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Obama vs. Romney: Round 2, Romney Woos Women, Erases Obama's Gender Gap Lead; Building Confidence Among Home Builders; 6 Straight Months of Gains in Building; Candy Crowley Moderates High-Stakes Debate Tonight; Candidates Talk to "Reader's Digest"; Tips on Using the Internet to Find a Job

Aired October 16, 2012 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you very much, Carol Costello. Nice to see you. And nice to see you, everybody.

Hi there, it's 11:00 on the East Coast, it's 8:00 on the West Coast.

Let's start here, three weeks and counting. That is how long we have until Election Day, and each day has its own challenges. Today's is a debate. The second presidential debate this season. These debates seem even more critical when you look at this map. Here you go. These are where the states have people already voting. So in these 18 states, if you hear something you like tonight, you can just run on out and cast your ballot tomorrow.

Five more states are going to join this list between today and next debate, next week. One of those five states is Nevada, and it is a swing state, Nevada, Nevada, so we're going to tap into that undecided vote a little later on this hour. Going to ask some questions about what makes these voters tick. What are they waiting for? And whether a second or even a third debate, for that matter, is going to help them make their choice.

I'll be talking to an undecided voter from Nevada later this hour to hear what he is looking for tonight, but first, let's bring in White House correspondent Dan Lothian who's at Hofstra University, the debate site in Hempstead, New York.

So Dan, the president admitted he had had an off night on the first debate, so is the campaign letting on that there are some valuable lessons learned and valuable lessons that will be applied?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, they started talking about that shortly after the debate, about, you know, a different president would be showing up at this one.

What we've seen is, for the past three days, the president was in the battleground state of Virginia in Williamsburg at a resort there where he spent most of the time going over his briefing books, also involved in mock debates, surrounded by the team that got him ready for his first debate with the exception of Ben Rhodes who is one of his national security advisers because, obviously, there will be questions about national security and foreign policy coming up at this debate. So they've been involved in those intense debate preparations. And, in fact, just a short time ago, the president was taking a walk and some of the reporters following the president got a chance to throw some questions at him.

They asked him how he was feeling. He said, I'm feeling, quote, "fabulous" and, so, you know, clearly the president prepared. We're told going to be much more aggressive this time, and according to top aides, will be ready and willing to challenge Mitt Romney when he lays out his plans and proposals.

BANFIELD: So Dan, I can't imagine what it's like to be an adviser for a sitting president to try to be really tough on him and harsh on him, but his own people say that he is his own harshest critic, right?

LOTHIAN: That's right. And, you know, what we've heard is that the president was very disappointed in his performance, that took the blame for the result of that debate, which is, by all accounts, that he did lose. And so, yes, as they have pointed out, he is his own harshest critic and has been very -- working very hard to try to sort of recover from that first debate performance.

So the question will be what kind of president will we see? Will he be much like we saw with the vice president in the presidential debate, cutting in, or will there be a balance because, as you know, the format is different this time around. You do have these undecided voters who will be asking questions, so the president has to be careful to answer the question, to make a connection with the person asking the question, while at the same time, score some political points.

BANFIELD: Any idea or any sort of hint from the campaign today or in the last few days as to a particular issue where the president really wants to be? Where he wants to direct the conversation, even if he has to do a complete 90-degree angle to get there?

LOTHIAN: Well, you know, they won't highlight one specific thing that the president wants to hit. They'll talk sort of in generalities that the president will continue to go after Mitt Romney on taxes. But one thing, perhaps, that we'll hear the president do this time that he did not do in the last debate is talk about the 47 percent. The vice president brought it up. That is an area that the president has been hitting Mitt Romney on post-debate out on the campaign trail.

So we expect that that's something that the president will find some way to bring into one of the answers that someone will ask tonight.

BANFIELD: All right. White House correspondent Dan Lothian for us, live at the debate site. Thanks very much for that.

And I also want to bring in our CNN political editor, Paul Steinhauser, for behind-the-scenes look at tonight's town hall-style debate format. So set it up for me and give me the mechanics, Paul, if you will -- how many people, how many undecided voters, how many students, how the questions get chose and exactly how this thing will function. PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: You got it and, as I do that, I think you have some live pictures of the debate hall right behind me on Hofstra University campus, so let's look at those.

