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>> people have the opportunity to climb the ladder and follow in the foot steps. >> answer your own question. do you think the middle class, have they been expanded and helped in the last four years. >> for sure. guess what? if we had gone into a depression, the middle class would have been decimated. they understand what the last four years has been about. to get us back on the right track. yes, it happened slower than most people would have liked but we are moving forward. no one wants to go back to the policies that are being written by the current romney advisors who got us into this place to begin with. so wasn't this serviconversatio about revenge. >> that is clearly what the obama campaign wants to convey it would have been a lot worse and people are better off. we can talk about it all day long folks know that in their gut. that is how they will vote when
contradict the administration's line on the broad case they've made for months now on al-qaeda. it's not surprising that the president has dropped the al-qaeda language. the real surprise is if mitt romney continues to back away from libya. i talked to ed gillespie in the spin room and other romney advisors today. they assure me they're not walking away from libya. they understand it's both important substantively and politically important to them. i will be surprised if the romney campaign backs off on libya particularly with the upcoming debate. >> let me say that al-qaeda has been shortened, no question about that. if you're talking about muslim extremism, no. it's not been limb named and we have new elements present in libya that we haven't seen before. >> we detailed on this show many times the reports in august 12 about the surging of al-qaeda
president's people representing him? >> this is actually fascinated. seconds after it ended the room was flooded with romney advisors just dashed in and eager to talk about the performance. so several minutes passed and are there democrats around here? there don't seem to be any. after a wall top official dz come in to talk but they were having a little bit of daifl time defending the president one more thing i thought was fascinating i asked both the obama campaign made a huge deal of mitt romney's 47 remark. the president did not mention it. and i asked and they said it just didn't come up in the conversation. i find it hard to believe it just didn't come up. and. >> on the flip side he didn't hear a line.
president's people representing him? >> this is actually fascinated. seconds after it ended the room was flooded with romney advisors just dashed in and eager to talk about the performance. so several minutes passed and are there democrats around here? there don't seem to be any. after a wall top official dz come in to talk but they were having a little bit of daifl time defending the president one more thing i thought was fascinating i asked both the obama campaign made a huge deal of mitt romney's 47 remark. the president did not mention it. and i asked and they said it just didn't come up in the conversation. i find it hard to believe it just didn't come up. and. >> on the flip side he didn't hear a line.
>> do you think colorado is a state that will do this? >> i think it will be close. >> bret: the first of three presidential debates will be held wednesday. just up the road from here at university of denver. for senior national correspondent john roberts is tonight. >> ahead of the debate. romney is shifting the focus under a withering critique from fellow republicans he is making the campaign less referendum on the president, more a choice between who has the best policies, to lead the nation in the future. >> i represent a different course. i make sure young people have great jobs tomorrow and bright and prosperous future. that is the difference between us. >> wednesday's debate will focus on domestic policy. romney continues to hamer the president for what he calls a failed foreign policy? an op-ed in today's op-ed journal, romney declared the president is weakening the america's position in the world writing, "by failing to maintain the element of our influence and by stepping away
identifying and persuading new supporters and getting them out to vote will matter. close contest. look at the map. new hampshire is likely to end up in the romney column. in recent weeks has been moving that direction. now a tossup state. i subject it is going to do a good turn for a neighbor by going for romney. >> bret: i have 30 seconds left. the impact of this debate here in colorado, karl, then joe, how it affects the electoral map? >> you know, look, my sense on debates is most of the time, not all the time, the arc of the narrative over the course of the three presidential debates is what matters. that is what happened in 2000. 1984 is perhaps the exception. after the second debate on reagan's famous comment i will not use my opponent's youth and inexperience settled the issue. most of the time people look at the debate and come to make decision at the end of it. who wins each one matters but all of them taken together matters. >> bret, both sides partisans
he did come out of nowhere. he beat the clinton machine. he did it in part in his debate, oratory. he will be strong. his one weak point is he is thin skinned. you o the press conference. if romney can manage to get under his skin in some way, that happened in 2008. one or two of the clinton debates. i think it could puncture that aura that obama had. i don't think there is any way to be decisive. one thing that is going to help romney simply being on the stage is always true of the challenger. just being on the same stage as the president instantly raises your stature. if he can hold his own and perhaps prevail to the minor extent he will reverse momentum which has been rather negative. last couple of weeks. >> bret: a.b., the -- liste listen, the economy, there are still a lot of concerns. just talking to folks in arapahoe county county there are concerns long-term and
>> we are leaning romney. we think people want to vote for romney and they're not encouraged by what the current president has done. romney needs to make the case strongly and articulately to get people really fired up a behind him. >> in arapahoe county specifically? >> all around colorado. >> economy, economy, economy. >> bret: that's your baby, i know. your dad says the economy is important. what were you saying? >> i would say i would have rather them pick somebody besides romney. however, when it comes down to election day, i'm looking for somebody other than obama. >> you are? that is what is driving you? >> yes. yeah. other than obama, i'm railly, i'm not appreciating the
>> dismissive al gore threw away a five-point lead in the course of three debates. >> romney advisors are just hoping for a solid performance. no knock-outs on wednesday night. >> i don't think one event is going to make or break this campaign. >> romney advisors told me they don't expect that they could level knock-out blow against president obama. the skilled debaters such as he is. always playing the expectation game. bret? >> bret: john, thanks. >> we're just five weeks and one day away from election day. and a little more than 48 hours from the first debate here in colorado. there is more focus than ever on the battleground state, colorado of course one of them. and how the electoral college race is shaping up. join me again today and karl ro senior advisor who is in new york. back in washington, democratic strategist joe trippi. as we do every week we look at the electoral map. info on the key. red states are romney states.
>> bret: you have covered a lot of debates. you're out for wednesday's to be on the panel but what do you think of this debate and how much the need can move if governor romney holds his own in the first debate? >> there is not much history of debates moving the needle much but it's interesting to see if governor romney can do something he needs to do, get across to people he is the man to make the economy an begin to really vibrate again. do it concisely and specifically. that is a challenge. but to stand next to obama for the first time on eke with footing can help him. in battleground state he is is down everywhere. >> bret: see you out here. we're giving the grapevine the night off to bring you more news. first, why members of the military may sit out the election or be forced to. then we put you on the battlefield. in afghanistan.