the barnstorm. barnstorm. with a terrorist attack happening on paris a day before the democrats gathered in des moines for their debate - cbs news political director john dickerson addresses it off first. the discussion off first. the discussion that followed was an important one, trying to figure out what the united states role in stomping out isis should be. hillary clinton says it cannot be an american fight - and that countries like turkey need to figure out if they'll stand with the united states or not. martin o'malley took a different approach - saying the united states is at its best when it's stomping out evil in the world - and isis is the face of that evil in the 21st century. bernie sanders says it reinforces the seriousness of climate change - and that areas of the world where natural resources are disappearing could be where

"moment of silence sot" sot" four days before the democrats took to the stage -- the rebublicans did battle in their smallest debate so far. far.new jersey governor chris christie and former arksansas governor mike huckabee were sent to the early debate -- and linsdey graham and george pataki weren't invited at all -- based on recent polling numbers.one of the most memorable exchanges happened when louisiana governor bobby jindal attacked other republicans for not doing as much to cut government has he's done -- and chris christie made sure that voters saw the bigger picture. "if you think that mike huckabee won't be the kind of president that would cut back spending, or chris christie, or john kasich, wait until you see what hillary clinton will do to this country and how she will drown us in debt. she is the real adversary tonight and we better stay focused as republicans on her. an hour later -- the top eight candidates took the stage in their primetime debate. debate.unlike the debate before -- hosted by c-n-b-c -- this one -- hosted by the fox business network and the wall street journal -- rarely pitted candidates agianst each other -- and instead stayed strictly on issues like

immigration issues like immigration laws -- tax reform and growing the economy. how is it conservative to add a trillion dollars in military expenditures? ? ? i know the world is a safer and better place when america is the strongest military power in the world. world. while the while the united states while the united states still tries to dig out of the great recession -- the focus for many candidates has been on the economy and strengthening the workforce. but over that past few weeks -- the democrats have been talking about two issues that generally aren't very popular in elections.i sat down with former maryland governor martin o'malley to talk about his plan for gun control and the death penalty. penalty. i think one of the big challenges that we face as a nation is that we are burying more of our citizens that are dying because of guns and gun violence than any other developed nation on the planet some of them are suicides as well some of them are in the hands of toddlers. there's barely a week that goes by that a toddler doesn't kill another person with a another

themselves with god how do we deal with this? i believe there are certain commonsense things we can do and that the vast majority of democrats independence and republicans agree that we should have universal background checks that there should be fingerprinting and licensing for the purchasing of new weapons that combat assault weapons don't have a place for sale in the neighborhoods of any community in the united states of america. we did roll out a few of these one of them is few of these one of them is is because we are the largest purchaser of guns in the united states and when i say we i mean the government we should insist that we only purchased guidance from manufactures using the highest technology the micro stamping of the bullets the serial numbers that cannot be erased there are things often times you have people that are

criminal record. is it a little bit record. is it a little bit harder in the united states because of a culture of owning guns? guns?owning guns? guns? it was hard to do in maryland too. after all of those kids were massacred in connecticut in that schoolhouse we step forward and put forward the comprehensive gun safety legislation it with universal background checks. sometimes the most important things to save lives are difficult to pull off

off why hasn't the death penalty worked in trying to deter crime within the criminal justice system. system. i don't think i don't think it's ever been a deterrent and we repealed it in my state because 1) we know the because 1) we know the things hat do work to reduce violent crime. we know drug treatment programs work and re entry programs work. the death penalty doesn't work and it takes away money from the

things that do. we are founded on the principle that there is dignity in everyone's life. catch this entire interview -- and the one coming up later -- on the iowa in focus later -- on the iowa in focus section of our website. when the caucus season starts in iowa -- people from all over the country and the world come to see the political process in action.some of the crowd is made up of the media -- and political scientists doing research -- other parts are voters from other states who are just curious.one group of students in des moines is taking a closer look too.

