. >>> and we're kicking things off with doris kearns goodwin and her book "team of rivals."bestseller is published by simon & shuster and it is being rereleased today in advance of the steven spielberg's film "lincoln." >> on november 15th, doris kearns goodwin will be here with us. before then, though, you have a chance to read excerpts from the book and submit questions and you can take a look at other featured material at cbsthismorning.com. please check in often, because "cbs this morning" reads. your local news is coming up next. i'm excited about this. i think this is a great idea. >> since we read all those books, we can share more information about them online. >> what really makes it fun is to get people involved and have some kind of activity with them. >> and doris kearns goodwin is always a good, good guest. >> the interesting thing about the film, it's about the last 60 days of lincoln's life. >> excited for that as well. that's coming up. your local news is next. >>> good morning. it is 8:00 a.m., and welcome back to "cbs this morning." the presidential candida

doris kearns goodwin, richard haas, dr.ublican neocon was more mitt the moderate from massachusetts last night. >> i think clearly this strategic decision the romney campaign made is that after he crossed the threshold as a credible alternative in that first debate, he had to do everything in the world not to go back across that door on the opposite side. so he agreed time and again last night with obama. i think where obama was able to push back is when he kept talking about the kind of clarity that's needed for decision making when you had commander in chief. time and again he said if you are in that room, have you to understand the strategy, not the politics. what was interesting about the tone of the debate, focus group got upset when obama said, that was a big whopper. in the old days they used to be able to say, teddy roosevelt just said, you just lied, atroe awickedly lied, and lincoln was able to say to douglas, i don't know what to call you except you're a liar. we've gotten more wimpy about what is an attack. i th

historian doris kearns goodwin says it's not what the candidate says that usually means the most. >>o they treat their rival with respect? do they connect with the audience? do they respond at the moment when they have to react? how do they look? how do they seem? >> reporter: during the first ever televised debate richard nixon chose to wear no makeup. with the 5:00 shadow he looked sweaty and uncomfortable compared to the tan, relaxed, john f. kennedy. doctors in this debate in 2007 heard the impatient sighs of vice president al gore picked up clearly by the microphones while george w. bush was talking. both played into a larger narrative of the campaigns by reinforcing what others thought about the candidates. >> when gore sighed endlessly and moaned during the debate and we saw that on television, it emphasized the idea that he was arrogant and condescending, something people were already concerned about. when nixon was sweating, there was so sense that he was already shifty and there was an anxiety in his soul as well as his body. >> reporter: in later debate gore appeared to in

. >> doris kearns goodwin. it's the book that the new poef vi coming out in a couple of weeks is based on lyndon. that's a steven spielberg. sally fields is mrs. lincoln and daniel day lewis is lincoln. it is going to be quite something. >> all right. that's the best one out of 15,000. get that one. >> now guest of honor. you hear about white house dinners. this is a book about what happened, and it's true, when thomas roosevelt, theodore roosevelt had booker t. washington, the first african-american to have dinner at the white house. and there was a big scandal about it. it was quite something because he had -- he invited booker t. washington to the white house for dinner. >> so this is all the ins and outs? >> and how he did it and why he did it. then our favorite, dolly madison. you know her from the ice cream. >> yep. >> all know that she was the one that saved george washington's portrait from the war of 1812. this is all about her and how she worked things. she was quite a politician on her own. so dolly

>> president obama referred to governor romney's big chopper this morning doris kearns goodwin says peopled to toughen up. some were offended by whopper, and in new york women were turned off by this aggression. she notes na abraham lincoln, teddy roosevelt would call someone a liar. now it's like you can't. the you say the person moderated or shifted, not flat out they lied. that was political language years ago and now we're soft. >> we're soft. for 100 years we had a purely partisan press. when we expected people to be objective, it was limited. the apology tour has been found by everyone not to have happened, so whopper was a nice thing. he could have gone harder. the other side is people want to take a measure of these men. if you look at mitt romney and see he's changing his answer a the lot or angry or disrespectf disrespectful, you can factor that in. some say the president being president, being so powerful may have been too tough on mitt romney. people have to look at that. >> i think that new york debate has changed the game. i don't think anyone can sit there and take things an

obviously love doris kearns goodwin's book. >> we don't know which one of these guys will be marchingowards the finish line on november 6th. this is just you go around the country and people, you go to airports, and the dollar bill didn't come with it but it just sort of seems a nice touch. don't you think? >> we'll have more of my conversation today at 12:00 noon. we're going to talk about what is next if the headlines on november 7th read president-elect romney. up next the newest totals on early voting and implications for the election's ultimate outcome. you're watching "weekends with alex witt." the legal protection you need? at legalzoom, we've created a better place to turn for your legal matters. maybe you want to incorporate a business you'd like to start. or protect your family with a will or living trust. legalzoom makes it easy with step-by-step help when completing your personalized document -- or you can even access an attorney to guide you along. with an "a" rating from the better business bureau legalzoom helps you get personalized and affordable legal protection. in m

. >> author doris kearns goodwin will join us here on november 15th.d an excerpt from the book online along with discussion questions from goodwin. >> you'll also find new featured material, such as lincoln's rare manuscripts and images of his family's belongings provided by the abraham lincoln presidential library. it's all on cbsthismorning.com because "cbs this morning" reads. and speaking of reading, we've got an author that we know you're reading already. tom wolf's new novel is about race, class, and sex, with palm trees in the background. there he is in his iconic trademark white suit. ♪ >>> tom wolf is one of the world's most recognizable authors. he's written more than a dozen books, including "the right stuff" and "the bonfire of the vanities." >> his latest novel is his first in eight years. "back to blood" takes place in present day miami and it is already getting a whole lot of attention. he is here in studio 57. we're pleased about that. welcome. >> thank you very much. >> you have made cities famous because of "a man in full." you're als