this winter. so that's kind of sad and kind of depressing in a way. >> reporter: it's got to hurt. >> it does. it really does. just anything we can do to take the stress off the cows and take -- and to save feed. >> reporter: and what will the rain do for you? >> oh, we dona't know. it's a gamble. we hope that we'll get some fall regrowth, you know, that we'll get enough moisture that it will start growing again and we'll have a little bit of something to feed them this winter. >> reporter: and if not? >> we'll have to sell a bunch more cows. >> reporter: ben davis isn't relying only on his livestock business to help him raise his two teenage sons. he does have a second job and for now, that's helping him get through these tough times. susan candiotti, cnn, farmington, missouri. >> i'm gary tuchman. "the situation room" with wolf blitzer begins right now. and you're in "the situation room." happening now, the road to charlotte. president obama hits the campaign trail, working the crowds and working his way

toward the site of this democratic national convention. he begins wheree says it all started, more than four years ago. that would be in iowa, and the republican running mate, the gop running mate keeps up -- running mates keep up their attack on president obama's economic policies, but mitt romney admits his own party let people down when it comes to the deficit. and as visitors start moving into charlotte, some people are forced to move out. we're taking a closer look at a little-known downside to the democratic convention. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer, reporting live from charlotte, the site of the democratic national convention and you're in "the situation room." and we're here in charlotte where the democrats are already gathering for their party's national convention.

it starts on tuesday, but this is now becoming the campaign's command center, as democrats work to take back moment from the gop after the republicans grabbed the spotlight in tampa. president obama is on the road today, as democrats build up to their huge event in charlotte this week. let's begin our coverage this hour with our white house correspondent, brianna keilar. she's here already in charlotte together with me. we're watching what's going on. he is really trying, as desperately as he can, and he needs to, to rally his base, brianna, and make sure they turn up, turn out, and vote. because the enthusiasm level, this time, is clearly not what it was in 2008. >> yeah. he's even directing his supporters to a website where they can register to vote. he did this today in iowa, on what his campaign is billing as the road to charlotte. two campaign rallies today. one that already happened in des moines -- near des moines, i should say.

and there were several thousand people in attendance. one of the biggest rallies we've seen this year for president obama, smaller than some of the crowds he drew in 2008. and he'll be having a second iowa rally next hour. we should tell you that on his way to iowa, he was accompanied by his chief speechwriter. he worked on his speech that he'll be giving here thursday night, with his speechwriter on his way to iowa. and he gave the crowd there just the tiniest peek about what he's going to say. >> this thursday night, i will offer you what i believe is a better path forward. a path that grows this economy, creates more good jobs, strengthens the middle class. and the good news is, you get to choose which path we take. >> reporter: now, he spent most of his time during this speech today rebutting some of the messages that we heard during the republican convention in tampa. he called it a quote, rerun. he said, you might as well have

listened to it on a black-and-white tv. and this plays into him accusing mitt romney of trying to pursue economic problems that he says created the recession. >> nothing new, he's saying, in the romney economic agenda compared to what he has in store. presumably he'll go into some specifics when he's here in charlotte. we know he speaks thursday night, the vice president will be speaking. who else are you hearing that is going to be a headliner, shall we say, here in charlotte? >> reporter: well, we're really la looking forward to the folks -- these are the big names we're seeing. michelle obama will be on tuesday night. she's not actually the keynote speaker. that will be the mayor of san antonio. but she's speaking tuesday night. a lot of people will pay attention to that. bill clinton, of course, wednesday, and he will be the speaker who initially puts the president's nomination in. thursday, of course, vice president joe biden and president obama. those will be their acceptance speeches. and it's kind of interesting. you know who won't be here? hillary clinton. she is traveling abroad as secretary of state. she's on a trip to the south pacific and russia. so she won't be here. she's often stayed above, as you

know, the sort of political fray of domestic politics, as she's been secretary of state. but this is the first convention that she will have missed since 1968. >> the tradition is, as secretary of state, secretary of defense, even a secretary of the treasury, they stay away from overt politics, if you will, and as a result, they stay away from conventions on the democratic side, when there's a democratic incumbent and on the republican side, when there's a republican convention. i'm sure if she were here and she spoke here, the crowd would obviously go crazy. >> a very popular member of the president's cabinet. >> thanks very much. we'll see what she does in 2016, if he's in a convention. could be. >> could be. >> thanks, brianna. the republican running mates held what they call victory rallies in two key battleground states today. they're trying to keep up the momentum from their convention. cnn's national political correspondent, jim acosta's in jacksonville, florida. jim? >> reporter: wolf, less than 48 hours after wrapping up their republican convention in florida, mitt romney and paul ryan return to this battleground

