new ensure active clear protein. 8 grams protein. zero fat. 17 vitamins and minerals. in delicious blueberry pomegranate and mixed fruit. this morning on "meet the press," the ebola outbreak, a second case in the united states as a texas healthcare worker tests positive for the virus after treating thomas eric duncan. the very first person to die of ebola in this country. the politics of fear. >> we have an ebola outbreak. we have bad actors that can come across the border. >> are politicians pressing the panic button in an attempt to win votes before november? the war against isis. u.s. talks tough. >> we will follow them to the gates of hell. >> after hundreds of u.s. air strikes, the terror group is gaining ground. >> so you're outgunned? isis is better off? >> of course. >> in my interview with susan rice, the president's national security adviser, i will ask her

whether we need a new strategy. gay marriage is legal in the majority of states. >> you may kiss your bride. >> is it time for conservatives to surrender in the culture wars? i'm chuck todd. joining me to provide analysis are nbc's tom brokaw, "the new york times" helene cooper, she's just back from liberia. former white house political director under george w. bush sarah fagan and the first president secretary for president obama, robert gibbs. welcome to sunday, it's "meet the press." welcome. of course breaking news. a second case of ebola confirmed in texas. it's the first known person to person transmission of the disease in the united states. this was a health care worker who treated thomas eric duncan. in a moment we'll hear from dr. anthony fauchi from the national institutes of health. first to mark potter who is covering the story in dallas.

mark, what do we know about when this health care worker came into contact with the late mr. duncan? >> reporter: it sounds like the contact occurred on duncan's second visit to the hospital which began september 28th. officials say they got preliminary test results back late last night indicating a health care worker here at texas health presbyterian hospital contracted ebola. further tests will be conducted by the cdc in atlanta to confirm this finding. the worker is said to have cared for thomas eric duncan. the dallas ebola patient who died wednesday on his second visit to the hospital. the worker reportedly was wearing protective clothing at that time and was considered low risk but has now tested positive. the worker came in friday to the hospital complaining of a low grade fever, was isolated and set aside for testing. treatment has now begun. currently, the officials are not releasing the patient's name to

honor the wishes of his or her family for privacy. we are told that the worker is in stable condition. his or her apartment and car will be decontaminated by p haz-mat workers. neighbors are being notified that a close contact person is being isolated protectively and others who may have had contact with the worker will be monitors and also tested to prevent the spread of the disease. chuck? >> what about the hospital itself? if this is a health care worker that contracted in it in the hospital, the second time with mr. duncan there. are there more health care workers from the hospital that will be put in isolation? >> they are already being tested. health care workers are among those being monitored. a group of 48 may have had contact. ten were known to have had contact with him after he became symptomatic. they were watching the health care workers already. what's of concern is this was somebody considered low risk.

somebody wearing protective clothing. this person still got ebola. that's a concern. the hospital itself is shutting down the emergency room now. patients are being sent elsewhere so the hospital can concentrate on this case now without having to deal with other cases coming in, chuck. >> mark potter on the scene this dallas. thank you very much. joining me now in studio dr. anthony fauchi of nih. all the precautions, we assume the hospital was taking. this has to be a little bit of a greater concern because it was when precautions were being taken. >> what happened is there was obviously a breach in protocol. the cdc is trying to find out what the breach may have been and to emphasize the importance of the strict following of the protocol. we have experience with ebola

from 1976 with 24 outbreaks. a group like doctors without borders almost never get an infection because of strict protocols. sometimes people are human. they have inadvertent breaches. that's likely what happened. >> the nih and cdc, you guys are aware of the protocols. how many hospitals do we have to go through immediate training at a bunch of major hospitals? >> the protocols are there. we have to re-emphasize the importance. one thing people don't appreciate, it's important how you put them on and then how you take them off. >> this is the actual -- >> the p.p.e., personal protective equipment. when there have been breaches, not infrequently -- and they have been rare -- what happens is someone is in a ppe. they are fatigued, have been working for a long time. they take it off and do something inadvertent like brushing their face or something like that.

i don't know how it happened. the cdc is investigating it but that's likely what happened. >> a lot of americans will watch this. we have been -- all of us in the immediate i can't, in the medical community have been telling us this is something you don't have to fear an ebola patient. it won't spread in the community. now people will wake up and see -- some of it may feel irrational. >> i think the important thing to do is emphasize the difference between the confidence that there won't be an outbreak which is fundamentally prevented by putting the patient in isolation. and doing contact tracing to kind of get an umbrella around them. server s versus the unfortunate breach of protocol that would get health care. we are confident because of our ability to reach out, do the contact tracing and isolate people who are infected that we won't have a public outoh break. that's a different thing than an individual health care worker unfortunately getting infected.

