calling for an all-out travel ban of anyone coming from infected west africa. the call we're hearing is to stop all human traffic, period. and government experts are saying, they're open to any step that will protect americans. joining me now is peter welsh of vermont who sits on the committee, and also msnbc political analyst. today's hearing, lawmakers say their jittery constituents want to know about the feasibility of an all-out travel ban to contain the spread of ebola. congressman welsh tried to get an answer. let's listen. >> why, from a medical standpoint you have concluded that a total travel ban is inappropriate and not effective? >> first off, many of the people coming to the u.s. from west africa are american citizens, american passport holders. people travel and people will be coming in. >> as i understand it, you say there's basically a trade-off. if you have a full ban, there will be ways around it and you'll be losing the benefit of tracking folks who may be infected which could lead to a greater incidence of outbreak, so it's a trade-off, is that what's going on? >> we're open to any possibility that will increase the safety of americans. >> right. so are there some mid points in terms of travel restrictions as opposed to a ban that would make sense? >> we would look at anything that would improve the safety of the americans. >> when the witness freezes like that and gives the same answer a second time. you heard something then. what did you hear that witness saying, dr. frieden? is he saying, two weeks from now, if this thing grows, we'll shut down the traffic from west africa? >> he was trying to thread a needle. he didn't want to say he opposed the possibility of a ban, but he was embracing the approach that whatever is ultimately required in his judgment and the administration's judgment, to protect the american people, they're open to it. but the committee hearing really did start coming down to travel ban or not. and that has obviously for a lot of politicians, enormous political appeal, because it says, we're, quote, doing something. but the gold standard on this, who for me are doctors without borders, they say, medically speaking, that wouldn't be good. it might do more harm than good. now we have 435 members of congress in their white coats acting like they're doctors. >> why does this strike me that it's ideology cal? when donald trump comes out, it's a right-wing position, and anti-obama position, and the liberals just as instinctively, say we can't have a travel ban against africa. is this an emotional, go to your battle stations left and right thing? let me ask michael steele about that, because it seems like it's what you would expect. republicans say, shut it down, we don't want anybody in africa. we don't want to meet anybody from there anyway. i don't have any relatives coming over. [ laughter ] >> i'm serious. >> but that's ridiculous. >> why are people on the right pushing for a travel ban? >> because it makes sense. the american people are pushing for that. their constituents are pushing for that. [ all speak at once ] >> you got to ask the libs that. >> there's your political shot -- >> i'm sure their constituents are, and the fact that this question was skirted around and was not answered directly, i thought was -- >> do you want a ban? >> yes, why not? absolutely. >> tell me about this thinking, the democratic side about why you don't want to rush to a ban and shut down the traffic? >> the question is, whether a ban would be effective. the doctors without borders basically say it would hurt. you would have a lot of issues getting your medical personnel in and out. problems getting some of the medical equipment back and forth. then when you have a ban, the experience has been, people will find a way around it. if they find a way around it, and an infected person gets here, legally, without having any monitoring and review of their health status situation, it means that we're not going to be able to get them the treatment right away that they need. and this is the most important, we won't be able to know who they had contact with, and that's essential for public safety. >> may i ask a question? has that been the experience of the african nations that surround sierra leone and the other infected areas? they don't seem to have that problem, yet they have a full ban in human traffic across their borders, as do now several other countries. so i don't understand the u.s. position that we're concerned about commerce and how people feel, when you have this issue of potential outbreak, that the american people are concerned about. >> two things, michael. number one, dr. frieden was asked specifically and said those countries didn't have the blanket ban that you're talking about. number two, i'm open to anything. but the bottom line is, what is the medical step that we should take, or what steps should we take with respect to travel restrictions that would be most effective? that's really the question. it's not a political judgment. >> i don't think it's ideology cal, but i do see the pattern here. the chief clinical officer in texas with health resources, the