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Round Two of Obama vs. Romney; Front Line In A Battleground State; Clinton Takes Responsibility; Town Hall Risks And Rewards; Teen Taliban Victim Showing Resilience; Last Respects To Senator Arlen Specter; George McGovern In Hospice Care; 19 Kids Crammed Into Car; Keys To The Debate; Exclusive Ways to Watch Tonight's Debate; Teenager Buys Second House

Aired October 16, 2012 - 14:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: As we say in the south. Ashleigh Banfield, thank you so much.

Good to be with you all, of course, on this big day, debate day here. I'm Brooke Baldwin. And let's jump right in, shall we?

We are seven hours from debate number two. And let me just first show you the president. A lot of pressure on him tonight. Here he is, Barack Obama, arriving in New York where he will square off tonight with Mitt Romney. And we caught the President taking a stroll this morning. Let's just dip in and listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, are you ready for tonight? How you feeling about tonight?

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I feel fabulous. Look at this beautiful day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So the President is feeling fabulous. And that is a bit of a contrast to what he said before debate number one. Remember that? He complained to reporters that his aides had him holed up, cramming and, in the President's words, it was a drag. Well, we know how that went.

On the flip side, here's Mitt Romney. Romney boarding the plane from Boston. He is to arrive at Hofstra right about an hour from now. This time around, Romney will not have the benefit of diminished expectations. Before the first debate, respondents to a poll, they chose Obama to win by a really huge margin. You remember that? Fifty- one percent to 29 percent. Let me say it again. We know how that went. This time, as you see, the expectations have narrowed.

Dana Bash is live for us now on the campus of Hofstra University.

And, Dana, I promise we'll talk about the debate here in just a moment, but I do want to take a look at this poll that kind of made me rock my head back this morning. This is the "USA Today"/Gallup poll. It finds Obama and Romney running virtually even-Steven among women. Women, that is, in 12 swing states.

Dana, we have seen the President running far ahead of Mitt Romney among female voters. In fact, a different picture here. Look at these nationwide polls and Obama is still leading Romney among women by seven points or more. What accounts for this jump toward Romney among women in the 12 swing states? Any clue?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, it's hard to answer that without getting what they say -- what they call in the business "cross tax (ph)," meaning the inside numbers in Gallup polls to be able to know why the women who said that they are more supportive of Mitt Romney said that. Whether it's his economic positions, whether it was his performance on the debate or something else.

But what I can tell you is that other polls also talking about -- or talking to voters in swing states are, you know, less favorable to Mitt Romney and there still is a pretty big gender gap, even in swing states, in "The Washington Post" poll and the Politico, George Washington University poll.

But it is important to point this out because Gallup is -- didn't just start polling yesterday. They are a reputable polling organization. And it has become a little bit of a football between the campaigns of the Obama campaign, as you can imagine, coming out and questioning the methodology of the poll, saying that this doesn't make any sense and the Romney campaign saying, oh, we think that this is very important and good news for us because we've said this so many times, Brooke, you and I, the female vote and the gender gap in particular, because the female vote is so important, is one of the biggest problems that Republicans in general historically have, but especially for Mitt Romney right now.

BALDWIN: Huge. And we're going to talk a little bit more about the lady voters a little later this hour. But, Dana, at this hour, what's the word on debate preparations?

BASH: It's all quiet on the debate front, which is kind of typical for these few hours leading up to the big event. What these candidates tend to do, and our understanding is that they're doing exactly this now, is just try to get as much R&R as they can. Try to kind of, you know, let loose a little bit, spend time with their family. That is certainly the case. Our understanding from Romney sources is that he is spending time with his five adult sons. They are here with him. The -- and he is going to be here just to kind of get a sense of the stage, the feel of the room. In about an hour he's going to do a walk- through. I believe that -- unfortunately, that's closed to the press. We won't be able to see it.

And President Obama, we just saw Marine One, his helicopter, land in the last hour. So he is now here after having the three days of intense, intense debate preparation. As you said, much different from the last time around. And by all accounts, he has been different in terms of his focus inside as these debate preparations. Look, any politician is a highly, highly competitive person. And that is especially true for President Obama. He knows that he got his clock cleaned last time around. At least that was the perception. And that was, most importantly, the perception among his supporters. And that's why he feels that he's got to come back. And that's what sources who are working with him are telling us.

