nbc news capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell is live in washington with the latest on all of this and more. hey, kelly. >> hi, richard. christine o'donnell is sort of trying to rein in all the media attention. that's hard for the candidate in the spotlight to do. she will back away from doing national media to focus on delaware, a stratgethat some republicans will say that will work for her and improve her chances in delaware but democrats really want to look to first lady michelle obama needing her appeal, her popularity especially in states where there are senate states in trouble. they want to see michelle obama hitting the road. soon adding her voice to mid-term politics -- >> thank you. >> reporter: the white house announced tuesday that michelle obama will campaign in six states where several senate democrats are in trouble. >> i think she will go out and make a forceful and positive case for what this administration has done. >> reporter: tuesday, senate democrats tried and failed to deliver on two issues that

but there's a lot of that going around, starting in delaware where our own kelly o'donnell starts us off tonight. kelly, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. tonight, democrats and tea party supporters are excited about the same big upset here, each believing it can help their separate causes. while republican officials are trying to figure out how to win with a candidate they did not want. up early to face a rash of national attention and new scrutiny. tea party conservative christine o'donnell's senate primary victory defied the republican party regulars who had openly mocked her. even today, no congratulations from her gop opponent. >> he won't endorse me. he said, she has governor palin, why does she need me? >> reporter: her family and friends pause for a prayer as she made the media rounds. >> thank you, thank you. that is an exciting night last night. >> reporter: tea party upsets like hers have triggered a republican party civil war. >> i am perplexed about what's going on with karl rove. >> reporter: karl rove insists republicans will lose the seat because she has

our own kelly o'donnell has been covering the story and she's with us tonight from washington. kelly, good evening. >> hi, brian. >> reporter: the emotions run deep and the intensity playing out is, to some degree, about the future of the policy itself and a lot is about politics. with just a few weeks to go before the mid-term elections. >> this is a blatant political ploy in order to try to galvanize the political base of the other side which is facing a losing election. >> it is wrong to suggest that the fight legislatively is election-driven. >> reporter: republicans effectively blocked repealing the 17-year-old ban on gays serving openly in the military so the president's often-repeated promise goes unfulfilled. >> i will end the "don't ask don't tell." that's my commitment to you. >> reporter: failing to deliver has angered liberal voters. that frustration took stage on monday in maine where music sensation, lady gaga, toned down her looks and turned up the heat. >> doesn't it seem to you that we should send home the prejudice? the straight soldier who hates the gay soldie

example, with great attention where there's an important gop senate primary, it's where our own kelly o'donnell is stationed tonight. kelly, good evening. >> reporter: hi, brian. well, the polls have closed here in delaware and this small state could have big implications for what's happening around the country. officials tell us about 30,000 republicans will vote in this closed senate primary. what they decide could tell us about the tea party movement and republican establishment. the state party got behind a republican who has won more races here than any other republican in delaware's history. they wanted him to get the nomination, but the tea party and sarah palin backed christine o'donnell who has never won a race and she has been challenged for her qualifications. castle said she didn't have the ability to be a senator, but she has come on strong with the support of tea party money and a boost from palin. now this is all very important because we are talking about joe biden's senate seat. republicans believe this was a great opportunity for them to try to take that back from democrats. a

kelly o'donnell with us here in washington. kelly, thanks. >>> former president jimmy carter has arrived here in washington tonight after spenng the past two nights in an ohio hospital being treated for a bad viral infection. upon his release today, he thanked the staff of cleveland's metro health medical cter. he was rushed there by ambulance tuesday after feeling sick during the flight, but emerged today looking strong, carrying his own briefcase in fact. he's resuming his normal schedule of meetings here in the nation's capital tonight. he turns 8years old tomorrow. >>> relations between the united states and pakistan may be at a new low tonight, and that tension is not a good thing for e u.s.trategy against terrorism. pakistan has now blocked a vital supply route into afghanistan after a helicopter strike killed three pastani troops along the border. pakistanis say it was a nato chopper that unleashed that strike. our own john yang is on duty tonight in kabul. john, goodvening. >> rorter: good evening, brian. tonight, genera

