In the lead-up to tonight's debate between Pres. Obama and Mitt Romney, you've probably seen a lot of coverage showing their performances in past debates. The point being made, both these men have had their fair share of time behind a debate podium and both, no matter the lowering expectations game being played on both sides, are pretty skilled debaters.

That's why this clip from Conan O'Brien is both refreshing and hilarious. Even the best politician can have an awkward moment or two on the debate stage.

The late night funnyman also got in this pretty good jab at Mitt Romney on Twitter.

If Mitt Romney really wants to win his first debate against President Obama, he better go check out one particular episode of The West Wing. MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell offered advice to Mitt Romney on the key to winning the first debate and explained why the Republican presidential candidate still won't win it.

Chuck Burton/AP Photo

Vice President Biden speaking at a campaign event Tuesday in Asheville, North Carolina.

Vice President Joe Biden readjusted a stump speech one-liner on Tuesday after Team Romney quickly pounced on his "buried" middle class comment.

Biden quickly changed course at campaign event in Asheville, North Carolina, declaring "The middle class was buried by the policies that Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney supported."

Earlier in the day, it came out in a slightly different way. Biden questioned how Republicans "can justify raising taxes on the middle class that has been buried the last four years." This prompted the Romney campaign to argue this comes at the fault of Obama's leadership.

Republicans seized on this gaffe all afternoon, calling it "a stunning admission" on Obama’s economic policies.

Mitt Romney tweeted that "agree[s] with @JoeBiden, the middle class has been buried the last 4 years, which is why we need a change in November." (Debate zinger practice hard at work?)

"Of course the middle class has been buried," said VP candidate Paul Ryan. "They are being buried by regulations, they are being buried by taxes…they are being buried by borrowing, they are being buried by the Obama Administration’s economic failures. You see the Obama economic agenda failed not because it was stopped, it failed because it was passed."

In a statement, the Obama campaign said Biden was merely discussing how “the middle class was punished by the failed Bush policies that crashed our economy” and voting for the Romney-Ryan ticket would lead to a repeat situation.  

Congressman Paul Ryan remains on the ballot in his Wisconsin congressional district. As a result, his congressional campaign is still humming along releasing this new ad earlier today. The ad takes on the issue of health care. In it, Ryan says the individual should be in charge of their own health, not "government or insurance bureaucrats."

The inclusion of "government" bureaucrats is a clear dig at the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. ObamaCare). The ad, however, ignores the elephant in the room. It was, after all, Mitt Romney's Massachusetts health care plan (a.k.a. RomneyCare) that served as a template for the president's health care law.

Now that he's on the Republican ticket with Mitt Romney, Ryan is quite unlikely to make a direct attack on RomneyCare. But he's made his feelings on RomneyCare all too clear in the past. 

One more thing... we also happened to notice a stunning lack of diversity in this video.

Charles Dharapak/AP Photo

Mitt Romney campaigning at Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum on Monday in Denver, Colorado.

The latest NBC/WSJ poll reflected the extent of damage those "47 percent" comments had on Mitt Romney's presidential campaign. Now, more than three weeks after the fact, the numbers suggested it's still very much on the mind of likely voters.

In the newly released study, 45 percent of voters said they felt more negative towards the Republican candidate after those secretly comments recorded at a private fundraiser. Meanwhile, 23 percent felt more positive and it didn't have much difference on 24 percent of those surveyed. After seeing, reading about or hearing about it, 51 percent view him less favorably and 28 percent had a more favorable opinion of him.

The poll also looked at the long-term impact of the gaffe that haunted President Obama — the "you didn't build that" line, a theme in which the entire RNC was built around. Pollsters found 36 percent of registered voters actually felt more positive about the president, 32 percent felt more negative and 26 percent say it did not make much difference.

On a broader scale, the poll found Obama up by three points against Romney, 49 to 46 percent, well within the margin of error and still within striking distance. 

In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Paul Ryan (again) reiterated the 47 percent line from his running mate was "very inarticulate."

The Obama campaign has been playing up Romney’s comments as much as possible on the campaign trail and in TV ads. 

The candidates face off in the first presidential debate Wednesday in Denver.

