we'll show you a couple of ads running in delaware from christians and christine o'donnell. -- chris ons and christine o'donnell. >> in america where jobs are being a lost and we just cut, families are losing their homes, there is one man who raised

christine o'donnell faced off with democrat, chris kunes. >> good morning. the two sparred over the economy, health care. o'donnell ended up backinging off some of her more controversial social views on evolution and the military. he was forced to defend his record in delaware on raising taxes. this race may be most remembered for her "i am not a witch" advertisement. last night, christine o'donnell did some name-calling of her own based on a newspaper article that he wrote in college. >> they jokingly called me a bearded marxist. if you take five minutes and read the article, it is clear on the face of it it is a joke. >> you writing an article saying you learned your beliefs from an articulate marxist professor. that's what made you become a democrat. that should send chills up the spine of every delaware voter. >> the other tea party race to watch is a debate between sharron angle and harry reid. democrats plan to sink $2 million into ads supporting reed. sarah palin will be coming in on sharron angle's behalf. >>> last night on "the last word" with lawren

chris: norah o'donnell? >> no. >> no. look at karl rove. >> rove is the king to feel king makers. chris: thumbs down on her. what a great battle before her and what she calls the boys club. that's the show. thanks for watching.

of the the mainstream of pennsylvania. >> chris: i want to get into your record first and then to joe sestack's. you say you disagree with christine o'donnell on what? >> i think that, you know, some of the accusations that joe sestack was attributing to her which that i don't share those views. >> chris: any in particular? >> i think there was some reference to repealing one of the amendments and a question about the first amendment. you know, this is nothing that i have ever spoken about or agreed with. >> chris: okay. let's talk about your record now. you ran -- sure. >> chris: you ran the club for growth here in washington for several years which is very tough on taxes and that has become an issue in this campaign. joe sestack has been running a clip of you from a few years ago. let's watch. >> i would disagree with the idea that we want to have a corporate tax burden at all. it just doesn't make sense. i think the solution is to eliminate corporate taxes all together. >> chris: seriously, no corporate income tax. that brings in about $300 billion a year to the federal treasury. >> chris, this was perhaps inartful on my part but neverth

o'donnell faces. 57% to 38%. so almost a 20-point lead there for chris coons going in. ine o'donnell ad where she says, i'm you, to the people of delaware. they don't see it that way. who understands the needs and problems of people like you? chris coons, the democrat winning 54% to 34%. those poll numbers shows what she fays tonight. my first job was to cover the bill clinton white house. one of the defining stories was the war against the former yugoslavia that ended up creating the independent kosovo. hillary clinton went to kosovo and can show us a picture of the statue they built there to former president clinton. a great shot. the photo of secretary of state clinton. you want to get a closer look at that. go to cnn.com/johnking -- usa. isn't that a fascinating photo there. >> cute picture. >> that was one of the defining stories in those days. >>> you came to cnn to cover the clinton white house. a mere child, a prodigy. that's why you're so young now. there is some polling that suggests -- i talked to gloria borger and david gergen. suggests that o'donnell, she be

i'm here on the campus, the site of the big debate between the two candidates, christine o'donnell and chrisive you that locally. meanwhile, a lot to talk about this morning. let's get right down to it. christine o'donnell, the republican tea party favorite taking off the gloves on the debate aired here on cnn. the tea party comparing her democratic opponent to carl marx. and chris coons calling her an extremist. >>> they are all out, the nation of chile exhaling this morning. all 33 trapped miners are free after a flawless day-long rescue operation. their children, newborn babies, wives, even a mistress waiting. some of the miners may leave the hospital today. we are in chile with the latest this morning. >> also, apple reaching new highs. this is the time when you say, why, why didn't i buy ten years ago? well, the stock closing at just over $300 a share. quite a feat for a company worth only $7 a share ten years ago. wow, so what's behind the benchmark? we're going to take a look at that as well. don't you wish, john, that you knew way back then what we know now? >> i wish i would have kn

and let's take a look at chris o'donnell and her attempt to remake her image. >> sure. >> i'm not a witch none of us can be happy with what we see all around us, politicians who think spending, trading favors and backroom deals are the way to stay in office. i'll go to washington and do what you would do. >> well -- >> well, that's it. >> and we have a new "washington post" poll which shows a real narrowing. is that a real amount of progress for the democrats, or is this just the normal seasonal adjustment. >> first on christine o'donnell. that's probably the first and last ads in a campaign that will begin, i'm not a witch. history has been made. i city think she's a long shot, andrea. she's very likely to not win. "washington post" poll. democrats are making up some ground. i think their base is coming home for them a little bit, to be expected, but don't -- we can't overstate this. republicans have a 13-point lead in the generic ballot in the early september poll. it's six now. six still likely means that republicans win the house. so the celebrating for democrats might be a little bit

