>> i think penn is auditioning for the role of clint eastwood. >> okay, penn jillette. >> i'll bring the empty chair. >> i don't care much about their biography. i want tow know what their plan is for the next four years. >> i think obama needs to lay out his agenda for a second term and we're still waiting on that. >> i think clint eastwood can come to both did i mentions. i'm sure he doesn't know where he is. >> i've got an idea. i suspect george clooney has been watching thinking, clinlt, you just blew it, i'm going to win the political oscar next week in charlotte. penn, tragically, we've run out of time. thank you all for a great panel, as always. i'll be back at our regular time tonight night on a special "piers morgan tonight ". candid conversations with chris

christie and condoleezza rice. for now, from tampa, good night and god bless america. hristie a. for now, from tampa, good night and god bless america. i accept your nomination for the presidency of the united states. >> this is america, a brilliant diversity, spread like stars, like a thousand points of light in a broad and peaceful sky.

>> i call on every american to rise above all that may divide us. >> they had their chance. they have not led. we will. >> fight with me. fight with me. fight for what's right for our country. >> announcer: this is cnn. >> this is the night mitt romney's been working toward for years. >> it certainly is, the republican national convention is about to declare him the party's nominee for president. >> mitt romney formally accepted his speech that had an awful lot riding on it. tonight we'll let you decide if he did. we'll be replaying his speech in full over the next hour. let's get started. >> mr. chairman and delegates, i accept your nomination for president of the united states.

[ applause ] i do so with humility, deeply moved by the trust that you have placed in me. it's a great honor and an even greater responsibility and tonight i'm asking you to join me to walk together to a better future and by my side i've chosen a man with a big heart from a small town. he represents the best of america, a man who will always make us very proud, my friend and america's next vice president, paul ryan.

in the days ahead, you're going to get to know paul and janna better. i saw a strong and caring leader, confident in the moment that this demands and i love the way he lights up around his kids and how he's not afraid to show the world how much he loves his mom. but, paul, i still like the play list on my ipod better than yours. four years ago, i know that many americans felt a fresh excitement about the possibilities of a new president, and that choice was not the choice of our party, but americans always come together after elections, and we are a

good and generous people, and we are united by so much more than what divides us. when that election was over, when the yard signs came down and the television commercials timely came off of the air, americans were eager to go back to work to live our lives the way that americans always have, optimistic and positive and confident in the future. that very optimism is uniquely american. it is what brought us to america. we are a nation of immigrants with children and grandchildren and great grandchildren who wanted a better life. the driven ones, and the ones who woke up in the middle of the night telling them that the life in the place called america could be better.

they came not just in pursuit of the riches of this world, but for the richness of this life. freedom, freedom of religion, freedom to speak their mind, freedom to build a life, and yes, freedom the build a business with their own hands. this is the essence of the american experience. we americans have always felt a special kinship with the future when every new wave of immigrants looked up and saw the statue of liberty or knelt down and kissed the shores of freedom just 90 miles from castro's tyranny, these new americans surely had many questions, but none doubted that here in america they could build a better life. that in america, their children would be blessed more than they. but today, four years from the excitement of that last election, for the first time, the majority of americans now doubt that our children will have a better future. it is not what we were promised.

every family in america wanted this to be a time to get a little hahead, puts a side a little more for college and do more for the elderly mom who is now living alone or give a little more to the church tor charity, and every small business wanted these to be the best years ever to hire more, do more for those who had stuck with them through the hard times and open up a new store or sponsor that little league team. and every new college graduate thought they'd have a good job by now and a place of their own and start paying back the loans and build for the future. this is when the nation was supposed to be paying down the national debt and rolling back the massive deficits. this was the hope and change that america voted for. it is not just what we wanted, it is not just what we expected, but it is what americans deserved. [ applause ]

[ applause ] >> you deserved it because during these years you worked harder than ever before, and you deserved it because when it cost more to fill up your car, you cut out lights and worked longer hours and when you lost that job with $22 and benefits you worked two jobs at $9 an hour. [ crowd chanting "usa" ]

>> you deserve it, because your family depended on you and you did it because you're an american, and you don't quit. you did it because it is what you had to do. driving home late from the second job or standing there watching the gas pump hit $50 and still going, when the realtor told you that to sell your house you'd have to take a big loss, and in those moments you knew that it just was not right, but what could you do except work harder, do with less, try to stay optimistic and hug your kids a little longer and maybe spend more time praying that tomorrow would be a better day. i wish president obama had succeeded, because i want america to succeed. but his promises gave way to

disappointment and division. this is not something that we have to accept. now is the moment when we can do something, and with your help, we will do something. now is the moment when we can stand up and say, i'm an american. i make my destiny, and we deserve better and my children deserve better, my family deserves better, my country deserves better. [ applause ] more of mitt romney's acceptance speech right after the break. why should saturday night have all the fun? get two times the points on dining in restaurants, with chase sapphire preferred. to find you a great deal, even if it's not with us.

