around the world are trying desperately to stop the spread. isis terrorists weave their way through the border town of kobani. kurdish fighters doing everything they can to fight them off but is it enough? we'll ask retired general wesley clark. and uniformed police with batons out on the streets of hong kong, these pictures just coming in. we're watching as tensions rise right now. hello. i'm wolf blitzer. it's 1:00 p.m. here in washington. 7:00 p.m. in madrid. 8:00 p.m. in damascus. 1:00 wednesday morning in hong kong. wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us. we begin with some alarming numbers out today on the ebola outbreak. according to the world health

organization, there are almost 9 9,000 cases of suspected ebola in west africa. 4,447 of them have resulted in deaths and that number is expected to grow. >> some of the projections that we've been doing in terms of case numbers, et cetera -- again, it's impossible to look in a glass ball and say, we're going to have this many or that many. but we anticipate the number of cases occurring per week by that time is going to be somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 a week. could be higher, could be lower. but it's going to be somewhere in that ballpark. >> health officials say there are at least 16 confirmed cases of the virus in the united states and europe. also there's been one death in the united states, two in spain and one in germany. we have team coverage with our reporters all over the world. elizabeth cohen is in dallas where the first american to contract ebola is now hospitalized.

nic robertson is in spain where a nurse's assistant who was the first person to contract ebola in europe is still in serious condition and fred pleitgen is in germany where a united nations worker has now died from ebola in a hospital. let's go to elizabeth in dallas first. what are they telling you about the condition of nina pham, that 26-year-old nurse? >> reporter: wolf, we haven't gotten an update today. but yesterday we were told that she was in stable condition. we did however get a statement from nina pham. it arrived from the hospital. she said, i'm doing well and want to thank everyone for their kind wishes and prayers. i am blessed by the support of family and friends and am blessed to be cared for by the best team of doctors and nurses in the world here at texas health presbyterian hospital dallas. >> they'rewhat are some of the

approaches they're thinking about, the protocol changes? >> reporter: one of the changes they're thinking about is when a health care worker comes out and they've got contaminated gear. not to be too graphic. but ebola patients put out high, high volumes of liquids. it can get very messy, that maybe they need to be sprayed down with a disinfectant spray before they take those clothes off. another change they're thinking about, maybe fewer hospitals should be treating ebola patients, hospitals where workers have drilled over and over again how to use this gear which, by the way, is very difficult to use. >> stand by, elizabeth, in dallas. i want to go to nic robertson in spain. there was a news conference, as you know, nic, today. what did the health authorities there say? >> reporter: wolf, they say that they're ramping up spain's preparedness to deal with infectious diseases like ebola. they're going to establish 17 regional centers, one for each of spain's regions. they have the hospital here in madrid. they're going to repeat what

they have here across the country. they're going to do more training for ambulance workers, even for firemen and others on the front lines perhaps who are going to pick up ebola patients. but what health officials are saying is something that echoes sentiments across europe, that they cannot relax their guard while the infection rate is so high in africa. this is what they're saying. >> translator: until we start to diminish the outbreak, we have to contemplate the possibilities of imported cases and our health care system has to be perfectly prepared. >> reporter: it still has some way to go according to health care officials to do that. we've also heard from the doctor treating teresa romero in the hospital behind me here. the doctor says teresa romero is actually helping the doctor and the nurses treat herself to stop them, to prevent them from getting more exposed to ebola. this, she says, because she is

not just the doctor treating teresa romero, she is a friend. she knows all those people are helping her and she's trying to spare them any chance of extra infection. >> we know her husband's written a scathing letter, nic. tell us about that. >> reporter: he wrote a scathing letter to the regional minister of health here telling him he should resign. the minister of health has responded to that now. the minister of health actually had his own letter published by a national newspaper here, essentially a mea culpa saying, if i have offended you, teresa rohm o -- romero and her husband, then i apologize for that. he said, teresa romero is doing great work as are all the other health care professionals here working on ebola. so something of a climbdown and an apology from the regional health minister for what he's said that's so offended and even criticized teresa romero.

