good luck this evening. coverage of the cnn democratic event begins 8:30. anderson cooper the moderator. i'm jake tapper. i'm turning you over to wolf blitzer who is in "the situation room." happening now, final countdown, the democratic presidential candidates are less than four hours away from their first debate right here on cnn. hillary clinton and her main challenger, senator bernie sanders, will square off for the first time. will they try to bill themselves up or knock their opponent down? on the line, the future is now for underdogs, jim webb, former maryland governor, martin o'malley, former rhode island governor, lincoln chafee. can one of them seize the moment and become a real player in this campaign? trump tweets. taunted by clinton during a rally outside his hotel, donald trump says he'll not only be watching the democrats debate. live tweeting his own comments

during the showdown. does he have a score to settle? we want to welcome viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer live in las vegas. you're in "the situation room." we're just hours away from the first democratic presidential debate on cnn. as the clock winds down, the excitement level is going way up here in las vegas. we're coming to you live from inside the debate hall at the wynn hotel. the candidates have begun arriving here to get their first look at debate hall. it will be the first time that the front-runner, hillary clinton, goes up against her main rival, senator bernie sanders of vermont. and the long shot candidates, former maryland governor, martin o'malley, former virginia senator, jim webb, and former rhode island governor, lincoln chafee. for the underdogs, this is a make or break moment. big chance to make an impact that could keep them in this race. for sanders, self-described

socialist with a strong core following, it's a chance to appeal to a wider audience of democrats. and for clinton, a chance to move beyond her e-mail controversy, answer her critics and boost her status as front-runner. clinton took some shots at donald trump on the ooen eve of the debate as she joined a union rally outside the trump hotel in vegas. trump will be watching the debate and promises to live tweet as the democrats do battle. our correspondents, analysts and guests have full coverage of the extraordinary event coming up. let's begin with cnn john berman, down on the stage where the candidates will debate. set the stage for us, john. >> wolf, right now, right behind me, bernie sanders, getting his tour of the debate stage. such an interesting moment to see these candidates on the stage for the first time. i find out where they get to stand, where they have to look, where their families will be sitting. all want to know that because they looked to their families so often for comfort.

lectern, where you can see bernie sanders standing right now, that is where he will be at the debate. to his left, hillary clinton. lecterns, fairly close. just 20 inches apart. the same distance they were at the reagan library debate, the republican debate, just a few weeks ago. that is fairly close. one other difference in this debate hall, it is cool. i don't know if it's because it's a las vegas casino and set the temperature low to keep you awake but there's a definite i chill in the room now. candidates have 3 1/2 hours to go before they walk up here for the real thing then have two-minute opening statements. that also a difference in the debate. one minute to answer questions from anderson cooper and other people asking questions. 30 seconds for rebuttals if called out by name. again, you can see bernie sanders, up there, he's been spending today and yesterday working on possible exchanges, scenarios, q&as that might come up how to address other candidates if they go after him. bernie sanders will only talk

about hillary clinton if she talks about him first. wolf? >> all right. john, thank you. as you can see, candidates get the first look at debate hall. you saw bernie sanders. jim acosta, he's got more on late-minute preparations. jim? >> reporter: wolf, we're standing by in this loading dock hear behind the wynn hotel and casino in las vegas where candidates are arriving. just a few moments ago we saw bernie sanders, independent senator from vermont, he arrived. i had a few moments to chat with him. asked him whether or not tonight is a big showdown between himself and hillary clinton. he said, no, an opportunity to talk about issues of economic fairness i'm also asked him whether or not he's offering a stout defense of views of socialism. he went on to say countries around the world that have governments practice democratic socialism. he says it's no different than what he's talking about for this country and finally, wolf, you know, i just wanted to find out how is he preparing for this?

is this the biggest moment of his political career? yes, by far the biggest moment of his political career. who would have thought bernie sanders after months and months of campaigning would be giving hillary clinton this run for her money? speaking of secretary clinton, we expect her to arrive or her campaign advisers to arrive with the same walk-through on stage inside the wynn hotel to check out her place at the lectern. wolf? >> we'll get back to you, jim acosta. back to the stage where five democratic candidates will debate. they're getting ready for the debate. senior political correspondent brianna keilar is there. what are you seeing? >> hi, wolf. behind me, you see bernie sanders surrounded by certainly a lot of folks here who have been putting on the debate and are explaining to him the logistics of where the moderators are going to be. and you also see a number of his aides with him and answering questions that he may have about just the sort of details about how this debate is going to go.

i will tell you, as we do wait to see whether or not hillary clinton herself is going to be doing a similar walk-through that we've seen bernie sanders do, that we've seen jim webb do. it's interesting that it seems like her team isn't necessarily trying to even really manage those expectations, as we see so often in debates where you see aides downplaying how good someone is going to be. she, by far, has the most experience when it comes to debates of this level. she's done more than two dozen debates, most on a national stage, like this one. they've all been very high profile from the time when she was first running for senate in 2000. she will be coming either at some point soon or perhaps when she does come on stage at 8:30 eastern for the debate. that is possibly the first time that she would be on stage. still waiting to see what's going to happen there, wolf. >> brianna, stand by. i want to bring in chief

political analyst, gloria borger. our chief national correspondent, john king and cnn political commentator, michael smerconish. you've been reporting on bernie sanders, debate strategy, how tough is he going to be going up against hillary clinton? >> i think he's going to give pointed answers. if she challenges him, he will challenge her right back. if she says, bernie, how are you going to pay for all of these wonderful things like free college tuition? she's going to go right back on her. he's not going to be afraid to differ with her. he's going to say i've been consistent over the last three decades. you have not been consistent. and then, what he needs to do, and what they're concerned about he needs to show himself as presidential. somebody who is electable as president of the was not just a democratic socialist, right? >> that's what he calls himself, democratic socialist. he's not a capitalist, he's made that point. >> that's right. he needs to show he can win the

presidency. >> you've moderated these debates, john. they go in promising they'll be nice, polite, substantive, policy oriented. but something happens and they go after each other. what's likely to trigger that? >> not senator sanders or secretary clinton, she has debate experience, bernie sanders needs to prove they're presidential. they're not looking to go after each other. they might have heated and contentious policy debates but i don't think it will be personable. what about martin o'malley, jim webb, lincoln chafee, who are desperate here on the verge of extinction in the race? do they spice it up to the point it brings other candidates? if you look at past debate history, people say bernie sanders has a temper. will that come out if necessary? hillary clinton sometimes can be sarcastic or biting in her humor and pushed but both experienced. this is not a group of inexperienced people. no, only hillary clinton has been on the presidential debate stage but these are not newcomers unlike republican

field where you have outsiders. these are established, senior politicians. >> one of the problems hillary clinton might have she wants barack obama supporters in the democratic party but, at the same time, she's distancing herself on some key barack obama issues like the new trade pact with the pacific which he says is great for the american worker, great for the american people, great for the environment which she says is horrible. >> we're used to these pivots in election season. what's unusual in this cycle the word of 2016 thus far is authenticity. that's what unites bernie sanders and donald trump. so, what's different, wolf, i think, in this debate she's going to have to explain her policy changes without sacrificing authenticity. i don't know most voters are going to be able to follow lodge giftics and details of the tpp dale. she has an explanation why the final product was too simple think the to big pharma. people are look agent body language, facial cues and want to know is she telling it to us straight.