This is going to be about 80 people in this audience, in the town hall audience. They are undecided voters, as Dan was just mentioning there, from the area here on Long Island in New York state. They will be coming up with the questions. In fact, they have come up with the questions and they're meeting pretty much right around now at an undisclosed location. Ashleigh, I don't know where it is. Don't ask me because I don't know -- with Candy Crowley, the moderator of the debate, our own Candy Crowley, CNN's Candy Crowley, our chief political correspondent and the host of "STATE OF THE UNION".

So Candy will be getting the questions from these people and she will decide which -- they'll probably have time for about maybe 15 of those people to ask questions to the president and to Mitt Romney. They will ask the questions directly.

Now from there, let me toss to some sound. I spoke to Frank Fahrenkopf. He is the co-chairman of the Commission on Presidential Debate. Here's how it's going to play out for that. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANK FAHRENKOPF, CO-CHAIRMAN, COMMISSION ON PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES: They'll each have two minutes to respondent respond to the questions.

By a flip of the coin, Governor Romney will go first. He'll get the first question tonight. And then after the two minutes for each, there will be another two minutes where Candy's job will be to facilitate some discussion and hopefully some real debate between the two candidates.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: And this is fascinating. It's also, as Dan mentioned, domestic, foreign policy issues.

And the other important thing about tonight, Ashleigh, is body language. Remember at the first debate, the president and Mitt Romney were standing behind podiums. They will not be doing that here. They will be sitting on stools. The camera will show every part of their body, probably. So body language is really going to be a little more important this time than it was in the first debate.

You remember back in 1992 the first town hall debate, George Herbert Walker Bush was caught, on-camera, checking his watch. It looked like he was disengaged. Body language matters, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: Well, and the questions also threw him off somewhat. He wasn't quite able to engage with one of the people asking the questions, a woman who was asking about the economy and how somebody of his ilk could understand what people like her were going through. And then President Clinton was able to really connect with her by just walking off those chairs and walking right towards the audience. So you're right. Body language is part of this.

And I've got to ask you about some of the polling that you're always watching for us, fascinating new numbers that are out, particularly with regard to women. I couldn't help but notice the front page of "USA Today." Let me just hold it up. "Women Push Romney into the Lead."

Holy smokes, that lead that the president had has almost evaporated completely.

STEINHAUSER: Yeah, this Gallup poll is getting a lot of attention. Let's take a look at the numbers. This is from Gallup. It came out yesterday.

Now, this number right here among likely voters, among female likely voters is just in what they consider the ten battleground states and you can see basically a dead heat and then the overall number has a slight advantage for Romney.

Take a look at this. These are three other polls that came out yesterday, three other national polls, not just in the battleground states. but you can see in the ABC/"Washington Post" and the Politico/George Washington and in the American Research polls, there is an advantage for the president among women. There was a big gender gap for quite some time, the president doing better among women voters, Mitt Romney doing better among male voters. A few polls now, though, indicating a closer race, especially among women voters. That can be troublesome for the president. His campaign is pushing back, big-time against the Gallup poll saying it is flawed.

But the gender gap is important, and if Mitt Romney can pick it up you and make gains among women, this was just one poll, but if he can in other polls, that is a problem for the president. But we will see. That was only one poll.

BANFIELD: Wait a minute. Paul, are you telling me that the party not doing as well in the polls is arguing with the poll? Really?

STEINHAUSER: Shocking. Shocking! That never happens, Ashleigh, right? Never, ever happens. Oh, my lord.

BANFIELD: Never. Right.

STEINHAUSER: Unbelievable.

BANFIELD: I believe that was the exact same story last week with Republicans and the Democrats are at it this week. Oh, it's so much fun.

All right, Paul Steinhauser, thank you, sir. Appreciate that.

Also don't forget that you can catch tonight's debate moderated by our own Candy Crowley right here on CNN. Coverage begins at 7:00 p.m. Eastern sharp.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BANFIELD: There has been one in every presidential election for 20 years, the town hall-style presidential debate. It's fun. Really, it is. And that can be a total political goldmine or a total political landmine for President Obama or Mitt Romney.

I mean, all you have to do is really look back four years ago. Senator John McCain took the whole free-flowing town hall format to kind of a whole other level and wandered right into the territory of the late-night talk show hosts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM BROKAW, FORMER "NBC NIGHTLY NEWS" ANCHOR: That concludes tonight's debate from here in Nashville. We want to thank our hosts here at Belmont University in Nashville and the Commission on Presidential Debates.