christine o'donnell debate -- chris koontz -- coons and christine o'donnell debate. after that, a debate to replace kit bond. tomorrow night, c-span's campaign 2010 coverage continues with a live kentucky senate debate between democrat jack conway and republican rand paul, and buying to replace retiring senator jim bunning. watch that debate live at 7:00 p.m. eastern here later on, another live debate between washington senate candidates, incumbent patty murray and her challenger dino rossi. senator murray is running for fourth term. mr. rossi is a former nominee for washington governor, but lost twice. the bay -- the debate can be seen live at 10:00 p.m. eastern tomorrow night on c-span. >> "q&a" sunday -- justice stephen breyer. >> it is sometimes hard to avoid your basic values, how you see the country, how you see the relationship between law and the average person in this country, what you think law is about -- those basic, fundamental, legal and political values i think are part of you and they will sometimes influenced an approach where the question is very --

chris coons. alex witt picks that up. is in the national spotlight. christine o'donnellthe issue and whether cons is a marc marxist. all this and more as o'donnell gets stumped on a supreme court decision she disagrees with. >>> and the world witnesses a miracle, the miners making out safely. what is next for the famous 33? >>> is the help for homer ones coming too late? with foreclosures topping a record, were banks being sloppy? we will break it down for you in just a couple minutes. oh fudge, nothing without a big miles upcharge. it's either pay their miles upcharges or connect through mooseneck! [ freezing ] i can't feel my feet. we switched to the venture card from capital one -- so no more games. let's go see those grandkids. [ male announcer ] don't pay miles upcharges. don't play games. get the flight you want with the venture card at capitalone.com. [ loving it ] help! what's in your wallet? but basically, i'm a runner. last year. (oof). i had a bum knee that needed surgery. but it got complicated, because i had an old injury. so i wanted a doctor who had done t

it shows that chris coons now is way ahead of christine o'donnell by 19 points. consistent of other polls we've seen, 57% for chris coons, 38% for christine o'donnell. doesn't mean she can't come back almost three weeks to go. but this is a formidable uphill struggle she has right now. >> this is a state in which a moderate republican was expected to win this year, wolf. mike castle, multi-term incumbent congressman. and it's clearly a state in a could have gone republican. what she's got to do is change the narrative in this debate. it can't be who she is. it has to be about what she can do for the state of delaware if she were to become a united states senator. looking at that poll, wolf, i have to say she has some tough questions. >> we will be asking some tough questions. domestic issues, national security issues. we'll get through that. that debate begins 7:30 p.m. eastern. gloria will be here as well. we'll have extensive coverage as well. a quick break. when we come back, we'll go back to chile. there are dramatic developments unfolding right now. 24 miners

chris coons versus christine o'donnell. we did interview chris coons today. ng to interview christine o'donnell. but, as you can see -- she is not here. and so tonight we turn to two star delaware journalist who is are on the christine o'donnell beat such as that it is. joining us from the wilmington news journal are ron williams, a political columnist and reporter ginger gibson. ron and ginger, thank you for being here. neither of you have been to this bar before, right? ron, let me start with you. we are hearing reports tonight that christine o'donnell has scheduled an event that will be open to the public in newark tomorrow. that, as far as we can tell, marks a real change of pace for her since the primary. she hasn't been publicly campaigning, has she? >> no, she hasn't. >> is there a cost to that? >> i think there will be eventually if she doesn't get off the dime and get out. i'm not sure what her reasoning is because she went on national television and said that she was going to do the local -- she was going to quit the national campaigning, the nationa

last night, christine o'donnell and chris coons faced off in delaware. date sparred for about an hour after -- they sparred for about an hour and half. christine o'donnell joked that he was not on "saturday night live" like she was. >> to some extent, i am still fighting my party. when i go to washington, my allegiance will be to the voters of delaware, not special interests. >> i have a real record of having reached bipartisan solutions in county government, working with elected republicans who served with me on county council and while i was to the executive. >> the candidates are vying for the senate seat once held by vice president joe biden. chris coons has a double-digit lead over christine o'donnell. soon-to-be former school chancellor is now a national figure. michelle rhee is already speaking out about the state of america's schools. courtney robinson has more. >> there are many questions for d.c. public schools chancellor michelle rhee. this morning she appeared on "good morning america." >> what we knew we wanted was minimal disruption to the s

