[Holmes:] The bottom of the hour here on the CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Welcome back to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes. Glad you could be right here with us. And we are, today, 24 days away from the midterm elections. President Obama is not on the ballot, of course, but, it might be a good thing that he's not. Check out this latest poll we have for you, asking Americans who was the better president, Barack Obama or George W. Bush? Check it out. Forty-seven percent said Obama, 45 percent said President Bush was the better president. But look at the poll. When we did this last year, October of '09 the number was 57 percent for Obama, 34 percent for President Bush. So things are a-changing. And also, poll numbers suggesting that Republicans have a slight edge over Democrats going into this midterm elections. Political observers say they could take back control of the House, and it's a possibility. The Senate is going to be up for grabs as well. There's also a trend within a trend, as our special correspondent, Soledad O'Brien, finds out.
[Soledad O'brien, Cnn Special Correspondent:] Retired Lieutenant Colonel Allen West is the face of a new Republican Party.
[Lt. Col. Allen West , Florida Congressional Candidate:] This election cycle, you had about 42 black Americans who are running on a Republican ticket.
[O'brien:] It's I think an unprecedented number.
[West:] It is an unprecedented number because I think that we don't want to be seen anymore as some monolithic group.
[O'brien:] A victory would make West just the fifth black Republican elected to Congress in the past 100 years. This Iraq vet caught fire with a YouTube call to arms, ironically against the first black president.
[West:] The Constitution says promote the general welfare, not provide welfare. It is about setting conditions.
[O'brien:] What happened after that speech?
[West:] I mean, it went viral, and then the next you know, people started paying attention people going to the website, the fund raising really picks up.
[O'brien:] In his bid to represent Palm Beach, Florida, West raised more money in the second quarter of this year than any other Congressional challenger.
[Unidentified Male:] America needs a new way forward.
[O'brien:] Along with Ryan Frazier in Colorado and Tim Scott, who's running strong in South Carolina, the three are the black Republican Congressional candidates given the best chance in recent polls of winning. They have a black chairman of the party.
[Tim Kaine, Dnc Chairman:] Yes.
[O'brien:] They have candidates who are very viable candidates.
[Kaine:] I think that's great. Though, at the end of the day, the face is less important than the proposals and the substance in the policies.
[O'brien:] Those policies may not win over black voters, who traditionally go for Democrats.
[Michael Steele, Rnc Chairman:] So you're saying because there's a black candidate, all of a sudden black folks are going to vote Republicans?
[O'brien:] I think that's probably part of the strategy.
[Steele:] Well, that's not very a very smart strategy, if you think that. I think that I think the number one
[O'brien:] Isn't that what part of the the new face of the party is about?
[Steele:] No, it's not, and I think it's insulting to even think it is.
[O'brien:] But if blacks do vote Republican, it could change politics.
[David Lublin, Political Scientist, American University:] The black vote is growing, and if you got even a fifth or a quarter of the black vote, the Republicans would almost never lose.
[O'brien:] This new wave have something else in common the military. Of the 14 black GOP candidates still left, seven come from strong military background. Data from a "Military Times" poll shows that 12.3 percent of African-Americans in the military identify themselves as Republican. That's more than twice the national civilian average.
[West:] I think there is a relationship based upon the conservative principles and values of limited government, national security, individual responsibility. Sometimes it takes a a little bit more character to swim against the the tide than than to go with it.
[O'brien:] And that could mean changing the traditionally Democratic black political establishment.
[West:] And it's funny because members of the Congressional Black Caucus came out and said how they were coming down here and campaign against me.
[O'brien:] Can you join the Congressional Black Caucus if you win?
[West:] Absolutely. I don't see why not, unless they're going to change the name to the Congressional Black Democratic Caucus.
[O'brien:] Well, you know, they they don't have Republicans in the Congressional Black Caucus.
[West:] Well, I think it's about time they do.
[O'brien:] Reporting for "In America," Soledad O'Brien, CNN, Miami.
[Holmes:] And coming up in the 7:00 Eastern hour, we're taking a look at the increasingly nasty tone of the election. The latest example comes in the race for governor of California where a chance recording caught an insulting word on tape. Also, of course, all the latest political news. Go to our website, CNNPolitics.com. We got a hurricane out there. But, Reynolds, that's not our problem, right?
[Wolf:] That's right. It looks the East Coast is going to be in the clear, but it is the West Coast, specifically the Pacific Northwest, that may be inundated by two big storm systems. We're getting more on that, coming up in a few moments,
[T.j. Holmes:] All right. Reynolds, we're not done with you. We got a quiz for you, coming up here as well, so don't go too far. Some things women should never keep from their doctor. We have a list and a rather eye-opening report, coming up in a moment. That, again, as I said to Reynolds, another quiz, the "Fortune 500" list of America's most powerful women. Now, Reynolds, one of these women actually used to be an intern at the company she now runs. So, is it Ursula Burns, who is the head of Xerox? Is it Carol Bartz, who's the president of Yahoo? Or is it Safra Catz, Chief Financial Officer of Oracle Corporation? One of them was actually an intern at the company she now runs. Reynolds, that means we have hope of making it to the 14th floor here at
[Cnn. Wolf:] That's moving on up. Seriously.
[Holmes:] Quick break. Reynolds's answer. It's coming up.