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Republicans Make Huge Gains in Congress; President Obama Speaks Out on Election Defeats; It's Not Over in Alaska; Where the Tea Party Goes Now; How Might President Obama Fare With One House in His Favor?

Aired November 03, 2010 - 16:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And let's keep this thing rolling, shall we? I want to welcome to the men and the women watching us right now on American Forces Network all around the world. We're going to hit you fast this hour. Let's go.

First, of course, we were just talking about this. President Obama is saying a whole lot today just this past afternoon. He's talking about the party losing the House -- quote -- he said, "It feels bad." Republicans now majority in the House, but Democrats are still in control of the Senate. And, like Wolf mentioned, the president seems -- Wolf's word was sad. Another word would be reflective. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: this is something that I think every president needs to go through, because the -- you know, the responsibilities of this office are so enormous and so many people are depending on what we do, and in the rush of activity sometimes we lose track of -- you know, the -- the ways that we connected with folks that got us here in the first place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Now, the president did reject the notion that his policies are moving in the wrong direction.

Next, the president will be seeing a whole lot of this guy. So will you, current House Minority Leader John Boehner expected to become speaker of the House when the Republicans officially take control in January.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: Let me just say this. It's clear tonight who the winners really are, and that's the American people.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

BOEHNER: I have spent my whole life chasing the American dream.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) (END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Got a little emotional. Soon after the speech, Boehner got a call from the president. Here's the picture as he was talking to him. This was taken from the White House. And we're told the conversation was brief, but pleasant.

Next, it wasn't all so bad for the Democrats. They still have the majority in the Senate. And the Senate majority leader, Nevada's Harry Reid, still in charge. He beat Tea Party favorite Sharron Angle to hold on to his seat and he's now looking forward to working with Republicans. That's what he's saying today, perhaps on one of President Obama's most controversial initiatives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MAJORITY LEADER: The health care bill is very important. I wish the Republicans had worked with us when we did the health care bill. If there's -- if there's some tweaking we need to do with the health care bill, I'm ready for some tweaking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Well, Reid is facing a new normal here in the Senate. We're used to seeing him walking arm-in-arm with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. But it will be read and the expected, presumed House Speaker John Boehner who will have to constantly meet.

Don't forget here, Senator Reid will have to deal with at least six more Republicans than he's used to in the Senate.

Next, one of those Republican senators, Kentucky's Rand Paul, there he is, one of the winners backed by the Tea Party movement. And Paul says a divided government, hey, not such a bad thing. The more debate will likely help the government save more money, smaller government, less spending, of course two of the Tea Party movement's biggest talking points.

Next, speaking of, the Tea Party movement's other big winner, Marco Rubio, in Florida, a huge crowd there. He clobbered Governor Charlie Crist, who switched sides, ran as an independent. Rubio says his Senate win gives the Republican Party a -- quote, unquote -- "second chance."

So, here are some of the questions he will be facing in the U.S. Senate. How will be Tea Party movement be represented in Congress, question one? And, question two, what specifically will he propose to cut in the budget? And let me sneak another question in. Will he spearhead efforts to repeal the health care bill? We will soon find out.

Next, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin backing dozens of candidates, including the winner of South Carolina's gubernatorial race. This is Republican Nikki Haley. She was one of the original mama grizzlies, according to Palin, and the first female governor in the state of South Carolina. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIKKI HALEY (R), SOUTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR-ELECT: Oh, this was people founding the power of their voice. It was people saying, we want government to remember who is it that they work for. We want government to know the value of the dollar. And we want jobs and the economy to come first. This was all about the people saying, we have had enough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Nikki Haley, I mentioned, backed by the Tea Party movement and including Sarah Palin, one of the original mama grizzlies.

Next, forget the politicians just for a second. I want to tell you about some pretty interesting ballot initiatives across the country. First, pot, marijuana, weed, whatever you want to call it, it's a no-go in California. Voters in California rejected Prop 19, which aimed to make recreational use, just an ounce of the stuff, they said, legal. Now, supporters said it would have supported revenue. Critics argue that, among other things, it would boost crime.

Next, believe it or not, in Rhode Island, the state's name -- the name was up for a vote. The formal name is the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Bet you didn't know that. It's on the state seal, many official documents. But some argue the word plantations make people think of the slave trade. Well, the majority of the voters didn't think so. They voted to keep the word.

