nk could last ♪ ♪ we made three more for all to use ♪ ♪ big, small, and plug in, it's yours to choose ♪ ♪ and let's hum, hum, hum, hum, let's hum ♪ ♪ a prius for everyone good morning. i'm chris jansing. back to reality today after the presidential candidates put their animosity aside if only for one night. true to tradition, president obama and governor romney roasted each other where the candidates did their best impression of standup comedy. >> in less than three weeks, voters in states like ohio, virginia, and florida will decide this incredibly important election, which begs the question, what are we doing here? >> we were chatting this evening as if tuesday night never

happened. and i credit that of course to the cardinal. it's taken new york's highest spiritual authority to get us back on our best behavior. >> it is back to business now because with just 18 days until the election, new polls show president obama keeping his lead in two key battleground states. this is our nbc news poll. both sides acknowledge this is a fluid race that is too close to call. joining me now, "the washington post" political reporter and national journal's editor in chief. good to see both of you. good morning. so i just literally this second got on my blackberry the latest tracking poll which is obama 47%, romney, 44%. the exact opposite of gallup. and our poll in wisconsin showing a different race than we saw with a marquette poll yesterday. what's going on with the erratic nature of polls right now? where is this race? >> i think a number of things are happening here. i do think there is some movement. some of the polls are showing

for instance that romney is more successful than he has been until now in at least bringing over some segments of the female voting population. and i also think that whenever you have a bunch of big events like these debates, one after the other, they kind of throw a lot of turbulence into the system. >> could we be looking -- they talked this a lot on "morning joe" this morning. an election where mitt romney wins the popular vote but barack obama takes the electoral college? >> that's very possible. it's possible the opposite could happen. it's possible we could be counting votes in ohio in february. you know, we didn't get in the business to cover polls. we're covering this campaign. the fact of the matter is this race is really tight. it's going to be really tight until the end. we look at states like wisconsin, iowa, ohio. does romney win one of those? we won't know until the last few days of the campaign. maybe not until hours after the

voting ends. i would watch suburban women who are able -- can obama hang onto those gains? i would ignore the polls. the race is close. it will stay close. look at underlying factors going on out there. >> in our poll in both of them, we saw the president maintaining double digit leads with women in both of them. let me ask you about a state that ron didn't mention. early voting began yesterday in north carolina. very long lines. the romney campaign now says it's beginning to shift resou e resources out of that state. real clear politics has this as a one-point race. is the romney camp that confident he's got the state locked up? what's going on in north carolina? >> i think that, you know, you need to look beyond the rhetoric into where they are putting resources. if they are pulling people out, they are confident that they have this state as one romney adviser put it with me yesterday, baked. they are moving their people out of the ground but the air war

continues because super pacs still have ads on the air there. i doubt that you're going to see the candidate there between now and the election. >> the super pac supporting governor romney restore our future just made the biggest and most expensive ad bye yet. $12 million in nine states. the biggest chunks of that money going to ohio, wisconsin, iowa, and florida. not any big surprise there. the fact that they are spending this kind of money, is it a sign that they've had some success raising money off of romney's rise in the polls, off his first debate? or what do you think is going on with this big ad buy so late in the game? >> these a good point. they realize how close it is and that it's down to three or four states. if romney can't win north carolina, he won't win the election anyhow. both sides realize it's down to three or four states. if romney didn't do as well as he did in the first base, they would still be panicking and not where they are now.

