for "nightline," this is jake tapper in washington. >> and those are the daisies. jake tapper for that. when we come back, virginia thomas calls anita hill. but first, here's jimmy kimmel with what's coming up next on "jimmy kimmel live." >> jimmy: thanks, terry. tonight, heidi klum, music from mumford & sons, surprise dancing with the stars eliminee florence henderson, and a crazed chimp smashing windows in kansas city. henderson, and a crazed chimp smashing windows in kansas city. "jimmy kimmel live" is next. meg whitman's hometown newspaper said it best: "meg whitman has demonstrated a loose relationship with the truth" "a poor understanding of government" "pat solutions for problems whose depth and complexity clearly elude her" "she utterly lacks the qualifications to be governor" jerry brown "offers california exactly what it needs" "good ideas, strong principles, a reputation for telling the truth" and the ability to "get things done in sacramento" meg whitman's hometown newspaper and newspapers across the state have endorsed jerry brown for governor.

so jake tapper starts us off. jake. >> reporter: good evening, diane. president obama is said to be in a fighting mood. as he of the vote. but today's trip did not display the kind of democratic unity he might have hoped for the week before the election. with much focus on democratic gubernatorial candidate frank caprio, whom the president did not endorse because he's fond of the independent candidate. >> he can take the endorsement and shove it. >> reporter: rancor was rampant. in alaska, incumbent senator lisa murkowski, running as a write-in candidate, took on republican nominee and tea party favorite joe miller. >> what would your instructors, what would your classmates at west point say about how well you have lived up to your code of honor? joe is not fit to lead. i have been leading -- [ boos ] i have been leading this state -- [ boos ] >> reporter: operatives from both parties hope the discord doesn't dampen multimillion dollar get out the vote efforts. targeted -- such as christine o'donnell on the christian broadcasting network. >> god is the

jake tapper tried to find some answers. >> reporter: imagine being democratic congressman john sprattby ads attacking him in south carolina. >> trying to trick us. >> budget committee chairman, spratt approved billions in deficit spending without missing a beat. >> reporter: and spratt doesn't even know who is doing the attacking. >> money that's coming in from unidentified, nondisclosed groups is -- dwarfs anything i've seen before. >> reporter: that's because the rules have changed. >> posing as nonprofit groups with names like americans for prosperity. or americans for apple pie. i mean -- i made that last one up, but -- >> reporter: and while democratic groups have also benefited from these rule changes, in recent months, republican-leaning outside groups have outspent democratic-leaning groups by 5 to 1. >> the rulebook has changed. it's almost like comparing baseball preand post-steroid era. >> reporter: so, who are these groups? we tried to find out. one, the american future fund, attacked spratt for being a big spender. >> spent trillions and create crushing debt. >> reporter:

jake tapper has been pursuing answers and he's at it again in colorado tonight. jake? >> reporter: good evening from denver, diane. and that's right. in the last month and a half, there's been more spending by third party groups here in colorado than in any other state in the nation. most of it benefits republicans. but it's gotten so bad that even the republican senate candidate here called for these groups to disclose their donors. >> reporter: president obama stepped up the pressure today on third party independent groups running campaign ads to reveal their donors. >> they don't have the courage to stand up and disclose their identities. they could be insurance companies or wall street banks or even foreign-owned corporations. we will not know. are and avalanche of these ads has hit the rocky mountain state. in a senate debate in denver today, hosted by abc news, republican candidate ken buck broke from his party and demanded transparency. >> i think it's important that people know who is paying for the ads and what their relationship is with different issues. >> r

since candidates have said diametrically opposite things, jake tapper is here with the "world news" fact check. >> reporter: on univision radio this week, president obama told the largely hispanic audience of listeners this -- >> i'm going to keep my promise on immigration reform. >> reporter: activists say the president's only explicit immigration promise was made when he was running for president. >> we will have, in the first year, an immigration bill that i strongly support and that i'm promoting. >> reporter: did the president keep that promise? no. there has not been an immigration bill that he strongly supported and promoted. on the airwaves, republicans are attacking democrats records on immigration reform. >> we might as well put out a welcome sign for illegal aliens. >> reporter: sometimes with crude caricatures. such as this one, from republican senator david vitter of louisiana about his opponent. >> melancon voted to make it easier for illegals to get taxpayer-funded benefits. >> reporter: or this from nevada republican sharron angle about hers. >> he votes to give special t

