most polls indicate a very tight race and with just over two weeks to go, tonight s meeting could prove pivotal. susan mcginnis is in washington. good morning. reporter: good morning. the two candidates spent largely out of the public eye intensively preparing for tonight, the president up at camp david, mitt romney in florida. no one would have predicted this final debate that isn t even focused on the economy could be this critical to the outcome. the stage is set for the third presidential debate. this debate matters more than ever before. reporter: tonight s focus, foreign policy and there s no shortage of issues. after a decade of war, both in afghanistan and iraq, the most important thing we have to do now is bring american troops home. imposing sanctions on the iranians. we ll do nothing without coordinating with israel. reporter: on sunday, marco rubio said president obama tried to keep the focus on the death of bin laden. they told us the incident in
welcome. i m bob abernethy. it s good to have you with us. with less than three eks unti election day, polls show divided cturamg religious voters, especially catholics, who have been almost evenly split between president obama and governor romney. on thursday, both candidates attended the annual al smith charity dinner sponsored by the catholic archdiocese of new york. at the usually lighthearted event, both men made jokes at their own expense, but obama ended on a serious note it s written in scripture that tribulation produces perseverance. and perseverance, character. and character, hope. this week, the u.s. catholic bishops have been urging special prayers for religious liberty. at a mass to open the rosary novena for life and liberty, archbishop william lori said catholics must bring their beliefs to the public square. religion came up briefly at the presidential debate tuesday, when mitt romney made a rare reference to his mormon faith. and i believe we re all
welcome. i m bob abernethy. it s good to have you with us. with less than three weeks until election day, polls show a divided picture among religious voters, especially catholics, who have been almost evenly split between president obama and governor romney. on thursday, both candidates attended the annual al smith charity dinner sponsored by the catholic archdiocese of new york. at the usually lighthearted event, both men made jokes at their own expense, but obama ended on a serious note it s written in scripture that tribulation produces perseverance. and perseverance, character. and character, hope. this week, the u.s. catholic bishops have been urging special prayers for religious liberty. at a mass to open the rosary novena for life and liberty, archbishop william lori said catholics must bring their beliefs to the public square. religion came up briefly at the presidential debate tuesday, when mitt romney made a rare reference to his mormon faith. and i believe
welcome. i m bob abernethy. it s good to have you with us. with less than three weeks until election day, polls show a divided picture among religious voters, especially catholics, who have been almost evenly split between president obama and governor romney. on thursday, both candidates attended the annual al smith charity dinner sponsored by the catholic archdiocese of new york. at the usually lighthearted event, both men made jokes at their own expense, but obama ended on a serious note it s written in scripture that tribulation produces perseverance. and perseverance, character. and character, hope. this week, the u.s. catholic bishops have been urging special prayers for religious liberty. at a mass to open the rosary novena for life and liberty, archbishop william lori said catholics must bring their beliefs to the public square. religion came up briefly at the presidential debate tuesday, when mitt romney made a rare reference to his mormon faith. and i believe
likes those states. he thinks they re in play. now they re supposed to be solidly safe states for barack obama. paul ryan was in pittsburgh over the weekend, but that s the vice president. that could be a head fake. if you see the presidential candidate, mitt romney, going into michigan or pennsylvania, then obama is in trouble. the debate will focus on foreign policy. the response to the attack in benghazi continues to dominate headlines. on the jon stewart show, the president said talking about the victims, it was not optimal. that was a terrible statement. i can t use another and i m sure mitt romney will refer to it. the mother of one of the people who died in benghazi said my son was not optimal and he s very dead. it s just really almost rivals the 47%. why the president would use that term, that cold heartless kind of expression and if he misspoke, it s a terrible misstatement, and i think it will haunt him and he ll have to make up for it or actually even apol