>> let's talk about africa now. we have over 4,000 cases and we are still on the wrong side of the math. >> we are. >> there are more ebola cases happening each patient seems to cause more ratherer than less. what's it going to take to turn it around? >> it will take a considerable ratcheting up of resources. we have 3,000 to 4,000 troops on the way to go for command control engineering. 1700-bed hospitals. that in and of itself and the big picture isn't enough. we need the community of nations. we don't need just one or two countries. we need organizations and nations. no one country will do it alone. >> it seems like there was almost many nations reacting the way we are seeing public oh officials. no, no, just shut down the border, shut down flights. is shutting down flights a viable option? >> that would be counter productive. we can understand how people might come to that conclusion.

look what happens when you isolate a country. you diminish their ability to handle their own epidemic. if that happens, it likely will spread to other african countries and the best way to protect americans is to completely supress the epidemic in west africa. if we do that we wouldn't be talking about this today. to isolate them, maybe with good intentions, actually can be counterer productive and make things worse. >> when should the public be concerned that this jumps. is it if it jumps and is in the caribbean, in europe. what's your big concern about ebola moving out of west africa. >> if it moves out of west africa like an individual person on a flight going to the uk, going to paris, going to dallas, coming to washington. the capability of doing the contact tracing and suppressing it will prevent an outbreak. whether it's here or in the uk or in the european country. >> dr. fauci of the nih, thanks

for coming in this morning. big breaking news. this weekend, new york's jfk became the first u.s. airport to introduce screening measures for passengers from liberia, sierra leone and guinea. helene cooper from the new york times. you just went through the process of coming back from liber liberia. tell us a little bit about this process. we know only jfk has started. there will be four others. dulles, hartsfield, newark and chicago's o'hare will be doing these. describe what you went through in leaving liberia. >> i came in to dulles. the really interesting thing was that my time, just getting into the liberian airport, you can't even enter the grounds of the airport in liberia without getting your temperature taken. my temperature was taken three times at robert fields airport.

there was a guard there who 36.4 is the place where i reside. had to wash my hands with chlorine bleach. you do that before entering any public building. i had to fill out a questionnaire that asked me in many ways if i had come into contact with ebola patients, handled bodily fluids, been involved in burial ceremonies or anything. i said no. i have been careful over the two weeks i was in liberia not to touch anybody. we don't touch anymore. the new handshake is like that. my sister dropped me off at the airport. i didn't hug or kiss her good-bye. there were goggles and masks. >> they remove the gloves and put on a new pair. >> a tnew pair. before the flight took off my

temperature was taken again. i think in anticipation i suddenly started like my face was getting hot. it had gone down to 35.4. i have had my temperature taken so many times in my life. >> glad to have you back. you have worked in the white house, moments of crisis where even though the science says one thing, the public is fearing another thing. so how do you handle that? sometimes you have to put in precautions you know are silly. >> that's right. it's really important and this white house is doing it to not stoke the fear. make sure the public understands that our health system has the capacity in place to keep the country safe, isolate people if they contract ebola. and there doesn't have to be and won't be an outbreak in the united states. >> two types of governing. you govern for policy and to calm down the public. >> mm-hmm.

what you just saw is exactly what has to happen. a lot of public communication. a lot of telling people what we are doing to make sure nothing spreads. talk to public health officials about not just how to protect themselves but how to get out of the protective clothing which helene mentioned. i think public communication is the best remedy at this point as well as bolstering the public health infrastructure. >> tom, this has to take place hospital to hospital. what we saw here it's a breach of protocol. >> there is a great awareness in the country. a lot of information. a lot of panic unfortunately stoked by a concentration, the mass mied i can't on cases that don't amount to much. most hospitals are making the real effort to tune up the e.r. and everybody is aware. the biggest threat to america is isis more than ebola. we have a system in place.