our own kelly o'donnell reports. >> reporter: delaware's tea party star christine o'donnell dismissed the sudden flow of old tv appearances as a vained attraction from real issues. >> i dabbled in tchcraft. i never joined a coven. >> reporter: bill mauer's show was taped just before halloween 11 yearsgo. o'donnell said that was about high school. >> i hung around people who were doing these things. >> reporter: in front of voters last nig, she tried to turn it into a punchne. >> there's been no witchcraft since. if there was, karl rove would be a supporter now. >> reporter: today, rush limbaugh said o'donnell's past is getting unfair scrutiny. >> we know more about christine o'donnell right now than we know about obama. >> reporter: today, the president said the tea party should offer answers, not st anger. >>he challenge i think for the tea party movement is to identify specifically what would you do. >> reporr: democrats focussed their fire on o'donnell's finances. >> o'donnell spends money she doesn't have. >> reporter: this year o'donnell paid the irs more than $11,000 in back tax

example, with great attention where there's an an important gop senate primary, it's where our own kelly o'donnell is stationed tonight. kelly, good evening. >> reporter: hi, brian. people are watching delaware because this little state has big implications for the rest of the country, what's happening here is really a vivid example of the conflict within the republican party. about what kinds of candidates and what brand of politics could work best in november. there is a senate seat here, it belonged to joe biden, it's up for grabs. republicans all chose mike castle who's won more elections in delaware than any republican. and then just the last two weeks, an insurgent tea party candidate named christine o'donnell came out of almost nowhere become a serious challenger. why? outside tea party money. sarah palin's influence and real tension in this race. now there have been questions about whether she's qualified, her financial history and work history has been a part of this race, she says she's had hard times but that means she can understand what voters are feeling. what happens here matters el

>> kelly o'donnell starting us off tonight. >>> a few other big races to note here. here in new york state, another win for tea party supporters, carl paladino from buffalo, defeated rick lazio in the primary. also here in new york, charlie rangel won renomination to congress in his harlem district despite ethics problems. and in washington, d.c., voters fired their mayor. while it was just a city mayor's race, that washington election result last night was heard across the country by those who follow education reform. that's because the defeat of mayor fenty means the departure of a big reformer. michelle ree is the chancellor of schools in d.c. this comes just as her profile is about to explode even bigger because of a new film called "waiting for superman." that premieres tonight in washington. our own tom costello is there for us. >> reporter: good evening, brian. we're at the museum, waiting for the premiere. michelle has been the national symbol on education reform and admits she probably played a part in the mayor losing his job. so the question now, what happ

kelly o'donnell, nbc news, washington. >>> when "nightly news" continues on this friday evening, no tv on school nights. no facebook, no cell phones. the rules of the house at the white house. >>> and later, the tattered remnants of a dark day helping people around the country stitch together a brighter future. people around the country stitch together a brighter future. if you have high cholesterol, high blood pressure or diabetes, you may also have very high triglycerides -- too much fat in the blood. it's a serious medical condition. lovaza, along with diet, effectively lowers very high triglycerides in adults but has not been shown to prevent heart attacks or strokes. lovaza starts with omega-3 fish oil that's then purified and concentrated. it's the only omega-3 medication that's fda-approved. you can't get it at a health food store. lovaza isn't right for everyone. tell your doctor if you're allergic to fish, have other medical conditions and about any medications you're taking, especially those that may increase risk of bleeding. blood tests are needed before and during treatmen

nbc kelly's o'donnell.eciate your time tonight. >>> and our telephone sur acres have i asked you, do you think kids should need a parental permission slip to watch president obama's speech?

kelly o'donnell good to see you. thanks so much. >>> and the tea party movement is forcing a redraft. a subject of mike's sharer's cover story for "time" magazine. the white house correspondent and joins us now. michael, great cover story and, wow, a week of sort of tea party discussion, certainly with christine o'donnell as their latest candidate to really deliver an upset. talk first about the tea party. one of the most fascinating things about it, it's not a hierarchical. how does that benefit? >> anybody can join it. people feel they can come soo into it. one of the defining thing, it's difficult to define. mostly collected around fiscal issues and a number of them are polling well. a majority of america is concerned about deficits now. very concerned about government spending right now. these are the core tea party issues. the question we're seeing in delaware whether the tea party can break out of basically a movement with the republican party having a lot of impact on the primaries to the broader public, indep