if obama hadn't done as well as he did in the second debate, democrats would turn knives on each other in chicago and it wouldn't be a close race. it's a close race. we probably won't know who won this thing for many hours after the polls close and maybe many days after the polls close. >> i want to bring in john. it's been a long time. thank you for coming in. president obama was on "the daily show" last night and jon stewart as he often does asked both tough and funny questions. he asked him to make his case for four more years. here's what the president case. >> i have a strong case on both ends. four years ago i said i would end the war in iraq. we did. i said i would pass health care reforms to make sure people don't go bankrupt when they get sick. we have. said we would refocus our attention on al qaeda. we have. >> there he is making his case. you heard what karen and ron had to say. what do you think will make a difference in the closing 18 days? >> campaigns when we look back

are all about moments that are unscripted and you can't pred t predict. i found the most significant thing on debate to be exchange on pay equity. romney's gains out of the first debate among women, suburban women, swing voters. i think he revealed a problem there which is he has a different point of view. there's a difference between how a suburban woman thinks about pay equity and women's issues and how governor romney does off his talking points. >> do you think it's strong enough? what we know from pollsters and ron makes a point we shouldn't watch polls so closely but it takes days to really see what the impact is. >> i think that's actually always been the case. it took four or five days from romney's balance out of the first debate to be baked into the polls. we'll see this weekend how we go. as ron said, this is a close race. little moments like this, exchanges that are revealing to the swing voters and people that

matter they are determinative. think you may say that was just one little exchange in the debate or something in the first debate or anything. when you have a race this close, that's what swings it one way or the other. >> you were with president clinton ayesterday. let me play a clip. >> we keep saying show us your budget. where are your numbers? the president has given you a budget. he said you won't like all of it. it adds spending cuts but we got to do something about the debt and take it down $4 trillion. here are my numbers. where are your numbers? this guy ran bain capital and is a business guy and he's hiding his budget? that ought to tell you something. >> i'm hearing laughter from that direction and that direction obviously people who haven't heard this. he's masterful at that.

he thrives off of this. can bill clinton make a difference in a close election? >> i think he can. one of the things that president clinton has been able to do is in a nondefensive way make a case about how tough it is to be president in hard times. i think with romney attacking and hundreds of millions of dollars of ads, the president hasn't been as effective as he was in that clip with jon stewart saying i did what i said, here's what we're going to do in the future. i think president clinton has been very, very effective in putting this into perspective and framing the choice in a way that's a little bit different than it had been framed before. >> it's not a coincidence or not without thought they went to ohio yesterday. obviously this is one of the key states on both sides. and bruce springsteen appealing to blue collar voters so that makes sense too. the cleveland plain dealer as i read my hometown paper this morning said springsteen was expected to stay out of the campaign. that's what he said. and they were able to get him

out there is a sign that the obama campaign is calling in the cavalry in ohio. what's your sense having been on the ground? how close is it? >> you know, in some sense at the end of the day as all campaigns are, it's about whether your side turns out more than the other side. if there is a positive impact, i'm reaching here a bit from the first debate, it woke democrats up. this is a tight race. i think there was a sense among the democratic elite that the president kind of had it and that romney was a very weak candidate and they were fighting each other so springsteen is a show of democrats who had been sitting on the sideline and appropriately for him. he's not a politician. realized what the stakes are. i think in two cities yesterday in ohio with president clinton and one with bruce springsteen, you can really feel it. they both really have the same message, which is this is about 100% of america and not 1% or the 47% and they made a

compelling case in a different way that the president was there for you. it's now time for you to be there for him. >> joe, so great to have you here. come back if you have time before the election. has there ever been a politician to loved being a politician more than bill clinton? >> the answer to that is no. >> thank you very much. let me bring karen and ron back in. as long as we talk about fun things that are going on like bruce springsteen, i want to go back to the alfred e. smith dinner last night and watch a little more if we can. >> everyone please take your seats otherwise clint eastwood will yell at them. >> i was actually hoping the president would bring joe biden along this evening because he'll laugh at anything. >> win or lose, this is my last political campaign so i'm trying to drink it all in. unfortunately mayor bloomberg will only let me have 16 ounces of it. >> a campaign can require a lot

