serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, nervous system and blood disorders, and allergic reactions have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. you should not start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if you have symptoms such as persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. since enbrel helped relieve my joint pain, it's the little things that mean the most. ask your rheumatologist if enbrel is right for you. [ doctor ] enbrel, the number one biologic medicine prescribed by rheumatologists. >> congress has a major crisis on its hands and they have no one to blame but themselves.

at the start of this week, we are reminded of accelerated passage of time. in congress, lawmakers have seen to it the clock is kicking down to another government shutdown. the deadline is now only days away. they are the ones that activated the detonator. we will have full details on that in just a moment. we will also be looking at the calendar for the time president obama has left during his second term to get things done to meet the promises of his 2012 re-election campaign. you may think he has three more years. washington's calendar does not necessarily match the one hanging on your mother's kitchen. my money for the most interesting race in the country right now is on the great state of virginia. it's not exactly a tough calm. there are only two governor's races going on this year. with weeks to go, we will be joined by a former governor of that state to hash out where we stand and where he stands. are you ready to go up against the clock? it's time for another exciting edition of our look back at

everything that happened in politics this week, classic '70s game show style. but we begin this morning on capitol hill. the republican spending plan was passed yesterday by the house -- let me start that again t. spending plan passed yesterday by the house could if you look only at the surface seem like a perfectly reasonable piece of legislation. it's a measure that would keep the government running for a couple more months until mid-december. it's a measure that would avoid the shutdown that would otherwise be less than two weeks from today. republican members of the house were cheering behind speaker boehner's party line vote. one republican voted in favor of the measure. if are you john boehner, that almost never happens for you. they were demanding the senate immediately follow their lead. >> i urge the senate to pass this and the president to sign it into law as soon as possible to avoid a devastating a and avoidable government shutdown. >> but, of course, the get the entire house gop conference to

stand together like they did this week, well, there almost has to be a catch. . >> if you remember, this bill responds to the clear will of the american people by defunding obamacare, a tremendously flawed law that is casting havoc upon businesses and citizens alike and there must be repeal. >> there it is. >> that is the price that speaker boehner decided to pay, he decided he hado choice but to pay in order to bring his party together, passing a bill that the president has no chance of ever signing. >> right now, the debalt that's going on in congress is not meeting the test of health and middle class families. it's just, they're not focused on you. they're focused on politics. they're focused on trying to

mess with me. they're not focused on you. >> but for that bill, the republicans passed to get to obama's desk for him to veto, it would first have to make its way through the senate. that's where harry reed has said any bill that defunds obama scare dead. instead, he is marshalling the troops to defund obamacare and kick it back to the house. all as that october 1st shut -- deadline for a shutdown gets closer and closer. a senate fight will begin next week. at this point it's unclear exactly what kind of a fight the most conservative members of the senate will be putting up. senator ted cruz made a lot of noise this week by admitting the proposal to defund obamacare was likely to go to the senate t. day after that, after house republicans attacked him. he vowed to stop at nothing to keep obamacare from being fully implemented. now he's hinting he might try to filibuster, block the bill in

the senate. as things stand now, though, it looks like democrats in the senate will be able to take out the part of the bill that defunds obamacare. then, thanks, to some procedural craftiness they will be able to do it in a way that gives some coverage to republicans who don't fight them. >> that will then put the ball right back in the house's court. right back in john boehner's court. the senate will hand him a bill that doesn't touch obamacare. with the country on the verge of a shutdown, boehner will be in a pick him. will he convince them that it is better to do that than be blamed for a shutdown in will the tea party bog at that and force ban tore rely on democratic votes to keep the government opened? a move that could precipitate a coup that could cost ban ter speaker's gavel. maybe he'll do nothing as october 1st comes and goes and the government closes down. here to help answer that, i want to bring in msnbc's former

co-host, the white house reporter with buzz feed.com. josh bear at business insider.com and msnbc national policy reporter susie kim. thanks, guy, for joining us. when i wasn't stumbling flailing around trying to figure out what to say. >> a lot going on. >> more caffeine, i can read that a little better, i think. my challenge is i want to sort of understand the roadman immediately ahead. the continuing resolution if it ends up being enacted takes it to december 15th. there will be a debt ceiling in a few weeks. i wanted to focus on the continuing resolution. my challenge is to do it in a way that doesn't lapse into senate speak. so i will fine you if you use the word closure. we will try to make this as understandable as we can for people. with that in mind, susie, we started to outline it there. the expectation is harry reed and the senate will be able to take out the part of the bill that defunds obamacare.

it looks like this is sort of coming down to a prourl vote that will take place i think in the senate on monday. the ted cruz is threatening to launch a filibuster. can you explain what ted cruz is threatening and why this ultimately should get through the senate. what is going on there? >> so, basically, ted cruz is threatening to do something that would force basically for that bill without the obamacare revision to pass, debate has to stop and basically what ted cruz has threatened to, do although his comments earlier in the week suggested maybe, you know, it's kind of an empty threat, so to, you know, basically keep going, to talk, filibuster basically means you are just talking and talking and talking and then they won't be able to close debate and hold a vote t. question, ted cruz kind of already showed his hand earlier this week. this is the reason that all these republicans are attacking him. i would say for very different reasons. what you are seeing right now

which is very interesting, you had some moderate republicans in the house who realized that ted cruz is their out. basically, they could blame ted cruz for not standing up tall enough that, yes, he's saying all these things now, yes, i will definitely stand tall against obamacare. he said earlier in the week, after all is said and done, this is going nowhere, so now they kind of have an out for blaming ted cruz, having him take the fall for the reason that obamacare didn't actually pass. everyone knew this was the case to begin with, but, you know the question is now, how long is this going to take basically will the senate kind of at the last minute pass a bill with obamacare and force them to make a midnight decision. >> that was a really interesting dynamic you talked about with the republicans in the house. i haven't seen him turn on a prominent member of their own party since obama became president. peter king, a republican from new york in the house talking about ted cruz this week. >> whether it's custer, kamikaze

or whatever, we are going to lose this and we have so many winning issues against the president. i think he's at wing with our party led by people like ted cruz who really sfarsz i'm concerned is carrying out a fraud with the people by seeing or implying that this strategy will win. >> take us inside republican world here. ted cruz's gain for the last two years, he is positioning himself as the voice of purity the standard which purity is measured. all these squishes in washington. boehner, they don't measure up to him. is na turning it all in the minds of republicans now because of this? >> i think so. there is something remarkable ab ted cruz, he mansion to make people hate him. it's not just the house. we is seen it in the senate. republicans around in the senate for a long time think that cruz doesn't respect traditions in the institution, doesn't respect them and you've seen a lot of complaint from people like john mccain about him. i think what you are seeing in the house is the top goal for

leadership and republicans close to leadership in this fight over the continuing resolution with the government opened, was they want to keep the low levels of funding set out by sequestration the government won in the last debt ceiling fight in 2011 t. whole obama push has been interfering with that. when this goes to the senate and harry weed read strips out the obamacare revision. what will le he do, he gets the chance to jam republicans in the house, not with a bill that defunds obamacare but might spend more overall. the republicans correctly real easyize if they kept their eye on this and not been distracted with that obamacare thing. they would have had a longer hand to play and achieved their goal. >> is that the expectation the democrats in the senate in sort of as they touch this bill that they actually would change sequester levels. they'd change spending levels or would they say we'll be happy to let the continuing resolution go