group that overseas texas presbyterian hospital. he took a grilling from the ranking committee member, diana. she's a democrat. dr. vargas appeared in a video conference, apologized for the incorrect initial diagnosis of the first ebola patient in the u.s. then he faced questions on the hospital's lack of preparedness. this is where it gets very american, very local, let's watch. >> your hospital received the first cdc health advisory about ebola on july 28th. it was given to the directors of your emergency departments and signage was posted in your emergency room, is that right? >> yes, ma'am. >> now was this information given to your emergency room personnel and was there any person-to-person training at texas presbyterian for the staff at that time? yes or no? >> was given to the emergency department. >> was there actual training? >> no. >> congressman, this is where we get to that old political problem of mistakes were made, in the passive voice, but nobody made any mistakes. mistakes were made by what human being and now we're finding this guy, you put in the box or the barrel today. he's the guy getting hit with this. who is the responsible officers that make sure that hospitals handle the first case properly? who's the officer that didn't do it right? >> ultimately, the head of the hospital. but obviously they blew it at the er room. this man was incredibly sick and he was sent home with antibiotics. then he came back of course with full-blown ebola. so they blew it there. but have some context. we've had one person from liberia come to this country. that's dangerous, people fear ebola and it's a dangerous disease. but we've had two people infected. and our hospitals haven't had a lot of experience. how many hospitals, even well-run hospitals would have it on the radar that somebody is going to show up with a disease from africa? so some of this, to some extent, i think is going to happen no matter how well run an operation is. >> but if you look at the progression of this, you know the phrase rolling disclosure. it always gets politicians in trouble. i'll tell you when i want to tell you, not when i know. here we have the president saying it was unlikely it would ever get here. then we're told nobody would catch it from anybody. it's very hard to catch. two people caught it. then we were told, nobody would be allowed to travel. then we found this woman going from dallas to cleveland and back again, after she told the cdc she had the symptoms, and the wall keeps falling. the walls keep falling. how can we keep confidence if they do? >> well, that's a good point. you just laid out the rolling train wreck that the handling of this has been. everywhere from the hospital to some extent the administration. when you have that applied to this disease, it is just horrid. it's incredibly painful and incredibly infectious, it stokes a lot of public fears and undercuts the confidence we need in institutions. and we're in a political season -- >> what are you hearing in vermont? vermont is a progressive state, especially with the flat landers. how are they reacting to this? they're sophisticated people in vermont. what are they saying about there? >> they're concerned about it. there's two things. number one, there's just this enormous concern about and all the publicity about ebola and could it happen. when you saw that it did happen in texas, which then it could happen anywhere, including vermont. secondly, people are concerned that we're going to handle it well. they want an answer. that is spoke to some extent by all the public discussion and the politicians' debate. the easiest thing to call for is a ban, but that's not necessarily what's going to provide the greatest protection to the public. so there's concern there, as there is any time there is that much publicity about something. >> the president signed an executive order that authorizes military reservists to support humanitarian efforts to combat ebola in west africa. our pentagon team says this initial deployment would include eight guard and reserve engineers, eight people, and logistic specialists. their task, to help build 17 treatment centers housing 100 patients each. the initial deployment of eight is a small be in, but it's open-ended to send more as needed. the president is taking what we used to call ne-yo con position. fight them there or here. he's saying, unless we fight it there, we'll have it here. >> i think the president is right, if that's the assumption on the table. you have to go where the problem is. >> what happens if our guys get it? >> hopefully we have the protocols in place to deal with that. you laid it out. the timetable from the president saying the likelihood of it coming here, to where we are today is why people are asking, why don't we just cut down the border traffic, so we can control it that way? and what are the protocols put in place for the military going there? >> congressman, my sense is the least effective thing to say today is keep calm. people don't want to hear that. they want to hear what the news is. that's what they go by. >> that's exactly right. they want very specific things. the