if mitt romney starts going and traveling to ohio -- excuse me, to pennsylvania or michigan, then barack obama campaign is in terrible shape, because he's not going there just because he likes those states. he thinks they're in play. now they're supposed to be solidly safe states for barack obama. paul ryan was in pittsburgh over the weekend, but that's the vice president. that could be a head fake. if you see the presidential candidate, mitt romney, going into michigan or pennsylvania, then obama is in trouble. >> the debate will focus on foreign policy. the response to the attack in benghazi continues to dominate headlines. on the jon stewart show, the president said talking about the victims, it was not optimal. >> that was a terrible statement. i can't use another -- and i'm sure mitt romney will refer to it. the mother of one of the people who died in benghazi said my son was not optimal and he's very dead. it's just -- really almost rivals the 47%. why the president would use that term, that cold heartless kind of expression and if he misspoke, it's a terrible misstatement, and i t

they have to win michigan or pennsylvania or minnesota. >> that's right.aving in ohio with the ad that they put on, this whole thing about chrysler and jeep. they're behaving -- there's an element of apparent desperation on their part. they seem to be throwing a lot of stuff at the wall in ohio which suggests a certain amount of if not desperation they have a sense that they're losing there. >> mark, you look at the quinnipiac poll this morning and you see it's still a five-point lead. we've got less than a week until the election. you look at the internals. over 50% of the people there think that in ohio the economy is getting better. i'm underlining this because i'm not saying mitt romney can't win. but if you take ohio off the table for mitt romney and it's really close, it's really, really close to being off the table for mitt romney unless there is some massive reagan-like landslide the last week, then suddenly mitt romney's pathway to 270 gets very, very narrow. he has to run the board or he has to expand the map. >> don't forget virginia which also,

. >> in republican circles is where they should throw a hail mary pass in michigan or pennsylvania. romney doesn't really want to but a lot of the super pac groups do. they want to make pennsylvania competitive. >> i've been thinking about that a long time. the big question this week, they have a debate victory bind them. the big question this week, they have a debate victory bind them. who chris: welcome back. they each won a debate. but the third one and that's this week's big question, who has the most at stake? >> the president. he has to be commanding and in charge of american foreign policy once in for all. >> i agree with that. and the fact that mitt romney doesn't know the interrelationship on foreign policy so the president has a pretty good shot if he can show himself. >> i think it's the president because libya will be the focus and he's got to get that story straight once and for all. >> it's clearly romney because he is still behind. he's got to remember there isn't a debate where you get every last point in. it's a leadership stage. he needs to convey a larger appearan

do the republicans see an opportunity where it's worth pouring money into michigan or pennsylvania. that's what i'd be watching for. that will tell us something. >> warner: well, mara liasson, npr, thank you. >> woodruff: still to come on the newshour: the high-stakes politics of the budget; missing from the campaign-- europe's troubles; destruction in an ancient syrian city; and the world's oldest playable recording. but first, the other news of the day. here's hari sreenivasan. >> sreenivasan: hurricane "sandy" beat a path across eastern cuba and the bahamas today as a category-2 storm. it's being blamed for at least four deaths so far. "sandy" brought strong surf, heavy rain and winds topping 105 miles an hour, and it left behind a trail of downed power lines and uprooted trees. the edges of the storm will likely bring tropical storm conditions to southeast florida, and, as it moves north, the mid- atlantic and northeast could also feel the effects through early next week. forecasters are also predicting "sandy" could collide with a blast of arctic air from the north, creating co

if we lose minnesota, michigan, or pennsylvania you will shave off that mustache?ah, on the show. >> yes, but what i should do is make a deal with you and say you'll grow one if we win them. >> right away the political world was buzzing about the bet. "the washington post" wrote, david axelrod recklessly endangers an american treasure. i agree with that one. and the american mustache institute chairman says, it's incredibly irresponsible for axelrod to be playing games with such an exceptionally powerful mustache. that's coming from the chairman. the mush stan even got its own twitter account. do you think the mustache bet is a good bet? we want to know. head over to facebook/politicsnation. it's the conversation that goes on long after the show ends. about marriage. children. money. about tomorrow. here's to good decisions. who matters most to you says the most about you. massmutual is owned by our policyholders so they matter most to us. massmutual. we'll help you get there. ♪ [ male announcer ] introducing the all-new completely re-imagined 2013 chevrolet malibu