BALDWIN: OK. So competitive, yes. And, yes, you're correct, we can't actually see inside the town hall, the inside, the building behind you. So let's just paint this picture. We've seen the pictures. You know, you have the voters who sit around the circle. These are the ones who get to ask the questions. Candy Crowley, our own Candy Crowley, will be out there moderating. You know, point being, with this format, Dana, this is a whole different dynamic from debate number one.

BASH: A whole different dynamic. And sources in both parties say that that has led to a different kind of debate prep. For first one it was just the moderator. So in these mock debate sessions that each camp has, they have -- the President or Mitt Romney sitting next to the person playing their opponent and then a moderator tossing questions. Not so with the town hall. They have people asking questions as if they're voters.

And what everybody who I talked to who have prepped candidates, John McCain four years ago, George W. Bush and President Obama as well, what everybody says, the key, especially after that first town hall, 20 years ago, 1992, Bill Clinton kind of set the bar, he is to connect with the voter asking the question. To really approach them, make a connection, ask them a question back perhaps if it makes sense, not just answer the question and blow them of and move on, because that, especially for somebody like Mitt Romney who is trying to sort of shed that out of touch reputation that the Democrats have put on him, that that is definitely what he's going to try to focus on big time, those voters asking the questions.

BALDWIN: Talk to them, not -- yes, talk to them, not talk at them.

BASH: Exactly.

BALDWIN: Dana Bash, we thank you. We will see you a little later for sure.

And, you know, we were talking about these numbers. The numbers certainly show how neck and neck this presidential race is. And the campaigns know Ohio is a key swing state. The president just edging out Mitt Romney by three percentage points. This is our CNN poll of polls. But in Stark County, Ohio, when things are this close, the undecided vote could be crucial. Voters here have chosen the White House winner six of the last seven times. And CNN's Miguel Marquez paid a visit to the folks in this battleground county.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, ABC CORRESPONDENT: This is Stark County, Ohio. A front line in this battleground state. It so closely tracks state and national voting patterns, this place puts the bell in bellwether. MARQUEZ (voice-over): Kay Vaughan has farmed in Hartville, Ohio, his whole life. Today he's putting in winter wheat. Like most people here, he takes politics pretty seriously.

MARQUEZ (on camera): May I ask who you're voting for?

KAY VAUGHAN, MAIZE VALLEY FARMS: Yes.

MARQUEZ: Who are you voting for?

VAUGHAN: I won't tell you.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): Like many, Vaughan is sick of political gridlock. He says the country's problems, so serious, it makes voting more important and tougher than ever.

VAUGHAN: A lot of people are hurting big. A lot of people need relief. And I'm not too sure the election's going to give it no matter who gets elected. That's the problem.

MARQUEZ (on camera): Stark County has seen the worst of the recession and the best of the recovery. Unemployment here shot up to more than 13 percent at the height of the great recession. It's now plummeted to less than 7 percent.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): Vaughan, like Stark County in Ohio, has survived by changing. He turned over the business to his kids and son-in-law Bill Bakan. Bakan made some changes to the old family farm. Boy, did he ever. A fourth of the family's yearly income now comes from a few weeks in the fall when the farm, now a market in winery, is transformed into a country fun fair. What Bakan calls agrateam (ph).

BILL BAKAN, MAIZE VALLEY MARKET AND WINERY: You have to be diversified enough to weather the storm, but can't dilute yourself so down you're not effective.

MARQUEZ: A delicate balance that makes Ohio, Ohio.

BAKAN: Ohio is number one at practically nothing, but exceedingly above average at many, many things.

MARQUEZ (on camera): How quickly can one shred a car?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About 30 seconds.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): Slesnick Steel has been in the recycling business for 100 years. The state of the art scrap yard. The boss here, Ed Slesnick, a lifelong Democrat who voted Obama in 2008. He says, this year, it's a tougher choice.

ED SLESNICK, PRESIDENT, SLESNICK STEEL: This year I am truly an independent voter. And looking at the first debate and very keen on looking at the next two debates.

MARQUEZ: A year ago his yard could barely keep up with demand. Two months ago, he saw orders plummet. MARQUEZ (on camera): Is it a matter of hearing what they want to do or how are they going to accomplish it?

SLESNICK: I would say both in that question. But more importantly, how are they going to accomplish it with a $16 trillion deficit.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: All good questions. Miguel Marquez joining me now.

