i don't really know about chris coons. would love cnn to do all my defenses on the charges raised by quoiconservatives. he would vote for a stimulus plan if he were there, he would vote for a health care plan if he were there, he would volt for financial regulation plan if it were there, and that's what the tea party movement and i are fighting against. >> john avlon are, the charges -- are the criticisms that have been made against him fair? he did raise taxes he's -- >> that's legitimate. people should feel free to criticize a candidate based on what they've done in an executive or elected capacity. that is 100% legitimate. people need to be held accountable for what they've done professionally. but the term marxist is getting thrown around a lot without any context. in this case it's a joke about a 25-year-old college newspaper, and the fact that some people would frame this election as a choice between a witch and a bearded marxist says everything you need to know about the silly psychotic season we're in right now. so

chris coons. >> local but delaware is a very tiny state. it only has three-county. new castle is by far the biggest one. still local, right? local. definitely not a national ad. midterm elections are not defined by one big race by definition, right? it's district by district, state by state, candidate by candidate. each has made a decision here. republicans are running nationally. democrats are running locally. which is why even if you have never heard of scott mcadams you sure as heck have heard of joe miller. it is quite possible you have never heard of chris coons but have heard of christine o'donnell. even if you only get your news from "saturday night live" -- i do not raise this issue in order to quibble with all politics as local truism but that quote was supposedly coined by former democratic house speaker tip o'neill in the 1930s. and while i do not want to get at anyone's exact ages i am thinking that's a time reasonably predates, say, bill o'reilly. earlier this month the democratic gov

in delaware, democratic nominee chris coons over christine o'donnell, 54-39% in latest polls.hat about the polls? the races and the bigger picture about the economy and politics? bring in the pam. juan williams, news analyst for national public radio. julie mason, white house correspondent for the washington examiner. and syndicated columnist, charles krauthammer. okay, charles, which race? delaware? >> delaware is the race of the moment. it's rather remarkable. you would expect someone who win wins the primary election to get a bump. christine o'donnell, republican nominee was down 11. now in this poll she is down 15. what is ironic about this is they ran a poll against the republican whom o'donnell defeated by castle. he would have been up 15. that is a wing of 30%. which tells you how much of a longshot she is. and even more remarkable i think is the fact that if you ask people about how sure they are and how they will end up voting, castle is way ahead, 91% of his supporters want to say -- >> sorry. >> coons, the democrat had nine out of ten saying they will support him. i

he joins us now, chris coons, newcastle county executive in delaware and democratic nominee for unitedates senate. chris, thank you for joining us tonight. you have got an interesting challenge ahead of you. she is a very attractive candidate, very charismatic. she doesn't want you talking about her. is that a fair rule of engagement? you can't talk about her background, you can't criticize her financial dealings? is that a fair way to look at an election? >> well, chris, thanks for a chance to be on. i think the right way to look at this is the way delaware's voters look at it which is they want to know what the ideas are that christine o'donnell or i would bring to the u.s. senate. they want to know what the next senator from delaware is going to do to fix our economy to get this country become on track to tackle spending and the debt and to really solve their real problems. if in the course of that we get into some exchange about ideas become our background about our experience, i think that's great. i think that's constructive, but i do agree that delawareans really don't like the

called chris coons the making of a bearded marksist.w some unpopular democrats are coming out woodwork. harry reid told the newspaper, i'm going to be honest, chris coons everybody knows him in the democratic caucus he's my pet, my favorite candidate. hard time to believe people in delaware will elect harry reid's pet. will it impact how candidates are nominated? will it show republicans don't need to shy away from nominating the conservative candidate on the ballot. joining me the host of his own show right here on this network, huckabee. what is the name of the show? >> real original. hey sean. >> sean: thanks for being with us. huckabee, hannity. first of all, it was very interesting to watch coons' spokesman come out today, chris is not anyone's pet. >> the worst thing that can happen this year is to be associated with harry reid. only thing worst is to be officered as harry reid's pet. harry reid has a long -- harry reid has a long history of saying ridiculous things and getting an way with them. if you are on the receiving end of