there were a few deaths. it's a big crisis in west africa. the reel al ti of the global world in which we live. isis is out there. it's not going away. the system we have in place for dealing with it will take a long time. it will define the obama presidency. it's kind of a papered up coalition. we'll hear from richard engel and it ain't working. >> helene, very quickly. west africa, how desperate? >> it's bad. it's probably one of the most intense reporting experiences i have had. the people are -- there are so many stories going on oh about how you're not seeing quite as much people turned away. but these are places. liberi liberia, sierra leone and guinea just were starting to come back from decades of civil war. you see what it's like to deal with two cases here. imagine 4,000. >> 8,000 cases.

4,000 deaths. >> yes. these countries need help. >> tremendous reporting. thanks for going into that war zone essentially. a different kind of war zone. coming up,the fight against isis. despite a two-month u.s. bombing campaign, isis is continuing to gain ground. i'm going to ask the president's national security adviser susan rice whether the u.s. strategy does need retooling and whether combat troops will be a part of round two. >> announcer: "meet the press" is brought to you by boeing where the drive to build something better inspires us every day. that's right. it's just that i'm worried about you know "hidden things..." ok, why's that? no hidden fees, from the bank where no branches equals great rates. [ male announcer ] when you see everyone in america almost every day, you notice a few things.

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up next an exclusive sit-down with national security adviser susan rice on the war against isis.

welcome back. we're fighting two wars, one welcome back. we're fighting two wars, one against ebola and one against isis. that one, no one thought it was going to be easy. but it's clear that a brutal and lengthy campaign is just beginning. with isis continuing to make gains, many are asking whether the war can be won without a significant commitment of ground troops by the u.s. or key allies like turkey. >> the first american bombs hit isis august 8. now 65 days later, the united states and allies have launched more than 400 air strikes in iraq and syria. the goal.

>> we will degrade and destroy isil. >> there are doubts about the strategy as isis continues its advance. >> another key city on the brink of falling. >> the group is threatening to take kobani near the turkish border. troops have been sitting on other side watching but not fighting. the u.n. says thousands could be massacred if kobani falls. now there are reports that isis is focusing on baghdad. the overall issue, the u.s. underestimated isis and overestimated our allies. >> our allies were the largest problem in syria. >> as isis continues to gain ground, american air power is only able to do so much. i want to go to richard engel who is in northern iraq basically unofficially kurdistan. richard, let me ask you. we're 65 days in.

is isis being degraded or are they moving forward? >> reporter: they do not seem to be degraded at all. at first, isis was moving toward baghdad when this crisis began earlier this summer. then they shifted gears, moved to where i am. they started to attack kurdistan. the bombing campaign began. now isis is once again focused on baghdad. it is having an impact in that it has forced isis to change their target somewhat. but it's certainly not slowing down the group. >> the issue it seems to be in two fronts in iraq and in syria where it seems as if ground troops are what's missing. are the iraqi forces not able to fight isis the way the u.s. had hoped? and who is filling the vacuum in syria? >> reporter: there are enormous contradictions in the u.s. strategy that are becoming more

apparent every day. let's start with iraq. even though this is one conflict that has no border between it, we are artificially putting this border between iraq and syria. let's start with iraq. the iraqi army is in no better shape now than when it collapsed. the new government is not instilling confidence in the people. it's not instilling confidence in the armed forces. the u.s. spent years and years and billions of dollars to build the iraqi army only to watch it collapse and hand over so many of its weapons. it's completely unrealistic to think that now with a little bit of outside help and a lot of american good will that the army is going to fundamentally change and the iraqi government, which is really just a reshuffle of the same characters, is going to fundamentally change and suddenly inspire the iraqi people to be behind it. on the other side in syria,

