joining me now richard wolf and karen finney.ichard, why am i suspecting that the candidates are spending their weekend trying to figure out how to steer this back to domestic policy whenever they can? >> because you've seen this stuff before. remember the foreign policy debate in 2008 turned out to be about the world economy which turned out to be about the american economy and they'll do some of that again. trade is an obvious place you can do that. but don't under estimate the animosity between the two people and how much they want to relitigate every foreign change policy we saw in the last two, including mitt romney going back to libya and having at it all over again, only this time trying to do a clean-up job. i think they will want to engage because they really dislike each other and mitt romney has got some finishing too do. >> rush limbaugh believes that president obama is going to win monday night's debate. >> just get together with bob schieffer before the debate like he did candy crowley, when this comes up, you just

richard wolf and former ohio governor ted strictland will join me next. and in the rewrite tonight if mitt romney denounces todd akin for talking about legitimate rape, why doesn't he denounce the republican who uses the bible to justify slavery? that's coming up. [ male announcer ] feeling like a shadow of your former self? c'mon, michael! get in the game! [ male announcer ] don't have the hops for hoops with your buddies? lost your appetite for romance? and your mood is on its way down. you might not just be getting older. you might have a treatable condition called low testosterone or low t. millions of men, forty-five or older, may have low t. so talk to your doctor about low t. hey, michael! [ male announcer ] and step out of the shadows. hi! how are you? [ male announcer ] learn more at isitlowt.com. [ laughs ] hey! hi! how are you? i"i'm not in favor of a a$5 trillion tax cut. that's not my plan." mitchell: "the nonpartisan tax policy center concluded that mitt romney's tax plan would cost $4.8 trillion over 10 years." vo: why won't romney level wi

richard wolf and former ohio governor ted strictland will join me next. and in the rewrite tonight if mitt romney denounces todd akin for talking about legitimate rape, why doesn't he denounce the republican who uses the bible to justify slavery? that's coming up. mike rowe here at a ford tell me fiona, who's having a big tire event? your ford dealer. who has 11 major brands to choose from? your ford dealer. who's offering a rebate? your ford dealer. who has the low price tire guarantee... affording peace of mind to anyone who might be in the market for a new set of tires? your ford dealer. i'm beginning to sense a pattern. buy four select tires, get a $60 rebate. use the ford service credit credit card, get $60 more. that's up to $120. where did you get that sweater vest? your ford dealer. >>> mitt romney is trying to close the gender gap before the election, but meryl streep is trying to stop him. and mitt romney is now afraid of answering questions from kids. the kids on nickelodeon. something that john mccain and barack obama did. why is mitt so afrai

. >> richard wolf, i tried to under line in my copy of the speech the moments when it was a period where mitt romney might say something substantive but i found it lacking. i will put the leaders of iran on notice that the u.s. and our friends and allies will prevent e them from acquiring nuclear weapons, i will deepen critical cooperation with partners in the gulf. not a lot here that isn't stuff that's already been floated. these are positions the president, i think would agree should be taken. >> if you are going to unveil ab address at this point you better have the goods. never mind next week's foreign policy debate with the president. this mitt romney needs to debate the old mitt romney as well. on each of these things he's taken the opposite position. there's an extended criticism of the president's take on syria, for instance. yet this is the same mitt romney who also said getting involved with libya would be mission creep. he opposed that in one country and now proposes it somewhere else. the point of consistent for him is israel. to pa are a phrase joe biden every foreign polic

richard wolf writes -- host: that is a little bit from richard wolf. i want to conclude with this. host: richard wolf mentions in his article about the rallies today. president obama will be live about noon in denver. c-span will carry that rally live. mitt romney and paul ryan will be together in virginia. that will be at 6:45 p.m. eastern time. that will be live. all the other debates, c-span will carry with our pre-game and post-game. if you watched last night, you could call and afterwards and have a chat. we also have our debates hub where you can go, c-span.org. you can watch last night's debate. full coverage of all the presidential debates and the vice presidential debate. we offer debate of each debate question and the candidates' answers by topic. live streams of the sites and scenes before the debate. we have cameras outside and cameras in the spin room. it is kind of a dashboard of cameras so you can pick what you want to watch. use the hashtag cspan2012. you can see all the tweets that are coming in under that hashtag. those are some of the items available at our debat

