[Randi Kaye, Cnn Anchor:] Hello. I'm Randi Kaye, in for Don Lemon. It's been a long weekend of apologies for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. But there's little chance that Monday will mean an end to what's been a two-day uproar over his racial remarks about President Obama. Reid has apologized to the president and just about everybody else. The Republican Party chairman and the head of the GOP Senate campaign arm say Reid should lose his leadership post. But Democrats, including the president, are standing by him. Now, it all began when Reid's remarks surfaced in a new book about the 2008 presidential campaign called "Game Change." The authors quote Reid as saying then Senator Barack Obama had a good chance of winning the White House because he was, quote, "light- skinned" and his speech had what Reid described as, quote, "no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one." Senator Reid said he regrets his poor choice of words, saying, "I sincerely apologize for offending any and all Americans, especially African-Americans for my improper comments." And we should note that President Obama quickly accepted Harry Reid's apology yesterday saying, quote, "As far as I am concerned, the book is closed." Both men have a lot riding on making this controversy go away fast. CNN's political editor Mark Preston joins me now. Mark, really, the biggest problem for Harry Reid is still his poll numbers. We're not talking about the problem in Washington. But his trouble is back home in Nevada.
[Mark Preston, Cnn Political Editor:] You're absolutely right, Randi. And just this weekend, a new poll has come out that shows that Harry Reid is in deep jeopardy right now of losing his re-election in November. Right now, if you were to look at the poll numbers that were released by the Mason-Dixon Polling Research Corporation, a poll posted in the "Las Vegas Review-Journal," shows that Harry Reid has a 52 percent disapproval rating. This is a huge number given the fact that he is the Senate majority leader. He's able to deliver a lot for Nevada. Yet, he really has irked a lot of voters in his home state.
[Kaye:] Harry Reid taking a lot of hits today from Michael Steele, the head of the Republican Party, and also from Virginia Governor Tim Kaine. Let's take a listen and we'll talk about it.
[Michael Steele, Rnc Chairman:] The reality of it is this, that there is this standard where Democrats feel that they can say these things and they can apologize when it comes from the mouths of their own. But if it comes from anyone else, it's racism. It's either racist or it's not. And it's inappropriate, absolutely. So, if the standard is the one that we saw with Trent Lott as speaker, as leader at the time, then I think this absolutely falls in that category. It's more than just an apology here. It's the reflection of an attitude. Now, remember, this is the same leader who just a few weeks ago was talking about health care in the context of slavery. Clearly, he is out of touch not only with where America...
[Gov. Tim Kaine , Virginia:] He immediately went out and apologized for comments that were insensitive. They were comments made in the context of him praising Senator Obama and supporting his candidacy for president, but still, they kind of reflect the thinking of a day gone by. The senator was wise to immediately apologize. And the president talked very specifically about how he knows who Senator Reid is, and he accepts the apology.
[Kaye:] So, Mark, there you have Tim Kaine trying to close the book, and Michael Steele trying to keep that book wide open.
[Preston:] Yes, Randi. And let's not be surprised the fact that Michael Steele is asking Senator Reid to step down. He is the chairman of the Republican National Committee. That is his job. Now, I will tell you, I have just learned in the last minute or two from a top Democratic source on Capitol Hill that the congressional black caucus is expected to put out a statement supportive of Reid. Now, this follows many other statements that we have seen over the past 24 hours. Of course, President Obama has accepted Senator Reid's apology, as has the likes of Al Sharpton and others. So this is a very big development for Senator Reid. An adviser earlier this evening told me that they feel like they're turning the corner on this story. Of course, that remains to be seen. Tomorrow, Harry Reid will be holding an event regarding energy issues in Nevada in Las Vegas. He's also expected to take questions. And at that event, surely, he will hear a lot of questions about his comments.
[Kaye:] Do you expect the calls for his resignation to build?
[Preston:] Look, from Republicans, absolutely. But so far, Senator Reid has not been asked to step down by anybody in his own party. And that is crucial. If you were to go back to 2002, when Senator Trent Lott was about to become the majority leader and he had said some insensitive comments as well, there were people within his own party that asked him to step down. We have not seen that from within Harry Reid's party. And, of course, he has the backing of the president.
[Kaye:] Of course, he would like this story to be over. But it's not. What might this mean for him in his home state of Nevada?
[Preston:] Again, very troubling right now, these poll numbers in Nevada. It's a poll that we've seen similar numbers over the past six months. This is terribly embarrassing for him. It's a thorn in his side. I'm sure he wishes he could take it back. But the fact is, he has other issues he needs to deal with in Nevada. There are three Republicans right now that are trying to take on the Senate majority leader in November. They have to get past the primary. But according to these poll numbers, if Harry Reid were to face any of these three, he would lose re-election. They're going to spend $25 million to try to get Harry Reid elected in November Randi.
[Kaye:] Do you think it's time for him to take this apology just one step further?
[Preston:] You know, I'll leave that up to him. It will be interesting to see what he has to say tomorrow. And if he's able to close the book tomorrow, then they're going to move on and it will be the next story. I will tell you, though, this is very complicating for him because at this time that he's trying to win re-election and that he's trying to get through President Obama's health care bill, he's having to deal with this issue. Not something he wants to do.
[Kaye:] Mark Preston. Good to see you tonight. Thank you.
[Preston:] Thanks, Randi.
[Kaye:] Millions of Americans opposed the massive bank bailout because they feared a lot of taxpayer money would go to huge executive bonuses. Well, guess what, they were right. Also ahead, the Supreme Court will tackle one of the thorniest issues of modern times. Is it constitutional to keep sex offenders locked up indefinitely? And one of the most arresting videos of the day a convenience store clerk attacked with a Molotov cocktail.