there are no allies on the ground. there are some kurdish militias. we're not even fully backing them. we're not consistently backing them. >> richard engel, thanks very much. stay safe out there. i want to turn to tom brokaw. you sat down with two of the biggest dignitaries that we have in the world of diplomacy, jim baker and henry kissinger. >> i was in berlin last week with jim baker and henry kissinger. we were there for the fall of the wall, which was 25 years ago. and because it's the 25th anniversary, obviously, and because baker was receiving the kissinger prize. the world we have now, how do we deal especially with isis in the middle east? >> tom, i think the only thing that offers much hope is if we could pull together a true international coalition of countries, we should go 100% all out to defeat the radicalism and the terrorism that's arisen in

the middle east. but you're not going to get it done unless you bring the rest of the world together behind it. >> what is the role of our arab allies? >> well, we have to our arab allies involved in the fight. but it can't be on a sectarian basis. the truth of the matter is that iran is very much opposed to what isis is doing. i wouldn't be at all surprised if iran was not helping us quietly deal with some of this. >> secretary baker raises the possibility of iran becoming more involved. our closest ally in the middle east is israel, obviously. netanyahu does not pass up an opportunity to declare iran the evil empire. he is terrified about their nuclear capacity. >> as long as iran is ruled by the ayatollahs and based itself on a sectarian philosophy, we have to be careful. but basically, it's a country.

iran, it's a natural ally of the united states. it's the ideological religious component that makes it an antagonist. >> do you detect, secretary baker when you come to europe or the middle east, a determination on the part of our allies to step forward and do all the things that we're talking about here today? or are they kind of leaning back and saying, let the united states take care of it? >> they have always said to some extent, let the united states take care of it. nothing really happens unless there's united states leadership. so i think you see that today just as we saw it, frankly, during some aspects of the cold war and in the aftermath of the cold war. >> can you remember a time henry in your long reach and sense of

history when the united states has faced simultaneously such difficult problems that really have no kind of antecedents? >> borders, government and religious faith are all contested at the same time. the united states is an outsider. to maneuver between them is extremely difficult. >> there are hard choices ahead. i'm frankly optimistic. i think that we're -- i think that we will be able to handle isis. i think that -- i think we will find a way hopefully that we can relate to russia so that russia becomes once again a part of the community of nations. so i'm optimistic. i think the united states of america has faced far greater challenges in the past than we face today. >> i'm joined now by susan rice, national security adviser to president obama. welcome back to "meet the press." >> good to be with you. >> let me start to get your reaction to something that secretary baker said in the

piece, which is he thinks iran needs to be part of this coalition of sorts. he didn't say part of the actual coalition but needs to be part of this fight against isis and he also hinted -- i wouldn't be surprised if they already were providing some help. are they? >> no. we are not -- >> under any circumstance? >> we are not in coordination or direct consultation with the iranians about any aspect of the fight against isil. it's a fact that in iraq they are supporting the iraqis against isil. but we are not coordinating -- we are doing this independently. our coalition is comprised of 60 countries. our core allies in the gulf region of the arab world, most of our nato partners, many of our traditional partners from outside, including australia. it's a very broad-based, very comprehensive coalition that is come together to deal with the

threat from isil. and it's gratifying that countries from all over the world share the same perception of the threat that isil poses. iran may or may not be among those. they are not a part of our coalition. >> do you want to be engaging iran? >> we are on the -- >> on a separate issue. >> we have had informal consultations on the margins of the nuclear talks about certain regional issues. there's no coordination. there's no collaboration on the anti-isil campaign. >> considering what's going on in the anbar province, considering what's going on in kobani -- i know it's still early, barely two months into the operation against isis. right now does it feel as if we're degrading and destroying isis? >> yes, chuck. we are in the midst -- in the early stages, as you acknowledged of what is going to be, as president obama has said, a long-term effort. let's recall what we are trying to do. we are trying to degrade and

destroy isil and prevent it from having permanent safe haven from which it can conduct terrorist attacks from the territory of iraq or syria. this is going to take time. our efforts have various different lines of effort, as we call them. on the one hand, we're trying to build up the capacity of the iraqis, which means the iraqi army, the kurds, the peshmerga inside iraq who have over years atrophied. they have become more sectarian, less skilled in their ability to take the fight to isil. we are building up that capacity and we have seen some success in that regard. on the syrian side, we also have a longer term challenge of supporting the moderate opposition and giving them while they have great will greater capacity to fight assad and to fight isil. so this is going to take time. our air campaign is off to a strong start. we have seen very important successes in mosul dam, sinjar

