florida is pivotal. flo florida, florida, florida. and i know it will be again come election day here and people are already voting by mail and soon early voting starts october 27th. >> well, it's good to be here. governor crist, thank you for spending some time with us this morning. we appreciate it, sir. >> thank you, lester. >>> david gregory is moderator of "meet the press." david, good morning to you. >> good morning, lester. >> before we talk about the election and the debate, i want to get your thoughts on the death, the passing of senator george mcgovern. >> well, certainly a liberal lion for a good part of the latter part of this last century, influential as an anti-war voice, for sure, and such an integral part of watergate as well in terms of his campaign being targeted. so an historical figure for sure. he will certainly be missed. >> let me get your thoughts now on the upcoming did debate, the last debate here in florida between president obama and mitt romney. the topic tomorrow is going to be foreign policy and they're

in their seat in the florida house? >> thank you for your time. >> thank you. >> thanks for everything. >> give me a piece of your saturday. >> okay, here we go. >> when i look at these five kids and seven grandchildren, i'm very focused on the next generation. am i a blessed man or what? i can't give these kids a diminished future. i have to go do what i can to make sure that they have the opportunity. somebody did it for me. and, yes, i'm emotional about that. that's why it's particularly painful when people question your motives. but you know what? i don't do it for my critics. i do it for the people that i serve. and the future of these kids. >> 150 members voting, mr. speaker? >> take up and read the next message. >> one of the first shots and perhaps the biggest in the battle for the white house has fired not in the caucuses, not in the primaries, but right here in the florida legislature. >> the bill relating to elections. >> and it is fired with asilencer. if we don't take action quietly and far from the nationa

in florida where he. appeared in the morning, and later in ohio, the constant refrain at his rallies was vote! vote! ohio and florida are on our list of the battleground states. we are starting with florida and on thursday people go to nevada, and it continues throughout the next nine days leading up to election day. we will begin with louis in tennessee, supporting president obama. when did decide and why? caller: hello. can you hear me? host: weekend. go ahead. caller: good morning. i am for obama. romney as far as i am concerned he is not told the truth. i am a retired coal miner. and he has absolutely told people he supported a call, and our labor union before this started -- neither one of them said an el. date support call. and the key is teasing about that. host: governor romney said he would not support call? caller: that is right. host: and this is what you are union representative told you? caller: yes. we have some other issues going on and we asked about that. . we support? we have no list yet

>> definitely in florida.ely. >> rick scott. >> rick scott, definitely. >> you think he intentionally is doing this. >> yes, i think that rick scott is part of the plan. the method has changed but the objective is the same. >> human rights. >> voting rights are human rights. >> vote something a human right. >> by the start of the year, the naacp and others take the fight against new election laws national. >> it's a shame that we're in this situation in 2011 that we even have to march for this. >> we come to this department of justice to seek justice. >> in washington protesters demand the justice department enforce the 1965 voting rights act and throw out florida's election law. while florida's law may be the toughest, 18 other states most under republican control also tightened election laws since the 2010 election. kansas is one of many states that now requires picture i.d.s which they say will prevent voter fraud. >> the argument that you should always, always push to the most easy imaginable system that y

i serve in the florida house of representatives. the first time i voted was in 1970 when i turned 18 years of age. and i never mission an election. >> when i hit that parkway that goes up to the capitol, i just still get this tingle that this is self-government. all right. brought all your team? >> yes! >> good morning, ladies. come on in. we get to do this and why me? all right. what are we going to talk about? why me out of 156,000 people would they pick me and let me go and represent them in their seat in the florida house? >> thank you very much. >> thank you so much. >> thank you for your time. >> good to see you. >> thanks for giving me a piece of your saturday. okay, here we go! when i look at these five kids and seven grandchildren, i'm very focused on the next generation. am i a blessed man or what? i can't give these kids a diminished future. i have to go do what i can to make sure they have the opportunity. somebody did it for me. and, yes, i'm emotional about that. it's why it's particularly painful when people question

