desperate times, desperate measures and tough questions about how elections are won. vice president joe biden says foreign funds should not sway american voters and insists the u.s. chamber of commerce needs to fess up and reveal how much overseas money it is using to buy campaign ads. the chamber responds. we accept the vice president's challenge here and now and are happy to provide our answer. zero. as in not a single cent. we hope this clears it up. in a desperate push to get democrats to vote on election day, some hope that michelle obama will add motivation. senate democrats are having debates, candidates in five states taking on republican challengers to determine how they would lead the nation out of desperate times. >> what i believe we should do is extend all of the bush tax cuts for one year. >> i don't know if they are extending the bush tax cuts or whether we are creating an obama tax increase.

>> you know desperation when you hear it. south carolina's candidate for senate has a big platform. last night he was on "the last word." it was less interview than talking point. >> are you a witch? >> no. first, i want to remind everyone that demint started the recession. >> your nickname was turtle in high school. where does that come from. does that tell us about how this race might end up? >> demint started the recession and is responsible for the recession. >> different questions but same answer every time. nbc news contributor richard wolfe is live at the white house. richard, bring me up to date on what started all of this. >> reporter: what started this is an influx of money coming into this midterm elections especially from outside groups and under the rules that are set

up, you don't have to release the names of the people who are funding this advertising so the white house has picked this up as a sign of what they think is the secret agenda of their opponents. what they are pushing for is disclosure first but the idea of foreign money coming in either through the chamber of commerce or other groups and it's an argument they know they won't get disclosure but it spokes to voters looking for change and independent voters that want to see a change to politics as usual. the other side is doing politics as usual and not the white house. >> the chamber spent more than $20 million on ads so far mostly against democrats. karl rove was on "good morning america" and said the president didn't have a problem keeping his donors secret and gop is doing what democrats have been doing for years and saying that the gop does not accept overseas money which is illegal. how much do voters really care? how much is this an issue that resonates with voters?

where the money funding campaign money comes from? >> reporter: no one believes that this election will turn on anything but jobs and the economy. and so this is a sideline but it's a sideline that speaks to independent voters especially and speaks to the party's base and when it comes to karl rove, they want to put a face on this opposition which is 100,000 different candidates and players and karl rove takes it back to the bush years, what they say about karl rove is this isn't about foreign money in his case but about disclosure and white house press secretary robert gibbs says it's a trick to where he's trying to change the subject where left of center contributions come from. this one is going to run and run. >> richard wolfe, thank you. one person is dead and eight others hurt after an attack on a nato helicopter in afghanistan. the chopper just landed at an outpost. a taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for that attack.

president obama is vowing to get to the bottom of what happened during a deadly raid in afghanistan that killed a british aid worker. she was captured by the taliban september 26th and was killed friday night during a rescue attempt. american and british military officials are looking to see whether she was accidentally killed by forces. the white house is rejecting calls for a nationwide moratorium on foreclosures amid a broadening investigation of faulty paperwork that could have ended with suspect home seizures. now attorneys general from 40 states are getting ready to launch an investigation. indiana attorney general greg zeller is one of them. good to see you today. explain where the investigation in indiana stands. >> we've taken it upon ourselves to start looking through some of the foreclosure documents. we're asking people that feel like they may have been hurt by

this to contact our office and file a complaint. we're trying to take as aggressive an approach as we can while still respecting the fact there are consumers out there looking to purchase homes out of foreclosure. we don't want to hurt them. >> i understand that you're partnering with the iowa attorney general spearheading all of this. how far are you willing to go? does it mean not selling foreclosed homes? does it mean stopping foreclosures where they stand right now? does it mean giving back people's houses if they have lost them for foreclosure? >> well, there are attorneys general coming together to try to find a collaborative approach. we don't want to have all of the attorneys general go off and do their own kind of due diligence and their own work product. i'm supportive of the fact that we get together and look for a measured response to this. i don't want to do something that hurts the housing market and the economy but i do think