chris coons.t appears to me chris coons understands this is not last year's delaware and he, too, had better reach out to those tea party voters. >> we hear a lot of frustration, a lot of anxiety. folks agree with many that the administration has made great progress, but we have not yet gotten the chachbl we all voted for in 2008. >> james carville, standing next to the vice president of the united states saying we have not gotten the change we voted for in 2008. >> right. well, john, it's not fair. they get to talk about sarah palin, and i get to talk about chris coons. >> that's it. there we go. . think he recognized -- i think he's recognizing the reality, you know. the reality is one-track country now and he understands that, and i think what the guy said is effective. it makes sense. i mean you can't go out and -- we've been saying this. you can't go out and convince people that everything is working because they don't believe that. so, you know, you've got to draw some contrast. i think he'l

it's also going to drive interest to chris coons' campaign. vice president biden appears with him in delaware. it's a big race. we're watching it and a lot more to talk about. >> kelly o'donnell reporting there. >>> and president obama is sidestepping a potentially ugly fight over his newly created watchdog group. they wanted elizabeth warren to head the consumer national protection bureau but republicans suggested they would block that nomination over her tough views on regulation. so instead, the president will make warren a special assistant overseeing the agency's creation. the president's official announce monies happens next hour. we're watch for that. >>> fierce rain and hurricane-force winds killed one person. the storm toppled trees ripped roofs off homes and knocked out of power. youtube video aiken off a rooftop. and the ominous scene off the statue of liberty. you can see the violent lightning strikes. entire neighborhoods covered with downed trees and tree limbs. left several cars totaled. thousands without power. today the nation

among those on hand the two senate candidates, chris coons the democrat, christine o'donnell the republicanu have heard her name before, in wilmington, delaware, excuse me. we'll take you there live when christine o'donnell speaks later. this is not a debate. the candidates give opening statements for several races. let's get back to our conversation about the tea party. is it helpful or harmful to the republican party at large? i want to bring you up to speed, dana bash, senior congressional correspondent, everyone is talking about the race on capitol hill. she had a conversation with olympia snow, republican senator from maine who told her this "we can't be endangered if you want to be a majority party. it doesn't stand to reason that the republican party would want to exclude moderate republicans if they want to be a majority party. those are mutually exclusive propositions. ideological purity at 100% is a utopian world and i don't know who lives in utopia." yesterday jim demint backed many tea party candidates against establishment republicans. olympia snowor susan collins f they're on

right now, today, chris coons has about $945,000. what they had before the primary and now she has $845,000. does that automatically make her a force to be wrereckoned with? >> it makes her somebody democrats will have more trouble ignoring. honestly, what people have been telling me here at the value voter summit, the attacks on her from the media. i was talking to a top iowa social conservative and he said he didn't know anything about o'donnell until karl rove said she couldn't win on fox news and then he paid attention. the more she gets negative coverage, someone put to me, a cinderella. >> i was talking to tony perkins 10 or 15 minutes ago from where you're standing and he said, essentially, the same thing. the question i asked him, i would like a little more analssis from you and does it just point to the difficulties within the republican party and what people are saying, which is that when you nominate someone like this, it's much harder to get them elected. >> well, i mean, that's definitely true. what i'm saying is it's go

. >> leave it to a brave few to turn the spotlight on o'donnell's opponent chris coons. >> let's not talk about o'donnell, let's talk about the democratic challenger. >> he's a alone. >> a marxist. >> he admitted it. >> i can't even make fun of him. >> you're telling me that she's unelectable, but a marxist is? >> glenn beck is the stupidest man still breathing. 25 years ago mr. coons wrote an opinion piece for his college newspaper titled the making of a bearded marxist. except the marxist reference in the title was meant ironically, it was a joke his friends had made. mr. coons was describing his political transformation following his trip to kenya from a sheltered conservative to a person who still loved america but thought it important to occasionally question its policies. the latest polling from none other than fox news had mr. coons ahead by 15 points while 60% of likely voters think o'donnell is not qualified to serve in the senate. perhaps she just needed for face time with voters. that's the reason behind cancelling appearances on fox news sunday and face the nation. in fac

