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Debate Number Three; Debate Prep; Debate Predictions; Interview with Kerry Ladka; The Male Undecided Voter from New York; Young Female Undecided Voter Wants More Specifics on Obama Jobs Plan; Armstrong Stripped of 7 Titles; China Bashing Good for Politics

Aired October 22, 2012 - 11:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, ANCHOR, "CNN NEWSROOM": Hi, everybody, I'm Ashleigh Banfield. It is 11:00 on the East Coast. It's 8:00 a.m. on the West Coast.

We begin here, debate night in America. It is the last face-off between President Obama and Governor Mitt Romney, but is anyone actually going to be watching? Competing for the eyeballs on TV tonight, if you didn't already know it, Monday Night Football, Bears and Lions, game seven of the baseball playoffs, Giants and Cardinals.

Look, we've seen that debates really do move the needle, but can a foreign-policy debate compete against major sporting events?

For the sports fans out there, we have some stats for you. How's this? Our new CNN Poll of Polls shows it is a dead heat between these two players, 47-47, Mr. Obama and Mr. Romney, all of these among likely voters for these two.

Let me bring in CNN's White House correspondent Brianna Keilar. She's live from Boca Raton, Florida. That's the site of tonight's big debate.

Look, Brianna, the President admittedly took a bit of a pass on debate number one. He was really feisty in debate number two, but has the campaign given us any indication, maybe his movements today, what they've been saying as to which one we're going to see tonight?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I think what they would say we're expecting to see is someone who is in command and they're going to obviously sort of position him and they have throughout debate prep, he's the person who has had four years of foreign policy, hands-on experience, Ashleigh, and, as you know, you really can't trade four years of hands-on experience.

So, that's something that he has that's an advantage over Governor Romney.

But, of course, one of the issues, one of the liabilities, a big one for President Obama tonight, is going to be Libya. He's faced a lot of criticism for how his administration handled that, whether they could have prevented the attack or certainly the casualties on the consulate in Benghazi.

So, you should be expecting Mitt Romney to hammer him on that and, no doubt, President Obama is prepared to respond to that and say that, you know, he's been following really just the advice he's been given from the intelligence community and sort of paying attention to the situation as it developed.

I think we're expecting him maybe to point out some of Governor Romney's foreign policy blunders. Remember when he went on his overseas trip and even managed to miff the British a little bit? Wouldn't be surprised if that came up.

And also hit Mitt Romney on some of his lack of specifics, but beyond that I think it's also about tone and raising the question -- and the Obama campaign is making it clear that this is one of the goals tonight -- raising the question of whether Mitt Romney is presidential.

They're going to try to paint him and President Obama will tonight, as sort of bellicose and not ready to really lead the country on a world stage and we're already seeing this today as the campaign has put out an ad and they put out a memo saying as much, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: And what about that? In terms of preparing, I think I recall that the President was going to be at Camp David, doing debate camp. Do we know much more about the preparations for tonight?

KEILAR: Yeah, they keep it pretty much under wraps, but we know some about the process and, yes, he has been at Camp David. He will be there through this morning until he comes to Florida.

It's really a process where -- and aides will tell you that he doesn't really need to study up a whole bunch on foreign policy because it's something that he does, day in, day out. He knows his foreign policy.

So, some of it has to do with tone. Some of it has to do with making sure the way he positions himself in questions, but he's been obviously doing a little of kind of going over the foreign policy, but practicing some questions that might come from the moderator, CBS's Bob Schieffer, and his response to those questions.

And, of course, having a mock debate in the evenings which is important because this is a little different, the setup that we're seeing today. It's a seated setup. If you remember the vice presidential debate with both candidates sitting at the table with the moderator, that's what we're going to see today.

So, it's sort of a different tone and that's something he's been preparing for.

BANFIELD: Great. That's -- it's nice to see if that's going to have any effect on these two where they have to really be close to each other, as opposed to walking into each others' space.

Brianna Keilar, live in Boca, thank you for that. Neither President Obama nor Governor Romney has any scheduled campaign events today, no stops, no interviews, nothing, just presumably rest and some of that last-minute prep that Brianna was just talking about.

Mitt Romney has really been able to use the debates to his advantage. He gained in the polls after debate number one and then he really kept the pressure on in debate number two and some say he stumbled a bit when it came to the Libya question and when the President actually mentioned the word "terror."