joining me now is msnbc contributor and author megan mccain and msnbc political analyst richard wolf.author of revival, the struggle for survival inside the obama white house. thanks to both of you for being here tonight. >> thanks, reverend. >> richard, it's got to be bad if fox news isn't buying your line. >> you know, chris wallace was asking really reasonable questions. it's flot just about specifics. it's to try and explain the real costs, the facts behind the tax policy. so even if you set aside the proposition about whether you are winning or losing, because all of these things can be temporary at the beginning of the campaign, but getting to the details in a factual way is important. if you cannot boil down your message as candidate, never mind about a bumper sticker but a sound bite, how you express it to voters that's exactly the problem that they are in. the details are difficult but difficult not to explain but difficult for middle class voters. >> i had the same difficulty in junior high school trying to make 5 plus 3 equal 9. the math isn't there. that's part of the prob

richard wolf, i know you were watching the president there. >> i wish i could have been there. >> you were there last time. four years ago that was you who wasn't sleeping. >> it brings back such fun memories. >> what is it like out there when they're on this final 13 days. there's nothing quite like it, is there? >> no, there's also nothing like the consumption of empty calories that you need to sustain you through those moments. the crowds are huge at this point i think the press and the candidates are well are not even listening to the words. there's a lot of noise and not much actual news. which is why i'm a little bit confused about the polls you just raise. i've been reading that momentum being with mitt romney. it turns out the president is still you have. that's the kind of dissonance you have in the campaign trail. you have the spin we're going to win, i was with carl rove in 2000, and you end up believing stuff. >> i remember that rove california fake-out. let's look at this new ad they're using. >> the stuff some folks are saying about president obama sounds kind of familia

i'll talk with political analyst richard wolf. it's strange, i'm getting gray, but kate -- still looks like...kate. nice'n easy with colorblend technology gives expert highlights and lowlights. for color that's true to you. i don't know how she does it. with nice'n easy, all they see is you. >>> thanks for staying with us tonight. police and firefighters are working to get families out of the flooded neighbors tonight. rescue workers carried children to safety in little ferry just a few hours ago. hundreds of thousands of firefighters, police officers and nurses continue to work in harm's way tonight. they are members of america's middle class and they are the heroes in the wake of this storm. nearly 200 firefighters struggled to put out this six-alarm fire in breezy point queens early this morning. the neighborhood flooded and 80 houses went up in flames. the firefighters abandon their trucks and waded in carries equipment on their backs. this was just one of 23 fires in the new york city area last night. at almost the same time,

at our new new york studio, 30 rockefeller center, richard wolf, vp and executive editor of msnbc.com and here with me joi reid, the managing editor of thegrio.com. i didn't realize you had so many fans. >> you got a few people out here. >> without being hyperbolic or histrionic, how important is tonight for the president? >> debate is very important, martin, and as you understand re-elects are base elections. re-elects are about the base, okay? whether it was george w. bush in 2004, barack obama now, at this stage something like 95% of voters have made up their minds. they've already decided which team they're on. now it is about motivating your base to go to the polls, to translate support for you into actual votes for you. so the president's job really at this point is to motivate base democrats, to motivate independents who lean toward the democratic party and people who in their hearts say obama and maybe in their heads say romney, to go with their hearts. he has to say i'm fighting for you, for the middle class, i'm f fighting for this job for you. >> richard, democrats are dema

mccartell from newsweek and the daily beast, vice president and executive editor of msnbc.com richard wolf, and from washington, pulitzer prize winning correspondent for the huffington post david wood and susan glasser. mitt romney wrapped up what the campaign billed as a major foreign policy speech with a grandiose title "the mantle of leadership." he compared peace through strength to that of truman, reagan and george marshall. he criticized president obama for chris stevens in failing to prevent the attack and the response. >> i want to be clear. the blame for the murder of our people in libya and attacks on embassies in other

. >> so, of course, that's joe scarborough and richard wolf talking about the one and only vice presidential debate just two days away if you're counting. right now vice president biden is home in delaware preparing -- holding mock debates with sparring partner chris van holland and reviewing video of paul ryan's speeches and interviews. he's reading "young guns." paul ryan is in florida for more debate prep reviewing the tape of biden's 2008 debate with sarah palin. as for the debate thursday, 9:00 p.m. eastern time is at the center college in danville, kentucky. "news nation" is live from there. the topics are domestic and foreign policy. the 90-minute debate is divided into nine 10-minute segments. chuck todd said it could help vice president joe biden. joining me now is ed rendell, who is now an nbc political analyst and "newsweek" and "the daily beast" special correspondent michael tamaski. you know joe biden very, very well. you have articles out there saying that the democrats want to make sure he's gaffe-proof. aside from that sidebar, we know that joe biden is formidable. >> joe is