of wardrobe changes. blue jeans in the morning perhaps. suits for a lunch fund-raiser. sport coat for dinner. it's nice to finally relax and to wear what ann and i wear around the house. >> we're journalists so we analyze everything. i think first of all they had pretty good writers last night. karen, you tweeted you were thrilled that the dinner still exists. what's your take away from last night? >> you know, i know these things sometimes get portrayed as the insider club things. i love these traditional events. i love it when people put aside their animosity and fighting for a few moments. i think one thing that both of these guys proved last night is that in politics i think the very most effective kind of humor is the jokes that are turned on yourself. >> we certainly saw a lot of

that from the president last night. coming off nastiness of tuesday night, did it feel like the campaign needed this? >> i think both candidates needed it. humor humanizes you in politics or business or real life especially when you turn it on yourself. the line mr. romney had mr. one percent wearing fancy clothing and mr. obama saying i got a nice rest taking a nap in the first debate. it's a good line but shows you're not taking yourself too seriously. both of them could do a job of that monday night. >> we'll see. ron, karen, so good to have you both. thanks. have a great weekend. >> you too. >> great to be here. >> associated press this morning reporting quiet talks are under way between mitt romney's transition team and capitol hill to develop a plan if he's elected to fix the so-called fiscal cliff. romney wants to put his own stamp on legislation aimed at preventing the tax hike and massive cuts on january 1st. he suggested that if elected, he would be open to fixing the

problems with a series of separate bills instead of one grand bargain. t rewards of any small business credit card! how does this thing work? oh, i like it! [ garth ] sven's small business earns 2% cash back on every purchase, every day! woo-hoo!!! so that's ten security gators, right? put them on my spark card! why settle for less? testing hot tar... great businesses deserve the most rewards! [ male announcer ] the spark business card from capital one. choose unlimited rewards with 2% cash back or double miles on every purchase, every day! what's in your wallet? here's your invoice.

i know you are counting down until the third and final presidential debate. this one is on foreign policy. on "the daily show" last night president obama faced questions about his administration's reaction to the attack in libya. >> i wasn't confused that we needed to ramp up diplomatic security around the world after it happened and that we had to investigate exactly what happened to it gets fixed and i wasn't confused that we would hunt down who did it and bring them to justice. >> it was not the optimal response to the american people as far as us all being on the

same page. >> this is what i'll say. if four americans get killed, it's not optimal. we're going to fix it. >> all of it. >> joining me now, "the new york times"columnist. good to have you here. is that a preview of what we'll see next week in the foreign policy debate? >> i think that romney is going to hammer obama on the libyan security issue. you know, it's clear that the administration made some mistakes. it's clear in retrospect that security was inadequate. i think most people would say that the administration has not focused enough in recent years on the rise of al qaeda in northern africa. and the initial statements in retrospect, you know, were misleading. on the other hand, nobody was paying attention to al qaeda and security for a minor post like benghazi is not a presidential decision. that's deputy secretary of state or lower.

republicans are trying to cut security for embassies. romney is going to hammer him. it's not the best messenger on this issue. >> a misstep in the last debate when candy crowley corrected him and said the president is right on that. i'm wondering what your sense is of where foreign policy really does fit into this. we talked a lot about it. really this campaign. more than i would have thought given the economic situation and obviously that's all we're going to talk about on monday night. when voters are making that decision, how much do you think it's playing in this year? >> my hunch is that it really won't play that much of a decision in the final voting unless there is some surprise in the next few weeks. i think that obama -- normally it might. people with national security concerns might be more inclined to vote republican. i think that obama managed to inoculate himself against that perception of weak democrats effectively and that will continue to be the case. every time romney opens his mouth on foreign policy, he

makes a misstep. i think that obama has protected himself on that front and that as a result it's not going to cost him votes, which is about what a democrat can hope for. >> say what you will about the first two debates, i think we got a good sense particularly on domestic issues about how different their approach is and how different their philosophies are about government and how to deal with the economy. how far apart are they on foreign affairs? what do you want to hear about most? israel and japan? china? what is key in differences between these two men? >> i think there are significant differences between the two men. it's hard to know exactly where romney is because the republican party encompasses vast ranges and he is a little unclear where he comes in there. on iran, for example, i think that there is some real risk if obama is re-elected we'll end up at war with iran in the next four years. if romney is elected, it's a

