Middle, lester holt, and we have new details of how he is prepari preparing. And up ahead, the head of the Debate Commission will be taking us through the scenes of how this is all coming together. And plus, we will hear from late night host seth myers and why he would never want to be a moderator. And first, the medias role in this roomment we are broadcasters and also the judge s. Clinton and trump are not just competing against each other, but against our and your expectations. Moderator lester holt is also under tremendous pressure, and lets begin with two people who have been here and done this and been on the stage. Jim lehrer has moderated 12 president ial debates and the former news anchor for the pbs newshour. And ann compton served in 1998 and in 1992 and a retired White House Correspondent for abc news. Thank you both for being here this morning. Thank you, brian. Delighted to be here. Jim, i know that lester is busy preparing, but he is taking a little bit of time off, and if he is watching right now, what is your advice for lest er holt . Well, two things. First of all, he must remind himself that it is not about him or the mod rayer or the. And second thing, he should remember that no matter what he does on monday night, he is going to be criticized for it. That is because the rules have changed. The rules are much more wide open than they have been in the previous years and in previous election cycles meaning that the candidates can speak directly to each other, and can question each other, and there is more time to be devoted to each subject, and each question, and the moderators job is to keep the flow going, and to make sure that everything is maintained and fairness is maintained, ets, and the job is much more difficult, and no matter how he does it, he will be criticized, because somebody is going to be coming out in less, well, there is going to be a winner oloser declared and the loser, and people say, oh, it is the moderators fault, he let things go or he cut things off, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, but as long as he understands that going in, lester will be fine, and he probably does, and he will be. He has the best and the worst job in tv right now. And ann, what are you believing about holts position as a fa factchecker on stage . There is a lot that has been made about whether the mod eratr should step in if donald trump or Hillary Clinton clearly lis. S what is your position on that . Well, there is a reason why broadcast journalists are often the moderators for this. We hate to leave absolute errors of fact on the table. And while it is true that the moderator ought to give the other candidate the opportunity to check a fact, reasonable adversaries here are trying to tear each other down, and just because the democrat says x and the republican says y, it does not mean that you dont have the truth in there somewhere and there has to be a check. And also, remember, that the moderator is not just the umpire. The moderator is the pitcher in the game, and it matters whether he throws a fastball or the curve, and it matters how much time those candidates have to really explore the answer. Jim, nbc sources say that lester is not a potted plant which is the quote from to nbc source sources, and he will step in when necessary to fact check the candidates, and is that appropriate for holt . Well, the key question and the key phrase is when necessary. I happy to disagree slight ly with anns approach, because if a moderator is sitting at the table and starts moderating with the idea that i have to make sure that all of the facts are chaengd somebody says something, that is a different role. I see the number one function of the moderator is to make sure that the flow is among the candidates. The moderator should be out of the picture as much as possible, and whether he is a potted plant or not, it is ir rel vrelevancy because when it is all over, it is about the two candidates. They are the player, and the moderator is the facilitator and not one of the players. That is right. Ann, your response . Well, jim is right about that. The moderator should never be the story at the end of the 90 minutes, but it is also the moderator who has come up with the questions, and so often in the campaign, the candidates are out there telling you what they want to do, and the real question questions for me is how are you going to get it done . Why do you think that should be done, and the moderator has to take some leadership. It also occurs to me, brian, look at how long these moderators for this year have had to prepare. I think that jim and i had literally 36 hours between now and the debate, and i think that, jim, we didnt have much more time than that when we were chosen to get the questions ready. That is true in the most cases, and in the last few debates i had much more time in terms of notifying me. But, you can see, that the way that the rules have evolved, it is not so much about questions for the mod erator to prepare, but it is for the moderator to prepare to do his or her homework enough so that you can listen, and move on, and decide to have something that is important, and this is not so important, but you have to have all of that information in your head, so that you can be comfortable enough to do this under the most highly pressured situation for lester hold for instance monday night. He has to make a lot of the quick decisions, and he has to have all of the