the full interview with richard wolfe of "usa today" talking with perot, 9:00 p.m. eastern time. [video clip] >> do you think if we had had a administration from 1993 it through 2001, that things would be different today in terms of our fiscal picture? >> i would make every effort. i would have had to deal with the two parties. i would've gone directly to the american people for their full support. once you actually have that, you probably can get them to agree to anything, including a bad idea, which i would not have done. someone asked someone if he still stood for anything, and he said, "young man, i stand for reelection." host: that was an interview with ross perot. and here's the front page written by richard of to date ---- written by richard wolf today -- ron is calling from cincinnati. independent. will the vice-presidential candidates impact your vote? caller: yes. the president is like the quarterback. then you have a guard. that is his job. all the congress did was filibusters' so the president could not get anything done it. i will talk about the keystone pipeline fro

mike barnicle, richard wolf, mark halperin with us in chicago.rt with talking about this critical week ahead in the presidential election. the candidates are getting together for two more debates within a week. you know -- you just got to know the face of this race is going to change again. a new poll out of likely voters sets the stage and this is by "the washington post" at abc news and puts the race within a margin of error, president obama at 49% and romney at 46% and the majority of americans approve of the way that the president is handling his job. 51%. while 42% believe the country is heading in the right drinks. however, when they are asked about the candidates and whether their opinion of the candidates changed, 8% view it better and a new george washington politico battleground state voters poll out. mitt romney is ahead in the swing states 50 to 48%. that's a statistical tie. there's also a new public policy poll of likely voter in the state that may matter the most this year. ohio. it actually has the president up by 5 percentage poi

find richard wolf's article today in "usa today." the c-span campaign 2012 bus toward a virginia, visiting colleges and universities about our programming. we asked students whether the youth vote will be a factor in this election. >> and people will be a factor because they will be enthusiastic to vote, their first time, and a lot of them will vote for the direction they want their country to go in. >> no, i do not think young people will be a factor because i did not think celebrities are endorsing as much and the racial factors of this year plus election are at play. >> none people will be a huge factor because students care about the decisions that happen because the attack tomorrow. they really want to get involved in this election cycle. >> tina eric years and young adults will pay and a poor role because we are wanting to change the world as we see fit. >> more about our political coverage on a website. now a candidate in massachusetts continue their debate life from the university of massachusetts in lowell, massachusetts. >>

this is richard wolf's article. we are talking to undecided voters for this section of "washington journal." yolanda, columbus, ohio. why are you undecided, and did the vice presidential debate move your needle at all? caller: i would have to say the war on mankind. i voted for obama in his first term. he promised transparency and never delivered. all the illegals here. i think this is destroying the nation. if obama gets a second term, this will be god destroyed the nation, because people can see him in action. obama is a criminal. he has been lying about mitt romney and paul ryan so much that they have been conditioned. they think of these decent men as liars, but they are not. host: again, we are talking to undecided voters. yolanda seemed to be decided. gene, next fall, tennessee. why are you in undecided voter? caller: 91 stated what they are going to do for this country, -- neither one stated what they're going to do for this country. i have been voting since i was 18. i have voted both ways. i'd vote for the

talks today's richard wolf's with ross perot sunday at 1:45 eastern on c-span. now, the vice presidential debate from the 1988 campaign. michael dukakis picked lloyd bentsen of texas. the two candid for about 25 years apart in age, something that provided one of the defining moments. there was held in omaha, neb.. is about one hour and 35 minutes. >> good evening. on behalf of the commission of presidential debates i am pleased to welcome me to the vice presidential debate. i am judy woodruff. my colleagues are tom brokaw of nbc news, and a brit hume of abc news. the importance of tonight the president is underscored by two fax. both george bush and michael bad -- michael dukakis said their running mates would reveal a lot about themselves. based on the history, there is almost a 50-50 chance that one of the men here tonight will become president of the united states. the candidates are senator dan quayle and lloyd bentsen, the democratic nominee. [applause] for the next 90 minutes, we will be questioning the candidates following a format designed and agreed to