kelly o'donnell reporting for us from our washington newsroom downstairs. thanks very much.e to say, savannah, i think the next level of scrutiny is going to be on her personal finances, what is she doing, is she living off the campaign, things like that. that is a more relevant topic probably than 20 years ago. >> it's current, it's not 20 years ago and it goes to the heart of her platform. let's face it about fiscal responsibility. >> exactly. >> got to begin at home. we'll see if she gets that scrutiny. >>> we'll move on and yet another twist today in the joran van der sloot saga. the man long suspected in natalee holloway's disappearance got a surprise visit in jail this week from none other than natalee's mother, beth twitty who went to peru and confronted van der sloot face to face. michelle kosinski has the story. >> reporter: when we heard about this we thought what? but five years ago when natalee holloway disappeared in aruba, her mother vowed to never give up, to use all of her energy to find out what happened. well, she has kept that promise. traveling down to pe

kelly o'donnell, this means don't ask don't tell, law of the land for years? >> unlikely. because it is still a part of the defense funding bill. repealing it is. it would require 60 votes to take that out. this is the setback that has tons of political overtones. what happened is democrats in the senate attached this repeal to the funding bill that always passes for years and years and years, it always passes. they also added on an immigration bill. you had all of the republicans voting no on a proceed move. the division is not just about policy. it's about politics. susan collins of maine says it's time for the change, but she wouldn't go for it because she was bothered by how this was done. there's real frustration that harry reid decided to put it through now and to eliminate the chance for republicans to make any changes. so here is how susan collins made her argument. >> i think it's the right thing to do. i think it's only fair. but i cannot vote to proceed to this bill under a situation that is going to shut down the debate and preclude republican amendments. >> an

. >> kelly o'donnell's nbc's capitol hill correspondent. kind of on o'donnell duty full-time these days, kelly. and i guess there's two sides to getting all this media scrutiny. on the one hand, she's fund-raising a lot. on the other hand, a lot of folks are looking very closely at her past. >> absolutely. she is close to raising $2 million for this current campaign. the allegations you just talked about involve a past campaign, 2008, when she was running for senate against joe biden. not a lot of attention to that at the time. but under the fec reports, the official documents that candidates must file, there are a lot of things that appear to this watchdog group to be inappropriate or personal use, things where donors' money should not be used. now, they are raising this question, asking the fec to audit those documents, asking delaware officials to also examine it. now, they base some of what they're finding here on some former o'donnell campaign aides from back in the 2008 race who raised questions about her handling of the finances and b

kelly o'donnell joins us live from wilmington this morning. all right, kelly. tell us what you're hearing on the ground and just how tight is this race? >> reporter: well, it's hard to know exactly but you can feel that a republican incumbent is feeling the pressure. i talked to mike castle. he had to go negative in this campaign. it's something he's not comfortable with. i said are you outside your comfort zone. he acknowledged yes and he's been blunt about his opponent saying she's not qualified to serve. he remarked about her not being able to keep a job, having financial problems, allegations that he's put into a tough ad. christine o'donnell, the toe party candidate endorsed by sarah palin and tea party express has been gaining momentum and a lot of enthusiasm around her and her supporters. she says that those kinds of personal attacks are sleazy and that those will actually help her saying her own personal financial hardships help her to connect with voters. taking what is a negative trying to turn it into a positive. the character of the republican party

kelly o'donnell is in washington and joins us me to talk about that. maybe this is interesting to point out. it was 1999. she was on the show with bill maher where outlandish things are picked up, and they're looking for ratings, is this going to stick to her campaign? >> we'll see. what she's trying to do is again use humor to dismiss it, to say this is about -- she was talking about something back in her high school days. she was a part of a comedy show, she was a frequent guests on many kinds of television and comedy and news shows as a part of her job advocating for socially conservative issues. now flash forward to 2010. she's saying this is about delaware and the voters there and she's going to focus on issues. so part of her argument is that she says she never intended to be a politician, which is very appealing in the tea party movement because she would have never said all the things getting so much scrutiny now had she had the senate in her plan. tonight she'll appear at a forum with other candidates. her democratic opponent will not be there