when i say south florida, i mean southeast florida.iami dade county, palm beach county. the president will do extremely well there. there are large numbers of democratic voters. romney has to get 53% in that area. >> the senate race there and a key congressional races, fla.'s 18th race, we just heard from the gop chairman that he thinks connie mack could pull this out and in those two congressional races, the republican incumbent will return to congress. guest: i will tell you straight up whether someone is going to win or lose. there is no way connie mack is going to beat bill nelson. connie mack was blistered by his republican opponents. yet some personal issues and attendance issues in congress. it speaks to the large and diverse population of florida. he comes from a very strong republican area, so it's no geographic advantage. bill nelson's old district is on the eastern end of that corridor. he is a very well like congressman and serve that community very well. he is going to do exceedingly well. there is no other variable other

we're in florida because today was the first day of in-person early voting in florida.k about what all of that means in just a few moments. governor romney making his final pitch to undecided voters across this country. but while the republican nominee continues to make his case for the white house, there are republicans in senate contests that have provided quite a few headaches for the campaign. so will mitt romney's party work against him on election day? let's bring back our panel. reporter for the associated press, ladies, thanks for coming back. lynn, let's look at the numbers here. the republican party's favorability rating under water according to our latest national nbc news/wall street journal poll. there are the numbers right there. how much of a problem is the party itself for mitt romney, lynn? >> well, i think it's the specific morse than the general republican label right now. and of course it goes down to those battleground states, indiana, the indiana senator nominee's comments about rape is just not helpful in any context, as was akins' comment. we rep

first though, some breaking news from florida. the romney campaign announcing just moments ago that they are rescheduling all of mitt romney's virginia events for tomorrow. the gop nominee will instead travel to ohio. all this because of the impending impact of hurricane sandy. we of course are tracking sandy. progress up the east coast. nbc's meteorologist dylan drier in the msnbc studios in new york. ton trung in delaware. we just got the latest advisory from the hurricane center. what can you tell us. >> nothing has changed. this still indicates the storm is a category 1 hurricane and very far out to sea, but still just as huge as it has been. that's why we are still dealing with some potential for stronger wind gusts and decent rain along the coast of south carolina and north carolina. north eastern north carolina and south eastern south carolina will be almost a pivot point for this storm to rotate on. that's going to produce heavy torrential rain in that area. it is moving northeast right now. still sounds weird that this st

they are both old florida and new florida. >> ten seconds. is it going to hurt mitt romney?of state legislature is republican, 80% of the congressional group is republican. connie mack is coming back. he is within five points. bill nelson has never gotten to a 50% threshold. there's still a race to get. >> thank you both so much. >> thank you. >> president obama and mitt romney are both making big promises about taxes. can uncle sam afford either candidate's plans? that's next. i was skeptical at first. but after awhile even my girlfriend noticed a difference. [ male announcer ] rogaine is proven to help stop hair loss. and for 85% of guys, it regrew hair. save up to 42% now at rogaine.com. begins with back pain and a choice. take advil, and maybe have to take up to four in a day. or take aleve, which can relieve pain all day with just two pills. good eye. yeah, i'm looking to save, but i'm not sure which policy is right for me. you should try our coverage checker. it helps you see if you have too much coverage or not enough, making it easier to get what you need. [ beeping

in florida a chance to reject obamacare in a five to two ruling florida's high court said that the language on the ballot initiative was misleading to florida's voters from that point forward right wing organizations have been launching campaigns to remove justices from the bench who ruled against that ballot initiative and even today after the supreme court has up held obamacare as constitutional this effort continues this ad now running in florida it's part of a campaign to remove three supreme court justices in the state. america needed health care reform was the new health care law the right to reform washington more control over our health care and it will cost trillions most americans oppose it that's why many states like ohio gave their citizens the right to vote against it not florida our own supreme court denied our right to choose for ourselves shouldn't our courts protect our rights to choose you be the judge you beach f.l. dot com to get the facts and sign the petition. notices pain for that ad americans for prosperity that tea party front group funded in part by the billionaire

