News Reporter: The Daily 202: The agonizing torment of a dozen undecided voters in North Carolina

The agonizing torment of a dozen undecided voters in North Carolina

A North Carolina voter looks over a sample ballot during early voting at the Beatties Ford Library in Charlotte. (Chris Keane/Reuters)

With Breanne Deppisch

THE BIG IDEA: Many people cannot understand how a voter can still be undecided two weeks before this election. What more information do you need need to make up your mind?

A focus group in Charlotte last night showed that these late deciders know quite a lot about both candidates. It's not that they want to learn new information. They've concluded that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are each deeply flawed, and they're trying to pick who they perceive as the lesser of two evils. It is an agonizing decision for most of the dozen voters who gathered in a conference room in North Carolina's biggest city.

Katie Burak, 30, a financial planner, worries that there could be more riots and racial strife in her hometown if Trump wins. But she does not trust Clinton and worries that she would not rise to the occasion when national tragedies inevitably strike.

"I'm typically more conservative," she said. "But what scares me about Trump, with the recent protests, I worry what might happen to our cities and our towns if he's elected, especially when we're so divided. But I also think he can bring new expertise and smart people who can advise him."

The self-described moderate added that she does not think Clinton has empathy. "She's too well prepared, she's too well spoken," said Burak. "She looks too good behind the podium. … I don't envision her as motherly or grandmotherly. I can't see her relating in difficult situations. Only when she has time to prepare does she look good."

Burak said "either one could" still get her vote "hesitatingly." "I don't know what to do," she said.

-- Burak's vote could be pivotal. North Carolina was the closest state in the last presidential election, and it may be again in 2016. Barack Obama won by 14,000 votes in 2008. Mitt Romney carried the Tar Heel State by about 90,000 in 2012, out of 2.4 million ballots cast. Four polls of the Tar Heel State were in the field this past weekend, and all but one showed a race that remains persistently within the margin of error. Clinton was here Sunday, and Trump has two events in North Carolina this afternoon, including a rally this afternoon on Spirit Square in Charlotte. Clinton is coming back soon.

-- Democratic pollster Peter D. Hart conducted the focus group on behalf of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. His goal was to figure out which issues and dynamics are driving the thought processes of late deciders. (Hart's previous focus group was two months ago, with undecided voters in Milwaukee in August.)

-- All dozen of the participants in Charlotte agreed that they do not like either major party nominee. If this was a normal year, with a conventional candidate, most would have voted Republican. In 2016, there is shared pessimism about the direction of the country and deep concern about "the loss of our national innocence," as one person put it. Not a single voter in the room believed that the next generation will be better off than the current one, a tragic outlook when you think about it.

Trump and Clinton during their final debate last Wednesday (Carlos Barria/Reuters)

Asked what Trump reminds them of, almost everyone said some variant of spoiled brat, a middle-school bully or a bull in a china shop.

Asked what Clinton reminds them of, the most resonant answer was Pinocchio. There was consensus that the Democratic nominee cannot be trusted. Eight of the 12 said they don't feel like they really know her. Just three agreed with the notion that she "relates to the working person."

-- Jennifer Meador uttered the word "embarrassing" to describe Trump specifically or the election generally two dozen times during the two-hour conversation. "I have a 12-year-old son, and it's just embarrassing," she said. "Embarrassing!"

The 48-year-old homemaker is a soft Republican and said she remains truly undecided. "I wanted to like Trump, but I don't know that I can because I think he's embarrassing," she explained. "With his temper tantrums, he's just an embarrassment to our country. I don't embrace Clinton. If I vote for her, it's probably going to be a vote against Trump."

Asked if she has a hard time talking about politics with her friends who are strongly partisan, she said everyone she knows likes neither candidate. So the conversations have not been at all contentious. "The people I know are more just embarrassed," she said. Of the 60 homes in her neighborhood, only one has a yard sign out front (it is for Trump). This, she explained, is a stark contrast to previous elections when people were excited to be for someone.

In this April 29, 1975, photo, U.S. Navy personnel aboard the USS Blue Ridge push a helicopter into the sea off the coast of Vietnam in order to make room for more evacuation flights from Saigon after the V.C. captured the capital. (AP Photo/File)

-- Hart asked his focus group if they see any historical parallels to the 2016 election. The answers were surprisingly nonpolitical: A street fight. The final scene in the movie "Rocky." The Ali-Frazier fight. The quagmire in Iraq. And the war in Vietnam.

"It's like being a soldier who was drafted and sent to Vietnam, you didn't really have a choice," said Scott Gentry, 27. The manager of a fitness facility is somewhat conservative and leans slightly to Trump because of the Supreme Court. "There is no good outcome," he said of the choice before him. "It's the moral failure of our leaders trickling down."

The Vietnam analogy resonated for Gary Nesbitt, 68. "Having lived through that time," the banking consultant said, there are a lot of similarities: "Divisiveness in the country. The fear I personally felt of possibly getting drafted. The concern about the whole country being torn about by that war. And the two sides just could not come together."

Nesbitt, a moderate, said he's been for both candidates at various points in the past few months. "I'm having a tough time," he said. "Trump scares me: his thin skin and his ability to start the next war. On the other hand, Clinton scares me with what she could do with the Supreme Court. So it truly is 'a lesser of two evils' situation. I don't know that I'll decide until I get into the polling booth." He volunteered that he will definitely vote for one of the two. "Because if I don't, then I can't complain," he said.

Hillary visits Travis Community Center, an early voting location, in Raleigh on Sunday. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post)

-- Many voters who may consider themselves nominally undecided are leaning fairly strongly in one direction or another at this point.

