paul steinhauser is live in harrisburg, pennsylvania, this morning. that is where paul ryan will be later today. paul, good morning to you. i guess the question is, is pennsylvania really in play? >> that's what everybody is asking, randi. the last time a republican won pennsylvania in a presidential election? 1988. george herbert walker bush, it's been a while. but what's going on here? paul ryan, as you mentioned, he's coming right here to harrisbu harrisburg, that's why we're here. on the flip side, it seems that the obama campaign now putting some surrogates here. jill biden, the wife of the vice president will be here in pennsylvania later today, as well. guess what, former president bill clinton coming to pennsylvania to campaign on monday. you turn on the tvs here, randi, all you see are campaign commercials. i saw a ton in the local news. 10 million in the final days and the romney campaign is outspending the obama campaign two to one here in pennsylvania. 20 electoral votes at stake. here is the latest poll in pennsylvania. franklin and marsh

cnn political editor paul steinhauser is live from washington, d.c. this morning. nice to see you, paul. so the fiscal cliff triggers back-breaking tax hikes and massive spending cuts. you've got more numbers that show what type of budget plan americans actually prefer. >> exactly. one of the big arguments, zoraida, is should it be all spending cuts to get us there or tax increases, as well? brand-new numbers just out from cnn/orc. only about one in three say whatever deal should be struck should be just spending cuts. but almost seven in ten, two thirds of americans say the plan should include spending cuts and tax increases. our poll indicates americans are not so optimistic a deal will get done and if it doesn't get done, who gets the blame? look at this right here, about 45% say republicans in congress will be blamed if there is no deal and the country falls off the fiscal cliff. about a third say the president should get the blame. and about 15% say you know what? both sides get the blame. >> let's focus on those republicans. a lot are saying they will violate

and paul steinhauser is looking at the political impact.orning with christine. >> good morning, you guys. the last big economic hurdle before the election on tuesday, and this is what economists surveyed by cnn money are expecting. the unemployment rate to tick up to 7.9%, and then the separate part of that survey that looks at how many jobs were created, up 125,000. 125,000 net new jobs. but it is the trend in the unemployment rate that's been getting so much attention. because this unemployment rate has now gone back to where it was when mr. obama took office as president. in january of 2009, it was 7. %. there was a stimulus in february 2009. hundreds of billions of dollars spent into the economy, the unemployment rate kept rising to 10% before moving slowly lower now to 7.8%. again the forecast is for it to pick up in october to 7.9%. let's take a look at the job creation trends. that's the other part of this story. you can see when the president took office hundreds of thousands of jobs being lost every month. that was the financial cr

cnn's political editor paul steinhauser joins me live. first of all, paul, are people paying attention to the fiscal cliff? >> it seems they are. look at this, a cnn national poll out this morning. and we asked, what will the effect be on the country if it goes over the fiscal cliff? nearly 7 in 10 say major problems for the country, maybe even a crisis, with only about 3 in 10 saying minor and no problems. and john, personally, three quarters tell us they think their pocket books will be affected if the country falls off the fiscal cliff. >> we've heard both sides fighting. what do americans say they want to see in the deal? >> they want compromise, and what do they specifically want? look at these numbers. two-thirds say they want spending cuts, and some tax increases combined. only about 3 in 10 say just spending cuts. and john, it's interesting. when we asked just republicans that same question, slight majority said, yes, spending cuts and tax increases. >> interesting. do people think there is going to be a deal? >> not so optimistic.

political correspondent paul steinhauser joins us from his home base in washington. yesterday you were in pennsylvania covering a paul ryan rally. what do you think is the message for the challengers? >> we're hearing change. change and change. remember four years ago president obama ran on the mantle of hope and change. romney finished up at a rally out in colorado. another one of those eight battleground states we keep talking about. and what mitt romney is saying do you want another four years of under president obama or do you want something a little different? here's part of what he said. >> change can't be measured in speeches. it is measured in achievements. and four years ago, four years ago candidate obama promise dodd so very much, but he's fallen so very short. you recall. he promised he'd be a post-partisan president but he's been most partisan. dividing, attacking, blaming. >> you know, at this late hour here it's all about the ground game. it's about the candidates making sure their supporters actually vote. randi, we heard from both campaigns. the obama

