-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com so the debate. i hear that they are all going after me. my whole life is preparation for a debate. i'm going to be attacked and i guess they 'm going into the lion's den. >> ipaign hard. bam! if somebody comes after me, i will go after them. >> and i am not interest ed in the going after of the the food fight between jeb bush and donald trump. >> and i can see that carly fiorina is giving me a hard time, but her poll numbers are horrible. >> and i hope that we can focus on tissues. -- on the issues. hello, and i'm wolf blitzer

and it is 10:00 a.m. here at the ronald reagan presidential library here in simi valley, california and it 18:00 p.m. in jerusalem, and 1:00 a.m. in london, and thank you for watching wherever you are watching us from. and donald trump is leading, but dr. ben carson is gaining on him. and that is on the eve of the big republican debate hosted by cnn. while most of the candidates are preparing for the debate, trump is going to be holding a rally on national security. and last night in texas, he shrugged off the possibility that his rivals are going to attack him. >> and so, the debate. i hear they are all going to go after me. whatever. whatever. no, i hear it. >> and now to the correspondent athena jones, and she is live at the ronald reagan presidential

library, and athena, start with "the new york times"/orc poll that shows that dr. ben carson is closing in on him? >> well, wolf, i doubt that donald trump himself would say that he is worried, but maybe he should be, if we look at the numbers there, because this poll shows donald trump up on the lead at 24%, but carson is close behind at 23%, and he has gained 17 points in the last month. he was at 6% a month ago, and in third place, you can see jeb bush is tied with mike huckabee and marco rubio, and look at the ground that jeb bush has lost, 7 points in the last month, and it is interesting that at the huge rally in dallas last night, trump was complaining loudly that ben carson is getting all of the attention for surging in the polls, but it is yet another poll that shows that he is surging. so that is the lay of the land heading into tomorrow night, wolf. >> and the story continues to be

the strength of the so-called outsider candidates. how's the anti-establishment set in playing it out when it comes to both the democrats and the republicans? >> this is really interesting. if you look at the numbers that we have from the poll out yesterday, washington post/abc news poll, you can put it up there on the screen, and you can see the anti-establishment poll there, and you can see that for the democrats it is high, and 69% of the democrats want to see the experience which is very different from the republicans where 60% want to see the outsider. be thaw 60% number on the republican side is explaining what we have been seeing all summer, the strength of the outsider candidates, and the folks who have never held elective office like donald trump and ben carson, the top

two on the polls, wolf. >> and athena has a very good view of what is about to take place. and certainly, the stakes are high for round two of the republican primary debates. the main candidates are will meet for the main event at 8:00 p.m. eastern right here on c nshnn and who has the most to gain and the most to lose? to discuss it, our national reporter maeve reston and jeff zeleny and also gloria borger. and really, jeb bush's numbers have been dropping in the last month or so, and he has a lot at stake tomorrow night? >> certainly. the donors and the allies are looking to see are from him that he can channel the kind of anger and frustration that voters are feeling right now in the way that trump has been doing that in the last couple of weeks. obviously, jeb has been dealing with the incoming fire from trump calling him the low energy

ka candidate, and the boring candidate, and jeb has to get out there, and he has been throwing the punches, but he has to get out there to show that he can take on trump, and excite the voters and come back from this slide in the polls that we have seen which is really amazing from the candidate that we all thought would be the front-runner with $100 million. >> and gloria, he has a super pac that supports him with over $100 million, and maeve as you say, they just came out with a new ad that supports him by his super pac. >> he took on the unions and won, and accountability, and over 200 charter schools, and the state was florida, and the governor was jeb bush, proven conservative, real results, jeb. >> all right. so gloria, this is an ad showing the positive things about jeb bush, the former florida governor and it is not an attack ad going after donald trump or anybody else. >> well, this is an ad that the

tells about experience, and the voters don't care, because they don't want experience or insiders or people who have run states before, and we want somebody new and different and the bright shiny thing, and the republicans are acting like democrats these days, and so, i am not so sure that this ad is going to be having an awful lot of appeal to the people who are rallying around trump that all of the other candidates want to pick up if trump should implode in some shape or form? and one thing, they are clearly trying to lay the ground work for when the voters may turn the page from donald trump and ben carson, ooh and they want to remind folks of jeb bush's k conservative record, and it is amazing that we think that we know everything about jeb bush because his family has been in office for so long, but i am not sure it is going to be paying