Donna Ryan, 57, will probably vote for Clinton. "I so much wanted Trump," the moderate Democrat said. "I so much wanted a non-politician. But I don't trust him and I'm afraid of him because I just don't think he knows when to shut up. If he'd just say, 'I am a business man, I am not a politician and I will make America great again,' and then just stop, I would vote for him."

The retired director of finance said Trump lost her around the party conventions in the summer. "I started getting nervous when he went off and his face got all red," she said. "And I got scared. I see a temper tantrum like a little boy. I have five brothers, and I remember that face. … So I started listening more and more to Clinton. I don't like Clinton, and I don't trust her, but I think she's the lesser of two evils."

Terry Ragsdale, 62, said he began leaning toward Clinton during the first debate. "Trump would come up with a good couple minutes, but then he'd go off," said the independent who describes himself as a moderate. "His ego just killed me. He's always right and everyone else is always wrong."

Ragsdale, who works in I.T., said he was worried about Clinton's email set-up until he learned that both Colin Powell and Condi Rice also used private email when they were secretary of state. And the more he thought about what happened in Benghazi, the more he put it in perspective: While four Americans died in Libya, thousands died under the command of George W. Bush. "To me, she knows what she's doing," he said. "So I have to lean that way."

-- For some who typically lean Republican, it's a decision between a third-party candidate and Trump. Tracy Poole, 52, is a moderate weighing Donald against Gary Johnson. "I'm waiting to see what happens in the next week or two," she said. "I want him to shut up at times. He needs to learn self-control. But I have to look at the overall (party) platform and the Supreme Court."

-- All 12 of the participants said at the end of last night's session that they believe Clinton will ultimately win the election. Asked to envision what they expect Hillary's presidency will look like, the most common response was "more of the same":

"Slow and dull," said Ryan.

"Forgettable," said Burak. "I don't think anything major would change with the country."

"I really don't believe anything she says," said Meador. "So I don't know what to expect."

"I don't think either of them will get reelected to a second term," added Gentry. Everyone nodded.

Welcome to the Daily 202, PowerPost's morning newsletter.
With contributions from Elise Viebeck (@eliseviebeck).

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING:

Francisco Lindor celebrates with teammate Rajai Davis. (Jason Miller/Getty)

-- The Cleveland Indians defeated the Chicago Cubs 6-0 in Game 1 of the World Series. (Barry Svrluga)

Newt Gingrich lashes out in defense of Trump

-- Newt Gingrich lashed out at Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly during a contentious appearance on her show last night. The former House speaker accused her of being "fascinated with sex" for reporting on the accounts of more than a dozen women who have accused Trump of groping them. "As a media story, we don't get to say that 10 women are lying. We have to cover that story, sir," Kelly replied. Gingrich accused Kelly and other reporters of being unfairly biased against Trump, questioning why a paid speech Clinton delivered in Brazil was not also worthy of coverage. "You want to go back through the tapes of your show recently?" Gingrich asked. "You are fascinated with sex and you don't care about public policy." Kelly pushed back, saying "You know what Mr. Speaker? I'm not fascinated by sex, but I am fascinated by the protection of women and understanding what we're getting in the Oval Office and I think the American voters would like to know." She also noted that her show also extensively covered Clinton's speech in Brazil. (Full transcript is here, via Rebecca Sinderbrand.)

-- A chorus of prominent Republican women were outraged and disgusted by Newt's antics:

From Mitt Romney's deputy campaign manager in 2012:

From the communications director of George W. Bush's White House (she had the same role on his 2004 campaign):

From a Fox News contributor:

Pouring fuel on the fire, a Trump senior adviser and his director of social media attacked Kelly:

And Paula Jones -- yes, that Paula Jones -- defended Gingrich:

A Clinton spokesman had this observation about the interview:

Trump responds to Biden, calls him 'Mr. Tough Guy'

-- The insane race to the bottom continues: Joe Biden said he'd like to fight Trump on Monday. "I'll get myself in trouble," he said. "I'd like to take him behind the gym if I were in high school. All kidding aside, wouldn't you? … For real. Can you imagine a guy in the locker room talking that way? And your sister is out there watching the game. Not a joke!"

Trump responded last night in Florida by suggesting that the vice president is not man enough to actually take him on: "Did you see Biden wants to take me to the back of the barn? Me! I'd love that! I'd love that! Mr. Tough Guy. You know, he's Mr. Tough Guy. You know when he's Mr. Tough Guy? When he's standing behind a microphone by himself!!" Click the image above for the video. This is tiny hands all over again...

-- The Clinton campaign is releasing two ads as part of its "closing argument." The first features Hillary herself, straight to camera, saying that her focus will remain on what's driven her throughout her life: kids and families:

Families First | Hillary Clinton

The second, a 60-second spot narrated by Morgan Freeman, envisions this election through the eyes of children and frames the election as a question: "Who will we entrust our country and their future to?"

Example | Hillary Clinton

Both ads will air in Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania, along with national cable.