cnn political editor paul steinhauser joins me from washington.st of all, is this not nuts that we're talking about this? aren't you supposed to be on vacation with everyone else? >> yeah, i really do need a vacation but you're right. natalie, it never really ends. with nun election ending, the next one begins. rubio is definitely a rising star. he's well-loved by fiscal conservatives, tea party types as well. he's getting a lot of attention because of also his push on immigration reform, getting a lot of attention. i'd say he's one of a dozen republicans who may be think being running for president in 2016, but of all those, he's the only one so far since the election actually gone to iowa. this was a dinner for iowa's republican dinner and a fund-raiser as well. as for 2016, here is what rubio said. >> look, let's just address right up front the elephant in the room because anytime anyone makes a trip to iowa people start speculating about what you're going to do in the future. let me just be blunt, i am not now, nor will i ever be a candidate f

here's political correspondent paul steinhauser. >> good morning. >> i think we're all aware that we have some urgent business to do. >> the president, as he sat down at the white house friday with top congressional leaders from both parties. americans agree. more than 82% say it's extremely important for congress to reach a deal. >> our challenge is to make sure that, you know, we are able to cooperate together. >> and i believe that we can do this and avert the fiscal cliff that is right in front of us today. >> and that's what most people want they should vote to equally compromise to prevent tax cuts and hikes to start to kick in at the beginning of the year. what do they want? 45% say it should be about half spending cuts and half tax increases with about 40% saying it should be mostly or only spending cuts. and according to exit polls from election night more than half said raising taxes on we wealthy americans is okay. it may be the biggest sticking point in reaching a deal. >> what i'm not going to do is extend bush tax cut for the wealthiest 2% that we can't afford and accor

paul steinhauser is live in harrisburg, pennsylvania. paul, really a flurry of activity and travel for president obama and governor romney. what is their message for these final three days? >> victor, it's interesting, both of them have the same message. change. they're saying it in different ways. you're hearing a lot about change as they crisscross the campaign trail in the final days. both were talking about the message yesterday, last night in ohio. take a listen. >> the president says that, you know, it has to be this way. i say it has to change. he says, he's got excuses for us. i say, in fact, no, i have a plan for us. >> he says that we need to settle for where we are with this high unemployment and low wage growth. i say this, americans don't settle. >> now, governor romney is a very talented salesman. and in this campaign he tried as hard as he can to repackage these bad ideas and offer them up as change. he says something, now suddenly he's the candidate of change. but, we know what change looks like. and what he's trying to se

paul steinhauser, thank you very much for being here this morning.inue our special election day edition, what polls are opening at the top of the hour and all the implications of today's votes. our correspondents are all across the country. and we'll be talking with bob mcdonald, governor of the battleground state of virginia. answery lot to say. stay with us. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 let's talk about low-cost investing. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 at schwab, we're committed to offering you tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 low-cost investment options-- tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 like our exchange traded funds, or etfs tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 which now have the lowest tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 operating expenses tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 in their respective tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 lipper categories. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 lower than spdr tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 and even lower than vanguard. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 that means with schwab, tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 your portfolio has tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 a better chance to grow. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 and you can trade a

it's a great segue to our next segment with cnn's paul steinhauser. the latest polls, obviously, but ohio's very important. the national pictures very interesting, as this race is now winding down. >> jim, everybody's saying it's close. you want close. >> take a look at this. cnn's poll of polls nationally, eight surveys out over two days, average them together, 49% for the president, among likely voters, 48% for mitt romney. but we both know this is a race that's won in the states as it's a battle for electoral votes and three states stand out in particular. florida, that's one of them. 29 electoral votes at stake. you can see here among likely voters, it's a close race. mason dixon poll in florida shows a different story. it shows the president down by six points to mitt romney. what about virginia? the last poll to come out 24 hours ago from nbc/"wall street journal." jim look how close that is, 48% for the president, 47% for mitt romney, 13 electoral votes at stake in virginia. end with ohio, where you are. cnn poll of polls. three most recent pol

cnn political editor paul steinhauser is following all of these developments from washington. e be a compromise? >> reporter: well, both parties are talking about the election being a call to compromise. and yesterday, on wednesday, we saw both senate majority leader, harry reid, the top democrat in congress, and john boehner, the house speaker, the top republican in congress, each separately holding news conferences, and talking about the possibility of working together to try to solve the nation's problems. but, zoraida, in both those news conferences, both men also laying down markers when it comes to the negotiations over the fiscal cliff, and both very much disagreeing over whether there should be tax increases for the wealthy. take a listen. >> we also have the problem of our fiscal imbalance overnight. and certainly won't do it in a lame-duck session of congress. and it won't be solved simply by raising taxes or taking a plunge off the fiscal cliff. >> the vast majority of the american people, rich, poor, everybody agrees that the rich, richest of the rich have to help a

