preview of what to look for in this town hall debate. meanwhile, on c-span2, the north dakota u.s. senate debate. it is one of the closest senate races in the country. and c-span3 tonight has a discussion of what is that is that it o'clock eastern. -- 8:00 eastern. >> it is time for the second of three presidential debates. tonight features a town hall format with 82 undecided voters asking questions of the two candidates. cnn's candy crowley is the moderator. our live coverage begins 90 minutes from now. you will have a front row seat,

seen only on this network. live debate coverage begins at 9:00 p.m. eastern time. we will have a lineup of guests talking politics. we will involve you all along the way with phone calls, tweets, and your facebook comments. what would you ask if you have the opportunity to be in that hall tonight. you can post it. >> we are happy to have your tweets on c-span. we will begin our evening with janet. she joins us inside the hall.

give our viewers a history of the town hall format. >> the format was initially tried in 1992 at the university of richmond. it was a brand new format we tried for the first time then. we have done one town meeting ever since. these town meeting participants you will see tonight are committed -- uncommitted voters. they are selected by the gallup organization using telephone surveys. they are here to ask questions of the candidates. >> new york historical has gone democrat in the last several elections. how do you ensure that they do not lead -- lean toward the democrats?

>> the editor of the gallup poll is the person in charge of a barrel -- very thorough and professional regime to make sure they do a good blend of people in terms of their preferences, the fact that they do intend to vote, and we would like to get a good blend of ages, a mixture that would represent the interests of the american public. >> we look back in the first debate in 1992. it seems like there were 200 questionnaires. not all of them could ask questions. 200 people were assembled. tonight it is just over 80. what has happened in your thinking in the years? >> it is difficult to know what is the right mix. it is a very small setting that we have here. knowing that only between 12 and

16 people can actually ask questions, we have come up with a number that seems to be a good number that will represent an effective grouping of citizens around the candidates. they do not know until the moderator calls on them whether or not they will have their questions asked. they have all come with several questions so there is a good sampling of materials to work with in looking through them. this seems to be a good number so it looks and feels like a gathering of citizens. it is not over repaid -- overly big. richmond was large. we have 80 tonight. i think it is a good number. >> the selection of questions. candy crowley knows what people intend to ask. it is no surprise for her? >> it will not be a surprise for

her. when we did the town meeting in 1996, the moderator then actually called on people randomly during that debate. it was held in san diego. we discovered that in the last 15 minutes of a town meeting, there were three people with exactly the same question. you want to cover the maximum number of topics. the moderator is screening the questions for only one purpose. it is to make sure they cover the biggest range of domestic and foreign policy questions that we can cover in the space of 90 minutes. >> for the past couple of days, there has been a lot of discussion about the agreements made between the parties and the debate commission about how things can be saved and can be's wn approach to it -- candy's own approach to it. here is how she described it.

>> we will know the questions in advance because we have asked the town hall close to come with what critics three or four questions. that way, we can format, this is an interesting subject. not just the folks on the stage, but the town hall watching this on tv. it will feel like and be a conversation as opposed to, here is a random question. one question will roll into the other. there is that. we select and look at the question and, in my mind, i am thinking this candid it made it this way and this way, do we need a follow up? >> as you well know, the fallout has been the subject of discussion this week.

-- that follow up has been a discussion this week. >> we are honored to have her moderating tonight. she is a real pro. she has experience. town meeting is a lot of moving parts. it is not just the moderator and the candidates. it is 80 people who have normal day jobs. they do not usually do this kind of live television. they have come with your questions and her job is to make sure the questions asked, the candidates have their time to answer, and she will have two minutes to pursue the topic that was in the question. i think she will do that in a way that is very respectful to the questioner. and it efficiently and productively use the time that remains in that segment. she will do a great job. >> the official number of dealers, 67 million watching the first presidential debate. 51 million watching the vice- presidential debate.

what is your reaction to these numbers? are you pleased with the numbers tune in? >> we are. the whole point is to educate the public. hopefully, they are learning more about the issues. it is very gratifying to know this number of people are tuning in, saying tunes in, and looking forward to the next one. it is a great thing for the conversation that is going on before the election, that these debates are attracting that size audience. >> we will talk to the president of hofstra. we have two sequential presidential debates. why would they select it? what did you see in hofstra? >> it posted a debate in 2008. it is a fabulous campus with an amazing group of people headed by a man who has a can-do

attitude. they had a very good experience in 2008. they submitted a proposal to have us come back this year. we were thrilled. we are very happy to be here. it is a great place to do a debate. >> what we show clips of the 1992 debate, one of the debaters, we continue to get questions from people about why a third-party candidate is not involved in this process how are your decisions made? >> -- process. how are your decisions made? >> there are three components. the first is constitutional eligibility. the second is whether the candidate is on an official number of state ballots to have a chance to win the electoral college. the third is if they meet a 15% support in the polls, as

measured by the for each debate -- measured before each debate. we have taken this job as seriously as any debate's sponsor could. it is an extremely important issue. the criteria are applied to anybody. as you saw in 1992, mr. perot met the kite -- the criteria. >> as for the three formats, the table for the two candidates, looking at each other. the podium style. how to each of those formats -- two candidates in different ways? >> it relates to the citizen asking the question.

it is different and it carries a special appeal. it is a different dynamic between questioner and candidate when it is a citizen asking as opposed to the professional journalists. we think it is a positive part of the max. the traditional podium debate has been all in the past. what you saw in the vice presidential debate, which is what you will see in the third presidential debate, is the candidates seated with the moderator. it gets away from the somewhat stiff distance between the candidates when they are standing behind podiums. we think the seated model with the candidates sitting with an talking with the moderator is a particularly good mechanism for getting the conversation going. >> you have had a front row seat to all these organizations since 1998. what is your perspective about how the process of debates has

changed over the years? >> the process has changed only in the sense that the number of media organizations covering these has grown so much. there is such natural -- national and international interest. we have 3500 people here and in the presidential debate in denver to cover these debates on the ground. those are national and international members of the press. that has grown every cycle. the other piece of it is the security aspect and what we have to bring to a campus when we decide to do these. they need to be precise, detailed, and they need to involve an enormous number of people and a lot of equipment. it is a very big undertaking. it is done by a bunch of people i get to work with every four years to are phenomenal. they are the best at what they do that i have ever met. it is an honor to work with

them. there has to be an attention to detail. >> there are a lead -- there are 11 cameras. that is a lot of cameras. ets --appened to these stat happens to these sets? >> they will go into storage in virginia and come out every four years with refurbishment, but nothing gets wasted. >> tell our audience what they will see in a half-hour before the debate gets started. >> what they will see is a series of people who will come out to thank all of the people who made this happen tonight. it starts with me introducing the chairman of the board. they will introduce the president of hofstra.

