hours to go -- 24 hours to go, president obama and governor romney make their closing arguments in six key battleground states. >> we've known many long days, and short nights and now we're close. the door to a brighter future is open, waiting for us. i need your vote. i need your help. walk with me. tomorrow we begin a new tomorrow. >> wisconsin, that's why i need your vote. and if you're willing to work with me again, and knock on some doors with me, make some phone calls for me, turn out for me, we'll win wisconsin. we'll win this election. >> trouble at the polls. long waits in early voting lines in ohio and florida, but put tempers to the test. >> let them vote! >> the other big wild card,

sandy. a week after the storm recovery efforts are still winding slowly through the hardest hit. new jersey governor chris christie who praised president obama's response to sandy repeated his support for mitt romney. sort of. >> on tuesday i'm voting for mitt romney because i think he's the best guy for the job. it doesn't mean that i can't turn to the president of the united states of america and say to him, thank you, sir, for providing good leadership in this crisis. >> and whom do you trust? the grid iron predicts. a redskin hometown defeat favors the challenger but the lsu/alabama matchup offers good news for the incumbent. >> and good day. i'm andrea mitchell live in democracy plaza in new york city. joining me for our daily fix, chris cizilla, msnbc contributor, and managing editor of post politics.com and mark halperin political analyst for "time" and msnbc. so, first to you, chris, let's talk about the state of the

race. >> well, we're almost there, andrea. i think the state of the race is that president obama retains a -- this has been the case for a while now. he retains more paths to 270 electoral votes than does mitt romney. mitt romney, i think we're actually going to know relatively early how this is headed because florida, virginia and ohio are all closing on the early end of the evening. i really do think for mitt romney's math to be plausible he needs florida, he needs virginia and he probably needs ohio too. if barack obama wins one of the three, i think it's going to be tough but not impossible for mitt romney as the map moves west ward. if he wins two of the three, if one is florida, it's you could probably make it add up to 270 with the states left, but it would not be good for mitt romney. >> what you're seeing from the ground, you were all over ohio with both of the candidates, in virginia for the incredible

rally with bill clinton and president obama. president obama has bruce spring teen, republicans quick to point out he is not producing the crowds today with john kerry had. what are you seeing? what is the ground game? >> both of these campaigns are energized and focused and you can look at what governor romney is doing giving the best speeches of his life, drawing the biggest crowds of his life, campaigning aggressively on states the president won. the president is ending strong too. i think both are not making errors for the most part, giving strong speeches, drawing big crowds. the president's team is unambiguously more confident about winning this election than the romney team. unambiguously. from david axelrod, jim mess seeneny na to the lowest levels, they all say they're going to win and say some of these states we're talking about as battlegrounds are in the bag for the president. >> because of the early voting advantage. >> and because of their ground

game and because of the public and private polling. they say they've put a very rigorous screen on their polling, conservative screen and that worse case, they will lose -- they will win enough states narrowly to get to 270. best case is vice president biden told chris mathews substantially better and get over 300 electoral votes. there's confidence on part of the republicans. high independent, high white voter turnout and the public polls having the president at 48% representing not his floor but ceiling. >> chris cizilla, we are seeing in early voting advantage of about 10% for the democrats in iowa, these numbers just in, last time it was 17%. which depends on what the overall vote is. but still, what are you seeing when you look at iowa ohio, now there the president is doing better with white male voters than some would have suspected and many people think that is all about the auto industry and that final closing argument about the auto industry and the

blow back on that advertisement, the criticism from the executives, you know, the ceos, putting down mitt romney complaints about the jeep. >> you know, andrea, in ohio in particular, i think we may go back and deconstruct this election based on mitt romney if he winds up losing in his inability to get over the top in a state that demographically should be a state that favors him. it's an older electorate, a whiter electorate than many of the swing states. it's a place where barack obama has struggled. i would say look, had he won overwhelmingly in 2008, he won by 262,000 on a 5.6 million votes cast in ohio, 51/47. he didn't win in ohio in the presidential primary against hillary clinton. we may go back and look at it and say, golly, that should be a state he could have won, i think you were right, the only thing that's really changed there two things that have changed, one the economy in the state is slightly better than the national economy and number two the auto bailout is popular and

