>>> denver where it is t-minute news six hours until the first presidential debate . mitt romney is already here. president obama will touch down this hour.
>> i'm crystal ball . vice president joe biden doesn't debate until next week, but it's very likely he will be mentioned on the stage tonight.
>> i'm toure. today is the obama 's 20th wedding anniversary and barack is spending it talking to some guy?
>> i'm s.e. cupp, that plus mortal -- mortal political combat meets presidential politics . yeah, we are going there.
>> get ready for a special edition of "the cycle" on this debate wednesday, october 3rd . it starts right now.
>>> it is debate day at the university of denver . as i said, we are just six hours away. you know, when i think of major events in denver , i always think of don meredith you can the old monday night football broadcaster who said, welcome to the city that's mile high and so am i. i'm not high the way don was but high with excitement in anticipation for this debate tonight. we have been waiting, it seems, for months for this thing. let's set the stage before we get going. you know, sometimes i think the cliche cliches are true. this is one of them. we heard talk about how? a do-or-die for mitt romney n a lot of ways it really is. there are basically three possible outcomes, the way i see it tonight. someone that romney really does get some kind of a lift out of this it's a command performance , maybe some kind of slipup by obama . you think of john kerry in the first debate in 2004 . maybe romney is able to revive his campaign tonight. the second possibility is, you know, something goes wrong for romney , he actually loses this debate. obviously that would be terrible for him now the third possibility, to be honest, probably the most likely one is nothing happens it is pace basically a draw, maybe 90 minutes of dull and boring television if that happens, the status quo in this vase affirmed. the status quo in this race has been a steady, stub burn three or four-point lead for barack obama and at that point, romney would be running out of big-moment opportunities to turn this thing around. that's what i'm looking for. here with us now in denver , we have howard fineman , the " huffington post " media group . said he is the buffalo bob of our show.
>> now i'm don meredith because don meredith always used to say on monday night football, when the game was nearly over, woe start singing. the party's over but not there yet.
>> bring you back to sing at some point, heward. before we do that, we have another task and i thought howard would be the perfect guy to lead this off. basically, we want to look ahead to this debate tonight and all for a moment, assume the role of moderator, jim lehrer , pbs, a moderating this thing tonight. let just go around right now, we will start with you, howard . you got jim lehrer 's seat, the two questions in front of you -- two candidates right in front of you. what is the one question that you think would you most like to see jim lehrer ask one of these candidates tonight?
>> i would focus on mitt romney because this really is it for mitt. i would go right at the central concern. i would say i would ask, governor, bain capital , which you helped to run, had many successes but it also had many failures. the bering company, the typewriter company, name a list of them. have you ever met, have you ever talked to, do you note names of or anything about the lives of any of the people from those plants that closed as a result of the investments of bain cap signal give me a name, give me a story.
>> probably knows the ones the obama campaign ads have mentioned, right?
>> probably knows those but those aren't the ones he wants to mention.
>> probably doesn't want to bring them up.
>> no, probably no.
>> no amazing the degree which bain has been a problem for romney . figure this is coming up one way or another, if not from lehrer, certainly obama . i will take my turn, howard , curious what you make of this i would like to hear, i think maybe the most challenging that jim lehrer can ask mitt romney tonight is a simple one. gore nor, tell us one specific policy area where you would be a different president than george w. bush .
>> a good question and wisdom that george bush is irrelevant to this debate is wrong. the president's slogan is forward. period. meaning let's not go back to the bush era. i think that's very relevant question. interesting to hear what romney has to say. howard , my question would be for the president. i think it's fair to say he has not been pressed on this particular issue much at all during the past year if at all during his first term. i would say, mr. president to what do you attribute the record rise in poverty and the ex-spams of income inequality und youer your administration?
>> a great question and if i decided to start with the president, that's the question i would have used, just that one. i mentioned his most recent stump speech , se, he mentioned the word "poor" once in passion a record number of poor people in the united states , 46 million. accusing mir of being cold and heartless and not caring about the 47%. i have heard next to nothing.from the president who speaks endlessly about the middle class about the plight of the for a poor and an excellent question.
