Good morning everyone! Happy Thursday to you!

Joining today's show are Mike Barnicle, Nicolle Wallace, Mark Halperin, Chris Jansing, Ron Fournier, Kasie Hunt, Bill Kristol, Fmr. Rep. Barney Frank, James Carville, Steve Schmidt, Chuck Todd, Andrea Mitchell, Rep. Martha Roby, Rep. Adam Schiff, Anne-Marie Slaughter, Kevin Costner, Jon Baird, Rep. Mike McCaul, Sen. Claire McCaskill, Kathleen Parker...You have gotta love a show with James Carville on it along with Steve Schmidt being on it. And, you must love a show with Barney Frank on the panel along with Bill Kristol on it too.

There are no captures and no deaths to report of any Dolphins off the coast of Taji Japan. It is a Blue Cove today on day 51 of those hunts.

Mets sweep Cubs to win National League pennant, return to World Series for first time since 2000. While others laughed at Terry Collins’ proclamations before the season that the waiting was over for the Mets and this was a playoff team, his players bought into them.
NYC PAPERS OUT. Social media use restricted to low res file max 184 x 128 pixels and 72 dpi
When outsiders mocked the young pitchers who openly said their goal was the World Series this year, their teammates just nodded and got back to work.

And on Wednesday night, while the rest of the baseball world just shook their heads in disbelief, the Mets were where they believe they belong — heading to the World Series for the first time in 15 years.
NLCS MVP Daniel Murphy stays hot as Mets complete sweep, gain Series berth.
Daniel Murphy hit a historic home run as the Mets finished off the Cubs, 8-3, at Wrigley Field to complete a stunning four-game sweep of the National League Championship Series. That earned the Mets their fifth Fall Classic appearance in team history — hard as it may be for many to fathom.

“People kind of giggled at us and laughed at us when we proclaimed we were going to be a playoff team,” David Wright said. “I am pretty sure we were underdogs going into the L.A. series, pretty sure we were underdogs in the Chicago series. To go out there and win it with this group of guys and prove everybody else wrong, I kind of hate that cliche, but it feels really good. We knew had a good team in spring training and we backed it up.”

Yoenis Cespedes, who left the game in the bottom of the second inning with a sore left shoulder, was part of the celebration. He said after talking to doctors he will be ready for the World Series.
New York Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy (28) celebrates the 8-3 victory against the Chicago Cubs in game four of the NLCS at Wrigley Field.
Murphy, named the NLCS MVP, crushed a fastball off Fernando Rodney in the top of the eighth, marking his sixth consecutive postseason game with a home run, a new MLB record. He has seven longballs in these playoffs.

The 30-year-old second baseman went 4-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored Wednesday to put an exclamation mark on the sweeps. He finished the series hitting .529 with four home runs, a double and six RBI.
NYC PAPERS OUT. Social media use restricted to low res file max 184 x 128 pixels and 72 dpi
Murphy just wants to keep the good times going.

“That was a lot of fun. I think the group of guys in there makes it that much more fun when each guy still cares for the guy next to him,” Murphy said. “You get so excited when you’re able to come together and accomplish something like this.
NYC PAPERS OUT. Social media use restricted to low res file max 184 x 128 pixels and 72 dpi
Lucas Duda crushes a three-run home run in the first inning and the Mets never look back.

“We know there are still some more wins we want to get our hands on, so we’re going to enjoy this right now, and you see everybody get a piece of it, it makes it very special.”

Lucas Duda, who was just 3-for-24 coming into the game, hammered a two-out, two-strike, three-run homer off Jason Hammel to get things started in the first inning. The next batter, Travis d’Arnaud, followed with a blast of his own. It was the second time in the Mets’ postseason history that they had hit back-to-back home runs; Darryl Strawberry and Kevin McReynolds did it in Game 4 of the 1988 NLCS against the Dodgers.
NYC PAPERS OUT. Social media use restricted to low res file max 184 x 128 pixels and 72 dpi
Bartolo Colon pitches 1.1 scoreless innings of relief to pick up the win.

