It’s a work of political fiction, one that ended up including a real-life sit down with then-presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann and a hug from Mitt Romney on the evening of the Iowa caucuses.

Jane Edith Wilson, star of  “Janeane From Des Moines,” joined The Last Word Friday to talk about her unique film opening in New York theaters Friday.

The mockumentary follows the fictional character of Janeane Wilson, an avid conservative who goes on the campaign trail in the spring of 2011 in search of a Republican candidate to support. She does this while facing mounting economic, financial, and health difficulties.

“It’s part-fiction, part-reality, just like politics,” Wilson told O’Donnell.

Wilson, with her film crew, is so effective at improvising and deception that a moment she was able to steal with Gov. Romney ended up on the ABC News evening broadcast. She dramatically pleads with Romney to “save the small families of America.” He tells her that he will pray for her, and that people in her situation are among the reasons he’s running for president.

Reports about Wilson and her encounter were also mentioned by the Des Moines Register, Talking Points Memo, and Washington Post.

For O’Donnell, the film’s formula is unusual. "I love this movie, and I don't know what this movie is," he said.

“Borat” is the only artistic precursor. Wilson’s credits include Curb Your Enthusiasm, ER, and Seinfeld, and several TV ads for Tide detergent and Hyundai.

Critics have given the film kudos for refusing “to go the predictable route of ‘punking’ the candidates for easy satire or cheap laughs.”

With all of the coverage of the vice-presidential debate this week, you may have missed some of the controversial – some would say astonishing – statements made by actual Republican congressmen. Here are those various statements, in case you missed them the first time:

• Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.) said that the Bible was the “manufacturer’s handbook” and that it “teaches us how to run all of public policy and everything in our society.”
• Rep. Loy Mauch (R-Ar.) said “nowhere in the Holy Bible have I found a word of condemnation for the operation of slavery, Old or New Testament. If slavery was so bad, why didn’t Jesus, Paul or the prophets say something?”
• Rep. Roger Rivard (R-Wisc.) recalled his father’s warning that young women may claim to be raped when they don’t want to admit responsibility after getting pregnant. “Some girls,” Rivard recalled his father saying, “they rape so easy.”
  
• Rep. Jon Hubbard (R. Ar.) wrote in his new book, Letters to the Editor: Confessions of a Frustrated Conservative, “the institution of slavery that the black race has long believed to be an abomination upon its people may actually have been a blessing in disguise.”
• Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) attacked his opponent Tammy Duckworth in a debate by showing a picture of her picking out a dress for the Democratic National Convention.

And who can forget the old classic by the godfather of Bat Crap Crazy Republicans everywhere:

• Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mis.) – “From what I understand from doctors, that’s really rare,” Mr. Akin said of pregnancies occurring from rape. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”

As Lawrence O’Donnell said on The Last Word Tuesday night, “Republicans are busy pretending that bat crap crazy Todd “legitimate rape” Akin is not representative of the Republican brand but Republican politicians keep popping up all over to prove that bat crap crazy is the Republican brand.”

Rick Wilking/Reuters

Vice President Joe Biden and Congressman Paul Ryan at the vice presidential debate Thursday in Danville, Kentucky.

With the presidential election quickly approaching, voters have a short amount of time to choose their candidate. Besides simply exercising patriotic duty, the number one reason to vote for a particular person for president, as MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell has stated numerous times on The Last Word, is the United States Supreme Court.

Vice President Joe Biden echoed that sentiment at Thursday's vice presidential debate, warning Americans of the fragility of abortion and reproductive rights laws on the books.

Martha Raddatz of ABC News asked Vice President Joe Biden and Congressman Paul Ryan a heavy question about how their Catholic faith has played a role in their personal views on abortion. While Ryan answered the question by recounting a personal anecdote of how he and his wife dubbed their daughter, Liza, "Bean" because she looked like a bean at seven weeks on the ultrasound, the vice president explained how religion defines who he is and his views on abortion policy.

Tune in tonight at 10pm ET for a special live edition of The Last Word. After the one and only vice presidential debate, Team Romney is attacking Team Obama on the Benghazi fallout. Here's a look at all the headlines shaping tonight's show.