>> delicate line she has to walk. she wants barack obama supporters, at the same time on a sense stitive issue like this says he's wrong. >> she's moving to her left. she doesn't want to lose independent voters if she were to become the nominee it a general election. it's really hard path to navigate. i think we've seen her try to navigate it with difficulty. you know, this is somebodies who husband was president of the united states and invented the third way of democratic politics which was attack to the center. now she's moving from the center to the left because the democratic party has moved to the left, and all of these candidates are to the left of where hillary clinton was when she ran the last time. >> when it comes to mainstream democrats, john, how vulnerable is bernie sanders on the gun issue? >> on the gun issue, because many issues we've seen hillary clinton move to the left to try to counter bernie sanders, especially on economic issues, on the gun issue, that is

potential where she might criticize him saying where have you been. he's from rural vermont. he says i represent people in rural vermont, who are hunters, collectors, and you have to respect that. he said we have to have a conversation about gun control. he has been endorsed in prior races by the national rifle association. that come up from secretary clinton? look for governor o'malley to make that point, toop g. guns is an issue. he's more to the right of the rest of the democratic field. >> interesting development. stand by. much more on what's going on and behind us, seeing candidates, they have started arriving, going up to the lecterns there, getting a little feel for the room, about 1500 people in the audience. millions will be watching. we'll take a quick break. we'll be right back. (vo) what does the world run on?

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we're back. we're inside the debate hall here at wynn hotel in las vegas. we're counting down to the first democratic presidential candidates' debate. right now one of hillary clinton's top aides getting ready in the building. she'll be checking out the lectern, the podium. we'll be watching what's going on. let's bring back gloria borger,

john king, michael smerconish. hillary clinton on the defensive of the e-mail controversy, how will she use that if she goes on the offense? >> i don't think any of the people on the stage with her are going to attack her on the e-mail controversy. 6 % of democrats think hillary clinton is trustworthy, it's not an issue for them. whether the journalists will ask questions about e-mails remains to be seen. i presume perhaps they will. hillary clinton took her a long time to admit it was a mistake, finally admitted it was a mistake, and i'm sure she's got a couple of one-liners in her pocket to handle it and i presume if she's asked about it, she will take responsibility. she will say it was wrong again. and then she will say, that's not important to the american people. here's what's important to the american people. and start talking about issues. >> then she'll say, look at republicans, they're admitting kevin mccarthy, majority leader, this is political, they're going after her. >> exactly. >> she needs to be careful.

yes, republicans gave her a gift when kevin mccarthy was saying he was inarticulate what happen he seemed to say, hillary clinton was doing great and we formed this special committee to go after her and look what her poll number have done. the broad swath of republican says it's not fair but that's kind of what he said on a fox news program. since then the president of the united states, her boss, said it was a mistake. and that she shouldn't have done it and should have known better. barack obama is popular with democrats, leader of the democratic party, she doesn't want to get so happy to have a partisan conversation with republicans about this. my question, i completely, most democrats don't think it's a big issue but numbers have come down around democrats. one of the long shots take a chance, go after it is a question of judgment. it is an opening for her judgment. she listened to her boss who sent all cabinet secretaries a notice, keep this in the government system. >> the president said he didn't know she was using a private e-mail server. >> a temptation among all of us

to conflate the two. two issues, benghazi issue, because of the kevin mccarthy situation has lost a lot of its steam, at least among nonpart accidents. these are two differently dink things. >> michael smerconish, donald trump, hovering over this debate tonight though he's not here in las vegas, he does have a big hotel here in las vegas. he tweeted this, he said at the request of many, though i expect it to be a very boring two hours, i will be covering the democratic debate live on twitter to which hillary clinton tweeted, glad you'll be watching. it's going to be huge! >> am i the only one willing to admit i'm thrilled he's tweeting about this? it adds a new dynamic to it. he is the elephant in the room. the question for me is whether anderson cooper will be following the twitter feed of donald trump and feel comfortable in tossing in a question that is prompted by the donald. >> he won't be the elephant, he'll be a questioner. >> true. >> could be. >> donald trump has a presence here, even though obviously he's

not here. >> by the way, even if he weren't live tweeting, which i'm thrilled he's doing, even if he weren't doing that, he's going to be raised by these candidates, don't you think, because they don't want to fight with each other. they want to talk about donald trump and the republican party. >> they want him to be the face of the republican party. >> of course. >> that's why she went to the hotel yesterday. >> but the trump effect on the race has been fascinating, one, because of the outsider factor, different in the democratic primary. but number two, republican race will get there, eventually i'm sure. yet to be an ideological fight. there's great ideological differences among the candidates but more about personalities because of trump, carson, fiorina. this is an ideological fight between hillary clinton, bernie sanders and others trying to get into the debate about taking the democratic party even more to the left than president obama. when he was elected people said, the country go for a guy this liberal? they believe if you look at the electoral college they can go to the left and still win. we'll see. >> a lot we'll see. we're only getting started, guys.

thanks very much. a preview of the very different strategies we're likely to see from candidates tonight. awaiting start of the first democratic presidential debate of this campaign season. stay with us. you're in "the situation room." mcgladrey was founded to help growing businesses reach higher goals. soon our team of audit, tax and consulting advisors started taking the middle market to the global market. and now our network, spanning more than 110 countries, is unifying under one brand. mcgladrey is changing its name to rsm. experience the power of being understood.

the excitement is clearly building here in las vegas, as we count down to the first

democratic presidential debate. this will be many voters' first opportunity to get a closer look at the candidates. we're likely to see very different strategies as the debate unfolds. let go down to the stage. our senior washington correspondent jeff zeleny is there. the candidates, aides, looking at leclecterns, up on the podiu. what are you seeing? >> they are. hillary clinton is not going to do a test run on this stage tonight. one of her top and longest serving aides is waiting in the wings behind me here, taking a couple of photographs of the stage, probably going to show her boss what the stage looks like, she's getting a sense of what this evening is going to be. but right, the strategies are different for every candidate secretary clinton, first and foremost, wants to show she's ready to be president, she wants to show she's preparing for this moment her entire life. she wants to restore some of the trust and credibility that's been erode ed over the summer with the e-mails and scandals

and she she's a fighter. she's going to show she's a fighter for you. bernie sanders is on the stage, the biggest stage of his political life so far. i'm told by his aides that he wants to show that he has mainstream values. of course, this is a democratic primary campaign and he is a democratic socialist from vermont. so he's going to show that he is part of the mainstream. also, he's a leader of the populist movement. of course speaking to rallies and crowds across the country. his biggest chance to grow that movement, look for him to talk about the movement again and again. and also, he wants to show he's a credible general election candidate, a champion for the middle class and independent voters, democrats and republicans. finally, martin o'malley, former governor of maryland wants to show he's a proven executive, only candidate of these three who has been a mayor, a governor, spent 167 years in office. he also wants to show she's a generational change. he's 52, hillary clinton of course is 68.

