Transcripts For CNNW The Situation Room 20121023

Fourteen days until americans pick the next president. Cnn is geared up to bring you the most comprehensive coverage of these final two weeks of the campaign. Our correspondents are in the most critical battleground states across the country as president obama and mitt romney try to win over those few remaining undecided voters who could very well sway this expected very, very close election. We have both of these president ial campaigns live this hour. You see joe biden, democratic Vice President ial nominee. Hes also the Vice President of the United States. Hes speaking right now in dayton, ohio. Hes going to be introducing the president whos going to be speaking right after him. And in henderson, nevada, another key battleground state, paul ryan is speaking right now getting ready to introduce mitt romney. This hour you will hear from both mitt romney and barack obama on this important day after the third and final president ial debate. Lets go to nevada right now. Six electoral votes are at stake there. In 2008 they went to president obama. While he holds a twopoint lead in a recent poll in that state, hes statistically tied with mitt romney in nevada right now. Our National Political correspondent jim acostas on the scene for us with the Romney Campaign. Whats going on on this day after the last debate . Reporter well, wolf, you might be able to notice behind me that paul ryan is on stage. Hes getting ready to introduce the man at the top of the ticket, mitt romney. The Romney Campaign believes that the gop nominee achieved his objective at last nights debate by not going after all of the president s lines of attack in that final showdown there in boca raton, florida. Wolf, the debates are over. And the real race is now on. Hello, florida. Reporter bang, the final president ial debate was the starting pistol for a twoweek sprint to the finish line as president obama fought to hold onto florida, mitt romney tried his luck in nevada. And by the way, the math in my plan adds up. Reporter on the Campaign Plane, romneys advisors were quick to brush off the president s move to unveil a new 20page blueprint outlining his agenda for a second term. The Romney Campaign has already turned the gop nominees debate to the economy. Governor romney, wrong and reckless policies . Ive got a policy for the future. And agenda for the future. Reporter into a new ad. Ill get us on track to a balanced budget. Reporter a trio of key debate flash points lay down the lines. Romneys attack on mr. Obamas decision not to visit israel during his first foreign president. You went to the middle east and you flew to egypt and saudi arabia and turkey and iraq. And by the way, you skipped israel. If were going to talk about trips that weve taken reporter for factory workers in ohio, the flare up over romneys opposition to the auto bailout. Iran, mr. President. No, i am not wrong. People will look it up. And for military voters in virginia, romneys charge that the size of the navy is at 1917 levels. Well, governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets because the nature of our militarys changed. Reporter it was hardly a direct hit for either candidate. As it turns out, every marine still undergoes bayonet training. And the Fact Checking watchdog blame the president for the current navy fleet levels as pants on fire. Now, as for the president s blueprint that he laid out earlier today talking about his second term agenda, we did talk to some senior romney advisors on the Campaign Plane as we were coming into nevada earlier this afternoon. And in the words of one of those romney advisors, they called that blueprint a glossy panic button. Now, as for the travels of the two candidates theyre going to be on this stage in a few moments from now, we are going to be hearing nevada as we just mentioned. But they are headed next to colorado and then, wolf, mitt romney heads to iowa and ohio and then virginia looks like this weekend. If you live in a swing state, he is probably coming to a town near you, wolf. Were going to hear governor romney and president obama live this hour in nevada and ohio. Gloves certainly were off for president obama last night after being criticized for not being aggressive enough in the first president ial debate. The president has been hammering away at mitt romney in subsequent debates and on the campaign trail including today. Lets get some more now from our chief political analyst gloria borger. This new strategy i guess its a new strategy after that first debate, hammer, hammer, hammer. Whats up . Well, lets state the obvious, which we all now its a close raid e race. President obama went into that debate much the same as mitt romney went into the first debate. Mitt romney in the first debate knew he was behind. Going into this last debate, the president s campaign saw the polls tightening. They didnt like what they were seeing. They understood the president has an advantage when it comes to Foreign Policy. Commander in chief has had some Foreign Policy successes. Mitt romney not as comfortable on that terrain. So they decided to attack. And i think youd have to say that it worked for them. What theyre going after, wolf, not so much the undersided voters because there arent many of those left, its what one pollster described to me today as fluctuating voters. Voters who go back and forth between the candidates who may have been for obama in 2008, little diseffect ed decided theyd give romney a look. And the big thing for the Romney Campaign is they want mitt romney to be acceptable to those voters who are fluctuating as they put it. The Obama Campaign put out an ad sort of a summation if you will. Let me play a little clip. Heres my plan for the next four years. Making education and training a national priority. Building on our manufacturing boom, boosting americanmade energy. Reducing the deficits responsibly by cutting where we can and asking the wealthy to pay a little more. And ending the war in afghanistan so we can do some nation building here at home. Read between the lines for us, gloria . Well, it is a book called a plan for jobs. And i think you can honestly say i did this because voters were complaining they didnt have enough vision for the next four years. As my colleague pointed out earlier today on cnn, there isnt a lot in this thats new or thats unexpected. They talk about energy, they talk about president S Health Care plan. They do for example talk about education and a goal of reducing College Tuition in half over the next ten years, but they dont explain exactly how the federal government will do that. But at least they tried to put it in a book and say, heres our road map. Just read. Sort of the same as saying its on my website, just read it. But here it is sfwl romney may not have won the debate last night according to our instant poll, but he did achieve some important things. Again, its thatparticularly commander in chief. We ask whether president romney can handle the job as commander in chief. You see theyre almost at parody there, wolf, both at 60 or above. So i think what the romney people that i spoke to today felt very happy and very comfortable with that. Their big job that they have left, wolf, is to capitalize on the intensity they say theyre feeling of their voters out there. If they can get their voters out, and if they can make republicans enthusiastic and theyve seen a building intensity since that first debate, then they think theyve got a shot even in the allimportant state of iowa where they maintain the polls are tied. Other polls show it with obama having a lead. But the Romney Campaign says, you know what, were there. Were almost there. Were going to hear from both of these president ial candidates. Theyre just beginning to speak. Theyre welcoming some of the guests that have come out there at these rallies. The president of the United States in ohio. Governor romney in nevada. When we come back, youll hear from both of these president ial candidates. [ male announcer ] inside the v8 taste lab. Tomato, obviously. Haha. Theres more than that though, theres a kick to it. Theres a pop. Wahlalalalallala pepper, but not pepper, im getting like, peppepper. Its kind of like drinking a food thats a drink, or a drink thats a food, zip zip zip zip zip im literally getting zinged by the flavor. Smooth, but crisp. Velvety. Kind of makes me feel like a dah zing yah woooooh [ male announcer ] taste it and describe the indescribable. Couldve had a v8. Woooo silverado the most dependable, longest lasting, fullsize pickups on the road. So, what do you think . [ engine revs ] ill take it. [ male announcer ] its chevy truck month. Now during chevy truck month, get 0 apr financing for 60 months or trade up to get the 2012 Chevy Silverado allstar edition with a total value of 8,000. Hurry in before theyre all gone to volunteer to help those in need. When a twinge of back pain surprises him. Morning starts in high spirits, but theres a growing pain in his lower back. As lines grow longer, his pain continues to linger. But after a long day of helping others, he gets some helpful advice. Just two aleve have the strength to keep back pain away all day. Today, jason chose aleve. Just two pills for all day pain relief. Try aleve d for strong, all day long sinus and headache relief. 100 new. 100 mmm. Wow, that is mmm. Its so mmm you might not believe its a hundred calories. New yoplait greek 100. It is so good. Governor romney is speaking in nevada. President obama is speaking in ohio. President obama really, really blasting mitt romney for romnesia right now. Listen in. Wont give a big tax cut to the wealthy, but youre on a video promising your tax cut would include the top 1 . That sounds like a classic case of romnesia. If you say that you love american cars during a debate, youre a car guy, but you wrote an article titled let detroit go bankrupt, you definitely have a case of romnesia. Last night governor romney looked you right in the eye looked me in the eye, tried to pretend that he never said let detroit go bankrupt. Tried to pretend he meant the same thing i did when we intervened and worked to make sure that management and workers got together to save the u. S. Auto industry. Pretended like somehow i had taken his advice. But people dont forget. The people of dayton dont forget. The people of ohio dont forget. If mitt romney had been president when the Auto Industry was on the verge of collapse, we might not have an american Auto Industry today. Wed be buying cars from china instead of selling cars to china. And you know how important that is to ohio. The Auto Industry supports one in eight ohio jobs. Its a source of pride to this state. It is a source of pride to our country. Its a source of pride to generations of workers. I refuse to walk away from those workers. I bet on those workers. I refuse to walk away from those jobs. I understood that americans can compete. I wasnt about to let detroit go bankrupt or toledo go bankrupt. I bet on american workers. I bet on american manufacturing. I would do it again because that bet has paid off for ohio and for america in a big way. So heres the good news, ohio, if youve come down with a case of romnesia, if you cant seem to remember the positions that youve taken not just four years ago but four days ago, if you dont remember the positions that are on your website, if you dont remember the promises youve been making during the six years that youve been running for president , you dont have to worry because obama care covers preexisting conditions. We can fix you up. Theres a cure. Theres a cure. Theres a cure, but you got to vote to make sure that the medicine is there for romnesia. Now, we joke about governor romney being all over the map, but it speaks to something important. It speaks of trust. Theres no more serious issue in a president ial campaign than trust. Trust matters. You know, you want to know that the person whos applying to be your president and commander in chief is trustworthy, that he means what he says, that hes not just making stuff up depending on whether its convenient or not. So, you know, smart people who they dont have a dog in this fight. Theyve crunched the numbers. And we know governor romneys jobs plan doesnt really create jobs. We know his deficit plan doesnt really reduce the deficit. His Foreign Policys from the 1980s before the cold war was over. His social policys from the 1950s. And his economic policies are from the 1920s. He knows he cant sell that even though those are his positions. So in the closing weeks of the campaign hes doing everything he can to hide his true positions and tell us what he thinks you want to hear and then spend most of his time telling you what he thinks is wrong with america. Joe biden just talked about that. Talking about americas in decline. He is terrific at making presentations about stuff he thinks is wrong with america. But he sure cant give you an answer about what will make it right. And thats not leadership that you can trust. You know, ohio, you know me. You know i mean what i say. You know that i do what i say im going to do. You know that ill make the tough decisions even when theyre not popular. Folks dont remember what we did with the Auto Industry. It wasnt popular when we did it. It wasnt even popular in michigan and ohio, but it was necessary. And because i have folks like joe biden with me who can support me when i make tough decisions, we went and did what we thought was right. And i know people all right. Were going to continue to monitor the president in ohio right now. Well take a quick break. When we come back, well get a very, very different side of the story. Mitt romney, he is really going after the president right now. Mitt romney in nevada right after this. [ male announcer ] at t. The nations largest 4g network. Now covering 3000 more 4g cities and towns than verizon. At t. Rethink possible. I just served my motherinlaw your chicken noodle soup but she loved it so much. I told her it was homemade. Everyone tells a little white lie now and then. But now she wants my recipe [ clears his throat ] [ softly ] shes right behind me isnt she . [ male announcer ] progresso. You gotta taste this soup. Republican president ial nominee mitt romney has been speaking in henderson, nevada, outside of las vegas. And he spoke extensively about what happened last night. Now, my guess is you had the chance to watch that debate last night, maybe a couple debates. Yeah. And these debates have supercharged our campaign. Theres no question about it were seeing more and more enthusiasm, more and more support. Were going to make sure that these campaigns that the message of these debates, rather, that these messages keep going across the country. I had to look at the president s campaign as well through the eyes of those debates. Well, you know, hes been reduced to try to defend characters on sesame street and word games of various kinds. And then misfired attacks after one another. The truth is that attacks on me are not an agenda. Weve gone through four debates now weve gone through four debates his idea of growing the economy is raising taxes. Does anyone think raising taxes creates more jobs . Look, his vision for the future is a repeat of the past. We dont want to go into the past. Our plan has five key steps that will get this economy going because were serious