kelly o'donnell is nbc's capitol hill correspondent. kelly, what's going on here? this was supposes to be the trial time, was it not? >> well, it's not quite the bucolic setting here that mike was talking about with the president. this is good old-fashioned partisan fighting. and what makes it unusual is that the house ethics committee is supposed to be above all of that. it's the only committee that's evenly split between parties. here's what was supposed to have happened. schedule public trials for charles rangel and maxine waters. both have had some violations of ethics rules put against them. and what's happened here, well, republicans think this should have taken place prior to the november election. both rangel and waters are not considered to be in trouble in their districts. but this could be very politically embarrassing for democrats and for congress as a whole. so the real stunner came when republican members of this committee on their own issued this statement accusing the chairwoman zoe loftgren of california of stalling. her aides were very upset. the

kelly o'donnell is in wilmington, delaware. a lot of money sent into that state because of the national attention, kelly, this race has received. what's the latest? what are the polls showing? >> well, what we expect today is this will be pivotal for the future of republicans hopes if they have any shots at reclaiming control of the senate. they really had a path through delaware to do that. there is a real concern among the establishment that if christine o'donnell wins, then she would be at a disadvantage, they believe, against the democrat come november. there is so much interest in this race that, as you pointed out, there is outside money coming in from a group called the tea party express. they pledged $250,000 to buy adds, lots of donations and interests and we were listening to a radio show here where christine o'donnell was appearing and just to give you an idea of that outside interest, minnesota congresswoman mu shawl balkman who is often a part of these party conversations she had phoned in and listened to the offic

with us today, nbc's chad todd, cnn's gloria borger, nbc's kelly o'donnell and the "chicago tribune's" clarence page. any establishment power this year is a force to behold and republicans who want to beat barack obama next time are studying up. anyone who wants the g.o.p. nominatio has to get the tea party force without being a crackpot himself or herself. when richard nixon brought in the goldwater party, it was different. most disappointed right-wingers had lost in 1964. same thing when jimmy carter brought in the mcgovern crowd in 1976. they were in no position to put up a fight. not so the tea pary. they'll be coming off a big win and on a roll. listen to minnesota governor tim plenty, not a tea party guy, trying to signed one. >> the federal government is a drug dealer trying to give out free samples, give people a free taste, get them addicted. and get your own house in order, by the way. chris: they're all trying to act the part, trying to be tea party types. will this work, the establishment-types echoing like tea party people? >> i think it's going to be very, very hard forh

kelly o'donnell with our report. thanks. >>> this has been an awful day for americans in afghanistan. nine u.s. service members killed this morning when their chopper went down in southern afghanistan. the deadliest chopper crash in more than four years for any of the nato forces. question now, of course, were they shot down by e taliban? our own john yang is in kabul and he's with us from there. john, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. military officials say this appears to be an accident, not a shootdown. but still as you say, the worst helicopter crash since may of 2006. today's nine dths bring the u.s. death toll to at least 351 for this year. still, more than thr months to go in 2010 but already, it's t deadliest year for both u.s. and coalition forces. the helicopter that crashed today was a black hawk. the crash is under investigation. officials say there's no indication of any hostile fire. that, despite the taliban claim that they shot the helicopter down. meanwhile, another threat to hamid karz

we get more now from nbc news capitol hill correspondent, kelly o'donnell. kelly?ommunity center in delaware became a real spotlight for national politics when a number of statewide candidates were there to answer questions a typical forum that really wasn't so typical with all the attention. christine o'donnell, the republican nominee for senate in delaware, the surprise tea party victory and chris coons, the democrat running for that same office were appearing side by side. they did talk about issues from jobs to immigration to social security, but there was a lot of attention paid to the attention being paid to the race. here's how they address that. >> but i assure you my faith has matured and when i go to washington, d.c., it will be the constitution on which i base all of my decisions, not my personal beliefs. >> i don't think they're particularly interested in statements that either of us made 20 or 30 years ago. >> all of his interests can also be measured in fund-raising. o'donnell's campaign says that online they raised more than $1 million since her prim

