we need to define "hick" and "hicky." you make an ad, you want someone to look like people in that area. it sounds natural, but are the folks in west virginia making as big of a deal of this? are they offended by this ad? >> reporter: you can bet the democratic governor, joe manchin is making a big deal out of it, in a big way, because they feel that this works to their favor in that it plays to their biggest argument against the republican down there, john raese, a very wealthy businessman, somebody who they

republican officials tell nbc that the controversial tv ad apparently hitting joe mansion featuring the "hicky" actors will be rotated out of the ad rotation. i want to move south to florida. kendrick meek really came on strong in the debate they had down there. can he catch up to the front-runner? marco rubio? >> it's going to be difficult. right now kendrick meek is in third place. he's been trailing in third place for a long time. he's not close to charlie crist. these in second place. or rubio in first place. we saw in the debate last night

casting call for actors for this ad and they said, could you wear some john deere hats and something hicky, please. this caused a little bit of a problem for the guy running in west virginia, for that senate seat. the third thing really isn't so much of a problem of what's happening now but later. how are they going to integrate the tea party into this party? the 15 million or 20 million voters who will probably go to the polls as tea party members this year are upset with deficits and entitlementless. things that the republican party has no record of doing anything about for the last 20 years, since early reagan. and reconciling the republicans' rhetoric on these issues with what the energized part of the party is going to come to vote for in the next couple of weeks is really a challenge. you mentioned the money and the tea party -- >> you mentioned the money and the tea party. is a lot of that money going to tea party candidates or establishment republican candidates? >> it's hard to tell.

quote, we're going for a hicky, blue collar look.nk coal miner trucker looks, clothing suggestions, jeans, work boots, flannel shirt, john deere hats, governor joe manchin running for the senate took offense early today. let's listen to that. >> running for a hicky blue collar look. i don't know where they're coming off of calling hicky blue collar look. first of all, the coal miners who provide the energy that all of us in this nation enjoy and the truck drivers that deliver the gooed and the energy that depend upon are some of the most god-fearing family-loving people. you've been here, andrea, and you know how strong these people, how good they are but if my opponent and his friends feel that way about it, then shame on him. >> a spokesman for the national nscr said no one with the nrsc had anything to do with the language used in the casting call. and the ad has been pulled. this could be a turn-around moment for manchin, who trails the republican by six points? according to pollster.com. let's go to the strategist, steve mcmahon

according to what the casting sheet was asking, they were going for a hicky blue-collar book, and the talent agency said this was asked for by the nrsc, the independent expenditure ad they paid for. what's your take on this? >> i think it's standard practice for casting companies to put out advertisements. i'm sure your viewers see them all the time. there's different characters in this. when you advertise, words like hicky, which is really rather derogatory, it doesn't make you come across like you're in touch with the voters of the states. that was the nrc's problem with this. they should not proof the word it became basically derogatory to west virginians. >> and they're talking about joe mansion balking obama joe. just to pass on, the republican officials tell nbc that the controversial tv ad apparently hitting joe mansion featuring the "hicky" actors will be rotated out of the ad rotation. i want to move south to florida. kendrick meek really came on strong in the debate they had down there. can he catch up to the front-runner? marco rubio? >> it's going to be difficult. right no

the one that was going to be, quote, hicky and blue-collar looking. well, manchin's hitting back and when we come back, we're going to talk to one of the actors in that ad. he's going to give us the insight on what it's like to put together one of these ads. [ whistle ] [ sniffs ] ♪ woof, woof [ groans ] ♪ ohhh! [ male announcer ] eliminate 7 everyday odors in the things you can't wash with febreze. febreze gets rid of odors... and leaves a light fresh scent. [ family ] ahhhhhh... [ male announcer ] it's a breath of fresh air. and leaves a light fresh scent. [ family ] ahhhhhh... on your next business trip, pack your marriott rewards visa card. get triple points every time you use your card at marriott. apply now and earn 22,500 bonus points when you use your card and enjoy a free night stay. so, before you know it, work time becomes well-deserved downtime. apply now at marriott.com/freenightstay. you've got staying power. >>> wow, new jersey governor chris christie says he's not ready to run for president in 2012 but he's starting to get the rock sta

