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Tracking Voting Irregularities; The Man Who Would Be Speaker; Another Military Shooting in Virginia; CNN Equals Politics Update; The Help Desk; What's Hot

Aired November 02, 2010 - 11:59   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour.

Hello, again, everyone. I'm Tony Harris in the CNN NEWSROOM, where anything can happen. Here are some of the people behind today's top stories.

The battle for control of Congress comes down to your vote today. We are tracking the crucial elections and what a change in the balance of power could mean for the economy and your future.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think you compromise on the values.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think compromise is a part of politics and it depends what you choose to compromise on.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm OK with it as long as they get done what they need to get done.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I elected someone based on their principals, they should stick by them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If somebody just sticks to their gun, nobody's gun is perfect.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: OK, you are online right now. We are, too. Jacqui is following "What's Hot" for us -- Jacqui.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey there, Tony. If your political candidate could choose a superpower, what would it be? The ability to fly? Maybe Spiderman's web-slinging powers? Or how about the invisible man or woman?

Kind of fun to think about it. Off beat poll getting attention, political poll, on AOL.com. That's hot right now on the Internet.

HARRIS: That is offbeat.

All right, Jacqui. Appreciate it.

Let's get started with our lead story. It is decision day in America. After a long, bitter and expensive campaign, voters across the country are heading to the polls in the hotly-contested midterm election. Republicans and Democrats fighting for control of Congress.

Polls and pundits predicting big gains for the GOP. President Obama's name is not on the ballot, but many consider the election a referendum on his presidency so far.

We are keeping our eyes on reports of problems at polling stations across the country. Josh is covering the Voting Irregularity Desk for us.

Josh, what are you hearing?

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Tony. I've got something new for you here. This has just come in.

You know, what we're doing throughout the day is we're tracking these reports as they come in. If you're having a problem at a polling site, we want to know all about it. We have got a crack team that's making all sorts of calls, that's doing research, talking to officials.

This is what has just come in from our affiliate at KSTU. They're telling us that they're having polling machine problems, reports of polling machine problems, at 250 different locations in Utah County.

Apparently, it involves these programmable cards that are being used, and it could be making some problems at these polling machines, and then leading to lots of long lines. We're making calls on that right now.

But I will tell you, big picture, as we look at some video here of people voting, I've got to say, overall, not too shabby so far today. We are not hearing a lot of reports of major problems. We're not hearing a lot of people say that they've been disenfranchised.

We have had some reports here and there of things that went wrong that were small, and that election officials went quickly to fix it. One example is something that happened yesterday out of Virginia. And this is our affiliate, WAVY.

WAVY reports something that happened yesterday. This woman was trying to cast a ballot early, and the machine kept giving the wrong name.

She was trying to cast a ballot for a Democratic candidate. It kept showing her the Republican candidate's name.

So what they said was they took that machine out, apparently, and machines have been recalibrated. And as you just saw there, they are encouraging people there to use cotton swabs instead of fingers because cotton swabs are so specific, and they're actually handing out cotton swabs, Tony, to people there. There's one more that I'll mention, because it's the kind that we're looking at today. This is out of North Carolina.

In New Hanover County, there were some precincts that gave out wrong ballots. And they tell us. We talked to the officials.

They gave out the wrong ballots in two House districts there. If you're in the area, House Districts 18 and 16. So, if, in the end, the number of ballots that could be a problem is bigger than the margin of victory, then they might have to do a re-vote there.

But, still, Tony, big picture, I've got to say, overall, as you pointed out, millions of people voting today. We're not hearing about massive protests in the streets or hanging chads or other kinds of things that could be disastrous.

And we want to hear from you. So go ahead and keep those messages coming. You're weighing in like crazy at my Facebook and Twitter pages, JoshLevsCNN. That's the blog, CNN.com/Josh.

And as though that's not enough, we have an iReport assignment for you. Send pictures, photos, videos, whatever you experience. This is America doing one thing, being the democracy that we are, and it's all about making sure those votes count.

HARRIS: Wonderful. From hanging chads to Q-tips, that's progress.

All right, Josh. Appreciate it. Thank you.

LEVS: Thanks, Tony. You got it.

HARRIS: The midterms will decide the balance of power in Congress, and Republicans hope to take control from Democrats. Experts say Republicans are likely to take the House.

Here's where things stand right now.