>> i don't think he has fully addressed the comes. he said, in secretly recorded comment, he said that 47% of americans who pay no income taxes are victims and would you never convince them to take personal responsibility and take care of their lives. some are seniors, members of the military, others members of the working poor . does he really believe that those individuals see themselves as victims who do not take personal responsibility and if not, will he apologize for his comments?
>> i think that is a major drama within the drama of the debate tonight, how he handles that obviously, he is going to be asked about it. i think he needs to apologize in a way. it goes beyond inn elegant it is impossible for him to explain away the words. what he has to say, i think, is look, i was speaking as an insider to other insiders. i made the mistake of talking in cold, mechanical terms about votes and about voting blocks. of course i care everybody. i was speaking in a technical language . i should never forget that this game, this business of politics, is about real people . just imagine how kblibill clinton would handle this. he would hit it out of the park, wo he would apologize and hit it out of the park at the same too. if he does it well, it will be a key moment tonight.
>> howard , one question to you on that before i get to my question for the president, when romney is talking about the 47%, that is just basic republican doll dog ma, if he apologizes or back tracks the way you are suggesting, he is going to insult the base, would he not?
>> not if he does it right. what i'm saying is i was speaking at a fund-raiser, i was speaking to insiders, i was using shorthand, i was using technical cold-blooded language. that's not me. that's not who i am. obviously, the reason i want to win the presidency, die want to help everybody, i have shown that in my private life , i can show it to you. these the kind of thing he's got to do he's got his base pretty solid. as a matter of fact, if you look at the numbers in the nbc/" wall street journal " poll, republicans are somewhat more committed, enthusiastic about voting for him. i think it is primarily because they are voting are against the president, not because they are voting for mitt romney . he has got to give those undecided four or five percent some comfort that they are not turning the country over to a cold-blooded guy who only cares about flipping corporations and balance sheets.
>> my question that i'm going to put to you to the president would be that the war on drugs has been an unmitigated failure. it has cost us trillions, millions of lives, why are we continuing to fund a failed expensive war on drugs?
>> i would love to hear the answer to that. that is going to be interesting. it will be interesting to hear not only if that's asked, not only what the president has to bay is it, but what those bay is t.
>> one of those important issues that's not on the table.
>> not on the table at all, i agree.
>> talking about this on the show, yesterday analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the candidates, it is clear there is one common trait people who have run against mitt romney in years, they don't really like the guy, there is something about his approach to toll poll aches that really gets under their skin this is a bipartisan thing. mccain in 2008 to me is the classic example. it seems to be true of obama . i wonder though is there a potential then, because we have seen that romney can carry out attacks pretty well in debates, is there a phones that romney gets under obama 's skin in a way that unnerves him, off his game and forces him into some kind of unflattering moment? do you see some kind of potential there?
>> i -- people who know better than i tell me the president has developed a real dislike, at a distance, from mitt romney , just like the others you mentioned in the past, because mitt romney shows politicians in some respects the worst and most manipulatives a spoesks themself these don't want to see. i think president obama has to keep his cool. kent come off as condescending. he has got to let mitt romney , in boxing terms, let mitt romney attack and then the president has to be ready at the key moment with a droll and devastating counter punch, if he's got one. got to maintain his cool the whole way along. i think he has shown pretty much during his presidency that he is able to do that the only time we have been able to point to where reloses his cool in a way is inadvertent, did it to hillary clinton , well you're likable enough, hillary. you have to be ready for that if you are caught glancing the wrong way, let alone saying the way al gore s.
>> don't look at your watch.
>> remember that. it could hurt you. it could hurt you. but he has got a much easier job, i think. the president has to defend his record in a positive way and those keep his cool.
>> howard fineman , stopping by the kids' table here in denver . thanks for being part of the day.
>> if you hear me singing at the end, turn out the lights , the party's over
>> we will see you soon. finish that song.
>>> up next, both sides dusting off old tapes hours before the first big debate, nothing coordinated about that, right? we will dig into the ridiculousness as "the cycle" "rolls on from denver on wednesday, october 3 , 2012 . rom denver on wednesday, october 3 , 2012 . [
>> i'm crystal ball . vice president joe biden doesn't debate until next week, but it's very likely he will be mentioned on the stage tonight.