JON STEWART, HOST, "THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART": Meanwhile, the Senator from Arizona spent most of his time wandering the outer reaches of the stage.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE EMULATING VOICE OF JOHN MCCAIN, FORMER REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: What's going on over here? How are you folks doing? Has anybody seen my dog? Has anyone seen my little Mr. Puddles? Just a little guy, fits right in your hand.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: The format tonight is key because style as much as substance can really define this kind of a debate.

The line is very fine between memorable and mockable, as you just saw, which is why we want to get to some pre-debate perspective with Amy Holmes, who is an anchor for "Real News" on The Blaze, and also BuzzFeed's political reporter, McKay Coppins.

OK, Amy, let me begin with you. When you have something like this, when you have this open forum and the ability to be so personable and to be so physical with your person, is there an advantage that goes to the president on this or is there an advantage that goes to Mitt Romney, notwithstanding what color you check your box?

AMY HOLMES, ANCHOR, "REAL NEWS": Right. I think there is an advantage to who has -- who's the better performer, who has the most comfort level on that stage.

BANFIELD: And in your opinion?

HOLMES: In my opinion, I think actually both men are very good at that. They're very good at their physicality and engaging their audience when you have seen Mitt Romney on the stump, when you see President Obama, also.

I think, let's face it, President Obama is a pretty elegant man. He cuts a very dashing figure in those slim suits. We saw him in 2008 being able to command that town hall format, so I think they're pretty evenly matched to tell you the truth.

BANFIELD: So McKay, jump in here if you would and let me know what the president has to do with respect to what Amy and I were just talking about, because his campaign has said he has to come out swinging and he has to be tougher and more aggressive.

Is this the venue to do that or do you need a podium to sort of mitigate how angry you could appear?

MCKAY COPPINS, POLITICAL REPORTER, BUZZFEED: Right. I think that President Obama is going to have to be careful not to overcompensate because, like you said, this is a unique forum. He's going to be standing in a room. It's kind of an intimate setting with only 80 voters. You have to address the questions that the voters are asking and I don't think that it's the best setting to go in attack-dog mode.

I think that President Obama is going to try to push back against some of Mitt Romney's claims, but while, at the same time, taking advantage of the likeability advantage that he's had throughout this campaign.

BANFIELD: OK. Both of you watch, if you would, your monitors because I want to play a moment from the 1992 town hall meeting that involved George W. Bush. Take a peek at what happened, what it seemed like on TV, what it might have seemed like actually in the town hall debate itself and how George H. W. Bush reacted. Have a peek.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What I'm saying ...

GEORGE H. W. BUSH, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: I'm not sure I get it. Help me with the question and I'll try to answer it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've had friends that have been laid off from jobs. I know people who cannot afford to pay the mortgage on their homes, their car payment. I have personal problems with the national debt.

BUSH: Thank you. I'm glad you clarified.

BILL CLINTON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Tell me how it's affected you again? You know people who've lost their jobs and lost their homes?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, yeah.

CLINTON: In my state, when people lose their jobs, there's a good chance I'll know them by their names.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: So Amy Holmes, that was such a moment. I think a television moment for a lot of people where they realized, yeah, you really do have to sort of get yourself next to the person and stop treating it like an issue.

HOLMES: Absolutely. BANFIELD: And treat it like a friend. Because it seemed to many people that George H. W. Bush just was more into debating than helping.

HOLMES: Right. Into abstractions instead of people. That was a masterful moment for then-Governor Bill Clinton and actually showed the advantage, too, of being a governor when he said, in my state, I will know the people who are suffering these problems.

I think here President Obama might have a little bit of a disadvantage of being in the presidential bubble. He's going to need to get out of that bubble and connect with real voters.

BANFIELD: So four years will put you in that bubble?

HOLMES: It can.

BANFIELD: I like that woman. I never met her and I'm sitting here on a TV stage.

HOLMES: It's a danger, but to your point about engaging in a more aggressive way. A way that President Obama can do that is not frontally, but engaging that voter and saying, "This is what I'm going to do for you. My opponent says this. This is what I'm going to do." So he doesn't necessarily need to turn and face Mitt Romney and get in his face and get aggressive. He can accomplish that just through conversation.

BANFIELD: McKay, jump in, if you will, here. I just want to take us back to 1994. There was an MTV town hall meeting where the sitting President of the United States, Bill Clinton, was asked by one of these wild card questioners, boxers or briefs? A sitting president.