greater chance. 60%, 70% chance. i think that we're going to have much tenser relations with china if romney is elected. and on syria also there are real differences. i am more semitic to romney where obama has been behind the curve on syria. unclear what romney would do but he does seem more engaged and more willing to work with some of the regional partners there to try to resolve that more quickly. >> i can't let you go without asking about malala. she's been moved to the u.k. as we have reported. we have heard from doctors in england today that she has been able to stand and is communicating. what are you hearing? what are your chances of a full recovery? >> we don't know yet. the bullet did not hurt her brain but there has been brain damage from the shock waves of

the bullet so what i heard is that although she can now stand and understand things, that she has not been speaking and that they're hopeful. doctors think she has a chance for a full recovery but they're not sure. it's very much going to depend on the next week or two and her dad isn't even in birmingham her yet which is heartbreaking. >> i hope they ask a question about this. >> malala is my pick for the nobel peace prize a year from now. >> extraordinary young girl who since 11 has been fighting for the rights of girls to get an education and you've written so movingly about it. what a pleasure as always. thank you for coming in. diplomats from bangladesh are going to meet with state department officials tomorrow to learn more about that man cha e charged with the new york city terror plot. nafis was arrested wednesday in a sting operation and made

several attempts to blow up a fake car bomb near the federal reserve building in new york city. i'm a conservative investor. i invest in what i know. i turned 65 last week. i'm getting married. planning a life. there are risks, sure. but, there's no reward without it. i want to be prepared for the long haul. i see a world bursting with opportunities. india, china, brazil, ishares, small-caps, large-caps, ishares. industrials. low cost. every dollar counts. ishares. income. dividends. bonds. i like bonds. ishares. commodities. diversification. choices. my own ideas. ishares. i want to use the same stuff the big guys use. ishares. 8 out of 10 large, professional investors choose ishares for their etfs. introducing the ishares core, etfs for the heart of your portfolio. tax efficient and low cost building blocks to help you keep more of what you earn. call your advisor. visit ishares.com. ishares. ishares. yeah, ishares. call 1-800-ishares for a prospectus

which includes investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. read and consider it carefully before investing.

fire bad! just have to fire roast these tomatoes. this is going to give you a head start on your dinner. that seems easier [ female announcer ] new progresso recipe starters. five delicious cooking sauces you combine with fresh ingredients to make amazing home-cooked meals. i have a cold... i took dayquil, but i still have a runny nose. [ male announcer ] truth is, dayquil doesn't work on runny noses. what? [ male announcer ] it doesn't have an antihistamine. really? [ male announcer ] really. alka-seltzer plus cold and cough fights your worst cold symptoms, plus has a fast acting antihistamine to relieve your runny nose. [ sighs ] thank you! [ male announcer ] you're welcome. that's the cold truth!

[ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus. ♪ oh what a relief it is! ♪ [ male announcer ] try new alka-seltzer plus severe allergy to treat allergy symptoms, plus sinus congestion, and pain. to politics now where a teenage councilman from pennsylvania is in big trouble. police say 19-year-old kyle bower stole campaign signs for republicans including mitt romney's and then went on a drunken joyride through a crop field earlier this month. montel williams trying to get medical marijuana on the ballot in arkansas. he says he uses pot to treat his m.s. symptoms. if approved, arkansas would become the first southern state to legalize medical marijuana. and things got heated during last night's senate debate in new york between the incumbent and challenger. it's not about what you might think. >> ms. long, have you read "50

shades of gray." >> no. >> senator? >> no. >> long called the question out of touch and outlandishly sexist. gillibrand said she was not offended. want to be big bird for halloween? so does everyone else. since mitt romney said he would cut funding for pbs, stores across the country are selling out of big bird costumes. who knew a debate would cause a yellow feather shortage. a growing trend in big cities. small apartments. that would allow younger lower income people to buy into city life and allow anyone who wanted to to have a smaller footprint. take a look at the design and write to me. could you live in 220 square feet? that's up on our facebook page. s while balancing the company's bottom line, their very first word was... [ to the tune of "lullaby and good night" ] ♪ af-lac ♪ aflac