. >>> well, it is never too early to start looking ahead, so we asked cnn political editor paul steinhausert handicapping the 2016 presidential race. >> call it the never-ending campaign. when one election ends, the next one begins. >> i have just called president obama to congratulate him. >> i just spoke with governor romney, and i congratulated him and paul ryan on a hard-fought campaign. >> with the 2012 campaign barely in the rear view mirror, we're already talking about the next president in the white house. does the popular gop senator in florida have designs on running for the next republican nomination. a source close says that's way too premature. but it's always good to have friends in iowa. rubio's just one name in a large list of republicans who may consider runs for the white house. they include governor chris christie of new jersey, body mcdonald of virginia, bobby jindal of louisiana and scott walker of wisconsin. senators rand paul of kentucky and john thune of south dakota, former governor jeb bush of florida, former senator rick santorum. former governor mike huckabee who

. >>> i'm paul steinhauser at the cnn political desk.and thursday, gop governors meet in las vegas for the republican governor's association's annual get-together. among those attending are possible contenders for the next republican presidential nomination. next weekend, senator marco rubio, who may also have designs on the white house, headlines a gop event in iowa. >>> i'm poppy harlow. wall street will have all eyes on congress this week as lawmakers return from recess. the big issue, the fiscal cliff. will congress act or won't it? that is what wall street wants to know. also coming up, some major earnings reports. we will hear from dell, target and home depot. two key announcements coming out. october retail sales and key inflation readings. that is all ahead and we will keep you posted on cnn money. >> i'm a.j. hammer, and with "showbiz tonight," and politics and couture is back. it is a new season of "the housewives of beverly hills." we are getting exclusives from brandy glanville about the series secrets. and we've had the hype

. >> all right, paul steinhauser. thank you for being her. >>> the victims of hurricane sandy, you can bet that the election is not top in their minds. but there are plenty of determined voters. national correspondent susan candiotti is very hard hit. what measures are being taken to try and make sure that people there are able to vote? >> well, the first thing i can tell you, fred is that more than 143,000 people just in this one bourough alone will not be going to the usual polling places that they are used to. here's why. just take a look around. i am right now walking on a boardwalk. a chunk of a boardwalk that is running 90 degrees perpendicular to where it used to be, behind me, running along the ocean. huge chunks of a boardwalk that has broken up and is now running down side streets of new york. homes here along the water front, due to flooding, people on their own have dragged all this out to the street. they have no power, look at these power lines down here. and they have to figure out how they are going to

paul steinhauser joins me live with the very last set of poll numbers showing where this race stands yeah, you want close, ashleigh, we've got close. let's go right to the numbers. five national polls out sunday, live operator, nonpartisan, start with our own, deadlocked at 49. abc news and washington post. same thing. at the bottom, pew research center, they have the president with a three-point edge, within the sampling error. let's go beyond the top lines and talk about enthusiasm. that could be so crucial. do you get your supporters out to the poll? our poll indicates that republicans are just as enthusiastic about polling as are democrats. and only 4% said they could still change their mind. their mind is made up but they could still be persuaded to change. it could be crucial if a very close contest. >> what about those swing states? it's all coming down to the swing states, as everybody says. >> reporter: it is all about the swing states. 270 electoral votes needed. let's start in ohio. take a look at the latest numbers. our poll from last week had the president with a three-p

. >>> >> let's bring in cnn political editor paul steinhauser. three republican lawmakers. it's not exactly a rebellion, right? >> not a rebellion yet. grover norquist, carol, was on cnn on "starting point" just an hour ago. he said you know what? if any of these lawmakers do make the pledge they have explaining to do to their voters. take a listen. >> if you want to go to your voters and say i promised you this and i'm breaking my promise, you can have that conversation with them. but you don't have that argument with me. you've made a commitment to your voters. >> norquist also said that nobody who signed the pledge has ever voted to raise taxes. stay tuned on all this as negotiations really get under way. what do americans think about all this, carol, with 36 days to go until the fiscal cliff? take a look at brand-new numbers from cnn/orc, national poll. we asked the effect of this fiscal cliff. if the country goes off the fiscal cliff, the effect on you. look at that. 24% say it's a crisis. 44% say major problems. who would be responsible if there is no agreement? the b