information in the head, and there is no place to look or anybody in the ear to help him, and he is solely responsible. That is a big change from the primaries, because nobody in holts ear except for the man timing the debate. Let me ask you about the xfactor here, and that is donald trump. We have never had a Television Star like trump on the stage like this, and the closest is Ronald Reagan who was an actor, but his expertise comes from the apprentice and his business days. This is what trump said about holt earlier in the week. And by the way, lest serer i democrat. I didnt know that. And lester is a democrat, and they are all democrats, and it is very unfair system. Actually, lester holt is a registered republican, but that is an example of trump working the refs and the Clinton Campaign has as well, and the Clinton Campaign working the ref. And jim, does a unique candidate like donald trump require a different kind of moderating . No. Absolutely not. Remember, the debate for 90 minutes, and people are going to be seeing the candidates, and see donald trump. Whatever he does and says, everybody is going to be seeing it. And there is going to be hundreds and thousands of people ready to jump on what he says, and to factcheck what he says, and fa fact chect checking willd on and on up to election day, and donald trump is not going to quote get away with anything, and it is going to be there for everybody to see. And most is going to be watching this debate, and most if not all who are going to be voting in the election will see some part of the debate, and huge portion are going to be seeing the entire debate, and it is all going to be there and the moderators job, and lesters job, and he knows that is to facilitate the revelation of this man and Hillary Clinton as well. Who are these people . Who are they . And you will see them side by side for the first time in a campaign and the only time during a campaign is during the debates. You want to take the measure of the person, and you can do it. I think that jim is and does the gender factor here matter . The number of women moderators is a small field, and martha rad dach is among them this year. I think that it does matter, and she has been in the public for 24 years, and i have covered her in that public spotlight, and what is important here is the viewers and millions of them who have not really decided which way to go. And this is for them. This is for the viewers who want to know how donald trump would comfort himself dealing with somebody with whom he is a clear adversary, and how Hillary Clinton will address and behave in a president ial manner. I think that the fact that the current debate format allows so much oxygen, and the fact that they can really talk at length about an issue and to each other makes a world of difference, and important difference. And jim lehrer and ann co cometcom comppton on that note, i will say thank you. And now, is there a chance that clinton or trump would not show up . We will get that answer right after this. Ugh. Heartburn. Sorry maam. No burning here. Try new alkaseltzer heartburn relief gummies. They dont taste chalky and work fast. Mmmm. Incredible. Can i try . She doesnt have heartburn. New alkaseltzer heartburn relief gummies. Enjoy the relief. vonutritional needs. Dogs all in one. Purina one. Healthy energy, and a taste he loves. Purina one smartblend is expertly blended. With always real meat 1. All in one. Purina one. [ rear alert sounds ], [ music stops ]on ] on the road again just cant wait to get on the road again [ front assist sounds ] [ music stops ] [ girl laughs ] on the road again like a band of gypsies we go down the highway [ beetle horn honks ] no matter which passat you choose, you get more standard features, for less than you expected. Hurry in and lease the 2017 passat s for just 199 a month. Welcome back. We are live from Hofstra University, the site of monday nights president ial debate. We are here inside of the hall where the camera s are in place and the pretend standins are in practice behind us. And what you may know is that you can watch the debates not only on cnn and other networks, but the debates are not sponsored by any network, but they are unby a commission of president ial debates a Nonprofit Group run by democrats and republicans. And so what has the commission had to contend with this extraordinary year . We are now joined by janet brown who has that exclusive job. Hello, brian. This is a brandnew set. Are you ready . It is a brandnew set, and we are proud of it. And how difficult to get donald trump and Hillary Clinton on the stage this year . Because there was speculation that donald trump might back out of the debate. We have been having productive and civil communication with the campaigns, and all of it is going well, and all of it is focused to what is behind you which is to bring everything together in time for the debate tomorrow night. Any giant issues behind the scenes or any complaints from the campaigns . No, i am happy to say that there is agreement on almost everything. Very productive. What about who is sitting in the front row, and Hillary Clinton saying she might invite mark cuban, and donald trump saying he might invite gennifer flowers. Anybody who would not be allowed in the first row . The first rows are the friends and family of the candidates and it is up to them to decide who is in the seats, but the most important thing for everyone to