Breaking down battleground Colorado

>>> today's deep dive while i'm out in colorado . belt weather county. the landscape has shifted big time since george w. bush won the state by nine points in 2000 and by five in 2004 . john kerry pulled plans for tv ads a month before the election when it was clear the state was out of reach. colorado picked democrats for president. just twice since 1950 . and bill clinton in 1992 when perot took a slew of votes. until john mccain lost by nine points in 2008 . michael bennet had the year's most expensive senate race. democrats now hold the governship. driven by a few things. an influx of highly educated west coast transplants. the state is younger and more diverse. more hispanic. the population is up by 20% since 2000 to more than 5 million. latinos now account for 21% of the population. president obama 's strategy is repeating what he did in 2008 . his margin of victory was 142,000 votes. 46,000 more votes than kerry got in 2004 . they'll also vote on swing accounts that use to be republican. obama put on six counties that bush carried in 2004 . including jefferson county . arapahoe. as jefferson county goes, so goes the nation. again, president bush won in 2004 by 9,000 votes. obama won there by more than 34,000 votes. but in 2010 again with a much tighter race. romney 's strategy depends on winning the suburbs as well as driving up margins with social conservatives and active military and veterans in colorado springs and the rural areas of the state and doing well with voters here. the swing county like the state as a whole has become more hispan hispanic. colorado is 18% latino. that's up from 11.8% in 2000 . the question is whether they cast ballots this time around. so how do voters in denver's swing suburbs known for being independent thinkers feel about the candidates? tom bro ka talked with a bunch of undecided voters in the great swing county, jefferson county . the county seen there is golden, colorado . and asked what will make the difference in their vote.

>> i feel like i have to make a decision on the progress of my family and moving them forward versus all of women's rights out there. because i don't feel like we're making progress, i'm leaning more towards the republican side .

>> >> absolutely. i'm more on the republican side . on the other hand. he's also that attacking medicare.

>> whoever wins first day in office. what's the most important thing to do?

>> i would like to hear they will cross partisan lines and sit down and solve the problem.

>> these colorado independents, tom, are fascinating. they sort of are the stereo type independent voters we keep saying exists.

>> they play up the middle of the road . they're not playing left and center. the governor is talking about his ability to reach across party lines in the legislature and get things done. i think it was clear that in the debate, maybe they got to it late, is i did not get a sense of how they would deal with the party line issue, which came up a lot in your conversation at jefferson county .

>> it did. when governor romney said he could get the medicare in. why the president didn't turn to him and say, have you dealt with your own party in the congress? and see if you can get that done there. it's a whole different ball game when you get to washington.

>> and it's funny. that brings up the debate. no retorts like that from president obama . what do you make of the fact that we are now -- it's basically a fact now. four of the last five sitting presidents in the first presidential debate watched the challengers clean the clock.

>> actually, i think this is good for the country, chuck. the reason i think it's good for the country is it will engage the country. there were big ideas last night. some of them imperfectly articulated and not well defended in some instances. they are talking about the issues on the minds of a lot of american people . and so i think this morning we have a kickstart to the presidential campaign . if it had been romney performing like the president, it would have been over.

>> it's interesting. what do you make of this? is it the issue with a sitting president not used to being challenge. it's been a long time. what do you think it is?

>> i don't think it counts. this is the most important debate of the campaign.

>> et it together.

>> get it together. you're the president of the united states . you have all the resources to draw on. he's been in nevada preparing for it. and then he showed up, or didn't show up, depending on your point of view, and was inadequate. it seemed if he had shown up for a morning briefing at the white house in july of this year on a thursday, he would have been more engaged than he was last night.

>> you were with the jefferson county voters. how do you think they reacted to the debate?

>> well, my guess is they got a lot of detail, which is what they are looking for from romney . and the two business owners. one was in commercial real estate. therm leaning in that direction. i wouldn't be surprised if they moved that way. with the support that exists for both candidates is still kind of soft.

>> softer than people realize. tom brokaw , we'll see you. maybe danville. with round one done, the political panel joins me