Out. And this. The nations deadliest transportation accident in nearly a decade. 20 people killed. And now weve learned that the limo and the driver should not have been on the road in the first place. Announcer this is cnn breaking news. Welcome to the lead im jim sciutto in for jake today. We begin with breaking news. Brandnew cnn polls revealing how americans feel about the president , the two Political Parties and the newest associate justice of the Supreme Court. Both during and after the battle to confirm Brett Kavanaugh. All coming less than one month from the midterm elections. Cnns political director, david chalian, at the magic wall with all of the results. David, President Trump up, down, or about where he was . No, hes up from where he was last month. Lets take a look at his overall Approval Rating, jim. Brandnew numbers from cnn conducted by ssrs, right now, 41 approve of how hes handling his be jo. 52 disapprove. But like i said, hes up. In september, he was at 36. So the president is up five points now. Thats good news. You want to be heading this way four weeks from an election. Heres the problem. Take a look at how that 41 stacks up in history, jim. Its at the bottom. Donald trump is matching where bill clinton was in 1994 after 41 . Hes at a historic low, and we all remember, in 1994, when bill clinton was at this 41 , his party got wiped out in those midterm elections. This is a concern that donald trump is this low four weeks out from the election. Brett kavanaugh also in these numbers. Hes been sworn in. How do americans feel about whether he should have been confirmed. Yeah, its a good question. A majority of americans do not think he should have been confirmed. 51 say no, he shouldnt have been confirmed. 41 said yes. And look at this over time. We asked this question back in august, before his hearings, in september at the time of his initial hearings. You can see what the allegations from blasey ford and others did. They really increased the opposition across the country to kavanaugh. We, of course, also asked about the allegations themselves, whether americans believe the women or believe judge now Justice Kavanaugh. Take a look at that. 52 of americans say on the accusations of Sexual Misconduct, they believe the women. Only 38 believe kavanaugh. Take a look at the gender divide here when you break this out. Among women, 61 , more than 6 in 10 american women in this poll, say they believe the women. Only 31 believe kavanaugh. Men, much more much more evenly divided. And then, of course, we asked about how the parties in the senate handled these allegations. Oh, im sorry. No, first, we asked about whether or not having two of nine justices facing Sexual Misconduct allegations, getting to the court. Is that a major problem . Nearly 6 in 10 americans, 56 of americans say that is a major problem. 16 minor problem. Only a quarter of americans say thats not a problem at all. And now we also asked about how the democrats and republicans handled themselves during the kavanaugh hearings. Jim, this did not wear well for either party. The majority of americans disapproved. 55 disapproved for republicans. 56 disapproved of how the democrats handled themselves. This process did not wear well on anyone. Not Justice Kavanaugh, not the democrats and republicans on the hill. Maybe save for President Trump, who i said his Approval Rating is on the way up. David chalian, thank you very much. To the panel. Kristen, if i could start with you, the one thing folks seem to agree on in this poll is that both parties in their view did not handle these hearings well. In a way, that finding doesnt surprise me. That was sort of a lot of the discussion that you would see after especially that thursday, where you had the morning, dr. Ford facing questions from a senate panel where the Senate Republicans brought in someone to handle the questioning. Followed by the circus that unfolded around when then judge kavanaugh himself came in. So it doesnt surprise me that you would see a lot of voters in the middle, kind of going a plague on both their houses. Another number from a poll from quinnipiac last week, even though those numbers looked similar to what the cnn polls show, they believed dr. Ford, more said they opposed kavanaughs confirmation than not. 49 said they felt kavanaugh had been treated unfairly in the process. So those numbers in many ways dont surprise me. So david, you have a situation here where both parties are claiming that these hearings were a motivating factor. And you see some of that in the numbers for women, no question. On the democratic side. But you also see it as kristen was saying, folks on the republican side, who think kavanaugh was treated unfairly. Who is going to benefit more, in your view, or is it bush . Look, at the end of this, be i think these numbers show that nobody wins in this. Its the old adage, when you wrestle with a pig, you get dirty and the pig likes it. So this is a losing situation on both sides. I think it could have been handled much better if senator feinstein and senator grassley would have before this all got started sat down and, you know, tried to get a