GET SMART FAST:

The U.S. legal system explicitly uses race and gender to calculate the amount of money that victims or families receive in injury compensation cases – and overwhelmingly, its projections favor white men. Many are speaking out against the controversial practice. (Kim Soffen)
The Pentagon promised to resolve cases for the thousands of National Guard soldiers ordered to pay back enlistment bonuses granted to them without proper authorization. The House Oversight Committee also launched an investigation. (Dan Lamothe)
With the battle for Mosul underway, U.S. officials telegraphed they will begin an offensive against the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, an Islamic State stronghold, in the coming weeks. (Wall Street Journal)
Amnesty International urged the Pentagon to release more information about alleged civilian casualty incidents in Syria, saying a series of airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition appears to have killed "hundreds" over the past two years. (Missy Ryan)
The Iranian regime handed down several harsh prison sentences to American citizens born in Iran, sending three people to prison for more than 10 years each on charges of collaborating with the U.S. government. Experts say the sentences signal the country's interest in a prisoner swap or payoff. (Carol Morello)
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to throw U.S. troops out of his country, putting at risk a bilateral defense deal as he warned American troops not to treat his country "like a dog with a leash." (Simon Denyer)
Indonesia's top court is considering whether sex outside of marriage should be made illegal – a stunning move from the world's third-largest democracy as it seeks to grapple with influence from conservative Islamist organizations. The ruling would also make gay sexual relations illegal for the first time in Indonesian history. (Jon Emont)
The Vatican issued a clarification to its decades-old cremation guidelines, recommending Catholic ashes be buried in cemeteries, rather than scattered or displayed in homes. (Ben Guarino)
Obama will travel to Europe and Latin America the week after the election in what is expected to be his last major foreign trip as president. (AP)
A California man who threatened to kill all the members of an L.A. mosque had allegedly amassed a stockpile of weapons and made several threats to a local Islamic Center prior to his arrest. The 40-year-old said "Muslims will destroy the United States." (Abigail Hauslohner and Alice Crites)
A University of Wisconsin student is facing more than 30 charges of sexual assault, after testimony from a single accuser inspired dozens of additional women to come forward with similar stories. Authorities said they found a "STALKING" notebook in the student's apartment and believe he carried out a string of increasingly aggressive sexual attacks on campus. (Fred Barbash)
The New York Giants released kicker Josh Brown, as new evidence emerged that he "repeatedly" abused his ex-wife. Brown could face further disciplinary action by the NFL and possibly another suspension. (Cindy Boren and Mark Maske)
More than 100 teenagers gathered for a violent "flash mob" at Temple University in Philadelphia, attacking random passersby, including students and a police officer, as they returned from a football game across town. (Derek Hawkins)
Paul Beatty became the first American author to win the prestigious Man Booker Prize for his satirical novel "The Sellout," beating out five other finalists for the $60,000 prize. (Ron Charles)
A world-renowned meteorologist is "really upset" about a viral Science Channel video appearing to show him claiming that the Bermuda Triangle mystery is solved. The Arizona-based scientist said his comments were taken "horrendously" out of context. "I have no interest in studying the Bermuda Triangle," he told Angela Fritz.
Animal rights activists are demanding the release of Pizza, the "world's saddest polar bear," housed in a southern China mall. Welfare advocates say the expansive retail emporium – also home to a 3D movie theater and arcade – is no place to keep the animal. (New York Times)
Entertainment options have expanded in North Korea under Kim Jong Un. It's hard to know whether Pyongyang's new urban amenities are for real – and how many people are privileged enough to enjoy them – the regime showed off to reporters pizza parlors, dolphin shows and horses gifted by Vladimir Putin to reporters. (New York Times)
A self-driving semi-truck made its first trip last week, completing a 120-mile, 2,000-case beer run through Colorado with no human in the cab. (USA Today)

Supporters react as Trump gets off his plane in Orlando yesterday. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

FLORIDA, FLORIDA, FLORIDA:

-- A Bloomberg poll shows Trump with a 2 point lead in FLORIDA (45-43). It's the first credible poll in more than a month that shows Trump winning the key state. The GOP nominee's advantage stems largely from an edge with independents (he's up 44-37). "This race may come down to the independent vote," said pollster J. Ann Selzer. "Right now, they tilt for Trump. By a narrow margin, they opted for Obama over Romney in 2012." The same poll has Marco Rubio up 10 (51-41).

-- Clinton warned against complacency as she campaigned in the Sunshine State yesterday, instructing supporters to "pay no attention to the polls." From Anne Gearan: Clinton's campaign is blunt in saying that Florida and its 29 electoral votes matter immensely, even if there are ways for her to claim the White House without winning there: "We are blessed to have a lot of paths to 270," said Clinton communications director Jennifer Palmieri. "If we win Florida, it's very difficult for him to have a conceivable path to victory. That's also true if we win Pennsylvania. Florida is, it's the biggest prize, and it's a big priority for us."

"Florida, you guys are a checkmate state," Tim Kaine told a group of college students at another event. "If Hillary wins Florida, she's going to be president, and for those of you who, you don't want to wait up 'til Mountain Time to know who your president's going to be. You don't have to wait up until Pacific Time. You can win this race in Eastern Time if you just make sure that Hillary Clinton wins Florida." (Miami ABC affiliate)

THE OTHER BATTLEGROUNDS:

-- An internal poll conducted by the DCCC has Trump running THIRD in UTAH, behind both Clinton and independent conservative candidate Evan McMullin. The Beehive State is competitive enough that Mike Pence is going to campaign in Salt Lake City today. And McMullin canceled a planned appearance in Richmond so he can stay there. He is focusing on the Mountain West generally and his home state specifically in a bid to become the first third-party candidate since George Wallace to carry a state.

-- A Monmouth poll shows Clinton and Trump deadlocked in ARIZONA. Four in 10 respondents also said they have already voted. Among them, Clinton leads 52-42. The same poll has John McCain up 10 points.

-- Clinton also boasts a superior ground game in the traditionally-red state, with 161 staffers and 32 field offices. Trump's campaign has ZERO staff and NO offices. At a recent Trump rally, sign-up sheets were passed around so people could volunteer for the campaign – some of which were not even collected after the event! This is campaign malpractice… (Chris Cillizza)

-- A CNN poll found that 7 in 10 voters believe Clinton will win. Two-thirds of the country expects the vote to be fair and not rigged.