And I'm just wondering if there is a possibility for a moment like that, and what the president would have to do to accommodate for that, to appeal to those who are truly in need of some answers in a very serious economy and to appeal to those young voters who want somebody who they just like.

COPPINS: Yeah, I think President Obama is actually pretty good at handling situations like that. What really won the youth vote in 2008 and mobilized them and got them to the polls was that he came across as kind of, you know -- kind of funny. He had this sort of sardonic, almost ironic, sense of humor that really plays well to young voters.

At the same time, you know, four years later, he's now presided over an economy that is stagnant. He has a lot of issues that he is facing as an incumbent and, so, he has to walk a fine line between, you know, openly making jokes and actually seeming like a serious, sober candidate.

I think I actually have confidence that he'll handle that pretty well. My question is how Mitt Romney will handle the questions like that. You know, he has to show he can actually answer a question and talk to the voter, even when it's a weird question, rather than immediately pivot to some big issue like tax reform or the deficit, which I think is kind of Mitt Romney's inclination.

BANFIELD: Seventy million people were fascinated by all those kinds of topics and choices and hopefully there will be that many watching again because this is important and, for those who aren't quite decided, this should help.

My thanks to Amy Holmes and both McKay Coppins for their help on this today. Thanks, everybody.

Also, don't forget, you can watch President Obama and Mitt Romney. They're at it again, folks, this time town hall-style with our own Candy Crowley from CNN. She's moderating the second presidential debate. Our coverage gets underway at 7:00 Eastern, live, right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is trying to set the record straight about the Libya attack on September 11th. Mrs. Clinton is saying that she is responsible and not the president for the security failure at the Benghazi diplomatic mission that led to the killing of four Americans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I take responsibility. I'm in charge of the State Department, 60,000-plus people all over the world, 275 posts. The president and the vice president certainly wouldn't be knowledgeable about specific decisions that are made by security professionals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: CNN foreign affairs reporter Elise Labott who scored that exclusive interview and spoke with the Secretary of State in Lima, Peru, joins me now by telephone to talk a little bit more about that interview.

There is a lot of criticism right now that's being leveled at the Secretary of State, Elise, mostly due to the timing of this, of, perhaps, taking the fall so that the president can go into the debate tonight a little more secure that the Secretary of State is suggesting it was her fault and not Barack Obama's.

ELISE LABOTT, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, Ashleigh, I think there is some of that, but I definitely think there is also, not just trying to take the heat off the White House, but to end all of the politicization of this.

You know, Ambassador Stevens' father has said he thought his death was being politicized and the Democrats are calling it a witch hunt. And I think what the Secretary wanted to do was not only take the heat off the White House as President Obama goes into this debate, but also to kind of refocus people and say, listen, we definitely need to find out what happened here, but we also need to make sure that it never happens again and that's where she is focused right now. I asked her about the kind of changing story that the White House had initially, talking about spontaneous protests that led to this attack and changed the story, as you know.

Let's take a listen to what she said to me about intelligence and how that's being politicized.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

H. CLINTON: Everyone who spoke ...

LABOTT: Bad intelligence?

H. CLINTON: Well, everyone who spoke tried to give the information that they had. As time has gone on, the information has changed. We've gotten more detail. but that's not surprising. That always happens and what I want to avoid is some kind of political "gotcha" or blame game going on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LABOTT (via telephone): And, again, what she is saying, Ashleigh, is, listen, everyone wants to know what happened, but, you know, this really shouldn't be about politics. It should be about everybody wanting what's best for U.S. diplomats around the world and to honor these four brave men.

But certainly, as you know, as we are in the election season, a lot of people think this is, you know, a scheme by Republicans to go after President Obama. Some people think it's also to stop Hillary Clinton from running in 2016, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: Elise Labott, reporting live for us on the road with the Secretary of State in Lima, Peru. Thank you so much.

Also in international news, the promise of protection now from the Pakistani government in the wake of that awful shooting of a popular young activist, a 14-year-old girl, in fact. Her name is Malala Yousufzai and she is currently in a hospital in Birmingham, England right now. She was shot in the head at close range a week ago on her school bus.

The Taliban claimed responsibility and said, basically, they would do it all over again if she doesn't, in fact, die, but Malala is a fighter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. DAVE ROSSER, HOSPITAL MEDICAL DIRECTOR: Malala has had a comfortable night. All her initial assessments have been undertaken by the neurosurgical and their members of staff. We've still got some detailed assessments to undertake from various specialist teams who may be involved later on down the line, but we are very pleased with the progress she has made so far. She is showing every sign of being just every bit as strong as we have been led to believe she is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: The attack has put a spotlight on the Taliban in the Swat Valley. That's where Malala lived and that's where she was attacked.