hearing. Tried to i said before, have an fbi investigation for a week, and then you roll this out. And, you know, dr. Ford could have been heard. Might not have been as big a secretary ank spectacle and wouldnt have the acrimony you have now. The political gain, i think, if you look at some of the individual house seats, i think its going to be not great for some of these house members that you see the polling says that, you know, women who are extremely motivated or more motivated. Some of the house seats are going to tilt a little bit. And i think some of the senate seats may tilt further to the other side here. Theres no winners overall, but if youre looking at political score, its going to be a wash. Angela, ive heard some smart people say, smarter than me, that anger is a real motivator. In effect, in the end, the side that lost will be more motivated to vote in the mid terms than the side that in a months time, the news cycle is pretty fast in this environment. But in a months time, the democrats, because they feel they were wronged here, will be more motivated to come out and vote. Yeah, and i think that part of it for us, for the progressives among us, i think the real question has to be, and then what . So there were a number of people who were urging people to call their senators, to make sure they voted appropriately. And then i would say and then what, right . So Susan Collins is someone that people were hoping would remember her womanhood before she remembered her party. That didnt work. So the question again is, and then what . So you have to ensure that when you turn out to vote, youre voting for people who share your same values. This process has resulted in folks overwhelmingly sending in money, contributions to Susan Collins opponent, who does not yet exist, right . So the question really becomes, how do you stay engaged and motivated in ways that hold your elected officials accountable, not just to get your vote, but to also support your positions on policy priorities, which i think is the longer the longer term question we have to answer at large. No opponent yet, but susan rice floated as a name out there. And reneged. A couple years from now. I would love to see that. Jackie, the other head line number here is President Trumps Approval Rating going up five Percentage Points from 36, wihih was cnns low, now up to 41, more in the band of where his Approval Rating has lived, almost without variation or too much variation in the last couple years. Five points in a month. Striking because of the economy. Last week, New York Times story aside, was a very, very good week for him, particularly on trade. A lot of president s base. He has really made promises made, promises kept campaign. Novel no, that has been part of his brand. No, its great. Every rally. Right, exactly. So i think that in and of itself i think is why. And the economy is great. It continues to be great. And its striking that the president s numbers arent higher. Because of the economy. And while his party, particularly house seats, are struggling because of the economy. And in terms of when you look at the numbers for kavanaugh, i do wonder how that looks in red states. I do think its a much different picture in red states, particularly where these democrats are running and took some votes and know they might end up paying for. You mean different worse for democrats. I think it might be worse for democrats in some of these states where there are more republicans than democrats. And youve seen some evidence of that, for instance, in heitkamps race. Missouri, other swing heitkamp knew what she was doing going in. I think well see with joe manchin. That will be the litmus test. Whether joe manchin pays a price or not. To angelas point, what now. Do people show up at the ballot box in West Virginia . Democrats take him to task for it, or do people look the other way and vote for him . And do republicans keep up this energy, right . Because people usually dont go to the ballot box to say thank you. Judges, especially. They won. So can this anger and energy keep up for four weeks . Goodness knows what will happen. The president certainly hopes so. Thats been a consistent message. Talking about impeaching judge kavanaugh in the next term, if the democrats take the house. But the president has said repeatedly in his rallies, listen, look at this like im on the ballot. Basically making it about himself. Winning strategy . It lines up with what were seeing in a lot of polling. This is something ive seen, the Pew Research Center asks every midterm. How much of your vote is going to be about the candidate and issues or how much is it going to be about showing a sign of support or opposition for the president . And this time around, you have an enormous number of republicans, significant majority, who say their vote is going to be about support for trump. Not about the name of the person on the ballot. Not about the issues that they may be talking about locally. That its going to be about trump. And the same thing for democrats. Theyre saying, look, whoever is on my ballot, love him or hate him, im sending a message this is about