jake tapper is at the white house. what happens next for the military, those who enlisted and for the white house? >> reporter: well, the president has to decide and the justice department, whether or not they should appeal this injunction against a policy that the administration says it's opposes. it has been on a public policy defending this policy of don't ask, don't tell, for 20 months. even though they don't sport it. they want congress to be the ones to overturn it. they have to decide whether or not they're going to challenge this stay on equal protection and free speech grounds. >> still a sweeping ruling tonight. thank you, jake. >>> another story out of the white house. the gulf of mexico is open for deep-water drilling today. today the obama administration lifted the ban on drilling imposed after the bp blowout almost six months. the mother toirm was supposed to stay in place until the end of november. the white house says tougher new rules to avoid another disaster are in place. >>> and now, countdown to el

jake tapper spent the day assessing it all and with us tonight. jake? >> reporter: good evening, diane. well, that's right. president obama went on the jon stewart show last night. stewart frequently assails and critiques the right with wit. and he is often seems supportive of president obama. but last night, president obama seemed to come face to face with stewart's own personal enthusiasm gap. there were laughs, but ultimately, some seemed to be at the president's expense. >> so, you wouldn't say you would run this time as a pragmatist? you would not -- it wouldn't be "yes we can, given certain conditions." >> no, i think what i would say is "yes we can but -- [ laughter ] but it's not going to happen overnight." >> reporter: whether defending economic adviser larry summer -- >> in fairness, larry summers did a heck of a job trying to figure out how to -- >> you don't want to use that phrase, dude. >> reporter: or his agenda in general. >> we have done things that some folks don't even know about. >> what have you done that we don't know about? [ laug

here's jake tapper. >> reporter: in bidding adieu to chief of staff rahm emanuel and announcing the appointment of pete rouse, the president stated what staffers had been joking about. >> obviously, these two gentlemen have slightly different styles. >> reporter: emanuel, heading off to run for mayor of chicago, is talkative. high profile. profa profane. >> rahm, when he was a kid, had lost part of his finger in an accident. and it was his middle finger, so it rendered him mute for a while. >> reporter: and today, with his myriad of bro-hugs with the president and his emotional farewell, we saw a softer side. >> my father -- and my grandfather came to this country for opportunity. they came here for a better life for their children. >> reporter: rouse is laconic. he works behind the scenes. at today's announcement, he chose not to speak, which is how he likes it. >> pete has never seen a microphone or a tv camera that he likes. >> reporter: but he is known as a problem solver. the guy to tackle the toughest challenges. >> there is a saying around the white house, "let's let pete fix it." >> rep

jake tapper is there tonight. >> reporter: the bad employment news shows little sign of letting up. >> even family and friends that had gone through it and never thought it would be me. >> reporter: but now, nick of birmingham, alabama, is one of those numbers. the former representative with farmer's insurance was laid off in july. >> it was devastating. >> reporter: he's one of 14.8 million workers that wanted work last month but couldn't find it. with nearly 150,000 public sector jobs lost, the nation experienced a net job loss of 95,000 jobs. >> the job market, i think it's fair to say, is as tough as its been since the 1930s great depression. it's not in that league but we've not seen anything like this since the 1930s. >> reporter: as a brick and block company in maryland today, the president noted that most of the job losses were in the public sector. teachers and police. and 25 days before the mid-term elections, he could not help but make it political. >> i should point out that these continuing layoffs by state and local governments would have been even worse without the fede

so, jake tapper caught up with some of the democratic superstars on the trail to ask how they see the feature tonight. >> reporter: the president in los angeles today stumped for a senator in this deep blue state who six years ago won with almost 60% of the vote. but today, barbara boxer is locked in a dead heat. >> yes we can. >> reporter: tonight, in nevada, the president will try to raise money and excitement for embattled senate majority leader harry reid. but one thing the president is not raising is expectations. >> this is going to be a difficult election. >> reporter: the returns are not even in yet, and democrats are looking for explanations as to why things have gone so wrong. were they hindered from explaining their accomplishments? >> we were in such emergency mode that it was very difficult for us to spend a lot of time doing victory laps and advertising, exactly, what we were doing. >> reporter: some democrats say it's not that they didn't have the time to tout their accomplishments, it's that they didn't have the guts. >> i think we've been too scared about talking abou