we need to take this very seriously and jointly investigate so that we can compare notes what i'm finding here in indiana with other states to see if we find patterns of behavior. >> the industry says if there's a moratorium especially if there's a comprehensive national moratorium that it could be catastrophic for the housing industry. do you agree? >> well, i'm not an economist. i'm the attorney for the sovereign state of indiana. i have a responsibility to my consumers. it is a concern. the fact that there are people who are consumers looking to buy foreclosed property again there's almost 23% of the market now some of these homes so to just stop the entire process of sales of foreclosed properties is not something that's a goal for me. >> thank you so much for joining us today. appreciate that. >> good to be with you. also systems go for the long

awaited rescue of the trapped chilean miners which could took place as early as this evening. the escape capsule made several test runs down to the mine and re-emerged in perfect condition. the atmosphere there must be full of anticipation, natalie. >> reporter: i can't even begin to describe the anxiousness and excitement in the air. you can see this right here is camp hope. over the next couple of hours this place as you can see they are ready to put the barracedes up. they say they expect this all to happen. the rescue will get under way within the last quarter of the day.

anywhere from 6:00 p.m. into the midnight time frame they are expecting it will happen. now, that means of course for all of these people who have been waiting here so patiently and all of the workers who have made this moment happen, this is finally going come to fruition. so as you mentioned, the phoenix one rescue capsule was tested yesterday. perfect execution. you see a lot of the mining officials. that's the mining minister. he says he feels confident that this is going to go through without any hitch. he is very secure that the miners are going to come up very safely and he says right now they are keeping very occupied and very busy and they're in fact helping wire some of the cables and fiber optics that are going to be used so they can communicate with their rescuers above ground. they say the process could take anywhere from over 30 to 48 hours. this is going to be a very long

rescue. it's all expected again to happen -- we've been told 8:00 p.m. some say 6:00 p.m. so it's going to happen very soon. >> have you thought at all -- i know i'm throwing this at you as a personal question. it's my big question of today. i've been thinking about if i had been trapped underground for more than two months, what would be the first thing i would do when i get to the surface? have you been thinking about that, natalie? >> reporter: contessa, i can't even begin to think like that. it is truly unbelievable to think what they have gone through. and thank goodness they've had the ability to communicate with their loved ones above ground. people have been getting letters. they celebrated birthdays with them through fiberoptic cable. they have felt the attachment all along. they know their spirits are with them all the way but a they've had daily communication and

contact with them in some way. i believe as i was told yesterday by one of the doctors who has been talking with them every day and treating them, he said one of the first things that they want to do obviously besides give loved ones and embraces and tears that they'll experience but they also want to have a beer and barbecue. typical guys. >> absolutely. after being underground that long, i think a beer would sound good. the sunshine might feel really good too. thank you so much. we're keeping our eye on it. if you would like to tell me what your ideas are for what do you first after being trapped underground and being freed, i want to hear it. twitter, facebook, e-mail. all your options to getting ahold of me. new developments in a mystery in north carolina. police now call the case of a missing 10-year-old disabled girl a homicide investigation. the girl's stepmother smack dab in the middle of the accusations. we'll tell you about it coming up. in manhattan, the first civilian trial for a guantanamo bay detainee. we'll get the latest on that with pete williams. an amazing shot that makes

