celebrities, politicians and fellow astronauts attended armstrong's funeral today in cincinnati, ohio. armstrong died saturday at the age of 82. thank you so much for being with me this week. as we were in tampa, florida, covering the republican national convention, it was a pleasure. thank you, tampa. but now "the situation room" with wolf blitzer now moving to charlotte, home of the democratic national convention. wolf, good to see you. brooke, thanks very much. happening now, we're going to get our first look at this arena where the democrats are getting ready for the president of the united states to arrive. it's our first look at the arena where president obama and the democrats, they will defend his record, their record and rebut a week's worth of condemnation from a lot of republicans. also, fresh from their convention, mitt romney and his wife head for the disaster zone in louisiana for a close-up look at the flooding from hurricane isaac. plus, everyone's still buzzing,

buzzing, about clint eastwood's bizarre rambling attack on president obama. i'm wolf blitzer at the time warner cable center here at the democratic national convention. and you're in "the situation room." well, let's begin with some shots of inside this arena. this is the arena where the democrats will be meeting next tuesday, wednesday and thursday, where president obama will accept his party's nomination for another four years in the white house. the vice president, joe biden, will be here as well. they're putting the finishing touches on this convention center here in charlotte. a lot of folks are very, very excited. and we're going to have much more on what the democrats are up to in charlotte, what they plan on doing next week. but let's begin right now with mitt romney's last-minute change

in plans. instead of heading directly from his convention to a campaign rally in the swing state of virginia, the republican nominee decided to visit storm-ravaged louisiana. our national political correspondent, jim acosta, is joining us now from new orleans with the latest. how did this go, jim? >> reporter: that's right, wolf. as you just mentioned a few moments ago, mitt romney was scheduled to visit three battleground states today, but at the last minute his campaign aides add a trip to new orleans so romney could tour some of the storm damage here in louisiana. you can see some of the damage behind me, some of the aluminum siding where the campaign truck was parked during isaac. all of this a reminder that in this two-month sprint to the finish in this campaign, there will be some twists and turns including one last night. ♪ >> reporter: just before takeoff from florida, mitt romney picked up where he left off at the

convention, returning to a sales pitch to independent voters who chose the president four years ago. >> you listen to the last guy running for president. he laid out what he would do. he was unable to do it. it's time to give someone new a chance. hold us accountable. >> reporter: joining the gop nominee to make the case arguably the star of the convention, ann romney. >> give this man a chance and he will not fail. >> reporter: and his running mate, paul ryan, tried to set the terms for the debate to come. >> this is the chance where we have a choice. do we want the failed leadership, the stagnant economy, the debt crisis, the welfare state? or do we want that opportunity society, that american idea where everybody can make the most of their lives and define happiness for themselves. >> reporter: romney was showing off a newly wrapped campaign plane and mixing up his schedule. he dropped a previously planned trip to virginia to survey the damage left by tropical storm isaac in louisiana. there was also some cleaning up to do after the convention that

had nothing to do with all of those balloons. >> what do you want me to tell romney? i can't tell him to do that. i can't do that to himself. you're crazy. >> reporter: clint eastwood's rambling improve script with an empty chair that was supposed to be president obama had some on the convention floor cheering, but reporters took note the romney family was not laughing. >> we appreciated clint's support. and he's a unique guy. and he did a unique thing last night. >> reporter: the campaign seemed to defend the actor in a statement saying "judging an american icon like clint eastwood tli a typical lens doesn't work. ad libbing was a break from all the political speeches and the crowd enjoyed." the twitter account took notice sending out this tweet aimed at eastwood and romney that says, this seat's taken. >> not a word about his record in massachusetts where job growth was 47th out of 50. >> reporter: and signs of the tough fight to come, the obama

campaign released a web video countering romney's speech. and joe biden offered a rebuttal of his own in ohio. >> we do not think you grow the economy from millionaires down. we know you build it from the middle class out. that's how you build america. >> reporter: now, romney advisors are down playing any expectations of a post-convention bump. but mitt romney did one-up the president in one category. he got down here at a louisiana first, mr. obama is due to be here on monday. and, wolf, getting back to that clint eastwood controversy, i can tell you a few moments ago on the campaign plane, stu stevens briefed reporters on this clint eastwood controversy. and he said he was backstage with romney just before his speech last night, just before clint eastwood's speech, and he said that the gop nominee laughed and seemed to enjoy it. so at least from the romney campaign the man at the top of the ticket liked what he saw

last night from clint eastwood, wolf. >> are the romney folks saying he was supposed to ramble on as he did for 12 minutes and delay the start of romney's acceptance speech? was that expected that he was going to go off script and just sort of vamp as he did and speak off the cuff as he did for what 12 minutes? >> reporter: it was not expected. this was an ad lib impro performance. interesting to note about that briefing from reporters from stu stevens, they sort of went on background at one point and asked that aide's not be quoted with their names attached to the quotes. they wanted to be quoted anonymously when they explained to reporters at one point during this briefing that this chair that was put out there was something that they did not see coming. one of the aides talking to reporters on the plane said that they thought clint eastwood was going to sit in that chair, not talk to that chair as if it was president obama. so it sounds as if they were in the dark as much as everybody else was about what clint

eastwood was doing up on that stage, wolf. >> and did they say they knew that clint eastwood would show such disrespect to the president of the united states? >> reporter: you know, that is also something they said on background they would not have a name attached to any of the quotes coming out of that portion of the briefing. it was a strange briefing, wolf, because as i'm being explained about this they sort of went on the record, off the record and then they were saying things on background where they didn't want to have their names attached to some of the quotes. but what they were saying in that portion where they wanted to speak anonymously, they were saying that they feel like this is just as inappropriate as the president not denouncing those super pac ads that haven't aired yet that the romney campaign suggests the gop nominee was responsible for a woman's death, that steelworker ad that caused so much controversy. they made a comparison between the clint eastwood controversy and that ad.