-- There is mass confusion about the rules for voting amidst legal battles over restrictive new laws: "A number of battleground states are still fighting over voting laws and whether voters have been adequately informed about an array of changing and sometimes complex rules," Sari Horwitz reports. "In some states, such as North Carolina, the rules in place during the primary races have changed for the general election. … A federal court in Texas has ordered the state to reissue voter education materials that were misleading to residents. … In Wisconsin, a years-long fight over the state's new photo-ID law ended with courts ordering the Division of Motor Vehicles to make it easier for residents to get a photo identification to vote. But media reports suggested DMV locations were not following the court's direction, and a federal judge ordered an investigation and weekly progress reports on education and retraining efforts up until the election."

Marco Rubio sits at a cigar machine and stretches out leaves of tobacco during a tour of J.C. Newman Cigar Company in Tampa. It was part of a play for Puerto Ricans. (Andres Leiva/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

IS THE SENATE SLIPPING AWAY FROM THE GOP?

-- The Cook Political Report updated its forecast to predict that Democrats will pick up five to seven Senate seats, which would give them control of the chamber. From Jennifer Duffy: "Assuming Clinton wins the White House, the party needs four seats to tie the chamber, leaving the Vice President as the tie breaking vote. For much of the cycle, we have expected Democrats to score a net gain of between four and six seats. Since the release of the Access Hollywood tape, Senate Republicans have seen their fortunes dip, particularly in states like Florida, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada and Pennsylvania where Clinton has established a lead. In fact, of the Senate seats in the Toss Up column, Trump only leads in Indiana and Missouri where both Republicans are running a few points behind him. … As such, we are increasing the range of expected Democratic pick ups to five to seven seats. This means that we feel that the prospect that Democrats will have at least 51 seats is greater than the odds of a tied Senate, or of Republicans somehow holding their majority."

An important point: "History shows that races in the Toss Up column never split down the middle; one party tends to win the lion's share of them. Since 1998, no party has won less than 67 percent of the seats in Toss Up."

-- "Evan Bayh damaged, but not yet defeated by Republican hammering," by Paul Kane in Indiana: "Bayh, 60, is fond of saying that 'politics ain't beanbag' but what he's endured has been more akin to getting hit by a steady stream of 50-pound sacks of corn. Republicans have hammered Bayh for how many homes he now owns … how many millions he has made since leaving the Senate … and how many different corporate entities have employed him. … [But] if Bayh can win, Democrats will have stolen a seat that Republicans took for granted after Todd Young won the primary … It would be a near fatal blow to GOP chances of holding their majority, as two races, Illinois and Wisconsin, have already broken against them."

-- Tensions are flaring at the highest levels of the Democratic Party over the DSCC's decision to pull out of the Florida Senate race. Bill Clinton wants the committee to go all-in to unseat Marco Rubio so that he cannot be a credible challenger against Hillary in 2020. Outgoing leader Harry Reid also wants to play hard in Florida, but Chuck Schumer -- who will replace Reid next year -- is laser-focused on getting the majority, which does not run through the Sunshine State. Obama has also taken a keen interest in the race, traveling to Florida to knock Rubio last week. He'll do so again in Orlando on Friday. "These Democrats argue that someone — anyone — in the party needs to come through with a few million dollars, perhaps targeting black and Hispanic media, to tip the scales in Murphy's favor. They believe that Rubio, already wounded from losing his home-state Republican presidential primary, is beatable," Politico's Burgess Everett, Marc Caputo and Kevin Robillard report.

-- Rubio was booed by an "overwhelmingly Latino" audience in Orlando, NPR's Adrian Florido reports. The icy reception was an indication of the challenges the senator faces in locking down support from non-Cuban Hispanics.

-- While the Senate majority is clearly in sight, the HOUSE majority remains A MUCH MORE ELUSIVE GOAL for Democrats. The path is narrow: "Reaching it will require Democratic candidates to triumph in a variety of districts … with their best prospects lying largely in suburban areas that are the most expensive places to wage effective campaigns," Mike DeBonis and Ed O'Keefe report. "Republicans currently hold a 246-to-186 majority; three seats — one reliably Republican, two reliably Democratic — are vacant. Flipping the House would require the confluence of factors — robust Democratic turnout, on a par with the levels seen in 2008 and 2012 for [Obama]; a significant depression in Republican turnout to near-midterm levels as voters unenthused by Trump simply decide not to cast ballots; and, to a lesser extent, Trump voters withholding their support from the handful of GOP candidates who have broken with the nominee."

-- Priorities USA, the Clinton super PAC, is expanding into House races for the first time today, targeting Rep. Rod Blum (R) in Iowa. Paul Kane scoops: "'Send me back to Congress, and you send Donald Trump to the White House,' Blum says in footage from a campaign rally that is being used against him in a new 30-second ad, after an array of controversial Trump statements appear on the screen. 'Rod Blum still supports Trump today and even attacked Republicans who spoke out against Trump,' the narrator says." The group declined to say how many more ads targeting House Republicans are on the way. Watch here.

Why Trump has stopped holding high-dollar fundraisers

FOLLOW THE MONEY:

-- Trump has stopped holding high-dollar fundraisers for the remainder of his campaign, dealing another serious blow to the GOP's effort to finance a final get-out-the-vote push, Matea Gold scoops. Finance chairman Steven Mnuchin said Trump Victory, a joint fundraising committee between the party and the campaign, held its last formal event on Oct. 19. "We've kind of wound down," Mnuchin said. The move "effectively turns off one of the main spigots" to the RNC, which collected $40 million through the committee as of Sept. 30. The party has devoted a large share of the funds to pay for its national voter mobilization program to benefit the entire Republican ticket." RNC Chairman Reince Priebus is holding a "members-only" conference call this afternoon to update state-level party leaders.

