is democratic strategist and syndicated columnist karl frisch, and coming to us from boston is charlie pierce, contributing editor of "esquire" magazine. both of you gentlemen welcome back inside "the war room." >> good evening, governor. >> hello, governor. how are you? >> jennifer: i am great. charlie let me start with you. how it is that mitt romney can continue to affiliation himself with people who make inane comments like those. >> first of all the jesuate fathers thought me [ inaudible ] he is silent gives consent. why has he gotten away with it -- >> jennifer: why hasn't he said anything at all. >> because he doesn't have to. he has gotten away with everything else. i wish i had a nickel for every pundit who told me last february, oh, he has got to release the tax returns. guess what he hasn't released the tax returns and he is not going to do the next ten days. they telegraph the etch-a-sketch punch six months ago. they said he was going to start lying. and he started right on schedule. and he has gotten away with it. so why wouldn't he get away with chloroforming the crypt keeper an

we have charlie pierce coming up.d of fema and now he is say, well maybe not. >> he flip flopped? >> yes. and we'll hear from john fugelsang calling from manhattan. but first the top of the hour news from jacki schechner. >> look at that, i just happened to be here. mayor bloomberg is going to give an update any time now. you can watch it online and nyc.gov, and hopefully if we can turn around some sound on that we will. mitt romney says he won't hold any political events today out of respect. that's because he is a sensitive guy. he is appearing in kettering, ohio, along with race car driver and county music singer. the campaign is inviting the press, and of course he chose ohio the significant state that we're all talking about right now. >> but it is not a campaign event? >> no, not at all. he is also saying support the entire country by electing him as president. >> really? >> yes. >> and loading supplies into a bus that will be delivered into the battleground states. wisconsin will be collecting and delivering st

charlie pierce at the bottom of the hour.king for a replacement to morning joe, and i found you and bill press. thank you. >> stephanie: oh, thank you. >> caller: i was hoping and i think most thinking people are hoping that elections would be an arena for introducing big ideas, and barack obama at the convention did talk about citizenry. but the big idea is the issue of race. and when i listened earlier to the fella who was taking over for bill press this morning -- >> stephanie: john fugelsang, yes. >> caller: at the end of the program someone asked a question about did he think that race-baiting or something to that extent was an issue in this election. he said no it was just a matter of stirring up the base for the republicans. i so strongly disagree with that. the racial overtones that the republicans have done and stood up for, and willard mitt romney has not taken -- that the buck stop with him about it -- >> stephanie: yeah. >> caller: are just awful. what they are doing to the devastation to people of color the young

laughing with me ♪ >> charlie pierce. >> duck fat now with extra franken berries. >> charlie pierceith the warm duck fat on the east coast. >> you are in boston are you being affected by the hurricane? >> not as badly as people in new york and new jersey we lost some power last night, and this huge tree well down but we're in better shape certainly than a lot of places. >> that's great to hear but i guess a cold front is coming in so it is getting cold there? >> yeah, there is this arctic thing coming up. but i have given up on following that. >> charlie you wrote about the storm judiciously yesterday, and you said that baby mitt romney might be able to figure out how to profit from the wreckage. >> the thing is he will hold himself above the fray despite the fact he's holding a rally today. >> right. >> but there are so many elves in the hollow tree to do his work for him, that he doesn't have to get his hands dirty at this point. and chris christie is sort of immunizing the president at this point? >> yes, he is doing a fantastic job. >> yes, because we have to reassert that at ev

also charlie pierce, very, very exciting.ie: i can't say. i can talk about it tomorrow though. [ applause ] >> stephanie: we have lots to get to on the big show. including -- i think she is here. jingle her in. birthday girl. ♪ i think she [ inaudible ] the only who didn't fail and got it right was jacki schechner ♪ ♪ so happy together ♪ >> stephanie: good morning, birthday girl. >> good morning. you know what the morning crew got me for my birthday? >> what? >> bigger thighs. they got me pastries and much fins -- >> stephanie: it's okay. you are a little teeny tiny thing. that's good. so kids i don't know if you know what jacki schechner got america for its birthday whatever. health care. she got you obamacare. did you see this for breast cancer awareness month. every woman in america needs to see this jacki schechner. >> what did i get them. >> stephanie: 47 million women with get mammograms with no co-pay, medicare provided provided 6 million free ma'am mow grams last year that's what jacki schechner got you! [ applause ]