for more, let's bring in nbc's kelly o'donnell live in womening ton, delaware.. kelly, i'm interesting to know what kind of turnout has there been for this race in delaware? >> well, good evening, ed, delaware, as you know is a small state there are three counties. and on the republican side, the experts we have talked to who are running elections say they estimate about 35,000 republican voters will cast ballots in this primary. the democrat in this race is running unopposed. so, roughly 35,000 voters will do something that may have really far-reaching implications for the country. we are talking about joe biden's senate seat. the remaining four years of his seat. there's been an interim appointee in the seat right now. and of course it belongs to a democrat. republicans have seen this as a big opportunity to try to take that back. and as you mentioned, really, the establishment chose mike castle, a nine-term congressman, he has also been twice the governor of delaware. he has won more elections in this state than any other republican. now, his record is far mo

nbc's capitol hill correspondent, kelly o'donnell, is live in wilmington, where the story is today. kelly, i don't even know what to say. it sounds like this was a race that republicans were counting on, thinking this seat was locked, and now everything's changed. >> reporter: well, as we've met before on mornings after a big tea party upset, i am seeing personally a pattern. when we're on the ground, talking to candidates, mike castle and his supporters, christine o'donnell, her family, her volunteer and supporters, we've spent time with both. and you could see a difference. castle's people had respect and appreciation for his long service here, but around o'donnell, there was a fiery level of attention and enthusiasm. not just about her, but about a chance to send a message to washington. a chance to say, we don't want things as they were. we've seen that in other places. that's what has played out here. and what is also different is that mike castle has been someone who's been so successful, because he's a moderate. and he's won more elections here than any republican. he was the

our own kelly o'donnell is here with us with all of it. >> reporter: good evening. there were nasty accusations flying back and forth and a confrontation that got really personal. that candidate, carl paladino, has admitted his own infidelity and just accused his opponent of cheating with no proof. that's what set off this fight. but the bigger picture is how many voters and candidates have been losing their cool. anger management is not required or even expected this year. >> you're his bird dog. >> reporter: carl paladino unloaded on a reporter with a list of grievances in his race for new york governor. >> you send another goon to my daughter's house i'll take you out, buddy. >> how are you going to do that? >> reporter: around the country, boundaries keep getting crossed as candidates act out voter's pent up anger. >> i will hit the ground running. >> reporter: in maine, a candidate for governor lashed out at the president. >> you're going to be seeing a lot of me on the front page, telling obama to go to hell. >> reporter: and democrats have boiled over, too. >

kelly o'donnell is in washington and, kelly, so, o'donnell comes out and i understand has a lot of enthusiasticers in the audience. what about the dynamic in that room last night. >> well, it was interesting, chris, this is a traditional forum and happens every year for all the statewide democrats in delaware. there was a number of people there and a distinctly loud presence for o'donnell. chris c orcoons got support, to. there was a lot of good humor about the sudden attention on o'donnell, coons and this race and what it means and the fund-raising that you talked about making really an impact on the web, raising more than $1 million. the candidates, this wasn't a debate they were going at each other but questions were put to them and they discussed the national impact of what is happening with this race. >> delaware, i'm not counting on the national media to vote for me on november 2nd. ium asking all of you to vote for me. >> i'm not worried who will come in from out of state to help fund-raise, what i'm worried about is how we get this economy back on track. >> i think i have proven that i

nbc's kelly o'donnell is in delaware where the fight is on to fill the seat vacated by vice president joe biden. good morning to you, kelly. >> reporter: hi, meredith. this is a small state with big shoes to fill. the four remaining years of vice president's joe biden's old senate seat. on the republican side, a big fight. a popular congressman who never lost an election and worked with democrats on things like social issues is facing a tough tea party challenge. >> i frankly don't think she is qualified to be in the united states senate. >> reporter: in delaware, a castle under siege. >> mike castle, one of the most liberal republicans in congress. >> reporter: moderate republican mike castle has run positive campaigns for decades dramatically changed tactics, going negative against tea party conservative, christine o'donnell. >> not what i would prefer to do in a campaign. but on the other hand, i never had an opponent who had the deficiencies of this particular opponent. >> she didn't pay thousands in income taxes. had to be sued by a university for thousands in unpaid bills. defau