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let me be clear, our problem with president obama isn't that he's a bad person. okay? by all accounts, he, too, is a good husband and a good father and thanks to lots of practice a good golfer. our problem is not that he's a bad person. our problem is that he's a bad president. [ applause ] >> senator marco rubio. more of romney's speech now. so here we stand. americans have a choice a decision to make that choice you will need to know more about me and where i'd lead our country. i was born in the middle of the century in the middle of the country, the classic baby

boomer. it was a time when americans were returning from war, and eager to work. to be an american was to assume that all things were possible. when president kennedy challenged americans to go to the moon, the question wasn't if we'd get there, but it was only when we'd get there. the souls of neil armstrong's boots on the moon made permanent impressions on our souls and ann and i watched the steps together on her parent's sofa and like all americans, we went to bed that night knowing that we lived in the best country in the history of the world. god bless neil armstrong. tonight that american flag is

still there on the moon, and i don't doubt for a second that neil armstrong's spirit is still with us, that unique blend of optimism, humility and the utter confidence that when the world needs someone to do the really big stuff, you need an american. my dad had been born in mexico and his family had to leave during the mexican revolution. i grew up with stories of his family being fed by the u.s. government as war refugees and my dad never made it through college and he apprenticed as a carpenter. he had big dreams and he convinced my mom, a beautiful young actress to give up hollywood to marry him and move to detroit.

he led a great -- [ applause ] -- he led a great automobile company and became governor of the great state of michigan. we were mormons and growing up in michigan that might have seemed unusual or out of place, but i really don't remember it that way. my friends cared more about what sports teams we followed than what church we went to. my mom and dad gave their kids the greatest gift of all, the gift of unconditional love. they cared deeply about who we would be and much less about what we would do. unconditional love is a gift that ann and i have tried to

pass on to our sons and now to our grandchildren. all of the laws and the legislation in the world will never heal the world like the loving hearts and arms of mothers and fathers. you know, if every child could drift to sleep feeling rapt in the love of the family and god's love, this world would be a far more gentle and better place. my mom and dad were married for 64 years. and if you wondered what their secret was, you could have asked the local florist. because every day dad gave mom a rose which he put on her bedside table. that's how she found out what happened on the day my father

died. she went looking for him, because that morning, there was no rose. my mom and dad were true partners. a life lesson that shaped me by everyday example. when my mom ran for the senate my dad was there for her every step of the way. i can still see her saying in her beautiful voice, why should women have any less say than men about the great decisions facing our nation. don't you wish you could have been here at this convention and heard leaders like governor mary fallon and governor nikki haley and governor suzanne martinez and secretary of state condoleezza rice? as governor of massachusetts, i

chose a woman lieutenant governor, a woman chief of staff, half of my cabinet and senior officials were women. and in business i mentored and supported great women leaders who went on to run great companies. i grew up in detroit and in love with cars and i wanted to be a car guy like my dad, but by the time i was out of school, i realized that i had to go out on my own and if i stayed around michigan in the same business, i'd never really know if i were getting a break because of my dad. i wanted to go someplace new and prove myself. those weren't the easiest of days. many long hours and weekends working, and five young sons who seemed to have this need to reenact a different world war

every night. but if you ask ann and i what we'd give to break up just one more fight between the boys or wake up in the morning and discover a pile of kids asleep in our room, and well, every mom and dad knows the answer to that. those days where -- [ applause ] -- these were tough days on ann particularly. she was heroic through it all. five boys with our families a long way away and i had to travel a lot for my job then and i'd call to try to offer some support, but every mom knows that doesn't help get the homework done or get the kids out the door to school. and i knew that her job as a mom

was harder than mine and i knew without question that her job as a mom was a lot more important than mine. and as america saw tuesday night, ann would have succeeded at anything she wanted to do. like a lot of families in a new place with no family, we found kinship with a wide circle is of friends through our church. when we were new to the community, it was welcoming and as the years went by, it was a joy to help others who had just moved into town or just joined our church. we had remarkably vibrant and diverse congregations from all walks of life and many who were new to america. we prayed together, and our kids played together, and we always stood ready to help each other

out in different ways. that is how it is in america. we look to our communities, our faiths, our families for our joy, our support in good times and bad. it is both how we live our lives and why we live our lives. the strength and power and goodness of america has always been based on the strength and the power and the goodness of our communities and our families and our faiths. that's the bedrock of what makes america, america. in our best days we can feel the vibrancy of america's communities large and small and when we see the new business opening up downtown and go to work in the morning and see everybody else on the block doing the same thing. it is when our son or daughter calls from college to talk about which job offer they should take and you try not to choke up when

you hear that the one they like best is not too far from home. it is that good feeling when you have more time to volunteer to coach your kids' soccer teams or help out on school trips burk for too many americans, those kind of good days are harder to come by and how many days have you woke up feeling that something special was happening in america? many of you felt that way on election day four years ago. hope and change had a powerful appeal, but tonight i ask a simple question, if you felt that excitement when you voted for barack obama, shouldn't you feel that way now that he is president obama? you know, there is something wrong with the kind of job he has done as president when the best feeling you had was the day you voted for him. >> mitt romney was said to be writing his speech all week. more now after the break. great shot.