state with an appear to sports fans, to give the gop team a chance to turn the country around. >> romney/ryan! romney/ryan! romney/ryan! >> reporter: it was a battleground state blitz, as mitt romney and paul ryan teamed up once again in florida. >> i don't like the way this game is going under this president. >> reporter: the gop ticket kicked off their day in ohio. as the college football season got underway, ryan tailgated with fans at a game between his alma mater and ohio state. and he touted the republican economic game plan. >> ohio is the battleground state. it's a -- it's a state whose electoral votes will very well determine who the next president of the united states is and the next two choices of the future we have. >> reporter: meanwhile, down in cincinnati, romney made the case for a new play caller in the

white house. >> 23 million people are out of work or stopped looking for work or are underemployed. let me tell you, if you have a coach that's 0-23 million, you say it's time to get a new coach. >> reporter: as part of his new appeal to voters who chose president obama four years ago, the republican nominee admitted his own party had fumbled the ball on the deficit. >> when we had the lead, we let people down. we need to make sure we don't let them down this time. i will cut the deficit and get us on track to a balanced budget! >> yeah, they're good. >> reporter: on romney's campaign plane, his wife, ann, opted for a charm offensive, passing out her family recipe welsh cake to reporters. >> you can't cook them too long, and you can't make them -- you can't roll them out too thin. >> reporter: as democrats hold their convention in charlotte, romney will spend much of the week behind closed doors, doing debate prep with ohio senator rob portman, playing the role of president obama. but the gop contender is

expected to do some campaigning of his own, just as the president did during the republican convention. >> governor romney promised that some time between taking the oath of office and going to the inaugural ball, he'd sit right down, grab a pen, and kick 7 million young people off their parents' plan by repealing health reform. maybe we should call his plan, "romney doesn't care." >> reporter: paul ryan will be in north carolina on monday to deliver the republican mention message during the democratic convention. and if this campaign is any indication so far, it won't be a game of two-hand touch. wolf? >> all right, jim acosta in jacksonville, thanks. it's a crucial time for both campaigns. republicans certainly got a boost from their convention this past week. can democrats do the same? let's discuss. our chief political analyst, gloria borger is here. i guess it all boils down to, from this president, the democratic president's perspective, can he really energize that base? >> yeah. and that's what they're obviously trying to do, as

brianna was pointing out, back in the state of iowa, where it all began for president obama four years ago, when he won there. and they understand that they don't have an enthusiastic base right now or a base that is anywhere -- >> because of the economy? >> and because lots of liberal democrats do not believe -- or are disappointed in the president. so what they've got to try to do is get their base as enthusiastic as the republican base is. because republicans are much more enthusiastic about coming out and voting. so what he's doing, he's coming to college campuses, talking to college students, he's really making an effort on hispanic voters. we saw his executive action a couple of months ago that hispanics liked in making the dream act effectively operational for the children of lae illegal immigrants, so they can stay in this country. so group by group by group, this campaign is going after the people they know they need to turn out if the president's going to win re-election.

>> how does he address the issue, though, of 8.3% unemployment when he comes here to charlotte, and the millions of people who are either unemployed or underemployed? >> that's right. you'll hear him say, of course, that he's created 4 million jobs. but what he's got to do -- it's interesting. he's got the opposite problem from mitt romney. this is a president, people believe he's got empathy, he cares about their problems, but he's not a mr. fix-it. he's got to let them know, he is a mr. fix-it. mitt romney, on the other hand, is a mr. fix-it, he's got to let them know that he cares and understands their problems. what we're going to hear from the president is a plan that says, here's what we've done, i was very hamstrung by a very bad economy, hamstrung by the republicans in congress, but if you give me four more years, this is what we can do together and this is what we want to achieve. and there are a lot of people out there who feel like they would like to hear from both of these candidates exactly what they intend to do. h >> when it comes to the

undecided voters or the still-switchable voters, the debates are important, but those three debates in october will be even more important. the romney campaign said that mitt romney this week is going to start preparing more nose debates now that his convention is over with. i asked ohio senator rob portman, who will play president obama in the debate preparations, how this was working out earlier in the week. watch this. how do you prepare to play the president of the united states in these simulated debate preparations? >> you get in their head, and you try to be tougher than they will be, so that halfway through the debate, mitt romney will say, you know, this isn't really that bad. in fact, i'm glad portman's not out here on stage. >> so, how does mitt romney prepare to debate someone like the incumbent president? >> well, in a way, he has a little bit of an advantage, wolf, because you know better than anybody, he's done, what, 20 percents already during the primary season?