yes but then you have to pick up michigan or pennsylvania which are more democratic. if romney picks up ohio and, say, he wins florida and north carolina and virginia he only has to win one more. it could be new hampshire or nevada or colorado, or iowa or wisconsin, if he wins ohio he has a good chance to be the next president. >>shepard: the idea pulling out of north carolina i remember two daze before the election when al gore decide not to go home to nashville because no gore ever lost tennessee and he lost tennessee and if he won he would be our president. >>chris: i don't think skit likely he will lose north carolina and win virginia and florida. if he loses north carolina he will lose more states in the southeast. you only have limited resources and a limited number of places to put them if he cannot care north carolina he is in more trouble than just there. we have foreign policy debate on monday but we will not wait, we will do it sunday. we will have dick durbin and senator graham debating libya and syria and iran and all those depressing things you were talk

if i see more polls coming out of minnesota or michigan or pennsylvania showing this a close race and showing the president's numbers down to 48 or 47, then i'll get concerned. up until that happens, i'm not going to be that concerned about those states. >> so if romney is concerned then we would see romney making a stop in those states? >> he's partially right but he's also spending money there. they're not going to spend money after bad. if the poll numbers are as close as you put up on the screen, chris, then if you have the resources, why not do it? to chris's point, why not have some secondary surrogates, whether it's paul ryan or mrs. romney or the romney boys go to those states and just stoke the fire a little bit. i remember back in 2004 we did this with vice president cheney. we sent him to hawaii and then california because there was a small conceivable chance that president bush could perhaps take hawaii and california. he obviously did not, but it was a head game towards the democrats. >> i remember that. i remember that because i was trying to get msnbc to send me to hawa

if we lose minnesota, michigan, or pennsylvania, you'll shave the mustache. >> on the show. >> obamaollars, it's getting tight. i wouldn't shocked if romney pulled off shocker next tuesday. >> bret: that guy, bill ballinger knows michigan. he knows michigan. inside michigan politics. if he is saying that, he knows some stuff. >> the axelrod mustache promise has doubled my intensity. [ laughter ] i'm going to go out there and vote twice on my election day. >> bret: at that, we'll end this panel. next up, the latest on the benghazi attack that left four americans dead. new document and new developments. keep it here. everyone loves surprise parties. yeah, so last week we had a surprise party for our dear friend, lizzy. surprise! surprise! surprise! surprise! we totally got her! [ male announcer ] when you combine creamy velveeta with zesty rotel tomatoes and green chiles, you'll get a bowl of queso that makes even this get-together betr. flavor, meet food. it's time for swanson flavor boost. concentrated broth in easy to use packets. mix it into skillet dishes, for an instant dose of..

if i see more polls coming out of minnesota or michigan or pennsylvania showing this a close race andwing the president's numbers down to 48 or 47, then i'll get concerned. up until that happens, i'm not going to be that concerned about those states. >> so if romney is concerned then we would see romney making a stop in those states? >> he's partially right but he's also spending money there. they're not going to spend money after bad. if the poll numbers are as close as you put up on the screen, chris, then if you have the resources, why not do it? to chris's point, why not have some secondary surrogates, whether it's paul ryan or mrs. romney or the romney boys go to those states and just buying it. i remember that very well. even though, chris, the obama campaign is dismissing the idea romney is seriously competing in these states, should they have sparener to shore up those voti ttleground map, and this has been one of the asmall, narrow . you have battleground polls show you don't want to bleed yourself so much, even with the amount of money both campaigns have, that you actually

they did not go in to michigan or pennsylvania. maybe the superpacs will.t in arizona. every choice you make now about spending ad money, steering the candidates is a risky one. i watch for the president to block mitt romney from getting to 270. will the president pull out somewhere? will he pull out of north carolina or florida and try to build a firewall around ohio and iowa and new hampshire? that is being discussed among the democrats. the campaign said we'll compete in all of them. watch where they 0 go and where they spend. >> watch what they do. watch the money. john king for us in ohio. thank you. as we mentioned, president obama, governor romney both in new york for the white tie dinner tonht held every fo years just before the election. here's senator john mccain being introduced as was barack obama. this ishe al smith charity dinner back in 2008. it's kind of a funny time jokes but that's how they do it. want to take you back to 2008. >> i think it's a tribute to american democracy that with two weeks left and a hard-fought election, they could c

will mitt romney try to expand the map in michigan or pennsylvania? but both those states seem to be safe in the obama camp. carol, things are changing by day. >> they sure are. paul steinhauser, thanks for the insight. we appreciate it. >>> when it comes to swing states some people call ohio the big one. the state has picked the winning candidate in the last 11 elections, a fact not lost on this year's ticket. >> ohioans, you have such a huge say so in all of this. ohio is the battleground of battleground states. >> folks, we need you! we need you! together we can win ohio. we win ohio, we win the election! >> whoa! joining me now is joe froelich, editor for the ohio plain dealer, the largest paper in ohio. the plain dealer is backing president obama on the basis of sound leadership. i'm not sure it's an enthusiastic endorsement, is it? >> compared to four years ago when there was a great optimism in the country and state about what could happen despite the fact that we clearly seemed to be going no a recession at the time, probably a little less opt