Other people say it was the President's handling of the information campaign that certainly wasn't optimal.

And while this is a new day and a brand-new debate, you can rest assured that Libya will be front-and-center. So will Syria, Israel, Iran. This is the foreign-policy debate, folks.

CNN's political editor, Mark Preston, is also live in Boca this morning, preparing. So, two weeks ago, Mark, Mitt Romney gave what was dubbed a major foreign-policy speech at the Virginia Military Institute.

It really seemed to mark a change in strategy for the campaign, so let me ask you this. Was he setting the stage for what's likely to be basically a carbon copy of all the things he hit on last week?

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, you know, Ashleigh, when he gave that speech, there was a lot of criticism and a lot of folks were wondering why exactly he was focusing on foreign policy at that time.

Of course, that was before we really found out what would happen at Benghazi, before Benghazi happened. It just so happens there's been a bit of a perfect storm for the Romney campaign when it comes to the issue of foreign policy.

You know, it's not an issue right now that the voters here are going to be voting on. They're going to be voting on the economy, but foreign policy has given them a narrative to at least call into question some of the decisions that the Obama campaign or rather the Obama administration has made over the last four years.

We haven't heard a whole lot from Mitt Romney. He's been in debate prep this weekend. He's in debate prep right now, but his running mate, Paul Ryan, addressed that last night in Colorado.

Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL RYAN, REPUBLICAN VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: What peace through strength means is our adversaries are much less willing to test us, they're less brazen, and our allies are more willing to trust us.

What it means is our adversaries, when they see us projecting weakness, when they see us hollowing out our military, when they see us equivocating when it comes time to stand up for our beliefs and values overseas, they think we are a super power in decline.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PRESTON: And there you have Paul Ryan last night in Colorado trying to rev up a campaign rally.

You know, we talk a lot about Benghazi and how it's going to be an issue tonight. I think it's going to be an issue in a broader spectrum for Mitt Romney to try to talk more about terrorism in the Middle East and, of course, Paul Ryan there talking about what America's standing is.

And I think that he's speaking directly to the report now that the U.S. and the Libyans - or rather the U.S. and the Iranians are trying to get together and maybe have some kind of unilateral talks about what to do about their nuclear program.

BANFIELD: Well, without question, that'll be a big topic tonight. It's one of the sections, actually, that have been divided into six, but let me direct you back to Libya because that was such a hot-button topic in the last debate and it got talking points for weeks - for a full week, afterwards.

Do we expect that the Governor will seize on the opportunity to sort of change the conversation about that particular topic and try to get to the heart of the question that was asked, which is, who denied security as opposed to arguing over when the words "terror" were uttered?

PRESTON: You know, I think the Romney campaign will acknowledge that. In fact, that wasn't a great moment for Mitt Romney in the last debate.

I think he'll use it as a jumping-off point to talk about in the broader spectrum about the U.S. and how it's viewed globally and how terror right now is changing right now in the Middle East, as you said, one of the discussions that will be talked about tonight.

I don't think they will talk specifically or get into so much detail about Benghazi. That's been talked about. It's been done, but Mitt Romney certainly will bring it up in a broader sense.

BANFIELD: CNN's political director Mark Preston, live for us in Boca. Thanks very much.

And a quick reminder to you, as well, live here on CNN, all of the action in the final presidential debate gets under way with special coverage at 7:00 p.m. Eastern and you can also catch this debate. We stream it online, CNN.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: There is no denying what kind of impact the last two presidential debates have had on this race. President Obama and Governor Mitt Romney are tied, neck-and-neck in a dead heat, so tonight's third and final debate, it's really the last chance to leave a lasting impression on a national stage. So, it should be a really big deal, but is it?

Just look at how voters rank the big issues. Foreign policy is pretty much towards the bottom of the list if you certainly compare it to domestic issues. Only 4 percent say that this is the most important issue and this was taken September 7th to 9th.

Whether that's changed or not, hard to say, but if you break the issues down even further, only 3 percent say Afghanistan and terrorism are their top priority.

And those are two of the six topics in tonight's debate, which is why I want to bring in Amy Holmes who's the anchor of The Blaze's "Real News" and BuzzFeed's D.C. bureau chief, John Stanton.