so he's in practice. what he's not in practice at doing is debating one on one with somebody. that's going to be a little different for him. what he's got to do is be able to go on the attack against the president without being arrogant or unlikable, because that's his deficit. people don't like him as much as they like the president. so it's not going to be easy. >> speaking of debates, let me play this clip. this was a clip of an earlier we did earlier in the week in tampa with a republican vice presidential nominee, paul ryan. and i had this exchange on his debate. listen to this. how are you preparing for your debate with joe biden? >> by preparing. >> what are you doing? >> well, i'm studying, i'm reading joe biden's speeches, watching joe biden tape, and just studying on all the various issues. >> he's pretty good. >> he's good. but i've been in congress 14 years, and this is what we do, especially in the house. the senate, they don't debate as often and as frequently. that's all we do in the house, is we debate. i love debating. that's one of the things i like about this job.

>> really looking forward to that debate. >> yeah. >> it's going to be exciting. all right, gloria. thanks very, very much. three presidential debates, one vice presidential debate. >> can't wait. >> all right. and meanwhile, vice president joe biden is counter attacking. he's lashing out at republican vice presidential nominee paul ryan about his remarks about closing of an auto plant, a gm auto plant, in wisconsin. also, obama revealed. our own jessica yellin sits down with the president's closest advisers and friends. we're going to tell you what the chicago mayor, rahm emanuel, has to say about his former boss. and how much trouble -- how much trouble could republican strategist karl rove face for his shocking comment that congressman todd akin of missouri might be found, quote, mysteriously murdered? i'll ask our senior political analyst, ron brownstein. he's been looking into this story for us as well.

the republican vice presidential nominee, paul ryan, went to a football game today between ohio state and his alma mater, miami of ohio. not good news for paul ryan. miami of ohio was crucrush ed by ohio state, 16-10. not a happy day in the world of football for miami of ohio fans, or paul ryan. paul ryan later joined mitt romney in jacksonville, florida, another another campaign stop. indeed, at every stop, he's been hammering away at president obama on the economy. and that was certainly a theme of paul ryan's very effective speech over at the republican convention. certainly fired up the crowd, but did he play loose with the facts in blaming president obama for america's red ink? i asked congressman ryan about that and more. listen to this. the debt problem, the trillions and trillions of dollars, didn't just start with the obama

administration. >> absolutely not. >> there's plenty of blame to go around. >> plenty of blame to go around. >> during the bush administration, it doubled. >> yeah. so, i've been saying that for years. all i would say is, president obama made it worse. the debt went up $5.5 trillion in the obama years. more to the point, this crisis is coming closer -- it's already hitting europe. and president obama has had four budgets and four times, he avoided tackling the problem. the senate hasn't passed a budget for three years. that's the opposite of leadership and mitt romney's going to provide the kind of leadership we need to get this kind of thing under control. >> i know i have a limited amount of time. a couple of things from your speech last night, erskine bowles and the bowles/simpson commission. you were a member of that. you criticized the president for saying he rejected the recommendations, yet you rejected the recommendations as well. >> and in the next paragraph in my speech, i said, we offered alternatives. so if you don't like this idea, offer your own. that's what we did in the house. what i did was, i took what we thought were the best ideas from bowles/simpson and added other ideas to it is and passed it.

president obama did none of that. president obama said, i don't like this plan, and then offered nothing in return. >> well, he did come close with the deal with john boehner. they were negotiating -- >> that wasn't even close to fixing the problem. it was a small or is medium-sized deal -- look, cutting a backroom deal that gives you plausible didn't is not leadership. offering a plan, submitting a budget to congress that fixes the problem, that's leadership. and we haven't seen it for four years from president obama. >> now, the gm plant in janesville, you're getting some grief on that. do you want to revise or amend -- >> no, i don't want to revise -- >> -- what you said. just to remind our viewers, you said that the president came there, and he did come there, in february of 2008, and he said, you know, if the government takes action, you guys will have a plant here for a hundred years. but they announced that plant was shutting down in june of 2008. that was during the bush administration. >> well, it's still idle. the point is, this is a story of the obama economy.

