dr. james peterson, and kelly goff, political contributor to theroot.com.go people were saying president obama was going to run away with it. >> we said it all along, it will be a knife fight in a foon boot.ne iñ think that was the expectatin with both camps. you see with polls as they do they go up and down depending on the weather. this happens to be a good week for the ñrcampaign, but we do continue to expect this to be a robust competitive race going into the election. at the end of the day, we do hope that governor romney comes out with a win. >> the only person morectp exci than tara is myself and every other member of the media. i think we were worried that people were reading stories, what else would you read other than obama is increased by several points. so who knows if it will stay this tight down to the wire, but everyone is a little more excited than they were a couple weeks ago. >> and this is the nature of campaigns. i hope this isfá what people wa, you know, the back and forth, to hear both sides, and for it to really be a race if you will.

dr. james peterson in view as well. thank you.ber to tune into our special coverage of the debate tonight here on msnbc. next, polls show many americans don't really know who paul ryan is. we'll continue to fill in the blanks. stay with us. >> then there was the time we said mitt was a soap opera actor. remember that? >> mitt romney played wealthy tycoon victor neuman on the young and the restless. >> you need to love and you need to be loved. >> and then there was the time we thought he was actually chuck wool ri, host of "love connection. >> her ears, her private parts, everything was so -- ♪ chances are, you're not made of money, so don't overpay for motorcycle insurance. geico, see how much you could save. everything was so -- [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus presents the cold truth. i have a cold... i took dayquil, but i still have a runny nose. [ male announcer ] truth is, dayquil doesn't work on runny noses. what? [ male announcer ] it doesn't have an antihistamine. really? [ male announcer ] really. alka-seltzer plus c

dr. james peterson, an associate professor at lehigh university and contribute irto thegrio.com, and in newand an msnbc contributor. welcome to both of you. ari, if i might begin with you. the poll is very well respected and the voters in this focus group say they want to see a tough president obama. even if he is sharper, can he fact check in realtime like vice president joe biden did because, frankly, mitt romney produces more lies than sausages in a meat factory. >> well, you know, joe biden did more than fact check. i think he fact slapped paul ryan all over the room, and i think that that came across both in style and in substance. i don't think we're going to see the vam vigor or the same bon hoe mi from president obama. we know he brings a different style from joe biden. he can fact check and redefine the terms of the debate. if you looked at the last debate, taxes were mentioned over 100 times. jobs were mentioned just 50 times. we have talked about that. that was because mitt romney was very effective at defining it as a discussion about taxes. if you go to those swing voters that

dr. james peterson, and jimy williams. thank you, gentlemen.on the president's diagnosis of mitt romney and his ever changing moods. stay with us. >> all of a sudden you heard governor romney claim $5 trillion tax cut, what are you talking about? all of a sudden as my little granddaughter natalie would say, what happened, did casper the ghost steal it? where did it go? i hope you all don't get romnesia. 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. overmany discounts to thine customers! [old english accent] safe driver, multi-car, paid in full -- a most fulsome bounty indeed, lord jamie. thou cometh and we thy saveth! what are you doing? we doth offer so many discounts, we have some to spare. oh, you have any of those homeowners discounts? here we go. thank you. he took my shield, my lady. these are troubling times in the kingdom. more discounts than we knoweth what to

dr. james peterson from lehigh university and in washington professor david corn, the man who introduced the term 47%. he's also an msnbc political analyst. david, if i can start with you, i'm sorry to be so upfront about this, but tagg romney is a mommy's boy. he's such a hard man that he took $10 million from his mommy to help him start his investment fund, and now he wants to fight the president. he's a boy who should learn some manners, isn't he? >> well, first, thank you for the promotion to professor. i'm happy to have that title. >> it's a pleasure. >> this is what happens in campaigns. when you start listening to relatives and family members, they often, you know, go beyond the talking points. i thought ann romney was very snippy on "the view" when they asked her questions about abortion and access to contraception. she said you have to get my husband on the couch. they tried. he said no, and he sent you and you're not answering the question. all in all, probably not the best day for the romney clan. i got to tell you, after the debate on tuesday night, i don't think ann romney l

dr. james peterson, an associate professor at lehigh university and a grio.com contributor.has been calling conservatives in the media, quote, after weeks of mounting criticism, ryan reportedly felt compelled to respond in a friendly way to the beltway buzz. are conservatives now also part of the conspiracy, sir? >> well, first of all, i mean he's trying to stop the bleeding. remember, he's a darling of these sort of conservative media figures, and so it makes good political sense for him to reach out this them directly. martin, i can no longer stomach this discussion about a left bias media because if we look at the political history of this country over the last 20 to 30 years, it is so clear that this country has been moving to the right in so the many different ways. you think about the war on womewomen and a host of other issues, economic, social, and otherwise. this country has been moving to the right, media and everything, for most of my lifetime. so the idea that there's some kind of left wing media bias is a simple strawman move that folk on the right continue to u