we asked jake tapper to check the facts. >> reporter: with tens of millions of dollars in attack adsitting the airwaves, the u.s. chamber of commerce is the second biggest player in the mid-term elections. out spending even democrats. president obama says he wants to know where the money is coming from. >> one of the largest groups paying for these ads regularly takes in money from foreign sources. >> reporter: the supreme court loosened campaign contribution rules for corporations last year, and now the president is suggesting the chamber might be letting foreign money influence american elections. >> are you going to let special interests from wall street and washington and maybe places beyond our shores come to this state and tell us who our senator should be? >> reporter: does the chamber of commerce take money from foreign companies? yes. some of the chamber's money comes from foreign companies and foreign-based chamber affiliates. but is there any proof that foreign money is funding political ads or activities? no. >> you just don't know. it's speculation and nothing more. >> r

jake tapper has the latest on what the president did. >> reporter: president obama did not exactly project confidence in a radio interview today that election day will be a good night for his party. >> we're going to have to wait and see what happens. and a lot of it is going to depend on turnout. >> reporter: he is looking to increase turnout of the democratic base however he can, this afternoon meeting with five top liberal bloggers and appearing on comedy central's "daily show." in the philly suburbs, the vice president tried to channel populist anger. >> a lot of our folks are angry, and they're angry for really good reasons. >> reporter: nearly two years into the obama presidency, mr. biden maintains it's republicans whom the public is not happy with because of the economy. >> the press thinks because they're angry, they're angry at us. >> reporter: the 11th hour appeals can have a whiff of desperation. north dakota's endangered democratic congressman pitches contrition. >> i know i've disappointed you with a vote here or there. >> reporter: a labor group sells fear. >> the republican

now, it's back to chicago to make waves there, and jake tapper broke the story on monday, and has more tonight. >>> reporter: rahm emanuel was a chief of staff whose provocative and hard-charging reputation, and foul mouth, were famous enough to be spoofed on "saturday night live." >> oh, so you come after me on facebook? what are you, 14? here's a status update, grow the [ bleep ] up! >> reporter: and by the president, the night before mother's day. >> this is a tough holiday for rahm emanuel because he's not used to saying the word "day" after "mother." >> reporter: two years ago, the president pressured emanuel to become his chief of staff, thinking emanuel's experience as a member of congress and former political director for the clinton white house would be indispensable for the president's ambitious agenda. a job emanuel said he would do for at least two years. >> reporter: are you here until the end of 2010 for sure? >> yes. >> reporter: beyond? >> do you mind if i talk to my wife first about it? >> reporter: but emanuel made no secret of his desire to head to the city with big

jake tapper, our white house correspondent, was in the room. jake? >> reporter: good evening, diane. it was at 8:00 a.m. this morning when white house officials decided to require the inspection of all packages coming into this country from yemen. just one decision of many made throughout a frenetic night and day. a press conference called at the last minute. with a message to the american people that his team is on the case. >> the american people should know that the counter-terrorism professionals are taking this threat very seriously and are taking all necessary and prudent steps to ensure our security. >> reporter: the president was in the white house residence last night at 10:35 when his top counter-terrorism adviser john brennan e-mailed him to tell him about credible intelligence of a plot to send bombs from yemen to chicago. >> anybody who is associated with al qaeda is a subject of concern. >> reporter: keeping in e-mail communication with the president throughout the night, brennan sounded the alarm. at 11:00 last night, he held a confere

jake tapper, abc news, the white house. >>> mr.spent last night rallying young voters at a sold-out concert in washington. now is not the time to quit, the president shouted, into the darkened hall as young voters cheered him on. our future is in our hands and that's what's being tested in the current financial crisis, mr. obama told the crowd. >>> tensions are heating up this morning between the u.s. and pakistan. >> the latest on an attack on nato tankers carrying fuel to nato troops in afghanistan. nick schifrin joins us on the phone from kabul with the latest details. good morning, nick. >> reporter: good morning, rob. good morning, vinita. this all started about 36 hours ago when two nato helicopters actually entered pakistani air space and they killed, accidentally, three pakistani soldiers. pakistan objected strongly in public and then they actually closed the border crossing between pakistan and afghanistan. that's where more than 50% of all the supplies used in afghanistan flows through. now that's not the first time that