Today, Pakistan's Interior Minister has announced that Malala's school would now bear her name and he's also promised to establish a task force to protect all girls' schools in that region. Malala famously fought for the right of all girls simply just to go to school.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Time to take a quick look at the stock market and there you have it, the real numbers, Dow up about 123 and change. And that's nice, seeing a green arrow.

Here's something else that's nice. When you're looking at trends, you want to see trends going up when it talks about economy and all the economic indicators are out there and Christine Romans is back today with yet another economic indicator that's looking pretty good.

This one is -- I had to ask you what it meant and incorporated, but it's called the Builder Confidence Index.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It's a gauge of how confident home builders are right now and it's another piece of material in our story about what's happening in the housing market, the housing market recovery. And what we know is that home builders are now more confident than any time since 2006. Remember 2006? Home builders were confident then. They're confident again here right now, and why? Because they're seeing serious buyers walk into their offices. They're seeing people who are actually doing projects and they're getting the financing to do the projects and so they're seeing signs of a pulse in the housing market.

There's a guy named Joe Lavorgna who's an economist at Deutsche Bank and he has a report out this week saying the housing recovery, Ashleigh, is for real.

BANFIELD: Are those the words he used, "for real?"

ROMANS: For real. The housing recovery is for real and he says it will be a leading indicator for the rest of consumer numbers and economy at this point. That this is very -- we're in the early stages of a recovery for you and me and it's being led by housing.

BANFIELD: Because really wasn't -- sometimes I hear it's being led by jobs and that's what everybody is waiting on. Sometimes I hear it's being led by housing and that's what everyone's waiting on.

ROMANS: We need both of them, quite frankly. We need both of them and we've talked about this before.

In parts of the country where jobs have not been coming back, you've had a tougher time in the housing market and parts of the country where you're seeing jobs start to come back, specifically in some of these big cities where people are adding plants, where they're adding shifts, where they're adding companies and growing, that's where you're seeing housing doing a little better.

BANFIELD: 2006? So these numbers suggest we are more confident than we have been since 2006. And wasn't that, correct me if I am wrong, sort of the peak of the housing level?

ROMANS: It was just before the peak. It was a year before the peak. 2007 was crazy giddy. And then the whole thing fell out of bed. So remember, all of those years in between were basically flat line or worse.

I want to talk about mortgage rates here. This is one thing helping to drive this, as well. This is the Federal Reserve keeping rates super low. You can get a 30-year fixed rate mortgage for 3.39 percent.

BANFIELD: That's nutty.

ROMANS: 15-year. That's the popular refinancing tool, Ashleigh. 2.7 percent. Sometimes I can't believe these numbers are coming out of my mouth. They are so low.

BANFIELD: Might those numbers go lower?

ROMANS: Oh, my gosh. They're going to keep interest rates low as long as they can with or without another Q.E., quantitative easing.

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: Real quickly, I can't let you go before I ask about the Citigroup CEO today. What the heck happened?

ROMANS: Oh, the drama. Decent earnings report yesterday. Vikram Pandit, CEO yesterday, and today he is not. He took over in 2007 and, since then, Citigroup stock, down 80 percent. He's had some setbacks this year. A$15 million pay package turned away by shareholders. Wouldn't allow it. He had some trouble, wasn't allowed to have a share buy back.

BANFIELD: That's not a good graphic.

ROMANS: No, he rode this stock -- this company during a very dangerous and tumultuous time.

Speaking of dangerous and tumultuous, a lot of people on Wall Street are saying, you have a decent earnings report one day, the next day you're gone. What's going on between you and your board? So there's a lot of kind of boardroom drama going on today.

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: Do you know why I like working at CNN?

ROMANS: Why?

BANFIELD: Many reasons, but because you, particularly, you're smart. And Wolf Blitzer coming up next.

ROMANS: Oh, yes.

BANFIELD: He's coming out next. How is that for a tease?

ROMANS: OK.

(LAUGHTER)

BANFIELD: Thank you, Christine.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Got a reminder for you. You can watch tonight's presidential debate live here on CNN, coverage beginning at 7:00 Eastern. And it will be led by this man, the indomitable Wolf Blitzer.