off, because you would have thought that it would have faded for now, but they are laying the groundwork, and so they are reserving time, and one fourth of the $100 million and if they start to go negative on trump, we will know it is not working. >> and you can buy for iowa and new hampshire, a ton of commercials for $24 million. >> yes, and a third state south carolina they are buying, and iowa and new hampshire up today, and what is interesting to jeff's point is that they feel like jeb has been defined as the moderate in the race, and they need to fill out the portrait of him as much more of the conservative who has done these things in florida, and they feel as though that is going to be helping them to blunt trump's edge here, but like gloria said, i was talking to a lot of the long-time debate prep strategists, and they said to throw out the rule book, and do not get up there to recite your resume, and stick with something different, and nothing applies like it has in the past.

>> yeah, look, these -- when you have trump on the stage, you won't out-trump him sh, and you can't be donald trump, and you have to be something else, and if jeb were to the attack trump, it would be on the conservative issue. the big thing in all of the polls that we have to point out is that more than 60% of the people being polled now say they are really undecided. so there is a lot of window shopping going on right now. >> absolutely. >> and not a lot of commitment. >> and we are saying that when you go out to talk to the voters, nobody says that i am just supporting this candidate at this moment, and they say, this is the top five or four candidates, and nobody is decided and yet -- >> and ben carson -- >> and before we get to ben carson, talk a little bit more about donald trump because he is out here in california giving a national security speech, and i want to be curious if he is

going to read it from the teleprompter or if he is going to be winging it, because he seemed to have stumbled in that interview with hugh hewitt on foreign policy. >> yes, sure he did. he said he didn't need to know the specific leader ss and the e tribal leaders, and he is right about that, but he does need to have a grasp of the foreign policy, and we will see how much foreign policy is in the speech, but where is he going to be doi doing it? on the "u.s.s. iowa" named a of the first caucus state in los angeles, so i will be surprised if he goes line and verse through the policy, but it is is important for him to fill it out. and six weeks since the last debate, and we are in a new phase of the candidacy which is why ben carson surge is interesting, because some voters are eager to turn the page and look at someone else which give s the other candidates hope. >> and can you explain how in the poll donald trump beats ben

carson with the evangelical voters? >> when you talk to the strategists in iowa the thing they are saying out there is that people are not familiar with the aspects that trump has said in the past about social issues of abortion, and you only have to show how he is pro choice over and over and for people to get the mes is saj. >> well, the super pac has tried to do it online. >> yes. >> and it is interesting that dr. ben carson, the famed pediatric surgeon retired from johns hop king, and one of the great neurosur juns of the time, and he is number two in the polls behind donald trump, and way ahead of all of the other established politician, and what is going on here? >> well, it validates that the people are looking for someone from the oitside, and like gloria mention ed earlier, and t is not a campaign where you are viewed favorably if you have a senator the or governor or some

osimilar title to your name. but it is also that the voters want the volume, and ben carson is the most laid back candidate. >> low energy. >> and he wears it as a badge of honor. so that is the sign that donald trump may be at the ceiling, and i know that we keep saying that, but the move toward ben carson shows that there is an opening for other candidates. >> and i want gloria to be weighing in on scott walker, born in iowa, and from the neighboring state of wisconsin, and we have seen the numbers going down, down, down. >> right. i was talking to one of the chief strategists the other day, and we had a cup of coffee, and he said to me, look, we are not sure that the voters that you are polling are the actual voters are the ones that will go to the polls, and are they going to be participants, because at this stage of the game, we don't poll likely voters, but just poll republicans, and he said

that the i am not so sure that these are participant voters, and now whether trump and carson could bring them in to be participants is a big question, so they are holding out hope that if he does well, maybe he can sort of pop out of the box here. >> and now, in iowa, it can only be explained by his own actions for the dekline and not the polls. >> and polls, maybe, two or three, okay, but when you have 20 or 30 that show the same consistent drop, that is a lot. >> and it is interesting to be with the carson voters at a number of the campaign events last week, a lot of them are the people that you are talking about, attracted to trump at first and turning the page and saying, that i feel nervous about having him in the oval office and i want someone who is more thoughtful, and i like the quiet aspect of ben carson's biography, and so we may begin to see that sort of shift to the

other candidates. >> and a hold your thought, because a lot more coming up here at the ronald reagan presidential library, getting ready for the second major debate. and i will speak to marco rubio's major debate manager. and when you have ten people on the stage, it is going to be tricky especially when one of them is donald trump. and we will speak to the man who helped president obama prepare for his debate. lift sagging, diminish the look of dark spots, and smooth the appearance of wrinkles. high performance skincare™ only from roc®. and smooth the appearance of wrinkles. i brto get us moving.tein i'm new ensure active high protein. i help you recharge with nutritious energy and strength. i'll take that. yeeeeeah! new ensure active high protein. 16 grams of protein and 23 vitamins and minerals.

