PBS NewsHour; October 27, 2010 3:00pm-4:00pm PDT

Captioning sponsored by MacNEIL/LEHRER PRODUCTIONS

>> Lehrer: GOOD EVENING. I'M JIM LEHRER. THE 2010 CAMPAIGN IS IN THE HOMESTRETCH WITH JUST SIX DAYS UNTIL ELECTION DAY.

>> Ifill: AND I'M GWEN IFILL. ON THE "NEWSHOUR" TONIGHT, WE ZERO IN ON TWO TIPPING-POINT IN COLORADO, WHERE A DEMOCRATIC INCUMBENT IS ENDANGERED, AND IN ILLINOIS, WHERE PRESIDENT OBAMA'S OLD SEAT IS UP FOR GRABS.

>> Lehrer: AND HISTORIANS BEVERLY GAGE AND RICHARD NORTON SMITH GIVE US A HISTORY LESSON ON THE IMPORTANCE OF MID-TERM ELECTIONS.

>> Ifill: THEN, FROM PAKISTAN, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT SAIMA MOHSIN REPORTS ON THE PLIGHT OF PREGNANT WOMEN AND NEWBORN INFANTS AFTER THE FLOODS.

>> Lehrer: RAY SUAREZ GETS THE LATEST ON THE FRENCH PARLIAMENT'S VOTE TO RAISE THE RETIREMENT AGE TO 62.

>> Ifill: AND JEFFREY BROWN TALKS TO THE NEW POET LAUREATE, W.S. MERWIN.

>> I WANT TO WITE THAT PEOM.

>> Lehrer: THAT'S ALL AHEAD ON TONIGHT'S "NEWSHOUR." MAJOR FUNDING FOR THE PBS NEWSHOUR HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY:

>> I DO A LOT OF DIFFERENT EXERCISES, BUT, BASICALLY, I'M A RUNNER. LAST YEAR, I HAD A BUM KNEE THAT NEEDED SURGERY, BUT IT GOT COMPLICATED BECAUSE I HAD AN OLD INJURY. SO, I WANTED A DOCTOR WHO HAD DONE THIS BEFORE. AND UNITED HEALTHCARE'S DATABASE HELPED ME FIND A SURGEON. YOU KNOW, YOU CAN'T HAVE GREAT LEGS, IF YOU DON'T HAVE GOOD KNEES.

>> WE'RE 78,000 PEOPLE LOOKING OUT FOR 70 MILLION AMERICANS. THAT'S HEALTH IN NUMBERS. UNITED HEALTHCARE.

>> AND BY THE BILL AND MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION. DEDICATED TO THE IDEA THAT ALL PEOPLE DESERVE THE CHANCE TO LIVE A HEALTHY PRODUCTIVE LIFE. AND WITH THE ONGOING SUPPORT OF THESE INSTITUTIONS AND FOUNDATIONS. AND... THIS PROGRAM WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING. AND BY CONTRIBUTIONS TO YOUR PBS STATION FROM VIEWERS LIKE YOU. THANK YOU.

>> Lehrer: CANDIDATES OPENED THEIR CLOSING ARGUMENTS IN THE MID-TERM ELECTIONS. THEY DID SO IN A TORRENT OF NEW CAMPAIGN ADS AND APPEARANCES, IN THE DRIVE TO ELECTION DAY. WITH TIME TICKING DOWN TO TUESDAY, STRATEGIES FOR THE FINAL PUSH CAME INTO VIEW. REPUBLICANS LIKE SENATE HOPEFUL MARCO RUBIO IN FLORIDA FOCUSED ON SHAKING UP THE GOVERNMENT. RUBIO WILL AIR A TWO-MINUTE CLOSING AD THIS WEEKEND.

>> IT'S VERY CLEAR-- IF WE STAY ON THIS ROAD WASHINGTON HAS US ON NOW, WE WILL RISK THE ESSENCE OF WHAT MAKES US EXCEPTIONAL.

>> Lehrer: ON THE OTHER HAND, SOME DEMOCRATS, INCLUDING NINE- TERM CONGRESSMAN EARL POMEROY IN NORTH DAKOTA, TRIED TO DISTANCE THEMSELVES FROM THEIR LEADERS.

>> I'M NOT NANCY PELOSI. I'M NOT BARACK OBAMA. I'M EARL POMEROY.

>> Reporter: FUNDING ALL THESE ADS ARE RECORD CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS. THE "NEW YORK TIMES" REPORTED TODAY THAT DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES STILL HOLD AN EDGE IN THEIR RACES. IT FOUND THAT IN 109 KEY HOUSE RACES, DEMOCRATS HAVE OUT-RAISED THEIR OPPONENTS BY 30%-- ABOUT $40 MILLION. OUTSIDE GROUPS HAVE MADE UP SOME OF THE DIFFERENCE FOR REPUBLICANS. THEY'VE SPENT MORE THAN $60 MILLION IN COMPETITIVE RACES SINCE JULY. THAT'S 80% MORE THAN GROUPS BACKING DEMOCRATS. MUCH OF THE MONEY, AS USUAL, HAS GONE TO FINANCE ATTACK ADS. ON TUESDAY, THE CANDIDATES FOR GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA GOT AN EARFUL ABOUT THAT AT A WOMEN'S CONFERENCE. MODERATOR MATT LAUER OF NBC POSED THE QUESTION.

>> WOULD EITHER OF YOU, OR BOTH OF YOU, BE WILLING TO MAKE A PLEDGE THAT YOU WOULD END THE NEGATIVITY? ( APPLAUSE )

>> IF SHE TAKES HER NEGATIVE ADS, AS REASONABLY DEFINED, I'LL TAKE MINE OFF, NO QUESTION. IF WE DO IT TOGETHER, NO PROBLEM.

>> I WILL TAKE DOWN ANY ADS THAT COULD BE REMOTELY CONSTRUED AS A PERSONAL ATTACK. BUT I DON'T THINK WE CAN TAKE DOWN THE ADS THAT TALK ABOUT WHERE GOVERNOR BROWN STANDS ON THE ISSUES. I THINK IT'S NOT THE RIGHT THING TO DO. ( BOOS )

>> Lehrer: BEYOND THE ADS, THE PARTIES ARE ALSO FOCUSED ON KEY VOTING GROUPS. PRESIDENT OBAMA HOSTED AN EVENT TODAY ON ENDING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN. TONIGHT, HE GOES ON "THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART" AS HE DID IN 2007 IN A BID TO ENERGIZE YOUNGER VOTERS.

>> Ifill: COMING UP, WE'LL HAVE MUCH MORE ON THE CAMPAIGN INCLUDING THE SENATE RACES IN COLORADO AND ILLINOIS AND WHY THE MIDTERMS MATTER. PLUS, HEALTH CARE FOR PREGNANT WOMEN IN PAKISTAN; PENSION REFORM IN FRANCE AND POET LAUREATE W.S. MERWIN. BUT FIRST, WITH THE OTHER NEWS OF THE DAY. HERE'S HARI SREENIVASAN IN OUR NEWSROOM.

>> Sreenivasan: THE GOVERNMENT OF AFGHANISTAN HAS DELAYED A BAN ON PRIVATE SECURITY FIRMS, BY AT LEAST TWO MONTHS. THEY HAD BEEN DUE TO STOP WORK BY DECEMBER 17. INSTEAD, THE OFFICE OF AFGHAN.p PRESIDENT HAMID KARZAI ANNOUNCED A COMMITTEE WILL CRAFT A TIMETABLE TO PHASE IN THE BAN. ALSO TODAY, A NATO SOLDIER WAS KILLED IN A BOMBING IN THE NORTH. THE COALITION HAS LOST 56 KILLED THIS MONTH. INDONESIA STRUGGLED TODAY TO RECOVER FROM A PAIR OF NATURAL DISASTERS. A TSUNAMI HIT AND A VOLCANO ERUPTED WITHIN 24 HOURS OF EACH OTHER THIS WEEK. WE HAVE A REPORT NARRATED BY TOM CLARKE OF "INDEPENDENT TELEVISION NEWS."

>> Reporter: PEOPLE AND PROPERTY SCOURED AWAY BY THE SEA ON THE SHORES OF THE ISLANDS. ONLY A STRONG EARTHQUAKE A FEW MINUTES BEFORE GAVE ANY WARNING THE THREE METER WAVE MIGHT BE ON ITS WAY. BAD WEATHER IS HAMPERING EFFORTS TO GET TO PARTS OF THESE REMOTE ISLANDS BUT IT'S FEARED TEN COASTAL VILLAGES AND A SURFING RESORT HAVE BEEN DESTROYED BY MONDAY'S TSUNAMI. MANY OF THE 280 CONFIRMED DEAD WERE SWEPT INTO THE JUNGLE BY THE WAVE. MORE THAN 400 ARE STILL MISSING. OTHERS LIKE THESE VISITING YACHTSMEN HAD LUCKY ESCAPES.

>> THIS BOLT HERE, "FREEDOM" WAS ANCHORED OUTSIDE. THEY WERE CAUGHT BY THE WAVE, CAME SURFING INTO US ON THE WAVE, HIT US DIRECTLY IN THE SIDE OF THE BOAT PIERCING THE FUEL TANK. "MIDAS" CAUGHT ON FIRE IMMEDIATELY.

>> Reporter: THIS COAST OF SUMATRA IS IN ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST ACTIVE GEOLOGICAL AREAS. THE PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER ISSUED A LOCAL ALERT SEVEN MINUTES LATER BUT EYEWITNESSES SAID TSUNAMI WAVES WERE REACHING THE ISLANDS AROUND THE SAME TIME. IT'S REPORTED EARLY WARNING BOY WIS FAILED TO DETECT THE APPROACHING WAVE BECAUSE THEY'D BEEN VANDALIZED BUT WITH THE QUICK SO CLOSE THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN LITTLE TIME TO RESPOND. AID IS NOW LEAVING THE CAPITAL JAKARTA FOR THE ISLANDS BUT SOME IS HEADING THE OTHER WAY FOR INDONESIA'S GEOLOGICAL WOES ARE DOUBLE. ON THE ISLAND OF JAVA, MOUNT MERAPI IS ERUPTING AGAIN. DESPITE EFFORTS TO EVACUATE 40,000 VILLAGERS FROM ITS SLOPES, AT LEAST 28 PEOPLE HAVE BEEN KILLED, SMOTHERED BY SCALDING PLUMES OF ASH SPEWING FROM THE CRATER.