>> i'm toure. today is the obama 's 20th wedding anniversary and barack is spending it talking to some guy?
>> i'm s.e. cupp, that plus mortal -- mortal political combat meets presidential politics . yeah, we are going there.
>> get ready for a special edition of "the cycle" on this debate wednesday, october 3rd . it starts right now.
>>> it is debate day at the university of denver . as i said, we are just six hours away. you know, when i think of major events in denver , i always think of don meredith you can the old monday night football broadcaster who said, welcome to the city that's mile high and so am i. i'm not high the way don was but high with excitement in anticipation for this debate tonight. we have been waiting, it seems, for months for this thing. let's set the stage before we get going. you know, sometimes i think the cliche cliches are true. this is one of them. we heard talk about how? a do-or-die for mitt romney n a lot of ways it really is. there are basically three possible outcomes, the way i see it tonight. someone that romney really does get some kind of a lift out of this it's a command performance , maybe some kind of slipup by obama . you think of john kerry in the first debate in 2004 . maybe romney is able to revive his campaign tonight. the second possibility is, you know, something goes wrong for romney , he actually loses this debate. obviously that would be terrible for him now the third possibility, to be honest, probably the most likely one is nothing happens it is pace basically a draw, maybe 90 minutes of dull and boring television if that happens, the status quo in this vase affirmed. the status quo in this race has been a steady, stub burn three or four-point lead for barack obama and at that point, romney would be running out of big-moment opportunities to turn this thing around. that's what i'm looking for. here with us now in denver , we have howard fineman , the " huffington post " media group . said he is the buffalo bob of our show.
>> now i'm don meredith because don meredith always used to say on monday night football, when the game was nearly over, woe start singing. the party's over but not there yet.
>> bring you back to sing at some point, heward. before we do that, we have another task and i thought howard would be the perfect guy to lead this off. basically, we want to look ahead to this debate tonight and all for a moment, assume the role of moderator, jim lehrer , pbs, a moderating this thing tonight. let just go around right now, we will start with you, howard . you got jim lehrer 's seat, the two questions in front of you -- two candidates right in front of you. what is the one question that you think would you most like to see jim lehrer ask one of these candidates tonight?
>> i would focus on mitt romney because this really is it for mitt. i would go right at the central concern. i would say i would ask, governor, bain capital , which you helped to run, had many successes but it also had many failures. the bering company, the typewriter company, name a list of them. have you ever met, have you ever talked to, do you note names of or anything about the lives of any of the people from those plants that closed as a result of the investments of bain cap signal give me a name, give me a story.
>> probably knows the ones the obama campaign ads have mentioned, right?
>> probably knows those but those aren't the ones he wants to mention.
>> probably doesn't want to bring them up.
>> no, probably no.
>> no amazing the degree which bain has been a problem for romney . figure this is coming up one way or another, if not from lehrer, certainly obama . i will take my turn, howard , curious what you make of this i would like to hear, i think maybe the most challenging that jim lehrer can ask mitt romney tonight is a simple one. gore nor, tell us one specific policy area where you would be a different president than george w. bush .
>> a good question and wisdom that george bush is irrelevant to this debate is wrong. the president's slogan is forward. period. meaning let's not go back to the bush era. i think that's very relevant question. interesting to hear what romney has to say. howard , my question would be for the president. i think it's fair to say he has not been pressed on this particular issue much at all during the past year if at all during his first term. i would say, mr. president to what do you attribute the record rise in poverty and the ex-spams of income inequality und youer your administration?
>> a great question and if i decided to start with the president, that's the question i would have used, just that one. i mentioned his most recent stump speech , se, he mentioned the word "poor" once in passion a record number of poor people in the united states , 46 million. accusing mir of being cold and heartless and not caring about the 47%. i have heard next to nothing.from the president who speaks endlessly about the middle class about the plight of the for a poor and an excellent question.
