Questions, about his record in regard to stop and frisk and alleged sexist comments in the past. Hes taking hits from other rivals, some who say hes not even a true democrat. Hes been a republican his whole life. He didnt endorse barack or me when we ran. Hes using his pictures like theyre good buddies. Im going to talk about his record. Thats largely untrue. He was a long time democrat who changed Party Affiliations to run for mayor of new york and then became an investment. He did not endorse president obama in 2008, he did in 2012. Blook boom is taking hits from Elizabeth Warren. Instead of focusing on that a sanders spokesperson picked a fight with bloomberg over which 78yearold candidate was healthier just a day after senator sanders, who recently had a heart attack, told me he would not be releasing his complete madcal records. Do you think the American People deserve to know more about his health Going Forward . I think the American People deserve to know exactly as much as every other candidate has released in this race currently and historically. What youre seeing is reminiscent of some of the kind of smear, kind of skept system campaigns run against a lot of different candidates in the past questioning where theyre from, aspects of their lineage, et cetera, et cetera. And its really telling given that none of the same concern is demonstrated for Michael Bloomberg who is the same age as Bernie Sanders, who has suffered heart attacks in the past. The bloomberg camp fired back pointing out Michael Bloomberg has never had a heart attack but had a stent incertaintied 20 years ago to open a blocked coronary artery. A spokesperson walked back her earlier remarks. It was the political story of the day today and perhaps the night as well. Joining us now is cnn political director, david, how much criticism do you think bloomberg will face tonight and not only questions from the moderators but the other candidates . Reporter yeah, i would say a lot. I think he will be at the center of attention even though its Bernie Sanders in the drivers seat for this nomination race is the clear leader, anderson, but bloomberg is the new entrant and he is stepping out from behind the television screen, if you will, of all the paid ads and will stand on the stage as an equal with his fellow competitors for the first time. And they are eager to take him on. Just last night when you were moderating the town halls, sanders and buttigieg and klobuchar all went after him. They are eager to try and bring him down to the reality of being a candidate in the mix. Its going to be so fascinating and bloomberg has not been on a debate stage at this level ever, and its been quite a while since hes, frankly, been in the rough and tumble of a daily political race. If bloomberg is the sole focus, sanders then, arguably, would be a beneficiary of that if it takes all the attention off him and other candidates challenging his policies or his proposals. Its such a good point, anderson, which is why im eager to see what do the likes of Pete Buttigieg and amy klobuchar, joe biden, Elizabeth Warren, are they going to just not spend their time taking on the current frontrunner Bernie Sanders because theyre so focused on the rise of Michael Bloomberg . If theyre dividing their time, is it as effective of a chance to try and halt sanders momentum . You raise a really good point especially, as you know, the more moderate side of the equation, a big chunk of the party right now. Somebody is looking to consolidate that, and the folks who have been in the race are trying to make sure its not Michael Bloomberg, but you cant just step away from Bernie Sanders and let him run away without being touched. The sparring that took place today between sanders and the Bloomberg Campaigns over their respective health histories, whats the strategy behind that . I guess it began with the sanders spokesperson on cnns new day alleging that bloomberg had heart attacks, plural. The Campaign Says thats simply not the case. Theyre both 78 years old. Where does this conversation get them . Yeah, i thought the Bloomberg Campaign response was really interesting, anderson. It gets at a key strategic point. Not only did they say thats not true and obviously the spokesperson said she misspoke, but they said it was trumpian in what they were doing. This was the bloomberg strategy in how to deal with sanders, trying to paint him as of the ilk of donald trump, more a divider than a uniter within the Democratic Party. They were going on a frontal attack about his online supporters and some of their bullying tactics online. Now theyre trying to say they deliberately went on and was lying about Michael Bloomberg having a heart attack and calling it very trumpy. This is a Clear Strategy to try and halt some of the sanders momentum by painting him as an outsider and divider which, of course, is precisely the opposite message sanders is trying to paint for himself. David chalian, thank you very much. For more perspective from our political professionals, David Axelrod and gloria borger. Gloria, its impossible to say just how much the dynamic could shift whether its in bloombergs favor or against him. Well, its going to shift dramatically. What we will see tonight and i think david was talking about this, were going to see a public vetting of Michael Bloomberg, and the other candidates there, including Bernie Sanders, are going to try to disqualify him while he is going to try and come out behind the 400 million curtain of glossy ads and introduce himself to the American Public. The public really doesnt know who he is or how he will