about these things. Were going to finally get north American Energy independence using our coal, our oil, our gas, our nuclear and our renewables. Were going to make trade work for america by making sure we open up new markets particularly in latin america. Latin america we have advantages there with language and time zone and were going to crack down on cheaters when they steal our jobs through unfair trade practices like china will crack down. He has not. Were going to make Training Programs work for the people who need training and fix our schools. By the way, we can fix our schools because we dont get the largest share of our Campaign Contributions to the teachers unions. He does. As a matter of fact, we get none of our Campaign Contributions from the teachers unions. Were going to do something to fix our schools that needs to be done across the country. And that is were putting our kids first and the parents first and the Teachers First and the teachers unions going behind. And number five, number five is this, were going to champion Small Business. We want Small Business to grow and thrive and to add more jobs. We want to help Small Business people with lower taxes and regulators that see themselves as being on the same team as opposed to being in that position to Small Business. Were going to help Small Business grow and thrive in this country. I understand Small Business. I didnt read about Small Business. I didnt study Small Business. I lived Small Business. And im going to help Small Business grow. Look, his is a status quo candidacy. His is a message of Going Forward with the same policies of the last four years. And thats why his campaign is slipping. And thats why ours is gaining so much steam. Im convinced as paul said, we can do better. I know we can. This is not just a matter of paul and me. This is a Movement Across the country. People recognizing that we can do a better job as a nation than weve done over these last four years. Ive seen it throughout my life. And in the heart of the American People theres a greatness. Equality of the human spirit that tells me if we tap into it, if we allow freedom to bloom as it can, youre going to see this country come back and an economy that roars to success. There he is, mitt romney in nevada, a key battleground state. Earlier the president in ohio, another key battleground state. Were watching both of these president ial candidates in this the final two weeks of this campaign. The Obama Campaigns just released a new booklet detailing the president s plans for a second term. Our panel has plenty of questions and some unsolicited advice when we come back. Al wanted to provide better Employee Benefits while balancing the companys bottom line, their very first word was. [ to the tune of lullaby and good night ] aflac aflac [ male announcer ] find out more at. [ duck ] aflac [ male announcer ]. Forbusiness. Com. [ yawning sound ] with just two weeks until the election, president obama wants voters to read all about his plans for a second term. Heres a quick snapshot. Ive laid out a plan for jobs and middle class security. And unlike mitt romney, im actually proud to talk about whats in it. One advisor called that new blueprint a glossy panic button. Fourteen days before the election, now youre handing out fliers on your Financial Plan . Procrastinator in chief. You could say the same about mitt romney. Neither man wants to commit to too many details at this point. Last night listening to mitt romney was like listening to a candidate who was running on cliff notes or who had Rosetta Stone Foreign Policy. Lets get straight to our own kate bolduan and some unsolicited advice from our panel. Kate. Ill offer any time even if you dont ask. Thank you, wolf. Hey, guys. So you heard that great kind of snapshot right there. The president saying hes now laid out his plan for a second term. So, van, were two weeks out. Hes laying out his plan or highlighting his plan for a second term agenda. Its a little light on the details, many would say. Whats the point now . Well, i think hes taking my advice because we were on unsolicited advice before and i said he should just enumerate his plan. And so here we are. Actually, i think whats amazing is he has had a plan. In fact, with his jobs proposal which was stopped by congress repeatedly, that was a clear plan. He was out on the stump for a year with a clear plan. I think its opportunity for him to remind people. Hes not introducing anything new. Hes reminding people. I hope what the public picks up on is wait a minute, this sounds familiar. Oh, he was fighting for this all the past two years and the republicans stopped him. Even stuff like republicans should have supported him on, tax cuts for Small Businesses, tax cuts for 98 of americans, bringing our troops home to rebuild america. All of that stuff should sound familiar because hes been saying it the whole time. Van, youve got to admit though. Youre a wonky guy. Maybe youre not a political in the weeds, but honestly, if youre putting out a plan two weeks before the election, doesnt that suggest doesnt that suggest what youve been saying so far hasnt been working . Doesnt it suggest that what ive been doing so far maybe got us out of the hole, but im going to do more of it just wasnt working well enough . Or are you in a little bit of trouble if voters dont know this plan already . I think what this suggests, ive heard a lot of complaints from voters, i myself complain about this, lack of big vision from both candidates. Weve been in a very small campaign. Take a look, we have spent more time discussing children toys, first etchasketch and now battleship than we have been articulating a great big optimistic vision for america in the next four years. I think they heard that. And thats kind of what theyre trying to do is short on details but high on gloss. Look, were past the three debates, right . Both candidates have been out there talking about what it is they want to do at some level for the past year and a half. Were now past the three debates. Were in the home stretch. What the president did today was kind of take everything hes been saying, put it together in one package and say, here it is. What the president needs to do also which i think hes started to do is also say heres what happens if im elected. And heres what happens if mitt romneys elected. He says hes got a plan. He may be running away from it, but let me tell you exactly what his plan means to you. That contrast is what really is going to matter in this home stretch. Doesnt that get at the crux of the argument right now . Finally in the last two weeks president obama what he has been running against mitt romney essentially. He hasnt been running for a second term of president obama. We just saw two cut aways of the two Campaign Events just now. You had mitt romney saying heres my fivepoint plan and then cut aways of president obama saying mitt romneys a really bad guy. Let me ask you this, margaret, Romney Campaign advisors called this blueprint put out called the booklet a glossy panic button. But Jessica Yellin in the snapshot right off the top made a great point. You could say kind of same thing about the romney tax reform plan. That it is also quite light on specifics. And hes been criticized on. This is 20 pages and mitt romneys plan is 150. Not sure its a better thing. But its principles. You do have principles. You can do sort of the math as an addup and thats totally fair and legitimate. Were going to see how theyll make the numbers work. Kind of a 227page Health Care Plan before you know whats in it. This is political marketing 101. Uhhuh. Take a look at this plan, you can show some of the pages, its long on pictures, short on detail. It doesnt matter. Its for the purposes of having a prop to hold up on stage and say ive got a plan. Now feel better americans. Let me say two things. Youre right that he has not done a great job of making sure people understand what his plan is. Like summing it up. Part of that is because what his job is. He both has to continue to make the point about what he wants to do, but he does have to take down mitt romney. And part of it is mitt romneys plan though he has a plan has been literally laughed at by economis economists. Literally a two minus two equals four plan. And the president has a double burden here. Hes got to be able to knock that down. I think at this point people that believe mitt romneys plan is not a good plan need to hear what the president wants to do more clearly. So thats what hes doing. From my point of view if you look at where the president is right now, he had a bad stumble with that first debate. Look at his reforms the last two debates. You see his base now rallying back to him. And over the next two weeks you will see him holding that plan up. What is the plan . And i think thats the conversation he wants to have. Unfortunately for hey, listen, he had the etchasketch as the prop for the other guy. A plan for a prop for himself. Unfortunately, for the president the debate that mattered the most is the first. We didnt see the second debate have anywhere near the same effect. Were yet to see what the third debate has done. In terms of the plan thats out there, youve worked closely and intimately in a president ial campaign, is there a hesitance especially this late in the game to get into specifics . Because you dont want to rock the boat or mess it up . No. In fact i argue in a race like this this is exactly the time you want to get into specifics. Were down to the home stretch. Weve got a very small group of undecided voters. You want to do two things. You want to mobilize your base by drawing the contrast between you and your opponent and talk to the differences between you and your opponent. Whats striking me is mitt romney is running away from the plan hes been talking about for the past year and a half. And thats what the president really cannot let up on. Hes got to hold his feet to the fire. Its not that mitt romney is a flipflopper. Thats part of it. The problem with mitt romney is that his plan doesnt add up and will have devastating consequences on the middle class. Go ahead, margaret. The question now as a messaging expert, if you get into detail in the last two weeks after youve already made your closing arguments to the American People, how much is going to resonate . All the ad time bought up on the air, super pacs taking up all the messaging, how much of the details nuance specifics of an economic plan are going to get through. Have you looked at this brochure . What details are we talking about here . Theres one of everything, okay, woman. Latino, africanamerican. Theres two copies at the table. Hold on a second, van. You guys take a moment. I have seen more detail in a skin care infomercial. On that note, were going to talk were going to read through this a little bit more and talk about what ana just said. And next our panel is going to give some unsolicited advice to some very unsuspecting targets. Well be right back. Plus prese. I have a cold, and i took nyquil, but im still stubbed up. [ male announcer ] truth is, nyquil doesnt unstuff your nose. What . [ male announcer ] it doesnt have a decongestant. No way. [ male announcer ] sorry. Alkaseltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms plus has a fastacting decongestant to relieve your stuffy nose. Thanks. [ male announcer ] youre welcome. Thats the cold truth [ male announcer ] alkaseltzer plus. Oh what a relief it is [ male announcer ] try new alkaseltzer plus severe allergy to treat allergy symptoms plus sinus congestion and pain. [ male announcer ] try new alkaseltzer plus severe allergy one is for a clean, wedomestic Energy Future that puts us in control. Our abundant natural gas is already saving us money, producing cleaner electricity, putting us to work here in america and supporting wind and solar. Though all Energy Development comes with some risk, were committed to safely and responsibly producing natural gas. Its not a dream. Americas natural gas. Putting us in control of our Energy Future, now. Welcome back to the situation room and unsolicited advice. Its time for our panel to give their unsolicited advice. Margaret, start with you. The news the last few days in the cycling world, mine is for lance armstrong. Its time to come clean. No pun intended. Really. What this guy has to do, he was a hero to so many people. He brought a generation of athletes into a new sport in the United States. The best thing you can do is fess up, come clean, say what you did and say youre sorry. Because its the First Step Towards redemption and people know you did it. Redemption might be tough on this one. Its been quite a its a long path to redemption, but you start by saying what you did. Good luck getting the money back. I think that would be redeeming. Short of that, he could take that and go to a Desert Island somewhere, buy one maybe. It is heartbreaking. I had my yellow band and it sort of it was such an inspirational story of somebody overcoming something. Its just really sad. I actually do feel sorry not only for him but also the young people he inspired. I feel sorry for the organization. Exactly. Despite the recent developments, we have to remember he did do a lot of good for that organization. And the organization can still do good, which i think people should remember. And hes still a famous name. He can do good. Were going to americans are very forgiving people. And i think if he spends some time now in his life doing good, continuing to do good in charity eventually. Eventually. We have a short memory in tv. Thats for sure. Go ahead. My advice is for independent voters who are Science Fiction fans. Okay. This could swing the election. So think about who mitt romney is. In every scene hes different. In one scene he says afghanistan, we shouldnt get out, then we should. On syria, we should have ground troops, we shouldnt. Hes a shape shifter. And no Science Fiction movie is the shape shifter the good guy. You dont want the shape shifter to take over the ship. Fear romney. Thats all i got to say. You obviously watch true blood. I said movie. Ive done my research. Also by hbo. Part of our parent company. All my fellow geeks, fear romney. No shape shifters in the white house. Theres a lot of microtargeting going on in ohio. And i have a feeling now theyre microtargeting all the scifi reeders directly to shape shifters. The problem romney is hes a shape shifter wan na be. Ana, please take this. All right. My unsolicited advice is also to undecided voters to uncommitted voters, all right, folks, weve now gone through three debates. Weve seen these guys say jokes. Weve seen thing sing. Weve seen them talk. Weve been watching them now for six years, frankly. Decide. Make it easy for the rest of us. Lets wrap this up. Get off the fence. Put your finger in the wind. Flip a coin. Do whatever you have to do, but its time to bring this home. A lot of people dont believe that there are really undecideds out there, that people just arent telling which way theyre going. Ive actually met a few in the last few days. I thought they were like big foot. Some sort of mythical figure that existed only somewhere in the imagination. But theres actually evidence of them. Ive met some and even friends with a couple it turns out. They will be very important come two weeks from now. Mo. Voters are getting a lot of unsolicited advice