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we own this country. [ applause ]

thank you. thank you. yes, we own it. and it's not you owning it or politicians owning it. politicians are employees of ours. they are just going to come around and beg for votes every few years. it's the same old deal. but i think it's important that you realize that you're the best in the world and whether you're democrat or whether you're a republican or whether you're libertarian or whatever, you're the best and we should not ever forget that. and when somebody does not the job, we've got to let them go. [ applause ] >> actor and director clint eastwood turned out to be the mystery speaker, all part of the buildup to the main event,

romney's highly anticipated acceptance speech. here's more of it. >> the president hasn't disappointed you because he wanted to. he has disappointed you because he has not lead in the right direction. he took the presidency in a way that one that is essential, he had no experience at hand. all of his experience was in the government. i learned the real lessons about how america works from experience. and when i was 37, i helped to start a small company and my partners and i had been working for a company that was in the business of helping other businesses. and so some of us had this idea that if we really believed that our advice was helping companies, we should invest in companies, and we should bet on ourselves and our advice.

so we started a new business called bain capital. the only problem was that while we believed in ourselves, not many other people did. we were young and had never done this before, and we almost didn't get off of the ground. in those days sometimes i wondered if i had made a really big mistake. and by the way, i thought about asking for my church's pension fund to invest, but i didn't. i figured it was bad enough that i might lose any investor's money, but i didn't want to go to hell, too. [ applause ] shows what i know. another of my partners got the episcopal church's pension fund to invest, and today there are a lot of retired priests who should thank him. that business we started with

ten people has now grown into a great american success story and some of the companies we helped start are some you have heard from tonight. and some of them are the staples, where i'm pleased to know that the obama campaign has been shopping. and the sports authority, which, of course, became a favorite of my boys. and we helped start an early childhood learning company called bright horizons that first lady michelle obama rightly praised and at a time when nobody thought that we would see a new steel mill built in america, we took a chance and built one in the cornfield of indiana. today, steel dynamics is one of the largest steel producers in the united states. these -- these are american success stories.

and yet at the centerpiece of the president's entire re-election campaign is attacking success. is it any wonder that someone who attacks success has led the worst economic recovery since the great depression? [ applause ] in america, we celebrate success. we don't apologize for success. [ applause ] now -- now, we weren't always successful at bain. but no one ever is in the real world of business. that is what this president doesn't seem to understand. business and growing jobs is about taking risks, sometimes

failing, and sometimes succeeding but always striving. it is about dreams. usually it does not work out exactly as you might have imagined. steve jobs was fired at apple. and then he came back and changed the world. it is the genius of the american free enterprise system to harness the extraordinary creativity and talent and industry of the american people with a system that is dedicated to creating tomorrow's prosperity, not trying to redistribute today's. [ applause ] that's why every president since the great depression who came before the american people asking for a second term could look back at the last four years and say with satisfaction that

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mitt romney made his speech on why he should be president of the united states. take a look. >> this president can ask us to be patient. this president can tell us it was someone else's fault, and this president can tell us that the next four years he'll get it right, but this president cannot tell us that you are better off today than when he took office. america has been patient. americans have supported this president in good faith. but today, the time has come to turn the page. today the time has come for us to put the disappointments of the last four years behind us and to put aside the did i vice

sifness and the rediscriminations and to forget about what might have been and to look ahead to what can be and now is a time to restore the promise of america. many americans have given up on this president, but they haven't ever thought about giving up, not on themselves, not on each other, and not on america. what is needed in our country today is not complicated or profound. it doesn't take a special government commission to tell us what america needs. what america needs is jobs, lots of jobs. in the richest country in the history of the world, this obama economy has crushed the middle-class. family income has fallen by $4,000, but health insurance premiums are higher and food prices are higher.

utility bills are higher. gasoline prices have doubled. today more americans wake up in poverty than ever before. nearly 1 of 6 americans is living in poverty. look around you. these are not strangers. these are our brothers and sisters, our fellow americans. his policies have not helped to create jobs, but depressed them. this i can tell you where president obama would take america. his plan to raise taxes on small business won't add jobs, it would eliminate them. his assault on coal and gas and oil will send energy and manufacturing jobs to china. his trillion dollar cuts to the military will eliminate hundreds of thousands of jobs and also put our security at greater risk.

his $716 billion cut to medicare to finance obama care will both hurt today's seniors and depress innovation and jobs in medicine. and his $1 trillion deficits, they slow the economy, restrain employment and cause the wages to stall. for a majority of the americans who now believe that the future is going to be better than the past, i guarantee you this, if barack obama is re-elected, you'll be right. i'm running for president to help create a better future, and a future where everyone who wants a job can find a job. why where no senior feels for the -- fears for the security of

their retirement. an america where every parent knows that their child will get an education that leads them to a good job and a bright horizon, an unlike the president, i have a plan to create 12 million new jobs. [ applause ] paul ryan and i have five steps. first by 2020, north america will be energy independent by taking full advantage of our oil, our gas, our coal, our nuclear and our renewables. second, we will give our fellow citizens the skills they need for the jobs of today and the careers of tomorrow. when it comes to the school your child will attend, every parent should have a choice and every

child should have a chance. third, we'll make trade work for america by forging new trade agreements and when nations cheat in trade, there will be unmistakable consequences. and fourth, to assure every entrepreneur and every job creator that their investments in america will not vanish as have those in greece, we will cut the deficit and put america on track to a balanced budget. [ applause ] and fifth, we will champion small businesses, america's

engine of job growth and that means reducing taxes on businesses, not raising them. and it means modifying the regulations that hurtle small businesses the most. and we must rein in the skyrocketing costs of health care by replacing obama care. today women are more likely than men to start a business, and they need a president who respects and understands what they do. and let me make this very clear. unlike president obama, i will not raise taxes on the middle class of america.

