tavis: good evening, i am tavis smiley. on election night there will be more reasons to stay up for results on the west coast. two high-profile races in washington and california. in nevada, harry reid in -- is in a tough fight. a preview of the races with adam nagourney. also tonight, one of rock music's most outspoken voices, serj tankian. he is currently on tour in support of his new seat being -- of his new cd. we are glad you have joined us. james, and he needs extra help with his reading.

>> i am james. >> yes. >> to everyone making a difference, you help us all live better. >> nationwide insurance proudly supports tavis smiley. tavis and nationwide insurance, working to improve financial literacy and the economic empowerment that comes with it. your side ♪ >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] >> for more information on tavis: adam nagourney is the former chief for "the new york times, who now serves as the

l.a. bureau chief. i have always been -- one of my personal political pet peeves has always been because we live on the west coast nobody gives us any respect. they start telling you who won before our polls are closed. we are like an afterthought on the west coast, but this time around some fascinating races starting with a couple in california. >> there are at least three races that have national attention. obviously in california you have the senate race where barbara boxer is facing a tough challenge. right now the most important race going on in the west is the contest between harry reid and sharron angle. that race will capture more attention than any race on

election night. tavis: barbara boxer is an 18- year veteran in the u.s. senate. carly is the republican. the polls show that boxer is starting to pull away, and yet the republican party still has a focus on this race. why so? >> in order for republicans to take control of the senate boxer is one of the people that needs to be knocked out. some vulnerable seats will go across the country. i think the feeling on both sides is that race is getting away from the republicans given the size and intensity on the republican size. i would not write it off. the senate race, the fact that carly is conservative on social

issues, abortion, oil drilling, that could be more of a problem for her. that is one of the reasons why boxer may be pulling out. i don't really trust -- tavis: you added the phrase this year. does that mean you do not trust it in the past? >> i am not an expert but -- lots of people are doing polling. everyone knows there are various methodological problems with pulling because of cell phones -- problems with polling. we have not done pulling out here. we are still doing ok. you're just suspect. then again, it is hard to

measure things right now. you learn to watch movement with polls. i have sensed a movement over the past two weeks. tavis: what are you sensing in the race for governor with meg whitman and jerry brown? his race from 30 years ago? what are you sensing? >> she has spent a phenomenal amount of money. he up until recently has not run an energetic campaign. polls show she is tied with him or he is ahead of her. she is having trouble closing the deal. you would think after that kind of investment, fact that brad has not run the campaign well she would have a lead. at this point i think the race is tied.

i think that there is a sense -- it is a democratic state. the other part is i wonder whether in this environment when the state is in such bad shape where people are worried about the management future, whether people will be more likely to go with someone who has had the experience versus someone who is new to it. tavis: the counter argument would be we are experiencing a mood in this country where we want to throw incumbents out will have had too much experience. we want to have somebody who knows how to handle these economic issues. if the best democrats can -- >> no argument there. if you had spoken to me two months ago i might have said the

same thing. this may be one race where you throw the bums out may not fit. jerry brown has been there, at least he knows what to do. tavis: there is a story that the gop plans to pick up seats. >> that will be a big advantage for republicans going forward. tavis: before i jump to the nevada race i am curious as to your take -- i was at a dinner party two years ago. it seems to me this year across the country we have so many uninspiring candidates run for office. in illinois, they don't know who to trust. in connecticut come up one guy

lied about his record. in california, you have a guy here 30 years ago and not a single democrat we have prepared to be governor versus someone with no experience in government and spent millions to buy the seat. in nevada, a senate majority leader who has not been the greatest, a gangster woman who is part of the pun. i am starting to get something has happened to our politics where we have kept out the good people from running and we are getting these uninspiring candidates. >> it might be a cyclical, but i wonder whether this environment we helped to create is making people who might be higher quality ask why should i do this? i feel the candidates in the past did tend to be better.

one exception -- whatever you think of the way president obama has been, i think he was an extraordinary political candidate. do i think that the quality of candidates has declined? that is probably true. i think there are a lot of terrific political journals and what we do is really important, but there is also a lot of gotcha journalism. one thing you notice this year is candidates are doing less public events with the media because they see them as an enemy. tavis: unless you are on both sides of the aisle. khristine o'donnell and andrew cuomo will not talk. -- christine o'donnell will not

talk. our lack of real focus on campaign finance reform keeps real people from putting themselves in the races. >> would you want to go into congress at this time to get the stuffing knocked out of you and get nothing done? tavis: if republicans lost everything else on election night but sharron angle upsets harry reid, that would be there story. >> it would still be of setting. they really see a chance of beating this guy. he spent lots of money there. he cannot break above 34%. if you ask republicans what is your main strategy for winning

this race, particularly with a candidate as flawed as sharron angle, it is that people don't like harry reid. he has always had big problems. he knew that coming into his race. he has been spending a lot of time preparing for this. the biggest thing we want to watch is what kind of organization does he have to get the vote out? >tavis: what makes individuals n a particular state throw someone out who does have power to deliver for that state, and go with a novice who will be at the bottom of the pecking order? you must really not like them. >> it is fascinating to me. that shows you what the intensity is for government. the ides are pretty good he will still be the senate majority

leader. he is in a position to deliver all kinds of things to the states. she will not have anywhere near that authority. if democrats are in control you can trust me nevada will get nothing. time and again people tend to throw out majority leaders. tavis: tom foley, i was on abc yesterday and my friend george and i got into a debate. his column yesterday was called "the obama referendum." >> i don't believe that at all. i think this is a referendum on democrats versus republicans. you want to watch obama's favorability rating is still up there.

