tom foreman tonight is keeping them honest. tom?> reporter: the attacks from the right against the democratic nominee are taking two base being tacks, is he a left-leaning anti-american communist, or, he's a left-leaning anti-american communist tax and spend liberal. that's pretty much what they're saying here. the trouble dates back to 19 85 when he went to africa to study, saw great poverty and he came back changed. writing this article that you just mentioned for the student paper. chris coons, the making of a bearded marxist, in which he says, i came to suspect that the ideal of america as a beacon of freedom and justice providing hope for the world was not exactly based on reality. and the conservative talk circuit is tearing him up over this. >> i mean, this democrat is a marxist. i mean, there's a joke going around he's a bearded marxist or marxist with a beard. he describes himself that way. this guy is a sitting duck. >> if she says she's a witch, this guy said he's a marxist? who are you going to vote for? i'd rather have

tom foreman also with the last-minute political theater, looking at the ads that have been running.re they truthful? and we'll take you to san bruno, california, where people want to know why this happened, why their neighborhood was destroyed. they're demanding answers and show you if they're getting them right now. keepi keeping them honest. everyone knows a fee is a tax. you raised some taxes during that period, particularly the property tax as well as a lot of fee increases. as you know, there's a big difference between fees and taxes. but...they're the same. it's a tax. it's a tax. it's a tax. it's a tax. there's a big difference between fees and taxes. fees and taxes are one in the same. if it comes out of my pocket, it's a tax. now he says it isn't true. we didn't raise taxes. what? still doing the same thing, paying out more money. typical politician. definitely. >>> let's check in with john king who's been loaning clo inl at these races. >> a lot more evidence that the voters are sending a message to all politicians but including within the republican party. let's start wit

tom foreman has been looking at it perhaps in a dark room somewhere and joins us now keeping them honester: when a candidate says his latest commercial will air only during age appropriate shows, you know you're in for something special, and charlie melancon does not disappoint with his attack on republican senator david vitter. maybe you forgot vitter was caught up in a prostitution scandal or that he stood by his wife in this very uncomfortable news conference in 2007 and apologized for a very serious sin. but representative melancon wants to make sure you remember. >>> this time on forgotten crimes, caught up with prostitution scandals in washington, d.c., and new orleans, a louisiana politician has been let off the hook. today we explore the case of the senator and the madam in lawmaker, law breaker. >> reporter: this is a rarity in political ads. not only is it dressed up to look like one of these true crime shows out there but it's also two minutes long. complete, anderson, as you mentioned, with a re-enactment. take a look. >> david vitter won election to the united states senate

tom foreman joins us in tonight's installment of "political theater." tom?t christine o'donnell won, delaware has become the front line for the those that say the tea party train can be stopped and those that say it can't. so look at the latest attack ad from the democratic senatorial campaign committee. >> o'donnell spends money she doesn't have. hired employees she didn't pay. stiffed businesses. didn't pay her taxes. one of christine o'donnell's former employees summed it up. we were constantly trying to hold her back from spending. she was financially completely irresponsible. >> so we checked it out and as cnn gary tuchman reported earlier, according to the former campaign finance consultant, david keegan, o'donnell did use campaign funds from earlier races for things like meals, gas and to pay for bowling one time. so used campaign funds check. the watchdog group we mentioned earlier, crew, said that she did so for some things that she didn't behave properly as a candidate. she did this while she was no longer candidate therefore, it was illegal. beyon

welcome to "your $$$$$," i'm tom foreman, ali velshi returns next week. the crush question for your money and politicians gearing up for elections. political correspondent and anchor of excellent state of the union. let's talk about the battle lines, where are they being drawn right now as we look towards midterms. >> $250,000 battle line, what we're talking about. those that make above it, at least a household that makes above it and those that make below it. that's where it is. really what this is a battle over is who is more for the middle class. i think that's why you saw john boehner saying if i got a bill that was only for middle class tax cuts of course i would go ahead and vote for it, sort of giving up the store a lot of his fellow republicans fell. it's really about running up to an election who is the most for the middle class. that's where the rhetorical battle is. >> looked like a fracture earlier in the week on the republican side because of what boehner said. then within 48 hours, a fracture on the democratic side. >> yes. first of all you