through a few months? >> what's fun 234i. we don't talk about sequestration at all. this is a whole, there is a huge issue that is now being pushed off by the obamacare talk. so in a sense, i don't know what the democrats will do with that. there is some discussion with fixing it i think that the white house would like it to be fixed. woem people would like it to be fixed. be you the battle is really now about keeping the government opened and less about if ocalm care vision really. >> steve, i'm sorry. il i'm going to have to laugh. not only do the republicans the continuing resolution that they passed in the house, it keeps sequester level funding for non-defense spending, the part that they really want to cut and they actually add 20 billion to the defense side which the whole idea of sequester was that the defense side holds the republican's feet to the fire. the non-defense cuts would hold the democrat's feet to the fire. they're trying to ease their side but not on the democratic

side. i don't think democrats will stand for those levels of funds and as we look down the road at how this is going to play out, i don't think that the ted cruz, me first, really what they have is incredibly selfish. they're both destroying their party and threatening the country. i don't see them backing down on this they want to really go to the wire. look, ted cruz is a hero among the tea party base even if his colleagues hate him. this has been great for him. so i think they're going to have to go to nancy pelosi and democrats for help. and they're going to have to change the funding levels in order to get there. >> first of all, you said non-discretionary 3.50. >> sorry. >> susie, let's pick it up for a second. that's the dilemma for democrats here. because as i've understood it. on the democratic side, they were more willing to accept the sequester the reduced level of spending just to get obamacare out of it t. house side is not quite as tested. >> ted, this is the interesting

thing. i think what is easy to forget as recently as over the summer. you had some house democrats saying, yes, i think it's worth risking a shutdown to get rid of sequestration. the democrats were making this threat and instead you have this playing out on the republican pseudo. is on the downside, republicans could get blamed for a shutdown. this could be blamed for their party and so forth. on the republican side, they've become a distraction. in fact, boehner in terms of sequester seems more reasonable like, oh, okay, we want to continue what we are doing all along. no one pay attention. keep going along. the longer sequestration stays in place the longer it's -- the more likely it is. >> it becomes the new normal. right. the new standard. >> that's the advantage of having this, you could argue, this is the reason if boehner decided, yeah, i'll bring this bill forward. it makes them seem crazy. it makes me with my conservative ideas about spending seem more normal. >> what sui is i is saying is true, let's not forget when they

actually were trying to pass appropriations bills to put numbers to the budget at sequestration levels, even republicans were unable to do it because the funding cuts were so draconian. >> the big question is can the kind of unity we saw from the republicans yesterday, can that exist before the shutdown dead loin if the bill they passed gets altered in anyway. let's talk about that after this. and then another. and another. and if you do it. and your friends do it.

. >> i want to talk about. it could be messy. it could take a little bit. if we stipulate the democrats and the senate would be able to take out the defunding without defunding obamacare. they send it back to the house, i'm imagineing it's late in this month. it's a week from now. it's closing october 1st.

and that bill the same bill that the house passed yesterday minus the obamacare defunding is in the house. you are up against the shutdown. john boehner wants to pass. he does not want to be blamed for shutdown. i'm looking at today's republicans the tea party republicans and could he, do you think in that situation get the kind of anonymity we were speaking of or does he have to rely on democrats? >> the pressure on him will be from the outside. we were saying earlier the people who are the republican voters, they listen to the radio. they're they are not mad at ted cruz. so when boehner gets his bill back the pressure on him will be immense from the outside. so i think that going to, and that sort of helps you nanimty happen. they all are stuck and vetted for his bill. so i think that you are in a position where he will be immense pressure pressure on him. i don't know that going

democrats will be accepted at all. he may have to, i guess. but i think this over the cliff shutdown thing would be more credible politically. >> this is the quote i think that sums up how washington works or doesn't work and how the republican party works or doesn't work. tom massey a republican from kentucky this week, he was talking about the rand paul party talking about the shutdown. he says all that really matters and my district wants my district is overwhelmingly in favor of my position. he is right, if you do the numbers on this, i think all but nine republicans in the house come from districts that mitt romney won last year. they were much more about the primary, josh, than the general election. what could john boehner say to make them feel it's in their best interest to fund obamacare in the trade? >> i think that's unclear. i think he needs a brophy shutdown to convince them it's not a successful political strategy. it's likely we will have one. i don't think it will be long. i think it's three days or five days. boehner has options when it

comes from the senate other than letting it pass or bring nothing to the floor. they can amend it again. >> probably back to the senate? >> exactly. i saw one member of the house say figure they send it back to us, we will put something else they don't like in and send it back. so i think that's a likely outcome as well they will come up with, maybe they will put a one-year delay instead of the fund provision, because a lot of people have been talking about a one-year delay associated with the debt ceiling or they could attach some other poison filth. so i think that might take us past the september 30 deadline. it's they send something back to the senate and we run out of time. >> you are stuck in a bad political position then, you are stuck with a shutdown. even they have given the delay stuff. a lot they think they can do. the delay seems to be, i heard about this yesterday, the republican i talked to -- >> they think they can delay it for a year or two. >> i talked to a republican saying we are talking about defunding, if we take that back a peg, we put a delay in the

senate -- >> this is a lot like the newt gingrich suggestion. too. the interesting thing is if we have a shutdown, it's not going to stop the implementation of obamacare. the reason that all of this stuff is kind of convergeing now is that october 1st is extremely important date for the beginning of a huge part of obamacare, which is the implementation of the exchanges. so you could see them saying that, listen, okay, i understand we don't like obamacare. a lot of people in this country don't like obamacare. shutting down governments is not going to do anything practically speaking to stop obamacare. >> the other issue here, too, on the issue of, if beaner gets this through by saying, you know, we can get a one-year delay, maybe we can use the debt ceiling. swallow hard on this, because in three weeks, we get to have him, we get to do the debt ceiling, but that's even more danger agents that the consequences of a debt ceiling. >> here's the thing, the bottom line for me, john boehner needs to decide who he is going to be

when he grows up. right now, there is nothing he could do that will satisfy the ted cruz wing of the paerts party. his speakership is in danger, anyway. he is not likely to stay past 2014, i don't think. so if he decided he wanted to partner with democrats, you could avoid a government shutdown. you could pass immigration reform, tax code reform. you could make progress on the things republicans claim to care about. it is all on his shoulders. he needs to decide what he wants to do. >> do we have a sense? there are 233 republicans in the house. do we have a sense how many are true believers on this, they really believe they could do away with obamacare, they believe in the tea party message, how many are going along with this because they have to do that to survive? do we know what that breakdown is at all? >> the number of accounts is somewhere between 30 and 40. >> i was going to say 40 and 50.

>> they will not continue the resolution to fund obama. there are die hard in other ways, this is really a tactical dispute. they all hate obamacare and most of them are focused in some way to under mine it and cause the law to become repealed. the reason that this support is from 340 or 40 or 50 members instead of a majority of the republican caucus in the house is a lot of them recognize accurately this is a bad strategy for undermining obamacare. they want other undermining strategies. it's not that they corner want to work productively. >> look what happenedt the fiscal cliff deal. boehner tried to just rally all his republicans at the last minute. he said he had this thing called a plan b, waives what he had. with plan b it didn't end up working. you go with plan c. plan c is working with democrats. he ended up having to violate the rule which is to have the majority. >> did he get fined for that?