tonight it will probably go down as one of the craziest political debates of the year christine o'donnell and chris coons debated in delaware last night and some o'donnell's comments in the debate they were beyond strange they were so we're going to try to dissect what the hell she was talking about with wonkette servant causing next. wealthy british style. it's time to. go already. market why not. find out what's really happening to the global economy with my stronger no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune in to conjure reports on our. forty two thousand americans die each year six thousand. seven hundred thousand people. and thirty two thousand will kill themselves cancer in all its forms kills five hundred sixty thousand of us here part is easy the more devastating it kills over eight hundred seventy thousand americans every year. yesterday we told you about the media frenzy surrounding the chilean miners rescue reporters and photographers were literally fighting each other all for the sake of getting that golden first interview now the very intense media environment had the

no chris toon o'donnell witch costumes. >> i can tell you i certainly am not going to be a witch. >>r: but the d.c. standards are hot sellers. >> clinton semis all the time. nixon semis. he's got a good nose. >> reporter: still not satisfied? >> i'm not too big on politics. i'm big on unicorns. >> reporter: that's one yunique choice. any famous dead celebrity. why a unicorn? >> because they're majestic. >> reporter: of course. but there is one other thing to consider. the unnecessarily sexy costume. wait, there's a sexy sponge bob? it's become a popular halloween trend. taking g-rated characters and turning them raunchy. there's a viral youtube parody. >> sexy palace guard! sexy abe lincoln. >> wouldn't you like to four score with me? >> it's not quite like stripper ware but it's -- >> reporter: sex sells at halloween. so you have an entire section devoted to pimp costumes. >> yes. >> reporter: and then there are other ones that make you go -- what? no matter your choice, americans will spend nearly $6 billion on costumes, candy and decorations this year, about $66 each. or, in "jers

this is chris teeb o'donnell playing defense. her second tv ad a bit of a biography here. let's listen. >> i didn't go to yale. i didn't inherit millions like my opponent. i'm you. i know how tough it is to make and keep a dollar. when some tried to push me from this race, they saw what i was made of, and so will the senate if they try to increase our taxes one more dime. i'm christine o'donnell and i approve this message. i'm you. >> well, alex do you feel like she's a sister in america there? i guess if you didn't go to yale and you didn't inherit a lot of money you're with 99.99% of america. therefore, she's with us. >> i did not, actually, in fact, go to yale. i found it interesting that the person who led voters to believe she went to ex ford and princeton university and clarmont is now talking a big game about being salt of the earth and not having gone to yale. the gop's latest crop is nothing new. remember sarah palin? she went to five schools. two in hawaii, two in idaho and one in alaska. played that like i am everybody else. i am making my way in the world. and

republican tea partier christine o'donnell versus democrat chris coons.onight the two a faced off in a debate for the first time at the university of delaware. going into the debate, chris coons led christine o'donnell in the polls by an average of 19 points. 56 to 37. the debate played to a packed house, campus tickets sold out in less than ten minutes on monday. university of delaware students were obviously hoping to have some fun. christine o'donnell did not disappoint. >> there's been lots of discussion in the national media about things my opponent has said or done that i think are distractions, from the core issues that delawareans were asked about. >> you're just jealous you were not made fun of "on saturday night live." >> hear now the one person standing between christine o'donnell and the united states senate, delaware's new castle county executive chris coons. chris coons, i know every candidate leaves the debate stage beating themselves up over something they should have said. what are you beating yourself up over, what do you wish you had sa

thr focus was the delaware senate race where chris coons is ahead over christine o'donnell. you might wonder why waste your firepower there? remember, it is biden's old senate seat. this one is personal. >> but folks, i mean what i say and i'm telling you, wilmington's coming back, delaware's coming back, the united states of very is coming back. >> sarah palin was in california last night and has campaigned coast to coast this midterm election year. but we have a new glimpse of the former alaska governor's new reality tv show, where she makes the case there's no place like home. >> i would rather be doing this than in some stuffy old political office. i would rather be out here being free. >> also tonight, a political drama in the california governor's race that requires a little flashback to fully understand. running for president back in 1992, bill clinton had nothing but scorn for jerry brown. >> but you ought to be ashamed of yourself for jumping on my wife. you're not worth being on the same platform. >> just last month, brown made clear the bad blood still lingers. ye