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mr. president, it is time to stop blaming your predecessor for your failed policies. >> jeb bush made a crucial vote with 29 electoral votes. here's the rest of mr. romney's speech. >> president obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans -- and to heal the planet.

my promise is to help you and your family. [ applause ] i will begin my presidency with a jobs tour. president obama began his presidency with an apology tour, and an america who he said dictated to other nations, and no, mr. president, america has freed other nations from dictators.

every american -- [ crowd chanting "usa" ] -- every american was relieved the day that president obama gave the order and s.e.a.l. team six took out osama bin laden. on another front every american is less secure today because he has failed to slow iran's nuclear threat. in his first tv interview as president he said that we should talk to iran. we are still talking, and iran's

centrifuges are still spinning. president obama has thrown allies like israel under the bus even as he has relaxed sanctions on castro's cuba, and he abandoned the friends in poland by walking away from the missile defense commitments, and he is eager to give russia's president putin the flexibility that he desires after the election. under my administration, our friends will see more loyalty and mr. putin will see a little less flexibility and more backbone. we will honor america's democratic ideals, because a free world is a more peaceful world.

this is the bipartisan foreign policy legacy of truman and reagan and under my presidency, we will return to it once again. you might have asked yourself if these last years are really the america we want. the america that was won for us by the greatest generation. does the america we want borrow $1 trillion from china? does it fail to find the jobs that are needed for 23 million people and for half of the kids graduating from college? are those schools lagging behind the rest of the developed world? and does the america we want succumb to resentment and division among americans?

the america we all know has been a story of the many becoming one, and uniting to preserve liberty and uniting to build the greatest economy the world, and uniting to save the world from unspeakable darkness and everywhere i go in america, there are monuments that list those who have given their lives for america. there's no mention of their race, their party affiliation or what they did for a living. they lived and died under a single flag fighting for a single purpose. they pledged allegiance to the united states of america. that america, that united america can unleash an economy that will put americans back to work, that will once again lead the world with innovation and productivity and will restore

every father and mother's confidence that their children's future is brighter even than that of the past. that america, that united america will preserve a military so strong that no nation would ever dare to test it. that america, that america that united america will uphold the constellation of rights that were codified in the constitution. that united america will care for the poor and the sick, will honor and respect the elderly and give a helping hand to those in need, and that america is the best within each of us. that america we want for our children. if i'm elected president of these united states, i will work

with all of my energy and soul to restore that america, to lift our eyes to a better future, and that future is our destiny. that future is out there. it is waiting for us. our children deserve it. our nation depends on it. and the peace and the freedom of the world require it, and with your help we will deliver it. let us begin that future for america tonight. thank you so very much. may god bless you. may god bless the american people, and may god bless the united states of america. [ male announcer ] whether it's kevin's smartphone... mom's smartphone... dad's tablet... or lauren's smartphone... at&t has a plan built to help make families' lives easier.

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that's it for this hour. our coverage from tampa continues. >> thanks, wolf, anderson. good evening and welcome to the cnn grill which is absolutely buzzing tonight. john king and gloria borger.

mitt romney's amazing moment, the hugs and balloons and speech of his life. how did he do? the candidate talking about his faith, his family, and making out his case against president obama. >> i wish president obama had succeeded because i want america to succeed. [ applause ] but as promises gave way to disappointment and division, this isn't something we have to accept. now is the moment when we can do something and with your help we will do something. now is the moment when we can stand up and say, i'm an american. i make my destiny.

we deserve better. my children deserve better. my family deserves better. my country deserves better. >> mitt romney's big speech, let's be honest, what everyone here is talking about is hollywood legend clint eastwood talking to, of all things, an empty chair. >> what do you want me to tell romney? i can't tell him to do that. can't do that to himself. you're absolutely crazy. you're getting as bad as biden. >> if you're wondering where clint eastwood got that crazy

idea, well, it all looked a bit familiar today at "piers morgan tonight." so if you want somebody to blame, i can blame me. here to talk about it is john king and gloria borger. we have an empty chair of our own. clint's hollywood friend jon voight, i'd love to hear what he has to say. >> i'd like him to talk to that empty chair. >> to me, what most people are talking about right now, john, was clint eastwood. didn't completely self implode, was it hilarious comedy? >> the fact that we are talking about it on mitt romney's big night tells you that it was a distraction. inside the hall, people thought it was funny. if you're watching at home, if you don't like barack obama, you probably thought it was funny and scathing. if you like the president, you probably found that offensive and disrespectful. this is supposed to be about that small number of people that are undecided.

i think it's a questionable call to begin the biggest hour on your biggest night on something that was strange. >> gloria, what we discovered later, he was supposed to speak for five minutes, he went on for at least 12 minutes and he was ad libbing. >> have you ever had a crazy uncle or that kind of thing? >> wolf said earlier he found it embarrassing. did you find it embarrassing? >> i did. i think it was rambling and i think it was a real mistake by the romney campaign. i don't understand how they could really let that happen. you can't exactly give him the hook but you have to set parameters. i think it set him behind schedule. i don't think this would work. so i think it struck a really bad note and i guarantee you that the candidate himself wasn't pleased. >> and let's turn to mitt romney's speech. success, how do you rate it?