The GOP needs a net gain of 39 seats. The bigger question is, what happens in the Senate? And this is the current breakdown. Republicans need 10 seats to take charge there.

Highlighting the high-stakes battle for control of Congress, the man waiting in the wings to be House Speaker, and the tough fight facing the Senate majority leader. Democrat Harry Reid is battling for his political survival in a tight race against Republican and Tea Party candidate Sharron Angle. During the campaign, he labeled her an "extremist."

Angle says Reid hasn't done enough to fix Nevada's troubled economy. The state has the highest unemployment and foreclosure rates in the nation.

Now to the man who would be Speaker. Minority Leader John Boehner is ready and waiting if Republicans win control of the House.

CNN's Carol Costello joining us from Boehner's home district in West Chester, Ohio.

Carol, good to see you.

Has John Boehner voted yet, and is he making any predictions?

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Why, yes, Tony. Yes to both questions.

John Boehner was here around 9:30 Eastern this morning, and he did cast a vote, presumably for himself. And yes, if you're wondering if he's expecting to be Speaker of the House, I would give that a great big yes.

We caught up with him after he cast his ballot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R), MINORITY LEADER: We've got a big job to do today.

COSTELLO: Are you confident though?

BOEHNER: We have been at this election for, you know, the better part of nine months, and if you look at the races around the country, I think we have a real opportunity to win the majority, and hopefully my colleagues will elect me Speaker.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: As you see, he's feeling pretty positive today, Tony.

Reporters did shout out a question. "If you become Speaker of the House, what are you going to do for your district?" And he simply said, "I'm going to follow the Constitution."

As he was walking away, he was accosted by a voter, and I believe that voter was a Democrat, somehow affiliated with Boehner's opponent, who doesn't have a chance to win, by the way. But the voter said, "What are you going to do for your constituency when you become Speaker of the House?" He said, "I would serve them honorably." He got into his car and he zipped away.

I did get a chance to talk to a few people who cast ballots here. Some of them were jazzed to vote. Others, they voted just because it was their duty. But listen to what some of what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So how excited were you to vote?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love to vote. It's my favorite thing. I love Election Day. He calls me an election geek, so I love to vote.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At this point, I'm not sure anything will calm it down in Washington. There's a bunch of turmoil and everybody keeps fighting instead of working together. COSTELLO: Are you hopeful, though?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Always hopeful.

COSTELLO: What results do you want to see?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would like to see our current administration at least have a chance to do something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Everyone had some differing opinions there, Tony.

Of course the governor's race here is very tight. President Obama has visited the state of Ohio since being elected, what, 12 times, twice in the last two weeks? Vice President Joe Biden has been here. President Clinton has been here.

They're trying to get Democrats enthusiastically to go to the polls so that they can get the Democratic candidate for governor, Ted Strickland, voted in again. It's a very tight race.

Analysts tell me that if Democrats don't go to the polls in droves in places like Cuyahoga County, up near Cleveland, and get that African-American vote out, that maybe Ted Strickland will lose to John Kasich. And if you remember, just four years ago, Ted Strickland won with 60 percent of the vote.

HARRIS: That's right. Boy, Ohio again so important.

Carol Costello for us.

Carol, good to see you. Thanks.

Join CNN and "The Best Political Team on Television" for "Election Night in America." We will bring you up-to-the-minute election results, plus insight and analysis of the crucial midterm races. Coverage begins tonight at 7:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.

And we have some new information on a story we've been following this morning. Police are investigating a report of shots fired at a Coast Guard recruiting station. That would be in Woodbridge, Virginia.

Brian Todd joining us on the phone.

Brian, what are you hearing? What are you learning?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Tony, the police are telling us this has all the characteristics of at least four previous shootings at military buildings in the Washington area. Those characteristics are that this happened overnight, according to police, that no one was injured in this shooting like the previous four.

And one interesting thing that does fit the characteristics of at least three of the previous shootings, the two at the Marine Corps Museum and the one at the Pentagon, is that this is very near the highway that runs up to Washington and northern Virginia, the 395 Highway. This building, not quite as close to the highway as the two other buildings, but it is near enough to be certainly in that corridor. So, this does apparently fit the pattern of the previous shootings in the Washington area.

They say this happened overnight. No one injured. At least one bullet hit the glass of the U.S. Coast Guard recruiting center here in Woodbridge. It did not penetrate the glass.