bernie sanders, 74. he wants to show she's a new generation of a democrat here. but his biggest moment is, he's been calling for so many debates, he wants to make clear he deserves a shot on this stage. so those are three top candidates. and jim webb and lincoln chafee also want to get in their moments here. right now, huma abedin going on huma abedin has been with dium. hillary clinton since she was the first lady in the white house. she has been her longest serving aide, look agent podium now in the middle of this stage checking it out, looking to left and right. podiums are so close together. some 20 inch as part only. so you can see her there, sort of checking out this scene. interesting, of course, she came out, but hillary clinton herself did not come out. she's preparing for this debate. with her advisers. i can tell you, huma will be giving her a fuel report. >> i don't understand why the candidate herself wouldn't want

to go out, take a look at it get a feel for that lectern, see what's going on, get a feel for the room. any explanation why huma abedin, her top aide is doing it, as opposed to hillary clinton? >> i would assume hillary clinton has done so many debates, she did 25 debates in 20908 campaign. we remember those so well. some were here in las vegas. she knows what it's like. she does not want any of us to be watching her, look at the stage here. she wants, you know, to be having some private rehearsal time, private moments. when she takes this stage when the debate begins in a couple of hours, that's the first time any of us see her. i'm guessing she wants to sort of be relaxing a little bit and does not want to be made up for the moment. so huma abedin will report back what the stage looks like. i'm not surprised at this. she's debated so many times. she has all of the information she probably needs. >> thanks very much. there's huma abedin at the lectern.

main focus is here in the debate hall. also keeping a close eye on the spin room, top representatives of the campaigns, perhaps candidates themselves, mingling with reporters. cnn's kate bolduan in the spin room what happen do we expect tonight? >> this is where after the debate the action begins, wolf. yes, a lot is said in this two-hour debate. right afterward, this is what you're going to see. through these doors, you're going to see surrogates from the campaigns or candidates, as we saw with the last republican debate, fronting into the room to speak to you and make their case to the more than 700 members of the credentialed press at the debate. this place is so pack -- you've seen these things, spinner sticks -- this is what you have to hold up in order to see the candidate or their surrogates. you'll see these all throughout the room. why do they come here after having so much to say in the debate? this is where they have to make their case. they often, they declare

victory, of course, each candidate and campaign. he also come here to tri to define in their view the most memorable moment in the debate, let's be honest, their rivals do and downplayed any flub. this room is where the next phase of the campaign really kicks off. why this is where all of the action is, right after the debate. here's a really interesting note. most of the surrogates that you see in the room are advisers you've seen on tv that are often talking to the media, high-level folks with the campaign. jim webb, we found out, he's enlisted three of his oldest friends to come to be surrogates for them. interestingly, these friends told cnn they didn't know what a spin room was until jim webb asked them to speak on his behalf. a note of how unusual and different approaches are for the candidates, wolf. >> more than 700 journalists have applied and received credentials to cover this debate

here in las vegas. going to be jam packed in that spin room later tonight. thanks very much, kate, for that. we'll get back to you. >> insight from our political commentators, anna a navarro he donna brazile, former senior adviser, van jones. stand by, getting new information, as we speak right now. want to take a quick break. we'll digest what we're learn, when we come back. well, well. if it isn't the belle of the ball. gentlemen. you look well. what's new, flo? well, a name your price tool went missing last week. name your what, now?

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welcome back. this is just outside the wynn hotel here in las vegas. people are there, some bernie sanders supporters, they're walking around as well. supporters for the other campaigns as well. the democratic presidential candidates, they're arriving for tonight's first democratic presidential debate of this campaign season. we're back with our political commentators, ana navarro, donna brazile, dan pfeiffer, van jones. a little fight, two democratic members of congress, the chair of the democratic national committee, the other's a vice

chair of the democratic national committee, debbie wasserman schultz, tulsi gabbard, fighting over how many debates. as a result, tulsi gabbard thinks she was disinvited by the chair of the dnc from coming to this democratic debate. pretty ugly. >> i want to say this -- >> you're a vice chair of the dnc yourself. >> i have every confidence that you know, no matter how much this conversation goes on, debbie and tulsi are rooting for five candidates here tonight. this business the candidates and what they offer to the american people. we have a lot of what i call ideas that the american people want to hear from the candidates. so, we will figure out the number of debates. how many people appear with -- how many times appear with wolf blitzer. we want wolf. but, no, this is about the candidates and what they will do to help the american people. >> the people of america just saw master class on spinning from donna brazile right now.

look, it does not take -- she's a master. she's got a masters degree. it does not take rocket science. hillary clinton indianapol's th establishment candidate. mistakes can happen. they want to control the number of debates and they have a problem because debates and the other candidates are demanding more debates including people like vice chair tulsi gabbard. so it's turned into this ugly she said/she said on national media. >> i know them both. respect them both. tulsi gabbard is a rising star. tulsi gabbard should be here tonight. reality is we do not have enough young veterans in the party, enough young women in the party, enough people in the parent she's a quad factor, not having tulsi gabbard here, whatever the reason, i think, is a very, very bad sign i hope she will be rest of the them sitting next to debbie. we need tulsi. >> tulsi, she's an iraq war

veteran. yesterday promoted from campapt to major. the fact she's not here, whatever reason is unfortunate. >> in a battle, i want her in my trench. >> me, too. me, too. >> let's talk about hillary clinton now distancing herself from the president of the united states on this trade deal in the pacific with asian countries. she says it's bad for america, why would the president be doing something supporting enthusiastically if hillary clinton says it's a bad deal? >> look, i think hillary clinton has a steep hill to climb to explain to the american people tonight why the trade deal that she called to be a gold standard a few years ago is now something she's again. i will give you the benefit of the doubt, she's got to make a credible case. from a political tactics point of view, this is a mistake. bettor defend a sincerely held politically unpopular position than attacked for flip-flopping. she's going to get attack on tpp no matter what. >> on the iran nuclear deal. politically she may have been

able to score political points by opposing it. >> i don't think she's trying to distance herself from the president. she knows that the president, that the path to nomination of the white house runs through the obama coalition. she's not running for the obama third term, clinton third term. >> a lot in the democratic party, by distancing herself from the president, on this and other issues. >> this trade deal was a deal that his base really hated. he had to go with republicans to get that trade deal done. i think she's safe there. if she starts to run up over and over again, not only the flip-flop, but flip-flopping against the president, then she runs into a buzz saw. >> how much should she use her husband as a surrogate? he's here in las vegas. i don't know if he'll be in the room. eight years ago, he wasn't used that much. he may arguably be the most popular democratic politician out there. >> breaking news, hillary clinton is area hen woman. married to a famous man and great leader of the country as well but this is about her

vision and what she intends to do. everyone would like to see bill clinton front and center in all of the states and being a surrogate -- he's a superspouse -- >> don't you think he would help her. >> bill clinton could help all of us. he'll be a tremendous asset to the campaign. >> he's a double-edged sword and he understand that. he overshadows her. he's got incredible political talent, natural political talent. she doesn't. she's got to work at it hard. she has the likability problem, trustworthiness problem. it's awkward, other spouses will be here. bill clinton is in town. he's watching it on tv like the rest of the american people. >> we experienced this in '07 and '08. when hillary clinton was in new hampshire, bill clinton was in iowa. >> i say, let the big dog bark. let him bark.