Inside that debate hall, our partner Candy Crowley, running things as moderator. And here's how Candy has been explaining her role in this process.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN ANCHOR & DEBATE MODERATOR: They will call on Alice and she will ask a question, and both candidates will answer, and then there is time for a follow-up question, facilitating a discussion, whatever you want to call it, to kind of go. So if Alice asks oranges and someone answers apples, there's time to go, but Alice asked oranges. What's the answer to that? Or will you say this, but what about that? It's clearly -- rules are everywhere. There is time within the segment for each question for facilitating conversation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Wolf, as you know, moderating is not an easy job. And I'm not sure if just recently I have noticed this trend or if in your past you have felt this all along but moderators take it on the chin a lot, get a lot of heat from both sides and already has started with criticism over how Candy will ask the questions or facilitate these questions. In your estimation and past, have you felt that as well?

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": You know, when I've moderated debates, they've been either Republican presidential debates or Democratic presidential debates. I did three Republican presidential debates in this current cycle and there were a lot of Republican candidates up on this stage. Last time I did five four years ago -- five Democratic and Republican presidential debates. It's a little bit different when CNN is the organizer alone of a presidential debate involving candidates for one party.

This is different. There is a Presidential Debate Commission that comes up with these three presidential, one vice presidential debates. They've got their own rules. This is not necessarily a CNN production. This is something sponsored by the National Presidential Debate Commissions, if you will, co chaired by a Democrat, Mike McCurry, and a Republican, Frank Fahrenkopf, so different from the debates I've done. I've never moderated one of these presidential debates between the two remaining candidates so it's different as far as that's concerned.

Candy has her instructions, what the ground rules are. And she has articulated them well. Both of these campaigns fully understand what her role is going to be, and I'm sure they're prepared for some follow-ups. You have a journalist up on the stage. What do want, the journalist just to be someone who can pass a microphone along? That's not happening.

BANFIELD: This is not "The Price is Right." Let's remind people of her extraordinarily long career in this particular topic. She has done politics almost her entire life.

Moving on from that, I want to direct your attention to something that a Democratic pollster said recently regarding a focus group that he and his group -- Peter Hart. He did a focus group with swing voters in Columbus, Ohio, and one of the things that came up from the focus group when they were asked, what kind of a family member did either of these candidates represent to these particular voters, they said, for Mitt Romney, stepdad, and for President Obama, brother, uncle or part of the family. Is it possible in one town hall debate to overcome that kind of an image problem? Again, this is Democratic pollster focus groups. If you do have that image of stepdad instead of brother or uncle, can you do something about it in just one big long town hall debate?

BLITZER: Probably not in one 90-minute town hall debate. But you've got to show your empathy, show you can relate to these people and they can relate to you. It's not necessarily all that easy. Neither one of these two candidates is perfect in that regard. The best -- I think I've mentioned this, maybe mentioned it to you yesterday. Bill Clinton, he was really grade in going out there and feeling your pain and letting everyone under that he knew where he was coming from, where they were coming from, and he made everybody feel very, very special. He was unique in that regard.

I think Mitt Romney has got some work to do tonight in making sure he comes across like that. And I think the president is going to have to step up his game, as well. They've been practicing this. I think on the substance of the economic issues, foreign policy issues, other issues, I think they're all very well briefed. But on some of the theatrics, rehearsing, practicing over the past few days. Sometimes you can over rehearse, just go too far. And then it turns out badly.

BANFIELD: Backfires, yes.

BLITZER: Sometimes it does. I remember 23 years ago when I first went into broadcast journalism, they sent me to a voice coach to practice, say this and that, emphasize -- I was terrible and I was ready to give it up and then my Washington bureau chief at the time said you know what, just be yourself. Just go out there and talk. And the viewers will appreciate it. And I still have a job 23 years later.

So I think if you guys are just -- if they're just themselves, if they just let Mitt Romney be Mitt Romney, let Barack Obama be Barack Obama, that's the best advice I would give them.

BANFIELD: Someone once said, an employer of Katie Couric, don't let her near the front of a camera again. Ha. So you're right, be yourself and chances are you'll be quite endearing.

I look forward to your coverage tonight, watching you for sure. Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Thank you.