Duda, who drove in two runs on a double in the second, tied the Mets’ single-game postseason RBI record with five, set by Curtis Granderson in the NLDS.

“Early we believed, we had a great group of young talent and older veterans,” Duda said. “Having faith in ourselves since Day 1 brought us here.”

The Mets have hit 15 home runs in this postseason, besting the previous club mark of 12 set by the 1969 World Series champions.

Steven Matz held the Cubs to one run on four hits over 4.2 innings, walking two and striking out four. He allowed the run in the fourth but escaped further damage when Wilmer Flores ran down a foul ball in the Cubs bullpen. But the Long Island lefty could not get through the fifth.

A two-out popup to shallow right field dropped in between Murphy and Granderson before Jorge Soler singled to put runners on first and second. Collins turned to veteran Bartolo Colon, who came on and struck out Cubs slugger Kris Bryant swinging.

When Jeurys Familia closed it out in the ninth, the Mets rushed onto the field. Collins turned to his coaches and they celebrated with group hug.

“As you guys know, those of you who were around us all year, I mean, there were some tremendous peaks and some big, deep valleys,” said Collins, whose team was 52-50 on July 30, the day before the Mets acquired Cespedes and began an August surge. “To be able to keep those guys motivated and keep them level-headed through the whole season takes a lot of work.”

In the end, they kept the faith and proved they belonged in the World Series all along. 


5 ways Joe Biden's decision changes the 2016 race. The two leading contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination won't have to face off against the formidable -- and always unpredictable -- Vice President Joe Biden, who announced Wednesday afternoon that he won't make a late entrance into the Democratic race.


Now, it's former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders alone in the party's top tier of 2016 candidates.

Here's a look at five ways Biden's decision will affect the presidential race:

It's great for Clinton and bad for Sanders -- for now, at least
There's no doubt Biden's decision will help Clinton's poll numbers more than Sanders' in the short term.

Polls have consistently shown Biden siphoned most of his support from Clinton. A CNN/ORC poll last week showed that Clinton held a 16 percentage point lead -- 45% to Sanders' 29% -- with Biden in the race and drawing 18% support. But with Biden removed from the list of candidates, Clinton's lead widened to 23 percentage points, at 56% to Sanders' 33%.

Sanders has sought to run to Clinton's left. Biden, meanwhile, would have staked a claim on the legacy of President Barack Obama -- attempting to inherit much of the coalition that had swept him into office twice while also appealing to older blue-collar voters.

Unless someone like Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley shocks the political world by climbing out of the low single digits in the polls, Clinton now has a one-on-one race for the Democratic nomination.

Still, longer-term, Biden's exit could help Sanders: He's now the only high-polling Democratic alternative to Clinton, which means if she stumbles or voters sour on her campaign, he stands to be the sole beneficiary.

Expect a more tightly managed race
A Biden candidacy might have transformed the Democratic primary into a more free-wheeling campaign.

Biden himself has admitted he's known for saying what he means -- which isn't exactly the reputation of Clinton, who's seen as stage-managed to a fault.

Neither perception is entirely true: Biden, after all, is still a politician and subject to focus-group tested remarks. Clinton, meanwhile, has sought to bring a looser style to the trail, delivering a comfortable and confident performance in the first Democratic debate and poking fun at herself by appearing on NBC's "Saturday Night Live."

But without Biden in the race, there's less potential for off-script moments.

Clinton's dance with the White House gets less awkward
Though Clinton had publicly said she was giving Biden all the room he needed to decide, there were signs her campaign was preparing to run against the vice president.

She had staked out several policy positions that are at odds with the White House in recent weeks -- particularly on the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Clinton opposed the massive Pacific Rim trade deal, siding with labor unions that have fought to block its implementation. Her position put her on the same side as Sanders, and would have forced Biden into an uncomfortable spot: He could support the Obama administration or side with his allies in labor unions, whose support he'd badly need in the 2016 race -- but not both.

Splitting with the White House is tough enough for a former secretary of state. It would have been much more difficult for a sitting vice president.