Amy, let me just start with you. That's tough when you see numbers that show people don't seem to care as much about foreign policy. You've got a big debate tonight that is up against two, competing, major-league sporting events.

How important is this going to be and how many people do you think are actually going to watch this?

AMY HOLMES, ANCHOR, "REAL NEWS" AT THE BLAZE: Well, I think they're not going to be watching for foreign policy specifics so much as to really compare these two candidates and who do they trust as commander-in-chief.

So, while tonight will be a very meaty debate, a lot of discussion about Middle East policy which is so crucial to America's national security, I think the goal for both candidates, President Obama and Governor Mitt Romney, is to come across as presidential, commanding, reassuring and a leader you can trust to protect America's national security interests.

BANFIELD: So, Jonathan, do you think this is an issue when it comes to optics where these two guys, it's not so much what they're going to say, but how they say it, how they come off that's going to last -- or leave the more lasting impression?

JOHN STANTON, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, BUZZFEED.COM: Absolutely. I think tha,t no matter what they sort of say on the policy, what Americans are going to be looking for is sort of who demonstrates a command of the issues in general and has sort of a firm hand when it comes to foreign policy. That's something Americans generally value, regardless of what their positions are.

You know and I think particularly in states like Virginia or Ohio or Florida where, you know, you have very small margins of voters, this is the kind of issue where most people won't be watching it, but the people that do care about it, it's going to be important for them. And that could help sort of decide the election, given how tight it is right now.

BANFIELD: I want to throw up some numbers that have to do with the women's vote. Take a look at your screens, if you would. There's a remarkable gender gap when it comes to how women feel about President Obama and how men feel about Governor Romney. Among women, President Obama scores nine points up and, among men, Governor Romney scores nine points up, and that leaves a gender gap of 18. That's according to "The New York Times."

Does -- is it a wash? Amy, I'll start with you. Is it a wash that the genders play so differently or does one side, one demographic, end up voting more than another and this will actually make a big difference?

HOLMES: Well, female voters do tend to have a higher turnout rate than male voters, but I don't look at the gender gap in terms of which demographic do I think is a better representation of who should lead our country. I mean, I don't think we should be pitting men against women.

That gender gap this year, this presidential cycle is really being driven by President Obama losing support among men, men who voted for him in 2008, but don't intend to again, and, in fact, Obama's margin among women is shrinking and that gap among women is really a marriage gap.

President Obama has much higher support among single women. Married women tend to vote for the GOP candidate.

So, I think that we kind of misunderstand the gender gap when we look at it basically in terms of who has the moral high ground because of who they're voting for.

BANFIELD: So, John, what do you think? Does either candidate have to use tonight's debate, which is really the biggest stage. It's the biggest campaign event until the election two weeks away.

Do they have to use tonight's stage to try to go after one gender or the other?

STANTON: I don't think they have to use it to try to go after one gender or the other. I think, at this point, these sort of divisions are fairly well solidified. I would think. You know, I don't see the - you know, a massive expansion or shrinkage of the gap happening before the election.

And I think that, you know, on most issues men and women have very similar sort of ways of looking at things and breaking down. It seems that in -- particularly from what this "New York Times" article has sort of put out there, it looks as if some of this division is on ideological issues that don't really get into foreign policy stuff, more on the social side of things.

So, I think, you know, in terms of for tonight's debate, I'm not sure it will have much of an effect one way or the other.

BANFIELD: So, now it's just about getting out your base. Those who have made their decisions, it's important to get them to actually vote for you as opposed to think about you while they're sitting in their chairs at home.

Amy Holmes, anchor of The Blaze's "Real News," and John Stanton, BuzzFeed's D.C. bureau chief, thank you so both of you. Appreciate your perspective today.

HOLMES: Thank you.

STANTON: Thank you.

BANFIELD: Two down, one to go, tonight, the third and the last presidential debate, it's on foreign policy and our coverage, live from Boca Raton, Florida, begins at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Looking ahead to tonight's debate, we know foreign policy is the focus, but which key topics will President Obama and Governor Mitt Romney have to discuss and zero-in on?

The moderator of tonight's debate is CBS's Bob Schieffer and he's divided this debate into six segments. Now, I've got the menu for you.

The first topic is going to be America's role in the world. The second is our longest war, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The third segment is red lines, Israel and Iran.