i love bill clinton. people who hate bill clinton love to listen to bill clinton. he's an -- i think he's an unqualified asset for every one -- he'll say 100 smart, brilliant things did. >> how many votes in 2008? 18 million. the highest number of any candidate in any primary. let's set the record straight. she is her own person. she's her own woman. i know we sometime need to attach a man to our collar but she doesn't -- she loves him. she will use him. but she is her own woman. nobody's arguing that. but the point is, look, you don't let him lose at this point. he did make mistakes in 2008, made mistakes in 2008 in south carolina. the moment you see them release the cracken. >> he did help barack obama get re-elected in 2012. >> absolutely. when he was running as a candidate himself and she was on

stage, you get two for the price of one. >> he's the best surrogate democrats have, except for his wife. >> let's see if he shows up here tonight. coming up -- terrorism is not going away after the presidential election. we'll take a closer look at where the candidates stand when it comes to fighting isis. do they favor air strikes, putting u.s. troops on the ground and new report says russian-made missile down flight over ukraine. how do the candidates deal with vladimir putin? whatever you're doing, plan well and enjoy life... ♪ or, as we say at unitedhealthcare insurance company, go long. of course, how you plan is up to you.

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whoever ends up in the oval office from either party will inherit the war against isis. live pictures from inside the debate hall in wynn hotel in las vegas. candidates ready to approach all sorts of issues including national security issues. brian todd is joining us with a closer look at this part of the upcoming debate. >> when discussing who would do what against the fight in the fight against isis, there's key differences between hillary clinton and bernie sanders. first off, arming and training the syrian rebels. hillary clinton has said consistently she's in favor of arming and training syrian rebels. bernie sanders has been opposed to than sanders, though, wants to arm only kurdish peshmerga forces saying this is a force the u.s. could trust. air strikes, both of them are in favor of u.s. air strikes against isis. both of them are opposed to u.s. boots on the ground in the fis against isis. but sanders seems more apt to

favor middle east countries, especially wealthy ones like turkey, saudi arabia, should do the lion's share of the fighting on the ground. what he had to say not long ago on that. >> we have got to be supportive, air attacks, special forces, and so forth. but the bulk of fighting must be done by turkey, saudi arabia, countries in the region. >> when he talks about that, he's talking about those countries putting troops on the ground. sanders has said countries like saudi arabia and turkey, quote, need to get their hands dirty in the fight against isis. >> there are differences on the candidates on the sensitive >> that's right. take a look at this. hillary clinton has consistently said she does favor a no-fly zone. she says it would make it more difficult for bashar al assad's forces to bomb syrian civilians, refugees and others.

but bernie sanders has said he opposes i s it. here's what hillary had to say in iowa. >> we need to try to set up and enforce a no-fly zone to try to stop the outflow of refugees on people can stay at home to try to stabilize the situation on the ground, prevent assad's air force from continuing to bomb its own people. >> and again bernie sanders opposed to a no-fly zone pep basically believes this will make a complex war even worse. he thinks it will draw the u.s. further into an entanglement in the region. he is very much opposed to that idea. >> another key difference could be something that occurred back in 2008 when then candidate barack obama made it clear that he opposed going to war if in iraq pack in 2003. she voted to go to war against saddam hussein. sanders, he voted against the war. he could draw on that again tonight. >> he certainly could.

again, hillary clinton did vote in 2002 when she was a senator to authorize use of force against iraq. bernie sanders was a congressman and voted against it. again, drawing on the barack obama theme from 2008, barack obama was not a senator at the time. he did not vote. but he has made it clear all along and he made it clear in 2008 when he was debating hillary clinton that he was opposed to the iraq war from the word go. and he just pounded on that theme when will he was in debates with hillary clinton. bernie sanders could kind of draw on that tonight to question hillary clinton's judgment on these big issues draw on what bochl did in 2008. we'll see if he does it tonight. >> brian todd, thanks very much. we're getting ready for the debate. let's bring in our cnn national security commentator mike rogers and also peter binart. she was secretary of state for four years under president obama obviously. is national security foreign

policy going to be a strength to her going into this campaign, going into this debate tonight or potentially not such avenge? >> it would be a strength because she has more experience, but if you look at her positions on the issues, they don't necessarily line up with where democratic base voters are. her support for the iraq war hurt her against obama. >> she says now that was a mistake. >> right. she's more hawkish on syria than not only bernie sanders, than where most democrats are. so i think that although she may use the experience card, when people begin to understand more the differences between her and the field, they may find out they line up closer to sanders. >> she disagrees with the president on the no-fly zone and with bernie sander, she support as no-fly zone. that could be a big subject tonight. >> and if you look at her time as secretary of state, they bumped heads a bit on the policy on afghanistan, on syria, and

other places including russia by the way in some circumstances. and i agree, tonight it causes her some be problem. but in a general election, that hawkish stance is probably more appealing to a breerd soader se vot voters. on this stage, this is not a good place for her to go. >> because among all americans, but not necessarily among that republican base which is her primary target right now. >> democrat base. sgli mean t sg >> i mean the democratic base. >> and if you look at where sanders is and the polling, they are completely where he is on all of those issues. >> jim webb could be a wild card on this national security issue tonight because he's a former secretary of the navy, former assistant secretary of defense, a u.s. senator. marine. he knows a lot about these issues. and he could presumably go after hillary clinton on some of these sensitive issues. >> and that would be great for bernie sanders. sanders doesn't want to be doing

the attacking, but he won't mind if someone else does the attacking. i think the danger for hillary is that webb and chafee goes after her hard on iraq. >> guys, thanks very much. coming up, the democratic candidates have been arriving here for the first presidential debate right here on cnn. hillary clinton and her main challenger bernie sanders getting ready to faceoff for the first time. but will donald trump steal the show? the republican frontrunner says he'll be watching the debate and live tweeting as the democrats go at it.

