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

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 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."

Steve Helber/AP Photo

Retiring Sen. Jim Webb speaking at an Obama rally Thursday in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

We've heard from his own mouth that Mitt Romney thinks of "47 percent" of Americans as takers dependent on government.

Before introducing President Obama at a campaign rally in Virginia on Thursday, Virginia Senator Jim Webb, a former Marine who served in Vietnam, called out the Republican presidential candidate over those harsh comments and reminded him of what the so-called "47 percent" has done for the country, which includes members of the military:

"Those young Marines that I led so many years ago have grown older now. They've lived lives of courage, both in combat and after their return, where many of them were derided by their own peers for having served. That was a long time ago. They are not bitter. They know what they did. But in receiving veterans' benefits, they are not takers. They are givers, in the ultimate sense of that word. There is a saying among war veterans: 'All gave some, some gave all.' That's not a culture of dependency. It's a part of a long tradition that gave this country its freedom and independence. They paid, some with their lives, some through wounds and disabilities, some through their emotional scars, some through lost opportunities and delayed entry into civilian careers which had already begun for many of their peers who did not serve. And not only did they pay. They will not say this, I will say it for them. They are owed. They are owed. If nothing else, at least a mention, some word of thanks and respect, when a presidential candidate who is their generational peer makes a speech accepting his party's nomination to be commander in chief. And they are owed much more than that — a guarantee that we will never betray the commitment that we made to them and to their loved ones."

In a secretly recorded video of Romney speaking at a private fundraiser, the Republican candidate claimed "47 percent" of American voters are "dependent upon government" and his "job is not to worry about those people." 

The latest poll numbers out this week confirmed this incident has significantly dragged Romney's candidacy down. 

Sarah Conard/Reuters

Missouri Senate candidates Todd Akin and Senator Claire McCaskill debating Friday in Columbia, Missouri.

Keeping it classy down in Missouri, Todd "legitimate rape" Akin described his Democratic opponent in the Senate race, Claire McCaskill, as "more ladylike" in the past.

So how did the U.S. senator tarnish her reputation in the eyes of bat-crap crazy Akin?

According to the ultra-conservative Republican, she seemed like a "wildcat" at last Thursday’s debate. "She had a confidence and was much more ladylike [in 2006]," said the congressman. "In the debate on Friday she came out swinging, and I think that's because she feels threatened."

In an exclusive interview with The Last Word, McCaskill said many of his comments are proof of his hard-right ideology. "I don't think the problem is what Todd said; the problem is what Todd believes," she told MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell. "It's not that Todd and I are that far apart, on opposite ends," McCaskill said. "I'm in the middle, and he is on the very edge."

Despite repeated calls from him to leave the race from fellow Republicans, he didn't take the hint. The final deadline to withdrawal from the ballot came and went on Tuesday, as the GOP candidate carried on with a statewide bus tour and stayed in the race.

Both Republican and Democrat leaders condemned Akin's comments suggesting "legitimate rape" rarely causes pregnancy. 

The National Republican Senatorial Committee has said it will not contribute money to Akin's race, however, now they are reconsidering.

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The Last Word staff is celebrating our second birthday! Ice cream and cake all around.

This baby's come a long way since that first episode on September 27, 2010. If you remember, we were heading into the midterm elections and Christine (no relation) O’Donnell was running for office. During that inaugural show, Lawrence O’Donnell interviewed Vice President Joe Biden as our very first guest.

As we've gotten older, and, like, way more mature, this year we experimented with interviewing an empty chair. (Eastwooding before there was Eastwooding!)

Our fearless host also swapped his own seat at the anchor desk with Alec Baldwin, James Lipton and even our interns.

The election year gave us many Rewrites to be proud of and too many #batcrap crazy moments to count.

The Last Word viewers got more involved in the action, creating button designs for our official Off The Cliff contest and, even more dramatically, helping us raise nearly $4.5 million for the K.I.N.D. Fund, our joint program with UNICEF to supply desks to school children in Malawi.

You guys rock. On behalf of the whole staff, I want to thank you for watching the show and taking part of the discussion on the website, Facebook and Twitter. Let's keep it going for many more years to come.

Got a favorite Last Word moment? Share it in the comment section below or tweet me your highlights.

Scott Audette/Reuters

Frenemies Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney facing off at Republican primary debate in Jacksonville, Florida on January 26, 2012.

While they may have sparred during the Republican primary debates, Newt Gingrich offered his former rival Mitt Romney free advice on debating President Obama. (Lucky Mitt!)

On Wednesday, exactly one week away from the first presidential debate, a column written by the former speaker of the House appeared on the conservative website Human Events:

Newt's tip #1: "Relax and be prepared"

"I tell the stories to make the point that too much debate preparation is cognitive, fact-filled, rational and focused on verbal game playing. The most important aspect of a debate is how you feel. Mike Deaver, the great media adviser to President Reagan, used to assert that television is 85 percent visual, 10 percent how you sound and 5 percent what you say. In every Presidential debate I participated in I always remembered Deaver’s rule. More important than what Romney knows is how he feels. Is he confident? Is he relaxed? Is he in command of himself? Can he stand up to both the media and the president? These body language issues are far more important than the specific things he says."