a man running for president in 2008, making all these grand promises, and then none of them occurring. he got elected, he put his policies in place, and the plant is still shut down. my friends who i went to high school with -- >> but that was a decision general motors made. >> i'm not saying it was his decision, i'm saying he comes and makes tse promises and makes these commitments and sells people on the notion that he's going to make all these great achievements and then none of them occur. these are empty promises that become broken promises and that's the sry of the obama economy. he said he was going to cut the deficit in half in four years. we're nowhere close. he said unemployment if he passes stimulus would never go above 8%. it's been above 8% ever since. what we have here is a man who ran for president with grandiose plans and promises, great rhetoric, none of the results. >> but you were with him when he saved the auto industry, though. you supported that legislation. >> yeah, i voted for the bill in the house, which would have prevented t.a.r.p. from being used for auto -- this is under the bush administration. >> right. >> i didn't like the idea of t.a.r.p. being used, so i voted

for a bill which would have prevented t.a.r.p. from being used, which is open-ended. we're now $25 billion and counting in lost taxpayer dollars. i voted for a bill, which would have far more minimized that. but president obama and president bush used t.a.r.p. for it. >> paul ryan speaking with me on thursday, in tampa. and while ryan is sticking to his comments about the gm plant closure in wisconsin, the vice president joe biden says republicans aren't being honest about that plant and about the auto bailout. listen to this from a meeting with united auto workers in ohio. >> much of what they did tell you wasn't on the level. you heard congressman ryan on wednesday night, in a stirring speech, blame the closing of a gm plant in his hometown of janesville on the president of the united states. folks, let's look at the facts. the one thing the congressman was right about, and i know from

my own community, of the two plants closed in delaware, it was devastating for the people in this community. but what he didn't tell you is the plant in janesville actually closed when president bush was still in office! he didn't tell you that. what they didn't say, but for the sacrifices you all made and the courage of the president of the united states, all those gm plants would be closed. here, all across the country. 200,000 auto workers who have been added to the rolls since reorganization would not be working. we would have lost a million jobs. gm wouldn't have been reorganized. it would have been liquidate ed along with chrysler. and as chairman of the board of ford motor company personally told me, and said publicly, without the reorganization plan

we put forward, ford would have been devastated as well. because the supply chain would have dried up. what they didn't say, what they didn't say at their convention is because the auto rescue, there are 4,500 of you working here and making a decent wage. >> vice president biden, by the way, will be making campaign stops tomorrow in pennsylvania and wisconsin. he arrives here in charlotte on tuesday. much more of the news in charlotte coming up here. we're standing by. we're going to assess about what's to happen over the next few days as a lot of democrats gear up for this convention. but there's other news we're following as well. we'll update you on south africa's president. he's given an ultimatum if murder charges aren't dropped by tomorrow for dozens of protesters. and a stadium tragedy. what exactly was going on when a football fan fell to his death? what was that fan doing? we have the tragic details. .

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much more on the democratic convention here in charlotte coming up, but let's check in with lisa sylvester. she's monitoring some of the other stories in "the situation room" right now. what's going on, lisa? >> reporter: well, south africa's justice minister is demanding to know why 270 platinum miners are being charged with the murder of 34 colleagues, believed to have been shot by police during a strike. south african law allows the charges since the miners were involved in that clash. the miners' lawyers call the murder charges inconceivable and they are now demanding that south african president jacob zuma drop those charges. and a 20-year-old man fell to his death at atlanta's

georgiadome during the game between north carolina state and tennessee. investigators say he plunged from the stadium's upper level, landing on top of another man. he suffered minor injuries. witnesses say the victim was pumping his fists after a tennessee touchdown when he went over the side. and a new version of a children's tv's classic debuts tomorrow on pbs. "daniel tiger's neighborhood," it's inspired by the "mr. rogers' neighborhood" and the iconic fred rogers that died almost a decade ago. the new series is animated and includes characters from the original series, including daniel tiger, who you can see there, wears a red sweater just like mr. rogers did. a lot of us grew up with mr. rogers, the original, so this is for a new generation, wolf. >> happy, happy for the new generation, lisa. thanks very much. so here's a question. why did the democrats choose charlotte, north carolina for their national convention? we're going to update you on what's going on here. and the practical joke that made ann romney declare her sons