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with the will and the heart to get here. that's how i saw it and see it still.

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and this is the joining us his communications director alex conan, and how is the senator getting ready for the debate tomorrow, because the stakes for him, and the other candidates are enormous. >> yes, and great opportunity, and we felt great how he did in cleveland and the preparations are similar to that one, and he has the benefit for the last five years actively engaged in foreign policy issues around the world, and traveling the world on the senate intelligent committee, and the foreign relations committee, and he comes in with the understanding that the jake and dan and hugh are going to want to talk to. >> and does he go through the dress rehearsals that somebody plays trump? >> no, he does not need that, and he is ready to go. as you saw in cleveland, he wants to talk about the agenda about a new american century, and as he did in cleveland, and so this is going to be similar. >> and how hard does he hit t m

trump tomorrow night? >> he is not going to be hitting any of the candidates, and go out to talk about some of his candidate candidates, and i know that some of the other candidates will want to mikts up, but i don't believe he is going to want to be attacked by some of the candidates, but he is going to be talking about his plans. >> and is he going to talk about trump is not going to be qual y qualified to be commander in chief? >> no, he is going to be talking about his own abilities. >> and so now, we have heard that bobby jindal, and others are going to be going after him, and you don't believe that senator rubio is going to be doing that? >> no, he is not coming here to attack other republicans burk he is coming here to talk about how we need a new leadership, and if we keep electing the same people to the same positions, we won't have other results. >> and senator rubio is up for

reelection next year, but he has decided not to seek re-election. >> right. after 4 1/2 to 5 years in the senate, he decided that senate is not working, and we need real change in the executive branch, and he is running for the president and not seeking ree e electi election. >> and so it is president of the united states or maybe vice president, and that on the agenda, ba because a lot of people have raised the possibility? >> well, wolf, we are feeling very confident that marco is going to be the nominee, and we have a strategy to win in february, and we have great strategies to introduce him to the nation, and any time you put him in front of millions of people on tv, it is good night. and the first debate in cleveland was very good, and we are confident about tonight, and when he gets to february, he is going to be the nominee. >> we look forward to welcoming him to the ronald reagan presidential library. still to come, more of the panel

that is shaping to be different and the candidate they believe has the chance to break out of the pack. stay with us. ugh! heartburn! no one burns on my watch! try alka-seltzer heartburn reliefchews. they work fast and don't taste chalky. mmm...amazing. i have heartburn. alka-seltzer heartburn reliefchews. enjoy the relief.

take a look at the presidential library, the ronald reagan presidential library out here in simi valley, california, and it is an amazing place, and if you have a chance, come visit it. donald trump may with be leading the pack of contenders, but since the last presidential debates, the field has been reshaped. let's bring back the excellent panel, alex castellanos, and dan pfeiffer is a cnn contributor, and jeffrey lord is a cnn contributor, and former political director, and yes, the

reagan white house. and you worked in the reagan white house, and here in the reagan library, and amazing place. >> yes, i was here. >> and the specific undercard, what do they need to do if anything, and the four in the first debate, do they realistically have a chance of moving up? >> i am starting to get a little skeptical here, because the divide is so sharp between the outsider s outsiders and the insiders, be but there is almost nothing they can say about the records that is not going to further incriminate them here, and that as governor or senator here, i did this, you have 87% of the people in one poll that say they want somebody who is an outsider. so their appeals are starting to fall on the e deaf edeaf ears. >> and dan, you helped a junior senator from illinois who had not spent a lot of time in washington, and a guy named barack obama become president of the united states, and he had a

strategy going against hillary clinton and what advice to do you have for these guys right now? sgl >> well, the candidates on the undercard are serious trouble, and they have to swing for the fences. in the debate, and in the main card, the big question will be how can the insiders if you will that the outsider message won't work, and obama can infuse the outsider appeal with the insider campaign and the real ap people of how to get it done, and they are in a hard position, and they have to for the walkers and the bushes and the christies and the rand pauls, they are in desperate straits right now. >> and in 2007, people said that the barack obama is going to beat hillary clinton for the presidential democratic nomination, and yet, he did. >> yes, because the americans like optimistic leaders, and barack obama was hope, change,