. >> delaware senate candidate christine o'donnell and chris coons faced off and during the 90 minutes republican o'donnell went on the offensive attacking chris coons as a career politician with marxist views. >> i would remiss not to bring up the fact that my opponent has recently said that it was studying under a marxist professor that made him become a democrat. when you look at his position on things like raising taxes, not supporting eliminating the death tax, i would argue that there are more people who support my catholic faith than his marxist beliefs. >> i am not now nor have ever been but a clean shaven capitalist. >> let say you were back stage, perhaps advising christine o'donnell watching the debate what would you say? >> so, i think that we were just talking about that which is real, that which is authentic. her great asset is this strain that i think her ad team has been pulling out. i am you. i don't think explaining marxism to the voters of delaware is along those lines and i think that she should stay in her sweet spot here and the moments where she's relatable are t

the big debate between christine o'donnell and chris coons, they battled last night. f the action. this is christine o'donnell in life. here she is. >> there's been lots of discussion in the national media about things my opponent has said or done that i think are a distraction from the core issues. >> you're just jealous that you weren't on "saturday night live." >> i'm dying to see who's going to play me. >> if you're saying what i said on a comedy show is -- forget the bearded marxist comment, you writing an article saying you learned from a marxist professor, that should send chills up the spine of every delaware voter. >> throwing names around. that one will not determine who controls it. let's turn to chuck todd and "the washington post" chris cillizza. chuck, it looks like that race is stuck around close to 20 points for chris coons. this is one of the luckiest people on planet earth election cycle. it's a terrible year year for democrats with the exception of chris coons. >> anytime you see candidates think about, i don't know if i'm going to run this year. wel

there voters are choosing between christine o'donnell and chris coons. l has made controversial headlines. our jim acosta caught up with her and asked her about one of the more high-profile supporters, an that's sarah palin. >> reporter: does she advise your campaign? >> she does not. >> reporter: does she give you advice? >> she gives me you . through fox news? >> she didn't tell me personally, but i heard her say something like that on o'reilly. if anyone knows about the politics of personal destruction, it's women candidates, women politicians like sarah palin. >> reporter: mitch mcdonnell or jim demint? >> i don't know yet. is jim demint running? >> reporter: you tell me. >> i honestly don't know. i love senator demint, i love what he does. he's a principled man, but what i have had said when people asked me who i would support in leadership, i don't know that as an outsider. right now i'm a candidate not a u.s. senator. >> reporter: is the unemployment problem barack obama's fall or george bush's? >> it's a combination of politicians losing their way

chris kuhn. >> khristine o'donnell has appeared on bill maher's show at least 22 times. he said he will continue playing the eclipse until she agreed to come back on the show. >> president obama wants community colleges to pass a tough new test. how it could impact your family. >> and disaster in the gulf. the new worry tonight over who is getting relief money. >> get in and drive away, why these new tack -- high-tech cars are going the distance. >> still a little chilly out there, but if you like warm temperatures and a sunny there, but if you like warm temperatures and a sunny four years ago, bob ehrlich got fired as governor of maryland. for good reason. first, he protected tax loopholes for giant cable cable companies. then, he let utilities jack up our rates 72%. and for the last four years, he worked as a hired gun for big corporations, even a bank that took billions from a taxpayer funded bailout. ehrlich sides with corporate executives again and again and again tell bob ehrlich big banks and billionares don't need help. middle class marylanders do. two governors,

a new calendar with mo williams is being reprinted. >>> christine o'donnell takes to the stage to debate her democratic opponent, chris we will have highlights of last night's back and forth, which included accusations of marks sichl and jealousy of o'donnell's new found stardom. >>> the dramatic conclusion of the miner whose wife and mistress were waiting anxiously for him to come out of the mine. one of the women was there to hug him. which one was it? the answer when "way too early" comes back. [ kim's friend ] people know a lot about kim. they know that she always forgets where she puts her "magic wand"... but when she finds it, she makes magic happen. [ kim ] people know a lot of things about me, but no one needs to know about my condition. thanks to depend®, they don't. [ female announcer ] now the best protection also comes in new prints and colors. >>> that was 54-year-old luis urzua. the last chilean miner to be freed. a rescue effort that was much faster than anticipated. tell your friends it took 22 hours and 37 minutes all told to free the 33 miners. each trip lasted an average of 15 minutes as the miners

chris coons and michelle o'donnell each tried to win over independence. >> when i go to washington, my allegiance will be to the voters of delaware and not special interests. >> i have a practical record of reaching a bipartisan solution, of working with the elected republicans that serve with me. >> the races john nation wide interest because of the divisions between the republican establishment and a tea party movement. >> it this 4:49. outside, we have 55 degrees. >> it is home to one of the best burgers in d.c. it is shutting down we will tell you why. >> we will check on the weather and traffic every 10 minutes. we have rain moving >> welcome back. 4:52 is your time. we have re moving in. >> we should have our umbrella handy. crackben >> i think the heaviesn will be between 8:00 a.m. and it to o'clock p.m. -- and 2:00 p.m. some rain is yardy moving into culpeper county. it is continuing to push up to the east and north east. the yellow is the moderate range. it is 48 degrees f in cumberland. let's go to the map. the high pressure system from yesterday's pushing up to the east. new