Now we know you can work a tractor. But what more can you tell us about some of these voters who, you know, obviously will be watching this debate tonight. What do they want to hear from the candidates?

MARQUEZ: They want to hear how they're going to do it. They think that both candidates have plans that they could live with no matter who's elected, but they can't see how either candidate is going to get it through such a partisan, political atmosphere with Congress able to block everything. So they're most concerned with someone who's actually able to lead and somebody who can actually, you know, bridge the difference and make a deal in Washington and get something done because, you know, most voters I talked to here, they think we're not going to get out of this quickly, but we need a solid plan and they need to know how we're going to get from point A to point B.

Brooke.

BALDWIN: It is so nice to hear from voters from folks in Ohio. Miguel, we really appreciate that. Thank you.

And a quick reminder to all of you. Let me say this again. Round two for President Obama and Mitt Romney tonight. CNN's Candy Crowley is moderating the debate this evening. So, tune in a little early. Our special live coverage begins right here on CNN and cnn.com at 7:00 Eastern Time.

Hillary Clinton suddenly takes responsibility for the attacks in Benghazi. We want to take a look at the timing of this and also what this means for her final months as secretary of state.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.

Surprise. One of the men at the center of the infamous bank bailout suddenly steps down. But why?

Plus, as a teenage girl clings to life, one activist is challenging these two men to address the resurgence of the Taliban.

And, we can fact check all we want, but I'll speak live with one expert who says facts apparently don't matter anymore.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Want to take you back to the site of tonight's debate at Hofstra University. We are hearing Jim Acosta has now popped free off of a very important phone call, I know, from Team Romney. JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right.

BALDWIN: Tell me -- fill me in, Jim. What are they saying?

ACOSTA: Well, Brooke, we wanted to talk to them about what to expect at tonight's debate. And while we are being told to wait and see, which is not too surprising, they did highlight some of the things that they hope to accomplish tonight. One of the first things that they said at the very top of this phone call with a couple of Romney campaign officials is that they expect the President to have the edge tonight. He is, after all, the President. He engaged in one of these town hall debates with John McCain back in 2008. And in the words of these Romney campaign officials, the President defeated John McCain soundly in that town hall format four years ago.

But they do point out that Mitt Romney does have some advantages coming into tonight. He has held over 100 town halls by their count over the last year. They note that he does directly engage the voters when he gets into these town hall discussions. And they feel like that all of that practice has made him more comfortable in this format. So they're pretty positive on that.

As to what to expect tonight, Brooke, they say, look for Mitt Romney to talk about the economy, quote, "every chance he gets." And that he does hope to take a question on the attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya. As we heard from our own CNN foreign affairs reporter, Elise Labott, she talked to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary Clinton appeared to take responsibility for that attack. Mitt Romney, according to his campaign officials, hopes to get a chance to talk about that later on this evening. They say stay tuned on what he will say.

They say he also wants to talk about his record as governor of Massachusetts, Brooke. They're pointing out that Mitt Romney went into the governor's office there in Boston and, in their view, governed as a conservative but with a Democratic legislature. And they say that shows a record of bipartisanship that offers some guidance to the rest of the country as to how he will, I guess, operate in the Oval Office.

And so that is what they're looking at for tonight's debate. I think it's going to be a lively discussion, Brooke. One of the things that I've heard from the Romney campaign earlier today, they said that Mitt Romney has been rehearsing with multiple questioners during his debate prep sessions. And so has been gearing up for what's to come tonight.

BALDWIN: OK. We're less than seven hours away. Jim Acosta, I appreciate it.

ACOSTA: You bet.

BALDWIN: And Jim mentioned Hillary Clinton specifically and some of the news she's made in the last 24 hours. I want to get to that in just a moment here.

But again, tonight, the President, you know, faces what could be arguably the most important debate of his political career. And it's because of tonight's debate. A lot of pundits are saying Hillary Clinton is taking one for the team. The secretary of state sat down with CNN's Elise Labott in Lima, Peru, just last night. And, as we've been reporting, yes, she took responsibility for last month's attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. An attack, as you know, left those four Americans dead, including the U.S. ambassador, and brought the Obama administration a lot of criticism. So just here's what she told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, 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)

BALDWIN: Let's keep talking about this with Julian Pecquet, a reporter from "The Hill," joining me from Washington.