>> i don't think he has fully addressed the comes. he said, in secretly recorded comment, he said that 47% of americans who pay no income taxes are victims and would you never convince them to take personal responsibility and take care of their lives. some are seniors, members of the military, others members of the working poor . does he really believe that those individuals see themselves as victims who do not take personal responsibility and if not, will he apologize for his comments?
>> i think that is a major drama within the drama of the debate tonight, how he handles that obviously, he is going to be asked about it. i think he needs to apologize in a way. it goes beyond inn elegant it is impossible for him to explain away the words. what he has to say, i think, is look, i was speaking as an insider to other insiders. i made the mistake of talking in cold, mechanical terms about votes and about voting blocks. of course i care everybody. i was speaking in a technical language . i should never forget that this game, this business of politics, is about real people . just imagine how kblibill clinton would handle this. he would hit it out of the park, wo he would apologize and hit it out of the park at the same too. if he does it well, it will be a key moment tonight.
>> howard , one question to you on that before i get to my question for the president, when romney is talking about the 47%, that is just basic republican doll dog ma, if he apologizes or back tracks the way you are suggesting, he is going to insult the base, would he not?
>> not if he does it right. what i'm saying is i was speaking at a fund-raiser, i was speaking to insiders, i was using shorthand, i was using technical cold-blooded language. that's not me. that's not who i am. obviously, the reason i want to win the presidency, die want to help everybody, i have shown that in my private life , i can show it to you. these the kind of thing he's got to do he's got his base pretty solid. as a matter of fact, if you look at the numbers in the nbc/" wall street journal " poll, republicans are somewhat more committed, enthusiastic about voting for him. i think it is primarily because they are voting are against the president, not because they are voting for mitt romney . he has got to give those undecided four or five percent some comfort that they are not turning the country over to a cold-blooded guy who only cares about flipping corporations and balance sheets.
>> my question that i'm going to put to you to the president would be that the war on drugs has been an unmitigated failure. it has cost us trillions, millions of lives, why are we continuing to fund a failed expensive war on drugs?
>> i would love to hear the answer to that. that is going to be interesting. it will be interesting to hear not only if that's asked, not only what the president has to bay is it, but what those bay is t.
>> one of those important issues that's not on the table.
>> not on the table at all, i agree.
>> talking about this on the show, yesterday analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the candidates, it is clear there is one common trait people who have run against mitt romney in years, they don't really like the guy, there is something about his approach to toll poll aches that really gets under their skin this is a bipartisan thing. mccain in 2008 to me is the classic example. it seems to be true of obama . i wonder though is there a potential then, because we have seen that romney can carry out attacks pretty well in debates, is there a phones that romney gets under obama 's skin in a way that unnerves him, off his game and forces him into some kind of unflattering moment? do you see some kind of potential there?
>> i -- people who know better than i tell me the president has developed a real dislike, at a distance, from mitt romney , just like the others you mentioned in the past, because mitt romney shows politicians in some respects the worst and most manipulatives a spoesks themself these don't want to see. i think president obama has to keep his cool. kent come off as condescending. he has got to let mitt romney , in boxing terms, let mitt romney attack and then the president has to be ready at the key moment with a droll and devastating counter punch, if he's got one. got to maintain his cool the whole way along. i think he has shown pretty much during his presidency that he is able to do that the only time we have been able to point to where reloses his cool in a way is inadvertent, did it to hillary clinton , well you're likable enough, hillary. you have to be ready for that if you are caught glancing the wrong way, let alone saying the way al gore s.
>> don't look at your watch.
>> remember that. it could hurt you. it could hurt you. but he has got a much easier job, i think. the president has to defend his record in a positive way and those keep his cool.
>> howard fineman , stopping by the kids' table here in denver . thanks for being part of the day.
>> if you hear me singing at the end, turn out the lights , the party's over
>> we will see you soon. finish that song.
>>> up next, both sides dusting off old tapes hours before the first big debate, nothing coordinated about that, right? we will dig into the ridiculousness as "the cycle" "rolls on from denver on wednesday, october 3 , 2012 . rom denver on wednesday, october 3 , 2012 . [