News Information and Media Site: Surprisingly volatile or surprisingly stable? ... and Bill Gates talks coronavirus response

From NBC's Ben Kamisar

If it's Sunday, are we looking at the most volatile or the least volatile election in recent years?

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz says it's the former. On one side, he believes President Trump "can have a significant victory and Republicans could take both houses of Congress."

But on the other side, he thinks "it's possible that we see a Democratic sweep where they win everything and it's a victory of Watergate proportions."

"I don't recall an election in my life with the spread, the delta between those two possible outcomes, this close to an election being that wide."

—Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz on "Meet the Press."

Cruz thinks the answer lies in whether people head to the polls with "optimism," which he said would be good for Republicans, as well as strong turnout by his side.

But it's a thesis statement Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin challenged on "Meet the Press" moments later, pointing to polling that shows an overwhelming number of Americans believe the country is on the wrong path.

And while no one can question the volatility of the news cycle, polling has been remarkably consistent on two key metrics — the president's approval rating has remained locked in the low-to-mid 40s for years, and Democrat Joe Biden has been consistently leading Trump in both national and many key state polls.

Click on the photos to watch the full interviews with both men.

Photos by Ken Cedeno-Pool/Getty Images

Bill Gates: America, get your act together on coronavirus or see more death

Seven months since the coronavirus pandemic upended American life, experts continue to warn that the country needs to step its game up.

The latest warning is coming from Microsoft co-founder and billionaire investor Bill Gates during an exclusive "Meet the Press" interview.

"There are lots of additional deaths coming if we don't get our act together."

—Bill Gates on "Meet the Press."

Gates specifically criticized the nation's testing system, which he called "the worst testing system, in terms of who gets access to it, of any country."

He also raised concerns about the lag time in obtaining test results, as well as worries about politicization and staffing within the federal government.

But it wasn't all doom and gloom.

He said that the experimental antibody cocktail President Trump received during his coronavirus treatment is "promising" and while treatments like it won't work for everyone, it "could reduce the death rate quite a bit."

And he said that he thinks the U.S. government has "actually done a decent job" on the vaccine and "it's likely by early next year that several of these vaccines will get that emergency use authorization."

Click on the photo below to watch the full interview.

TWEETS OF THE DAY: Assume clock dead

DATA DOWNLOAD: Republicans risk losing key statehouses in November

Statehouses typically get the short-shrift as far as column inches, but their importance is paramount, particularly ahead of next year's redistricting.

And with Trump's poll position lagging in several key states, there are new worries he could hurt the party's chances of holding onto key state legislative majorities.

Click on the graphic below for more from this week's Data Download.

ICYMI: An earth-shattering fundraising total in South Carolina

There's a new fundraising sheriff in town and his name is Jaime Harrison.

Fresh off the presses Sunday morning, the South Carolina Democrat's campaign announced he raised $57 million in the third fundraising quarter.

That's almost $19 million than the previous record, set by former Texas Democratic Rep. Beto O'Rourke in 2018.

And it's slightly more than what Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren raised for their presidential campaigns in the final quarter of 2019, just ahead of the Iowa caucuses.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham has been sounding the alarm about Harrison's fundraising for weeks, and this won't do much to calm his fears.

Click on the photo below to read on the MTP Blog.