endorse him. no wise democrat wants his

president 37% approval to campaign for him and the telling thing is, obama had to go into blue states like rhode island, massachusetts, and illinois. that tells you what kind of state they are in. >> if he stayed in the white house -- >> phone it in, baby. phone it in. >> are they better off, worse off, or the same? >> we knew it was going to swing towards the republicans. it was going to be a campaign full of anger and the fact is, that he has gone out issue two, election pitches of 2010. ♪ [ music ] >> i'm not a witch. i'm nothing you've heard. i'm you. i'll go to washington and do what you'd do. i'm christine o'donnell and i approve this message.

>> tuesday's candidates are flooding the airways with political ads. 37 races for the u.s. senate, 37 governors, and of course 435 u.s. house seats. the television cell is huge and some of the ads are memorable. a few samples. most humorous. democrat john hickenlooper, the sitting mayor of denver who is running for governor of colorado. >> i guess i'm not a very good politician because i can't stand negative ads. every time i see one, i feel like i need to take a shower and you see a lot of them. with all the challenges we face, colorado needs a governor who brings ther to create jobs and cut government spending. >> why did hickenlooper take the high road? >> it's a funny ad and it's a good message for his base. people are fed up with all the negative ads. he looks like a nice guy and a little bit of humor and he's going to run a clean political

campaign. although tom cann cry tancredo is gaining on him. >> he's a constitution party guy. >> what is that? >> howard phillips is third party. >> is that still around? >> howard is still here. the republican is down below. >> the reform party is gone. that's your party. it's in the canal, john. there's a constitution party out there? >> yeah, there is. it's on the ballot. >> what is the proposition? >> the real problem is -- republicans could lose their ballot position in 2012 in colorado for falling below 10%. >> i do. >> where is howard? >> howard is in the same building. >> back to hickenlooper. he is running well ahead, which is why he can afford to take the high road and pat should tell you his sister is running

tom tancredo's campaign. okay, if tancredo wins, i'll eat your tie next week. >> tom tancredo is gaining and i have a feeling he has the momentum now and he has money pouring in and he may be able to pull this off. the bigger question about these ads is that a lot of the democrats, republicans, too. but mostly democrats are running negative personal attack ads against their opponent because they don't have a message. what are they supposed to run on? an economic message? the economy is very, very shaky. high unemployment. all that is left for the democrats is sort of this knee jerk reaction to go after their opponents in a personal way. hickenlooper is okay, best atta it's going to go to you. >> against barbra boxer. sitting democratic senator being challenged by carly fiorina. >> barbra boxer failed to

protect california jobs. praises the stimulous plan while 2 1/4 million californians are unemployed. trillions in deficits. billions in taxes. our hopes crushed by washington. the legacy of barbra boxer. >> question, will the boxer, fiorina contest go down to the wire? >> whenever i hear that doomsday voice and the black and white pictures, the news is not good. going into this campaign season, all the consultants are saying attack, attack, attack. pat was right in the sense that nobody has the answer on the economy, the big issue. and the republicans are the party of no and democrats are saying no, not them. so it's like barbra boxer now has been suffering because of that. i think she is going to pull it out. what we don't know is how carly fiorina health issues now in the 11th hour may affect the turnout. it's possible. but health issues can work both ways.

>> connected with her breast cancer surgery, right? >> that's what i understand, yeah. >> it was an infection and it was handled with antibiotics. so let's not make it more serious. >> she was out on the campaign trail the next day. >> she is trailing barbra boxer and that's why she has this attack ad. fiorina should be doing better with women. her sarah palin endorsement helped her win the primary, but it's baggage. >> you want to speak to the senate? >> carly fiorina was trailing and remains trailing behind barbra boxer. she's trying to pull out all the stops and remind california voters that this is a big spending liberal. if california is going to get its fiscal house in order and if the nation is going to get its fiscal house in order, you have to get rid of barbra boxer. >> excuse me, best political platform sumary. >> florida democratic congressman, kendrick meek,

running for the united states senate seat currently held by george, who replaced mel martinez after martinez resigned last year. >> i'm kendrick meek, with three of us running, you should know what makes me different. i'm the only one that fought against developers straining the everglades. the only one against privatizing social security. the only one who is pro choice. who bush. against high credit card fees and to raise the minimum wage. >> question, is the message of the ad politically effective or ineffective? >> nobody is for a privatizing social security in florida for heaven's sakes. it's a very effective ad, i think. >> what is he running for? >> he's running for the senate. >> who are the other candidates? >> governor crist and rubio. trying to get meek to drop out of the race in favor of charlie

crist. this is the only african american with a shot at being until the u.s. senate. >> job is a big issue down there. as i mentioned before. >> but it's a good ad to introduce meek. >> do you think it's a waste of money? >> largely, yeah. >> it's a good feeling. >> it's a great ad. it's a great ad. >> it would be better off if chris didn't run to the left. the hope was chris would cut into rubio's vote, but now chris turned into a democrat as far as his agenda is concerned, pushing abortion rights and stem cell research and all. that is really hurting meek, cutting meek's support. >> i think he is polling at 15% and the democrats are really anxious to keep the senate and they also see marco rubio as a leader for the republican party. it makes political sense. >> does rubio impress you? >> he is imcredibly glib. he puts it together in a way that is attractive. >> national material.