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in lower manhattan opening statements are under way today in the first civilian trial of a guantanamo bay detainee. he's charged with conspireing to blow up two u.s. embassies in tans kn kenya in 1998. the attacks killed 214 people including 12 americans. pete williams is in washington. where do we stand with this particular case? >> reporter: a setback for the government that one of the main witnesses they hoped to call will not be be able to testify in this trial. he would have said he sold explosives but the government says they don't need him and they can go ahead. they didn't want to delay the

trial because they say lots of witnesses had come from overseas. lots of victims' families from the embassy attacks wanted to be in court to see it. the government said we'll go ahead. the question is how much is left of the government's case? they say enough to get a conviction. the defense said he was held at guantanamo bay for so long it violated his rights to a speedy trial but the judge earlier ruled that his time in guantanamo bay didn't really count in terms of the legal proceeding because he was an enemy combatant and that was a separate issue. now, the other question hanging over this trial is this is the first trial of someone who has been held in guantanamo bay. what's it going to mean to trying others? the answer is probably a mixed answer. probably some but it won't be definitive. certainly the people like khalid shaikh mohammed, the 9/11 detainees, lots of evidence against them so it may not be that definitive a guide to how

the other trials are going to go. >> pete williams, thank you for bringing us up to date. in washington state, police are stepping up their presence at central washington university this week kicking off stories far and wide, investigators trying to figure out what happened at an off-campus party that sent nine students to the hospital. some so sick they were unconscious. a freshman wanted to share what happened but she didn't want to be identified. >> it was just literally pandaemonium everywhere. having a girl fall limp in my arms. >> officers were talking to people that were severely intoxicated yet indicated they maybe only consumed one or two drinks. >> while the six students have all been released from the hospital, there's no evidence of rape or sexual assault. the university says it may seriously punish some students even though the party happened off campus. a new york man spent weeks stalking kids at local shopping

malls looking for potential victims. this man was looking to kill a child when he allegedly stabbed an 8-year-old boy repeatedly at a restaurant arcade. the boy suffered a punctured lung but is expected to survive. an elementary school principal in northern california reportedly tried to silence a talkative first grader by duct taping the child's mouth shut. the school board is asking the attorney to review the actions by the principal. the child's parents say they support the principal's actions. one of the strangest political interviews of this already strange campaign season. >> seriously, your nickname, turtle, where did that come from? >> demint started the recession. i'm the best candidate to define where we are. united states air force. >> alvin green's unusual

campaign for senate in south carolina takes another detour to the twilight zone. more on that ahead. hot on the web, bonuses are back in businesses in a big way. 144 billion bucks. that's the headline. wall street firms on track to break the payday record for a second year in a row. so much for the tough financial reform that was supposed to keep compensation in check. gap is scrapping the new logo after the flak it got online. the old version and the new version and boy, people really did not like that new version. they let gap know. the clothing company says "all roads were leading us back to the blue box." how is that for a quotation? proof that people like change in politicians but not style logos. the banners over her bare parts read it's all about me.

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today's big court hearing for the army psychiatrist accused of killing soldiers and civilians at ft. hood, texas. this hearing will determine if there's enough evidence to try major nidal malik hasan for murder. the november attack was the worst ever military base shooting in u.s. history. ron mott is live at ft. hood. what do you have? >> reporter: we hear the

presiding officer in this case has continued the hearing until tomorrow so all activities for this proceeding today are over. one thing we can tell you that major nidal malik hasan was in that courtroom and not seen on camera. the only one we can see is the presiding officer. there were hiccups this morning with the signal because that's sent to the pentagon so officials there can take part in this. article xxxii hearing is like a civilian preliminary hearing and a civilian grand jury hearing. we'll hear from both sides unlike a civilian grand jury hearing. both prosecutors and defense attorneys will speak in this hearing and this is not a court hearing. this is simply to determine if there's enough evidence presented by the prosecutors, the government in this case, to take this over to a court-martial trial. they expect that this trial will last throughout the end of october. normally they take two or three days but this one they outlined

the rest of the month to go through all of the witnesses that the presiding officer would like to hear from. 13 people killed in this rampage last november 5th. 32 people wounded in that shooting. hasan was shot by a couple police officers here at ft. hood and he's been paralyzed from the chest down so he's bound to a wheelchair and again he has nothing to say in this hearing this morning as far as i could hear. that's the latest from here. they ask that -- the defense attorney ask the proceeding be closed to the public. the presiding officer did deny that but did continue the case until tomorrow. >> thank you very much. appreciate that. a jury is deciding whether anna nicole smith's boyfriend and two doctors gave her too many prescription drugs and contributed to her death by accidental overdose in 2007. howard k. stern, and two doctors are charged with multiple felonies. prosecutors say the doctors