Next, to Denver, we go. E.T. showed up on the ballot, as in extraterrestrials. Voters rejected a proposal that would have made the city pay for a commission to study UFOs and extraterrestrial aliens. Hang on. Under the initiative, residents would have been allowed to report UFO sightings on the city's Web site and blog about what they're seeing in the skies. Yes, 84 percent of voters said, not such a good idea.

Finally, this may not have been on the ballot, but a huge vote just took the happy out of the meal, the board of supervisors in San Francisco voting to ban McDonald's Happy Meals. I know, parents. You're thinking say it ain't so. Specifically here, the measure bans restaurants from offering a free toy with unhealthy meals.

Maybe you're in favor. Instead, chains would have to serve fruits, veggies with the toy. A final vote expected next week. And if it passes, San Francisco would become the country's first major city to enforce the rule. McDonald's calls the decision disappointing.

Got some new warnings for you about a deadly tropical depression, Tomas. We were talking about this yesterday, moving on through the Caribbean. Now Haiti is officially on alert. We're going to talk about that ahead.

Plus, the urgent manhunt under way for the persons -- person -- shooting at a couple of different military buildings in Washington, D.C.-Virginia area. Why can't the feds catch the shooter? And what might the next target be? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: We have another shooting at another military facility. This time, this was a Coast Guard recruiting station in Virginia. So, if you're keeping tally here, as we certainly are, this is five shootings, two weeks.

Homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve has new information.

Jeanne, I know the FBI have been doing some of these ballistic tests. What have they found?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, they have now conclusively linked this latest shooting at the Coast Guard recruiting station to four previous shootings. They started at the National Marine Museum in Quantico, Virginia. Then there was one at the Pentagon, a second one back at the Marine Museum, then one at a Marine recruiting station out in Chantilly, Virginia, and before this final shooting which was discovered on Tuesday morning at a Coast Guard recruiting facility in a strip mall in Woodbridge, Virginia.

Now, after the first four shootings, which all were connected with the Marine Corps, the FBI floated the theory that this might be somebody with a grievance against the Marine Corps. They asked the public for help in locating this person.

But now, with the shooting at the Coast Guard facility, that may be changing their thinking a little bit about who they are dealing with in this instance. Now, nobody was hurt in any of these shootings. They have only been bullets fired at buildings. They have all taken place overnight.

The FBI is saying nothing about the type of weapon that is involved. They are saying, however, they have no suspects at this point in time, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Do we have any idea if the FBI thinks the shooter or shooters might be local?

MESERVE: Well, I spoke to an FBI -- former FBI profiler late this morning who said he believes that this person must have some familiarity, particularly with the Northern Virginia area, because, although some of these sites are iconic buildings, like the Pentagon and the National Marine Museum, the other two are not.

To know where that Marine recruiting facility was, to know where the Coast Guard recruiting facility was, that shows a certain familiarity, detailed familiarity, with the region. And that may be one of the more important leads they're working with right now, Brooke.

BALDWIN: And, finally, Jeanne, there has to be some kind of fear on behalf of FBI that the shooter stops taking aim at buildings, starts shooting at people.

MESERVE: Well, that is a concern, Brooke. And that is why last weekend when they ran the Marine Corps Marathon here in Washington, they did increase security around the runners and around the spectators.

There were no incidents. However, everyone has their fingers crossed, of course, that this individual, if they do continue with these shootings, continues to fire at buildings, rather than at people -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Frightening.

Jeanne Meserve, thank you.

The elections, as you know, yesterday, but some other races not over yet, including Alaska. Listen to this. It could be days, dare I say weeks, before we know who won the Senate race there. We're taking you to Anchorage. Let's have that conversation next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: So the Senate race is not over in Alaska. So far, the write-in ballots lead the vote count, but it could be days, maybe weeks until we know if the main write-in candidate, Lisa Murkowski beat the Tea Party-backed Republican Joe Miller. And Miller's campaign is hinting at a legal challenge if Murkowski wins.

Want to bring in the news anchor Matt Felling, who we love to have on CNN. He's with KTVA-TV in Anchorage.

And, Matt, what are you hearing? I mean, time-wise how long before we know who won?

MATT FELLING, KTVA-TV ANCHOR (via telephone): You want the good news or the bad news?

BALDWIN: I don't like that you started out with the laugh.