>> let's hope teresa is going to be okay. nic, stand by. fred pleitgen is joining us. what do we know about the latest ebola victim that was brought to germany, that's where you are? how was he doing leading up to the death? obviously very sad news. >> reporter: yeah, very sad news. the authorities here are saying that he was in very critical condition when he arrived in germany. it was from a special flight that came in from sierra leone. tv footage surfaced of him getting off the plane. he was in a protective suit, got off the plane walking under his own power. the hospital put him in an isolation ward and say they treated the symptoms. they especially tried to keep him hydrated. these patients tend to lose a lot of bodily liquids. they also say they tried experimental drugs as well. all of this, as we know now, to no avail. he died last night from the ebola virus. what the hospital is now doing is trying to reassure the german

public that ebola is not going to spread outside this hospital ward. they've detailed the measures the staff took, anyone who dealt with this patient. and they say anybody who dealt with that patient wore complete preventive suits, anti-liquid suits and respirators as well. >> here in the united states, there's a lot of concern, a lot of nervousness about ebola, especially after this 26-year-old nurse came down with ebola after treating the first person who got -- came to the united states with ebola. give us a little sense of what it's like in europe, specifically in germany, how concerned are the folks there? >> reporter: well, they're certainly concerned. i wouldn't say that they fear ebola in any way, shape or form. but the concern is certainly there. that's one of the reasons why the hospital went into for meticulous details. they said that every hour the

hospital staff there used between 20 and 30 pairs of single use gloves. they say that the entire time that this patient was treated there, they went through 100 protective suits every single day. all these things were later incinerated according to the german standards. the german government is saying there is no threat of an ebola outbreak here in germany. there's no threat of the disease getting out of those isolation wards. but, of course, people have been following the news from the u.s. and from spain as well. and they know that any health worker who deals with this disease is very much at risk. >> fred pleitgen in germany, nic robertson in spain, elizabeth cohen in dallas, thanks very much. much more coming up. this question we're asking, is the united states congress doing enough to stop the spread of ebola? we'll talk to a u.s. congressman who also happens to be a physician on what needs to be right here in washington up on capitol hill to battle this killer virus. and look who showed up. the north korean media says,

nothing to worry about. here's kim jong-un. but they reveal something more telling about the reclusive nation. time is clearly running out in kobani. does the u.s. need to do more than air strikes as it targets isis? we'll talk to retired u.s. army general wesley clark about what needs to happen next. big day? ah, the usual. moved some new cars. hauled a bunch of steel. kept the supermarket shelves stocked. made sure everyone got their latest gadgets. what's up for the next shift? ah, nothing much. just keeping the lights on. (laugh) nice. doing the big things that move an economy. see you tomorrow, mac. see you tomorrow, sam. just another day at norfolk southern.

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congressman, thanks for joining us. we all want to learn from the mistakes that were made in order to make sure those mistakes are not repeated right now. first of all, what are you hearing about this 26-year-old nurse who contracted ebola from mr. duncan who passed away last week? >> well, of course everything i know is what i've read in the media and public sources. but she apparently self-identified herself as having trouble last friday and presented to the hospital and in a fairly short period of time, she was appropriately handled and given the diagnosis. it's obviously tough for her and her family. but at the same time, i am grateful that because of her experience and her training, she was able to recognize what was going on and speak up and say, i need some help with this, and that's incredibly important. >> should more money be appropriated by the u.s. congress to deal with these

kinds of issues? we know there have been budget cuts, so-called sequestration, less money for the centers for disease control, the n.i.h., for example, that had earlier been planned. is congress doing enough? >> well, realistically on the cdc appropriation, i think their appropriation this year exceeded what was requested in the president's budget. but we can have these discussions and we should have budgetary discussions. but the here and now dictates that this is going to cost a good deal of money to get through this. sure, congress needs to be prepared to do what is necessary. but i will also say that there are some things we could be doing to lower our risk. and your senior medical correspondent, elizabeth cohen, when i was on one of your programs a week or two ago and she talked about what happened when she came back from liberia and told the folks at the intake station on our side that she had