>> Sreenivasan: THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ACROSS INDONESIA HAVE FLED THE DISASTER ZONES. MORE RELIEF ARRIVED IN HAITI TODAY TO FIGHT AN EPIDEMIC OF CHOLERA THAT'S KILLED MORE THAN 290 PEOPLE. TWO PLANES CARRYING HUMANITARIAN AID SHIPMENTS LANDED IN THE CAPITAL, PORT-AU-PRINCE. AID AGENCIES THERE ARE WORKING TO PREVENT THE DISEASE FROM SPREADING TO CAMPS OF EARTHQUAKE SURVIVORS. THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION CONFIRMED THE DEATH RATE IS SLOWING. IT SAID STEPPED UP TREATMENT AND BASIC EDUCATION ABOUT SANITATION ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE. THE F.B.I. HAS ARRESTED A VIRGINIA MAN FOR PLOTTING TO BOMB SUBWAY STATIONS IN THE WASHINGTON D.C. AREA. FAROOQUE AHMED IS A NATURALIZED CITIZEN BORN IN PAKISTAN. HE WAS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY AFTER A STING OPERATION. FEDERAL OFFICIALS SAID HE THOUGHT HE WAS DEALING WITH AL-QAEDA AGENTS. THEY ALSO SAID THE PUBLIC WAS NEVER IN DANGER. IN ECONOMIC NEWS, SALES OF BIG- TICKET MANUFACTURED GOODS LIKE AIRCRAFT ROSE IN SEPTEMBER. BUT BUSINESSES SPENT LESS ON COMPUTERS, COMMUNICATIONS GEAR AND OTHER GOODS NEEDED FOR EXPANSION. THE RESULTS LEFT WALL STREET LOOKING FOR DIRECTION. THE DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE LOST 43 POINTS TO CLOSE AT 11,126. THE NASDAQ ROSE NEARLY SIX POINTS TO CLOSE AT 2,503. WELLS FARGO IS ONE OF SEVERAL INSTITUTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN REVIEWING THOUSANDS OF DOCUMENTS IN A STATEMENT TODAY, WELLS FARGO SAID THE REVIEW FOUND SOME PROBLEMS BUT SAID IT DOES NOT BELIEVE THE PROBLEMS LED TO ANY IMPROPER FORECLOSURES. INSTEAD, THE COMPANY SAID IT'S ACTING OUT OF AN ABUNDANCE OF CAUTION TO REFILE AFFIDAVITS IN 23 STATES. A HUGE STUDY OF LIFE ON EARTH CONCLUDES THAT ONE-FIFTH OF ALL MAMMALS, BIRDS AND AMPHIBIANS ARE MOVING CLOSER TO EXTINCTION. THE GLOBAL AUDIT IN THE JOURNAL "SCIENCE" REVIEWED NEARLY 26,000 SPECIES. IT FOUND AT LEAST 52 MOVE CLOSER TO EXTINCTION EVERY YEAR. AT THE SAME TIME, IT SAID CONSERVATION EFFORTS ARE HELPING SOME ANIMALS, SUCH AS HUMPBACK WHALES. THOSE ARE SOME OF THE DAY'S MAJOR STORIES. NOW, BACK TO GWEN.

>> Ifill: FOR A CLOSER LOOK AT TWO CAMPAIGNS THAT COULD DETERMINE THE CONTROL OF THE SENATE, WE LOOK TO THE GREAT LAKES AND THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN WEST. IT'S PART OF OUR CONTINUING VOTE 2010 COVERAGE. TWO OF THE FIERCEST SENATE BATTLES THIS YEAR ARE BEING WAGED IN COLORADO AND ILLINOIS. BECAUSE BOTH SEATS ARE NOW HELD BY DEMOCRATS-- AND THE ILLINOIS SEAT WAS ONCE HELD BY PRESIDENT OBAMA-- BOTH PARTIES HAVE POURED RESOURCES INTO THE RACES. THE PRESIDENT AND FIRST LADY HAVE EACH TRAVELED TO CHICAGO TO CAMPAIGN FOR DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE ALEXI GIANNOULIAS. AND MR. OBAMA WILL RETURN THIS WEEKEND. THE LATEST "CHICAGO TRIBUNE" POLL SHOWS GIANNOULIAS NARROWLY TRAILING VETERAN REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN MARK KIRK. AS EACH CANDIDATE STRUGGLES FOR THE UPPER HAND, THEIR DEBATES HAVE FOCUSED ON HOT BUTTON ISSUES LIKE TAXES AND SPENDING.

>> IF YOU'RE HAPPY WITH THE DIRECTION OF THE GOVERNMENT RIGHT NOW OF TRILLIONS IN DEBT OF INCREASINGLY ACCELERATING THE SPENDING OF THE CONGRESS AND THE GROWING OF THE GOVERNMENT INTO OUR NATIONAL LIFE THEN MY OPPONENT IS YOUR CANDIDATE BUT THERE IS A GROWING VOICE IN ILLINOIS THAT WANTS A CHECK AND BALANCE, THAT DOES NOT THINK WE SHOULD RAISE TAXES IN SPRINGFIELD LIKE MY OPPONENT WOULD LIKE OR IN WASHINGTON D.C.

>> TO HEAR CONGRESSMAN KIRK SAY THAT HE TAXES LESS, BORROWS LESS, AND SPENDS LESS, IS A TREMENDOUS IRONY BECAUSE THERE IS NO ONE IN THIS RACE THAT'S ACTUALLY TAXED MORE, SPENT MORE, AND BORROWED MORE.

>> Ifill: BUT THEIR DISAGREEMENTS HAVE ALSO TURNED PERSONAL, ESPECIALLY ON TELEVISION.

>> HIS WHOLE POLITICAL CAREER IS PROBABLY A LIE.

>> MARK KIRK'S LIES ARE FINALLY GOING TO CATCH UP WITH HIM.

>> HE'S NOT A LEADER, HE'S A LIAR.

>> I WOULD NOT TRUST HIM WITH MY LEFT SHOE.

>> WHAT DO YOU CALL SOMEONE WHO LENT $20 MILLION TO CONVICTED FELONS AND MOBSTERS? SENIOR LOAN OFFICER ALEXI GIANNOULIAS.

>> Ifill: IN COLORADO, INCUMBENT SENATOR MICHAEL BENNET, APPOINTED TO THE SEAT IN 2009, IS FACING A TEA PARTY-BACKED CHALLENGE FROM REPUBLICAN NOMINEE KEN BUCK. UNLIKE IN ILLINOIS, PRESIDENT OBAMA HAS MOSTLY KEPT HIS DISTANCE HERE THIS FALL, BUT OTHER OUTSIDERS HAVE PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE. ACCORDING TO A "WASHINGTON POST" ANALYSIS, ORGANIZATIONS AFFILIATED WITH BOTH PARTIES HAVE SPENT $25 MILLION ON THE RACE SO FAR. BUCK BENEFITS FROM SPENDING BY REPUBLICAN-AFFILIATED INTEREST GROUPS LIKE AMERICAN CROSSROADS.

>> BENNET PROMISED HIS REFORM WOULD SAVE COSTS AND REDUCE THE DEFICIT. INSTEAD, WE GOT TAX INCREASES, BILLIONS IN MEDICARE CUTS AND RECORD DEFICITS.

>> Ifill: BENNET, MEANWHILE, IS GETTING MUCH OF HIS HELP FROM THE DEMOCRATIC SENATORIAL CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE, WHICH RELEASED THIS NEW AD TODAY.

>> I JUST CAN'T VOTE FOR KEN BUCK.

>> HE'S JUST TOO OUT THERE.

>> HE WANTS TO PUT SOCIAL SECURITY IN THE STOCK MARKET.

>> Ifill: SUCH EXPENSIVE ADVERTISING-- FINANCED BY AS MANY AS 27 SEPARATE INTEREST GROUPS-- HAS MADE COLORADO THE NATION'S TOP TARGET FOR OUTSIDE MONEY THIS YEAR. FOR MORE, WE'RE JOINED NOW BY POLITICAL WATCHERS IN BOTH STATES. FLOYD CIRULI IS A DENVER-BASED INDEPENDENT POLLSTER. HE'S PRESIDENT OF CIRULI ASSOCIATES. AND CAROL MARIN IS A COLUMNIST FOR THE "CHICAGO SUN-TIMES," POLITICAL EDITOR AT NBC5 THERE, AND A CONTRIBUTOR TO WTTW'S "CHICAGO TONIGHT." WELCOME TO YOU BOTH. LET'S START WITH COLORADO. WHY IS... WHY IS SENATOR BENNETT SO VULNERABLE FLOYD CIRULI?

>> WELL, THE ENTIRE YEAR HAS BEEN A PRETTY GOOD LOOKING REPUBLICAN YEAR OUT HERE REALLY SINCE THE SPRING. ALMOST EVERY POLL HAS INDICATED THAT THE SENATE CANDIDATES HAD ABOUT A FIVE-POINT ADVANTAGE GOING INTO THE RACE. AND BUCK INDEED HAD A FIVE-POINT ADVANTAGE RIGHT THROUGH EARLY OCTOBER. ACTUALLY, THE RACE LOOKS LIKE IT'S NOW CLOSED. THE TWO POLLS WITHIN THE LAST FOUR DAYS INDICATE THAT IT'S A TIE. 47-47. AND THAT'S NO DOUBT A REFLECTION OF THIS HUGE EXPENDITURE OF MONEY, MOST OF IT IN NEGATIVE ADVERTISING.

>> Ifill: I REMEMBER WHEN KEN BUCK WON THE REPUBLICAN NOMINATION IN AUGUST, THIS WAS MET WITH SOME DISMAY BY NATIONAL REPUBLICANS BECAUSE THEY HAD SUPPORTED JANE NORTON. HAVE THEY COME ON BOARD OR IS THIS ENTIRELY A TEA PARTY FUNDED SURGE?