christine o'donnell is trailing chris coons. in the newest cnn/time opinion research poll.'m joined now live by deputy clinical director mark murray. good morning again. >> good morning, alex. >> why isn't christine o'donnell's message resounding with voters? >> i don't think it has anything to do with her message. just the nature of the state of delaware, which is a liberal leading state. a state that barack obama won with 62% of the vote in 2008 and also when christine o'donnell was on the senate ballot in '08 running against joe biden, she only got 35% of the vote. when you look at the man like mike castle who had been a longtime member of congress as a republican and a former governor of that state as a republican, that same poll shows him potentially beating the democrat chris coons by 18 points. it is more about her conservative positions more than necessarily the message. this is just all about having the right republican running in the right state. and it's why we heard republicans like karl rove and others say that christine o'donnell was less electable than mike c

and literally, he says, anything can happen between o'donnell and chris coons. >> has chris coons hadial situation? >> i asked a campaign aid for coons about that this afternoon and he said, no, we will not weigh in on this at all and focus in on the issues that the campaign finances are for her to deal with and they have emphatically said they have no contact with this group crew, and no allegations for them. >> and we will be moderating a debate october 14th in delaware between these two senate candidates a and that debate will originate in the university of delaware and lit ait will ai right here on cnn, and christine o'donnell, and chris coons, together n the cnn university of de d debate. >>> money in the bank is a powerful asset of any campaign, and the democratic party has more of it. they show that their three campaign parties brought in $26.7 million last month and they spent more than $25 million of it and have more than $75 million on hand. the republican party numbers are substantially lower. with about $20.6 million raised last month and more than $14 million spent just u

chris coons masturbated right before taking this picture. chris coons.g for delaware. >> jimmy: well, someone has to. [ applause ] sorry, chris. if it makes you any better, i've done it, too, all right? in mexico today, they're celebrating the bicentennial of their independence, despite mexico drowning in a major crime wave right now. the opposite is happening in the united states. the fbi reported that the national crime rate fell 5% year to year, and while a lot of credit for that goes to the police, i think it has something to do with security guards. you know, most people don't know this, but well, here at this show, our security force is one of the finest in the world. it starts at the top with uncle frank and guillermo. and then -- [ applause ] it continues through the ranks. i'm very, very proud of our security team and to demonstrate just how effective they are, we set up cameras and created scenarios in which crimes would be committed, right in front of them, just to give the world an idea of how quickly they react. our first subject is our back

chris coons, good to have you on. thanks for being with us. >> thank you.e do hope to hear from his opponent. maybe she will change her mind. >>> up next in today's decision 2010, my interview with lisa murkowski. is she abandoning her own party? >>> plus, an apology from the florida father on his tirade is gaining national attention. why he's getting support from parents across the nation. >>> but first. unga. i hate this word. it is short for the u.n. general assembly. it's happening right now in new york. leaders gather for the annual meeting with motorcades, traffic jams, road closures. we're taking our show on the road to cover the president's trip for unga week as it's known there because we want to add more chaos. >> if you have something you'd like us to clarify, send us an e-mail. >> after i work out in the morning, i'm feeling unga. we're part of nature, and as we destroy nature, we destroy ourselves. it's a selfish thing to want to protect nature. i never intended to be a businessman. we made the world's best climbing equipment out of here. we re

>> reporter: well, listen, chris coons is the executive in delaware, the northern part of the state.at he might be vulnerable for having raised taxes in order to balance the county budget. there's a problem with christine o'donnell in personal finances and one of the things you can envision is democrats saying how can you criticize chris coons forbaing the budget when you can't balance your checkbook? that sort of stuff. the polls suggest o'donnell is going to start at a decifit, that she'll be behind coons, but with all of this new enthusiasm, with all the attention, she's not only going to have wall to wall news in delaware, christine o'donnell has just become a national figure for the tea party movement and the republican nomination process into the general election. she'll get plenty of attention without the nrfc and frankly, she said as much, ready to charge on with her own rally. jon: this may be a first, i think i have political news ahead of you, but it's only because we've been having you talking for us, but it's my understanding that mitt romney has just announced he is end