• Top seven takeaways from the Danville VP debate
• Romney: Biden 'doubling down on denial' in explanation of Libya response
• Team Romney claims Paul Ryan put '47 Percent' to bed in Kentucky
• Romney says people don't die because they lack insurance
• Pakistan observes day of prayer for Malala Yousafzai
• Janeane From Des Moines, 'mockumentary' about 2012 Iowa caucus campaign
• Martha Raddatz: Vice presidential debate moderator asks sharp questions
• Report: Ryan requested all kinds of federal money for his district for 12 years 
• Todd 'legitmate rape' Akin: there is 'no science' behind evolution 

Shakil Adil / AP

Pakistani children pray for the recovery of 14-year-old schoolgirl Malala Yousufzai during a candlelight vigil in Karachi, Pakistan, Friday.

While 14-year-old Malala Yousafzai remained in the hospital recovering from a gun shot to the head, fellow school children in Pakistan gathered Friday to offer prayers for her recovery.

Yousafzai was targeted and shot by gunmen Tuesday on a school bus in Pakistan under order of the Taliban because of her outspokenness on education for girls and against the Taliban. She had previously blogged for the BBC on these issues under a pseudonym. Three suspects were arrested.

Radio Free Europe reports:

The prayers in schools and other places across Pakistan on October 12 are in response to a call by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government for people around the nation to express solidarity with Yousafzai.

Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf is due to visit Yousafzai on October 12 as the gravely wounded schoolgirl recovers in a military hospital in Rawalpindi.

Prayers were held throughout the country Friday as leaders condemned the attack. A spokesman called Yousafzai's condition "satisfactory," but said the next two days are critical.

Asif Hassan / AFP - Getty Images

Pakistani Muslims pray for the early recovery of child activist Malala Yousafzai during Friday prayers in Karachi on October 12. Pakistanis at mosques across the country prayed Friday for the recovery of the schoolgirl shot in the head by the Taliban as doctors said the next two days were critical.

An aggressive Vice President Joe Biden went after Rep. Paul Ryan on the economy, taxes, foreign policy and more throughout their 90-minute debate in Danville, Ky., on Thursday night.  

Frequently scoffing and smiling at Ryan's claims, Biden several times explicitly cast doubt on the GOPer's veracity and command of the facts. 

Unprovoked, Biden brought up Mitt Romney's devastating 47% remarks, in which the White House hopeful dismissed nearly half of the electorate as government moochers—and which President Obama failed to mention in his own debate last week.

"It shouldn't be surprising for a guy who says 47% of the American people are unwilling to take responsibility of their own lives," said Biden. "My friend [Paul Ryan] recently said in a speech in Washington said 30% of the American people are takers. These people are my mom and dad, the people I grew up with, my neighbors. They pay more effective tax than Gov. Romney pays in his federal income tax. They are elderly people who in fact are living off of Social Security. They are veterans who are fighting in Afghanistan right now who are not quote, not paying taxes."

WATCH THE CLIP ABOVE OF BIDEN'S 47% ATTACK

That testified to a combative approach throughout from the vice president, who, in a likely successful effort to re-enthuse Democrats after Obama's limp performance last week, repeatedly sought to challenge Ryan on everything from social programs to jobs to national security.

Of course, Ryan got a zinger of his own in when he referred to the interruption-laden debate.

"I know you're under a lot of duress to make up for lost ground, but I think people would be better served if we don't interrupt each other," Ryan said, referring to President Obama's poor debate performance last week.

After appearing on The Last Word Wednesday night, author and comedian John Hodgman joined Lawrence O'Donnell to talk more about the upcoming vice presidential debate and his new book, That Is All.

Hodgman had one piece of advice for Joe Biden he didn't have time to mention on the show: "Since no one will get punished for saying a lie," Hodgman joked, "all Biden has to do is echo what he said about President Obama, and say, 'That Paul Ryan, a very clean cut young black man.' America will go insane because there is no truth or fiction anymore, and the right wing will dump Ryan right there."

Hodgman also told us Lawrence O'Donnell himself is mentioned in his book. In a section about super-elite credit cards, That Is All informs its readers that the most exclusive card of all is the "Diner's Club Five-times Diamond Card," and one of the perks of that card is being able to commission playwright David Lindsay Abaire ("Rabbit Hole," "Fuddy Meers") to write an original Broadway show that Lawrence O'Donnell has to star in.

Now, that's a credit card!

When Vice President Joe Biden and Paul Ryan face off Thursday night, they'll be the latest to take part in a long line of election debates on the national stage.

The first televised presidential debate was in 1960, when John F. Kennedy met Vice President Richard Nixon in front of an audience of 70 million viewers. Kennedy was smooth, tanned, and calm as ever. Nixon was sweaty, sick, and refusing makeup. Maybe you can guess who came across more agreeable to viewers at home.