>> NO, IT REALLY IS FUNDED BY THE NATIONAL REPUBLICAN SENATORIAL COMMITTEE AND ALSO ALL THESE INDEPENDENT COMMITTEES TO GET TO THE $5 MILLION OF WHICH BUCK HAS HAD PROBABLY CLOSE TO HALF OF IT IN ADVERTISING, IT REALLY IS A FULL-SCALE EFFORT OF THE REPUBLICANS TO TAKE THIS SEAT. AND AS I SAY, UP UNTIL ABOUT A WEEK AGO, IT LOOKED LIKE THEY WERE GOING TO. THIS IS A STATE, AS YOU KNOW, THAT JUST TWO YEARS AGO THE PRESIDENT WON IT BY NINE PERCENTAGE POINTS, WHICH WAS UNUSUAL FOR COLORADO TO GO DEMOCRATIC. BUT THIS ENTIRE YEAR, COLORADO VOTERS HAVE BEEN SAYING THEY'RE DISSATISFIED WITH WASHINGTON. OBVIOUSLY UPSET ABOUT THE ECONOMY. AND IT'S BEEN HELPING THE REPUBLICANS IN THE POLLS. AT THIS POINT, IT NOW LOOKS LIKE IT'S A GROUND GAME. THIS COULD BE A ONE OR TWO-POINT RACE.

>> Reporter: ARE THE ISSUES DRIVING THIS ECONOMIC OR SOCIAL?

>> WELL, NEEDLESS TO SAY, THE REPUBLICANS HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THE ECONOMY, GOVERNMENT DEBT, THE HEALTH CARE TAKEOVER WHICH THEY CONSIDER REALLY KEY ISSUES FOR THEM AND THEY DO POLL WELL IN COLORADO. THE DEMOCRATS HAVE BEEN ABLE TO CAPITALIZE ON SOME BUCK FOE PAWS AND MISTAKES OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF WEEKS INCLUDING AT THE... ON NATIONAL TELEVISION AT THE "MEET THE PRESS." AND THEY HAVE BEEN FOCUSING ON SOCIAL ISSUES. CONSEQUENTLY, THE LATEST POLL SHOWS WHERE THE DEMOCRATS HAVE IMPROVED THEIR POSITION IS WITH WOMEN VOTERS AND INDEPENDENT VOTERS AND THAT'S EXACTLY THE TARGET THEY'VE GONE AFTER. YOU KNOW, TO SOME EXTENT THAT REFLECTS THE BASE OF SORT OF COMING BACK TO THE PARTY. BUT ALSO IT REFLECTS THE FACT THAT THEY'VE BEEN AIMING AT THE ABORTION ISSUE, SOME INSENSITIVITY TO RAPE ISSUES THAT THEY'VE ACCUSED BUCK OF. AND ALSO THE LATEST AD THAT YOU HAD UP THAT HE'S TOO EXTREME ON SOCIAL SECURITY, ON A NUMBER OF ISSUES THAT THEY FEEL ARE GOING TO PLAY TO INDEPENDENT VOTERS, PARTICULARLY HERE IN THE DENVER METRO AREA.

>> Ifill: CAROL MARIN, YOU HAVE A SPECIAL CASE IN THAT THIS IS PRESIDENT OBAMA'S OLD SEAT. WHY ISN'T ALEXI GIANNOULIAS, WHO IS THE PRESIDENT'S OLD BASKETBALL-PLAYING BUDDY IN CHICAGO, THE STATE TREASURER, WHY ISN'T HIS SLAM DUNK HERE?

>> IT'S A GOOD QUESTION BUT PART OF THE PROBLEM IS MARK KIRK IS A VERY GOOD CANDIDATE WITH A LOT OF EXPERIENCE. WHAT WE'VE SEEN OUT OF THESE TWO CANDIDATES, THOUGH, GWEN, THEY'RE BOTH ATTRACTIVE, THEY'RE BOTH TELEGENIC, THEY BOTH HAVE YOUTH ON THEIR SIDES BUT THE PROBLEMS THEY'VE HAD HAVE BEEN HUGELY SELF-INFLICTED. FOR KIRK, HE'S HAD A PROBLEM FOR SOME REASON EMBELLISHING A PERFECTLY TERRIFIC MILITARY RECORD BY SAYING THAT HE RECEIVED AN AWARD HE DIDN'T GET AND TALKING ABOUT BEING CAUGHT UNDER FIRE IN AFGHANISTAN WHICH NO ONE CAN VERIFY. FOR GIANNOULIAS, HIS YOUTH IN SOME WAYS REFLECTS A LEVEL OF INEXPERIENCE. HE CAME INTO PUBLIC OFFICE AS A STATE OFFICE HOLDER SAYING THAT HE WAS A YOUNG BUT EXCELLENT BANKER, PART OF HIS FAMILY'S BANK, KNEW A LOT ABOUT FINANCE. NOW THAT BANK HAS BEEN TAKEN OVER BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, SOME OF THE LOANS HAVE BEEN GIVEN TO CONVICTED FELONS WITH MOB CONNECTIONS. BOTH OF THESE GUYS HAVE PROBLEMS

>> Ifill: YOU KNOW, UNLIKE KEN BUCK IN COLORADO, MARK KIRK WAS NOT IMMEDIATELY AT LEAST EMBRACED BY THE TEA PARTY OR THE TEA PARTY ELEMENTS THAT EXIST IN ILLINOIS. HOW'S THAT GOING NOW?

>> YOU KNOW, THEY STILL DON'T EMBRACE HIM, GWEN, BECAUSE HE'S TOO MODERATE. HE'S MODERATE ON THE SOCIAL ISSUES, HE'S PRO-CHOICE. THAT'S A PROBLEM FOR THEM. AND SO DOWN STATE ILLINOIS, WHICH IS MUCH MORE REPUBLICAN AND CONSERVATIVE IS GRUDGINGLY NOW CLOSING THE GAP AND GOING FOR KIRK. MEANWHILE, THE SUBURBS, IS SUBURBS ARE THE PLACE THAT BARACK OBAMA WON INDEPENDENT WOMEN. THE CITY OF CHICAGO, WHERE HE HAD A STRONG AFRICAN AMERICAN VOTE. SHOWS TWO CONSTITUENCIES WHICH WOULD... YOU WOULD THINK WOULD NATURALLY BE WITH GIANNOULIAS DO NOT SHOW THE LEVEL OF ENTHUSIASM THAT THEY SHOWED FOR BARACK OBAMA. AND THOSE ARE REALLY THE PLACES WHERE THE GROUND GAME IS GOING TO BE WAGED.

>> Ifill: IS THAT THE REASON FOR THE REPEATED VISITS? WE HAVE SEEN THE PRESIDENT IN ILLINOIS PROBABLY MORE THAN WE'VE SEEN HIM IN ANY OTHER SINGLE STATE.

>> ABSOLUTELY. WE'VE SEEN HIM MORE THAN ILLINOIS... WE EXPECTED TO SEE HIM MORE EARLY ON AND DIDN'T. HE'S COMING BACK, AS YOU POINTED OUT, ON SATURDAY. MICHELLE OBAMA MAY BE BACK HERE ON FRIDAY FOR A FUNERAL OF A REVERED AFRICAN AMERICAN MINISTER. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, THAT MAY STILL SEND ANOTHER GET OUT THE VOTE MESSAGE. BUT IT MAY BE TOO LATE THAT OBAMA'S LOVED IN ILLINOIS, STILL HAS A LOT OF GREAT AFFECTION BUT HIS POLICIES HAVE REALLY COME UNDER QUESTION EVEN BY HIS MOST ARDENT SUPPORTERS.

>> Ifill: I WANT TO ASK YOU AND I'LL ASK FLOYD CIRULI IN DENVER, TOO. HOW WHO IS WORKING HARDER AND MORE SUCCESSFULLY TO GET OUT THEIR BASE IN THE NEXT COMING, WHAT, SIX DAYS? CAROL?

>> GWEN, I'D SAY THAT WAS A TIE. THIS IS AN ABSOLUTELY TO THE DEATH FIGHT FOR EACH OF THESE PARTIES. THIS IS BARACK OBAMA'S SENATE SEAT. IT'S ALL YOU NEED TO SAY. THIS IS SYMBOL AND SUBSTANCE.

>> Ifill: FLOYD CIRULI, HA WHAT'S HAPPENING ON THE GROUND IN TERMS OF GETTING OUT PEOPLE'S BASE?

>> I THINK THE DEMOCRATS CORRECTLY FEEL THAT THEY'RE GOING TO WIN THIS-- IF AT ALL-- BY ONE OR TWO POINTS SO GETTING OUT THE VOTE IS SOMETHING THEY HAVE MASTERED HERE IN COLORADO. IT'S PART OF THE REASON WHY THEY'VE REALLY BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL THE LAST FIVE OR SIX YEARS HERE. THEY CAN TRACK VOTES. ABOUT 70% OF OUR VOTE WILL COME IN BY MAIL-BACKED BALLOT. AND UNTIL YOU RETURN THAT BALLOT, YOU'LL BE GETTING PHONE CALLS AND VISITS FROM DEMOCRATS. THE SENSE IS THAT THE REPUBLICANS HAVE THE WIND IN THEIR SAILS AND SO THEY'RE REALLY THINKING THAT IF THEY CAN JUST TURN OUT THAT ENTHUSIASTIC BASE THAT'S SHOWN UP IN EVERY POLL, THEY'RE GOING TO WIN THIS. AND AT LEAST SO FAR IN THE EARLY VOTE THERE ARE MORE REPUBLICANS RETURNING THE BALLOTS THAN DEMOCRATS. SO IT FRANKLY LOOKS VERY, VERY CLOSE AND I THINK BOTH OF THEM HAVE GOOD SOLID GET OUT THE VOTE EFFORTS.

>> Ifill: SO YOU'RE SAYING ONLY 30% OF COLORADO VOTERS ARE ACTUALLY VOTING ON ELECTION DAY?

>> THAT'S WHAT THE CLERKS TELL US. PEOPLE REALLY LIKE THE IDEA OF CONVENIENCE VOTING AND WE NOW ALLOW ABSENTEE VOTING WITHOUT ANY EXCUSE AND PEOPLE JUST VOTE BY MAIL AND MOST OF IT WILL BE IN BEFORE THIS WEEKEND.

