>> for an economy that is built to last. >> it's built to last. >> john: nicole says she doesn't mind hearing the same speech. >> it makes it that much easier to pinpoint when there is something new. >> whole pacperks up. >> you see us furiously typing. >> john: sometimes campaigns play with reporters, use us for their purposes. >> you get a joy in fooling the media? >> yes, but more importantly you wanted to have your own narrative at your own time. >> my running mate, dick cheney. >> before bush made this announcement, rove wanted to mislead the media. >> we had a a guy on the campaign who was leaker. he said what is going on? i said look, big secret, don't tell anybody but burn has decided to go with jack of

missouri. >> john: media ran with the false story. >> i was the guy that was going to go leak. >> john: lying to the guy? >> yes. >> what it does it helps tell a story, you want it told by an evening anchor or a candidate that expresses why he made this choice. >> john: four years later the "new york post" says john kerry had picked richard gephardt to to be his running mate but, of course, he picked out edwards. edwards turned out to be another mistake, but the media reported even fooled the campaign manager. >> i called up dick gephardt, i know you can't talk about this. he said i never happened. he said, steve, it didn't happen. wouldn't y wouldn't you believe so emphatically?

>> you absolutely must keep all of this conversation going on with the nominee. >> john: so lying is okay in politics? >> running for office, lying is not okay unless you ask an inappropriate question. >> john: politicians have always lied. >> i am not a crook. i did not have sexual relations with that woman. >> the media used to give candidates privacy, even keep their secret. they rarely pictured fdr in a wheelchair. but now everything is game but that is a good thing even though reporters are obnoxious. >> i would let you prefer you let me finish my statements. >> john: next, we'll show you the secret behind the debates. >> here you go again. i brought your stuff. you don't have to do this. yes i do.

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>> john: for months, mitt romney

and barack obama has attacked each other but three times this fall they faced each other. debates can make a big difference. >> you will never have as many people watching the two candidates together as you are going to have on debate night. >> john: and they can't control the debates the way they control everything else. >> what you do as a manager to get them ready you have to step in the are avenue and it's just two of them. you don't know. >> three things that are gone, commerce and what is the third one there. >> john: one brain freeze can end your campaign. >> commerce and let's see. >> rick perry was serious contender until this debate. >> looking bad. in in the first tv debate, richard nixon refused to put on

makeup. >> more important than what you say is how you look on television. >> john: so they obsess over details. when ronald reagan debated walter mondale, beckel was campaign manager along with rollins. >> do you remember how high the podiums was going to be. >> we had teams negotiating. the color of the room. >> john: what difference would that make? >> in certain conditions, in certain colors work for certain candidates. >> because mondale was shorter than reagan. >> i remember we debated for seven and a half feet and nine feet for days. >> two-thirds of defense budget pays for pay and salary or pay and pension. >> he looked tired and ragged.

the observation they spent too much time with 77-year-old guy trying to beat every factoid into his brain. >> they said reagan is too old for president. in the next debate he was ready for that. >> i will not make age an issue of this campaign. i am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience. [ laughter ] >> he delivers this line and there is sense of humor come in. you see the curl but you know he is delivering a great line and mondale can't help himself. he is simultaneously laughing and at the same time i've just been taken out to the cleaners. >> i turned the guy, i said this race is over. >> john: just from that? >> i walked away. >> most people only remember one thing about the vice presidential debate, when

senator lloyd benson when dan quayle compared his experience to j.f.k. >> senator, you are no jack kennedy. >> john: years later, al gore walked up to bush. >> al gore tries to be the bully. you ren the moment. bush doesn't say anything. he smiles and goes on. >> i believe i can. >> that was it. it absolutely devastated him. >> you watch him go. >> we revert to junior high mentality. when the team scores. what most people don't know. bush had been prepared. gregg who had played the role in the debate, be prepared he is going to come into your face. we dismissed it but sure enough it happened. >> john: which raises the question, how do they prepare?

the these two debate coaches showed me. o'donnell coached michele bachmann. they try on replicate moments. >> you have them stand in front of podium. >> you want strong. look at colin powell he commands the podium. it's like this. >> it's about making sure that you fill the stage more than your opponent does. >> they practice debating. john kerry's played romney. rob portman plays obama. >> john: you never see videotape of this? >> no. there is reason why, you don't want to show those vulnerable moments. we don't want to give any component in the prep. >> in a campaign, one of secretaries gave bush prep video? >> they went right to the f.b.i..

what happened. >> john: what is so secret. >> limited government. >> you say limited government. what kind are you talking about. can you be specific? >> yes, i can list cuts. >> would you cut defense? >> i would cut defense. >> so you are soft on defense? >> i know how i should answer the questions but under pressure it's hard. >> john: go back to the clinton days. my instinct is to answer the question that is asked but consultants to say don't. >> you are still answering my questions but most of the time you want to be delivering your message. >> they say sarah palin was good at that. >> governor palin answered the questions on her terms. >> that is not so. but because that is just a quick answer. i wanted to talk about, again, my lord on energy. >> she was able to pivot most of the questions on to ground that she was comfortable in handling the questions is on.