we will introduce the canadas' spouses. .- the candidates' spouses then we will tell what will happen in this format. that is what your viewers will get to see from 8:30 to 9:00. >> the c-span viewers have a look behind the scenes. we will see you at 8:30 eastern time live. can you for your time. >> thank you, as always. >> janet brown is the executive director of the commission of debates. we are asking you what question you would ask tonight if you are one of the 82 people who have a spot there, the undecided voters, to question the canada. the first phone caller is from washington. a democrat. caller: the question i want to

ask and has not been asked, why do we not consider medicare for all? and non-profit, to reduce the cost of health care encumber all 310 million people. most industrial countries in the world have a single-payer system. why we have the same system that is broken and we have 50 million people uninsured, let's go to a single-payer, national health coverage for everybody. a non-profit system. i think both candidates should address that. it has not been. they only talk about obamacare or romneycare. what the american people want is fully paid medicare for all. all 310 million americans under the medicare system. that is what i would like to hear asked by candy crowley tonight. >> next up is a republican

watching us in kansas city, kansas. caller: hello. i am an african-american and republican. my question is this. what percentage of the factdential candidates' is and or fiction. how much does the president -- the candidates rely on the voters' ability and willingness to research what is said to them in front of and behind the camera. >> thank you. here are some facebook comments. mr. romney --

>> back to telephone calls. next up is from utah, an independent. caller: obama one time talked about his tax policy following jesus christ. where much is given, much is required. that deals with individuals. much is given social, spiritual, economic well-being. jesus christ's tax policy is tiding, where everybody pays 10%. i was wondering if he still believes in following tjesus christ as follows the tax policy goes. >> what would you ask? caller: i have an issue i have seen in the past. both parties, republican and democrat. neither one to me has on one thing about it the main issue

is that it is a wrong doing for our veterans to go fight these wars for us to provide us with everything we have today and our government does not do enough to help them. they denied the fact that something was used that came down with this illness. how they were using it. the other issue is the veterans that are fighting our wars and providing all of the information, everything that is required before the veterans that fight for us, what are we going to do for them once they get back? the v.a. hospitals and all the stuff they have to fight for. how are they going to help these people that help us? neither party has done anything. they deny and deny.

>> thank you. on twitter, a war-related question to ask. a different type. -- on facebook, here are a few more -- >> just a sample of some of the

questions you would ask given the opportunity tonight. let's meet our next guest, joining us from hofstra university. she is in the spin room. the media filing center. nike is a senior political writer for politico. she will be with us for a half- hour. she will be setting the stage for us tonight. everybody has talked about the stakes. >> the stakes are pretty high for both candidates. this debate has been incredibly tight up. unlike a lot of events that get hyped up, it is one that will live up to it. regardless of the outcome. president obama did not immigrate today's performance in denver. he needs to come back from that. it will be hard to. mitt romney it's a good debater. i expect he will do well tonight. the format here does not lend

itself well that the candidates can govern on their own. it is a town hall format. there will be audience questions. there has been debate this week about the role of moderator will apply. the audience will set the table. the candidates will have to work within the parameters. they will have to be more casual with one another. it is a much tougher setting to go on the attack. mitt romney was very aggressive to go with president obama. when president obama responded, his words were aggressive but his tone and demeanor were not. this is much harder to do in this format. president obama needs to stop mitt romney's momentum. mitt romney needs to not let president obama let things go his way. it is extremely hard to predict what will happen tonight. this will be the most consequential of the remaining two debates. the last one is solely on

foreign policy. it will be harder for either of them to break out. >> we look at statistics on how much experience these two had on town hall -- town hall meetings. president obama had 16 cents an ounce his election bid in 2011. 58 total since becoming president in january 2009. romney has 104 town hall style events since announcing for president in june 2011. you had an opportunity to watch those men. what d.c. about their comfort level? >> they are most comfortable to a point. there is some truth to president obama's reliance on the teleprompter. he tends to do better in prescriptive events. having to be off the cuff is harder for him. what is not hard for him is engaging with voters. that has not been mitt romney's

calling card. he can be affected in town hall settings. -- e. effective in town hall settings. he is going to have to have break through moments. it is not going to be a bill clinton moment. but he is going to have to show he can connect with voters who are asking the questions. on a personal level. not an emotional level. a human level. it is not a high bar. mitt romney s been good otownal ttings. he has familiarity with them. he does not have recent familiarity. he did many more during the primaries and he -- and became loose and relaxed. to achieve that level of looseness but not lose enough that he makes a mistake.

>> we have a clip of each one of these two men. the first one is governor romney, a question on immigration. >> governor, how much of a prerogative is this for you to get actual reform dunkirk? -- done? how'd you go about doing this? how much legislation will you specifically be looking for? >> let me note something that will not be lost upon the people who come into this country legally and illegally as immigrants. this has always been a priority for the president. he chooses to do nothing about it. he campaigned saying he would reform immigration laws and simple by and protect the water and so forth. he had two years with a democrat house and democrats and it and a super majority in each house.

he did nothing. but the immigrant community not forget that while he uses this as a political weapon, he does not take responsibility for fixing the problems we have. my own view is our immigration policies are upside down. we make it very hard for people who have skills we need, agitation, english-speaking, workplace skills, we make it very hard for those people to come here and stay here. those who do not have any of those things are often able to come either across the border or how overstay their visas and remain in this country indefinitely. we have it backwards. my view is someone has a degree,, an institution of higher learning, a master's degree, a phd. staple a green card to their diploma. we want those people in our country. at the same time, we want to

make sure we stop illegal immigration so we can protect legal immigration. the goal immigration is something we conservatives like. we love people coming here legally. particularly that speak english, can work in jobs, create new industries that are innovative. the immigrant population does not come here for a check. they come here for opportunity. these are voters. i want to work on an immigration policy that secures the border and also protect illegal immigration progress -- process. >> and much less structured town hall format. a light will go off and tell them our -- their time is up. how will the canada its handle that? >> they will have to do the best they can carry . they will say, bear with me because this is important. they will go over the time limit.