Julian, good to see you.

Certainly not lost in all of this is the timing here. The timing of this news that was made on the eve before this incredibly important, you know, presidential debate. I read this morning in all of the reading that people are, you know, going back and forth about this news, is that, you know, somebody was saying that this is really just an opportunity for her to give extra breathing room to the President tonight. Do you agree?

JULIAN PECQUET, STAFF WRITER, "THE HILL": Well, I mean, as we know, you know, we're just hours away from this very important debate and she spoke to at least four networks last night and told them all the same thing, you know, she takes responsibility. So, you know, clearly, I think the general view over here in Washington is that she is taking one for the team.

Now, when asked directly, is, you know, is she being thrown under the bus, she's saying no. so, you know, that suggests that she's doing this of her own volition, obviously. But she knows the President will be asked tough questions tonight. It's the first debate between the two candidates where foreign policy will be an issue and everybody's expecting Benghazi to come up. So she's -- yes, she's trying to take one for the team.

BALDWIN: As part of these interviews, I just want to play one more clip here. This is Hillary Clinton with Elise Labott.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So, Julian, she says she doesn't want to be part of any political gotcha. But I was reading this article. This is Michael Crowley article in "Time" magazine. So let me just quote him. This has to do with Republicans. Because he points out, "even stranger, however, is the position Republicans have adopted of defending Hillary Clinton. The secretary of state has been an arch villain of the Republican challengers for decades now. And when it comes to the debate over the security in Benghazi, it would seem that the buck should stop with her, but suddenly it doesn't suit the GOP to attack Clinton." Why is that?

PECQUET: I think it was really interesting to see how she's approached it herself. You know, she was -- she sent her team to testify at the hearing at the House last week and was very, you know, told Darrell Issa, the chairman of the Oversight Committee, that she really wanted to work with him, that this wasn't about politics. So I think you can see that on both sides this idea that the State Department is trying to act in an apolitical way.

BALDWIN: But what about the Republicans, Julian? I mean is this just a way they would prefer in this, you know, election season they prefer attacking the President versus a woman who has incredibly high favorability ratings, is a possible candidate for 2016. It must be strategy as well.

PECQUET: Well, certainly. I mean, obviously the presidential election is only, you know, three weeks away. So the main target here is obviously President Obama. But, you know, there's also a lot of speculation that they're also going after the State Department and going after Hillary Clinton in case she wants to run in 2016. So you have those -- that dual track kind of in parallel.

BALDWIN: What about U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice, who initially said the attacks were apparently the result of the -- you know, the anti- American protests that spun out of control, also on the receiving end of blame? What about her? What about -- do you think ultimately someone's head will have to roll for this?

PECQUET: You know, so far we've seen the administration and Secretary Clinton really stand behind Susan Rice in an incredible way. And so, you know, initially it seemed like maybe she would be in deep trouble, especially since obviously there is a lot of rumors that she's a preferred candidate to be secretary of state herself when Hillary Clinton steps down at the end of the -- at the end of Obama's term.

But, you know, now it looks like, you know, maybe she will survive after all just because everybody is kind of getting behind her and going with the line that that was the intelligence that the State Department had. And she just shared that intelligence without any kind of, you know, political forethought of trying to spin this in any way. That's certainly been the administration's line. That's been Hillary Clinton's line. And they're all standing by Susan Rice.

So if heads will roll, I don't think it will be hers, at least at this point. BALDWIN: OK.

PECQUET: You know, now, a lot of people, obviously, are going to be pointing the finger at the midlevel State Department bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. They're the ones -- and, you know, Hillary Clinton kind of said the same thing last night, that they have security experts to decide these matters. And, you know, you could see that as kind of almost casting blame on those midlevel people who made those decisions. We learned yesterday at the House hearing that, you know, there are requests from the ambassador, Stevens, from other officials in Libya, in Tripoli, to the State Department in D.C. and they were -- and they were turned down. And so, you know, potentially those people who made those calls, and as Joe Biden said at his debate last week, you know, that information never made it up the food chain to him. So --

BALDWIN: Right. He was saying "we," "we." No, you're exactly right.

PECQUET: Right, "we," him and the President.

BALDWIN: And certainly it will come back up again and fingers will be going both ways.

