>> then i saw joe was there, too, and i'm depressed and going back to bed. >> sorry. that's too bad. now it's time for "morning joe." >> is that okay, mika? can we still call it "morning joe"? >> you can tweet me at @mika. ♪ i'm a joker ♪ i'm a smoker ♪ i'm a midnight toker >> a campaign can require a lot of wardrobe changes. blue jeans in the morning, perhaps, suit for a lunch fund-raiser, sport coat for dinner, but it's nice to finally relax and to wear what ann and i wear around the house. the al smith dinner surely lives up to its billing. usually when i get invited to gatherings like this, it's just to be the designated driver. >> everyone, please take your seats. otherwise clint eastwood will yell at them. win or lose, this is my last political campaign.

so i'm trying to drink it all in. unfortunately mayor bloomberg will only let me have 16 ounces of it. ultimately, though, tonight's not about the disagreements governor romney and i may have. it's what we have in common beginning with our unusual names. actually, mitt is his middle name. i wish i could use my middle name. >> very funny. it's friday. >> that's good stuff. >> october 19th. welcome to "morning joe." with us on set, we have the former governor of pennsylvania and nbc news political analyst ed rendell, and chairman of deutsche incorporated, donny deutsch. morning, donny. >> hello. >> we also have senior national correspondent for bloomberg businessweek, joshua green. >> good morning. >> so both the candidates last night did a great job. they really did. i thought mitt romney delivered his lines really with ppt tell.

but the last line the president gave spoken with great understatement, i sure wish i could use my middle name. >> that was really funny on many levels. we'll show more of that. >> where's the memo on the white tie on the smith dinner? >> it's just an old, old tradition. and you know, ed, i remember the first time seeing this in 1980, and i was in high school. but it was the first time i really, really got into politics, and i was jarred to see jimmy carter and ronald reagan get up and be nice and joke with each other. >> it's a great tradition. >> it's such a nice break and such a nice break of tradition. >> great tradition. and it's wonderful, they make fun of themselves. i thought mitt's line about this is what ann and i wear around the house, that was a great line. >> that's good. >> i was saying to joe that president bush in 2004 had the great line when he looked around at all the people. he said, some call you the elite. i call you my base. >> really good stuff. you know, mika, there are some

polls, we were just talking about it while you were running your show. >> yeah. >> around the set here. there are a couple of polls out there that we're going to talk about this morning, and they really seem to be outliers on both sides. first the national gallup poll. and then the nbc news/"wall street journal"/marist polls for iowa and wisconsin. i think a lot of us agree. let's read them. but i think they're outliers. >> 18 days to go and there's a mixed picture painted by the polls. gall gallup's rolling average shows romney with the lead, 52-45. when it comes to some of the key battlegrounds, the nbc news/"wall street journal" poll in iowa has obama maintaining a lead among likely voters. the eight-point margin is unchanged from a month ago. and in wisconsin, a state that last voted a republican in 1984, the president is ahead by 6 points, 51-45 according to the

same poll. but a recent marquette poll in wisconsin shows it neck and neck with romney pulling within one point of the president. >> first of all, do you think -- does anybody think mitt romney's ahead nationally by seven points as the gallup poll says? >> it's sort of hard from inside the chamber. it doesn't feel like that. >> i can't imagine. >> is there any way that barack obama is up eight points in iowa? >> no question. when is the last time iowa was decided by eight points? you'd have to go back to ronald reagan in '84, probably. >> then wisconsin, six points. all the internals and the marquette poll out a couple days ago showed one point. >> very close. the polls are screwy this year. >> they are really screwy. >> pennsylvania, two polls, 4-3, the romney people have not placed one ad in pennsylvania. so you know they know it's not 4-3. >> so josh, my bigger point here is, there is -- this is the first time -- you know, because every time you're around a campaign people go oh, the polls, they're wrong. you know what? the polls usually aren't wrong. the polls are usually pretty

damn accurate. and you take them all together. you can't do that this year. something's up. >> that's the key, though. you want to look at the poll of polls, the aggregate because any one of these can be an outlier. i've talked to a number of republican strategists this week, professional republicans, and not one of them says they see anything reflected in these gallup poll numbers with romney at 52%, obama at 45%. one interesting thing, though, from those state polls is if you look at one of the internal numbers, it was people who already voted. you've got to figure that's pretty accurate. obama's leading 2-1 among those people. >> of course, that's the president's goal, donny, identify the early voters, get them out there, drag them out. michelle obama last week went, voted early. they made a big deal of it. so the president is doing very well with early voters, and also, you know, the clock's ticking, and the romney people know the clock's ticking. they've got to get their people out. they've got to get their message out now. they can't wait until election day because in a close contest, it's going to be close in

florida, in north carolina, in virginia. i would guess in wisconsin, probably in iowa. >> arizona. >> nevada, arizona. colorado. >> yes. >> i mean, early voting is going to have a huge impact. >> overall thought on the polls also, and nate silver touched on it in "the times" about the knee-jerk reaction. we overreact to everything in the polls. i think as every four years go by and as the media -- the 24/7 onslaught what i'll call overreaction media to everything i think is going to always heighten every move at this point. so to me, as we go through history going forward, i think polls on a week-to-week basis are going to be less and less dependable because, for instance, if you go back 20, 30 years ago, you'd watch a debate and the polls would shift based on it. now we watch a debate and it's the next 24, 48 hours of the churning of the debate. so i think everything gets heightened, and i think polls overreact in each direction. >> yeah. >> net-net, i think there's got to -- i think every poll, you've

got to take a week break before you see what the real reaction is. >> the frustrating thing, though, ed is for somebody that's followed polls your entire life and i've certainly followed it for a pretty long time myself, you look for friend line trend lines. i know gallup usually does skew republican. i take that into account. cbs, "new york times" used to skew democratic. >> ppp. >> ppp is a democratic poll. but here, it's so jumbled, and there's a ghost in the machine. i don't know if it's cell phones. i don't know if people are becoming more reluctant, but i'm telling you, this year it's a lot more erratic in polling than it's been ever. >> i think joe's exactly right. i think each year -- i thought you were going to say this, donny, each year it gets harder to poll because of cell phones, because of a lot of things. but there's one trend in these polls that i see that's a distinct possibility, romney winning the popular vote, obama winning the electoral college. >> yeah. i think that may be the takeaway

here from the big gap in gallup. it's not that big. but i do think there is a growing likelihood, ed, that that could happen. romney wins the popular vote, loses the electoral. >> just want to pick up on the cell phone really, really fast. if you were today creating a polling model, it would be completely different. they've adjusted for the cell phones -- >> they say, they say. >> they've adjusted, whereas in reality, you would start today completely different. >> yeah. >> so yes, we factor in the 50%, but that's not reality. >> according to the latest nbc battleground map, if the president wins both iowa and wisconsin, he could reach 270 electoral votes just by winning ohio. even if he were to lose florida, virginia and north carolina. >> and mika, that's -- when you look at iowa and the nbc news/"wall street journal"/marist poll, you look at wisconsin, if nbc is right, if the polls are right, and

we're going to talk to chuck. i'm very skeptical. they had an ohio poll a couple weeks ago that was really skewed democratic. >> right. >> i think, again, these marist polls are tipping a bit left of center. but if president obama wins iowa -- and i think he's more likely than not to win iowa -- if he wins wisconsin, i think he's more likely than not to win wisconsin, then if he wins ohio, the race is over. mitt romney has to win one of those three states, ohio, wisconsin or iowa to be the next president of the united states. if he loses all three, this race is over. >> well, with so much riding on ohio, yesterday former president bill clinton and bruce springsteen teamed up in the buckeye state and also in iowa to rally voters for president obama. >> mr. romney says i'm going to do all this. i'm going to just cut taxes for the middle class. i'm not interested in rich

people. they'll pay the same percentage of tax they pay now. what does that -- he thinks we're dumb. we keep saying show us your budget. where are your numbers? the president has given you a budget. he said, you won't like all of it. it adds $2.50 of spending cuts for every $1 in new revenues, but we've got to do something about the debt and it will take the debt down $4 trillion. here are my numbers. where are your numbers? this guy ran bain capital and is a business guy, and he's hiding his budget? that ought to tell you something. >> my god. >> you know, mika, it should be illegal to enjoy campaigning as much as bill clinton. he enjoys campaigning. the guy loves it. he lathers it. >> it's like soap suds all over him and he's just enjoying every moment. it's unbelievable. bruce was there last night as well, springsteen. >> yeah, bill clinton not used to opening up for anybody.

but he -- but if it's the boss, you open up for the boss. and i think springsteen had very moving words to say about president obama. >> well, they're concerned about ohio, that's for sure, and iowa. so that's why they were there. >> let me ask you a question. how do you feel when springsteen comes out or any of these other rock stars come out? does that move a vote? >> i don't buy it. i don't know. >> does it possible backfire? the obvious thing i'm going to say is all the fancy entertainment people for the president. >> i'll tell what you it does. back in 2004, you talk about 2004, it doesn't move a single vote, but bruce springsteen goes to madison, wisconsin, in the closing days of the campaign, you've got the image of 30, 40, 50,000 people packed out in an open air in madison, wisconsin, in an important swing state. >> it's a heightened audience and that's what moves them. >> no, the visuals are beautiful, and it gives you the real sense of momentum.

>> it's not just the visuals. they've got people out early voting at these events. that's why obama is going to all these college campuses. they have voting booths set up out there so that once you gather all these guys to see these rock stars and the vice president and the president, they turn around and cast a ballot. they do get something out of it. >> they're getting names. >> and then the college kid who oversleeps on election day gets to vote instead of blowing it. >> talk about that, having the rock stars come in. >> it's turnout. you're absolutely right. it doesn't persuade one person to change their vote because of bruce springsteen or any other star, but it's a sense of momentum. we had bruce springsteen in '08 on the parkway in philadelphia, and it was magic. it was magic. and you could feel -- everybody was going to go home and get their buddy and say, you're voting. you're voting. >> let me ask you one other thing, ed. we're talking about polls right now. and i have said for 20 years that pennsylvania is fool's good for republicans. now, i just said earlier, i don't believe the wisconsin and

iowa polls. i don't think it's eight points in iowa. there's no way. and you agree with me. i don't think it's six points in wisconsin. and i think you agree with me there, too. >> absolutely. >> but on the other side of the ledger, these pennsylvania polls that show mitt romney within three points in the keystone state, don't believe that for a second either. >> well, and you're right. and mitt romney's campaign is following your advice because they haven't put one dime on television in pennsylvania. >> by the way, if it were three points, you know what they'd say to ohio? see ya. good luck, buckeyes. we're going to the penn state game this weekend. it's really three points, what's mitt romney going to do? what's the rnc going to do? what's karl rove going to do? >> flood the airwaves. >> the smart money's going to go where? >> into pennsylvania. >> they'd say forget ohio. >> the romney campaign is telling you those polls are no good. >> what about casey? casey may lose his race in the senate as well. it could happen. i'm just skeptical. >> me, too. >> all right.

