dan pfeiffer, jim quickly president obama really pushing back on this narrative that putin is ascendant. >> that's right. he's basically russia getting itself into a quagmire in syria, frankly the weakness but fighting the broader narrative saying look at where our economy is opposed to the russian economy et cetera. there is truth to that, no question. but the fact is russian military options -- operations in syria limit u.s. operations there. and we're seeing a similar pattern we saw with ukraine. what does the u.s. do? does he have an answer? he didn't answer that question. >> dan pfeiffer, on the subject of guns president obama very passionately speaking about that. what do you make of the fact he hasn't talked about any specific legislative remedy? he's just talking about going against the gun lobby in general. >> i think you're going to hear that. remember after newtown he asked the vice president to come up with a task force and a series of proposals including legislative of background checks, dealing with high capacity clips, assault weapons. so i suspect as he said he'll be tal

. >> let's discuss this with dan pfeiffer and kevin madden. dan was a senior adviser to president obama. kevin was a top adviser to mitt romney's two presidential campaigns. dan pfeiffer, as the resident democrat at the table, why is today different than yesterday? what changed after this first democratic debate? >> i think hillary clinton came into this debate strong. she comes out stronger. she's had a tough summer. this is her first moment, i think, to begin what is a critical phase between the debate and then the upcoming testimony before the benghazi committee, and she's in a good place. i think sanders had a good night. i think he didn't lose any votes, but he probably didn't gain any either. and martin o'malley who i don't think he had the moment he needed to have to break out into the top tier here. >> so when we talked yesterday ahead of the debate, one of the conversations that we had, the goal of the clinton campaign for her going in was to cut through the politics. kevin, did she cut through the politics? >> i don't think so. look,

"outfront" not, mike rogers and dan pfeiffer and david axelrod. in a new poll, donald trump is still at the very top. by the way, really at the top, 27% of ben carson -- almost ten points behind and almost everybody else in single digits. at some point, don't people, people like you in the republican party, need to say this guy has something real? >> oh, listen, i think we've been saying it for a while now. yes, we are in that level -- at that stage of grief right now with those of us who don't like donald trump. we recognize that what is very real about him is him tapping into the frustration and angst that the american people feel at the dysfunction of government. people are fed up and i think donald trump is most definitely voicing that. >> is it true, congressman, if this were jeb bush at this level of the polls, we would all be sitting here talking about how a republican race is done. let's talk about a vice presidential candidate. but with trump, people are not giving it that full respect. >> well, it's only because of the frustration i thin

that was a great job. >> you killed it. >> appreciate it. >> dan pfeiffer, great to have you and van jones. >>> debate performance not just about what the candidates say but everything from the way they walk onto the stage to the hand gestures they make. whose body language was most presidential? we'll talk to an expert. we danced in a german dance group. i wore lederhosen.man. when i first got on ancestry i was really surprised that i wasn't finding all of these germans in my tree. i decided to have my dna tested through ancestry dna. the big surprise was we're not german at all. 52% of my dna comes from scotland and ireland. so, i traded in my lederhosen for a kilt. ancestry has many paths to discovering your story. get started for free at ancestry.com. okay kids, let's go.. [coughing] no one can really fill your shoes when you're sick. [toy car electric motor] [toy car horn beeping] alka-seltzer plus hot drink mix has four cold symptom fighters to relieve your tough symptoms. [whoosh of steam] [deep breath] stay unstoppable. alka-seltzer plus. can a a subconscious. mind? a knack f

our cnn political commentators, kevin madden, dan jones, anna navarro and dan pfeiffer. what's the biggest challenge hillary clinton faces tomorrow night? >> i think her ultimate goal in this debate is not to lay out what she would do as president, why she's the right person. connect her very extensive policy experience and agenda with the larger mission of the campaign. if she can do that, this will be a successful debate. >> everyone watching basically knows hillary clinton but everyone does not essentially know bernie sanders. >> i think he's introducing himself to the nation. hillary clinton has to talk policy and get the policy right. she's known as a policy person. but she also has a likability issue. the biggest problem she's got right know is trustworthiness. she needs to be able to connect with the audience, not only in the room but also through the tv set, which is a totally different challenge. bernie sanders needs to prove that he is more than just 74-year-old socialist from vermont. >> should he attack her tomorrow night? should he be sort of quiet about the