you want to keep it an equal time issue. it is hard. neither candidate is prone to brevity. if you go to mitt romney, that was a long answer. that is a too long sir. the subjects is something you will hear some of. he has been tough on immigration in terms of this town. and giving a specific response to the president's executive action. i think you will have to see him -- i expect to see him find a way. the same for president obama. his problem in the last debate was saying "um" repeatedly. not focusing his answers in a careful way.

speaking fairly solid. i think he will have worked on that. >> did the campaign settle on a format in regards to follow up questions? >> i do not know the answer. i am not certain. i know the issue with candy crowley, the perceptions of an issue. some said she is a professional and is there to guide the debate. i saw reports of the 2008 moderator. the commission was not part of this understanding. this is a situation where they go in and we will see what happens. the interview that was in place

between paul ryan and joe biden, and lastly's debate, we reported this on politico. the moderator is supposed to address paul ryan by his preference, mr., not congressman. he was called congress and throughout. it is not as if there is a policeman outside dictating these things. >> one of the things i want to show is spoke of the campaigns are using social media extensively. the romney campaign sent this out a few moments ago with a picture of the family hanging out eating dinner. you might notice romney is not a big cross-eater. -- crust-eater. how the candidates spend their prep time? >> president obama focused much more extensively. today or more generally?

>> tonight. >> in both cases, there has been leaking by both camps. that is unusual in terms of what they have been doing very the romney campaign has said the light they handled this and continue to to continue to do these very aggressive sessions -- handle this and continue to do very aggressive sessions. what portman does is effective. he does not to a caricature version of the president. he plays the president. that is an important distinction. debate perhaps can sometimes be in the other direction. that is not a help from the focus mostly on stagecraft. how he is going to appear,

seem. he had his answer is pretty well remembered at this point. they have a sense of where the obama folks are going to go. the 47% comment. his tax returns. a lot of focus on his massachusetts record. they are expecting a law on abortion. president obama, he took this much more focused than he did the last one. he was with aides this morning. the one thing i heard some concern from democrats who are close the debate rubout is how the libya question will play out. hillary clinton yesterday took responsibility. she apparently had in another interview prior to that. she took responsibility for the

security issues around the bank gauzy attack on september 11. she did not want to see it used as a political pawn or a political issue. the republicans have not laid off on the president. you will see something of that nature come up tonight. >> we are asking our audience tonight what they would ask care and what would you ask if you could be a direct participant tonight? >> there are many questions i would like to ask. i think i would ask both of them a broad version of you have both been criticized for not being specific about an agenda for the next term. can you explain what it will look like? >> one of our viewers on twitter agrees with you.

-- i would like to mix in some zero calls -- phone calls. this is from lynchburg virginia, an independent. caller: my question is for governor romney. if he is such a great governor of massachusetts, why is it all the polls are showing massachusetts is going with president obama. to the voters of massachusetts know something he is not revealing about how he govern? >> thank you. what can we learn about massachusetts'electoral politics? >> i think it is tricky. the question just asked is reflective of disappearing -- of a line democrats have used.

he was rejected by his own state. it is true that the polls of the time showed he was struggling a bit in massachusetts. it is important to remember massachusetts is an overwhelmingly democratic state. they do have a tendency, as we have seen, the election of scott brown, there are republicans who are considered palatable, a change from where things had been. it is a state that tends to go back to where it had been. scott brown is running a race against a democratic challenger. she is a first-time candidate but that race is pretty close. >> next is a call from a democrat. caller: i would like to know

what the republicans, smaller government, small businesses, but i do not understand how the -- how do they govern a woman's body. you want smaller government but you tell a woman she will not be able to have an abortion if she is right -- raped. i do not understand the logic to want smaller government but they want to tell women what to do with their body. >> thank you. maggie, in an article you published today, you talk about women voters and how critical they will be tonight. explain why. >> sure. i was thinking about that as the caller was talking. there are some polls that suggested president obama's lead

with women voters, which has been quite large, has eroded a fair amount. they have been scattered. there was a national poll recently that showed there was a swing state poll, and national poll, that showed that as well. mitt romney and president obama would be tied with women after president obama had a larger advantage. that was generally offset with mitt romney's advantage with men. it is hard to fathom it is tied. this is an area that especially independent women, that the campaign isn concerned about. it has focused aggressively for the last year on the women voters. speaks why you saw people in the prime-time hour at the democrats' report predicts

democratic national convention -- democratic national convention. i think you will hear a lot about that. you saw joe biden say something similar to what the caller just said in his debate with paul ryan. government telling women to do with their bodies. i do not think you will hear obama say exactly that line. there will be some approximation. >> we have a clip of president obama. this is older, 2010. .his is from cnbc's town hall >> i am a chief financial officer. i am also a mother. a wife. an american veteran. i am one of your medical -- middle-class americans. i am exhausted. the administration, deeply

disappointed with where we are right now. i have been told i voted for a man who said he was going to change things in a meaningful way for the middle class. i am one of those people and i am waiting. i do not feel it yet. i thought i would feel it in some small measure. i have two children in private schools. the financial recession has taken an enormous toll on my family. a husband and i joke for years that we thought we were beyond the hot dogs and beans era of our lives. it has started knocking on our door and ringing true. is this my new reality? >> i think you describe exactly what is the bedrock of america. a veteran who is working for veterans, and i am sure someone who knows how to manage their money.

making good decisions. i am not saying once and awhile you do not want to get a good pair of shoes. [laughter] the life you describe, one of responsibility, looking at your family, contributing back to your community, that is what we want to report. >> interesting. you will this call -- you will recall that made a bit of news when it happened. what do you think about the response? >> it was hard to hear the entire exchange here. i do remember the event. what struck me watching it is at, again, this is why president obama and mitt romney, one of the things president obama's campaign has pushed is the likability factor. it is not universal.

this has been one of its calling cards. his likability has remained high, higher than his job approval rating. mitt romney is high. his likability has improved. this is where president obama supporters hope he shines. he is not somebody who is a great debater. he has never been perry what i make of the audience reaction, a lot of laughter -- >> i was making less about the audience reaction. this was a woman with great emotion about her looking for hope and change economically that she was not feeling. the president's response was we want to reward the service that you do. this is a problem for him. that is not an answer. i recall we had lines that came out of it. this is not the kind of answer that connects with people.

