it's 2:00 p.m. out east and 11 a.m. here in vegas where everyone not named bernie sanders is looking for an upset. oo here is a look right now. each of the six comes here with a different set of goals. bernie sanders will be front and center because he is the one now leading in the polls. but being the front-runner comes with increase the scrutiny. the other candidates, particularly michael bloomberg and joe biden, are probably going to have their knives out for the self proclaimed democratic socialist. no longer alone at center stage and no longer the focus of everybody's fire is joe biden who will instead now be going on the attack, hoping to stop his slip in the polls with his south carolina firewall only a week and a half away, he needs to prove he can at least survive nevada. that is in no small part due to the presence of michael bloomberg who will be on the stage for the first time as a

presidential candidate. he's got momentum and money on his side. but each day has drujd up old kornlt verbal comments. can he withstand the scrutiny tonight? elizabeth warren failed to break out of the pack. allies say she will make her presence known tonight. will she also go after bernie sanders? pete buttigieg, faces his first challenge in a diverse state. same thing goes for amy klobuchar, the minnesota senator exceeded expectations in the new hampshire debate. can she do it again tonight? joining me now from here in las vegas is nbc's josh letterman who's been following the campaign, mike memoli who's been following the biden, and shaquille brufter following the sanders campaign. normally shaq we would start with you. but tonight is going to be all about michael bloomberg. josh letterman this is the first time for him on a debate stage

in dwight awhile. what has his team been doing? >> it's been about a decade since mike bloomberg has been on a debate stage, never in a format like this before with six candidates on the stage. mike bloomberg has been huddled with his advisers in mock debate sessions. he got her last night, took a break to have seafood dinner with his staff. today he's back at it. i just spoke with a bloomberg campaign official who said they know he's going to get attacked from all sides tonight. that official saying that theym sanders but from the other candidates, and that they have to be ready and bloomberg will be ready to pivot and punch back at those other candidates. the key takeaway that bloomberg wants voters to have at the end of the night is that there are really three people who could be elected president next year, mike bloomberg, bernie sanders

or president donald trump. they think if they can characterize the race in those terms, they can make the case, there's only two canndidates tht could do it. >> if you build it they will come, saying he is a front-runner before he is. you just saw pete buttigieg on the debate stage getting a walkthrough from the director, checking out the podium, seeing where the cameras and moderator will be. the biden campaign, he is sharing center stage tonight, the first time he'll be doing that. tell me what they expect to do and how they plan to stop the slide? >> well, katy, for most of these previous eight debates it would have been enough to walk off the debate stage unskaikted. but he needs to show signs of strength in his candidacy sooner rather than later. the formula was to narrow this

contest quickly to joe biden versus bernie sanders and run up the score especially with african-american voters in super tuesday states. he needs to in order to get that point, deliver knockout punches to the others and especially to michael bloomberg. that's why we've seen in the run town this, already a little back-and-forth between the bloomberg and biden campaigns. the biden campaign launching this video making light of the bloomberg meme strategy to raise these comments he's made critical of obama on issues like health care, climate change and race relations. the bloomberg team fired back with a video of biden saying nice things about bloomberg. biden was stopping by in the last half hour a culinary worker protest where he was asked about the bloomberg ads tying himself to obama, he called it disingenuous. i think that's one of the big things. can he follow through on this

predebate with the blows on stage. but he wants to take i'm at bernie sanders as well. the concern is that these moderates are splitting up the vote and leading him to amass a delegate lead that no one else will be able to top. >> it is interesting because everybody has been talking about michael bloomberg, but the man leading the polls right now is bernie sanders. is that campaign expecting to take some attacks from the other candidates? or are they expecting to be able to breeze through this debate as everybody will be focused on michael bloomberg, shaquille? >> i think they're definitely expecting to have some attacks, and something the campaign continues to point out to me is that senator sanders has been at the center of attacks throughout this whole entire primary. it was in the first debate where he had the extended conversation about medicare for all, a conversation that has been repeated in nearly every debate we've heard. he's received criticism for his college for all proposals and