FELLING: Oh, honestly, the dirty little secret is last night might just have been the end of the beginning, and by the time we figure out who was going to go back to D.C. for the Alaska Senate seat, thanksgiving dinner may be in the rearview mirror. Let's just put it that way. November 29th is when they're going to certify things.

So we had Bush-Gore, it's not going to be like that. Franken- Coleman, I don't think it's going to get that acrimonious. But the battle lines are now set and it's almost a four-letter word for people to be lawyering up, but I think both sides are hunkering down and getting ready for something. Because, even though the bubbles were filled for the quote/unquote "write-in candidate" -- and last night in my coverage I always did those bunny ears with my fingers, because who knows who the write-in is, although we can all sort of assume.

Yes, we've got a long way to go. BALDWIN: Matt, let's play the "If" game. Play this with me.

If Murkowski wins, she would be the second write-in candidate in history to win a Senate seat. Got to go all the way back to 1954, that was Strom Thurman who was the last write-in who won, which was also the last time, a little trivia, the Giants won the World Series and talking the New York Giants.

So Miller, though, so far, showing no signs of giving up here. And we had eluded to possibly this legal challenge if Murkowski wins. Is that what you're hearing? And on what grounds would they challenge her?

FELLING: Well, honestly, between here and certification, this might be -- if you want to go historical as Strom Thurman and the failed Dixie-crat ticket of '48, mind you, we're also looking at what could prove to be the highest stake spelling bee in American political history.

BALDWIN: Right.

FELLING: How many people can successfully -- we found out that 41 percent of people can fill in a bubble. Now we're going to find out how many can put nine letters together that somewhat resemble "Murkowski."

If that is the case, if that's the write-in intent, then we have lawyers from both sides and I think that it is safe to say that the Murkowski side will have a forgiving approach when it comes to spelling and the Miller people -- we know for a fact -- and I sat down from last night, the lieutenant governor who oversees election, he said he is going to be, the word is "lenient." We don't know what lenient means.

And I think the lawyers coming up here are going to say, we will allow one letter to be off or two letters to be off. But if it is or if it is just purely phonics --

BALDWIN: Doesn't get counted.

FELLING: -- it could get fairly ugly. I think the -- the people I was talking to last night who have done election law in the past, even though write-ins are unprecedented, they said Murkowski needed a seven-point, eight-point cushion to really have this thing secured and she doesn't have that right now and now it's going to be parsing ad infinitum ad absurdum for the upcoming weeks.

And honestly, we're not even going to get a full count going until November 18th, so this might be one of many conversations we have about Murkowski-Miller.

BALDWIN: Matt, just to be fair, I know we're spending a lot of time on Murkowski and Miller, but you also had Scott McAdams, Democrat running in the race.

FELLING: Yes. BALDWIN: How did he do last night?

FELLING: He did extreme -- I mean, honestly, on primary night, if you -- if you wanted to take Alaskans and say pick the mayor of Citga, Alaska out of this lineup, and you know, there were maybe two, three, four people, a lot of people wouldn't have been able to do it.

Scott McAdams really made a strong run. He built a name for himself. He had a positive campaign. Well, towards the end, he had to taking some swings, everybody does.

The -- the frustrating thing was -- and I had this experience with him sitting down with him -- he was forced to define himself by who he wasn't. Every time I would ask him a point-blank question about how do you feel, what's your stand on this, he would start out reflexively saying, well unlike Joe or unlike Lisa. He was always on the defense. He was never able to define himself for who he was, just who he wasn't.

BALDWIN: Who he wasn't. So he fared pretty well for a little --

FELLING: For a no-name Democrat in Alaska, absolutely.

BALDWIN: Absolutely.

So this is another point, though, back on the write-in issue, and I think a lot of people don't realize and I personally think it's fascinating, write-in votes, they're only opened and checked if the number of the ballots is close to or exceeds the number of votes for the front-runner, which is clearly the case here.

So when will they even be opened?

FELLING: Yes, on November 18th --

BALDWIN: That's the day.

FELLING: -- we open up the magic envelope, because we still have the absentees. We have a large military community in Alaska, so we're going to get those people in. We have to sit down, we have to look at the numbers.

And frankly, you can figure it out. If it is -- if the write-ins are 2 percent, you don't really study them, scrutinize them, spend man hours on who exactly voted for the Green Party or the Libertarian Party or the Rent Is Too Damn High Party guy. You toss them aside and say, all right, those are the write-in numbers.