here today. Shocking. My advice to voters is Pay Attention below the president ial line on your ballot. There are a lot of Important Senate and house races this election. Congress is completely paralyzed by gridlock. Its got 14 approval rating, moderates are fleeing the chamber. This matters. This matters. And its easy for voters to just kind of throw up their hands and stare down at their belly buttons and say i give up. But dont. You can fix it. You can actually vote for people that will work towards Common Ground and reject those that are hyperpartisans. Its not just about the balance of power. Its actually about balance in politics. So youre saying vote the person, not the party. Split your ticket. Vote for the people willing to come together. Hes saying vote for my client. Approved by mo. I didnt mention names. I do think the president may have missed some opportunities. Youre saying why havent you gotten more done, to actually run more fully against the congress and say in both parties vote for people who want to cooperate with each other. Not saying that just makes him look like hes a failure when in fact hes a victim of a dynamic he hasnt tried to change directly. Youve got to stop running against something and run for something at some point. He has his prop ready to go. We just need some more props. How about you . I knew you were going to ask. Today i will offer my unsolicited advice. My advice is to both campaigns. Congratulations. You have fabulous writers coming f romnesia. Ca phrases i thk at this point two weeks out, time to put the catch phrases away and the zingers and oneliners and really talk to voters because i dont think the elections going to turn on those fancy words. I like it. I like it. Heres the deal, i think they should stop telling the jokes. But if it turns out that your economic fivepoint plan is a joke, you should get rid of it. The people laughing the most are the economists laughing at romney or, people might be youve heard me say esteemed economist from the university of columbia. I think people are laughing that we were talking about scifi and the market in ohio. On that note, we will end our unsolicited advice today. Wolf, if i need to remind you of anything, were two weeks out. Youre having way too much fun over there. Way too much. Some Florida Republicans are getting official looking letters questioning whether theyre legally allowed to vote. The problem is the letters arent coming from any one official. [ ross ] we are in the dades gorge, high up in the Atlas Mountains of morocco. Have you seen this road were going down . There is no relief for the brakes. Well put them to the test today. All right, lets move out [ ross ] were pushing the ats brakes to the limit. Going as fast as we can down the hill. We are making these sharp turns, slamming on the brembo brakes. [ derek ] its like instant response, incredibly consistent. This is the challenge, machine vs. Mountain. [ male announcer ] the allnew cadillac ats. Is efficiently absorbed in small continuous amounts. Citracal slow release continuously releases calcium plus d with efficient absorption in one daily dose. Citracal slow release. Bp has paid overthe people of bp twentythreeitment to the gulf. Billion dollars to help those affected and to cover cleanup costs. Today, the beaches and gulf are open, and many areas are reporting their best tourism seasons in years. And bps also committed to america. We support nearly 250,000 jobs and invest more here than anywhere else. Were working to fuel america for generations to come. Our commitment has never been stronger. Of all the battleground states, florida holds the single biggest prize, 29 electoral votes. President obama won there in 2008. Recent polls show however its a dead heat. And in a suspicious new development, some florida voters are getting letters mailed from out of state questioning whether theyre legally eligible to vote. Cnn crime and justice correspondent joe johns is here in the situation room. Joe has been looking into this. What are you finding out . Well, wolf, florida of course is just a crucial battleground state in this election. And now theres a new issue. United states postal inspectors confirmed to cnn that they have opened a preliminary investigation into bogus letters supposedly sent from county election supervisors to people in almost two dozen florida counties over the last several days. The bogus letters were sent in the mail to addresses in florida questioning the citizenship status and eligibility of registered voters. The letters told the recipients that they had to fill out and submit a form that asked for Social Security information among other things. The letters tell recipients that failure to submit that form will result in removal of their name from Voter Registration rolls, that theyre no longer eligible to vote. All of which is not true. Also a warning that they may be subject to arrest and imprisonment. We spoke with republican secretary of state in florida today and he told us hes trying to get the word out about these letters while also pledging to find out whoever did this. I expect the number to go up. And we are very serious about this matter. This type of effort to intimidate voters in florida is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. And we anticipate taking every measure possible with Law Enforcement to make sure that the individuals doing this are prosecuted. So, joe, did these letters go to both democrats and republicans or what . Well, wolf, secretary of state ken you saw right there said the letters have gone out to voters of both parties. But the offices of several election supervisors we spoke with said most of the people who received them were registered republican voters. A democrat and supervisor of elections in leon county, which is basically tallahassee, says he learned that three of these letters went out under his name. He thinks politically active republicans are being targeted. I suspect that whoever sending out these letters has purchased some kind of a donor or Campaign List thats given him a group of high profile republicans. And i suspect theyre sending this letter to them probably to do some kind of dark humored spoof. Which of course is not very funny. And the individuals who are receiving these letters are sometimes very, very, very disturbed. Which i think is probably the whole purpose for this letter. The letters actually call for the recipient to report to the county election office. So whoever did this apparently wanted it to be found out. Ion sancho there said he turned the letters he received over to federal prosecutors. The fbi says no decision has been made on whether to open an investigation. Everybody we talked to said these letters, wolf, were mailed from the see yat l, washington, area. Potentially committed a crime and could wind up in jail. Absolutely. Mail fraud is a simple thing. Basically you need intent, misrepresentation and you need somebody to do it in the mail. So it doesnt take much to pass that test. Joe, thanks very much for that disturbing report. Early voting already is underway in the battleground state of ohio. In our next hour were going to tell you about some interesting trends that were already witnessing. At meineke i have options. Like oil changes starting at 19. 95. My money. My choice. My meineke. There are some alarming new numbers connected with the nationwide meningitis outbreak. Kate bolduans back. Shes got that, some of the other top stories of the day, kate. Hey, wolf. Its a big expansion of its warnings. The food and Drug Administration now says more than 1,200 hospitals and clinics bought steroids and other drugs from a Company Whose contaminated products are linked to meningitis infections. The government reported new illnesses today. Many of the cases are in tennessee. And the states pharmacy board Just Announced the new England Compounding Centers chief pharmacist no longer has a license to operate in the state of tennessee. Also, there was a big selloff on wall street today by the closing bell stocks were at a sevenweek low. Several companies in the dow industrials most notably du pont announced worse than expected urnings rai earnings. Folks at apple unveiled new gadgets. A smaller thinner tablet named the ipad mini. Its design today compete with amazon and google, but the least expensive version will be selling for 399. Thanks very much, kate. And youre in the situation room. Happening now, president obama slams his rivals debate performance saying hes suffering from romnesia. But as the candidates hit the road, is mitt romney making series inroads right now in key battleground states . Our reporters are in the swing states. Theyre tossups right now. Were talking to voters who will give us an idea which way they will go on election day. And get this, Tropical Storm sandy heading straight for islands in the caribbean. Could it also hammer the United States as a halloween hurricane . We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. Im wolf blitzer. Youre in the situation room. The dust has settled from the final debate. And now with just two weeks left in this extraordinarily close president ial campaign, the candidates are back on the campaign trail urgently crisscrossing the country focusing in on the battleground states that hold the key to this election. Only cnn has the reach to stay with them every step of the way. This hour well go live to cnns dan lothian in dayton, ohio. Shannon travis is in toledo, ohio. John king is in virginia. The most crucial of all the battleground states right now is certainly ohio. It has not voted for a loser in the president ial election since 1960. Ohio now has 18 electoral votes. President obama captured the state in 2008. Our latest cnn poll of polls shows president obama leading romney among likely voters there 48 to 45 . That keeps ohio a tossup yellow on the cnn electoral map. That keeps the candidates coming back and back and back to ohio. President obama and Vice President biden are both in ohio right now. So is our White House Correspondent dan lothian. Hes joining us from dayton. Dan, whats the president s mood on this day after this final debate . Reporter well, the president certainly seemed fired up and campaigning here in the important battleground state of ohio. Hes been here every week so far this month. More than 30 times since he took office. And today he continued to swing at his gop opponent mitt romney essentially picking up where he left off yesterday trying to push that narrative that when it comes to domestic issues or Foreign Policy, governor romney is all over the map. The president has made that argument before. But today he took it up a notch. If you talk about how much you love teachers during a debate, but just a few weeks ago you said we shouldnt hire anymore because it wont grow our economy, you might have romnesia. If you say you wont give a big tax cut to the wealthy, but youre on a video promising youre tax cut would include the top 1 , that sounds like a classic case of romnesia. If you say that you love american cars during a debate, youre a car guy, but you wrote an article titled let detroit go bankrupt, you definitely have a case of romnesia. Reporter as if responding to criticism that the president has not made a convincing case for what his agenda is for the next four years, the Obama Campaign putting out this 19page pamphlet, also releasing a new ad. A lot of it weve heard before talking about energy, manufacturing, building the economy from the middle class out. Republicans pounced on this saying that its just more repackaging. It shows that theres desperation, that the Obama Campaign is on the defense because they realize that this race is very tight, wolf. How are these final two weeks of the campaign shaping up for the president , dan . Reporter well, wolf, were seeing a crisscrossing of the country over the next 48 hours. The president will be hitting eight different states. Two of those he will not be having rallies. Hell be heading to los angeles to be on the tonight show with jay leno and to chicago where hell be doing early voting. But the big focus is on the key battleground states as the Obama Campaign try to make people register, go out and vote, vote early but also targeting the undecided voters that could decide this race. Dan lothian, thank you. Many ohio voters have already cast their ballots. Early absentee voting began october 2nd. The Vice President joe biden is there today as well. Hes urging ohioans to take advantage. And the polls are open now for extended hours, 8 00 in the morning to 7 00 p. M. Folks, go in force now. Go vote now. For more right now and the impact that could have, lets turn to our political reporter shannon travis. Shannon, youre at the only early voting precinct in toledo right now. What are you seeing . Reporter its actually the only early voting place in the entire county of lucas, toledo is in this county. What were seeing right now, wolf, is who actually should be president. Im going to keep my voice down a little bit because it is an active polling center. You see voters basically casting their ballots. Give you a brief look at one of the machines theyre casting their ballots on. You come here with an electronic card, you stick it in, you begin the voting process. Earlier today i spoke with some people who actually cast their ballots already, actually a few people earlier today as well as last night postdebate. We want to play you some sound from those voters. Take a listen to what they had to say, wolf. I think the push for me on the early voting part is the fact that i believe in ohio. And just like any other place, but in ohio specifically every vote counts. So if you the day comes up and you cant vote, youve lost the chance to give your opinion. I voted for mitt romney. And why is that, maam . Because i feel like he can take this country in a different direction. And we need to go in a different direction. So im hoping hes successful. Reporter now, obviously some opinion there, some romney supporters, i spoke with one guy last night, wolf, who startling to me was a republican, did not vote for obama in 2008 but is voting for president obama this time around saying that mitt romney didnt earn his vote, wolf. Are you getting any numbers . How many people have actually voted so far . Reporter yeah, thats a great question. Weve actually got some really fresh numbers just out today from the ohio secretary of state. Going to rattle some of these numbers off, wolf. Just over 813,000 ohioans have already cast early votes. Put that in perspective. In 2008 there were about 1. 