wrote the prescriptions so they could get into smith's inner circle and stern facilitated the arrangement. the defense argued that the medications were legitimately prescribed. keep your eye on the yellow car. the so-called bumble bee from the "transformers" film. it was sideswiped by a real life police car headed to an emergency. george witnessed the accident and caught it on camera. >> police car must have drove through to an emergency or something. the car didn't see him and they hit head-on. >> nobody was seriously hurt. the wreck temporarily halted production. >> all right. this is the cowboys stadium shot. yeah! >> come on. if they hadn't caught it on

camera, you would never believed that shot. he made that basket all of the way from the nose bleeds. perfect shot comes from the guys at basketball trick shot group dude perfect. in hong kong, they were flying through the air with the greatest of ease. or not. 40 teams from around the world took the best shot at building something that would fly expect it didn't. in fact, they had a tough time getting it anywhere but down. looked like a lot of fun trying. chilling new details emerging in the case of a missing 10-year-old disabled girl in north carolina. police are calling it a homicide and the girl's stepmother is accused of playi ining some kin role. candidates are sharpening their attacks. we'll look at the fallout from a night of debates in key midterm races. bristol palin turns up the heat with todd watching from the audience. it's not dancing that could get

her to the next round. i'll explain. time for your business entrepreneur of the week. ron owns the stokes farm in new jersey. he's benefiting from the new customer emphasis on buying locally grown produce at farmers markets. because of that demand, he now gross more than 74 items. for more, watch your business sunday mornings at 730 on msnbc. exchange traded funds. some firms offer them "commission free." problem is they limit the choice of etfs to what makes financial sense to them. td ameritrade doesn't limit you to one brand of etfs... they offer more than 100... each selected by investment experts at morningstar associates. only at the etf market center at td ameritrade. before investing, carefully consider the fund's investment

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welcome back. here are some of the stories we're watching right now. the white house says the government could lift a moratorium on deep water oil drilling very soon. last month the administration imposed new rules on offshore drilling including a requirement that rigs verify they have a working blowout preventer. the rescue of those chilean miners is believed to be just hours away. officials say the first miners could be brought to the surface about 8:00 eastern time. general motors ceo meets today with treasury secretary tim geithner. that meeting comes three weeks before the government's planned sale of the 61% stake in the automaker. google announced it will help finance a massive underwater super highway for clean energy. the project could funnel enough power from offshore wind farms to power almost 2 million homes.

police say the case of a missing girl in north carolina is now a homicide investigation. 10-year-old baker was reported missing on saturday but no one has seen her in the last five weeks. recently she had been homeschooled. she's hearing impaired and has a productettic leg. she's been charged with felony obstruction of justice and charged with a dozen crimes unrelated to the disappearance. clint van zandt is a former fbi profiler. the police say that their canine dogs actually alerted and found the scent of human remains on cars belonging to the father and to the stepmother. what do you make of this case? >> well, this is yet one more case in this case the little girl has been fighting for her life for years and it looks like

a fight she finally lost. the parents, the stepmother, and one of the mother/stepmother terrible scenarios we have looked for. the stepmother is the primary suspect. we know from friends, relatives, acquaintances, that the stepmother is said to be a liar. she said she's written songs for musicals on television, which is not proved to be the truth. people said that she's beat this little girl. that she would lock her up most of the day in her own room. >> family members say that. >> when we hear that and when the police say we don't believe any of the stories, when she hasn't been seen for weeks a local reporter said that he or she were out in the backyard and looked in the fire pit and they saw evidence of human clothing that had been burned. contessa, everything here screams that there is a strong likelihood that the stepmother had something to do with this little girl's disappearance what