costs for his pro polesalls. they are expecting those attack to continue and come from bloomberg. the difference is you have mayor michael bloomberg. it was ahead of last week's debate when i asked senator sanders about the attacks, it was at the ding of the surge, when we started to see him leading. he says he's been at the center of the aattacks for a long time. the one thing that he is going and he's signaling for tonight, he has some ammunition of his own against mayor michael bloomberg. we've heard him go after mayor bloomberg for issues like stop-and-frisk, policy in new york city, the affects it had on african and latino men in new york city. we heard him go after bloomberg to his opposition to raising the minimum wage, cutting things like social security and medicare and medicate. they have a lot of ammunition to go back at mayor bloomberg with. we are expecting to hear it

tonight. katy? >> shaquille brufter, mike memoli, josh letterman, thank you. joining me now, editor of the nevada independent, jon ralston. also here with us in las vegas is "new york times" chief national correspondent mark leibovich. all of these are playing the expectation game right now. you're the person in charge of asking at least some of the questions tonight. what are you curious about? >> all the attention tonight, katy, is on the fact that mike bloomberg for the first time is going to be on stage. i think there's going to be a lot of energy focused on him. most people in america don't know a lot about bloomberg. >> other than the ads and the mythology he's creating for himself? >> right. and so it's going to be interesting to see which of the candidates really decide, besides we know bernie sanders is because he's in nevada, already attacking bloomberg even though bloomberg is not on the ballot here, in anticipation

that he would be up there tonight. there's a lot in bloomberg's record that i think these candidates are going to go after. the other interesting point made in that interview, joe biden has to do something tonight. his campaign is falling. he needs to do well in the nevada caucus. if he doesn't finish second or better, pull off an upset, i think he's in big trouble. what is his strategy going to be tonight when you have essentially bernie being reduced to the bernie and bloomberg show? >> mark, what are you watching for? >> i want to thank jon raulton for ceding tonight. i would say i'm looking for bloomberg coming out in public. michael bloomberg has put together a great campaign, has a great staff. and my colleague matt heimer wrote, he has a great campaign but he's going to be separated from his campaign tonight.

it's going to be him having to think on his feet. he has really good opposition ammunition. the question is, how well can he think on his feet? it's a less than optimal situation for him. not only does it take awhile to get up to campaign speed and these people have been doing this for a year, with several debates, he's going to be the subject of attacks like almost from the get-go. it's a really tall order, and it's going to test him in an area that he's not really strong to begin with. >> what is so interesting is he's not the front-runner, although he will be the focus of this debate. is that just because of all the money that he has to pour into this race? because he has a billion dollars or even more to spend? you have to treat him like a serious candidate? even though bernie sanders is the one leading by double digits? >> he has made himself a serious candidate because of that spending. that's the only reason. one recent poll showing him in second place. the bottom line is that bernie sanders is going to take some fire tonight as well, because he's going to take it from

bloomberg because i am sure that bernie will go after bloomberg and he will respond. but the other candidates, bernie sanders as you mentioned is at the toop. most of the others are conceding nevada to him. i'm not sure that's true. it's a caucus approximate. crazy stuff can happen. there's going to be a lot of unusual dynamics up there on that stage. >> why do you think elizabeth warren has been so hesitant to go on the attack against bernie sanders, if not the attack, if not that, then to make a more forceful distinction between what she has done compared to him? >> i think it is an interesting idea, because i think in some ways they were natural rivals for several months. at this point, you know, mike bloomberg is a perfect rival to both of their messages, going after the big corporate billionaire interests, and, you know, bloomberg is very irresistible to both of them.

i think it's awkward for elizabeth warren to go after bernie sanders. they have so much common ground, common history. >> but he's trounsing her in the polls. doesn't chef to in order to convince voters -- if she wants to start winning? >> yes. i think it's really hard to do. one, bernie sanders has proven to be a pretty durable target. because he has that 30, 35% of people with him no matter what. also elizabeth warren has not been a terribly aggressive campaigner as far as going after opponents in this campaign yet. i don't think she's figured out how to do it but i also think that bloomberg is such a big target for her, which i think is great for sand -- >> it's an interesting conundrum. how do you behave tonight in terms of going after bernie, i which i think mark is right, it's difficult for elizabeth warren, how do you stand back