We're one day out from the first presidential debate. The National Review spoke with Mitt Romney's advisers about debate preps. Their main goal? To make him come across as warm and fuzzy as possible and "introducing him to the country." Tonight, MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell and his panel of guests will explain what both candidates need to do in order to perform well. Here's a look at all the stories shaping The Last Word rundown:

• Debate preview: Breaking down the vulnerabilities for each candidate
• NBC/WSJ poll: Almost 40 percent say debates will be important
• Paul Ryan challenged by voter to provide policy specifics, fails to deliver
• Voter ID no longer required — but will Pennsylvania make sure voters know?
• Joe Biden: The middle class 'has been buried the last four years'
• Why Claire McCaskill should promote a felon to defeat Todd Akin
• Billionaire William Louis-Dreyfus calls on fellow rich to battle voter suppression
• New study: Romney health care would leave 72 million uninsured

Michael Perez / AP

In a decision being cheered by voting-rights advocates, a judge has issued a preliminary injunction against Pennsylvania's controversial voter ID law.

Judge Robert Simpson ruled that poll workers can ask voters for ID, but they cannot turn away voters who do not have one. Nor can such voters be forced to cast a provisional ballot.

The ruling did not strike down the law, it merely ensured that the law won't be in effect for this fall's election.

“We are very glad voters will not be turned away from the polls this November if they do not have an ID,” said Judith Browne Dianis of the Advancement Project, which helped bring the case, in a statement.

Supreme Court expert Jeffrey Toobin joined The Last Word host Lawrence O'Donnell Monday night to discuss a subject that hasn't received the attention it deserves: the election's massive implications for the high court.

Toobin, a writer for The New Yorker, predicted that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a liberal who is 79, likely will step down if Obama wins a second term, because it would guarantee her place would be filled by a like-minded individual.

Toobin pointed out that four of the nine justices are in their 70s, which may mean the court could be shaken up if elderly judges retire or pass away.  Currently, the court is finely balanced between five right-leaning justices and four left-leaning justices. 

On the flip side, Toobin predicted that if Ginsburg, the eldest justice, were forced to leave during a Mitt Romney presidency, Roe vs. Wade—which keeps abortion legal—would likely be overturned. 

The court is expected to hear cases this term on voting rights, gay marriage, and affirmative action, other other crucial issues.

A victim of the movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado is demanding answers on gun violence from both presidential candidates in a new PSA.

Stephen Barton, who was shot in the face and the neck, pleaded with voters watching the upcoming presidential debates to ask themselves, "'Who has a plan to stop gun violence?' Let's demand a plan." He warned that in the next four years, 48,000 Americans "will be murdered with guns in the next president’s term, enough to fill over 200 theaters."

The spot eerily takes place in one such theater. Barton's wounds are visible in the ad, sponsored by Mayors Against Illegal Guns. 

Neither candidate seems to be in a hurry change gun laws. Most notably, Mitt Romney argued for changing hearts, not toughening up gun laws to prevent these types of incidents from happening in the future.

Barton survived the deadly massacre at a midnight screening of "The Dark Knight Rises" which killed 12 theatergoers. All of the guns used in the attack were purchased legally.

The temporary payroll tax holiday is likely to expire January 1 regardless of what happens with the looming fiscal cliff, the New York Times reported today.

This makes the coming of the New Year an even bigger day for millions of families across America. This year's payroll tax holiday took the rate from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent, saving the average family $1,000 a year. And for many, all or most of that money went right back into the marketplace, juicing the economy, which was the holiday’s original aim.

Last year, the White House pushed hard for an extension of the payroll tax cut, launching a campaign on their website in which Americans were asked to share what $40 more in every paycheck would do for them. One example they used came from Pamela living in Fairbanks, Alaska: "$40 is 10 gallons of heating oil when the temperatures in winter hover in the negative numbers for months."

This time around, the White House and congressional Democrats don't seem as eager to wage the fight. "I would hope that we would not extend it," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi told reporters last month.

Both Congress and the White House have bigger issues to deal with, namely, the fiscal cliff. As we've reported here at The Last Word, come New Years Day, across-the-board spending cuts are set to trigger precisely as the Bush-era tax cuts are set to expire. If nothing is done to prevent these austere events from occurring, the economy could be sent back into recession, according to the CBO.

The payroll tax holiday may seem like small potatoes next to the fiscal cliff, but Economic Policy Institute estimates it's expiration could kill 0.9 percent of economic output next year, precisely because it is among the most stimulative cuts with the money being quickly spent and injected back into the economy.