We did observe though FBI officials and police officers looking at a hole that was right near the door frame. So, there could have been more than one shot fired. But police are not saying how many shots were fired -- Tony.

HARRIS: Brian, in last week's incident at the National Marine Corps Museum, the FBI went to great lengths in its news conference after that incident to essentially provide something of a profile of the suspect they were looking for. To your knowledge, has that information led them in any directions where they would be getting closer to a suspect in this case?

TODD: Well, it has led them to try to make contact with that person or persons. What they've said about this person, he or she, they believe, has some kind of grievance --

HARRIS: Yes.

TODD: -- against the Marine Corps, but not necessarily against the people serving in the Marine Corps. Now, if that's the case, this shooting today may not fit that pattern.

This is a Coast Guard recruiting station. Is it a case of the shooter trying to throw people off the trail? That's really early to tell that about that. But, yes, it has led authorities to try to make contact with that person, to potentially address whatever grievance he or she may have to try to get them to come in and talk to authorities. So, yes, that is exactly what they're trying to do.

HARRIS: Yes.

OK. Brian Todd for us.

Brian, appreciate it. Thank you.

Money, money, money, issue number one, the driving issue in this election.

First, though, our "Random Moment" gets political in 90 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Vice President Joe Biden headed to the polls in Wilmington, Delaware. The Senate race there will decide who gets his old seat. Republican Christine O'Donnell is in a race against Democrat Chris Coons for that seat. O'Donnell voted in Wilmington this morning.

Floridians are heading to the polls right now to choose their next governor, one U.S. Senator, and their representatives in the House.

CNN's David Mattingly is live at a polling station in Plantation, Florida, just outside of Fort Lauderdale, talking with voters about their choices and what's driving those choices.

David, good to see you.

No surprise the economy is top of mind for Florida voters right now.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Tony. If you've lost your job or if you've lost your house, have it foreclosed on, then you're very motivated to go to the polls, looking for some kind of change, some sort of different direction. And there are a lot of people in Florida in that very particular situation -- 11.9 percent unemployment, among the highest in the nation, the second highest rate of mortgage foreclosures here in the United States as well.

So, add those two together, and you've got a bubbling pot of trouble for any party that might be in power. And that spells trouble here in Florida and nationally for the Democrats, because what we're seeing in Florida is happening in other parts of the country as well.

What this has done has allowed the Republicans in some of the major races, both in the Senate race and in the governor's race, to run very strong, not only against their Democratic opponents, but against Barack Obama, being able to capitalize on that dissatisfaction, being able to position themselves in a position to win. And we're looking at very strong races tonight in the Senate race.

Marco Rubio, a Republican running very strong there. Also, Rick Scott, in the governor's race, a very, very close race there that could go pretty late tonight with Alex Sink, the Democrat in that race.

So, Tony, it's all about the economy here in Florida. They've still got it worse. That economic upturn hasn't quite reached here yet with the mortgages.

They've also seen an increase in unemployment. It actually went up in the month of September. So that's going to be something very hard for anyone in a statewide race to try to explain away.

HARRIS: Absolutely.

All right. David Mattingly for us.

David, good to see you. Thank you. Got to tell you something. After the elections are over today, is there anything Congress can do between now and January to create more jobs?

Christine Romans joining us from New York.

Christine, look, you're charged with fixing the economy, right, and getting jobs going in America? And oh, by the way, you can't spend any more money to do it. So what do you do?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's interesting, because the lame duck Congress will have an awful lot of work to do about tax cuts, Tony, the estate tax, extension of jobless benefits. Instead of talking about creating jobs, they're talking about making sure there's a salve for the wounds of those who don't have jobs anymore and spending money.

So, you're right, what is the next Congress to do when it's got the handcuffs of fiscal restraint on, at the same time as trying to make sure not to pull back the spending and hurt the economy? It's a tough call, and even many Republicans are saying while they know that fiscal restraint and deficits are a big concern on the campaign trail, that they want to be careful as well about just when you sort of take the punch bowl away from the party, I guess, if you will, to try to get things going again.

You know, it's interesting, Tony, because earlier today, I heard a big money manager say we're all talking about the elections, but the entity that will create jobs before anyone else is the Federal Reserve meeting today and tomorrow, deciding whether to pump a bunch more money in the economy. People in the markets are looking toward the Fed, an unelected body, mind you, that doesn't speak to Congress or the executive branch, will be doing -- most likely pulling in a whole bunch of bonds and getting money back into the economy and trying to create jobs that way.