the producers said they wanted "hicky actors wearing flannel shirts and hats." a popularnchin is governor but the race is called a tossup. that is why this could be so significant. >> something like this could have a big impact. >> manchin is using this to cast his opponent as an outside. >> there will paint him as looking down upon these people of what he really thinks. >> a spokesperson says the description does not reflect the campaign. it was written by a talent agency hired by its contractor who was hired by the republican senatorial committee. they decided to pull the ad after an article was published by "the politico". >> i am not going to believe from thelessa comes horse's mouth. >>> the problems found at the vietnam veterans memorial. >>> why some of the nation's companies are getting waivers when it comes to health care reform. >>> metro closures, what you need to know for the holiday weekend. >>> sunshine and warm temperatures, can we hold this through the holiday weekend? my seven-day forecast >>> metro is closing several downtown stations for the c

a hicky blue collar look? probably not the term a politician should be using to describe the people of his state. the people he wants to appeal too. we should stress this memo is not from the candidate himself but shows the attitude of some of the people at the talent agency who worked behind the scenes on this campaign. these actors are getting paid $400 a day according to the casting memo. you might recognize the ordinary guy in the middle, damian, we found him here working as an extra in a sketch on "saturday night live". we saw his video where he describes himself as an actor, filmmaker, broadcaster and host. oh, and here he is also on "who wants to be a millionaire." by the way, he says on his site that he's got no comment about the west virginia ad but he is still available for work. he has a quote, says let's move on now, and produce together. which actually kind of sounds like a political slogan. let's go back to the ad, the west virginia diner they're talking in? turns out it's not in morgantown, or c

i don't know where they coming off of calling hicky-blue collar work.of all the coal miners provide the energy that all of us in this nation enjoy and the truck drivers deliver the goods and the energy that we depend upon, are some of the most god-fearing, family loving people. you've been here, andrea, you know how strong these people, and how good they are. if my opponent and his friends feel that way about it, then shame on him. >> well, one of the points of the ad, if they had not gotten into this flap over where they shot it, and the casting call, the point of the ad was to try to tie you to barack obama, who's not that popular in west virginia. are you going to have the president come on and campaign for you? >> the president's not running for the u.s. senate in west virginia and i am. historically i've never had people come and campaign for me. i've always done my own campaigns. basically you would have someone who was not in the political arena come in. but other than that, i've not done that. so with that being said we rub our own campaign here

republican john raese's hicky blue-collar commercial, it is backfiring, big time.irginia governor and senate nominee joe manchin is turning the tables. i'll show you all of that next. here's the truth: safe drivers cost everybody less. that's why they pay less. but at allstate, they pay a whole lot less. in fact, safe drivers can save 45% or more on their car insurance. protect your home with allstate, too, and you can save an extra 10%. think allstate's expensive? think again. now that you know the truth, let the good hands give you a great price. dollar for dollar, nobody protects you like allstate. >>> welcome back to "the ed show" and thanks for watching tonight. first, delaware tea partier christine o'donnell said that she was not a witch. now west virginia's governor's saying, well, i'm not a hick. democrat governor and senate nominee march sin slamming joe racy for using, quote, hicky-looking actors to portray west virginia voters in the campaign commercial. here's the ad manchin's running in response. >> john raese thinks we're hicks. >> his people hired ac

. >> his people hired actors from philadelphia to attack joe manchin and told them to dress hi hicky.. manchin already signed west virginia's cap and trade into law. it is time we say no to rubber stamp joe. >> so there you go. we know what happened with the hicks casting call shot in south philadelphia, no less. >> actors. >> actors who were supposed to look like they were from west virginia. but he has spent a ton of money. with his 66% rate as governor, he's got trouble. >> obama is at 29% in west virginia. that's down at the levels bush had at the end of his administration. >> in fairness to barack obama, he was nowhere in west virginia during the campaign for hillary clinton. >> he got a tremendous amount of voters undecided and were for hillary and decided to take a chance on obama. they came over to give him a seven-point victory. they are the ones who have completely departed. tease are west virginians. if there's a group more likely to be tea party folks, i don't know where it is. >> joe manchin is popular in the state and knows how to make an ad to break through. when you a

democrat governor and senate nominee march sin slamming joe racy for using, quote, hicky-looking actors to portray west virginia voters in the campaign commercial. here's the ad manchin's running in response. >> john raese thinks we're hicks. >> his people hired actors from philadelphia to attack joe manchin, and told him to dress hicky. >> it's insulting, and he didn't even apologize. >> then, there's the fact that raese moved his family to florida to avoid paying west virginia taxes. >> obviously, we're not good enough for him. raese's wife is registered to vote in florida. so she can't even vote for him. >> why should we? >> joining me now, bill press, nationally syndicated radio talk show host. bill, is this a game changer? i mean, i think that they could have come up with a lot of different angles to this story. you know, whatever happened to straighttalking politicians? the element of trusts' involved here in this arena, i think. is this a game changer? >> let me tell you i think it is, ed. that's a powerful ad. you and i know from our radio shows that the one people in the south