everybody knows how important florida is to this election. >> florida, florida, florida as they say. so much in winter park. appreciate it. >>> up next, former cia operator bob bear joining me live on the e-mail sent to the white house as the deadly attack on the u.s. consulate was unfolding. plus, we're watching the atlantic where hurricane sandy is barreling north. [ female announcer ] at yoplait, we want you to feel even better about your favorite flavors. so when you call, tweet, and post, we listen. that's why yoplait light and yoplait original are now made with no high fructose corn syrup. and why we use only natural colors and natural flavors in yoplait original. so, anything else we can do for you, let us know. but you'll keep it to yogurt, right? 'cause we shouldn't really help with your love life. yoplait. it is so good! i'm watching natalie's ballet recital and i'm pulling photos right from the video. great idea, we can pick one and frame it! here, watch this. she nails almost every move. our old camera could never do this. she's so good at ballet. i think she's the best i

this is the thing that drives florida state fans crazy. deon bush is back there, almost had to call a fair catch that time waiting for an interest every sep -- interception. >> brent: long field goal. a 48-yarder. looks good. 26-13. closing in, up by 13. >> brent: aerial coverage provided by goodyear. inspi inspiring, goodyear more driven. so there you can see that miami actually had a ten-point lead before florida state kicked that field dwool and then that stretch for the 'noles, 16 unanswered and here in the fourth quarter they put up ten more. and they appear headed for the w right now. unless the 'canes' quarterback stephen morris can mount a-reminder, next saturday, all eyes will be on norman, oklahoma. the irish 7-0 for the first time since 2002 beating byu in south bend today. oklahoma big winner othver kans tonight, averaging better than 43 points a game. i don't believe the irish have allowed a rushing touchdown this year unless i missed a rushing touchdown by byu today and i could have. i apologize if i'm wrong about that but th

when i say south florida, i mean southeast florida. that is dade county, miami dade county, palm beach county. the president will do extremely well there. there are large numbers of democratic voters. romney has to get 53% in that area. >> the senate race there and a key congressional races, fla.'s 18th race, we just heard from the gop chairman that he thinks connie mack could pull this out and in those two congressional races, the republican incumbent will return to congress. guest: i will tell you straight up whether someone is going to win or lose. there is no way connie mack is going to beat bill nelson. connie mack was blistered by his republican opponents. yet some personal issues and attendance issues in congress. it speaks to the large and diverse population of florida. he comes from a very strong republican area, so it's no geographic advantage. bill nelson's old district is on the eastern end of that corridor. he is a very well like congressman and serve that community very well. he is going to do exceedingly well. there is n

they are both old florida and new florida. >> ten seconds. is it going to hurt mitt romney?ngressional group is republican. connie mack is coming back. he is within five points. bill melson has never gotten to a 50% threshold. there's still a race to get. >> thank you both so much. >> thank you. >> president obama and mitt romney are both making big promises about taxes. can uncle sam afford either candidate's plans? that's next. i am probably going to the gas station about once a month. last time i was at a gas station was about...i would say... two months ago. i very rarely put gas in my chevy volt. i go to the gas station such a small amount that i forget how to put gas in my car. [ male announcer ] and it's not just these owners giving the volt high praise. volt received the j.d. power and associates appeal award two years in a row. ♪ sven's home security gets the most rewards of any small business credit card! how does this thing work? oh, i like it! [ garth ] sven's small business earns 2% cash back on every purchase, every day! woo-hoo!!! so that's ten security gators

that florida state students and florida students, they all applied to florida.ard that? >> that's a rumor. >> you never heard that. bernie, thank you. >> thank you very much. >> thank you, president. >>> when we come back the animal orchestra is two for two, details after the break. >>> and the top of the hour we welcome jim reynolds of loop capital markets. [ horn honks ] hey, it's sandra -- from accounting. peter. i can see that you're busy... but you were gonna help us crunch the numbers for accounts receivable today. i mean i know that this is important. well, both are important. let's be clear. they are but this is important too. [ man ] the receivables. [ male announcer ] michelin knows it's better for xerox to help manage their finance processing. so they can focus on keeping the world moving. with xerox, you're ready for real ness. ♪ >>> yet another reason to watch "squawk box," the a.o., animal orchestra 2 for 2 in college football picks. we're going to play it, the oklahoma fight song. >> we did call it. >> on the road over texas but it was the way the