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we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer reporting live from the cnn democratic debate here in las vegas. you're in "the situation room." we're live on the las vegas strip where five democratic presidential candidates will face off tonight for the very first time. it's a key contest for hillary clinton facing an increasingly strong challenge from the vermont senator bernie sanders. also a crucial night for martin o'malley, jim webb and lincoln chafee, all of whom are hoping to break out from their single digit poll numbers. john, set the scene for us. >> it's been a busy time here on

the debate stage here. in just 2 1/2 hours, the five candidates will be squaring off for the first time in this primary campaign. we saw jim webb, we saw bernie sanders. we did not see hillary clinton. she sent her top adviser who spent a lot of time here on this stage and i thought it was very interesting. she took a lot of pictures of the stage where hillary clinton will be standing, where she will be looking. the lecterns are just 20 inches apart, the same distance as in the republican debate at the reagan library. that is fairly close. try standing next to a trend of yours just 20 inches apart and see how comfortable you are. these five candidates hillary clinton will be center stage, she's the leader in the polls. to her right, you will have bernie sanders. to her left, martin o'malley. and on the wings, jim webb and lincoln chafee who i don't believe we will see in a walk-through. one difference frin this debate two minute opening statements.

and then they will have one minute to answer questions from anderson cooper, juan carlos lopez, dana bash and 30 second rebuttals if they get called out by name. one of the most interesting questions by how is will any of the candidates get called out by name. how much of a need will there be for rebuttals? that's what the campaigns have been preparing for. wolf. >> and don lemon will be getting questions from our facebook viewers, as well. so that will be an interesting element of this upcoming debate. john berman, thanks very much. i want to go to jim acosta, he's been watching the candidates arrive here at the hotel to get their first look at the debate stage. what have you seen so far, jim? >> that's right. we're in the loading dock of the hotel and casino, we've seen a couple candidates come through so far. bernie sanders who is really giving hillary clinton a run for her money, he was the last candidate to come through here. he said he doesn't see tonight

as a clash of a titans between himself and hillary clinton. he wants to talk about the issues he cares about. but he said no question this is one of the biggest political moments of his career. she's hairing it share he's sharing it with with his wife and children by his side. and we chatted with jim webb who acknowledged that he's trying to introduce himself to a whole lot of americans out there. his candidacy has failed to gain traction at this point. and we should be able to greet martin o'malley, the former maryland governor, he will be coming in in just a few moments. and he needs a make or break moment tonight, not a break moment, he wants to make a moment tonight to break out in this campaign and that's what he'll be looking for later on tonight. he plays the guitar. we'll be finding out if he has a pre-debate warm-up song that he has in mind as he makes his way here to the wynn casino. wolf. >> jim acosta, thanks very much.

i want to bring in brianna keilar, she's also here inside the debate hall with more on what is going on. what are you see something. >> well, i can tell you a little bit about what has been going on for some of the candidates. hillary clinton has been doing last minutes debate stage. she didn't come on the stage. this will allow the campaign to really have the visuals of hillary clinton for this week, this debate week, be very tightly controlled. allowing that visual of her going to trump tower and standing by union members who are picketing and making an impact that way. and then also her debate performance and then what is really sort of a phrenetic travel pace that she will do over the next four days post-debate travel in a number of states. so she's been preparing today really just the last of it. she's been preparing for really into september.

bernie sand dwers' goal will be try to convince people that he's in the mainstream and stop hillary clinton from telling people that his ideas aren't really practical. but for martin oo'malley, i've been told by an aide that his goal is to try to introduce himself. i don't think that you can rule and make a splash and maybe take hillary clinton on. i've been told he won't shy away from trying to draw some contrasts with hillary clinton and he's certainly been of all of the candidates i think who are goiwe are going to see on stage, he's the one who is showing a little bit more of an attitude toward hillary clinton. so be looking for that. >> we'll see if that attitude comes through. and we're also getting brand new reporting about hillary clinton's campaign right now, one muc of current staffers whoe

wrote a memo about how to beat hillary clinton, joining us on the phone is our correspondent ryan lizzo. what have you learned? >> what i posted at the new york.com is a strategy memo from the 2007 campaign. and what is interesting about it, it's basically the obama brain trust david axelrod, the polster who thousanow works for hillary clinton, laying out how you beat hillary clinton. clinton was the dominant frontrunner, but she had vulnerabilities and they had to figure out how to exploit them. so what is really interesting for most viewers will be the unvarnished language they used about her and they argue that they had to take down hillary clinton not on policy grounds, but on character grounds. one of the interesting quotes is that the reason clinton

complaint be trustcan't be trusted or believed when it comes to change is that she represents the washington insider syndrome. they write, quote, that she's driven by political calculation and not conviction and she embodies trench warfare versus republicans. so it goes through all of her weaknesses but highlights this issue of her character. and the question i have, is this going to be the strategy that one of her opponents uses this time. >> and is this the first time this will memo has been reported? >> yes. i published snippets of it previously, but this is the first time that the entire memo in full has ever been published. >> let's get reaction from the communications director for hillary clinton's campaign hillary for america. she's with me.

have you read that memo going back for 2007/2008 how these obama staffers including her current polster thought she was so vulnerable on these character issues? >> no, but it seems like it will make for an awkward staff meeting the next time we sit down. >> did you know at all about this? >> no. this is the first i'm -- >> how does she deal with this issue that maybe her character, she's flawed, is -- you keep hearing this over and over again not just republicans, but some democrats making the case she's vulnerable on this issue. >> i think what you'll see tonight is that and what i think that the voters who really know her i think what any sthey see someone who has fighting for work families. not just in this campaign, but this has been her sole motivation and why she got into public service, why she's running for president is because she wants her sole driving motivating force is trying to

make more opportunity in working families' lives. this is why she had -- there is a lot of misconceptions about her, but this is why she started working with the children's defense club and why at first lady of arkansas she worked bring health care to young mothers and kids. this is why as the first lady of the united states she worked to get health care done. she didn't succeed, so she worked with the congress to get children's health insurance done. this is someone who has been her whole career has been fighting for kids and families who that is what is at her core. and if you spend time with her on the campaign trail particularly at town halls, what you see are voters even unburdening themselves to her, talking about their personal problems because they know she understands what their life is like and will do something about the problems. >> you heard her current polster was the polster for barack obama's campaign, david axelrod, some of these others worked on the obama campaign, they thought

she was most vulner able on her character issues. >> i think what you saw -- >> -- she'll be reinforcing that notion. >> i think we saw in 2008 president obama ran a good campaign and he's been an excellent president. but what you see in hillary clinton is someone who stays at it, who grinds it out. and the voters see that she will fight for them, there is no -- at the end of the debate, people will see that that is the woman on the stage who best understands my problems in my life. she has real solutions that will actually soft problems that are in their life and she is the person that will fight the hardest and be the most determined to get them done. and that is what they need to know about hillary clinton's character. >> will she counter punch the way donald trump counter punches? >> i don't imagine hillary clinton will do anything the way donald trump does it. >> for his campaign, it's been very effective. >> you know what, hillary

clinton is doing a lot better than in the polls than donald trump is with with democratic voters. >> donald trump is way ahead in the republican -- >> no, she's way ahead. she's doing far better on the democratic polls than donald trump is in the republican polls. >> in a head to head match-up? >> no, if you look at how hillary clinton is doing in the polls of democratic voter versus how donald trump is doing, you know, they're both the frontrunners, but she has a far bigger lead. her lead is in the double digits. she has many more democrats supporting her than donald trump has supporting him. >> that's fair enough. should there be more debates? there will be six. should there be more? >> well, we're excited to do this one. if the did cnc adds more, she'l happy to do them. >> does she want more debates? >> she likes to debate. she did over 20 of them in 2008. so she's good at it and she likes it.