[ male announcer ] find out more at... [ duck ] aflac! [ male announcer ] ...forbusiness.com. [ yawning sound ]

among the most critical decisions most campaigns will make in these final weeks, who

goes where? in what states do they need to deploy human resources? the candidates and their surrogates? next hour president obama will talk to students at george mason university at fairfax, virginia. mitt romney and paul ryan are in florida today. and early voting encouraged in wisconsin beginning on monday and chris christie in richmond, virginia. let's bring in joe and david. good to see you, gentlemen. >> good to be with you. admiral, the campaigns will be in florida, in ohio this weekend as well. how important are these decisions and how are they made? >> was that for david? >> admiral. >> great, sorry. i think they're extremely important. you're going to a small battleground state in new

hampshire because these votes are critical in a laser close election. what i think is going on here is it is those less enthusiastic democratic voters and undecided voters. what they have seen is they ran four years ago extremely well as an outside reformer to make change happen and when expectations are not met having had so personalized his leadership, he's being held as responsible for promises not kept. they look at mr. romney. i don't trust you as a person because you have great business sense. you alone can fix the economy. they see the party coming along with it say we're back in that primary. they were going to touch our medicare and social security. what's going on? in short, i think what it comes down to is promises not kept and promises that might be kept and that's why it's so razor close. >> what side can energize its base. "the new york times" puts it

this way. president has boiled down his stump speech to one word, vote. >> we're not going to vote. we're going to vote. vote. vote. all right. you guys are getting it. i want your vote. i am not too proud to beg. i want you to vote. >> i'm not too proud to beg, david. i want your vote. when it comes to voting, the obama campaign made this aggressive push in many places. they have more offices. what does it come down to? >> i mean, here's the problem that exists in terms of that being your sole focus. neither party's political base is large enough to put together a majority coalition. going from 2006 to 2010 in terms of off-year elections, the president's strategy to hold onto the house in terms of 2010 was to increase the democratic turnout. he did that with liberal

democrats and urban voters. he ended up losing the house. the reason was because it's not just energizing your base. you have to win the content discussion. i think what the admiral was describing and what we're looking at right now and i would suggest the governor change a content of the discussion in the first debate is the public is working through who has the better content. who has better policies? get out the vote is an interesting process but not ultimately what the country is looking at in terms of who they are going to vote for. >> where do you put it at in terms of the overall dynamic of this election? >> very close. i support the president. i think he's going to eke this out. david is so spot on. it has come down to a lot of what is content out there. i did four events yesterday and one the day before. one of them was for get out the vote effort within the obama team. i have to tell you, it was a lot of people there.

that enthusiasm wasn't there because there were expectations that have been made and they felt they hadn't been met. to some degree, they wonder whether are some of these policies that we want to continue going to be the type of reform that's going to really matter on the issues and content. i'll say this. when somebody tries to peel behind mr. romney, not himself, but to some of the policies which have been articulated by those who will come into office with him on how to best address social security, medicare, that's giving them a content concern. so it is going to come down, i think, to winning undecided votes and getting democrats enthused or not on the issue. that's really why these debates have been tremendous. they have been focused on the issues. >> the messaging is so important in these last 18 days, david. i wonder, obviously we've been talking about the politics polls. all of these campaigns do a lot of internal polling and they don't just do it on who is winning and losing but what kind of things are resonating. have we gotten to the point that