one thing that dr. frieden said that made some sense is that if the hospital has a patient with ebola symptoms show up, put that person in isolation. call cdc, walk through it with them. number three, cdc will come. that was in response to a question from corey gardner. what would i tell my hospital in the event somebody appeared with these types of symptoms. so i think getting specific with the plan makes sense. i also agree with michael. our military is particularly suited to these incredible challenges and you do have to stop it at its source. it's not humanitarian. it's really self-defense. >> the people watching this, winston churchill, who always told the people the bad news first. he laid it out to the people, that's why they trusted him. even rudy guiliani during 9/11 and the anthrax scare, he gave the information as he was getting it, boy was that powerful stuff. that's why he's still a good rep. thank you for asking the right questions today in the hearing. thank you, michael steele. coming up, fear and loathing on the campaign trail. republicans are playing up the ebola scare in campaigns. it's topic a everywhere. may be working, but it's not going to help the incumbents. and later, the most bizarre beginning to a political debate perhaps ever. the issue, a fan. not a human fan, an electronic fan. the thing that blows the wind. this is "hardball," the place for politics. you won't want to miss the fantastic debate we're going to show you tonight between charlie crist and rick scott down in florida. scott refused to come out to the stage because he said he was upset that crist was having a fan there to cool him off. anyway, the governor finally came out, but his supporters are worried about the damage has already been done. this is weird. charlie crist will join us tonight in just a few minutes on "hardball." at shell, we believe the world needs a broader mix of energies, which is why we are supplying natural gas, to generate cleaner electricity, that has around 50% fewer co2 emissions than coal. and why with our partner in brazil, we are producing a biofuel made from renewable sugarcane to fuel cars. let's broaden the world's energy mix, let's go. welcome back to "hardball." now more on the tonight's big story, the pandemic of fear in this country over ebola. right now the mantra is think ebola. last night that fear drove the conversation and debates in kansas and colorado. let's watch. >> senator roberts has come back and has made some very strong statements about ebola, when he's back in kansas. but it just came out the other day that when he was in washington last month, he skipped a hearing on the ebola virus. >> this is a difference between congressman gardner and me. he's voted to cut cdc spending of almost $770 million. we're not going to beat ebola by cutting back the cdc and our public health systems. >> this is the most followed news stories of the obama presidency. we just found out today. and we're just 19 days from the november elections. i want to go to joan first on this. you never know what's going to happen in october. >> right. >> and this is a national event which normally we could consider in a real country that doesn't fight about everything, we'd all be looking for the right program, the protocol -- a word i've come to hate, and breach, which is even worse. we'd all agree to figure out this thing which is brand new, and it is isolated. >> absolutely. >> already, donald trump who speaks for a certain point of view in this country, which is in the necessarily nice, did you definitely hard-nosed. keep them out. keep them all out from west africa. you might have thought that extreme, but one republican after the other is joining it. now 2/3 of the american people say slam the door on west africa and we'll be safer. your thoughts? because the democrats aren't going along with it? >> no. and it's great they're not going along with it, because it's the wrong thing to do. we know that. it's a scary disease, and there are questions to be asked on both sides. i'm not going to argue that politics should be kept out of this. that's unrealistic. however, the level at which people are fear mongering on this is really all about getting out the republican base. the american people are nervous for sure, but the latest nbc poll shows that most people trust that the government knows how to handle this. there was two exceptions. the tea party voters say they don't trust the government. and rural voters. so it's really the republican base that is ready for this volatile mix of politics and obama hatred. and the usual suspects are out there putting it out. >> you know, right behind you is this beautiful picture of a man-made wonder, which is the golden gate bridge. i've always said it's the one time man's improved on nature. it is really beautiful. but if you knew there was a lot of disease at the other side of that bridge, and somebody said, keep the bridge open, wouldn't you think that odd? just going back to gut thinking. you don't think it's a gut reaction by the people to say no more people from west africa because they brought it here in the first place? >> i thought