and yes, we can, and the great presidents, and if you ask who are the greatest modern president presidents, i people named fdr, and new deal, and nothing new to fear, and shining hill, and new destiny, and ronald reagan, and that is why we are here, and the bill clinton, don't stop thinking about tomorrow, and so that is the way to pull yourself out of this pack, too. trump to his credit has both sides of the equation. america's in decline, and we are in terrible shape and get angry about it, and he has the other side, let's make america great again. >> and he is giving a speech out here in california aboard the "u.s.s. iowa" which is a museum, and on national policy, and it is a type of speech to have a teleprompter to read or the script or go out as he does with all of the speeches and simply wing it? >> i know that people have

written e speeches -- written the speeches, and they are there, and whether he decides to use them is at the moment, and this is significant in the battleship "iowa" because when they had it at the centennial near the statue of liberty, and president reagan was there and much televised event that day, and it is interesting that he is going if go from there to here, and both of which are connected to ronald reagan. >> and iowa is pretty important state right now. >> and yes, who can forget that. >> and wolf, it is interesting that trump is the only candidate with the presence to the take a lead in the debate before it even occurs. he can generate so much media, and huge rally in dallas, and going to the aiowa that he dominates news coverage and so that the debate sabt him. debate isn't about him.

>> and he doesn't even have to be spending money. >> he is omnipresent, and if he can't get to the studio, he is going to be calling n and i have not seen john kasich or marco ru rubio do anything in week, and political professionals like us on the stage, we tend to laugh at donald trump as the joke, but the truth is that the moves here are savvy, and of all of the candidates he is the best at pivoting back at the message, and the foreign policy message whether he e reeds it or not, it is smart, because as i said last night in the speech, and gets him a crutch through hard set of questioning from the others. >> and the other candidates, it is 10 other republican candidates on the stage with him, and if any of them hits him, he is going to hit him or her even harder. >> and yes, one of the thing ths that is one of the attributes that he shares is that ronald reagan was always underestimated and donald trump, and they didn't think that he would run, and on and on and on and here we are in the middle of this, and

it is because, a, he is a smart guy -- >> you like the donald. >> yes. >> you think that he is ready to be president of the -- >> absolutely. >> and commander in chief with the finger -- >> yes. and with no offense to my friend dan offhere with a couple of years in the u.s. senate, after that, we can do, and go in another direction. >> i think not. some people are underestimate and rightly so. and should be. any man that's, is telling you all of the time how big he is, it is because he is very small. and i think that, that is not the guy that you want near the nuclear missiles if you understand. the world is -- >> oh, alex, alex, alex. >> and the world is spinning apart, and the republicans are afraid we will lose our country, and we want a strong leader, but who is a bigger risk than donald trump? >> and the undercard and the main event if you will is the president of the united states,

and presumably all of them, and going to make a point of going after president obama. >> i am sure that is the case, and true in every republican debate and discussion meeting in the last eight years, and the mistake for them to do that, and it is going to be the good lines to use, and that will appeal to the base, pu the challenge for the republican party is what alex points out that it has been largely a pessimistic view of the kcountry, and backwards looking, and the candidates that win, and reagan for example, the opt m optimistic and forward looking, and incumbent on the republicans to do that. >> they will link president obama to hillary clinton. >> and let's not forget hillary clinto clinton. >> and what about bernie sanders beating her now in the polls in new hampshire and iowa. >> and maybe a line or two about bernie sanders, but hillary better or worse, she is the leading candidate, and managed to keep herself in the news for not the best of reasons, and particularly for carly fiorina, they won't let it slide. >> and guys, don't go too far,

because we are here at the ronald reagan presidential library. and up next we will look at the strategies of the candidates as they prepare for the big stage tomorrow. stay with us. dayquil liquid gels and go. hey buddy, let's get these but these liquid gels are new. mucinex fast max. it's the same difference. these are multi-symptom. well so are these. this one is max strength and fights mucus. that one doesn't. uh...think fast! you dropped something. oh...i'll put it back on the shelf... new from mucinex fast max. the only cold and flu liquid gel that's max-strength and fights mucus. start the relief. ditch the misery. let's end this.