BANFIELD: Want to make sure you turn in. See more from Wolf and our team as he leads our special coverage tonight of the presidential debate. It will, of course, be moderated by our own Candy Crowley and it all gets under way at 7:00 Eastern.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: With just three weeks until the election, the campaigns are battles over somewhere between 3 and 8 percent of the voters. That is a tiny sliver of men and is women in America who have not yet made up their minds on the candidates. And their vote, particularly in toss- up states like Nevada, which hold six electoral votes, will probably decide the next president of the United States. So an understatement to say their very important people.

Joe Stoltz is one of them, an undecided from Reno. He joins me now. Joe, thanks for coming on.

I just want to give our viewers a background on you. You're 43 years old, unemployed father of three, recently went back to school. You're a registered Republican. But just like a lot of other voters in your state, you voted for the president in 2008, but you may have a change of heart this go-round, yet you're still not sure. We are three weeks away, and there's been no shortage of coverage and commercials and debates already. Why are you still undecided?

JOE STOLTZ, NEVADA UNDECIDED VOTER: I'm still looking for some details. I haven't got all of the details I want out of what either one will do with the economy, and education and all of the other topics.

BANFIELD: Is it something specific in the details? I mean, they do talk about their plans, they've got these websites, arcane stuff and hard to fit into a 90-minute debate but you get the general sense of what their philosophies are about the conservative approach to the economy and the liberal approach, right?

STOLTZ: Right, right. There's just -- I haven't really got enough details, like I said. I'm looking for the specifics. Romney's five- point plan. I would like to have maybe the five points on each one of the points, maybe, during the debate would be nice. And, you know, maybe stop some of the finger-pointing at each other. BANFIELD: So the finger-pointing goes on no matter what, especially in the negative ads. Do the negative ads affect you? Do you see them as informative or get swayed by them in any way?

STOLTZ: I don't. I just don't pay attention to them. The negative ads just drive me crazy. I don't like listening to them, because it's just about our finger-pointing and, a lot of times during the debates, they'll talk to each other as my friend over here. And usually friends compromise. And don't really fight like that.

BANFIELD: Well, let me ask you this. Do you look at these two candidates as they go into this debate tonight and do you like both of them and you're trying to decide who you like more, or do you dislike both of them and are you trying to decide who you dislike more?

STOLTZ: I do like both of them. I like Romney, because he's a really good businessman, and I believe that the president is a great leader. I need the specifics. That's the main thing I'm really looking for.

BANFIELD: So what if you don't get them? What if you don't get the answers you're hoping for, and you're in the same boat on Election Day as you are with me right now? Do you go to the polls or do you stay home and say, you know what, it's just not for me?

STOLTZ: I'm going to go to the polls for sure. I believe after these next two debates I'll have my mind made up by then.

BANFIELD: What's the one thing that might take you to a direction and to an actual ballot and help you to make that decision? If you're truly undecided today, and you don't get those answers we were just talking about, what's the one thing that will make you vote one way?

STOLTZ: Well, seeing how I just started college again at the community college here, education is on the top of the list right now, because right now Pell Grants are what's keeping me in school right now. I know at one point I have to pay for my own school. But it's given me the boost and start that I needed to get going, on track with my life.

BANFIELD: So it's a specific issue that pertains just to you, that could switch your vote one way or the other as opposed to the larger economic issues, et cetera, right?

STOLTZ: Right. Because I believe that the economic issues -- it's going to take a while to fix those.

BANFIELD: Well, Joe, I'm glad to have a chance to talk to you. You are the guy, and those of your ilk who really could end up being the deciding factor on Election Day. So keep us posted. We would love to have you back, see how you feel maybe tomorrow or after the third debate.

STOLTZ: OK.

BANFIELD: OK. Joe Stoltz, I appreciate that.

STOLTZ: Thanks, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: Thank you. Do appreciate it.

Don't forget, folks, Candy Crowley, our own CNN star, is going to moderate this presidential town hall debate tonight. Hopefully, she'll be able to get some answers from the questioners tonight and the candidates for Joe. She'll be live in Hempstead, New York, on the campus of Hofstra University. Our special coverage here at CNN with our crack team of pundits and experts all gets under way at 7:00 Eastern.

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BANFIELD: Ever wondered what President Obama's favorite word is or what Mitt Romney's favorite joke is? It's the personal side of these guys. Doesn't sound like the typical questions that the candidates are used to fielding from reporter, but "Readers Digest" did not do the typical interview. Editor got the chance to dig into the more personal side of each candidate and unconventional interview and a departure from what they usually do.

