joining me, richard goodstein and msnbc contributor robert traynham. bert is a former communications director as well for senator rick santorum. richard, start with you. the polls are still tight in nevada. we were talking about some of the papers there. when you look at these endorsements, what sort of effect might it have on the key undecided ca undecideds? >> well, richard, we've always known the polls were going to tighten to the end. this shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody who follows this new york. i think the impact of the endorsements is great in these big swing states like colorado and the tampa bay paper that you mentioned. and even the slap that mitt romney got from this salt lake paper, his adopted home, where they said not only too many mitts, but they said, who is this guy? and how is it that somebody could have this many positions? that's something that's not just for the readers of that paper. utah is not a swing state. that's the kind of shorthand, in a paper of the place that he calls home, one of his homes, that will be used, i g

. >> let's bring in msnbc of contributor robert traynham and democratic strategist steve elmendorf.d to see you back. good morning. >> steve, clint eastwood is back. so is bain capital and those new super pac ads. how do they fit into the overall campaign in these closing days? >> my guess is in the closing days you're going to hear both candidates in their own voices in their ads talking about a positive significance for the future and you're going to hear the super pacs on both sides giving a negative view of the opposition candidate. >> good cop, bad cop? >> yep. >> robert, willet me show you examples of some other super pac spending. american principles obviously conservative has 43 anti-obama billboards up in florida, including this one showing president obama bowing to the saudi king, blaming him for high gas prices. another one says friends don't let friends get nuked. there you see a nuclear missile from iran heading to israel. there's also a mailing going out. it's an anti obama dvd and it claims among other things that the president is the love child of an affair between h

. >> robert traynham, an msnbc contributor. chloe angel, a director of -- i'm going to stop talking. what do you think is going to happen on thursday night, steve? >> i think joe biden gets a bad wrap as a politician, as a communicator and as a debater. i'm not sure when exactly it started, but sometime in the last five years. this caricature of biden as everyone's crazy uncle. it's a gaffe a minute. you never know what crazy thing he's going to say next. i think he is a skilled communicator. i think he's a strong debater. the reason he ended up on obama's ticket was because of the democratic primary debates in 2007, 2008. we forget that biden ran for president. how many debates did we step away, it's hillary, it's obama. but joe biden won this debate. i wrote that column four or five times in 2007, 2008. think way back. when joe biden first ran for president in the 1988 cycle. that was the plagiarism thing. but besides that, when he was running, this guy was the star order of the field. he was a young senator at the time but i

joining me is communication director for rick santorum, robert traynham.the poll out today, batt battleground, a whole bunch of stuff. i feel like there's no longer a but. this is a close race but this is a close race but the president has advantages. i feel like the last part of the sentence is no longer applicable. >> i feel like that's right but this is the week that we'll begin to understand whether that's correct or not. it does feel as if that but has been dropped and we're in a situation where it's a very close race but i think as a result of tomorrow night's debate, we'll have a good idea of what this race looks like. >> casey, how confident are the romney folks? >> i think they are being be cautiously confident. romney has become almost a different candidate since the debate. he's much more confident, making more stops at diners, chatting with voters. he's stepping out of some of the boxes that he put himself in. >> robert, the way that i look at this debate, the fundamental thing separating mitt romney from the presidency is this ability to care

. >> joining us now, here in new york, jonathan alter, and in rhode island, robert traynham.i assume paul ryan will never complain will-b a softball question, but second, when do we know where he stands on abortion? when is that supposed to happen? >> they're going to get down into in on the debate about abortion. >> he can't answer a reporter's question? he sponsored 38 pieces of legislation -- >> he's on the fly. the reason it's complicated answer for him -- i'm not trying to defend him here, but the reason it's a little complicated is because he'll essentially have to say my views on abortion are not at issue, martha. it's governor romney's views we're talking about. and i don't want to confuse views, so my sponsorship of all these bills is not relevant to the conversation. then what he's going to do is pivot and start attacking president obama on this question of obama care require, catholic affiliated institutions provide contraception. >> so basically don't answer the question, just divert? >> he'll do that. >> he'll divert? >> for sure. >> robert, here is how paul ryan

. >> robert traynham, chris kofinis, thank you very much.l see who's right on that one. >>> and just ahead, why todd akin is suddenly popular in states where he's not on the ticket. nyquil doesn't unstuff your nose. what? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus liquid gels speeds relief to your worst cold symptoms plus has a decongestant for your stuffy nose. thanks. that's the cold truth! [ male announcer ] you've reached the age where you don't back down from a challenge. this is the age of knowing how to make things happen. so, why let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. 20 million men already have. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudde

. >> robert, robert -- sorry, jonathan alter and jonathan traynham.robust discussion. >>> next, the president preps for a test that could determine where his family comes living come january. first, amanda drury has the cnbc market wrap. >> good afternoon to you as well. look at how stocks stand. we had a really good day for the start of the trading week after what was a very negative week last week. you had the dow today rising by 95 points, s&p up about 11, nasdaq higher by 20. that's it from cnbc, first in business worldwide. ♪ what are you doing? uh. who taught you how to do this stuff? you! all right! i learned it by watching you! [ male announcer ] parents who skim, have kids who skim. kraft macaroni & cheese. you know you love it. >>> we are now just over 24 hours away from round two, the second of three presidential debates. we're told that the president has watched a recording of the first debate and was none too impressed by his own performance. nbc's kristin welker is traveling with the president and joins us from williamsburg, virginia. kr