-- Clinton held her final fundraiser of the campaign last night in Miami – but the campaign has scheduled 41 additional finance events featuring high-profile surrogates between now and Nov. 3. To celebrate, Hillary went to an Adele concert in Miami after her fundraiser last night. "I am English but what happens in America affects me too," the singer said between songs at the American Airlines arena. "Don't vote for him! … I can't vote but I am 100 percent for Hillary Clinton. I love her. She's amazing."

-- The 2016 campaign will cost about $6.6 billion, according to a projection from the Center for Responsive Politics. That's $86.5 million more than 2012 when adjusted for inflation. Outside groups have spent $93.7 million more than at this point in 2012. House races accounted for the biggest jump in outside spending, percentage-wise; outlays went from $67 million at this point in 2012 to $120 million this year.

-- The pro-Clinton super PAC, Priorities USA, has now raised more money than any super PAC in history, scooping up nearly $175 million. Of that, more than $18 million came during the first 19 days of October. The cluster of super PACs supporting Trump, meanwhile, brought in a total of $56 million through Sept. 30, Matea tabulates.

-- The McConnell-backed Senate Leadership Fund is plowing an additional $25 million into seven races, including $5 million in Pennsylvania, $4 million in Indiana, $3 million in North Carolina and $2 million in both New Hampshire and Missouri. (Politico)

-- Not the way to win: Trump's campaign has spent more on hats than voter data initiatives. He has put just $1.8 million toward polling and targeting, according to FEC filings, but spent $3.2 million on hats. (Philip Bump)

-- Trump used campaign money to buy $300,000 worth of books from the publisher of "The Art of the Deal" last month, continuing a pattern of using donor's cash to enrich himself. From HuffPost's S.V. Date: "I've signed an out-of-print, hardcover copy of 'The Art of the Deal' just for you, because I want you on board with Team Trump!" Trump wrote in an Aug. 2 fundraising email, which went on to offer the book for a minimum donation of $184. Trump's statement calling the book 'out-of-print,' repeated on the committee's website is false. "The Art of the Deal" had a new paperback edition printed last October, and the hardcover is currently in print and available from Random House and retail booksellers.

-- The NRA has emerged as Trump's biggest outside supporter. The gun lobby has now spent $26.8 million on ads promoting him. That's more than twice what it spent on Mitt Romney in 2012. It's all about the future of the Supreme Court. (Beth Reinhard and Rebecca Ballhaus in the Wall Street Journal)

Clinton campaigns in Coconut Creek, Florida. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post)

THE DAILY HILLARY:

-- On the day the news broke about Clinton's use of a private email server at the State Department, future campaign chairman John Podesta vented to her aides in a note of distress. "Speaking of transparency, our friends Kendall, Cheryl and Phillipe sure weren't forthcoming on the facts here," Podesta complained, referring to Clinton's personal lawyer and former State Department staffers. "Why didn't they get this stuff out like 18 months ago? So crazy," replied longtime Clinton ally Neera Tanden. Then, answering her own question, Tanden wrote again: "I guess I know the answer. They wanted to get away with it." The exchange, found in Podesta's hacked emails, "provides a striking window into how the revelation of Clinton's email setup roiled her nascent campaign team in the weeks before its official April 2015 kickoff," Rosalind S. Helderman writes. "The emails show that while campaign aides struggled to get past the public controversy, they also expressed exasperation at each other and, at times, at Clinton — both for her decision to use the server and for the way she handled questions about it."

In another notable exchange last September, Podesta says the campaign has "taken on a lot of water that won't be easy to pump out of the boat." "Most of that has to do with terrible decisions made pre-campaign, but a lot has to do with her instincts," he said. Tanden agreed, adding, "Almost no one knows better [than] me that her instincts can be terrible."

-- "Clinton took more conciliatory tone with health-care industry in paid speeches," by Emily Kopp: "On the campaign trail, [Clinton] has sharply criticized the health-care industry, accusing pharmaceutical companies of profiteering and vowing to control skyrocketing costs. But Clinton's tone was often more conciliatory before her presidential campaign when she addressed medical companies and trade groups as part of her brief but lucrative career delivering speeches for pay, [according to documents revealed in a Wikileaks dump]. "I know how critical the role that you play is,' Clinton told the Advanced Medical Technology Association [in a 2014 speech]. She avoided a direct question about a 2.3 percent tax on medical devices that was intended to fund the Affordable Care Act but was suspended until the end of 2017 after intense industry lobbying. The health-care speeches, largely overshadowed by the political storm over Clinton's paid presentations to big banks, provide another example of an industry with much at stake during the next administration adding to the personal wealth of the woman who is now the Democratic presidential nominee."

-- Colin Powell said he will vote for Clinton, praising her leadership skills and experience before a Long Island trade group. The former Republican Secretary of State endorsed Obama both times. In hacked 2014 emails, Powell blasted Clinton as "a 70-year-old person with a long track-record, unbridled ambition, greedy, not transformational." But he also telegraphed he would support her because he sees Trump as dangerous. Powell joins 68 other high-profile Republican politicians, donors and officials who are supporting Clinton. Check out our comprehensive list here.