she has that. >> her opponent chris coons is on the defensive himself.bed as a bearded marxist. >> i'm disappointed we're talking about the title of an article written in a student newspaper 25 years ago. it's important to speak to it and put it to bed. >> will o'donnell be able to convert coons's problems and her own buzz in an upset win. >> what's the path to victory in this race? >> has to pivot to the primary election and the general election and she needs to explain how she's going to represent the moderate's in state. how she's going to represent the state as a whole, not just the conservative republicans. >> now both sides are promising these candidates are going to go head-to-head in a series of debates including one next month on cnn. chris coons has not gone after christine o'donnell for the biggest controversies. he hasn't had to. the national democrat senate campaign arm is out with an ad this week attacking her for her financial questions. wolf? >> told she tore into the media today? >> that's right. gary tuchman was at an event she spoke to

bill: from last night's debate against her opponents, democrat chris coons, on stage as well and he's confident he can pull away without looking back: >>... the loss of the core american values and independence and self-reliance is the greatest threat to our freedom going forward, we are relienlts on foreign countries to lend us money and sustain our unsustainable federal debt and provide us with energy in the form of oil, something that continues to puts us at risk as hmong american men and women are sent overseas and frankly a loss of values in terms of how we conducted the all important war on terror. we need a strong defense. and, as john carney said and i agree, we need to be smart in how we conduct the defense and we need to do it in a way that continues to allow the rest of the world to believe that we not just say, but fight for human rights, civil liberties and the principles on which the country was founded. we have the world's greatest fighting force. we simply need to back it up, with the world's greatest principles, and how we conduct ourselves around the world. bill: all

chris coons the bearded marxist and christine o'donnell, michael from this standpoint, last night we women under attack. in this case it seems conservative christian women under attack. the fact she wants to live by her faith and she says for masturbation to take place there's got to be lust in the heart. she mocked and ridiculed on "saturday night live." same with sarah palin. why do you think that christian women seem to be under fire all the time? >> you know what, i don't have the answer. but it has happened for a long time. i think a lot of people are afraid, like i said people feel threatened by that. >> sean: i'm going to be crude and i don't care, if she said she had 100 sex partners before she got married she wouldn't be par deed on saturday night -- parodied on "saturday night live", would she? probably not. >> anybody who had the witchcraft stuff is going to get made fun of. >> sean: she made an often cuff comment. >> it is going to happen. i any it had been any democrat or republican -- >> sean: chris coons went to yale divinity, jeffrey lord wrote about this at yale divi

. >> harry reid calls chris coons his pet. delaware doesn't need a washington career politician's pet. >> i'm sure you'll say you're not on harry reid's leash. what is your relationship with the majority leader? >> well, i met the majority leader, i think, twice. he called me soon after i stepped you and entered this campaign. he offered me some personal advice and encouragement. he's been someone who has checked in regularly, offered me some encourage innocent, particularly about staying on focus. staying interested in, engaged in, responsive to the real concerns of the working people. i think that was a very unfortunate choice of words on his part and it doesn't really reflect our working relationship or how i would vote if elected to the senate. >> finally, you're going to be back here on cnn october 13th for debate between you and christine o'donnell. we're excited about that. what's one question you'd like our wolf blitzer to ask her? >> what are your ideas for how to get america back on track, to improve manufacturing to

the article was called, "chris coons: the making of a bearded marxist" and now some are coming out oft delaware's bearded marxist. >> but it turns out this bearded marxist business is bogus. back in 1985, 25 years ago, coons wrote the following for his college newspaper about spending a semester in kenya. "my friends now joke that something about kenya, maybe the strange diet or the tropical sun, change mid personality. africa