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president obama is on the road, firing up democrats. he's in iowa right now. he's scheduled to speak in sioux city in a little while. cnn's athena jones is traveling with the president. she's joining us now live. set the scene for us a little bit, athena. what's going on on the road to charlotte. he's coming here in a few days. >> reporter: that's right. he's about to speak in a few minutes, after secretary of agriculture, vilsack, speeches. but he started off today in urbanda urbandale, just outside of des moines. this is the road to charlotte, a series of events leading up to the democratic national convention. and earlier today, he got really fired up by what was a pretty sizable crowd. a fire department official said that the crowd there was about 10,000. let's listen in to what he had to say at that earlier event. >> we got a lot more work to do. we got a lot more work to do.

we've got more good jobs to create. we've got more homegrown energy to create. we've got more young people to send to college. we've got more good teachers to hire. and we've got more good schools to build. we've got more troops we've got to bring home. we've got more veterans we've got to take care of. we've got more doors of opportunity to open, to every, single american who's willing to work hard and we're through them. we've come too far to turn back now. >> reporter: now, i should mention, wolf, this is the president's third trip to iowa in three weeks. it's just a sign of how thahard they're working to keep this state in the democratic column in november. that number, six, is not a big number, but in a close race, every vote counts. and iowa has a real symbolic meaning for the president. it's what launched them, their successful bid for the white house back in 2007 and 2008. one more point i should make,

the president for the first time publicly rebutted a little bit of what mitt romney had to say in his speech on thursday night. he criticized romney, saying he was short on new ideas. he criticized him for failing to mention afghanistan. and he gave a mini preview in what we can expect to hear from him in his own convention this coming thursday, saying he'll lay out a better plan forward that will strengthen the middle class. and that emphasis on the middle class, as you know, is not new. we heard this same theme back in 2008. but from the white house' point of view, this is a message that worked for them and they're hoping it will work for them again. wolf? >> and as james carville now says, it's the middle class, stupid. used to say, it's the economy, stupid. athena, thanks very much. let's dig a little deeper with ron brownstein, the editorial director of the national journal. he's heading from iowa, will be in ohio, colorado, heading to louisiana, to see what's going on as a result of hurricane isaac. with the exception of louisiana, these other states are really important. >> and it really embodies what

is the new strategic dynamic in presidential politics. there are now two sets of swing states that can bring you to 270 in the electoral college majority. historically, it was those monsters of the midway in the midwest. you've got iowa and ohio, and michigan and pennsylvania and wisconsin, that were kind of the tipping points of american politics. but now there's a second group of swing states across the sun belt, states that by changing demography have been brought to within reach of democrats. so the president's itinerary really reflects kind of the changing strategic dynamics and the two paths that they're simultaneously pursuing. >> louisiana is a critically important state, but not necessarily a swing state this time. that's pretty much in republican hands. why north carolina? why the did they pick charlotte? we're hearing charlotte already. why was charlotte picked for this convention? >> on the one hand, conventions are often in a reach state, for the party that's holding them. the republicans go to minnesota and pennsylvania. the democrats, last time, went to colorado, denver, a state

that was a reach for them in that election. but north carolina is really embodies how the changing demography have brought some of these sun belt states. obama, the first democrat to win it since '76, only the second since '64. and he won it because there are enough college-educated white voters, many transplants from the north, meck linberg county, only the second democrat since world war ii to carry mecklenburg county. and this is the kind of state they were hoping to put on the table, as well as influencing virginia, which is also competitive, and georgia, which is moving along the same continuum, but not quite there. big minority vote, growing college-educated white-collar white vote, and that is what's bringing this state within reach for democrats, even though this is still a difficult fight. >> let me turn to karl rove. this is causing some buzz out there. karl rove, the former bush political strategist, he was at a meeting with some republicans in tampa. a "businessweek" reporter overheard him saying, as far as todd akin, the republican