mitt romney is taking on water on it. if he wasn't he wouldn't have put up that ad about jeep. i think we may go all the way back all these months and the things that mark and i have written and talked about and say, you know, he just couldn't get over the top in a state that on paper he should have and that may be the whole election right there. >> and the final wmur poll in new hampshire, that indicates this race is absolutely neck and neck in new hampshire and new hampshire is a state that mitt romney really does have to win if he's going to put this together. >> probably not definitely. mixed polling in the state and at the state department seems confident about president clinton and president obama huge event there yesterday, governor romney huge event tonight in the verizon center. they're both ending strong in that state and obviously four electoral votes could end up making the difference here. but really, ohio still. the winner of ohio will almost certainly win this election. it never happens in new

hampshire and iowa and some of the other states important but not as important as ohio. >> i think we will see both of you guys tomorrow as well. don't go far. thanks so much mark halperin and chris. >> the recovery from hurricane sandy continues slowly even as a nor'easter is headed here on wednesday. this one is really a nor'easter. forecasts today show that high winds and stormy rains and cold is hitting the northeast following the i-95 corridor as temperatures continue to fall from flooding expected along the battered coastline. this as schools in new york and new jersey reopen in new york city, at least 57 schools, though, were too damaged to open. displacing at least 34,000 students. mayor bloomberg says about 20,000 people remain homeless looking for shelter. another update within this hour and we'll bring you that. in hard hit staten island fema set up a disaster relief center there. this morning as thousands of people are still waiting for their lights to come backed on

an according to local officials all but few of staten island's normal voting places were open. in new jersey, more than 900,000 people are still without power. ron allen is in jersey city, new jersey. first of all, the storm relief there, ron, what the impact may be on voting. >> well people have voting. we're at the county elections office in hudson county, jersey city, and a steady line of people to vote. it's been this way all weekend. it's an unprecedenteds election happening in new jersey. there's never ban time before when county elections offices were opened the weekend before an election and people could come in and vote. indicates up and down the state they're trying to make it as easy as possible for people to vote here. essentially it's early voting come in and do it. few questions asked. they're trying to protect the integrity of the system. tomorrow they're trying to set up as many polling places as possible but some don't have power, some destroyed. some areas makeshift centers set up with tents and emergency generators.

people voting on paper ballots there. another novel way of true ig to do this. basically they're trying again to make it possible for people to vote everywhere as easily as possible. at the back end of this, there's going to be a lot of confusion with the count because again, they're voting with paper ballots, with a lot of provisional ballots, but again, they're trying to keep the integrity of the system intact. every indication people are trying to get out and vote despite the hardships that many are facing. today was the first day that a lot of people were trying to get to work. commuter systems around here trying to get in and ute of new york and new jersey where a nightmare, long lines for busses, few trains running, gasoline, amidst that people are trying to vote. the turnout may be depressed somewhat, but again all this will be very important, perhaps not at the top of the ticket but for those congressional races, statewide races and lower down the ballot. >> thank you so much. ron allen. >> both candidates are racing across the country at rallies to shore up what he hopes will be his midwest firewall, president

obama has bruce springsteen in tow. mitt romney flying from florida to new hampshire. what are their paths to 270? chuck todd is the man with the maps and all the toys and political director and chief white house correspondent and host of "the daily run down" and you have all of the scenarios for us. >> i -- >> first of all, take us through what you think are the most likely paths to 270 for each of these two candidates? >> today's schedule is everything, actually. so let's take the president's first. first we put pennsylvania, obviously, but if they get ohio where he's going today, wisconsin where they're going today, and iowa, where he closes it out, this is without nevada, this puts him at 271, this what is they believe is their fastest, most narrowest path. now, why is romney doing what he's doing with florida today? virginia.

don't forget north carolina is one that they're counting on. new hampshire and then ohio. because ohio, look at that, it's right on the number. if all the states he visits today he carries, that's what he's doing. both of them are visiting, andrea, their narrowest paths to 270. i took you to the 271 path for the president, and then you saw the 270 path if you will for romney. now everything in between, what's a great night for the president, take you to that quickly. that would mean, winning ohio, but the one state i think they feel the least bit about is in north carolina. leave florida in romney's column. i think ultimately this is what we're looking at. something right in the 300 range is most realistic good night for the president. you go to mitt romney and what they think their most realistic be good night and why you see he has a little higher ceiling, bring these states back,

virginia, iowa, which by the way i think is getting tight, they think they would win wisconsin. we're going to leave nevada in the president's column there. new hampshire where he's closing out. they think they would get that. they believe in a really good night they win ohio. but they also believe on a really good night they would win a pennsylvania and you could see that would give had him ceiling if you will to 315. i think you're looking at a ceiling -- it could be more -- my guest mate a ceiling just over 300 for the president, maybe 300 for mitt romney if the enthusiasm took over. >> you see bill clinton, he has two stops outside of philadelphia and two closing stops in philadelphia tonight. and you hear everybody we talked to on the obama camp says it is just to leave nothing to chance, but why would you send bill clinton to philadelphia if you weren't certain that the people in philadelphia were going to turn out and you were going to have a democratic victory? >> that's the issue.