police now call a homicide and it may well be that the biological father stood by and let something like this happen. >> is this really an issue now of getting the stepmother to reveal information about what happened to this little girl? is the investigation really going to take place at the interview level? >> it seems to have some parallels perhaps with the kyron horman case on the west coast where the stepmother appeared to be the person with the most information. somebody who could help law enforcement authorities solve this case but so far she has been forthcoming. realize she's in jail right now for multiple offenses and been writing bad checks. she and her husband have a multitude of criminal offenses against them. they are leaving the husband out right now i think because they think they can flip him and that he will eventually talk but contessa, bottom line, in a case like this, as you well know, there have been friends,

neighbors, relatives, all that are now coming forward saying we know that the stepmother beat this little girl and -- >> where were the police? who was alerting authorities that this child needed help and needed someone to come in and protect her if those kind of accusations are true? we'll stay on top of it until we find out what happened. police arrested the ninth suspect in the anti-gay attack and torture of two teenage boys and a 30-year-old man in new york city. the bronx violent squad took this man into custody. eight other members of the gang are accused of robbery, harassment, and sexual abuse in the alleged attacks that took place october 3rd. an ohio congressional candidate with a passion for world war ii reenactments is defending his hobby. reenactments aren't a problem but you have this photo published last week showing a

republican wearing an ss uniform. his democrat opponent is trying to brand him as a nazi. he's running for a 15th term. he enjoys taking part in historical reenactments and calls it a father/son bonding experience and sees nothing wrong with educating the public about events that really happened. tough debates last night. kelly o'donnell is in washington with us now. let's begin in kentucky. you had jack conway, the democrat. bill clinton was out campaigning for him yesterday against rand paul. how did this shape up? >> this is one of the most interesting races because of the tea party influence of rand paul running strong according to polling. you mention bill clinton out there trying to help the state attorney general, jack conway. they had a very tense and issue orientated debate but a lot of that issue really centered around the president.

here's how the two candidates interpreted the role of president obama in this race. >> he doesn't want to talk about his support for president obama and all of president obama's initiatives. that's what this election is about. he's trying to run away from it. >> the election is not about president obama. it's about joconway and paul. >> it was sort of on a loop there. they repeated that team again and again there. if we look at wisconsin, the democrat there, russ feingold, he has not run away from the issues that he has supported president obama on. and he points out that he's also voted against the president. but one of the interesting exchanges between feingold and ron johnsonho is a tea party candidate as well never run for office before and a millionaire businessman, they were talking about ads and feingold of course was one of the people who really championed campaign finances reform. he was hitting ron johnson about

outside groups and their influence in the wisconsin race. >> he's benefiting tremendously in his campaign for millions of dollars of these ads and i am not. i don't want to. you say you don't want them, will you call on them to stop? >> i have no control over that. >> will you ask them to stop. >> that's part of the problem. it's their right to free speech. >> that's your right to free speech to say to them stop. >> that went on for while. they had a few more rounds in that give and take but it gave you a sense of the intimacy of some of the debates when they sit next to each other, it's more contention. behind the podiums they throw the long ball. in colorado, really the issue was about something many voters are talking about and that's taxes. you have ken buck who is a prosecutor. republican tea party candidate against sitting senator michael bennet. here is how they talked about tax cuts. >> what i believe we should do

is extend all of the bush tax cuts for one year in order for us to have a reasonable conversation out of the context of a political campaign. >> i don't know if they are extending the bush tax cuts or whether we are creating an obama tax increase. either way, i know that the families in colorado have got to figure out how to pay for any tax increase. >> so there you saw a democrat saying extend the bush tax cuts. that's in part because colorado is a state where certainly things are trending toward republicans. he's adjusting the view for the next year so he says. >> thank you very much. in south carolina the race to be senator involves a very green newcomer. alvin greene up against a longtime senator from south carolina, jim demint. greene we on last night on

