By MICHAEL FALCONE ( @michaelpfalcone )

NOTABLES

• BY THE NUMBERS: Nearly two-thirds of Americans are concerned about a widespread epidemic of the Ebola virus in the United States, and about as many in a new ABC News/Washington Post poll say the federal government is not doing enough to prevent it, ABC's GARY LANGER reports. Indeed, more than four in 10 - 43 percent - are worried that they or an immediate family member might catch the disease. That's similar to the level of concern about other viral outbreaks in some previous ABC/Post polls - but more consequential, given Ebola's high mortality rate. Despite these concerns, more than six in 10 are at least somewhat confident in the ability of both the federal government, and their local hospitals and health agencies, to respond effectively to an outbreak. Future views remain to be seen; most interviews in this poll were done before the news Sunday morning that a nurse who treated an Ebola patient in Dallas had herself become infected. (Results of interviews conducted Sunday were essentially the same as on previous nights.) MORE FROM THE POLL: http://abcn.ws/1CgDuDo

• WHO'S WORRIED: While 27 percent of liberal Democrats worry about catching the virus, that rises to 44 percent of conservative Republicans. (Each group accounts for about one in seven adults.) The reason seems clear, LANGER notes: Conservative Republicans are vastly less likely than liberal Democrats to express confidence in the federal government's ability to respond effectively to an outbreak, 48 vs. 84 percent. http://abcn.ws/1CgDuDo

• HAPPENING TODAY: From the White House: "The President will attend a meeting at Andrews Air Force Base hosted by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin E. Dempsey with more than 20 foreign chiefs of defense to discuss the coalition efforts in the ongoing campaign against ISIL. Gen. Lloyd Austin, commander U.S. Central Command will also participate in this meeting."

14 FOR 14: THE MIDTERM MINUTE

-KENTUCKY: BRAWL IN THE BLUEGRASS STATE. Most of the headlines from last night's first and only debate in the most closely watched race in the country will be focused on Alison Lundergan Grimes' refusal to answer if she voted for the president in 2008 and 2012. An answer that seems easy enough to provide even if she regrets it. But, another interesting moment happened when Mitch McConnell again said Obamacare needed to be pulled out "root and branch," but also interestingly expressed support for the website for Kentucky Kynect, the health insurance exchange Kentucky implemented under the Affordable Care Act and said the program "can continue if they like to." He said the ACA was a "big mistake," but added "now with regard to Kynect it is a state exchange they can continue it if they like to, they will have to pay for it because the grant will be over." When asked directly by the moderator if he supports Kynect he answered, "Well it's fine, I think it's fine to have a website." http://abcn.ws/1qlS8mY - Shushannah Walshe

-NORTH CAROLINA: GOP DOUBLES DOWN IN TAR HEEL STATE: While Sen. Kay Hagan has built a slim, consistent lead over Republican Thom Tillis in the North Carolina Senate race, national Republicans are sensing a shift in momentum. The National Republican Senatorial Committee is funneling the lion's share of its last-minute airtime reservations-a cool $6 million-into the Tar Heel State to support Tillis and counter the $7.5 million spending advantage Democrats were set to enjoy leading up to Nov. 4. Republicans taking a hard look at North Carolina can also be excited about Monday's High Point University poll, which shows the candidates locked in a dead heat. - Ben Siegel

THE ROUNDTABLE

ABC's JEFF ZELENY: One thing sorely missing from the midterm election campaign is a proper debate over the role and need for government in our lives. We're seeing a stark illustration for why it matters now, as the outbreak of Ebola raises deep concerns about how prepared the country is - or isn't. We know that people's trust and belief in Washington is embarrassingly low, so perhaps it shouldn't be surprising that two-thirds of Americans say the federal government is not doing enough to prevent a widespread epidemic, according to our new ABC News/Washington Post poll. But does a very serious global health crisis, which transcends partisan politics, provide an opening for a new and serious conversation about spending and our priorities in Washington? Will any candidates or challengers successfully seize on this in the final three weeks of the race?