In second edition of our Campaign Calculus series, showing the arc of the campaign juxtaposed with Nate Silver's daily predictions, Obama gained a major lead. This past week, President Obama steadily rose in Silver's "Chance of Winning" category, reaching 83.9 percent by Thursday — the highest so far in this election cycle. Is the campaign almost a done deal? MSNBC's Joe Scarborough seems to have reached his limit.

Toni Sandys/AP Photo

Mitt Romney facing off with former rivals Rick Santorum and Ron Paul during a 2011 Republican debate in Hanover, New Hampshire.

Mitt Romney has done a lot of damage to himself over the last month. He didn't receive a convention bump — he can partially blame Clint Eastwood's improv sketch for that. The former Massachusetts governor came under fire for criticizing the president's response to Libya. Then came the infamous "47 percent video" in which he insulted nearly half the country. This Wednesday marks the first presidential debate, and Romney has to do well if he wants to save his candidacy.

Team Romney has reportedly been practicing a handful of "zingers" to throw at President Obama during the debates. A zinger, or "burn," is a quick, witty retort used by both insult comics and presidential candidates alike to knock their opponent off balance. The idea is to make Obama look smug without making Romney look bad himself.

Over the last few weeks both the president's surrogates and Romney's (with the exception of Chris Christie) have downplayed each candidates' debate skills. With a new Washington Post/ABC News poll showing the majority of the country feels President Obama will win the first debate, prompting the president's re-election team to manage expectations. Even Obama himself said at a campaign rally over the weekend that Romney was "a good debater" and that he was only "just okay." Over at the GOP nominee's campaign office, it seems they're following the same playbook. Paul Ryan went on Fox News Sunday this weekend and basically said the same exact thing about Romney. Ryan said, "President Obama is a very gifted speaker...he's an experienced debater. This is Mitt's first time." 

The clock is ticking on the candidates who only have two days left to prepare for first presidential debate this Wednesday. There's only so much studying up on zingers one can do. Here are the look at more stories shaping tonight's Last Word rundown. 

• Obama, Romney in tight race nationally as first debate looms
• Romney broadens focus as economic argument sputters
• New Obama ad goes after Romney on China
• Romney fades, taking GOP Senate hopes with him 
• Households could face average $3,500 tax hit if Congress goes off the cliff
• Chris Christie says the debate will turn presidential race 'upside down'
• Supreme Court term begins, major rulings ahead
• Aurora survivor returns to a movie theater for gun violence PSA
• 'Family Guy' creator Seth MacFarlane to host Oscars

Jessica Rinaldi/Reuters

VP candidate Paul Ryan at a campaign event on Saturday in Derry, New Hampshire.

Paul Ryan said “it would take me too long to go through all of the math” on the proposed Romney-Ryan tax plan.

You know, tons of details, blah blah blah. No time, blah blah blah.

During an interview with Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace, the vice presidential candidate openly opted not take the time get into specifics when questioned on how the Republican ticket would pay for 20 percent tax cuts across the board.

“It would take me too long to go through all of the math,” said Ryan after being pressed for details. “But let me say it this way. You can lower tax rates by 20 percent across the board by closing loopholes and still have preferences for the middle class for things like charitable deductions, for home purchases, for healthcare.”

Ryan, the House Budget chairman, admitted there’s “disproportionate amount” of loopholes in the current tax code that benefit higher-income earners and vowed to limit deductions for this set. “When you close a tax write-off or a tax shelter for a higher-income person, more of their income is subject to taxation so we can lower tax rates,” he said. “That's where we begin.”

Team Obama issued a response to his comments. “Romney has promised $5 trillion in tax cuts skewed toward millionaires and billionaires, but refused to say how he'd pay for them without raising taxes on the middle class or exploding the deficit,” The Obama campaign said. “He's promised to repeal ObamaCare, but refused to say what he'd replace it with to protect the 129 million Americans with pre-existing conditions. He's promised to repeal Wall Street reform, but refused to say what he'd replace it with so that big banks aren't writing their own rules again.”

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie came to Team Romney's defense of their hazy details, a general point of criticism for the campaign. "Governor Romney has a vision for the direction of this country," Christie said on NBC's Meet The Press. "He's not an accountant. He's not going to go line by line, as much as you'd like him to do, through the budget."