But when -- the law of the land up here is that if the "write- in", quote/unquote, is within .5 percent of the winner, then you have to open them up. And right now, at 41 percent, it's clear that it's the front runner which sets the table where we are right now.

BALDWIN: Amazing. So November 18th, the magic day, the magic envelopes. Matt Felling for us from KTVA-TV in Anchorage. Matt, good talking to you. I'm sure we'll be talking again. FELLING: All right, have a good one.

BALDWIN: Want to get this to you. Just in here, CNN projecting incumbent Senator Michael Bennet the winner in the Colorado race for U.S. Senator, defeating Tea-Party favorite Republican Ken Buck in that race. There's another winner for you this day after election day after election day.

Now, listen to this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAND PAUL (R), KENTUCKY SENATOR-ELECT: A message that is loud and clear and does not mince words. We've come to take our government back!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Taking our government back. Frustrated voters have spoken, now the Tea Party movement is headed to Washington. What lessons have lawmakers learned? We're going to drill down on voters' call for change next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: It's started out as a grassroots movement, derided by some as Astroturf, but the midterm elections show the political clout of the Tea Party movement. I want to take a look, let's run through some of these Tea Party winners and some of the losers.

First you had Tea Party darling, Marco Rubio rising star easily taking that three-way Florida Senate race from Democrat Kendrick Meek and Charlie Crist who ran as an independent.

To Kentucky, Kentucky sending Rand Paul to the Senate. He defeated Democrat Jack Conway.

Here's a story you knew all about, Christine O'Donnell lost her Delaware Senate bid to Democrat Chris Coons by a big margin. So a loss there.

Sharron Angle, another loss, failed to oust Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

So where does the Tea Party movement go from here? Folks, we're kind of in an unchartered territory. And what impact would it have looking ahead here to 2012, the elections?

Shannon Travis is a CNN political producer who followed the Tea Party movement during the campaign, really embedded with them, did a whole heck of a lot. And John Avlon is senior political columnist who knows a lot, too, Dailybeast.com. He's a former Republican who is now an independent.

So, gentlemen, let's talk Tea Party and, Shannon, I want to begin with you. Overall grade here, how did they do and any big surprises? SHANNON TRAVIS, CNN POLITICAL PRODUCER: Well, if I had to grade them, if you twisted my arm behind my back and made me give them a grade, I'd say maybe a B.

BALDWIN: Yes, twisting.

TRAVIS: I would say maybe a B. They picked up a number of House seats, Tea-Party backed candidates, and they won some really big races, as you just noted, Rand Paul and some others for the Senate.

But the ones they really, really wanted -- Harry Reid, he's going back to the Senate. I just got off of the phone moments ago with Am Kramer, she's the chairman of the Tea Party Express. And she said, we're looking ahead, we're happy about our success last night, but that was one that was a heartfelt loss.

So I would say that they rank a solid B in terms of what they did last night.

BALDWIN: All right so you say solid B.

John, really same question to you, how would you grade them? And I know a lot of people surprised by the Angle-Reid race. Would you agree? Did you think Angle was going to pull it through?

JOHN AVLON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, all of the polling showed Angle around four or five points up until election day, and then all of a sudden, Harry Reid won by five points. That ended up not being close, despite the enormous amount of money and the resilience that Sharron Angle showed in the polls.

I think you need to understand that the Tea Party deserves a huge amount of credit for firing up the base in what is a low-turnout, high-intensity midterm election. They helped made this a historic election for the Republican Party, exceeding the gains in the House in 1994, helping flip the state legislature. This is a larger game.

But at the Senate level, I think some of these Tea Party candidates who were unable to convert their primary, insurgent wins to general election victory hurt the GOP, at least in terms of taking control of the Senate. The GOP would have had the momentum enough to take care of the Senate if it wasn't for some of these candidates who couldn't connect with the center of the electorate.

BALDWIN: Well, it's interesting, this image in the Senate. So you had two big Tea Party movement winners, struck two different tones here, both now Senators elects, in two different campaign speeches. I want to play you some sound, we'll talk on the other side.

First, we're going to hear from Rand Paul and then Marco Rubio.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: I have a message. A message from the people of Kentucky. A message -- a message that is loud and clear and does not mince words -- we've come to take our government back! MARCO RUBIO (R), FLORIDA SENATOR-ELECT: We make a grave mistake if we believe that tonight these results somehow an embrace of the Republican Party. What they are is a second chance. A second chance for Republicans to be what they said they were going to be not so long ago.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So you heard Rand Paul very much more defiant, and then you had Marco Rubio a tad more humble, a little softer spoken.