you were going to say something really different about the golden gate bridge, which is something that we did back when we used to do big things. and this is another big thing that we need to do. you're a peace corps person. we shouldn't be nation building in iraq and syria, but we should be public health building in liberia and sierra leone and guinea. this is something we can do. a travel ban is so silly. we cannot seal their borders. so then you're having people lying about their health, leaving those countries and getting in here somehow anyway. so the point is be calm, it's hard to tell people to be calm, but for the people in control to be calm and do what they need to do and not to fear monger. i know that people feel, would i go over to the other side if i thought there was ebola? i hope i would want sick people if they needed treatment in san francisco to come here. but it's a natural human response to fear, i know that -- >> it's called a leprechaun mentality. why are so many americans speaking like donald trump on this thing? >> it's not only good politics, but it will restore from calm with people. boehner has it exactly right. have a temporary travel ban so we can sort this out. the administration hasn't appeared very competent in this whole thing. all the explanations that proved not to be true. this is a problem for the administration. the best thing they could do is have a temporary travel ban, let them sort it out, come up with procedures that everyone can understand, and get the cdc working in a way that inspires confidence. there's no confidence in this country, and that's why people are worried and they're right to be worried. >> how do you do a travel ban? you say, you can't come out of those countries to come to our countries. you can't go through belgium, london or paris. you just can't come here. so you got to shut off all the traffic. but can you really stop them if -- most people go through europe from africa to get here. how do you stop it? >> you need passports, right? there might be some people trying to sneak through -- [ all speak at once ] >> what about our doctors? >> sort out the procedures. i think it's reasonable to do it. and most americans think it's reasonable to do it. the third countries in africa think it's reasonable to do it. they're saying let's not have folks come over here with this disease, this virus. let's find a way to handle this. and i think that's what the american people are, that's why republicans are saying, let's do this. >> here's a question for both of you. republicans have been also latched on the issue the government competence. mitt romney in new hampshire. he's running for something. he's supposedly campaigning for scott brown, but i think he's back running for president. here he is. >> look, this administration couldn't run the irs right and apparently, not the cdc right. you ask yourself, what is it going to take to have a president who really focuses on the american people? >> when we have elections. anyway, this is what rand paul said a few weeks ago about this thing. >> it is absolutely a mistake to take political correctness and say they know with certainty it's not going to spread and as a consequence so play down fears that we don't take precautions. so, yeah, i think it's a huge mistake and this is a guy that fed us obamacare, so he's not high on my list of people to listen to. >> so they're stacking up the tuna cans again. put irs in there and everything else. this is just another can in the stack, ebola. >> for rand paul to say that it's political correctness, again, you can have a debate about whether the president has done enough, or whether the cdc has done enough. you can even have a debate about competence, but to get that point in there, and other people are doing it blatantly, that it's political correctness to keep him from doing more, it's his african sympathies, it's his african heritage. >> i don't think they're saying that. i think that's ridiculous. i think the fact of the matter is, the obama administration doesn't have a lot of credibility. you think about the rollout of obamacare, which was a complete disaster. >> obamacare is now doing very well -- [ all speak at once ] >> -- raising premiums 20, 30%. >> that's not true. >> just stick to this issue. >> i want you to back up one thing. who is out there saying it's his african roots showing? >> i was just listening to alex wagner, some talk show host, i'm sorry i don't have the name right now. >> listen, i think they have that insinuation. this president doesn't have the credibility and i think that's why people will vote against it in the polls. it's confusing the whole culture. >> just to clarify this, i will be arbiter here. the right dinesh d'souza, newt gingrich have pushed the issue saying obama is influenced by some kenyan, anti-colonial experience. that's what's used against obama in response. that he's somehow an african. >> if not a muslim. >> anyway, thank you. and by the way, what's his name? count on donald trump to lead the way on this. up next, the incredible scene from last night's governors' debate. rick scott refused to even