Trump arrives in Sanford, Fla. (Evan Vucci/AP)

THE DAILY DONALD:

-- Multiple outlets reported that Trump ordered his campaign to scale back on transition efforts in order to focus on trying to win the election. Campaign manager Kellyanne Conway went on CNN to push back, insiting that they are "actively vetting" people for positions in a Trump administration. "We're going to win so we have to get ready to form a government," she told Wolf Blitzer. "We're not doing it because we're presumptuous, I think the way my friends across the aisle are doing it … But we're doing it because it's a very serious prospect to form a government in a really small time." (Reuters)

-- Trump insists he has no interest in setting up "Trump TV" when the election ends, pushing back against rampant rumors he is looking into launching his own media venture. "No, I have no interest in Trump TV," Trump said in a Cincinnati radio interview, saying his "only interest" is Nov. 8. "I hear it all over the place. I have a tremendous fan base," he said. "We have the most incredible people, but I just don't have any interest in that." (CNN)

-- Trump said Clinton's Syrian policy would trigger a "World War III" because of its potential for conflict with nuclear-armed Russia. From Reuter's Steve Holland: "In an interview focused largely on foreign policy, Trump said defeating Islamic State is a higher priority than persuading Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down, playing down a long-held goal of U.S. policy." Dining on fried eggs and sausage at his Doral Golf Resort in Florida, the Republican nominee questioned how Clinton would negotiate with Putin after "demonizing" him; blamed Obama for a downturn in U.S. relations with the Philippines under its contentious new leader, bemoaned a lack of GOP unity behind his candidacy, and said he would "easily win the election" if the party leaders agreed to support him. "If we had party unity, we couldn't lose this election to Hillary Clinton," he said.

-- House Homeland Security Chairman Mike McCaul (R-Texas) said he told Trump that Russia is using hacked information to influence the U.S. elections, but that the GOP nominee "did not appear to believe him." "I think he has in his mind that there's not the proof," the congressman said at a Texas Tribune event, adding that he "made it clear that in my judgment it was a nation-state." McCaul, who is still a Trump supporter, said he was brought in to brief Trump on national security issues after the first debate — a topic that the surrogate acknowledged is "not his strength." (Politico)

-- He also blasted the Affordable Care Act's rising insurance premiums, claiming the legislation is "blowing up" as he vowed to introduce laws to replace it. From Sean Sullivan, Matea Gold and John Wagner: Trump's remarks came one day after the administration announced insurers would be raising 2017 premiums by an average of 25 percent. "Repealing Obamacare and stopping Hillary's health-care takeover is one of the single most important reasons that we must win on Nov. 8," Trump declared at a Florida rally. He decried the "politicians who rammed this monster down our throats and said: "Hillary Clinton wants to keep it. She wants to spend a fortune on it. … She wants to double-down on Obamacare and make it even more expensive and worse." Trump vowed to replace the program "with something much less expensive, otherwise this country is in much worse shape than anybody thought," but provided no specifics on how he plans to do so.

Eight-year-old Zach Blane cheers as Trump speaks during a Tallahassee rally. (Mark Wallheiser/Getty)

FOUR TRUMP MUST-READS:

-- What motivates Trump? In more than five hours of conversations with biographer Michael D'Antonio, a powerful driving force emerges: the GOP nominee's deep-seated fear of public embarrassment. "The recordings reveal a man who is fixated on his own celebrity, anxious about losing his status and contemptuous of those who fall from grace," Michael Barbaro writes in the New York Times. "They capture the visceral pleasure he derives from fighting, his willful lack of interest in history, his reluctance to reflect on his life and his belief that most people do not deserve his respect. Ultimately, he fears — more than anything else — being ignored, overlooked or irrelevant." One of Trump's favorite songs is called, "Is That All There Is?" "It's a great song because I've had these tremendous successes and then I'm off to the next one," he told D'Antonio. "Because, it's like, 'Oh, is that all there is?'"

-- The Atlantic, "Trump's Graying Army," by Molly Ball: "Against all the modern disasters, Trump's campaign represents a rebellion of the aged—a bygone generation's last furious gasp against modernity. The voters who are now eligible for Social Security are the last Americans remaining who remember what life was like before the 1960s revolution in American culture. [70-year-old voters today] … grew up in the Beaver Cleaver world of the 1950s, an anomalous period of time in America when the postwar economy was booming and the dominant culture had not yet been disrupted by the civil-rights movement and the sexual revolution. Today's old people are the last Americans who will ever remember that bygone country—and they see the current election as their last chance to restore it. Putting all this together, a portrait emerges of an older generation that is increasingly at odds with the rest of society, distinct in the world it remembers and the way it sees modern society, its concerns alienated from those born later. They are adrift in a world that no longer speaks a language they recognize—or they were, until Trump came along."

-- USA Today, "How 75 pending lawsuits could distract a Trump presidency," by Nick Penzenstadler and John Kelly: At least 75 of the 4,000-plus lawsuits involving Trump and his businesses remain open, raising questions about potential conflicts of interest that could become difficult for Trump to navigate as commander-in-chief:

At least 60 lawsuits — plus hundreds of additional filings – document cases where people accused Trump and his businesses of failing to pay them what they were owed for their work. Among them: painters, glassmakers, real estate agents, bartenders and hourly workers. Even lawyers who previously represented him.
The review also shows Trump and his companies have been accused for years of mistreating women: In at least 20 separate lawsuits, plaintiffs accused Trump and managers of discriminating against women, ignoring sexual harassment complaints and even participating in the harassment themselves. Women have testified they were fired for complaining.
Trump's companies have been engaged in battles over taxes almost every year from the 1980s until as recently as last spring, when New York had to take legal action to collect $8,578 in unpaid taxes on one Trump-owned company.