national material? you mean vice presidential? >> vice presidential. i bet they would look at him in 2012. marco rubio -- >> what is the negative about him? >> they have problems down there. >> using the republican credit cards? >> yeah. for lunch? so what. big deal? >> it's a lunch. who cares. >> come on. >> marco rubio is a conservative superstar. he is young. he is very articulate. he's a cuban american. he has enormous appeal and he's going to win this race. kendrick meek ran a classy campaign. i love that ad. he handled himself great. >> do you think he is dispensable because he is latino? >> maybe. >> he is the future. >> what is the percentage of the population? >> it's 15% of the population, but 7.5% of the vote.

exit question, political spending this year was estimated to top $3 billion. a new record. is this sum of money a, too much? b, about right? c, too little? d, misfit? >> in some states like california, resaturation and redundancy. >> there you go. >> depends on the state. >> oh, here we go. here we go. >> buchanan. man up, john. >> i'm going to go with a. particularly because a lot of the a nation like this. let's be realistic. >> it is free speech, right? let's take a look at the democratic money, because the d >> is this a lot of money? >> let's show some gratitude here. this is a big stimulous program for the media. that's where most of this money is going. tv ads, and etcetera, and we need the

politics. >> politicians don't. the unions we know where issue three, healthcare backlash? > we cannot sit this one out. we can't let this country fall backwards because the rest of us didn't care enough to fight. >> barack obama has been u.s. president for 20 months. his prime accomplishment this far is the federal health bill that became law seven months ago, last march. the health bill was anticipated to be a land mark achievement. much of the praise has evaporated. an active minus. the review, the health law makes it compulsory for every american to buy health insurance or if they refuse to pay a tax, really a fine. opposition to the health bill has risen so much that 20 states filed lawsuits against the federal government claiming

the new healthcare bill is unconstitutional. now on the threshold of this election, some voters are worried about the perceived government's newfound interference in healthcare. 49% of voters have a negative opinion of healthcare. versus 39% who have a positive view. these numbers tell us, many believe, that a majority of voters tuesday will be opposed to the healthcare bill. some defenders of obama's health bill say it is based on the massachusetts health bill developed by mitt romney. romney says the massachusetts health bill is a far cry from obama care. in his autobiography, romney claims that the comparison between the two is erroneous. he says, quote, the notion of the federal government getting involved into the health insurance business is a very

bad idea. government supplied insurance would inevitably be subsidized at great cost to the taxpayers. it would give the government the kind of monopoly we would never allow a private entity to claim. clearly, the public insurance option is simply a transitional step towards the president's stated goal of creating a single payer system. one in which the nation's sole health insurer would be the federal government, unquote. >> is that introduction over stated? >> i think that's romney's attempt to make chicken salad out of chicken something else. the national bill is modeled after his bill, which has an individual mandate and that's something that republicans initially proposed. and i think the obama, healthcare plan is going to stand as a historic achievement. i think the republicans are campaigning and going to repeal it. they aren't going to get 60 votes in the senate for that and aren't going to get the

president's signature. they will attempt -- >> unless they have the senate. >> you have to get 60 to include any like that. and you have republicans campaigning on the big lie that they will keep the aspect of the insurance plan that people like and repeal the rest of it. >> there are a lot of democrats on the hill that don't like this bill. >> well, john to repeal it, you need 67 votes to override a presidential veto. but this bill is around the neck of the democratic party. it is going to drag down many of these blue dogs, especially in these tight races. the semiconservative districts. it is a killer. >> you said that about medicare, didn't you? that was a backlash -- >> no, i said 66, lost 47 seats, clarence, you recall. >> that's what happens with these programs. you get an initial backlash, but over time trying to repeal it, that's unprecedented. >> is obama care a significant

issue in illinois where you do your column? >> not as significant as jobs. we have 13% of unemployment in chicago right now. >> it is not unpopular. i don't know of anybody in illinois clambering to undo it. everybody wants to get rid of the bad parts. >> national polls show 60% plus would like to see obama care fully and completely repealed. that's why you not just have republicans, but a number of democrats also running on repeal. >> they aren't going to repeal it because they need what percentage of the vote? >> 2/3 of the both houses. >> they have to wait until they have a republican president. >> why isn't there an agreement to revise it? >> the republicans are claiming that if they gain control of the house, things will starve obama care. john, they will -- >> can it be fixed? >> they will be starved of funding until they get a vogeico, committed to providing service to

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