good morning. if the pressure was intense before the last debate, things are now at a whole new level ahead of the rematch tonight. the latest swing state poll from "usa today" and gallup shows mitt romney leading by four among likely voters. another change, the obama campaign isn't trying to play down expectations. >> i think you'll see an

exceptionally strong debate performance tonight from the president. i think you'll see somebody who will be strong, passionate, enter energetic. >> tonight's format, a town hall style debate. 80 uncommitted voters will participate. and candy crowley will select who gets to ask their question. the candidates get two minutes to answer. let me bring in michael shearer and jackie kucinich. good morning to both of you. no lack of advice for the president. take a listen. >> the question for him is can he put that first debate behind him p about and i think he can. he's really just got to talk about what he's done, how the economy has moved and he cannot let the misstatements sit there. >> he has to be careful not to overcompensate after the bas first performance by being too

negative, too hot. if he sdw thahe does that, it c backfire very badly. >> so, michael, what does the white house think it has to do or the obama campaign it has to do and are they right? >> they are right, they think the president has to make clear that he wants this job and he's ready to do it. the last debate -- first debate, the bar was higher for mitt romney and the opportunity was greater. i think the reverse is true in this debate. the bar is higher for president obama. he has more he has to accomplish. but also the opportunity is greater. if he just shows up in a way he didn't show up before, which he can do in crunch situations, the american people could be surprised and democrats will definitely be relieved to have him back in the ring. >> the stakes couldn't be higher. you have the debate performance by the president the last time

and you have the new polls out there. could this race be any tighter? >> we knew it was going to be tight into the end. it hasn't disappointed. but it has been incredible to see how much the last debate mattered. we see a totally different race than we saw would weeks ago. so the stakes are high for both candidates. for mitt romney, the town hall forum is tricky. there's been the criticism that he hasn't been able to relate to people. but he's been practicing, we've seen him do a lot of -- several town halls on the campaign trail. and so really it's anyone's game. >> let me read to you a little bit of the piece in politico. if obama has one main mission, it's figuring out how to call romney a liar to his face and make no mistake, the president thinks his opponent is a liar without making the country think it's obama who is nasty, men day issues and desperate. michael, is that part of the challenge tonight, does the

format change how you can deliver those kinds of messages? >> i don't think it's that hard. you answer the question from the voter and then you pivot to addressing the deceptions of your opponent. i think you'll hear the liar charge from both tonight. i think the challenge for obama is a trap he fell into and actually enjoys. he prefers in these debates to talk policy and to sort of talk -- try and talk on the merits as if you're in sort of a college class debating which is the best policy going forward. he needs to sort of play the game more. and i think one of the big mistakes he made in the first debate, he doesn't like the gamesmanship, the theater of the debate stage. but he has to embrace it. he has no choice. because he has to show the body language he declined to show in the last debate and i think that will be the real challenge for him. it's not just whether he appears negative or mean. it's whether he can play the game of the debate as opposed to just talking the policy.

because if he talks the policy and romney is playing the game and delivering the zingers and memorized one liner, he'll come out on the short end again, obama whether. >> sty whether. >> how does he bring up the 47%? >> i feel like what michael said. answers question and pivot to what he wants to talk about. he'll probably bring up bain tonight. a lot of things we expected eet time and we didn't hear. >> i want to write in ben levolt. a lot of pressure tonight. everybody is talking about it. is the president feeling it? >> i think what the president is going to do is make a passionate case of what's at stake for the middle class and to have an honest conversation about where we were in 2008, the progress that we've made and what we need to do next, create a million manufacturing job, reduce our

dependence on foreign oil. and he won't allow governor romney to continue to pursue the revision in history that he seems to be going for, playing hide and go seek with his policies. suddenly he doesn't know anything about that $5 trillion tax cut no the wealthiest. governor romney committed to every half baked tea party idea over the course of the past six year, but he's misportraying those policies and i think the president is prepared to hold him accountable. >> let me play for you one way in which the republicans are talking about how they want to hold the president's feet to the fire. this was former congressman tom davis on this program yesterday. >> if you look at president obama, he was going to close guantana guantanamo, he was going allow the bush tax cuts on the wealthy to expire. he flipped on all those issues during his tenure in office.