bet on ohio, that if they lose, they will not have fought or invested a lot of money or time in michigan and pennsylvania, which they might win? are they making a long bet on ohio? >> well, i think they're probably making a correct bet on ohio. ohio is 18 electoral votes are important to them. if i was them, i would be going up on the philadelphia and detroit media markets or at least being serious consideration it to because those get the bulk of the affluent suburbs in the states. you felt -- i'd be going up with ads geared to that population. >> all right. michael, thanks thanks so much e being here. still ahead. billions of dollars in defense cuts set to kick in come january. president obama said on monday the so-called sequester will not happen and wasn't his idea in the first place. we'll check the facts and tell you why it could matter in some key states on election day. [ male announcer ] you like who you are... and you learned something along the way. this is the age of knowing what you're made of. so, why let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. 20 million men

or not, i think it made a big difference. more of a difference than perhaps members of the obama campaign predicted. >> you look also at the michigan numbers, mike barnicle, michigan, i've never put michigan or pennsylvania as a swing state because it hasn't been. even as mitt romney ends up losing that state, and i would guess the president would eke it out by a point or so. you have mitt romney down ten points a month ago, after the debate, he's down, it's within the margin of error. this is supposed to be the state where the grand experiment of the auto bailout took place. and there's no way mitt romney could win that state. basically tied right now. and again, whether michigan ends up in his cone or not, this shows a huge thing taking place. we've got to assume it's taking place in florida, north carolina, virginia. i'd be shocked if mitt romney wasn't ahead in a lot of these swing states by the time these polls come out. >> and it forces the obama campaign to allocate resources to places like michigan, which they probably thought they had pretty faithfully in hand. but look, the poll numbers on women are really interesting. i have always believed that most of us in the news business very often under

. >> do they think they've got a shot in either pennsylvania or michigan? >> potentially.at bill has talked about, they're going to be a barn burner. bill wouldn't have said that a month ago. he would have said these are almost locked down for the president. the fact is the volatility in the race over the last few weeks mainly benefits the romney campaign. it hasn't put the election away. it hasn't ended the campaign. it means that places that were looking like they were solidifying for the president in the wake of the democratic national convention are today up for grabs. we know for sure iowa, wisconsin, ohio, colorado, are definitely contestable. we're not sure about pennsylvania or michigan yet but the way trends are going they could become contestable going into the election. i even was in my home state of minnesota last weekend, saw a lot of independent polling, not romney campaign polling, that showed that minnesota is moving, may not move far enough to be put in the romney column but certainly moving away from the president. >> 30 seconds to both of you. bill burto

governor romney has long tried to expand the map by putting michigan or pennsylvania into play. look realistic. as we watch this get closer and closer and one more debate, then they have to make chief resource decisions. in 2004 john kerry pulled out of ohio. he lived to regret that. we're going to watch closely to see if one of the campaigns decides to give up on these states pour more resources into something else. 20 days to go, a fascinating chess game to watch. >> fascinating indeed. thanks very much. >>> meanwhile, there's no rest for cnn's candy crowley, the moderator of last night's presidential debate appeared on "the view" today. got a compliment from barbara walters who herself moderated two presidential debates in 1986 and 194. watch this. >> you have the toughest job, you had to do the questions from the audience then follow it up and then shut those guys up. i thought you were terrific. welcome, candy crowley. >> thank you guys. >> by the way, aren't you thrilled not to have to do homework anymore? >> yes. yes. i'm going to play games on my ipad on the train home.

bet on ohio, that if they lose, they will not have fought or invested a lot of money or time in michigan and pennsylvania, which they might win? are they making a long bet on ohio? >> well, i think they're probably making a correct bet on ohio. ohio is 18 electoral votes are important to them. if i was them, i would be going up on the philadelphia and detroit media markets or at least being serious consideration it to because those get the bulk of the affluent suburbs in the states. you felt -- i'd be going up with ads geared to that population. >> all right. michael, thanks thanks so much e being here. still ahead. billions of dollars in defense cuts set to kick in come january. president obama said on monday the so-called sequester will not happen and wasn't his idea in the first place. we'll check the facts and tell you why it could matter in some key states on election day. [ cheeping ] [ male announcer ] you hear that? that's the sound of car insurance compani these days. here a cheap, there a cheap, everywhere a cheap... you get it. so, what if instead of just a cheap choice, you could make a smart