Segments four and five, the changing role in the Middle East, the changing Middle East and the new face of terrorism. It's going to be a two-parter. And the sixth and final topic is the rise of China and tomorrow's world.

Who better to talk about this now than our foreign affairs reporter, Elise Labott, who essentially watches that stuff every day.

So, in the interest of time, we could spend a whole hour on all six of those - or five of those topics. Let me touch on topics one, four, and five. The first one is America's role in the world. Who benefits from this topic? Who has the edge? Who's going to struggle.

ELISE LABOTT, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ashleigh, I think President Obama has some very concrete successes to point to. He has killed Osama bin Laden in that Navy SEAL raid. He has, as he promised in his campaign pledge before his first term, ended the war in Iraq, kind of got the troops out, continued after the Bush administration started. He's ending up the war in Afghanistan.

So, I think he's going to point to that and there's what they call an "Obama doctrine," if you will, which is, in this time of, you know, belt-tightening and a poor U.S. economy, getting other allies to shoulder more of the burden. Let's say in Libya, for instance, when the French took the lead with U.S. support.

Now, I think he's a little bit going to be on the defensive in the Middle East and we'll talk about that, but I think Governor Romney doesn't really have a lot of experience in foreign policy and he's tried in recent weeks to kind of sketch out this theme that he would use more American power. He would get the U.S. to lead more.

But he's been a little bit short on specific, and I think that's what President Obama's sources are telling Jessica Yellin, our chief White House correspondent, that that's what they're going to pin him on, where he would use U.S. power and where he would intervene militarily.

BANFIELD: Where Governor Romney may struggle then, in that respect, he certainly may have the upper edge then when we talk about the changing role of the Middle East.

I mean, a lot of people say it's on fire out there and there's a veritable mess to try to mop up. Is there something that either of them can do to try to edge the other here?

LABOTT: I think that's right and I think, as I said, President Obama is going to be on the defensive here and I think the job of Governor Romney tonight is to paint this -- what happened in Libya, what's happening in Syria -- as larger failings of the Obama administration to fail to kind much guide the Arab Spring in a positive direction.

We've seen a lot of Islamists take over, that the U.S. hasn't worked very closely with this to try and shape more democratic forces. And I think, as we've been saying, I think Governor Romney made a little mistake by focusing very narrowly on this Benghazi intelligence and not showing where he would help guide the Middle East, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: Yeah. My sense is that is going to rear its ugly head tonight in one way or another.

Elise Labott from Washington, thanks so much.

Also, don't forget, CNN's live coverage of the debate begins tonight. It's live in Boca Raton, Florida. It is the third and final, so even if you like sports, this is your last chance, folks. It starts at 7:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM HANKS AS KERRY LADKA WHO POSED LIBYA QUESTION AT PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE: This question actually comes from a brain trust of my friends at Global Telecom Supply, and it's -- this is really a pretty good question, Libya.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Look closely. You can see that's Tom Hanks on "Saturday Night Live." He was spoofing Kerry Ladka who was the Long Island man who asked the question heard around the world during last week's town hall debate.

It was a serious question. Who was it who actually declined the additional security at our mission in Libya before the attack that actually killed our ambassador and three other American diplomats?

That was a question that spawned deep debate on the floor and on the news and it lasted at least a week, and it will probably end up coming up again in tonight's debate.

But the question itself was never answered, certainly not on Tuesday, and Kerry Ladka remains an undecided voter today. He joins me now, live.

It's good to see you in person and I'm glad I have a chance to talk to you before we launch into a foreign policy debate. Just before we get to tonight's event, you mentioned that you may not have had the answer from President Obama or from Governor Mitt Romney during that sparring session.

KERRY LADKA, POSED LIBYA QUESTION AT PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE: Correct.

BANFIELD: But the President did come up to you afterwards and he talked to you. Did he give you any answers? Did he explain anything to your liking?

LADKA: He basically explained to me, Ashleigh, that the reason he was deliberating was because he wanted to make absolutely sure that he had the correct information before he took any action.

The President said any action that he took anywhere in the world, especially the Middle East, would have dire consequences and he wanted to make sure that he wasn't acting on misinformation, that the intelligence he had was correct.

So, I basically understood that, but you're correct, during the debate the question really was not answered.