But, Tony, no question that the economy --

HARRIS: Yes.

ROMANS: -- issue number one. And we polled people. I'm sure you've seen this.

Fifty-two percent say this is the number one issue facing them. Deficit, number two. Taxes, number three. Mortgages, eight percent.

So, all that, in my mind, is still the economy. Inflation -- I mean, there's an awful lot here that people are concerned about.

And when asked the most important economic problem, unemployment, Tony, 9.6 percent. That is the number one number that will be important here today and into next year, that unemployment rate, 9.6 percent, Tony. It's been really difficult for this White House.

HARRIS: OK. So, Christine, let's drill down on this.

ROMANS: Sure.

HARRIS: Again, in this lame duck session and in the next Congress, your job is to get this economy going and to get jobs going again in this country. And you cannot -- because the deficit hawks are out -- you cannot spend any more money. Stimulus, the idea of stimulus, it's off the table.

Will you explain to folks, based on the people that you've talked to, your sources, explain to folks how pulling America off the punch bowl too early might be a problem for the economy?

ROMANS: It might be a problem for the economy because you've got a recovery that is weaker than many people had hoped and would want. And they don't want to pull stimulus. They don't want to pull money back too quickly.

And that's going to play into the debate over whether to extend the Bush tax cuts. Do you have a tax hike? Do you reel in those tax cuts at a time when it could hurt the economy?

All of this is still up in play. And I will tell you something. There are economists who say you need to be spending more money here.

Economists like Joe Stiglitz, who is a Nobel Prize winner, and others who said you need to be spending a lot more money here, not talking about pulling spending in. But if the Republicans have more of a say in Washington, and they won on a platform of fiscal conservatism, what is that going to mean about where we go from here?

What we do know, Tony, is all of this is politics. All of this is about politics and not necessarily policy. Over at the Fed, they're making some tough choices and are going to try some new, sort of unconventional things to try to get the economy -- there is still stimulus happening, and it's coming from the Fed, regardless of what happen on the fiscal side.

HARRIS: You could be very smart and make significant cuts, and to reduce government spending and also hurt the economy in the process, correct?

ROMANS: Yes, but, you know, getting away waste and mismanagement in government is something that every single party always says it's going to do and they never do. Right?

HARRIS: Right.

ROMANS: Having fiscal restraint is something everyone always promise to do and they never do. Right?

So now we're coming to a point here where you've got to address these things. And is there going to be cooperation or is there going to be gridlock? That's just what we don't know yet. And you have to have cooperation, not gridlock, to get these problems solved.

HARRIS: This is good stuff. Christine, appreciate it. Thank you. ROMANS: Sure.

HARRIS: The choices we have to make in the future.

Thank you, Christine.

According to CNN analysts, there are about 100 races in play in the House of Representatives today. But how many seats are there in total? In total in the House?

Is it A, 425; B, 435; C, 445 -- we've got a range here -- or D, 450? The answer in 90 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK. So how did you do on our quiz? You aced it, right? Right?

OK. We asked, "How many seats are there in the House of Representatives?" The correct answer is B. Everyone on the floor crew sans one got the answer correct.

Four hundred thirty-five. Each member of the House is elected for a two-year term.

(NEWSBREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: President Obama is stumping for Dems in his own way today, but it is not on the campaign trail.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Decision day in America. In addition to control of Congress, 37 governors' races are being decided today.

In Texas, candidate Bill White campaigns in the rain in Houston. He faces Republican Governor Rick Perry.

The 2010 election will go down as the most expensive midterm in history. The Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan watchdog, says almost $4 billion have been spent. That tops 2006, the previous most expensive midterm, by $1 billion. The center says there are two reasons for the big increase -- more competitive races and last spring's Supreme Court decision that allows groups to spend willy- nilly, really, on political advertising.

There will be no shortage of President Obama on this Election Day. He is not on the campaign trail, but he is all over the airwaves.

CNN White House Correspondent Dan Lothian joining us live from the White House.

And Dan, what are we hearing from the president today? DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. You know, Tony, you pointed out that you couldn't turn on the radio this morning anywhere across the country and not hear the president. What we're hearing from him, two themes on all of these shows that he has been on.

First of all, he's trying to push Americans to get out to the polls, really believing that if they can get big numbers like they saw in 2008, the Democrats can do well in this midterm election.