jake tapper now reports from the white house. >> reporter: with tens of millions of dollars in attackir waves -- >> tell jerry brown stop chasing away california jobs. >> reporter: -- the u.s. chamber of commerce is the second biggest player in the midterm elections. outspending even democrats. president obama says he wants to know where their money is coming from. >> one of the largest groups paying for these ads regularly takes in money from foreign sources. >> reporter: the supreme court loosened requirements last year, and the president is suggesting that the chamber might be letting foreign money influence american elections. >> are you going to let special interests from wall street and washington and maybe places beyond our shores come to this state and tell us who our senators should be? >> reporter: does the chamber of commerce take money from foreign companies? yes. some of the chamber's money comes from foreign companies and foreign-based chamber affiliates. but is there any proof that foreign money is funding political ads or activities? no. >> you just don't know. it's sp

and jake tapper is live at the white house. jake? >> reporter: good morning, george. president obama and the democrats have their work cut out for them. at n the latest abc news/yahoo! news poll, 80% of americans say they are frustrated with the economy. even as the president was reaching out for young voters at a town hall meeting last night at george washington university, he was almost, well, not eulogizing democrats in congress. but -- >> there are a lot of folks who took some really tough votes over the course of the last 20 months, knowing it was bad for them politically. and they did it anyway. and that was risky for them. >> reporter: today, all eyes will be on his wife, as she steps out on the campaign trail for the first time since 2008. starting a seven-state, two-week blitz, in tight races around the country. speaking of tight races, in krth last night, in a senate debate, democrat attorney general dick blumenthal, attacked his opponent's track record, at her wrestling company. >> there's been seven dead wrestlers since she started campaigning for this off

jake tapper, abc news, seattle, washington. >>> among all of the bailout programs launched during the up freddie mac and fannie mae looks to be most expensive. taxpayers could spend $259 billion just to keep them afloat. the two companies by home loans, some lendered turned them into bonds and guaranteed those loans. >>> candidates are cranking up their campaign promises mostly about taxes before the midterm vote next month. making taxes is a fact of life and finding a loophole isn't easy. unless your corporation has found a way to vad the tax man. david muir is on the money trail. >> reporter: the report finds that google has done some searching of its own for countries overseas where it can avoid u.s. taxes. >> over the last three years google has saved $3 billion in taxes. >> 3 billion? >> 3 billion, with a "b," yes. >> reporter: all of the reported overseas never gets taxed here. google licensed some of the intellectual property it created here in the u.s. to a subsidiary in ireland. it turns out googles's profits done even get tax there had because goosele reportedly funnels that

let's bring jake tapper back quickly. the democratic chairman tim kaine doing the same thing saying the democrats are going to hold the house. how much preparation is going on behind the scenes now for a congress-controlled republicans? >> as you're saying, they're not conceding anything publicly. but these guys can read the polls. they're preparing for any possible contingency, of course that includes republicans taking the house and even the senate. >> okay, jake tapper, jon karl, thanks very much. >>> now to an international dispute over an american swimmer's death fran crippen died competing in a world cup race outside of dubai over the weekend. organizers say crippen died from overexertion. but this morning, the competition is coming under fire. andrea canning joins us. the swimmers are really speaking out about this, andrea. >> they sure are. good morning, robin. there are conflicting reports about how he died and who is to blame. fran crippen beated in long distances out in the open waters. he's at the top of the g

jake tapper is with us. we'll get to that but first this news overnight why wt idea that hillary clinton could replace joe biden on the 2012 ticket is, quote, according to him, on the table. i've been working the phones this morning. i know you have, as well. and can find zero evidence that he's right. >> reporter: that's right. not only does it appear to be on the table, nobody knows what table bob woodward is talking about. possibly mr. woodward is trying to create buzz for his book but book itself makes the opposite case about the relationship between secretary of state clinton and president obama. and there's nobody in the building behind me i can find that has heard anything about this. >> president obama has never discussed this. and told vice president biden that biden will be his running mate next time around. let's get to this election. and the idea that the number of women could go down, even as president obama is courting the woman's vote heavily. >> reporter: that's right, george. and president o