dan pfeiffer, kevin, it's great to see you. they were at the craps table. sorry. >> he is not here tonight but he's going to try to make sure he is part of tonight's debate. how donald trump is promising to make today's voice heard. any guesses on what donald trump is likely to think of the democrats' debate performance? >>> plus, keeping the candidates in line. no notes allowed. don't you dare break the rules or you will feel the wrath of anderson cooper. >> ouch, that would be crazy. does your makeup remover every kiss-proof,ff? cry-proof, stay-proof look? neutrogena® makeup remover does. it erases 99% of your most stubborn makeup with one towelette. need any more proof than that? neutrogena. where their electricity comes from. they flip the switch-- and the light comes on. it's our job to make sure that it does. using natural gas this power plant can produce enough energy for about 600,000 homes. generating electricity that's cleaner and reliable, with fewer emissions-- it matters. ♪ [meow mix jingle slowly anright on cue.cks] [cat meows] ♪meow, meo

dan pfeiffer as well, good to have you. >>> coming up, as the search for survivors go on, family members are asking why a missing cargo ship sailed into what would become hurricane joaqin. amerivest selects the funds and manages your portfolio. is it run by robots? no no, you can talk to a person anytime. 'cause i don't trust robots. right...well, if the portfolio you're invested in doesn't perform well for two consecutive quarters, amerivest will reimburse your advisory fees for those quarters. i wasn't born yesterday. well, actually it looks like you were born yesterday. happy belated birthday. thanks. for all the confidence you need td ameritrade. you got this. you aren't treated like a priority. we do things differently. we'll take care of it. we put members first. join the nation. thank you. >>> tonight the coast guard has found only debris from a cargo ship that vanished in the caribbean as hurricane joaquin passed through. the el faro. the ntsb is investigating. family members are zefshsearchir answers tonight. ♪ >> i can't go there. and i've cried so much that i can't -- i have

that was a great job. >> you killed it. >> appreciate it. >> dan pfeiffer, great to have you and van jones. >>> debate performance not just about what the candidates say but everything from the way they walk onto the stage to the hand gestures they make. whose body language was most presidential? we'll talk to an expert. ♪ ♪ it's the final countdown! ♪ ♪ the final countdown! if you're the band europe, you love a final countdown. it's what you do. if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. it's what you do. more data means more freedom to do..whatever. that's why at&t is giving you 50% more data. that's 15 gigs of data for the price of 10. because the more data you have, the better. and right now at at&t get $300 credit for every line you switch when you trade in a smartphone and buy any smartphone on at&t next. you wouldn't order szechuan without checking the spice level. it really opens the passages. waiter. water. so why would you invest without checking brokercheck? check your broker with brokercheck. your buddy ron once said he he c

dan pfeiffer, the communications director said, is he really a socialist? if he's deep down a democrat, why does he keep clinging to these unpopular points of view? mark: it's like the globetrotters versus the washington generals. it's a complete mismatch. he was supposed to be the titan on the stage. and he was not the least the prepared for some and -- something controversial. he said this two days ago -- she did not lift something out of his college thesis. the fact that he didn't have an answer to knock out of the park was professional malpractice. she aggressively took him on early when the door was open to do it. and he was not ready. john: she did not hesitate at all. anybody who thought she would just stay in her lane and leave bernie alone learned that hillary clinton wanted to make clear she would be firing on all cylinders. the aggressiveness came through in a lot of places. that was certainly one of them. it was right out of the gate. she set down a marker early on that this would be how she would conduct herself. mark: because he has done no mo

