Hey everybody, it's Glenn Thrush with Politico's Off Message podcast.

We are on the eve of the big debate.

This will be the most closely watched political event of 2016 until the next most

closely watched political event of 2016. It is most closely watched political event of 2016.

It is expected actually to draw Super Bowl numbers, mash finale numbers, 80 to 100 million people,

75% of people who have been polled recently say they're going to watch this.

And I got to tell you, I'm headed up to Hofstra, which is in my old stomping grounds in Long Island.

I used to be a reporter for Newsday, the paper over there. And I would like nothing better than not to go.

Watching a debate from the actual debate hall is like, I used to say this about the White House,

but it's like trying to watch a horse race from inside a horse.

It is the worst place to kind of figure out what's going on. So we all go there because of the

spin room so that we can walk up to all the staffers for the candidates and ask them questions.

But I got to tell you, folks, mostly it just sucks. So the main thing you do is talk to other reporters.

So you sit around and you kind of ask them whether they thought it went really, really well.

And so essentially what it is is this big petri dish of all the worst characteristics of modern media,

of us telling each other what to think and having an echo chamber.

The last time I was at Hofstra for a big debate was in 2012.

Let me set the scene for you.

In early October 2012, Barack Obama debated Mitt Romney in Denver and laid a big fat one right there on the stage. It was his wedding anniversary.

He was distracted. He was pissed off. I reported, broke some news, that he had gotten into fights

with John Kerry, who was playing Mitt Romney in debate. His head was in exactly the wrong place.

So he totally screwed up.

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