mountain where we were able to rescue tens of thousands of civilians at risk. and this is going to take time. it can't be judged by merely what happens in one particular town or in one particular region. this is going to take time. the american people need to understand that our aim here is long-term degradation and building the capacity of our partners. >> let's go to one of the deputy heads there of the council said he made a request to the central government in iraq and potentially indirectly to the united states that they need ground troops in order to stop isis and what's going on. has that formal recommendation made it to the president's desk or the pentagon. >> it came from an iraqi. >> to the iraqi government who wanted to ask the united states. >> there has been no -- no official -- >> that the united states put ground combat forces into iraq. that's not come up the chain to anybody at the white house. i don't anticipate that it will, chuck.

let's be clear here. president has been very plain that this is not a campaign that requires or even would benefit from american ground troops in combat again. the iraqi prime minister, the government of iraq have said very plainly, they don't want american troops in combat. we are there to help build up the iraqi capacity to sustain their territory and to hold the ground. >> the implication is the iraqi troops aren't working. >> early days, chuck. as i said, they have atrophied

over the years because the former prime minister maliki, governed in a sectarian way, turned the army into an army for part of iraq rather than all of iraq and has squandered equipment and training. we have a lot way to go with the new iraqi government to build back that capacity. but let's be clear, we experienced during the course of our ten-year military commitment in iraq that once we leave and eventually we all will and have to leave, that if the iraqs aren't willing and committed and able to sustain the gains, then they will be fleeting. this time we're doing it differently. the iraqis have to be in the lead. they to have the capacity and the will to hold territory against isil on their own. >> if they can't? >> first and foremost, they are

going to be threatened. but that's why we have placed such a premium, chuck, on taking the time to build this capacity. it's not going to happen overnight. but if it isn't achieved, nothing is going to be sustainable. people need to understand, there will be good days, bad days, victories and setbacks at the iraqis themselves take this fight to isil. >> let's go to turkey. the president has said he will not commit forces until he sees a strategy that combats isis and assad. is that something the united states would consider reassessing the syrian strategy to get the turks more involved? >> let's be clear what we hope for and want from the turks and other members of the coalition. we have not asked for the turks to send ground forces of their own into syria. our interest is in the following. first of all, the turks have in the last several days made a commitment that they will in the first instance allow the united states and our partners to use

turkish bases and territory to train. >> airspace? >> to train the moderate syrian opposition forces. so that is a new commitment. they have now joined saudi arabia in giving the go-ahead for that important contribution. in addition, they have said that their facilities inside the turkey can be used by coalition forces, american and otherwise, to engage in activities inside the iraq and syria. that's a new commitment and one that we very much welcome. we're continuing to talk to the turks about other ways that they can play an important role. they are already essential to trying to prevent the flow of foreign fighters, prevent the syrian opposition in the form of the radical syrian opposition, the isil from exporting oil through turkey. turkey has many ways it can contribute and we will talk to them about that. the concept of a buffer zone or no-fly zone is something that turkey has been interested in for almost three years now. we don't see it at this point as essential to the goal of degrading and ultimately destroying isil. but we will continue to talk to the turks and entertain any specific proposals that they may have. >> right now are you reassessing the strategy or no? >> no. this is very early days of the strategy. the strategy is very clear. we will do what we can from the air. we will support the iraqi security forces, the kurds and ultimately over time the moderate opposition in syria to be able to control territory and take the fight to isil. we will do our part from the air

and in many other respects in terms of building up the capacity of the iraqis and syrian opposition, the moderates. we are not going to be in a ground war in iraq. it's not what's required by the circumstances we face. even if one were to take that step, which the president has made clear we are not going to do, it wouldn't be sustainable. we got to do this in a sustainable way. >> are you convinced that kim jong-un is still the leader of north korea? >> we are watching. we monitor it with great attention. we have not seen any indications of a transfer of power at this point in north korea that we view as definitive. we will watch it carefully. >> susan rice, national security adviser to the president, thanks for coming on "meet the press." >> good to be with you. gay marriage is becoming legal in more and more states. could the culture wars now become a weapon for the democrats? man group. gunderman group is growing. getting in a groove. growth is gratifying. goal is to grow.

