ruth marcus is an editorial writer for the "washington post." and columnist mark leibovich writes for the "new york times magazine." and it wouldn't be a political panel without our own john dickerson. on the other side, bob shrum, longtime democratic consultant, now a contributor for the the "daily beast." and john fund writes for the conservative magazine "national review." you know, we've got to talk about the weather this morning, folks. i thought this would be the one thing that wouldn't be entering into this campaign that has a little of of everything else. ruth, what do you think the impact of this thing could be? >> who knew the october surprise was going to be a hurricane? we've had everything else in this campaign. why not that. i think the really interesting phenomenon with the hurricane, or frankenstorm, or whatever we're going to end up calling it, is its intersection with this other new tom none, which is early voting. we don't really have election day in america anymore. we have election month. and the democrats have actually been

and still with us, john harris and ruth marcus. ruth, first to you, because you saw the performance last night and it had all of the feel of an incumbent president who has not been challenged who has been in the oval office, who didn't do enough debate preparation or maybe they weren't tough enough with him. >> well, i think one other thing might have been going on, which is that his goal was not to do himself any harm, maybe hi did himself harm by not being sharp enough. there was also, i think, some folks in the campaign believe this, a danger on the other end. this president does not do pit bull very well. remember, you're likable enough, hillary. he didn't want to come off as annoying, arrogant, dismissive, towards romney because he is in the driver's seat in terms of being ahead, even though slightly and narrowing in the polls. i think we did see today, chuck had it exactly right, a sharper crisper, more acerbic barack obama, and i suspect we'll see that in the next campaign. but i'm a little bit contrarian here. i thought the

ruth marcus. >> thanks, andrea. >> and did the president repair the damage he did during the first debate in denver. reaction from obama campaign headquarters press secretary ben labolt next right here. [ male ] jill and her mouth have lived a great life. but she has some dental issues she's not happy about. so i introduced jill to crest pro-health for life. selected for people over 50. pro-health for life is a toothpaste that defends against tender, inflamed gums, sensitivity and weak enamel. conditions people over 50 experience. crest pro-health for life. so jill can keep living the good life. crest. life opens up when you do. we create easy to use, powerful trading tools for all. look at these streaming charts! they're totally customizable and they let you visualize what might happen next. that's genius! strategies, chains, positions. we put 'em all on one screen! could we make placing a trade any easier? mmmm...could we? open an account today and get a free 13-month e ibd™ subscription when you call 1-888-280-0157 now. optionsxpress by charles schwab. [ "the odd couple" theme playing

plus analysis from ruth marcus of the "washington post."k leibovich of the "new york times magazine." bob shrum of the the "daily beast." john fund of the "national review." and cbs news political director, john dickerson. here comes the storm because this is "face the nation." captioning sponsored by cbs from cbs news in washington, "face the nation" with bob schieffer. >> schieffer: and good morning again. welcome to "face the nation." and if there were not enough political and weather news, add this-- an earthquake that measures a magnitude of 7.7 has taken place off the coast of western canada. no injuries or damage reported so far there. so we're going to start with the big storm up the east coast of the united states, hurricane sandy. for that, we go to chief meteorologist david bernard from our miami, florida, station wfor. dave, tell us what you know. >> reporter: all right, good morning, bob. all right the weather is starting to affect the mid-atlantic states and the outer banks of north carolina. we can see sandy's rain bands alre

joining me now, chris cizilla, msnbc contributor and managing editor of post politics.com and ruth marcus. ruth, first to you, we're talking about abortion and seen in some considerable movement in the numbers, the polling numbers, at least the pew poll about women and the closing the gender gap, for mitt romney, is this another case where he was trying to pivot? moderate mitt and might be too much to bear for conservatives who are not yet spoken out? >> it might be remoderate mitt. remember back in massachusetts, he said he was supportive of the right to abortion and so there's really -- i think this could be an issue for him with certainly a certain element of the conservative movement other than taxes and for some of them even more than taxes abortion is the litmus test issue. it's also the issue on which governor romney has been absolutely totally positively the most flip floppy and squishyist. what he said yesterday was not exactly a flip flop back. it was essentially saying i don't have any legislation in mind. >> a lawyerly comment. >> at the top of my agenda. it's true. he hasn't

ruth marcus, karen, josh greene and michael crowley joining me next. [ female announcer ] most whiteningpromise full whitening results in two weeks or more. rembrandt® deeply white™ 2 hour whitening kit is proven to quickly remove surface stains and deep stains in just two hours. [ female announcer ] rembrandt® deeply white™: whiten in just 2 hours. i just finished a bowl of your new light chicken pot pie soup and it's so rich and creamy... is it really 100 calories? let me put you on webcan... ...lean roasted chicken... and a creamy broth mmm i can still see you. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. >>> to the week that was and what lies ahead on the campaign trail this coming week. here is my panel to weigh in, josh greene, senior national correspondent with bloomberg business week, editorial page writer for "the washington post" ruth marcus, "time" magazine's michael crowley and karen tum multi with "the washington post." thank you very much all. first to you, ruth, what was your immediate reaction to this matchup last night? >> well, you know, i don't think that t

ruth marcus, thank you.oday's amr moment, a year to remember for the nats, continuing with the division title. the braves lost to the pirates monday night, made it official for the nats, a team that finished last season more than 20 games out of first place now ends the season in the top spot. the next stop is playoff baseball. washington fans are waiting to see just who the first national league opponent will be. what a night it was. creamy spinach artichoke dip, crispy garlic chicken spring rolls. they're this season's must-have accessory. lean cuisine. be culinary chic. [ "the odd couple" theme playing ] humans. even when we cross our "t"s and dot our "i"s, we still run into problems -- mainly other humans. at liberty mutual insurance, we understand. that's why our auto policies come with accident forgiveness if you qualify, where your rates won't go up due to your first accident, and new car replacement, where if you total your new car, we give you the money for a new one. call... to talk to an insurance

joining me now for our daily fix, chris cillizza, manager editor of postpolitics.com and writer ruth marcus. breaking news, "the washington post" put up its editorial, not too surprisingly, i think, it is for president obama. >> it is for president obama. >> why? you're a part of the process. >> i'm part of the process. we endorsed president obama four years ago after having a lot of discussions about the relative merits of senator mccain and senator obama. we expressed some disappointment with some of the things that the president failed to get done during his first term, but we also saw a bunch of achievements, health care, achievement, getting the economy stabilized, somewhat stabilized, an achievement, and fundamentally looking forward to a second term, we just have more hope to use obama word, in the president's capacity to tackle the really difficult choices facing the country, specifically on the debt, than we do in governor romney whose tax plan has been a big mystery to us. >> ruth and chris, brian williams has been on that nonstop travel with the president and asked president obam

ruth marcus of "the washington post" wrote this on friday, and i'd like your reaction to it.ten closely to romney not just in the debate but in his comments about women throughout the debate and you hear not only modern manager but '50s dad. he speaks of the dignity of work when talking about welfare moms, but at heart he seems convinced that children are better off when mothers stay at home. senator, you're 42. you're of a different generation. as a father and as a husband. can you understand why some women have that reaction that he seems sort of out of touch with what modern women are going through? >> well, first of all, let me correct you. i'm 41. i only feel 42. >> you and i are the same age. >> just a couple of things i want to say about that. the number one issue in america, especially for women but for all americans, is an economy that's growing and creating tunes. and that's why you just read a poll that the gender gap is narrowing. the reason is because barack obama is not offering anything. what will he do over the next four years economically so that women that a