It's OK now for Democratic candidates to bash Republicans
When Democrats met for their first debate last week in Las Vegas, Clinton drew laughs when -- after being asked about the enemies she was proudest of making -- she mentioned Republicans.

It played well with liberals who are frustrated that Congress has attempted to block the Obama administration at every turn.

But Biden saw it as evidence of a poisoned political atmosphere, and criticized Clinton's tone.

"The other team is not the enemy," he said Tuesday night during dinner remarks at the Four Seasons hotel in Washington. "If you treat it as the enemy, there is no way we can ever solve the problems we have to."

When Clinton, Sanders and others lay into Republicans at upcoming presidential debates, Biden -- with his experience cutting deals with the GOP in recent years -- could have held them back. Now, the leash is off.

Even so, Sanders responded to Biden's point, on Wednesday, saying, "I would not use the word 'enemies' to describe fellow Americans," he said.

Things got a whole lot easier for President Obama
The prospect of a Biden-Clinton match-up was already causing heartburn at the White House, where loyalties run deep to both Democrats. Most of Obama's aides saw Clinton as the best positioned to carry on Obama's legacy, given her longstanding status as the party's presumed candidate.

Biden is a popular figure among administration officials, considered deeply loyal to the boss and admired for his perseverance in times of deep personal grief. But instead of inspiring hope that he would made a bid for the nomination, his public deliberations prompted worry he could damage his own standing as an elder statesman.

Obama said publicly many times he would give Biden room to make the decision himself, and lauded his No. 2 as the "finest vice president in history."

But without Biden in the race, it is clear Clinton becomes the candidate most likely to carry on Obama's legacy -- leaving the White House's loyalties no longer in limbo.


Vice President Joe Biden ended months of intense speculation about his political future on Wednesday with a sudden announcement that he wouldn't seek the presidency, abandoning a dream he's harbored for decades and putting Hillary Clinton in a stronger position to capture the Democratic nomination.

With his wife, Jill, and President Barack Obama at his side in the White House Rose Garden, Biden said the window for a successful campaign "has closed," noting his family's grief following the death of his son, Beau.

Still, Biden, who a spokesman said made his decision Tuesday night, positioned himself as a defender of the Obama legacy, implicitly suggesting that he still views himself as the best possible successor to the President.

In tone, the remarks sounded like the kind of speech defending staunch Democratic values that he might have given had he reached the opposite conclusion.

The vice president sent a pointed warning to the Democratic front-runner in his remarks, again apparently rebuking her for her comment in last week's CNN Democratic debate that Republicans were her enemies.

"I believe that we have to end the divisive partisan politics that is ripping this country apart, and I think we can," said Biden, who, though a crafty partisan, often worked across the aisle during nearly four decades in the Senate.

"It's mean-spirited, it's petty, and it's gone on for much too long. I don't believe, like some do, that it's naive to talk to Republicans. I don't think we should look at Republicans as our enemies. They are our opposition. They're not our enemies."

He added: "For the sake of the country, we have to work together."

'I will not be silent'
"While I will not be a candidate, I will not be silent," he said in a speech that highlighted Democratic themes on income inequality along with a call for a national movement to cure cancer. "I intend to speak out clearly and forcefully, to influence as much as I can where we stand as a party and where we need to go as a nation."

The question of whether Biden, 72, would enter the race has consumed Democrats for months, but in recent days, the vice president's long period of deliberation had begun to frustrate some in the party -- and there was rising pressure for him to declare his intentions.

The prospect of a run seemed to decline further after Clinton's commanding performance at the first Democratic presidential debate on October 13. Her poised demeanor and deft handling of tough questions left many analysts convinced that Clinton effectively froze Biden out of the race.

Two looming political events may have affected the timing of Biden's announcement. On Thursday, Clinton appears before a Republican-led committee on Capitol Hill probing the deaths of four Americans in attacks on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Libya, on September 11, 2012, when she was secretary of state. The vice president may not have wanted his decision to be seen as a judgment on her performance if it was made public after the hearing. Democrats are also gathering this weekend at an important party dinner in Iowa -- a must stop for presidential candidates seeking the nomination and a Biden no-show would likely have severely hampered his chances in the state.