The second thing is that the president is making very clear to listeners out there what is at stake in this midterm election. Take a listen.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is such a critical election because we're living in a huge moment of change in this country. I mean, we've gone through two of the toughest years we've had since the Great Depression, a huge financial crisis, a very bad recession. And, you know, despite that, I think I am optimistic about this country because of young people, because of their energy, because of their enthusiasm, because of their ideas. But none of that will make a difference if they're not participating.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

LOTHIAN: Tony, one of the things that the president has been stressing as well is that he understands that frustration out there from Americans who are out of work, who can't pay for their mortgages or have lost their homes. But what he is trying and asking them to do is give Democrats a chance to finish the work that they've already started.

HARRIS: Hey, Dan, just a quick question for you. I meant to ask in last hour, just ran out of time.

Have you given any thought, talked and sort of canvassed the people who are your contacts on your beat as to how the president moves forward, how the president governs starting in January?

LOTHIAN: Well, you know, that's one of the things that top aides here don't want to talk about, because they want to see what the numbers look like before they start talking about the "What if?" and the "What next?"

One thing we can say is that the president has been very clear about the next two years and what he needs in order to move his agenda forward, and how difficult that will be if Republicans don't come along and help him out. And so, clearly, there will be some difficulty, and everyone realizes that there is going to have to be some compromise. Both sides are going to have to be able to look at things that they both agree on and can compromise on in order to get anything moving forward.

The second thing that you hear a lot of talk about is, will there be a shakeup in this White House? But I think, you know, what would they shake up?

We've already seen that the economic team has been essentially turned upside down. The chief of staff left, the national security adviser has been replaced. So, there have been a lot of major changes that have already taken place, but that will be something that we'll be watching very closely, depending on what happens tonight.

HARRIS: OK. And Dan, the president holding a news conference about this time tomorrow, right?

LOTHIAN: That's right, 1:00 in the East Room. The president will have a news conference.

This will be the first time that we'll get reaction from the president to the midterm elections. And, you know, this White House obviously wants to deal with whatever the questions are, whatever the results are tomorrow, before the president heads overseas on this 10- day Asia trip, hopefully try to sort of blunt some of the questions that could follow him there.

Nonetheless, whatever happens, the president will be dealing with the fallout from the election for months to come.

HARRIS: Oh, yes. No doubt.

Dan Lothian at the White House for us. Good to see you, Dan. Thank you. Watch CNN tonight as the final numbers come in. Our special election coverage begins at 7:00 p.m. Eastern time.

Politicians, as you know, beat up on the bank bailout this campaign season. For many politicians, it was the worst decision ever.

What would you say if I told you the bank bailout has made taxpayers a nice profit?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: All right. Jack, let's get everyone to our favorite financial Web site for the latest financial news. Here you go. CNNmoney.com. And this is the lead story. "Stocks climb." It's a nice little rally today as voters head to the polls. Bank stocks, political gridlock.

And this is forecasting Republicans taking control of the House. It probably makes it less likely there would be any regulatory action that might impact the financial sector. That's why banks would be happy with political gridlock.

Let's get you to the New York Stock Exchange, the Big Board. We are in positive territory. We have been throughout the day. Up 68 points. Check the NASDAQ here, three hours into the trading day, and we are positive, as well. Up 19 points.

Got to tell you, as Americans head to the polls today, anger over the Wall Street bailout still pretty fresh. Poppy Harlow is joining us now from New York. Poppy, politicians, as you know, and I listen to endlessly from that chair over there, railed against the bailout.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Right. They took them on full force. You know, it's been amazing to watch the campaign ads across the country in the past few weeks. It's been this populous theme, bashing the banks. But when you think about it, Tony, the bank bailout was two years ago. But the anger among Main Street America is really at a fever pitch.

Our question to people, is it justified? Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: When greedy Wall Street fat cats got taxpayers to bail them out, John Salazar voted no.

JOE COURTNEY, CONNECTICUT CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: The big banks and hedge funds that crashed our economy begging for our tax dollars went against everything I believe in, so I voted no.

ANNOUNCER: The bailout for Wall Street millionaires? Wilson voted yes.

MICHELE BACHMANN (R), MINNESOTA CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE, That's why I fought and voted against the Bush Wall Street bailout.

HARLOW (voice-over): Bashing the bank bailout is a pretty popular political tool across the country right now.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We all hated the bank bailout. It was about as popular as a root canal.