and let bernie and bloomberg go at it? or do you say, and amy klobuchar has been very skillful at this, come on, guys. let's be calm about this. et cetera. and elizabeth warren i think has almost -- she was about to be the front-runner a couple months ago. she's essentially -- this is her last stand in some ways too, katy. >> it's a big chance for her to make -- not make a name for herself, but make a splash in the way amy klobuchar has been able to do. speaking of her and pete buttigieg this is her first real chance outside of the upper midwest and northeast to prove they can get support among voters who aren't white? >> this is the first state that reflects america. it's diverse. i think the question of especially mayor pete's appeal to communities of color, and amy klobuchar who also represents a very white state, what positions do they have? what policies do they have?

they're still relatively unknown, and i think that's been pete's argument. they don't know me when they get to know me. but his record in south bend has some things that he's going to have to defend, but i would guess is going to come up. >> you would guess. i think it's educated. >> i'm not saying the moderators. the other candidates. >> you can whisper it in my ear, there are no microphones. >> just said it, here's this question, hilarious, replay it over and over again. >> i think my bosses would get in my ears and yell. turnout has been really good for nevada, 77,000 people have already filled out caucus cards, just short of the total turnout for the state four years ago. what do you make of that? >> the early voting has never been done here before, and i always thought it was going to be robust for a couple of reasons. people don't like to caucus

naturally. they'd rather just fill out a ballot. after the iowa disaster more people said i don't warrant any part of that. since they're almost at the turnout of 2016, is it cannibalizing the turnout from caucus state or even bigger turnout on caucus day? i think there will be more interest and people that have not gone are going to turn out. >> all of the candidates, yes, but bernie sanders more than anybody else needs to prove they can turn out new voters? >> absolutely. that's his big appeal here. he says he's turned out, the numbers have proven, he's turned out new voters. one thing that's been under appreciated again, in his head-to-head numbers against president trump, they're right there with everyone else. a little behind biden. but it is a bit of a counternarrative that he's going to lose 42 or 48 states. who knows? if that's the lesson of 2016 and

here we are. >> let's learn our lessons. nobody knows. looking forward to seeing you tonight. good luck. >> thank you. >> no one is watching. >> i'm kidding. nevada is notoriously, no, no, no, notoriously, hard to predict. it's been called the most potent force in nevada politics, so what do the states union voters want? but joe biden needs to show he can survive. what is his team doing to avoid a poor performance. dina titus is here live when our coverage rolls on from the las vegas strip right after a quick break. ♪ i'm just a devil ♪ viva las vegas ♪ how i wish that there were more ♪ ♪

♪ rock music >> man: so i'm not taking any chances when something happens to it. so when my windshield cracked... my friend recommended safelite autoglass. >> tech: hi, i'm adrian.>>a. they came right to me, with expert service where i needed it. that's service i can trust... no matter what i'm hauling. right, girl? >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ i'm about to capture proof of the ivory billed woodpecker. what??? no, no no no no. battery power runs out. lifetime retirement income from tiaa doesn't. guaranteed monthly income for life. nooooo!

the best of pressure cooking and air frying now in one pot, and with tendercrisp technology, you can cook foods that are crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. the ninja foodi pressure cooker, the pressure cooker that crisps. wheneveryone is different.a, which is why xfinity mobile created

a different kind of wireless network. one that saves you money by letting you design your own data - giving you more choice and control compared to other top wireless carriers. now you can choose unlimited, shared data, or mix lines of each and switch any line, anytime. no one else lets you do that. design your own data with xfinity mobile. it's wireless reimagined. simple. easy. awesome.

you're well educated. you're experienced, got class, you've got character. get the nomination in november and don't -- darth vader. what the heck is going on? >> well, that's a good question. he complimented me very highly and then said what the hell is the matter with your campaign? that's eye good question. it's a legitimate question. >> he finished fourth in iowa, fifth in new hampshire. and what joe biden walks on the debate stage this evening, it will not be with front-runner status. the latest national poll has him in second place behind senator bernie sanders. and ahead of nevada's caucus the former vice president trails sanders here by seven points. what's the biden's campaign plan to survive here and thrive? joining me now is nevada