they believe they can win this on the ground. the african-american support that they have in the philadelphia area, will overwhelm them. what's interesting i've talked to a couple democrats who say secretly they expect to win pennsylvania by a bigger margin than minnesota. file that away. let's see if they're right. >> pennsylvania, i mean if pennsylvania is in play, then this is obviously all over for the president. >> something to think about. >> it would be a remarkable turn of events. chuck todd -- >> we didn't get to my 269s scenario. >> you want it? >> yeah. yeah. do it. >> all right. here's what happens. the president would only get wisconsin, give him wisconsin here, you to give him, iowa. and you got to give him, ohio, i believe this is what gets it there. excuse me not ohio, you put ohio back here. you give him new hampshire. give all the west there. are we get there?

no. we have to get 12 somewhere. i had this the other day. we're a little off. we'll figure it out for you. so there is a 269. not as viable. i know it takes iowa and nevada. here it is. there it is. >> iowa, nevada have to get in there and we've got five more somewhere else. it's the swap of colorado. is it that? well. >> where do you have new hampshire? i can't see from here? >> we'll have to figure it out. it was off. this is what happens when we're missing it. the math is there. >> we'll take a break, we know it's there, the math is there. 269/269s. >> that's a nightmare. >> some say we'll be spending a lot of good times. >> here it is. that's what we're missing here. new hampshire over to there. >> new hampshire. >> and then we have it. >> thank you so much, chuck. >> bye now. >> chuck and the magic map. up next, mayor antonio villaraigosa in florida today, and house majority leader eric cantor from virginia, live from

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president obama has a big lead over mitt romney with hispanics. are they going to vote, trying to make sure they come out is mayor villa ra gosy, campaigned nonstop for the president in new mexico, colorado, nevada, and today in miami. thank you very much. what are you seeing down there because we know there have been long lines for early voting and a lot of frustration and a lot of legal disputes between the two parties? >> and a lot of enthusiasm. i've been saying andrea, for a long time, every time i think i've been on your show, this is going to be a close election, obviously this is a battleground

state but i'll tell you something, 150,000 more democrats have voted early voting and that's true even though they reduced the number of days by six for early voting and as you know, even tried to oppose extending the hours at a location where there was a bomb threat. there are long lines, people are enthusiastic. our volunteers have been out here two years, we have 125 offices or so. there are at lot of really great people going to get out the vote and tomorrow starting at 7:00 a.m., they can vote and all the way to 7:00 p.m. here in florida. so i'm excited. i think this is going to be a very close election but i disagree with some of the commentators a couple minutes ago. we're going to win ohio, iowa wisconsin, nevada, colorado and we're going to fight it out here in florida and i expect we're going to win it here as well. >> what do you say to republicans who say that the primary concern for

hispanic-americans as well as all other americans is the economy in the last unemployment numbers that came out on friday, the hispanic unemployment rate was 10%. well above the national average? >> that's what you say when you're losing the hispanic vote by 70 to 20 or something. i predicted last summer that we were going to get at least 70% of the vote. that might be closer to 72 or 73%. so they're going to say a lot of things. they're now saying that they're for immigration reform even though their platform and candidate talks about the self-deportation of 11 million people. i've talked to a tlot of people latinos, blacks, asians and whites and people are excited and you see them here in long lines. they're going to vote and i believe that here in florida they're going to vote for president obama. >> just one quick question in the seconds we have left, bill nelson, is the senator going to get re-elected or connie mac