>> yes. >> your lawyer. >> this is the thing. >> they ban together when democrats passed the fiscal cliff dole. it was something. it wasn't what democrats wanted but did include some tax increase for some people. then the last time the debt ceiling happened the last time we hit it, he ended up blinking. we ended up suspending the debt ceiling which technically allowed republicans to basically bypass having to vote for increasing the debt ceiling venlth effectively the same thing. why not suspend it all over again. i mean, so the question is, is boehner, not is boehner going to fine ally band together with democrats, is he going to do what he's done with the fiscal cliff deal what he's done with the violence against women act, in which he has been forced to -- >> you have exhausted every other action the last minute. that's your government for you right now. we will tell you a lot more about this in the next few weeks. the second term slump, is president obama entering one or is the whole concept a myth?

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. >> i want to show you what it looks like, what it sounds like, what it feels like when a presidency is working and everyone is happy. to do that, we will hop in the up time machine and we will head back 27 years to 1986. the 4th of july. it falls on a friday that year. it's actually the kickoff of something called liberty weekend. it's a three-day national celebration, not just of america's independence but of the preeminent symbol of that independence. the statue of liberty, which has just undergone an extensive long overdo refurbishing. it's nearly 10:00 p.m. and anybody tuned at home watch us live as the president of the united states ronald reagan boards the uss john f. kennedy in new york harbor, makes his way across the flight deck and delivers a pitch perfect

patriotic homily. >> my fellow americans, we are known around the world as a confident and a happy people. tonight, there is much to celebrate and many blessings to be grateful for. so while it's good to talk about serious things, it is just as important and just as american to have some fun. now, let's have some fun. let the celebration begin. >> and there she is. lady liberty in all her revitalized glory. yen whenever you think of reagan, you got to get him this. test a beautifully choreographed scene. it was a scene that led "time" magazine to put reagan on the next cover with this headline. why is this man so popular? ronald reagan has found the american sweet spot. it's hard to argue with that conclusion. a year-and-a-half earlier,

reagan scored a landslide over walter mon dale. in july, 1986, his approval rating is a goddy 63%. it's the president at the peak of his popularity. but now, let's look at the "time" magazine cover just five months after that, five months after reagan stood on that ship and tickled america's sweet spot. there it is, it is an ominous photo of the white house. how far does it go in to it there is the iran contra. it was an illegal scheme in which the administration throughouted arms embargo to sell weapons to iran and used the proceeds to illegal war in central america. this time the first line in "time" story had a different ring to it. washington, it read, is in its full watergate crouch wand that not quite halfway through his second term the momentum behind reagan's presidency stalled out. overnight, his poll numbers plummeteted. you see from 63 to 47%. this became the story of the final two years of reagan's

presidency. there were congressional hearings. there were criminal investigations. there were criminal convictions. reagan was forced to go on national tv and admit that he traded arms for hostages. at one point the articles of impeach e peachment were introduced. with that finally settled, reagan kept his job. -se a lame duck. he coasted through the final days of his presidency on fumes t. thing is the story of reagan's second term is more or less par for the course when it comes to the modern presidency t. details vary, but for presidents who win two terms, the basic arc is the same. an invigorateing rejuvenateing re-election victory, lofty talk of ambitious goals. somewhere in the second term, a slump, declining poll numbers increaseing dissent. talk of diminished clout. lost relevance, all the markers of lame duck status. richard nixon won all but one state in 1972. but his second term, at least the year-and-a-half he got to serve was lost to watergate. bill clinton never lost the public during the impeachment

saga of his second term. he did lose a year of his presidency. george w. bush, did anything go right for him after katrina? now, less than a year after he beat back mitt romney, we are starting to here it. the chatter from washington that president obama is reaching a tipping point. in his own second term slump, the lame duck status is upon us. >> that noise got louder this week. here's a taste from politico. their head lines, what's wrong with barak barak. >> across the capital, it reads, anxious friends and enemies alike are asking what is wrong with obama? the evidence that something is wrong with obama, has something gone bad, of course, in his 62nd term? well, his approval rating has dropped from the high 40s now to the mid-40s in the last few weeks. there has been vocal dissent, democrats opposing the white house on syria. there is a whole syria drama, itself. stories about the white house haphazardly lunching from one posture to another. you add that together. have you something we in the

media love, a narrative. the story of a pretty losing steam. but here's what i'm wondering, is there really anything do it? is anything really changed in how obama is doing his job and how he is perceived to be doing his job. for all the criticism on syria, he did get assad to fess up on missiles. are we in the condition so conditioned to look for second term slumps that we're bengd over backwards to create one to fit a few weeks of bad headlines into something bigger, something doper? are we force's narrative here? we will talk about that with the panel after this. .

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. >> so we're talking about president obama's second term, we are talking about a slumplt if it exists. the obama presidency now we are basically almost a year into the second term. where do you think it stands right now and do you think anything meaningful has changed in the last few weeks?

>> not particularly. i don't think the last few weeks have been the best for him, certainly. we had howard feinman on our show he said he kind of lost the narrative thread of being in the presidency. people have forgotten why he was there. i think there is some truth to that. honestly, referencing the conversation we were just having. i think the republicans are kind of saving him. it's shifting to the government shutdown. that will be a lot more salient than larry somers or syria has turned out pretty well. people support the president's approach there. i think it's more of a media narrative than the real thing there this was a clip. this was obama talking yesterday in kansas city just after the house republicans voted for the defunding bill. this is a clip from yesterday. let talk about it. >> now, let's put this in perspective the affordable care act has been in the law for 3.5 years. it passed both houses of congress, supreme court, ruled kojs institutional. it was an issue in last year's elections. the guy running against me

said he was going to repeal it. we won. >> susie, i was struck he seemed ra lot more focused, a lot sharper, a lot lively, energetic than he seemed, you nope, lately. maybe this fight with the republicans as crystal said is sort of giving him more purpose. this one fairtive started to table a little bit. maybe it was an opportunity to reverse that narrative. >> one thing we were showing the approval rating at where it is now, that is miles above where it is how people feel. chris. you have to keep that in mind. obama knows their polls overwhelmingly shows whatever happens, people will blame republicans. it also is a good running. the advantage potentially from the white house perspective in terms of republicans fixateing on obamacare is this is its big coming out party. this is its big moment that the white house genuinely believes

beyond the politics is going to actually help obamacare signature achieve him, actually convince american people this is the way to do it. this is the way to go. tail be able to shop for insurance on these exchanges. they'll see for themselves beyond the political rhetoric that this can actually help them. so i think that's what may be energizeing as well. >> i think the president is in a slump. i think the reason for it is he's lost the narrative as to why he's president i think in his first term he wanted to get the health care lawdown done. now he has to defend it said of moving on. he didn't envision himself as a president struggling decline out of an economic recession. he is sick of having to deal with exactly the same economic problem that congress is getting very much in his way all the time as he tries to fix. he hasn't gotten on to move on to whatever is new. i also think much of the blame lies in the white house on this i think the larry someers nom nation a key example of this i

think that is one way to talk about how it's important to focus on unemployment and use it to run against congress and say, look, congress is broken. the only point of it that's working is a federal reserve. i need a chairman that will focus on this. he could have had a strong pitch for yellin and would have given him a strong economic message. instead, he sort of picked somers because he seems to like him or wanted to pick somers because he liked him personally. then when he talks about why he would pick a given fed chairman, he doesn't send a strong message about the economy. i think that was a missed opportunity there. when he doesn't drive the economic policy, he allows events to throw him around. as things changed with syria and the russians sort of drove the syria situation, the president locked out of control because he was out of control. i think that's true on broad parts of policy right now. where the president isn't driving policy. >> isn't that a part of the