>> Ifill: CAROL MARIN, WHAT ABOUT EARLY VOTING? THERE'S ALSO EARLY VOTING IN ILLINOIS, RIGHT?

>> THERE IS EARLY VOTING IN ILLINOIS AND, GWEN, IN THE TIME THAT IT'S BEEN IN PRACTICE-- WHICH HAS BEEN SINCE 2006-- CITY OF CHICAGO HAS ALWAYS SURPASSED THE SUBURBS. NOT THIS TIME. RIGHT NOW THE SUBURBS ARE SURPASSING THE CITY AND THAT IS NOT A GOOD SIGN FOR DEMOCRATS BECAUSE THOSE SUBURBS ARE MORE REPUBLICAN.

>> Ifill: SO IS IT FAIR TO SAY IF YOU WERE TO TAKE A TURN AROUND THE SUBURB THIS IS WEEKEND YOU WOULD FIND A LOT OF DEMOCRATS TRYING TO GET PEOPLE OUT? GET PEOPLE TO THE MAILBOX, WHATEVER THEY DO?

>> THERE IS NO QUESTION. AND WHEN YOU'RE TRYING TO GET THE BASE IT'S BECAUSE YOU PRETTY MUCH HAVE FIGURED OUT THAT SOME OF THE INDEPENDENTS ARE NOT CLOSING IN YOUR FAVOR AND, SO, YES, THERE IS A MASSIVE GET OUT THE VOTE EFFORT UNDER WAY.

>> Ifill: CAROL MARIN AND FLOYD CIRULI, TWO PEOPLE WHO WILL BE WORKING ALL WEEKEND SO NICE TO TALK TO YOU.

>> THANK YOU.

>> Lehrer: AND TO SOME MID-TERM ELECTIONS HISTORY FROM RICHARD NORTON SMITH, A PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN AND A SCHOLAR-IN- RESIDENCE AT GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY AND BEVERLY GAGE, A PROFESSOR OF AMERICAN HISTORY AT YALE UNIVERSITY. BEVERLY GAUGE, JUST IN GENERAL, WHAT DOES HISTORY TELL US ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF MIDTERM ELECTIONS?

>> WELL, MIDTERM ELECTIONS HISTORICALLY ARE ALMOST ALWAYS OVERSHADOWED BY PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS. WE TEND TO THINK IN TERMS OF PRESIDENTS, BUT THEY'VE PLAYED REALLY CRITICAL ROLES AT SOME REALLY KEY MOMENTS IN AMERICAN HISTORY. AND THE MOMENTS WHERE THEY'VE BEEN MOST IMPORTANT HAVE LARGELY BEEN WHEN TWO THINGS HAPPENED. THE FIRST IS WHEN EITHER THE SENATE OR THE HOUSE OR BOTH OF THEM HAVE CHANGED HANDS FROM ONE PARTY TO ANOTHER. MOST OFTEN BECAUSE IT'S A MIDTERM ELECTION FROM THE PRESIDENT'S PARTY TO THE OPPOSITE. AND THE SECOND IS WHEN THESE PARTY CHANGES HAPPEN AT MOMENTS WHERE REALLY CRITICAL ISSUES ARE AT STAKE. A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES THAT COME TO MIND: 1918 YOU SEE A SWITCH IN THE SENATE IN PARTICULAR UNDER WOODROW WILSON, THEY SCOTCH HIS PLANS FOR THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS. ANOTHER SIGNIFICANT MIDTERM ELECTION, 1946, HARRY TRUMAN HAS JUST BECOME PRESIDENT. YOU BEGIN TO GET A REAL REPUBLICAN PUSHBACK AGAINST NEW DEAL POLICIES AND AGAINST HARRY TRUMAN'S DOMESTIC AGENDA.

>> Lehrer: RICHARD, WHAT WOULD YOU ADD TO THAT LIST.

>> I WOULD ADD... IT'S CERTAINLY A HISTORICAL TREND IN THE LAST 100 YEARS ONLY TWICE HAS A PRESIDENT... HIS PARTY IN POWER ADDED SEATS.

>> Lehrer: ONLY TWICE?

>> THE FIRST... IN THE TWO YEARS, HALFWAY THROUGH THE FIRST TERM. IN THE HEIGHT OF THE NEW DEAL AND THEN IN 2002, GEORGE W. BUSH DEFIED THE ODDS IN THE WAKE OF 9/11 AND REPUBLICANS ACTUALLY PICKED UP SEATS. NOW, THE REAL CURSE IN AMERICAN PARTY POLITICS IS THE SIX-YEAR CURSE. SIX YEARS INTO A PRESIDENT'S TERM IT'S "KATIE BAR THE DOOR." BUT THE FACT IS...

>> Lehrer: BECAUSE HE'S ALREADY... ALL HES UP TO NOW AT LEAST ARE CONSIDERED LAME DUCK.

>> HE'S A LAME DUCK, PROBABLY INTELLECTUALLY SPENT, THE ENERGY LEVEL IS LOW, PEOPLE LOOKING FORWARD TO SOMETHING ELSE. THE NATURE OF THE TWO YEARS, IT'S KIND OF A... FOR SOME PEOPLE IT'S A DO-OVER. FOR SOME PEOPLE IT'S A MID-COURSE CORRECTION.

>> Lehrer: IS IT ALWAYS A REFERENDUM ON THE SITTING PRESIDENT?

>> IT IS INCREASINGLY SO. I THINK PARTICULARLY IN THE MODERN MEDIA AGE. I MEAN, ONE OF THE INTERESTING THING IS THAT FOR 40 YEARS THE DEMOCRATSED THAT HOUSE, FROM THE EARLY '50s UNTIL '94. THE REPUBLICANS THEN TOOK THE HOUSE AND HELD ON TO IT FOR 12 YEARS. THE DEMOCRATS TOOK THE HOUSE BACK IN 2006. IF THEY LOSE IT ON TUESDAY, THEY WILL HAVE HAD IT FOR FOUR YEARS. THERE'S SOMETHING GOING ON HERE. THE PERIOD OF ONE-PARTY DOMINANCE HAS BEEN SHRINKING MEASURABLY AND I THINK THAT'S IN PART BECAUSE OF THE EMPHASIS WE PLACE ON THE EXECUTIVE. WE PERSONALIZED THESE ELECTIONS. THEY'RE NOT LOCALIZED. THIS IS FOR LOTS OF PEOPLE A REFERENDUM ON BARACK OBAMA AND IT'S NOT JUST THE ANGRY ANTI-OBAMA FORCES. IF YOU'RE ON THE LEFT AND YOU ARE DISAPPOINTED IN THIS ADMINISTRATION FOR WHATEVER REASON, YOU CAN EXPRESS YOUR DISAPPOINTMENT BY NOT VOTING. AND THAT IS A SIGNIFICANT... THAT'S THE SOURCE OF THE ENTHUSIASM GAP, I THINK, THAT WE'VE HEARD ABOUT ALL YEAR.

>> Lehrer: BEVERLY GAUGE, THROUGH HISTORY, HOW HAVE PRESIDENTS WHO HAVE GOTTEN THE SHORT STICK IN A MIDTERM ELECTION, HOW HAVE THEY HANDLED DISAPPROVAL?

>> WELL, THEY'VE HANDLED IT DIFFERENTLY DEPENDING ON THEIR PERSONALITIES. WOODROW WILSON NOTORIOUSLY HANDLED IT INCREDIBLY POORLY. BY THE TIME HE'S AT THE END OF WORLD WAR I HE'S HAD A STROKE BUT HE ALSO IN PARTICULAR TOOK THIS REPUBLICAN REPUDIATION DEEPLY PERSONALLY. HE REFUSED TO WORK WITH THEM AND IT REALLY RUINED A LOT OF HIS PLANS. PRESIDENTS WHO CAN STEP BACK A LITTLE BIT, TAKE IT A LITTLE LESS PERSONALLY AND TRY TO NEGOTIATE SOME SORT OF COMPROMISE TEND TO DO A LITTLE BIT BETTER IN THOSE SORTS OF SCENARIOS. I THINK IT'S ALSO-- TO JUMP OFF A LITTLE BIT OF WHAT RICHARD WAS SAYING-- I DO THINK THE 1934 ELECTION IS AN INTERESTING PARALLEL TO LOOK AT. IT'S ON THE ONE HAND QUITE EXCEPTIONAL BECAUSE THE DEMOCRATS UNDER FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT ACTUALLY PICK UP SO MANY SEATS THAT YEAR, BUT GIVEN THAT OBAMA WAS IN FACT BEING SO ROUNDLY COMPARED TO FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT WHEN HE WAS ELECTED, WE WERE GOING TO HAVE ANOTHER NEW DEAL IN THE MIDST OF ECONOMIC CRISIS, I DO THINK IT'S WORTH ASKING WHY THE REPUDIATION OF OBAMA HAS BEEN QUITE AS SEVERE AS IT IS AND WHY HE COULDN'T CAPITALIZE LIKE ROOSEVELT DID IN 1934. WE SAID IT'S AN EXCEPTIONAL MOMENT CERTAINLY BUT GIVEN ALL OF THOSE EARLIER COMPARISONS I THINK IT'S WORTH THINKING ABOUT.

>> LET ME TRY TO ANSWER THAT WITH ONE THEORY. AND THAT IS WE DIDN'T HAVE A GREAT DEPRESSION.

>> Lehrer: WE HAD A SMALL RECESSION INSAID?