>> it's a very close race. you have to understand, success is in the eye of the beholder. again, what was the biggest challenge? number one is to convince people that president obama has had his chance and he has failed. i think that governor romney made a very sustained case against that. now f. you're a supporter of the president, you won't buy that. but maybe even an obama voter who is not quite so sure, he probably made a convincing case, at least listen to me. he was not very specific and james carville didn't say anything about cutting taxes and regulation. did he convince people that he has the new plan to create jobs? i'm not so sure about that. did he make a very good case that barack obama came to office with lofty rhetoric and huge promises? shouldn't you be disappointed? i think he made that a convincing case. >> i thought it was about as good as mitt romney can make a

speech. >> that's a book backhanded compliment but, yeah, i mean, he was trying to tell a story which is, as we've talked about before, he hasn't really done. and he was really trying to walk this fine line. he wanted to convince republicans, okay, get out there and vote for me but also these persuadable voters who voted for barack obama in 2008, they are focused on those people and i'm sorry he didn't succeed so you'll have to give me a shot. >> john, gloria, this is the start, as we say, the real campaign, we all feel. i can't get enough of clint eastwood's conversation with that empty chair. here is a little bit more of it as i go over to the romney camp.

enjoy this we lost it. let's go over here. are. >> okay. we're in a bar, nobody cares. now, you are one of mr. romney's key people. be honest, when you were watching clint eastwood doing his thing, were you gulping for air? were you palpitating? were you wondering, what the hell is dirty harry doing up there? >> to make a serious point, that's the 23 million americans are out of work and it's a very big deal and it's time for a change. >> come on, gail. >> he ad libbed. look, you can't look at clint eastwood through the same political lens that you would other politicians. he's clint eastwood. >> if you wake up tomorrow and

all of the headlines are clint eastwood goes bunkers, that's not good for you, is it? >> they won't be and i'll tell you why. mitt romney had a killer speech tonight. he talked about his positive vision for the country and wants to successfully and very effectively prosecuted the case against barack obama and talks about what is important to him. so that's what americans want to hear. we have the obligation to talk

about the big differences between our campaign and what president obama has done and when you look at what mitt romney wants to do, he wants to have a stronger middle class with more jobs and take-home pay compared to what this president has done with the 23 million americans struggling to find work. >> i've got to be honest, i rather enjoyed the speech. i've seen twitter, some people loved it and i thought he did a solid job they are 70 days left. where we'll go from tampa is to all of the targeted states and we'll take the same message. we will continue to contrast governor romney's positive mission. americans are not happy with the way that this president has run the country. they think that he's lacking leadership. so we're going to continue to show that mitt romney and paul ryan are going to be more jobs, hire take-home pay and we're going to get federal spending under control. >> finally, one word answer, who made the better speech? mitt or ann romney? >> mitt. >> i don't think you mean that. >> she was wonderful. >> it's a good night for you and the romney campaign.

nice to see you. we'll be back right after this break. >> a lot of conservative people have been in hollywood. in fact, some of them are around town. i saw jon voight. there's a lot of people around town. john zeer, academy award winner, terrific guy. and a choice. take advil, and maybe have to take up to four in a day. or take aleve, which can relieve pain all day with just two pills. good eye.

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welcome back. it's complete madness but i like it that way.

i've been joined by a romney surrogate women policy committee. did mitt romney do it for you with women tonight? has he resonated? >> yes, absolutely the whole convention with the women of america. for me what i loved the most is he talked about his mother and mother running for office and how much that meant to him. i thought that was great. >> also, i've been through that a few times. >> what i love about the romney campaign, women should be whatever they want to be and the bad economy should decide and if she wants to be a lawyer, great. >> if a woman wants to have an abortion, mitt romney doesn't want to have one? >> mitt is not as strict as the platform. the platform has been a discussion.

mitt's goal is a very noble goal. whether you're pro choice like i am or pro life like mitt, we should find a way to reduce the abortions in a year. >> overall, happy with the speech? >> yes, absolutely. >> mary, good to see you. >> thank you. >> the best man here in tampa to discuss clint eastwood's crazy speech, jon voight. how are you, sir? >> how are you, piers? >> you know clint well. what do you think about tonight? >> well, it depends on which side you are on for all of this. if you're on the left, you're going to find negatives about the night. if you're on the conservative side, you're going to enjoy all of the things as they intended. for me, first of all, it was a tremendous thing for him to show up.

he's a guy that doesn't do a lot of public speaking and he's kind of a shy fella. but he showed up and it was a tremendous thing and for the people who love clint, like i got some texts, clint's the man from young guys i know. >> i got a few tweets saying, what on earth is clint eastwood up to? he's gone completely crackers? >> well, it was very entertaining for the people that were there and there were jokes in it and the clint eastwood -- that kind of edge that he had in dirty harry, a lot of people wouldn't find it funny but he said make my day either. so it became a signature performance and signature moment in all of the film and that's what it was like up there. only clint could do what he did. >> five minutes of that was scripted and the other seven minutes was ad lib. pretty dangerous to do that, isn't it? >> exactly dangerous and then i say, bravo, man. that's the greatest. >> what do you think dirty harry would do? >> yeah. he's really going for it. >> how do you think mitt romney

did tonight? >> i think he was wonderful tonight. look, as i say, it's always this way. the people on the left are going to try to find some holes in it. i think he was very clear and i think it was an elegant speech and i think it covered what needed to be covered and crescendo and from what people have seen tonight and through this evening you see this man as a tremendously couple passionate man. compassionate man. he's a leader. he was very moving. this love story with he and ann is very touching. he's a guy that gets things done, no doubt. he takes charge and he gets people to be at their best and i think that showed tonight and he did -- the speech was very clear, very nicely delivered and it was -- he was very presidential. >> 70 days left until the big election.