Newt's tip #2: "Be assertive and be on offense against both Obama and his media"

"You can be on offense without being offensive. The strongest reactions I got to my debates came from people who were desperate for someone to stand up to the media and redefine the questions and reframe the assumptions.Americans are sick and tired of the unending liberalism and suffocating groupthink of the elite media. If you look at my strongest applause lines virtually every one was taking on the media. It is inevitable the media will ask Romney about 'the 47 percent.' Instead of answering it, Romney should pivot and say, 'Let me tell you about the 100 percent. Obama has failed the 100 percent who have to buy gasoline. Obama has failed the 100 percent who will be paying interest on the Obama national debt for the rest of their lives. Obama has failed 100 percent of those who want to get a job and move on with their lives. Obama has failed everyone in the Middle East who had hoped the Arab Spring would lead to freedom by allowing it to turn into an Islamist winter.' The country would be electrified."

"There are things Romney has done wrong. Admit it. There are things he would like to do better. Admit it. People can smell dishonesty and disingenuous efforts to sell or hide."

Newt's tip #4: "Use humor"

"Reagan and Kennedy both had this wonderful knack of using humor to make points. President Obama is a detached, often stiff person who overestimates his competence (the next time you see a story on the Middle East remember he got a Nobel peace prize for having done nothing). No president in my lifetime has been as vulnerable to humor as President Obama."

Newt's tip #5: "Enjoy the evening"

"My dad was a career infantryman in the Army. I have always enjoyed being a citizen because it is such a privilege to be an American. Mitt Romney ought to walk into that first debate as a remarkably fortunate man. God has given him a wonderful, loving wife, five great sons, wonderful daughters in law, loving grandchildren. His mother and father gave him a fabulous American upbringing. His Church has taught him faith and faithfulness and serving others. His hard work and intelligence have made him a wealthy man. Now he has a chance to share with the freest and most successful people in history. He should relax and bring to bear a lifetime of experience at decency, honesty, determination, applied intelligence and hard work. He will do just fine."

Gingrich loves him some debates. During the Republican primaries, he lamented the lack of old-fashioned debating in modern politics. If I had a nickel for every time he vowed to challenge Obama to a Lincoln-Douglas-style jam session…

The first debate focusing on domestic policy is slated for Wednesday, October 3.

The leader of the "Nuns on the Bus" tour spoke out against Mitt Romney's "47 percent" comments, calling the Republican candidate’s words "shocking" and heart-breaking evidence he's "out-of-touch" with "folks at the margins of our society."

In an interview with Think Progress, frequent Last Word guest, Sister Simone Campbell, executive director of the National Catholic Social Justice Lobby, explained her deep disappointment with Romney:

"I mean, it was shocking to me that a person who says he wants to be the leader of our nation believes that 47 percent of our country is basically lazy or dependent or indolent. That was shocking to me. But then, it broke my heart that he would be so out of touch, that he would so not know the truth of folks at the margins of our society who work so hard. And he obviously doesn’t know that if you work a minimum wage job, if you’re a child care, if you’re providing janitorial services, or if you’re a day laborer, if you work for minimum wage, you’re still in poverty. He has no idea how hard it is at the margins of our society."

A surreptitious recording of Mitt Romney speaking at a private fundraiser shows the Republican candidate ragging on the "47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what" as people "who are dependent upon government."

Campbell and fellow Catholic sisters have been on a crusade to put social issues, and the consequences of Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan's budget, in the spotlight.

In June, "Nuns on the Bus" hit the road on a 15-day pilgrimage through Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia to preach it to Americans.

Despite repeated calls for him to step down, Todd "legitimate rape" Akin kept his promise to stay in the Missouri Senate race.

The final deadline to withdrawal from the ballot came and went on Tuesday, as the Republican candidate carried on with a statewide bus tour.

Democratic opponent, Senator Claire McCaskill isn't backing down either. She's just getting started, as evidenced by a new TV ad released today which reminds voters of the bat-crap crazy things her rival has said.

At a press conference yesterday, Akin explained he's in the race because Republican voters of Missouri specifically "chose" him for the task of winning McCaskill's Senate seat. 

While most Republicans distanced themselves from the bat-crap crazy conservative, including Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, Newt Gingrich showed his continued support of the candidate and predicted the other guys will come around to seeing it his way.

"My expectation would be that in the crunch in October, Governor Romney is going to be for the entire ticket, and he's going to be for Todd Akin, and clearly Governor Romney has to carry Missouri in order to win the presidency."

Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

Confusion in the end zone during the Packers-Seahawks football game on Monday in Seattle, Washington.

President Obama, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan actually agree on something: The Packers were robbed.

In a rare show of bipartisan unity, the three politicians all expressed frustration after the blown call at the end of Monday Night Football's Green Bay Packers-Seattle Seahawks game and pressed for an end to the lockout with unionized referees.

The president "thinks there was a real problem with that call," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters aboard Air Force One on Tuesday. It's "very distressing for every American football fan."

During the last play, replacement officials incorrectly awarded Seattle with a touchdown, giving the Seahawks a victory with a final score of 14-12. 

Obama, a huge sports buff, reminded the NFL via Twitter that fans "on both sides of the aisle" remain hopeful for an immediate resolution to the conflict:

Scott Walker, naturally a Packers fan as the governor of Wisconsin, slammed the bad call and demanded the return of the league's unionized officials. Walker, the guy who let's remember made union-busting famous for ending collective bargaining rights his his state, tweeted: 

Ryan, a congressman from the swing state of Wisconsin, also complained about the ruling on the campaign trail. He asked an audience in Ohio, "Did you guys watch that Packer game last night? I mean, ha. Give me a break. It is time to get the real refs." He then compared this sports fail to Obama's record on the economy. "And you know what, it reminds me of President Obama and the economy," he contended. "If you can’t get it right, it is time to get out."

The NFL admitted the flub. In an official statement, the NFL conceded the referees should have ruled a pass interference on Golden Tate instead. However, the victory still stands.