just returned from liberia covering the ebola epidemic and they said, welcome home, wait, here are some things to watch out for, we're not doing a good enough job. i'll tell you this. i think all voluntary travel between liberia, the nations in western africa and the united states should be put on pause, should be put on hold. things did not happen the way the cdc told us they would happen. all of the information they put out in september is now nonoperational. and honestly, we need to give our medical system, our doctors and our nurses, a chance to catch up. the pandemic plan in 2005 did acknowledge that you could perhaps slow a disease down at the border. we have to be prepared to do that now. >> it sounds like you've lost confidence in the centers for disease control and prevention in atlanta. >> no, no, absolutely not. but i will tell you this, wolf. i think this illness has taught all of us a lot of humility over the last six weeks, the things

that were talked about when the president went to cdc in september, those are nonoperational today. and i think you just have to recognize the fact that this is -- this outbreak is serious, it's evolving and the problem with this virus -- there was a great article in "the new york times" this morning about how the viral load increases with time such that by the end of the clinical presentation, when someone is near death, the viral load is just unbelievable. that's why all the people who were working around this patient toward the terminal event, they're now at significant risk and need to be monitored appropriately. and i'm glad they are. >> you're a physician. so one final question. those who come down with ebola, let's hope there aren't any more, but tom frieden, the head of the cdc, anthony fauci of n.i.h. have both said they wouldn't be surprised if there were more ebola cases in dallas. here's the question to you -- should they be treated, should they remain in dallas or move to

nebraska or emory university hospital where they have more specific treatment centers? >> my belief is that is the case. i will also tell you i think presbyterian has been on a pretty steep learning curve. there's no question that their experience is now valuable. but the statements made earlier in september that any hospital ought to be able and prepared to deal with this illness, i don't think so. you can go to a university and say, i want to study the ebola virus and you can't do it. you have to go to specialized labs, specialized centers around the country that are prepared to deal with this virus, the same is probably true of our hospitals as well. >> we're just getting this in, a statement, i want to read it, from nina pham, the 26-year-old nurse who contracted ebola in dallas, she's at that hospital in dallas. she says she's doing well, want to thank everyone for their kind wishes and prayers. i'm blessed by the support of family and friends and blessed to be cared for by the best team

of doctors and nurses in the world at texas health presbyterian hospital dallas. that's good news. elizabeth cohen reported it earlier. but i want to make sure that we get that up on the air. fortunately she says she's doing well. let's hope that stays the case. congressman burgess, thanks very much for joining us. >> great, thank you. isis continues to move towards the baghdad international airport even as we speak. is it time to re-evaluate the u.s. strategy in the war against isis? i'll ask retired u.s. army general wesley clark, the former nato supreme allied commander. he's here. and next, north korea's kim jong-un resurfaces after more than a month. but are the new pictures putting the mystery to rest? we'll take a closer look. insurance companies are spending millions of dollars

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now to hong kong, a new face-off between protesters and police. take a look at this. the demonstration zone, as it's called. riot police with masks, shields, batons, pepper spray. they've hit the streets to tamp down a new wave of protests. authorities say the officers tried to reach protesters through a tunnel but got cornered themselves. police reopened key roads after weeks of peaceful sit-ins. we're going to continue to monitor the developments there in hong kong and bring you the very latest. stand by. after weeks of speculation and rumor about his extended public absence, the north korean leader kim jong-un was back on state tv. but the pictures actually may just be adding to the mystery. our paula hancocks is in seoul, south korea. >> reporter: north korea is very keen to show that kim jong-un is

back and he is in control. all throughout today, we have been seeing on north korean state-run media these photos of him seemingly back at work. he walks around, in this case, a newly built residential complex followed by his officials. there are a lot of smiles in these photos. and we see kim jong-un with a cane, with a walking stick. this is significant not only does it vindicate many analysts who have believed that he was ill and had health issues over the past five weeks and dismissed claims of a coup. but it shows that north korea is now willing to show that their north korean leader is frail. this is something that didn't happen with the two previous leaders. this could be for an international audience, that these photos are being shown so much, but also for a domestic audience, to show north koreans that their leader, even if he's not in complete health, seemingly he is in complete control. interestingly, there is no date on these photos.