senatorial candidate, everybody's concerned, the republican leadership want him to drop out because of his remarks on rape and abortion, rove was quoted as saying, "we should sink todd akin. if he's found mysteriously murdered, don't look for my whereabouts." now, he was clearly joking and he called todd akin to apologize. todd akin tweeted, i appreciate the call from karl rove, and accept the apology. but others think that karl rove should be poisoned, should be dumped by fox news, shouldn't be allowed to be a political operative. even if he was joking about the murder of this republican conservative senatorial candidate, that's beyond the pale. >> karl rove is sitting on $300 million for the crossroads budget -- >> that super pac. >> that super pac. no one's putting him beyond the pale. political consultants think of themselves a little bit like gunslingers. they have this very exaggerated language. there was that ralph reed quote in the 1990s, i travel by night,

i paint my face, you don't know i was there until you wake up in a body bag, and he was the christian coalition guy. so there is this history. but it reflects two things, the fact that the republican establishment, of which rove has become the embodiment of in some ways, that they want akin out of the race. and there's enormous power in these outside groups. they have that $300 million budget, it's really hard to tell karl rove to go anywhere he doesn't want to go. >> i'm sure karl rove is not going anywhere. new issue of the national journal. excellent publication. you'll be with us here all week? >> hope so. we'll be here in charlotte. mitt romney's son, craig, had a parting gift for one of his brothers after the republican convention. josh romney tweeted, and i'm quoting, now, craig give me a little shock by sticking this thing down the back of my pants while saying bye in tampa. brothers. their mother, ann, found out about it from reporters.

listen. >> have you seen the tarantula bug that craig put in josh's pants? >> no! >> josh tweeted -- >> it's on twitter. >> my josh? >> your josh. >> my josh, my craig? sounds -- i've got to see that. >> sound like them? >> yes. >> they were hugging, and as a prank. >> put it down josh's pants. and they were talking about it. >> you look shocked. >> no, i -- they still haven't grown up yet. which is really terrific. i'm still proud of them. >> they still haven't grown up yet, you overheard. hard to hear, but you heard what she said about her sons. craig romney, by the way, tweeted his brother was, what -- let me quote, about two seconds away from dropping his pants when the bug finally wiggled out. the downside of the democratic convention. why life is about to get harder for some people right here in charlotte. but they have to use special care in keeping the denture clean.

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as thousands of people move into charlotte, north carolina, for this democratic convention, affordable rooms are clearly at a premium. and that means others are being forced to move out. joe johns is working the story for us. joe, what have you found out? >> well, wolf, it happened in tampa and now it's also happened in charlotte, north carolina. at least, apparently. whenever you have one of these huge events where a lot of people are coming to town, people who are on the edge, absolutely are the ones to suffer. in a tough economy, cheap motels are a refuge for homeless families. here in charlotte, the sunset inn typically offers them rooms

for $35 a night, but during the democratic national convention, the rate could skyrocket to $250. resident rosalinde curry says she can't afford it. >> think it's kind of ridiculous. i mean, but, what can i do about it? >> reporter: for the past two months, curry has been living in one of these small rooms with six other people, including her three kids. now she's forced to move out at a time when school is just starting. are your kids school-aged? >> one is. >> reporter: how are you going to work that? >> i have no clue. i don't know. i'm just planning it day by day. i know it's not smart, but i got to do what i've got to do. >> reporter: the manager at the sunset inn says he can't turn down the chance to cash in while prices are high. >> everybody's raising the price up, so why not me, you know? and it's not about homeless or anything else, but it's just like, we give them reasonable price, reasonable rates. and if they could afford it, they would stay.

>> i do get frustrated, from a personal level, because i don't feel that people should have a life that doesn't have dignity. >> reporter: during the dnc, karla leaf will help find beds for homeless families at places like the covenant presbyterian church. it's part of a network of charities that's been planning for this for weeks. >> ewith hope to have eight families here. >> reporter: the charities within the network, including the urban ministry center, try to work together, because it's so hard to predict how many beds they will need. >> we don't know numbers, which is part of our challenge. so we're preparing, as if there might be hundreds. we're hoping there'll be very few, if any. >> reporter: and it's made more difficult by the increase in the number of homeless families, which has exploded here recently. it went up 36% in 2010, another 21% in 2011. and moving from place to place takes a big toll on families with children. >> it's more than just inconvenient. most of these folks don't have their own transportation and in that room, they probably have

everything they own in the world. where are they going? how will they move that stuff? and where will that stuff be that it stays safe? >> reporter: if the motels drop their prices right after the convention ends, families could move back in next week, but darren ash of charlotte family housing says that still doesn't fix the real problem. >> this was just a small blip on the screen compared to the bigger issue we're facing here. so this democratic national convention is not really a huge deal for us. we're preparing for the overflow, but the bigger issue is that our spike in family homelessness caught us off guard in this city. >> reporter: so in case you're wondering what happened to rosalynn curry and her family, we gave her name to charlotte family housing and they found beds for all seven of her family members. so, apparently, wolf, they're not going to be out on the streets. >> let's hope they take care of all of these people. thanks very much, joe johns.