THE BUZZ with ABC's KIRSTEN APPLETON

OBAMA PRESSED TO NAME AN EBOLA CZAR. With news of a second confirmed case of Ebola on U.S. soil, questions are mounting over the government's ability to respond to the crisis. ABC's MARY BRUCE reports several Republican lawmakers have called for the Obama administration to name a single point person to make sure the deadly virus doesn't spread. "I would say that we don't know exactly who's in charge. There has to be some kind of czar," Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., told CNN over the weekend. While the White House isn't ruling out naming an "Ebola Czar," they have not done so because their response needs to be "as nimble and as bureaucratically lean as possible in order to bring the overseas epidemic under control and respond efficiently and effectively here at home," according to a National Security Council spokesman. For now, the White House point person is Lisa Monaco, the president's homeland security and counterterrorism adviser. http://abcn.ws/1vo77Ur

HOW GABBY GIFFORDS IS SHAKING UP A COMPETITIVE CONGRESSIONAL RACE. Gabby Giffords isn't running for office, but when it comes to the race for the Congressional seat she once held, you'd almost think she's the one on the ballot. The contest for Arizona's 2nd Congressional district includes Democratic Rep. Ron Barber, Giffords' former district director, against Republican Martha McSally, a former Air Force colonel. Lately, Giffords has stepped squarely into the spotlight, appearing in campaign ads, becoming a talking point in debates and, at times, overshadowing the candidates themselves, ABC's ALEXANDRA DUKAKIS reports. The latest sparks flew last week when the two candidates met for their first debate on the heels of the release of a new ad from the National Republican Congressional Committee's independent expenditure committee that featured images of Giffords. "Gabby Giffords fought for border security and voted against Nancy Pelosi," the narrator in "Follower" says. "Ron Barber voted for Pelosi and followed Pelosi's lead, voting against strengthening our border." Giffords was evidently not pleased with the portrayal. http://abcn.ws/1D7LJUG

MEET THE CANDIDATE WHOSE NAME IS TROUBLE ON THE STUMP. "Iowa is not going vote for Bill Braley and vote for him a third time, that's for sure," Mitt Romney proclaimed at a campaign event Sunday. He's right: Iowa won't vote for Bill Braley this November. They might vote for Bruce Braley, Iowa's Democratic U.S. Senate nominee. Trouble is, nobody can seem to get his name right, ABC's ERIN DOOLEY reports. Romney, who was stumping for Braley's Republican opponent, Joni Ernst, isn't the first surrogate to flub Braley's name. Surrounded by signs touting "Bruce Braley for U.S. Senate," First Lady Michelle Obama mistakenly referred to the candidate as "Bruce Bailey" at least seven times last Friday. Last month, Bill Clinton also misstated Braley's last name, calling him "Bruce Bailey" at a steak fry thrown by retiring Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin. http://abcn.ws/1njGq0m

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

THE LEGAL CINDERELLAS: IMMIGRATION JUDGE SAYS COURT SYSTEM HAS BEEN IGNORED, UNDERFUNDED. While party lines run deep on immigration reform, perhaps one point not up for debate is that America's current system is broken - just ask Judge Dana Leigh Marks, who works in immigration courts on the front lines. "The result of ignoring the immigration courts for so long and not giving us sufficient resources has resulted in massive dysfunction," Marks, the president of the National Association of Immigration Judges, told ABC's JIM AVILA. "We call ourselves the 'Legal Cinderellas' in the Department of Justice, because we feel that we have been ignored resource-wise," Marks said. WATCH: http://yhoo.it/1w5GC54

WHO'S TWEETING?

@jmartNYT: Can't overemphasize intimacy of SD politics. Folks at Dakota Days kept approaching all 3 candidates, calling by first name (1/2)

@seanspicer: RNC Releases New "Road to Six" Louisiana Video: http://bit.ly/1v7Un2M #lasen

@adamslily: On McConnell's Kynect answer last night "That's not a gaffe. It's a deceptive policy position." http://www.newrepublic.com/article/119819/kentucky-debate-mitch-mcconnells-word-salad-obamacare-not-gaffe …

@markknoller: 3 weeks to the day till the midterm elections. This evening, Pres Obama does a fundraiser for the DCCC. His 60th fundraiser this year.

@rajivwashpost: Strange days when more reassuring to see on inflight map that your @United plane is flying over #Iran instead of #Iraq