come out on the debate floor or show up because charlie crist had an electric fan under his lectern. this is "hardball," the place for politics. when you've only have one hand, you're not doing anything as fast as you used to. do you need help? what is that? swiffer dusters. i can extend it so i don't have to get on the step stool. it's like a dirt magnet just like my kids. i think swiffer definitely gave me some of that time back. [ male announcer ] evyou're using a brandn, that supports wildlife rescue efforts. because it's tough on grease, yet gentle. ♪ you by my side makes the little things so good ♪ be a part of the bigger picture. go to facebook.com/ dawnsaveswildlife. back to "hardball." the governors debate in florida got off to a late start after republican governor rick scott refused to even appear on the stage. he wouldn't even walk out, all because his opponent, charlie crist, had a small fan behind his lectern. crist was on the stage alone for seven minutes before scott finally relented and came out and began the debate. here's how that bizarre scene played out last night. >> ladies and gentlemen, we have an extremely peculiar situation right now. we have governor charlie crist. [ cheers and applause ] >> we have been told that governor scott will not be participating in this debate. governor crist has asked to have a fan, a small fan placed underneath his podium. the rules of the debate that i was shown by the scott campaign say that there should be no fan. somehow there is a fan there and for that reason, i am being told that governor scott will not join us for this debate. >> frank, have you ever seen anything like this? >> no, i haven't. this is remarkable over a trivial issue no matter which side you believe you're on. [ cheers and applause ] >> that has to be the most unique beginning to any debate. >> i don't think we'll forget. >> not only in florida, but i think anywhere in the country. >> now, from florida, the man with the tan, a fan, and a plan. florida's democratic candidate for governor, charlie crist. were you aware he was going to pull that stunt? i i guess it's to avoid sweating on camera. they knew about it. why do you think he pulled this stunt right before an election? >> i don't know. if my wildest imagination, chris, i can't tell you why. it defies logic to me. and whenever there's something that i'm asked about that is illogical in my mind, it's really hard for me to explain it. i can't explain it. >> the latest polling down there, i'm sure you must go to bed at night with this, has you tied, 44-44. now your campaign is using this incident to make up fund raising points. and your fan has become famous on the web. take a look at this. with your supporters today, i am a fan of charlie crist. [ laughter ] is this making lemonade out of lemons? it seems like you've made an issue out of this guy's weirdo number on you. >> yeah, it's really strange. this is really kind of a trivial issue. what's really important are issues like education, ethics, the environment, the economy, you know, the kind of things that floridians are concerned about, that i'm concerned about going forward. to make sure that our teachers are appropriately paid, that we care for our environment, have an economy that's good for the middle class, those are issues that are meaningful to all of us. >> let me ask you this, who did you vote for for president in 2008 and 2012? >> in 2008, i voted for john mccain. as you know, i was almost his running mate. in 2012, i voted for barack obama. campaigned hard for him, as a matter of fact. >> why did you change your mind? >> the direction of my former party. i mean, jeb bush said it better than anybody. today's leadership in the republican party is -- appears to be anti-women, anti-minority, anti-gay, anti-immigrant, anti-education, anti-environment. it's pretty clear. >> is the party not just looked at that way, is it that way? is it anti-minority? i looked at the party's reaction to the ebola issue. they're saying slam the door shut. the democrats are thinking, is that going to work? is that something we should be doing? a little more thoughtful on the dems' side, i think. >> yeah, i think so too. it's a shame to see it. and what it has become. i want to be careful here because my mom and dad are still republicans. there's a lot of good republicans across the country. but the leadership of the party, i mean, just look at the house of representatives in washington. they can't get anything done. they won't agree to do anything. they can't reach across the aisle. it's sad to see. >> they can't even agree on a fan. here's what you and the governor had to say when the moderator asked you both about that fan. this is how trivial it's got, i agree with you, governor. let's watch it. >> why did you insist on bringing a fan here when your campaign knew this would be a contentious issue? [ cheers and applause ] >> why not? is there anything wrong with being comfortable? i don't think there is. >> and governor scott, why the delay in coming out over a fan? >> i waited until we figured out if he was going to show up. he said he wasn't going to come to the -- he said he wasn't going to come to the debate. so i came out until he's ready. >> what an articulate man. anyway, charlie crist, that was a clown act by him. much more on the fan and what it means for the race in florida. that's going to be with your round table. plus hillary clinton hits the campaign trail in kentucky with a preview of coming attractions, i think. and alison lundergan grimes still won't say whether she voted for obama. you're watching "hardball," the place for politics. of "the washington post." dana, thanks for coming on tonight. temperature of those people coming in from west africa. >> who are asking her who she voted for. she hasn't said. >> answer my question of the day. >> people don't want president obama on the campaign trail, unfortunately. he is not going out there campaigning. and she is one of them. and that's a sad thing. let me tell you something. grimes is in a state where they love health care reform, but they don't think it's obama care. so that's telling right there. and she is -- >> let me go back to what you said before without feeding the lion here, you, the lioness. obama lost the white vote in kentucky the last time around by 49 points. that's got to be more than partisan differences. >> that's racial. it's partisan. it's a lot of things. >> let's take a look at how grimes is handling this. she has been a fiery, exciting campaigner. last night campaigning with grimes, quick to point out kentucky is clinton friendly country. >> thousands of kentuckians that have come together. i do believe that kentucky is clinton country. >> well, secretary clinton later acknowledged her history in this state which she carried by 36 points in the 2008 primary. also one of those votes was from alison lundergan grimes. >> kentucky has been good to me and to my husband in the past. i will never forget the time i spent crisscrossing the state in 2008. i still smile when i think of that bottle of makers mark. i dipped into the red wax at a distillery in loretto. and i still remember the faith and support that so many here gave to me. >> this is like nothing has happened since. >> that's right. >> 2008 and the primary in kentucky. the wound and the scab has been ripped off. we're right back to white working class people for clintons, african americans for obama. liberal whites better educated for obama. 60s crowd like me fo. >> there is the clinton south and the obama south. we saw that in 2008. a state like georgia is more the obama state. apparently the clintons have -- the clintons don't seem to be ready to pick up on that obama coalition. they seem ready to pick up on expanding the party. >> moving on is hard. but i don't think alison grimes is helping herself by not answering the question. i mean, now it's gone too far. she might as well stick it out. she is not making herself look good short-term or long-term. >> we don't know because she won't tell us who she voted for. >> you know. >> i have no idea. i don't really care. >> make a tv series about you. either one. because i don't know. the round table is staying with us. we're having the clairvoyant staying with us. when we come back, the hottest race in the country just got hotter. actually, the fan cooled it off a little. this is about a fan, the charlie crist fan. this is "hardball," the place for politics. but your erectile dysfunction-that could be a question of blood flow. cialis for daily use helps you be ready anytime the moment is right. you can be more confident in your ability to be ready. and the same cialis is also the only daily ed tablet approved to treat symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently or urgently. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions 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race is all tied up between charlie crist and rick scott. it's at 44-44 right now. but florida is not the only state with a deadlocked governor's race. look at georgia, where the grandson of the former president and nathan deal are tied at 46. that's the second pole in a row to show the race absolutely tied. the former president's grandson is making a big push now down in georgia. finally to wisconsin, the race is dead even. the governor and the democrat mary burke. that's why little things matter. they're all dead even. we'll be right back. we're back with our round table april ryan, nia-malika henderson. as i mentioned earlier, when former florida governor charlie crist was on this show, current governor rick scott is no fan of fans. last night on one of the strangest starts to a political debate in recent memory, if ever, scott, the governor, refused to take the stage for a long time because crist insists on keeping a fan near his lectern to keep him cool. the governor eventually emerged from backstage nearly seven minutes later. the heat in the debate reflects the competitiveness of one of the tight esterases in the country this year. recent polls show scott and crist running even at 44%. ruth, what do you make of this? >> do you need a metaphor for the state of our politics? and just how bad things are, how trivial, how petty? >> give me motive. you're a