this is delaware pitting chris kuntz against christine o'donnell.quaring off this weekend at 7:30 in debate. moderated by our own wolf blitzer. how do you other than every single detail in this race, how does one prepare to be a moderator over the debate? >> i've done several debates over the years with other election cycles. it's very hard. you want to make sure you get the issues to be minds of the voters and very often they're carefully negotiated, the rules between the two candidates. for example, in delaware, the agreement between chris kuntz and christine o'donnell campaigns is that the moderator will ask a question to specifically one of the candidates that have two minutes to respond. the other candidate will have a one-minute response to that. an open discussion. everyone getting involved and thrashing out the issue. jobs, economy, national security, social security. whatever the issues are, it will be whole segments. if you add that up, that's seven minutes to go through one subject. you go through, you plan, and you try to make the most o

the witchcraft comments by christine o'donnell. for chrisnts trying to brand him as a bearded marxist during his college years, certainly that is expected to come up. but we're also expecting to hear some pretty substantive questions having to do with topics like social security and also a lot of foreign policy matters. north korea, iran, and, of course, afghanistan and iraq. so we are expecting to hear in these very substantive areas where these candidates stand. >> yeah, we need that. we really do need that. brianna keilar with us from delaware. and don't forget to tune into cnn tonight, 7:30 eastern, the debate hosted by wolf blitzer at 7:30 eastern time. >>> we are monitoring the rescues of the miners for you. and we are right now waiting for miner number 17 to be extricated. we will take you back. the very moment we see that miner. but right now, let's do this. let's take you back to the moment the very first miner stepped out of the rescue capsule. >> that is miner number one, florenceo avalos, 31 years old, coming out of the earth lik

it's about that delaware race, christine o'donnell against chris coons. ttributes her success, is there evidence to support that? >> i think there is evidence to suggest that she was able to mobilize nontraditional republican primary voters and they doubled the turn out over i think what there had been in the last midterm election. that being said her chance for victory, jon, which is i think she is a distinct underdog. that chance for victory is based upon the same phenomenon repeating itself in the election. it's nontraditional voters turn out for christine o'donnell, they have a -- she have a chance to win where now people like christine o'donnell are underdogs. jon: they are writing about the prospects of a third party and the question goes sort of like this from a bunch of people. democrats have had their shot for the last few years. hreps -- republicans may get a shot in the next election. if they don't deliver what are the chances of a third party arising? >> to start off with i would say that the chances are pretty low just because throughout the h

a new reports say o'donnell outraised chris coons by a 2 to 1 margin. we'll bring in mark here. christine o'donnell, really staggered financials, $3.8 million, and that's during the last three months. that's more than double the coons campaign. where is the money coming from? >> it is coming from outside of delaware. the same story is taking place in nevada where sharron angle was able to use her conservative stardom into raising a lot of money from outside of this state. this is one of the phenomenons we have seen of the tea parties really able to generate a lot of money for their candidates. it has been a big phenomenon. really tapping into what we saw president obama tap into in 2008. christine o'donnell trails chris coons in the polls. she's the big underdog in the race. >> polls show her down by roughly 20% minus a point or two here or there. how do you spend almost $4 million in 17 days to come out of that? >> well, you just run a lot of tv ads. of course, we have seen a lot of her tv ads where she stairs in the camera and says she's not a witch. i'm sure we'll see other tv

it's not a surprise when we see chris see o'donnell dabbling in witchcraft and rand paul, i think it's turning off moderate republicans. i think the issue is less about the money and more about the sentiment going into november 2. >> antibusiness senator of the united states senate is a democratic majority leader from his position on taxes and spending and regulation and financial regulatory reform, from health care, from stimulus, trillion dollars that's not generated any sort of expansion in the jobs, harry reid is the issue in this election. you may be able to make that argument in delaware with christine o'donnell, who is a much more marginally important seat. but democratic majority leader, it really doesn't matter who is running against him. he's unpopular across the board and i think you'll see him lose. if i have to be in vegas, i would bet on sharron angle. >> i think regardless of what you think of harry reid, it's hard to make an argument that he hasn't done a lot for nevada in a difficult economy. he supported the stimulus, which has provided thousands of jobs for people th

christine o'donnell taking on chris coons. the latest polls have coons with a comfortable lead. he has had it all along. now he's up 18 points to the real clear politics average. the candidates debated twice in the last 24 hours. tonight, james rose season in wilmington with a complete wrap-up. >> christine o'donnell found solace after she told a televised debate audience somewhat mysteriously she is still fighting against her own par thety. then she singled out the senator committee. >> the democratic party running ads against me, the republican party on the state level. neither has come in to help close gap in the polls. the nrst refuses to play and that baffles me. >> wednesday's 90-minute exchange with democrat chris coons, county executive, grew combative as o'donnell attacked and coons the fluid debater eresponded in kind. >> a career politician who has given he knows how to play the i'll scratch your back, you scratch my game. >> o'donnell has experience running for office but not running anything. >> they both stumbled when o'donnell couldn't name a recent supreme court