democratic congresswoman dina titus, a surrogate for the biden campaign. thank you very much for joining me. i'm sorry i keep getting stuck on your name. dina. i want to say diana shore. a apologize. answer that question that voter asked, what's going on with the campaign? >> he's made a few adjustments. he never expected to win in those states. he's strong here in zblfb did he expect to come in fourth and fifth? >> we didn't think it would be a victory. and we always want to do better. that's going to happen here in nevada. >> there are people who say he hasn't taken nevada seriously enough, been here enough, ground game is not as good as the other candidates. do you think that he's not seen nevada as important to his election or just taken it for granted? >> i don't think either one of those. i wouldn't be working so hard if i thought he was writing us off or taken us for granted. he's been here, sister has been here, dr. jill biden has been

here, some of the people in iowa on the ground now, over 100 workers in the precincts, we're kpated about it. >> how do you convince voters who look at him and say i'm not sure you're the most electable? 30% of democrats see sanders as the most electable, 19% about biden. that's half of what, traegt%, said in january? >> there was a poll that said he beats donald trump by the strongest number. we look at down balanlot. when i was in iowa the two democratic women who hold those, they were campaigning with biden they want him. same thing for taking the senate. it won't matter what we do for health care or gun violence if you've got a senate that boxes everything up or a president who can't get things done. i think biden can. >> nevada is so hard to poll and

predict. tell me in your experience, what are the voters looking for? >> you're reit here in the heart of my district. the strip is my district. it's an interesting place to represent. we've got a very diverse population. large hispanic, large asian-pacific island, veteran families, young people, senior retirees and labor you knowons. i was back at the house with vice president biden and the culinary workers swarmed him. he's protesting with them today. this want somebody who can win, all want to get rid of donald trump. they want somebody with a steady hand at the tiller who can bring this country back together. i've got some of the most progressive record of anybody in nevada but progress is getting things done. i think he can do it. i don't see bernie doing that. >> does it hurt him not getting the endorsement of the culinary union? >> it would have been nize. he was the only person praised by them.

they've been clear they don't like the medicare for all proposals of two of the candidates. when the bernie folks started attacking them, they don't like that. >> you're talking about getting things done. is that a subtle swipe at bernie sanders? >> he's been in congress, you don't see much of a record of accomplishment. making things happen is different. look at obamacare, that was kind of under the direction of vice president, the stimulus bill that got out out of the recession going againstst nrr. you can't put any of the other records against bidens. >> how do you expect him to place? >> i think he'll win or come in at the top. he'll be strong coming out of nevada, go in south carolina where he'll be well-positioned. >> why do you think he's going to win or come in at the top? the polling doesn't show him here? >> just being out in some of the early caucus sites i've been all over this district, people are there, like him, there's an

asian-pacific island last night 500 people in the parking lot. it is hard to poll but i think the numbers will show and people who will turn out -- look at the early vote. we like to vote early, 65% in any election. it's been overwhelming. a lot of seniors vote early. >> you think think higher turn out is more support for sanders or biden? >> we don't have anything to measure it against. we've never had it in a caucus before. usually those who vote early are the seniors and those are his voters. >> congresswoman diana titus? >> dina titus. >> oh gosh. >> i've been called worse. >> i'm sorry. you can call me catty if you like. thank you so much for joining us. let's take another look at the debate stage. amy klobuchar is doing her walkthrough with the director getting a sense of the podium, moderators, where the cameras are, everything she needs to

expect for tonight when this thing starts off for real. up next, allies toll me elizabeth warren will make her presence known tonight. who does she need to draw contrast with more, biden, bloomberg or sanders? ? first, what makes campaigning here so hard to predict? three experts join me as we continue our coverage of this high-stakes day on the vegas strip. that's next. at philadelphia, we know what makes the perfect schmear of cream cheese. the recipe we invented over 145 years ago and me...the world's best, and possibly only, schmelier. philadelphia. schmear perfection.