>> how come she didn't take a look at the lectern? she sent her top aide. >> everybody has different ways that they prepare. but walking on the stage and getting a feel of the podium is not something that she feels she needs to do. she's pretty comfortable at whatever podium. so she's getting ready in other ways. >> there has been a little mystery whether her husband, you worked for him, you now work for her, whether -- he's here in las vegas. will he come into this room tonight? >> no, he is not planning on doing that. he will be watching on television. but he wanted to come to las vegas and give her moral support. and he's got pretty good advice about how to debate, as well. he's been pretty effective at that. >> is chelsea here? >> she is not. >> okay. but he's here but he won't be here inside the room. >> he'll watch it on tv. he likes do that, watch it as

most voters and most americans will. >> we'll see what happens after the debate. thanks very much. good luck tonight. stand would i. we're a it wag twaiting the sta cnn presidential debate. when we come back, we'll preview the big battle between the fr t frontrunn frontrunners. big day? ah, the usual. moved some new cars. hauled a bunch of steel. kept the supermarket shelves stocked. made sure everyone got their latest gadgets. what's up for the next shift? ah, nothing much. just keeping the lights on. (laugh) nice. doing the big things that move an economy.

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welcome back. we're here live at the wynn hotel. we're counting down to the start of the first presidential debate with hillary clinton clear lly e candidate to beat tonight. gloria borger and john king are with us and also david axelrod. let's talk, david, first of all, up there in 2007, 2008. you were one of the key he strategists helping then senator barack obama become president of

the united states. this memo that one of our cnn contributors just received saying that the way to beat hillary clinton was to go after her top vulnerability, character issues. you've seen the memo. i don't know if you -- >> i don't recall putting ryan's name on it. >> it was confidential. >> look, i don't think anything in that memo should be surprising to anyone. you saw the strategy executed by the campaign and the contrasts that barack obama drew. i would point out those were different times, those were different issues. the iraq war this particular was very much in front and center in that debate. and that was a strategy that maximized our comparative advantage in that debate. her job in this election is to maximize her comparative advantages against the other candidates in this primary and particularly against the republicans. i think you'll see that tonight. >> that strategy --

>> good way to get out of that. really good. good job. >> well, i mean, if you're asking me is that memo legitimate, i think the memo is real. >> it's a real memo. is that strategy that was successful for barack obama then, could it be used this time around against hillary clinton? >> look, i think it will be used if she's the nominee in a general election. i think that hillary clinton is hugely popular in the democratic party. she's very well liked. she's trusted. but democrats like hillary clinton, so i don't think they will attack her on the stage tonight. i think they will make issue comparison, they will talk about her flip-flopping. but i think that the obama game plan back then doesn't necessarily work up there on the stage tonight. >> i totally agree with you. if you skip down to the bolt of the piece, wolf, ryan also

companies me y s quotes me as saying i think her stock is undervalued in the race. she has a lot of assets and i think she will be the nom neef the democratic party. i don't think there will be an attack on somebody who has a 78% approval rating among democrats. for her the challenge is to at that time position she's taken in this campaign, to weave them into a narrative and deliver that with conviction. >> let me read part of this memo that was written back in 2007 that has now been reported by ryan liza. she's driven by political calculation, not conviction. regularly backing away and shifting positions on issues ranging from war to social security to trade, to reform. that was written then. rememb her critics will say it's applicable now. >> written by a guy who writes clear declarative sentences.

but look, i think senator sanders does not want to attack her personally. i think he will raise she's issues by saying he has consistently been in the camp of a $15 minimum wage, consistently against the iraq war, consistently against the trade agreements. which is pointed, but not personal. senator chafee or governor chafee has in the past brought up questions of trust and character at his events. the question is will he do it on a national debate stage. that's always a question. but i think it's -- >> you have to do it from the standpoint of a guy who has been a republican, democrat and independent. >> and when senator obama did it, he was in a position to beat her. at the moment, the only other candidate on the stage in position to beat her is senator sanders. and he has shown no interest in getting personal. >> let me challenge -- i think bernie sanders has run an astonishing campaign. he has a long way to go before

you'd say he is a major threat to her candidacy. because he has to prove that he can -- >> at the moment on that stage tonight, he's the only threat. >> no question about it. >> but he has to show that he can be president of the united states. bernie sanders has an electability issue. and what he has to prove on that stage tonight is he's up against hillary clinton whom people have known nationally for decades and who is a former secretary of state, that he can lead the country particularly on foreign policy issues. which we haven't heard a lot. >> stand by, guys. we're just a little bit more than two hours away from the start of this cnn democratic presidential debate here at the wynn hotel in las vegas. all eyes tonight are on the front run arunner hillary clint bernie sanders.

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welcome back. we're live at the wynn hotel in las vegas, awaiting the start of the cnn democratic presidential debate, the first faceoff for the five leading democratic candidates. brianna kealar is on the stage where the candidates have been walking through. who is there now? >> this is maryland governor martin o'malley taking the stage right now.

coming on stage to do the walk-through. he's really the final candidate that we will see doing the walk-through here ahead of the debate coming up here very shortly. so actually we've learned a little bit about some of the strategy that he has been really keeping in his mind as he has prepared for this debate really for several weeks now at this point, wolf. i spoke with an aide to martin o'malley who said that he's not going to shy away from drawing contrasts with hillary clinton. does that mean that he will attack her? not necessarily. it doesn't have to be an attack, but he will draw contrast and certainly he will have sharp distinctions i think as he is approaching this debate tonight. the other thing is i've been told that he plans to lean into this message that he will be a president guided by principles, not polls. so that i think is sort of a hint as to what we will see which is basically his alluding

to the fact that hillary clinton is someone who has changed her mind at times as we've seen recently with martin o'malley saying, wow, what a reversal when it came to her coming out for a trade deal that she had trumpeted, she had touted while she was secretary of state and then just recently came out in opposition of. so you see martin o'malley there talking with some of our d.c. bureau chief sam feist and some of the other folks who have been instrumental in putting together this debate. we were hearing right before martin o'malley was here and lincoln chafee was doing the walk through, even going through some of the basic time cues, saying that they will have a minute to answer the a question, here is how they will understand when their minute is up and if they are mentioned by another candidate, they will be given that 30 seconds to rebut something. so if there is something that is said about them, they have a chance to really respond.