>> WE HAD A GREAT RECESSION AND IF YOU LOST YOUR JOB, YOU'RE DEPRESSED. NO DOUBT THERE ARE LOTS PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY HURTING. MORE THAN THAT, THERE IS THIS PER VASE I HAVE... I THINK PERVASIVE FEAR THAT THE FUTURE MAY NOT BE WHAT AMERICANS TRADITIONALLY HAVE ASSUMED IT TO BE. THERE'S A CLEAR FEAR OF CHINA. THERE'S A SENSE THAT THIS IS A COUNTRY AND A CULTURE THAT MAY BE IN THE DECLINE. BUT IN TERMS OF 1934, IT WAS AN AFFIRMATION OF IN A SENSE THE RADICALIZATION THAT WAS IN 1932. F.D.R. TOOK GOVERNMENT PLACES THAT NO PRESIDENT HAD BEFORE AND BY 1934 PEOPLE FELT PSYCHOLOGICALLY AT LEAST, WHATEVER THE ECONOMIC INDICES WERE, THING R WERE GETTING BET SORE THEY ENDORSED HIM. THIS TIME AROUND WE DIDN'T GO OVER THE CLIFF. IT COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE IS NOT A BANNER THAT MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ARE GOING TO MARCH BEHIND TO THE POLLS. BUT THE... IN EFFECT THAT'S THE OBAMA ARGUMENT. THE ARGUMENT IS IF YOU LISTEN TO THE ECONOMISTS, EIGHT MILLION JOBS WERE NOT LOST BECAUSE OF THE HATED BAILOUTS AND TARP AND ALL THE OTHER STUFF. MANY OF WHICH ARE BUSH INITIATIVES. AND I THINK IT COMPLICATES... IT'S A VERY DIFFICULT MESSAGE THAT OBAMA HAS TO DELIVER.

>> Lehrer: MOST PEOPLE HAVE SAID... THE CONVENTIONAL WISDOM IS THAT THE ONE PRESIDENT WHO HANDLED A LOST MIDTERM... 1994, BILL CLINTON. DO YOU AGREE WITH THAT? AND WHAT DID HE DO THAT COULD, IN FACT, GIVE LESSON TO BARACK OBAMA?

>> I WOULD SAY HE HAS COMPANY, YES. THE CONVENTIONAL WISDOM IS BILL CLINTON BRILLIANTLY STOLE REPUBLICAN CLOTHES. HE ACTUALLY TURNED THIS TO HIS ADVANTAGE BY CO-OPTING THE CENTER. AND BY WAITING FOR THE REPUBLICANS TO OVERREACH, THE SHUTDOWN OF THE GOVERNMENT, ET CETERA. BUT HE MOVED TO A BALANCED BUDGET. HE SIGNED THE WELFARE REFORM PACKAGE. AND SO BY '96...

>> Lehrer: WHICH WERE BASICALLY REPUBLICAN IDEAS.

>> HE BASICALLY SHUT THE DOOR ON BOB DOLE OR ANY REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE. THE QUESTION IS WHETHER BARACK OBAMA IN TODAY'S MEDIA CLIMATE WITH THE LEFT ON THE BLOGOSPHERE HOLDING HIS FEET TO THE FIRE, WHETHER HE HAS AS MUCH LATITUDE IF HE WANTS TO MOVE TO THE CENTER THAT BILL CLINTON HAS.

>> Lehrer: BEVERLY GAUGE TO YOU AGREE ON 1994 THAT CLINTON, AT LEAST FROM HIS POINT OF VIEW, DID THE RIGHT THING AND GOT THINGS DONE THAT WEREN'T EXPECTED?

>> WELL, I THINK THAT IT GOT HIM REELECTED SO WE HAVE SOME PROOF THERE.

>> Lehrer: (LAUGHS) IN '96, RIGHT.

>> BUT I ALSO THINK... I MEAN '94 IS AN ELECTION THAT GETS BROUGHT UP A LOT THIS YEAR BECAUSE WE HAVE THE SAME SORT OF ANGRY POPULIST RIGHT WING GRASS-ROOTS BACKLASH. BUT I THINK THERE'S ANOTHER ELECTION JUST TO THROW YET ANOTHER ONE OUT THERE THAT'S INTERESTING IN THIS VEIN WHICH IS 1962. NOT QUITE AS EXCEPTIONAL AS 1934 IN THE SENSE THAT JOHN KENNEDY DID NOT HAVE GREAT SUCCESS FOR THE DEMOCRATS, BUT IT'S AN INTERESTING MOMENT BECAUSE THERE WERE GREAT CONCERNS IN 1962 ABOUT GROUPS LIKE THE JOHN BIRCH SOCIETY, ABOUT A QUOTE/UNQUOTE EXTREMIST RIGHT. THERE WAS REALLY QUITE AN INFLUENTIAL ROLE IN THE ELECTIONS AND IN THAT MOMENT THE AMERICAN ELECTORATE ACTUALLY MORE OR LESS PUSHED BACK AGAINST THAT AND THE DEMOCRATS DIDN'T DO NEARLY AS BADLY IN THAT MIDTERM ELECTION AS MANY PEOPLE HAVE BEEN PREDICTING THEY WOULD. OF COURSE, IT'S ALSO TRUE THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS CAME ALONG AND BROUGHT PEOPLE TOGETHER THERE AS WELL. BUT I THINK IT'S AN INTERESTING ELECTION IN TERMS OF A KIND OF RIGHT WING POPULIST SURGE THAT HASN'T BEEN AS EXAMINED.

>> Lehrer: GO AHEAD.

>> AND THE OTHER EXAMPLE TO SORT OF BRING US FULL CIRCLE, BECAUSE THEN WE MENTIONED 1946, PEOPLE GAYE UP ON TRUMAN AT THAT POINT, PEOPLE THOUGHT THE NEW DEAL WAS IN FACT OVER. TRUMAN BRILLIANTLY-- AS WE NOW KNOW-- USED THE SO CALLED...

>> Lehrer: NOBODY THOUGHT SO AT THE TIME.

>> NO ONE THOUGHT IT AT THE TIME BUT IN 1948 HE MANAGED TO EXPLOIT, FOR EXAMPLE, HE REALLY ENERGIZED UNION WHICH IS WERE CLEARLY MUCH MORE POWERFUL THEN THAN THEY ARE NOW. THEY WERE NOT BIG TRUMAN FANS. BUT COMPARED WITH ROBERT TAFT AND THE TAFT/HARTLEY ACT AND ALL OF THE EFFORTS THAT THE REPUBLICAN CONGRESS HAS TAKEN TO REIN IN LABOR, IT ENERGIZED ORGANIZED LABOR IN A WAY THAT NOTHING ELSE COULD AND CONTRIBUTED ENORMOUSLY NOT ONLY TO TRUMAN'S UPSET VICTORY THAT YEAR BUT TO THE DEMOCRATS RETAKING CONGRESS BY A VERY SUBSTANTIAL MARGIN.

>> Lehrer: AND THAT WAS THE DIRECT RESULT OF HOW TRUMAN HANDLED THE' 46 REPUDIATION.

>> AND THAT'S THE ALTERNATIVE. OBAMA CAN BE CLINTON IN '94 OR HE CAN BE HARRY TRUMAN IN' 46.

>> Couric: OKAY. RICHARD NORTON SMITH, BEVERLY GAUGE, THANK YOU BOTH VERY MUCH FOR THE LESSON.

>> THANKS, JIM.

>> Ifill: NEXT, THE YOUNGEST VICTIMS OF THE PAKISTANI FLOODS. WE HAVE A REPORT ON MATERNAL HEALTH FROM SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT SAIMA MOHSIN.

>> Reporter: TODAY AND EVERYDAY 1,700 BABIES ARE BORN IN THE FLOOD AFFECTED AREAS-- AROUND 250 OF THEM WILL EXPERIENCE COMPLICATIONS. THE U.N. ESTIMATES HALF A MILLION WOMEN WILL GIVE BIRTH IN THE FOOD AFFECTED ZONES IN THE NEXT SIX MONTHS. THOSE THAT MAKE IT TO THE CAMPS ARE RELATIVELY LUCKY. THEY SHOULD GET SOME MEDICAL ASSISTANCE. OTHERS ARE STILL WADING IN THE WATER, WITH NO ACCESS TO EVEN BASIC HEALTH CARE, THE UNSEEN AND UNLUCKY. OUR CAMERAS FOLLOWED THE PAKISTAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION WHICH HAS SET UP TENTS IN THE CAMPS THEY CAN GET TO. A MIDWIFE MONITORS THE PREGNANCIES AND KEEPS A CHECK ON THE WOMEN. AMEERUN NISA IS HAVING HER SEVENTH CHILD, SHE'S ANEMIC AND A HIGH RISK PATIENT.

>> ( translated ): OUR CONCERN IS THAT AMEERUN LOST A LOT OF BLOOD DURING HER LAST DELIVERY AND HAD TO BE RUSHED TO HOSPITAL. ON TOP OF THAT, SHE HAS CONCEIVED VERY QUICKLY AGAIN AND SHE'S VERY ANEMIC YET AGAIN.

>> ( translated ): I HAVE BEEN VERY UPSET. I WAS CRYING WHEN THE FLOODS CAME WORRIED ABOUT MY UNBORN BABY. WE'RE VERY UNCOMFORTABLE HERE, IT'S VERY HARD. WE DON'T ALWAYS GET CLEAN DRINKING WATER. THERE AREN'T ANY FACILITIES. WE'RE SLEEPING ON THE GROUND. MY CHILDREN ARE REPEATEDLY GETTING SICK, I GET THEM MEDICINES BUT THEY DON'T WORK.

>> Reporter: NADIA IS REFUSING TO DRINK MILK.

>> ( translated ): DO YOU DRINK MILK? WHEN YOU ARE PREGNANT, IT'S ESSENTIAL YOU DRINK MILK. YOU AND YOUR BABY REALLY NEED THOSE NUTRIENTS.

>> Reporter: THE MIDWIFE STRUGGLES TO CONVINCE HER THAT IT'S GOOD FOR HER HEALTH AND HER BABIES.

>> ( translated ): YOU CAN ADD ANY FLAVORING OR JUST ADD SUGAR TO TASTE BUT YOU MUST DRINK MILK. WE FOUND THAT LANGUAGE IS A HUGE PROBLEM IN THE CAMPS.