HARLOW: But, guess what? it looks like American taxpayers actually made out pretty handsomely on it.

NEIL BAROFSKY, SPECIAL INSPECTOR GENERAL, T.A.R.P.: Certainly this worked for Wall Street. I don't think there's any question. They achieved a level of stability. Profits have returned. Bonuses seem to be ever increasing. There's been paybacks.

HARLOW: According to Bloomberg News calculations, the government has reaped a profit of more than $25 billion so far on the $309 billion poured in to save the nation's banks and insurance companies. But that doesn't exactly resonate on Main Street.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My opinion on the bank bailout, it should never have happened.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where is the $25 billion? Where is it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's wrong. It seems like they're getting off with stealing everything and just not paying people back.

HARLOW (on camera): But they're actually paying us back, and we're making money on it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are we?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, the executives in New York City down on Wall Street are getting paid handsomely. But for the unemployment rate, Joe Public, where's the money?

HARLOW: In fact, any profits go back to treasury to pay down the deficit, but there are other costs.

COLIN BARR, SENIOR WRITER, FORTUNE.COM: Maybe we made a profit in a kind of narrow sense, but we've done so many things to support the banks. Everything the government has done for the last two years has been in favor of the banks, cutting the interest rates and all the support that they gave the banks.

BAROFSKY: There's the cost of moral hazard, of increasing concentration, too big to fail. And there's been a real cost to this program in government credibility.

HARLOW: And even though the banks are undoubtedly healthier, their perception problem is getting worse. JD Powers' latest poll shows small businesses' satisfaction with their banks is declining. With the nation's three biggest banks, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Citibank faring the worst.

BARR: When you think about what the banks are doing, the banks are not lending. The banks are getting bigger, and the big banks -- they don't care about small community in rural Idaho. That's not what they're after.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With Wall Street, I don't know. It's probably never going to change.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: All right. So, you feel it there, Tony, on Main Street. They think Wall Street is not going to change. But look, in dollars and cents, people need to know going to the polls, the banks have mainly paid us back for T.A.R.P. plus $25 billion in profit. That's the initial reading, it's not the final reading. That's what it looks like.

But you know where they failed in what the special inspector for T.A.R.P. that you heard from in that story? They failed in helping Main Street in the sense that the housing program was not a big success. They spent a billion dollars to aid Americans in terms of the foreclosure crisis. They have $45 billion left on the table to spend to help the housing crisis, and I think the big question is, where is the aid for Main Street. But the bank bashing heading into this election interesting when you look at the dollars and cents of it.

HARRIS: Wow. Can you imagine the conversation we would be having if this program had lost $25 billion, and the banks still weren't --

HARLOW: I don't even want to know what it would have been like.

(LAUGHTER)

HARRIS: Poppy, appreciate it. Thank you.

He had to endure a marathon wait underground. Now, one of Chile's rescued miners wants to run the New York City Marathon on Sunday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Sandra Endo in Washington. Here are some of the top stories this hour.

Militant clerick Al-Awlaki is a wanted man in Yemen. He is being charged in abstentia (ph) for inciting to kill foreigners there. The American-born cleric also has been linked by U.S. authorities to the Fort Hood shooting suspect and the man accused of trying to blow up a plane last Christmas.

After suffering major losses because of the Gulf oil spill, BP is back in the black. The oil giant reports a profit of $1.8 billion in the third quarter.

And how about this? One of the rescued miners from Chile is going to be in Sunday's New York City marathon. Eddison (ph) Pena reportedly ran almost six miles every day in that tiny space where he and others were trapped. Race organizers invited him as a guest of honor, but then they found out, Tony, he really wanted to run it.

HARRIS: That is crazy good. All right. You got to live your life. Sandra, good to see you. Thank you. See you in a couple of minutes.

ENDO: Sure.

HARRIS: There's been a lot of -- let's call it what it is, hijinks on the campaign trail this election season. Hot mikes, bizarre attack ads, and some stand-out quotes. Some really stand-out quotes.

Which candidate said the following? "Another thing we can do for job security is make toys of me, especially for the holidays. Little dolls. Me. Like maybe little action dolls." Was it, A, Joe Miller of Alaska? B, Harry Reid of Nevada. C, Alvin Greene of South Carolina, or D, Christine O'Donnell of Delaware?