7 million total. So were already over half that amount nearly halfway to that amount, i should say, still two weeks out from the election. Also for this county alone, for lucas county as i mentioned before, we have Party Affiliation in terms of democrat affiliated we have 23,155. And in terms of republicans affiliated we have 9,442. Again, not were not saying that those democrats cast votes for obama and the republicans cast votes for romney. But its a telling how many people have already cast absentee ballots in this county alone so far, wolf. Shannon travis on the scene for us in ohio. Thank you. Jack cafferty is joining us right now. Hes got more on last nights debate, what it all means come election day in two weeks. Jacks got the cafferty file, jack. Three president ial debates in the history books. So now what . Well, after all the hype, the expectations games played by both campaigns, lowering the bar for their guy, raising the bar for the other guy, the three 90minute sessions themselves, the postgame spin by both sides and all the talking heads on television, after all of that, heres what we know, mitt romney did himself some good. Maybe even a lot of good. Headed into the first debate some had already written romneys political obituary. They thought the race was president obamas to lose. And thats just what he did in that first debate. He tried to throw it all away. Regardless of who wins in two weeks, one of the most memorable moments of the campaign will likely be president obamas failure to show up for the first debate. The president s dismal unpresident ial and uninterested performance combined with mitt romneys strong showing shook the race to its very core. As new Jersey Governor Chris Christie predicted wisely beforehand, that first debate did in fact turn the race upside down. And ever since that moment as the polls turned against the president , hes been playing catchup. The president came prepared for the remaining debates. He went on the offense against romney and held his own maybe even more than held his own. But these last two faceoffs didnt provide a clear winner, not like the debacle in denver did. And what remains to be seen is whether the president can stop the bleeding and undo the image he left on 70 million americans who watched that first debate. Well find out two weeks from today. Heres the question, now that the debates are history, how much did they matter . Go to cnn. Com caffertyfile, post a comment on my blog or go to our post on the situation Room Facebook page. I think historians will write if the president does lose, that first debate will have turned out to have been the game changer in this entire contest. Before as you pointed out he looked like he was getting ready to coast to a win. But now its nailbiting time for both of these campaigns. In the long history of president ial debates, and i can remember back to kennedynixon, i think that first debate in denver might go down as the single most significant president ial debate ever. A lot of times these things come and go and dont really register on the richter scale. But that thing caused an earthquake. All right, jack. Thank you. Certainly was one of president obamas best lines of the debate last night. He may have stung mitt romney, but did he hurt himself with an Important Group of voters, especially in virginia . Ill ask democratic congressman Chris Van Hollen. Eveverery y titimeme o of f. Ououtdtdoooorsrs, oro. Trtranansisititiononss® ls auautotomamatiticacalllly y fift ththe e ririghght t amamouountn. Soso y youou s seeee e eveg ththe e waway y itit is memeanant t toto b be e ses. Mamaybybe e evevenen a lilittttlele b betette. Exexpeperirienencece l lifife e, asask k fofor r trtrananss adadapaptitiveve l lene. Not quite knowing what the next phase was going to be, you know, because you been, you know, this is what you had been doing. You know, working, working, working, working, working, working. And now youre talking about, well you know, i wont be, and i get the chance to spend more time with my wife and my kids. Its my world. Thats my world. Annes tablet called my phone. Annes tablet was chatting with a tablet in sydney. A desktop in zurich. And a telepresence room in brazil. The secure cloud helped us get some numbers from my assistants pc in new york. And before i reached the top, the Board Meeting became a congrats we sold the company party. Wait til my wifes phone hears about this. [ cellphone vibrating ] [ female announcer ] with cisco at the center, working together has never worked so well. One of the many pointed remarks in last nights president ial debate came after mitt romney said he wants to boost the size of the United States navy. President obama answered with one of his sharpest barbs. But could that end up stinging himself . Watch this. You mentioned the navy for example. And we have fewer ships than we did in 1916. Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets because the nature of our militarys changed. We have things called aircraft carriers where planes land on them. We have ships that go under water, nuclear submarines. So the question is not a game of battleship where were counting ships. All right. Joining us now, democratic congressman Chris Van Hollen of maryland, thanks for coming in. Great to be with you, wolf. Shipbuilding very, very important especially in your neighboring state. Is this kind of comment going to hurt the president in virginia . No, its not going to hurt the president , wolf. Because whether you live in virginia or anywhere else in the United States, you want a military strategy thats based on the current needs and requirements that we face overseas. And the president s budget for the military is actually grown substantially every year. It does continue to grow. It is the budget that was put together in consultation with the joint chiefs of staff. It has a very strong navy, a very strong army and are very strong air force. In fact, as the president s pointed out, our military budget is larger than the next ten countries around the world combined. So theres no question that the president s budget for defense is fit and measure to fit our strategic needs around the world. As romney repeatedly points out, hes already cut half a trillion dollars in projected growth in defense spending over the next ten years. And if the sequestration, the forced cuts go into effect, that would be another half a trillion dollars. And republicans continue to protect special interest tax breaks rather than to protect defense spending. Theyve been given lots of opportunities to say lets avoid that sequester, lets eliminate some special interest tax breaks, lets do some other cuts and prevent that. And the president s been very clear. The president has on the table a proposal to prevent those sequesters from taking place. Mitt romney and his allies have opposed the idea of one additional penny going to help reduce our deficit or help pay for our National Defense if it means asking people like mitt romney to contribute a little bit more. To pay higher taxes . Well thats right. He has taken this pledge that says he wont raise one more penny either to reduce the deficit or to increase the funding for the defense department. Heres something the president said last night thats created a lot of buzz especially up on capitol hill where you work. Watch this. First of all, the sequesters not something i proposed, its Something Congress has proposed. It will not happen. You know what happened. Did the president propose the sequester . No, what the president proposed was a balanced approach to reducing the deficit. He said lets not have these across the board cuts. We need a combination of targeted spending cuts. But when that didnt happen, who came up with the idea of the sequester . I do not know. The sequester idea is one that began in the 1990s. Paul ryan in his budget has had across the board sequesters if different targets did not meet. So republicans all voted for this to suggest this was somehow all the president s idea, its nonsense. I just remember Speaker Boehner was quoted after we passed the deficit control act, the budget control act, saying he got 97 of what he wanted. This is the republican speaker of the house. So when the president says it will not happen, how does he know it will not happen . Because theres a bipartisan agreement and determination to avoid the sequester by coming up with alternative cuts. You just pointed out that the republicans dont want to increase taxes. Thats part of the deal, right . Well, i think what the president has said was hes confident that we will find a way to replace the sequester because everybody agrees that these acts across the board indiscriminate cuts to defense and nondefense would be bad for the country. He said flatly it will not happen. I wonder how he can be so sure. Its one thing hes confident, might not happen. But when he says it will not happen, how does he know it will not happen . A lot of people are worried about that fiscal cliff as you well know. There are two parts of the fiscal cliff. One is the sequester were talking about and the other is the tax piece. What the president has said on that is very clear. Immediately extend tax relief 100 of the 250,000 income. Republicans have said were going to hold middle class taxpayers hostage. Were not going to give tax relief to 98 of people unless very high incomers like mitt romney get a tax break. I dont think thats a sustainable position come january 1st. How worried are you right now about your constituents, for example, in montgomery county, maryland, some other counties in maryland . Theres a lot of defense contractors, a lot of people have their jobs in defenserelate ed industries in your district. Im worried in defense and on defense. I know people focus on defense, thats an important part. There are also very important investments we make in trying to find cures and treatments to cancers and other diseases, the fda that provides safety for our food supply. These are orr cuts we would also face. The slashing of government spending, a lot of government workers in montgomery county, maryland. That would be bad for them and the country and the national economy. And thats a number of economists have made that point. You agree youve got to cut spending in order to deal with the deficit. But thats right. You can cut the spending over a more gradual period of time where its certain that youre going to cut it but over a longer period of time. For example, i put forward a very specific plan to avoid the sequester for an entire year includes cuts to direct payments and farm subsidies but also end subsidies for Big Oil Companies and other revenues. The house of representatives didnt allow a vote on that very sensitive proposal. Had a mix of cuts and revenue. What the president is saying is hes confident that at the end of the day we will find a bipartisan way forward. And we should. Congressman, thanks for coming in. Thank you. We talked about virginia just now. Our own john king is on the ground in virginia. Hes talking with voters. Youre going to hear his report in just a few minutes. 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[ male announcer ] youre welcome. Thats the cold truth [ male announcer ] alkaseltzer plus. Oh what a relief it is [ male announcer ] try new alkaseltzer plus severe allergy to treat allergy symptoms plus sinus congestion and pain. He loves risk. But whether hes climbing everest, scuba divg the Great Barrier reef with sharks, or jumping into the market, he goes with people he trusts, which is why he trades with a company that doesnt nickel and dime him with hidden fees. So he can worry about other things, like what the market is doing and being ready, no matter what happens, which isnt rocket science. Its just common sense, from td ameritrade. Just hours after the president ial debate on Foreign Policy ended, bombs exploded in iraqs capital. Kate is back. Shes monitoring that, some of the other top stories in the situation room right now. What happened, kate . Hey, wolf. A series of attacks in shiite neighborhoods in baghdad have killed at least nine people and wounded dozens more. A policeman patrolling one area said three car bombs exploded, one right after another. The violence comes just days before the start of a religious festival. Militant attacks doubled last month to the highest level in more than two years. Also, a former cia officer accused of leaking classified information has reached a deal with prosecutors. He pleaded guilty to intentionally identifying a covert agent. He also admitted to telling reporters the name of a different cia employee involved in an operation to catch an alleged al qaeda operative. Hes expected to spend two and a half years in prison. And cnn has learned in just the last few hours that congressman Jesse Jackson jr. Is back in the hospital. The mayo clinic says he returned for a followup to make sure hes on the path to managing his health. The nineterm illinois democrat is battling with depression. Hes running for reelection this november. A growing number of americans are delaying retirement. Listen to this, and planning to work into their 80s. For many of them its because they cant afford to retire fulltime. A new survey by wells fargo shows saving for retirement is on the back burner with more than half of middle class americans focused more on paying monthly bills. 30 now plan to work until they are 80 or older up from 25 a year ago. Reminded me of that line you always tell me, work when your young and harder when youre older. Isnt that what you said . Rich or poor, its good to have money. Exactly. Very smart man your father was. Thank you. President obama turned a red state blue back in 2008. Does he still have a chance in virginia this time around . That can only come from having someone else pay your mortgage for an entire year. This is what youll experience if you win the quicken loans skipayear mortgage sweepstakes. Up to five winners will get to skip a year of mortgage payments. Courtesy of quicken loans. Enter often at skipayear. Com for more chances to experience. This. The skipayear mortgage sweepstakes. One more way quicken loans is engineered to amaze the skipayear mortgage sweepstakes. Choose the Perfect Hotel virginia certainly hotly contested battleground state. Its 13 electoral votes went to president obama back in 2008. But recent polls show the race in virginia is a virtual tie. Virginia remains a tossup yellow on cnns electoral map. Our chief National Correspondent john king is in virginia right now. Hes joining us. Whats going on in virginia right now . Because with ohio and florida, that could determine who the next president of the United States will be. Reporter it absolutely could, wolf. Thirteen electoral votes, im in a county only half hour drive from washington assuming you dont hit heavy traffic. Remember in 2008 president obama turned this state blue. He won by about 235,000 votes statewide, 234,000 plus of them came from the Northern Virginia counties. So turnout, turnout, turnout is the big focus here as the president tries to match that 2008 level. He needs africanamerican votes in richmond, in the chesapeake tidewater area, but a big turnout also needed in the suburbanites. Its a big shift in the transplant of this state. A lot of College Educated people, president tends to do well, a lot of people who work for the government or contractors related to the government work. The president is hoping he can gin up the turnout here and democrats skeptical from the 2008. The poll showed the president with a lead of four, five, some of the polls six or seven or eight points. Now everyone concedes its a dead heat and the Romney Campaign believes momentum has swung their way and this state will return to its republican dna. Governor romney very much needs it. He needs florida, North Carolina, virginia. Then he moves into ohio and would need one more. If he could do all that, the president they insist they havent given up on the state of virginia. If they cant get a wisconsin, they could use virginia in the president s column. This one so close to the nations capitol will be a battleground until the very end. Defense