they depend too much on that or do you think that these campaigns have enough -- i guess it would be confidence and gut instinct to decide what their message will be in the closing days. >> i think with a you're clearly looking at in terms of having done that myself in terms of a campaign looking at what polling says, what you're trying to understand is interaction of messages and see as they blend together what are your stronger points in terms of what you're saying and your what are your opponent's stronger points. it will come back to the basic issue here. that is who has a better plan for the economy. i think what you're going to see over the next couple weeks are candidates that refined what they think are strongest points and move toward winning that argument. i would have to say one of the things that made me most optimistic about the second debate is why surveys tended to show who won the debate, it looks like governor romney won

those and that's what campaigns are looking for who is winning at the substance level. >> good to see both of you. thank you so much. >> great to be with you. >> making news this morning, one of the suspected ring leaders of the attack on the american consulate in benghazi is mocking the u.s. and the libyan governments. "the new york times" reports that although he's considered a suspect, he's not been questioned in the attacks and was seen relaxing at a luxury hotel. he insists that all know he was at the consulate the night of the attack, he did not take part in the violence. "miami herald" reporting that fidel castro has suffered a stroke and does not expect the cuban leader to be seen in public again. his last public appearance was in march. thousands of secret records from the boy scouts of america have now been made public. 1,200 so-called perversion files were released thursday after an order by a court in oregon. those files show that in more

than a third of the cases from the 1960s through 1985, police were not told about reports of abuse. you have to see this to believe it. from a high school football game near seattle. that's a 67-yard field goal. 52 and 56 earlier this year. last night's kick is tied for the second longest in the country. right now he has an offer for a partial college scholarship. maybe that will change now. the final debates in three key battleground states. a look at how the candidates did and what to expect as control of the senate hangs in the balance. that's coming up in ten minutes. finally, some relief at the pump. cnbc's mandy drury is here with what's moving your money. gas prices down for ten straight days. >> not a moment too soon. for a while they were sticky at the top for longer than expected because we had a series of refinery and pipeline issues.

now the national average retail price is 3.72 per gallon down for ten straight days. analysts predict that drops between 5 to 15 cents per week for the next three weeks. all part of the annual seasonal slide as they switch to a cheaper fuel blend and people aren't driving as much as they do during the summer. let's hope they keep on declining. >> cheaper to drive to grandma's house for thanksgiving but it will cost more for the turkey. >> it is going to cost more for the turkey because turkey prices are up 20% this year. dairy products by the way are up 10% and vegetables are up about 2%. everything is going to cost you more for the festivities. as for price of apples, they have increased the most. up about 30% due to bad weather that's hurting the crops. there's also the possibility it could get worse in the inflation stakes before it gets better.

i don't know. >> we're still going to have that apple pie and pumpkin pie. >> i'm going eat it. you will still buy a turkey regardless. >> cnbc's mandy drury. thank you. i'm coming to your house. here are top donors in presidential campaign so far. mitt romney's top three, bob perry, 15 million. howard simmons, head of a dallas company, 16 million. you can guess number one. casi casino magnet sheldon adelson. >> for the president, 2 million. coming in second, irwin jacobs, 2.1 million. president's top donor, ceo of dreamworks. $2.6 million. [ female announcer ] e-trade was founded on the simple belief

that bringing you better technology helps make you a better investor. with our revolutionary e-trade 360 dashboard you see exactly where your money is and what it's doing live. our e-trade pro platform offers powerful functionality that's still so usable you'll actually use it. and our mobile apps are the ultimate in wherever whenever investing. no matter what kind of investor you are, you'll find the technology to help you become a better one at e-trade.

