organization, will question the candidates in a town hall format. the debate will be moderated by candy crowley of cnn. it is taking place in the david s. mack sports and exhibition complex on the campus of hofstra university in hempstead, new york. it will begin in just a few seconds. ifill: mark shields and david brooks will be watching with us here in the studio, along with our colleague jeffrey brown, political editor christina bellantoni, and presidential historian michael beschloss. we ll hear from all of them after the debate, when we ll also be joined by ari shapiro of npr and jonathon martin of politico. they are at hofstra. woodruff: we re also streaming thtedee in obande nla o ffering additional content on our live blog. and here, now, is tonight s moderator, candy crowley. crowley: good evening from hofstra university in hempstead, new york. i m candy crowley from cnn s state of the union. we are here for the second presidential debate at town hall sponsored
differences between him and mitt romney. i think he will bring it home with optimism and passion. john: i think the president needs to show he s more comfortable around humans. this is the forum to do it. eliot: tonight will be about differences and contrast. if there was a word in the last debate, it was convergence. the president seemed to be malleable. jennifer: mitt romney was malleable. president can t allow him to do it. john: mitt romney has to be better than last time. if he plateaus, it is not a win for him. eliot: everybody looks at him and expects a super human performance. whether he can match that, who knows. town hall performance that makes it harder. you have to interact with the question of real people. that dynamic has to be navigated. let s join candy crowley cnn s own moderator. good evening from hofstra university in hempstead new york. i m candy crowley from cnn state of the union. we re here for the second presidential debate, a town hall spo
the debate will be moderated by candy crowley of cnn. it is taking place in the david s. mack sports and exhibition complex on the campus of hofstra university in hempstead, new york. it will begin in just a few seconds. ifill: mark shields and david brooks will be watching with us here in the studio, along with our colleague jeffrey brown, political editor christina bellantoni, and presidential historian michael beschloss. we ll hear from all of them after the debate, when we ll also be joined by ari shapiro of npr and jonathon martin of politico. they are at hofstra. woodruff: we re also streaming the debate online and offering additional content on our live blog. and here, now, is tonight s moderator, candy crowley. crowley: good evening from hofstra university in hempstead, new york. i m candy crowley from cnn s state of the union. we are here for the second presidential debate at town hall sponsored by the commission on presidential debates. the gallup organization
venue for the introduction of these two men, president obama, governor romney, their second of three debates. this one, of course, off the vice presidential debate. tonight the format here becomes critical. while candy crowley of cnn will moderate the discussion, this is a town hall format tonight. the questions coming from undecided voters as chosen by the gallup polling organization. there are 80 undecided voters in the hall. organizers hope to get 13 questions in along with follow-ups in the 90 minutes before us. candy crowley has indicated she plans a more activist role. that made the organizers nervous. let s see what she has to say. good evening from hofstra university in new york. i m candy crowley from cnn s state of the union. we are here for the second presidential debate a town hall sponsored by the commission on presidential debate. the gallup organization chose 80 undecided voters. my goal is to give the conversation direction and ensure questions are answered.
secure. i did not feel like anything was going to happen. they are hoping that nothing does happen. it was ok. host: how many hours ahead did you have to go? caller: probably just a couple. if it normally takes you 15, 20 minutes to get there, you take that into consideration. then you have to take into consideration the security measures that may delay you. a couple of hours. that is all. host: what do you do in cleveland? caller: i worked for district no. 6. i am a painter. i love when these guys blame the unions. they say oh, it is the workers, their wages and negotiating packages. it is the same thing as the wisconsin and new jersey thing, saying it is the workers and their benefits. people don t deserve benefits? i work eight hours a day, sometimes more, and people say look at how much money you make. ok, if i am painting a bridge to hundred, 300 feet in the air, you do it, tell me how much it is worth. host: thank you. mark on the support mitt romney line. what is you