spending, especially Naval Defense spending is critical in various parts of virginia. Northern virginia, southern virginia, norfolk, the Worlds Largest naval port. How big of an issue is the difference on this specific issue between romney and the president . Reporter well, you remember the line that trended most on social media last night was when the president scornfully, some say sarcastically, some say even in a condescending way turned it governor romney in the fight over defense spending when romney was saying we need more naval ships and the president said we dont have as many bayonets or horses as we used to either, governor. A lot of people think that will play big. When governor romney returns in a few days, it will be near the naval installations. I asked representative conley if that would hurt and the Romney Campaign says to watch for that to pop up. Jerry koconley understands the technical is important as the ships you have in the navy. But the president might have thought it was a clever line, but theyre not so sure that it might not in the end help governor romney in a state where everybody thinks it will be razor close. Lots of jobs involved in the state of virginia. Thanks very much, john. Lets get to our strategy session right now. Joining us cnn contributors democratic strategist Donna Brazile and erick, erickson, editor and chief of redstate,. Com. Donna, i had this exchange with our friend and colleague paul begala yesterday. The president s Campaign Announced hes going to begin a sixstate Campaign Tour over the next couple days after the debate. Iowa, colorado, nevada, florida, virginia, ohio. Has he given up on North Carolina . Yes. Im not suppose today say that, wolf. But as you mention, i work for the proobama super pac. So im being paid to help reelect the president , but if you look at where hes going and spending money, yes, it looks like governor romney is likely to carry North Carolina. All right. Donna, i dont think the president has been back to North Carolina since the Democratic Convention in charlotte. You agree with paul . First of all, i have to go with what jim, the Campaign Manager and David Axelrod is they have not pulled any staff, they have not pulled any of the television advertisements. So North Carolinas still in play. As you know, voters are now able to cast their ballots early. Thats the way the democrats won four years ago. So i assume until i hear differently that North Carolina is still one of those swing states that they intend to compete in. But dont actions speak louder than words, donna . The president s missing in action from North Carolina right now. So no matter what the campaign says, if hes not going there, if theyre not showing up to campaign, what does that say to you . There are many ways to have feet on the ground other than have the president s. It might be other footprints, i havent looked at their schedule lately, wolf, because ive been traveling myself. I go by what the campaigns saying. Every week were going to hear stories about romney pulling out of pennsylvania, obama pulling out of North Carolina. I assume theyll do a lot of head faking. I know what its like to pull out staff. I know what its like to turn off the lights in a state and tell the politicians that were leaving the state. I havent seen any evidence that the politicians cause the first thing they will do is complain that you have pulled out without leaving them with resources like staff and money and television ads. So, again, i just think this is just part of what we do in the polling game until election day. We figure out what these candidates are doing. Erick, what about pennsylvania or michigan for that matter . For all practical purposes, has romney given up on those two states . Well, you know, this is the thing with what donna was saying about North Carolina. The president to some degree has a bit of hue brous here. Its abundantly clear on the ground democratic and republican partisans are rumbling about it, but they dont want to do that because it would become a huge news story in the last two weeks that the president is starting to concede states he doesnt want to concede. I expect well hear that very soon about florida. Even nate silver saying they need to reinvest in ohio. I think the Romney Campaign were seeing them in michigan pretty much say were not going to win michigan maybe in the last week i think peter hamby reported if they have money left theyll do it. I dont think theyre actually targeting pennsylvania so much as theyre trying to help the senate seat there. Suddenly barack obama doesnt have the coat tails to do it with his senate candidates. Romneys doing on the western side of the state, those media markets go into ohio, it is interesting to see them start going into wisconsin still which i think probably goes to the president , leans to the president , but theyre trying to make those inroads. What i find fascinating is it looks like the battleground for the president is beginning to shrink as its beginning to grow for mitt romney, which isnt a good sign for an incumbent president. Hold on its not shrinking. Hold on, donna, i want to continue this conversation with both of you. We have to make a quick break. When we come back well also talk about campaign ads. Both of these campaigns are out with new ads asking voters to choose what they call the right path. But which path is the right path . Were going to explore that with donna and erick when we come back. The pace of change is accelerating. The way we. Perform, compete and grow. 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Were back with our cnn contributors, democratic strategist Donna Brazile and erick erickson, editor and chief of redstate. Com. Both of the campaigns came out with sort of closing arguments, new ads. Im going to play you some little clips. Watch this. Boosting americanmade energy, reducing the deficits responsibly by cutting where we can and asking the wealthy to pay a little more. And ending the war in afghanistan so we can do some nation building here at home. Thats the right path. There are two very different paths the country can take. One is a path represented by the president which at the end of four years means we would have 20 trillion in debt heading towards greece. Ill get us on track to a balanced budget. Lets start with you, donna. What do you think of those two closing arguments . Well, i think they really capture what is the choice this fall. And that is, do we continue on a track that is led to 32 consecutive months of job growth, not as much as anyone would like, but its job growth, job creation. If the republicans would simply get out of the way with all the whining and complaining, we could do more. Versus going back making that uturn back to the policies that got us in this fiscal mess. And once again as we saw last night in the debate, governor romneys plan simply doesnt add up. He keeps putting together more ideas, more plans thinking if he take a little bit of this out and put a little more of that, it will somehow or another add up. And it simply doesnt add up to a balanced approach, nor a balanced budget in the future. What do you think of those closing arguments, erick . You know, they sound somewhat similar. I would admit that although i think that the Obama Campaign is going to have a very hard time doing now what donna suggested over these last three debates as so Many Americans have seen them trying to paint mitt romney as the Second Coming of george w. Bush, all the pulling out and even the polls that show obama slightly ahead even show fresh look at mitt romney for all the conservative critics of romney including myself thought he should have spent money early, i think weve been proven wrong. Theyve held their money well and they have a chance to redefine romney and the president s team will have a hard time putting him back in the box they tried to paint him in. How worried are you right now, donna . Ive spoken to a lot of democrats over the past few days including today, theyre pretty worried. Worried about what, wolf . Look, wolf, ive managed a campaign, seven president ial campaigns. I know conventional wisdom and the polls and media will try to replay it and try to analyze it. You know, if youre a Campaign Manager, you tell your staff to focus, focus, focus on the goal. 12 years ago when i was running al gores campaign everybody kept telling us to throw in the towel. This is george w. Bush. This race is very, very close. Its going to be tight. The Obama Campaign knew this from day one. Thats why they have a good ground game as well as a good air game, whatever you want to call it, tv wars, but at the end of the day its going to be close. I do believe president obama will eke out another strong victory. What do you think, erick . Whos going to win this race . You know, four years ago as republicans were melting down in the last couple weeks, they were claiming great conspiracy theories, hugo chavez controlling electronic voting and two months ago republicans saying the polls were rigged and now the democrats claiming tag romney invested in electronic voting and democrats claiming polls are skewed. This looks like where the republicans were two months ago when the republicans were losing. Thats not a good sign for the Obama Campaign. Donna brazile were in good shape. What, donna . Were in good shape. Were going to get our vote out. Were going to win. Were doing pretty good. I hope so for us. One thing about democrats, we tend to come to the party late. When we come, we come strong and stay all night long. And vote for mitt romney. Two weeks to go. Tropical storm sandy, by the way, is gathering strength right now in the caribbean as jamaica braces for a direct hit, should you be worried about a hurricane on halloween . Its hard to see opportunity in todays challenging environment. Unless you have the right perspective. Bny mellon Wealth Management has the vision and experience to look beyond the obvious. Well uncover opportunities, find hidden risk, and make success a reality. 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Its when the water gets so cold that it cant support a hurricane. Well, sandy is getting bigger. Sandy is south of jamaica. I know this is zoomed in. Theres jamaica. Heres haiti and the dominican republ republic. Theres sandy in the warmest water of the caribbean. Its gaining strength and getting bigger because the water is certainly warm enough. Where does it go from here . Straight over jamaica as a hurricane. Hurricane warnings are in effect for jamaica. And then into the bahamas. So really if youre on vacation to jamaica or maybe on a short cruise to the bahamas, this will effect your vacation, no question about it. Now, the u. S. At least for now, wolf, is not in the cone. Here to here the u. S. Right through here. So i just want you to know though, the u. S. Is not that far out of the cone as a 60 or 70mileperhour storm. Heres the rub. We talk about the computer models. Im drawing two separate models. Its going to be hard to tell the difference right now, but theres a yellow and a white one. The white and yellow hang together. They are right over the bahamas in about 72 hours. They are very much in agreement. So we know the bahamas will get it. We know cuba will get it and jamaica eventually. The two low pressure systems, one goes to the left, one goes to new york city. But all the others go out to the atlantic. Thats were concerned about. If it does turn left and go to new england or new york, it will be seven days away. New york, you are not in the cone, but youre not quite out of everything yet. When the computers all decide that its going that way, well be in good shape. If they all decide something else, well keep you advised. I know youll be watching sandy every step of the way, chad. Thank you. Lets check in with jack once again for the cafferty file. Jack . It was a year ago we got that freak snowstorm in october up here in the northeast and knocked a bunch of trees down. It was awful. We had a lot of snow and people didnt have power for several days in some of these areas. So lets hope that doesnt happen. The question this hour is, now that the debates are history, how much did they matter . David in florida says, they matter little. The only difference is that obama didnt bother to show up for the first dog and pony show and that permanently set him behind. I took it as an insult to those of us who support him. And helen writes, the first debates impact was huge. Well all be talking for years about how to win or lose an election by one debate performance. And for folks who have been paying attention through the primaries, debates matter little. But for those who have just recently tuned into the election, the debates may help them to make their decision. Dee in new york city writes, i think they did matter and the first debate turned tide. Romney got to prove hes not some sort of cold, out of touch monster. Obama getting more desperate with each passing week has shown what an angry, petty street fighter he is. Romney came across as reasonable, smart, able to cross the aisle, capable, and president ial. Annie in atlanta says, honestly, jack, the debates dont mean a thing to me personally, but then i paid attention to what these guys said from the first day theyve thrown their hat in the ring. Its a shame we have so much information available, and yet so few of us even bother to read through it. And ken in seattle writes, some of my favorite tv programs were not on and that was a bummer. In terms of the election, they provided nothing of value. If you want to read more about this, go to the blog, cnn. Com cafferty file or through our post on the situation rooms facebook page. Tthe situation room is one of kens favorite tv show. We were on, as you know, jack. It is good that he watches us. My guess is that hes probably more of a cable channel kind of guy. Millions of people watched the daredevil jumper. He tells cnn about a crucial moment that almost ended the entire mission. At shell, we believe the world needs a broader mix of energies. Thats why were supplying natural gas to generate cleaner electricity. That has around 50 fewer co2 emissions than coal. And its also why, with our partner in brazil, shell is producing ethanol a biofuel made from renewable sugarcane. A minute, mom lets broaden the Worlds Energy mix. Lets go. In that time thereve been some good days. And some difficult ones. But, through it all, weve persevered, supporting some of the biggest ideas in modern history. So why should our anniversary matter to you . Because for 200 years, weve been helping ideas move from ambition to achievement. And the next great idea could be yours. With odor free aspercreme. Powerful medicine relieves pain fast, with no odor. So all you notice is relief. Aspercreme. He floated up 24 miles to the edge of space, and then jumped. But Felix Baumgartners daredevil mission almost didnt happen because of a phobia. He sat down with cnns brian todd to describe his recordsetting fall to earth. Reporter a stunning stratosphere jump. Setting records for height, halving the speed of sound, a jump that almost didnt happen. I want you to tell me about the low point, in the last five years. I read that in 2010, you were supposed to do a test in the High Pressure suit, and something happened and you left the mission. That was the low point. Because i always could feel that