We will give you the answer in just a couple of minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Love this. OK, so who suggested making his own action figures as a way of creating job growth? Alvin Greene. He is the Democratic candidate for Senate in South Carolina. He wants to be a senator. And, yes, he really said that. He really did.

Finally, it is Election Day. The day American voters determine who controls Congress for the next two years. Paul Steinhauser, part of the best political team on television, joining me live from the political desk in New York.

And, Paul, if you would, what's crossing right now?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Tony, I love how you pronounce that, Steinhauser. You put a lot of oomph into it.

But, yes, let's talk about it. Hey, it's Election Day, right? So what is -- what's the key today? Get out the vote efforts. GOTV.

Check this out. Let's talk about Pennsylvania. Pat Toomey, former congressman there. He voted this morning. His is the Republican nominee in a Senate battle there. He is confident. He says that he's confident that his supporters are energized. This is a seat that's currently held by the Democrats. Republicans, they feel confident they can win this Senate seat away from the Democrats.

Let's talk about Delaware. The vice president back in his home state, Joe Biden, by voting earlier this morning. And the vice president was talking on the radio. He went on "The Tom Joyner Show," when he was talking about get out the vote efforts. Take a listen, Tony.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It just gets down to one thing. And I know you know it. It sounds so trite, but getting out our vote. And if our folks show up, we're going to do just fine. We're going to lose some seats, but I still think we can hang on to the Congress, hang on to the -- we'll keep the Senate. I still think we can hang on to the House of Representatives if we get a turnout. And that's what Barack and I need. We need a Congress that's not going to just go in and rip apart everything we've done so far.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: Let's go live to Los Angeles right now.

HARRIS: OK.

STEINHAUSER: This is Arnold Schwarzenegger, the governor out there in the golden state, Tony. He is talking to reports. Just a few minutes ago, Schwarzenegger voted. Remember, he is term limited. He is out of office at the end of the year. And there is a fight for his seat, of course, between Jerry Brown, the former governor who's a Democratic nominee, and Meg Whitman, the former chairman of eBay and a billionaire. A big, expensive and tough contest out there, Tony, to take Arnold's seat. HARRIS: Yes, absolutely.

All right. Are we going to listen to a little bit of Arnold or -- no, we're not. OK.

Paul, appreciate it. Boy, that's a good wrap.

All right, your next political update coming up at the top of the hour. And for the latest political news, let's just go to cnnpolitics.com. We're back in a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's time now for "The Help Desk," where we get answers to your financial questions. Joining me this hour, Carmen Wong Ulrich, she's a personal finance author, and John Ulzheimer is with credit.com.

All right, guys, thanks so much for being here. We've got a couple of questions for you. We start off with someone writing to us from Arizona. The question is, "I retired from my job and left my 401(k) with the company. I'm 66 and want to know where would be the best place to put my money since it has gone down each quarter?"

What do you think, Carmen?

CARMEN WONG ULRICH, PERSONAL FINANCE AUTHOR: Well, alarm bells for me are really going off because if you were -- every quarter you've seen your money go down, that's really suspect. Of course, in September, we saw the best September performance of the stock market since the 1930s. So your numbers should be going up. Something is out of whack here. And you're 66 and you're retired, so you need some help.

First, find out -- get some education. Go to your 401(k) administrator. Read up on the information they give to you as to what your options are because I can't see them, I don't know where you can put your money. And also, listen, financial planners are not just for folks with tons of money. They're for regular folks like you and me. So go to fpanet.org, find a fee only financial planner who can at least help you, at least one time, look over where your assets are and hopefully improve them. And the fee that you're going to pay is going to pay off through the future.

ELAM: Get that help out there. All right, our next question is coming from Abraham in Michigan. And he writes, "my mortgage is $160,000 and the house value is now $35,000. What are my options and what happens if I walk away from my home?"

This is a tough one, John.

JOHN ULZHEIMER, CREDIT.COM: Yes, this is a tough one. According to my math, his value of his home is 22 percent of the balance that he actually owes on the house. I would normally suggest right out of the gate trying to market the house for a short sale. The problem is, is I'm not sure that your lenders are going to accept 22 percent of the principle balance and call the loan paid in full.

It might be actually time to walk away from the house. You do not want to do things like break into your 401(k) to afford the payment, or borrow money from people to afford the payment and then just default six months later. I think the most eloquent way out of a bad mortgage like this is what's called forfeiture of deed in lue (ph) of foreclosure, which means you're essentially handing the keys back to your lender and leaving the house voluntarily.

