"No matter who wins the White House, tens of millions of voters will be angry. The Trump audio tape scandal is yet another tawdry display in a campaign full of them. So there will be no coming together after the vote - bitterness will rule. Both Trump and Clinton have polarized the country and the division is vast. It seems every day there is more depressing political news; it's almost high noon every day. For example, unless Donald Trump can marginalize the vulgar tape exposure in tonight's debate, he will likely lose the election. Mr. Trump must somehow redeem himself in 90 minutes, a tough challenge to say the least because he is essentially alone. If any public person defends Trump, they will be branded as female-haters by the media. That's why you are seeing so many Republicans bailing on Mr. Trump. As for the candidate himself, pointing out past dubious behavior on the part of the Clintons will not be enough. He must persuade voters that he is worthy of the top job, not that his opponent is not worthy. This presidential campaign has been horrendous. Both political parties have enormous problems and those are reflected by the candidates. Think back to JFK, Ronald Reagan, Harry Truman, Bush the elder. These were men who engendered respect. It is true that the ideological press and the instantaneous presence of social media make it almost impossible for candidates these days to retain positive images or survive big mistakes. The constant pounding Clinton and Trump receive has diminished both of them in front of the folks. Every misstep, every character flaw becomes a Times Square billboard. In my lifetime I have never seen political hatred like this. The result: Few Americans feel good about the election. Talking Points now believes many Americans will sit the vote out, their spirits crushed by the nastiness of it all. As for tonight, it is Trump's last chance to stop the bleeding. If he does not, Secretary Clinton will win."

The Factor invited reaction from veteran political reporters Bob Cusack and Annie Linskey. "I agree that people are tired of the negativity," Cusack began, "and they want to be uplifted. Trump has a lot of things he could talk about - the FBI, the email scandal, ISIS. But bringing up women and Bill Clinton will not get him more votes. He needs to say 'I apologize' and he needs to be very contrite. This is the biggest night of his political career!" Linskey agreed that Donald Trump risks losing votes if he focuses on the Bill Clinton scandals. "This is going to cause people to want to stay home, particularly the female Republicans that Trump so desperately needs. Let's remember that Hillary Clinton was never more popular than when the Monica Lewinsky allegations were being made. This is the kind of thing that humanizes her and makes the country feel sorry for her. Donald Trump needs a grand slam home run tonight."

The Factor asked Charles Krauthammer to put the messy Trump situation under his analytic microscope. "Donald Trump has no option," Dr. K said. "A normal politician would have two options - one would be to express sincere contrition, deflect, and go on to things where you're strong. But Donald Trump is not a normal politician, he cannot fake contrition well enough for it to be believable. His televised apologies since the tape's release look like a hostage tape until he attacks the Clintons, when you can see the fire in his eyes. He never has been contrite. Also, he feels he is being wronged and singled out. He feels this is what guys always do, so why is he being crucified? His only hope is to get Hillary Clinton into the mud and engage her in a mud-fight."

For a view from the Democratic side, The Factor asked former Obama aide Austan Goolsbee whether the newly-leaked Hillary Clinton Wall Street speeches could damage her. "I don't think it will hurt her in this debate," Goolsbee theorized, "because she doesn't even need to get a base hit, she just needs to not be beaned by the pitch. Donald Trump will try flush everything down the toilet and then throw the toilet at her. If he's going to be yelling and unhinged, I don't think anything will stick." The Factor asked Goolsbee how Hillary Clinton would handle a question about her treatment of women who accused her husband of rape and sexual assault. "I think she will say the Republican Party was attacking her husband at the time," Goolsbee predicted, "and I think she will express some regret."

The Factor asked veteran newsman Bob Woodward to evaluate media's saturation coverage of the leaked Trump audio. "We aren't sure of the motive of the person who leaked the tape," Woodward said, "but Trump has acknowledged the authenticity of the audio. This has turned out to be the most explosive story of the campaign, so there is no doubt it's an authentic story." The Factor reminded Woodward that America's two most important daily newspapers have been grossly biased in this campaign: "There is no doubt that the editorial sections of the Washington Post and the New York Times hate and despise Donald Trump! The New York Times just used the 'f' word and the 'p' word on the front page, something they never did during the Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky scandal."

It has been conventional wisdom that Donald Trump was already in trouble with American women, and the profane audio tape could make that worse. Juan Williams and Lisa Boothe entered the No Spin Zone with more. "I'm on the fence," Boothe said about her voting intentions. "The comment that he made was not in isolation, there have been a lot of similar comments. But the media is full of it and the left is full of it, they've embraced Bill Clinton, who has been accused of rape and sexual assault for nearly 20 years! Donald Trump has to talk about the future of this country and say that Hillary Clinton is the status quo." Williams argued that Donald Trump is growing ever more unpopular among female voters. "Trump has got to stop the bleeding or he will lose this election tonight! And where is the bleeding? It's among women like Lisa, smart and educated white women who lean to the right. Romney won white women by 14 points and he still lost the election."