BANFIELD: And while that's appreciated, I'm sure, that the President spoke to you personally, he still didn't really answer why they went out with this other story then. If they were being guarded until they had the full story, why go out with this other story that it was the protests on the film that led to this?

LADKA: I think the Governor will have some -- Governor Romney will have some fodder for tonight's debate, as a matter of fact, because that question to my mind has still never been answered.

BANFIELD: So, you are fascinated by this clearly, but it seems to only rank at about 4 percent of those who are asked ...

LADKA: It's strange.

BANFIELD: ... seem to think foreign policy is important. Do you expect to get more answers tonight?

Do you expect that tonight will actually change you from an uncommitted or undecided to voter to somebody who knows what you're going to do on election day?

LADKA: I hope so because I think not only Libya is important, but I think we have a Syrian situation that's extremely important. I think we have an Iranian situation that's extremely important.

We're still fighting terrorists and jihadists all over the world. I don't understand why the American public -- 4 percent of the American public -- feels that foreign policy is not really -- is an important issue and 96 percent don't.

BANFIELD: You do live just a couple miles away from Ground Zero.

LADKA: Yes, well, I worked in the World Trade Center, too, during the first attack, actually.

BANFIELD: Well, there you go. So, that may have baring on why this is so front-and-center for you, but was there anything else said in the debates last week that swayed you one way or the other, that may actually solidify tonight?

LADKA: I liked President Obama's answer -- actually statement, when he took responsibility for the attack on the consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

BANFIELD: When he said, it's nice that Secretary Clinton has done this and said this, but I am the President, period. The buck stops with me.

LADKA: Correct.

BANFIELD: The needles went up. Men and women both skyrocketed.

LADKA: I thought they should have but I also liked Governor Romney's statement on his --

(CROSSTALK)

LADKA: The President's lack of drilling on federal government land for oil and gas and other natural resources. I think the governor made a really good point that many, I think, overlook. I haven't heard a lot of follow-up commentary on that. It's true, the President has taken away some licensing and regulatory power from some of these people who want to drill on government land and if we want to have an energy policy, I think we need to consider.

BANFIELD: You're a great informed voter. It must drive you crazy when you see Jay Leno out there asking who the vice president is and they can't answer that question.

LADKA: I don't know why --

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: Will you vote regardless of whether you have been able to make your decision? If you're still in this state on the 6th.

LADKA: I'm leaning in a certain direction but I won't say where yet.

BANFIELD: As Connie Chung says, just between the two of you us? I'm kidding. Standard and practices are listening. LADKA: If you ever invite me back before the election, I'll let you know.

BANFIELD: Kerry, it's nice to see you. Thank you. Appreciate that.

LADKA: Thank you.

BANFIELD: In fact, I'm going to say it right here. Tomorrow if you don't have any plans, would you like to come back?

LADKA: I would love to.

BANFIELD: OK. I have made the date on live TV.

LADKA: Do you want to know how the brain trust is leaning?

BANFIELD: Yes, quickly.

LADKA: Four Romney, two Obama.

BANFIELD: OK. We're going to see if that changes for tomorrow. Thank you, Kerry.

LADKA: Thank you.

BANFIELD: Reminder, the debate is live here on CNN 7:00 p.m. eastern tonight. Our coverage gets under way. It is the final. If I don't say it again, it's important. It's the final presidential debate. The biggest campaign event you could say this season. It's the final presidential

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: 47/47, could you say that's the national score of the presidential race right now. We've got a look at the latest CNN poll of polls. President Obama and Governor Mitt Romney tied just 15 days out until Election Day. The two candidates are about to go head-to- head in their last presidential debate tonight, and we're not talking about just a final showdown in any state. It's happening in the king of the battleground states, Florida. Well, king or queen, depending on what you think about Ohio.

It's certainly where our CNN political editor, Paul Steinhauser, is soaking up the sun, soaking up the numbers.

We've been getting a lot of numbers thrown at us. The bottom line for us right now is President Obama had a bit of a lead before the debates began. Governor Romney pulled ahead after t the first debate and now we're at the third debate and it seems as though it's a dead heat. If you dig deeper in the numbers, does that change?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Very good points there. Let's go beyond the top line numbers. There's a gender gap, no doubt about it that. We see Mitt Romney with an advantage among men, the President Obama's advantage with women seem to be getting smaller. We see an income gap, generational divide. This is from the NBC/"Wall Street Journal" poll. Which candidate is more qualified to become commander in chief? The President's advantage on that number seems to be disappearing and Florida, where we are, 29 electoral votes at stake. Look at our most recent poll here in Florida. That's pretty tight as well. Basically all tied up in Florida -- Ashleigh?