>> Reporter: PAKISTAN'S DIVERSE POPULATION SPEAK MANY DIFFERENT LANGUAGES AND DIALECTS. CHILDREN OFTEN BRIDGE THE COMMUNICATION GAP. THIS WOMAN HAD HAD A HIGH TEMPERATURE FOR DAYS, BUT HAD NOT ALERTED THE MIDWIFE. SOME WOMEN ARE SCARED THEY'LL HAVE TO PAY FOR THE TREATMENT, OTHERS LIKE THIS ONE HAD NOT THOUGHT IT NECESSARY. ONE OF THE MAJOR PROBLEMS AFFECTING SAFE CHILDBIRTH IN PAKISTAN IS THE DELAY IN CALLING FOR MEDICAL HELP. WOMEN AND YOUNG GIRLS DELIVER AT HOME. THE DOCTOR IS OFTEN ONLY CALLED ONCE THE SITUATION IS LIFE- THREATENING OR IT'S TOO LATE.

>> THE MAIN RISK IS HEMORRHAGE, BLEEDING, THIS IS THE BIGGEST

>> ( translated ): WATER WAS UP TO HERE, WE ALL RUSHED TO THE ROOF TO SAVE OURSELVES AND SPENT 24 HOURS THERE. THEN THE MILITARY RESCUE FINALLY CAME AND I PASSED OUT. THEY CARRIED ME TO SAFETY. IT'S BEEN VERY HARD BEING PREGNANT THROUGH ALL THIS.

>> Reporter: WHILE WE WERE FILMING, FATIMA WAS TAKEN TO HOSPITAL, A HIGH-RISK PATIENT, SHE GAVE BIRTH TO A HEALTHY BABY GIRL, HAD SHE STILL BEEN IN HER VILLAGE, THINGS MAY HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT.

>> ( translated ): NOW WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING. NO HOME, NO CLOTHES TO WEAR, NOTHING TO EAT OR DRINK. WORRIED ABOUT MY BABY'S FUTURE, YOU HAVE TO HAVE SOMETHING TO GIVE YOUR CHILDREN AND I HAVE EIGHT CHILDREN. MATERNAL MORTALITY IS STILL HIGH IN PAKISTAN, FAR FROM THE MILLENIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS. EVEN BEFORE THE FLOODING FOR EVERY 100,000 BIRTHS AN ESTIMATED 500 WOMEN DIE. THE FLOODING HAS ONLY ADDED TO THIS GRIM SITUATION. TRAUMA, LACK OF HYGIENE AND SANITATION, LITTLE FOOD LEADING TO MALNUTRITION MAKE WOMEN AND THEIR NEWBORN BABIES MORE VULNERABLE.

>> Reporter: THE CAMPS ARE DIRTY AND DUSTY. MANY WOMEN GIVE BIRTH ON THE HOT SANDY EARTH. THE DISCOMFORT IS SECONDARY TO THE GRIME AND DIRT AROUND THEM. PEOPLE FROM RURAL COMMUNITIES, MANY ILLITERATE OR UNSCHOOLED, HAVE LITTLE OR NO TRAINING IN HYGIENE. WE FOUND FECES AND URINE JUST OUTSIDE TENTS AND EVEN IN THE HALLWAYS OF SCHOOLS CONVERTED INTO CAMPS.

>> THERE'S NO HYGIENE, THERE'S NO SANITATION, NO CLEAN WATER AND IN THIS SITUATION MANAGING R PREGNANT WOMAN IS REALLY DIFFICULT, IT'S REALLY DIFFICULT.

>> ( translated ): THEY'RE SITTING ON THE SOIL. THE WATER ISN'T CLEAN. NOW, THEY'RE TELLING ME THEY HAVEN'T EVEN HAD ANY WATER FOR TWO DAYS TO WASH. I LOOK AT LITTLE KIDS TOUCHING THE GROUND AND THEN EATING WITH THE SAME HANDS. PUTTING ALL THAT DIRT INTO THEIR MOUTHS. INEVITABLY, THE NEXT DAY THEY COME TO ME SUFFERING FROM DIARRHEA.

>> Reporter: NAGINA HOLDS A REGULAR CLINIC, OFTEN CRAMMED AND OVERWHELMED. MIDWIVES END UP HAVING TO TREAT WOMEN AND CHILDREN FOR ALL KINDS OF PROBLEMS, COUGHS AND COLDS, DIARRHEA, FEVER, BREAST LUMPS AND SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS. MEDICINES ARE RATIONED AND LIMITED TO ONE OR TWO DAYS WORTH OF DOSES. THE LACK OF LITERACY AND UNDERSTANDING MEANS PATIENTS CAN'T TREAT THEMSELVES. PERPETUALLY PREGNANT, WOMEN ARE HAVING ONE BIRTH AFTER ANOTHER SOME, GIVING BIRTH TO 10 CHILDREN OR MORE. IN A FEW YEARS TIME, THE MIDWIFE TOLD ME, THIS YOUNG GIRL WILL BE PREGNANT TOO. BUT WOMEN HAVE LITTLE KNOWLEDGE OF HOW BEST TO FEED THEIR BABIES AND PROTECT THEM FROM DISEASE. BABIES LIE IN THE HOT SUN WITH LITTLE SHELTER, THE TENTS HOTTER THAN AN INCUBATOR BECOME UNBEARABLE. THIS WOMAN HAD HAD TWINS SHE WAS STRUGGLING TO BREASTFEED THEM, THEIR SALLOW AND SUNKEN FACES REVEALED THE ONSET OF MALNUTRITION. MANY OF THESE WOMEN HAVE NEVER SEEN A DOCTOR. THE PAKISTAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION SAY THERE IS A POSITIVE SIDE TO THIS DISASTER.

>> Reporter: THE FLOODING HAS BROUGHT TO LIGHT MANY ISSUES PAKISTAN'S PEOPLE WERE ALREADY FACING, NO EXACERBATED BY THE DIRE SITUATION. AT LEAST 20 MILLION PEOPLE HAVE BEEN AFFECTED BY THE FLOODING ANOTHER HALF A MILLION NEWBORNS WILL BE ADDED ON TO THAT NUMBER IN THE NEXT SIX MONTHS. THE PLIGHT OF PAKISTAN'S FLOOD VICTIMS OLD, YOUNG AND NEW IS FAR FROM OVER.

>> Lehrer: NOW TO THE FRENCH BATTLE IN PARLIAMENT AND IN THE STREETS OVER RETIREMENT AND PENSIONS. RAY SUAREZ HAS THAT STORY.

>> LA ASSEMBLEE ADOPTEE!

>> Suarez: CAPPING A MONTH OF UNREST, THE FRENCH PARLIAMENT ADOPTED REFORMS TO THE NATION'S PENSION SYSTEM-- RAISING THE MINIMUM RETIREMENT AGE FROM 60 TO AGE 62. THE AGE TO GET A FULL PENSION WOULD GO FROM 65 TO 67.

>> ( translated ): IT IS AN IMPORTANT DAY FOR THE VOTE OF THE LAW FOR THE PENSION REFORM, IT IS AN IMPORTANT DAY FOR ALL FRENCH PEOPLE, FOR THOSE WHO RETIRED AND FOR THOSE WHO WILL RETIRE IN THE FUTURE, WHOSE PENSION WAS NOT GUARANTEED BEFORE.

>> Suarez: THE GOVERNMENT OF PRESIDENT NICOLAS SARKOZY HAD WARNED THAT WITH THE FRENCH LIVING LONGER LIVES, THE GENEROUS BENEFITS SYSTEM WOULD BUCKLE, UNLESS IT CHANGED. SOME AGREED WITH THE TWO-YEAR HIKE IN THE RETIREMENT THRESHOLD.

>> IF YOU COMPARE FRANCE TO OTHER EUROPEAN COUNTRIES, WE ARE THE COUNTRY THAT LET PEOPLE RETIRE EARLIER. THIS REFORM WAS REALLY NEEDED.

>> Suarez: OTHERS WERE EQUALLY CERTAIN THE FRENCH SHOULD RETIRE EARLIER THAN MOST EUROPEANS.

>> ( translated ): BECAUSE WE ARE FRENCH, AND WE ARE THE BEST.

>> Suarez: IN RECENT WEEKS, HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS TOOK THE STREETS, IN THE KIND OF UPHEAVAL NOT SEEN IN FRANCE FOR YEARS. GENERAL STRIKES CRIPPLED AIRPORTS AND TRAINS; SCHOOLS SHUT DOWN; STRIKING SANITATION WORKERS LET GARBAGE PILE UP IN THE STREETS OF THE SOUTHERN PORT CITY OF MARSEILLES, WHILE TANKER SHIPS LINED UP OVER THE HORIZON WAITING FOR CLOSED DOCKS TO REOPEN. THOSE PORT CLOSURES MEANT GAS WAS IN SHORT SUPPLY; GETTING EVEN A FEW GALLONS WAS AN ORDEAL.

>> ( translated ): IT'S BEEN VERY, VERY HARD. I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR 30 MINUTES THIS MORNING AND FINALLY I'VE BEEN LUCKY.

>> Suarez: IN RECENT DAYS SOME OF THE STRIKES AND CLOSURES HAVE BEGUN TO ABATE, BUT OPPOSITION SOCIALISTS WARNED TODAY THE TROUBLE IS NOT OVER.

>> ( translated ): THE ELYSEE OUGHT NOT TO THINK THAT ONCE THE VOTE HAS BEEN PASSED THE PROTEST WILL CALM DOWN AND THERE WILL BE A NEW START, BECAUSE THE FEELING REMAINS THAT THIS REFORM IS UNFAIR AND HAS BEEN IMPOSED ON FRENCH PEOPLE. THERE IS A GREAT FRUSTRATION.

>> Suarez: UNIONS HAVE CALLED FOR NATIONWIDE DEMONSTRATIONS AND STRIKES TOMORROW.

>> Suarez: SO WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? FOR THAT WE'RE JOINED BY MILDRADE CHERFILS, THE PARIS-BASED CORRESPONDENT FOR THE INTERNATIONAL NEWS WEB SITE GLOBAL POST. AND MILDRADE, THE UNIONS HAVE ANNOUNCED THEIR INTENTION TO CONTINUE STRIKING, BUT HAVE THEY SAID WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO DO? ARE THEY GOING TO BE TARGETING SECTORS LIKE TRUCKING AND TRANSPORTATION ALL OVER AGAIN?