turning now to a more serious story, but first it starts with "daily show." last night president obama sat down with jon stewart on "the daily show" where he faced questions about the administration's handling of the attack in libya and the communication problem that followed. >> we weren't confused about the fact that four americans had been killed. >> sure. >> i wasn't confused about the fact that we needed to ramp up diplomatic security around the world right after it happened. i wasn't confused about the fact that we had to investigate exactly what happened so it getted fixed, and i want confused about the fact that we're going to hunt down whoever did it and bring them to justice. >> i would say you would even admit it was not the optimal response at least to the american people as far as us all being on the same page. >> well, here's what i'll say. >> yeah. >> if four americans get killed, it's not optimal. >> right. >> and we're going to fix it. >> all of it. >> all of it. >> ed rendell, there are certainly some who are reacting to the use of the word "optimal"

in this case. what's your take? >> jon stewart said it first in that exchange. and i think what the president meant is, it's not acceptable. i'm not sure i'd put my candidate out in these type of shows. i know they say, well, let's appeal to the base, but gosh, there's so much opportunity here to say something that sort of gets misconstrued like the tag romney stuff, people are making a big deal out of that. >> it's ridiculous. >> it's ridiculous. >> i wouldn't even air that. that's just dumb. >> but in the middle of this benghazi crisis, donny, to send the president on "the daily show" and then to have the president say, whenever you have the killing of four americans, it's not optimal, and he was there to talk about communication problems, he probably caused himself another problem. >> yeah, i'm going to pick up on what ed says and attach it back to the springsteen thing. he's not going to get one extra vote going to a show that is 1,000% his base in the first

place. if anything, it continually puts him in a specific place or you're the jon stewart guy, and to your point, his only down side. yeah, at that point, i'm not quite sure of the schedules and the bookers -- >> the other thing that struck me about the interview, he still didn't have a very succinct answer as to what happened and what went wrong. at this point, you'd think somebody would have tattooed it. >> john, what's going on? why can't anybody going all the way to the president of the united states still get their story straight on benghazi? there's something there, and i'm not saying it's anything nefarious on the administration's part, but there is something there, and they just can't get around it. >> "the new york times" did a better job on their front page saying when the attackers came, they told bistanders and witnesses that they were there because of the video. so this idea that this has been ginned up somehow by the obama campaign doesn't hold any water to begin with. i don't understand why it's so hard to simply say that. call it a tragedy. say what you know happened.

and then move on to something else. >> yeah. there may be some parts of this that they can't talk about which makes it a very difficult situation in the white house so straddle. >> the debate on foreign policy. >> i think it's safe to say when four americans are lost in an attack, something has gone terribly wrong. and it's a little bit opportunistic of the republicans to jump on this. having said that, it is a place for their questions. >> listen, i don't think mitt romney and republicans are the only people that have problems with an administration that can't explain the death of an ambassador and three other americ americans. they just can't get their story straight. and we're past a month. ed, this is an absolute mess. >> and i think the fact that they can't get their story straight is the worst part of it. i don't believe for a minute that susan rice, who is a terrific person, goes on the tv shows and lies. i think the initial input, based

on what josh just said and what they had, that this was just part of a spontaneous reaction. they got bad intelligence. we get bad intelligence all the time. >> wait a second. so if it's part of a spontaneous uprising five days later, then why would the president call that an act of terrorism the day of the event, which he really didn't do? and i'm still trying to figure out -- i'm still trying to figure out why candy crowley decided she was going to weigh in on something that really wasn't accurate. >> he used the words -- i'm not sure that he meant a traditional act of terrorism. look, we're parsing this. but think about it. why would the administration have any reason -- what motivation would they have to misconstrue this? >> that's actually a great question because you have to say a month later, ed, i know what you'd do. we would know what the hell happened to three, four, five days later. josh, here we are, a month out, and we still really don't have a good idea. >> the answer to that question is the obama administration, the

white house has been adamant all along, al qaeda's on its heels. osama bin laden is dead. they don't want to open a crack in the door to say wait a minute, al qaeda's back. it was a terrorist attack on september 11th because that is an emotional hot-button issue that could, under bad circumstances for the white house, change the dynamic a bit in this race in a way that favors mitt romney, and that is why you see republicans pounding and pounding and pounding on this and romney flubbing it in the second debate. >> and donny, maybe because they've muddied it so much, americans haven't drawn the conclusion. al qaeda killed an american ambassador. al qaeda's not on their heels. al qaeda's not in retreat. al qaeda killed a u.s. ambassador. >> i think for the american public, fortunately or unfortunately, depending upon which side you're on, the flub in the debate gives obama a pass. it turned into a telegenic moment.

and not to go back to polling, if you poll the average american, he came out the winner on benghazi. that's the kind of sad part. >> and romney dropped the issue the next day which i think is testament to exactly that fact, that this isn't a winning issue. >> i still, mika, can't figure out why mitt romney handled that question as badly as he did. you know, charles krauthammer is asking the same thing. laura ingram. a lot of conservatives saying how exactly did mitt romney screw up the benghazi question? >> because clearly, joe, he didn't know that the president had used the words "act of terror." you would have thought, though, in preparation that that would have come up. i mean, he clearly thought that the first time the president said "act of terror" -- >> he was waiting. it wasn't that he didn't know, that was a piece of information he thought he had under a football tucked in and he couldn't wait. >> by the way, i think most of us would have the same impression because for five

days, the president refused, refused to use the words "terrorism." he refused -- he stayed far, far away from it intentionally. and so candy crowley came in and acted as a referee, as ed said, yes, he used the words on the day after it happened, but he didn't say "this was an act of terrorism." in fact, i think for the reasons that josh was bringing up, he stayed away from "terrorism" as long as he could because he wants to send the message that bin laden is dead, and al qaeda's in retreat. >> in fairness, let's remember also, investigators could not get on the scene of that attack for days and days. the fbi didn't get in there. remember, cnn was picking through the rubble, found the ambassador's diary. so you have to grant them some time to go in and figure out what happened before you go out and defend it. >> before the debate, they were ready. obama was trained to boom, boom. >> absolutely. >> i just don't think this argument about the wording of this all resonates. i really don't. maybe it's a disconnect. >> it probably doesn't resonate

with voters, but it's an important question to ask, who killed the u.s. ambassador. >> it's always important to ask those questions. >> how did it happen, and who was responsible? >> so coming up, we have the host of "the last word," lawrence o'donnell. we'll talk to "the washington post's" eugene robinson, dig into the new poll numbers with nbc's political director, chuck todd. and from the legendary rock band, crosby, stills & nash, stephen stills will be here. >> i hear the shows are incredible. plus jim vandehei with the "politico playbook." willie's all-new "week in review," but first, bill karins with a check on the forecast. cupper? bill? >> we're not going to let that one stick. what happened to broadway bill? that was a little, you know. >> a little better than the cupper. >> we'll let that one go. as advertised, everyone, new england is a rough travel spot this morning. airports are doing okay so far. but i think that will change. the map behind me, all the green on this map is rain. it's raining in many areas, even

some downpours in a few spots. right now the hudson valley soaked in rain. we have rain from new york city all the way through central portions of new england. right now, as i mentioned, airports are doing okay, but they're just getting up to speed. and once the volume increases, that's when we'll start to see some of the issues, probably about an hour or two from now. we will see even periods of heavy rain at times with thunderstorms. it's a very humid, warm air mass. it will clear out of new york city, philly and d.c. by about noon today. new england, you'll have to wait till later. the rest of the country, we look okay, but it's a raw, cold day from minneapolis to chicago. and then quickly, the rest of your weekend, the storm exits. and actually it looks like a pretty nice weekend for most areas of the country. and it's actually a warm weekend, too. everyone should really enjoy your weekend plans. today, this morn, the trouble spot, one of the worst for the airports will probably be new york city. light rain right now, periods of heavy rain throughout your morning commute. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. [ male announcer ] when this hotel added aflac

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time now to take a look at the "morning papers." we'll start with "the wall street journal." a technical glitch caused google's third quarter results to be released earlier than expected, sending the tech giant stock plummeting, 8% during trading. google showed a surprising 20% drop in profit from a year ago. and "the charlotte observer," the romney team's feeling good about its chances in north carolina. so good that the campaign's now shifting its staffers away from the tar heel state. however, the obama campaign has added organizers in north carolina looking to make one last push before election day. >> and in this weekend's "parade," army veteran and author kevin powers who was just nominated for his debut novel "the yellow birds," remember that, announced here? some are calling it the first great novel of the iraq war. >> i tell you what, i have actually got into it, started

reading it. >> yeah? is it fantastic? >> oh, wow! >> he's going to be on the show. >> i mean, this is -- you know, remember we were talking about the forever war? >> yes. >> dexter filkins back three, four years ago. that was a defining book. this, i don't want to even bring up who comes to mind when you read the book. but good lord. if there is a -- you know, a hemingway-type writer, pretty staggering. >> let's get to politico now. joining us now with the "politico playbook," executive editor jim vandehei. jim, hillary clinton. >> she's going after the winers. >> stepping into hot-button issue territory when it comes to women. >> yeah, she created a little bit of a stir. she did this magazine article where she talked about she doesn't like the whining from

other women, referring to this magazine article about why women can't still have it all, the difficulties of balancing both work and a professional life. and hillary clinton was very outspoken in saying i don't like the whining. we make tough choices, and the challenge for women is to balance it. people are clearly talking about it. >> "i can't stand whining. i can't stand the kind of paralysis that some people fall into because they're not happy with the choices they've made. you live in a time when there are endless choices." "money certainly helps, and having that kind of financial privilege goes a long way, but you don't even have to have money for it. but you have to work on yourself. do something." wow. i don't necessarily -- >> what do you think of that? >> it's hard. it's definitely hard, but i do think in this day and age, there are more women who that advice can apply to. let's put it that way. is that fair? >> yeah.

>> don't you think it's in defense of herself, though? obviously, she's been able to do both. she's been a mother and obviously an extremely accomplished political figure now for many decades. and i think she is in many ways saying i did it 37 some people might push back and say but you had all the trappings, all the privileges to make it possible. >> she did it at immense sacrifice and cost to herself, as all women do, no matter what choice they make. quite frankly, either choice has tremendous sacrifice. and the issue is living with that sacrifice. >> she may have done it at the highest level, jim, but she also took more hell than any woman could imagine. and i still -- >> she's someone who can talk on this with credibility. >> i still don't know how they had a daughter who is as accomplished and from what everybody tells me, that's as accomplished and balanced and grounded as is chelsea. >> she was a great mother. >> she was a great mother. but through just the most extraordinary circumstances. >> that monthly piece that ann marie slaughter wrote is how

difficult it is to do that, to balance those types of things. >> the cost. >> it was not an attack on millmill hillary or the state department. this is a conversation we ought to be having instead of slagging on women like frankly hillary clinton about the slaughter there. >> oh, i don't know. >> i don't even need a binder. >> i think there's no one more qualified than hillary clinton to wade into this debate. and it's great to hear from you. there is, though, a cost on both sides, and that's the point. her point is you have to live with the costs that you're going to pay for the decisions that you make. >> one of the tough consequences of the feminist revolution is there are more choices, and it makes it harder. you wind the clock back 50 years, and women were more boxed in, and there was obviously that's not the way to be. but without the choice, a certain way of life was simpler. double-edged swords. >> i think one of the most amazing things was going back to a clip you showed earlier in the show of bill clinton speaking. that if you would have said

eight years ago that bill and hillary clinton would be at the top of the democratic party, two of the most respected figures in politics, if you look at public polling, their favorable ratings are much higher than almost any other national political figure, people would have said you're on drugs. >> we are on drugs. >> we are on drugs. >> it all applies. >> think about 12 years ago the way president clinton left office. he was a year after impeachment. there was the marc rich scandal. hillary had a stumbling start to her campaign, and jim's exactly right. 12 years later, they're at the absolute top of their game. top of the democratic party. >> with all due respect, she took her own advice, and that's why she is where she is. >> by the way, josh, i learned yesterday when we started talking binders, sometimes you just let the women speak. >> i learned my lesson. >> look at that. >> by the way, i have binders and binders of women at home also, just for the record, to defend the whole binder concept.