Implicit in Biden's remarks was a realization that Clinton's position and organizational muscle in early voting states are just too strong for him to mount a credible challenge at such a late stage -- just three-and-a-half months before first votes are cast.

The vice president's running room has been further curtailed by the unexpected strength of progressive champion Bernie Sanders who is running a close race to Clinton, in the first-in-the-nation primary state of New Hampshire.

By starting a campaign so late, Biden would have faced significant obstacles in raising the millions of dollars needed to give him a chance to win, and in setting up grassroots political organizations to wage the nomination fight across the nation.

Clinton, however, had only praise for Biden, describing him in a Tweet as "a good friend and a great man. Today and always, inspired by his optimism and commitment to change the world for the better," she wrote. "She signed the Tweet "--H" signifying that she, and not a campaign aide, composed the message.

Sanders said in a statement that Biden had made a decision that he feels "is best for himself, his family and the country. I thank the vice president for a lifetime of public service and for all that he has done for our nation."

Missouri Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Clinton ally, said that Biden's move would further solidify the former secretary of state's control of the Democratic race.

"You can see from the polling numbers that have come out this week how that has certainly reassured and solidified her support among Democrats across the country," she said. "I think this will push her even further in that direction."

Democratic Senate Minority leader Harry Reid told CNN that Biden would have been a good candidate "but he made the right decision."

And Republican front-runner Donald Trump combined a comment on Biden with a swipe at Clinton.

"I think Joe Biden made correct decision for him & his family. Personally, I would rather run against Hillary because her record is so bad," Trump wrote.

A CNN/ORC poll last week showed that Clinton held a 16 percentage point lead -- 45% to Sanders' 29% -- with Biden in the race and drawing 18% support. But with Biden removed from the list of candidates, Clinton's lead jumped to 56% to Sanders' 33%.

Though Clinton had publicly said she was giving Biden all the space and time he needed, there were signs her campaign was preparing to run against the vice president.

She has staked out several positions in recent weeks -- notably coming out against the Trans Pacific Partnership Trade deal that is backed by the Obama administration but opposed by many Democrats in a way that seemed to further narrow Biden's options.

Biden's move means that barring unexpected developments, his long political career, which includes nearly 40 years in the Senate and two terms as vice president, will end along with the Obama administration on January 20, 2017.

No genuine route to the nomination
With Biden bowing out, the Democratic nomination now comes down to a straight fight between Clinton and Sanders, assuming low-polling candidates such as former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley do not catch fire.

And his decision it spares Obama the awkward prospect of watching his vice president and former secretary of state battle to succeed him.

Biden's political career spans 40 years and is bookended by tragedy. Soon after he won his Delaware Senate seat in 1972, his wife and infant daughter died in a car crash. Then in May 2015, his son Beau, an Iraq war veteran and his family's hope to forge a political dynasty, died.

Though devastated by the loss, Biden's consideration of a White House campaign may have been motivated by his dying son's plea that he make a third run at the presidency.

He went through a highly public period of mourning and testing of the political waters, pouring out his heart on Stephen Colbert's late night show, and emotionally admitting at public events that he simply did not know if his family had the emotional endurance for a race.

Biden's previous two campaigns, in 1988 and 2008, barely caused a stir and foundered to a large extent because of his own indiscipline, a trait that earned him a reputation as gaffe-prone and which, allied with a garrulous temperament, led some to believe he was not of presidential caliber. Still, he was chosen for the No. 2 spot by Obama for his long experience in foreign policy and his deep knowledge of the Senate.

Biden's career will now be remembered largely for his vice presidency, in which he was in the room for all major decisions and was at Obama's side through dramas including the killing of Osama bin Laden and the passage of health care reform. He masterminded the implementation of the $800 billion stimulus plan which Democrats credit for staving off a second Great Depression and brokered a deal in 2012 to avert the so-called fiscal cliff.