for the first time ever, nevada allowed early voting in in caucus. more than 77,000 democrats filed preference cards ahead of saturday's contest. that's almost as much as the total number of democratic caucus goers in 2016. we're wondering if the state could be on track for record-breaking turnout. joining me now jesus marquez. also with us jeff gilllen, with ksnv. and politics reporter megan

messerly. everybody, welcome. these turnout numbers, megan, 77,000, what does that say? >> it's a big number. eve been talking to people, they're excited, energized, some of them faced three- and four-hour waits. some people told me they would have waited 12 hours. a lot of people are telling me they're worried about the current state of the country. these are democrats concerned about the president. they're telling me it's their civic duty to participate. they'll stay in line. >> are they new voters or always come out? >> from the first couple of days we got a number from the party. they told us it was about 56% of caucus goes were brand new. nevada is a transient state. we lost a lot of caucus goers since 2016, no longer registered democrats. we expect to see turner but it does seem like new ones are being brought in. >> jeff, up on the screen, the way the racial divide breaks out in nevada, you can see it right

now. it's 30% haspanic/latino, 10% african-american, sen% asian american and pacific islander. this is the first state diverse. iowa and new hampshire, not so much. what does that mean for what's going to happen on saturday? >> you're going to see how well the buttigieg campaign can reach out to communities of color, how well the klobuchar campaign is going to be accepted by communities of color. if you look here, bernie sanders, i always say that bernie sanders -- for nevada, for bernie sanders, nevada is muscle memory. he was here in 2016. he has a definite outreach to the latino community. it's going to be really interesting to watch on caucus saturday what the numbers will be for buttigieg, color char, maybe even for steyer. steyer has been here for so long you could be in fifth grade in this state he's spent so much you'd know who he was.

>> how much does ground game matter? >> i think it matters a lot. that's something that i know. he may not have been getting a lot of traction yet been but i was at pete buttigieg's headquarters on charleston boulevard, you walk in and the first thing you see on the end of the wall is all in spanish, the core principles of his campaign. that doesn't translate into votes, but it does say that the campaign is social very, very aware that they have to reach out to that community. they have to show both he and klobuchar for example have to show that laebing nevada they can speak to those communities. >> donald trump, as he did in both iowa and new hampshire will be here on friday night campaigning for his re-election. you want a radio talk show out here. you're part of a hispanic radio council. have you seen a difference for this president in the state over the past three and a half years? >> absolutely. by the way, donald trump is in town. he is using his headquarters for

the southwest for this week. but he'll be back on the rally on friday. the thing is that president donald trump has done such great job with the economy, jobs, that is what maers to latinos. it was a new poll that came out yesterday says that latino's care about the economy and health care. one of those, the economy, he's doing an excellent job. i believe he's going do great in nevada. the last cycle he only lost for 22,000 votes. that's not too much. >> you said one of those, not so much on health care, why not? >> i didn't say not so much. >> you said one was the economy. >> one of those in this case the economy, he's doing such a great job. if he gets a second term, which i believe he will, he'll work on the health care issue. and i believe and i hope that now democrats will work with him in this issue. >> in looking at health kairt, the democrats have made that a focal point for their campaigns

and the unions have gotten into the debate. the culinary union saying they don't want medicare for all but the local sciu saying we're into medicare for all. how much of a role does the union -- do the unions play in what we will see in terms of saturday's decision? does it matter that the endorsements have not come from the top? >> i think it does matter. looking at the culinary union there are 60,000 members, they can change the course of races if they want to. the fact that they decided ton endorse sends a message. they're focusing in this race on health care. they don't want medicare for all and would rather some of these candidates who prefer a public government health insurance option instead. that sends a message to their membership. they have a lot. they have a lot of cloud. they have been voting on the strip for the past couple of days at early voting sites. they have at launch precincts where they can vote caucus day.

it's important to note that unions are not in agreement on this. sciu among them. looking at the differences in unions on health care, a lot don't have the same kind of health trust that culinary has, the gold standard cadillac plan. >> i was talking to their leader just the other day and she was saying we don't want to just trust our health care will stay the same if we lose or jobs or in our next contract negotiation. jeff, what is the thing the national media misses when we try to cover nevada politics? >> we have a very complex city. we're not this. we are far beyond where we are right now, the strip. we are multi-issue. we have a large working class of people. we are fueled by the people here, you know, on the strip who work these resorts. getting back to what megan said, that nonendorsement from the culinary, i think -- and you

covered it too, the town halls with all the candidates, i think even though it's a nonendorsement, i think every member of that culinary knows we will where that union is coming down. i think that will be impactful on saturday or in the voting. for people watching us here, you know, we are a city of 2 million. we have the largest lds population outside of salt lake city. one of the largest number of churches per capita in america. so we are a far more complex city i think with many issues that we're watching also, just like the rest of the country, and i think that's something that american needs to understand about las vegas. we are a ma toourg city. >> everyone, thank you very much for joining us. still ahead, everyone's best friend in this primary is barack obama, or at least that's what they want to you think. but first, wwed, what will

elizabeth do? that's next live from the las vegas strip. don't go anywhere.