trump. Which is why to the point about the house and senate being so different, thats bad for these House Republicans in districts Hillary Clinton won. And there are about 23 of them. Democrats only need 24 seats to take the house. Scary stuff for republicans in the house. But the senate, that map is so red with so Many Democrats who are having to thread that needle. Conventional wisdom, granted, wrong all of the time. But that you could have democratic gains in the house and losses in the senate. As an outcome. Yeah. Well see. You guys are both involved floridan involved in the florida race. Those are the kind of seats that are kind of on the razors edge and well see come election day what happens. I think another important piece of this, if they havent been voting before like in the florida primary where there were 150,000 new voters just in the democratic primary alone, that can very well tilt things. You might have some happy republicans who still get outvoted. You have seen a big uptick in democratic registration in the governors race, as well. Absolutely. A lot more to talk about with kavanaugh confirmed. Mitch mcconnell could be changing the rules for future Supreme Court nominees. Imagine that. Plus, new details just coming out about this horrific crash we have been covering the last couple days. 20 people dead in a limo crash, including four sisters. And a newly wed couple. Investigators are giving an update as we speak and were going to bring you the latest. Is mealtime a struggle . Introducing oreida potato pay. Where oreida golden crinkles are your crispy currency to pay for bites of this. With this. When kids wont eat dinner, potato pay them to. Oreida. Win at mealtime. Your company is and the decisions you make have far reaching implications. The right relationship with a Corporate Bank who understands your industry and your world can help you make well informed choices and stay ahead of opportunities. Pnc brings you the resources of one of the nations largest banks, and a local approach with a focus on customized insights. So you and your company are ready for today. Psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis, Little Things can be a big deal. Thats why theres otezla. 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Are you saying that if President Trump the answer to your question is, well see whether theres a vacancy in 2020. Just two years ago, you may remember, mcconnell bragged about holding up president obamas nomination of Merrick Garland, because it was during a president ial election year. One of my proudest moments was when i looked at barack obama in the eye and i said, mr. President , you will not fill this Supreme Court vacancy. David irwin, can i get you to admit that there is some dirty political pool going on . Yeah. This is, you know, hard ball or sharpelbowed politics, right . I dont think there will be a vacancy. I dont think anyone is going to go. But Mitch Mcconnell could take pride in the fact that to the detriment of all other nominees that are waiting, 300 nominees waiting in the senate, he has put two Supreme Court justices on. 26 judges on the court of appeals. Ten were waiting to be confirmed. And 40some District Court judges. Unprecedented injunction with President Trump. And so hes rightfully so kind of taken a victory lap. And look where is his credibility . Completely understand. I think he feels pretty emboldened, and his legacy will be that this court the Supreme Court, the district the courts for the next generation will trend republican. They may not be able to move legislation, but theyre moving judges. Angela rye, your response. Yeah, i think that we already knew what Mitch Mcconnell stood for. I think he was very clear at the outset of of obamas tenure, and that was his primary focus, was to make barack obama a oneterm president. So, of course, he wasnt going to be useful for helpful in moving anybody along. I would take it further than Merrick Garland, who it took more than 400plus days to even get a hearing and still didnt get the hearing. Theres no surprises here. I think the reality of it is thats exactly why the poll numbers are where they are for republicans. Thats part of the reason why Donald TrumpsApproval Rating is higher. And i think our reality is, you speak of sharp elbows in politics, its time for democrats, and sorry in this context im not using genderspecific, but its time to man up. Meaning we have to play hard if were going to move the needle politically. Where does this leave the court . I spoke to republican senator john kennedy last week, republican member of the judiciary committee, strong supporter of kavanaugh. And he said, listen, at the end of the process that americans equate the Supreme Court with politics by another means, where does that leave the institution . This has been sliding down this hill for some time. Now youre in a place, 5049 for a lifetime appointment, and the American People look at it from two very different ends of the spectrum. You know, but it cant go unmentioned that democrats typically dont vote because of the court. That is not a motivating factor in the democratic base. They havent been