and chris coons is going to be on "the daily rundown" tomorrow.a no-harm, no-foul press release, bill clinton is responding to the jerry brown/monica lewinsky joke that went viral. he used the votes after his opponent used video circa 1992. yesterday clinton responded. >> from the '92 -- >> meg whitman made me a household face again. this meg whitman ad really got under his skin, but i understand why. it was a devastatingly good ad, if it had been accurate, you know -- and so -- but it wasn't. so i decided that i should put out a statement. then i heard about this press conference he had, and i've noun him for 34 years, and i knew exactly what happened. i'm not young and he's a couple years older than i am and he was tired and frustrated and he said something he regretted and the next day he went out and apologized for it. >> clinton hits the trail for jerry brown and his running mate who clinton originally endorsed when he was still in the governor's race, san francisco's mayor, gavin newsom. and savannah, if it's tuesday, somebody's voting somew

that online they raised more than $1 million since her primary win and also drive interests to chris coonsgn and vice president biden is appearing with him today in delaware. o'donnell is saying that the tea party interest is bringing attention, not just her, she has been a notable character who is saying she wants voters to get to know her. she promises to spell out the things that she would be willing to do and calls it a common sense approach. coons is the county executive. he is an office holder now and says he believes that there is a positive role for government, one of the big ways that he sees a division between the two. it's a big race, we're watching it and a lot more to talk about. back to you. >>> all of you watch "meet the press" this sunday former president bill clinton and retired general colin powell. if it is sunday, it's "meet the press." >>> we have this breaking news here at msnbc, further evidence of the consolidation of the domestic and international airline industry. we're told continental shareholders have approved to combine united airlines and continental airlines

harry reid calls chris coons his pet. delaware doesn't need a washington career politician's pet. >> reporter: reid didn't really call him his pet, did he? yes, he did and i bet he regrets its. on september 11th, senate majority leader harry reid says, i'll be very honest with you. chris coons, he's my pet. he's my favorite candidate. so this ad is also, when we throw it on our big scale, pretty much right on. and i think the rumble in delaware can just continue to roll on and we'll see a lot more of it based on your panels tonight. >> it's interesting, christine o'donnell tonight references that pet remark. obviously we'll be hearing a lot of that from her in the days and weeks ahead. tom, thanks. >>> randi kaye joins us with the 360 news and business bulletin. what's going on? >> hi, there. confirmation from the group that tracks recessions that the latest one ended last summer spanning 18 months. it was the worst economic downturn since the great depression. >>> stocks rallied on the news. all three indexes reached fou

. >> her opponent, chris coons is still talking on the daily rundown he said christine's recent statementseople think. >> i do think folks should look hard at christine o'donnell's current statements, her experience, her qualifications but ultimately this is a decision the voters have to make november 2nd. >> kelly o'donnell is in washington. so no more national interviews for o'donnell but she got in one last jab at her opponent? >> of course she had a forum on fox news with sean hannity to talk about the race. a loft the criticism of her had been very personal and not about her ideas and talked a lot about her views on taxes and so forth, and she did, of course, take that moment to separate herself from chris coons, a county executive in delaware, and she talked about him in a way that was not so flattering, i think we have a clip of that. >> there is a stark contrast between my opponent and me. he's called harry reid's pet, you know. >> i've heard that. >> harry reid's word, i'm not mudslinging here. you have to wonder what sort of strange conversations went on to lead to harry reid cal

just last night she faced off against chris coons in her first debate.omy and health care. both used the opportunity to say they wanted to focus on their policies, not statements from their past. take a listen. >> you have taken a strong stance in the past about people's private sexual behavior. what do you think the role of government is in regulating these matters. >> it's personal. >> i agree with you. it's personal. >> these questions come from statements i made over 15 years ago. i was in my 20s and very excited and passionate about my new-found faith. but i assure you my faith has matured and when i go to washington, d.c., it will be the constitution on which i base all of my decisions, not my personal beliefs. >> it's my hope that in the general election campaign, my opponent and i can focus on our policy proposals, on the constructive ideas that we've got for how to get this idea back on track, how to create jobs and how to manage federal spending and reduce our debt. those are the sorts of things i know delaware wants to hear. i don't think they