political expert. why would a governor make an issue about a guy who for whatever reason, he sweat taos much, whatever, has a little fan under him during the debate? >> he wants to make crist look like crist is being too fussy about the way things are. >> yeah. >> but i just absolutely believe he is the one who made himself look that. it was the most awkward moment in debates. you remember that time hen the power or the sound went out during the ford-carter debate, and they just stood there and couldn't even bring themselves to talk to each other? there is something wrong in the state of our politics. >> not exactly real spontaneity there. why do you think he did it? and who wins this thing? can you tell? >> i think crist wins. i think crist affinity for fans is well-known. >> among us. because we see him in person. but i don't think -- we call him the man. >> the man with the tan and the fan and the plan. >> maybe it's not known amongst the general voter, and that was probably scott's idea, that he was going to let him know. >> the fan. >> he was going to out him on the fan, make him seem like a bit of a diva. a lot of his press people are now saying him and his precious fan. >> i'm looking at that look. yes, you know why? it's on the show tonight. it's 44%. when it's 44 dead even, and it's a photo finish, this little squat matters. >> it does. >> somebody is going to say i don't like this guy. this guy is a geek for doing this. and the other is going to say why is he bullying this guy? >> this is the fourth largest state in our nation. and they've got issues down there with immigration. they have trade issues down there. they have a lot of issues down there. and are you going to fight over a fan? it's stupid. >> or watch the debate. we didn't start it. >> it was seven minutes of waiting for a fan. >> whose fault is it? >> why do you always want to put me in that position? >> because charlie -- here is my fan. the other guy said i'm not coming on the stage until you get rid of the fan. somebody started the fight. >> the people of that state deserve to hear the issues, not the fighting about the fan. >> so the governor was wrong? >> you heard me what i said. >> i love the way you're partisan in a nonpartisan form. ruth marcus, thank you, april, and nia-malika henderson, as always. when we return, let me finish with the october surprise that threatens to be the november game changer. we have a tough election coming up this fall. you can see it in the polling numbers. the one lesson we learn again and again that it matters who is elect, whether it's a small suburb missouri or the american presidency. if you have not registered to vote, do it. if you have not made definite plans to get to the poll, get it planned, get yourself organized or don't complain about the direction of this country. nobody's vote is more important than yours, unless you don't show up. then everybody's vote is more important than yours. let me finish tonight with this wild stuff that happens in campaigns at the 11th hour. things happen. the calendar doesn't stop flipping just because a certain percentage of the people haven't decided who to vote for. events don't cease to occur because the deadline for deciding is coming on strong. but here we are with some election campaigns so close in appeal or lack of appeal that the littlest episode is able to throw the whole thing in one direction. this says less about the importance of the episode than it does about the razor sharp closeness of the polls right now heading into election day. so it shouldn't have surprised us that a candidate in kentucky refusing to say who she voted for for president would at least carry some sway, or a candidate down in florida who likes to have a little fan cooling him during televised appearances that that too could turn into a topic of debate. what is really going to be turning the minds of voters i think now is this emerging fact of ebola. it's real. it's lethal. and it's here. remember that old political slogan, all politics is local? first we were told that ebola is unlikely to come here to the united states. and then it came. then we're told it's hard to contract it. now we have a couple of people who have contracted it. and then we were told that the people exposed to ebola would be kept out of circulation. and now we've been told that even after a conversation with the cdc, a victim has been flying up and down the country. well, someone called this the october surprise. at the rate the ebola surprises are coming, it's going to be a november game-changer. and that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "all in with chris hayes" starts now. >> tonight on "all in." >> travel restrictions or bans. >> i recommended a quarantine in the infected region. >> ebola hearing as republicans line up to call for a travel ban, some are accusing the government of hiding the truth about the disease. then, bill o rye o'riley and joan stuart go head-to-head. tonight, we'll tell you the real story of levittown. >> we go back to florida as rick scott hits the fan. >> we have been told that governor scott will not be participating in this debate.