>> in terms of the reliability factor, the people have had, based on these two candidates, mitt romney introducing himself, there was a side to him that everybody knows is not readily regrettably visible on the campaign trail -- everyone knows is not readily visible on the campaign trail. i do not think you will hear president obama do that again. i believe that tape and others like it are things this campaign strutted and look? -- looked at as things the should not do. --we are told on twitter >> are you surprised with the coverage or lack thereof of health care? class for president obama, it is

difficult. for mitt romney, it is difficult. one of the things that was most striking about the last debate, mitt romney talking about his plan of pre-existing conditions. he said something that is not true. president obama did not challenge mitt romney on it on stage. there were a lot of complaints from democrats about jim lehrer. president obama is the one on stage. it is the candidate's job to push back. that is one of many instances the campaign would like to have back. they spent the last two weeks gnawing over it.

obamacare is the president's signature of legislative achievement of his term. romneycare is the single achievement for the former massachusetts governor. romney managed to get through a republican primary despite that. it was hardly a plus for him. obama is hoping to get reelected despite the fact the law and the way it was passed, the federal one, remains problematic. sentiments have improved about it. polling shows it is still not a huge -- >>maggie is now a senior political writer for politico. we have time for one more call. next up is jacksonville, florida. a republican. caller: what will romney do to strengthen our form insolence --

foreign influence? >> mitt romney on foreign policy and u.s. influence. foreign policy mitt romney has not spent an extensive amount time on. the campaign does not believe people vote on that. polls indicate that is true. generally speaking, the areas where mitt romney has spoken about most recently are israel and the u.s. support of israel. the obama campaign has focused on a number of statements mitt romney has made that have an eyebrow-raising in terms of u.s. allies. it is still problematic to say on foreign soil. romney had a comment on spain. he talked about greece.

you can go on. airline about japan. intern -- a line about japan. mitt romney does not have a great deal of foreign background. president obama is selling a failed foreign policy record, largely matched by osama bin laden and having found him and taken him out. how mitt romney performs remains to be seen. it is very hard to say. >> the debate begins at 9:00 eastern time. when do you have to start filing? >> i am doing a live blog. we start immediately. with my story after that, about an hour later.

they can go to the blog on political.com. it is under the blog column. the first one that comes up very you can follow me on twitter. that is where i will be carried >> thank you for giving us your time. we will see you along the campaign trail. we will continue to take your calls. for you to have a front-row seat to be what it is like to be there. you will get a chance to experience the president of the university firsthand. until then, what would you like to ask tonight if you had an opportunity to be one of those 80 people in that room? what would you ask if you have that opportunity? caller in next from a

pennsylvania. an independent. caller: hello. i would like to ask a question about fairness. and taxes and so forth. a foundation has come out and shown that over 95% of our military recruits come from households with incomes of less than $70,000 a year. why would it not be fair to ask those with higher income, $1 million a year, to pay tax surcharge while we are engaged in a conflict overseas? >> thank you. next up is a democrat in arlington, virginia. caller: i would ask, the last debate, education was briefly discussed. neither can it really talked about it specifically. they were talking about building a strong middle class. i do not think it is possible

going forward in the future, when you have millions of young people and older people going to school who make up billions of dollars of debt in every economy. i would ask how each candidate will more aggressively worked to solve the crisis. more specifically, how would they address the consumer protections such as income-based repayments or discharge through bankruptcy? >> is this a personal issue? call: it is. >> are you still a student? ller: i amn the process of paying off loans. if i have thousands of dollars in debt, i cannot get a house, buy cars, contribute to our omy.econ itorks hd-in-hand with the middle class issue they are both trying to win. how would you address that? fony peoe i goi forward rsonally c in this coury.

we cannot move tord if we hav waet help. >what w you do if u could bean a czachange licy unilateray? whatould work? caller: i went to a private school. it was not exactly theos fair ticepracn getting these loans. people actually were signing loans, making sure they are bettducateon wt they are signing the wooden floor. i wish i hadnown now what i knew then. d start thereith privat schooland making storth e t using predatory practices to get people to enroll just so they have money. w you veeople who signe the loans and we do not have money. that is where i would start. >> thank you.

a student loan concern. that is wt e wod a the candidates. someone knoho aut studen and their issues is our next guest. is president of hofstra ersity. this is their second debate. he h been through one now. he tooonnother thk you for ing ths. >> mpleare. >> did hofstra putour hat the ring for the second one? experience that weved during the first debate. mainly, it wasur students and alumhos sten we exc. they weerested. mission not just to educate students but to inspire them to protest paid in the democratic process. they were so ired. wead 7000 stile students

stero vote. hav125,000 alni. th send congratulatory notes to see how proud they were with thei allodern hosting a national eve last nighti was listening on cn's radio station to some of students. it might and the editor of the student newspaper. he talked about the hofstra transformation under your watch from essentially a commode -- a commuter school to a nationally recognized university. how have the debates play into that development and evolution? >> it is certainly changed from a commuter school before my presidency. i do not want to take all the credit and blame for what happened. hofstra is a different place than it used to be. we now have a medical school. a school of engineering. a school of health science. we have a great school of

communication. half of our student body comes from out of state. that is of relatively recent. we need to get the country to understand we are a national institution. it is very difficult for peoples' opinion to change. what better way to show you are on the national team and should be considered then applying for a competitive privilege like posting a debate to a commission like the commission on presidential debates? getting that and doing it well and getting it a second time. nobody thought it was luck. that is how you change your brand nationally. it is a slow process. that plays a major role in that. >> we have asked each university president about what the school is doing to involve students on campus and the larger community. we have a live camera at a few