harry reid calls chris coons his pet. sn't need a washington career politician's pet. >> reid didn't really call chris c co-ons his pet, did he? yes, he did and i bet he regrets its. on september 11th, senate majority leader harry reid told "the hill newspaper," "i'll be honest with you, chris coons, everybody knows him in the democratic caucus, he's my pet. he's my favorite candidate." so this ad is also, when we throw it on our big scale, pretty much right on. and i think the rumble in delaware can just continue to roll on and we'll see a lot more of it based on your panels tonight. >> it was also interesting, christine o'donnell tonight referencing that pet remark. obviously, that's going to be playing. we're going to be hearing a lot from her in the days and weeks ahead. tom, thanks. following several other stories right now. randi kaye joins us with the "360" news and business bulletin. randi, what's going on? >> hi there, anderson. >>> koc confirmation today from the group that tracks recessions that the latest one e

boy what a break for chris coons this whole thing has been. he's a double digit leader now.rdball" back after this. [ male announcer ] you are a business pro. lord of the carry-on. sovereign of the security line. you never take an upgrade for granted. and you rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle. and go. you can even take a full-size or above. and still pay the mid-size price. i deserve this. [ male announcer ] you do, business pro. you do. go national. go like a pro. be they big or small, romantic or steamy, they all start with an embrace. venus embrace. it's our closest shave for your closest moments. venus embrace. reveal the goddess in you. venus embrace. >>> we get it. we get it. and this is why when we outlined in here, our pledge to america, i can tell you, we are very serious about implementing our pledge. >> i love it they take off the suits when they get serious. welcome back to "hardball." that was house republican leader john boehner introducing the republicans' pledge to america and here's what congressman james clyburn

boy what a break for chris coons this whole thing has been. he's a double digit leader now. "hardball" back after this. [ amy ] as a dietitian, all of my patients are my top priority. but one patient is my favorite... my mother. last year mom needed additional nutrition so i recommended boost nutritional drink. and she still drinks it every day. [ male announcer ] boost has 26 vitamins & minerals and calcium to help keep bones strong... and 10g of protein to help maintain muscle. making it the perfect compliment to your daily routine. [ amy ] boost drink gives my favorite patient the complete nutrition she needs to keep doing the things she loves. >>> we get it. we get it. and this is why when we outlined in here, our pledge to america, i can tell you, we are very serious about implementing our pledge. >> i love it they take off the suits when they get serious. welcome back to "hardball." that was house republican leader john boehner introducing the republicans' pledge to america and here's what congressman james clyburn of south carolina had to say about it. >> after readin

seen as having a very good chance against the democrat in that race, chris coons.ess, defeated by christine o'donnell, the tea party-endorsed very, very conservative candidate in delaware. right now with 99% of precincts in, that's probably all we're going to get. 53 to 47 christine o'donnell over mike castle. tonight the field of candidates for this year's elections all over the country is getting that much clearer. the nominations are nearly all in. there is one more runoff in louisiana. there is one more primary in hawaii. but tonight is the last big night of primaries. after the ballots have been set, we will essentially have both the democrats and the republicans' starting lineup, that they'll each be sending to the plate in november. at the start of primary season, republicans were given a not unreasonable, but not sure thing chance of regaining a majority in either the house or less likely in the senate. where does the likelihood stand now? joining us now is nate silver, the 538 blog which now lives at the "new york times" website. thank you so much for your

. >> the democrats might be in trouble if they get chris coons and-- >> you have clearly bad candidates in all parties. >> jon: you said something interesting, christine o'donnell is every woman. is that not what voters want? >> no. >> she clearly struck a chord with people. there's something about her situation, her struggle. three times she tries it, yet, she clearly resonates and why don't we recognize that, can she beat a democrat in a general election? i think that karl rove is right. >> if the media didn't have the distraction of rove for deepers reasons not just 51 seats in the senate, this tea party movement is a repudiation not just of obama, but karl rove and the bush policies. i think if the media would stop focusing on that, if we didn't have the deep division and public trashing of her and she could if the g.o.p. was behind her and the earned attention and media she gets this is the rah is that would determine control in the senate, could-- >> i do, too. >> i don't really want to be the defender of karl rove here. and i'm sure many people for that role, but you do have to s