>> i don't think we want to go there. >> do you stash it in your underwear daughter? >> the black book doesn't suffice. he needs actual binders. >> i can say something self-d p self-deprecating as i've always had women running my companies. mika, you know better than anybody, i have 12 senior partners at deutsche, women, thus the success of the agency. so i'm allowed to say it. >> since i interviewed you for my book and that happens to be the case and i've spoken to women who work for donny, if you can believe it, he's actually right about what he's saying, but no jokes about binders. i'll start again. and as you know, i started at the top of the show yesterday -- >> i read everywhere. >> -- and these buffoons tried to tell me that it wasn't an issue. >> and thank god i wasn't here to be on the end of that. >> i'm the buffoon. i'm the buffoon. >> no binder. >> thank you, jim vandehei. >> you were very good. >> thank you. that's very kind of you. >> you were. well, we'll talk about it.

the whole equal pay thing. anyhow, you were good, joe. now be quiet. >> the big question is whether last night, mika, was alex rodrigu rodriguez's final game as a yankee. you were asking me that this morning. well, we're going to have the highlights and possibly the answer when we return on "morning joe." brewed by mika. ♪ ♪ [ multiple sounds making melodic tune ] ♪ [ male announcer ] at northrop grumman, every innovation, every solution, comes together for a single purpose -- to make the world a safer place. that's the value of performance. northrop grumman.

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well, donny, bad news for the new york yankees, great news for mike barnicle, though. you said you're glad he's not here, right? >> he'd be gloating although obviously the red sox, last place finish, but thank god he's not here. >> carrying debt bigger than greece. the yankees were in detroit last night trying to avoid a sweep at the hands of the tigers. a-rod not in the lineup for a second straight game. this one got out of hand early, top of the fourth. tigers already up by two, and look. cabrera hits a towering two-run homer to give the tigers a four-run lead. and detroit's offense wasn't done. the same inning, another long hit to make it 6-0, yankees. losing to the tigers. starter cc sabathia gave up 11 hits and 6 runs in less than 4 innings of work. in the ninth inning, a-rod finally gets his chance to hit with the tigers up 8-1, but he hits a weak ground ball to shortstop for the second out of the inning. he finished hitless, and the

tigers clinched it. and you know what? it looks, ed, like we may have another tigers/cardinals series. the yankees swept out of the postseason for the first time in 32 years. and their team's .157 batting average, second lowest of any team in the league championship series since 1969. a-rod, by the way, ensured reporters after the game he's got no plans to leave the yankees. ed, the yankees have plans for him. he's going to miami, isn't he? >> i think miami and maybe los angeles, the angels. interesting, joe, i heard you on the first show talk about the '68 world series, the first world series. >> mickey lowage, man. >> maclaine was the big guy. 31 years, and it was gibson who really dominated the series. >> he did but the tigers came back from a 3-1 deficit, won it 4-3. >> before we put down a-rod, at

least he got a couple of dates out of the series. >> he did. by the way, seriously, you have so many players, i have never defended a-rod before. you've got so many players to blame, swisher, i mean, none of those guys hit. >> granderson. >> none of them. granderson. absolutely terrible. also, mika, as you predicted, back in march, the st. louis cardinals going to the world series, most likely, they're ahead 3-1 now. i don't see any way they don't end up going to the series. but we'll see. maybe the giants can woman back. >> we'll be right back with the "must-read opinion pages."

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"on tuesday he reappeared, petulant, unlikable and bullying corporate persona that is mitt romney's default mode. with his feigned slights, his constant squabbling overrules and his arrogance alone with a business plan to right the country, romney was the very picture of a ceo used to getting his way. meeting over. all opposed, take a hike. the mitt romney of the second debate, to use mike huckabee's memorable phrase, looks like the guy who fires you. he exposed, once again, his biggest fault, that he has no idea what it's like to be middle-class and struggling in 2012 america." >> what do you think mika? >> i'd add that he's not very connected with women either. but that's just my opinion. >> i'm not going to bring up binders. because i'm sure you're right. donny, though, so i watched the first 20 minutes of the debate. and mitt romney didn't do well. a lot of republicans cheering for mitt romney were texting me,

e-mailing me going god, he's got to back off. he's got to back off. and he did eventually back off. but guess what? afterwards, you look at all the focus groups that the shows were doing. and we'll just take msnbc's. a lot of people -- and i was really surprised -- a lot of people said that they watched the debate and were moved mitt romney's way. what does that say? does that say that people maybe want somebody that is getting in the president's face? >> i think it's -- there was a big gender issue. i think i want to even go back -- all kidding aside -- to the women's binder issue and women's conflicteding roles, i watched the first 20 minutes of the debate as a man and thought romney really was dominating. there was one moment when he started to fight, and obama turned his back and walked away. and to me, it looked like a guy who was running from a fight. to a lot of women, they were angry or disappointed with romney's abrasiveness and overaggressiveness. and i think it's an interesting

microcosm for males' roles in society, and i think that's a lot what was playing out there. now, i would love to see the breakdown of the post-debate polls male/female. >> you know, i thought it would be a lot worse for mitt romney than it was. but ed, as i was watching, i was thinking, okay, do this in the congressional debate. do this even in the senatorial debate. do this in just about any other debate. but whether the sitting republicans -- whether the sitting president is a republican or a democrat, it gets dicey when you are that in the president's face. regardless of the party. so maybe donny's right. and certainly the post-polls and everything didn't bear out the way i thought they were going to bear out. i didn't think he helped himself. >> i agree with you. and i think it is, to some extent, a divide between men and women, but i think the format

killed it. the first format lent itself to that approach. >> right. >> this format clearly didn't. >> no, it definitely didn't. the other thing to keep in mind with women and why they didn't move as much after that debate is a lot of us, me included, if you look at what women are concerned about, it is not just gender and social issues. it's the economy. and for all his flubs and aggression in that debate, romney did have a few fairly clear effective moments. why aren't we doing better? we can do better if i'm elected. don't pass the debt and deficit onto your kids that i think resonated. stan greenberg's done a lot of research tested after these debates on women and what they care about. the economy was a big issue. and we don't think of that. >> he really cleaned up, mika. romney did, even though he lost the debate on points for a lot of people, he won by i think the cbs poll by 30 points on who can handle the economy. >> and the outcome surely not as clear as the last one because you can see what you want to see. peggy noonan in "the wall street journal." "mr. obama won the second debate

with a vigorous, pointed performance. he showed up, fought, landed some blows. it was close and he was joyless, a bit of a toothache, but he emerged in marginally better shape than he entered. but he doesn't seem to be winning the post-debate. no one is talking about his excellence or his stunningly good performance, no one is talking about that. instead the national conversation has been about the terrorist attack in benghazi. did the president tell the truth at the time? was he telling it now? did mr. romney fail to unmask his dishonesty? people are asking what is the truth of the economy, as opposed to the factoids deployed. in the postdebate, the president's win is starting to look like a draw." >> i think she's right. right? >> i think, actually -- >> or do you think it still looks like a win? >> i they he won the debate. >> he got a "w." >> he got a "w," but the aftereffect of it, though, is more like a draw perhaps because what josh said, because of, you know, people looking and thinking that he did better on the economy. >> right. there's so many things to be

talked about in terms of the economy and positive directions it's going in. i can't claim to watch every second of footage that's out there, but they should be selling that. >> i think overall on the debates, what's happening is, preconceived notions. overall if you take the first two debates, obama has probably still disappointed, and romney has overperformed. >> really quickly, ed, i've just got to say, the word that peggy brought out that i couldn't agree with more, "joyless." both of these guys looked so joyless. >> well, there's so much at stake. >> that's the whole campaign. >> contrast that to bill clinton. he looks like he's having a great time. >> and compare these two guys to clinton and reagan. i didn't hear a single story. i didn't hear -- i heard a lot of facts and figures. i didn't hear them talk about really attaching this to where people live. and there is just a lack of joy there. >> all right. we'll be right back. speaking of joy, we'll have willie's week in review.

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sno willie today, but we do have his "week in review." take a look. >> i'm going home now. >> jumping away. >> at number three, space diving. >> i wish you can see what i can see. >> an austrian man named felix

baumgartner took a little sunday leap this week from 128,000 feet above the earth. fearless felix freefell from the edge of outer space for about 120,000 of those feet, breaking the sound barrier and hitting a top speed of nearly 834 miles an hour before floating back to rejoin the mortals below. >> sometimes you have to be up really high to see how small you are. i'm going home now. >> the breathtaking jump took place three years almost to the day after the world's last truly great helium-fueled exploration of our skies. >> a helium balloon shaped like a flying saucer disrupting the airspace was bad enough. but authorities were told on board that contraption, thousands of feet in the air, was a 6-year-old boy. >> at number two, a-rod. >> i've never addressed anything from "page 6."

i've never addressed anything from blogs or gossip columns. >> tough week for new york yankees' third baseman alex rodriguez. he was benched again in the playoffs. >> it was laughable. i'm not happy about it. >> and he was accused in a series of "new york post" stories that forced an emergency meeting of the pulitzer board of getting phone numbers from a woman in the crowd at yankee stadium right in the heat of the alcs. >> i've been here a long time in new york. and i think nine years. and i've never addressed anything from "page 6." >> with the anti-a-rod bandwagon growing and reports saying he could be shipped to miami, some yankee fans wondered if the curse of a-rod was responsible for the fall of st. jeter. >> i do think that some of the criticism out there is very fair. and i can live with that. >> and the number one story of the week -- >> you'll get your chance in a moment. i'm still speaking. and the answer is i don't believe people think that's the case -- that wasn't a question. >> okay. >> that was a statement.

>> president obama and mitt romney all but put each other into ufc submission holds as they stepped into the ring together this week. >> you said in the rose garden the day after the attack it was an act of terror. it was not a spontaneous demonstration. is that what you're saying? >> please proceed, governor. >> the second presidential debate was a boon to the office supply industry. >> brought us whole binders full of women. >> we don't have to collect a bunch of binders to find qualified, talented, driven young women. >> it also didn't hurt the stool industry as reports said romney practiced sitting on stools ahead of the debate because he hadn't spent much time seated in bars. >> only people who drink know how to sit on stools. >> the romney camp this week had to overcome both paul ryan's dishwashergate and an obama endorsement from the boss. ♪ let's vote for the man who got osama ♪ >> there was one part of the romney message, though, that every rock star could relate to. >> brought us whole binders full

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♪ i was actually hoping the president would bring joe biden along this evening because he'll laugh at anything. >> it's been four years since i was last at the al smith dinner.

and i have to admit, some things have changed since then. i've heard some people say, barack, you're not as young as you used to be. where's that golden smile? where's that pep in your step? and i say, settle down, joe. i'm trying to run a cabinet meeting here. >> pretty funny. top of the hour, welcome back to "morning joe." donny deutsch is still with us. and joining us on set, the host of msnbc's "the last word," lawrence o'donnell. and editor in chief of "newsweek" and the daily beast, tina brown. >> good morning. >> and in washington, pulitzer prize-winning columnist and associate editor of "the washington post" and msnbc political analyst, eugene robinson. >> here's the thing with liberals. so i turn to my good friend lawrence o'donnell, i like the al smith dinners. i go, do you like -- don't you like these al smith dinners? >> i'm sure lawrence loves them. >> you know what he says? >> what? >> eh, it's complicated! >> it's complicated. >> it's complicated.

