All Blog Posts from Couric & Co.

The pundits are spinning like whirling dervishes today to declare their candidate the winner of last night's debate. But no matter who won, the clear losers are the undecided voters.

A CBS News poll found that 72 percent of them still feel the same way today – unsure. Part of the reason may be found in another poll number. Fifty-seven percent said neither candidate did a good job of answering the questions.

Based on the thousands of e-mails to our Webcast last night, the economy is Topic A at the kitchen table. Ellen from Mississippi wrote, "Without the slinging of mud and this one said this and did that, what are you going to do for Americans who work hard for a future that is not too promising?"

401Ks have lost $2 trillion in the past 15 months. The financial mess is already a Main Street problem, but Americans are still just hearing a lot of K Street spin. To the uncommitted voters, here's hoping the third time's a charm – that you'll hear real solutions at the next debate next Wednesday.

Sandra Hughes is a CBS News correspondent based in Los Angeles.

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There couldn’t be a more critical time to be a small business owner. So many small businesses rely on loans – for everything from payroll to buying needed equipment – that when credit dried up these past few weeks they started facing critical decisions on how to keep their businesses going. According to the National Small Business Association, which has recently polled its members about the economic crisis, nationwide 28,000 fewer small business loans have been approved this year. Sixty-seven percent of small business owners surveyed recently said they’ve been impacted by the credit crunch.

We interviewed two Southern California business owners who told us in addition to this recent crisis, they’ve been troubled for years over increasing healthcare premiums and what they feel are excessive taxes and regulations. What we also learned from our interviews is that while politicians talk a lot about the small businessman and woman, the small business owner doesn’t feel like anyone in Washington is listening to their needs.

Mike O’Toole owns the Gondola Getaway in Long Beach, Calif. The idea to take people on gondola rides through the canals of his hometown came to him in business school. And he’s been making it work for 27 years. But O’Toole says: “if we’re the engine that drives the country (as so many politicians like to say) we need a new mechanic.” Why? He told us he’s drowning in regulations and taxes. There is no way he could afford to provide healthcare for all his employees, many of whom are part-time; because it would put him out of business.

Mark Murai is a third-generation strawberry grower who also owns processing plants. His top concern is paying for healthcare for his 30 employees whom he considers like family. But ...

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Hi, everyone.

It's a big year for women candidates. 10 are running for Governor, 93 for Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State or State Treasurer.

But the really big news is that a record number of women are running for state legislatures -- 2,430 in all. If a woman holds high office today, chances are she started there, learning politics from the ground up. Men, on the other hand, tend to jump into races for jobs at the top of the ladder, without climbing the lower rungs.

Both the Democratic "Emily's List" and the Republican "Wish List" train and support female candidates. And the odds are in their favor. Voters, disheartened by all the congressional scandals, often see women as change agents. Hey, it could happen!

It's possible that in the next congress, women will comprise more than 15% of the House of Representatives and more than 14% of the U-S Senate.

Since women make up about 54% of the population...at least it's a start.

That's a page from my notebook.

(Just click the monitor to watch the video of this notebook. -- Ed)

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