what's he going to do now? >> well, he's going to go back and do the work that he needs to do and the next big moment and, of course, there are all big moments, piers, because all eyes are upon this every step. but the next big moments will be the debates. >> jon voight, it's great to see you. standing up for clint eastwood. a great hollywood legend. great to see you. i'll be right back after a short break with more debate about the sensational night here at the gop convention. looking for a better place to put your cash? here's one you may not have thought of -- fidelity. now you don't have to go to a bank to get the things you want from a bank, like no-fee atms, all over the world. free checkwriting and mobile deposits. now depositing a check is as easy as taking a picture. free online bill payments. a highly acclaimed credit card with 2% cash back into your fidelity account. open a fidelity cash management account today and discover another reason serious investors are choosing fidelity.

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infinite possibilities. hope and change had a powerful appeal but tonight i'd ask a simple question. if you felt that excitement when you voted for barack obama, shouldn't you feel that way now

that he's president obama? you know there's something wrong with the kind of job he's done as president when the best feeling you had was the day you voted for him. >> mitt romney taking a shot at president obama. i want to bring in someone from the other side, debbie wasserman schultz. debbie, welcome. >> yes. >> the most testing and incentive, to put it mildly. let's talk about mitt romney's speech. i thought, to be fair, it's a pretty good, solid speech. what did you think? >> well, i think the fact that the most commentary following mitt romney's speech is about an empty chair says more about mitt romney than it does about barack obama. >> when you saw clint eastwood talking to a chair, were you jumping with delight? >> no, i actually thought it was a little sad. it was bewildering and sad. >> i'm a huge fan of him but i found it increasingly really uncomfortable. >> i thought it was a bizarre,

uncomfortable, unfortunate moment and, again, you know, all of the buzz after the mitt romney speech is about the empty chair and i think that's a real commentary on mitt romney, even though they have spent the entire week making this entire convention not about mitt romney but barack obama. >> let's talk about the real battle. mitt romney moves on from here. overall it's been a pretty successful week, despite all of the trials and tribulations of a storm and then mitt romney will go away, his wife made a good speech for him, he made a pretty good speech and it's game on now until november. what are the perils to the democratic party? what are the warning signals that you have to be alert to? >> well, i think we're going to have a great convention next week. one of the things that i think i

would just differ with you on on how they ended up at their convention this week because mitt romney said a whole lot, threw a lot at barack obama, even saying that everyone, including him was rooting for president obama to be successful when the night mitt romney won the florida primary, he said, you have to wonder what this election is really about, defeating barack obama. no one thinks that mitt romney or republicans have been rooting for barack obama to be successful. they've only cared about one job, his. and we're going to talk next week about president obama and how he's fought for america's jobs and taken us from where we were hemorrhaging 750,000 of those jobs and now we've had 29 straight jobs of job growth thanks to his policies and our convention, unlike this one, will be the most participatory in history.

>> are you grouping around hollywood, finding your own stars to speak or is that on the backburner now? >> are stars are the working class families and the people that will carry barack obama back to the white house for a second term on their soldiers. >> it's going to be hard neck week, i think, for barack obama. last time he ran on this huge campaign of open change and optimism. clearly the expectations have fallen quite substantially from those levels and people will say, you know what, he's done okay but actually there's a lot to criticize. i mean, unemployment is at a very unacceptable high now. it's over 8%. he's got to try to convince the american public to give him a chance. >> and i think he will. president obama has said, we've come a long way but we still have a ways to go. i think the american public recognizes president obama and we've made progress despite the republicans every step of the way have done everything they can to throw a wrench into the works, an obstacle in his path

and all the while proposing that what we should do is go back to the failed policies of the past that nearly crashed our economy and got us into this mess in the first place. that's the contrast. you'll see next week a dramatically different vision and view than we'll present and president obama will talk about, one that says we will build the economy from the middle class out and if you work hard and play by the rules that you should have an opportunity to be successful. and we shouldn't just focus on people who are already successful. >> i'm already seeing unpleasant attack ads, the same super pac ads that barack obama agreed to not get involved in. >> they operate on their own and -- what's unfortunate is -- >> accuses mitt romney of killing women, for example. >> you have a handful of billionaires on their side that are essentially trying to buy the white house. >> whether they admit it or not -- >> there's not any remote comparison between the third party -- >> there are a handful of

billionaires supporting mitt romney who would like to buy the white house and we're running a people-powered grassroots campaign. the average contribution to president obama's campaign is $50.23. 98% of our contributions are under 250 and we don't accept pac contributions or federal lobbyists. there's not anything remotely comparable to the way we run our campaigns and fund our campaigns and the way that the republicans do it. >> debbie, we can debate this further next week. >> i'm sure we will. >> in charlotte, north carolina. see you there. >> thank you. coming up, karl rove and why he's more powerful than ever. and americ"american idol" t hicked performed. ♪ ♪