>> why is it complicated? >> in the way that we don't have time for, but if you've worked inside new york politics especially on the democratic side, this is a complicated event, to put it mildly. >> i bet it's a nightmare. >> the cardinal archbishop is, in effect, chairing a political event. and pretty -- all of the statewide democratic-elected officials in my adulthood have been in favor of roe versus wade as written. that would be the governors cuomo, all of the senators over the years. so whenever there's an intersection there -- >> it's complicated. >> -- it gets complicated. the best part of it is the joke telling. >> you're bringing in the first amendment and abortion. i just like the punch lines. >> the comedy writing is very good. >> that's all you've got. you sister on that. >> the white tie. >> it does look pretty good in white. >> the first time i watched it in 1980. it was really nice. carter and reagan were after each other. it was actually pretty jarring.

i thought, wow. >> for everyone. >> did any of them say how disarming that would be? for them to be able to make fun of themselves and kind of make fun of the other guy in a different kind of way? >> i mean, humor has been tilted outward on the campaign because the sound bites are too dangerous. no jokes. >> the actual official count by "the last word" staff -- >> which was? >> which romney made eight jokes about the other guy. >> right. >> and president obama made three jokes about the other guy. and the game is much more won -- the way you win it -- >> you make fun of yourself. >> comedically is making jokes about yourself which george w. bush was great at. >> jack kennedy. >> obama's first joke was a great joke about himself. he did so many in a row that were aimed at the other side that it started to feel right on the line in that room about going a little too political. >> you know, gene, following up on what donny said, i watched the debate the other night. you know, everybody's trying to

figure out who's winning, who's losing. i sat there thinking, we're all losing. this is joyless. these people are spitting out numbers, and there's no connection to the heart of america, whether it's the liberal heart of america or the conservative heart -- or the middle of america. they just seem joyless. >> yeah. look, it wasn't about joy. >> yeah. >> i don't think either of them went in expecting joy. obama, obviously, thought he had a lot of ground to make up. and he made up a lot of ground. i mean, he won the debate. romney wanted to continue to have another strong performance. and he had another pretty strong performance, you know. it wasn't as good as obama's, but so it was mano a mano, and i don't think either in a mood to try to make jokes. in fact, it probably would have been embarrassing if they had tried, given that setting. >> well, that's actually -- i hate to be the debbie downer at the table again. >> oh, go ahead. oh, go ahead. >> these are serious times, tina

brown. i think everybody here would -- if either candidate cracked some joke would be saying, come on. >> i don't know. i think humor can be a very powerful weapon, and irony can be a very powerful weapon. i think it would actually humanize and make the candidates more appealing. >> it depends on the joke. >> i think it's very dangerous to crack jokes in the era we live in because that joke becomes a flying sound bite and just boomerangs in your head. >> if somebody would have -- if either one of them, in a lighthearted way, would acknowledge the pugilism that was going on there and deflect it, so it's not making light of the issues or even, you know, obama's line about his middle name, if somehow gracefully that came up, what would that say about him as a human being? >> also, lawrence -- >> remember that last time? >> -- when i was on the campaign trail, when i told jobs, i always -- the only jokes that i had in my mind before i went in were jokes making fun of myself. >> yes. >> yes. >> because it humanizes you, it shows that you know your weaknesses, and you know your vulnerabilities.

and when you tear -- when you joke about yourself, then people are a lot more receptive to listen to you. these guys don't seem to get this in debates or on the campaign trail. >> the other thing about joking during the debate or in any ex-temp rain yex extemporaneous situation, i would caution any debate participant at the presidential level, don't ever try a joke if it occurs to you ex temporaneously in the room. >> like hillary. >> everyone jumped up, i sort of got the joke that he was doing, and everybody else said oh, that's a horrible thing to say. that's the risk you run. >> but it also means that you've outlawed wit. wit is supposed to be something that's spontaneous. >> it's too dangerous in that room. you notice that the day after the denver debate, president obama gets out. the first stage he gets out on, he's doing all sorts of jokes which they carefully constructed

before he went out there. >> okay. with 18 days until the election, there is something of a mixed picture being painted by the polls. gallup's rolling average shows mitt romney with a seven-point lead nationally. 52%/45% when it comes to some of the key battlegrounds. the new nbc news/"wall street journal"/marist poll in iowa has obama leading among likely voters. the eight-point margin is unchanged from a month ago. and in wisconsin, a state that last voted republican in 1984, the president is ahead by six points, 51%-45%. but a recent marquette poll in wisconsin shows the race neck and neck with romney pulling within one point of the president. according to the latest nbc battleground map if obama wins wisconsin and ohio, he could reach 270 electoral votes just by winning. >> lawrence, let me go back to you, i said earlier, i don't believe any of these numbers.

i don't believe the gallup number that has romney seven points ahead and neither campaign believes that. neither campaign believes that iowa is an eight-point spread. nobody in either campaign believes that wisconsin is a six-point spread. but the fascinating trend line here is, and somebody brought it up last hour, it's looking like it's very possible mitt romney could win the national vote, and barack obama is still elected president because of the electoral college advantage. >> yeah. and the other thing that's looking increasingly likely is we may not have a call on election night, which is, you know, both of the george w. bush election -- >> by the way, really quickly, i'm sorry, you don't believe the gallup seven-point spread, do you? >> there's nothing to invest in -- look, the only thing you can believe in polling is if you see a consistent pattern outside of the margin of error. we haven't had any real polling outside of the margin of error. but look, the trouble is -- >> you do see that romney has momentum. that's what he has. >> that's why the eight points in iowa makes no sense. the six points in wisconsin and

the seven points for romney. >> consider the sample. we always say we want to get the likely voters so we tend to ignore registered voters and wait till we get to likely voters. let's describe. we are polling whoever is left in america who accepts unsolicited phone calls. >> that ain't a lot of people. >> do you? do you? >> i have not picked up my home phone. this is -- everybody at this table is 40 plus. this is not the young generation. have any of us picked up our home phones ever in the last five years? >> that could explain the poll on women that i think is completely skewed. women don't have time to answer the phone. >> look, it's people who don't have caller i.d. basically. and most people have caller i.d. so who's got time for that? >> gene, did you agree as well -- >> it takes a long time to

realize that it's not their mother calling. they're on the phone for a while on these polls. >> gene, do you agree that there's a possibility that we may have a popular vote that mitt romney wins? it's looking more like a possibility of that every day, isn't it? >> well, it's a possibility. i don't know that we're actually zeroing in on that possibility or on any other possibility, you know, narrow obama victory in both narrow romney victory in both. i think although they're all possibilities. but yeah, that would be fascinating because the obama electoral map really, the map really is so much more favorable to him than romney at this point. romney has momentum. we'll see if he still has it in the next few days. so it could happen. that would be fascinating. >> okay. a lot has happened this week. tina brown. anything going on with you? >> what's up, tina?

>> we just decided to take the plunge. >> wow! >> we took the plunge. we decided that we wanted to embrace the future. >> the end of an era. >> go with the future and not try anymore and talk about, you know, the legacies of the past because the fact is -- >> so "newsweek" sending its print edition. >> one of the challenges and the opportunities. >> by the end of the year. >> absolutely. it cost $43 million to print, manufacture, distribute, manage the circulation of "newsweek" before you have even hired one writer or one editor. and that is just the most enormous millstone, frankly, to deal with. in an era when people are telling us more and more -- mostly our advertisers have been telling us, it's all now about screens. there will be catching up in terms of that number, but when you look at 70 million tablets now by the end of this year in america, it's all going in that direction. and you've only got to walk through an airplane and see the amount of people on screens and see the amount of people who have magazines and newspapers. >> right. and we're looking right now at

some of the iconic "newsweek" covers. donny deutsch, you had been telling tina for some time, as an ad guy, as one of the top ad guys, that she needed to do this. it's hard for us, you know, traditionalists that grew up reading print, i guess older guys, to see days like this coming, but it's inevitable in the end, isn't it. >> it was a brave move by tina. it was clearly the right move. this is a dinosaur. all you have to do is look at the way anybody under the age of 30 consumes it. people always ask me about media strategies or where's media going? look at your 17-year-old daughter or son and you'll see where it is. this is the only magazines that will survive. and i'm going to go back to look at what your teenage kids are doing. certain types of very specialty magazines that are guilty pleasures, you know, some of the -- certainly the fashion magazines, the "vogues" which is a catalog, the "us" and the "peoples." it still exists for young people, but the news weeklies, the sports weeklies, done. >> ipad is just expedited all

this. >> so tina, now "newsweek" is the greenest of the "newsweek" magazines. you're not chopping down anymore trees. >> actually, we're excited about reinventing this thing digitally now because now we can focus on content. the truth is that the kind of encasement of print, after doing the daily beast for 2 1/2 years to actually go into print again, you really felt that the burden of it and the limitations of it. now, everybody will go obviously on their own timetable. there are some brilliant print magazines still doing very well, and they'll stay doing well, but eventually, it may not be this year for them, but in the next couple of years, it will be for them, too. >> gene, i want to ask you because obviously you've written a lot over the years. to me these guys have the playbook of you have this great brand. you can't just let it go away. you basically morph it into a digital brand, and that's what barry and tina have done brilliantly. >> and let's hope it works, you know? because all of us who work in

print watched these leaps into the digital world and hope that they're wildly successful. you know, i have a real soft spot in my heart for "newsweek" because it was our sister publication for all that long time and many years at "the post," when i was in new york i'd drop by the old "newsweek" office on madison avenue. it was a wonderful place. but i wanted to ask tina, what was the meeting like? we kind of saw this coming. >> which meeting? >> what was the meeting like? >> which meeting, gene? >> when you talked to your staff about -- >> well, listen. i feel we have the most incredibly talented editors and writers at "newsweek." and obviously the painful piece of this is that inevitably, it's going to mean reduction in staff. for all of us, it was a somber meeting in that regard because i to tell the staff that. and that's very difficult and very unfortunate. but at the same time, i think that everybody there

understood -- or most people have understood -- that it's the right business move. that this is a necessity that we need to do. and so there was both regret at the -- you know, those friday evening closes which have such camaraderie and also we've done incredible work with this print magazine. i mean, throughout all of the difficulties of the last 20 months, because we came into something that was really mo morebund, great work was done, and they did it under stress. there's a sense of regret in that regard. >> tina brown, thank you very much. >> tina, good luck. >> thank you. >> gene, thank you as well. your column is in today's "washington post." lawrence, stay with us if you can. >> gene, by the way, you're not in the print business. you are in the information delivery business. >> yes, indeed. that's exactly right. and i am -- and donny, i am platform agnostic. >> platform agnostic is the way to go, baby. coming up, we'll bring in chuck todd live from the white house. also, a preview of "meet the press" with moderator david

gregory and peter alexander who's been traveling with the romney campaign joins us on set when we come back. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. i don't spend money on gasoline. i am probably going to the gas station about once a month. last time i was at a gas station was about...i would say... two months ago. i very rarely put gas in my chevy volt. i go to the gas station such a small amount that i forget how to put gas in my car. [ male announcer ] and it's not just these owners giving the volt high praise. volt received the j.d. power and associates appeal award two years in a row. ♪

mr. romney says i'm going to do all this. i'm going to just cut taxes for the middle class. i'm not interested in rich people. they'll pay the same percentage of tax they pay now. he thinks we're dumb. we keep saying, show us your budget. where are your numbers? the president has given you a budget. he said, you won't like all of it. it adds $2.50 of spending cuts for every $1 of new revenues, but we've got to do something, and it will take the debt down $4 trillion. here are nmy numbers. where are your numbers? this guy ran bain capital and is a business guy and he's hiding

his budget? that ought to tell you something. >> i'm here today because i've lived long enough to know that despite all those galvanizing moments in history, the future is nearly a tide rushing in. it's often a slow march inch by inch, day after long day, and i believe we are in the midst of those long days right now. and i'm here because i believe president obama feels those days in his bones. for all 100% of us. >> okay. 21 past the hour. >> welcome back to "morning joe." we have a live look at washington, d.c. >> beautiful. >> and bill clinton, man. ed, it's like watching robert redford jog around the bases in "the natural." it's just -- it's just not fair. >> well, that's a great analogy. if there ever was a natural in our lifetime, you said it, reagan and clinton were the two naturals. >> reagan and clinton, right? >> just remember, robert redford wasn't actually a baseball player. and bill clinton is not actually a presidential candidate.