>> EXACTLY. THERE IS AN ACTION PLANNED FOR TOMORROW AS WELL AS FOR NOVEMBER 6, WHICH IS A SATURDAY, WHICH THEY HOPE WILL BRING MORE PEOPLE OUT INTO THE STREETS. THE MOVEMENT IS LOSING SOME STEAM. THIS WEEK THERE WERE SCHOOL HOLIDAYS SO THERE WERE FEWER PEOPLE OUT PROTESTING, ESPECIAL AT THE SENATE VOTE THIS WEEK WITH THE STUDENTS. BUT THEY HAVE SAID THEY WILL GO TO... AS FAR AS THE CONSTITUTIONAL COUNCIL IF NECESSARY. AND THAT'S A BODY THAT WILL HAVE TO LOOK AT WHETHER THE LAW OF ITSELF IS CONSTITUTIONAL.

>> Suarez: SO IN THE SHOWDOWN BETWEEN THE UNIONS, THE STUDENTS, AND THE FRENCH PRESIDENT, HAS SARKOZY BEEN ABLE TO DECLARE VICTORY?

>> WELL, IT'S A TEMPERED VICTORY IN THAT IT DOES COME AT A PRICE. I THINK PEOPLE NEED TO KEEP IN MIND THAT THE BACKDROP OF ALL OF THIS TENSION THAT'S GOING ON IS THE 2012 ELECTION. AND A LOT OF THE SIGNS AND A LOT OF THE PEOPLE THAT I'VE BEEN SPEAKING TO HAVE SAID THEY WILL MAKE THE PRESIDENT PAY AT THE VOTING BOOTH IN 2012 AND THAT'S WHAT THE OPPOSITION IS ALSO LOOKING AT IS HOW THEY CAN POSITION THEMSELVES TO FARE BETTER IN THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.

>> Suarez: WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT PUBLIC SENTIMENT IN FRANCE? BOTH ABOUT THE CHANGES AND ABOUT WHETHER THE DEMONSTRATORS HAVE BEEN DOING THE RIGHT THING.

>> PEOPLE DO IN GENERAL FEEL THAT PEOPLE HAVE A LEGITIMATE RIGHT TO STRIKE. 71% OF THE POPULATION DO SUPPORT THE FACT THAT PEOPLE ARE STRIKING. BUT NOW THE SENTIMENT IS CHANGING A LITTLE BIT WHERE PEOPLE ARE FEELING THAT THE MEASURES THAT THE DEMONSTRATORS ARE TAKING ARE TAKING A TOLL ON PEOPLE'S PERSONAL LIVES. NOT BEING ABLE TO GET GAS OR BEING ABLE TO RIDE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IS CAUSING A TOLL. BUT THAT SAID, 40% OF THE PEOPLE DO THINK PEOPLE SHOULD GO ALL THE WAY IF THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT LISTENING TO THEM. AND THE SENT SYSTEM THAT THE GOVERNMENT HAS NOT BEEN LISTENING TO WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON IN THE STREETS WHERE PEOPLE HAVE CLEARLY SAID THEY DON'T WANT THIS REFORM TO PASS.

>> Suarez: ARE THERE ANY DIFFERENCES IN ATTITUDE BETWEEN OLDER AND YOUNGER FRENCH CITIZENS?

>> I THINK FOR THE YOUNGER PEOPLE, THEY'RE LOOKING AT IT IN TERMS OF WHAT HAPPENED IN 2006 WHERE THEY CAME OUT IN FULL FORCE AGAINST THE FIRST CONTRACT LAW THAT WAS PASSED AND THE GOVERNMENT DID TAKE A STEP BACK. SO THEY HAVE THIS IN RECENT MEMORY AND THEY'RE SAYING IF THEY GO OUT IN INTO THE STREET LONGER, MAYBE SOMETHING LIKE... SOMETHING SIMILAR CAN HAPPEN. I THINK THE OLDER PEOPLE WILL COME TO TERMS WITH WHAT'S HAPPENING. THE LAW IN AND OF ITSELF IS GOING TO BE PROGRESSIVELY IMPLEMENTED. SO BY 2018 EVERYTHING SHOULD BE SET, DEFINITE. BUT UNTIL THEN, I THINK PEOPLE ARE JUST GOING TO HAVE TO WAIT AND SEE HOW IT AFFECTS THEM. BUT THAT SAID, IT IS CAUSING SOME CONVERSATION ABOUT YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND SENIOR EMPLOYMENT. IF YOU'RE 57 YEARS OLD AND YOU ARE LAID OFF FROM YOUR JOB, ARE YOU REALISTICALLY GOING TO BE ABLE TO FIND ANOTHER JOB AND WORK UNTIL YOU'RE 65? AND SO IT'S CAUSING SOME OF THESE CONFERENCES TO HAPPEN AS WELL.

>> Suarez: NICOLAS SARKOZY AND SOME OF HIS MINISTERS HAVE SAID FOR A LONG TIME THAT THE CURRENT FRENCH SYSTEM WOULD BE INSOLVENT DOWN THE ROAD. HAS THAT FEATURED MUCH IN THE DEBATE? WHETHER OR NOT FRANCE CAN CONTINUE THE OLD PENSION SYSTEM OR NOT.

>> EXACTLY. I MEAN, THE FIGURES THAT THE PRESIDENT IS THROWING OUT THAT'S CITED ON HIS WEB SITE ACTUALLY IS BY 2020 IF THIS SITUATION IS NOT RESOLVED TODAY THE DEFICIT WILL BE ABOUT $45 EUROS. BECAUSE AS IT IS NOW PEOPLE WHO ARE WORKING CONTRIBUTE TO PEOPLE WHO ARE GOING INTO RETIREMENT AND BECAUSE BABY BOOMERS, FOR INSTANCE, ARE RETIRING IN LARGE NUMBERS AND THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO ARE UNEMPLOYED, THERE'S NOT A... THERE ISN'T ENOUGH CONTRIBUTION GOING INTO THE SYSTEM. AND SO PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT IT HAS TO CHANGE. THEY'RE JUST CONCERNED ABOUT HOW IT'S CHANGING. FOR INSTANCE, THEY THINK... BANKS RECEIVED A BAILOUT FROM THE GOVERNMENT, WHY COULDN'T THE PENSION SYSTEM RECEIVE A SYSTEM BAILOUT? AND SO I THINK THEY'RE LOOKING AT IT IN TERMS OF WHETHER OR NOT IT'S FAIR HOW THE GOVERNMENT IS TAKING SOMETHING AWAY FROM THE LITTLE GUY BUT NOT NECESSARILY FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE WELL WEALTHIER AND WHAT HAVE YOU.

>> Suarez: MILDRADE CHERFILS FROM "GLOBAL POST" JOINED US FROM PARIS. MILDRADE, THANKS A LOT.

>> THANK YOU.

>> Ifill: FINALLY TONIGHT, A TALK WITH THE NATION'S NEWEST POET LAUREATE AND TO JEFFREY BROWN.

>> Brown: W.S. MERWIN HAS WON EVERY MAJOR AWARD AVAILABLE. HIS FIRST VOLUME IN 1952 "A MASK FOR JANICE" SELECTED FOR THE YALE SERIES OF YOUNGER POETS TO HIS MOST RECENT IN 2009 "THE SHADOW OF SERIOUS" WHICH EARNED HIM HIS SECOND PULITZER PRIZE. IN JULY, MERWIN WAS NAMED THE NATION'S 17th POET LAUREATE, OFFICIALLY THE CONSULTANT IN POET TROY THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. HE LIVES IN HAWAII AND HAS RECENTLY GIVEN HIS INAUGURAL READING HERE IN WASHINGTON AND WELCOME TO YOU AND CONGRATULATIONS.

>> THANK YOU.

>> Brown: NICE TO TALK TO YOU AGAIN. NOW, ONE OBVIOUS QUESTION HERE IS WHY DID YOU ACCEPT THIS POSITION? I KNOW YOU WERE SORT OF RELUCTANT ABOUT IT?

>> (LAUGHS) YES. I TRY NOT TO DWELL ON THAT. BUT IT'S A MORE PUBLIC POSITION AND ROLE AND SO FORTH THAN I NORMALLY WOULD LIKE AND IT'S NOT... IT'S NOT FOR LIKES THAT I DID IT. BUT I THOUGHT THAT ONCE BEFORE I STOPPED TALKING ABOUT IT I WANTED TO TALK IN AN OFFICIAL SITUATION, IN A VERY PUBLIC PLACE. AS PUBLIC AS I'M EVER LIKELY TO BE, ABOUT THE... WHAT I THINK OF AS THE ONE THING, THE ONE TALENT, THE ONE GIFT OF HUMAN NATURE THAT DOES DISTINGUISH US FROM EVERY OTHER FORM OF LIFE. AND I DON'T MEAN INTELLIGENCE, I'M NOT SURE THAT WE'RE THE MOST INTELLIGENT SPECIES. WE USE OUR INTELLIGENCE DIFFERENTLY. NOR AM I SURE THAT LANGUAGE IS A GOOD DEFINITION, BECAUSE WE DEFINE LANGUAGE AND, IN FACT, THERE ARE FORMS OF LANGUAGE AMONG ALL SPECIES OR THEY WOULDN'T SURVIVE. COMMUNICATION. BUT I THINK WHAT DOES DISTINGUISH... WHAT DISTINGUISHES US REALLY IS IMAGINATION.

>> Brown: IMAGINATION.

>> YES. THE ABILITY TO SIT HERE IN ARLINGTON AND FEEL DISTRESSED BY THE HOMELESS PEOPLE IN DARFUR OR BY THE STARVATION OF THE WHALES IN THE PACIFIC. OR BY THE SPECIES THAT ARE BEING SNUFFED OUT AS WE TALK. OR BY THE PEOPLE WHO ARE SUFFERING IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN.

>> Brown: AND YOU HAVE TO TAKE THAT SENSE OF IMAGINATION AND TURN IT INTO POETRY THAT CONNECTS WITH PEOPLE. THAT'S WHAT YOU'VE BEEN DOING FOR A LONG TIME. WHEN WE TALKED A FEW YEARS AGO, YOU TALKED ABOUT A SIMPLICITY OF LANGUAGE. IS THAT... IS IT PART OF TRYING TO REACH PEOPLE? TO EXPRESS THAT IMAGINATION?