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[ applause ] >> it has been a big week for gay rights and couples across the country have been tying the knot after a series of court rulings made same-sex marriage legal in a majority of states. many republicans have reacted with anger. but there are voices within the gop going, it's time for the party to accept that the culture wars have been lost. >> we have a threefold primary responsibility. get them saved, baptized, registered to vote. >> from the time of reagan, the religious right has been a force inside the gop. >> we have a breakup of our families. we have a breakup of the moral foundations of our nation. >> in 1988, pat robertson stunned the nation with a second place finish in iowa. the power of the evangelical vote caught the gop by surprise.

conservatives were given a bigger platform four years later. >> there's a religious war going on in this country. it's a cultural war as critical to the kind of nation we shall be as the cold war itself. >> bill clinton won the 1992 election but accepted a string of concessions on social issues over his two terms. don't ask don't tell, defensive marriage act and welfare reform. in 2004, republicans drove a wedge between democrats on religion, abortion and gay rights. >> if you believe marriage should be protected from activist judges, i would be honored to have your vote. >> ballot initiatives banning same-sex marriage were proposed in 11 states. they passed with an average of 70% of the vote. illinois state senator obama, who supported same-sex marriage on a questionnaire during his 1996 campaign reversed course during his 2004 u.s. senate bid. >> we have a set of traditions

in place that i think need to be preserved. >> i'm gay. >> but the cultural change over the last decade has shifted the landscape on marriage, more than any other issue. >> big smiles. >> this week's supreme court action or non-action on marriage produced a loud silence. >> ten years ago you supported a federal constitutional amendment on marriage. do you still support that? >> it was the -- when i was chairman of the republican national committee, it was the platform called for a federal marriage amendment. as chairman, i stood for the platform. >> you personally don't support -- >> i'm talking now about my policies. >> now it's democrats wielding social issues on the trail and republicans on the defensive. >> i'm pro choice. i support continued funding for planned parenthood. >> i believe the pill ought to be available over-the-counter, around the clock. >> all of this is frustrating prominent social conservatives. >> at that point, you lose me. i'm gone.

i'll become an independent. i will find people who have guts to stand. i'm tired of this. >> to understand this battle inside the gop, i'm joined by two journalists who cover the republican party, david brody and kathleen parker. of the washington post. welcome to you both. david, when you hear mike huckabee say what he said and talked to the prominent members of the evangelical movement, they don't like the surrender that many republicans indicated this week. >> they don't like it at all. what politicians see it as a political issue, gay marriage. mike huckabee and others see it as a principle. that's the difference. is it a political issue or a principle? russell kirk used to say basically politicians are actors performing a script that's written by the audience. and look, the audience here are evangelical christians who are not voting. not voting? 30 million evangelicals voted in

2012. >> you believe they're not voting? >> 80 million evangelicals in this country. that puts 50 million on the sidelines. >> kathleen, i will show polls here. the stuff has moved whether it's on abortion, whether it's on same-sex marriage, whether it's on marijuana legalization. the culture wars have shifted to the left. many republicans are trying to acknowledge that general public shift and yet it's going to cause heartburn. >> well, i would characterize things slightly differently. what's going on within the republican party i think is sort of a -- it's not so much a transformation as a reformation. i think what they are trying to do in terms -- at least among those who are more accepting of these changes is we're not -- i don't think the republicans are so much changing their core values as they are sort of trying to change the way they approach things. it mirrors what's going on in rome right now with the senate,

the pope is trying to figure out how to do affirmative things for families and the party is trying to figure out how to do things affirmatively without being condemnatory, judgmental, harsh. >> is there a movement among evangelicals to accept same-sex marriage and promote family? >> well, i wouldn't call it -- no. there's not a movement necessarily. there are bits and pieces, small blocks here and there. that's not the movement. actually, the movement is quite the opposite. there's all these pastors and p events where rick perry, bobby jindal, all these people are speaking in front of these influential evangelical crowd. i think that really is the movement in this country. the question is, can these christians actually go ahead and vote finally because quite

