Page 986 - Midterm News Today

After bomb threat. the cathay pacific airbus was flying to hong kong when someone phoned in the threat. the canadian military fighter stayed with the passenger jet until it safely landed in vancouver. royal canadian mounted police say nothing threatening was found. many of the passengers said they werent even informed of any problems and had no idea of the unfolding drama. >> did you see the fighter jets escorting your plane in? >> what? no. no, it wasnt that bad. >> yeah, it was. >> what? no wa...

So, for more analysis on the big tuesday races and what they mean for the upcoming midterm, lets bring in republican strategist and msnbc political analyst joe watkins and also with us reid wilson editor for "national journals hotline on call." good morning, gentlemen. no matter which democrat wins the pennsylvania primary, they will still face a tough battle with the republican and thats true across the country right now. a recent nbc news/"wall street journal" poll said democrats have pulled e...

It was much smaller, 53 percent to 44 in favor of john kerry. president obama brought out more hispanics in the voting booth and you wonder, weve got a midterm coming up here, its not a general election, you wonder how this issue plays. youve examined that and come up with what? >> well, look, my personal opinion is this is politics. the president has not laid the basis for comprehensive immigration reform, in fact he said he didnt think congress had the appetite to take it up this year, yet he ...

Carl. >> reporter: it is a distinct possibility. this is really one of the most colorful and fascinating races in the midterm and, aroulen specter has been a main stay for years and now, an underdog, a two term congressman from suburban philly, former navy admiral, has surged in the polls and in some, actually has a shot knocking on the door for a big victory the last couple of months, has tapped into the national anti-incumbent sentiment, and, combined it with a potent hit on arlen specters his...

Thats what youre saying. >> lets take a look at some of the people that you just mentioned. senator arlen specter in trouble in the democratic primary. hes a democrat, remember. senator blanch lincoln in arkansas is in trouble and caroline kilpatrick out of missouri is in trouble. you left out my favorite target at all. senator harry reid, my united states senator who is the majority leader, who has been there forever. who should have the safest seat in the united states senate and nevada is gro...

Operations to win our victories this fall. >> steele has made promises like this in the past and been plagued by ongoing controversies this time critics are publicly saying that he is cutting off some of the bleeding. >> shepard: beyond the money, karl, lets talk strategy for the midterm. how do republicans plan to come back after the defeats in 2008? >> on issues its going to be about the uncertain economy and to some extent health care and obama administration. need to get confidence rebuilt. ...

Of advice you have for democrats right now looking ahead to november, how can they avoid a political bloodbath? >> i think democrats have a challenge heading into the 2010 election. its often the case for the first midterm of a presidents term, the economy is not in great shape. so i think as you look out across the country that republicans are going to do very well in the midterm are elections. a democratic candidate out there, obviously you want to try to localize the election and talk about w...

Young afghan and pakistani young taliban to carry out suicide attacks. >> what you can tell butz recruitment of people like shahzad in terms of people who are in the united states, naturalized, and brought over there, recruited, and then sent back to midterm. what can you tell us from your experience. >> its hard to say about the specific recruiting, but my guards and the commanders who held me, the taliban were very eager to carry out attacks inside of the united states. they told me that they ...

See washington take action. bill: j.d. hayworth what is the chance that that happens, the law goes into effect, what the 1st of july and you have basically two-and-a-half months, will washington move that quickly? >> i think they will, and, because, quite frankly, what many on the left want to see is a resurrection of amnesty. what the left wants to do is to appoint a whole new class of voters, think of it as the barack obama job protection act of 2012. they probably wont get it done in time for...

Ginning up the vote. listen. >> it will be up to each of you to make sure the young people, african-americans, latinos, and women, who powered our victory in 2008 stand together once again. >> now, some conservatives sliced that and criticized. ericerickson.com here the other night, what was the message? white men need not apply? >> i think the democratic party understands where its base is. we build from our base. get a nice representative sample of the american people. i think understanding yo...