and she did better in that session last night that kelly o'donnell reported on, i've matured on some of the things i said way back then. >> when you look at the profile of the tea party, david, and how it's changed over the course of this primary season, by my count, tea party candidates have claimed six seats, from ms. o'donnell out to alaska. how has the profile of that party changed? >> i think it's just gained strength, the notion of the revolutionary part of the party. it's sweeping away those who are too -- here you have a group of mostly conservative, some independents, but this is mostly conservative based saying the is conservative party under george w. bush got -- there is a populous aspect to this on views like immigration and personal the role of government. >> you mentioned sweeping aside some of those republicans associated with the past, how does that impact president obama's strategy where he likes to talk about the upcoming elections and say a vote for republicans is a return to the past. if these are new faces, that strategy doesn't seem to work. >> that's right and

kelly o'donnell is in washington with more on that story. >> reporter: the intensity around this election means that serious political issues and the culture of celebrity collide. and for a candidate like christine o'donnell, that can cut both ways, the attention can bring her the ability to raids a lot of money and the scrutiny can be harsh. more proof all politics is local. >> i wouldn't miss this for the world. >> reporter: the 41-year-old tea party favorite, christine o'donnell was only asked about voters' issues not herself during a forum. >> we juor donnell decided that spent campaign money from a previous race on personal expenses. >> we have been ethical. we have not -- i personally have not misused the campaign funds. >> reporter: a watch dog group filed a complaint monday with the federal elections commission that cited a former o'donnell aid who claimed she spent donations on rent, gas and meals in 2009. o'donnell called the claims politically motivated and blames liberals. >> they're scared that the person that harry reid's called his pet is not going to get the seat, the mome

nbc kelly o'donnell is in washington with this. good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, matt. politics often gets personal and confrontational. it's unusual to see major candidate pile over like this. new york's republican candidate for governor, carl paladino lost it with a reporter after paladino accused democrat andrew cuomo of cheating on his ex-wife. >> stay away from me. what evidence do you have? >> reporter: about to deliver a speech in upstate new york. >> guy, easy. >> don't touch me. >> reporter: a heated exchange erupted between tea party republican carl paladino and "new york post" reporter, fred dicker. paladino had just given an interview to "politico" where he said, has anyone asked andrew cuomo about his paramours or why his wife left him or threw him out of the house. >> do you have any evidence for the charge you made? a simple question. >> of course i do, you will get it at the appropriate time. you're not entitled to it. >> reporter: a business man who has never run for office, paladino has been under i

nbc kelly's o'donnell. thanks, kelly, appreciate your time tonight. >>> and our telephone sur acres have i asked you, do you think kids should need a parental permission slip to watch president obama's speech? 4% of you said yes, 96% of you said no. what's wrong with public education in america? that's "the ed show," i'm ed schultz, chris matthews and "hardball" is next. we will see you tomorrow night. >>> tea party on the delaware. let's play "hardball." >>> good evening. i'm chris matthews down in washington again. leading tonight, the little state that could. will dell wake first state to sign the constitution, be the one to make or break the conservatives' chances of taking over the u.s. senate this year? tonight, we get the results of the big tea party challenge of christine o'donnell to possibly win the republican nomination for senate over mike castle. if she does, it will be the eighth time in this political season that a far right of center candidate beat out the favorite for a gop senate nomination

castle told kelly o'donnell, the entire world seems to have this last name apparently between norah, lawrence, kelly and christine, bottom line is, if christine o'donnell is nominated, republicans lose the election automatically. is he right? >> well, certainly the polls would suggest that mike castle has a much greater chance of running against the likely democratic nominee chris kunz as opposed tohis year where tea party candidates and candidates who effectively seize the banner of the tea party are able to trump not just electoral odds but also what seems to be pragmatic electoral strategy. who knows? >> what happens to castle if indeed he wins tomorrow? what happens with the tea party in delaware and the o'donnell -- o'donnell, there was a series of extraordinary cheap shots and innuendo first on her staff's behalf and then she finally just ripped the pretext off of it and made these man pants jokes from last week. what happens to castle even if he wins that thing tomorrow? >> i think castle will be okay to an extent. let's not forget this guy has held office in delaware for 30 y