>> their argument is you can't say mitt romney has changed his message when so much of the message that the president gave in 2008 has not come to pass. >> well, he hasn't changed his message on those issues. the fact is that congress obstructed our process. he continues to fight to end the bush tax cuts for the wealthy. take a look at the budget on the table today. in the last campaign, he promised to provide americans with access to affordable, accessible health care to end the war in iraq in a responsible way, to provide middle qulas families with a tax cut and to reduce dependence on foreign oil. >> but is it hard to blame congress when one of the things the president said that he was going to do was figure out a way to work with congress? >> the president has bucked traditional democratic orthodoxy on on a whole host of issues. the fact is that he signed into law free trade agreements. he put a $4 trillion deficit reduction package on the table

that includes tough spending cuts. but there are some republicans like congressman ryan who on the eve of the inauguration were plot to go defeat the president instead of take steps to help the economy and i think that's one of the things that will be on the ballot this november. we know that that was a failed governing strategy on their part. but i think the american people reject that type of obstructionism. i think that will be a failed political strategy, as well. >> we hear that your campaign and the romney campaign, as well, have pushed back against candy krcrowley asking follow-u questions and i wonder if that looks like there's fear, a little like you don't want to level with the american people. what's going on there? >> i think the president is ready to answer questions from all comers tonight. >> so the campaign didn't push back on that? >> -- with undecided voters. but he's ready and willing to answer questions from candy and whoever has questions tonight at the debate. >> so the campaign didn't push back on that? >> look, we are not going to get

into the details of debate negotiations. but ultimately this is a town hall format. they've always had follow-up questions in the past from the moderators. i know some on the right have been trying to discredit the moderators before the debates. we're not engaged in that. the presidents has prepared to abc questions from in ib who has them. >> i think there will be a question certainly about libya because there's been a the lot of hammering of the president over that topic and last night hillary clinton took full responsibility. let me play that clip. >> i'm in charge of the state department. 60,000 plus people all over the world you can 275 posts. the president and the vice president certainly wouldn't be knowledgeable about specific decisions that are made by security professionals. they're the ones who weigh all of the threats and the risks and the needs and make a considered decision. >> ben, what do you say to the president's critics and to analysts who have said that basically she fell on the sword,

that hillary clinton did that to take some of the pressure off the president tonight ahead of the debate on a topic where the republicans seem to be getting some traction? >> nobody takes the security of american personnel certainly abroad more seriously than the president, the vice president. and that's why he's committed to getting to the bottom of this, to finding out exactly what happened, to ensure that this doesn't happen again, to find the perpetrators of the violence and to bring them to justice. there's an fdi review, there's a state department review, an independent review board. and we're fully cooperating with congress. we've got security professionals working day and night to get to the bottom of this. the president is receiving constant updates and he'll ensure that we do accomplish that goal. we should follow the advice of ambassador stevens' father who doesn't want to see this politicized, but wants to see review process play out so we get the facts. we ensure this doesn't happen again and we get to the bottom of this. >> ben, thank you very much. between to sgood to see you.

>> michael, is there a question or topic that you're waiting most to hear about tonight?good. >> michael, is there a question or topic that you're waiting most to hear about tonight?good. >> michael, is there a question or topic that you're waiting most to hear about tonight?good. >> michael, is there a question or topic that you're waiting most to hear about tonight?good. >> michael, is there a question or topic that you're waiting most to hear about tonight?good. >> michael, is there a question or topic that you're waiting most to hear about tonight?good. >> michael, is there a question or topic that you're waiting most to hear about tonight? >> frault, if the president can take a cue from ben and just hammer his message points like ben just did, he'll be in a good position. i think a lot should be raised. the most obvious one is immigration which is just something we haven't really dealt with in any of the debates so far. something there was a huge contrast in the positions of the candidates. i think it's one that hopefully gets raised. one of my concerns as a reporter is we have two more debates left, the last one purely about foreign policy, so this is the last opportunity tonight for all of the gl of the domestic issues to be raised and for the american people to hear both these

candidates address. and so i'm hopeful that a lot of these other domestic issues do get addressed. >> and we have to talk about this photo-op. paul ryan washing pots at st. vincent depaul in youngstown, ohio. the charity is saying that those pots weren't even dirty and the campaign released a statement it was a great opportunity to highlight the importance of volunteerism and local clarities. but jackie, is this something people expect, kind of contrived at campaign spots some does it make them look bad sort of reinforcing some people's opinion that they don't really truly get what it means to be middle class or even certainly poor in america? >> these are tricky to pull off. i mean, this isn't necessarily as damaging as the tank incident. but the photo-opes can be tricky. when you have charities and politics, it's a tough terrain for them. so maybe there should have been

more homework done, but, yeah, this turned into a pretty sticky situation. >> jackie, michael, thank you both both for coming on. also new security concerns regarding the pakistani girl shot by the taliban. police say they stopped two people claimed to be family members from getting in. police now believe they were just well wishers. meantime, the hospital's director says malala saw six specialists overnight. she is making a good recovery, but is not out of the woods yet. pakistan has reportedly announced a $1 million bounty for the taliban spokesman who claimed responsibility for malala's shooting. what's more beautiful than a covergirl? two covergirls! that's right, get two miracles in one product. covergirl makeup, and olay advanced hydrating serum. it's tone rehab 2-in-1 foundation. one pump, covers spots, lines, and wrinkles. and one bottle helps improve skin tone over time. that's what i was supposed to say now.

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six of the leadinged ed adv agencies have come together to talk about the problem of 22% of u.s. children living below the poverty line. they ask what they intend to do to address this issue if elected. i'm joined by the president and co-founder of the children health fund, one of the organizations involved. good to see you. >> nice to see you. >> so did you get any response from either of the campaigns? >> it took a while, but we finally got an e-mail from governor romney's campaign declining to respond to the questions asking about their plans to do something about childhood poverty. and over the weekend, we got a pretty extensive response from the president who talked about what would be the plan for dealing with child poverty long term and also sustaining the

safety net problems. so we did get a different response. >> i want to ask you about both. did the romney campaign say why they wouldn't respond? i know they get these requests all the time. these are six well respected organizations that work with children. >> it's hard to say what their motivation was. >> they didn't say? >> they did not say. there was a lot of e-mail traffic, but basically they came to the conclusion that they would just simply not respond even though this is a really, really big issue that should be confronted in the election cycle. >> well, let me ask you about the president then, his response, and what you thought resonated with you or didn't resonate with in you terms of what he says he's going to do. >> and the president of course has the advantage of having a track record in this area that people like the advocates are interested in. so he's supporting major health care legislation that whether bring millions of children into the health care system, he's supporting the earned income tax

skred for poor families and the child tax credit. and we asked specifically what are you doing going forward. he talked about expanding the safety net programs and working on very disadvantaged communities to set up model programs to provide early education for children and so forth. obviously we'll keep pushing on this well beyond the elect, but it was heartening to see at least one of the candidates responding as the president did. but at the end of the day, whoever wins wheth s will have attention to the needs of children. this has to do with our long term economic viability and well. we can't have these children growing up with adversities that make them liabilities as opposed to assets. >> let me go back to the political implications. we looked at where child poverty really hits most. and of the nine swing states that we think will probably

decide the election, fwllorida, north carolina and ohio are above the national poverty rate of 22%. nevada just below the national average by 0.4 percentage points. why is this not getting more attention and how do you get to get more attention? or is it do you think part of the whole conversation about the economic impact this election? >> well, this is the key point what you're mentioning. we have this very critical presidential election and the issue of children in poverty has been basically invisible, even though it has such an enormous impact. you take the swing states where there are lots of children facing these adversities and the state go. s are basically running out of money to support the programs the kids need.s are basically r money to support the programs the kids need.s are basically r out of money to support the programs the kids need. it is mind boggling that this is not a front and center issue and

we're hoping people in those states pay attention to the fact that these kids need programs. they need them because they need to be not hungry when they go to school, they need to function in school, they need health care. but there is this issue of what do we invest in. investing in children is something that is as important as investing in our infrastructure or anything either that requires long term solutions. when you want to cut back on the department of defense budgets, you can military experts what would be the impact. but people seem to willy-nilly cut back on programs for children without ever even speaking to people who have expertise in this area. what will be the impact on america's children if we don't support them right now. what's the long term impact as well as the short term impact. >> i know you're going to hofstra tonight, so we'll see if one of the voters asks the question tonight. great to have you here. >> thanks. the romney campaign is suing

the state of wisconsin pushing to extend the dead line for military and overseas voters to return their ballots. the romney camp says the state mailed 44 ballots later than federal law requires. the state says it was just four ballots. but it is a sign of just how critically close the vote has become. the romney campaign is asking for an extra five days for americans to return their ballots. a taste of what's hot? check out the latest collection of snacks from lean cuisine. creamy spinach artichoke dip, crispy garlic chicken spring rolls. they're this season's must-have accessory. lean cuisine. be culinary chic.

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five days later, i had a massive heart attack. bayer aspirin was the first thing the emts gave me. now, i'm on a bayer aspirin regimen. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. [ woman ] learn from my story. the obama campaign wants voters to get to the polls early. here's a picture about of the first lady with her absentee ballot. she was chalking up her choice for president in the battleground state of ohio. >> this morning let me tell you what i it. i cast my ballot early for barack obama. >> and jay-z is in a new ad for president obama where he talks about the power of voting.

>> for so long there was a voice that was silenced out there, you know, as far as exercising your right to vote. i think it was a voice that was silent because people had lost hope, they didn't believe that their voice mattered or counted. he made it mean something for the first time for a lot of people, having someone in office who understands how powerful our voice can be. >> met romney canceled an appearance on "the view" because of scheduling issue, but his wife, ann, will be there on thursday. and if you read only one thing this morning, my must read is also a video from a very, very dedicated dad. so every day from birth to age 21, he took a picture of his son. he put together more than 7500 images into a six minute time lapse sequence that he posted on youtube in late september. well, now it's been seen by more than 800,000 people around the world. it's up on our facebook page. [ man ] ring ring... progresso

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top republican donors are in a three day retreat for mitt romney in the midst of a final push of a tight campaign. here's an example of why the money is so important to they will. las vegas, battleground state nevada, it's seen more than 73,000 ads this election cycle. the most of any media market and the most ever in a single year. and there's plenty more to come. with three weeks to go until election day, the campaign ads will be kicking into overdrive. now, the romney campaign and republicans just announced they raked in $170 million in september. $11 million short of team obama's record haul. let's bring in robert trainen and daniella gibbs. good to see both of you. daniella, let me start with you. i think these numbers are staggering and we keep hearing

that florida, ohio and virginia are key battle ground states. and yet you have all these ads in las vegas. when's going on?ground states. and yet you have all these ads in las vegas. when's going on? >> i think you see from the romney campaign that they need to play in as many states as possible to get to 270 and they have all these outside groups with their secret money pouring tens of millions of dollars in to the races at the state level. i fee very bad for the people in nevada getting inundated, but it won't let up. >> and moveon.org is out with a new ad really taking aim at mitt romney and women's health issues. take a look. >> mitt romney is for ending fund to go planned parenthood. >> including cancer screenings. >> he said he would overturn roe v. wade. >> we have republicans trying to redefine rape. if you think this election won't affect you and your life, think

again. >> vote. >> vote. >> vote for barack obama. >> robert, i'm wondering if this is a problem for mitt romney whose frankly position on abortion has been a little fluid. >> there's a cup ku cup he will inaccuracies. the president cannot overturn row v. wade. when you take a look at the cross tabs, wecomen are saying like governor romney, i'm willing to give him a second look, i didn't understand where he stood during the primary season, but now that i understand his positions during the debates, i actually think i may want to give this person a second chance. so the facts simply don't gel up with reality. and that is quite frankly the reality is that a lot of people out there, women included, are looking at this presidential canndidate and giving him a second chance. >> let me read from a memo from the romney campaign.

woman voters get it, there's nothing pro woman about the obama's economy record, poverty rates and stagnant employment. are you concerning president obama is losing his edge with women? >> i think everybody expected things would get closer as we got closer to the election, but i want to disagree with robert. mitt romney and paul ryan have said they would sign legislation that would ban abortion. so they did want to overturn roe v. wade. so am i surprised that women are a like i might like romney more, i'm not surprised by that, but when it comes to his policy, they still do not like the policies that their ticket is putting forth. >> are we still at a place where women will be the decisive voters in this campaign? >> they always have been. if you take a look at recent historical evidence, women have decided presidential elections for the last five or six seasons right now. women typically are independent voter, highly educated, they

make up their mind at the last minute, they gather all their facts and make decisions not based on the lil political ads, in the best interests of their families. the polls indicate and this is a gallup poll, not a republican or democrat poll, governor romney is picking up significant support with women, not just in battle ground states, but all across this country because his moderate message is resonating with not just women, but with all americans. >> his moderate message? are you kidding me? he's been running as a severe coffin serve difference for the past two years. he has been be holding to the tea party for the last two years. >> here's what i know. i know that governor romney based on his record of governor of massachusetts where he worked with testimonies that controlled the legislature, even democrats said he was a moderate governor. the folks that i know up in

massachusetts have said governor romney was not that conservat e conservative. and according to the debate a week and a half ago when governor romney was asked about raising taxes on the rich, he said that i would not do that. when he was asked specifically about certain aspects of the health care plan, he obviously acknowledged in a more mod ral tone. so when take you a look at his record and what he said, the facts pretty much speak for themselves. >> robert, daniella, thank you both. . if the race is a dead heat, how important is this debate tonight, how important is it for mitt romney to win? >> i think all these debates are very important. it gives governor romney and opportunity to lay again the choice before the american people. there are huge issues having to do with the future of the

country. unemployment, 23 million people unemployed or underemployed, half the kids getting out of college can't get a job. i mean, these are huge issues. we can do better and i expect governor romney to lay out his plan for turning the economy around. >> well, president obama is expected to challenge mitt romney's tax plan. and the campaign has been using bill clinton among others to make the argument. let me play that for you. >> governor romney says he doesn't have a tax cut for upper income people. but he does. if i get governor romney's 20% income tax cut, you can take away my home mortgage deduction, my charitable deduction, my deduction for state and local taxes, and any other tax deduction that i have and i will still get a tax cut. >> and i think if you look at the analysis of the vice presidential debate, one of the hits on paul ryan was that when he was asked repeatedly where are the details, where are the

specific, he couldn't give them. is it mitt romney tonight need to lay out specifically how his plan would work, where the money would come from, where the cuts would be? >> he's actually laid out a lot of detail. what he said is we'll have a big across the board marginal tax cut, but only if it's accompanied by reductions in federal spending and reform of the tax code in a way that protects middle income taxpayers. it's a strong proposal very much in the bipartisan tradition -- >> but the math doesn't work, that you have to make cuts. and he hasn't said where he would be willing to make significant cuts. >> governor romney said we got to cut federal intending and he's proposed entitlement reform far greater level of detail than anybody ever has. he's proposed reductions in the discretionary budget. look, if this election goes off on barack obama has raised taxes on the middle class, he wants to raise taxes again, governor romney believes cutting taxes will create jobs and economic

growth. i mean, we're okay with the election going off on that. one other point. barack obama has said he's for tax reform. but he's offered no details except that he wants to raise taxes. >> i think there is a question out there still who is going to best serve the needs of the middle class and those who are hurting in this country. and so i need to ask you about this video that's out there, paul ryan at a soup kitchen. the rehead of the organization says he was basically washing clean dishes. is this a problem that the republicans are paying lip service when expressing concerns about the poor. >> i would say the perception and the reality is that this economy is doing very badly and the president has failed by his own standards. he's the one who said i'll turn the economy around, i'll reduce the deficit in half in four years. i'll get countries around the world to like us again. those are the standards he set foms and his policies have failed. governor romney has a vision and

a plan in much great he detail than anyone's ever ran on. particularly a challenger. it empowers people to create jobs and produce revenue, not through tax increases, but through economic growth. >> if a key question, though, is and i think it is a fair question who gets these problem, was that photo-op a mistake? >> no, governor romney, paul ryan and the democrats, as well, they show the things that they value in a community by how they arrange their schedule. and i think the fact that he was there, paul ryan and governor romney both have a long history of supporting these kinds of charitable efforts and so do the obamas. when ire a candidate or office holder, you show what you think is important and i think everybody values america's compassion for other americans. >> senator, good to have you on the program. thank you, sir. >> thank you. also making news this morning, sad news from south

dakota. former presidential candidate and u.s. senator george mcgovern is in hospice care. his family has given no specifics about his health. he is 90 years old. mcgovern ran for president against president richard nixon in 1972. stunning announcement this morning. citigroup ceo vikram pandit announced he's stepping down. he says it's take the helm. citigroup's chief operating officer also resigned. the bank offered no explanation for the sudden departure of its top two executives. some are calling it a genius move. saturday night live stars and two of the funniest women on tv, amy poehler and tina fey, will be hosting the 70th annual golden globe awards come january. fey won for 30 rock. poehler was nominated for parks and recreation. they replace ricky gervais who hosted the last three years. and more good news on the jobs front. a holiday hiring spree.

brian sullivan is here. amazon just announcing their big hiring plans for the holidays. >> and it's a good sign because it shows that they're optimistic about sales. we are a consumer driven economy after all. amazon saying it will ad about 50,000 temporary workers. it adds to others saying they'll add more works than the previous year and amazon says thousands of those jobs whether hopefully become permanent not just holiday temporary jobs. a good sign. >> yeah, if they become permanent, pretty significant. however, they may need that money to pay for airfare. >> southwest trying to push through its seventh fare increase this year. >> did you say seventh? >> seventh. airlines are kind of like teenagers. one of them does something and all the other teens look to see if they're going too did it, too. one tries to push through a fare increase. the other airlines look. and if they do it, then they all

go up. so some have failed. none of the other teenage airlines do the same thing. southwest trying to push it through. jet fuel prices are higher and they're trying to make more profit, as well. so we'll see if it gets through. get that early ticket so you're in the front of the plane. >> buyer beware. brian sullivan, thank you. the presidential candidates are prepping their answers for expected questions on everything from taxes to foreign policy. politico's out with key numbers today that both men really need to know. $7.25. that's the national minimum wage. $3.79. average for a gallon of regular gas. $3.47. a gallon of whole milk. $1.41. a one pound loaf of white bread. and 3.36% is the average interest rate last week for a 30 year fixed mortgage. i have a cold... i took dayquil,

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a race at the tipping point. that's a description in a memo writing about debate reaction, quote, obama lost the attention of independents anden married women when he spoke about economic progress or talked about the progress of the last four years. obama won most support when he said what he would do it make the economy better. but both obama and rromney and d like they had a plan to make the economy better. let's bring in howard dean. >> nice to be on. >> so are carville and greenberg right? >> not entirely. the real problem is that romney came out very well prepared and the obama people were caught flat footed. i actually thought it was tied

debate. but they weren't prepared for romney and how well he did. and he did did well. the real issue is that what the ryan romney people have done have simply taken four or five different positions and changed them and pretended they haven't and they haven't been called on it. he needs to call them on it and then move on to what he wants to do. no, that's not how it was but here's what we're going to do because we know you're confused. because they have no plan. he just wants to be president. he doesn't care what the plan is. >> would you concede what the debate did is it seemed like mitt romney seem like a plausible alternative? >> absolutely right. >> so a pew poll shows president obama is facing lower expectations in advance of tonight's debate. so that's good. >> both campaigns work hard to bring their expectations down. >> robert gibbs was on and he

said he would do spectacular. >> we'll find out. >> is he capable of it? >> oh, sure. the president has been president for four years. what he's got to do -- my guess is that they trained him to lay back a little bit and look presidential. i saw romney on david gregory three weeks before that, and he was awesome, very well trained, very much on message. david could hardly get a word in edge wise. i saw romney was a much better debate than he'd been given credit for and i think the obama folks missed that program you about a he looked just like he between did on david gregory as the debate. but romney doesn't have any core beliefs. the president has to say you said three things so far, we don't know which one you mean. here's what i'll do. you don't get elected by knocking the other guy. romney doesn't really have any plan. all this stuff except for the

bad ones like privatizes social security, all the stuff in his hocus-pocus, his economists that developed his 12 million new jobs plans now 10 million are bogus. so he's running a hocus-pocus campaign here. but he has to be called on it and then pivot to say what you would do. >> i want to talk about the town hall debate style format. it's happened before. we might get a surprise question that could really change things. >> you could. depends on exactly how the format does. real town meetings is where you you get up and say anything you want. the real problem is when people ask questions. and then there's the town meetings where the questions are screened which means the moderator will look at the question. if there are ten questions identical, they'll sort of com pain them. if there's one that uses a lot of bad language, that will get then out. so that's not really an unexpected question if it comes through the moderator.

may be unexpected to the candidates, but not the mod really tore. >> want to give me your prediction? >> i think obama will do fine and win reelection. >> howard dean, always good to see you. today's tweet of the day shows how the candidates aren't the only ones in the spotlight tonight. matthew dowd writes, go candy. politics is the only sport where the teams trash the ump before the game and before any call is made. my insurance rates are probably gonna double. but, dad, you've got... [ voice of dennis ] allstate. with accident forgiveness, they guarantee your rates won't go up just because of an accident. smart kid. [ voice of dennis ] indeed. are you in good hands? i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80%

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pundits and progress mossity indicators take note. a quarter of a million students have cast their ballots. here's what's important. since 1940, they have accurately picked the winner in all but two presidential races. but they've picked the winner every time since nixon/kennedy.

i'm joined by 13-year-old andrew yang and 14-year-old shelby fallon, who are covering this election. welcome. so first of all, how many kids voted this year? >> a quarter of a million kids voted. >> did they vote because of what they thought and what they learned from you guys or did they vote because that's what their parents are going to vote? >> i think a little bit of both. because the student vote is so accurate, i would think that many kids receive influence from their parts, but is also think that many kids are able to form opinions for themselves from the news. and from people around them. >> you both have been to conventions which was probably very awesome, but what are you finding that kids really want to know about this election? >> kids want to know about the economy because lately a lot of kids have been affected because their parts have lost their job, they've had to move because of

it, they can't usually gets a much things as they want because of money. and and i have noticed that kids want to know about what affects they were personally. so they can make their own opinions about how aim going to to this in the future. >> are you hearing the same thing? >> yeah. and we actually had a survey question, several survey questions, apart from the student vote. and one of the questions was what kids thought was the most important issue. and like shelby said, the majority of kids, the most kids i should say, put down economy as the most important issue. other ones put down health care and the war in afghanistan. >> so drum roll -- and the winner is -- >> president obama. >> was it close? >> yes. florida, he won by 3% for florida. >> and in the swing states of ohio and virginia, in ohio, president obama also won, 50% to 43%. and in virginia, actually

governor romney won. and it was 50% to 47%. >> wow. well, and they know what the battleground states are. fascinating stuff. scholastic kid reporter, andrew and shelby, great to have you on the program. thank you so much. have fun out there. >> thank you. that wraps up this hour of jansing and company. richard lui is in for thomas roberts. remember when we were that young? >> these are future msnbc contributors. i don't remember that nar bacfa. topping our agenda next hour, high hopes at hofstra and it's all about suburban woman. our first read says that is the firewall the president needs to protect tonight just hours ahead of tonight's critical debate, can he. we'll have our power panel break down the stakes. also, is there a dramatic shift? the electoral maps? new fears ohio may be slipping away from the president.

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