dr. candace peterson, associate scientist, evaluation shared service, university of wisconsin population alth institute, madison, wisconsin. dr. clark, what does research to practice mean and what does it mean for a methodology or a practice to be evidence-based? research to practice is a concept that captures the evolvement in the research community with regard to various aspects of, in this case, substance abuse or mental health care in an effort to increase the ability to positively affect the individual who's affected by it. so, evidence-based, then, is mobilizing administrative, clinical, and research information to enhance the quality of care and the effectiveness of care in order to produce the best outcomes associated with providing care, so when people present for care they're getting the best care possible. and, tom, in the field, how much of this is going on? what is the percentage of people that actually do evidence-based practice? well, it's a good question. as dr. clark said, nobody can argue that you need more evidence for the things that you do. every parent demands it for

dr. peterson, i want to go to you because you've mentioned some of the issues that the physicians are facing in terms of when they do their screening and so on, and you also mentioned off camera that you were attempting to work with them on motivational interviewing skills. you want to talk a little bit about that? yeah, and i'm speaking from my experience working with trying to implement sbirt into primary healthcare settings and emergency departments or emergency room settings in wisconsin. one of the things that was very difficult in terms of the implementation, one i mentioned earlier, that busy physicians, it's very difficult for them to find time. the very brief screening itself, however, you can do universally to everybody who walks in the office in a very short period of time. pencil and paper are up on a kiosk. that will give you enough information to know what to do with that person next. that, in itself, doesn't take the time, but talking to patients does. in wisconsin, we used paraprofessionals that we trained very intensively to work with people, and that was very effective. the

dr. peterson, redistribution is another word messrs.mney like to throw around as if it possessed ma eed magical why yet they are touting a 2006 study in support of the tax plan and this same study says eliminating reductions in loopholes will lead to the, yes, you guessed it, redistribution of tax liability from the upper income level to the middle class. so, doctor, i guess when it comes to studies that the romney/ryan team -- you know, i guess they're better off -- they're worse than the blog posts that they use both. >> we've got to do a much better job of defining what a study is. what's going on is the romney/radio iromney romney/ryan camp has fused their ideology. that's the reason why they're trying to redefine small businesses as someone like donald trump or some skind of hedge under with a few employees. the reality is that our system is a redistributive system. any system where you pay taxes and use the resources for infrastructure redistributes the wealth of the common folk to then build bridges, build school, hire teachers.

dr. peterson, this wouldn't mean very much if it was a 12-year-old romney child.romney is over 40 years old, one of his father's closest advisers. what do you say say to a campaign official who jokes about attacking the president of the united states. >> family members are not always the best surrogates because they wear their compassion for the candidate on their sleeve. the campaign is in damage control mode, so obviously these comments are not there, but honestly his comments later on in that interview about mitt romney being terrified before he goes out for a debate, i think are even more damaging than him saying he wants to take a swipe at the president. they need to do some damage control and tag gk romney needs to get in line with the romney and ryan campaign. >> one of the striking -- one of the findings from harvard speaking about the younger generation, a new poll from harvard points out a 19-point gap among young voters favoring the president. so would you agree they have a better chance of beating mr. romney than tagg does of taking down the president?

dr. peterson brings up race. let me go there.umn about the election and wrote a very controversial line about whether the president should be re-elected. let me quote that. he says, the nation, which is generally reluctant to declare a president a failure, thereby admitting that it made a mistake in choosing him, seems especially reluctant to give up on the first african-american president. if so, the 2012 election speaks well of the nation's heart, if not its head. so now he's saying that the nation does not obama want to admit that it made a mistake but certainly don't want to do it to an african-american. that's a new twist in race, ana marie. >> yes, it is. and rush limbaugh has referred to him as the action president. i'd like to think of him as just the president. i would say that they don't like to fire people as much as mitt romney does. so we tend to want to give people another chance. it's mazing how this comes up. i'm willing to give him another four years. i think george will is right about the sentiment of american p

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. peterson, are there some similarities? yeah. you know, with healthcare reform, one of the things that i'm really looking forward to is the coverage of screening and brief intervention in primary healthcare or other healthcare settings. i think if you think of going to the doctor 50 years ago and you weren't typically routinely screened for high blood pressure, for example. now, it's done routinely. i think the same way of thinking about substance use disorders or mental health disorders in that they are something that can be screened for. if detected early, they can be effectively treated. and if you apply this kind of screening universally, then it is-it's a really good avenue for us to catch problems early to get people education or brief intervention or refer them to the help that they need. and when we come back, we're going to continue to look at some other methodologies that are current and new and that we need to know about. we'll be right back. for more information on national recovery month, to find out how to get invol

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

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. peterson, great segment.ch. >>> coming up next, actress and activist america fererra, but first these messages. if you think occasional irregularity is no big deal, think twice. with occasional irregularity, things your body doesn't use could be lingering in your system. but activia has been shown in clinical studies to help with slow intestinal transit when consumed 3 times per day. 7 out of 10 doctors recommend activia. and the great taste is recommended by me! ♪ activia and try new activia light. 60 calories and the only leading light yogurt with no added sugar. of green giant vegetables it's easy to eat like a giant... ♪ and feel like a green giant. ♪ ho ho ho ♪ green giant to treat your anti-aging concerns? join the counter revolution and switch to olay pro-x. achieve anti-aging results so you look up to 12 years younger. see results in 28 days. guaranteed or your money back. olay pro-x. guaranteed or your money back. what if we could keep that much plastic waste out. of landfills each year? by using jus

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. mitchell -- where is she? she has been ministering to people in the inner city for decades. and reverend peterson whose project has helped ex-offenders gain and maintain and employment. [applause] where is brian? when he felt called to open a homeless shelter, he did just not volunteer his time. he and his wife move their family, a baby and two young ones into the shelter and lived there for seven years. [applause] he and his volunteers provide clean clothes, though that would have been a lot. he did not just give kids a safe place to come in off the streets. he gave himself. he did not show people in need the right path. he walked it with them. not just as their guide but as a friend. this good man, and others like him, they are witnesses. the needy people who have encountered them feel it presents greater than just one compassionate soul. what is at work here is the spirit of the lord. there's no end to the good that it can inspire. the government cannot replace that. [applause] should we have the chance to serve, i want you to know this. mitt romney and i share your cause and we will seek your

dr. mitchell -- where is she? she has been ministering to people in the inner city for decades. and reverend peterson who is a new birth project has helped ex offenders gain and maintain , and employment. [applause] where's brian? when he felt called to open a homeless shelter, he did just not volunteer his time. he and his wife move their family, a baby and two young ones into the shelter and lived there for seven years. [applause] he and his volunteers did does not provide clean clothes, though that would have been a lot. he did not just give kids a safe place to come in off the streets. he give himself. he did not show people in need the right path. he walked it with them. not just as their guide but as a friend. this good man, and others like him, they are witnesses. the needy people who have encountered them feel it presents greater than just one compassionate soul. what is at work here is the spirit of the lord. there's no end to the good that it can inspire. the government cannot replace that. [applause] should we have the chance to serve, i want you to know this. mitt romney and i share your