going to defeat him? >> senator nelson is going to get re-elected with a comfortable margin. without a question. >> thank you very much, mr. mayor. good to see you. >> thank you. >> mitt romney meanwhile is making two appearances in virginia on this all-important last day of campaigning. another indication of how important virginia is for the road to 270. eric cantor joins me to talk about the republican chances in his state. thank you very much, mr. leader. thank you for being with us. what are you seeing in virginia? >> well, andrea, i have been with mitt romney and paul ryan over the last week be here in virginia and the enthusiasm is off the charts with republicans and people who want to see mitt romney elected because he's actually got a plan to create jobs to make this economy come roaring back and people that really are dissatisfied with the way things have been over the last four years. i think that's what it comes

down to. i think you're going to see a win in virginia for mitt romney a lot wider than what people are expecting to see and a win for george allen here in the commonwealth. >> the nbc news/"wall street journal"/marist poll had it at a one point race within the margin of error, 48 to 47. shouldn't mitt romney be doing better than that in virginia, shouldn't he have a comfortable margin given the advances you have, strong military presence, the rural communities. why is it as close as it seems to be? >> well, as you know, andrea, this state of ours has been a growing state, increasingly diverse, and a state whose economy has actually done a lot better than the economy nationally. and it has been a competitive race since the very beginning as you know. this state went for president obama last time for the first time in i think 44 years that our state went for a democratic nominee for president.

i think what you're going to see this time, virginia come to the center right, common sense conservative vision that is prevalent throughout the state and large metropolitan areas as well as the rural areas of the state. you hit on the issue of defense, andrea, and it's an extremely important issue here. and voters especially in the areas of hampton roads, which is the home of the world's largest naval base in norfolk as well as the defense community up around the pentagon and northern virginia, are extremely worried and concerned about the president's defense cuts. mitt romney has said that he would have and will avoid those defense cuts so we don't see a loss of 100,000 jobs in the commonwealth, an issue -- >> defense cuts sir, republicans, paul ryan voted for the sequester, those were agreed to in the agreement on the debt ceiling and whoever is elected -- >> you know, you know the origin of that. the origin was the white house and the president said he

wouldn't sign the debt ceiling increase unless we went along with it and when we found out that our trust in the process was misplaced what we did in the house and paul ryan joined us in the house and substituting those defense cuts with cuts that are more appropriately placed across the budget arena and no so disproportionately aimed at our defense -- >> let me ask you -- >> that is the issue and those are the jobs at stake in virginia. >> let me ask you what happens after the election. mitt romney has been talking about bipartisan, harry reid has been criticized by many for saying he would not work with mitt romney if he is elected. will you work with president obama if he is re-elected on his agenda, which is raising taxes on the wealthy, draw down the deficit and pay for some of the programs that need to be preserved for the middle class? >> andrea, this election is being fought on the issue of taxes and it is my position and

mitt romney's and paul ryan's and our party now is not the time to raise taxes on anybody when we have an economy where you're seeing almost 8% unemployment, where you're seeing at least 8 million people under employed or a part-time working because they can't find anything full time. we don't think that taking more people's money right now is the answer. and it is the prospects of seeing tax rates for everyone go up. it is seeing the prospects of the marriage penalty being implemented. the fact that the death taxes will go back up. all of these things are what is at stake this election which is why i believe strongly mitt romney will win big here in virginia and win nationally tomorrow night. >> and -- >> and if for some reason that doesn't occur, of course, we will always work with whoever is elected and really must all come together. i mean that's been the issue that we've seen that's been the real problem over the last four

years with this president. had he has been and demonstrated in either an inability or unwillingness to bring both sides together. and that's the difference you see in mitt romney. he is a proven leader when he was a republican and probably the most democratic state in the country, massachusetts, and was able to work with both sides of the aisle bringing them together to produce results for the voters there. that's what i believe the voters of virginia want right now and america is to see everyone understanding you're not going to agree on everything, but setting things aside so we can get results and people back to work. >> thank you very much, eric cantor, majority leader, thank you for being with us. we're only hours away interest my favorite day every year, especially every four years, election day. rachel maddow joining us next, this is "andrea mitchell reports" live from democracy plaza only on msnbc. ♪