and as ed has said many times, it is so much easier, so much easier to be out there for somebody else, especially when you're never going to run again. >> we're more honed in on how much he's enjoying it. he cannot help himself. >> and he should. and he should. >> the pauses are longer. >> geez. okay. joining us now from the white house -- >> the gestures are bigger. >> scratch your face. >> i love it! you guys -- you've got to admit, yankee, there ain't nothing like a great southern politician. >> absolutely not. absolutely not. >> there's nothing like it. >> there's nothing more predictable, actually. from the white house, nbc news chief white house correspondent and political director and host of "the daily rundown," chuck todd. and in washington, the moderator of "meet the press," david gregory. and here on set, nbc news's peter alexander who's been traveling with the romney campaign since last december. >> guys, thanks so much for being with us. let's start with chuck. hey, chuck, help us out here because you've got a new set of nbc news/"wall street journal"/marist polls out.

we're looking at some of the numbers that don't make sense. i'm talking specifically -- >> reporter: they surprised me, yep. >> the eight points in iowa. you look at a gallup poll nationally that has romney up by seven points. you look at a couple of pennsylvania polls that have the president only up by three. ed and i don't buy any of those. this isn't about nbc news. this isn't about the pennsylvania polls or gallup specifically. >> reporter: yeah. >> but there seems to be a ghost in the machine this year, unlike any other year. what is causing pollsters fits? >> reporter: i think it's the early vote, okay? and if you look at -- when the campaigns have questioned our numbers, if they liked it one way or the other, it's always been on the early vote and whether it's in ohio, think about the states that have a huge early vote. ohio, iowa, florida, north carolina. and i think, and that's been apparently an issue withingly

lup a gallup and who makes it through their likely voter stream and they don't do a good job of figuring out how to account for early voters. >> let me ask you really quickly, as you continue making that argument -- >> reporter: it's not an argument, i think it's a fact. >> but the nbc news poll is a perfect example. like, for instance, iowa may be skewed a bit in the president -- you said to yourself, you were surprised this morning. but take virginia. a state that is not as heavy dependent on early voting. you guys actually were the first to have mitt romney move ahead in virginia. >> reporter: that's right. >> so you can't even look at individual polls. it's these early states that seem to be giving everybody fits on both sides. >> reporter: well, that's what i mean. i really believe it's the states that have a huge chunk of early voters. and it's that issue because so, for instance, when you're doing a likely voter screen, if somebody says they've already voted, that's not a likely voter anymore. that's a definite voter.

and so is it making the sample too much weighted in one direction or the other? i think these are all fair questions, and i, frankly, think that when you look at the polls that one side or the other is questioning the most, the common denominator is this uncertainty around how to factor in the early vote. and i think that -- and, again, it's an outsized issue in four specific -- it will be five states, if you will, throw in colorado, but it's an outside issue -- outsized issue particularly in iowa, ohio, and it will be in florida as things march on. and i think it's going to create this feeling that there are going to be days they're going, where's everything going? >> right. >> trend lines and each pollster matter. and i think that does matter as well. so that in itself is worth following along. but i'm not going to tell you that i'm going to sit here and say that i look at our numbers and say oh, that's exactly where i thought the race -- you know, you're right. i was surprised.

wisconsin, what's interesting there, some folks are disputing the margin. there's been no dispute on the leader. >> there have been a couple of polls this week that made us scratch our heads. david gregory, they're reflecting what chuck is saying. you look at where the campaigns are, focusing their efforts now, it certainly seems to match. >> well, it does. and i think it's just useful for us to all remind ourselves, and chuck talks about this a lot, we're now in a zone where, you know, we're not in a position to start to call who has the most definite edge here one way or the other. it has gotten very close. you know, i'll never forget being on air force one on election day 2004 when everybody said well, you know, it's over. bush is losing and they know it. there was obviously great concern. but we know how that turned out. so i think we're in a zone here where they're fighting for an edge. both campaigns as i talk to them are very, very concerned about shaping that perception of who may be ahead or behind. and then talking a lot about

we'd rather be us than them. so i think it's important for us to have that level of caution. one area, we talk about female voters, the gender gap, the obama campaign maintains it's still in their favor. and some of our polling bears that out. we've seen other polling that says no, mitt romney has tightened that. just look at what president obama is doing on the stump. he's talking now daily about planned parenthood and romney's promise to cut planned parenthood funding. they want to really drill down on that issue. they want to make sure that a key part of their coalition is still with them by hammering home on that issue. and as you know, the romney campaign thinks, fine, focus on contraception or abortion. the economy will sway most women as governor romney talks about. >> you know, david, i'm so glad you brought up 2004 because we're not only talking about the week before, i remember the night of. i was sitting on set. we were about to go on the air. and everybody looked at all the polls, peter, and they said, well, john kerry's going to win. they were running around calling john kerry mr. president up in

boston. never do that. never tell somebody they've got a perfect game going into the ninth inning. so what we do, it's kind of like when you have a lot of turbulence in the air. you look at the flight attendant. is she cool? is he cool? are we going down? you're with the romney people. >> yes. >> and so for those of us who are looking at these polls and are confused and say, it could be a romney landslide, it could be an obama landslide. >> is it like the flight attendant? >> what are the flight attendants on team romney looking like. >> i'm in the exit row. i think the thing that that is definitively changed is just the energy that exists within this campaign in the last couple of weeks. post-first debate, everybody who shows up at these events, the numbers have swelled to 8,000, 9,000, 12,000 people and they're now supporting romney in the affirmative. it was always anti-obama consistently as you guys have discussed routinely, but there is a genuine sense that this guy, not just has an idea, but this guy can beat the president. this guy is doing and this guy's

going to sell other people. so the critics are sitting on their hands. and people are showing up more and more frequently with a sense of this is our guy. that sort of acceptable alternative threshold, i think they think they passed a lot sooner than they anticipated they would. they thought it would be a cumulative effect. they think they hammered that home in the first debate. >> and they don't feel like they lost momentum in the second debate? >> they definitely -- i mean, obviously, they're insisting to us, but i think genuinely they feel like the one sound bite from that whole night was the 2 1/2-minute answer he had hammering home on the president and his failed record over the course of the last four years. they believe that's the only thing that resonates with the people at home that are still waiting to make up their mind. >> ed, how important is it that you have supporters that are actually voting for you instead of voting against the other guy? >> well, it's important because that ends up turnout. but i would be worried about a turnout at rallies, peter. i remember in the last ten days of the dukakis campaign, he got huge crowds. he got absolutely huge crowds.

and i'd like to ask chuck and peter a question. what you say about the polls, chuck, but what about pennsylvania and arizona? where the polls show something completely out of whack? neither campaign believes those polls. >> reporter: well, i can tell you this. >> no early voting there. >> reporter: no, there is no early voting there. but i can tell you on pennsylvania is the public polling and the private polling couldn't be more different. if the private poll -- here's the best way to determine, joe, you made a great analogy about the flight attendant. you want to know what they're seeing in the campaigns? find out where they're going. just watch their campaign schedule. if pennsylvania were winnable, the romney campaign would be there. >> exactly. >> reporter: if arizona were winnable, the obama campaign would be there. they've done their own private numbers. there are a couple of these states, minnesota's one on the republican side, and arizona

fits in this where the republican vote has consolidated early so it pops up in polls but they're still three or four points down, and it's an impossible three or four points to make up, right? it's sort of the same issue we're starting to see in north carolina for the president, i think, you see in an arizona where you can get 45%, 46%, 47%, and there are some three-point leads that are margin of error, and there are some three-point leads that are impossible to see close. >> joe, what i always worry about on the flight is when the pilot gets on the loudspeaker and asked the flight attendant to sit down. man, that's when i really lose it. if she can't stand up. >> we're digging deep here. childhood phobias coming out. we're talking politics. >> i never like it when they do that. >> you never like it when the plane takes off. >> i don't like it. it doesn't make any sense. >> i think really one of the great indicators probably karl

rove. you know, a lot of times you get candidates that are like damn it, i'm going to win iowa. karl rove, man, he uses that money, it's cold, it's calculating. >> target. >> in all the right ways. and i think we all know if pennsylvania were in reach, karl grove would be going into bucks county, the suburbs of philadelphia, he would be calling ed gillespie and say get mitt up there now. he's not doing it. if karl rove's not investing in pennsylvania, then pennsylvania's still fool's gold for republicans. >> and let's go back to ohio. rob reiner said on my show the other night, they're not running for president of the united states. they're running for president of ohio. and so chuck todd, what i'm wondering about is -- and i've heard you lay out all the different scenarios -- >> reporter: yes. >> is there any serious straight-faced romney campaign line that says oh, yeah, this is exactly how we win without ohio? >> reporter: yes.

no, i mean, there is a real way they do it. and it has to do with breaking the other two midwestern states, right? look, the firewall for obama is the midwest. it's ohio, wisconsin and iowa. if they lose everything else, hold all their lean states, they are 72 without those three states. so it's about shaking off one of those three. it doesn't have to be ohio, you know. look, it makes their job harder. it means more states. and that's why they're doubling down in ohio. they believe they've made up a lot more progress in ohio than some of the polling has indicated. and the fact is they're spending a lot of time there. let's see what romney's schedule is over the next two weeks. but there was one other tell i feel like we're in the middle of and why you can tell that i feel like it's the obama campaign in a defensive posture trying to sort of hope this campaign -- this election happens just before they go below the 270 mark and why romney looks like he's on offense. when you looked at the

battleground states three months ago, we said if they're spending -- the month of october in florida, north carolina and virginia, advantage obama. if october feels like it's about the midwest, iowa, wisconsin, ohio, advantage romney. that doesn't mean romney definitely is going to win. it doesn't mean the president's going to lose, but it feels like that it is the president on defense sort of preventing the floodwall from cracking. >> right. and you know, peter, i heard reports that they were pulling out of north carolina. a lot of people saying well, that means they know they've won north carolina. at this stage of the campaign if i'm running the campaign, what i say to everybody is, guys, if we don't win north carolina, we're not going to be -- all 350 electoral votes, let's go to the midwest. do you get the sense that they're confident that they are? i think they're going to end up winning the south, florida, north carolina and virginia. so i'm not skeptical of that, but i am saying they don't really have any other option.

they've got to win ohio. >> you're exactly right. >> or at least iowa. >> we're still finding to wait out what happens post-debate. on tuesday we're going to colorado with paul ryan, another state west they're going to try to gain traction. on pennsylvania and ohio, there was a day last week when we got our itinerary. and it told us we were going to lancaster, pennsylvania. and i said whoa, whoa, whoa, we're going to lancaster, pennsylvania. and they said i'm sorry, it was a typo, it's lancaster, ohio. so there was the answer to pennsylvania. >> no, no, no, we just wanted to drop by and get some chocolate quickly. >> reporter: very quickly, joe, i think they're going to add nevada to there. but i have to say, i think the three "n" states are starting to fall off. i don't think we're going to see obama and romney. we may see the vp guys there, but i have a feeling nevada, new hampshire, north carolina are going to -- i will be shocked if you see the two principals there in the final ten days of the campaign. >> joe, you know what all this poll confusion means? it means that people should watch a 10:00 p.m. weeknight show. >> peter alexander --