a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. celebrex can be taken with or without food. and it's not a narcotic. you and your doctor should balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen, and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning. they all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart disease

or risk factors such as high blood pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. nsaids, including celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. do not take celebrex if you've had an asthma attack, hives, or other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. get help right away if you have swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. tell your doctor your medical history and find an arthritis treatment for you. visit celebrex.com and ask your doctor about celebrex. for a body in motion. i'd like to thank eating right, whole grain, multigrain cheerios! mom, are those my jeans? [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't. multigrain cheerios

having a stressful day? exercise can help. according to a new study, people who exercise not only have a better mood when they work out, but have lower anxiety levels well after compared to people who rested instead. with control of the senate in the balance, some final fierce debates in three key battleground states. each had plenty of contentious moments. look at this exchange in ohio between democratic senator brown and his challenger josh mandel. >> he's way more interested in his next job than he is doing his job for the people of ohio and josh mandel is an elected official and has fallen far short on the honesty and integri

integrity. >> you are dead wrong. lie of the year. senator, you are a liar. >> joining me senior washington correspondent jonathan allen. >> i believe that you tell the truth. >> thank you. that is pretty tough to stand next to someone else and say that you're not telling the truth but call them a liar. at one point he also told senator brown to calm down when the senator exceeded his time answering a question. he is behind. what's going on in this debate? >> i think you put your finger on it right there. he's behind. if you look at the polls in ohio, josh mandel has crept up within striking distance but you are talking about most polls, five, six points away. he's looking for an opportunity to change the dynamics of the

race and get under sherrod brown's skin a bit. >> last night a debate in missouri between cleric mccaskill and congressman todd akin. let me play a clip from that. >> she was the first to endorse president obama and his strong right hand passing legislation and voting with him 98% of the time. >> he supports the boss being able to decide whether or not you get paid less just because you're a woman. and if you look at congressman akin's office, in fact he's the boss that does that. >> that was a new line of attack from senator mccaskill playing off the debate the other night. congressman akin's office later said the claim is not true. tell me where you think this race is. seems like akin is hanging in there given he's at a disadvantage financially. >> absolutely a race that's very

much alive. many thought his legitimate rain comments would knock him out of this race. that's not been the case. it's within a few points in you look at the clear politics. average of polling. i think the interesting thing that wasn't talked about in last night's debate was those comments about legitimate rain and abortion. claire mccaskill didn't bring them up. i talked to someone on our staff this morning. they said they felt like her bringing it up on her own would have been piling on and that would have been perceived poorly. she did talk about akin with regard to other women's issues. the congressional pay questions are always hard to judge a very small staff and you're judging chief of staff versus legislative assistant versus people at different levels. it's really hard to figure out how they work sometimes. >> another debate that took place last night, virginia, former republican governor george allen and tim kaine and the republican had a similar line of attack to the debate in missouri. let's take a listen to that.

>> people really do want to see change in washington. that's where tim kaine and i differ. i want to be virginia's senator. tim wants to be president obama's senator. >> this is a huge difference between the two of us. i do not think it is anti-virginian to support the president of the united states. i do not think it is anti-ve anti-virginian to support him. >> i'm sitting in the midst of it in virginia. this is the fight here. they are trying to gain the middle ground. george allen talks about how tim kaine was dnc chairman, obama's right-hand guy. tim kaine fires back that george allen voted with george w. bush well over 90% of the time. he was the national republican senatori senatorial committee chairman. another race that's within the margin of error and will be

right until election day. we don't know what the electorate will look like on election day. that's what it will come down to. is this an electorate that looks like barack obama wants it to look like or one that looks like what mitt romney wants it to look like. the virginia race will very much be affected by that. >> does it say anything about us that we sit at home at night and watch these debates? >> too many c-span channels. >> our tweet of the day from chris matthews. both candidates were funny. obama honored spirit of evening. more a pillow fight than a roast of the other guy. continuously releases calcium plus d with efficient absorption in one daily dose. citracal slow release.

i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. call and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans, it could save you thousands in out-of-pocket costs. call now to request your free decision guide. i've been with my doctor for 12 years. now i know i'll be able to stick with him. you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. plus, there are no networks, and you never need a referral. see why millions of people have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp. don't wait. call now.