Julian Pecquet of "The Hill." Julian, thank you.

PECQUET: Yes. Sure. Thanks very much.

BALDWIN: On top of a meningitis outbreak, dozens more are sick from an outbreak of E. Coli. And health officials are frantically now trying to track down the source.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: At least two more drugs are being linked to a deadly outbreak of meningitis. So far, more than 200 people are sick with this rare fungal disease. Fifteen have died. And now the FDA says anyone taking drugs made at this compounding facility in Massachusetts could also be at risk.

In North Carolina, an E. Coli outbreak has killed a two-year-old and so far 37 people have gotten sick from this bacteria. It's being tied to a county fair there. A spokeswoman for the state health department says they still don't know yet where exactly this bacteria came from, but of the 37 people who are sick, 22 are children.

And, you know what, it takes a lot to stun Wall Street, but this morning that is precisely what happened because this man, Vikram Pandit, abruptly quit his job as CEO of Citigroup. Then his top aide, Citi president John Havens, announced he's stepping down too. Why'd they leave? No word yet, but Pandit released a statement saying it was the right time for someone else to take the reins. Michael Corbat named as the new CEO. But the swiftness of both resignations is fueling a lot of rumors, namely simmering tension among the board of directors.

Town hall debates, a risky move for the candidates. We're going to take a look at that as we look ahead to this evening.

Plus, one poll suggests women are flocking to this man, Mitt Romney.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A town hall style debate offers up new and sometimes unexpected challenges for presidential candidates. I want to talk about this with Gloria Borger. She is our chief political analyst, and, Gloria, I want to hear what you're looking forward to tonight.

But specifically, I just want to hammer home this town hall debate. You have the candidates, right. They're surrounded by the circle of voters, asking the questions. Just in terms of the risk factor, how risky is that?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: It is really risky because they have to deal with real voters, real people asking real questions.

BALDWIN: Real people?

BORGER: My God, that are -- and the questions can be kind of unexpected and they can also be quite personal. I mean, if a journalist asks a question, it is going to be about policy. You know, these questions can be personal and they can demand personal answers.

And I think that's where both of these candidates could run into some trouble, particularly Mitt Romney, who has been on the town hall circuit, and it is sort of not his natural habitat. He's kind of messed up a few times.

And the president is used to talking to these huge audiences, but kind of rusty when it comes to town halls. So I think there are downsides for both of them here.

BALDWIN: What about just looking at town hall debates past. I don't know what it is about this format, it makes news in terms of the candidates, you know, George H.W. Bush checking his watch and John McCain kind of wandering around and Al Gore, I mean, why?

BORGER: Wandering over because they feel a little unrestrained. A town hall format kind of makes you want to walk around. Now they're not allowed to walk around. It makes you want to engage more with the audience.

So instead of talking directly into a TV camera as we saw Joe Biden do quite effectively last week, instead of talking into a TV camera, you're talking to somebody who is standing up and asking you a question. Also, there is more opportunity to kind of react. It is your full body language. It is not just seated or standing behind a podium. So there is a lot of different ways to look at these men tonight. As you know, body language tells us a lot about a candidate or any of us.

BALDWIN: And then what about women? Gloria Borger --

BORGER: Important.

BALDWIN: It's so important.

BORGER: Important.

BALDWIN: You have this, you know, new poll in the swing states, these 12 swing states, Mitt Romney has made up a lot of ground among female voters. But other nationwide polls that find Obama holding on to his long time lead.

BORGER: Right.

BALDWIN: What is going on and, again, women are so important.

BORGER: It is very important. I mean, I had a long e-mail conversation with a senior Obama adviser about this late last night, actually, because they believe very strongly that this recent Gallup poll, which showed them tied with Mitt Romney and the battleground states on women is an outlier.

They are ahead in all of those other polls as you point out with women substantially. They have been ahead anywhere between 7 and 11 points. Women are the people that these candidates are going to be talking to tonight.

It is not -- it is not that Romney has to make up a huge deficit with women because he's winning with men. But what he has to do is gain some more women so, you know, so that he can -- he can win.

George Bush did it in 2004, for example, he still lost with women, not by a significant amount. He still won the election. So he's got to reduce that margin.

So tonight, you're going to hear them talking to suburban moms, moms who have not yet decided definitely. And, bit way, women, imagine this, are late deciders in elections. Yes, I don't know how that could be. We wait, we get all the info and then we make our decision.