i was talking to dan pfeiffer last night. he said flat out this was angry as he has seen the president. i know you talked to people in the administration in the last few years. it is not just anger. they all point to the issue of gun violence as the biggest regret as well. they say the president's biggest regret is he has not done more or have been able to do more. >> it is unfinished business for the president. it cuts real close for him. people who know him say that sandy hook was very difficult for him. this feeling if you have scenes like that where children are slaughtered and nothing changes and it becomes routine, that is something that concerns. the administration and parents and everyone around the country. >> and a feeling of failure that goes along with it. the inability to change things is something that i think they all regret. >>> hundreds of mourners coming out to remember the victims of the school massacre. the president of the umpqua community college and the governor were on hand. >> we don't know why this h

dan pfeiffer, congresswoman marcia blackburn. congresswoman, i know you're supporting kevin mccarthy. jas jason chaffetz a race? >> jason will be in there, one or two may step in to get their names in the race. i wouldn't be surprised by that. i think mccarthy has the votes for it. he did speak inartfully this week. there's no doubt it's something that hurt him. i'm sure he wishes he can take it back and reposition and i think he was trying to say what we've heard haley basher say over and over. you focus on good policy it's going to make good politics. but that is not the way it came out i think we could go back and reposition that. because ben gghazi has a seriou job to do. >> i'm a journalist who takes seriously the e-mail story and the benghazi story and i have to say it gives ammo to hillary clinton's side to push back on everything. >> it's the first good news hillary has had in a long time. there are two kind of gaffes. gaffes are people say something, they misspeak, i think potentially jeb bush the other day. then there's

dan pfeiffer, marsha blackburn, congresswoman, let me start with you. i know you're supporting kevin mccarthy. jason chaffetz announcing his intention to run. >> i think that -- chaffetz will be in there. you might have another one or two get their names in the race. i do think mccarthy has the votes for it. he did speak inartfully this week. there's no doubt that's something that has hurt him, and i'm sure he wishes he could take it back and reposition. i think he was trying to say, focus on good policy it's going to make good politics. but that is not the way it came out. >> it sure isn't. >> i think that it -- he could go back and reposition that because benghazi has a serious job to do. that panel -- >> i'm a journalist who takes very seriously both the e-mail story and the benghazi story. i have to say, wow, this really gives ammo to hillary clinton's side to push back on everything. >> this is the first good news hillary's had in this story in a very long time. there's two kinds of gas. people misspeak, potentially jeb bush did the other day. and

let's get back to ana navarro, dan pfeiffer. your reaction to this woman jane sanders, obviously intelligence, good wife but also good adviser. >> wolf, i had the chance to meet her during the pope's visit at the white house. this woman is terrific. she is a secret weapon. she is grounded. she is disarmingly nice. she's engaging. she's smart. she knows her stuff. and she is a complete and absolute supporter of her husband. i'm glad we did this piece. i think we need to talk more about her because she is part of the secret weapon in the artillery that has -- that bernie sanders has. >> and as you well remember, dan pfeiffer, at this point eight years ago a lot of people didn't think michelle obama was going to be the first lady of the united states, did they? >> no, absolutely not. it was up until the october debate where barack obama finally broke out and made his run. so for all the trouble that you see for bernie sanders in the recent polls today, look, he's a long shot but long shots have won before. barack obama's case and p

i was talking to dan pfeiffer. he said this is as angry as he has seen the president period. others say the biggest regret the president has is not accomplishing more himself and he blames others too, but himself on the issue of gun violence. >> people said they thought sandy hook would have been a turning point in american culture. there is something different about america. these things just happened. nothing changed. you had multiple shootings since then. we will follow the latest on the campus tragedy all morning long. >>> first, hurricane joaquin shifting course. we are tracking all of the possibilities for this very dangerous storm next. (vo) what does the world run on? it runs on optimism. it's what sparks ideas. moves the world forward. invest with those who see the world as unstoppable. who have the curiosity to look beyond the expected and the conviction to be in it for the long term. oppenheimerfunds believes that's the right way to invest... ...in this big, bold, beautiful world. when you're not confident your company's data is secure, the possibility of a breach