But his most lasting contribution may be the way Biden lived his life. Every time fate dealt him a blow -- including serious health issues when he had a brain aneurysm in 1988 -- he got back up, refusing to be beaten. And with a dash of Irish blarney and his love for political combat, he maintained relationships across the political aisle that now seem like a throwback to a long-gone age of civility.

His political approach is tactile, and personal, interwoven with parables of working-class life, hewn from his upbringing in the gritty Pennsylvania city of Scranton and of family life in his adoptive state of Delaware.

But after spending the better part of 40 years being talked about as a potential president, Biden will likely not be able to look back on his decision to forgo a final 2016 run, without a tinge of regret that he fell just short of the highest prize.

Poll: With Biden out, Clinton's lead in Iowa grows. Joe Biden’s decision to stay out of the presidential race is benefiting the two top-tier candidates in Iowa, but Hillary Clinton is getting the biggest bump, according to a poll taken before Biden bowed out of the race.
A new Bloomberg/Des Moines Register poll of likely Iowa caucusgoers out Thursday has 48 percent of Democrats for the former secretary of state and 41 percent for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. When the vice president was included in the poll, Clinton was at 42 to Sanders' 37.
Story Continued Below
Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley has the support of just 2 percent of Democrats, while former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb — who exited the race this week — was at 1 percent, along with former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee.
The poll also looked at the congressional inquiries in the Sept. 11, 2012, attacks in Benghazi, Libya — ahead of Clinton's marathon testimony before a House investigative panel Thursday.

Support for the investigations falls mostly on party lines, with 75 percent of Republicans saying they are worth the time and money, while 19 percent say it isn’t worth it. Democrats feel generally the opposite: 79 percent say it is not worth the resources while 14 percent believe it is.

The poll run by Selzer & Co. was of 402 likely Democratic and 401 likely Republican caucus goers and was conducted Oct. 16-19. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.

The race is really on.

Both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have grown in popularity in Iowa, and the gap between them has slimmed to 7 percentage points, 48% to 41%, without Joe Biden in the race, a new Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics Iowa Poll shows.

Clinton, long the presumptive nominee, was 8 points ahead of Sanders in the Iowa Poll in late August. Her support among likely Democratic caucusgoers has climbed 5 points since then.

Upstart underdog Sanders gained vote share, too: He's up 6 points from where he was two months ago. But he has a newly revealed vulnerability: His votes for gun rights rattle Democratic voters here.

The new Iowa Poll was conducted before Biden's long-awaited announcement Wednesday that he isn't running for president a third time. To determine results without the vice president as an option, his first-choice support (he claimed just 12%) was reallocated based on second-choice responses.

With Biden no longer a potential entrant, two contenders are left center stage to battle one on one for the Democratic nomination.

The Iowa Poll affirms what many surmised after last week's debate: Both Clinton and Sanders strengthened their candidacies, Democratic strategist David Axelrod told The Register.

"That may set up a caucus day test between Clinton's superior organization and the manifest enthusiasm of the Sanders supporters," said Axelrod.

All Democrats tested rose in their favorability ratings in the new poll, which follows the Democrats' widely watched first debate, on Oct. 13 in Las Vegas. Still, the poll offers a grim verdict for the lesser-known candidates — former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, former Virginia U.S. Sen. Jim Webb and former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee — who failed to capitalize on the opportunity to gain ground.

Each barely registers support in Iowa.

Webb stepped out of the Democratic race Tuesday, saying he may run as an independent.

“The poll is a particularly stinging result for O'Malley, who began the race hoping to be the progressive alternative to Clinton, only to be eclipsed by Sanders,” said Axelrod, who was chief strategist for Barack Obama's presidential campaigns.

The Iowa Poll of 402 likely Democratic caucusgoers was conducted by Selzer & Co. of Des Moines from Oct. 16-19. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.

The poll shows there was little room in the race for Biden anyway, Axelrod said. The vice president remains an enormously popular figure with Iowa Democrats. He and Clinton tie in the poll with favorable ratings of 85% each. But Biden had slipped in the horse race and was 30 points behind Clinton, a former U.S. secretary of state who would be the first female president in history.