of the events happening around town. can you tell us what the campus is doing tonight? >> the campus is mainly a campus gathered around five remote viewing sites. we like to call them debate watch parties. those students and faculty who are not in the arena and they are watching andommentating and listening to commentors on the iues poro the debate therer. in ter of involving our student body and our commuty, each time, we were privileged to host the debate. weeloped signifint ucational iniaves, morging to our campus journalists, former government officials, commentats. issu iveat t eion.th thmajor have tel you the stude attendance at these programs was

overwhelming. they were all open to the public. we do not charge for them. we never did. we never will. last night, just to take an example, we had a question -- we had senator simpson here to discuss his debt reduction plan. there were 1100 people inhe dience at 5:30 in the evening. mostly students but a lot o combat -- members of the community listening. thensking quesons afteards. it really was ariceless experience. >> this all comes with a price tag. we understand each school pays the commission, $1.65 million? >> that sounds about correct. >> you must raise additional funds on top of that. what you think the final price tag will be? how does it compare to last time?

>> it is another $3 million or so on top of that. maybe less this year. last time was more because we had some infrastructure, wiring that we had to do to accommodate the journalists. we kept that. we are very fortunate in having donors, and not all of them are members of the board of trustees, but many are. they understand the importance of hosting two debates to hofstra's brand and to long island and to the new york city area. in 2008, it was the first time since 1960 the debates were held in the state of new york. they are very generous. we have moved in 2008 that we wanted to do it again. i began fundraising the day after the 2008 debate. the worst that could happen is we did not need it.

they are very generous. we have a debate sponsored this year funded most of our expenses. it does not come out of students' tuition dollars. >> fund-raiser -- fund-raising is a major job. this is an extra duty. >> it is an understatement. fundraising all the time. >>, you have the perspective of four years ago. what difference in terms of organization in just these four years? >> this is a different style of debate. we had a traditional debate last time around. it was the third debate. this is a town hall meeting. it is more complicated logistically. the first time around, we turned our basketball of rain into a normal-looking debate hall.

this time around, we have to turn it into a town meeting hall. with the general audience being behind it. we have great people here. they work and it turned out to be very wonderful. logistically, that was different. we adapted. i am happy they had the confidence that we could adapt. i find it, in terms of the students, they are more excited this time around, this bunch of students, then they were in 2008. that is contrary to the common now, that young people are less interested. i find a more interested now than they were before. i think the younger generation understands these issues are important to them now and maybe more importantly, more important to them and their children in the future. you can walk by starbucks and

instead of hearing about a tv program, you hear our students talking about, how do we reduce the deficit without pushing us back into recession. to me, that is the kind of conversation i want our students to have. >> the this is a small focus group. some of the students we interviewed during our time up there mentioned the reason they came was getting to know the school debate sponsorship. that is when they were in the consideration states. it is four years later, experiencing as the students have an opportunity they never thought they had you can understand their excitement. >> when they are excited, we are excited. >> hofstra has a web site. their president since 2000 is stuart rabinowitz.

we will see you next when you address the crowd tonight. we will be carrying that live on this network. we will see you on the stage and a half hour. >> i look forward to it. >> thank you. we have an half an hour. we will use it to talk with candy crowley. we have an interview with our we will sell you in a few minutes. we will continue to take your calls, facebook, it's, -- facebook comments, and tweets. from california, charlie, a republican. caller: we seem to be lost out here on the left coast. nobody pays attention to us while -- while we pay $5 a gallon for gasoline. the use of foreign in our debt -- food in our gasoline is a huge factor. we would love to have answers from that from the two contestants. >> thank you.

those are the 82 people who have been selected by pulling troops to be part of the undecided people in the town halls tonight taking their seats. they get to sit there for about half hour you can imagine their anxiety, all sorts of emotions. a full hour to wait until their time on camera. next is a call from south carolina. >> my question would be in regard to the libyan situation, the president owes the american people the truth. why does he keep changing his story? >> next up is a call from texas. this is gary, who is a democrat. >> i would like to ask the

candidates what are they going to do to lower gasoline and diesel prices, which is having a bad effect on every part of our nation. if everybody boycotted exxon mobil, i guarantee the price of gasoline would come down. i would like to ask the presidential candidates about that and our armed forces better ourng back, why don't -- armed forces that are coming back, why don't we get them in these houses we're trying to sell? >> why don't we watch a little bit from the debate hall?

>> the debate commission has released a list of questioners for the evening and it looks like 17 people out of those 82 have been selected to have -- to potentially ask questions.

the commissioners expect there will be time enough for 12 or 13. we are asking what would you ask if you had that opportunity. let's listen to our next telephone call from maryland. >> my question is would so many people in debt -- >> you are having a problem because your tv volume is up. >> my question is with the so many people in debt, wouldn't it be a wise decision if the interest rates on student loans be subtracted so people could afford to pay off their debt so

they could go on with their career in order to contribute to society? >> another young person interested in student loans. next come the pennsylvania. >> -- next, pennsylvania. >> i want to ask president obama why is he so eager to sell us out to the russians? he is going to work with vladimir after the elections. i want to know why he is so willing to sell us out to the russians. >> thank you, serve. little rock, arkansas. >> thank you. i would ask president obama if he thinks the bill should be passed since the american people paid the president's salary to have the bill passed to where president cannot be on tv on late night shows and radio shows and mixing out there with

all the stars. we want him in washington taking care of all these problems. >> michael on twitter would ask -- take a peek at some facebook questions. some of the questions on the minds of you watching around the country. there was a controversy leading

up to this debate about how involved the cnn moderator might be and whether that was a different perspective than the two campaigns had as they entered into an agreement. we asked the executive director of the commission on presidential debates about this controversy. >> the commissions perspective is that we are honored to have candy crowley moderating tonight. she is a real pro. town meeting is a lot of moving parts. it is not just the moderator. it is 80 people who have normal day jobs. they do not usually do this kind of live television. they have come with their questions and her job is to make sure the questions get asked, the candidates have their time to answer. she is going to have two minutes to pursue the topic that was in the question. i think she will do that in a way that is very respectful to the citizen questioners and is

productively use is the time that remains in that segment. she is going to do a great job. >> candy crowley sat down with us for a brief interview. this is an interview that lasts about six minutes. >> candy crowley, chief political reporter here at cnn. at the end of the 90 minutes, how will you measure the debate being a success? >> or the questions answered? -- were the questions answered? what you want is for people to walk away from the debate, whether they are on the stage as part of the town hall or whether they're sitting in their pajamas at home, he wanted to think, i learned something tonight about one of these two guys. it will help me along the road.