>> I DON'T THINK IT'S AS SIMPLE AS THAT. I THINK IT IS THAT BUT THE... I THINK ANY POET... IT WOULD SOUND EXTREMELY SELFISH BECAUSE WHEN I'M ASKED IF... YOU KNOW, WHO AM I WRITING FOR I THINK ABOUT THAT AND I THINK ABOUT WRITING A POEM AND I THINK "I'M NOT WRITING THAT POEM FOR ANYBODY, INCLUDING ME. I'M WRITING IT BECAUSE I WANT TO WRITE THAT POEM." AND THE POEM IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING AT THAT POINT. AND I THINK THAT'S TRUE OF THE ARTS. I THINK THAT'S... WHEN THE BIRD SINGS, THIS IS THE THING THAT WE HAVE IN COMMON. IN THIS SENSE IT'S IN COMMON WITH OTHER SPECIES. WHEN THE THRUSH SINGS, THE THRUSH SINGS WITH EVERY CELL OF HIS BODY AT THE SAME TIME. AND I THINK THAT THE ONLY WAY FOR... TO... FOR VERMEER TO HAVE PAINTED A PICTURE OR MOZART TO HAVE WRITTEN A SONATA OR SHAKESPEARE TO HAVE WRITTEN "HAMLET" IS YOU'RE NOT WRITING IT FOR NIB, YOU'RE... ANYBODY, YOU'RE OBSESSED WITH... I THINK ART IS CREATIVELY OBSESSED AND TO BE COMPLETELY INVOLVED IN THE THING THAT THEY'RE DOING.

>> Brown: WHEN YOU LOOK OUT IN THIS PUBLIC ROLE AT THE WORLD AROUND YOU-- AND I MEAN PARTICULARLY THE WORLD OF WRITING AND POETRY-- A LOT OF WRITERS I TALKED TO, SOMETIMES THEY SURPRISE ME WHEN THEY TALK ABOUT... MOSTLY WE TALK ABOUT THE PROBLEMS, YOU KNOW? OR THE LACK OF LITERACY OR READING. SOMETIMES POETS TALK TO ME AND WRITERS TALK TO ME ABOUT THERE'S NEVER BEEN SO MANY POETRY READINGS. THERE'S A KIND OF VIBRANCY, THERE'S NEVER BEEN SO MANY PEOPLE WRITING. THERE'S RAP MUSIC WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT. BUT IT'S... YOU KNOW, THERE'S SOMETHING GOING ON OUT THERE. OTHER PEOPLE SEE OR FEEL VERY DESPONDENT ABOUT THE PLACE OF LITERATURE IN OUR CULTURAL LIFE. ARE YOU A GAS HALF FULL OR EMPTY PERSON?

>> NO, IT'S WONDERFUL AND I THINK BOTH ARE TRUE. I THINK THAT THE LITERACY AS WE KNOW IT IS DECLINING VERY FAST AND OUR LANGUAGE IS FALLING APART BUT AT THE SAME TIME THE URGE TO LISTEN TO POETRY, TO MAKE POEMS AND I MEAN THAT'S A REAL URGE. IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT KIND OF POETRY IT, IS BUT IT'S MORE PREVALENT THAN IT WAS WHEN I WAS YOUNG. IT'S MUCH MORE PREVALENT. PEOPLE SAY DO YOU LIKE RAP POETRY AND I THINK I DON'T KNOW WHETHER I LIKE RAP POETRY OR NOT. I LISTEN TO ALL KIND OF POETRY AND SOMETIMES I LIKE IT AND SOMETIMES I DON'T BUT AS LONG AS IT INVOLVES PEOPLE AND THAT URGE I THINK IT'S WONDERFUL. I THINK IT SHOULD BE THERE AND IT'S MARVELOUS. I'VE HEARD RAP POEMS THAT I LIKE VERY MUCH. THAT MADE ME LAUGH OR I THOUGHT SAID SOMETHING EXTREMELY POINTED AND&D]v CLEARLY AND SHARPLY.

>> TO COME BACK TO THIS PUBLIC ROLE, YOU LIVE NOT... IT'S NOT RIGHT TO SAY YOU LIVE COMPLETELY OFF THE GRID IN HAWAII, BUT YOU LIVE AWAY, SHALL WE SAY?

>> PRETTY WELL OFF THE GRID.

>> Suarez: AND I KNOW YOU DON'T E-MAIL BECAUSE WE TALKED ABOUT THIS BEFORE. BUT EXPLAIN THAT. THE IMPORTANCE OFLYING THAT LIFE FOR YOU AND YOUR WIFE AWAY AS OPPOSED TO COMING HERE AND I KNOW YOU HAVE LOTS OF FRIENDS AND YOU HAVE LOTS OF... AND YOU'RE VERY ACTIVE IN THE WORLD OF LITERATURE. HOW DO YOU DISTINGUISH THIS... THESE...

>> WELL, I LOVE THEM BOTH. I THOUGHT FOR YEARS IT'S TERRIBLE WE HAVE THIS PULL BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE COUNTRY AND THE PAST AND THE PRESENT AND BETWEEN THIS... ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT PULLS. WHEN I'M IN THE COUNTRY I MISS THE CITY SOME OF THE TIME. WHEN I'M IN THE CITY I MISS THE COUNTRY ALL THE TIME. AND THAT HELPED ME TO DECIDE... I THINK THE TWO ARE POSSIBLE. I LOVE BEING WITH PEOPLE. I LOVE HAVING A LOT TO DO WITH PEOPLE AND I LIKE HAVING TIMES OF COMPLETE QUIET AND LIVING THERE WITH THE TREES AND DOG AND THINKING ABOUT THINGS.

>> Brown: WE'LL WELCOME YOU BACK TO YOUR PUBLIC ROLE AS POET LAUREATE. W.S. MERWIN, NICE TO TALK TO YOU.

>> Lehrer: AGAIN, THE MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS OF THE DAY. THE 2010 CAMPAIGN HIT THE HOMESTRETCH WITH JUST SIX DAYS UNTIL ELECTION DAY. THE GOVERNMENT OF AFGHANISTAN DELAYED A DECEMBER BAN ON PRIVATE SECURITY GUARDS, BY AT LEAST TWO MONTHS. AND INDONESIA STRUGGLED TO RECOVER FROM A TSUNAMI AND A VOLCANIC ERUPTION THAT HAVE KILLED MORE THAN 300 PEOPLE. AND TO HARI SREENIVASAN, IN OUR NEWSROOM, FOR WHAT'S ON THE "NEWSHOUR" ONLINE. HARI?

>> Sreenivasan: W.S. MERWIN READS FROM HIS WORK ON OUR POETRY SERIES PAGE. OUR POLITICS TEAM COMPARES THIS YEAR'S ELECTIONS TO THE 1994 GOP MIDTERM TAKEOVER IN A SPECIAL VIDEO FEATURE. AND ON "NEWSHOUR" EXTRA, OUR SITE FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS, READ HOW YOUNG PEOPLE IN COLORADO AND FLORIDA FEEL ABOUT NEGATIVE ADS. PLUS A CONSUMER LAWYER RESPONDED TO YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FORECLOSURE CRISIS. FIND THE ANSWERS ON OUR MAKING SENSE PAGE. ALL THAT AND MORE IS ON OUR WEB SITE, newshour.pbs.org. GWEN?

>> Ifill: AND THAT'S THE "NEWSHOUR" FOR TONIGHT.

>> Liz: BEFORE WE GO, I MANAGED TO MISPRONOUNCE CAROL MARIN'S LAST NAME IN OUR SEGMENT AND I ACTUALLY KNEW BETTER. MY APOLOGIES. ON THURSDAY, JUDY WOODRUFF REPORTS ON THE CALIFORNIA SENATE RACE WHERE DEMOCRATIC INCUMBENT BARBARA BOXER IS BATTLING FORMER HEWLETT PACKARD CHIEF CARLY FIORINA. I'M GWEN IFILL.

>> Lehrer: AND I'M JIM LEHRER. WE'LL SEE YOU ON-LINE AND AGAIN HERE TOMORROW EVENING. THANK YOU AND GOOD NIGHT. MAJOR FUNDING FOR THE PBS NEWSHOUR HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY:

>> I WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE UNIVERSE...

>> LOOKS LIKE.

>> FEELS LIKE.

>> FROM DEEP SPACE.

>> TO A MICROBE.

>> I CAN CONTRIBUTE TO THE WORLD BY PURSUING MY PASSION FOR SCIENCE.

>> IT REALLY IS THE KEY TO THE FUTURE.

>> I WANT TO DESIGN...

>> A BETTER SOLAR CELL.

>> I WANT TO KNOW WHAT'S REALLY POSSIBLE.

>> I WANT TO BE THE FIRST TO CURE CANCER.

>> PEOPLE DON'T REALLY UNDERSTAND WHY THINGS WORK.

>> I WANT TO BE THAT PERSON THAT FINDS OUT WHY.

>> INNOVATIVE YOUNG MINDS TAKING ON TOMORROW'S TOUGHEST CHALLENGES. AND BY THE ALFRED P. SLOAN FOUNDATION. SUPPORTING SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND IMPROVED ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE AND FINANCIAL LITERACY IN THE 21ST CENTURY. AND WITH THE ONGOING SUPPORT OF THESE INSTITUTIONS AND FOUNDATIONS. AND... THIS PROGRAM WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING. AND BY CONTRIBUTIONS TO YOUR PBS STATION FROM VIEWERS LIKE YOU. THANK YOU. Captioning sponsored by MacNEIL/LEHRER PRODUCTIONS Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org - BEACHES RESORTS IS A PROUD SPONSOR OF "THE ELECTRIC COMPANY," CONNECTING BRIGHT IDEAS AND COUNTLESS OUTLETS FOR HIGH-ENERGY EXCITEMENT. Announcer: FIND YOUR VOICE AND SHARE IT. AMERICAN GREETINGS-- PROUD SPONSOR OF "THE ELECTRIC COMPANY." FROM THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION'S READY TO LEARN GRANT, AND... - OK, SO HERE ARE YOU 5 WORDS. TO INSPIRE PEOPLE IS TO ENCOURAGE THEM TO MAKE OR DO THINGS.