BANFIELD: So you always get the VIP opportunity to get into the debate hall and look at things as they're set up. I have always wondered what it looks like from all the different vantage point including where the candidates get organized and out onto stage. Can you give us a bit of a sneak peek?

STEINHAUSER: You're right. I'm very fortunate to have that abill. Right behind me is the debate hall. Come on, let's go inside and take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

We're inside the debate hall here at Lynn University. And a little less than 10 hours from now, right here behind me on the stage is where all the action will be.

For a lay of the land on the debate stage I'm joined by Peter Eyre, the senior adviser on the commission on presidential debates.

Peter, give me the geography of the stage.

PETER EYRE, SENIOR ADVISOR TO COMMISSION ON PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES: Sure. The candidates will be seated at the table with Mr. Schieffer. Mr. Schieffer will have his back to us. President Obama will be on the right and Governor Romney will be on the left.

STEINHAUSER: Romney on the left, the President on the right, a little bit of role reversal it seems.

EYRE: That's exactly right.

STEINHAUSER: Call this stand up central. When you see the reporter with the backdrop of the debate hall, this is a behind the scenes look. You have one standup location after another after another. Two different levels a lower level and an upper level up here. Call this trailer city. One trailer after another after another and after another. CNN, we've got two back-to-back right here. A lot of the other networks have them. This is where the engineers, the production teams and those of us on the editorial side work.

But CNN, we have something extra. Check this out. It's the CNN Election Express. It's been at all four of the debates. This state of the art bus is not just a bus. It's a production facility as well. Check that out up there, a salt dish on top which means we use this bus as our transmission to beam our live signals right out of the debate site.

This is where I'll be sitting during the debate. We'll be sitting in what's called press file where reporters from the U.S. And around the world file as they watch the debate. But there's a lot more to this room than just a filing center. This is also the spin room. This empty floor right now will not be empty after the debate. You will see top advisers from both the Obama and Romney campaigns here spinning and saying why their candidate won the debate.

But wait. There's more. Check this out over here. That's Mitt Romney's operation, their little stage there where they're going to have their surrogates talk to TV stations around the country. And the Obama campaign, well, they have got the same thing on the other side of the room.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BANFIELD: Paul Steinhauser, it's great of you to do that, because I'll tell you what, unless you're covering a campaign, you don't know how crazy it looks behind the scenes and that's a really great look. Thanks so much. We'll be watching and we'll talk to you again tomorrow after it's all over but the crying.

STEINHAUSER: Thanks, Ashleigh.

So this is our final presidential debate. You can watch it. We get under way live here on CNN 7:00 eastern. You got to check it out. It's foreign policy tonight, but it is the final debate, so you could say it's the biggest campaign event you're going to see before Election Day just two weeks away live from Boca Raton, Florida.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Did you know that 46 million young people are eligible to vote in this election? 46 million. That is a huge voter bloc, and if you have any young ones of your own, you probably already know that children and parents don't always see things the same way.

My next guest knows this all too well. Cat Castellanos is a Washington, D.C., writer. Her dad is Alex Castellanos.

Cat, you wrote an article for CNN.com called young, female, and undecided. I was fascinated to see you write you're fiscally conservative, socially liberal, you appreciate the things that Mitt Romney has to offer but that he hasn't convinced you. Can you giver me a reason as to why, especially with a dad like Alex, why has Mitt Romney not been able to reach you?

CAT DEL VALLE CASTELLANOS, WASHINGTON, D.C., WRITER: You know, I was definitely raised in a family with conservative values. However, I have been lucky enough to have parents that raised me to have my own opinions and I think my dad would be the first one to tell you that. As far as Romney goes, I'm a little afraid he's out of touch with young women and what they want.

BANFIELD: Why is that?

DEL VALLE CASTELLANOS: I mean, we've seen it a thousand times. We saw it in the last debate, his binders quote. I don't want to be a page in a binder. And I think he needs --

(CROSSTALK) BANFIELD: But a lot of people say that binders thing was just ridiculous, that it was taken --

DEL VALLE CASTELLANOS: Sure.