If you're in a recourse state, there's a chance they may come after you for the deficiency balance, maybe not. If you're in a nonrecourse state, then you're going to be clean. It is going to have an impact on your credit for up to seven years, because that's how long the default is going to last. But you can definitely rebuild if you do everything right over the next 36 to 48 months.

ELAM: All right, John and Carmen, thank you for the information here.

Of course, if you're out there watching and you have a question you want to get answered, send us an e-mail any time to cnnhelpdesk@cnn.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK, so we don't have time to be cute and funny and we know how much you look forward to that in what's --

JACQUI JERAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're always cute and funny.

HARRIS: But we've got to blast through a lot of video here. Jacqui.

JERAS: We do. Yes, a lot of things, "What's Hot." We've been talking a lot of politics today.

HARRIS: Yes.

JERAS: But we've got a couple other stories that we want to bring you. On cnn.com right now, you know, we've all kind of passed that love note in class maybe?

HARRIS: Oh, yes, yes, yes. Oh, yes.

JERAS: But what about during a jury trial? Yes, you may have heard of this case in Connecticut.

HARRIS: Yes, this is ridiculous.

JERAS: It's a horrible, sad case.

HARRIS: Right. Right, right.

JERAS: You know the family that was basically murdered in a home invasion.

HARRIS: Right.

JERAS: And this guy is --

HARRIS: And now in the penalty phase.

JERAS: Right, penalty phase. Whether or not he's going to get the death penalty or not.

HARRIS: Death, right.

JERAS: And one of the alternate jurors decides to pass a love note to another juror, who then passes it to the court-martial.

HARRIS: Focus on the -- focus on the job, right?

JERAS: Focus on the job, not on the good looking marshal.

HARRIS: And the woman in the jury is trying to get a date.

JERAS: Trying to get a date. Wanted to meet him for dinner on Sunday apparently. Yes, she got a very stern scolding from the judge, but she remains on the case.

HARRIS: You got to believe it. OK.

JERAS: All right. This one, we've been talking about Charlie Sheen for, what, a week now?

HARRIS: Yes, yes, yes. Yes.

JERAS: You know, just had his little deal at the hotel there.

HARRIS: Right.

JERAS: So now he's officially filed for divorce from Brooke Mueller. You might remember that Sheen was arrested last December from a little domestic abuse case there.

HARRIS: He filed?

JERAS: He filed.

HARRIS: She needed to file and get the heck --

JERAS: And said that it's been over for a long time.

HARRIS: OK. Yes.

JERAS: Exactly, yes.

Now, OK, this one's a fun one. "People" magazine, you know they put out their top list of the sexiest men alive and they've been doing it.

HARRIS: Right, right, right. Right. JERAS: Well, for their 25th anniversary this year, they're combing with FaceBook, asking people who's the sexiest man alive? Not just how good they look, but also how much they interact with their fans on FaceBook.

HARRIS: OK. OK. OK.

JERAS: So they picked five people, Chad Ochocinco, Pauly D, Vin Diesel and Ricky Iglesias and Isaiah Mustafa. That's the Old Spice guy.

HARRIS: The Old Spice guy. Yes, yes, yes.

JERAS: Yes, so you can go ahead --

HARRIS: OK, so you can, what, vote online or something?

JERAS: You can vote online. And, yes, see there's a little button. Vote now who you like.

HARRIS: Perfect. Perfect. Perfect.

JERAS: I'm kind of medium on all of them, by the way.

HARRIS: OK.

JERAS: You know who I like? Right there. Sexiest man alive on FaceBook. How about that?

HARRIS: Vote early and often. We're back in a moment. Vote now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: So, here we are. It is Election Day. The culmination of months of, what, pundits, strategists, talking points, some pretty nutty ads from time to time. You know, amid all the noise, it gets to be pretty easy to lose sight of what elections are really about. They are about shaping what this country is and setting a course for the future. So on the program we've been telling you for the last few weeks now we want to get back to the basics, core values. So we're asking you to help us answer one simple question -- what does America mean to you?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My America is --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The land of opportunity.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Having your dream and being able to realize it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My America is in transition.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now, my America is a little bit off track. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very opinionated.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My America is a country that opens to the world.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'd like to see all of us kind of feeling like it's my America.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Gives us opportunity to share our experiences, our beliefs.