>> where we round out every poll every night. >> we'll give you the pitch in a second. go ahead. peter alexander. >> david, quickly, restore our future obviously spending a bunch of money in the last week of this month. they didn't spend as much as they did in all of september. i mean, as the guy who's out on the trail right now, we're hearing pretty much the same message. do these advertisements that we're watching on tv have any impact, or what are we supposed to be keeping an eye on out there? >> i think that's part of it. i think if you're the president right now, and i've been a little surprised by this, but we'll see what happens in the debate on monday, he is still spending a lot of time trying to disqualify romney. i think their concern is that he's made gains on the sent front, as an acceptable alternative. where he feels like he made some traction in the debate chipping away at that, he's now got to balance these two things. you take down the romney record like they're trying to do on access to contraception, for instance, or abortion. and at the same time, build up what an obama second term would look like. that's what i think the close has got to be about in the final

weeks. >> david, who do you have on sunday's "meet the press"? >> we're going to talk to marco rubio, rob portman, david axelrod and a terrific panel as we look at the polls and the final weeks. >> chuck, who do you have on "the daily rundown"? >> reporter: who do i have? >> he's not even booked. >> reporter: i know who i do. >> polls. >> reporter: oh, judd gregg. i knew. sorry. judd gregg's a good one, talks new hampshire. but more importantly on "meet the press," we've got the nbc/"wall street journal" poll. >> excellent recovery. very good. >> lawrence o'donnell, i want to know what's going on with polls, where do i go? >> i would go to "the last word with lawrence o'donnell" on msnbc at 10:00 p.m. guess what i'm doing tonight. you'll never guess. i am working tonight. >> not on a friday night. >> i'm doing a friday show in service to the nation, joe. i'm doing a friday show. >> that's not in your contract! >> it is not in my contract. i'm doing a free friday show. >> free. okay.

peter? >> yeah. >> i don't know if this is possible, but i think that lawrence o'donnell may just love this country too much. >> i think he does. he's committed. if you could get me a club soda with some peanuts, that would be great. >> is he the flight attendant? >> i'm going to call the flight attendant. >> first-class cabin so i'm assuming he'll give us good treatment. >> i watched "homeland." it's remarkable. >> it's ined credible. >> halfway through it, i'm jarred. there's lawrence o'donnell! the walk-in interview. >> no way. >> every once in a while hollywood runs out of actors. >> there's an actor story. >> they have my phone number. >> reporter: claurns,lawrence, d season one in five days. it's such an amazing show. >> it really is. >> man, that's unbelievable. >> all right. >> so you waited a year to watch, too. >> i burned it during the debate. >> man, i'm telling you, seriously, "homeland," the writing, the plot twists. >> and claire danes is unbelievable. >> she's great.

>> oh, my god! >> our next guest -- >> seriously. and, of course, they're all great! >> yeah. >> great writers. >> phenomenal writers. >> our next guest imagines a world without cancer. we're going to talk about some other things that maybe are perhaps a little more important. we'll bring in dr. margaret cuomo, the sister of new york governor andrew cuomo to discuss her new book. that's ahead on "morning joe." customer erin swenson bought from us online today. so, i'm happy. sales go up... i'm happy. it went out today... i'm happy. what if she's not home? (together) she won't be happy. use ups! she can get a text alert, reroute... even reschedule her package. it's ups my choice. are you happy? i'm happy. i'm happy. i'm happy. i'm happy. i'm happy.

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real promise of prevention." doctor, it's very good to have you on the show. >> honored to be here. thank you, mika. >> meese, we're lucky to have you. the book, congratulations on this. >> thank you. >> the realistic side, is it possible, first of all, to get to a world without cancer? >> it's very gratifying to know that over 50% of all cancers can be prevented by applying what we know right now, attention to diet, exercise, limiting alcohol, ending smoking and taking vitamin d all contribute to a cancer-free life. >> is it possible that we could get to a point where it can be prevented, or are there other factors that will never make that the case? >> it is a combination of factors. certainly we can do our part as individuals. then you have the environmental exposures. >> right. >> which the average person doesn't have a lot of control over right now. and we hope that will change. but if we are aware, if we know that, you know, maybe our hand sanitizer or our shampoo or our toothpaste contains what we call

an endocrine disrupter, parabin, phthalate, these are difficult words, but if we're aware of them, but if we read the labels, we can protect ourselves and we hope the industry will step up and eliminate these chemicals from their products. >> there are environmental factors for sure which gets complicated when you go around the world and look at different ways that these things come into systems. >> right. >> there's also our own personal regimes, the way we eat. >> yes. >> what we weigh. and what would you think the overwhelming issue is in terms of prevention in our society? >> well, you know, you've talked a lot about obesity on this program, and people realize that obesity is a risk factor for heart disease and diabetes, but how many of us realize that obesity is also a risk factor for cancer? so look, we all know how much anguish cancer causes us in our families. and we all know someone. we just recently lost senator

specter. i know personally i've been assaulted by the husband of a patient with cancer just out of pure frustration and hopelessness. so we want to do better. we can do better as a nation. >> when it comes to -- donny, i'll let you go in, but when it comes to obesity, define it for us, please, because it seems it's such a prevailing cause in some ways. >> obesity relates to your body mass index. that's the amount of fat related to your height and weight. and there's a formula that determines that. if it is over 30, you are obese. up to 29.9, that's overweight. >> you said something that was a little kind of frightening to me. i understand as far as the diet. you start to talk about household products like toothpaste. and you assigned very specific chemicals. are these factually things in these products that we know cause cancer and yet these products are still being sold? you said i hope industry steps up. how much of this is speculation

versus actual fact? >> that's a good question. there are over 400 chemicals that have been classified as carcinogens, known carcinogens or possible or probable carcinogens. and many of those, over 100 of them, are in our food, water and air. now, you ask about our -- >> how does the -- period, end of story. how is that allowed? >> how can they have these things there? >> things like formaldehyde are in hair straighteners and other products, just this past august johnson and johnson became the first company to say we are eliminating all harmful chemicals from our consumer products by 2015. that was a huge initiative. it's also an admission that they're there. >> diligence and responsibility, why isn't that what we want from our government? why is that not just an absolute? >> why isn't it? that is the question. why did the fda say in july that bpa would be banned from baby

bottles and sippie cups? what about the other products? they're in our bottled water. they're in our food containers. they're in many other products. why not ban bpa from everything if it's harmful for infants and young children, isn't it harmful for the rest of us? so these are questions we would like to answer. it is a partnership between government and industry and the individual. >> we have to continue to press those efforts. in terms of research, though, and you said it, doctor, we lost probably the best friend to cancer research in the united states when arlen specter died this week. >> i'm sorry to hear that. the good news is more can be done. he has laid the work for us to pursue this. and it can be done if there is bold leadership. >> he got an extra $10 billion in the research budget for nih, arlen did. >> well, are the book is "a world without cancer." margaret cuomo, thank you so much. nice to meet you. still ahead a first look inside the new issue of "gq."

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that number suggests that the press is biased t. i recognize they have their job to do and i have my job to do. my job is to lay out a positive vision for the future of the country, and their job is to make sure no one else finds out

about it. let's just say some in the media have a certain way of looking at things. when suddenly i pulled ahead in some of the major polls, what was the headline? polls show obama leading from behind. and i've already seen early reports from tonight's dinner. headline, obama embraced by catholics. romney dines with rich people. you know what's so fascinating about that? i got an e-mail and he said it was actually the 1980 dinner where all of reagan's aides saw how well he did and how stiff carter was they decided after the l. smith dinner that they would go ahead and have a he head-to-head debate with jimmy carter and, of course, that's the debate that changed history. >> wow. >> i love those fun "morning joe" factoids. >> we have more for you. they tone down the attacks for an hour or two.

more highlights from their stand-up routines. and a couple of crucial battleground states. [ male announcer ] zeebox is the free app

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wear around the house. the al smith dinner lives up to its billing. usually when i get invited to gatherings like this it's to be the designated driver. >> everyone please take your seats, otherwise clint eastwood will yell at them. win or lose, this is my last political campaign. so i'm trying to drink it all in. unfortunately, mayor bloomberg will only let me have 16 ounces of it. ultimately, though, tonight is not about the disagreements governor romney and i may have. it's what we have in common beginning with our unusual names. actually mitt is his middle name. i wish i could use my middle name. >> good morning. it's 8:00 on the east coast. 5:00 a.m. on the west coast as you take a live look at new york city. time to wake up, everybody. back with us on set we have former governor ed rendell,

donny deutsch and joshua green. >> both candidates last night, mika, did a great job. they really did. i thought mitt romney delivered his lines really well. the president, i love hearing the president at these events because he cracks himself up. but that last line he gave spoken with great understatement. i sure wish i could use my middle name. >> that was really funny on many levels, yes. we'll show more of that. >> where is the memo on the white tie on the smith dipper? >> it's just an old, old tradition and, you know, ed, i remember the first time seeing this in 1980 and i was in high school, but the first time i really, really got into politics and i was jarred to see jimmy carter and ronald reagan get up and be nice and joke with each other. and it's such a nice break and such a nice break of tradition. >> and it's wonderful they make fun of themselves. i thought mitt's line about this is what ann and i wear around the house -- >> that's good. >> i was saying to joe president

bush in 2004 had the great line when he looked around at all the people and said some call you the elite, i call you my base. >> a couple of polls out there that we're going to talk about this morning, and they really seem to be outliers on both sides. the marist polls for iowa and wisconsin, i think all of us can agree at this table, i think they're outliers. >> we have 18 days to go until the election and there's something of a mixed picture being painted by the polls, as joe mentioned. gallup's rolling average shows mitt romney with a lead 52% to 45%. when it comes to some of the key battlegrounds, the nbc news/"wall street journal"/marist poll has president obama maintaining a 51% to 43% lead among likely voters. the eight point margin is unchanged from a month ago. and in wisconsin, a state that last voted republican in 1984 the president is ahead by six

points. 51% to 45% according to the same poll. but a recent marquette poll in wisconsin shows the race neck and neck with romney pulling within one point of the president. >> a couple of quick questions. do you think mitt romney is ahead nationally by seven points as the gallup poll says? >> it's hard from inside the chamber. it doesn't feel like it. >> i cannot imagine it. let me ask you, is there any way in the world barack obama is up eight points in iowa? >> no question. when is the last time iowa was decided by eight points. you'd have to go back to ronald reagan in '84 probably. >> and wisconsin six points. all the internals and the marquette poll out a couple days ago showed one point. >> the polls are screwy this year. pennsylvania, there are two polls, the romney people have not placed one ad in pennsylvania. so you know it's not four and three. >> my bigger point here is, and this is the first time -- because every time you are around a campaign people go, oh, the polls, they're wrong. you know what?