BANFIELD: -- to the nth degree and that it was hyperbolic. He was referring to a question that used the word, not the word not be optimal. I get exhausted when he says days and days of debate --

(CROSSTALK)

DEL VALLE CASTELLANOS: Over the terms.

BANFIELD: Why does that --

DEL VALLE CASTELLANOS: Sure. I understand.

BANFIELD: Why does that hit you?

DEL VALLE CASTELLANOS: It's not really just those quotes. We can all pick out quotes to, you know, send us towards one candidate or another. But for me it's that there really hasn't been enough effort to get young women voters. I'm surprised that we haven't seen that much of Ann Romney. She did a great job at the RNC with her speeches. She's had such a great life story and such an inspiration and I really think they should have brought her out earlier, and as far as Romney goes, he needs to understand that women -- a lot of women really want the rights to their bodies and that we're not just, you know, a set of reproductive systems but we're workers, we're moms, we are the American voter.

BANFIELD: Let me ask you this. In what you wrote you reference the fact that you find it almost embarrassing that it makes you feel like Mitt Romney might be somebody who thinks that gay people can be, quote, "turned." That he's ultra conservative, that he uses the words shoot and darn it and that it seems like he's from another generation. By the same token, are you not able to see beyond that and say that this is a family values candidate with specific business acumen, that he's got loads of value other than these things? Because I'm sure there are things that repulse you about the Obama camp as well.

DEL VALLE CASTELLANOS: There certainly are.

BANFIELD: And why is that not evening out for you?

DEL VALLE CASTELLANOS: You know, it's perfectly fine to be from another generation. That was just kind of a way of demonstrating that Romney is from another generation, but I think what's important is that he hasn't made an effort to understand my generation who might believe in something different.

BANFIELD: Why do you think that President Obama -- apart from the fact that most young people seem to think that the President is cool and that he most reflects who they are, and that's totally understandable, but he has, you know, slogans that people are frustrated with? Hope and change, a lot of people were revved up four years ago and it seems to be almost an Achilles this time around.

DEL VALLE CASTELLANOS: As I said, hope and change were great slogans but they weren't plans. He has, I think, paid a lot more effort for the young vote. He hasn't just kind of walked by it as I think Romney sometimes has. You know, and as far as women go, we've had four years to get to know Michelle Obama and to see her as a mom, as a representative for the country, and we never got to see that with Ann.

BANFIELD: You know, President Obama is an extraordinarily likable person, and, yes, he is hip and, yes, he doesn't perhaps represent the other generation. Mitt Romney is an admirable person, and he has ideas that a lot of people really like.

DEL VALLE CASTELLANOS: He is.

BANFIELD: What is it that is going to end up turning -- and you and your generation, the youth vote, if you can so call yourselves a bloc vote, which of those things are you guys going to like better?

DEL VALLE CASTELLANOS: You know, I think for me in the end I'm going to have to compromise. This is not Build a Bear. I cannot build my own candidate, unfortunately. I'm going to have to give in at some point and decide what's more important for me. Is it more important to go with someone who has the view towards women's rights and women's choices that I do, personally I'm pro-choice, or is it going to be more important to go with someone like Romney who in my opinion, his experience could help create more jobs.

BANFIELD: I would like to be at your dinner table with you and your dad.

DEL VALLE CASTELLANOS: You would. It's pretty interesting.

BANFIELD: Thanksgiving at your house, holy smokes.

Cat Castellanos, thanks so much. It's nice to see you and I appreciate your perspective.

DEL VALLE CASTELLANOS: Thank you.

She's a Washington, D.C., contributor and live from Washington D.C.

If I need to repeat it, I do, it's the third and last presidential debate. Our live coverage starts at 7:00 eastern tonight and we'll have the replay for you tomorrow at noon if your plans don't allow you to watch TV tonight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAT MCQUAID, PRESIDENT, INTERNATIONAL CYCLING UNION: UCI will ban Lance Armstrong from cycling and UCI will strip him of his seven Tour de France titles. Lance Armstrong has no place in cycling.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BANFIELD: Lance Armstrong has no place in cycling. Strong words from the President of the International Cycling Union today as he announced that Armstrong has been stripped of all seven Tour de France titles. All of this in the wake of a U.S. Anti-Doping Agency report that accused him of leading a sophisticated doping program within the United States cycling team.