or that reinforces a decision on have already made. >> your format is different than the first debate. your job is to play traffic cop. >> we will know the questions in advance because we have asked the town hall folks to come with three or four questions. so that we can formats, this is an interesting subject to the town hall -- the vast town hall watching this on tv. it will feel like and be a conversation as opposed to here is a random question, here is a random question. we select and look at the question and in my mind, i am thinking, this candidate may go this way, what is a follow-up we

need or do we even need a follow-up an winnowing down into some of the details? >> this debate is getting an awful lot of buildup, especially after the first debate. the president saying he will be sharper, more focused. what do you expect? >> i expect that every day, whether they are in a debate or on the campaign trail, these two men are getting sharper and more aggressive. it just comes with the calendar. you know the closer we get, the closer this election, the polls always tighten up one way or another. they may go back and forth, we are not short. these are high stakes debates in the midst of a high-stakes days for these candidates. i think they will be on their game. they will bring their a game to

this debate. >> when they announced you as moderator, is there any significance in that? >> when i first got the call, i did not react like, wow, i am a woman journalist. i was, like, wow, i am a journalist. as a journalist, i was excited. moving down the line, i find that women, young and old, -- i am so excited to see a woman doing this. at the root, i am still a journalist. >> every week, you prepare a question for a cnn state of the union. how do you go about doing that? >> something that reveals new ground or something that says,

there was this and there was that. these are questions that will come from town hall folks. i see me as taking that question and to invest. in a lot of ways, this is on the fly. you can think the dynamic is going to be one way and it will be something -- you know that from doing what you do. it completely changes and you want to be able to roll with whatever the dynamic is. >> how are you preparing for this? >> anyway i can. i am preparing for something i cannot prepare for a. i feel like i am preparing for anything. i am talking to people across the board better experts on various subjects. i am also talking to random people in my life who are not hooked up to this politics and journalism.

in between, what we doing for thanksgiving, by the way, what might you like to hear? what don't you understand about either of these two candidates? what would you like to. ? i have gone from -- what would you like to hear? try to get a sense of what is out there, what has not been said, and are discounted it might go. >> in all of this -- and readies candidate might go. -- and where these candidate might go. the question on most matters less than -- almost matters less -- people are talking in your ear. to meet, you have to listen to

the answers. the answers lead to the next place. if you are not listening and you just have a bunch of random questions, that is not what you want. you want thoughtful conversation. >> are c-span audience will see this a couple of hours before the debate gets under way. are you nervous? >> i am nervous, i am excited. i am all of those things. i am really trying to keep the nervous part down. thus the idea that even on sundays. this is not -- i do that even on sundays. this is not about me. i am hoping to make that as sharp and as good and as intense as i can. it takes away some of my nerves, i think. you have to did these guys to talk. >> as somebody who is covering this campaign, how important are

these debates? >> it has proven so far to be -- we heard a lot of talk about how the debate did not matter. you do not know what it would have been like without the debates. in this first debate, it mattered for mitt romney. how much of that is your basic september-october closing of the polls? i do not know. we do know that things changed after that debate. can a change again? we know that this kind of -- especially in a close race, wild fluctuations can be two points. it can look very up and down. >> candy crowley, thank you very much. >> thank you, steve. >> she has been at the network since 1987. she is their chief political correspondent.

before that, at nbc. let's take a look inside hofstra's university's sports arena. the 82 people who are part of the town hall forum have taken their seats. they are all awaiting, when people began to address the crowd and set the stage for the debate. it begins at 9:00. it is officially in 90 minutes, but we have been told by the organizers to expect that tonight might runover a little bit, maybe 10 minutes or so. it is very customary for the candidate to go into the crowd and shake hands and talk to the people who are part of the town hall. a very different format tonight and we will be here for all of it. once it is over, our phone lines will be open for your reaction.

for the next 15 minutes, we're going to take your calls. there is the university president. let's take your calls asking, what would you ask if you could be in that room tonight and have a microphone? >> my question is, on gas prices, i will vote republican, but whatever candidate gets in, if obama gets in, if he is able to lower the gas prices, i know gas prices are done by big businesses. four years ago, we were paying $1.20 a gallon where we live. now they are at $3.65 a gallon. that is for the regular price of gas. the higher into gasoline is above $4 a gallon. i know it is cheaper around our area compared to the rest of the

nation. if i am able to take vacations, if the gas prices go down, i would go outside my state. whenever i do take a vacation, i spent around town. can they take price cap -- gas prices and lower them? that would help the economy get back on track. >> the president has left the marriott at 8:00 on the dog. he is on his way to hofstra. you are looking at live pictures from inside the sports arena. those are people who will be on stage. we continue to take your phone calls. from twitter -- next is a call from the georgia.

this is chester. >> i would like to ask both candidates, considering the fact that we lost 3000 people in the twin towers and 11 years later, we have lost over 30,000 american troops. i understand that the people we are training over there, the afghanistan police force and military, some of them are turning their weapons on our troops. is over this another vietnam? i am lost. thank you for taking my comment. >> the president was on rich and the romney campaign sent out a photo of the candidate a holding

hands with ann romney. next up is a call from california. donald is on the line, a democrat. >> i would like to inquire on mitt romney's position on how he is going to handle social security any better than he handled the retirement systems of the companyies the bain industry managed. we know they ended disastrously. why isn't that the american public should trust him with their retirement system and their future when his past record shows that he cannot be trusted? >> thank you so much similar thought on twitter.