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there's one person who cannot be ignored, karl rove. with me is craig unger, the author of the new book "boss rove." also, one of my favorite guests, comedian and bestselling author and extremely irritating man from time to time, penn jillette. let's start with you, craig, because big night for the republicans. a big week for the republicans. do you believe karl rove is still weaving his magic behind the scenes? >> i think one of the biggest stories here is really going on off camera. and we've had this narrative, this spectacle repeated again and again to thousands of reporters. dozens and dozens of

millionaires were being entertained by the romney campaign. they hid their badges so reporters would not know who they were. you have the casino magnet here who plans to give $100 million to the campaign. >> the democrats, even though president obama vowed never to get involved with super pacs has done a complete u-turn, he has his own super pac sometimes manned by the white house. isn't it as simple as that? >> it is as simple as that but the democrats -- why should the democrats fight with one hand behind their back? >> what about principle? what about saying we're not going to try to win this by -- that's a recipe -- you have david coke in the new york delegation saying he will give as much as $400 million. even wall street journal's own colleagues are saying isn't this a complete perversion of the electoral process? >> this whole issue of money and the elections and the ability to buy an election effectively

through super pacs, it makes me vomit that the american system has now gotten to this stage that the guy with the most billionaire secret backers in secret rooms can effectively buy an election. what do you think about that? >> well, can they effectively buy an election? we have people running for lower office that throw a ton of money in that still lose. we don't spend that much. we spend lesson the election than we do on frozen yogurt. you should have more say because you're on tv than someone else at home is also not fair. i think freedom of speech has to be freedom of speech even more rich people. >> so when the supreme court gave a green license to all of this, you were quite happy, were you, even though the effects surely, surely is that there will be an ever bigger corruption about the american process? >> i don't know -- if you don't have, that if you don't allow people to spend money, then incumbents always win. the only way you get press is to be an incumbent or to have money and i think the real test of someone who is a freedom of speech nut, like me, is if you mean freedom of speech for everyone. i have freedom of speech for the anti-abortion people, for all of the religious people and i believe in freedom of speech for everyone. i just think you can't just say that we have to -- i mean, money is speech and you've got to

allow that, too, i think. >> let me bring craig back in. there is an argument, if you believe in freedom of speech, then all of this should come under that. i don't agree with that. >> i think it's silly to think that karl rove doesn't get more voice than the average joe on the street. by contrast, john mccain spent 375 million. this is already well over a billion dollars and i think it's the political process. >> mr. unger, you're on tv and you're giving your point of view on tv and that is also not fair. you're on there because you wrote a book. i'm on tv because i happen to learn to juggle when i was 12 years old and piers is on tv for -- well, i'm sure good reasons. but we get to give our point of view and i think you can't say our point of view is more valid simply because we don't have a lot of money. >> if you look at the supreme court decision, he said it's to help the disadvantaged class. well, the coke brothers have $40 billion. >> any human beings on god's earth could possibly be. for now, craig unger, thank you very much.

this is already over a billion and it's completely corrupted that process. >> i feel that strongly, too. >> mr. unger, you're on tv and you're giving your point of view on tv and you're also on there because you wrote a book. i'm on tv because i happened to learn to juggle when i was 12 years old and piers was on tv for -- well, i'm sure good reasons. i don't think you can say our point of view is more valid simply because we don't have a lot of money. >> if you look at the supreme court decision, written by anthony kennedy, well, the coke brothers have $40 billion --

>> least disadvantaged as any human beings on the earth could possibly be. why don't you stick around for the panel, if you don't mind? >> yes. thank you. >> stick around. we need more of your explosive views. now, what happens when you mix strong political views with beer? we're going to come back with my all-star panel that have already been guzzling away in the cnn grill. ♪ energy is being produced to power our lives. while energy development comes with some risk, north america's natural gas producers are committed to safely and responsibly providing generations of cleaner-burning energy for our country, drilling thousands of feet below fresh water sources within self-contained well systems. and, using state-of-the-art monitoring technologies,

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unlike president obama, i will not raise taxes on the middle class of america. [ applause ] as president, i'll protect the sanctity of life, i'll honor the institution of marriage. and i will guarantee america's

first liberty the freedom of religion. >> mitt romney. just a few minutes ago. with me now, back with us, penn jillette and cnn contributor ben smith and reporter for the los angeles times and joel stein, time magazine columnist and -- i can't go through this so many times. there are too many titles and i'm getting 50,000 tweets and they are saying, are you going to drink any of this beer? what kind of damn brit are you? so just for the record, does it get any better for a columnist in the history of journalism than clint eastwood going bonkers on the stage? >> it was awesome.

he did it without a teleprompter or complete control of his bladder. >> ben smith, five minutes was agreed with the romney camp. he went on for 13 minutes and it was complete chaos. >> i think people are going to be talking about clint eastwood rather than mitt romney tomorrow. the whole convention was supposed to be about women of color representing this new young republican party and it it really -- it was dominated by this 82-year-old guy going a little bit off the rails. >> right. from the political point of it, be serious for a moment, no doubt that tomorrow's headlines on television around the world will not be mitt romney nails it. it will be, what the hell was mitt romney speaking? >> it was completely da-da. i mean, i don't know who from

the romney campaign authorized a man in his 80s to get up there for 15 minutes and talk to an empty chair. i mean, you did this the other night. >> clint eastwood, dirty hairy, watching my show and taking my ideas. >> why are you fringing? >> i think also the reason it was so tense-worthy for the romney campaign is they are the most button downed control campaign that i have ever seen. they do not allow a word off script and all of a sudden you have a guy, as soon as he went into guantanamo. >> so very respected news reporters are saying, you have romney advisers staring open-mouthed like statues wondering, what in the hell is he going to say next? >> when he first endorsed mitt romney in sun valley, that was much more -- it seemed to be much more terse and to the point and so maybe they were not

expecting that tonight. i don't think any of us were. >> penn, you were watching this. do you feel an utter sense of horror or -- >> no. no. no. no. no. there's a certain point where you've got to say, it's clint eastwood, let him do whatever he wants. if you came to me and said -- how much does someone have to do, piers, before you just give them a pass? who the hell are you to bad-mouth clint eastwood? i think the smartest thing, maybe the only good thing the republicans did, the only good thing they did, was to let him loose. if you said to me, clint eastwood wants to come and be on stage, i would say, let him do whatever he wants. it doesn't reflect on romney. it's just goofy, wild, beautiful, crazy. >> calm down. >> it's what the united states should be. >> the whole idea of him being defended by you is pretty ironic. however -- >> exactly. that's my point.