frankly as much as the mainstream media wants to talk about, look, evangelicals are voting -- they are always voting. not necessarily, chuck. >> kathleen, he ticked off a whole bunch of potential presidential candidates. this is going to potentially become very public inside the republican party during the battle in 2016. that seems to have hurt republicans at least with swing voters. >> well, absolutely. i think that there will be less -- look, same-sex marriage just to take one issue has never been as potent as something as -- like abortion. abortion will remain a litmus test i think for any republican running for a national office. that's going to be problematic in the general. i think you have to keep paying attention to what republican leaders, other than the ones you mentioned, are talking about. if you read the republican -- the op-ed in "the wall street journal" last week, they are talking again about reforms that steer away from the wedge issues and focus on how can we help families with tax reform and things like that.

>> tony perkins and these guys aren't going to like this, are they? >> they are not going to like the way -- they see the polls. here is the thing. judicial activist is a big part of this. this is the way republicans, especially politicians in powerful seats in washington, can kind of get around this issue. >> you go to judicial activist, it's a wink and a nod. i mean marriage but i'm not saying it. >> that's part of it. we are in a culture war. there are a lot of battles within the war. the next battle is on religious liberty as it relates to pastors speaking out from the pulpit. think about this. if pastors are actually speaking from the pulpit against gay marriage, a hate crime potentially, is that the next wave? that's a battle that hasn't been waged. >> if republicans don't win the senate, there are going to be leaders that say, it's because democrats won the culture wars and democrats used cultural wedge issues to win. >> the democrats need these cultural wedges more than the

republicans really do. >> total flip. think about where we were a decade ago. >> the republican candidates out there are not bringing up these issues. democratic candidates are and forcing them against the wall, making them take a position on things they don't want to talk about. unfortunately, so many are not very good at articulating in a compassionate rational way. it's too much of an emotional thing. >> quickly, david, how much do you think marriage is going to be a litmus test in iowa in 2016. >> definitely. there's no question about that. >> a pro same-sex marriage republican nominee is that possible? >> i don't think so. not in 2016 for sure. a lot of people fighting against it. >> it's an interesting platform. david, kathleen, thank you both. up next, by november 4th could be independence day. i will explain why the fate of the senate might not be decided by democrats or republicans. >> time for for cnbc's executive week ahead brought to you by

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the 2014 mid-term focus was about whether the democrats hold on to the senate or republicans take it. while we won't have that answer until election day or maybe a few months later, here is one thing we know for sure. voters are frustrated and fed up right now with both parties. in our last poll, 68% said they would accept new people with few ties to the political process. with that in mind, let's take a look at our map this year, the senate map. not long ago, it looked like this. assuming republicans held their two competitive races, georgia and kentucky, three of the six seats that republicans were going to need seemed like total shoe-ins. they just needed three more. look how independent candidates are shaking up the republican

let's start in kansas. the democrat had no choice so he left the race. now an independent candidate now leads the incumbent pat roberts by ten points. let's assume he wins and worse case scenario for the republicans, he caucuses with way democrat. it changes the numbers and republicans need four to take control of the senate. well, there's new chaos in south dakota. this democratic-held seat is being shaken up. republicans looked like they had it in the bag. mike rounds, the former governor up by double digits. recent polls have shown that we have a three-way race, the democratic nominee, an independent and guess what, both of those guys could end up caucusing with the democrats. look how the map changes again. suddenly, republicans need to win five of the remaining six competitive races in order to

get their majority. there's more to this. there are third-party spoiler candidates who could have a different impact on the campaigns and where a vote for them is none of the above, which could ultimately help the democrats or the republicans to victory in tight races. listen to this guy. >> i really didn't want to do this. i can't stand the idea of walking to the voting booth and seeing the democrat and the republican on the ballot. >> that's a pizza delivery man turned libertarian candidate for the u.s. senate in north carolina. sean haugh. he has 7% of the vote in a recent poll, enough to swing the election by siphoning votes. it's the same in florida. it's a libertarian adrian wyllie getting double digit support because people are fed up with the negativity. if that happens, look at what it does to the race if this guy

