. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill. tonight, foreign policy takes center stage. bob schieffer of cbs news is the moderator. the debate is being held at the johnson wold performing arts

live from our nation's capital, this is "washington week" with gwen ifill. produced in associated with "national journal." corporate funding for "washington week" be provided by -- ♪ >> wherever our trail blazers -- trains divorce, the economy comes to live. norfolk southern. one line, infinity possibilities the >> we know why we're here. to chart a greener path in the air and in our factories. >> to find cleaner, more efficient ways to power flight. >> and harness our technology for new energy solutions. >> around the globe, the people of boeing are working together to build a belter tomorrow. >> that's why we're here. additional funding is also provided by the annenberg foundation, the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs stations from viewers like you. once again, live from washington, moderator gwen ifill. gwen: good evening. it's about 8:00 p.m. eastern time two fridays before the election and according to the app on my iphone, we have 10 days, 23 hours, 15 minutes and 53 seconds before the polls close. accord dog every

once again, live from washington, moderator gwen ifill. gwen: good evening.he first debate is behind us and the presidential race is tighter than ever. for different reasons, both candidates returned to the campaign trail this week with renewed vigor. >> you may know that a couple of nights ago we had a debate. you may have got an chance to see that. i got the chance to ask the president some questions i think people across the country have wanted to ask the president. which is why it was that when america needed jobs to badly he was pushing for obama care. >> my opponent has been trying to do a two-step and reposition and -- got an extreme makeover. governor romney plans to let wall street run wild again but he's going to bring down the hammer on "sesame street." it makes perfect sense. gwen: the morning the president got good news on the jobs front as the unemployment rate dropped if 8 .1 to 7 .8%. news so good that some romney supportsers even suggested the numbers must be cooked. let's start with the debate. we'll walk you through some of the numbers you

. >> earlier this year, judy woodruff and gwen ifill from pbs, along with cnn candy crowley discussed their experience covering campaigns. this was posted by the bipartisan policy center in washington. >> we are so pleased that you are joined as, in judy woodruff, thank you for serving on our board. >> that is how this happened. [laughter] >> i would like to ask each of you of the bomb president of the bids, we just went through, and -- about the presidential debates that we just went through. we we're not sure you would make it through the traffic on time. we decided to start off with one of the clips from the second presidential debate that you moderated. in other words, there was no coin toss. we could have done alphabetically and come up with the same order. west took a couple of clips from the second presidential debate -- let's take a look at a couple of clips from the second presidential debate between president obama and governor romney. roll the clips, please. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> l

live from our nation's capital, this is "washington week with gwen ifill." produced in association with "national journal." corporate funding for "washington week" is provided by -- >> we know why we're here. >> to connect our forces to what they need when they need it. >> to help troops see danger. before it sees them. >> to answer the call of the brave and bring them safely home. >> around the globe, the people of boeing are working together to support and protect all who serve. >> that's why we're here. >> this rock has never stood still. since 1875, we've been there for our clients through good times and bad. when their needs changed, we were there to meet them. through the years, from insurance to investment management, from real estate to retirement solutions, we've developed new ideas for the financial challenges ahead. this rock has never stood still. and that's one thing that will never change. prudential. >> additional corporate funding is provided by norfolk southern. additional funding is provided by the annenberg foundation, the corporation for

gwen ifill has our report. >> yeah, yeah, ifill: for nine years ray flynn a staunch life-long democrat was the mayor of boston. this year he's working to re-elect a republican, scott brown. >> i see him with the veterans. he sits there and has a beer with the veterans and talks over all the issues. they love him for it. >> your u.s. senator scott brown ifill: in 2010 brown won the senate seat once held by ted kennedy by playing up his blue collar labor union roots, touring around the state in a pick-up truck and making a direct appeal to the state's independent voters >> i don't think people really identify with scott brown as a republican. i think they look at him as somebody who can really bring people together. you know what? his story is the story of most of the people that live in this community. ( cheers and applause ) >> ifill: then there's tom menino, boston's current and longest serving mayor. he waited until just a few weeks ago to endorse fellow democrat elizabeth warren, but now he's counting on the harvard law professor to beat brown at his own game. >> just one of those p

live from our nation's capital, this is "washington week" with gwen ifill. produced in association in national journal d. corporate funding for "washington week" is provided by -- >> this rock has never stood still. since 1875 we've been there for our clients through good times and bad. when their needs changed we were there to meet them. through the years, from insurance to investment management, from real estate to retirement solutions, we've developed new ideas for the financial challenges ahead. this rock has never stood still. and that's one thing that will never change. prudential. >> whenever our trains go, the economy comes to life. one line, infinite possibilities. >> additional corporate fund something provided by boeing. additional funding is provided by the annenberg foundation. the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. once again, live from washington, moderator gwen ifill. gwen: good evening. what's at stake in this election came into sharp focus this week, both at the co

. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill. on the "newshour" tonight, we take you on the road, as the candidates and their running mates blitz the battleground states. >> brown: then, we look at some surprisingly tight contests for open senate seats. >> ifill: what's not being talked about on the campaign trail? that's the focus of our new series. tonight's missing iue: the housing crisis. >> brown: four long shots for the presidency got their turn to debate last night. kwame holman reports on the faceoff among the third party hopefuls. >> ifill: betty ann bowser tells the story of a seattle medical center cutting costs and improving patient care by rethinking the services a hospital provides. >> waiting rooms are total waste. there is no reason for a waiting room. it's just an embarrassing reminder of how inefficient we are in healthcare delivery. >> brown: and judy woodruff gets an inside look at the closed kingdom of udi abia from journalist anduthor ren eliot hoe. >> it's a country we're very dependent upon for oil and depe

good evening, i'm gwen ifill. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. on the "newshour" tonight, we talk with marcia coyle about today's arguments and ray suarez looks at the wider implications of the case for public institutions nationwide. >> ifill: then, jeffrey brown gets the latest on the congressional probe into security failures at the u.s. consulate in libya. >> woodruff: we head to colorado, where the presidential candidates are targeting suburban voters. >> some of the things romney supports, i don't think are conducive to women's issues and as a business owner, i don't think obama is a good choice. >> ifill: outrage in pakistan, after an outspoken 14-year-old was shot by the taliban for promoting education for girls. >> woodruff: and we examine new evidence that lance armstrong was at the center of a sophisticated professional doping program, including testimony from his former teammates. >> ifill: that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: and with the ongoing support of these institutio

. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill. on the newshour tonight, we get the latest on the damage estimated in the tens of billions of dollars, and the challenges still ahead. >> woodruff: then we assess the effect of the super storm on the presidential race. as mitt romney collected relief supplies and president obama went to the headquarters of the r cross. >> ifill: in his second story about targeting voters online, harry veen veen goes to ohio where the campaigns have positions forming digital armies. >> sreenivasan: it's an endless feedback loop channeling data back to the campaigns for them to learn even more about it and refine their pitches further. it's the campaign strategy of the future. >> woodruff: and a battle ground dispatch from nevada. mitch fox of the las vegas pbs reports on a tight contest in a newly created congressional district. >> reporter: the complexiti of is race rad like a novel. money, aggressionive attacks. a famous family name. even a potential bankruptciy looming. it's all playing out in a dis

i'm gwen ifill. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, we get some pre-game analysis of tonight's face-off from mark shields and michael gerson. >> ifill: then, new risks from tainted drugs made by the pharmacy linked to the meningitis outbreak. we have an update. >> woodruff: as the candidates spar over what happened in libya, the violence in syria, and the fallout from the arab spring, jeffrey brown talks with zbigniew brzezinski and walter russell mead. >> ifill: paul solman talks with authors donald barlett and james steele. their book blames free trade for the demise of the american middle class. >> do we want a society built on the principle that the only thing that matters is the lowest possible price or a society built on the principle that everyone should have a living wage? >> woodruff: and ray suarez looks at cuba's move to give its citizens the freedom to travel abroad starting in january. that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: i was worried the

i'm gwen ifill. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, we get some pre-debate analysis from mark shields and david brooks. >> ifill: tonight's match-up takes place in florida. we travel there to assess the state of the race. it's getting harder and harder to breakthrough to undecided base voters because there's just such a saturation level of everything and it's so negative. >> woodruff: plus, jeffrey brown looks at where the candidates stand on key foreign policy issues. >> ifill: then, lance armstrong is stripped of his titles and banned from competing for life. ray suarez examines the impact of an athlete's fall from grace. >> woodruff: and we remember a statesman and a proud liberal, presidential candidate and senator george mcgovern. >> your colleague in the press, some of them referring to me as the conscience of the party. others talking about me as the peacemaker in the race. and still others as the elder statesman. that's quite a triple crown. >> ifill: that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. major funding

good evening, i'm gwen ifill. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. on the "newshour" tonight, we update the aftermath of sandy as president obama gets a first hand look at the devastation along new jersey's shoreline. >> ifill: then, how do you plan for increasingly common super storms? ray suarez examines that as part of our series: coping with climate change. >> woodruff: jeffrey brown reports on the battle of the ground game, hard fought on wisconsin's turf. >> who knew? it turns out that green bay is one of the most swinging cities in the whole country, politically speaking, that is. we'll explain. >> ifill: the supreme court devoted its day to drug-sniffing dogs and privacy rights. we talk with marcia coyle of the national law journal. >> woodruff: and spencer michels looks at the complaints about apple's maps and the high stakes for those trying to come up with something better. >> the battle over digital map making indicates how crucial this field has become and it could bode well for consumers as the maps get better. >> ifill: that's all ahead

i'm gwen ifill. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, we look at what state and local officials have done to prepare and examine why the storm is so large and dangerous. >> ifill: then, we turn to the presidential race, as the weather forces both candidates to cancel dozens of campaign stops. we get analysis from susan page and dan balz. >> woodruff: the political campaigns know more about you than you think. we have the first of two reports from hari sreenivasan on efforts to track voters online. >> this could be the year that digital strategies decide what is shaping up to be a razor-close election, but who is watching us and how much do they know about us? >> ifill: jeffrey brown talks with author bill ivey about his prescription for remaking america's democracy. >> well, i think what we need is to rediscover progressive values and put them forward. i'm arguing for not bigger government but i think different government. >> woodruff: and scott schaefer of public television's kqed profiles a photographer who uses

. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill. on the newshour tonight, how the two men performed, and where the race stands, 20 days out from election day. >> woodruff: plus, ray suarez looks at the charges and counter charges over the facts last night. >> ifill: jeffrey brown examines the reality and the rhetoric over u.s.-china policy and trade. >> woodruff: from our brand-new series, "agents for change," fred de sam lazaro profiles a group that offers refuge for victims of modern-day slavery in the philippines. >> 15% of the gross domestics products comes from money sent home by overseas filipinos, but there is a dark downside that makes these vulnerable. >> and spencer michael has the story of >> ifill: and spencer michels has the story of high tech sailboats gearing up for the america's cup in san francisco next year. >> woodruff: that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> when i was in an accident, i was worried, the health system spoke a language all its own, with un