im having a problem in that pressure suit. But i could not address the problem, because it really was they fought felix can do it. And i always thought, okay, maybe one day i just put this pressure suit on and its not a problem anymore. But i was wrong. I knew i have to maintain five hours in that suit, and i couldnt sleep that night before, because i knew im not going to perform well tomorrow. Was that when you first realized you were claustrophobic . I already knew that im kind of claustrophobic, but i was always playing it down. I never addressed that problem, because if i tell the guys, i cannot maintain that suit for five hours, its over. If you do not find resolution, its over. And i thought, hey, maybe its getting better, every time i get into the suit, its getting better, but its getting worse. I always had to fight my way through that. I wanted to do it. They had moved the capsule. Everybody was there. And soy went to the airport, l. A. X. , and i called our project leader and told him, hey, im out of here. I have to go back to austria. I cant do it. Did you feel at that point that the mission was over . Yeah. I was crying like a baby at the airport. And i thought its over. Reporter but in europe, baumgartner worked with a psychologist and a performance coach and overcame his claurs fonobody phobia and built back toward the big moment. What is your feeling at that point . Youre on the ledge, you cant get back in the capsule. Whats going through your mind . I like that part of the jump, because it means youre already outside, everything worked well, and if you have a problem, you know, probably jumping off is the fastest and safest way, because now youre falling towards a much healthier environment. Youre falling towards more pressure, towards more oxygen, and if you need medical treatment, this is the fastest way down. So to me, this is an easy step. At this point, you had us all very scared. Did you feel like you were going to die at that point . No, no, no. I never had that impression, that im going to die. I always had the impressn, if this goes on forever, im not going to break the speed of sound. How did you bring yourself out of that spin . I was only trying to figure out how to stop it. So you use your legs and arms, but you have to be very gentle, if youre traveling that fast, you cannot stick your arm out like this, because then that would create a rapid onset and you cannot stop it anymore. You slowly put out your arms and legs and see what can help and i did it a couple times and find out what was getting worse, what was getting better. Reporter baumgartner says he cried twice on the helicopter ride back to Mission Control and then celebrated all night. How has your life changed since the moment you landed . As a person, it did not change. Im still the same guy. But as soon as you start traveling, as soon as you get on a plane, as soon as youre at the airport, out on the street, people do recognize my face. Hey, thank you guys. I was scared. You were scared . I was a little bit scared. You did it for all of us. We appreciate it. You gave us all a huge charge that day. Appreciate it. By the way, baumgartner says hes done jumping and hes working on his commercial helicopter pilots license. Happening now, two weeks until election day, the president ial candidates charge into battleground states to try to change minds and win votes. New questions about the final obama romney debate. Did they send americas most dangerous adversaries mixed messages . And cnn takes the election express on the road, to find out what swing state voters are really thinking right now. Im wolf blitzer. Youre in the situation room. 14 days and millions of votes on the line. President obama, and former governor romney, they are beginning the final leg of their election marathon. Our correspondents are out in full force, covering the candidates, talking to voters in the key battleground states that will decide this election. First this hour, were taking you to ohio, one of the most crucial swing states, 18 electoral votes at stake. It went for president obama four years ago. But right now, our poll of polls shows hes neck and neck with romney in ohio. Thats why its one of the yellow tossup states on cnns electoral map. The president wrapped up a rally in dayton, ohio, just a little while ago, along with the Vice President , joe biden, and a glossy new blueprint for a second term. Our chief White House Correspondent, Jessica Yellin, is in dayton with the latest. Jessica . Reporter hi, wolf. Just a month ago, president obama had a healthy lead here in ohio, but now you can tell both from his tone and his schedule, he knows this is now a fight to the finish. On the trail, no sign president obama plans to tone down the sarcasm he unleashed at the last debate. If you talk about how much you love teachers during a debate, but just a few weeks ago, you said we shouldnt hire any more because it wont grow our economy, you might have romnesia. Reporter if anything, he has sharpened his bite. We had a severe outbreak last night. It was at least, at least phase three romnesia. Reporter but the focus is shifting. Now a closing argument. Theres no more serious issue in a president ial campaign than trust. Trust matters. You know, you want to know that the person whos applying to be your president and commander in chief is trustworthy. Reporter and part of that argument, this booklet summarizing the president s accomplishments and second term goals. And a new ad on the same. The president taking the message on a threeday swing through six battleground states. We believe that anytime the president can be with voters and make the case in those states, were gaining. And we want to touch as many people as we can in the next two weeks. And make that case. Reporter target audience its about getting out early votes. Its also about talking to undecided voters in all these states. Reporter the president is trying to close the deal. Im asking for your vote im asking you to help me finish the job. Now with sarcasm thrown in. Governor romney didnt even mention our veterans last night. Dont boo, vote. Reporter you see, wolf, he has a bit of a twopronged message there. Its the more neutral positive message that seems to be directed to the undecided voters. Thats why hes rolled out this plan, saying he has a detailed vision for a second term, though weve already heard the details in it, and then more of that sarcastic tone, which seems driven and directed to the base voters, who he wants to energize to get out and vote either early or on election day, wolf. Now, hes only spending time in the key battleground states, but he is making a side trip to california, which is obviously going to go for him. Is he only going to do the jay leno show . Is that why hes going to california . Reporter thats what hes doing. Hes doing a swing through california to appear on latenight tv with jay leno, and then hes hitting those battleground states, nevada, colorado, virginia, florida, ohio. Hes going to ohio twice. And what did i leave out . Colorado, nevada, virginia . I dont know. Theres one did i miss . I dont know. Well figure it out. Reporter well let you know later if i skipped one. But hes not taking anything off the table. Hes certainly not. Maybe North Carolina. A lot of speculation about that. Reporter yeah, no visit there right now. Thanks very much, jessica, for that. Mitt romney is getting ready for a rally in nevada. Kate, youre getting ready for that rally right now as well. Absolutely. To report on it. I wish i was in nevada. Nevada with its six electoral votes is another state that president obama won four years ago, but its up for grabs now. The latest polling shows the president just two points ahead of romney in nevada, making it another tossup state on our electoral map. Romney appeared in nevada with his running mate, paul ryan. Jim acosta is in henderson, nevada. Jim, you have been doing a lot of traveling. Whats the latest now . Reporter thats right. Thats right, kate. And i can tell you that mitt romney and paul ryan just wrapped up a Campaign Event, a joint Campaign Event here in henderson, nevada, just outside of las vegas, within the last hour. They are on their way to another battleground state, the state of colorado, for an event later on this evening. But after talking to the Romney Campaign earlier this afternoon, i can tell you they do believe that mitt romney achieved his objectives in these president ial debates. That he came across, in their mind, as an acceptable commander in chief to the American People, and that he also in this last debate did not take the wait from the president and respond to each and every one of his attacks. They believe that tactic worked as well. But now the debates are over and the real race is on. Bang, the final president ial debate was the starting pistol for a twoweek sprint to the finish line. Hello, florida reporter as president obama fought to hold on to florida, mitt romney tried his luck in nevada, arguing hes got the big mo. And these debates have super charged our campaign. Theres no question about it. Were seeing more and more enthusiasm, more and more support. His is a message of Going Forward with the same policies of the last four years. And thats why his campaign is slipping and thats why ours is gaining so much steam. And by the way, the math in my plan adds up. Reporter after the president unveiled a pamphlet advising his plan for the second term, romneys campaign was trying to read between the lines. I would say that its a glossy panic button. Reporter the Romney Campaign has already turned the gops debate headed toward the economy. Governor romney, wrong and reckless policies . Ive got a policy for the future, an agenda for the future. Reporter into a new ad. Ill get us on track to balanced budget. Reporter a trio of key debate flashpoints laid down the battle lines for three crucial swing states. For Jewish Voters in florida, romneys attack on mr. Obamas decision not to visit israel during his first foreign trip as president. You went to the middle east and you flew to egypt and to saudi arabia and to turkey and iraq. And by the way, you skipped israel. If were going to talk about trips that weve taken reporter for factory workers in ohio, the flareup over romneys opposition over the out bail out. They would have gone through a liquidation youre wrong. Im not wrong. People will look it up. People will look it up. Reporter and for romneys charge about virginia that the size of the navy is at 1917 levels. Governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets, because nature of our military has changed. Reporter it was hardly a direct hit for either candidate, as it turns out every marine still undergoes bayonet training. And the Fact Checking watchdog politifact labeled romneys navy comment as pants on fire. And that comment about romz theseya, a senior Romney Adviser had a response for that early this afternoon, accusing the president of trying to play scrabble with mitt romneys name. But really, wolf, at this point, and kate, at this point, it is a game of rubics cube. Both of these campaigns are furiously trying to line up the states that they need, to eke out a victory. And kate, by the looks of it, this is going to be a very, very close race and i think both campaigns know it. I think youre absolutely right. Jim acosta in henderson, nevada, a very key state. Well be watching closely come election day. Jim, thanks so much. Third debates over. Now its time for closing arguments. Two weeks. Final two weeks. Can you believe it . I cant believe it. It feels like weve been covering it for five years now. The president ial candidates didnt limit themselves to Foreign Policy in their final debate. One reason, they want to appeal to women voters. Were going to break down their answers. Gloria borger is standing by live. Everyone in the nicu, all the nurses wanted to watch him when he was there 118 days. Everything that you thought was important to you changes in light of having a child that needs you every moment. I wouldnt trade him for the world. Who matters most to you says the most about you. Massmutual is owned by our policyholders so they matter most to us. If youre caring for a child with special needs, our innovative special care Program Offers strategies that can help. You can mix and match all day [ male announcer ] dont miss red lobsters endless shrimp, just 14. 99 try as much as you like, any way you like like parmesan crusted shrimp. Hurry in, offer ends soon im ryan isabell and i see food differently. Humans sometimes life trips us up. And sometimes, we trip ourselves up, but thats okay. At Liberty Mutual insurance we can untrip you as you go through your life with personalized policies and discounts when you need them most. Just call. And speak with a licensed representative about saving on your policy when you get married, move into a new house. [crash ] or add a car to your policy. Dont forget to ask about saving up to 10 when you combine your auto and Home Insurance with Liberty Mutual. Security, coverage, and savings. All the things humans need to make our beautifully imperfect world a little less imperfect. Call. And lock in your rate for 12 months. Liberty mutual insurance. Responsibility. Whats your policy . In the final president ial debate of 2012, the candidates seemed to tailor their answers, at times, to try to appeal to women voters. And here are some examples from their discussion last night. In order for us to be competitive, were going to have to make me smart choices right now. Cutting our education budget, thats not a smart choice. We cant kill our way out of this mess. But what i think the American People recognize is, after a decade of war, its time to do some nation building here at home. America is going to come back. And for that to happen, were going to have to have a president who can work across the aisle. Lets bring in our chief political analyst, gloria borger. Gloria, when you hear those lines, what were they both trying to accomplish with that . How does that appeal to women voters . Well, talking about things like education, talking about things like bipartisanship, not sounding bellicose, like you want to start another war in iran, for example, something that mitt romney had to be very, very careful about. All of those things appeal to women voters, because what women voters are looking for is someone who makes them comfortable. Like old voters, women want a candidate they can trust, and thats what each of these candidates were trying to do. Women voter in higher percentages. There are more women voters than men voters, so how are they trying to focus their drive to win over these women voters in these final two weeks . First, lets take a look at where the numbers are. And i have to tell you that i have been having some very hot and heavy email exchanges with senior advisers of both campaigns. Because, you know, while the Obama Campaign will say, we do well with women, the Romney Campaign says, we do well with men. So lets take a look at this. And theyre both right. So when you ask the question, nbc wall street journal poll, who will you vote for for president . You will see there that the president is up eight points with women, but mitt romney is up ten points with men. So whats the gender gap . Is there a gender gap with women or with men . So if you look back to recent history, the