>> all right. we're up above watching everything that is going on. after the debate, the action will move to the so-called spin room where the candidate surrogates possibly some of the candidates themselves, they will give their take on what unfolds here tonight. kate bolduan is in the spin room for us. >> after so many debates, you know what to expect in this room. right now i have space to walk around. after the debate, this place is flooded by the campaigns, the candidates themselves, possibly all coming to spin their narrative. they all come to say they want -- why they think they won the debate, also trying to really define their debate moment highlights before their rivals define the big moments for them. and of course this is the place where you need to clean up after any mistakes that are made. more than 700 members of media will be here possibly after the debate, crushes of people. these are called spinner sticks.

after seeing them so many times, i didn't even know that's what they were called. they will hold these up, that is for the candidates if they come through, this is where you will find them and where you will find a crush of reporters, as well. this is essentially where after the debate this is the kickoff to the next phase of this campaign as we've seen with republicans already these debates where campaigns are made and where campaigns can fall and that's why they will kick off the next phase of their campaign right here right after our two hour debate, wolf. >> we'll get back to you, thanks very much, kate. let's get more on the battle between hillary clinton and bernie sanders. what is coming up. joining us, senior adviser to super pac supporting hillary clinton. and also joining us, the host of cnn's sher cmichael smerconish.

this article that ryan liza just published, how to beat hillary clinton, he got his hands for the first time on that memo that barack obama staffers put together in 2007, how to beat hillary clinton and the most vulnerable part of her was her credit ability credibility, her krakcharacter. and that could be a vulnerability she still has. >> it's a totally different race. '08, i thought it was well within the bounds. there was a lot of shots back and forth between hillary and barack obama and both emerged stronger. so i don't think we'll have attacks tonight. certainly not going to have attacks on character at least if these candidates are smart. today's "washington post" poll, hillary's favorable is 79% among democrats. that's higher than canned beer. for democrats, like chardonnay. >> what does martin o'malley have to lose, lincoln chafee,

jim webb ? they could go after here. >> this is a city built on the question what have i got to lose and found out a lot. martin o'malley is a terrific governor and a terrific sense of humor. show your personality, show your -- that's a ever -- pretty risky still to use humor because it takes a lot of chutzpah as we say in the catholic church. but he has a good sense of lum humor and that's a better way to create buzz. >> i think he hasn't shied away from being critical of secretary clinton and he has nothing to show for it. so if i'm martin owe mal'malley lincoln chafee, i'm saying maybe that's not the mode to get to the top of the pack. >> bernie sanders is not a shy guy. >> he is not, but he has been

running for office since 1973 and says he's never run a negative ad. it's worked for him. he went from a really small state to now leading solidly in new hampshire. so no chance that he abandoned that strategy. i view bernie like the beatles when they were coming to america. they had a huge fan base, but a lot of americans hadn't seen them yet. so they came over here and played "i want to hold your hand" and people loved it. >> people are antagonistic to someone who is a self subscribed social list. the one negative are those who say i could never vote for someone who is a slfr described social list and i'll say here is the way he describes the term. they don't want to hear that. he has explain to go do if he wants to go more mainstream. >> hillary should not attack bernie at all. but that's a valued lid point. >> why can't she point it out? >> because she needs to establish her connection with herself, her issue and her

voters. i hate saying this, you know me, i'm a terrible person, i love attacks, but tonight only, they have to keep it positive. >> but this is a debate where people disagree. we'll see what happens. we're getting ready to watch all of the political drama unfold tonight as the democratic candidates face off for the very first time. and donald trump says he will be watching live tweeting during the debate. up next, what he's predicting about tonight's contest. alright team, we've got an f150, needs a systems check and tires. doc, i need you on point for this one. already got the latest updates direct from ford engineering. 'cause ford dealers get that intel first. treads, what do you got? lookin' a little bald, sir. with all due respect. got the perfect fit- ready to roll. wheels up, flaps down, let's fly. ford parts. ford tools. ford techs. when your ford needs service, there's one elite team. these are the specialists. at ford.

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it may be the democrats' night, but donald trump wants in on the spotlight. he says he'll be live tweeting during the debate. our political reporter sarah murray has more on what trump is up to. right now he's a prolific twitter user, isn't he? >> you are right. and when i spoke to donald trump trump, he was joking about how unexciting this debate would be without him on stage. and so surprise surprise, he has found a way to insert himself into the evening. this morning he tweeted at the request of many, and even though i expect to be a very boring two hours, i will be covering the democratic debate live on twitter. now, wolf, it's not unheard of for campaigns to counterprogram like this, but usually that means a couple of young staffers in a war room somewhere. donald trump will actually be doing his own tweeting from his

apartment and he does not hold back on twitter when it comes to hurling insults. he's gone after bernie sander and hillary clinton in the past. if hillary clinton is worried about that this evening, she is not letting on. she responded to donald trump's tweet today with her own saying glad you'll be watching, it will be huge. it's going to be huge, wolf. >> huge! all right. thanks for that. let's get more. joining us, s.e.cupp, kevin madden, ron bronstein and peter binart. so he wants in a bit. 4.5 million followers on twitter, so people will follow him to see what he's saying about this debate. >> oh, undoubtedly. i assume it will be unfiltered and very entertaining. and i think he'll take shots at

everyone that opens their mouth tonight at any given time. >> he comments on the process as it is happening. like one of the shows like 30 rock where they step out into the third wall. it's truly remarkable. >> it is amazing when you think about the impact he's having. so many people sort of discounted him at the beginning, but this all of the national polls among republicans and all the key state polls, he's the leader. >> and this is good for the democrats. if bernie sanders particularly, the more trump attacks him, the more it raises his profile. for a democrat getting into a back and toforth with trump is l with. >> today jeb bush tried to roll out an obamacare repeal and replace and did not get any coverage. >> and any announced "saturday night live" on november 7th, he'll be hosting "saturday night live." a huge opportunity for him. that shows well scripted and

potentially further strengthen him. >> and you can laugh at yourself. hillary just did snl. she did a short bit and she was great. the idea that you can play along with other people, have a sense of humor. i think that showcases pretty much everyone in a good light especially when you're running for president. >> let's talk about tonight. these other candidates, the men whole be on the stage, are they going to go after the democratic frontrunner the woman on the stage? >> i think we will see less of that than we did on the republican side. the context is very different. the context for the republican race is the disappointment and anger of the republican base at the party leadership. there is a lot of turmoil, a lot of desire to kind of shake things up. i think on the democratic side, it's a different context. republicans have house and senate, democrats are terrified would losing the white house in 2016 and finding a nominee who can take the case to the republicans is really what this democratic primary is about. and so i think they have more incentive to push their invective out than in.

>> should hillary clinton play defense or go on offense if they go after her? >> there is not a lot of martin for her in getting going after these people. she is still the big frontrunner. you want to mix it up with lincoln chafee, most who don't know exist. th they have nothing to lose. so held double up on her. >> you helped mitt romney get ready for these debates. what advice would you have for hillary clinton? >> i think she needs to be aggressive, but she doesn't have to go after the candidates personally. she needs to make a more passion that the defense of democratic values on things line income inequality, things like helping the middle class. the better -- the tafaster she seen as the best defender of those economic value, the better position she'll be in.