dan pfeiffer, already we were hearing from hillary clinton. a much different tone on benghazi the last weeks. after kevin mccarthy that made that statement that made it seem the benghazi committee was political. she sort of went on the attack. i imagine this will only heighten that. >> kevin mccarthy's statement, this report, are all a gift to hillary clinton. they lay out what is obviously true. you can decide if it is a legitimate issue or not. it is clear this is a partisan investigation. kevin mccarthy said it himself. >> right. but trey gowdy says he's trying to find out the facts what happened in benghazi. ana, what does he do or what do republicans have to do to fix the perception problem they have now? >> i think it will sort itself out. it turns out they have been in mediation now for weeks. apparently this gentleman had never brought up secretary clinton as a reason for his firing. i'm told the mediation is supposed to occur on tuesday, the same day as the debate. so, you know, we will see what the mediation lays out. look, there's t

joining me now is cnn chief political analyst gloria borger and dan pfeiffer, who was a senior adviser to president obama. how does the push back from the vice president's office play in joe biden's timetable? >> everyone that i've talked to who considers joe biden an ally, there's a lot more pressure now for joe biden to make a decision sooner rather than later. i'm told there's going to be a family conversation this weekend which could be conclusive and even his friends of the sympathies for you and they believe they are going to be a strong leader and they think he needs to get to that part of the message really quickly if he's going to get in. >> dan, regardless of who told maureen what and for what reason, is there a risk that he's being seen as indicecisive? >> i think people are going to give him a very wide birth to make this decision. i don't think the public perception is an issue. what is an issue is that eventually he's going to run out of time because of the logistical nuts and bolts. >> when does he have to get in or not? >> probably within a few weeks of that. he's proba

ana navarro, dan pfeiffer, kevin madden. hillary clinton touched down at mccarran international airport, first stop at a union protest of a trump hotel, even while she's preparing for this democratic scramble, whatever you call it, scrum, she's already looking at the general election. >> absolutely. and she should. every time she touches down, or any candidate running touches down in nevada, they need to be thinking about the general election. it's a huge state it's a swing state. it's got latinos here. union state what happen she did yesterday was very, very smart. let's face it, trump is a presence in the debate, whether we like it or not. he's going to be live tweeting. this is bound to get very twiting. >> danning back to the nevada caucus in 2008. you worked for the obama campaign. hillary clinton got more votes in the nevada caucus but barack obama got more delegates because you outfoxed her. is she -- she has hired your people, though. >> right. >> that's not going to happen again. >> i don't think so. i think the les

and even barack obama's own close campaign advisers, dan pfeiffer and david axelrod, they pointed to bernie sanders really having more of the heart and soul of the democratic party at this point. >> bernie sanders last night was on with bill maher and bill maher questioned him about the saleability of socialism. let's watch. >> they hear socialist, they think herpes. >> what we do is we have to make the movement if you like to correlate what we're talking about. because on every one of the major issues i'm talking about, the american people agree. do the american people agree that public colleges and universities should be tuition free as they are in many other countries? >> and then he gave other examples of what socialism, democratic socialism, are we sticking around long enough for the explanation? we americans. >> no, probably -- it's a powerful, negative slogan today. it doesn't help in the long run. but particularly if hillary is having well-timed victories, i know you're saying it wasn't that big, i'm telling you it came right when she needed it and it truly turned the convers