the democrats do not really have someone with the same level of clout in florida from florida.he closest they have is charlie crist. he appeared at the democratic national convention and did make an address. charlie crist the spring of issues for voters because of his party change. he went from being a republican to being an independent. there is a lot of speculation about him running for something else, maybe governor again against. scott -- against recall scott or running for congress. it is not clear what he will do. because of that baggage, people look at what he is saying and wonder if he is maneuvering for political advantage. host: if mitt romney is not elected, is jim bush and early candidate for 2014? guest: governor bush has played it cautiously, not giving an indication as to what he will do. his indications when i have spoken to him is that he wants to stay in the private sector. do not forget he is still actively involved in politics. he is not there campaigning. he is well respected in the field of education reform. -- he is out there campaigning. arnie duncan has

as of now, florida looks safe.ybe some large waves and some rain in miami and boca, for the most part the storm will miss florida. after that, there's a lot of questions of where the storm will head it will get blocked by a big area of high pressure off the coast one system would send it as a hybrid back towards the mid-atlantic or new england, or it may scoot the coast and sneak by new england. we won't know that for a couple more days. the timing if it did impact new england and the atlantic, monday and tuesday of next week, heading towards halloween. elsewhere this morning, light rain across new york state. we could she showers from new york to albany. the rest of the country looks mile. the only problem with the airports, possibly around chicago and st. louis with a thunderstorm. tropical storm sandy, can you believe it? the potential for impacts on the east coast as we head towards movement. >> trick or treating forecast, bill. thank you very much. we'll see you back up in new york tomorrow. >>> the giants cam

you know, southeast florida is rather liberal. florida's kind of an upsidedown state. north you go, the deeper in the south you are. so the republican candidate does well in the north of florida and the democratic candidate generally does well in the south. and it's the middle, what we know as the i-4 corridor, where things are really fought out. >> i used to live there. i know it well. well, anne, september's job report came out on friday, and nationally, unemployment was down to 7.8% in september. state numbers come out in a couple of weeks. but in august, unemployment in florida was above the national rate by a whole point at 8.8%. can president obama get past florida's high unemployment numbers to win there? >> and it's not just unemployment. i think housing is another key to point out. i'm sure mark knows this well. the foreclosure rates have been high in florida and the foreclosure crisis has been especially felt there, as in a number of other states. so he's facing -- the president is facing some serious economic headwinds in there as he has in a couple of other

as general counsel for the florida gop.draft for the voter suppression law on the books today and engineered the 2000 voter purge. he also worked for florida's secretary of state katherine harris. you all remember her. of course you do. she was in charge of the big florida voting mess of 2000. and mr. mitchell was at her side during the infamous florida recount. now he's the writer of the suppression laws affecting florida voters this year. i guess it's all just a big coincidence. joining us is president of florida league of women voters and jim greer, the former chairman of the republican party who's been very critical of what went on behind the scenes. first, thank you both for being here. >> glad to be here. >> jim, what can you tell our viewers with emmett "bucky" greer? >> he and his partner worked for me for a period of time when i was chairman. they are good at what they do. when you're looking for a lawyer that can write legislation and change the election laws, stand up potentially to a constitutional challenge, yo

but early voting started today in florida. it's hot and heavy, and you're going to see a huge democratic turn south. i would imagine by tomorrow if not tuesday, the democrats will actually lead in total ballots cast. >> one of the things also we should note about florida here, i understand that democrats have a registered voter lead as well in this state. that's at roughly a half million. that accurate? >> actually, the numbers just came out a minute ago. 535,000 voters is what the democrats lead the republicans by. now, in 2008 it was a 657,000 voter edge. what is interesting is that florida's voter rules have become basically blacker and browner, and the democratic party has responded as well, whereas the republican party is becoming whiter where. hispanics have grown about 22% in the state, they've grown 26% on the democratic voter roles, but only grown 9% on the gop voter roles. so the changing demographics of the state are going to haunt the galena park, if not in this election and future ones, assuming those voters turn