Sanders, a Vermont U.S. senator, was virtually unknown in Iowa until he began campaigning for a revolution of like-minded liberals who think the wealthiest Americans have undue influence over the federal government. He's now viewed favorably by 82% of likely caucusgoers.

Sanders has climbed steadily in every Iowa Poll this year: 5% in January, 15% in May, 24% in June, 35% in August and 41% now.

On one potential concern for Sanders, his self-label as a “democratic socialist,” 81% are not bothered.

However, the new poll shows he's vulnerable to one corrosive criticism.

“Sanders has a big problem, and it’s guns, not socialism,” said pollster J. Ann Selzer.

Sixty percent of likely Democratic caucusgoers say they feel less supportive of Sanders because he has voted against waiting periods and background checks for gun buyers, positions that were highlighted in the debate. Three-quarters of Clinton voters say his gun stances undermine their support for him, and 46% of his own voters agree they're troubling.

It’s a line of attack that Sanders’ campaign aides have dismissed.

Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders,
Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., signs autographs after a town hall meeting at William Penn University on Monday, Oct. 19, 2015, in Oskaloosa, Iowa. (Photo: Charlie Neibergall, AP)
“Listen, he didn’t get a D-minus NRA rating for nothing, all right?” Sanders’ top strategist, Tad Devine, told The Register last week after the debate.

Devine said Sanders has a strong record on safety legislation: He has voted to close the gun show loophole, supported assault weapons bans and pushed for mental health solutions to prevent gun crimes such as mass shootings.

The leading criticisms thrown at Clinton — about her use of a private email server to conduct sensitive government business as the nation’s chief diplomat; about whether she adequately protected the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, which suffered a deadly attack on Sept. 11, 2012; and about her delays or flip-flops on key issues — don’t hurt her with many likely caucusgoers, the poll shows.

Fully 81% said it doesn’t bother them that Clinton hasn’t been forthcoming about her home email server. Just 18% say that makes them less supportive of her.

Clinton’s delays in making policy decisions or policy flip-flops don’t bother 64%; 34% are troubled. Since she last ran for president, she has been called out for doing U-turns on same-sex marriage, the wisdom of her Iraq War vote as a New York U.S. senator in 2002, full citizenship for immigrants in the country illegally, and states’ rights versus universal federal policy on gun control.

She also was months behind her rivals in stating opposition to the free trade agreement known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership and to the Canada-to-Gulf-Coast Keystone oil pipeline.

Asked if the congressional investigations into Benghazi are worth the time and money, 79% of likely Democratic caucusgoers said no.

The poll shows more Democrats are getting excited about the prospect of participating in the first-in-the-nation caucuses, which take place just more than 100 days from now, on Feb. 1.

A majority of likely Democratic caucusgoers say they will definitely (53%) rather than probably (47%) vote in the caucuses, Selzer noted. That’s an increase of 15 points for the definite voters since August.

In contrast, a majority of Republican caucusgoers are still in the probably category (54% maybe versus 46% definite).

Both Sanders’ and Clinton’s vote shares have climbed because fewer people are uncertain about their first choice for president, Selzer said. In August, 14% were uncommitted or not sure, she said. Now, it’s down to 7%.

Women have been particularly hesitant to commit, but are now taking sides, Selzer said.

“There’s an overall better mood post-debate about Democrats because, finally, this is about issues. It isn’t about emails,” Selzer said. “The debate gave them a chance to feel good about being a Democrat.”

Hillary Clinton's Long-Awaited Benghazi Testimony Set to Begin. Democratic Presidential frontrunner and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is set to spar this morning with Republican members of the House Select Committee investigating the 2012 Benghazi attack that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.

Washington observers and political junkies have been fixated on this testimony -- beginning at 10 a.m. -- for months, waiting in anticipation to see what impact it may have on her campaign.

The pressure is on Committee Chairman Rep. Trey Gowdy to produce results or information that differs from Clinton's full day of Congressional testimony on the attack nearly 3 years ago.