mornings were made for better things than rheumatoid arthritis or psoriatic arthritis. when considering another treatment, ask about xeljanz xr, a once-daily pill for adults with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis or active psoriatic arthritis for whom methotrexate did not work well enough. it can reduce pain, swelling, and significantly improve physical function.

xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections like tb; don't start xeljanz if you have an infection. taking a higher than recommended dose of xeljanz for ra can increase risk of death. serious, sometimes fatal infections, cancers including lymphoma, and blood clots have happened. as have tears in the stomach or intestines, serious allergic reactions, and changes in lab results. tell your doctor if you've been somewhere fungal infections are common, or if you've had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. don't let another morning go by without asking your doctor about xeljanz xr.

elizabeth warren needs a win. allies tell me tonight she has her best foil yet on the debate stage, a walking personification of her core message, that billionaires are trying to buy the process. joining me now nobs news alli vitali. you've been covering the warren campaign. eye know there's been a debate between outside and inside advisers about what she should do on the debate stage. she's tried to be the unity candidate. and amy klobuchar is stealing the thunder with the ability to come and insert here herself into the debate and push back? >> the klobuchar debate was a wake-up call for a lot especially elizabeth warren. debate stages in the past, you

got buzz, money from donors, but it didn't show you could do anything tangible when it came down to how voters voted. in new hampshire we saw voters deciding late. that's probably like nevada too. the campaign knows having a strong formerance -- michael bloomberg is the perfect foil. the thing to keep in mind, spontaneous moments with prep. she tweeted he was an egomaniac billionir. >> is there a decision about going after him is the best idea when bernie sanders is the one leading? >> you can do both. i think we probably will see her do both. at the same time someone said she's not someone who's going to pick every fight. she's going to pick the smart fights. when we've seen her in the past it's been on the way that people have been funding their campaigns. on the core founding principles of her message. going after michael bloomberg

for being a billionaire and buying his way on, pretty central to the message. with bernie sanders she has gone after him in an exclusive interview with me. >> if she goes after bloomberg more does that mean that the campaign is more focused on getting those moderate voters, biden, klobuchar, bloomberg, rather than the sanders voters? >> maybe. but voters don't necessarily think of this in binary fashion. she needs to make -- >> except for that core group of bernie voters? >> exactly. she needs to make headway. but the core group who are loyal to them, she's not going to chip them away. part of the reason they went down the rabbit hole of the unity message, they saw she was the second choice across the board. it didn't matter if it was bernie sanders, amy klobuchar as a first choice, elizabeth warren was second. on policy, voters care. they're voting on personality. they thought they could go down that rabbit hole and succeed.

>> thank you so much for joining us. next up, the obama factor, our live coverage from las vegas carries on right after the break, right here on msnbc. colonial penn can help. hi, i'm jonathan, a manager here at colonial penn life insurance company. and with coverage options starting at just $9.95 a month, you can get a whole life insurance plan to help close that gap with a benefit check paid directly to your beneficiary. it's cash they can use right away, and generally, it's free from federal income tax.

if you're between age 50 and 85, coverage options start at just $9.95 a month. and the rate is locked in, so it can never go up. there are no medical questions. you cannot be turned down for any health reason. and it comes with two lifetime guarantees. one, your coverage can never be cancelled, and two, your rate can never go up. this is our #1 most popular whole life insurance plan. take the first step now. call for free information and you'll also get this beneficiary planner free just for calling. use it to record important information and helpful direction for your loved ones. so don't wait, call now. (announcer) and when you call right now, you'll also get this free prescription savings card that can help you save up to 80% on prescription drugs at over 35,000 pharmacies locally and nationwide.

