KING: David, how do you see the debates playing?
GERGEN: I think they'll be pivotal, Larry, especially if this remains close, because it's going to be the first time we're likely to see the two together. The age difference, we've never had such a large age gap, 25 years, between the two rivals. When they stand side by side, that is going to become a much more important issue for both sides. I want to go back to this. I also think race is playing -- is a factor right now in why the gap is so small. One -- A person who is a major Republican strategist told me privately the other day he thought it was costing Barack Obama at this point maybe four to six points. I don't think there's any way to measure that for sure. It's definitely there.
One of the issues is, can he convince people over the course of the fall that with his youth, given his background and given the fact he is black, can he convince people he would be a good choice? I think there are a large number of people that definitely want to vote for him, but I think Dee Dee is right, there are some people who are really generally undecided and some are wavering.