story here is sort of the limits imposed on any president by divided government, by having the other party control one or both chambers, in today's, you know, reality, you need 60 votes to get anything through the senate. as long as that situation exists, this president or any president isn't going to be able do anything affirmatively. he is going to have to look for opportunities like josh is talking about here with the federal reserve to make his mark. it sort of limits what anysfrom can do. >> it's great nominees. but, loose, i happen to recall the spring when a series of three scandals were going to tear down obamacare and end each hope he ever had of doing anything. he came out of that, this syria thing, the numbers are going back. i think the fundamental problem obama has had is there was a central question in the 2012 election that was not the one between romney and obama that was what are you going to do to practicic this log jam? and he never had a answer for

that question. you will change. other things will happen. as soon as he dame in, there was that brief period where he got his tax hike that he wanted. that was a little bit of a thaw and then we saw immigration come up on all this talk and now we're back to where we were before. >> that is just the sort of like, it's a slump for everybody. nobody likes the way this is working out. i think that that's really what he's facing is that central question, he didn't answer really well in 2012. it's dogging him out. >> crystal, you have to forgive me. do you love the state of virginia? the republican party in virginia. the commonwealth, massachusetts, virginia. i should know this. the republican party and the commonwealth of virginia is not at all healthy and its candidate for governor is not at all popular. so how is it ken cuccineli is tied for a lead. we will get to the bottom with the former candidate doug wilder, he will join us next from richmond.

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. >> just 5b every other day this summer we learn something new and scandalous. state verts have been trying to determine whether he gave sweet is heart deals in exchange for lavish gifts its ceo showered on the mcdonald family. we heard about expensive trips, jewelry, a loner ferrari, $60,000 in value. he and his wife are scheduled to meet with prosecutors to make their case why they shouldn't be indicted. it has tarnished the image in virginia. it isn't helping the republican trying to succeed mcdonald this year, state attorney ken cucinelli received 18,000 in gifts from the same virginia businessmen. last week he announced he would do nate the gifts to charity. you would think it would be a slam dunk for democrats. yet, it is basically as close to being a dead heat in virginia the latest independent poll in the race shows cucinelli 3 point

behind behind. that's with a 3% mar jen of error. a little known libertarian candidate currently taking 7% of likely voters. so what is going on in the commonwealth of virginia? with to us explain is doug wilder who served as governor of virginia from 1990 to '94. he also ran for president in 1992, governor wilder joins us from richmond this morning. thank you for taking the time, governor, i guess i'll start with. you are an interesting political figure for many reasons. you are a democrat. you ran for president. yesterday, it never a given you are going to endoors democratic candidate in any major election. have you not endorsed terry mcauliffe the democratic candidate in this race or ken cucinelli. i wonder what is holding you back from endorsing your own party candidate in this race? >> i don't think it's a question of hold back, steve. i don't know of any democrat that endorsed mcauliffe. so my endorsement is not that important.

>> does that mean you are supporting him, though? are you for mcauliffe? >> it means i'm doing what the people of virginia do when they look to vote for somebody, they want to meet on the bones of the candidate. i think you phrased it exactly when you said that with all of these things going against the republicans, with all of these things going against cucinelli, why is the race a dead heat? so that obviously tells you something about the democratic candidate. does that candidate project to the virginia voter the kind of things they want to hear? is there meat on the bones of that candidacy? what are the issues that you are going to speak to? the fact that you are not cucinelli sno? how can i rely on you? virginiaens are increasingly becoming independent and you've seen that and you are absolutely right. i think the third party

candidate can take votes from either party. if that election were held today or tomorrow, it's up for grabs. >> so the point with, it seems to me you are saying terry mcauliffe is not making a positive case for why he should be governor of virginia. you teach a class. >> that's exactly what i'm saying. >> have you talked to him about that? he was in your class. >> i talked with him. i talked to both of them. i want to correct something, i don't believe that my endorsement is of any impact as such. i have never fallen into the pied piper syndrome. the people of virginia didn't vote for me because of that. it's not what happened in virginia. unfortunately, for them, it did happen. i'm saying to you that with the economy being what it is, with people looking for jobs, with

the high price of education in colleges and tuition increases going up, people are concerned about where their dollars are going to go. where we are going to be with education. what is going to be the difference in terms of finding jobs. where are these jobs going to be coming from? and one of the things that terry speaks about quite frequently is the expansion of medicaid. that he'll fund a lot of these things through that. when you boil that down and itemize how much money you are speaking about, when that's coming, it doesn't spell out after my class that you spoke of, there were any numbers of discussions relative to the candidate's appearances and i can tell you that that class, i would measure the class to believe it's a majority democrat but there was not majority enthusiasm for either of the candidates. >> all right. governor wilder, josh barro with business insider. >> hey, josh, how are?

>> i'm good. what is wrong with the party that terry mcauliffe was the best candidate they can come up with? i'm serious, you know, there isn't an obvious candidate, hoe, they should have nominated so and so instead of jerry mcauliffe. virginia is a swing state. why isn't there a deeper bench in. >> it's a good question. i think there is a good reason for it. one, mcauliffe never stopped running after he lost the candidacy the nomination last time. secondly, he does have a lot of money and he's shown that and, thirdly, there were those who may have considered it. i think bhav water was one of those persons who considered it. but i don't think that he had the i quiescence of his family necessarily to do that, marvin scott in my judgment could have won the primary nomination, perhaps, but he waited and chose not to do so. terry moved into the vacuum and there were no others who were out there to block him and

consequently, that's where the democrats are. the unfortunate thing and i think tom perillo at one time was likewise considering it. but it didn't have the horses in this instance means money. >> and governor, short on time here, i want to get ed mcmorse in from buzz feed. he has a question as well. >> you mentioned the enthusiasm in your class. we've seen polling showing the lowest likely set of candidates for governor or in any election that people have been polling forever, is this the worselet set of candidates for governor that you have ever seen in virginia? >> i hit to use that description, but i would say this perhaps is the most unelectrifying set of candidates that we've seen to get some energy in the voters. but i tell you why. if you go out and say, okay, what is the issue other than anti-cucinelli? it's difficult to find the democrats coming up with an

issue. if you get to them and say, okay, mr. cucinelli what is the fact other than you will hold fast to making certain other things that democrats proposed at the national level don't take place, it's differently to see that. that's why the public is saying, pocks on both of your houses. >> governor, we're running out of time. i do want to mention. you say your endorsement doesn't matter the commonwealth has had an election with two unappealing candidates charles robb and oliver north. you were an independent in that race. your endorsement very much mattered it is probably the reason oliver north never went to senate and robb made it. feel free to come back any time. we are out of time right now. >> i never wanted all my cards that i caused oliver north to be

elected. >> thank you, doug wilder, he is now teaching at virginia university home of the rams. get ready to put your current events knowledge to the test. we play our own quiz show against the clock. >> that is up next. getting the right nutrition during your busy day can be a challenge. take control of your nutrition with each delicious bar provides boost bars are perfect with a meal or as a nutritious snack. plus, they are available in chocolate and peanut butter chocolate flavors. a great-tasting way to get the nutrition you need. brand power. helping you buy better.