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and one of the big factors in how the debate plays out is the rule rules and how the stage is set, and so cnn's tom forman is going to take a closer look at what to expect when the bell rings for the main event. >> the same ten candidates that we saw last time around will be on the stage with the addition of carly fiorina who was in the before happy hour debate who has jumped foup the bigger group, and what do they have to work with in this contest? no phones, no tablets, no notes, no prop, and each candidate will have a pad of paper, and a pen and a glass of water. and what will they be facing? well, the panel will be comprised of the moderator, jake tapper, and also cnn's dana bash, and hugh hewett from radio, and they will be posing the questions along with questions from facebook, twitter and instagram and so forth. and the subject matters are domestic policy and foreign

policy and and poli politic, ane broad policies, they will have one window to answer, and 30 30-second rebuttal if something was said about you. and if you think that the people in the earlier debate were at a huge disadvantage, yes, but it is a smaller audience, but a whole lot longer to say under the rules. and if they say something sharp or interesting, they can play it in the larger debate, and those candidates will have to answer it to. >> and tom foreman, excellent explanation, and the stage is set, and the candidates are making the final preparation forgs debate. let's talk about how the candidates are getting ready to talk about what may be taking place. joining us is a former debate

preparation manager for president barack obama and also kevin madden who was the debate manager for mitt romney, and so, tell us, now, what do you see going into the debate tomorrow night? >> well, with the primary debate where there are many, many debates and many, many propositions, and i think that when senator obama was running in 2007, he found that getting ready for the multiple candidates debates one of the most frustrating and difficult things in the experience, and participating was more frustrating, and you have a a two opportunities, and grand total of four minutes, and you don't know how it is going to go and what the flow is going to b

and the preparation is largely coming into the segues of what you want to say, and selecting the the three or four sentences in hoping that you will score. >> and a key issue, and let me bring you in, kevin, how hard do you go against the republican front-runner donald trump? >> well, nott in a way that invites donald trum of the do what he does best which is to punch and counter punch. craig is right, that in the prep sessions, the candidates are boning up on the issues in the way they can chrrystallize the argument no the voters, and this is a rare chance to talk to tens of millions of voters to send the message of the candidacy, a and many of them are thinking of the 40,000-foot level w what message do i want to send, strength, leadership, vision, and that is a lot of what they are trying to do, and it is really hard to try to pack it into the four minutes that you will get to do that. >> and they will get a little bit more than 4 minute, because it is a long, long debate,nd

the main debate and the second-tier debate. and greg, basically, your advice for the candidates, and specifical specifically, the ones that are trying to break through right now, and for is several of the republican candidates the last chance to make a positive impression on the republican voters outs-- voters out there, and do they hit donald trump the or not? >> they want something news worthy, and that gets attention. you can't ignore donald trump, and the candidate that calls donald trump a loser in november is going to get attention. and looking at 2007 as an example, it is not senator the obama's debate participation or the debate performances that made him stick out, but it was the campaign's events in iowa and speeches around the country that made him a pull away candidate rather hthan the debae performance. >> you know, the rules are pr

pretty strict in these kinds of debates, kevin, as you well know, and you helped to prepare mitt romney for these kinds of debates four years ago. and 60-second answer, and 30-second rebuttals, but what is to stop one of the candidates from interrupt iing, and raisina question, and screaming, and getting into the fight if you will, and that is presumably going to happen. >> well, you want to avoid some bad or awkward moments where you are interrupt org doing so in a way where, you know, you start to reinforce the attributes of being thin-skinned or something like that to be avoided. and another thing that the candidates have to be careful of is that the debates are performances, and the theatrics and the optics matter, and es pesh ly in a debate hall this small. as they do the walk throughs they will be looking at that and

making note of it and the final preparations, of how to best take advantage of that and avoid the mistakes to turn in a bad debate moment. >> if greg craig, donald trump called you up, and i know he won't, but if he said, one piece of advice going into the debate tomorrow night, what would you say? >> i would say do what you are doing, and the people are expecting that, and you are batting 1,000 so far in the public appearance, a sound would say, keep it up, and do the same thing. and the difficult thing is to take him on from the outside, and these other candidates and getting some traction with their positions. the point i would make -- >> and you would tell donald trump just be yourself, you are right. >> and the point i would make with the other candidatesk it is very hard for them to win it. what they can do if they don't perform correct cannily or adequately, they could lose it. >> thank you, greg craig and

kevin madden, thank you. >> and now, right now we want to the look at russia who is saying that they are building up their military because of the threat of isis.