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phillips'. poboth campaigns have lawye ready especially in ohio. we saw lines, people voting until 1:00 this morning in florida. >> that's right. >> you have done more reporting than anyone on this. >> the lines on the early voting in ohio and florida in particular, but in a lot of places around the country, are both heartening and disheartening. on the one hand an act of heroism by these people to be out there for five, six, seven, more than eight hours. on the other hand, why is it people have to wait eight hours to vote in this country? we have seen a restriction on the number of hours and number of days in early voting. in ohio, secretary of state john hugh fought tooth and nail to the supreme court of the united states to try to reduce the number of days of early voting. he was rebuffed. he did reduce the number of hours in early voting which is

why you saw the tremendous lines, particularly in black districts like in inner city cleveland yesterday. in ohio -- in florida, rather, rick scott and the republican legislature the general council of the republican party, drafted legislation to cut back early voting days by almost half in florida. you have seen lines that take people, you know, until after 1:00 in the morning to be voting. it's just, you know, it's on purpose. it is to make voting harder so fewer people vote. i find it outrageous. >> it's outrageous and when you look at the lines of people and the passion people have to vote, it is so reaffirming at the same time it's frustrating for them. who has that kind of time, especially the people least advantageded. >> the people out there for eight hours you want to give them a medal. not everybody can do that. if you have an elderly parent or kids you're taking care of or work responsibilities these are people being responsible enough that they're getting up in some cases in the predawn hours on early voting days, what else

would you have them do in order to be more responsible about this and still we're asking something of them that reasonably should not be asked of somebody to exercise their citizenship and it's not the same in every state, in every district. and it's deliberate. i mean, big picture, talking with your guests earlier this hour the hope for the romney campaign, it was a 74% white electorate in 2008. they're desperately hoping it is still 74% white or maybe more white than that and that's their only math and to see in minority districts how difficult it has been made to vote in swing states this year, it is a political thing. >> the other path is to decrease the number of young people. >> yeah. >> below the 18% it was last time around. >> uh-huh. and so you've seen -- attempted crackdowns especially on trying to make student i.d.s not count as appropriate voter i.d. >> they lost some of those

rounds. >> yeah. >> i was interested to see what about the states where there has not been early voting? pennsylvania, for instance. no early voting in pennsylvania. is that just because of the republican governor, the republican legislature? >> it's interesting. some states just don't have early voting and don't seem to want it regardless of the partisan character of the state. in ohio the reason they got it, in 2004, john kerry versus george w. bush ohio was a disaster in terms of those lines in ohio. people waiting in the rain until after midnight trying to get in, just the heroism. and in 2005 to ohio's credit that's when they added early voting days. in every election for the past seven years there have been these early voting days that include the polls last sunday before the election and all of those things including for the republican primary this year in ohio. but for this election alone, they wanted to pull that back. it wasn't because there was any problem with early voting the way it was going in ohio. it was because it had gone well. and when voting goes well, lots of opportunities to vote more people vote and for some

partisans that is a problem. >> do you think the obama campaign is limisleading us or fooling themselves when they look at the early voting they have enjoyed and they are ahead of the game and thinking that they have banked enough to offset even large election day turnout? >> both sides at this point in the campaign, you know, love to pound their chest and say how much they're going to win. a, we know it's close and b, if you look at what the democrats are bragging on there, they have an early voting advantage in most of swing states. >> the population has increased. >> but also democratic demographic groups prefer early voting for a number of reasons. including cultural reasons. that's also the poll thing is real. in african-american communities leaving church and going to the polls is a cultural thing. a reason why democrats tend to win in early voting. when you look at the margins in 2012 versus 2008 the democrats have had those margins cut into. the states where it was close,

having the margin get narrower doesn't mean you have enough of a cushion to be on election day. john mccain and sarah palin versus barack obama and joe biden on election day alone in 2008 would have been a different result. the early voting numbers need to be big for the democrats for them to win. >> we can't wait to see your coverage tomorrow. >> i'm so excited. >> this is your favorite day. >> thank you. thank you very much. >> and join rachel maddow and chris mathews for msnbc's election night coverage starting tomorrow night at 6:00 eastern. and up next, mark mckinnon on the future of the republican party and send me your thoughts on facebook and twitter @mitchellreports. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" live from democracy plaza only on msnbc. ♪ ♪