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. >> it's 1999 and the country is captivated by a brand-new television phenomenon "who wants to be a millionaire." finally, after countless near misses, a contestant makes it to the million dollar question. >> which u.s. presidents appeared on "laugh in". >> the president that appeared is richard nixon. that's my final answer. >> well, my gosh, what can i say, except, you are going to par ritz and this is the final answer heard all around the world, he's won a million dollars! >> and for those of you out there thinking that was an easy question i'm with you on that

one. last week, we premiered our own show the stakes were higher, if questions were tougher. it's not true. by popular demand, it's back, we are giving it a new name up against the clock with new twists. it's coming up next. accomplishing even little things can become major victories. i'm phil mickelson, pro golfer. .

live for "against the clock." today's contestants. evan santoro. from weston, massachusetts, it's josh barro. and our returning champion, from king george county, virginia, heroinings total doctor 11 in cash and prizes. say hello to krystal. here's steve kornacki for "up

against the clock." [ applause ] >> thank you, bill wolf. thank you contestants. thank you at home for tuneing in. we have two new contestants today, josh and evan. welcome to our returning champ krystal ball trying to add to her $11 in winning and prizes. if you joined us last week, you may have noticed we have tweaked the format t. name is "up against the clock. kwits it's real simple. this is a rapid fire quiz. we will play five minutesch five minutes on the clock. we will squeeze in as many questions as we k. they are valued at $100 $200 and $300 points t. more difficult they are, the more they are worth. a few instant bonuses will be scattered in here. contestants, remember, you will be penalized for incorrect answers. if you ring in before i finish the question, you will be floez frozen out 3 seconds, 3 pivotal

second. we will remind our live audience, no outbursts, please, our contestants need st. louis concentration. to those of you joining at home, we will not have the scores for the players on screen during this, we are working on this. it's a work in progress. our trusted producer, casey, off camera will be keeping supreme court. i will update you periodically so everybody knows who is winning, who is losing. contestants. are you ready to play? >> ready. >> they sound railroad. hands on buzzers, five minutes on the clock. away we go. first question, 100 point round, how many republicans voted against the continuing resolution that strips funding for obamacare that passed the house on friday. krystal. >> one. >> one is correct. this is an instant bonus question. if there is a logical fol-up. only you can answer this question. the instant bonus name the one republican who voted against it. >> scott ridgeell.

>> that's correct. she jumps out, the defending champion to the lead. >> next question, syria president bashar al-assad gave an interview this week to what former member of congress, i'm sorry, you will be frozen out, evan, you rang in early. for a member of congress who now works for fox news? >> oh, josh. >> ken nice kucinich. >> that is correct. next question this former house majority leader had his 2010 conviction on money laundering on court of appeals, josh. >> tom delay. >> two former defense secretaries said this week they would advice president obama not to strike syria. name one of them. >> bob gates. >> this is an instant bonus, can you name the other? >> leon panetta. >> that is correct. you made 100 point t. final question of the 100 point round.

federal reserve chairman ben bernanke made a surprise decision to maintain the fed's monetary stimulus program. he was appointed by which president? >> george w. bush. >> that is correct. with that, we will move onto the 200 point round. we have 3 minutes, 20 seconds left. josh 500. crystal 200. evan still yet to get on the board. >> we are having problems. >> 200 point round. we heard that before. which former member of congress which had an infamous run-in with a capitol hill police officer visited syria this week and praised the assad government for its universal health care and education systems? >> cynthia mckinney. >> that is correct. evan is on the board. 200 point question here, the democratic party of new hampshire, the state that holds the nation's first presidential primary announced this week that which current governor of an east coast state will be headlineing its annual fall

fundraising dinner? >> dan malloy. >> that is incorrect. you will be penalized 200 points t. question is still on the floor with 3, 2, 1 krystal. >> martin o'malley. >> that is correct. and an instant bonus question. double your 200 points the iowa democratic party announced its headline speaker for the fall fundraising dinner this week. who is he or she? no penalty for guessing, two seconds. >> cory booker. >> incorrect. schuk schumer. >> oh. >> 16 buttons, ready. moving on, two minutes left in the round. crystal 400. josh 200. evan 200. anybody's game. caroline kennedy testified this week to become ambassador to zwra japan, for 200 points, which country was her grandfather joseph p. kennedy the ambassador to? >> crystal. >> the u.k. >> the u.k. is correct. >> 200 points for the champion. final question of the 200 point round, facebook ceo mark

zuckerberg visited capitol hill and pronounced himself legislation on which issue would crystal early, josh. >> immigration. >> 200 points for the challenger. now we move to the much an tis palted 300 point r0u7bd. this is where everything gets crazy. a minute 20 to go. kiss tal 600, josh 500. evan 300. paul skune was the governor general of what small caribbean nation when it was envaded by the united states under ronald reagan in 1983 josh 3 seconds freeze, crystal. >> grenada. >> 300 points, senator john mccain wrote this week vladmir putin made a friend to the tyrants if a column published on what non-american news site? evan. >> pravada. >> correct. 38 seconds left.

josh 500, evan 500. 300 pountd question, a swelling bow won this week by senator tim kaine who correctly spelled the word non-perel. spell it crystal. >> nonparaeil. >> correct. tomorrow night another emmy awards the netflix series house of cards, which focuses on a ficticious politician played by kevin spacey, what leadership in congress does his character hold in. >> majority whip. >> correct. we just start this one, 300 point question, crystal 1,200, josh 500, evan 800. this is a completely worthless question. i gave you a strategy. don't answer. 300 point question, speaking at a charity event in illinois, hillary clinton said which of the officials have been entered into the guinness world of book records as the luckiest

politician? 2, 1. josh. >> pat quinn. >> that is correct. josh that moves you into a tie with evan for 2nd place. unfortunately, not enough to catch the once and still champion crystal ball. you are the winner of today's, what do we call it again in "up against the clock." first to our challengers and contestants, we want to say thank you for joining us. you do not leave empty handed. you will receive the home edition of "up against the clock." fun for the family, except those under 12, they might choke on small parts. crystal you know the drill by now, you win our prize package, first of all, which is the legendary "up against the clock" gold plated mug. it's heavy. this is yours to drink from. congratulations. >> lovely. >> you win an appearance on msnbc's "the cycle." >> i have been dyeing to go on that show on msnbc. i can't wait. >> we have a plan for this.

you will find out on "the cycle" weekdays at 3:00. crystal, you get a trip to the winner's circle. you are now considered been in the winner's circle. you get to play for our jacketpot prize. this is a one question, take it or leave it for the jackpot, which this week is a $50 gift certificate to little po land. the most authentic eastern european eating and drinking experience in new york's historic east village. you are playing for a $50 gift certificate to little po land, crystal, you will be answering this bonus question which i am struggling to find. here it is. >> i'm ready. >> congress is days away from the first government shutdown since late 1995 and early 1996, tell me the names of the top republican in the house and in the senate the last time there was a government shutdown. >> newt gingrich in the house. >> is correct. one more. have you five seconds.

>> oh. >> a guess? >> i don't know. >> no names? >> no. do you guys know? >> i know it. >> officially incorrect and josh. >> it's bol dole. >> bob dole is correct. >> josh is our official second place winner. >> what? >> the grand prize win, someone will play for little po land, evan, enjoy the home game. >> that concludes this, here's me at little poland. that's pierigies. the central dlem of being posturing on one issue. we will tell you who that member is and what he's posturing on. that's next. ready to run your lines? . lps you focus on your recovery? yo, yo, yo. aflac. wow. [ under his breath ] that was horrible. pays you cash when you're sick or hurt? [ japanese accent ] aflac. love it. [ under his breath ] hate it. helps you focus on getting back to normal? [ as a southern belle ] aflac. [ as a cowboy ] aflac. [ sassily ] aflac. uh huh. [ under his breath ] i am so fired.

