[Holmes:] All right. We just wrapped up the midterm elections. We're already talking about congressional races for 2012? Joining me now from Washington, deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser. Paul, are you serious? Can't we just take a couple of weeks off, you know, from campaigning? We're already talking 2012 congressional races?
[Paul Steinhauser, Cnn Deputy Political Director:] I'm really sorry about this, T.J. I promise, Thanksgiving, Christmas, we won't talk of this ok?
[Holmes:] Fine.
[Steinhauser:] But that is out there yet. Let's talk about it right now. Let's look ahead at 2012, a little less than two years from now.
[Holmes:] All right.
[Steinhauser:] Let's look ahead to 2012, less than two years from now. Let's talk about the battle for the Senate, because you know on the House side, you know all 435 seats will be up. But what about the Senate? Check this out. I put a little graphic together. Thirty-three seats will be up in 2012. Of those 33, look at this, this is the trouble here for the Democrats. Twenty-three of those 33 seats will be Democratic seats, T.J. the Democrats were able to hold on to the Senate this time. They lost their bigger, larger majority, they lost six seats to the Republicans, but they did control the Senate. That's a 53-47 majority. They're going to have a tough time possibly in 2012 just by looking at those numbers. And of those 23, you've got some Democrats who could face some real tough times like Sherrod Brown of Ohio; Jim Webb of Virginia; Ben Nelson of Nebraska; Kent Conrad up in the Dakotas; and there's a list of others as well that all could face some challenging re-elections because of the states they're in, which are states with moderate to more conservative voters, T.J. So the numbers are a little bit troubling for the Democrats.
[Holmes:] All right. You're talking about troubling for Democrats, but is there some pressure somewhere for Republicans as well?
[Steinhauser:] Yes, there is. There's only 10 of them, right? So the odds are better for them, but let's talk about those 10. Let's talk about Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts. He just won that big upset earlier this year to win Ted Kennedy's old seat. And basically, by winning that election, he's finishing out the last two years of Kennedy's term. That means he's up in 2012. A Republican in a state like Massachusetts isn't the easiest thing to win re-election. He did score that big victory earlier this year, but Democrats are definitely going to have their eyes out for him. Also, you know what? He may face a little bit of trouble from the Tea Party movement, which backed him earlier this year in his big victory. They helped him. But you know what? Since he's been willing to negotiate and actually vote for a couple of Democratic pieces of legislation this year, that could put hip in the bull's eye of Tea Party types. Another person who could be in the bull's eye of Tea Party types, Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, very much a long-time conservative senator, but also somebody who is willing to negotiate with Democrats. And he just saw his fellow Utah long-time Republican Bob Bennett get ousted in the Republican primary process this year by Tea Party groups. I spoke to somebody from Tea Party Express that's one of those national organizations that really weighed in big-time in the Republican primaries, and they said they didn't give me a specific list, but they said, you know, watch out to some of these Republicans, we may come after you again in '12 like we did in '10
[T.j. Holmes:] All right. Last thing here, have they sorted out the leadership issues on the Democratic side in the House, from the number one Democrat who's going to be the number two? And now we're talking about a number three Democrat? Did they work all this out?
[Steinhauser:] They may have. Some brand-new reporting late last night by our Dana Bash, our senior congressional correspondent, on what's go on there. What's the problem? Well, the Democrats are now going to be in the minority in the House. They means they lose the speakership. So, boom, it's like musical chairs. They just lost a job. We know Nancy Pelosi is going for the minority leader. That means everybody else bumps down one. And here's the problem you have Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the current majority leader, and Jim Clyburn, the Democrat from South Carolina, who is the whip, both going for the same job, the number two job under Pelosi. And that was a problem, because Steny Hoyer is adored by many moderate Democrats. Clyburn, of course, one of the senior African-Americans in the Democratic coalition. There wasn't enough room, right? What would you do? They're both going after the same job. Well, our Dana Bash reporting that it looks like there may be a deal in the works to give Clyburn a new position that they would create. Steny Hoyer would be the minority whip. Clyburn would have a new position which has not been announced yet. So we're going to keep a close eye on this and see if that is settled, because that was a problem for the Democrats in the House
[T.j. Holmes:] Yes. You lose a job, somebody's got to go where there has to be a compromise. They may have worked something out. Paul, good to see you, as always, buddy. Thanks so much.
[Steinhauser:] Thank you.
[Holmes:] Well, abortion was not one of the biggest issues in the midterms for a lot of people, but it's expected to be back in the spotlight in the presidential race. Sarah Palin already hammering away at the issue, attacking President Obama's health care plan. Reporting for us now, CNN's Brian Todd.
[Brian Todd, Cnn Correspondent:] Sarah Palin takes on the president's health care plan in very stark terms.
[Sarah Palin , Former Alaska Governor:] The biggest advance of the abortion industry in America has been the passage of Obamacare.
[Todd:] She's hammered on this for at least a couple of months now, and usually to the same anti-abortion crowd. Palin has attacked the Obama team, accusing them of sneaking provisions into the health care overhaul that would make it easier to get abortions. And she says they did it with the help of some willing members of Congress.
[Palin:] But they caved at the last minute, many of them did, in exchange for a non-binding executive order that was promised by the most pro-abortion president to ever occupy the White House. And sure enough, just three months after this executive order was signed, the Obama administration broke its promise by making funding available for high-risk insurance pools in some states that do cover, in some cases, these elective abortions that we talked about.
[Todd:] What's she talking about? We tried several times to reach Palin's representatives with phone calls and e-mails, and got no response. White House officials tell us the health care plan makes no federal government money available for abortions except in the cases of rape, incest or if the mother's life is in danger. But there is a provision that gives subsidies to low-and-middle-income people to help them buy insurance through state-based health care exchanges. If those people use government money to buy a plan that covers abortion, then Palin may be arguing abortions covered in that plan would be paid for in part with government money. But the law says abortions in those state plans have to be paid for separately, out of the person's own pocket. [on camera]: Another question has to do with Sarah Palin's political calculation, why she's hammering on the issue of abortion when it doesn't seem to resonate so much with voters this year. A CNN poll in early August showed that out of the issues that are extremely important to voters 15 of them, in fact abortion ranked 14th. Why does she keep hammering on it?
[Susan Page, "usa Today":] Abortion will be important in the 2012 presidential race even though it wasn't so important in the 2010 midterms. And especially in a place like Iowa, that holds the opening caucuses in the presidential process. That's a place that has a really powerful anti-abortion movement.
[Todd:] Then do we take this as a signal that Sarah Palin is going to run for president? Again, we got no response from her side, but Susan Page says Palin sends every sign she can these days that she does plan to run, or is at least leaving that option open. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
[Holmes:] Well, they are sent overseas to fight, but when they come home, many face an entirely new battle.
[Unidentified Male:] A big part of getting back to living is doing therapy.
[Holmes:] For the combat wounded veteran, therapy includes music, and also reaching out to other vets. A new mission, coming up.