jake tapper has the story. >> reporter: the president touched down in blue state rhode island, and thereans for opposing his economic proposals. >> is's just playing politics. if you are going to talk a big game you, need to deliver. >> reporter: two years ago, then-candidate obama was known for visiting states and counties democrats had not won in years. all about rallying the base. providence is the 23rd straight visit to a county he won handily with an average of 70% of the vote. but the trip did not display the kind of democratic unity he might have hoped for the week before the election. with much focus on democratic gubernatorial candidate, frank caprio, the president did not endorse because he is fond of the independent candidate. >> he can take the endorsement and shove it. >> rancor was rampant. in alaska, lisa murkowski, running as a write-in candidate, attacked nominee, veteran, joe miller for ethical controversies. >> what would your classmates at west point say about how well you have lived up to your code of honor? joe is not fit to lead. i have been leading this state. i h

here's jake tapper. >> reporter: on univision radio this week president obama told the largely hispanic'm going to keep my promise on immigration reform. >> reporter: activists say the president's only explicit immigration promise was made when he was running for president. >> we will have in the first year an immigration bill that i strongly support and that i'm promoting. >> reporter: did the president keep that promise? no. there has not been an immigration bill that he strongly supported and promoted. on the airwaves republicans are attacking democrats' records on immigration reform. >> we might as well put out a welcome sign for illegal aliens. >> reporter: sometimes with crude caricatures, such as this one from republican senator david vitter of louisiana about his opponent. >> melancon voted to make it easier for illegals to get taxpayer-funded benefits. >> reporter: or this from nevada republican sharron angle about hers. >> he votes to give special tax breaks to illegal aliens. >> reporter: did either democrat support giving these benefits to illegal immigrants? no. in californ

jake tapper with much more. good morning, jake. >> reporter: good morning, that's right, president obama and first lady obama hitting the campaign trail for the first time since 2008, hoping to re-create some of that campaign magazine take has so far largely eluded the president and democrats. at ohio state university in columbus, the first lady said she's back on the stump because the stakes are so high. >> can we do this? >> yes, we can! >> are you fired up and ready to go? >> reporter: it was clearly not the first campaign appearance in two years for her very hoarse husband. >> i hope you don't mind, i'm losing my voice because i'm still fired up. >> reporter: who continued to argue today's republican party is far too extreme. >> in the words of the first republican president, abraham lincoln, who, by the way, i'm not sure could win a nomination in the republican party right now. >> reporter: with nearly 10% and high disapproval, all over that, including the kentucky race. >> why was rand paul a member of the

jake tapper has more from the white house. >> reporter: about the claim that 75% of the oil is gone, white house climate change czar who said that, she was mistaken and a different statement put out by an official that day was correct. whether or not they were overly optimistic, the administration said they were operating on the best information at the time and nothing in the draft reports, by staff, not signed off by the commission officially, nothing in the draft reports they say indicates that anything, any part of the response was affected or delayed in any way. >>> the report also criticizes the white house for underestimating the amount of oil flowing into the gulf. the administration countered by saying it was always clear about what the worst case scenario could be. >>> bedbugs have been found everywhere from retail stores to movie theaters and now they even turned up inside a hospital in providence, rhode island. a spokeswoman at women and infants hospital says the infestation has been limited to one patient's room but the nurses there say it's more widespread than that. wit

just four days to go and jake tapper is there where they are bracing for a big republican night. jake. >> reporter: that's right, george. president obama and white house officials are publicly continuing to make the best case they can for their party, they are behind the scenes, bracing for republicans to have a good midterm election season. and as we come down to crunch time, the election is taking on all sorts of bizarre twists and turns. >> thank you so very much. >> reporter: the big news overnight that former president bill clinton tried to talk democratic congressman kendrick meek into dropping out of the three-way florida senate race. >> any rumor or any statement by anyone that says i made a decision to get out of the race is inaccurate at best. >> reporter: first reported by politico and confirmed by abc news clinton and his top aides thought they convinced meek to drop out, thus delivering liberals and moderates to independent charlie crist and preventing republican marco rubio from winning. >> i do know it was happening. we had several discussions and conversations with