chris coons and christine o'donnell, a lot of debate over the role and reach of government.ll put the government between you and your doctor. >> uncle sam has no business coming in the examination room, coming between you and your doctor and that's what this bill does. >> that's a great slogan, but how does this bill put uncle sam in the examination room? >> what kind of -- >> and if so, why did the organization that fights for and represents america's nurses, seniors, hospitals and doctors all endorse and support this bill? >> and many of those branches on the state level including here in delaware have said we don't support what the national office has done. >> you see the flash point there in delaware and this is playing out across the country. republicans making the case there's too much government power and influence in the new bill. democrats are saying wait a minute, maybe you don't like the fact congress passed this bill, but the government isn't going to get between you and your doctor. one of the flash points, christine o'donnell says there's been too much governme

. >>> i'm chris jansing this is jansing and company. we have nora o'donnell, summer con nish, joe hagan, fred davis and the reverend al sharpton will join us to talk about how he's trying to get voters of all political stripes to the polls. the bun disare asking was there a knockout blow in last night's debate? well, it's the political fight everybody in the country is watching. nevada, sharron angle, heirry reid. they've been trading jabs, millions in ads over the airwaves. last night finally they did it in person. angle mostly on the attack. reid tried to paint his republican challenger as extreme. >> all these things i've talked about, my opponent is against those. she wouldn't do that. my job is to create jobs. what she's talking about is extreme. >> harry reid, it's not your job to create jobs. it's your job to create policies that create the confidence for the private sector to create those jobs. >> joining us now, msnbc's chief washington correspondent norah o'donnell, nationally syndicated radio talk show host michael summer con nish and ezra klein co

sparks did light up the stage last night between christine o'donnell and chris coons. ad by stating "i am not a witch." she's said evolution is a myth. last night, no major gaffs by either side. both of them managed a laugh or two. listen in. >> they jokingly called be a bearded marxist. if you read the article, it's clear it was a joke. despite that, my opponent and lots of folks in the right wing media have endlessly spun this. i am not now nor have i ever been anything but a clean-shaven capitalist. >> well, i would -- i would stand to disagree because, first of all, if you're saying what i said on a comedy show is relevant to this election, then absolutely you writing an article, forget the bearded markemar marxist comment. you said that you learned your belief from a marxist professor. that should send chills up the spine of avenue delaware voteve >> if it were true, i'd agree. >> by the way, the seat that coons and o'donnell are fighting over is the one that was formerly held by vice president biden. >>> right now, foreclosure filings and bank repossessions skyroc

chris koons. koons faces christine o'donnell. >>> just as to promise officials will appeal a court ruling that would end the u.s. military "don't ask, don't tell" policy. one of the plaintiffs is speaking. now the story. >>> two days after the "don't ask, don't tell" policy would continue, the obama administration urged the judge to let the military continue its ban on gays serving openly as the appeals process plays out. later the president was challenged on whether he remains committed. >> i think that people are born with a certain make up and we are all children of god. we don't make determinations about who we love. >> the pentagon says that the military will help enforcement. >> i am proud to see the laforce bowing out of its way to say that we need to comply with the the ruling. >> this man was discharged eight years ago. 65,000 gay u.s. service members on a roller-coaster. >> there is panic, not knowing what is going to happen next but they will do to you. >> he's urging others not to come out. >> they should operate as if nothing has changed. >> while the president said suddenly ending the

how much of that conscious dynamic do you see here, when chris team o'donnell at one time pretty much dedicated her life to anti-gay work. when as josh just pointed out, there was no dog whistles. this was flat homophobic language you'd by this candidate for new york? >> well, i think you see some of it. whether it's conscious, whether it's part of a campaign strategy or not, you're going to see some of it, especially in the closing days of this campaign, when people want try to rally the base. but i think the difference this year is that it's not really going to work. we've made -- despite the fact that people in the gay rights movement are upset with president obama for not doing enough, the truth is that the country, culturally, has come -- has made a lot of progress, even since earlier in 2006. and what we have to do now is keep making that progress. and it would be really a shame to go back. but if the republicans -- if this kind of talk and if these so-called fiscal conservatives push the republican party in a direction of social conservatism, you're going to see a congress that