. >> casting calls ask for hicky, hick-like people. >> joe manchin, who was running for the senate, as is 70% approval rating. a focus group of democrats said he is a great governor and are voting against him to send a message. this is a problem. >> another problem, he supported obamacare and now he says he does not. there is not a single democrat and the country, with the exception of russ feingold, who advertises support, and are many who are saying they oppose it as away at saving their seat. one of the complaints against obamacare is not only what is in obamacare, but the fact that the democrats spent a year and half on this, which is not high on the agenda of a lot of voters, instead of addressing economic issues. has been a complaint, that they have been ideologically driven and not looking after the bread and butter. >> russ feingold may lose in wisconsin? >> i would not bet against him, but he is the underdog at this point. he is running on defense on health care, because his opponent says that he will repeal it. ok, you will repeal existing and -- you will repeal pre-existing

and told him to dress hicky. >> philadelphia, isn't that a great place?you have to say water instead of water. did they teach you how to talk outside of philly or what. >> saying water or, check this ç out. you can't really say when you're trying to be middle of the road. >> an attitude from philly, could you? >> attitude. forgot about it. >> yeah, beautiful. that's where i grew up, look we're talking about that. this ad is really -- what i thought about it was the hype. do you think that it was wrong to ridicule this ad from the other side, downing that it knocked anybody, i did. your thoughts? >> yeah, if somebody's offended by the word, whether the word, hick, you're a hicky or something, obviously that's not right. i think where joe manchin went off of the tracks he's pretending actors that they're west virginians. we should have hired west virginia actors to do this sketch -- commercial, sorry, it ended up being a sketch, to say, well they're still going to read john raese's script. still going to be ripping and humiliating you, joe manchin. so you'd

. >> casting call ask for hicky, hick-like people. >> joe manchin has a 70% approval rating, and democratsconducted a focus group, 12 democrats, all of whom said he was a governor and they are voting against him to "send a message." this is a problem. >> he has a problem -- another problem, that he supported obamacare and now said he does not. i don't think there is a single democrat in the country, perhaps except for ross fine gold, who advertises support of obama -- perhaps except for russ feingold, who advertises support of obama. what is overriding here is the economy and certain major issues. one of the complaint against obamacare was not only what is in obamacare, but the fact that the democrats spent a year and half on this, which is not high on the agenda of a lot of voters, instead of addressing economic issues. that is the complaint, that they have been ideologically driven rather than looking after bread- and-butter. >> if the election were held today, it was fine gold would lose, right? -- russ feingold is, right? -- would lose, right? >> i would not votbet against him, but he

. >> the casting call sought actors who had, quote, a hicky, blue-collar look. the republican against joe mansion denounced the ad, said his campaign had nothing to do with this. >>> a report in how the money of last year's massive economic recovery package was spent, said that thousands of checks went to dead people. the inspector general's report says $18 million in stimulus funds went to 72,000 dead people. and more than $4 million went to 17,000 prison inmates. most of them, though, were actually eligible for the payments. >>> and washington, d.c. firefighters were on the scene last night, putting out a small fire at the commerce department building. the third floor fire happened in a storage room where workers were removing asbestos. no one was injured. >>> there's questions this morning about whether u.s. money is actually being spent on hiring taliban members in afghanistan as private security contractors. it's part of a new senate report, that also finds that the private security forces are often poorly trained and supervised. and there's evidence that s

what better way to illustrate that than the fact they have fake west virginians, hicky, if you will, cast in an ad to attack the democrat. and in ohio, the fact they found somebody who isn't really a steelworker but plays one on tv, to -- and using the word "us," he's done that to us in here, it violates advertising rules. >> republicans do, it democrats do it, no one has a lock, the special interest groups do it. >> no, but these are egregious. >> i would agree. >> yes. >> the thing is they're spending so much money on advertising. there's going to be $4.5 billion spent, and so you know, it's -- every campaign is not capable of putting together the proper campaign. >> what do you think about now all these -- because of the supreme court ruling, these groups able to basically get unlimited donations and no one really knows where the donors are from? >> i can tell you, when i'm running a campaign, i want to control my message. i don't want to do anything the candidate is uncomfortable with. outside groups put anything on the air and confuse the electorate. the electorate assumes these