>> and it will depend on which will hillary shows up. on whi often you'll see a gracious hillary who can deflect criticism with good natured humility. but if defensive hillary shows up, i think that's a bad thing that is always counter row did tukt difference for the narrative that hillary is trying to change. if she really chafes at any kind of criticism or, you know, gets sarcastic or condescending as we've seen her do, i don't think that will make for a good night for hillary. >> she also needs to make sure she protects the base that barack obama base that is so important in the democratic party. a lot of democrats love barack obama. very proud of him. and she can't alienate them. >> no, and it's fascinating. she has moved to his left on domestic policy on a series of issue issue. and mostly moved to his right on foreign policy which is kind of interesting straddle or approach. i think in some ways the coalition question is larger for better than bernie sanders

today. he can mobilize a lot of young people. if he can do it that can he make a dent, but he can't win. especially the minority voters. >> the good news for him about, a third of the americans don't know who he is. he's known in iowa and new hampshire. so they may like the populist message. but there is a cultural barrier separating him from african-americans and latinos that i'm not sure he knows how to cross. >> ryan lizza did reporting in the new yorker magazine and he got a hold of this memo back in 2007 that then senator barack obama senior staff and polster one of whom works for hillary clinton now wrote how to beat hillary clinton, where is she most vulnerable. they write she's driven by political calculation not conviction. regularly backing away and shifting positions on issues ranging from are war to social security to trade to reform.

that's what they wrote then. it worked for barack obama. can it work for these other democrats tonight? >> i expect to hear the word consistent out of breaker any sanders'' bernie sanders' mouth more than once tonight. he has held these positions when they were unpopular, that he has held them when it has been politically perilous to do so. >> forget about the other candidates on stage p' she's most vulnerable on this issue of whether or not she's trustworthy. so we have a campaign that has been in a character crisis because of her inability to answer these questions. and i think you will continue to see the rnc and others and the other republican campaigns drive

that. >> and both parties this, is enormous pressure to conform. donald trump has changed a lot of positions. h marco rubio has changed his big position. on the tpp moving away from where she had been, it's a kind of a bipartisan problem at this point. >> guys, stand by. cnn has partnered with a political prediction market to see if the odds for winning the democratic nomination change during tonight's democratic presidential debate. right now hillary clinton is the odds-on favorite to win the nomination even though she's up to 2% since last week. joe biden's odds have dropped 4% in the last week. we'll see if there is a dramatic change in the newspapers ofup i after tonight. go to cnn.com/predict. there is much more ahead as we count down to the cnn

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cnn is teaming up with facebook for tonight's democratic presidential debate right here in las vegas. you can vote live during the debate at facebook.com/cnn. cnn's don lemon is in the facebook lounge. tell us what's going on? >> well, i'm having a chat here with these young people and they're talking politics. also talking about instagram and

facebook. i'm on live on cnn, you can keep talking. this is where everyone can sit and chat and discuss what's happening before the debate, during the debate and after the debate. you see that big wall over there? people from facebook, if you come in here, they'll show you like what people are talking about. what is sort of trending on facebook, what candidates are trending. and where most of the discussion is happening. i have a similar tool to show you. this item right here i have to say is the most popular item. it is a donkey pillow. it wasn't supposed to be in gift bags but people are coming through and stealing them. if this ends up in my bag then you'll know what happened, wolf. you know during the big award shows, people get all the swag bags, expensive swag bags. you can basically just build your own. come here to facebook, grab a bag and go through and grab whatever you want. also, facebook has so much money, there's constant food outside here, food everywhere. this is little bit of the

snacks. breakfast earlier. lunch, then dinner tonight which i understand includes hamburgers and lots of red bull to keep the young folks alert. and let me show you, these are the tools i'm talking about. check it out. i'll give you a condensed version, wolf. obviously a map of the country. then this map, all the issues that people have been talking about. that basically have been trending and discussed during this debate. then you've got over here every singal candidate. republican and democrat. then we have a heat map which shows you how many people have been discussing them and where. i'll make it simple for you. we have a quick button called top five. these are the top five issues that people are discussing on facebook for the past month. religious, guns, homeland, iraq, syria and isis. let's look at religion. see what people are talking about. more women than men, 57% of women talking about it are

women. 42%. about 6 million people discussing -- 6.2 million people discussing it. it gives you the age range of people discussing this. here's the interesting thing. look at the heat map which shows around the country. this is where the darker it is the orange ones that look like fire that's where people are talking about it most. obviously when it comes to religion, in kentucky, kim davis is driving this. and ben carson's comments on muslims driving this as well and then the pope visiting the united states drove religion to t the top of the chart. l let's look at the candidates real quick. real quickly, ben carson. heat map. donald trump. look at the heat map. there's no comparison. about 18.5 million people around the country talking about donald trump. wolf, back to you. >> don, questions from facebook later on tonight. stand by. we're getting high-tech feedback

from people watching the debate. cnn's randi kaye is outside las vegas where a focus group will be watching tonight. explain to our viewers how this will work. >> hi, there, wolf. we're in henderson, nevada. we're at nevada state college. we will have about 30 undecided voters that will fill these seats behind me shortly. they range in age up to 72 years old. they're undecided and they'll try to pick a candidate. they'll have in their hot little hands this gadget. okay, this is a dial testing machine. and right now it's on 50. when they don't have an opinion that's when it will be. i can turn it so when the voter likes something, they can turn it up. if the they don't like something they'll turn it down. all of this information will be tallied and sent to this machine right here on top of the television. that's where it's going to live for a little bit and then it's going to make its way all the way over here to the computers that we have and the great folks from msu who are helping us.

watch what's going to happen here. i'm going to turn my dial. it will track men and women moment by moment. i'm the yellow line as a female. so if i like something, now watch on the computer. i turn it up, because i may like what a candidate says at that moment. you see the yellow line going up. we don't have any men playing with us so the blue line is staying static. if our viewers don't like something in the focus group it goes back down. so all of these people had to answer some questions before hand. they were asked about whether or not they think the country is going in the right direction. they were asked who they might want to choose as a candidate. then they're asked all of those same questions at the end of the night after hours cnn, with these dial testers in the hands. so we'll get real tracking right away. maybe some of them will make up their minds. we'll see. but we'll be watching soon when these seats are all filled. wolf? >> love those focus groups. it will be fascinating to see it, thanks very much.

remember, you can always follow us on twitter. please tweet me @wolf blitzer. tweet the show on cnn. be sure to join us tomorrow in "the situation room." i'm wolf blitzer. here's here in las vegas. getting ready for the big debate. "erin burnett out front" starts right now. and the high stakes in vegas, hillary clinton and bernie sanders front and center head to head in the first debate of the 2016 presidential campaign. were live, our continuing coverage of the las vegas showdown. let's go "out front." good evening. i'm erin burnett. vegas showdown, we are live here in las vegas at the scene of the first democratic presidential debate. it is here at the wynn hotel. democratic front-runner hillary clinton and the self-described democratic socialist bernie sanders will go head to h