answer questions or how he will stand up against these other candidates. I was speaking to a source on the Campaign Today who said he is ready for everything that will be thrown at him, but theyre just a little nervous he doesnt get aggravated by all of these attacks on him because he is not used to it, and hes going to get it. David, theres plenty of billionaires who are not used to having people basically go after them and knit pick and critique their past and most recent comments. What does a win look like for bloomberg tonight . I think if he walks out under his own power that would be good. Hes going to look, first of all, you mentioned it earlier. One of the things id be concerned about if i were his team all the candidates on the stage are in mid season form. Theyve been through eight debates. Theyve all gotten better over the course of those debates. Theyre accustomed to the pressures of being in these debates although this one is perhaps more pressure than the others, and he comes in without any spring training and hes never been a particularly noteworthy debater or speaker. And now hes going to be under siege, and i think thats very difficult. One thing i would say, though, about all of the darts thrown, if you were a moderate candidate, one of those center left candidates, im not sure the way you get to where you want to go is by going after Mike Bloomberg. The way you get to where you want to go may be by going after Bernie Sanders because the big question right now in the Democratic Party is sanders going to run away with the nomination because the moderate wing of the party is divided much as donald trump ran away with it in 2016. You want to score some points with the center left voters. It may be better to focus on Bernie Sanders and allow sanders and Elizabeth Warren to focus on bloomberg. What do you make of that . As much as sande erers has a lo stake tonight, certainly if everybody is focusing on bloomberg, it does essentially let him continue the momentum. Were in this phenomenal period in the history of the Democratic Party. The main line democrats, the ones who have been a part of the party, loyal to the party, are being squeezed out by a bottomup insurgency from the left. Powered by millions of people and now by this top down incursion from the right which is bloomberg, sometimes democrat, sometimes not. You have these two forces, both outside the Democratic Party that now are dominating the discussion, sanders and bloomberg. Sanders would be happy for everybody to beat up on bloomberg because he is sailing to the nomination. This guy is at the top of the polls. I was talking to a cousin of mine in tennessee who said he was for biden but biden looks weak so he switched from biden, a moderate, to bernie. Hes picking up black votes, votes everywhere. The best thing to happen to Bernie Sanders is bloomberg coming in and absorbing all the fire from the moderates if that happens tonight. The spokeswoman spoke back the concern about his health today. He had promised to relows his medical records. He has now said hes not going to release any more than he already has which is three doctors notes. Well talk to dr. Sanjay gupta later on. Theres a lot of information in those notes. Is that the debate sanders wants . No, not at all. Do you want to have the debate between them about their heart health . I think this was a mistake on the part of the sanders campaign. They did back off. You have to Pay Attention to the fact that Bernie Sanders had a heart attack just months ago. And look at him. He looks great. He looks great on the trail. When people are making a decision about the president , they need information. Theres a precedent for that and that is donald trump. That is why folks say ive already released a lot more than normal. It used to be even when john mccain was running and was a cancer survivor, thousands of pages of doctors notes, and were not seeing that anymore. And i think its an unfortunate trend that honestly was started with donald trump. Were going to pick up this after the break. Were going to work on the audio issues with David Axelrod. A closer look at Mike Bloombergs best record and clues to what may happen. The breaking news, the president s choice to fill a job created after 9 11 to prevent another 9 11. How his pick differs from all the distinguished and highly experienced intelligence professionals who have held the job before. That ahead. Feel the clarity of new nondrowsy claritin cool mint chewables. The only allergy product with relief of your worst symptoms, including itchy throat. Plus an immediate blast of cooling sensation. Feel the clarity and live claritin clear. Leadership that makes a difference. Vo a great president and an effective mayor. Obama hes been a leader throughout the country for the past twelve years, mr. Michael bloomberg is here. Vo together they worked to combat gun violence, and again to improve education for every child. Obama i want to thank the mayor of this great city, mayor bloomberg, for his extraordinary leadership. I share your determination to bring this country together to finally make progress for the American People. Bloomberg im Mike Bloomberg, and i approve this message. How we worship, or who we love. And the 2020 census is how that great promise is kept. Because this is the count that informs where hundreds of billions in funding healthcare, and programs that touch us all. Shape your future. Start here. Learn more at 2020census. Gov i spend a lot of time sin my truck. Y . Its my livelihood. Rock music man so im not taking any chances when something happens to it. So when