here to dig into that, democratic pollster belcher and john avalon -- that's not john, that's joe johns. and john avalon contributor for thedailybeast.com. okay, gentlemen, first to you, cornell, let me ask you, real people, not politicos is what sarah palin says. is that an effective message? >> it an effective message. there's real questions about where the money comes have and the consultants that are tied to this established, old-time republican operatives. it's interesting to sort of see, you know, are they using the anger and frustration of so many of these people for their own political gain for the establishment. >> joe, you're nodding. yeah, this is for me, a work in progress because i've sort of been looking into the financial funding. the spokesperson for opensecrets.org is on the record saying their money comes from things like health care professional, believe it or not, which is fascinating. from, you know, financial concerns, retirees, and one of the big questions, of course, is how much charles and david cook, the big conservative funders, are actually putting into that.

cnn contributor john avalon says all of this spells trouble for her campaign. >> look, there's a reason the libertarian magazine reason called her a crackpot of the first order. you are seeing a lot of the controversies from her past have -- are coming out and they're going to keep coming out in drips and drabs. you may see more about her past talking about gay conversion therapy. it's a real issue for her campaign and her candidacy. it's a lot of the reasons republicans were concerned about this. these skeletons in her closet, being a professional social conservative activist on a lot of talk shows during the 1990s -- expect more of where this comes from. >> listen, do you think this clip is the reason she canceled yesterday? obviously you're not in her campaign. but do you think this clip had something to do with it? >> probably. because she was on a surge giving a speech at value voters just the other day, talking about how some people out there call us wing nuts. but we represent "we the people." and getting a very positive response at the values voters forum. news that this was com

john avalon is a cnn contributor, contributor to thedailybeast.com and author of "wing nuts."t's start with dan senor and the obvious, what did you think of the speech? >> i was underwhelmed, larry. i thought he made many important points particularly about how regardless of what one thinks about the decision to go in iraq, iraq is a better place today for the iraqi people and better for american security. americans are more secure because of where iraq is today. i thought the speech tonight was too focused on why we're leaving, the withdrawal, who deserves much of the credit and the troops deserve most of the credit but also general odierno, general petraeus, president bush's surge strategy which not only president obama remained committed to even though he was oppose ed opposed to it, americans learned a lot of lessons and counter insurgency the last couple of years in the war which i would say president obama was able to give the speech he did tonight because of that strategy and so i thought in that sense it was a little ungracious. >> larry: michael, he was underwhelmed,

let's talk to john avalon. you paid close attention to the race, if you are a mayor elsewhere out in america and you have been thinking or started to adopt the reforms if the test scores are not improved, the teacher is fired, and if the city defends mayor fenty, what is the message? >> it is a chilling message for the mayors across the country embracing education reform or thinking a bt it. in the mayor who has 64% of the city saying he is doing a good job and if he can be taken out in a closed primary because of educational muscle, that is concerning. we are finally making real progress in education, but it requires the mayors taking on the teacher's union and that is a dangerous thing with the democratic party and not just local election, but huge implications nationally. >> and arne duncan have backed up mayor fenty and michelle rhee and refused to get involved in the race. >> yes, and you have to ask why? because she is one of the strong leaders of reform. this is a sign of what is to come. this is happeni

our cnn contributor john avalon had this to say about this cancellation. >> she was on a surge, giving a speech at value voters just the other day, talking about how, you know, some people out there call us wingnuts, but we represent "we the people," and getting a positive reception at the value voters forum. so news that this was coming down the pike is what causes campaigns to go into massive defensive mode. and when you're booked for the sunday shows, and then you go into retreat, that is a sign of a candidate in panic mode. >> so who exactly is christine o'donnell? she is the republican senate candidate from delaware. she beat out the establishment gop pick to fill vice president joe biden's vacant seat. o'donnell enjoys strong support from the tea party, both sarah palin and south carolina senator jim demint endorsed her. one day after her nomination, she saw $800,000 pumped in her campaign coffers. she's considered a conservative values candidate. and indiana representative, mike pence, he has a reason to smile. he was the top choice in the 2012 republican candidates. he got 24%

our cnn contributor and author of "wing nuts," john avalon said her past, o'donnell's past, could cometarian magazine "reason" called her a crack pot of the first order. you are seeing a lot of the controversies from her past are coming out, and they're going to keep coming out in drips and drabs. i think you may see more about her past talking about gay conversion therapy. but this is a real issue for her campaign. it's a real issue for her candidacy. it's a reason a lot of responsible republicans and conservatives were very concerned about her winning the nomination, not just about electability in the broadest sense, but also just about the skeletons in her closet, being a professional social conservative activist on a lot of talk shows during the 1990s. so expect more where this comes from. >> and you'll remember o'donnell shocked the republican party and a lot of folks when she won the senate primary election last week. >>> coming up, it's always a busy week in politics. our cnn deputy director paul steinhauser takes a look at what's ahead. >> good morning, t.j. coming up on six we

and john avalon looks at her mission, damage control. o'donnell canceled two sunday talk show appearances after this came to light. and now you are calling her the new queen of wing nuts. >> ah, the queen of the wing nuts. this week she was clear to say she was not a wing nut, she was specific about that. but she is revelations haven't helped. when you cancel sunday shows that is sign of a campaign in crisis and damage control mode. this is the newest revelation, but in reality, these sorts of claims have been dogging her campaign early on. the libertarian reason magazine called her a crackpot of the first order before the primary. whether you find this witchcraft claim more controversial or offensive than statements like, say, that aid sufferers shouldn't be called victims that's a judgment call. there is a lot more where this comes from. >> karl rove weighed in, not showing her love. and she actually tweeted sunday night on that and said that if she did have the powers of a witch then karl rove would be backing her candidacy. >> well,