>> john: they kept grilling. >> you think colleges are stupid. don't you think college is stupid is an irresponsible remark to make? >> no. for some people college is stupid. >> now they are going to make a commercial saying college is stupid. college is stupid. bad for our kids, bad for america. >> knowing that that one bad moment can wreck your campaign makes candidates very careful. when gerald ford debated jimmy carter there was a technical glitch. >> the broadcasters in philadelphia have temporarily lost the audio. >> instead of leaving the stage to take a break, neither candidate moved. >> we know what has happened. we are surprised as you are. >> so they stood there for almost half an hour. >> ultimate fear is making a

mistake. they were frozen. >> first was criticized for looking at his watch too much during the debate. >> he looked at at his watch. >> its non-verbal clue that says i want to get away from this situation as fast as possible. >> that hurt him. >> he was widely viewed as losing that debate. >> it overran the message. >> al gore was criticized for sighing while george bush spoke. >> this is major problem of social security. >> he looked like a dufas. he was castigated. >> the next debate al gore went the opposite direction and went out of his way to be do sill and agreed with everything that bush said. >> the governor and i basically agree with dick cheney. >> that, candidates practice a lot. >> these discussions go on for how long? >> for hours.

>> for most candidates it's the most hated part of the campaign. >> john: do candidates get mad? >> all the time. it's painful. it's not fun. >> john: do they yell at you? >> collapse, walk out. >> john: but they all do because practice builds confidence. confident guy wins. >> confidence and not competence often wins and so does looks. that next.

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>>. >> john: people complain that political campaigns are too shallow. why don't they talk more about the important issues? well, its good reason. >> oh, my gosh. how can i not know this? >> who is this? >> i have no idea. [ laughter ] >> john: these are all these get out the vote campaigns. >> get out and voted. >> john: i don't want everyone to vote because some people don't know much. >> i'm in the times squares and show possible termination of important politicians, most people didn't know speaker john boehner? >> many didn't know nancy pelosi

>> i don't know. >> john: and actual vice president. >> who is this? >> i don't know who that one is. >> many were better at celebrities. >> justin beiber! >> it's not people are stupid but most americans spend more time thinking about other things. >> average amount of time person responds presidential politics during the course of the campaign is three hours. >> john: that may shock you but americans think about food, money and sex. politics is way down the list. they keep it simple and emotional. republicans run ads like this one to suggest democrats are soft on defense. >> isn't it to be smart. >> we see the threat and we are going to take action.

democrats you can't trust them. >> researcher based on surveys concluded most of us choose our political party less on fact and more on which politician seems to be like members of our clan. >> conservatives join with people that worry more about foreign threats. liberals are about to obsess about the purity of nation. >> the purity ideal around the environment. >> john: a writer says lots of researcher the subconscious matters more than facts. >> he carries photos of candidates from dozens of gubernatorial elections. he showed them to people briefly pick who looks more competent. then he made a bold prediction and he predicted the election

and 77% of the time more competent looking person won the election. they were people using their gut instinct. >> john: candidates with more angular faces are seeing seen as more confident. >> people make instantaneous decisions based on looks? >> looks, voice and posture. >> john: barack obama fits the stereotype of a confident person. mitt romney and obama appear about equal. they worry about people who stand behind the candidate at this obama rally they were seated behind the podium when a staffer came on stage and got some white people to move out. >> if you look for candidate for president, half will be men and half will be women.

>> john: in this case the case will see some minorities behind obama. they'll be hers aj of blacks, asians. that is way you do it. >> i thought it just worked out that way. >> that is where you are sitting and where i'm sitting. >> john: what about kids. kids i always like to use kids. i'm worried they are going to speak up. >> john: but for all the shallowness and dirtyness of politics there is in good news. a little help saving. for adding "& sons." for the dreamer, planning an early escape. for the mother of the bride. for whoever you are, for whatever you're trying to achieve, pnc has technology, guidance, and over 150 years of experience

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>>. >> john: splialts nasty business like a boxing match. so it's telling this is what two of our consultants used to do. >> john: you both were serious boxers and this helps in a campaign? >> each has to take a beating. >> john: here is what he looked like when he was getting ready for physical. this prepares you for political duty. >> if you don't have a tough skin in this business, you might as well forget about doing it. because you will be a psychiatric unit. >> you need a passion for politics. >> you are a vocal sorteder of richard nixon at age nine. what kind of political freak are you? >> i've always been interested

in politics. i put a bumper sticker on my bike and rode up and down the street generating supported for nixon. it worked really well that catholic girl across the street pulled me off my bicycle, put me on the pavement and wailed the heck of me, gave me a bloody nose. >> john: his opponents often hated him. >> karl rove politics will be over next year. >> john: and beckel and rollins have fought viciously for years but these tough guys came to the interview together. >> john: you spent each other trying to kill each other, why? >> you come to appreciate what your counterpart thoots go through every day. i respect ed. he kicked my butt. >> john: it's reassuring they are friends. it says something good.

politicians abide by the results. in many countries that is not how it works. he left office for 30 years. in russia putin may never leave power. throughout history most of the world has been like that. america electing leaders that voluntarily step down was a radical idea. after george washington served two terms, if george washington gives up power he he'll baseball the greatest man in the world. yet, he did. and it happened again and again without bloodshed. >> in romney's world, workers get the shaft. >> john: in the ugliness of the campaign, all the shouting and fighting. it's good to remember that our system with all acrimony has worked better than so many alterti