So Shannon, what message will we hear when they show up to work in Washington?

SHANNON TRAVIS, CNN POLIITCAL DIRECTOR: Well, I'll tell you the message that the Tea Party activists are telling me already. I spoke with Mark Mechler last night, one of the co-founders of the Tea Party Patriots and again, members of the Tea Party Express.

They're saying, look, these Tea Party-backed candidates that are going to Washington, they will be watching them closely. Like, don't pull out the dancing shoes just yet. We will come for you again if you don't continue to embrace this message of limited government and adhere to the Constitution. They're also warning the Republicans that will up for re-election two years from now that hey, if you don't embrace our message, we will come after you as well.

And one last thing to note, they are looking at 2012. They're basically claiming victory. Even though they had some high-profile losses last night, they're saying the fact that more and more candidates embraced their message and ran away from what they call big government spending means that the Tea Party movement won. They're looking ahead saying they're still watching.

BALDWIN: They're doing the victory lap. And hang on because I want to talk about 2012 in just a moment.

But John, to you, this concept that Shannon was saying. They're saying, warning, you better embrace us. Here they are. How do you see them working in step with your establishment Republicans? Are they going to break off or fall in line? How will that work?

JOHN AVLON, SENIOR POLITICAL COLUMNIST, "THE DAILY BEAST": No, I think the Tea Party supporters should keep their candidates and the Republican party accountable for the message of deficit reduction. Reducing spending.

That message is really core to, I think, helping restore the credibility, where it had lost credibility on fiscal issues after a lot of spending under the Bush years when they controlled Congress. That will be a consistent effort.

I think Marco Rubio's tone was exactly right, however. This was not necessarily an endorsement of the Republican party. This is a second chance. If they stay focused on fiscal issues, they can really help revive the Republican party. If they move off of that message, there's I think there's a comeuppance to come. There's more accountability down the line.

BALDWIN: And on down the line, let's talk 2012, Shannon. We've got to ask about, I guess, the head mama grizzly, Sarah Palin. Do you think she'll do it?

TRAVIS: Your guess is as good as mine. You could say on the one hand that she had some high profile wins at least people she backed and endorsed last night. But Angle didn't get through. She put a lot on the line for Sharron Angle and she put a lot on the line for Christine O'Donnell.

But just the fact that Sarah Palin, that we're talking about it now and so many people talking about how she put so much of her own personal popularity on the line I think gives her more fuel and currency. Obviously, the Tea Party movement embraces her. She's their darling.

So, anyone's guess. But she's got wind at her back to do it.

BALDWIN: John, do you think the Tea Party when it comes to adding a candidate, to having a challenger to the president, do you think they have veto power over their establishment Republican counterparts, or do you think they'll put someone forward from their own party. And I say party loosely in this group. This nascent group. What do you think?

AVLON: Right. I think there are fault lines under the GOP that split the conservative populace into the Tea Party Express and the more establishment candidates. And Sarah Palin is certainly on one side of that fault line.

But I do think it's important to keep remembering that Sarah Palin was not on the ballot last night. Yes, she can fire up the base and helped some candidates win primaries. But I think the Republican wave last night was a lot bigger than Sarah Palin. And I think pivoting the questions 2012, whether she's going to run tonight are incidental to the gains that are made.

And even if you look at Tea Party supporters who have a high approval rating for Sarah Palin, they don't necessarily translate to support for president. And certainly if you go to the electorate at large, she's a deeply polarizing figure.

BALDWIN: She is. Shannon Travis and John Avlon, awesome conversation. Thanks to you both.

Have you heard? Former president George W. Bush had considered dropping vice president Dick Cheney from the 2004 ticket? This is just some of what's coming out in his memoirs. Book is coming out this month. We're going to have a little bit more. Some snippets, things you didn't realize ahead.

Also, if you hasn't heard by now, change is coming to Congress in the color red. So, what does a new Republican-controlled House mean for you? Dana Bash back from hustling from Nancy Pelosi's office is back with our Political Ticker. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: The balance of power has officially shifted on Capitol Hill. And CNN has all your latest political news with The Best Political Team on Television. CNN equals politics.

And Dana Bash joins me from Capitol Hill. Dana, GOP on the Hill. The maneuvering, has it already begun?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's begun big time because a Republican majority means new Republican leadership. So, what we're seeing already all day today is people trying kind of to figure out where they're going to be in the pecking order.