biggest gender gap was when al gore won women by 11 points, but george w. Bush won men by nine points. And you know how close that election was in 2000. And we may be in a very similar situation here, which is why you see these campaigns pushing so hard on women, because the Romney Campaign doesnt have to outdo president obama with women. They just need to get their numbers up a little bit and keep their numbers with men as high as they are. Now that the debates are over and were into this final stretch, do you think its now more a campaign for undecided voters that weve talked about so much, or more about voter turnout . I think there are about six undecided voters left in the entire country. Honestly. What it is, in talking to a republican pollster today, he said he preferred to describe it as fluctuating voters. Voters who go back and forth, who sometimes have been for the president , maybe they were disaffected obama voters, sometimes for the president , took another look at mitt romney in that first debate, which was very important for mitt romney. Said, you know what, maybe hes an acceptable alternative, and then maybe seeing the debate last night, seeing that the president won that on point, maybe theyre going to go back. So its about that and its about intensity now and getting the people you have identified as your voters, to get out there, to the polls. So its trying to get those fluctuating voters, but get your voters out. Michelle obama and ann romney, those would be they would be terrific secret weapons not so secret in these final two weeks. And theyre out there talking to women. I mean, you remember ann romney at the convention. We love you, women, she said. Well, you cant be anymore obvious than that. Shes out there talking to women, so is michelle obama. Not only trying to humanize their husbands, but to say, our husbands care about issues like education, theyre bipartisan, they dont want to go to war. So, you know, both of them are very important to the campaign. Understatement of the year, every vote is going to count this election. That is for sure. Thats right. All right, gloria, thank you so much. Still ahead, the cnn express is on the road. Its hitting the road, making stops in florida so we can hear directly from vors in that critical swing state. Our ali velshi is on board and hell be with us, next. This new phone is amazing. Im watching natalies ballet recital and im pulling photos right from the video. Great idea, we can pick one and frame it here, watch this. She nails almost every move. Our old camera could never do this. Shes so good at ballet. I think shes the best in the class. Where is she by the way . In time out. Oh. And that one [ male announcer ] take a photo straight from video and never miss a moment. The htc one x from at t now 99. 99. At t. Rethink possible. The slaughter continuing. Dozens of people allegedly killed, simply seeking food in syria. Kates got that and some of the other days top stories. What a story it is. And as always, we want to give fair warning. This video is graphic and disturbing, but it underscores the brutality of the civil war in syria. This is a bakery in the city of aleppo. It was attacked while full of hungry people trying to buy bread and dozens were killed. The rebels accuse the regime terrorizing attacks. Cnn cannot verify the authenticity of this video. Also in italy, senior members of a Disaster Coalition have resigned following sixyear sentences in connection with a 2009 earthquake. The scientists were convicted of manslaughter for failing to warn of a major earthquake that killed hundreds of people back in 2009. As i said, the Commission Members who stepped down say the convictions make it impossible to continue their work. And the food and Drug Administration is investigating five deaths linked to highly caffeinated Monster Energy drinks. Im sure youve seen them at the store. The failing of a maryland teenager who died after drinking two of them in two days is suing the company. The girl had a mild underlying heart condition the family says was aggravated by the drinks. Heres our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen with more. If you look at the two cans, the two 24ounce cans that miss fournier drank one day apart, thats as much caffeine as in 14 cokes or in 13 pepsis. And this part is really important to remember. There are other stimulants in these Energy Drinks as well. So its not just the caffeine, you have all sorts of other things that would be stimulating and possibly harmful to a heart, especially if that heart is not already working as it should be. According to the food and Drug Administration, there have been five deaths of people who drank these monster drinks. And one person had a heart attack and didnt die. Now, whats interesting is that the fda never made that information public. Its only come out as part of this lawsuit. So we asked the fda, why didnt you tell people about this . And they said because there is no established link between the drinks and the deaths. It may just be a total coincidence, and thats why they didnt reach out to the public. The company says it doesnt believe its drinks are tied in any way to the five deaths, but news has pushed monster stock down 10 today. And finally, the folks at apple unveiled some new gadgets today. Leading the way is a smaller, thinner tablet named the ipad mini. Its designed to compete with the new 199 tablet from amazon and google, but the least expensive version of the ipad mini will sell for 329. Apple also announced a slightly updated version of the traditional ipad. And you can add both of those gadgets to my growing holiday list that you can buy for me. Youve got a lot of those already. But theyre outdated. I saw, you got one of those old school, like me, blackberries. You are holding oen to that blackberry. Rimm, the future of the smartphone. I think they would love to hear you say that. Well, i just said it. Thank you. Were going to hear from some women voters, more women voters who know about tough races, hard knocks. How the president ial candidates can win them over. D on the sidef a cliff is the guoliang tunnel. What . youve got to be kidding me. [ derek ] ive never seen a road like this. Theres jagged rock all the way around. This is really gonna test the ats on all levels. [ derek ] this road is the most uneven surface, and it gets very narrow. Magnetic ride control is going to be working hard. The shock absorbers react to the road 1,000 times a second. It keeps you firmly in control. Whoa [ male announcer ] the allnew cadillac ats. Whoa see lioutdoors, or in. Ight. Transitions® lenses automatically filter just the right amount of light. So you see everything the way its meant to be seen. Maybe even a little better. 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Get geico. Fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. All of us who lived through the 2000 president ial recount knows about the states importance. Our latest poll shows romney holding a onepoint edge of obama in florida, another tossup state on our electoral maps. Cnns ali velshi is in lakeland, florida, with the cnn election express. Taking a round the country tour, ali. Do voters in florida realize how much their vote could matter . Reporter yeah, kate. Weve actually spoken to a number of them over the course of the last couple of days. They really do get it. 29 Electoral College votes, like you said. 19 Million People in florida. 4. 2 Million People are over the age of 60. So thats the largest over 60 population in the United States. They have particular concerns, not only about medicare and health care, about Social Security, but about investments. How the markets are doing and how they will do. They are skewing a little bit toward mitt romney, the Younger Voters in this state skewing towards barack obama. What do you do when the race is this tight . You do two things. One is you concentrate on your ground operation. Who can you get out . Believe it or not, ive run into a few people who are not counting on voting. Thats kind of interesting. If you are inclined to vote but youre not 100 sure, the Obama Campaign is working really hard to make sure that they capitalize on their ground operation, a particularly large, growing Hispanic Community in the neighboring area in orlando. The other thing you have to do is youve got to hit these voters with what they want to do. If youre undecided at this point, you need something other than soaring rhetoric. We talked to one whom who said shes kind of disappointed with everything she heard in the debates and in the ads. She wants frankness. Listen to what she told me. I watched all the debates and stuff. Really just frankness, someone was really frank, hey, things really stink, and not all this political safe stuff to say or nonoffensive stuff. I would rather see somebody very frank. And i think people can take it. If medicare is going, say it. Just say it instead of you know what i mean . Instead of like dancing around it. I dont like that. That really bothers me. Reporter and were hearing a lot of that. People are saying, look, they think things could have been better under barack obama. Theyre considering giving him another chance. They really like some of mitt romneys projections about the future and what its going to look like in terms of deficit reduction and job creation, but they cant get the numbers to add up. But they could go his way, if they could get the numbers to add up. So it might be in the candidates interests over the course of the next two weeks to give some of these candidates the specifics they need. Thats difficult to do politically, but there are votes to be had here. And if you get them, you get all 29 votes in the state of florida. Kate, wolf . I remember florida, florida, florida 2000. Fondly. Ali, thank you so much. 537 votes out of millions cast. Ah, memories lets go to the battleground state of iowa now, with six electoral votes up for grabs, president obama won the state back in 2008, after his Iowa Caucuses win launched him towards the president ial nomination. The most recent poll shows the president holding an eightpoint lead in iowa, but the state remains a tossup on our electoral map. Cnns Miguel Marquez is on the move in iowa, with a unique group of women voters. If its davenport, its got to be roller derby and the adequate city rollers. Scott county is just one of several battlegrounds here in americas heartland. In this one county alone, there are enough votes to turn this state blue or red. The rollers demonstrated their signature move. Blocking in front of you. Reporter oh, my god oh, and by the way your booty did block me. Reporter theyre really tough. These rough and tumble midwestern women, theyre also midwestern voters. Its all about keeping the other side from moving forward. This is a lot like politics, you realize . Right behind you, guys . Reporter waitress connie heart has worked at the machine shed restaurant for 26 areas. Her derby name, diamond dust. Her specialty, blocking. Her biggest issue, the economy. How tough has it been . Its been tight. Its been real tight. Reporter because, what, less money, higher gas less money. A lot of people dont want to go out to eat as much as they used to. Reporter by day, carrie decrane is a special worker helping kids with special needs. On some nights, shes lady gotcha, a jammer. Thats the one that scores the points. What is important in this election . Reporter i want to make sure theres going to be budgeting for the people that actually need it. Jobs as well. I want there to be continued job growth. Reporter decrane says shell likely vote for a third party. Republicans say this is like 2004, when just a few counties broke their way, giving bush a very narrow victory here. Democrats argue their advantage, the low unemployment rate, now just 5. 2 among the lowest in the country. This is a single machine . This is a single machine and its only part of the machine. Reporter scott county in iowa rebounded with help from Companies Like Genesis Systems group, a manufacturer of industrial robots. Increasingly its business is overseas. Reporter are you hiring . We have done some hiring this year. I think were up about ten people overall. But were still about 10 lower than we were in 2007. Reporter scott county, an economic bright spot in the heartland, whose voters can be tough to win over. Oh, my goodness reporter politics are rough and tumble, as im discovering. Things are hot and heavy here in iowa. Mr. Obama will be out here tomorrow in davenport and then mr. Romney, a few hours later, will be in cedar rapids. The polls show them within a couple of points and republicans here believe that if they can pick up a few thousand votes in places like scott and other counties, they can turn this state to their column. Wolf . A pretty important state, iowa. Miguel, thanks very, very much. Amazing, were talking about a few thousand votes here and there. Could be so, so close. President obama says his final debate with mitt romney drove home their differences on Foreign Policy, but at times, romney sounded a lot like president obama. Wolf will ask Romney Adviser john sununu about that. And then well hear from obama adviser, collin calm. [ ross ] the streets of monaco, home of the legendary grand prix circuit. The Perfect Place to bring the allnew cadillac ats to test the 2. 0liter turbo engine. [ engine revs ] [ derek ] 272 horsepower. The lightest in its class. The cadillac ats outmatches the bmw 3 series. I cannot believe i have ended the day not scraping some red paint off on these barriers. [ male announcer ] the allnew cadillac ats. train horn vo wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. Norfolk southern. One line, infinite possibilities. Two weeks until election day. The candidates are unleash everything theyve got to get to the finish line. And finish line is getting closer and closer. Theyre getting fuel for their attacks today from the Foreign Policy debate last night. Well talk to Obama Campaign adviser, collin call in a few moments. Right now were joined by a top Romney Adviser, the former New Hampshire governor, john sununu. Governor, thanks for coming in. A pleasure to be here. Happy tuesday. Thank you. I want you to listen to the president of the United States today, hammering away at mitt romney and his debate performance last night. Romneys Foreign Policy has been wrong and reck last. You heard him last night. He was all over the map. If you say that you love american cars during a debate, youre a car guy, but you wrote an article titled let detroit go bankrupt, you definitely have a case of romnesia. That article that he wrote, that oped, let detroit go bankrupt, if he loses ohio, it will probably be, as the president said, because one out of eight jobs in ohio is related to the Auto Industry. Look, lets face facts. The president again is being dishonest. He knows that title was put on by the new york times, not by mitt romney. And if he really read the article, he would understand that what mitt romney was proposing was a process not only in which they would go bankrupt as, through a nongovernment initial intervention, but that they would be Government Support for the process after they came out of bankruptcy. The president has misrepresented that or else hes not smart enough to be able to read that article. As you remember, the Financial Sector at that time was so week, most of the investment firms, the big ones, they werent investing. If the government wouldnt have given chrysler and General Motors that money, where would that money have come through, to go through a structured bankruptcy . That money would have come through, if there had been a support for putting money into it, after it came out. The idea was to do it in a process that allowed this normal course to take place, rather than this huge intervention, which, in fact, in the opinion of many people, ended up spending tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of jobs overseas. The president keeps misstating that, but he keeps misstating a lot of things. The Auto Industry is pretty robust right now. Both chrysler and General Motors. Theyre in business and a lot of people in michigan and so is ford. And in ohio and illinois, their pretty grateful about that. And so is ford that didnt go through bankruptcy. Look, they may be grateful, but they also understand that the last four years has been a disaster. 