next is a call from wisconsin. >> i would like to ask president obama if he is concerned about poor and the elderly, why is there is only a 1.7% increase in the social security this year, below is in 1974. with the gas prices of so high, it is not meeting the elderly's expectations, i do not believe. >> next is a call from georgia. this is james, who is an independent. >> what i would like to ask both candidates is keeping in mind that we have mounting

insurmountable at debt from our dealings with china is how the candidates plan to overcome this financial crisis that a lot of analysts predict is coming in the future and how we expect to maintain our spending on social programs, military, and all of our domestic agenda as. >> thank you, sir. this question is on their mind -- next is flint, michigan. >> my question is, it seems that mr. romney has made accusations about the constitution of the united states and everybody should have the equity his back door

policies -- there are 30 states that are up in voter suppression. they're all from republican states. i would like to know what his position is in terms of what -- is a specific group? is it supposed to be everybody? i have not been a response is about that. i would also ask him about jobs. when he was with bain capital and when he has had the american people -- the chinese people to take over, the jobs that were created while he was part of bain. it seems to me that there is some contradictions in terms of

what freedom, liberty, and justice ming. it does not -- and justice mean. the 47% that you really don't care about. >> thank you. janet brown who we saw earlier, talking to some of the folks in the town hall audience. hofstra university was founded in 1935. 12 balls and 500 students. 100 -- 12,500 students. some facts about the host school tonight. the top locations for presidential debates are these -- washington university in st. louis has boasted -- has posted

four altogether. center college has had to. hofstra has 2. wake forest has 2. on twitter -- next up is a phone call from new york -- north carolina, excuse me. >> my question, president obama has left us with empty promises. i would like to know why he does not get involved in the policies that he says are so dear to his heart. >> did you support him in 2008? >> pardon me? >> did you support him in 2008?

>> no, but he is my president now. he is my president. he has abandoned me as an individual and does he not speak for me? does he not know we went from $55,000 a year to $5,000, almost under a bridge and no food? >> thank you. next is a call from vermont. >> this would be for governor romney. i am not sure what the pledge is and i would want to find out what it as and i do understand that governor romney did take the pledge. i am wondering how this might

affect his policy decisions. i might ask him a question about his religious beliefs also. >> referencing the grover norquist pledge. orlando, florida, is going to be our final call. fred is a republican. >> i effort both sides repeat their -- i have heard both sides repeat their medicare solutions over and over again. things sothey explain the average senior can understand who was telling the truth? the $716 billion supposedly that one says was caught in the cookie jar, why is it at the end of every time they stayed there cases, one can call the other

allied air and no one knows who is telling the truth? -- one can call the other a liar and no one knows who's telling the truth? why can they explain things in such a way that it is plain and simple and clear and you do not wake of the next day with each one calling the other one a liar? >> thank you. fred will be the last comment on air, but you can continue to post your questions on twitter and facebook. we also have a site on our c- span website which is a debate hub. you can use it as a second screen tonight. you can also click and share your favorite moments. we will also post clips according to a topic areas.

you can find them easily as you did towards your november decision. as soon as the debate is over tonight to begin taking more calls and reaction to what happened. we will see you then. live coverage inside the arena at hofstra for the second of three presidential debates in the 2012 cycle.

>> good evening. my name is janet brown. i would like to welcome you to the 2012 town meeting debate here at hofstra university. we're going to spend the next 20-25 minutes hearing from

several people who would like to thank the many individuals and organizations who have made tonight possible. we will also hear the rules for this debate so you will understand what is going to transpire over the next 90 minutes. i will like to start with one announcement from the fire marshal, who has asked to point out that if for any reason there is a need to leave the building, you'll see all lighted exit signs in the rear behind the seats on that side of the building. i would now like to turn to the two gentlemen who will start tonight's proceedings. [applause]

pockmark >> thank you, janet. four years ago, we were here for the final debate in the 2008 cycle. had atperation we've this university is just incredible. this debate is a little different than the first two debates that we have seen so far. the one in denver and the vice- presidential debate in kentucky. around us on the floor at approximately 80 people who have been selected by the gallup organization as people who are uncommitted voters who are voters leaning one way or the other but say they could be persuaded to change their position. they are the ones were going to ask the questions this evening. candy crowley will have the

decision as to which of the questions they have submitted that she will last. she will then call on the participant to ask the question. each candidate will have two minutes to answer that question. i took of the coin, -- by flip of the coin, governor romney will answer the first question. after they both have spoken for two minutes, the moderator will have an additional two minutes in which to facilitate discussion of the subject raised by the question. we hope we will get the candidates to really discuss with each other in a particular issue. have very fortunate to four members of the commission in addition to mike and i to be present with us. i would like to introduce them. i am not really sure where they

are. dot, stand up. [applause] former united states senator from wyoming. [applause] of very smart social media attorney, john griffith. there is john. [applause] the newest member of our board, father john jenkins, president of the university of notre dame. go irish. [laughter] [applause] this is something i have to say mike is going to at the edge and candy crowley will also at the edge. some of the rolls for those of us were fortunate to be in this hall tonight. we are fortunate because those

of us here are part of history. there are going to be 60 to 70 million people either at home, watching on television, or on their computers. the important thing is that we as participants in this audience should not inject ourselves into what is happening. they deserve those 60 million people are respect in not interfering by applauding, clapping, booing. you are then interrupting the very important part of the american education function going into this election. we also ask that you not take photographs. the flashes will affect what is seen as home. try not to twitter for 90 minutes. the light goes on and you are

disturbing people. please do that. candy will come out and she will talk to you. take photographs. and in this room will get a very quiet. at exactly 9:00, you are going to hear people's voices. it is going to be the networks that they're going on the air at 9:00 beginning their introductions. it will be at one minute and 30 seconds past 9:00 that candy will begin the debate and we will began this process. it is my great pleasure to introduce a man who has stepped up to be my new co-chairmen. paul kirk was with me when we started the commission. he fulfilled the remaining short period of time after the death of senator kennedy. at that time, he resigned. mike has been a great addition. many of you know him as the

first press secretary for president clinton. [applause] >> thank you. what a great partner you have been in this process. i do not think all of us understand how hard it was. to establish an independent nonpartisan commission that would make debates like this one a regular feature of our american democratic experience. frank, congratulations on doing something that has been very important for all americans. i also want to pay tribute to janet brown, the executive director of the commission and the very hard-working staff of the commission on presidential debates. they have been working hard behind the scenes, working tirelessly to make sure this is a superior event. to all of them, we extend our gratitude.