my windshield cracked. My friend recommended safelite autoglass. Tech hi, im adrian. Man thanks for coming. Tech oh, no problem. Tech check it out. Man yeah. They came right to me, with Expert Service where i needed it. Thats service i can trust. No matter what im hauling. Right, girl . Singers safelite repair, safelite replace. Through the at t network, edgetoedge intelligence gives you the power to see every corner of your growing business. From using feedback to innovate. To introducing products faster. To managing website inventory. And network bandwidth. Giving you a nice big edge over your competition. Thats the power of edgetoedge intelligence. And then what happened . Wheres our family from . Was he my age . So nana and pops eloped . And then what happened, daddy . Well, before us, there were your great, great, great grandparents. Turn questions youve always had into stories you cant wait to share; with ancestry. Turn questions youve always had into stories the amount of Student Loan Debt i have im embarrassed to even say i felt like i was going to spend my whole adult life paying this off thanks to sofi, i can see the light at the end of the tunnel as of 12pm today, i am debt free we have no debt, we dont owe anybody anything, and its fantastic talking about tonights debate and how different it may be from the eight that came before it. Bernie sanders facing Mike Bloomberg, the newcomer. Seasoned campaigners look sanders, warren and biden facing someone who hasnt debated in more than a decade. That said, whatever he lacks in recent experience Mike Bloomberg brings talent to bear as a look at his past debate talent shows. More on that from randi kaye. Would you like to apologize for or recant any or all of these four very interesting statements . Youve taken them all out of context. Are they accurate . They were certainly said but out of context, and its a typical smear when the time gets close. Reporter that was Michael Bloomberg in 2001 debating his opponent in the race for mayor of new york city. Now, almost two decades later, the stakes are much higher. Hes both confident and arrogant on the debate stage because he does have such a command of facts. Reporter debate expert Brett Odonnell says its critical bloomberg connect with the audience instead of just spewing facts. He thinks if he unloads a bunch of facts and figures hell get the audience to make a Decision Just like he would make as a business person. The problem with that is its devoid of any contact and connection with an audience. Reporter odonnell says its clear from watching bloomberg debate that its not something bloomberg enjoys. Despite that odonnell says during debates bloomberg manages to stay low key and tries not to do any harm. Bloomberg looks to avoid any major conflict, though he still gets combative with opponents. Has he flipflopped . Everybody know what is my opponent stains for, for complaining, for identifying problems and never coming up with solutions. Thats different than governing. Its easy to be a critic. It is very hard to lead. In the past Mike Bloomberg has always returned fire when fired upon. So he is not afraid to counterpunch his opponents. I think he functions under the premise that the best defense is a good offense. Reporter odonnell says bloomberg is known to fire back like when his opponent suggested he made charitable contributions only to get something in return. Here is bloomberg putting his opponent in his place. Im very proud of our philanthropy. Hes getting money to his campaign and im giving money out, unless i missed what you describe. Reporter dont expect bloomberg to raise his voice, odonnell says, and dont expect him to make things easy for the moderators either. This was him in 2009 answering a question about diversity in spanish, much to the moderators display. [ speaking Foreign Language ] wait a minute, wait, wait. In fairness reporter with some downplaying expectations, well see if Michael Bloomberg comes ready to play. Randi kaye, cnn, new york. Theres plenty to talk about for the candidates tonight and us as well. Back with us is David Axelrod, van jones and gloria borger. What are you anticipating tonight . He hasnt done this for quite a while. Yeah, well, i think youll see some of that. I think the greatest challenge for him is that he has kind of reinvented himself for this race. He walked away from the stop and frisk policy that he defended for a very long time. Hes fashioning himself as a very close ally of president obama, which wasnt true. They worked together. They werent by any means close buds and a series of things like that, that he is trying to clean up for purposes of this race. One of the reasons Bernie Sanders is doing so well hes been saying the same thing for 50 years and bloomberg is stepping out from behind these ads and hes going to have to defend some of those past statements and that hes gone through a metamorphosis and he will be hammered by his opponents on these points. Van, if this becomes a race of sanders versus bloomberg, its you couldnt pick two more different people. Sanders is the exact bloomberg is the exact kind of person sanders is running against. Hes been talking about the billionaires, the billionaires and now one of the biggest in the world on stage with him. I think in addition to what axelrod was saying, something about those living rooms. You watched Elizabeth Warren become an incredibly good presence, on the mic and the debate stage. Why . She was listening for months and months and months to ordinary people. He has not done that, bloomberg. He has not been in those living rooms. This is