23 Million People unemployed and underemployed, everybody in ohio knows somebody that hasnt got a job. The fact is that this president has not produced the recovery that has any robust character to it at all. I dont know about you, governor, and ive known you for a long time, i was pretty surprised that romney last night on the Foreign Policy issues, he seemed to go out of his way to agree with the president on some of the most sensitive issues. And he certainly didnt go on the attack out of sensitive subject like libya, for example. Let me play a few clips and then well discuss. I dont want to have our military involved in syria. And of course, a military action is the last resort. When im president , ill make sure we bring our troops out by the end of 2014. I dont blame the administration for the fact that the relationship with pakistan is strained. Its widely reported that drones are being used in drone strikes and i support that entirely. And feel the president was right to up the usage of that technology and believe that we should continue to use it. Were you surprised, governor, how supportive of the president s Foreign Policy, of all of these sensitive issues the governor was . No, not really. What he did, he ticked off the things he supports, he agrees with him on, but he also ticked off the things he doesnt agree with him on. In libya, he didnt agree with the general theory of leading from behind. If we had led from the front, we would have some stronger input as to who the leadership was there. In syria, he pointed out that the president said a year ago, that assad had to go and had virtually done nothing significant in that period of time. And he ran, he condemned the president for not supporting the Green Movement that took place there. And on russia, he really differed with the president , because mitt romney does feel that putin has ambitions to make the russian empire another soviet union again, and the president , in his whispering asides to medvedev said the words were, in essence, let me get through the selection, and i will be flexible afterwards. Those are four major areas that he underscored the difference on, and those are the four major areas that have to be addressed properly, if this country is going to deal with the future. I was struck at the softening, though. And ive covered him over the past several years, and i definitely sensed a softening. And i wasnt the only one. My old friend, steve hayes, of the weekly standard, he said this, he wrote a biography of dick cheney. He said, romney was so determined to avoid sounding like george w. Bush, that he spent much of the night sounding like barack obama. What do you say about that . Well, look, this was an opportunity for mitt romney to at least let the public understand that he doesnt have horns and a tail when it comes to Foreign Policy. And i think he did a great job. The proof of the pudding is that the bulk of the narratives today talk about mitt romney as president ial and barack obama as snarky. I think the governor wins on that basis alone. Why did he not want to get into a debate with the president on the most sensitive issue right now, what happened in benghazi . Well, theres a Everybody Knows what happened in benghazi. If he got into it, the key issue in benghazi is that the president laid constantly and misrepresented to the public, particularly why didnt romney say that . Because thats up to people like me to use words like that. Last night, he was putting a president ial side forward, and i think it was a brilliant strategy, and as people are thinking about what happened last night, i go back to the phrase i used, theyre calling romney president ial and the president snarky. That alone makes it worth it that it leaves it to folks like me to help explain what happened in benghazi. Governor sununu, thanks for coming in, as usual. Thank you. Kate . Next well get a very different take on the campaign and the final debate when we talk to Obama Campaign adviser, collin call. Endless shrimp is our most popular promotion at red lobster. Theres so many choices, the guests love it [ male announcer ] dont miss endless shrimp, just 14. 99 try as much as you like, anyway you like. Like new teriyaki grilled shrimp. Offer ends soon my name is angela trapp, and i sea food differently. One golden crown. Come on frank how long have we known each other . Go to etrade. They got killer tools man. Theyll help you nail a Retirement Plan thats fierce. Two golden crowns. You realize the odds of winning are the same as being mauled by a polar bear and a regular bear in the same day . Frank oh wow, you didnt win . I wanna show you something. Its my shocked face. [ gasps ] [ male announcer ] get a Retirement Plan that works at etrade. Just a little while ago, the president landed on the south lawn of the white house. Marine one, there you see some video that we got. Out of the campaign trail today, the president ial candidates are picking up where they left off last night after their final debate. We spoke just a little while ago with a top Romney Campaign. Thats absolutely right. And now were joined by collin call, a National Security adviser to the Obama Campaign and a former Deputy Assistant secretary of defense. So lets look at this new ad from the Romney Campaign first. The president began with an apology tour of going to various nations and criticizing america. I think they look at that and saw weakness. The reason i call it an apology tour, you went to the middle east and you flew to egypt and to saudi arabia and to turkey and iraq. And you skipped israel. Our closest friend in the region. Why did he skip israel . The first four years of his administration, visited all these other neighboring countries but skipped israel. I know he was there as a candidate, but not as a president. Just like mitt romney went there as a candidate, but mitt romney didnt go there for a fundraiser, he went there for serious business. If you actually look back over the last 11 president s, seven of them never traveled to israel, and two of them didnt travel there until their second term. Its not that heres whats unusual. Heres whats unusual. Other president s, they may not have visited israel, ronald reagan, but he didnt go to egypt, didnt go to iraq, and skipped israel. Didnt go to saudi arabia and skip israel. If youre in the neighborhood, usually, you visit israel. Actually, of the four that traveled to the region and eventually traveled to israel, they all traveled to arab countries first. They went go to arab countries but they wouldnt just go to arab countries and not go to israel. I dont think thats true, actually. We can double check that. And the president last night twice said that israel is our greatest ally in the region. In 60 minutes, he said israel is one of our best allies in the region. What is it request m i dont think theres any question that israel is one of our closest allies. Why didnt he say that on 60 minutes. He says it all the time. Nobody else in the region gets 3 billion a year in security assistance. We stood up, the administration has, for the israelis at the u. N. , repeatedly. I mean, israeli officials all time last time i was on the show, you played ehud barak and president perez saying theres never been a closer relationship. This is just this myth that theres daylight between this administration and israel. Oneisrael. One final question on the question of israel. I want to play this exchange from the debate last night. Would either of you be willing to declare that an attack on israel is an attack on the United States . Which, of course, is the same promise that we give to our close allies like japan. First of all, israel is a true friend, it is our greatest ally in the region. And if israel is attacked, america will stand with israel. Ive made that clear throughout my presidency. Some were listening very closely. Many were listening very closely to that and heard that he kind of avoided answering that question. Will he declare an attack on israel, is an attack on the United States . The United States is committed to defending israel. As we speak, there are more than 1,000 u. S. Troops in israel and another couple thousand participating from europe in the largestever joint u. S. Israeli Defense exercise. So needs to be stated other no, what the president said, we stand with israel and if israel is attacked, we have their back. Thats not the question, that Bob Schieffer asked. Is an attack on israel an attack on the United States. An attack an a nato ally is an attack on the United States. Is an attack on israel an attack on the United States. It would lead to an americans response. And what the president said last night, same thing. Just speaking for the Obama Campaign, an attack on israel is an attack on the United States. Ill just say what the president says, if israel gets attacked you understand the nuance, the difference. Yeah. But im saying you want to leave that. Im saying the effect is the same. If the nato country gets attacked, we have their back. If israel gets attacked, we have their back. Not necessarily. But go ahead. I want to move on if we can to the question of afghanistan. It of course came up in last nights debate in both president obama as well as governor romney said they plan to pull troops out in 2014. Many people have asked all of these insider attacks continue, and so many questions more concerns about insider attacks. Why not pull them out sooner . If we already have this date set of 2014, why not pull them out sooner . Is this time would a secondterm president obama reassess that . I sent out a tweet last night that said mitt romney must have forgot his talking points on afghanistan because he just said the president s. The issue you race, these green on blue attacks is serious. Afghanistan takes it seriously. And they change the way we partner with Afghan Security forces to try to hedge against this risk Going Forward. I think the president believes and apparently governor romney agrees, that we need to make sure this transition happens responsibly. So i think the time line weve agreed to with our nato allies through 2014 does that. Colin cowell. Lots of questions. Are you getting excited . Yes. I can tell. Exactly. Im always excited. Thank you so much. Teaches at georgetown university. Much smarter than i am. At the top of the hour, Erin Burnett Outfront taking a close look at whats inside the Obama Campaigns new 20page plan for his second term. See whether some of the claims add up. train horn vo wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. Norfolk southern. One line, infinite possibilities. Mike rowe here at a ford tell me fiona, whos having a big tire event . Your ford dealer. Who has 11 major brands to choose from . Your ford dealer. Whos offering a rebate . Your ford dealer. Who has the low price tire guarantee. Affording peace of mind to anyone who might be in the market for a new set of res . Your ford dealer. Im beginning to sense a pattern. Buy four select tires, get a 60 rebate. Use the Ford Service Credit credit card, get 60 more. Thats up to 120. Where did you get that sweater vest . Your ford dealer. See lioutdoors, or in. Ight. Transitions® lenses automatically filter just the right amount of light. So you see everything the way its meant to be seen. Maybe even a little better. Vsp members can save on all authentic transitions lenses, including our new transitions vantage and transitions xtractive lenses. Experience life well lit. Ask which transitions adaptive lens is best for you. And need to get my car fixed . Progressive makes it easy, because we give you choices. You can pick where to get your car fixed, we can cut you a check, or, at our service center, we take care of everything for you. [ relaxing music playing ] [ chuckles ] whew, so many choices. Take your time. The service center. Okay. Giving you choices now, thats progressive. Call or click today. Shes a force to be reckoned with on the beauty pageant circuit and star of the cable reality show. Im not talking about you. Unfortunately, you are not. Now honey booboo is taking her show on the road, promoting her Second Season and making the most of the spotlight. Here is cnns jeanne moos. Pick the toughest interviewee. Is it dick cheney . So . Reporter is it Charlie Sheen . I am on a drug. Its called Charlie Sheen. Reporter but their childs play compared to honey booboo. Let me ask you some questions oh reporter hlns dr. Drew had to contend with pretend snoring. Is it difficult to be on tv . [ snoring ] shes sleeping. Reporter but the week before, on ktla, probably wished she dozed off. Reporter instead of belting out song. The 7yearold star of tlcs reality show here comes honey booboo bounced her way through the interview. She played games. Hang on. Reporter mom didnt have enough hands to stop her. Whoa whoa reporter honey booboo is on a tear. While on her latest media tour, from extra, to jimmy kimmel. Reporter she couldnt sit still. They dont know you better redneckize reporter the crowd recognized one of her favorite saying. She went from interview to interview acting up. Now, a lot of people are booing, all of the attention being showered on honey booboo. I honestly think that people are doing a disservice to this child. Reporter Sharon Osbournes family had their own reality show. I think 7 is way too young. Reporter the media grind can leave you pooped. Honey booboos family seems to be exceptionally loving. That didnt stop people online from posting dire predictions. This will end badly. Already been portrayed on snl. No one in particular reporter debuted on south park. Ive already had three heart attacks, girlfriend reporter and mentioned by the president. Honey booboo endorsement. Barack obama. Thats a big relief. She almost swatted dr. Drew. Hi, hi. Dont hit. Reporter these days, she is less honey [ snoring ] more booboo. Is there something exciting you would like to talk about . Reporter jeanne moos, cnn, new york. This programming we have a programming note. You can see dr. Drews full interview for yourself, later tonight, 9 00 p. M. Eastern on our sister network, hln. Just so you know, that was wolfs first introduction to honey booboo. I dont know much about honey booboo. Its okay. Youve learned enough, i think. Her ratings were pretty good when she had a show opposite the president s address at the Democratic Convention. I think that tells us