We know that John Boehner is -- unless something really extraordinary happens is going to be the next speaker of the House. So that means that the Republican behind him, Eric Cantor, announced today that he's going to be behind him as the House majority leader.

So, who's going to be the guy in charge of counting the votes, that number three in the Republican leadership? Well, Kevin McCarthy, he's a Congressman who has gotten much bigger profile recently because he was out recruiting a lot of these Republican candidates that ended up winning. He said today, well, he wants to be number three. We're seeing that happen in a big way.

One question is going to be whether or not there's going be a prominent woman in this leadership, one woman that's already there, Kathy Rogers -- Morris Rogers. She has said she's going to stay in her position. But it's kind of lower on the leadership.

Second on the ticker, Brooke, you remember -- hard to not remember for anyone who listened to President Obama in the last week, two weeks, three weeks. Where he was campaigning, he would tell the story about Republicans driving everybody in the ditch and they're sitting at the top, sipping Slurpees. Well, at the press conference today, somebody screamed out, well, how about a Slurpee summit? And he said I like that. They're having fun with that here on Capitol Hill here inside John Boehner's office.

I asked, well, what about a Slurpee summit? And the response was, as long as the president is working with us on spending and cutting taxes, we can all slip - sip -- that's easy to say --

BALDWIN: Say that five times fast!

BASH: Sip Slurpees together. The new wicked apple flavor sounds awesome. So, you know, a little bipartisan humor. Maybe that's a good start.

BALDWIN: Great! Well, let me follow up with the Slurpee-sipping aside. We were talking earlier about the House speaker. We should say the outgoing House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, not doing so much speaking today.

What's the deal? Where is she?

BASH: She's now back in her office. I can tell you it's right down the hallway. It seems pretty empty right now. And people not around by now. She is in her office. In fact, we believe that one of her soon-to-be former committee chairmen is in there meeting with her. It's really to recap what happened earlier.

It was really one of the classic tales of trying to get a comment from somebody on Capitol Hill. Usually when she goes to an appointment in a room that's around the corner from here, she just walks the direct way. Walk right down this hall, Brooke, right around the corner and head in to there.

Well, there's a huge gaggle, including myself, of reporters all waiting down that hallway outside of her office. She knew that, her staff knew that. She went a roundabout route to play cat and mouse with all of us to try to avoid answering our questions.

I should tell you, she was heading over to do an interview with another network. She went down an elevator, up an elevator, around the corner. We finally caught up with her, tried to ask her the question, which is what is she going to do? Is she going to stay on as minority leader? Is she going to leave Congress? She wouldn't tell us. In fact, we're told she wouldn't tell Diane Sawyer, who she did the interview with, either. She said she's talking with family and members of her Democratic party. When she walked out of the room, I will tell you that she smiled and she said, I'll tell you soon.

BALDWIN: Soon.

BASH: Apparently, according to people close to her, they say she hasn't necessarily made up her mind. She hasn't made a decision, but we do expect to find out what she's going to do pretty soon.

BALDWIN: There you go. There's the story we may not know yet. Maybe she doesn't know. Soon, I'm sure, we'll get the news from you, Dana Bash. Dana, thank you.

I want to remind everybody to get the latest political news. Go to CNNpolitics.com or hop on Twitter @politicalticker.

And coming up, we're going to talk a little bit, politics aside here for just a moment here, about terror in the mail. No letters -- packages - no packages, at least, for two days in Greece after someone mailed bombs from Athens. We're going to tell you where the targets were, and who the senders might be.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right, checking some of our top stories today. Two suspects are under arrest in connection with another terror plot involving parcel bombs. A string of suspicious packages targeting embassies in Greece, and German and Italian leaders have been intercepted in recent days. Other parcels addressed to the Mexican and the Swiss embassies were also discovered and detonated. Greece suspended all outgoing mail and package shipments, at least they say, temporarily. Police say the attempted bombings are not connected with al Qaeda.

But two Greek nationals are in custody today. One of them a suspected member of a Greek militant group. We're talking homegrown Greek terror. Police also looking for five other men.

And stunning images of Indonesia's very active volcano today. Take a look with me here. This is Mount Marapi exploding several times in fact over the course of several hours today, spewing this huge thick gray smoke of ash over central Java. Dozens of people have been killed after this thing began erupting last month. Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated in the mountainous area. And Marapi, famously unpredictable. That's one of the tough parts here. And to add to this uncertainty, a 6.1 magnitude earthquake hit off of Indonesia's eastern coast today. But so far, no reports of injury or damage from the quake.