. >> bill: christine o'donnell 20 points down in delaware now going after chris coons.t. >> in delaware the economy is suffering and families are losing their homes... there is one man against the tide and raised taxes. hide if you will. hide your light. because he's taxing everything out here. chris coons is the tax man. >> made to look like a preview. it's slick very to say. >> now, here is the question. miss o'donnell running way behind in the points. >> 20 points. >> bill: delaware has a favorable rating for president obama. it's 48 favorable. 45 unfavorable. most other states switched. and his favoribility is lower. i don't know and it's a tiny state like delaware it can put her over the top. >> i don't node. the ad is a slick ad. i'm sure it costs a fortune. and we tried to find out how much it was and couldn't get that information. it should pop up voters. i guarantee it's probably not going to. >> bill: why? >> i do agree. >> with you. >> bill: there is not enough people to persuade in this state? >> yes. yes. >> bill: the independents aren't going over. i don't

so this november 2nd, vote for chris teen o'donnell, aka, the rate of the enchant ress. because i'm not a witch. and if i am, do you really want to cross me? i didn't think so. host: from last night's saturday night live. there is a debate in the race. it's the only debate scheduled to take place in that delaware senate race, and we'll have it live here on c-span beginning at 7:30, wednesday, october 13. and the nevada, kentucky senate races and indiana all coming up in the week ahead. check it out on our web page. our sunday roundtable is coming up next. and later, bill adair, fact versus fiction, courtesy of plit fact. mid term elections and the economy. with a preview. >> despite the uprising and state crackdown that followed last year's iranian elections, many influential and liberal iranians still believe in an islamic republic. this weekend on "afterwards". find this weekend's complete schedule of nonfiction books and authors at booktv.org. >> i've tried showing the book, arguably washington's greatness was what he did between battles, simply holding the content to

. >> can i tell you, jonathan, i was at broadway play last week and they had gotten a chris dti o'donnell joke into the play. it was a comedy, but people were howling. people were howling at that joke. that's how much that is in the public consciousness. >> yeah, you know what, look, this rich iott situation, the fact that he's trying to defend himself is really hilarious. sort of like if i tell you, chris, you know, on weekends i like to go do reenactments of the jim crow era and just for historical accuracy, i dress up like a clansman and there's a picture and then there's a picture and i'll ask people to vote for me and explain away that this was a maybe mother/sons and my father died a long time ago. a mother/son bonding experience. >> it doesn't hurt him overall, it certainly hurts this candidate. i think without a doubt. look, i'll take him at his word. maybe he is very interested in military issues. it's not my cup of tea. i don't do reenactments on weekends. it's not my idea of a fun weekend. >> believe me, if you did, we'd have the pictures. >> he shouldn't be in the race. >> it'

chris: how abo even whacky? some of these people like o'donnell, like angle, who have said things -- >> it depends on the state. delaware, no. kristine'donnell does not have a chance. angle is competitive in nevada. >> i spent time with sharon angle and kristine o'donnell and theer's what they would say about the experience question. chris: are you related? no,>>o, let's make that cleemplet sharon angle said i was a teacher, i served in the state assembly. chris: she was a teacher. >> yes, yes. chris: that is impressive. >> for 100 votes to reduce taxes from her seat in nevada. so she says grandther of 10, i've got life experience. they define it differently. for kristine o'donnell, she's talking about common sense and those sorts of things. people have to evaluate i but if you jum tpo wisconsin and you have ron johnson, who burst out of the tea party, too, he runs a plastics manufacturing coany, and so his kind of common-sense experience really has a whole different packa.ge chris: some of these people like sarah palin seem to brag about their lack of knowledge. they don't read the papers. >> we had a politica

the poll shows o'donnell trailing the democrat, chris coon, by 19 points among likely voter, castle says based on his experience in the gop primary, it would be a mistake to count o'donnell out in the general election. >> no, i'm not going to endorse anybody in that particular race. not because of the competence of any of the candidates, but because the primary i went through was very nasty and in a variety of ways, both politically and personally. i've just declined to get involved in that. i will give credit to the tea party express people who backed christine o'donnell. they're good politicians. anyone who says they're not politicians doesn't know what they're talking about as far as i'm concerned. they did an effective job of winning the race for her. and, you know, they're probably going to be very effective in setting up the last few weeks here of the general election as well if i had to guess. >> more from congressman californ and tonight's debate in a moment. also when we come back, a closer look for the battles for control of senate and how republicans hope to reach their magic