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. >> slrt. we want to congratulate crystal.

her gold mug lives on the set. we will transition to the next segment. now i will awkwardly read the info. if you are a republican member of congress and you want to move up the political ladder, will is a good chance are you in a real bind these days. on the one hand, you want to get reelected into congress. it keeps you in the game and gain visibility so you can run for higher office some day. that's the catch. what if all of the things you have to do or say to keep winning in your district are simultaneously hurting your prospects for appealing to voters outside your district. voters, you will need to win over if you want to win state wide office and move up. which is what brings us to the case of cory gardner, a conservative congressman from colorado, he's young, 38-years-old and ambitious. he recently flirted with running for senate in colorado last year. if he's confliktd, one issue more than any other probably explains why, immigration. gardner has yet to take a

position. it's now gasping for life in the house, it's easy to see why that's the case. the house district he represents is fiercely conservative, strongly republican, to say yes to immigration reform there is to invite a career killing primary challenge. but to say no to reform is to alienate the rest of colorado, to rapidly diversify a swing state with a growing latino population and plenty of moderate suburbanites that appeal to nativism. there are a lot of cory gardners in congress these days. his dilemma is the dilemma of every republican in a swing state. we watched him try to navigate sensitive imgrachlths he wrote about it in a new piece up on our website entitled immigration, gop swing votes, try to have it both ways. benji is back from colorado. he joins us. thank you for being on the show today. >> let's start, cory gardner is not a name a lot of people know.

tell us about him. who he is, how he fits into the national republican party right now. >> sure, cory gardner is a bit of a rising star, back home in colorado and d.c. it's a second term. he is 38-years-old, he's a sunny charismatic young guy. some suggested he might be a future speaker. he's moved up that quickly. in colorado, where the republican party is basically died over the last decade, they don't hold a major statewide office, he is considered their best bet to come back. he turned it down. so he is in an interesting dilemma now. which is he is a fast rising super star. as you mentioned, he's in a state with 21% latino. not only that the share of the electorate is growing rapidly, really rapidly, immigration has been killing the republican party. he knows if he votes against immigration reform that, could be the end of a statewide ambitions forever. >> so that was the big question

we were asking a month or two ago, when the interminable house recess, it was what would members like cory gardner hear? what would they say? when they came back for the walk, would their position on immigration, what they're going to do be clarified at all? you went out there. we set up the dynamics of his district. what did you see and hear and say in his district from the crowds? >> well, there was a very active and organized pro immigration side. there is a lot of latino groups that have organized themselves in a few years. he was hearing from them. he was holding meetings, too, over the last couple of months. there was this undercurrent of conservative unease. there were people urging him to stand strong against any attempt to not just grant a path of citizenship to undo you meanled immigrants, to contemplate letting them stay. he has been very much trying to to have it both ways on this

issue, reassuring people, oh, we're looking at that, never taking a position clearly on do we want these people to say? so he's feeling pressure from both sides. on the pro immigration side, it's more well funded. he still has to worry about conservative voters. at any moment they can get whipped up. >> how red is this district in. >> it's very red. it was redrawn, specifically to keep them safer, i think. the republicans decided to sacrifice the guy next door, basically. >> so how real is this threat? i think there are tons of republicans in congress who are cowed by a primary challenger. you haven't seen when they do unseat an incumbent, it's very high profile. but there are a lot of times when a tea party or third party tries to come in and do something and nothing happens. how real is this let? how organized do you think the tea party is there? is it likely he could to be defeated if he did vote for immigration reform in. >> it's possible. it would be a long shot because he is extremely popular. but colorado is a state with

very competitive republican primaries. there is no establishment leader who can say, no, we have to protect that guy, we have to clear the field for that gay. it's kind of a chaos. it's one of the reasons they collapse, they have brutal primaries that tend to produce extreme candidates who get killed. even in 2010, which was the best year in decades for republicans, they lost the governor's seat in a blowout. and they lost a senate race they were favored to the last minute to win because they nominated if from gardner's district, ken buck. >> that's easy, when somebody like cory gardner steps outside his district and is dealing with a moderate general election audience, he is doleing with moderate voters. >> exactly. you have to get past the republican primary. it could be a very crowded field, while his own district is likely less threatened. if he runs for governor, say, for senator, there are posssibly probably six or seven republicans, all of whom are happy to stake-out a position to his right saying i would have

been against this immigration plan and i'm hard line so he does have to worry about that. that is a very real concrete threat. >> we didn't see during the last immigration debate a lot of organized expensive talk of the anti-immigration side. i wonder when you were out there on the trail following this guy around, did you see it? we haven't seen a lot of it at least from the national level of the, you know the dollars pouring in. we saw it like in 2009 so it's always a kind of a questiono who are they aparade of? will you spend money against them on immigration specifically? >> the way i put sit they are not afraid of money or interest group, a kind of a general vibe out there. >> right. >> there was no sign of anti-immigration opposition. if you could pal paebl feel the fear -- palpably feel the fear. that we are not sure why we

don't like it necessarily. we know we don't like it. that's more what they're trying to overcome. it's more talk radio than any organized opposition. >> are people like cory gardner. is there a reason to think there won't be an immigration bill? i would have to think his most preferred option is not to vote for it or against it but to never have to take a position on the issue. it won't necessarily be a big campaign issue in a future senator race or governor's race for him. are people like him putting pressure on boehner and other people in the house not to bring this stuff to the floor at all? >> i don't know about putting pressure on him not to bring it to the floor. they all say it themselves, they favor immigration reform the most controversial elements they won't take a position on. >> cory gardner says i want guest workers. i want it to be easier to get a visa. but that's, it probably would be best for him and a lot of people politically if there never was a vote on the most controversial things. but as a whole, i would think

the republican brand. they end up with what cory guard her has. >> some of the other news, while this defunding vote is this gang of seven in the house t. group of the bipartisan group putting together it's own immigration plan fell apart t. prospects took a plunge yesterday. i want to thank you benefityy. go correct it out. he will be hosting a twitter chat. you can send him your questions. rogue lipstick. rodarte and rand palm. which are looking at this month's vogue. that's coming up. curb appeal. let's size up this. spruce up that. and let's not do any of this. let's go to school. let's go to save. and then, let's go to town. so then we can go do, absolutely nothing. let's do this.

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around jumping around saying winning, winning, winning, we're winning. i kind of feel like that, i think we are winning. and i'm not on any drug, i just think we're winning. >> he is not on drug, but he is in "vogue" magazine. we'll look at that next. for teaching us that you can't create the future... by clinging to the past. and with that: you're history. instead of looking behind... delta is looking beyond. 80 thousand of us investing billions... in everything from the best experiences below... to the finest comforts above. we're not simply saluting history... we're making it. too small. too soft. too tasty. [ both laugh ] [ male announcer ] introducing progresso's