good report. behind the political partisanship, the chicago mayor, the former white house chief of staff, rahm emanuel, tells cnn that democrats are not to blame. stand by. ♪

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cnn's jessica interview id president obama for a documentary. she also spoke with some of his close ef aides. jessica? >> wolf, we looked at major event in the last three and half years, the president's time in office. one of the recurring themes is the partisanship in washington, especially meaningful because

candidate obama campaigned on a promise to heal some partisan divides. in an interview i asked former chief of staff emmanuel about this. he insist he believes republicans organized to oppose the president from day one. by opposing the stimulus bill or the so-called recovery act. >> do you think there was ever the possibility for it to be more bipartisan? >> well, how much more time we got left? let me say it this way, jessica. if someone walked in and said our number one goal is not to defeat the president but to create jobs, if your mode of oporandni, then sure. >> you no when a politics is, it is not surprising you wanted to do that. >> no. but actually jessica, two things. i understand that comes four years from now one will have a competition. in the midst of recession, when

some people are considering the great of the recession with two weeks left on the life blood of the auto industry, let me say it this way. two years before election 2008, did they tell george bush, this is your banking problem, not ours. i preb being in the room until 2:00 in the morning with paulson. we didn't dump it on him. he didn't say the number one goal was to win the white house, we said number one goal was to win the presidency. four months later with a country in the midst of a recession, auto industry with two weeks left on it and banking system on its back, they said, this is your problem and we're not going to be part of the solution. >> i also interviewed speaker boehner who forcefully disagrees. he says republicans were ready to work with president obama but disagreed on the stimulus on substance and also took issue with the president's style in the beginning. for the documentary we also interviewed many of the president's closest aides and

confidant, including former personal aid reggie love and david axelrod and valarie jarod. some of his closest advisors. i hope you'll watch. wolf? >> we certainly will, jessica. you can can see the full docksmentry, obama revealed, this monday night, 8:00 p.m. eastern, only here on cnn. something else is being revealed by the wlous. beer recipes, the presidential chef sam kass gives detailed instructions for the white house honey ale and honey porter on-line, after pressure from home brewers. can you find them on white house.gov. ♪ ♪

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the party conventions each have their own sound tracks. [ applause ] ♪ what can make me feel this way ♪ ♪ my girl, my girl, my girl

♪ talking about my girl republicans play the temptations "my girl" when mitt romney joined his wife, ann, on the stage in tampa. campaigns themselves sometimes come up with memorable jingles. we listened to some with doris goodwin. >> ike for president, ike for president, ike for president. ♪ you like ike, i like ike. everybody likes ike for president ♪ >> politics should be fun as well as serious business. and to the extent that we can share in part of that fun, i think we are better off with a chance for leadership to really do something. >>. ♪ get on the winning vote, a friendly smile will get the honest vote ♪ >> one of my faf favorite songs because it is such a crazy distance, is "get on the raft

with taft." now, he weighed 250 pounds. if you got on a raft, you wouldn't be on that raft for very long. what were they thinking? snets ♪ snz /* /- ♪ ♪ >> if he's good enough for lindy, he is good enough for me ♪ >> meaning he was backed by lindhburg. you know, if he is good enough for xx, he is good enough for me. ♪ skies are fair again ♪ >> supporters had such a sense of optimism of, if we can get into the leadership role, we will make things okay again, as tough as they seem. so how bizarre and yet perfect,

happy days are here again, becoming the roosevelt motto and song. because it made people really believe, if this guy gets in, things will be better. and indeed, it turned out to be true. ♪ happy days are here again ♪ ♪ skies are fair again ♪ remember nixon >> nixon's slogan throughout the 60s was, nixon's the one. it was a slogan, then a song. so the democrats would like it tease him at times. so in rallies, republican rallies, the democrats dressed up a series of maybe 20, 30, nones looking pregnant, and each carried a sign saying, nixon eat one. the idea of nixon impregnating nones is so hysterical that you can't be mad at it. it was something about the dirty