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.
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
me the rundown as to where you are and the way it is going to shake out. ashleigh, i m inside of the debate hall, and eight hours from kickoff of the first democratic debate of the season. the seats are all in here sh, a they are putting the finishing touches on the debate hall, and the cnn crews are spread across the auditorium here, and getting ready for what going to take place here later tonight. the candidate walk-throughs are going to be taking place later this the afternoon and that is going to be interesting to watch. i had a moment earlier in the hour talking to tad devine who is one of the lead strategists for bernie sanders who has been the upstart insurgent candidate, ashleigh, and i asked him what to expect tonight, and he said, listen, bernie sanders is not coming out here to attack anybody, but he wants to talk about the issues and economic
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
latest today and qualify for the big debate tonight. a white house official tells fox news he ll be watching from home. the other democrats who will be on the stage, these people, whoever they are. they clocked in at less than 1%. that includes the former rhode island governor lincoln chafee, martin o malley, and former virginia senator jim webb all with less than 1%, so virtually nothing. therefore, nothing to lose. ed henry is live in las vegas. the site of the debate tonight. why not empty the opposition backpack tonight? you got nothing, anyway. why not unload? reporter: shep, you re absolutely right about having nothing to lose. we just got our first look inside the debate hall here at the wynn las vegas. you can see this video. the order will be jim webb on the furthest on the left. bernie sanders next to him. hillary clinton right in the center. as you say, she s the clear front-runner. martin o malley, former maryland governor to the right. then lincoln chafee, the former gov