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mitt romney faces some tough

demographic challenges as he tried to expand the map, namely that the growing number of young and nonwhite voters. mark mckinnon is a contributor to the daily beast and former strategist for george w. bush and fellow at the harvard institute of politics. let's talk about that demography because the number of hispanics that are expanding population and the numbers who are supporting barack obama over mitt romney is pretty astounding. are they going to vote and how does the republican party overcome some of the rhetoric for the primary? >> i think it's a problem, andrea. whether mitt romney wins or loses if he wins because there was a strategy of trying to get an increasing proportion of a shrinking demographic which is white men. for the future of the republican party it has to go beyond that. we've got to fight find a way to communicate messages attractive to minority and women voters

because all those demographics are growing. we are chicago our way to the -- clawing our way to the bottom as a party unless we realize that the party gets right on messages and policies that have attraction to those voting constituencies that are key. >> given the population growth, even if mitt romney was to get john mccain's percentage ofs hispanic voters he would not be able to win this election if everything else remains equal. >> that's right. when i worked for george w. bush he recognized how important that constituency was and worked hard on it and in 2000, we went into that election with a target goal of having 40% of the hispanic vote. we got 41. because that was growing demographic we recognized and we had to increase that share so our goal was 43 and we got 44. i think john mccain got 37% maybe. >> right. >> and i think romney is at 30 or below and it's impossible to

win without a stronger hispanic coalition. >> what does it say about the republican party because mitt romney, many say, was a different person when he was governor of massachusetts, has pivoted during the debates and closing speeches in these past weeks into a pragmatic sounding bipartisan republican. but what does it say about the process during the primaries and it would be the same on the left for the democrats if they did not have an incumbent president, the primary process just forces people into taking positions that then make it impossible to run and be a candidate broadly appealing to the rest of the country. >> no question about it. we can talk for the whole program about how we got here, but the primary -- but how we got to the hyper partisan environment we're in, but no question that the primary on both sides has gone further to the extremes which makes it much more difficult for the nominee

of the party to move to the middle and communicate a broad message that appeals to the broader electorate and happened this time the republican party is the party that had the primary and the consequence i think mitt romney in order to win that primary moved much further right than or moved so far right it made it much more difficult for him to appeal to that broad constituency that the republicans need to win a general election. >> mark mckinnon, thanks very much. thank you. the women's vote, we have a special guest, gloria steinhem joining me next, you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. time for the entrepreneur of the week. cath lien and susan are

encouraging customers to shop local, created ladies night in burbank, california, to boost sales staying open late. support your local retailers on november 24th for the third annual small business saturday. for more watch your business this sunday morning at 7:30 on msnbc. president obama: there's just no quit in america...

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and our heroes are coming home. we're not there yet, but we've made real progress and the... last thing we should do is turn back now. here's my plan for the next four years: making education and training a national priority; building on our manufacturing boom; boosting american-made energy; reducing the deficits responsibly by cutting where... we can, and asking the wealthy to pay a little more. and ending the war in afghanistan, so we can... do some nation-building here at home. that's the right path. so read my plan, compare it to governor romney's... and decide which is better for you. it's an honor to be your president... and i'm asking for your vote... so together, we can keep moving america forward. i'm barack obama and i approve this message. zle here's a perspective. when women's issues dominated

the debate a flashback for when the women marched for equal rights amendment led by gloria stein nen. on this final day of the campaign what have women lost and won, joining me now gloria steinen. thank you so much. >> no, thank you. >> i remember covering the marches back in the day and when we were talking about the equal rights amendment and other issues and here we are, let me play for you a little bit of the most celebrated infamous sound from two of the senate races. >> if it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. let's assume maybe that didn't work or something, you know, i think there should be some punishment but it ought to be on the rapist. >> i struggled with it for myself but i realized life is that gift from god and even when life begins in that horrible situation of rain that it is something that god intended to happen.

>> controversial because here we are in this day and age, talking about rape in this fashion and these are two candidates, millions of dollars have been poured both into both of those races in the last five days, so these are races that could tip either way. what have we learned? >> well, we've learned that what we remember as the republican party has been taken over by extremists, economic and religious extremists like the invasion of the body snatchers. so a party that used to support the equal rights amendment, goldwater was pro choice, now this is what i think is confusing especially to older women who remember when it was centrist and now it is extremist. it's become like the american taliban. and that's how we got mitt romney. whatever he really believes, he is going along with everything they believe. >> well, he would say he is a more moderate candidate, certainly more moderate in his views. he supports exceptions now.