the polls usually aren't wrong. the polls are usually pretty accurate and you take them all together. you can't do that this year. something is up. >> that's the key. you want to look at the poll of polls. the aggregate. any can be an out lier. i've talked to a number of st t strategists and not one of them says they see anything reflected in the gallup poll numbers with romney at 52% and obama at 45%. one interesting thing from the state polls is if you look at one of the internal numbers it was people who have already voted. and you have to figure that's an accurate number because they voted, obama is leading 2 to 1 among those people. >> and that's the president's goal, donny deutsch, identify the early voters, get them out there. drag them out. michelle obama last week went and voted early. they made a big deal of it. so the president is doing very well with the early voters and, also, the clock is ticking. do the romney people know the clock is ticking? they have to get their people out. they have to get their message

out now. they can't wait until election day because in a close contest -- this will be close in florida, in north carolina, and have virginia. i would guess in wisconsin, probably in iowa. nevada, arizona, colorado. i mean, this early voting is going to have a huge impact. >> and nate silver, you know, kind of touched on this in the "times" about the knee jerk reaction. we overreact to everything in the polls. as every four years goes by and as the media 24/7 onslaught, what i call overreaction media to everything, i think is going to always heighten every move at this point. so to me as we go through history going forward, i think polls on a week to week basis are going to be less and less dependable because, for instance, if you go back 20, 300 years ago, you would watch a debate and the polls would shift based on it. now it's the next 24-48 hours of the churning of the debates so i think everything gets

heightened. net-net i think every poll you've got to take a week break before you see the real reaction. >> ed, for somebody who has followed polls your entire life and i've certainly followed it for a long time myself, you look for trend lines. i know gallup usually does skew republic republican. i take that into account. here it's so jumbled and there's a ghost in the machine. i don't know if it's cell phones. i don't know if people have become more reluctant. this year it's a lot more erratic in polls than it's been ever. >> i think joe is exactly right. each year, i thought you were going to say this, each year it gets harder to poll because of cell phones, because of a lot of things. there's one trend in these polls i see that's a distinct possibility. romney winning the popular vote, obama winning the electoral

college. >> i think that may be the takeaway from the big gap in gallup. it's mott that big, but i do think there is a growing likelihood, ed, that could happen. romney wins the popular vote, loses the election. >> if you were today creating a polling model, it would be completely different. they've adjusted for the cell phones, they say. they've adjust eadjusted, where would start completely different. we factor in the 50%. according to the battleground map if the president wins iowa and wisconsin he could reach 270 electoral votes just by winning ohio, even if he were to lose florida, virginia and north carolina. >> and that's, mika, when you look at iowa, the nbc news/wa"wl

street journal" oyedeji marist pol poll, and we're going to talk to chuck. i'm skeptical. an ohio poll that was skewed democratic. i think, again, these marist polls are tipping a about bit left and center. if he wins wisconsin, i think he's more likely than not to win wisconsin. a if he wins ohio, the race is over. mitt romney has to win one of those three states, ohio, wisconsin, or iowa to be the next president of the united states. if he loses all three, this race is over. >> well, with so much riding on ohio, yesterday former president bi bill clinton and bruce springsteen teamed up in the buckeye state and also in iowa to rally voters for president obama. >> mr. romney says i'm going to do all this. i'm going to just cut taxes for

the middle class. i'm not interested in rich people. they'll pay the same percentage of tax they pay now. what does that do? he thinks we're dumb. we keep saying, show us your budget. where are your numbers? the president has given you a budget. you won't like all of it. it adds $2.50 in spending cuts for every $1 in revenue. we have to do something about the debt and it will take it down. here are my numbers. where are your numbers? is this guy ran bain capital and is a business guy and he's hiding his budget? that ought to tell you something. >> you know, mika, it should be illegal to enjoy campaigning as much as bill clinton enjoys campaigning. >> serious ly. he lathers in it. it's like soap suds all over him and he's just enjoying every moment. it's unbelievable. bruce was there last night as

well, springsteen. >> bill clinton not used to opening up for anybody but if it's the boss, you open up for the boss, and i think springsteen had very moving words to say about president obama. >> well, they're concerned about ohio, that's for sure, and iowa. that's why they were there. >> how do you feel when a springsteen comes out or any of these other rock stars come out? does that move people? >> i don't buy it. >> does it backfire? the obvious thing i'm going to say is the fancy entertainment people for the president. >> what it does is back in 2004, you talk about 2004, it doesn't move a single vote but bruce springsteen goes to madison, wisconsin in the closing dates, you have the images of 30,000, 40,000 people packed out in an open air event in madison, wisconsin, in an important swing state. >> it's a heightened audience. >> the visuals are beautiful and

it gives you the real sense -- >> it's not just the visuals. they have people out early voting at these events. that's why he is going to all these college campuses. they have voting booths set up out there so once you gather all these guys to see the rock stars and to see the vice president and the president, they turn around and cast the ballot. >> they're getting names. >> and then the college kid oversleeps on election day still gets a chance to vote instead of blow i blowing. >> ed, talk about that, having the rock stars come in. >> it's turnout, you are right. it doesn't persuade one person to change their vote, bruce springsteen or any other star but it's turnout and sense of momentum. we had bruce springsteen at the parkway and had 100,000 people and it was magic. it was magic. and you could feel everybody was going to go home and get their buddy and say, you're voting. you're voting. >> one other thing, ed, talking about polls right now and i have said for 20 years that pennsylvania is fools gold for

republicans. now i just said earlier i don't believe the wisconsin and iowa polls. i don't think it's eight points in iowa. there's no way. you agree with me. i don't think it's six points in wisconsin. i think you agree with me there, too. but on the other side of the ledger, these pennsylvania polls that show mitt romney within three points in the keystone state don't believe that for a second either. >> and you're right. and mitt romney's campaign is following your advice. they haven't put one dime on television in pennsylvania. >> if it were three points -- >> they'd be in pennsylvania. >> do you know what they'd say to ohio? had see you. good luck, buckeyes. we're going to the game this weekend. it's really three points. what's mitt romney going to do? what's the rnc going to do? what's karl rove going to do? >> flood the airwaves. >> the smart money will go where? >> pennsylvania. >> forget iowa. >> the romney campaign is telling you those polls are no good.

it could happen. i'm skeptical. last night president obama sat down with jon stewart on "the daily show" where he faced questions about the administration's handling of the attack in libya and the communication problem that followed. >> we weren't confused about the fact four americans had been killed. >> sure. >> i wasn't confused about need to go ramp up diplomatic security around the world right after it happened. i wasn't confused about the fact we had to investigate exactly what happened so it gets fixed. and i wasn't confused about the fact we're going to hunt down whoever did it and bring them to justice. >> right. i would say even you admit it was not the optimal response at least to the american people as far as us all being on the same page? >> well, here is what i'll say. if four americans get killed, it's not optimal. and we're going to fix it. >> right. >> all of it. >> ed rendell, there are some

reacting to the use of the word optimal in this case, what's your take? >> jon stewart said it first in that exchange and i think what the president meant it's not acceptable. i'm not sure i would put my candidate out in these types of shows. i know they say let's appeal to the base but, gosh, there's so much opportunity here to say something that sort of gets misconstrued like the tag rg romney stuff, making a big deal about that. it's ridiculous. >> i can't even -- i wouldn't even air that. it's dumb. >> but in the middle of this ben dwazy crisis, d 0 onny, to send the president on "the daily show" and have the president say whenever you have the killing of four americans it's not optimal, and he was there to talk about communication problems and probably caused himself another communication problem. >> i'm going to pick up on what ed said and attach it back to the springsteen thing. he's not going to get one extra

vote going to a show that is 1,000% his base in the first place. if anything it continually puts him in a specific place and to your point his only down side. >> oh, great, he's going to put boobs on the cover and come and talk about it. michael hainey takes us inside the new issue. >> that's offensive. >> an interview with obama campaign senior adviser david axelrod. >> do they have kate upton? >> kate upton with a possible sickle between their breast. that's their cover. i wonder what they're trying to do. red white and blue one, a bomb pop. really? really? >> i really thought -- >> really? >> i think they were trying to make a bigger issue. you're still talking about it. >> and they're hurting. they're desperate. >> the biggest selling cover. >> also from the hall of fame band crosby, stills and nash.

the world tour wrapping up. and willie's week in review. >> would you rather have crosby eating a pop ssicle? no. >> here is bill karins -- now that mental image is really bad. >> you've actually seen it on one of your sleepovers. >> no. he likes to let them melt on his chest. >> we were going to keep the sleepover thing between us, and now it's just out there. i have a lot of explaining to do. well, good morning, everyone. so far so good, airports. it's a rough morning commute up in england as advertised. heavy rain and periods of thunderstorms will continue through the afternoon. all the green on this map is areas of rain. the yellow areas of moderate rain. as i mentioned it's amazing we haven't had any major airport delays yet. i still think we're going to see some as we go throughout the mid morning period. one area of heavy rain exited washington, d.c. it's exiting baltimore as we

speak that will arrive in philadelphia about an hour from now. new york city some showers right now, a period of heavier rain, about two hours from now. and also we're continuing with rain further up to the north. boston, i'd wait probably another three or four hours and then you'll start to see the rain that will continue for much of your afternoon. the rest of the country, a raw, a nasty day around chicago. highs only in the 40s. breezy and also dealing with some light rain. northwest also some showers today. the southern half of the country a fantastic friday and the good news for your fall weekend, it looks like a nice weekend ahead. the stormy weather begins to exit up into canada. we warm it up in the midwest. only the northwest deals with some unsettled weather with on and off showers. sunday looks like a fantastic hid to late october day all through the eastern half of the nation. rockefeller center, you see a few umbrellas, showers on and off during the tent day today. with the spark cash card from capital one,

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♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪ i get it now. here with us deputy editor of "gq" magazine. >> they are journalists. >> i'm watching you. >> really? really? >> i'm listening. >> what do you think of what i have to say? >> i'm waiting to hear it. >> you've heard it. >> tips on ties. what to do -- >> do you want to go there? >> i'll go wherever you want to go. >> okay. give us tips on ties according to "gq." >> this is for pundits style.

you look at the political -- >> this is going to go well. >> looking sharp there. a lot of your colleagues on other networks are well dressed. msnbc -- >> they wear very thin ties. skinny. >> is the delay on? >> saying, msnbc has the best style. you have chris matthews, you have tom brokaw. al sharpton. >> sean hannity gets beat up. >> who is the best dressed journalist on television? editor of "gq." >> joe scarborough. >> i think you have great style. >> thank you so much. i appreciate it. some guys out of charlotte, virginia. and i still am rocking the no socks even this late. >> is this too much? this suit? >> no. i don't know how much you paid for it. >> i don't mean money wise.

i get a lot of heat on it. the old corvettes -- >> we're going to talk about your interview with david axelrod. i have to say, we were talking about homeland. how great claire dane -- >> the big show, claire dane won the emmy. how much do you love that? wearing bomber jackets. >> lewis is remarkable. >> that's a cool jacket. >> who makes that jacket? >> i'm not sure the other one -- we'll get the credits. >> what does david actixelrod t to you about? >> ewent to david axelrod because as you see in the piece people around the media were saying the guy never looked so unhappy, he especially joe scarborough. >> looks sad. >> what is going on in axelrod's mind. he gave a good analysis of the president saying he's consistent, he's on message and he's happy with the campaign so far. >> is that jeremy lind? >> look at that. >> jeremy lind on the cover. >> how awesome is that? >> pretty awesome. >> that guy is living the

ultimate american story for a guy. he was on the bench. came off the bench. 12 did days later he's on the cover of "sports illustrated." now he's on the cover of "gq." >> the knicks let him go. >> what did he sign for? $24 million. >> my gosh. the knicks for a couple million, to not understand the marketing this guy brought, it's blasphemous. >> in sports you need a good storyline. the garden had a storyline and they got rid of it. >> the garden is in trouble. >> there's a piece on -- >> i love this piece. >> what men are afraid of. >> i'm going to read an excerpt if you don't mind. >> please, tell us. >> what men are afraid of. fear as much or more than any factor we self-destructive humans deal with on a regular basis is holding us back from bigger paychecks, better

partners, and new experiences. and in its chronic form fophobi can be nearly crippling. so what's going on here? why are we slaves to our fears? according to those who study the subject, it's not some neurological hiccup. fear is a deeply ingrained by-product of evolution. and in our current context, that adaptation has gone haywire. >> it's true. it's a great story based on science, and you have to realize we're basically thousands of years old. fear is sort of how to survive on the plains and a lot of stuff we react to. you go to your boss for a raise, you're afraid he's going to yell at you. just like somewhere else. it's sort of learning to -- you're hard wired this fear, you have to rewire yourself. >> so you mean fear -- let's say somebody is in a bad marriage, the fear of leaving it and the consequences? >> fear of change. i have to 0 say, mika, that's a

deep and insightful story you have to forgive him. >> i actually do because it's pretty good. does it justify, though? >> you saw this in the debate the other night, romney and obama. these guys were clearly cool under pressure. they've learned -- you never get rid of your fear, you learn to pretend. the guy who did tesla and paypal, the spacex rocket used to be afraid of the dark and then he realized it is just an absence of photons. why should i be afraid of an absence of photons and now he's a millionaire. >> what are afraid of, donny? >> that's a good question. that's an interesting. what i'm afraid of -- >> you. >> i'm not -- i don't think i'm driven by fear. fear of failure. i don't know if that's a straight-on answer but not