. >> ross perot interviewed by richard wolfe and how it has changed since he ran for president in 1992 and 1996. by his article in today's edition of "usa today" ross perot tonight on c-span at 9:00 p.m. eastern. >> of the archdiocese of washington red mass yesterday marking the start of the new term. it is named after the color of the garments help buy the claridge held on the sunday before the court held this. six of the nine attended yesterday's services of st. matthew the apostle. including chief justice john roberts as well as scalia, elena kagan and clarence thomas. >> on friday, the federalist society how the discussion previewing the supreme court term. they will consider a challenge to the 1965 voting act, at the legality of a surveillance program, and an affirmative action case. from the national press club, this is about 1.5 hours. >> good afternoon. i am doug cox. welcome to our september luncheon. today's event is sponsored by the societies practice group, the lawyers chapter in the faculty division. our program is a little different from the regular lunches that take plac

i'll talk with political analyst richard wonderful. wolf. the capability of a pathfinder with the comfort of a sedan and create a next-gen s.u.v. with best-in-class fuel economy of 26 miles per gallon, highway, and best-in-class passenger roominess? yeah, that would be cool. introducing the all-new nissan pathfinder. it's our most innovative pathfinder ever. nissan. innovation that excites. ♪ that's the sound of car insurance companies these days. here a cheap, there a cheap, everywhere a cheap... you get it. so, what if instead of just a cheap choice, you could make a smart choice? like, esurance for example. they were born online and built to save people money from the beginning. it's what they've always done. not just something they cheap about. that's insurance for the modern world. esurance. now backed by allstate. click or call. >>> thanks for staying with us tonight. police and fmpts are working to get families out of the flooded neighbors tonight. rescue workers carried children to safety in little ferry just a few hours ago. hundred

. >> coming up, nbc news political director chuck todd, political analyst richard wolfe, and molly ringwald. but first, bill karins with a check on the forecast. >>> good morning, mika, on this tuesday. once again, greeted by chilly air, clouds and a few showers out there this morning. the east coast and the northern plains. the two kind of coolest, cloudiest spots in the country. you see the showers riding up 95, d.c. heading toward baltimore and philadelphia and the new york city area, few sprinkles. i do not expect a lot of airport delays out of this. there's going to be a cloudy, murky, damp tuesday. we'll have sunshine, though, back through the great lakes, ohio valley should be nice along with all areas of the southern half of the country. a reinforcing shot of cold air coming down from canada. not what we wanted. barely warmed up from the last shot of cold air. look at the windchills this morning from denver northward up through the dakotas and mthd. a very cold tuesday start for you. back in the 80s, dallas, new orleans, all areas of the deep south enjoying what should be a great tu

this is what richard wolfe and mary beth write -- if you are interested in the audio of the oral arguments, it will be released by the court on friday after 1:00 p.m. c-span.org to find out when we will be airing that on friday. jimmy is an independent scholar. where are you from? caller: north carolina. host: what do you think about the vice-presidential debate? caller: well, i think the vice presidential debate matters. the politics have become like a consumer item in how we package the product and substance does not really matter. everything that happens before the election counts. i wish the american people would just look and see what happened with the the previous republican administration and look at all the things that the present republican nominee supported during the bush administration and get an idea of the things he will implement if he wins. now, president obama is trying to fix what the previous administration did. it does not happen overnight. in the process at, people want things right now, they want everything fixed immediately. that to the vice- presidential debate. cal

new york, vice president and executive editor of the new msnbc.com and msnbc political analyst, richard wolfwhite house correspondent and political director and host of "the daily rundown," chuck todd. gentlemen, thanks for joining us. >> thank you. >> are you surprised he's talking to spielberg over there? >> he's a smart man. >> we got it. so first of all, chuck, let's look at these latest polls. likely voters in ohio. shouldn't we go there? and what's your sense of what's happening? >> well, look. i think some of these public -- look, everything is tightened from what i understand from the campaigns, right? which is you don't yet hear bluster from the romney folks that they're winning ohio. they don't say that. and i don't think their numbers are saying that. they believe it's essentially tied. essentially is always -- that's code for we're down a little bit. but it's not much. meaning somewhere probably less than two points. what's interesting is that i'm getting a sense now from the democratic side that acknowledging that this race got a lot tighter. >> interesting. >> in ohio. it felt

. >>, ross perot, richard wolf, and -- a discussion on the economy and how it has changed since 1992. ross perot tonight on c-span at 9:00 p.m. eastern. the first debate between mitt romney and president obama is being held wednesday at the university of denver. our live debate preview starts at 7:00 p.m. eastern. at 9:00 p.m., jim lehrer of moderates the 90-minute debate with focus on domestic policy. after the debate, e-mails, phone calls, and wheat. -- and tweaks. here is part of a 2008 debate between senator john mccain and then senator barack obama. >> the conversation i had with joe the plumber, what i essentially said to him was, five years ago when you were in a position to buy your business, you needed a tax cut then. what i wanted to do was to make sure that the plumber, a nurse, the firefighter, the teacher, the young entrepreneur who does not yet have money, i want to give them a tax break now. that require some important choices. the last thing i want to make about small businesses, not only do 98% of small businesses make less than 21 for $50,000, but i want to give them

