what could take away is if he has a shaky base performance. if the former vice president has another tough time at the debate they will take a lot of that away from him. >> it is representative of black america. joel, let me get your thoughts on this one. they all come out a little bit bruised. is this a fight worth having? who needs this fight more than the other? >> these are distinctions worth drawing. they all have a stake in this. you need to show you are a main stage player. you can be viable in this race. that's why you see him drawing