BALDWIN: We stand by our choice. We stand by our choices.

BORGER: Right. But so what they found out there is that a lot of these women saw Mitt Romney as he was portrayed in millions and millions of dollars worth of ads over the summer, and they took a look and said, gee, that's not the guy I saw.

What the president has to do tonight is say, Mitt Romney wasn't telling the truth last week in that debate, without actually saying that he was a liar. So he's going to have to point that out tonight.

You know that moderate Mitt Romney that you saw, that's not the real Mitt Romney. So that's the president's challenge tonight for the voters.

BORGER: I have a whole conversation on that precise thing coming up in just a little bit. Gloria Borger, we appreciate it. We'll listen for the female comments, you know, tapping into the female electorate this evening. Thank you.

As we watch the debate tonight, there are five very important points, you know, you should keep an eye out for. We're going to tell you exactly what they are, coming up.

Plus, this morning, I stumbled upon this, this picture that quite frankly stunned me. Why this photo has landed one teacher in some very hot water. Don't miss this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: We have an update for you on that Pakistani school girl who was shot point blank in her head by the Taliban. British doctors who are now treating 14-year-old Malala Yousafzai at a hospital in Birmingham say they're impressed by her resilience and strength.

But warn she still has a very long way to go. And then there is this from overnight. Police in Birmingham say two so-called well-wishers were stopped as they tried to get inside the hospital to see this young girl.

The hospital's director says the intruders were probably just being overcurious, but security is very, very tight there as you can imagine, following Taliban threats to try again to kill this girl.

Today, by the way, marks one week since that Taliban gunman boarded Malala's school bus, in Pakistan, called her out by name, and fired three shots at her, all for being an advocate for girls getting an education.

More than a thousand mourners were expected at the funeral for Pennsylvania's longest serving U.S. Senator, Arlen Specter. The services outside Philadelphia began a couple of hours ago and among those in attendance, Vice President Joe Biden.

Senator Specter, a well known moderate, served in the U.S. Senate for three decades. He died Sunday at the age of 82 from cancer.

Former presidential candidate George McGovern is in hospice care.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE MCGOVERN, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The question is not are we better off than we were four years ago? The question is where will America be four years from now?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: That was McGovern back in 1984. He is best known as the 1972 Democratic presidential nominee who ran an unsuccessful campaign against incumbent Richard Nixon. The 90-year-old stayed very active in politics for decades and then focused on hunger around the world.

In fact, President Clinton appointed him ambassador to the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization. McGovern later became the U.N.'s first global ambassador for hunger. And now to this photo I'm talking about, taking car pooling to the extreme. Look at this. Look very closely at that back glass in the car. Folks, there are 19 children crammed into this automobile.

And who says hatchbacks aren't spacious? The woman you see there, yes, she's a teacher, a teacher. She was pulled over by police. This is in South Africa while heading home from a field trip.

She says she already hauled the other half of the class back to school, the same way. She was fined $160, 19 kids smooched in a car.

There are five specific things you should keep an eye out tonight during this debate. We have Hamby, Steinhauser, live next with that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Let me take you back to debate number one. Mitt Romney lectures Barack Obama and the president stands there and he takes it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: As you said you get a deduction for taking a plant overseas. I've been in business for 25 years. I have no idea what you're talking about. I maybe need to get a new accountant, but the idea that you --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: That was October 3rd, in Denver, tonight as we mentioned, different deal, this town hall moderated by our own Candy Crowley, 9:00 Eastern Time is when this thing kicks off.

Our coverage though as I should mention that the pre-game if you will begins at 7:00 Eastern Time, Hempstead, New York. Live for you now from the scene of tonight's debate, we have CNN's Paul Steinhauser and Peter Hamby. Gentlemen, welcome.

I'm staring at your article here on cnn.com, five things to watch for in Tuesday's debate. So, first to you, Paul Steinhauser, let's begin with this. You talk about connecting with the audience. We know there is a live audience there. How do they connect?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: This is the key because I think the person who connects the -- the candidate who connects bet we are -- better with the audience, connects better with the people across the country and wins the debate.

How do you do that? You got to actually talk to the audience, engage with the audience. Go back to the first town hall in 1992, President George Herbert Walker Bush didn't really do that. Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton at that time did do that and it made a difference.