At that early stage, it was perhaps hard to imagine how much of an impact televised debates would have on national elections. Actually seeing the candidates made not only what they said important, but how they looked while saying it. Can you imagine Joe Biden or Paul Ryan refusing makeup before stepping on stage tonight? Though this history of televised debates is a relatively short one, there is no shortage of gaffes, zingers and impressive performances. 

Looking back, one of the most common debate criticisms is when a candidate seems unaware or out of touch. In 1976, for example, Gerald Ford claimed, "There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe." It was a declaration so inexplicable that moderator Max Frankel of The New York Times had to interrupt: "Did I understand you to say, sir, that the Russians are not using Eastern Europe as their own sphere of influence?"

Martha Plimpton joined Lawrence O'Donnell on The Last Word Wednesday to tout a new effort designed to push back against the anti-abortion extremists running Congress.

The actress spoke on behalf of the Bill of Reproductive Rights, a new initiative of the Center for Reproductive Rights, which declares the right to make your own choices about your reproductive health and future a "fundamental human right."

The star of Raising Hope noted that 1 in 3 women in America will have an abortion at some time in her life. She added: "The point of all of this is to make people understand that the shame and the isolation that go along with this conversation have no place in what is essentially a perfectly legitimate and constitutionally protected medical procedure."

In tonight's Rewrite, MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell will tell you about one brave 14-year-old girl who only wanted an education. She's now fighting to survive a bullet to the head from the Taliban. So tonight, on the eve of the United Nations International Day of the Girl, we'll tell you her story. Here are more headlines shaping the show:

• Mitt Romney vows to be a 'pro-life' president after newspaper interview
• Memo to Democrats: ‘Chill’ the [bleep] out, people
• VP debate moderator Martha Raddatz takes center stage
• New 'Bill of Reproductive Rights' campaign attracts A-list celebrities
• Bat-crap crazy state rep talks about how 'some girls rape easy'

A recent CNN/ORC poll shows, among moderates in Ohio, President Obama has a 68 to 31 percent lead over Mitt Romney. On Tuesday's The Last Word, Vice President of MSNBC.com Richard Wolffe joined Lawrence O'Donnell to discuss the importance of Ohio's 18 electoral votes in the upcoming presidential election. 

"Democrats need a super-majority of moderates," Wolffe explained, "There aren't as many self-identified Democrats as there are Conservatives and Republicans out there."

After the show, I asked him why he thinks more Republicans self-identify with their party:

"I do think that Democrats identify with a moderate idea," he said. "There's something at the heart of the Democrats' view of themselves and the way the country should be that means they believe in a community of shared values and compromise. And there's an overlap there with moderates—actually, there's an overlap there with moderate Republicans too."

Wolffe went on to say that the reason why Democrats elect centrist presidents like Bill Clinton or John F. Kennedy is because they reflect the actual make-up of the country.

Evan Vucci / AP

Mitt Romney speaks during a campaign rally Oct. 9, 2012 in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney told The Des Moines Register he does not plan to pursue abortion-related legislation if elected.

The media immediately seized on the comments as a promise by Romney to back away from some of his harsher rhetoric on abortion. He has said he would prefer Roe v. Wade, which protects a woman’s right to abortion, be overturned and that abortion should be allowed only in instances of incest, rape, and to protect the health of the mother.

Yet, parsing the words of a man who has changed his mind on this subject in the past (he ran as a pro-choice candidate for the U.S. Senate and governor of Massachusetts), isn’t easy.

Here’s what he said:

“There’s no legislation with regards to abortion that I’m familiar with that would become part of my agenda,” Romney told the Register’s editorial board on Tuesday.

So no current legislation, but does that mean he would consider approving anti-abortion legislation brought forward by a Republican Congress? A clarification from a Romney campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul seemed to suggest he would.

The Romney campaign has long been notoriously evasive when it comes to questions from the press. But even by Mitt Romney's exacting standards, Nickelodeon's Kids Pick the President special doesn't seem like a tough interview. So why did his campaign tell Nickelodeon that he would not be participating in the special?

"The half-hour special gives both candidates' biographies, then shows their answers to questions solicited from kids all over the country," said host Lawrence O'Donnell on Tuesday's The Last Word. One illustrative question, asked by a hard-hitting young boy during the 2008 presidential election, was: "Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. When you were a kid, what was your favorite costume?"