"the last word." turns out alvin greene just had one answer for lawrence. >> are you a witch? >> no. first, i want to remind everyone that demint started the recession. >> your nickname in high school i'm told was turtle. does that tell us -- why did that come from? does that tell us how this race might end up? >> demint started the recession. demint is responsible for the recession. >> seriously, alvin, your nickname, turtle, where did that come from? >> no. like i said, demint started the recession and i'm the best candidate that defines where we're at in this country. >> that's a way to stick to your talking points. week four of "dancing with the stars" brought an important lesson for tiny dancer bristol

palin. >> trashy, trashy, trash trashy. >> he didn't exactly follow his own advice as bristol stripped off his shirt and they danced. all of that while mama grizzly and the first dude was in the audience watching. that couldn't save bristol and her partner from the judge's criticism. she is in second to last place ahead of the situation. there could be one saving grace. maybe this was playing the sympathy card but last night she showed footage of her son tripp. we'll see if it safes her from being kicked off the dance floor. some say michelle obama is more popular than her husband. how she's coming to the rescue for democrats running for election. ♪

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tropical storm paula strengthened into a hurricane early this morning as it set its sights on mexico's yucatan peninsula. paula is packing quite a punch with sustained winds of 75 miles an hour. earning category 1 distinction on the hurricane scale. the 16th name storm of the year's busy atlantic hurricane season. the ninth hurricane. tragedy in the ukraine today as a train plowed into a crowded bus in eastern ukraine killing

40 people leaving 11 in critical condition. an investigation is under way trying to figure out why the bus driver tried to cross the tracks ignoring a siren warning that the train was approaching. the russian military has come up with a new way to deceive the enemy and save money. they look like the real thing. they are easy to move. quick to deploy. inflatable tanks and radar stations serving as decoys. and we've been talking online about being freed after more than two months trapped underground watching the countdown until the miners come to the surface. we had a lot of responses online. what would you do first if you were free. a lot have to do with personal hygiene. take a shower. brush your teeth but a cub fan sweets start singing "blinded by the light." margaret says i would hug my son for a day or two and raymond writes put on the best suit i

can find and ask for a new job with a pay raise and then get on oprah and paul says turn on contessa brewer on msnbc and see what i missed. paul, you know what. flattery gets you everywhere. you can reach out to me on e-mail, twitter and facebook. i do read my messages. making ends meet about to get tougher for millions of retirees and disabled americans. for the second year in a row they won't get a boost in their social security checks. more than 58 million americans are on social security and about a third of those recipients count on their monthly checks for at least 90% of their income. pitting young against old and worker against boss, company against rival and nation against nation. it's a long title. you have a lot to say. what do you make of this second year in a row where there will be no increase for cost of living.

>> it's part of a reconfiguration of what old age is going to be. as you said, so many people rely on social security about half of all retirees have only social security to go on. that's why older people are going to have to be working more, saving in different ways to arrive at their later years. this is a big, big change. this is really the first shot of something that's going to expand over time. older workers will have to -- >> we know the ocean security raises are tied automatically to inflation since 1975. in the last two years, inflation has been flat so if there's no increase in what it costs to live, should there be a cost of living increase? >> well, there's two cost of living increases when it comes to older people. there's the general cost of living and then the cost of living for elderly people and inflation for elderly people is higher over a 15-year period. it's about 16% higher so if you

are getting something that was with your cost of living, you would get 16% more money. >> is that medical expenses? >> medical is a lot of it. in early retirement your medical expenses could be pretty low but as you get deeper into retirement, they can go very, very high. >> and last year seniors got about $250 to make up for the freeze. do you expect to see that happening again? >> probably. it's an election year. and this is going to be the most explosive election issue that we haven't heard much about yet but will. look at what's happening in europe. people's pensions are being cut back. people are hitting the streets. governments are collapsing. the japanese government has a revolving door because they don't know how to take care of promises they already made to their senior citizens. this is the future of america. >> ted, that sounds depressing. thanks for joining us. >> thank you. >> speaking of books, a