So the key here is to connect with your audience, talk to the audience. We were just talking to some Romney campaign officials and they're very confident. They say, listen, Mitt Romney has done a bunch of these town hall formats over the last year and a half. They think he will do very well in this debate tonight -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: What about as we were talking with Gloria Borger and seeing the polls today, Peter Hamby, women voters are very, very important. They have to sort of work in these women issues as you point out in this piece, issues like abortion and contraception. Why do they do that and how do they do that?

PETER HAMBY, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, think about the last debate, the vice presidential debate, toward the end when Paul Ryan gave an answer about how the Romney campaign and Paul Ryan himself opposed abortion rights, the female dial testing dipped off in our CNN dial testing.

That happened in 2008 with John McCain when it came up in a debate. Look, the Obama campaign is surviving now based on their hold on African-American voters, Latinos and women, particularly suburban, college educated women.

You talked about with Gloria that Gallup poll that the Obama campaign attacked calling it an outlier, saying there is no way that Obama and Romney are tied among women voters.

If that is true, though, and if that holds, if it is not an outlier, the Obama campaign has a right to be terrified because that would mean Obama was going to lose.

If women voters -- it places an imperative to talk about issues important to women, reproductive rights, contraception, education, child care. Obama will try to force those things into the conversation to maintain his hold on women voters -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: What about this? This is another point you both make. We talk a lot in politics about the October surprise. You're talking with regard to this debate tonight as, you know, the wild card. Watch out for the wild card. What do you mean by that?

HAMBY: Well, tonight, you know, the format is different. You talked about it. There is about 80 undecided voters from Nassau County here Long Island that are going to be in the room, coming up with the questions.

The questions won't be created by the moderator. So that raises the potential that, you know, a voter could ask about something that hasn't been in the conversation that much during the campaign, not the economy, not foreign policy.

Maybe we'll get a question about affirmative action, guns, instant replay in baseball, who knows. These things might come up and they have the potential to throw one of the candidates off their game.

In 2004, for example, George W. Bush was asked by a voter, name three things, three mistakes you made and Bush could only name one. And that sort of made some news for a couple of days there. So maybe something like that will happen tonight -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Paul Steinhauser, I hear you laughing. I guess, you know, anything goes here with these undecided voters there at Hofstra University. That will certainly be one thing. We'll all be watching for what is that wild card question.

Peter Hamby and Paul Steinhauser, enjoy it. I'm jealous you're there. We'll all be watching tonight when that debate begins 9:00 this evening Eastern.

Coming up next, got something cool for you. We're going to show you ten ways CNN is forever changing the way Americans watch debates including tonight's. Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Sure, you can see them anywhere, TV, online, on your phone. But the presidential debates are pretty different this time around, allowing you the viewer an interactive feel that you didn't exactly have four years ago. Alex Wellen, welcome.

ALEX WELLEN, CNN.COM: Nice to see you.

BALDWIN: It's nice to see you on TV here.

WELLEN: I know. I came out of retirement.

BALDWIN: This is the guy who works at cnn.com who basically is going to help us figure out the new way we watch television, right?

WELLEN: A team of people, yes.

BALDWIN: A team of people at cnn.com. But before we get into that, let's talk about tonight. As we're watching Candy Crowley moderate this town hall debate at Hofstra University, there are some new cool things we as fans of cnn.com will be able to click on, click around on the website.

WELLEN: That's right and the most important thing is that you can only do them on CNN, there are things we --

BALDWIN: Only CNN.

WELLEN: The feed exists in a lot of different places, but because we have Candy and because we have the internet, so --

BALDWIN: Show me.

WELLEN: This should look familiar to people. I'm going to bring that out. Now you're actually watching it online right now. You can watch back all the debates online. We put them at cnn.com/debate.

But look at this here. On the bottom of the screen, on TV, on mobile, on desktops, you'll be able to see what undecided voters --

BALDWIN: People are always tweeting me, Brooke, what are the squiggly lines.

WELLEN: That's right. So it's kind of dial testing. In real-time, we're seeing how people are responding, men and women alike, undecided voters who will be so important this election to both the candidates.

Also, if you back up here and, again, this is on the web and on TV, we keep them honest. We're tracking how much time each of them get --

BALDWIN: To speak.