The lead-up to today's testimony has seen vicious political sniping from Democrats on the committee, who have seized on remarks in recent days from two Republican congressman and one former committee staffer, each of whom suggested publicly that the committee has disproportionately focused its attention on attacking Clinton.

Gowdy has vehemently denied those claims, calling on his colleagues to "shut up" about what they don't know. Last Sunday Gowdy said in an interview with CBS he plans to question Clinton about her role in denying requests to increase security at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi prior to the attack. He says thousands of previously unseen emails to and from Stevens obtained by his committee will help inform those questions.

The House Select Committee on Benghazi was created in May of 2014 with the purpose of conducting a full and complete investigation of the 2012 attack. Prior to Clinton's testimony today, the committee had held only three public hearings. Most of the testimony it has received so far has come in private sessions.

The aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2012 attack on a U.S. consulate in Benghazi and the nearby CIA annex instantly became a source of political tension. President Obama faced questions about the military response, allegations he misled the public about the nature the attack, and lax diplomatic security in a war zone, all as he awaited a vote on his reelection the following month.

Numerous investigations and reports were written about what happened both on that night and in the lead up to the attack, and what needed to be done to ensure it wouldn't happen again. Two of the higher-profile reports were conducted by the Accountability Review Board (ARB), convened by Clinton herself who was Secretary of State at the time, and another later on by the Republican-led House Intelligence Committee.

In December of 2012, the ARB concluded that there was no protest before the attack (which the Obama administration has previously alleged), that the terrorist bore sole responsibility for the loss of life, and that "systematic failures of leadership and management deficiencies" at the State Department led to an "inadequate" security posture.

Clinton was never directly implicated in the report. Clinton has admitted that the State Department could have done more to address security needs in Benghazi prior to the attack, but said those decisions were left to other people and she has denied any wrongdoing.

The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence focused on the CIA's response to the attack following accusations personnel on the ground were instructed to delay their response to the consulate, which was being overrun by militants less than one mile way. The report concluded that no such order had been given, despite contradictory witness accounts given by some contracted security officers who were there that night. It also concluded that a mixed group, including Al Qaeda affiliates, were responsible for the attacks. It found that there had been intelligence to support the administrations claims that the attack was borne out of a protest, but said there was early intelligence to counter that false assessment as well. The report declared itself as the "definitive House statement" on the Intelligence Community's involvement in the Benghazi attack.


Massachusetts Poll – Donald Trump Laps Entire Field With 48%…It would appear that Donald Trump has locked up the entire Scott Brown coalition in Massachusetts.  A new poll from Emerson University (full pdf below) shows Trump with a whopping 48% of the electorate supporting his campaign. A new statewide poll suggests the state’s Republican primary race is Donald Trump’s to lose. With 48% of the vote, Trump is trouncing Dr. Ben Carson (14%) and Marco Rubio (12%).

The 34-point gap between Trump and Carson dwarfs the 9-point margin between the two in Emerson’s recent national poll. Lagging behind the leaders, Jeb Bush has slid to 7%, only slightly ahead of Carly Fiorina and Ted Cruz (read more)

Recent Polling:

ABC National 32%
  • MA – 48%
  • SC – 36%
  • NV – 38%
  • CT – 34%
  • NH – 32%
  • FL – 28%
  • OH – 23%
  • PA – 23%
  • NC – 28%
  • IA – 24%