-- Many women are struggling to understand how their own fathers — men who taught them never to take crap from anybody — could vote for someone with such a troubling and sordid history with women. From New York Magazine's Caitlin Moscatello: "That her father would continue to back Trump despite the fact that nearly one dozen women have come forward about his sexual misconduct is disturbing for [Elizabeth] … who has two close friends who have been sexually assaulted, and she herself has been the victim of sexual harassment at work. 'When the tape came out, I was enraged, she says. 'I sent my dad a text message about it.' His response? 'He ignored it.' Ann, 25, sees the same thing in her dad. 'I get emotional because it's upsetting when you're trying to reason with your dad and he sounds like every gross old man on Fox News …" With their fathers' heels firmly dug in, the question for many women isn't "How do I change my dad's mind?" but more "How do I still look up to this man I've always respected?"

Reince Priebus speaks to reporters after the vice presidential debate. (Daniel Acker/Bloomberg)

FOUR TAKES FROM PUNDITS:

-- The knives are going to come out hard after the election for the RNC's Reince Priebus and Sean Spicer. Many top D.C. Republicans, especially in Congress, feel very strongly that the party's chairman and chief strategist deserve a very large share of the blame for the Trump debacle. And they're waiting until Election Day to unload. Many say they will even go on the record to do so. Kathleen Parker has a taste of what's to come in her column today: "If these names don't ring a bell, congratulations, you don't watch TV. Because Priebus … and Spicer are on one talk show or another nearly every time you look at a cable news screen. They've worn more makeup the past year than most women do in a lifetime. 'They're having the time of their lives,' as one tenured Washington Republican put it. They're the elephants in the green room, in other words. Everyone sees them clearly but manages to avoid speaking openly of the obvious — that Priebus has presided over the ruin of the Republican Party. … By letting Trump rise to the top, as oil slicks tend to, Priebus has left the party in such a gelatinous mess Republicans will need a hazmat team to clean it up."

-- The Washington Free Beacon's Matthew Continetti outlines a decades-long struggle between intellectual conservatives and populist conservatives: "From the Panama Canal to the Tea Party, from Phyllis Schlafly to Sarah Palin, the conservative intellectual has viewed the New Right as a sometimes annoying but ultimately worthy friend. New Right activists supplied the institutions, dollars and votes that helped the conservative intellectual reform tax, crime, welfare, and legal policy. But that is no longer the case. [Trump] was the vehicle by which the New Right went from one part of the conservative coalition to the dominant ideological tendency of the [GOP]. … This is the crisis of the conservative intellectual. After years of aligning with, trying to explain, sympathizing with the causes, and occasionally ignoring the worst aspects of populism, he finds that populism has exiled him from his political home. He finds the détente between conservatism and populism abrogated. His models—Buckley, Burnham, Will, Charles Murray, Yuval Levin—are forgotten, attacked, or ignored by a large part of the conservative infrastructure they helped to build. The triumph of populism has left conservatism marooned, confused, uncertain, depressed, anxious, searching for a tradition, for a program, for viability. … What makes the crisis acute is the knowledge that he and his predecessors may have helped to bring it on themselves."

-- "Reflecting on this harsh reality has confirmed some conservatives in their belief that the managerial order is inherently left wing, and that the goal of a conservative politics should be to sweep the managerial class away entirely," says the New York Times' Ross Douthat. "This is part of the appeal of Trump to a small cohort within the right's intelligentsia, who imagine that his strongman approach can unweave the administrative state and strip the overclass of all its powers. This idea strikes me as fatuous and fantastical at once. But is there an alternative? … Can the populist right actually be de-Hannitized, de-Trumpified, rendered 100 percent Breitbart-free? Or would building on populism once again just repeat the process that led conservatism to its present end? History does not stand still; crises do not last forever. Eventually a path for conservative intellectuals will open. But for now we find ourselves in a dark wood, with the straight way lost."

-- New York Times' Frank Bruni pushes back on the idea that a President Clinton – running much of her campaign as a referendum on Trump -- would have shaky marching orders upon entering office: "Even if we grant that voters aren't so much rushing to her as fleeing him, they're fleeing for specific reasons," he says. "They're expressing particular values. Those reasons and values are her marching orders, and there's nothing murky about them. I'd go even further and say that they amount to a mandate, which is this: to safeguard the very America — compassionate, collaborative, decent — that he routinely degrades. While her election might not be any validation of her prescriptions for health care, the Middle East or trade, it would say loudly and clearly that the country cannot survive the divisiveness that Trump promotes and will not abide the bigotry that he projects. Acting in accordance with that wouldn't give our first female president most (or even much) of the legislation that she wants. But it would give her all of the authority that she needs."

SOCIAL MEDIA SPEED READ:

If only millennials voted, this is what the electoral map would look like:

We've covered a lot of the nastiness that reporters covering Trump rallies experience, but it's not all bad. A Trump supporter gave this note to journalists in the press pen. From the CBS News embed:

A former U.S. ambassador to Russia had a heated exchange with WikiLeaks over its claims of being a news organization:

These two Trump opponents trolled supporters at a rally:

Another example of a white person holding a sign reading "Blacks for Trump":

John Dingell can't wait for the election to be over:

Mike Pence revealed the team he's supporting in the World Series (it's the Cubs):

Madonna and her dog are not big fans of Trump:

Twitter is enjoying the hashtag #TrumpAHorrorMovie:

GOOD READS FROM ELSEWHERE:

HOT ON THE LEFT:

"Why a Detroit grandma's Halloween display depicts police shootings and terrorist attacks," by Amy B Wang: "A child predator. An elderly man holding a jar of contaminated water from Flint, Mich. A shooting victim with arms raised, under a sign stating: 'MY HANDS WERE UP.' Effigies representing all of the above and more dot Larethia Haddon's front yard this year. The Detroit grandmother is using her penchant for elaborate Halloween decorations to bring attention to things that, she says, actually frighten her … [after her] grandchildren proposed doing something a little different. The lifelong Detroit resident said that she was surprised by the reaction but is glad that people have responded as they have. 'Even the elementary kids come by and say we like your Halloween display,' Haddon said. 'I make them explain it to me, what it means. And they understand. And it means a lot. It's hitting people in a lot of different ways.'"