skip to the good part with alka-seltzer plus. now with 25% more concentrated power. nothing works faster for powerful cold relief. oh, what a relief it is! so fast! and i don't count the wrinkles. but what i do count on is boost high protein. and now, introducing new boost women... with key nutrients to help support thyroid, bone, hair and skin health. all with great taste. new, boost women. designed just for you.

new, boost women. a lot will happen in your life. wrinkles just won't. neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair's fastest retinol formula works so fast. it takes only one week to reveal younger looking skin. neutrogena® we all know on its own his work does not capture the full measure of joe biden. he's been a leader throughout the country for the past 12

years, mr. michael bloomberg is here. she's a janitor's daughter who has become one of the country's fiercest adver cats for the middle class. >> he has not endorsed a candidate, but that has not stopped president obama from making multiple aerns pas in the 2020 campaign whether he wanted to or not. many featured him in their campaign ads using footage of the popular democrat placing their political achievements. "new york magazine" reports that president obama intends to remain signment about the 2020 primary, at least until the summer, quote, with the race looking more and more likely to grow bite and messy, the former president and those around him are increasingly sure he will need to play a prominent role in bringing the party back together and calming tensions later this summer, including perhaps in milwaukee where the party's meeting is scheduled to be held in july. joining me now from new york, former white house

communications director during the obama administration, doon pfifer. he's a co-host of pod save america, also the author of a book, un-trumping america. thanks so much for joining us. i thoughts on just obama and the 2020 race before we get on to the book. what is going to happen if there's a contested convention? >> we are a long way from a contested convention and it is the view in tw2008 and 2016 whoever is the leader in pledge delegates will be the nominee. i expect that to happen. i think generally obama, president obama views his role as being the person best suited to unify the party whenever this process is done. whether that's in three weeks or three months or, you know, on the third day of the convention, and that is why it's so important to stay out because putting the thumb on the scale now it makes him less able to do the very important work of unifying the party. >> so there's a debate here in

las vegas tonight. i'm sure you've heard about it. >> i have, yes. >> as someone who worked on the last winning democratic campaign for president, locking at the stage and the candidates, auddv giving them? >> it is do or die time for a lot of the candidates. oempb not named bernie sanders or michael bloomberg, they're in the poleposition and looming. i think if i were the -- the advice for the democrats is do not chase the shiny object of michael bloomberg because attacking michael bloomberg and not drawing a contrast with bernie sanders is an in kind contribution to the sanders campaign. sanders can have this nomination locked up before getting to bloomberg and deal with the wolf closest to the deal and sanders

in a commanding position. >> and we see bloomberg wearing the signature half zip-up sweater he wore all the time in new york as mayor. i want to talk about your book. you write about -- i want to read a portion of it. i believe that our democracy was messy but worked. i trusted intuitions and believed in norms, i thought the ark of american politics is long but bending towards democracy and even if i was deeply skeptical of the motivations of republicans in congress i remained optimistic they would begin to take government at least a little bit more seriously. but i was wrong. explain that. >> i think if you sit here and look at where we are today in american politics we have to recognize that our institutions have failed us. our political system is not equipped to deal with donald trump and the republican party of today, anti-democratic notions.

by that i mean, essentially rigging politics to protect a shrinking mostly white conservative minority from a growing progressive diverse majority and democrats have to understand if -- we can't rely on traditions for a president to do things to release their tax returns or follow the law. we saw this in the impeachment hearing where democrats convinced the entire country that president trump, two thirds of president trump broken the law, should have been witnesses and a majority believed he should be removed and other than mitt romney who's a unique circumstances no republican did a single thing about it and that is a sign that the democrats want to have a functioning democracy we will have to make fixing democracy agenda item number one because everything else, medicare, et cetera, it's not going to happen without structural political reform. >> dan, you also say don't hit donald trump where he's weakest, the character, on his rhetoric or conduct even while he's been