kelly o'donnell is live in washington, never a dull moment, is there, kelly. >> a season we enjoy aroundo maintain the whirlwind around her candidacy a little bit while michelle obama is getting back out into a role we have not seen her in since 2008. the first lady's popularity tapped by democrats and like to see her add her weight, her influence to democrats who are in many places struggling. we're seeing right now that both issues and big personalities are driving the politics. soon adding her voice to mid-term politics. >> thank you. >> reporter: the white house announced tuesday that michelle obama will campaign in six states, where several senate democrats are in trouble. >> i think she will go out and make a forceful and positive case for what this administration has done. >> tuesday senate democrats tried and failed to deliver on two issues ending the don't ask, don't tell policy. >> we've got thousands of americans who are patriotic who want to serve who happen to be gay or lez been and we're telling them they can't. >> reporter: democrats also tried to pass a narrow immigration

. >> nbc news capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell joining us now from the washington, d.c. ever goes anywhere. is there an indication it is going anywhere? >> well, this outside group, a watchdog group has asked the federal elections commission to do an audit, has asked officials in delaware to examine it as well. they're able to look at the official reports filed from christine o'donnell's 2008 campaign. this is not the current campaign, but paper work going back to when she ran previously and lost that race. and they can examine it and try to find out if there are any discrepancies, things that don't qualify, that sort of thing. that campaign she was a small figure in the political scene. it didn't get a lot of scrutiny. now that she's become so prominent so quickly, people are taking a closer look. o'donnell has not had significant employment in recent years. that raised questions among some about how was she making her living? might she have been using personal expenses funded through the campaign? she denies that and says she's been using her money leftover from selling

join me and chuck todd, kelly o'donnell, clarence page as we get into all of this.ng up on "meet the press" here is david gregory. daid? >>> thank you, chris. good morning. kimberly and aaron, coming up a turbulent primary season has come to an end. questions remain about the role the tea party will play in november. joining me to discuss the future of the republican party and erica's standing abroad our exclusive guest secretary of state to president george w. bu, general colin powell. then another leader on the world stage, i'll go one-on-one with president bill clinton as he prepares to host his sixth annual clinton global initiative meeting. howhould the u.s. address the most difficult issues. plu what is ahead for democrats and president obama this election season? it is all ahead this morning on "meet the press." >> the fall season on nbc begins monday and it's going to kick off with a bang. two new thrillers, "the event and "chase" tomorrow night. >> some longtime favorites are back as well. "chuck" and "the biggest loser." we have a preview of what you can e

. >> kelly o'donnell is in washington now.elly, these charges stem here from a run against her opponent. what happened here? when she was running against joe biden. >> yes. the campaign finances we're talking about are not the donations that are coming in in droves now for her current run. she was also a candidate for senate in 2008 running against joe biden. she was deet feated, of course the reports that this watch dog group have examined date back to the funds to that campaign. they say they have found talking to former o'donnell aides who had knowledge about how the finances were handled say that the candidate was irresponsible, that she used money from the campaign funds for personal things like rent, like paying for gas, some meals, those sorts of things. that's the allegation by this watchdog group that is asking the fec to do an audit. so it will be a long time before we have any idea if there will be official steps da s taken. but politically it's troubling now because she's being asked to respond to these things and

. >> kelly o'donnell is in washington. ional interviews for o'donnell but she got in one last jab at her opponent? >> of course she had a forum on fox news with sean hannity to talk about the race. a loft the criticism of her had been very personal and not about her ideas and talked a lot about her views on taxes and so forth, and she did, of course, take that moment to separate herself from chris coons, a county executive in delaware, and she talked about him in a way that was not so flattering, i think we have a clip of that. >> there is a stark contrast between my opponent and me. he's called harry reid's pet, you know. >> i've heard that. >> harry reid's word, i'm not mudslinging here. you have to wonder what sort of strange conversations went on to lead to harry reid calling him his pet. >> i'm no one's pet and i intend to be an independent voice in the united states senate. that was a very unfortunate choice of words by senator reid. >> senator harry reid was referring to coons as one of the potential democratic senat