state-run media would like us to believe they're recent. but we simply don't know. >> thanks very much. also interesting is that north korean media is only showing the fra photographs, no video of kim jong-un's appearance. joining us is christiane amanpour. how does this appearance play? does it reduce the speculation? does it add a little bit of the mystery? what's your analyst? >> reporter: well, i think it keeps adding to it. they've just showed these pictures after we've all been discussing for weeks, where is kim jong-un? he shows up again but in still photos, undated, not video. we simply don't know when they were taken. and key to the whole issue is, yes, they were put on the main daily newspaper of the central party there. but the u.s. hasn't been able to decipher or confirm the authenticity of them, when they were taken, what this all means. i think the mystery continues a little bit. although there he is smiling with a walking stick.

it advances the story just a tiny bit. but until we see some date-specific, moving pictures, people will have a field day trying to figure out what is going on. >> from north korea, christiane, let's move to iran. i know you had an important interview with the speaker of the iranian parliament, a wide-ranging interview. we'll see it at the top of the hour on cnn international for our viewers around the world. what's the basic message he's sending right now as far as this war on isis is concerned? >> reporter: well, here's the thing to put it into context. he is one of the most powerful people in iran. he's the speaker of the parliament. it's a real important quarter when it comes to agreeing to talks and other such things. so regarding isis, he basically says, which they have said all along, that air strikes don't do it. president rouhani told me that himself in september in new york. and while they're all committed to fighting isis, he basically reminded that there needs to be

a lot bigger strategy than just air strikes. listen to what he said. then we can talk a little bit about it. >> translator: i think it is very unlikely to destroy guerrilla fighters by just dropping bombs on their heads. but to us, iran went to the side of the iraqis very early when the crisis broke out. we don't really want to broadcast it. we don't want to go to the media and talk about what we did for the iraqis. but in practice, we defended them. >> reporter: so, wolf, basically he's there claiming success for blunting isis's initial surge. still there are revolutionary guards, some kind of elements there, we've seen the picture in the field of the infamous head of the force. and iran credits itself with blunting and preventing isis from advancing further towards baghdad. providing the troops, providing

weaponry, providing elements to confront isis and also arming shia militias. so the question now is, as the president, president obama, is having these talks just outside washington, shortly to begin, with defense chiefs from some 20 different nations on how to take this fight further and better against isis, whether there's something that iran and the united states can do together, probably not. but whether iran would block the idea of ground troops. he did not come out totally against ground troops. >> interesting stuff. we're looking forward to more of the interview right at the top of the hour. christiane, thanks very much. christiane amanpour for our international viewers, please make sure to watch "amanpour" that begins right after this program. officials from 22 nations as christiane just pointed out are getting ready to meet to discuss strategy on the war on isis. they're meeting right outside washington at joint base andrews. up next, retired u.s. army general wesley clark on what he

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open enrollment ends december 7th. so don't wait another day. if you're medicare eligible, call now... and talk to unitedhealthcare about our plans, like aarp medicarecomplete. let's get you on the right path. call unitedhealthcare today. welcome back to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer reporting from washington. right now, police in saudi arabia are investigating the killing of an american. it happened at a gas station in the capital riyadh. another american was wounded in the attack.

the men are security contractors whose company is working with the saudi national guard. the suspected shooter is in saudi custody. a state department official tells cnn in the wake of the attack, they're re-evaluating the security of americans working in saudi arabia. we're just getting more information. the shooting taking place not very far away from the u.s. embassy in riyadh. we'll get more information and share it with you when we have it. isis fighters continue to move deeper inside the city of kobani, right on the syrian/turkish border. kurdish forces are trying to hold the city. but fears are growing they will be overrun before too long. coalition forces are continuing to target isis positions from the air. the latest air strikes aimed at oil refineries now controlled by isis. cnn's arwa damon has been watching the battle for all of us. >> reporter: wolf, we've been seeing a fairly heavy sustained air strike campaign on kobani. a lot of it centering on a key