in a room where democrat martin o'malley is trying to offer answers -- ben verhaslet has questions. questions.he's part of professor david redlawsk's team of redlawsk's team of students -- studying the iowa caucus -- talking to anyone who has a second to spare at events like the polk county democrats fall dinner dinnerredlawsk studied the role iowa plays in the presidential nomination process back in 2008 in his book "why iowa". iowa".this time around we're doing what i call and what political scientists call soaking and pokingfor now -- they're looking at the effect of voter questions on what candidates talk about. about.we're tyring to figure out why and how the caucus works and what makes it so special.they each have their own area of expertise.sarah is a history and journalism student. student.lizzy studies psychology and sociology... sociology... i'd like to think that i'm coming i'd like to think that

society functions as a whole like collective thoughtsand ben... ben...studies political science and -- "rehetoric -- media and social change." change."it'll be invaluable to get a feeling for how this works and what people think and what they're looking for in candidates and once you get a good grasp on that there are a lot of opportunities you can havethe focus for now -- is broad.but when they're done -- they'll have documented all different kinds of mailers sent out during the campaign season and will have a comprehensive look at what led to the election of a president in 2016 -- and how it all started --2016 -- and how it all started -- by fielding questions -- from iowans. iowans."when the media talks to them, they can ignore them. but when the voters talk to them, they can't, and i think that's a really interesting angle." we're going to be checking in with dave and his team throughout the caucus process. you follow along yourself at caucus info - dot - com. coming up next...we talk one on one with the republican who might have the most momentum even after getting bumped from

if you think there's no solution to the climate crisis, think again. in iowa, wind energy is already producing enough power for over a million homes, reducing our dependence on foreign oil and supporting six thousand jobs. i'm tom steyer. with bold leadership and an endless supply of wind and sun, we can do that across america. the goal is 50% clean energy by 2030. so, what are we waiting for? welcome back to iowa in focus, this week we're joined by new jersey governor chris christie. you've been talking for a few

gone viral on the huffington post and how that's changed your town hall events. you say a lot a people are moved by it. it.. 8 million people have seen that video so far and it talks about addiction as a disease that we need to treat people. people who commit violent acts or deal drugs, they need to go to jail. but those folks who are non violet users, we've been sending them to jail and its not working and its destroying families and lives. i'm pro life and im pro life for the whole life. it can be a uniting issue for america. everybody believes that we should help these folks, remove the stigma, lets help them. them.is delivering these stories as an opening or

closing statement as a lawyer something you're uniquely good at because of your background? background?i think it's because i feel it in my heart. people can tell when you're saying something authentic or whispered in your ear by a polticial consultant. they can tell that i care about this deeply and personaly and that's why it resonates with folks folkshow can you change the polls by harnessesing that emotion? emotion? it gives people a chance to take a real look at you as a leader. you might not get them to look at you otherwise. once people give me a look, we've been good at getting people to support us.barrywhat was the benefit to dropping down to

obviously not something i would have selected but once it happened i think it tells you what i'm all about. we take every opportunity we have to get in front of a camera and talk about the things we care about and we're the right person to lead. whatever stage we're on in milwaukee, or on your program right now, the folks who are watching need to know i want their vote. i care about their support because i want to change our country. barrywe're seeing a lot of reports about people not likeing you in new jersey. how do you diffuse that? christietwo years ago i was reelected with 61 percent of the vote, they like me fine. when you spend a lot of time looking for a new job, a lot of people get miffed by that.

election that i wouldn't rule out running for president. they voted for me twice in a blue state. i feel plenty loved in new jersey.barrywhat's the importance of keeping your eyes on that much bigger race vs. the democrats. christieits the only thing that matters. in the end if youre a republican, you want to make sure there's a

in january 2017. barryis there a certain amount of losing focus int eh party? christie.yeah, i think there is a certain amount of losing focus, and i'm trying to bring it back into focus. coming up next...republican campaigns are taking more control over their debates.so we take a look back at the role debates have played in

welcome back.this is the real story -- we're going to take the time to give context to some of the events that will go on during the 2016 race for the white house.sometimes we'll have to go back a few days -- weeks or months -- or even years that are still relevant. relevant.today -- we look at one of the biggest -- but flexible features of the

-- as republican campaigns are trying to control their discussions much more. the first political debate on t-v was between massachusetts senator john f. kennedy and vice president richard nixon in 1960. 1960.in an example of how powerful the visual medium was was -- people who heard the debate over the radio thought it was a draw -- or that nixon had done better.but for t-v audiences -- most thought the younger and visabily more comfortable kennedy out- performed the veteran nixon.in the 55 years since -- political science professor tim hagle at the university of iowa says debates can be more or less important for campaigns depending on the candidate. "where they can often be important is if they highlight some aspect of a particular candidate. either a strength if the candidate has a good moment, so to speak as we seem to be calling them, or has a bad moment." in 1984 -- the united states saw a very funny and memorable good moment from ronald reagan. reagan.he was answering a question about his age --

already being the oldest serving president in his 70's -- compared to his democratic challenger -- walter mondale younger. "i will not exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience." in 2012 -- americans saw an exchange with much less humor -- but a similar effect for the sitting president at the time. time.president obama and his republican challenger -- mitt romney -- were asked about the recent attack on the u-s compound in benghazi that killed an american ambassador and three other americans. while the president defended the way he handled the situation in the days after -- he also attacked the way romney responded. and the suggestion that anybody on my team, whether the secretary of state, our u-n ambassador, anybody on my team, would play politics or mislead when we've lost four of our own, governor, is

do. that's not what i do as president, that's not what i do as commander in chief. even earlier in this campaign -- the two republican hopefulls from florida had a testy exchange... exchange......when former florida governor jeb bush tried to lecture senator marco rubio about missing senate votes to campaign. "he's a gifted politician, but marco, when you signed up for this, this was a six year term. and you should be showing up for work. i mean literally, the senate, what is it, like a french work week? you get like three days where you have to show up? up?the only reason why you're doing it now is because we're running for the same position and someone has convinced you that attacking me is going to help you. through the years -- the debate format has stayed relatively similar from one election cycle to the next. next.now -- debates are the closest they've come in a while to changing drastically. after the g-o-p debate on c-n- b-c -- the republican party wasn't happy with letting hosting organizations take control.that feeling comes from exchanges like this one with new jersey governor chris christie.

"what should we do? do?what we should do is to be investing in all types of energy, john. john.you mean government? government?no, john, do you want me to answer, or do you want to answer? because i've got to tell you the truth. even in new jersey, what you're doing is called rude. ." days after that debate -- r-n-c chairman reince prebius severed the relationship between n-b-c and the republican national committee -- and many of the campaigns sent representatives to their own private meeting to figure out what they'd do next. they're working on a united front so that they have negotiating power with whoever debate hosts might be. ""what we're doing is asking those sanctioned broadcast partners to give us some info so we can talk with them and decide what the format is and whether that's acceptable for the individual campaigns." the latest letter crafted by the campaigns has a wide variety of demands --but the biggest ones are a 30-second opening and closing statement and an equal number of questions for each candidate

equal amount of time to answer them.right now -- they're talking to the networks -- but working with companies like youtube or yahoo to create a debate structure that is different from the traditional style has been floated too. "you have to explore these new avenues but you can't abandon the old ones so it's usually more a matter of adding to your repetuare of ways of reaching the voters in various aspects. hagle says he doesnt think too much will change this cycle -- especially since it would be hard for those alternate debate ideas to get the 14 to 24 million viewers that the debates get on t-v right now. but -- with more people turning to their smart phones -- tablets and laptops for news and information -- it might make more sense in the not-so-distant future. coming up next...the name- calling during tense exchanges on twitter between two big

welcome back -- we'll close the show each week taking a look at what happened on social media...

media...all this week -- the nation's been watching the university of missouri -- where students -- including the football team -- came together against racist incidents on campus -- and forced top administrators out of their jobs.similar protests happened in iowa city at the university of iowa.they eneded up on our facebook page -- and some of you commented... commented...jason said -- we have a whole generation of time out babies, who think they are entitled to everything and can't fathom the reality of consequences and respect. respect.on the other side -- alice said -- just the beginning! now -- we look at their voice -- what the candidates and their campaigns are posting on social media. media.the end of the week saw a twitter exchange between two of the biggest names in the republican party -- donald trump -- and karl rove.it started with a wall street journal editorial -- and then a separate piece written by rove -- that criticized trump's performance in the debate -- specifically over knowing the details of the trans-pacific partnership trade deal.the articles pointed out that trump made it seem like china was part of

the deal when they really aren't. aren't.trump fired back with -- today's @wsj editorial is wrong again. i know that china is not in the new t.p.p. trade deal but would come in latter through a back door. door.and -- when and how are the dummies at the @wsj going to apologize to me for their totally incorrect editorial on me. i want "smart" trade deals. deals.rove jumped in the fray tweeting -- free advice @realdonaldtrump: get facts straight, accept legit criticism, develop thick skin, drop childish insults you can follow along on twitter and facebook all week long.you can find all our content on our website -- go to either cbs 2 or fox 28 iowa - dot - com and search for "iowa in focus." every week we'll end with the week ahead... ahead...it's a chance for you to see what different campaigns have scheduled -- and where you can see whichever candidate you want. want.thursday -- soon-to-be voters across the state will

caucus -- where democrats and repbulican adults across the state will come together to help them learn more about the caucus process.friday -- a handful of republican candidates are in des moines for the family leader foundation's 2015 presidential family forum.saturday -- ted cruz wraps up the week up in clear lake -- talking at a concerned veterans for america town hall. thanks for joining us.come back next week -- to get the