. >> kelly o'donnell reporting there. >>> and president obama is sidestepping a potentially ugly fight over his newly created watchdog group. they wanted elizabeth warren to head the consumer national protection bureau but republicans suggested they would block that nomination over her tough views on regulation. so instead, the president will make warren a special assistant overseeing the agency's creation. the president's official announce monies happens next hour. we're watch for that. >>> fierce rain and hurricane-force winds killed one person. the storm toppled trees ripped roofs off homes and knocked out of power. youtube video aiken off a rooftop. and the ominous scene off the statue of liberty. you can see the violent lightning strikes. entire neighborhoods covered with downed trees and tree limbs. left several cars totaled. thousands without power. today the national weather service is investigating if, indeed, a tornado touched down. let's go to incomes's peter alexander in queens, new york. what kind of damage are you seeing out there, peter? >> reporter: contessa, speaking a

nbc news capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell is live in wilmington, delaware, with the very latestor us. >> well, good morning, richard. fewer than 30,000 republicans are expected to vote in today's closed primary and what they decide could be pivotal in whether republicans have any control of retaking the senate november. it's that big of a deal. what's happening here is the typical kind of republican that has more success in a blue state like delaware, is mike castle. he's more socially moderate and has run here many, many times over the years and has always been successful. he is up against a successful tea party candidate, christine o'donnell who has gotten the backing of sarah palin and big financial help from an outside group called the tea party express from california. they have helped to pay for ads and this race has turned ugly. in particular, castle said he moved out of his comfort zone to really take on his opponent saying she is not qualified to run and not qualified to sit in the u.s. senate because of her own financial problems and her personal failings. here is how

nbc news capitol hill correspondent kelly o'donnell is live in washington and, kelly, how serious are these allegations? >> well, these are allegations that really strike at the credibility and integrity of christine o'donnell. it centers not on this campaign and donations that are coming in today, but she had run for senate previously in 2008 and was the opponent of joe biden in that race. so, that's the time frame we're talking about. there's a former o'donnell aide who was a financial consultant to that campaign who says that she was financially irresponsible and used some of the donations for things like meals and like paying rent. personal experienpexens that wo be permissible. certain campaigns buy foods and things for official business. there are questions being raised on how she filed her reports that were filed under law and how she used the money, those sorts of things. serious question that was being raised and o'donnell did appear when she was at a forum with a number of candidates last night. more proof all politics is local. >> i wouldn't miss this for the world. >> the

nbc's kelly o'donnell reports from delaware that minnesota congresswoman michelle bachmann radioed ination and said hello, to the host and proclaimed, quote, christine, delaware's next governor! of course, christine o'donnell is running for the u.s. senate. "hardball" will be right back. ♪ ♪ j-e-l-l-o ♪ j-e-l-l-o ♪ j-e-l-l-o [ child giggles ] but now, to get it really cooking, you need a little website development. some transparent reporting, so you know it's working. online ads and 1-on-1 marketing consultation. yellowbook's got all that. yellowbook360 has a whole spectrum of tools. the perfect recipe for success. visit yellowbook360.com and go beyond yellow. ♪ i like your messy hair ♪ i like the clothes you wear ♪ i like the way you sing ♪ and when you dance with me ♪ you always make me smile [ male announcer ] we believe you're at your best when you can relax and be yourself. and at thousands of newly refreshed holiday inn hotels, you always can. holiday inn. stay you. and now stay rewarded with a sweet dilemma. up to five free nights at any of our properties or double points. >>>

. >> kelly o'donnell joins us now live from washington to talk more about this. kelly, she seems to be dogged by so many accusations. >> that comes with sudden overnight political sensation status. everything about a candidate is taken very carefully in a new level of scrutiny and this group that you mentioned, a watchdog group has looked at o'donnell's campaign records and financial reports from 2008, not the current campaign, but the money that she was given for her campaign in 2008 when she was also a candidate and did not succeed in that. so, what they're talking about is an o'donnell campaign aide from that time period offered a sworn statement saying that he believed that o'donnell did use those funds improperly. you just heard her defense and her campaign says this is politically motivated. the group, c.r.e.w. says it is nonpartisan. a name of a delaware citizen who says he has been harmed by this is someone given to democratic campaigns in the past so, many people will interpret this differently. o'donnell's team says she's motivated. so, it's a lot of at