area, the border crossing between kobani, syria, and turkey. right behind us are silos. on top of them, the turkish flag. behind that is key territory, a marketplace that a kurdish fighter cnn spoke to said isis has taken over. they control that and everything to the south and that is not too far away from that vital artery, the border crossing.thisser, if manages to take over the border crossing, kobani could be considered to have effectively fallen to the terrorist organization. these air strikes have been helping to a certain degree. but according to this kurdish fighter, what they need is the type of heavy weaponry that would allow hem to take on the isis tanks. he was describing how isis is very easily moving its tanks in from three different directions, the west, the east and the south. also very easily bringing in additional fighters and weapons

resupply. it has plenty of it. the kurdish fighting force do not. they're doing whatever they can to keep isis at bay. but if the status quo continues, according to this one kurdish fighter, it will be impossible for them to continue to keep isis out of the key border crossing and keep kobani from falling to isis, wolf. >> arwa damon on the scene for us. arwa, thanks very much. defense officials from 22 countries are meeting at joint base andrews outside of washington, d.c. to discuss the war on isis. the u.s. chief of staff general martin dempsey is going to run the meeting. president obama will make an appearance later this afternoon. at this military base. let's bring in retired u.s. army general wesley clark, former nato supreme allied commander and author of a brand-new book entitled "don't wait for the next war." general clark is joining us now from los angeles.

congratulations, general clark, first of all, on the new book. i'm sure a lot of people will want to read it. let's talk a little bit about what's happening right now outside of washington at joint base andrews. 22 countries are there. they're meeting together to discuss strategy. but missing at this meeting, any represtatives of the moderate syrian -- free syrian army, missing, any specific representative from the kurdish region, from kurdistan. those are the forces the u.s. wants to be ground troops there. why weren't they invited? >> well, i'm not sure why they weren't invited but they're certainly heavily engaged. now, we are definitely talking to their political representatives. i was on the phone, in fact, yesterday with one of their political representatives in d.c. so they are in the area. it may be that we have all of the information we need from them. i think the purpose of this meeting, wolf, is basically for the president to underscore america's commitment to these

defense chiefs, for general dempsey to be able to look for additional commitments, whether it's more aircraft, refueling, logistics, weapons and supplies, to be transferred. probably to discuss ground troops and to generally try to pull the coalition together on a military basis. all of that help is going to go to the kurds who are fighting and the free syrian army elements that are connected, including some in kobani. so i don't see their omission as a critical problem at this stage. really, they're engaged in the immediate and what general dempsey is trying to do is organize and get the assistance that they need. >> here's my suspicion. it's only a suspicion, general. i want your reaction. the free syrian army, the moderate syrian army, even though the u.s. congress has appropriated half a billion dollars to arm and train them, the u.s. doesn't completely trust them because they have a working relationship, at least in part, with al nusra, which the state department regards as a terrorist organization, an

offshoot of al qaeda. is that a fair analysis? >> i think it's fair to say the free syrian army has done just about anything it can to survive. when you talk to them, they will tell you their support is inadequate, they don't get the supplies quickly enough, they aren't trusted but they have to somehow scrounge what they need on the battlefield and they have to form temporary alliances to go after whatever objective it is that makes sense at the time. this is the problem with this, wolf. there are so many different elements and the political linkage between the top of the syrian moderate opposition and the free syrian army has always been shaky. and at the margins, it slips away. so when you're aiding the moderate syrian opposition and if you were to pour half a billion dollars worth of aid into that tomorrow, you're not sure where that aid is going to end up on the battlefield. and that's been the problem for three years with syria. >> here's my other suspicion, tell me if you think this is a

fair suspicion. it's simply a suspicion, that the kurds, kurdistan was not involved even though the peshmerga, the fierce kurdish fighters, they've played a significant role in trying to fight back isis with limited weapons, i should point out. the peshmerga, the kurds weren't invited because the turks don't like the kurds and the iraqi government in baghdad don't like the kurds. that's why they were blacklisted from this meeting. what do you think? >> i think that's probably a good supposition. but neither one of them represent real governments. and so what you've got is you've got general dempsey trying to work through legal governments here. there's no question -- there's a lot of cross-cutting loyalties and tensions in the region. and one other thing to think about. when people say you can't win without boots on the ground, of course they're right. we don't want them to be american boots. but putting boots on the ground, even non-american boots, is not sufficient. you've got to have governance