good morning charlie pierce. >> milk yes jezebel is now my new nickname. [ laughter ] >> stephanie: iunderstand and this has been backed up by the ppp poll is the complete evaporation of the support by women. >> stephanie: yeah. >> without a gigantic gender gap the president doesn't win. and it's down to six i think in the ppp. >> stephanie: right. i think as i keep saying too. we have a big debate coming up this week. we have two more. >> yeah. >> stephanie: and you and i have been talk about it romney has been oning one of the worst campaigns i can remember. so i think we're going to find out if in fact this kind of thing holds, right? >> yeah, so say you are running one of the most dishonest campaigns in history doesn't mean itting isn't going to work. but oddly enough people have determined that mitt romney's dishonesty is going to be one of many factors we bring in in decides whether or not we vote for them. and it's not going to be a deal breaker. he is an interesting position on tax and oh by the way he is lying his ass off. we have factored that in now. >> stephanie: yesterday

charlie pierce, contributing editor for "esquire."ou and i share a home state, so i give you the first question. it's actually related to massachusetts, because that means you have seen mitt romney through the years. you have seen the many different incarnations of mitt romney. it strikes me after three debates this year, after the debates from 2002 when he ran for governor from 1994 when he ran for u.s. senate there, the only common thread i can find in this guy's history of the face he puts onto the public is he aligns himself with whatever his sort of constituency of moment is on every issue. do we have a sense after 18 years of watching mitt romney what this man actually holding deer ideologically?ideologicall? >> no. i think the only real principle in mitt romney's political career is that he's unprincipled. whatever he needs to do to get to that which he thinks he is entitled, in this case the president of the united states, he will do. i mean, the track record on this is impeccably clear, and you have to give his campaign credi

. >> when charlie pierce from boston wrote up that moment from the debate at "esquire" magazine today he wrote this. "you could hear the screams from romney headquarters all the way up the charles to where i was watching." democrats have so far been keeping their powder dry on this very, very potent issue. on the republicans wanting to privatize social security. not just privatizing medicare, and thereby getting rid of it, which has been an issue in this campaign, but privatizing social security and thereby getting rid of it. before last night, that was paul ryan's record and it was george w. bush's record. but nobody knew if romney and ryan were going to try to drag that old disastrous idea over the threshold of the white house with them. now we know they are dragging it with them. which is amazing. when i said there were two points from last night, and one last thing i think needs to be mentioned that i think changed the race last night. and it's the war. before the debate started, there was a really weird moment. this was yesterday, but before the debate. it was on fox news. it's a

. >> charlie pierce wrote a piece and he ended it with do you know what the difference is between sarahy. you guys better scrimp together your gas money. >> yeah. >> stephanie: that's the question what will steph and jacki be wearing. now i'm throwing down. >> oh god. >> stephanie: have a great weekend, everybody. we'll see you monday on the "stephanie miller show." ♪

>> stephanie: kathleen madigan, charlie pierce former and future congressman al graceson. >> i am notdy, and -- [ laughter ] >> somebody wrote me back and then they followed up so maybe she will be listening. >> stephanie: we'll offer again. >> all because of the terry shriboe thing. >> stephanie: yeah because you don't like to leave your couch smoking your cigarettes. >> here is an iphone video of my stomach. what do you think. it so good it probably could go through my ear into my brain. [ laughter ] [♪ "world news tonight" theme ♪] >> stephanie: president obama faced high expectations going in to monday's debate he may have exceeded them among uncommitted voters. those are the ones that count. president obama was declared the winner by 53% only 23% for mittens. [ wah wah ] >> he made some whopper mistakes. >> stephanie: and then literally was like never mind. >> when he got busted on saying russia is our biggest problem, he should have said but sarah was watching. >> he would have mustered the delivery though. >> yeah. a couple of peanuts were talking down the street and one had sa

>> he's the official punter of "the stephanie miller show". [ laughter ] that's what charlie pierce called >> stephanie: no. well, i don't know. >> we probably should have asked him when we had him on. excuse me, what do we call you? >> stephanie: that concludes the sports section of "the stephanie miller show." >> only reason you can call american football football is because the kicker shows up once once in a great while. >> stephanie: right back on "the stephanie miller show." (vo) what is said here could decide the election. current tv presents coverage of the presidential debate. with unrivaled analysis and commentary. >> was this the game changer? is this going to change the dynamic? (vo) the only network with real-time reaction straight from the campaigns and from viewers like you. >>now that's politically direct. [ ♪ music ♪ ] >> announcer: stephanie miller. >> we were actually looking for a cheap miller but you're a sexy >> you should have seen this girl bing, bang. [ laughter ] >> stephanie: it is "the stephanie miller show." welcome to it. 34 minutes after the hour. debate week.