stays in double digit. hurts the incumbent republican here. here is the bottom line, this is what we are learning. it's an angry electoral there. they are mad at both parties. in these races, the third-party candidates will make a bigger difference come november 4th than we thought. more talk with our panel on this and the politics of fear in less than one minute. don't go anywhere. [♪] great rates and safety working in harmony. open an optimizer +plus account from synchrony bank. visit myoptimizerplus.com to open an account. service. security. savings. synchrony bank engage with us. when we're having this much fun, why quit? and bounty has no quit in it either. it's 2x more absorbent than the leading ordinary brand, and then stays strong, so you can use less. watch how one sheet of bounty

keeps working, while their two sheets just quit. bounty. the no-quit picker-upper. what's the best way to tackle football season? new bounty nfl prints. available at walmart we have seen our borders ignored. so if someone with ebola wants to come to the u.s., just get to mexico and walk right in. >> we have an ebola outbreak. we have bad actors that can come across the border. we need to seal the border and secure it. >> that's one of the reasons why i have been adamant about

closing our border. people are coming in from normal channels. can you imagine what they can do through other borders? >> we know the saying is all in fair in politics. as you saw there, politicians aren't being shy about pushing the panic button. our panel is back to discuss. sarah, robert, you are campaign advisers. i understand the politics of fear can be good but it can be irresponsible. >> it can. and this ebola outbreak is a serious national security issue that particularly political elected leaders need to think very carefully before they make statements like that. >> i was going to say, you think that making statements about oh, my god, ebola can come across the border through mexico is a little bit irresponsible. >> i think it's irresponsible. i would take it a step further. it's also wrong. sure, the united states government should take precautionary measures at our borders. unless you are planning on eliminating all flights into the united states, you cannot

contain the risk of the spread of ebola. think about it. you are going to build a wall in mexico but then people will fly all over the world? >> people want a wall and a bubble. >> right. >> one of the reasons republicans are going to this issue is they want to keep nationalizing the election. the more nationalized, the better for republicans. do you buy that? >> i think so. we see the inconvenience of having an election during a public health emergency -- >> you call it an inconvenience. >> i'm being sarcastic there. we have to be careful -- everybody has to be careful about what we say to enter that into the political sphere is potentially a mess. i think it has the real chance of turning off independent or voters are going to say, that's crazy. that could help somebody else other than the republican in that race.

>> one of the reasons why politicians have felt so comfortable playing this fear card is the media has gone right in. >> they have. >> we say they. >> i just said to one of our producers, if you had a false ebola scare in a super 8 in dallas, would you give it three minutes. the fact it, it doesn't deserve three minutes. we need to get clarity in what we are dealing with about how it's transmitted. are the emergency rooms prepared to deal with patients who walk in with symptoms? many of them are not. president obama has put it on the agenda. the healthcare system in the country is responding quickly with our national cdc and others. they are very aware of what's going on. what helene did was a great service going into west africa and telling people what it's like when you get there. so this is a national unifying issue that ought not be a partisan issue. this affects everybody here. we need to deal with it. >> helene, you were talking about the protective clothing issue and it was -- you have been champing at the bit to

explain. here is how protective clothing could actually be a problem. explain. >> i don't think -- i was looking at this texas case, the second case and the reports say that this texas healthcare worker was wearing protective clothing. i think it's just important to remember that one of the things about protective clothing is that you have to be careful how you take it off. it's not to go into a room and you come out and you are safe. when you take it off, you have to make sure you bleach and chlorine is used. we need to be rational about how we discuss this. >> we need to be rational and we have an election coming up in three weeks. good luck. thank you to everybody today. busy morning. we will be back next week. three sundays until the election. if it's sunday, it's "meet the press."

we don't know what occurred in the care of the index patient, the original patient in dallas. but at some point there was a breach in protocol and that breach in protocol resulted in this infection. >> key words there. breaking news today, another first for the u.s. in the ebola outbreak today. the first time the dangerous disease was transmitted in america. she's a nurse who treated thomas duncan, the man who died of ebola last week in dallas. now an investigation into mistakes made in the latest case. does it mean more cases like this are yet to come? good afternoon to you. i'm richard lui. any minute now final test results expected from the cdc. preliminary da