understand is that there is a small Live Audience behind us tomorrow night. The big audience, and the important audience is the home audience in this country and abroad, and the broad responsibility of everybody in the hall is to be respectful and silent. Silent . Silent, and to make sure that all of the time and the attention is given to the candidates and their positions. People on twitter have asked me why have an audience at all . Well, you know we have held the debates on college and University Campuses almost every single one since we got started in 88. This is a great opportunity to involve the young people in what is at the end of the day, the biggest civic lessons going on a. Huge number of the seats will be given to the students of Hofstra University which is a great opportunity for them to be involved and to see this firsthand. A Live Audience makes it different in terms of what the candidates are doing to whom they are speaking, and i think that it warms it up, but unlike the primary debates where there was audience participation, there is to be none here, and i think that whoever is in the seats will respect that. And you mentioned the audience at home, and what is the ratings predictions . 100 million . I dont know. You guys are the pros and the networks are saying in that range. What makes this debate different . Why does the format matter . The format matters, because the 90 minutes without any commercial interruption are the only chance that the public gets to see the leading candidate s in the same situation answering the same questions which are not known to the candidates nor to the commission. The moderator is in charge of picking those. This is a unique opportunity to learn more about the candidats s and the formats are designed to get away from any kind of time interference. There is going to be six 15 00 blocks of time which is each devoted to a major question. What about the issue of Fact Checking that has been talked about so much the last few week s weeks, and does the Commission Want lester holt to factcheck . The journalists are moderator and we let them decide how to do it. But in our history, the moderators have found it appropriate to allow the candidates to be the ones who talk about the accuracy or the fairness of what the other candidate or candidates might have said. I think that personally, if you are starting to get into the factcheck, i am not sure what s is the big fact, and what is a little fact, and if you and i have different sources of information, does your source about the Unemployment Rate agree with my source . I dont think it is a good idea to get the moderator into essentially serving as the encycloped encyclopedia britannica, and so it is better for that person to facilitate and for the candidates to basically correct each other as they see fit. What is the hardest partt for you during all of this preparation . The hardest part for me is to giv giveten long todo list is to keep perspective that we are really lucky that we can see civil substantive debates in this country. This is a remarkable facet of our democracy and it is an incredible privilege to work on it. I always wish that we could have more than three, and how about you . Yeah, we are game. You would like to do more if the candidates are willing . Yeah, it is a short period of time, and three president ial, and one Vice President ial seem to be enough, but it is a great thing to work on together as you know. Janet, thank you so much. Thank you. Good luck tomorrow night. Thank you. And up next, the Great Expectations game, and both sides are working the ref. And so, what is Hillary Clinton saying and the supporters . Hear from her campaign after the break. Hey, hey, hey youre not taking those. Woah, woah youre not taking that. Come with me. Youre not taking that. Youre not taking that. Youre not taking that. Mom, im taking the subaru. Dont be late. Even when were not there to keep them safe, our Subaru Outback will be. vo love. Its what makes a subaru, a subaru. Whfight back fastts, with tums smoothies. It starts dissolving the instant it touches your tongue. And neutralizes stomach acid at the source. Tum tum tum tum smoothies only from tums my friends know me so well. 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The mock debate continues here behind me at Hofstra University the site of tomorrow nights actual debate. These are the standins for trump and clinton on stanl right now. There is also a standin for lester holt. What they are doing is to rehearse the lighting, the staging, the microphones and the placement of everything on the stage. This has been under construction for weeks inside what is normally a sporting complex of Hofstra University and now turned into the debate stage, and we will see the fireworks here for less than 36 hours. Lets talk a moment for what each campaign is doing to work the refs. There is the working of the refs the debate moderator lester holt, and the working of the ref s the rest of the media, the journalists talk about the debate before and after it happens. So lets talk with one of the campaigns about that right now. Brian fallon, the Clinton Campaign press secretary is joining me from new york. Great to have you with us, have of trumps deadly lies, and you have released a list of Donald TrumpsCampaign Lies that you believe that lester holt should bring up on stage, and why have you done that pro activity . Well, we have never seen a candidate like do