CNN's Victor Blackwell joins us live from Austin, Texas, the site of the headquarters for the LiveStrong campaign.

This is not entirely unexpected, and, yet, it's still shocking.

VIKTOR BLACKWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Still shocking. You know what is unexpected is that there's been no official response. As you said, we're standing outside of the headquarters for the LiveStrong Foundation, and LiveStrong has told us that they will not have a response to what we heard from the International Cycling Union this morning. We contacted Lance Armstrong's attorneys. They have not responded. No response via twitter yet. But at every point along this process there has been some response. We're still waiting for that. However, we did hear from Lance Armstrong himself yesterday here in Austin just before the start of the LiveStrong challenge in the city of Austin, either 1,865 or 100 miles, 4,300 riders there. He spoke for just about two hours, but it wasn't really anything earth- shattering. He vaguely referenced the entire situation. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LANCE ARMSTRONG, CYCLIST: Obviously it's been an interesting, and as I said the other night, at times very difficult few weeks. People ask me a lot how are you doing? I tell them -- I say, well, I have been better, and I have also been worse.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Again, no reference to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency's claim that they have overwhelming evidence that he doped during his seven titles earning the Tour de France yellow jersey, and no reference to what his active role will be with LiveStrong going forward.

BANFIELD: There's so many questions that come from this announcement from the international cycling union.

BLACKWELL: That decision will have to come from the French cycling union if they want tock after the $4 million that he won in winning those seven titles, and they have said they do want that $4 million back. Just a few hours since the announcement, Oaklies, the company that makes the sun shades, they have cut ties with Lance Armstrong, but they are continuing to support LiveStrong, and we have contacted the armory response organization. That is the organization that runs the Tour de France. They have said that they will let him keep those seven yellow jerseys. There could be more after that announcement today -- Ashleigh?

BANFIELD: Astounding. Again, not totally unexpected, but still surprising. Thank you, Victor Blackwell.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: In tonight's debate there's a very good chance you're going to hear Governor Romney and President Obama go back and forth over China. It's one of the sections of the debate. While China bashing may be very good for debates, there is at least one America who says China is where the jobs are now.

Our Stan Grant has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JON LEVINE, WORKS IN CHINA: Hello. My name is Jon Levine. I'm from New York city, New York, United States of America. I came to China in search of gainful employment. I was unemployed and then severely underemployed, and then I left.

STAN GRANT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): And this is where he ended up, in Beijing, where he now teaches Chinese students about the country he has left behind. 25-year-old Jonathan Levine had a master's degree and a dead-end job. Going, America. Hello, China. A new life of opportunity.

LEVINE: Look at this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can say it's a long march.

GRANT: A long march, indeed, for Jonathan, and a world now waking up to the full extent of China's power.

LEVINE: In the states everybody is so mopey. It's the end of the world, and there's no jobs. And income and inequality is through the roof, and we're back to like the Gilded Age in the U.S.

GRANT: And for presidential candidates looking for someone to blame, enter big bad China. China keeping its currency low, boosting exports. China stealing American jobs.

MITT ROMNEY, (R), FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The President has a regular opportunity to label them as a currency manipulator but refuses to do so. On day one I will label China a currency manipulator.

GRANT: Both Governor Romney and President Obama using the debates to prove who is tougher on China.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As far as currency manipulation, the currency has gone up 11 percent since I have been president because we have pushed them harder. We have put unprecedented trade pressure on China.

GRANT: U.S. military might is backing up its interests. President Obama is resetting American power in Asia after wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. More troops on the ground, closer ties to Asian nations. China says this is an attempt to thwart its rise.

But to people like Jonathan Levine there's nothing here.

LEVINE: It's not like going to the moon, like it might have been 100 years ago.

GRANT: This is a new world, says Jonathan, to people struggling back home he says don't bash China.

LEVINE: Get out. Get out. Get out.

(LAUGHTER)

Leave everyone behind you.

GRANT: Stan Grant, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BANFIELD: Just ahead, our Michael Holmes is going to talk to Gordon Chang, columnist for forbes.com and author of the book "The Coming Collapse of China."

Speaking of Michael Holmes, NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL with him starts right now.