shout-out to our friend willie geist. his book "american freak show" hits bookstores today he's in good company. books out today, nelson mandela, condoleezza rice, and yes, 16 year old justin bieber has a memoir out so there you have, willie. you and justin bieber together at the bookstore. here's some of what we'll watch later today on msnbc. later this afternoon, senator richard luger meets with george clooney to discuss the star's recent trip to the sedan. a few hours later president obama holds a town hall meeting at george washington university to discuss moving america forward and tonight meg whitman and jerry brown face-off in their final debate before the election. tom brokaw moderates. we'll be right back. wall street is getting back on its feet. but the financial landscape is still full of uncertainty.

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michelle obama is more popular than her husband according to polls so the white house is sending her on the campaign trail hoping to whip up support for the democrats. msnbc chief white house correspondent norah o'donnell joins us live. where is she going? >> she's making an eight-state campaign swing across this country. most of the events are invite only or private fundraisers. you can see she's going across the country. a lot of the states where there are key senate contests. the democrats need to hold onto those senate seats if they hope to keep the majority in the united states senate. she's going there to raise big bucks for democratic candidates and also to sort of rally the base with don't stay home, we know you're frustrated but change takes time. that's the message she's already delivered to supporters.

advisers tell me that her speech will not be a red meat partisan speech. instead it will be more supporting her husband's administration. i think what's interesting about her travel schedule is it is more like laura bush as first lady than hillary clinton. laura bush did six events. hillary clinton did some 20 different events and where michelle obama doing about eight you can see she's closer to the laura bush model. one of the fun fact, it costs more to get into a michelle obama fund-raising than a barack obama fund-raiser. >> why would that be? because she's not out on the campaign trail as much as the president and supply and demand if there's more of the president and his price goes down? >> exactly. in these particular cases it's just more expensive to see michelle obama and she's doing the big fundraisers and the white house in some ways is trying to protect michelle

obama. that's why she's not at a big campaign rally. she has to maintain that role as first lady and her high approval ratings keeping it invite only and more personal sort of setting. >> it's interesting. sophie nelson wrote an opinion spot saying she's worried about putting the first lady on the campaign trail. it was only two years ago during the 2008 campaign that michelle obama became fodder for political conservatives and pundits. i'm not sure it is wise that it may resurrect that old stereoty stereotype. is there any concern about that for the folks for whom she will be campaigning? >> well, i don't think she'll go out deliver an angry or partisan or red meat message. it will be a pro-obama message and so that's why they're not putting her out there in the heat of the campaign. and sort of the more personal types of intimate settings where she will speak directly with

supporters. most people in the room will pay a lot of money to see her. >> she's a very warm person in person. norah, thank you very much for joining us. appreciate that. >> nice to see you. >> that wraps up this hour for me. i appreciate the time you spent with me. see you back tomorrow at noon eastern if you live on the west coast. we'll follow the first lady on the campaign trail as she stomps in milwaukee and chicago. next, andrea mitchell reports is coming up. we'll be right back. come on. td ameritrade introduces commission-free etfs with a difference-- more choice. over a hundred etfs.... ...chosen by the unbiased experts at morningstar associates. let me pick what works for me. for me. for me. the etf market center at td ameritrade. before investing, carefully consider the fund's investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses. contact td ameritrade for a prospectus containing this and other information. read it carefully before investing.

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right now on "andrea mitchell reports," election day is now only three weeks away. democrats are cutting their losses. deciding which congressional candidates can still be saved and which have already slipped away. with us, the chairman of the democratic congressional campaign committee, advice van hollen and analysis with chuck todd. and the last debate tonight in california. meg whitman versus jerry brown with a