"outfront," dan pfeiffer, and jonathan allen, co-author of hrc, state secrets and the rebirth of hillary clinton. you see bernie sanders in that piece. it's that endearing authentic man that voters are reacting to. when you look at the debate, it was pretty clear. voters thought hillary clinton was the clear winner of the debate. but she's not getting any bump in the polls. they're not saying they're going to vote for her as a result of that. is that a problem? >> i don't think it's a problem because she's got such a big lead right now. if you look at where things stand, bernie sanders needs to make a big dent in her lead. he didn't make a big dent. so if he's got 45% and he's sitting around that 30% mark, that's a victory for her. the longer she goes with that gap, the better off she is. he didn't shake up the race. and i think people who watch the debate, who were for her to begin with, are still for her. and people who were for sanders beforehand are still with him. >> it's a fair point. i want to note just for the record, she has a 16-point over bernie sanders. at the same time in 20

he's founder of media matters for america and dan pfeiffer, cnn political commentator and former senior adviser to barack obama. the rnc released a new ad today focused on hillary clinton. let's watch it. >> please join me in welcoming hillary rodham clinton. >> hillary clinton has some explaining to do. >> recent relations with russia. >> not really working out well. >> potentially catastrophic move for hillary clinton. >> taking millions of dollars from foreign governments. >> sniper fire. it was a total -- it was a lie. >> what difference at some point does it make? >> this is just par for the course for the clintons. they're always a little bit secretive. >> david, what's your reaction? >> well, i think two reactions. one, this ad is disingenious. it couldn't have basic fact checks. they're citing news reports that were retracted later. so it doesn't have credibility. but the more important thing is the republicans can't give up character attacks on hillary clinton. that is because they don't want to run against her in the general election and they have nothing to offer her in the c

no reason we can't do this federally. >> dan pfeiffer, thanks for being on "new day." >>> we want to go right now. we are joined by the oregon governor kate brown. thank you so much for being on "new day" on this terrible day in your state. can you tell us what you've learned in the past 12 hours about what happened? >> well, my focus right now is on supporting the entire community of roseburg and helping the students and families heal. >> governor, will this tragedy make you reconsider anything about how you do business in your state? will you want to change anything, be it gun laws, be it dealing with the mentally ill, whatever? will you change something because of this? >> it's very clear that these types of tragedies must end, not only here in oregon but across the country. but today, along with my fellow oregonens, i'm focused on providing comfort and care to the families of roseburg. >> yes. governor, you know, we've just been having this conversation because there's just this feeling of resignation in the country. you heard it from president obama. you heard it in his voice. h

. >> dan pfeiffer, jim sciutto, thanks so much. that's it for "the lead." i'm jake tapper turning you over to wolf blitzer in "the situation room." i'll see you sunday 9:00 a.m. eastern. have a good weekend. >>> happening now, breaking news. president obama's outrage following the oregon college massacre. the president says he won't hesitate to politicize the issue of gun violence. and he also says he'll keep pushing for more gun laws. will that stop the killing? armed and angry. 13 guns are found at the massacre scene and the gunman's home. we're learning from survivors that the gunman singled out christians, his own writings show he was an angry loner with racial hostility. but what set him off? we're awaiting a news conference from law enforcement on the scene. russian aggression. accused of using air strikes to prop up the syrian regime, russia now says its jets have bombed targets near the self-declared isis capital. will that ease differences with the u.s. and its allies? and under water, tens of millions of americans will feel the impact of hurricane

we're back with our political commentators, ana navarro, donna brazile, dan pfeiffer, van jones. a little fight, two democratic members of congress, the chair of the democratic national committee, the other's a vice chair of the democratic national committee, debbie wasserman schultz, tulsi gabbard, fighting over how many debates. as a result, tulsi gabbard thinks she was disinvited by the chair of the dnc from coming to this democratic debate. pretty ugly. >> i want to say this -- >> you're a vice chair of the dnc yourself. >> i have every confidence that you know, no matter how much this conversation goes on, debbie and tulsi are rooting for five candidates here tonight. this business the candidates and what they offer to the american people. we have a lot of what i call ideas that the american people want to hear from the candidates. so, we will figure out the number of debates. how many people appear with -- how many times appear with wolf blitzer. we want wolf. but, no, this is about the candidates and what they will do to help the american people. >> the people of america j