paul steinhauser, to you in washington. what's the news?ust filed papers, brooke, to seek re-election. today chris christie signed papers, a formality, lets him to set up a campaign structure. most thought he would run for re-election, but wasn't a guarantee. now it is. he's running for re-election. chris christie, very popular person among republicans. and you saw a lot of them in last year as they topped surrogate for mitt romney. his decision was delayed a little bit because of superstorm sandy, even he admit to reporters that because of the destruction from sandy to his state, he had to push back thoughts of re-election in politics. but he made that decision. his approval rating -- >> it is huge. >> yeah, his response to sandy helped his approval rating. according to a poll it was good, 56% before the storm, now new poll out today says it is 78%. a lot of that comes from democrats, their approval of him on the rise. >> there he is, pictures in his iconic fleece jacket, pretty funny the other weekend on "snl." paul steinhauser, thank you

paul steinhauser, thank you so much. >>> wolf blitzer and anderson cooper take a closer look at the candidates' final push before the elections. in america's choice 2012 countdown to election day, be sure to tune in tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern time. >>> well, life is slowly returning to normal for those affected by superstorm sandy. in new jersey this morning four more rail lines will be up and running and power is now being restored many more neighborhoods across the middle east. listen to how people reacted when the lights came on in new york. that is cause to celebrate for sure. mayor bloomberg says 90% of new york's subways should be working by today. about two million people are still in the dark and becoming increasingly frustrated. temperatures dipped into the 30s last night and a lot of people still don't have any heat. another problem from the power outages? 70% of gas stations in some areas can't pump gas, despite new jersey's gas rationing, people are waiting in very long lines, and some aren't finding gasoline at all. >> there's nothing there. well, the gas stations were open, but

paul steinhauser breaks it down for us. >> reporter: the clock is ticking on a deal preventing the fiscalhave some urgent business to do. >> reporter: the president as he said down at the white house on friday with top congressional leaders from both parties. and americans agree. more than 8 in 10 questioned in a "usa today"/gallup poll say it's extremely or very important for the president and congress to reach a deal. >> our challenge is to make sure that, you know, we are able to cooperate together. >> i believe that we can do this and avert the fiscal cliff that's right in front of us today. >> reporter: and that's what most people want. nearly 7 in 10 say democrats and republicans should both equally compromise to prevent massive spending cuts and tax hikes from starting to kick in at the beginning of the year. so what do they want in any deal? well, 45% say it should be about half spending cuts and half tax increases with 4 in 10 saying it should be mostly or only spending cuts, and according to exit polls from election night, nearly half of voters said raising taxes on the wealthie

. >>> cnn political editor paul steinhauser live in harrisburg this morning.p with romney in that state. can he realistically hope to take the state this fllate in t campaign? >> reporter: no republican hopeful has won the presidential campaign since 1980. paul ryan is not the only one who's coming to this state. mitt romney will be here in pennsylvania as well tomorrow in suburban philadelphia. that swing part of the state is really the swing part of the state will determine who wins it. 21 electoral votes up for grabs. you were just mentioning bill clinton. he is coming here to campaign in pennsylvania on monday. jill bide season here today as well. both sides going up with a lot of ads now. i turned on the tv last night, watching the local news, tons of ads. almost ten million ads in the closing ten days of this campaign. by a two to one margin, it's romney or romney allied ads running many this state. here's the most recent poll from franklin and marshall. just a four-point advantage. he used to have a double digit advantage in this state, which didn't see

paul steinhauser, thank you very much. >>> reminder that president obama is scheduled to speak in ohioe you back there live. we will also take you to mitt romney's event in wisconsin set to begin in 40 minutes. >>> a problem following superstorm sandy is getting worse. we are talking about the search for gas. people are lining up for a miler omore at the few gas stations are open. many gas stations don't have power for the pumps or they are s simply out of gas. >> i was online and i see three gas stations that closed down while i was there. >> this is your fourth try? >> yes. we come from jersey, and this is probably three hours to get into the city, and there is no gas there. and just to say it is a shame what is happening. >> a shame. >> no one knew. >> that is just gas for cars. a lot of people need gas to run the generators because as you well know power is still out at so many homes. u.s. death toll from sandy has risen to 92. four of those in new york city alone and half of the deaths are coming from staten island which is one of the hardest hit areas. most people without power a