Liz joins me live from San Francisco. This is not the normal "Reader's Digest" presidential interview. What were you thinking and why did you decide to go this route, Liz.

LIZ VACCARIELLO, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, "READER'S DIGEST": The 24-hour news cycle we decided we couldn't and shouldn't try to cover the policy and the pundits and the debate and the partisanship and what "Reader's Digest" -- when we're at our best we connect people. We get at the heart of emotion, we get at the heart of the human being and we decided to take a different approach and find out what men these people are.

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: Tell me what was surprising. What did you learn that surprised you most?

VACCARIELLO: Well, I was interested that both men were a lot warmer than I thought they'd be. Governor Romney was on the campaign trail and his answers were a little more clipped and shorter. He wasn't the storyteller that President Obama was, but when Governor Romney talked about his family and his wife and his 18 grandchildren, there was a sparkle in his eye that you could not fake. Very, very warm.

I interviewed President Obama in the Oval Office. Most powerful man in the world, and is able to sort of switch gears and get to a very emotional place for the 30 minutes that we were together. He talked -- I asked him what his most meaningful day in church was, and he went back to this day, this specific day in the south side of Chicago, and he walked in, the music they were playing and singing, and how it brought him to tears. He was very real and in the moment.

BANFIELD: So I want to put up the two favorite words that you got out of the president and the governor. For President Obama, his favorite word is "grace." He says, "I love the word grace because I think it captures what we strive for in life." And for the governor, he says his favorite word is "indomitable," period, no explanation. Just that.

VACCARIELLO: Yes.

BANFIELD: So tell me what struck you when they gave you responses to their favorite word question?

VACCARIELLO: President Obama was very -- he waxed eloquent about the word "grace" and how we find grace within ourselves. We have graceful moments in life and grace can rain down on us. And it was a lovely, you know, two or three minute answer. I asked Governor Romney and just "indomitable." That's all I was going to get. We were moving on.

BANFIELD: I know you asked the candidates their favorite joke and you did this for readers. You did a blind version of the favorite joke and asked them to vote. I'm going to read the favorite joke that won. As soon as we get into it, you'll realize -- our listeners will realize who it was. "I came into a large room of Republicans in Massachusetts" -- it's obviously Mitt Romney's joke -- "I turned to my wife and said Ann, did you see me running for political office she said, Mitt, you weren't in my wildest dreams."

That is awesome. Did it win by a landslide?

(LAUGHTER)

VACCARIELLO: It did win by landslide. But we removed the Massachusetts part of the joke.

BANFIELD: Yes.

VACCARIELLO: Yes. And the Ann reference. I had some friends who said, "I voted for my guy." You know, it was clearly, you know, Obama's joke was funnier, I voted for joke number one. I've been milling them back, saying joke number-one was Romney. It was definitely funny.

BANFIELD: Great interview. Interesting. For those who want to see what the president's favorite joke is, check out the issue. It hits the stands, November.

Liz Vaccariello, thanks for being with us.

VACCARIELLO: Thank you, Ashleigh.

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BANFIELD: Most workers are constantly on the prowl for a new job, according to a brand-new study. If you're one of the people, a secret weapon might be at your fingertips -- Internet.

Alison Kosik, top tips for people who might be able to make the most of a job search online.

The secret here is it's not just for people out of work. It's for people who have jobs, too.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. There are a lot of people who got job but was searching for another one. There's a new study from Career Builder finds 69 percent of full-time workers regularly search for a new job and 30 percent say they shop around every week. So why the constant job hunt? Easy access to online job postings at other resources.

We spoke with a career coach with six figures. Start subtly pushing your online profile, LinkedIn page in your e-mail signature; you're sending out your resume without the attachment. Do an online search for yourself. Be aware what employers can see and what they want see about you. If Facebook comes up as first thing on the search, think about adjusting privacy settings. Go ahead set up an alert, that way when your name is mentioned you'll be the first to know it.

Finally, check out the job boards but look beyond them as well. If a posting is out of date, you can use the information as great research. Use the requirements listed to tweak your resume and write a stronger cover letter.

BANFIELD: Sneaky, putting your LinkedIn profile in your signature.

KOSIK: Nice subtle way to push it forward.

BANFIELD: Clever.

Thanks, Alison Kosik. Nice to see you, my friend.

Thanks, everybody, for watching NEWSROOM. I'll be back in another hour. Michael Holmes will take the baton and start you off with NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL -- Michael?