we are waiting for christine o'donnell and chris coons, co-moderated by wolf blitzer. much for the issues at play here in delaware but for the personalities of the candidates, especially christine o'donnell. she has been dogged by comments she made nearly a decade ago but has enthusiasm and raised a whole lot of money since she was able to beat the republican establishment pick in the republican primary just last month, and then you have chris coons, a county executive here in delaware. he has actually been enjoying a sizable lead in the polls here, and that's given him a somewhat comfortable position of staying above the fray. democrats confident they will be able to hopefully hang onto this seated that vice president joe biden held onto for 36 years but they are not taking anything for granted and that's why this debate tonight at 7:30 p.m. co-moderated by cnn's wolf blitzer is one worth watching. >> we will be watching. that's the next biggest story to what we're following there in chile, the rescue of the miners. it's the top of the hour. it's historic. it's emotio

the delaware senate race, chris coons, christine o'donnell.he was supported by the tea party, sarah palin. she's way behind. you wouldn't know that by all the attention it's getting. some of her statements in the course of this campaign, beyond having to say she's not a witch in a campaign ad, she's gotten a lot of attention for the debate, whether she understood what was in the first amendment, separation of church and state. does she hurt the republican brand as someone who, a lot of people feel, is not qualified to be a u.s. senator? >> there's a lot of people in congress who didn't know all the ins and outs of the constitution. we have a whole roomful of people that have record legislation in terms of quantity of pages who didn't read it. who am i to say or put words in the mouth of the electorate in delaware? the tea party movement is terrific. it's created discourse that might not otherwise have occurred, it's happened at br k breakneck speed against all odds. neither of the media, left or right, were very happy that they showed up on th

these two candidates is going to be -- >> this is the thing, christine o'donnell may talk about coons and raising taxes. is chriso talk about comments that christine o'donnell has made that led her to start her most recent commercial off with the words "i am not a witch." >> it's interesting. he has actually avoided the witchcraft comment as much as possible. he has tried to keep this on issues, and let the media for the most part talk about witchcraft. it will come up, i'm quite certain. she may point out, if not, maybe one of the questioners will point out that in college chris coons wrote a paper and referred to himself as a bearded marxist. he says that media has taken that out of context. so their backgrounds will come up. i'm not sure if the candidate also bring it up or the questioners, but it's a big part of the campaign. >> how tight is the race in delaware right now, sam? >> the latest polls that came out last week showed that he is ahead in double digits. cnn has a new poll that will be released this afternoon at 5:00 with "time" magazine and we'll see what new numbers say. so it looks as if he is ahe

who are running with pat toomey like o'donnell next door that want to do away with the fourth amendment that thinks there can be a state established religion. >> chrisdvertises on some pennsylvania tv stations because it covers northern delaware, do you think she's hurt you? >> i don't think people fall for that. this is pretty silly. joe sestak is so worried about his own record, he's trying to run against somebody that i've never met, that i don't agree with. you know, who is really extreme here? the fact is joe sestak is to left of nancy pelosi. that is no exaggeration. he has voted for every single item on the big government agenda we've been living through for the last two years and his only criticism has been it doesn't go far enough. joe sestak is a guy who is outside of the mainstream of pennsylvania. >> chris: i'm just curious, i want to get into your record first and then to joe sestak's. but you say you disagree with christine o'donnell. on what? >> i think that, you know, some of the accusations that joe sestak was attributing to her, which i don't share those views. >> chris: any in particular? >> i think there was some reference to rep

chris coons. battling christine o'donnell for biden's old senate seat. o'donnell, rode the support of the tea party to a surprise win in the state's republican primary and took down veteran congressman mike castle. a new poll shows coons with with is a sizable lead. the joint biden-obama appearance. the vice president told abc news this week that they take o'donnell seriously. it would be a mistake not to. but they don't think coons is actually in any trouble. >> we want to make sure chris has the money to continue to finish out this campaign. so we are doing a fund raiser for him. >> the white house said yesterday that this race is of course near and dear to vice president biden and that it is one the democrats hope and expect to win. rob, vinita? >> president obama promises the don't ask/don't tell policy against gays in the military will end while he is in office. the president does not want it to end too quickly. justice department lawyers are asking the judge who ruled against the policy this week to let it remain in effect while they appeal. they s

tea party-backed republican, christine o'donnell, claimed her opponent was a marxist. while democrat, chris koonce claimed she was the extremist. o'donnell trails in the polls. but has raised $3 million from around the country. >>> and the democratic party has dispatched what some call its secret weapon, the first lady, to the campaign trail, for the first time in two years. she's even appearing with candidates who politely declined an invite from her husband. emily schmidt is live in washington this morning with more. hi, emily. >> reporter: hi, rob. good morning, to you. the first lady hasn't given a stump speech since her husband was running for president. now, she is in demand, on a campaign swing that's going to take her right up until the november election. michelle obama is hitting the trail for democrats battling for their political lives. but there's no tough talk from the self-described mom in chief. >> my children are the center of my world. and my hopes for their future are at the heart of every, single thing that i do. >> reporter: the first lady is asking for patience from vot