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>> the not adjust your television set. i will talk fashion. it does not mean that i have single handedly declared rugby shirts for the fall. i bought four for the staff, world headquarters is sick of seeing me wear them and intent with humiliateing me with picture of them. instead i am here to talk about women's fashion. have you seen sandra bullock on the cover of the new "vogue" october issue. she is looking fierce in a sequinned backless number. inside the magazine, i see that

fringe is in, both as a skirt and a backpack, also oven mitt, a ball gown is an okay thing to three on. and i have absolutely no idea what's happening in this picture. actually, in case it's not clear, i have absolutely no idea what's happening in any of the pictures or stories in this magazine, except for this one. i totally understand this. it is senator rand paul and his wife kelly ashby. she is wearing a dress at their local kentucky diern as you do when you are profiled by the fashion magazine in the world. here to tell us why he agreed to this profile is the author himself, jason horowitz, a contributor to "vogue" and before that my colleague at the new york observer, jason thank you for getting up early and being on the show. you went and spent some time with the pauls. you got a glimpse of them that another people haven't seen. i wornder with that kind of access, hanging out with rand

paul, what were some of your objectsvations and impressions of what rand paul is like. >> i guess he's a lot like you see him on tv and you know in washington, but the thing that's interesting is the dynamic between him and his wife. it does show off a different side of him. he is more mischievous. he has a good rapport. you know, basically, it humanizes them when you see him together with his wife and kind of a family environment. he is less 'causic as he can sometimes be. so that's what was interesting for me. to kind of see him really comfortable at home. this is a guy not uncomfortable a lot. right? he's a great talker and obviously out there in the media all the time. at home, he's in his shorts, kicking back. it was odd to see. there's also, have you an interesting, you talked a lot to rand paul's mother to ron paul's wife. she actually is quoted saying he has told her he is going to delay making an announcement about 2016 until after 2014.

basically, what she's telling you is he is thinking and talking about running for president. can you talk about what you learned will? >> yeah, what was interesting about that, it was confirmation of what we all see. right? there is nothing, he's not hiding the ball much. he's being a little bit coy, i haven't made up my mind. everything he is doing is running for president. she was basically stating the plem is of the case that, you know, he says that we won't make any decisions after 2014, but we're laying the groundwork now. so she was basically blunt about it. but, you know, it was surprising to hear it. but then it also confirms everything that we're seeing him do in the public spirit. >> as statements by mothers of would be candidates go, it's a lot different than barbara bush who said a few months ago, she doesn't want him to run. there could be something different. another passage struck me.

you were talking about he was kashlgs almost indifferent into the conversation you were having then you raised the topic of this guy is a southern avenger, he was a former disc joke, wore the confederate flag, happy that abraham lincoln had been murdered, who had co-written paul's book in 2010 and recently part ways. when you brought that up, his mood changed completely. >> yeah, he really turned there. so it's funny the book that you cited there. it's, both their names are on it. it's in the kitchen. it's not like they banished any memory of this guy. and paul took up for him a little bit. he did this great thing that politician do, this isn't good for me, so i don't want to talk about it. but he did talk, to his credit, he did talk about it. he defended him, he said he's not a white supreme cyst. he's not a racist. you know, he did say some stupid things that i didn't know about.

he's no longer in my employ i think was the fact thing that he said to me. but it was the sort of thing that is not useful and is not helpful to rand paul and rand paul is entirely uninterested in talking about thins that are not useful for help. to him. >> any time you have to say, no, he's not a white supreme cyst. you also have this quote in there from rand's wife expressing some ambivalence at least about a presidential campaign in terms of the negative campaigning and the smears and attacks he would face. does she actually seem reticent about a campaign or was that sort of a line she threw in there? >> you know, i don't think it was candid. i think it's real. i think and i don't think that means he's not running for president. i think it's something that shows getting used to. and kind of acquainting herself with the idea that this will be her reality. you know, she went through it when he ran for senate.

you know, remember, there was the whole aqua buddha thing, but, as they are both keenly aware, in there is going to be a completely different ball game. so i think that she is going through a very normal, you know, human thing, which is do i really want this? but i think at the same time, she's also getting very familiar with the idea that this is happening. >> this is evan from buzz feed. first, i want to congratulate you on the physically heaviest and at least the copy i saw most flagrant political profile i've read all 84. >> i'm glad you are enjoying it. >> i want to talk about rand paul's social conservetism. i'm interesting in where you see him coming dun on a libertarian spectrum. obviously, you get credit coming from his father and that whole end of things. we seen him reach out quite a bit to social conservatives. is that a split between him and libertarians? is that something that might harm his brand with that end of

politics? >> well, i think that he would argue that they're not mutually exchoice off, right? you can harbor those values and be a libber tarn. what he is careful about doing is not, you know, take religion, for example. he is careful about not wearing it on his sleeve. so even as he reaches out with that sleeve to eadvantaevangeli. it's to me another balancing act that he does. right? he's the libber tarn. so he's not going to tell you how he lives his life. he will tell you he has the same values as you do as a social conservative. what is remarkable about him almost everything he is doing is a balancing act. he's proven to be agile thus far. does that mean he will make it all the way lou? who knows. but i just feel like that's another place, another source of tension that he is actually negotiating and navigateing

quite well right now. >> all right. jason horowitz the washington post and for now "vogue" magazine. this marks the beginning of a fruitful partnership between "vogue" and us. jason, thank you for joining us this morning. even if you seen it already. you probably want to see it again that, congressional ad with the candidate coming out to his tea party father. >> i'm carl short sciortino. that's me, i had to come out and tell him. >> wait for in. >> that i was a -- >> we'll play what comes next. we will speak with the candidate who has been introduced to a much larger audience when we come back. .

>> an era of the dvr, you can get your dvr loving friends they hate the campaign ads the crowd commercial breaks as election day approaches.

you used to watch everything live t. good ones, the really good one, they somehow manage to capture your attention, to shake your indifference and to make you say, wow, i want to vote for that candidate. it didn't happen a lot. a really good ad could completely upend an election and completely change political history. >> unlike my opponent, i don't have $6 million, so i have to talk fast. this is my wife sheila and our. this is my house where i lived for 21 years. >> that's an ad who was an unknown college professor in 1990. after it was finished on theation, he was a u.s. senator. two years later another no name candidate captured the same little guy against the world magic. >> my first home belonged to millionaire joe lhofa. >> the next home belongs to congressman moody in washington,

d.c. he's lived there for yearsch he does visit wisconsin. i visit washington, d.c., but i live right near in milton, wisconsin. >> thus did state senator feingold become u.s. senator russ feingold. many got to know the eventual nominee not because of what he had to say, because of what his teenage son had to say. >> bill deblasio will be a mayoror every new yorker, no matter where they live or look like, i'd say that even if he wasn't my dad. >> this week, to fill ed marky's old house seat. the democratic field is crowded. one candidate who entered the race as a heavy underdog managed to make a national name for himself this week with this. >> i'm carl sciortino. i will never forget that conversation with my dad. >> that's me. >> where i had to come out and tell him. >> wait for this. >> that i was a massachusetts liberal.

>> and he's proud of it. >> dad's in the tea party. >> dam right. he's been like this 35 years. >> that's why i approve this message. i still love you, dad. >> me too, son. >> now joining us from newton, massachusetts is carl sciortino. he is one of the democratic candidates of the state's fifth district. thank you for joining us. to start out. there are four other opponents in this race in this democratic primary race, you'd say this is a district overwhelmingly democratic. the winner will almost get a seat in congress. let's be honest, you came to this race as the underdog. your opponent had more money, they had a gee graphic base, we seen what the ad has captured. a week into it. you can quantify for us what this ad has meant a to your campaign, what it's meant a for contribution, youb youtube hits, what it's meant a for your ability to pay for more ads, can you put some numbers on what this has done for your campaign?