we need to define "hick" and "hicky."you make an ad, you want someone to look like people in that area. it sounds natural, but are the folks in west virginia making as big of a deal of this? are they offended by this ad? >> reporter: you can bet the democratic governor, joe manchin is making a big deal out of it, in a big way, because they feel that this works to their favor in that it plays to their biggest argument against the republican down there, john raese, a very wealthy businessman, somebody who they are trying to paint as not really in touch with people of west virginia, both on a personal level because not only is he wealthy, his family doesn't even live in west virginia, but even with regard to the issues, he's somebody -- i was down there this week, and he said he doesn't believe the minimum wage should exist. democrats are hope thak this quote stereotyping feeds into the whole concept that this is not the guy that west virginians want representing them in washington. >> this is not supposed to be a competitiv

i guess it was that hicky casting call that got him in trouble. manchin's in the lead. and the new hampshire senate poll, the other way around, kelly i ayotte is pulling away from hodes. she's at 50% in the new university of new hampshire poll. she's polled out. finally to alaska where the three-way senate race is basically tied. 33% from republican joe miller he's got the nomination. 31% for lisa murkowski doing the write-in campaign. and 27% within striking distance for democrat scott mcadams. a weird case where someone could win in the three-way even if they're on the opposite side of most people. the club for growth has endorsed miller. but we'll continue to check the "hardball" score board every night leading up to the november 2nd election date. >>> now to the debate between harry reid and sharron angle. chuck todd is nbc's political director and chief white house correspondent as well. i want to start with john ralston but first take a look at some of the action. here's sharron angle, the challenger, the tea partier, delivering -- i think a cheap shot at the sena

to make the ad put out a casting call, first reported by politico, saying -- "we are going for a 'hicky' blue collar look." telling actors to wear "john deer," it's spelled wrong, "hats, not brand new, preferably beat up." do you think this is insulting? >> insulting? stronger than insulting. >> reporter: what is it? >> you become incensed in west virginia when you're always working and people are stereotyping. they don't even know who we are. >> reporter: one of those who responded, damian muziana. >> and washington joe does whatever obama wants. >> reporter: before playing a west virginia voter, he appeared on "saturday night live," "who wants to be a millionaire" and other commercials. >> it's my rally headset. too much? >> reporter: the republican party has now pulled the ad but the controversy over out of state actors is a blow to their candidate just as he appeared to be taking the lead. it doesn't help that he already has been attacked for owning a $2.5 million house in palm beach, florida. for his part, raese says he never wanted the ad to run in the first place. we talked to go

committee taken down an ad for raese following the report sought casting call with actors that could look "hicky they are calling for them to apologize for offending residents of the west virginia. nrsc says it was not involved in casting the ad. the race is pretty tight. the average give raese 4.5-point lead over the popular governor in west virginia. those are the stories we're watching on the fox big board. we will follow the races throughout 26 days before, of course, the mid-term elections. we look at some of the length the politicians are going to hang on to power. and democratic think tank says going after the liberal vote >> bret: a new cbs news poll indicates 38% of the participants approve of the way president obama is handling the economy. that is a low percentage. chief washington correspondent jim angle reports the percentage of americans sharing the president's liberal foundation is also slinking. >> reporter: many democrats seem to pin hopes on lighting a fire of the liberal base to hold off a republican surge. but the polls show sobering news for democrats counting on liberals to

but the casting company that put the commercial together asked for hicky type people.this week. little things like that can get you in trouble. the ad wars so crucial. both sides raising big bucks to get out the major ads in the closing weeks of the campaign. >> is that really going to play into it? are the folks of west virginia seeing past it and understanding what this ad was about, or is this really going to play some kind of significant role in the campaign there? >> this is a close race for a seat that's been in democratic hands for over 50 years. it was a distraction for the republicans. they have a good shot at winning the seat back. it was a distraction they didn't need. it was probably more of a national story. at the end of the day the big issues like the economy are more important than a little controversy of an ad. >> usually about everything you say you can back up with a poll. >> yeah, i can, you're right. so let's look at these brand new numbers. we have brand new cnn national survey. right off the bat i want to show you this. this is called a generic b

the casting call obtained by cnn asks for a, hockey, hicky blue-collar look. these characters are from west virginia so think coal miner/trucker looks. not only that, it asks the actors to bring specific wardrobe items, a trucker hat, not brand-new, preferably beat up. see that here. flannel jacket, t-shirt, check. a spokesman said they did not know about the casting call language and pulled the ad. the irony is republicans didn't have to use actors in philadelphia to capture concerns about manchin. we went to the real west virginia diner this week and heard the sentiment unscripted. >> generally pretty happy here in the state. i won't be voting for him for senate. i'd vote for someone with a straightup proposal for the