Donald Trump Leads in Expectations, Shows Strength on Attributes (POLL). Donald Trump leads the Republican presidential field in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll, not only in vote preferences but in expectations as well -– a remarkable feat for the non-politician who’s surprised the GOP establishment with his staying power as well as his support.
Trump has leveled off with backing from 32 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who are registered to vote, easily enough to retain his frontrunner status. Fellow outsider Ben Carson follows with 22 percent, also flat this month after sharp summertime gains.
Notably, even more leaned Republicans -- 42 percent -- say they expect Trump to win the GOP nomination for president. And given a list of six potential nominees, 43 percent pick Trump as having the best chance to win the general election just more than a year from now.
Trump also fares well on many key attributes. Nearly half of leaned Republicans -- 47 percent -- view him as the strongest leader; 39 percent think he'd be best able to handle immigration; 32 percent feel he is closest to them on the issues; and 29 percent say he “best understands the problems of people like you.” In each case he leads the other top-five contenders for the nomination, Carson, Marco RubioJeb Bush, Ted Cruz and Carly Fiorina.
Trump has weaknesses nonetheless. More view Carson as the most honest and trustworthy (33 percent vs. 21 percent for Trump), and Trump trails Bush in having the best experience (31 vs. 23 percent). While 19 percent say Trump has the best personality and temperament to serve effectively as president, that compares with a similar 24 percent for Carson.
Trump and Bush are particularly weak in another measure in this poll, produced for ABC byLanger Research Associates. Roughly equal numbers of leaned Republicans say the more they hear about Trump the less they like him, compared with liking him more, 45 vs. 47 percent. Albeit not a statistically significant result, Bush goes numerically underwater in this gauge, 47-41 percent.
Compare that to Carson: Sixty-four percent say as they hear more about him they like him more, vs. just 18 percent who like him less, a vast 46-point net positive. Scores for Rubio, Fiorina and Cruz also are net positive on this measure by 23, 17 and 8 points, respectively.

Horserace

For all the campaigning under way, the overall race for the GOP nomination looks to be on pause, with essentially no change in candidate support since last month. That reflects a loss of momentum for Trump and Carson alike. Still, among their opponents only Rubio cracks the double digits, and just barely, with 10 percent.
In addition to his appeal to anti-immigration Republicans, Trump’s candidacy is very much bolstered by desire in the party for a political outsider. Republicans and Republican-leaning independents by 57-39 percent say they’re looking for someone from outside the political establishment rather than someone with political experience – drastically different from the 21-76 percent division on this issue among leaned Democrats. And Trump wins 41 percent support from registered leaned Republicans looking for an outsider, vs. 18 percent from those who prefer political experience.
Trump also continues to garner greater support among less educated potential voters -– 46 percent among those who haven’t gone beyond high school, vs. 23 percent among those who’ve attended college. And he’s still more popular among men than women, with 37 vs. 27 percent. Indeed white men without a college degree (leaned Republicans overwhelmingly are white) are among his strongest groups in voter preference and on issues and attributes alike.
Trump also does particularly well among leaned Republicans who oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade agreement he, too, opposes. He’s backed by 45 percent of its critics vs. 21 percent of its supporters.
Further, Trump is maintaining his support among groups where it might not be expected -– for example, he’s backed by a third of evangelical white Protestants, “very” conservative leaned Republicans and Southerners alike. He has 36 percent support in non-urban areas, vs. 24 percent in cities.

Groups

These results also are reflected in perceptions of candidate attributes. Men, those with less education, those who prefer a political outsider and opponents of the Trans-Pacific Partnership generally are more apt to rate Trump positively.
In one potential trouble spot for Trump, very conservative Republicans –- a key GOP group –- are less likely than “somewhat” conservatives to view him as the strongest leader of the lot, although he leads on this attribute in both groups, picked as strongest leader by 40 percent of strong conservatives and 52 percent of somewhat conservatives.
Additionally, just 14 percent of very conservatives think Trump's the most honest and trustworthy; 40 percent say it's Carson. And while very conservative leaned Republicans say by 53-35 percent that the more they hear about Trump the more they like him, that swells to 78-10 percent for Carson.

Methodology

This ABC News/Washington Post poll was conducted by landline and cellular telephone Oct. 15-18, 2015, in English and Spanish, among a random national sample of 1,001 adults, including 423 leaned Republicans. Results have a margin of sampling error of 3.5 points for the full sample and 5.5 points for leaned Republicans, including the survey’s design effect. Partisan divisions are 30-24-39 percent, Democrats-Republicans-independents.
The survey was produced for ABC News by Langer Research Associates of New York, N.Y., with sampling, data collection and tabulation by Abt-SRBI of New York, N.Y. See details on the survey’s methodology here.
Regardless of it all, please stay touch today!