in the white house. hit him on the economy. why? >> well, if we do not win the economic argument we won't win the election. donald trump is dominating the political conversation and every day he reminds people he is not a good person, racist views, misogynistic views, doesn't care about following the rules and we have to do two things, reframe the economic question from is the economy working to who is it working for? we have a great argument because while the unemployment rate is down, the dow jones is up, wages have stayed flat. other -- the cost of health care, the cost of college, et cetera, gone up. while donald trump is proposing to cut medicare and we have a great economic argument an doesn't work with an up or down vote on the dow jones average and second we have to recognize people know about trump. the voters who decide this election barely tuned in. they know almost nothing about

michael bloomberg or elizabeth warren or anyone else and we have to spend time telling stories of who the democrat is, what they're going to do and why voters should put their faith in them to take the country in a different direction. >> you say hit him where he's strongest. dan, thank you so much for joining us and congratulations on the book. >> thank you. coming up, november could bring a certain voting bloc out of the shadows. one more thing, next. a sommelier searches for the perfect wine. but i hear a different calling. the call of a schmear of cream cheese. for i, am a schmelier. i practice my craft at philadelphia. here, we use only the freshest milk... that one! go! go! and the finest ingredients... what is this? until perfection is achieved. she's ready. schmears! philadelphia. schmear perfection.

save up to 65% off top mattress brands. mattress markdowns event now through february 24th. score extra savings on mattresses from tempurpedic, serta, beautyrest and sealy, starting at just $399! kick back and relax while we do all the heavy lifting. because every single mattress ships free! you don't want to snooze on these deals. shop now through february 24th. only at wayfair.com. you've been hearing a lot about 5g. but there's 5g... and then there's verizon 5g. we're building the most powerful 5g experience for america. it's more than 10x faster than some other 5g networks. and it's rolling out in cities across the country so people can experience speeds that ultra wideband can deliver.

1.7 gigs here in houston. 1.8 gigs here in frigid omaha. almost 2 gigs here in los angeles. that's outrageous! it's like an eight-lane highway compared to a two-lane dirt road. ♪ that's it. i'm calling kohler about their walk-in bath. [ sigh ] not gonna happen. my name is ken. how may i help you? hi, i'm calling about kohler's walk-in bath. excellent! happy to help. huh? hold one moment please... [ finger snaps ] hmm. the kohler walk-in bath features an extra-wide opening and a low step-in at three inches, which is 25 to 60% lower than some leading competitors. the bath fills and drains quickly, while the heated seat soothes your back, neck and shoulders.

kohler is an expert in bathing, so you can count on a deep soaking experience. are you seeing this? the kohler walk-in bath comes with fully adjustable hydrotherapy jets and our exclusive bubblemassag. everything is installed in as little as a day by a kohler-certified installe. and it's made by kohler- america's leading plumbing brand. we need this bath. yes. yes you do. s independence with peace of mind. one more thing before we go. this could be a real game changer. the knight foundation with a report shows large majority of nonvoters plan to cast ballots this november. for the study, chronic nonvoters, not registered to vote or only voted once in the last six national elections. chances are you know some of the

nonvoters because there are quite a lot of them. study found 100 million eligible voters did not vote in 2016 because they were either not interested in politics or felt the vote did not matter. a majority of nonvoters are women, 40% are millennials. but out of 12,000 polled for this study 71% said they'll vote in november, kritding civic responsibility as a biggest factor. 33% said that they support democrats. 30% said they support republicans. important to note this study zero'd in on nonvoters across ten battleground states and in all of them but pennsylvania immigration was the issue they cared about most. when asked if they approved of president trump, 40% said yes. 51% said that they did not. that will wrap things up for me this hour. they could make a real difference in the next election. hi, ali. >> hi, katy. it is wednesday, february 19th.

democratic presidential candidates are ready to face off one more time before the nevada caucuses on saturday. six candidates with going to be on the stage tonight. amy klobuchar, pete buttigieg, joe biden, bernie sanders, elizabeth warren and for the first time former new york city mayor michael bloomberg. make no mistake, for several of the candidates on the stage the stakes are very high. this debate comes as a new nbc news/wall street journal poll gives bernie sanders a double digit lead over the nearest rival, the support of 27% of the voters out there. biden's at 15%, down from last month. bloomberg coming in third at 14%. up five points from last month. warren also at third at 14% and buttigieg at 13%, klobuchar at 7%. the margin of error is plus or