republicans paid a talent agency to hire them and the casting call obtained by cnn asks for a "hickye kashgrers are from west virginia, so think coal miner, trucker looks. flannel shirts, check. and a t-shirt underneath. here's the t-shirt. a spokesman for the national republican senatorial committee says they did not know about the casting call language and pulled the ad. the irony is republicans didn't have to use actors in philadelphia to capture concerns about mansion. we went to this real west virginia diner this week and heard the sentiment unscripted. >> i would be voting someone who is going to oppose obama's agenda. >> somehow they were hicks and rednecks. >> reporter: even democratic ad makers admit both parties use actors. >> if you have to go to paid actors as a second or a third resort, then because of tight timelines, you may have to go there. >> reporter: take this democratic senate ad now running against missouri republican roy blunt. >> roy is the life of the party. his wife, great. >> that woman is an actress. >> and that was dana bash reporting. of course, for all

incredibly upper class accents that you hear, especially from that guy raese, and then he says give me some hickyuys to play west virginians, a disconnect in terms of connecting with the people you want to have vote for you. my thought. your thoughts about the minimum wage, sir? serious matter. >> you know a gallon of milk costs $3.30. and a loaf of bread costs $1.75 and a dozen eggs cost $1.50. none of these guys have been in a grocery store and had to buy anything or they wouldn't be talking like that about the minimum wage. we settled that in 1938. and it is what has made the middle class in this country is that we've kept the floor on wages so that you couldn't drive people down to working for $1 a day, like they do in india or in cambodia or in some third world country. >> well, why do you think in a situation where most people are not rich who vote, most people know people who are working people, some people are better off, obviously, most people know somebody is working class, knows somebody is lucky to be a bit above minimum wage, why would anybody be playing with this? why do you think t

i guess it was that hicky casting call that got him in trouble. manchin's in the lead. and the new hampshire senate poll, the other way around, ayotte's pull away from hodes. she's at 50% in the new university of new hampshire poll. she's polled out. finally to alaska where the three-way senate race is basically tied. 33% from republican joe miller he's got the nomination. 31% for lisa murkowski doing the write-in campaign. and 27% within striking distance for democrat scott mcadams. a weird case where someone could win in the three-way even if they're on the opposite side of most people. but we'll continue to check the "hardball" score board every night leading up to the november 2nd election. >>> a couplist, a host of face to face and chuck todd is nbc news political director and chief white house correspondent as well. i want to start with john ralston but first take a look at some of the action. here's sharron angle, the challenger, the tea partier, delivering -- i think a cheap shot at the senate democratic leader, harry reid. let's listen. >> you came from search

. >> they wouldn't say hicky. what would they say about new yorkers to use that language.have come up there if these same guys were in the business. whatever. >> let me say this. >> go to this question. >> let me say this if i may -- >> why don't you debate your opponent. it sounds like you have the goods on him here. he's basically an out of towner, you argue. >> what debate. >> you want to debate him. >> chris, we want a debate. we're going to have a debate. we'll have as many debates as they want. the problem that they have is that there's two other candidates. i was the secretary of state. i go around the state and we've got 42,000 kids to register to vote. teaching democracy. the other two candidates, we have a candidate -- two other candidates that basically they say, well, they're not really contenders but they qualify to be on the ballot and they should be in the debate. that's what it's all about. >> you want a four-way? >> well, you have to. how are you going to eliminate people to qualify to be on the ballot? how can you do that? i can't in all good conscience s

the one that was going to be, quote, hicky and blue-collar looking.ng back and when we come back, we're going to talk to one of the actors in that ad. he's going to give us the insight on what it's like to put together one of these ads. campbell's condensed soup. pass it on. campbell's.® it's amazing what soup can do.™ sadly, no. oh. but i did pick up your dry cleaning and had your shoes shined. well, i made you a reservation at the sushi place around the corner. well, in that case, i better get back to these invoices... which i'll do right after making your favorite pancakes. you know what? i'm going to tidy up your side of the office. i can't hear you because i'm also making you a smoothie. [ male announcer ] marriott hotels & resorts knows it's better for xerox to automate their global invoice process so they can focus on serving their customers. with xerox, you're ready for real business. >>> wow, new jersey governor chris christie says he's not ready to run for president in 2012 but he's starting to get the rock star treatment from activists in t