jake tapper has the latest. >> reporter: good morning. the first reporter to hear about the call was mark matthews from our san francisco station. originally, anita hill thought it was a prank and reported to it campus police. it was no prank. >> to tell the truth and the whole truth. >> reporter: since the hearings in 1991 -- >> my name is ameet that hill. >> reporter: -- she's become a profe professor. good morning, anita hill, it's ginni thomas. i would love you to consider an apology sometime and a full explanation of why you did what you did with my husband. give it some thought. pray about this. for some, that almost 20-year-old saga may be difficult to remember. the charges were explosive. in 1991 hill accused now supreme court justice thomas of sexual harassment. >> he began to use work situations to discuss sex. >> from my standpoint, as a black american, as far as i'm concerned, it's a high-tech lynching. were he and his wife reflected on those days with jan crawford. >> i think she owes us an apology. i look forward to receivin

jake tapper is at the white house for us this morning with all of the details. jake? >> reporter: that's right, robin. the new abc news/"washington post" poll shows a modest bump in the americans who think that the economy is improving. that number is still the minority. but the white house is using it as evidence that things are improving for democrats in the midterm elections, with a lot of work that remains to be done. it is a mere four weeks and counting until democrats and republicans officially battle over control for congress. and matters look somewhat less horrendous for democrats. in a new abc news/"washington post" poll, the republicans continue to hold a sizable lead in the generic ballot among likely voters. 49% to 43%. but that's an improvement. last month, republicans held a record-breaking 53% to 40%. now, we're talking about a blowout, compared to a tsunami. today's numbers are still bad for democrats, with republicans holding a bigger lead than at this point in 1994, when they last seized control of congress. including a current 20-point republican ad

jake tapper is outside of the white house and has the latest. >> reporter: good morning, robin. that's right. the four draft reports by the oil commission criticize the white house for its response to the oil spill. saying that the white house was overly optimistic. they relied too much on information from bp. and in at least one case, provided misleading information to the public. in august, white house environment and climate change adviser, carol browner, came on "good morning america" and told you something not true. >> the good news is that the vast majority of the oil appears to be gone. >> reporter: the white house's oil spill commission now states that the scientists' findings, however, did not support the claim that 75% of the oil was gone, as browner claimed. some of it, for instance, was dispersed or dissolved in the water. so, the white house admits that browner was mistaken. but argues that a different official gave the correct information elsewhere. >> a lot of people said if the oil was dispersed, it was gone. and we know the oil's not gone when it's dispersed. it

jake tapper is live at the white house. on the surface, these two men cannot be more different. >> reporter: that's right. it's like s.a.t. prep here. rahm was -- rouse more low-profile behind the scenes. both men are praised for being good strategists and more low-profile. rouse, more of a manager in the traditional chief of staff mold. >> and a little easier on the furniture. and one of the things he's going to have to do right now is plan many -- a series of changes at the white house. this is one of many changes right now. let's look at the political in communications. david plouffe, the campaign manager in 2008, he'll be coming back into the white house. some time next spring, david axelrod, his strategic message guru will leave to go back to chicago to work on the next re-election campaign. also talk that robert gibbs, the press secretary may be shifted to more of an adviser role. these are major. >> reporter: big changes. plouffe coming onboard. of course, he is somebody the president has a lot of faith in. has a lot

. >>> we're going to go to jake tapper over at the white house. the white house trying to make an issue from all those ads from outside groups supporting republican candidates and where the money is coming to pay for them. they called out george w. bush's political guru, karl rove. he's standing by personally to respond. first, we want to go to jake at the white house. jake? >> reporter: good morning, george. that's right. president obama is on the stump, making the case that big money, special interests are pulling out all the stops to defeat democrats. but not all of the insinuations being made are proven. the air waves are clogged with negative ads from independent third-party groups. because of the supreme court decision, can take unlimited corporate donations and never have to disclose who is behind the attacks. >> two groups, funded and advised by karl rove, have outspent the democratic party 2-1, in an attempt to be elected. >> reporter: now, president obama, wielding a study from the liberal group, think progress, suggests the chamber of c