if you want to sound smart today tell your friends since 1988, the year florida state has won the floridaami game, florida has gone democrat. follow along with me. if miami wins, florida has gone republican. good news for the president. the seminoles held on for a 33-20 win on saturday. don't you feel smarter for knowing all of that? now for real news. let's huddle up around the water cooler to watch snl take a crack at last week's second presidential debate with a little help mr. a certain hollywood star. >> we have reached our final question of the night. >> i'm waiving. can you see me? can you see me? you can? >> mr. lafka, please. >> libya. >> you know, i'm glad you brought libya up. governor romney wants to politicize libya. >> i am willing to bet here and now that you have never in your life even once used the phrase terrorist act. >> get the transcript. >> governor, he has, in fact, used the phrase terrorist act. >> candy, no, no, no, no candy, come on. >> i'm afraid he did. >> candy, please. candy. >>> dropping the mic. snl helping the candidates as they prep for tonight's debate.

will rising waters doom florida's coastline? anna werner looks at the latest warnings from scientists. and tip tebow traipped marks his signature move. tony guida tells us why. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news." >> jarvis: good evening. i'm rebecca jarvis. the latest fund-raising figures out today show this presidential race is on track to be the first $1 billion campaign. through the end of september, the obama campaign raised a total of $558 million. romney raised $357 million. and that is not including money raised by all the independent groups. for now, both candidates are in seclusion, preparing for monday's final debate. jan crawford is at the debate site in boca raton, florida. good evening, jan. >> reporter: good evening, rebecca. with just 17 days left until election day what we're seeing is the attacks getting sharper and more personal. with both of the candidates doing that debate prep, the vice president today stepped into the void and he kept slugging. >> i don't blame that baby for crying.

it will go to florida, and parts of florida that had wrero damage. >> fox news asked.pokesman said we decline to comment and thanks for touching base. >> if doj disperse its through the gnarl resource after the accident sessment. bp would be able to tax write off and it would be unavailable to them for a restore act. >> bullet for ballot, not quite but close. a owner is hosting a ralph for a handgun and rifle. anybody can participate. but it implies for those who actually vote. >> the state senator is complaining. but the secretary of state's office said it is open to everyone. give away for votes are illegal in the state of the georgia. investigation in the libya attack heats up. cia agents were told not to go to the aid of the ambassador and others in the consulate. we want to hear from you. does the obama administration's handling of the benghazi affect your vote . we are watching hurricane sandy churning off of the coast at this hour. we'll have a live update coming up. [ male announcer ] when it comes to the financial obstacles military families face, we understan

florida, florida, it's still florida, florida, florida. >> a dead heat. but that is momentum for mitt romney. if you look back two months ago when we polled among likely voters the president had a four-point lead, right at the margin of error. governor romney now with the lead. the campaign increasingly confident about the state of florida and obama campaign concedes it's going his way. they've been spending as much as governor romney on television $5 million just last week to keep it close. why is it like this? a big generational gap in florida. voters under the age of 50 a huge advantage for president obama. but on those medicare attacks are not working so well 36%, to 56% among romney. that's a plus for the romney campaign in florida. talked about a generational gap. there's also an income gap. look at this. the president with a big advantage of those making under $50,000 a year. but among those that make $50,000 a year or more, the republican ticket has the advantage there by about the same amount. a generational gap and income gap. when you talk abou