here's cnn's senior congressional correspondent dana bash. >> wolf, when richard mourdock ousted veteran gop primary, the more conservative mourdock immediately made the indiana senate race more competitive. but new controversial remarks about abortion and rape could have implications far beyond indiana, namely the race for the white house. the question in this debate tuesday evening was about abortion. republican richard mourdock explained why he's opposed even in the case of rape. >> i struggled with it myself for a long time. but i came to realize life is a gift from god. and i think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape that it is something that god intended to happen. >> reporter: national democrats heard those words, something god intended to happen, and within ten minutes they pounced. hoping to make him a late-breaking example of what they call a gop war on women. and they tied him to mitt romney highlighting the fact that romney just cut an ad endorsing mourdock. >> i hope you'll join me in supporting richard mourdock. >> reporter: bad timing for romney. aggre

richard? >> all right, chuck. >>> i'm jenna wolf along with lester holt.g up, who doesn't love a pool party? but would you willingly swim with tight sneertigers? >> a private zoo actually allows patrons to swim along with tiger cubs. some say it's wonderful, others caution, say it sends the wrong message. we'll let you be the judge. >> i get dolphins. i get turtles. i get fish. >> tigers? >> really? >> yeah, i don't know. >> next week, we're going to swim with a rhino. >>> and we'll hear about lance armstrong's state of mind. he could be stripped of his tour de france titles within days. >>> plus, one tv reporter's live shot. they told me we're not going to show you the video. but it's this. and i near fell off the couch. >> it's what? >> i can't say what it is. but it has to be your worst nightmare. >> when you do what we do now, you live in fear of becoming a youtube moment. >> this one is a youtube moment. for everyone in our control room, if that wasn't enough of a tease for people to stick around -- >> better than our colleague who got the bug in his

wolf, hold your thought for a moment. that live event we're waiting for in indiana, richard mourdock is speaking. >> i want to talk about theks of last night, and i appreciate you gathering. you know, in the debate during last evening, i made a comment that i made, quite honestly, from the deepest roots and the greatest base of my faith. which is to say, that i believe life is precious. i believe that to the marrow of my bones. i believe that life itself is the greatest gift that god can give us. and i know, because polling shows it. at least 80% of all americans and i'm sure at least that many hoosiers think that god is the author of all life. and i stand firmly on that belief. point number two. i absolutely abhor violence. i abhor any kind of sexual violence. i abhor rape. and i am absolutely confident, as i stand here, that the god that i worship abhor's violence, abhor's sexual violence, and abhor's rape. the god that i worship would never, ever want to see evil done. that is an element of my faith. god doesn't want the evil. but occasionally it happens. sadly, it happens. lastly, as this has unfolded, i've come to unde

it has been filmed in ways that even anisfeld-wolf could scarcely have imagined. let's give it up for ron richards. [applause] these awards are chosen each year by a stellar jury composed of the novelist joined carol oates in the psychologist steven pinker my colleague and historian simon. this award has always been a major national book price with a hosted outstanding previous winners including among so many others, langston hughes, zora neale hurston and even the reverend dr. martin luther king jr.. and now thanks to the vision, commitment and shared energy of one person, we now have a hot web site and live streaming video of our event, national press coverage and several cavorting lectures and presentations and you know who that one person is. she is the lifeblood of the anisfeld-wolf book awards, my dear friend and comrade mary louise khan. give it up for mary louise. stand up, mary louise. [applause] our annual ceremony has become an important event on cleveland social and intellectual calendar and that takes an entire team of people including ron of course but also cindy schultz. cindy, plea

today an interview with former presidential candidate ross perot by richard wolf. he talks about the state of the economy, the deficit and the debt and how it has changed since his campaign. here is a portion of the interview. >> if i had three wishes, strong, moral, ethical base. i had that would was growing up and enter the depression. a strong family unit in every home. now the divorce rate is 50%. that is destabilizing. when i grew up and enter the depression, we had the finest public schools -- in the depression, we had the finest public schools. our public schools are at the bottom of the industrialized world. the great state of texas -- that is the country. in the great state of texas where i went to public schools and had a incredible education, it is either 47 or 49 in 50 states. that is our responsibility. we can correct that. but the problems we face now, they are so fundamental about what we must do now. it cannot pass that off to the house or senate of the federal government. we have to get the ball. >> richard wolf talks with ross perot today at 1:35