there are an awful lot of people who make this evening possible. in your programs, you'll see all list of some of the sponsors. i want to single out some of them now. beginning with our longtime partner anheuser-busch. for that, we appreciate, they have been with us since 1992. southwest airlines has done is superior job for us this time around, moving all the entourage and equipment and things we need to put these debates on from location to location. southwest, a big shot out to you. howard g. buffett, who is a member of our commission, longtime supporters of the debates. sheldon cohen, supports these debates.

the firm that provides some of the people who helped behind- the-scenes has been a supporter. the international bottled water association a. all of them have been significant contributors. as you look around the hall, and see all these cameras, i want you to know they belong to fox news. one of the things the major networks do is to pool their resources together and take turns broadcasting these debates providing the lighting and technicians and camera people. fox, you have done a great job tonight and thank you for your help. my personal favorite, because they used -- my personal favorite, c-span. c-span is the only major network that puts this part of the program on.

we deeply appreciate that and it is always fun to be on their network. there is to be no texting, note e-mail, no voting in the pizza hut competition. take the amount -- take them out. turn them off and put them away. their use during this live broadcast could interfere with the citizens, the candidates, and for the millions of people at home watching. any disruption of any kind disrupts what is to be an historic occasion. for 90 minutes, in peaceful bless, you get to sit and experience this moment of american history with all of our

countrymen. many of you probably saw in "the new york times today at an extraordinary article about hofstra university. it has become a world class institution. a lot of that is the work of a visionary leader of this institution. it is my pleasure to introduce the eighth president of hofstra university. [applause] >> everything he said is true. i have the honor on behalf of the entire community, including our 11,000 students and 125,000 alumni, to welcome you to this second presidential debate leading up to the november election.

as was stated earlier, perhaps would be more accurate to welcome many of you back. hofstra was given the privilege of hosting a debate back in 2008. i want to began appropriately with thank yous. the first thank you is to the commission on presidential debates. i've never worked with a more dedicated group of people than the commission and their staff. hofstra is appreciative to the commission for affording the great privilege of hosting two events. with that privilege always comes responsibility. we are well understood and understand our responsibility is to work as hard as we can to prepare for this night.

there are hundreds of hofstra colleagues who have worked for a year to make tonight a successful reality. i cannot name them now. i would like to say to each of them, i know who you are, to thank you. i also want to thank the many organizations and donors for generous contributions in order for us to undertake this kind of an effort. i want to thank officials of new york state, of the county of nassau, for all their efforts in helping us attract this national event. i need not say very much about the incredible work of the various law enforcement agencies that have organized their

efforts, work together. it has been simply tremendous. absolutely tremendous. finally, and certainly not least, i would like to recognize our debate sponsors who have funded the lion's share of our expenses. i am happy to say that the husband whose name graces this building is a graduate of hofstra university and secretary of our board of trustees. you join me in recognizing them -- will you join me in recognizing them? [applause] between the debates of october

15 and october 16, much has changed at the university. we have continued to enhance the depth and breadth of our academic offerings. two years ago, we established a school of medicine in partnership with one of the largest and one of the best health care systems in the nation. this past fall, we opened our new school of engineering and applied science. next week, we may be in this building celebrating the opening of the new school of health sciences and human services. some things have stayed the same. we remain to be a national university in every significant masher. this year's freshman class, more than half of the class comes from states other than york. the freshman class comes from 35 different states and 27 different countries.

most important, what has remained constant is the student body remains as some of the very brightest, most altruistic, and most specifically engaged of college students in america. you cannot spend a lot of time with our students, even in light of all the challenges that lie ahead, without having confidence in america's future. as the host the debate for the second time for our students, hofstra believes its mission is not just to educate our students, but to inspire them. to be involved in the community and to take their rightful place at the table in this democratic society. 6560 students signed up for the lottery to sit in this hall

tonight. we are grateful that we got several hundred seats. obviously, we cannot let all 6500 comment. -- come in. i can at least give up my seat. i will go watch one of -- i will watch the debate at one of our remote locations. i want to emphasize the point that every single hofstra univ. student in this hall tonight has already registered to vote in the november election and has promised to cast their ballots in the november election. [applause] that deserves a hand. in 2008, more than 7000 students registered to vote in the presidential election. this year, we're hoping for even

more. i will close by saying again and by emphasizing how grateful we are for the privilege and the honor to be hosting this presidential debate. when i close my opening remarks in 2008, i had the nerve to wished aloud that i would be able to welcome back a presidential debate in 2012. obviously, that bush has been granted an has come true tonight. -- that wish has been granted and has come true tonight. i think we are on something of a role. i plan publicly to sort of double down on my wishes. i really hope to welcome you all back for presidential debates in 2016. thank you very much. [applause]

>> the president is running a campus where a lot of good things are happening and we're thrilled to be here. you can see some of them. i would like you to join me in welcoming ann romney and michelle obama. there is one page in the program would like to draw your attention to. the description of the international work of the commission has been doing for two decades now. our debates are watched in countries all over the world. they are seen as central to the strength of our democratic process. there are a lot of countries

that are trying to establish or strengthen their own democracies who would like to start their own debate traditions. we have had the great privilege of working with a number of those to try to help them understand issues ranging from sponsorship to production to logistics and i am thrilled that tonight, there are almost 30 members of our international debates network who have traveled from very far away to be here to watch this debate to continue to share ideas with each other. there is not a network -- there is now a network that goes very far in time and mileage of people who are helping each other start debates in their own countries. if the members of the international network could stand, please, we would like to thank you for being here. [applause]

the generosity is what has made it possible for these individuals to have traveled thousands of miles to enjoy the hospitality of this university and be a part of tonight. it has been a very special guest. -- gift. back in one moment. not much time to go at this point.

>> i would like you to join me in welcoming our moderator this evening candy crowley. [applause] >> thank you. let me address my friends in the cheap seats out there. how many times have you been told to turn off everything? pretend you are on an airplane. [inaudible]

it is exciting and i think it will be a relief finite -- a fun night if you turn off the equipment you brought with you. i am with you, it is going to be a great night. you brought great questions. it is going to be a good night. we will help each other. we have a couple -- thank you, enjoy tonight. i will see you on the other end of the hour-and-a-half. thank you. [applause]