HOT ON THE RIGHT:

"Police: Homes Near Sen. Pat Toomey's Vandalized With Anti-GOP Messages," from CBS Philly: "A pair of homes were vandalized, with anti-GOP messages in Zionsville, Pa. near the residence of Senator Pat Toomey … Messages expressing opposition to Toomey and to the Republican party were written on the homes. The messages included 'Nazi, Slavers, Rapists, Cross Worshippers = GOP,' '#Americans Against The Republican Party,' and 'Look Out Toomey And You Neo Nazi Republicans.'" Toomey issued a statement condemning the vandalized remarks as "disgusting" and praising his neighbors as "wonderful people who deserve much better." "I am sickened by this disgusting, politically-inspired hatred. It has no place in a civilized society," he said. "I hope the cowardly criminals who did this are apprehended and punished."

DAYBOOK:

On the campaign trail: Clinton rallies supporters in Lake Worth and Tampa, Fla.; Kaine speaks in Allentown and Newtown, Pa. Bill Clinton is also out on the trail, stopping in Wilmington and Pembroke, N.C. Trump participates in a ribbon-cutting at his hotel in Washington, D.C., then campaigns in Kinston, N.C.; Pence stops in Reno, Nev., Salt Lake City, Utah, and Colorado Springs, Colo.

At the White House: Obama has no public events scheduled. Biden meets with former Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk.

On Capitol Hill: The Senate and House are out.

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

"I don't like to analyze myself because I might not like what I see." – Donald Trump

NEWS YOU CAN USE IF YOU LIVE IN D.C.:

-- Just one week out from November, and it's officially safe to stay that cool temps are here for good. Per today's Capital Weather Gang forecast: "Cool high pressure remains in control today as we lose yesterday's gusty breeze, but run a few degrees cooler as well. Starting from morning lows in the 30s across many of our cooler suburbs, afternoon highs should reach the mid-50s to near 60 under mostly to partly sunny skies, with a light wind from the north."

-- The vice president of the Maryland State Board of Education resigned, slamming an executive order from Larry Hogan that pushes back the beginning of the school year as a threat to the board's independence and a potentially harmful move that puts students at academic risk. "I do not now confidently work in an environment I perceive as supportive of education nor respects the independence of the board," said S. James Gates Jr. in a letter. (Donna St. George and Ovetta Wiggins)

VIDEOS OF THE DAY:

Will Ferrell reprised his role as George W. Bush on Comedy Central last night. He spoke in character for nine minutes. Later, he made fun of Billy Bush .... for riding a bus. Here's a 60-second clip.

Sick of gender stereotypes in entertainment? Check out some of the ways Washington women have been portrayed on TV and in movies:

How Hollywood views Washington women

Bill Bradley's new anti-Trump super PAC released a dramatic ad that it's placing in Columbus, Toledo and Cincinnati:

"Careful"

Marine Gen. John Allen (Ret.) recorded a testimonial for Clinton. He says Trump has "complete ignorance" about defeating ISIS and highlights how Clinton "really understands the threat" and "understands how to wield American power to defeat this threat and ultimately keep us safe." The retired four-star general was deputy commander of U.S. Central Command and oversaw NATO troops in Afghanistan. He mentions at the start of the ad that he also served Bush 43:

General Allen | Hillary Clinton

Priorities USA released this anti-Trump ad featuring another Marine veteran:

Sacrifice

The Clinton campaign released a powerful three-minute video about Trump's history of housing discrimination against African Americans, with an elderly woman telling her story:

Trump's history of housing discrimination | The Briefing

The campaign also went on the air with an ad aimed explicitly at African American men. "If Obama's voting for Hillary, I'm voting for Hillary," a man sitting in a barbershop says, over a picture of HRC with POTUS:

Barbershop | Hillary Clinton

Senate candidate Ted Strickland is up in Ohio with a new ad featuring Obama praising him:

This Man

Trump made some confusing statements about Obamacare at a press conference with employees:

Trump says 'most' of his employees don't use Obamacare, after saying they all are

In this 2008 interview, Trump called Clinton "great," "good," "wonderful," "smart," "tough" and "very nice" (click to watch):

Samantha Bee went after Trump -- hard -- for his comments about abortion during last week's debate:

Debate 3: The Good, The Bad, The Nasty (Act 1, Part 2) | Full Frontal with Samantha Bee | TBS

Seth Meyers took a closer look at Trump's closing campaign argument:

Donald Trump's Closing Argument: A Closer Look

Stephen Colbert wondered if Clinton is really a Cubs fan:

Is Hillary Clinton Really A Cubs Fan?

The ghost of Abraham Lincoln joined Colbert to discuss Trump's Gettysburg speech:

Abraham Lincoln's Ghost Responds To Trump's Gettysburg Address

Jimmy Fallon walked through a few new political memes:

This Week in Memes

Lin-Manuel Miranda drew attention to an ad from the anti-GOP House Majority PAC:

"Time" Featuring Stephanie Beatriz & Melissa Fumero

Baseball fans will appreciate the value of baseball legend George Brett cutting an ad for suddenly embattled Republican Rep. Kevin Yoder in Kansas:

George Brett is a Yoder Voter

Judd Apatow told Funny or Die viewers they should vote because of the urgency of climate change (watch state-based appeals from Will Ferrell, Craig Robinson, Keegan Michael Key and Naya Rivera):