over that region. and that's the importance of the moderate syrian opposition. they are the ones that we should be empowering now to go into kobani and elsewhere, to work with the kurds, the local populations and establish a free syria on the ground. the alternative if we don't do this is that as we attack and push back isis, bashar al assad rolls forward and he then becomes the legitimate government over these ungoverned spaces. terrorism is fundamentally a problem of ungoverned space and that's what we've got all over most of syria today. >> i will point out, administration officials have told me the reason the kurds weren't invited, the moderate syrian opposition weren't invited is because only sovereign nations were invited and neither is a sovereign independent nation. general, i want you to stand by. we have a lot more to talk about. this war is clearly heating up. the u.s., others engaged in air strikes. but isis is clearly on the move. what is going on? much more with general clark right after this. ...heartburn. did someone say burn?

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we're back with retired general wesley clark. general, can you believe how close these isis forces are to the baghdad international airport, only eight or ten miles from the baghdad international airport, that they control now not only mosul, a city of 2 million, the second largest city in iraq, but about 80% of the anbar province over there and they're moving closer and closer and closer? and the iraqi military is simply m.i.a., refusing for all practical purposes to challenge these guys. what's going on? >> what you have is a case where isis is winning favor with the sunni population. the sunni population is either neutral or helping isis as it moves through.

they are, after all, sunnis. they're very disaffected with the way the former prime minister maliki was leading the government there in iraq, the army. a lot of the generals that we trained were replaced. they were replaced with shia cronies, basically, who can't fight and the army's too shia to represent the country. so as they get closer and closer to the airport, it's increasingly dangerous. this is not like an airport that you can simply draw a fence around and say, we got the airport, they can stay out there. when you're dealing with isis, you're dealing with a force that has long-range weapons. you're looking at a mile, two miles, five miles beyond the airport. what happens if they start to shell the airport? we have some tough strategic issues that we're wrestling with and i'm positive that behind the scenes that the united states advisers there on the ground in baghdad and with the iraqi military in high command are doing everything they can to

encourage the iraqi army to fight and hold this critical terrain around the airport. >> they're certainly not doing it, at least not yet. sporadically they might be doing it. but there's a whole lot more they could be doing. what worries a lot of u.s. officials and the american public, general, i want your take, those thousands of americans who are in that so-called green zone where the u.s. embassy is in baghdad, they seem pretty protected, baghdad, a city of 7 million people. but a lot of folks are worried about them if that airport shuts down. how do you get those folks out of there? >> well, i think you have to make that decision before -- you're approaching the time to make that decision. that airport has to be international property. it cannot be left to fall. i think that whether we want to put boots on the ground, whether we call it that or not, protecting that airport is essential to protecting the safety of americans. so i would guess that we are going to protect that airport. we're just not going to allow this to happen where there's a catastrophe. we're not going to have a repeat

of saigon 1975. we're not going to allow it to fall. that would certainly be my recommendation if i were on the inside p as much as i don't want to see u.s. troops on the ground. this is a case where there's a piece of key terrain has to be held to hold diplomacy in the region together. >> what do you think the u.s. would need in terms of ground forces to protect that airport, the baghdad international airport, given the fact that isis has all those shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles? >> you end up putting some of the special forces troops in there to reinforce and to advise the combat formations in the iraqi army. you might have a couple of u.s. battalions available to reinforce in an emergency. but there are a couple of steps before you start deploying a division or two to protect that airport. i don't think we're there. i don't think we're going to get there.

but we may be in the position where we've got to put some u.s. personnel forward to get eyes on target and actually control the strikes that are coming in. you can stop much of this if you can deliver firepower effectively from the air. you just can't do it in a place like kobani where you don't have any eyes on target. around the baghdad airport, we can have eyes on target. >> general clark, i'm sure your former colleagues at the department of defense are looking at all the contingencies right now as they always do. wesley clark, thanks very much for joining us. his new book "don't wait for the next war," general clark, thank you very much. >> thank you very much. thank you, wolf. when we come back, we'll have an update on what's going on in american politics. mitt romney, guess what? he's made a run for the white house twice as all of us know. but will there be a third run for the white house? will third time be a charm? the republicans, a lot of them, are saying, get in, mitt. we'll tell you about that. you do a lot of things great.