florida beat lsu. those 146 yards, second most in his career. florida wins 14-6.est virginia state undefeated. they had to come from behind to do it. 40-yard touchdown, 14-7, mountaineers. stead man, bailey, then to smith. smith has four passing touchdowns tonight, giving him 24 for the season. still hasn't thrown an interception. 48-45. kansas state rolled on kansas. 245 yards, 4 total touchdowns. k. state rolls over kansas, 56-16. >> miami and notre dame from soldier field in chicago. goodness gracious, what's going on with the notre dame helmets. george atkinson iii. notre dame goes on to win big up in miami. the irish are undefeated, 31-3. oregon state still undefeated. some of you may see the beavers next week right here on abc. we'll see you next week. have a great weekend. fuel economy.ly thinkit well, you're gonna want some torque to go with it... 'cuz unless you'r usin' your truck to deliver pizza's ... you ain't gettin' anything done without it. torque is power. it pulls trailers. hauls dirt. drags boulders. torque is what gets the cap off your beer. and

we're live today in gainesville, florida. voting here in the sunshine state. we're also, of course, keeping a very close eye on hurricane sandy. right now, though, a quick look at some of the other top stories making news right now. a powerful bomb exploded outside a shrine to a sunni muslim in pakistan. four people killed, dozens hurt. no one has claimed responsibility for the attack. meanwhile in bagdad, a series of attacks and bombings have killed at least 40 people there since saturday. the violence directed at the shiite community comes during a major muslim holiday in iraq and proof that an old soul never dies. at 86 years old music legend chuck berry making a comeback. the hall of famer promising to release some new songs, some written as far back as 16 years ago. >>> hurricane sandy bearing down on the east coast right now. the massive storm could bring with it, as we've been mentioning from the national weather service, life-threatening storm surges, somewhere between six and 11 feet. up and down the east coast areas

florida is the big fridz for the campaign. it has the most number of electoral vote its at stake, in the fall election. it's also a state that has felt the full force of the great recession. the housing market in some areas in florida has shown signs of life but remains well bloat boon years. the job market in the sunshine state has seen slow recovery. >> the lunch crowd start to its file in to vinnie's all day calf nie boca raton around 11:30. despite it's name vinnys is owned by a guy named jay dietz. he bought the restaurant from vinny more than a decade ago. >> food prices are going up a couple extra dollars i won't sacrifice the quality of our food just to make a couple extra dollars. >> reporter: wile tonight's debate focuses on forei affairs t is still the competent that remains the issue for floridians. >> the big issues have to be taxes and jobs. they have be to-- to be. >> just talking about the bank, the insurance industry, and all the businesses they seem to be doing so well, when everybody sells suffering. so i wo

, we have made progress here in florida.sing industry is on the rebound. we created jobs in florida, we created new energy, the solar and wind energy, because of the investments the president has made. i think people in florida agree with most people across this country, they want to build this economy, rebuild this economy in a way meant to last which means you center to do this from middle out with a strong middle class and that is what mitt romney is not doing. his singular economic spls a tax cut that gives $250,000 tax cut to those at the top forcing the middle class to pay for it. that's not the way to move this economy forward and i think the people of florida know that. >> schieffer: what mitt romney is telling people is the president is not telling people what he plans to do during his second term. >> mitt romney ought to come on the trail with us and come to some of the rallies and listen to what the president is the saying. i think millions of americans heard it on convention night. he wants to build-- continue re

jim cantore is live in singer island, florida. that's near west palm beach. jim, ha have you seen there today and how long before florida is out of the woods would you say? >> reporter: well, you guys picked the perfect time to come to me, because we're getting into a pretty heavy squall here. winds picking up 30, 40 miles an hour. this is what we expect. the fringe impacts with the center of sandy over 200 miles away. now, remember, by the time this thing morphs into a different animal, it will have a wind field of about 800 miles wide. so 400 of those miles are going to basically encompass the megalopolis on monday/tuesday. that's when it gets crazy and horrible for the northeast. we'll probably deal with this for a good part of the afternoon and early morning. they're very concerned up in jacksonville where the game between florida and georgia is going to go oun. at high tide we actually had the water come all the way up to these chairs. you know, wood floats, plastic floats for a little while and the next high tide is about 7: