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john hileman, andrew sullivan, henderson henderson and liz liz.

>> the question is andrew sullivan has the trend already been interrupted.that romney's momentum peaked last week. >> the last three weeks, the swing state polls haven't changed. they were the same three weeks ago. the bumps that obama got from the second set has stabilize. unless you know you're right, unless this abc news poll in ohio, to me is stark news. >> you mean the ohio poll. >> that changes the equation. the last three weeks, look at owl of the swing states polls, everything in them, it's been the same race. >> nicolle wallace, that first ra debate. >> i agree that the polls in ohio is really the only one that matters. i don't buy that there's a path without ohio for romney. so, what they're pointing to this morning, what does suggest something that may be destabilizing the post-debate stability, the demos moines register editorial could have a ripple effect in that part of the country. if the polls show them even, that could change the me mentality of the voters in ohio. try to neutralize of false attacks about the auto bankruptcy. >> that's becom

>> i don't think he should do what andrew sullivan suggests.ng president is not exactly what you want. but he's got, you know, he's got a big challenge. he's got to be more aggressive. and most importantly, he's got to be clear about what the two competing visions are for the country. there are two, this is an election of stark contrasts. there are two very different competing visions for the country. and he has to really lay that out. >> but ana said it, andrew sullivan said it, they said if the president doesn't win this next debate he's a goner. do you agree with that? >> well, i think that a lot of the first debate showed how much of an impact these things can have. i think that you'll see a very different barack obama tomorrow night. i think he will be much more aggressive. i think he will be on his game. i think clearly he said that he was having an off night. i don't think he'll have another off night. >> can i get an answer now? is he a goner if he doesn't win this debate? >> i don't think he's a goner. i think that he has an advantage.

andrew sullivan of the daily beast.e wrote this last night, basically just at the end of the debate. this was a disaster for the president for the key people he needs to reach. his effete wonkish lectures may have jolted a lot of independents into giving romney a second look. obama looked tired, even bored. he kept looking down. he wasn't there. the person with authority on that stage was romney. offered by one of the lamest moderators ever and seized with relish. this was romney the salesman and my gut tells me he sold a few voters on a change tonight. it's beyond depressing, but it's true. gentlemen, that's a tough assessment. it's matched by this, i'm showing you one of the strongest headlines, a full banner basically giving it completely to romney last night. governor rendell, you have been in a lot of tough debates. i don't know what you thought. i guess i'm known as an obama supporter and i certainly wanted him to do well last night, and yet i don't get it. i don't quite get it. i thought romney's performance, let

andrew sullivan saying i'm trying to see a silver lining but when a president self-immy lates on liveand his opponent shines with lies and smiles and a record number of people watch, it's hard to how a president and his party recover. >> i hear the polls have romney up by 67 points today. i think hysteria is a good word and i like andrew sullivan as much as the next conservative -- not conservative pundit he claims to be. i do think -- you know, in politics you can never extrap plate from a given point. everything is trend lines one way or the other direction. that was a bad night for the president and anybody who wants him to win. but it's not the last point we're going to see on the graph here. we're going to see, you know, two more debates, we're going to see more speeches, may see oscar the grouch get involved, who knows. but so, you know, plenty of time. if mitt romney, you know, could survive three bad weeks after the 47% video, the president can survive a bad debate performance and after the next one, whatever happened in the first time, won't matter. he may not -- he may do wo

>> the question is, andrew sullivan, has the trend already been interrupted?that romney's momentum peaked last week. ohio poll actually stopped polling tuesday night. >> for the last three weeks, the swing state polls haven't changed. they were the same three weeks ago. the bumps that obama got from the second debate has stabilized. unless you know you're right, unless this abc news poll in ohio, which to me is really stark news. >> you mean the ohio poll. >> that changes the equation. the last three weeks, look at all of the swing state polls, everything in them, it's been the same race. for three weeks. >> nicolle wallace, that first debate clearly changed the narrative of this race. >> it served as a light coming on. casting mitt romney in a rather durable way. i agree that the polls in ohio is really the only one that matters. i don't buy that there's a path without ohio for romney. so, what they're pointing to this morning, what does suggest something that may be destabilizing the post-debate stability is, "the des moines register" editorial could have a

. >> the biggest mood swing was andrew sullivan. >> well, he has medical reasons. >> you could say that about dinner. >> yes, but andrew has mental problems. >> owe obama got his groove back? what does that mean? steel law got her groove back. obama slept with a younger man? that's how stela got her groove back. >> what are you trying to say? >> obama slept with a younger man. >> stop that. you have no proof. >> you asked how romney can win on the issues, but obama can win the debate as the snap polls or whatever seem to show. i don't think it is that odd. i think you can think obama had a better performance even though you agree. >> you order this amazing meal and you love the steak and you like the mashed potatoes and the enjoy the peas, but then you had a meal at the other place where the steak wasn't as good and the mashed potatoes were not as good. but you thought the presentation was better. so you are going to eat there from now on. how do you like that for a metaphor, america? >> it was a bit con vow lewded. i think you are looking at how much it matters in a debate. >> i would

if you read any andrew sullivan, it's like, no, andrew sullivan -- >> two senators talking in the 1930sthe other says not as long as i'm aalive. the same would apply here with president obama. >> tonight, candy crowley from cnn, of course, will be moderating the presidential town hall debate from long island new york. >> i went to had hofstra university. >> see? >> i've seen long island. >> you've been to the hamptons. >> congressman have you been to the island? >> i read about it. >>> and the congressman has read about long island. grammy nominated singer pop star mika will join us, talk about his new album and what went into the making of it. [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso. i just served my mother-in-law your chicken noodle soup but she loved it so much... i told her it was homemade. everyone tells a little white lie now and then. but now she wants my recipe [ clears his throat ] [ softly ] she's right behind me isn't she? [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. >>> welcome back to "starting point," everyone. >>> an apology to president obama from the son of candidat

that's what a writer andrew sullivan is now asking.is morning we'll talk about the big free fall from the edge of space that's now on hold because of weather. we'll see if that gets off today. we're live for your in roswell, new mexico. you're watching "starting point". we'll be back in a moment. mitchn tax policy center concluded that mitt romney's tax plan would cost $4.8 trillion over 10 years." vo: why won't romney level with us about his tax plan, which gives the wealthy huge new tax breaks? because according to experts, he'd have to raise taxes on the middle class - or increase the deficit to pay for it. if we can't trust him here... how could we ever trust him here? a short word that's a tall order. up your game. up the ante. and if you stumble, you get back up. up isn't easy, and we ought to know. we're in the business of up. everyday delta flies a quarter of million people while investing billions improving everything from booking to baggage claim. we're raising the bar on flying and tomorrow we will up it yet again. >>> welco

jon: daily beast blogger andrew sullivan is raising a red flag for president obama and his re-election hopes n. a down beat praes you might call it earlier this week he called out the president for throwing away a lead in the polls. he writes, quote, i've never seen a candidate this late in the game so far ahead just throw in the towel in the way obama did last week, throw away almost every single advantage he had with voters, and managed to enable his opponent to seem as if he cares about the middle class as much as obama does. with four weeks still to go did the president really just throw away the election? let's get a fair & balanced debate underway joining us pete snyder there on the left of your screen the ce ofrbgs disrupt tere capital and chairman of virginia victory 2012, a fox news contributor. and chris kafinnas, former chief of staff to democratic senator joe manchin. welcome to both of you. what do you think did president obama just throw away the election, throw in the towel? >> no, you've got to love this business. a few weeks ago it was the owe owe president obama was s

everybody went, oh, my god, andrew sullivan is in total meltdown.his credit -- >> if you want to give credit -- i think if you want to look at somebody who may be worth giving credit to, i would take a look at what's going on with women on facebook tomorrow morning. >> that's what i believe. >> women are highly active on facebook in the mornings. it's a very female friendly forum. and if you look at that and you see that people have that very negative response to ryan that you're predicting, that's going to be very interesting i think in terms of -- >> how do you deal with this from the conservative side? if i'm biden, i'm going to say as many times as i can this guy is against planned parenthood, with todd akin on wants to redefine rape. i'm going to make sure everyone in america knows how far out there paul ryan is. how can ryan defend himself? >> you know who's in the spin room by the way real quick for biden? cecil henderson. >> look, they're both roman catholics and biden has to endure the fact that his administration hasn't been there on the f

check out andrew sullivan. they wanted a mud fight, my friends. >> yes, exactly.hen if he has a better debate, they'll be like, oh, my gosh. we knew this was the real obama. >> like the parents watching the little league game. they're trying to get him back in line. >> that was my line from last night. there should have been a mercy rule. >> exactly. >> you tweet that had. >> i did. >> i like that. >> i did not steal that from you. >> stealing. >> coming up, what does president obama have to say after the debate last night? you'll hear from him next. first, here is joe biden's analysis. >> i think the president did a wonderful job, a wonderful job, a wonderful job. >> he really is an american treasure, leave now and you'll miss dana performing a version of "smoke on the water." excited "the five". >> last night it was tk obama at the first debate in denver. how did he react today? >> so you see the man on stage last night, he does not want to be hel accountable for the real mitt romney's decisions and what he's been saying for the last year. that's because he know

>> i agree with you, i think andrew sullivan, the accent is ridiculous, part of the blogs, it is thed of the world as we know it. it is all over, we're all doomed. come on, kristen soltis, how important is the vice president debate? if joe biden eats paul ryan for dinner is that going to change things dramatically? or is everybody really waiting for the next one? >> i don't think that paul ryan is on the menu -- >> oh, he is on the menu, don't worry about that. >> oh, i expect that vp joe biden will be very aggressive, an interesting test driver for the sorts of arguments and strategy that you might see come out of obama in the next week and next debate. if joe biden does well, i think you will see barack obama do well, and if it goes badly, i think people will say oh, that is just joe biden, he makes gaffes, i think it is very important for both candidates for many reasons, for ryan, it is really important because he still has to introduce himself to the american people. he is really going to get asked a lot of questions about his ideas. he has always been a bold guy putting ideas,

andrew sullivan all by declared this thing over and he's a obama supporter. >> i believe it says here the election is november 6th. >> i've heard that, too. >> and there's a theory there that michelle is operating on. and the theory is that people are still listening and organizing on the ground involves telling people about the president's record to win. and if you look at the debate numbers, the most important one i think has been glossed over. when you ask independents about the debate, 70% said romney did better. that's a huge margin. but when you ask independents who do they like better? no change since the debate. all the indianas did think romney did better. but they are still listening and michelle obama is saying to everyone essentially, get out there and talk to these people and don't worry about all this anger and excitement and panic instead. >> in virginia today michelle obama did a reach back into the debate, into mitt romney's pbs moment in the debate. let's listen to that. >> we believe in keeping our priorities straight. that we all know good and well that cutting ses

so you saw andrew sullivan, the blogger, claiming he was release egg transcript of obama's speech. but it wasn't, it was prepared remark, approved and released by the obama campaign. you can sit and read the remarks against the speech, and you will see that obama goes off script repeatedly andad libs and says things we can't find him saying to any other audience. remarkable-- >>> a couple of things. as you watch the speech, one thing stands out at you, thftion a common phenomenon. al gore, republicans don't want to count nut census, he said before a predominantly african-american audience. hillary clinton did the same thing. you notice a change in the way he delivers the speech? >> let me be totally clear if you just watch touchdown we have seen obama speak in public over the last 10 years, will note this, accent is abcush. this is not the way obama talks. it is not the way he has talked in scores of peaches i have watched him give, or public appearances viseen him make. this is a put-on. that's one. second issue, he is telling a predominantly black audience something very clear--

. >> andrew sullivan has written in the daily beast. in the last article we read. he really was completely over the top. here's what he wrote about what he needs to see from president obama personally. he said this. obama threw it all back in his supporters' faces, reacting to their enthusiasm and record denations with a performance so execrable? lazy? >> that's an andrew sullivan word. >> i was going to say. >> it's very british. >> excuse me. we'll move on from that word. lazy, feckless, so vain it was almost a dare not to vote for him. what he has to do now is so nail these next two debates, so obliterate romney in both that he can claw his way back to victory. is the format of this debate even possible to do that? a town hall? how do you obliterate somebody in a town hall? >> look, i'm not sure obliteration is the key goal here. people make up their minds based on a whole set of observations during the campaign. this debate is certainly important. it's a great opportunity not only for the president, but for the president to focus th

andrew sullivan, an influential supporter of the president and blogger called his performance absolutely disgracefully bad. let me play a sound bite of what he said and let you respond to that. >> i have never seen a president of the united states blather, blather on like that, bore us, tell us none of his major arguments, fight back against any of the obvious distortions of the other candidate and just sit there. i mean, really. and you know how much i love this guy. >> stephanie, did you feel a little bit of that frustration? >> you know, i appreciate his opinion. i disagree with it. i think the president had a good performance last night. obviously, mitt romney had a good performance, but that's just what it was. it was a performance. he wasn't leveling with the american people or being honest with them about his own policies and what he was going to do with this country. the president took a different approach, he was being honest and was laying out where he would take this country, giving him what a second term obama presidency would mean for them personally and the middle class. he

and finally, andrew sullivan can go to bed without wetting the bed. >> putting gesticulating aside, at the very least it was a little distracting. i will give joe biden, he did really well when it came to taxes, jobs, entitlements, those lines about who do you trust? go with your common sense. go with your instinct. those lines really worked. >> yes. >> this was joe being joe, connecting with seniors, connecting with blue collar workers. that was good. foreign policy, i will say, was a disaster for joe biden. and jo use that word lightly pap talk about embarrassing. martha raddatz had to tell him, you're acting like iran doesn't want a nuclear weapon. he was so -- by the way, laughing through that segment was totally inappropriate. and also had a lot of falsehoods in thinks foreign policy statement that folks like ezra klein and politico have pointed out on libya, that was not a good moment for someone who's supposed to be very good on foreign policy. that said, what conservatives wanted from paul ryan was for him to wipe the floor with jsh jb. that did not happen. he did not demolish

. >> don't tell that to andrew sullivan, because he is having a breakdown in "the daily beast" today. he laments what he calls devastating new positill numberd he calls the president too air grant to take a core campaign responsibility too seriously, too arrogant to give his supporters kwwhat they deserve. what do you make of that? >> i think andrew is always interesting and provocative. he makes a good point. it probably overstates it. remember a couple of weeks ago all the rats were abandoning the sinking romney ship. he'd be a great president. he's a lousy candidate. there's nothing we can do. guess what? he's back in the game. he probably wasn't out of the game at the time, and certainly obama is not out of the game now. i just think, you know, this is be the story line for the next 48 hours. >> it's over, dana. it's over. pack it up. forget it. >> let it go. >> i'm taking the next four weeks off. >> we should point out something potentially significant did change today. that is the barometer i thought we should pay the closest attention to. for the first time in the entire campai

. >> anna marie, andrew sullivan was highly critical of the president's first debate performance butdoing this now on a pre-emptive basis. he says, and i'm quoting him, right now to my genuine horror, the president is losing to a fraud, a warmongerer, a liar, and a budget buster. that's fairly accurate, isn't it? >> well, those are accurate terms to describe romney, of course, but i think andrew is suffering a case of the vapors. you know, it's not over yet. this will be really interesting debate if nothing else. i think we are going to get to see romney try to do the game he played in the last debate but on foreign policy, but the president has had four years to study on this suggest. he's been talking to the people who make foreign policy. he's made foreign policy. it would be really hard for him to sort of give up his authoritative position unless he sort of naps through it like he did the first debate, but i hope he won't do that. but also -- >> indeed. >> -- i have been thinking so many of romney's foreign policy advisers are former bush advisers. . to me all the president reall