check out the latest collection of snacks from lean cuisine. creamy spinach artichoke dip, crispy garlic chicken spring rolls. they're this season's must-have accessory. lean cuisine. be culinary chic.

president obama and mitt

romney shared the stage last night where they poked fun at themselves and each other. >> the president's remarks are brought to you by the letter o and 16 million. >> i understand governor romney went shopping for stores in mid town. >> usually when i get invited to gatherings like this, it's to be the designatesed driver. >> i want to apologize to chris matthews. four years ago i gave him a thrill up his leg. this time around i gave him a stroke. >> as president obama surveys the waldorf banquet room with everyone in white tie and finery, you have to wonder what he's thinking? so little time. so much to redistribute. mitt is his middle name. i wish i would use my middle name. >> nbc's luke russert among the

1,600 people in attendance. did you have a good time? >> it was wonderful. it's a great dinner. we have a partisan divide in the country right now but to have them out here and say jokes, it is heartwarming. i thought they were genuine when they praised each other's families and spouses. >> talked about good husband and good father but not about a good politician or competitor necessarily. how did they seem with each other? what didn't we see on camera? >> i watched the entire night and body language is very telling. there's no love loss there. there's animosity. sometimes they would have to talk by each other and no acknowledgement. separated by the cardinal which is a good person to separate you. not a lot of warmth between ann romney and president obama. sometimes you see politicians saying i don't like you but i like your wife. not in this case. this race is personal.

you can see it in moments they weren't poking fun at each other. >> there are times for me during the debate earlier this week where i felt uncomfortable. i thought it got tough. that's a feeling a lot of people had. i wonder if that let the steam out to diffuse it a little bit. >> it definitely did let some of the steam out. i went to it four years ago, you had obama and mccain. there was a genuine respect between the two. they served in the senate together. you noticed that. last night there wasn't much there. also sort of tough for the president last night. that was a very wall street room. it was more of a home game for romney. he got a lot of ovation. you can see that within him is that four years ago he was the toast of that room. people loved him there because wall street was supporting over mccain. this time around not so much. you could also feel that. fascinating to witness. >> how long did they stick around afterwards and who were they talking to? >> when they walked off the stage, mitt romney got a very loud ovation.

didn't really speak to each other. speaking to mayor bloomberg, governor cuomo, people like that. president obama got left of an ovation walking off the stage but a lot of women tried to shake his hand to say hello. a microcosm of the election. very loud men cheering for mitt romney. women more golf clap trying to say hello to president obama. >> golf clap. >> i believe we have a picture of my mother. look at that. that's 180 years of new york political experience. just a small sampling of who was at that dinner. >> your mom looks fantastic. she looks great. you know, you got to go. thank you for staying. i know you're getting back to washington where the action is. >> pleasure to be here. >> thank you, luke. that wraps up this hour of "jancing and company." i'm chris jansing. alex witt up next filling in for

thomas roberts. >> i enjoyed that conversation. topping our agenda next hour, we preview the last and final debate with just 18 days before voters head to the polls. will president obama find himself playing defense on foreign policy or will he have the edge? we'll ask obama campaign press secretary. mapping out battlegrounds. where do the candidates stand in the final stretch? political experts breaks out the crystal ball and boy scouts secret perversion files. a list of 1,200 suspected child abusers revealed for the first time. we'll talk with one of the attorneys on that case to find out what happens next. anncr: every president inherits challenges.

few have faced so many. four years later... our enemies have been brought to justice. our heroes are coming home. assembly lines are humming again. there are still challenges to meet. children to educate. a middle class to rebuild. but the last thing we should do is turn back now. president obama: i'm barack obama and... i approve this message. good friday. i'm alex witt in for thomas roberts. one night only with 18 days ago and just two days after an angry and testy debate, the president a. presidental candidates take a moment to roast each other in new york. >> earlier today i went shopping at stores in mid