And how about this one? George W. Bush giving the world an inside look at his presidency. The former president's memoirs. It's called "Decision Points." It will be released next week.

And some interesting details are being revealed. For example, speaking to "Today Show" host Matt Lauer, Mr. Bush talked about one of the lowest points in his presidency. Can you imagine what it might have been? It was the criticism he received from Kayne West in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The singer said, quote, "George Bush didn't care about black people."

BALDWIN: It was the criticism he received from Kanye West in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The singer said, "George Bush didn't care about black people."

You remember that? Mr. Bush says he was disgusted and insulted by the accusation.

Angry voters looking for change have sent Tea Party movement- backed candidates to Washington. Wolf Blitzer caught up with some of them, including one of the new faces here, Rand Paul. Wolf is ahead with details.

Stay there.

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BALDWIN: So, if you were watching -- or really, I should when you were watching -- our coverage, other networks' election coverage, you were listening to the winners and some of the losers, they were all using these metaphors, and we found it interesting. They were using natural disaster metaphors like "tsunamis" and "earthquakes," and getting even worse. They were talking about bloodbaths. And a lot of you were tweeting me about this. I wanted to just read some of your tweets real quickly over my shoulder.

I got a tweet here saying, "Don't forget 'seismic shift.'" Another one, "There's also gruesome ones: bloodbath, slaughter, trampled."

Yes, not pretty metaphors when you're on a losing team.

And finally, "Most overused word, 'historical.'"

So during this historical campaign -- just kidding, Rick Thomason (ph) -- let's talk about Rand Paul here. He talked about how he wants to shake things up in Washington, so now he and the many Tea Partiers are getting their chance.

We're going to listen in to some of his conversation with CNN's Wolf Blitzer next.

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BALDWIN: In the aftermath of the balance of power shift in Washington last night, I want to revisit a quote. This is from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. This is from last week, and he said, "The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president."

Wolf Blitzer joining me from "THE SITUATION ROOM."

And Wolf, President Clinton -- you know this, you covered him in '94. Right? I think you were the chief White House correspondent. He lost both the House and the Senate, so he had to work with the Republicans to get something done.

When the Republicans took charge of the House last night -- so given what happened in '94, comparing it now to 2010, how might Obama fare with one House in his favor?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Well, arguably, for President Clinton in 1994 -- remember, he was elected in '92, and he suffered a huge setback in '94, the Democrats lost control of the House and the Senate. Arguably, for him, it was probably the best thing politically, because he turned things around and he got himself in 1996 re-elected when he ran against Bob Dole.

He moved towards the center. He declared the era of big government is over. And he moved towards the center. He was what they used to call triangulating, going between the liberal side of the Democratic Party, the more moderate side of the Republican Party, trying to find a third way, if you will, and it worked.

He got himself re-elected, and the country seemed to be moving in the right direction. The economy was moving in the right direction.

There was enormous pressure on the president from Newt Gingrich and the conservative Republicans. They came forward with their "Contract with America," and it forced the president to do some discipline on government spending, balancing the budget.

There was a budget surplus during the second term of the Clinton administration as far as the eye could see. What a difference from today, where there's a $1 trillion-plus annual budget deficit.

So, it was a remarkable change, and it turned out to help President Clinton as he went forward with the second two years of his first term and then his second term.

BALDWIN: So, we will have to just wait and see, I guess, if President Obama will fare as well as President Clinton did, as you pointed out, Wolf Blitzer.

BLITZER: We'll see if he decides to triangulate like that as well.

BALDWIN: Triangulate.

BLITZER: If he follows the Bill Clinton model or he goes in another direction.

BALDWIN: We will watch and wait and see. Wolf Blitzer, we will also see you momentarily here on "THE SITUATION ROOM." Thank you, sir.

But coming up next, want to get this in for you. It's weather news. We are bracing -- or I should say the Caribbean is bracing for Tropical Storm Tomas. The latest threat now hurdling towards still earthquake-ravaged Haiti.

Chad Myers has the latest there. Stay tuned.

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BALDWIN: I thank you for watching us. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Let's send it up to Wolf Blitzer in New York, "THE SITUATION ROOM" -- Wolf.