hi, i'm wolf blitzer at the ronald reagan presidential library where the excitement is build building. everyone is getting ready for the major presidential republican debate tomorrow night right here on cnn. you can see air force one behind me, and the candidates, and what a backdrop they will have when they go at it in this, the second republican presidential debate. we will go back to take a look at air force one right now.

here i am, air force one. and i almost feel right at home, because i spent seven years as a white house correspondent traveling on air force one all of the time, and here is air force one. john highbush is with us, the executive director of the ronald reagan presidential library foundation, and john, can you give us a tour, because this is the real air force one that >> that's right. i'm glad to have you on board. >> let's take a little tour. >> wolf, this is the first place you come to. it's the command and control center for the aircraft. from here officers could reach anyone in the world at any time for president reagan. >> that's the famous football with a nuclear codes. >> he potentially had his finger on that button. >> here's the flying oval office. the conference room to gatt. er top aids and special guest on his flights all over the world. >> this is where he had his conference cans too. >> this is the office basically that he used when he was traveling.

can we walk over to the oval office. it's here at the ronald reagan presidential library. >> i'm happy to take you there. >> it's amazing to see this replica of the oval office. i have been in the real oval office. it's precise. >> absolutely. right down to the square inch. >> everything. in fact, many of the artifacts you see here are actually artifacts from the president's office themselves. >> including this. >> the famous resolute desk. this is a copy that sits with barack obama today. >> the reagan is the most popular of all the presidential libraries. >> it's the most visited. we're particularly proud of president reagan has been out of office for years and the crowds keep coming. >> this is really an impressive presidential library. we have had a great tour. so much more to see. i recommend it highly for those who have a chance to come out to california. it will be worth your while.

especially if you like history. american history in particular. tomorrow night, 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. eastern, the two republican presidential debates live coverage will be coming up. we'll have extensive analysis before, after, you'll want to stay with cnn throughout. it's exciting to be out here in california getting ready for this major republican debate. much more coverage on that coming up. i want to turn to some significant international news making headlines right now. the united states raising new alarms about russian military activity in syria. the pentagon says these satellite images taken earlier this month suggest russia is trying to establish what's being described as a forward operating base in western syria. the satellite images show early construction on a russian base

that may be used to assistant the syrian president in the country's ongoing civil war. let's go to our correspondent barbara starr. . she has more information on what's going on. barbara, do officials think is the reason behind the build. up? what's going on? >> wolf, in the latest developments u.s. officials are seeing tanks, artillery pieces and nearly three dozen armored. personnel carriers. this now puts an armored russian force mobile force on the ground inside syria in this fashion associated with this area field right now. and these developments. that gives capability to move around, conduct offensive operations on the ground. if they bring in aircraft to this airfield, that also gives them the ability to fly bombing runs. if it is to keep bashar al assad in power, that is a a big

problem for the united states because he in the u.s. view is the big problem here. he is the one that is killing his own people with his barrel bomb attacks. isis, the additional problem. here's the interesting wrinkle. the u.s. is letting it be. known they would be fine if russia comes in and wants to join the fight against isis. but if all of this is aimed at propping up assad, the u.s. has a big problem. assad has to go, propping him up onk only prolongs the war and the terrible misery that so many syrians are suffering right now. wolf? >> given the russian military buildup around krooi mere ya and ukraine, do they have the resources to devote to syria to prop up bashar al assad? >> it's a really fascinating question because crimea was in russia's backyard.

they go several hundred miles and perhaps they are there. there's also the black sea approaches so they can can reply themselves. what you're looking at here is thousands of miles of a supply chain that can be very iffy. right now, the russian air flights and there have been about 15 cargo flights coming in, they have to go through iran and iraq. nobody is letting them have overflight rights. so keeping this up could be a big challenge for moscow. wolf? >> huge implications for so many. barbara, thanks very much. that's it for me. i will be back at 5:00 p.m. eastern. much more coverage coming up on the second republican presidential debate. for our viewers in north america, "newsroom" starts after a quick break. here to volunteer to help those in need. when a twinge of back pain surprises him.

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here we go in california. 11:00 local, 2:00 on the east coast. it's a pleasure to be here. the headline this morning in southern california, the rain but it's clearing up in sim, valley. folks are getting ready to rock and roll. we're just about 24 hours away from the main event. and when you think about where the candidates are today, you won't see them. they are basically off the grid preparing for our debate here at the ronald reagan presidential library tomorrow night. with one exception.