>> but he doesn't -- but that's what he says. but what is written down on paper at his request in the republican party platform is the human life amendment which would declare the fertilized egg to be a person and this would nationalize women's bodies in effect and put all those decisions in the hands of the government. i mean he -- i don't -- i don't know what he believes, but he does have the most distance between what he puts down on paper and characterizes in public at least when talking to women. >> our latest nbc news wall street journal poll the gender gap is only 8 points. in the past double digits. why do you think at least in our polling women are not as, you know, aligned with president obama, if what is at stake is as you've described it? >> i spent a week in florida and i would say the biggest reason is that romney is not telling

the truth. in fact. i mean he is staring women with the -- scaring women with the idea that over $50,000 of the national debt would be on the heads of each of their children and grandchildren without saying that debt would be increased by his military spending and that some of it you need to create jobs. he is not telling the truth about his reproductive rights policy. he is -- here's the most sinister thing, he's referring to women's issues as social issues and men's issues, at least the 1% of guys he's concerned about, as economic issues. but, in fact, equal pay is a huge economic stimulus this country needs and whether a woman can control when and whether to have children, is the single biggest element in her economic status, her education, her health, and how long she lives. and that is sort of dispensed as a social issue.

>> at the same time, the republican argument is economic issues determine the way people will vote, that women are affected by the economy. >> yes, but the economy is us. half the country is us. hello. and whether or not d disproportionately. he won't even support equal pay. the romney/ryan ticket does not -- this is the first time in history. that is an economic issue. it would lift families, millions of families out of poverty. it would be an economic stimulus to the whole economy, because those women are going to spend that money on families and create jobs. so his very categorization is wrong. i mean, you know, how can he say that equal pay is not an economic issue or that reproductive freedom is not an economic issue? calling it social is a way of dispensing with. it. >> gloria steinham on the

campaign trail. kelly o'donnell is live. you're watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. it's a new day. if you're a man with low testosterone, you should know that axiron is here. the only underarm treatment for low t. that's right, the one you apply to the underarm. axiron is not for use in women or anyone younger than 18. axiron can transfer to others through direct contact. women, especially those who are or who may become pregnant, and children should avoid contact where axiron is applied as unexpected signs of puberty in children or changes in body hair or increased acne in women may occur. report these signs and symptoms to your doctor if they occur. tell your doctor about all medical conditions and medications. do not use if you have prostate or breast cancer. serious side effects could include increased risk of prostate cancer; worsening prostate symptoms; decreased sperm count; ankle, feet, or body swelling; enlarged or painful breasts; problems breathing while sleeping; and blood clots in the legs. common side effects include skin redness or irritation where applied,

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later today both candidates will be on the ground in the same city, columbus, ohio. no accident there. kelly o'donnell is in cleavelan. all about ohio, and you can see what's happening on on the ground there, kelly. it's pretty remarkable. >> reporter: well, they're already voting, of course. there were limited hours for early votes in the day until tomorrow's big show. what we've seen are very long lines. we've been told as many as 2500 people were waiting outside before the doors opened. in cleveland about 3700 and in franklin county, which is columbus. there's high energy and interest, and certainly after so many months of being bombarded by tv ads in the various markets in ohio and the phone calls, i

was with my mom. i'm from cleveland. the phone was ringing off the hook asking if she had voted yet. people are ready to participate. both campaigns think they have a strong ground game. the obama team touts it has many more offices here and in the early votes more democrats have turned out. republicans believe that they have a real shot at it here because they believe the president's margins as it looks today aren't as great as four years ago. optimism from both sides, but it's a grinding push tonight. we hear that mitt romney will make one more trip here on election day. andrea, it is unusual for candidates to continue stumping when the votes are cast on the big day, but that's what we expect here. it will be a fight to the finish. andrea. >> kelly will be there for all of it. thanks for being with us today. that does it for this edition from "andrea mitchell reports." bill burton and mark halpern and

robert gibbs all joins us tomorrow. next on "news nation," join tamron hall with former new mexico governor bill richardson and atlanta mayor ka seem reed. [ male announcer ] what are happy kids made of? bikes and balloons, and noodles on spoons. a kite, a breeze, a dunk of grilled cheese. catches and throws, and spaghettio's. a wand, some wings, soup with good things. sidewalks and doodles and wholesome noodles. puddles and pails and yes, puppy dog tails. for a lunch like this, there's a hug and a kiss. because that's what happy kids are made of. campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do.

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hi, everyone. i'm tamron hall. the "news nation" is following breaks news out of ohio. there are massive lines with waits of up to three hours keeping early voting polls open. they are scheduled to shut down this hour, but they will remain open for thousands of people still in line. more than 1.6 million people have already early voted in ohio so far. let's go straight to nbc's john yang live at a polling election in cincinnati. it's incredible to see the lines. we know the