>> sure. first, good morning to you, thanks for having me on. it's been a delight to do this with my dad. it has been a wonderful experience. it has taken off. it's helped our campaign immensely. we had a huge spike in people going to the carl for congress website, signing up to volunteer, donations have been flowing into the site t. youtube account is 105,000 watching it on youtube. i went on to msnbc with my dad. when i told him, it was around 175,000. he said 175,000 people have seen this? are you kidding me? it's taken a off in a great way for us. our campaign has got an lot of energy, a lot of buzz. frankly, no one was talking about the race in massachusetts until this tv ad hit. >> tell us, put this up on a youtube channel. i heard about it a few days ago, somebody sent me a link. next thing you know, it has hundreds of hits. what covered has this touched?

why is this resonateing so powerfully? >> i think a lot of people live in families. we know our country. everything is divide, polarized. we have republicans fighting against food stampt, democrats fighting to help people struggling with the cost of higher education. we have a polarized society. so to see a family. my father and i fight like that all the time. >> that is how we talk. we bicker, banter, disagree. we love each other. we can find common ground. we can see we can get along feemp we disagree. we need much more of that. it is important to fight for your values. clearly, in the added show, i'm impressive, a proud massachusetts liberal. i'm not shy about my values. you know, fighting for women's equality, lbgt equality, economic justice. i can get alloening with people on the other side of the aisle and with people who disagree with me. i think that's refreshing, frankly, from what you see in washington right now. >> i think it coincides with the

moment that our fault lines, we have split into tribes, there is all this animosity. i think you are totally honest here. why don't you tell us a bit about your dad. he comes across as sort of the endearingly gruff face of the tea party. where is he from? whether is his story? tell us about it? >> my dad is 73-years-old. he served in vietnam. he raised two boys. my brother and me as a single dad. he worked hard to take care of us. i tell the story a lot. within i was a teenager, visual image is him keeping the refrigerator full to the top, obsessed, he would work long hours, that was his way of knowing we were taken care of. with that, he would call us after he would leave work and say, do you need anything at the store to fill the fridge? we made fun of him. but years later, we realize what he was saying to my brother and me, am i being a good dad? do you have what you need as a

child. it was powerful as i watched in my own work fighting for economic justice or the current debate around food stamps, we have people looking at their kids and saying do they have enough food in the fridge? are they taken care of? we node to get back to the place where we take care of our families, we help lift them out of poverty. my dad a hero to me. he worked so hard to make sure that we were fed and clothed and had a good public ed kaition to go to. you could see in the ad, even though we disagree, he loves me. it's important we can brush the politics aside and love each other. >> this is josh barro with business insider. i was kwonderring, we seen all this natural reaction to the ad. what are you hearing from this district? this district you are running to represent contains a lot of different communities, harvard university more working class urban areas, affluent suburban communities. are different kind of people in the district having different reactions to it in. >> well, it's been up for a

week. mostly online we did a small hit on tv that will be much higher. we will be spending significant money on this ad. i think you are looking at a doper penetration as we get closer to the election. frankly what i've heard from people across the district. first of all, they love my dad, many teal e tell me they will vote for my dad. we may end up with a tea party congressman if we are not careful. alt, it reaches across different ends of the spectrum. i shows i am a progressive. i don't demonize the enemy, he's my father. i think we need more of. that we have a strong reaction. i had a forum a couple nights ago in cambridge and sunbury, different communities, universally, people reacted strongly to this ad. the question for people that has come to me is okay this is a cute ad. it shows are you a progressive fighter. it shows you can get along with people. are you a serious candidate? the answer is yes. i have been in the legislature nine years.

i have taken up some of the toughest fiechltsghts. the first is the health care clinic, that bill is headed to the u.s. supreme court this fall. so people look at people look ae ad, like it, think it's cute and they want to know what's the substance behind this candidate in this ad. i have a lot to offer. we'll show that in the next three weeks. >> we can't do a segment on race in massachusetts without slipping in massachusetts political history. i think you will appreciate this because i just remembered this last night. there is an interesting parallel here because the seat you're running for, running for the seat that ed markey held 36 years going back to 1976, and the story of how ed markey got his seat in 1976 is he was in a crowded democratic primary field as a little-known state representative and he had been -- his desk, he sort of caused a lot of ruckus in the statehouse. his desk had been moved into the office. he and the camera crew snuck into the statehouse at night, filmed the december income the hallway and walked out. he said the bosses can tell me where to sit but never where to

stand. it was magic. it catapulted him to victory. thank you for joining us. appreciate having you on the show today. >> thank you, steve. >> what do we know now that we didn't know last week? answers after this. and struggle to sleep comfortably together, now there's a solution. sleep number dual temp, the revolutionary temperature-balancing layer with active air technology that works on any mattress brand, including yours. whether you sleep hot or cool, sleep number dual temp allows each of you to

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okay. that time of the show we find out what our guests know now that they didn't know then. crystal ball, the floor is yours. >> terrifyingly, eric schlosser filed a freedom-of information act request and found out that in 1961 the u.s. air force came very close to accidentally detonate an atomic bomb 260 times more powerful than hiroshi hiroshima. three out of the four fail-safe mechanisms failed aened it hit the ground and one last fuse held and we didn't have massive explosion on the east coast. terrifying.

>> that is an insane story. >> yeah. >> that makes me think about moving to greenland someday. >> not safe anywhere, steve. >> true. >> first of all, i learned i'm on the job market because my bureau chief, john stanton, told me i had to win the quiz. anybody who wabs to hire a kind of -- >> well, stand on the show, see if he can do it. >> but, you know, going off on the question, the quiz, it turns out, my colleague, ruby kramer, had this great story about martin o'malley and how he is sort of quietly the most active democratic surrogate out there right now. we hear a lot about hillary clinton, a lot about mostly hillary clinton on the campaign trail. >> joe biden. >> yeah. on the trail. but o'malley is on the ground doing stuff. he's everywhere all the time in places you don't see a lot and hear about a lot. >> as we learned in our quiz this morning. >> that's right. >> josh. >> now we know how republican members of congress feel about each other. we talked about representative

peter king saying ted cruise was a fraud. my favorite quotes this week have come from sean duffy from wisconsin, who said they're all upset because ted cruise has been abusing house republicans for so long. >> sean duffy was actually on "the real world" on mtv in an earlier life before congress, so he knows something about when people stop being polite and start being real. that's what happened in congress this week. >> confessionals in congress. confession rooms. >> i have to sneak one in here. there's a huge game in austin, texas, tonight, kansas state and texas. kansas state can maybe finish off mack brown. my thanks to msnbc's krystal ball and josh and kevin. thanks for getting up and for joining us for today. tomorrow, singer and songwriter carole king joins us. i'm excited about that. up next, melissa harris-perry. deval patrick and his daughter's decision about her coming out

and how it affected their relationship. we'll see you tomorrow at 8:00. thanks for getting up. ♪ ♪ unh ♪ ♪ hey! ♪ ♪ let's go! ♪ [ male announcer ] you can choose to blend in. ♪ ♪ yeah! yeah! yeah! or you can choose to blend out. ♪ oh, yeah-eah! ♪ the all-new 2014 lexus is. it's your move.

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[ crows ] help keep teeth clean and breath play close.fresh and close. with beneful healthy smile snacks. with soft meaty centers and teeth cleaning texture ...it's dental that tastes so good new beneful healthy smile food and snacks this morning, my question -- are millennials really rushing in a new rather? and the little law that could has survived 40 votes to kill it. can it survive this icky campaign? and the pope continues to be freaking awesome. first, i don't care if the news cycle has move on. america is dying and we must pay attention. good morning. i'm melissa harris-perry. it's always the numbers we remember. the 26 in