i think you will see it going up. i don't think people are going their voting i hate barack obama. tavis: to all my friends watching on the other side of the mississippi, the west does matter. we are proud to are adam nagourney in our town now. up next, former system of a down lead singer, serj tankian. stay with us. serj tankian is an acclaimed singer who founded the band system of a down. his new cd is called in perfect harmony is. here is a video for the song " left of center." ♪

♪ ♪ tavis: left of center, is that a political statement? >> i am starting to get more direct and more in direct. tavis: what do you mean? >> in terms of political things, it is more important to be direct. in terms of philosophical things that you plant things and see them grow musically , it is ok to be subtle. political statements are usually more direct. it works with the upbeat music as well.

tavis: has that been a process for you? did you start out being this kind of clarity in your political observations? or has that been a journey? >> it has taken time. tavis: what has made you more comfortable with it? >> i think a lot of the skepticism after 9/11. i got a lot of death threats to all sorts of different combinations. this song was off the air. our record was out and we had "chop suey." they took it off the air. there is so much condonation of free thought and expression at the time that going through that made me a lot more confident as an activist and a spokesperson.

tavis: how does an artist come to terms with the fcc pulling his record off the air? >> they pulled lucy and the sky with diamonds. it was quite confusing. there were a lot of songs that were pulled at the time. i decided to call my backup band the fcc. i will not sit -- i will not sit on your show. i decided to make them a crossword. i think it is a little hypocritical. we have a lot of great open media in europe that are not paying so close attention to those things, yet we are. tavis: when the sec polls your

project off the air as an artist that does what to or for your gift? >> i'm not sure. at that time there was a lot of -- it may have also been clear channel. we also have a lot of self- regulators. instead of having someone else sensor us so we can blame them. tavis: i am asking that because i would think if one were going to itself censored it would come after being yanked by the fcc. the other option is it makes you even more aggressive. >> the record itself did well in terms of it being our best- selling record. tavis: the controversy did not hurt though. >> i don't know, a lot of bands

were hurt. we do what we do and let them do what they do. tavis: on this new project -- earth, wind and fire, one of the groups that i loved. they were just hear some days ago. they were doing a concert with the l.a. philharmonic. at first made me think earth, wind and fire with the philharmonic. then it made sense. i heard it was an amazing show for my friends. here you are now with your rock stuff with an orchestra behind you. what do you make of the end result? >> a couple years ago i had the opportunity of working with the new zealand orchestra and doing a live show with them.

the experience gave me this confidence in working with based orchestras and integrating them into the rock music, along with jazz moments. so this record -- the first solo record i did was a straight out rock record. this one ended up being something different. i wanted to integrate different elements, bring electronic and jazz elements along with the rock, but do it in a way with one voice. it works as a cohesive sound and that these different elements. tavis: what makes orchestra and a rock sound blend together nicely? what does that work? >> they both picked up a lot of frequency. the drums and guitar and bass

take up a lot, and the orchestra has a beautiful way of taking out the full spectrum. you have to balance them out. if you are using live base you have to make sure you are not stepping on the toes of the other elements. the electronic also. that is a whole synthetic element. you have to balance it out through building bridges in between. having an idea of how everything fits together. tavis: kind of hard to tour that way. >> we did a show in holland recently. it was quite an amazing show. it actually works. like you said, in the 1970's,

that they used to use a lot of horn and strings sections. i think we have lost it now. tavis: as you tour of around the world is there a noticeable difference between how americans audience's response to the politics in your music then how is responded to by people around the world. >> in america there is more of a question should music be political, whereas around the world it is not an issue. there are other differences between audiences i have noticed over time. as consumers, europeans are a

lot more artist-loyal irrespective of the genre of music. americans are more media-loyal because they need to be fed that media to know what is going on. we are so inundated with promotion and marketing. tavis: does that mean is easier to build a following in this country or abroad? >> luckily i have built a following on my own solo stuff here and abroad, but over the long term there is more loyalty towards artists elsewhere because of our media here. tavis: to the point that folks outside the country have a much easier time to the intersection of art and politics, i think i believe this. i think i believe there is a

line between truth in music and proselytizing. if i am right, how do you know where that line is? >> you are absolutely right. nobody wants to hear a sermon. some people to, but maybe not through music. no one wants to hear me give a speech like that. the gift of music is its intuitive capability. music inspires the artists who then inspire the listeners. because it is into it the truth has to be defined intuitively. a cannot be pushed, it has to normally go across organically. that is the power of music. poetry are a lot more flexible

with plot patterns. you can say a lot more with a polymer then with a song. -- a lot more with a poem. tavis: why the title in perfect harmony is? >> i like putting things next to each other that don't have a pre-existing relationship. in perfect harmony is is a great way of explaining a number of things. our relationship with each other, our relationships between and others. my personal relationship with the music is an imperfect harmony because i never studied music. now i am doing this composition and i never learned the right way of doing things so i have a lot of things brought to my attention. generally i leave them that way because i like those

imperfections. it could be anything. tavis: it might not be the right way but it is your way. the new project is called in perfect harmony is. congratulations on the project. good to see you. that is our show for the night. catch me on the weekends. you can access our podcast through our web site. i will see you back here next time. thanks for watching. as always, keep the faith. today's show, visit tavis smiley at pbs.org tavis: join me next time with biographer ron chernow on his new text on george washington. that is next time. >> all i know is his name is james, and he needs extra help>> i am james.

>> yes. >> to everyone making a difference, you help us all live better. >> nationwide insurance proudly supports tavis smiley. tavis and nationwide insurance, working to improve financial literacy and the economic empowerment that comes with it. >> ♪ nationwide is on your side ♪ >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. [captioning made possible by kcet public television] captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> we are pbs. >> we are pbs.