>> i love clint eastwood. people like wolf blitzer, tom brokaw, they are all feeling embarrassed. talk about the politics here. what would it do to the party's reputation that they unleashed clint eastwood tonight and he did what he did? >> i think these things are supposed to be very carefully scripted infommercials and messages to bring mitt romney as a young, new kind of head -- maybe not hip but certainly fresh face for the republican party. >> am i just an out of touch brit coming over here, trying to stick my nose and desecrating a great american icon? >> yes. >> you stay out of it penn. >> to say you're a famous movie actor, do whatever you want, i don't trust the guy. and then he goes crazy and makes look mitt look even more boring

than he is. there is no positive to that at all. >> tell me a positive about it. >> you watch this thing, can't take your eyes away from it. i think the real question is, how many people then from mitt romney's speech. a million people are tweeting about this. maybe it brought in more viewers. >> everyone tomorrow morning will be talking about the republican convention. >> it's true. it's true. >> and if mitt romney had gotten up and there had given a -- let's be honest t. was not an amazing speech. this is the most tepid that i've seen of a nominee's speech. >> the mere fact that the first segment we do as a panel is clint eastwood, not mitt romney, i think it's a disaster. when we come back after the break, i want to get into mitt romney's speech, hit or miss?

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welcome back to the cnn grill. it's nearly 1:00 a.m. on the east coast but we are still buzzing with energy and excitement. i'm back with meg and joel stein. let's talk about mitt romney because that's why we are here. ryan, did mitt romney do enough tonight, do you think, to satisfy not just the party but the outer world? >> i don't know. i don't think we'll know for a few days. mitt romney has been -- had to be lifted up by the other sort of all-stars of this party. marco rubio tonight who gave a good speech, best of the night, or whether it was jeb bush who gave a big speech and condi who the crowd really loved.

it reminded me of 2004 with the democratic side. they weren't really that excited about john kerry or barack obama. >> i'm getting a sense of party unity. they do seem to have come together and that in itself could a threat to the democrats. >> i think that's true and i think that the romney campaign from all of their actions on welfare and suggesting that this is going to be a base election but romney needs to be beyond that. he needs to be speaking to the audience beyond the are room. tonight he tried to do that. i think the speech was a little flat and -- >> but he is a bit flat. i mean, joel stein -- >> there are people -- ron paul and people chanting -- >> who cares about ron paul? i love him dearly but he's always going to be in the corner

with the protesters. >> they were chanting in the room with the usa chant. >> come on, that was like one or two people. >> that's not unity. this is a party divided. >> i don't agree with that. >> romney finally gave in to that. romney has resisted that his whole life, you know, he said the other day he didn't want to be personalized like a piece of meat, whatever that means. it was relief almost when he made a joke about his religion. >> the convention today where the stories that were told about them -- >> i was going to say the same thing. people from his life and his personal life paid testament, speaking eulogies of young boys who died of leukemia. he's not afraid of his faith now. let's go to penn jillette. mitt romney, hit or miss?

>> well, i don't know. what bothers me is the whole humanity and nice guy thing. if there's one thing that obama and romney certainly are, it's good people. they are also both smart, they are both good. i would like it to be more dry. all of the touchy-feely stuff creeps out my new england heart. i know they care about people and i know they are smart and i know they are good. i wish they didn't spend so much time sucking up like they were on a reality show. >> he doesn't at all, though. >> romney doesn't want to do it but he does do it. we saw mitt romney going into areas he just feels uncomfortable doing but he has to. having said, that i found stuff about his mother, his upbringing, about his wife, his children, i think the guy is a very solid father-son person and that's important for candidate. >> he's given much bigger part of his life and ann as well to service.

and he talked about that and he also used the word hell tonight and on the campaign trail he notoriously said h-e double l sticks. >> we have about a minute less, maybe less. democratic convention next week. i want each of you to give me a ten second resume of what you want next week. ben? >> i think penn is auditioning for the role of clint eastwood. >> okay, penn jillette. >> i'll bring the empty chair. >> i don't care much about their biography. i want tow know what their plan is for the next four years. >> i think obama needs to lay out his agenda for a second term and we're still waiting on that. >> i think clint eastwood can come to both did i mentions. i'm sure he doesn't know where he is.

>> i've got an idea. i suspect george clooney has been watching thinking, clint, you just blew it, i'm going to win the political oscar next week in charlotte. penn, tragically, we've run out of time. thank you all for a great panel, as always. i'll be back at our regular time tonight night on a special "piers morgan tonight." candid conversations with chris christie and condoleezza rice. for now, from tampa, good night and god bless america.