comes against the backdrop of a new fox poll that shows her 15 points behind her democratic rival chris coons. the margin right now, 54/39 with 6 weeks to go till election day >>> larry summers, president obama's top economic adviser is stepping down at the end of the year. the white house said yesterday that summers will be returning to his position as a professor at harvard university. in a statement, the president says he is grateful for summers' service during what he calls a time of great peril for the country. summers is now the third out of four key economic advisers to leave the obama administration just this year. this comes after the departure of former budget director peter orszag and of christina romer, the former chair of economic advisers. now only tim geithner remains in place from that original core. meanwhile, it's the administration looking for ways to jump-start the economy and a new reuters poll shows 68% of americans believes lowering taxes will create jobs in the country and 68% say reducing the deficit will help. >>> president obama heads to new york this afternoon to s

>> chris coons is up by 11 points.his is a race that a lot of people are talking about, but it's really not one of the most competitive races in the country right now. there's a lot more competition in places like west virginia and wisconsin than there is in delaware. megyn: how do you rate that race? is it a toss up? what is it? >> in delaware we're saying right now that race is solidly in the democratic column. megyn: okay. we'll see whether you are right as we approach november 2nd. >> hope you're feeling better. megyn: thank you, sir. well, they were accused of brutally attacking a suspect after a high-speed chase through the streets of dallas. two police officers -- actually three -- are facing criminal charges for this beatdown caught on tape, but now one officer says he did nothing wrong. that's next in kelly's court, and you can go to foxnews.com/america live, click our on the docket section and read up on the case during the break. the gavel drops next. ancial heas can be unsettling. but what if therwere a dif

chris coons, everybody knows him in the democratic caucus, he's my pet. no, no.ng to help any candidate, to be harry reid's pet? harry reid, though. let's talk about harry reid and live in the moment instead of going back to bill maher clips. this is harry reid on senator gillibrand. mika? >> i'm sorry. we in the senate refer to senator gillibrand as the hottest member. >> as the hottest member. >> medication is wearing off. reality is slapping me in the face. >> he's calling a u.s. senator the hottest -- do they have votes in the back, a calendar? >> she is adorable, but my god, does that matter? >> at least he wouldn't say something like that about hispanics. obviously in nevada hispanics -- you just don't do that. >> okay. let's see what he said here. >> did he say something about hispanics. >> i don't know how anyone of hispanic heritage could be a republican, okay? do i need to say more. >> calling marco rubio -- wow. at least, the senate majority leader of the united states, he may have said derogatory things about women and he may have said derogatory thin

. >> reporter: and that's giving new life to the democrat in the race, chris coons. >> she's a difficult sort of republican than i expected. >> reporter: republicans have a narrow window to take back the senate and it involves picking up ten seats. if they don't win in delaware, that window is all but closed, katie? >> couric: nancy cordes on capitol hill. nancy, thanks very much. jeff greenfield is our is senior political correspondent, bob schieffer our chief washington correspondent and anchor of "face the nation." jeff, let me start with you. tea party supporters, as we've seen, have taken down a number of more established republican candidates who seem to have a better chance of winning in the general election. why have they been so influential? >> because, katie, primarily the tea party folks are not republicans, they're conservative anti-establishment types. types and here's one key. while our poll shows most americans favor a smaller government over a bigger one with more services, tea party folks feel overwhelmingly that way and they're angry at republicans republicans who back

politico obtained this article, "the making of a bearded marxist," where the democratic candidate, chris coons, wrote in his college paper that "my own favorite beliefs in the miracles of free enterprise and the boundless opportunities to be had in america might be largely untrue." not surprisingly, coons says he won't make an issue out of old comments. we'll see. in this race, you never know what else is out there. jonathan karl, abc news, capitol hill. >>> and as you know, one flash point for opponents and supporters of president obama has been health care reform. well, mark this week because this thursday, the new law begins to take effect for american families. and a quick list now of what will happen as of this thursday. on thursday, your insurance company can no longer cancel coverage for people who are sick, or set a limit, a cap, on your lifetime benefits. your children can stay on your policy until they're 26 years old. and children with pre-existing conditions can no longer be denied coverage. and tomorrow and all this week, we're going to bring you a deeper look at how each of these