tom foreman looks at some of those in our latest installment of "political theater." >> anderson, manyront running candidates have been so convinced at victory they used to get a start on the general election. in wisconsin two men are slugging it out. look at this ad by republican scott walker. >> i want to get government out of the way so employers can create more good-paying jobs. i'm scott walker and ready to go the distance as your governor. >> those boxing gloves might strike some as insensitive as democrat mayor was savagely beaten after rescuing a woman from an attack. look at his ad. >> there are people with character who don't think about what might happen to them. they just respond. i don't think he ever thought about it. i know and our kids know that their dad will always stand up for them and he will always stand up for wisconsin. >> tom, no doubt, some opponents say that ad is a bit opportunistic. >> you would think that. political observers say a general election race could be tight. speaking of opportunistic, we can't get by without pointing out nobody can top a democrat

tom foreman has the facts. >> and another of eddie long's accusers breaking his silence.es and more. >>. >> larry: you can only laugh. anderson cooper, 10:00 eastern, 7:00 pacific. there's no slow news day anymore. >> leon panetta is quoted as saying this is a crazy kind of war. >> larry: it's a crazy kind of world. >> it's a crazy kind of world. exactly. >> we all know and you all know this when we were at the white house recently, obama walks into the room with a stride. very self-confident guy. what does he worry about? >> he told me that. he just kind of volunteered. he said my number one worry, the thing i'm worried about is terrorists setting off a nuclear weapon in an american city. and that would be a game changer. turns out at this time last spring they conducted a secret exercise in the white house called the continuity of operation exercise. what would they do in the government if this happened. and in the exercise scenario, terrorists set off a nuke in indianapolis, indiana, and thousands of people were killed and they deal with how the government handles it.

tom foreman has the latest install the of "political theater." >> reporter: many front running candidatesave been so convinced of victory that they've used the primaries to get a hard running start at the general election. look at wisconsin, where we swing up there to find two men who want to be governor and they are slugging it out. look at this ad by republican scott walker. >> i want to get government out of the way so employers can create more good-paying jobs right here in wisconsin. i'm scott walker and i took on the political machine in milwaukee and i'm ready to go the distance as your next governor. >> reporter: now, those boxing gloves might strike some voters as a tad insensitive, considering that a year ago democratic contender tom barrett, the mayor was savagely beaten while rescuing a woman from an attack. look at his ad. >> there's people with a kind of character who don't think about circumstances, about what might happen to them, they just respond. and i don't think he ever thought about it. i know, and our kids know that their dad will always stand up for them. and he wi

tom foreman takes the stage for the first time in our very first political theater. tom? >>> anderson, democratic national committee has set its sights on the man that could be the speaker of the house if the dems lose enough seat. minority leader john boehner. they accuse him of much wrong against american workers. let's take a look. >> think republicans have no plan for the economy? it's not true. john boehner opposes funding for government jobs. jobs for teachers, cops, firefighters. boehner has a different plan. tax cuts for businesses, those that shift jobs and profits overseas. saving multinational corporations $10 billion. >> tom, we posted at our website and where do viewers think that falls on the sliding scale of truth? >> as you said, they can play along with this game at home. lee says that she absolutely loves this ad. it tells the truth in real and shocking terms. and another guy names d.j. or a gal maybe, named d.j. says this guy is so far away from the average american you can't see him from russia. that's what they say on that side but not everybody agree

. >> thank you, tom foreman and peter bergen. >>> this is just coming in, researchers have won the latestnd in the embryonic funding. the federal government has lifted a ban to allow the scientists to continue their work temporarily. last month, a judge halted the funding to stop research on stem cells, and now this will allow the obama administration to continue its appeal. >>> and new concerns about the afghan president hamid karzai after he breaks down. could he will be suffering from bipolar disorder. >>> and president obama talks about fellow democrats and fox news. we will talk about it with arianna huffington, and benstein. >>> and a man who was moved to tears and got him a hug at a presidential town hall meeting today. add some insulation here. a little weather stripping there. maybe an energy star-rated appliance, or two. let's save money on the things that keep saving money. that way, we can turn a little energy into a lot of savings. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. we're lowering the cost of staying at room temperature with owens corning insulation