while they might appeal to the swingstate voter in ohio, pennsylvania or michigan.he fact is that the average young person is looking for tech positions, medicine careers. those are the growing industries. and meanwhile, you have a huge missed opportunity. because either candidate could have tapped the ideal generation. we are going to ask every person to volunteer. it is that idealism that got barack obama elected in 2008. that is why my generation has n annan enthusiasm about this election. >> i think we didn't get a big vision for the next four years at all really. >> it is a campaign of differentiation. >> that is correct. foreign policy. monday is the last chance. 17 million people tuned in last night. this is going to be a make or break. who is going to win that? >> so, i think this is one of those ones where i actually view mitt romney as having the potential coming in as the under dog but has a strong hand. i don't expect him to miss on the libya issue next time around. people have generally said that because the economy and domestic policy is really his str

no way i will dye my hair black and wear a fake mustache if they win pennsylvania, michigan or new mexico. these are not states we're concerned about. of course we're on the ground, competing for every vote but this is a bluff by the romney team. >> we've got a jen psaki and david axelrod bet. this will be interesting. >> it will be. >> you're watching live pictures of staten island as you can see quite a change there as well from this storm. and we'll be right back. loating? yeah. one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day >> question t these digestive iss with three strains of good bacteria. approved! [ phillips' lady ] live the regular life. phillips'. prego?! but i've bought ragu for years. [ thinking ] wonder what other questionable choices i've made? i choose date number 2! whooo! [ sigh of relief ] [ male announcer ] choose taste. choose prego. >>> and welcome back. those are live pictures of staten island. again, an unbelievable damage in staten island, new york. >>> the damage from sandy is going to cost untold billions of dollars and change the landscape of at least a 45-

now, while those manufacturing pogs might very well appeal to swing state voter in ohio, pennsylvania or michiganfact of the matter is, the average young person today is looking for tech positions, looking for accounting positions, looking for medicine careers. those are the growing industries. >> both candidates are way off the mark, you think? >> yes. meanwhile you have a huge opportunity because each candidate could have tapped the idealism of my generation, saying we're going to ask every person to volunteer. it was that ideal that got barack obama elected in 2008 and i wanted to see ambition and idealism restored to politics and that's why my generation has enthusiasm der-- >> i think they're both lacking in detail. for president obama i don't think we got a vision of the next four years. >> it's a campaign of differentiation. >> i agree. monday's debate is about the foreign policy. very important for both of us. it's the final debate. last chance. these are getting huge odd yens. nearly 70 million people tuned in. this is potentially make or break. who has a stronger position on foreign pol

you hear talk about the possibility that there could be new states that come on including pennsylvania or michiganor minnesota. could romney have a chance in any of other states we previously thought were solid for obama? >> he bought television in minnesota but own minneapolis tv, to hit far west wisconsin but we have to watch pennsylvania which have moved from obama to lean obama so if there is a national trend since the first debate moving in romney's direction --. >> i don't think the states are if play. they can get romney there to spend time but i wouldn't do it. if i win ohio or wisconsin the states that are up they have a better shot of getting there. >>chris: like herding cats here today. when we come back what issues will decide the race, the issues that will decide the race starting with the growing controversy over the terror attack in benghazi. >> those people who made the decision and lied. >> boat it, they are murders of my son. >>chris: defense secretary panetta and charlie woods, father of the former navy seal killed in the benghazi attack, disagreeing over the decision not to pro

you hear talk about the possibility that there could be new states that come on including pennsylvania or michigan or minnesota. could romney have a chance in any of other states we previously thought were solid for obama? >> he bought television in minnesota but own minneapolis tv, to hit far west wisconsin but we have to watch pennsylvania which have moved from obama to lean obama so if there is a national trend since the first debate moving in romney's direction --. >> i don't think the states are if play. they can get romney there to spend time but i wouldn't do it. if i win ohio or wisconsin the states that are up they have a better shot of getting there. >>chris: like herding cats here today. when we come back what issues will decide the race, the issues that will decide the race starting with the growing controversy over the terror attack in benghazi. why should our wallets tell us what our favorite color is? every room deserves to look great. and every footstep should tell us we made the right decision. so when we can feel our way through the newest, softest, and most colorful options... .

or nine states. will pennsylvania come in or michigan come into play? those are the things that matter? >> some big gap in the final. i don't imagine they will have one in the last couple of weeks. if michigan and pennsylvania come into play? if they come into play, you won't miss out. i don't think that's going to happen. i see probably five or six state tracking polls with people call me and i have national polls and i digest everything. i'm a political guy and on the phone all the time. i don't think we are going to see big changes, but what i found interesting tonight with the strategy is you meet a guy by agreement. i don't remember reagan beating carter by agreement. the whole agreement is you disagree. obama weakened america, but he agrees tonight by ten different times. i thought it was from the strategic point, i thought it was interesting and i agree with alex. there was push back and they will still vote for him. there will be push back on the right. you are not supposed to agree with this guy. he is a bad guy. >> isn't the governor's ace in the hole with conservatives who mig