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2008 or 2012. she once again ducked the question last night. >> there's no reluctancy. this is a matter of principle. our constitution grants here in kentucky the constitutional right for privacy at the ballot box for a secret ballot. >> chief congressional correspondent dana bash, gloria borger. i guess she thinks it would be a mistake to say, simple words, i voted for barack obama for president. >> obviously she thinks it wo d would. i don't know why she couldn't just come out and say i voted for him, and by the way, it was a mistake unless she didn't vote at all. but it's clearly part of her campaign strategy to distance herself from president obama. he's so unpopular in that state. however, honestly, i don't think this helps her at all because she looks evasive. >> she definitely looks evasive. look, she, the problem is, as you said, she has a very big hill to climb. and that is a state like

kentucky where the democratic president lost 116 out of 120 counties. where he is -- that was when he was popular nationwide also. and she knows that mitch mcconnell has a lot of money and the minute she utters anything close to i voted for barack obama, it will be on every single tv ad they can find air time to buy every single web ad, et cetera. they decided to take their lumps and to show -- to just not answer. the problem is that they've decided that it is worse to look like you support president obama than it is to look evasive and not authentic. i'm not sure that's the right decision in a year like this when people are craving authenticity. >> right. and every ad she's got. every -- on the air waves is distancing herself from barack obama. i'm not anything like barack obama. i disagree with him on gun control, on everything.

so there's no confusion there. >> and this is a typical race. mitch mcconnell was one of those republicans, potentially could have been vulnerable. but looks like she may be in trouble right now. >> right. and it was tightening. and the unfortunate thing talking to democratic sources is that she had a really good debate performance. she was tough. she went right after mitch mcconnell and did it in a way that, i think for the most part, was pretty effective. >> mitt romney, is he going to run for president a third time? >> third time's a charm. look, if i were betting now, i would say, no. in talking to people in romney land, they're very happy he's getting all of this attention. there are some people in romney land who would like him to run. i think, and as one person told me there, if he were to run and he stressed this is a real hypothetical, that he would be the last person to get in the race. in other words, if everybody else fell down and there was nobody left, then maybe mitt

romney would come in and save the day. does anybody believe that's actually going to happen? no. are they happy he's getting these accolades that he's number one surrogate out on the campaign trail? that he can say i told you so? they're thrilled about it. but is it likely? i would still say no. >> it's not. and i don't think it's likely. that he'll run at all. it is true that the republican party tends to give their nominees other chances. third chances maybe not so much. but, you know, i think the other reason why he's having a resurgence of the map right now in the november election. most of the competitive races are in red states. like kentucky we were just talking about where mitt romney won by 24 points. of course he's going to go and campaign there because that's the place where he actually did well. so, i think, that is playing a big part of the dynamic where people are discussing whether or not mitt romney's going to -- >> yeah. and i think, you know, his family members are happy because he is relevant again and they

like him seeing this kind of adulation. but she's said never again. >> we'll see what happens. there's a lot of pressure. a lot of his aides and supporters would like him to run. we'll see if that happens, guys. >> i don't think he would. >> we'll continue this conversation three weeks from today, the midterm elections, we'll have extensive coverage. that's it for me, thanks very much for watching. i'll be back 5:00 p.m. eastern in the "situation room." for our international views, amanpour is up after a quick break. for our viewers in north america, "newsroom" takes over at the top of the hour. narrator: these are the tennis shoes skater kid: whoa narrator: that got torture tested by teenagers and cried out for help. from the surprised designers. who came to the rescue with a brilliant fix male designer: i love it narrator: which created thousands of new customers

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i'm pamela brown in for brooke baldwin. thanks so much for being here with us on this tuesday. the first american to contract ebola in the u.s. is breaking her silence. just moments ago, 26-year-old nina releasing this statement through the dallas hospital. quote, i'm doing well and want to thank everyone for their kind wishes and prayers. i am blessed by the support of family and friends and blessed to be cared for by the best team of doctors and nurses and the world here at texas health