WELLEN: That's right. You are not going to see that elsewhere. I mean, we're carefully tracking each person's time and then also the other important thing is we list the question.

BALDWIN: It's so nice. Sometimes they go off and you're like what is the question that was asked, that's my favorite part about the whole thing. I love that.

WELLEN: They have their scripts and they know what to talk about. That's -- I think those are important things for people to watch.

BALDWIN: What about the clip and share?

WELLEN: So that is in the on the site. It will be tonight. We can give you a sneak peek because you guys are so cool.

BALDWIN: Thank you.

WELLEN: Look at that, that's us.

BALDWIN: That's so cool.

WELLEN: A little bit -- this is what is happening on air and happening during the debate. This is the home page of cnn.com. Look at the huge player. That just happened a second ago. That's us.

What is so incredible and this illustrates it so well you can share what is happening at that moment. This player on the homepage, we have closed captioning, so people who need closed captioning, who want closed captioning.

This is something we added in a short amount of time. In addition to that, if you come half an hour late, 30 minutes, 40 minutes, you can scrub all the way back to the beginning.

BALDWIN: My own personal DVR.

WELLEN: That's right. Usually it is like a few minutes, right. This can go back an hour, an hour and a half. This is really hot. Check this out, so if I hit clip and share, right off the home page, it grabs the moment that just happened. Look this is the moment and the moment inside the moment, right?

BALDWIN: Alex Wellen, get out of here.

WELLEN: The team worked on this and then I just hit share on Facebook.

BALDWIN: Because what I love about watching this debate, I'm texting, I'm tweeting, people are Facebooking and, you're, like, did you see that moment when he said this? And now you can show them.

WELLEN: You can show them the exact moment. So if I say share that link, right. So I'm going to click that, let's see if it likes me, this is pretty high stakes, and we'll go to my Facebook page. Come on.

There we are, right? I refresh the page. I go to my page. That just happened. Now if we -- look there is the moment we just watched. We just had that happen and we shared that moment. If we scroll up a little bit, we can show people what happened at that moment. Look at that.

BALDWIN: Alex Wellen, so this will all be happening tonight for very first time on cnn.com.

WELLEN: We have done it for each debate, but only on CNN and from 7:00 to 12:30 at cnn.com/debates or on TV or mobile device or on cnn.com.

BALDWIN: Thank you. We appreciate it. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: How about this one? This 15-year-old girl, 15, just bought a house. This is her second home. In fact, how? Kim Brown from our CNN affiliate WBBH has her story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KIM BROWN, WBBH REPORTER (voice-over): There is a new landlord on the block in Port Charlotte. It's this girl on the scooter, 15-year-old Willow Tufano.

WILLOW TUFANO, CHILD REAL ESTATE INVESTOR: I'm so glad that we finally have it.

BROWN: She says she just bought this house on Girard Court for $19,000 as an investment. They're getting a look inside.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here is the bathroom.

BROWN: And starting to remodel. This isn't new to Willow. It is the second house she's bought this year. The first was bought back in March. This hobby even landed her in the national spotlight. A team of independent producers are now traveling with the family to film for a possible reality show.

SHANNON MOORE, WILLOW'S MOM: She is definitely a kid, but also has a business side to her.

BROWN: Mom, Shannon Moore, says she's Willow's partner in the purchase. She puts up half and pays mom back later.

(on camera): Everything from the ceiling to the door will need to be fixed up and Willow is using a gift card to do it all. (voice-over): Since Willow is not old enough to own a house on her own, mom will turn the title over when she's 18.

TUFANO: This is the closing statement.

BROWN: Until then, she's learning the ropes about keeping the homes filled, dealing with tenants and the value of a dollar.

SHANNON MOORE: I wanted to buy a shed for the backyard, she's like, no way, that's like $1,500. We're not going there. Just scratch that off your list.

BROWN: The plan is to charge $800 for rent. She uses some of that money to pay for future homes along with selling some of her belongings on Craigslist. She set a goal of buying ten houses by the time she's 18, setting her up for a career in real estate.

TUFANO: I can do it. It sounds like it is not rational, but it is possible.

BROWN: After they fix up this home, it is off to look for house number three.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: And we continue on. Good to have you with me. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Count them with me, 6 hours now from debate number two, presidential debate number two. Our live coverage begins here on CNN at 7:00 Eastern. Candy Crowley will be moderating this evening.