succeeding is something -- fear is what drives me. >> that is a very male thing to be afraid of. that's what i always tell people, it's the fear of failure. i wish i had more confidence. i look at these guys -- i had one guy say you know what i do with these deals if 50% of them work, i'm happy. >> you have to learn to have the conversation with yourself. what am i really afraid of here? >> you have to embrace failure and understand that with great success you're going to fail sometimes and if you could walk right into it, make failure your friend. >> if you're hitting .300 you're a superstar and that's only three in ten bats. >> so the yankees aren't superstars. if the votes are bipartisan and slightly irrelevant, the guide to surviving the big event. talk about that. >> we decided and it was proven

right that people don't even pay attention. we gave you a more entertaining guide from the pundit's style to what to do if your candidate loses. >> tina brown was on earlier and obviously she is ceasing publication of "newsweek." the thick magazine, does that spell the death throes of magazin magazines? >> it's one in the business. >> i agree. >> and your magazine is a great visual magazine. >> my pleasure. >> that's what i'm trying to tell you. it is a great visual magazine. >> she is going to yell at me now. >> very visual. you do hard-hitting interviews and i don't know how mika -- we go to russia. >> was smuggled out of prison by

putin. vladimir putin. we had a great interview, the editor over there, and went into the jailhouse and had to smuggle it out. >> this is a great magazine. you've done a great job. >> mika, it's a great magazine. give it up. >> are you speechless? >> no, i think the cover with the possible sickle is pandering of the worst. >> we're from different worlds. there's nothing wrong with that. >> t.j. just happened to have the magazine, the biggest seller of all time. >> it did very well. i think there's a problem, mika has a problem with capitalism, we don't. >> yeah. >> why don't you come to the office, we'll have a little lunch, you'll meet the people. we're really not that bad. >> i will do that. i will see you there. >> the new issue of "gq" without kate upton and the possible sickle -- >> jeremy lind and a basketball. >> almost as good. actually not really. michael, thank you so much.

coming up next, a big thrill. >> oh, my gosh. >> stephen stills of crosby, stills and nash. they are my favorite band of all time. >> you just made his minute. i've worked hard to build my family. and also to build my career. so i'm not about to always let my frequent bladder urges, or the worry my pipes might leak get in the way of my busy lifestyle.

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here with us now from the legendary group crosby, stills and nash, singer/songwriter stephen stills. very good to have you on the show. welcome. what an honor. >> it's great to have you hear. a great honor. so you guys are up at the beacon and i'm hearing you're just blowing audiences away. as you've said, you've had a little bit of practice. it's not your first gig. >> yeah, i think monday night will be the last one and that will be number 82. >> wow. >> and my partners are in their 70s. >> i mean, you've been -- you've been touring all over the world, australia, new zealand, and -- >> brazil. >> wow. and the crowds still coming out? >> argentina was fan ttastic because our albums were the soundtrack for their most

depress i depressing time so people would come up and just grab us by the hand, you got us through it. nightmare. >> really tough time. so talk about how the band came together. obviously you were with a great band and then moved into crosby, stills and nash. >> it was a little plotting with by a friend and we sang a very simple song together. >> did you know it immediately? >> i believe that. the harmony is locked in and you're like, wow. just instant magic. so, you know, it's interesting. i was reading neil young's latest, his biography, and he talked about what great respect he had for you and how he always felt like he locked in on your talents and your skills in a way others didn't. he thinks you're one of the

greats. >> well, i appreciate that very much and, of course, he does as well. i love the book although you need a seat belt. he is the king of the left turn. you'll be talking about one thing and he'll be talking about the other. where did he go? >> goes all over the place. so let's talk also about we hear you had a good friendship with jimi hendrix. obviously a guy who changed music, changed the way people play guitar. rolling stone named you one of the tops last year. >> the people's polls did. they did an experts poll and i dropped significantly. wo wonder what forces were at work. >> what do experts know? >> exactly. >> what was hendrix like? >> he would try to teach me things. uncle jim, put up your hand.

reflect that. >> you. >> like a basketball player. i can't do that until we figure out a way to do the same thing. >> who influenced you? who influenced the band? who got you to pick up the guitar in the first place? >> i was a big freak for the old blues record. back in the '50s in tampa at 13 years old and i played drums. so i have a lot of great music teachers from the florida area and all over central florida and all these great records to draw on and went to louisiana when i was about 5 and i got out of the room and went down and watched

at mardi gras. five hours long. it was sort of like wind to my dna. >> wow. >> nobody knew about it. that's what it was like. >> you mentioned you're in your 70s now. >> i'll be there in a minute. >> almost. >> this is my hair color. >> what does it feel like on stage now? do you still feel the same way? how do the songs and the music strike you. >> i used to be the one on the piano leaping off and i'm paying for that. i got overenthusiastic skipping back from the stage. there is no skipping in the '70s. my legs are killing me today and the weather ain't helping me. >> i want to know what that song was you sang together so many years ago you knew four notes in. >> in the morning when you rise.

it only had one verse so it was very quick to learn. it was something david and i have been messing with and david called me to come over and there i was graham nash with the hollies, the english teddy boy outfit. sing that again. sing that again. and then the third time he joined in. and we had no idea he was ready to make a change and picked us. >> that was it. >> he had a bunch of hits before. >> stephen, what's your all-time favorite song? >> oh, it changes every day depending on what's on the news. some dylan song will pop into my head. >> let's talk quickly about

you're interested in proposition 32 in california. talk about that. >> well, it's the same -- putting on the ballot what they were trying to do in wisconsin with the unions. we were built on the union way. so it's a pretty simple thing to do. it's written in the same legalese you have to wade through. be grateful to that teacher that you had in the ninth grade that would make you read latin. >> there are some that are pretty comfortable with it. >> stephen stills of crosby, stills and nash, thank you so much. finishing up their 2012 world tour at new york city's beacon theater. it's great to have you on the show. >> well, thank you very much. >> getting up early for us.

>> remember to vote. we had a great week. i thought the president was funny last night. >> i did, too. >> you can vote now in a lot of states. >> there you go. thank you so much. good advice. up next, business before the bell with brian sullivan. [ female announcer ] want to spend less and retire with more?

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it is a rainy day here in new york city. look at times square. kind of dreary. >> it is. dismal actually. >> dismal and dreary. >> awful.

>> who does that remind me of? >> brian sullivan. >> that's not right. >> you asked. >> brian, what she meant to say it reminds her of the tech sector because it's been a couple dismal couple of days for the tech sector. let's talk about it. obviously google is going to be on the front page of all the papers today. real bad news. >> reporter: microsoft and google are very different can companies in most ways, but they are similar in some ways this this week and it goes to your point about the dismality. google released or their printer released their earnings early yesterday -- >> uh-oh. >> reporter: it was like a fire alarm, sitting in my boxer briefs sitting a latte and then i was on television. >> i don't like that image in my mind. >> reporter: nobody does to be honest with you except for the be abercrombie & fitch pilot. we'll get to that in a second. so google's numbers were not

only released early but they were terrible. microsoft shares will fall today a couple percent, at least it looks that way now because pc sales are slowing and the companies are related this way. cell phones, smart phones, tablets are hurting both companies. you do fewer google searches on your iphone. if you do, there's less real estate to look at. like facebook. both companies are facing that same problem. cell phones are changing it. >> you have to tell us because he actually helped draw up the guidelines for -- >> what to wear on a jet. so explain to us since you know firsthand -- >> disturbing. >> there's this scandalous lawsuit involving the ceo of abercrombie & fitch. >> reporter: i'm going to read this to get it right. a pilot was fired from the company jet, filed a lawsuit. in the discovery process the

rules manual the ceo required apparently of the jet came to light. it has now been reported. here are some of the rules the abercrombie ceo has on the corporate jet. male flight attendants have to wear polo shirts, flip-flops, a spritz of abercrombie cologne, white gloves when setting the table, specific seating for the three dogs of the ceo. you have to play phil collins "take me home" on return flights and if you're asked a question the male flight attendants must say, no problem. they're not allowed to say, sure or okay. these are the rules uncovered in a court case. >> the boxer briefs -- with pants on top or not? >> reporter: you guys don't have those rules on "the morning joe," do you? i won't be allowed on. >> mika has the rules whenever she is on a g5 going to the south of france.

>> reporter: in my jeep wrangler going to wisconsin, no rules at all. you can come along anytime you like. happy weekend. >> we'll take the bus, brian. thank you so much. brian sullivan, take me home, baby. ♪ [ male announcer ] this is karen and jeremiah. they don't know it yet, but they're gonna fall in love, get married, have a couple of kids, [ children laughing ] move to the country, and live a long, happy life together where they almost never fight about money. [ dog barks ] because right after they get married, they'll find some retirement people who are paid on salary, not commission. they'll get straightforward guidance and be able to focus on other things, like each other, which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade.

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willie's week in review. >> i'm going home now. >> at number three, space diving. >> i wish you can see what i can see. >> an austrian man named felix baumgartner took a little sunday leap this week from 128,000 feet above the earth. fearless felix free fell from the edge of outer space for about 120,000 of those feet breaking the sound barrier and hitting top speed of 834 miles an hour before floating back to rejoin the mortals below. >> sometimes you have to be up really high to see how small you are. i'm going home now. >> the breathtaking jump took place three years almost to the day after the world's last truly great helium fueled exploration

of our skies. >> a helium balloon disrupting the airspace was bad enough, but authorities were told onboard that contraption thousands of feet in the air was a 6-year-old boy. >> we did this for a show. at number two, a-rod. >> i've never addressed fact from blogs or gossip columns. >> a tough week for new york yankees third baseman alex rodriguez. he was benched again in the playoffs. >> it was laughable i'm not happy about it. >> and he was accused in a number of "new york post" stories of getting phone numbers from a woman in the crowd at yankees stadium right in the heat of the alcs. >> i've been here a long time in new york and i think nine years i've never addressed any of these. >> with the anti-a-rod bandwagon growing and reports suggesting he could be shipped to miami,

some yankee fans wonder if the curse of a-rod was responsible for the fall of st. jeter. >> some of the criticism out there is very fair. i can live with that. >> and the number one story of the week -- >> you'll get your chance in a moment. i'm still speaking. and i don't think that's the case -- that wasn't the question. that was a statement. >> president obama and mitt romney all but put each other into ufc submission holds as they stepped into the ring together this week. >> you said in the rose garden the day of the attack it was an act of terror. it was not a spontaneous demonstration? >> please proceed, governor. >> the second presidential debate was a boone to the office supply industry. >> bought us binders full of women. >> we don't have to collect a bunch of bind eers to find talented young women. >> it didn't hurt the stool industry as reports said romney practiced sitting on stools ahead of the debate because he hadn't spent much time seated in bars. >> only people who drink know

how to sit on stools l. >> the romney camp had to overcome both paul ryan's dishwasher gate and an obama endorsement from the boss ♪ let's vote for the man who got osama ♪ >> there was one part of the message every rock star could relate to. >> he brought his binders full of women. [ male announcer ] humana and walmart have teamed up to bring you a low-priced medicare prescription drug plan.

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welcome back to "morning joe." what we learned today. >> crosby, stills and nash in their 70s. i teal i feel extraordinarily old. >> they're still great. the we've been talking about women and equal pay and all these issues, in all seriousness i'm lucky to be working with you and for a company who has dealt with this problem transparentally. >> they actually have. and let me just say the thing i've learned this week, people, that when you start talking about binders and women's issues, i'm going to shut my mouth and listen to mika, how about that? >> there you go. have a good weekend. >> if it's way too early, what time is it? chuck todd has "the daily rundown." see you monday. president obama and governor romney share a stage are fhe