they're really not backing away from it. they're defending clint eastwood and what he had to say up there, wolf. >> jim acosta in louisiana for us. thanks very, very much. instead of going to louisiana today, president obama was in texas where he defended his foreign policy record. cnn's athena jones is joining us from ft. bliss near el paso. tell us what the president was up to, athena. >> reporter: hi, wolf. well, the president's main goal today was to once again mark the end of the u.s. combat mission in iraq. two years ago he was here at ft. bliss marking the day that u.s. combat mission was ending. this is something that the white house is certainly glad to point out. this ending the war in iraq was a promise the president campaigned on and a promise kept. but he also talked about his administration's commitment to the troops. let's listen to what he had to say. >> we may be turning a page on a decade of war, but america's responsibilities to you have only just begun. hey.

i hear you. so here's my pledge to you, in a world of serious threats, i will never hesitate to use force to defend the united states of america or our interests. at the same time, i will only send you into harm's way when it is absolutely necessary. and when we do, we will give you the equipment and the clear mission and the smart strategy and the support back home that you need to get the job done. >> reporter: so there you heard a little bit of what he had to say. he also touched on the importance of improving mental health care services for troops and their families of helping veterans find jobs. and he got a little bit political, not surprisingly, wolf, he said that he once again called on congress to work together on a deficit reduction plan that could help avoid the defense cuts that we've been hearing so much about, not just on the campaign trail but also capitol hill, wolf. >> athena jones traveling with the president today in texas. a lot of people pointing out it

was curious mitt romney in his speech last night made no mention of the u.s. military personnel serving in the war in afghanistan, for example, he's being criticized for that. more on that story coming up later. today the political spotlight is shifting from the republican convention in tampa to the democrats gathering right here in charlotte. let's talk things over with our chief political analyst, gloria borger. first of all, on the republican convention, do american voters right now have a better understanding, especially those undecided voters, who mitt romney is? >> well, i think they do. that was clearly the goal of the convention, which was to open a window inside mitt romney and to show him as a man of compassion, as a man of character. i mean, the campaign knows very well, wolf, that this is a big problem for mitt romney because president obama, people believe understands their problems. and they were worried that people only thought that romney only sees things through his prism of his great wealth.

so they had to show that. but it was very short, i would have to say, on definitive policy particularly when it comes to foreign policy. so that, you know, you can't do everything in one speech. and so most of it really focused on who mitt romney is. today the obama campaign said it wasn't so much a re-introduction as it was a re-invention of mitt romney. so you're going to see that play out on the campaign trail as well. >> so how does the president deal with all of this when he comes here to charlotte next week? >> i was thinking about this today, flying here. i think president obama has the opposite problem that mitt romney had. mitt romney's known as mr. fix-it. he had to show he had compassion. barack obama is somebody who understands the problems of the middle class, he has to show he's a mr. fix-it. he has to tell the american people i started fixing it, i'm going to continue to fix it. and it's going to get better. so he has to tell people what he's done to make this recovery happen and what he's going to do to speed it along.

so it's a very different kind of a burden from these two candidates. >> let me get back to the whole clint eastwood thing. it was so, so bizarre. i'm going to play a little clip just to remind our viewers what happened in tampa last night. >> what? what do you want me to tell romney? i can't tell him to do that. can't do that to himself. you're crazy. you're absolutely crazy. you're getting as bad as biden. [ cheers and applause ] >> it was, you know, a bizarre, awkwa awkward, embarrassing -- >> embarrassing, right. >> -- i don't know what you want to use. but it kept going on and on. i thought it would be two or three minutes, but this seemed to never end and really delayed their program. how big of a blunder is this? >> i think it's a big blunder.

i think it embarrassed them at a moment the high viewership, right? networks tuning in, everything else. i think it's dangerous to give somebody a script who makes his own movies. this is a man who makes his own movies who decides to ask for a chair, you hand him a chair, and he does a bit of improv as someone in the romney campaign said. we always talk about how scripted these conventions are. i think we saw one of the really rare unscripted moments. and now we understand why the conventions are scripted. because this was a complete embarrassment to the romney campaign. although they're not going to admit it. >> no. we all love clint eastwood. great actor, great director. but this was not a great moment. >> i talked to some romney advisors last night about this and try today ask them about this, and all they would say is, you know, clint eastwood, he's a great icon. and they left it at that and smiled. >> yeah. okay. gloria, more on this story coming up later as well. here's a question, do you want to know what it's really like to

experience the democratic national convention from the inside? next tuesday join the cnn election round table. i'll be there along with cnn's political team. suit your questions, get answers in realtime in this live virtual chat. don't miss the cnn election round table. that's tuesday noon eastern by logging onto cnn.com/roundtable. also, standby for a preview of cnn's new documentary "obama revealed." our chief white house correspondent jessica yellin had special access and asked the president about his challenges he's faced and ambitions for a second term. standby for that. and up next, devastation in louisiana. brian todd takes us to the town ruined by flood waters and explains how a couple was killed by hurricane isaac.

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they started preparing for this democratic convention here in charlotte, north carolina, back in april of 2011. now three days next week this arena, the time warner cable arena, will be filled with lots and lots of democrats as the president of the united stes and the vice president of the united states accept their party's nomination for president and vice president. we'll be here, we're already here. in fact, these are the first shots you're seeing from inside this arena. much more on the political story coming up. there's other news we're following as well including flash flood warnings. they are still in effect in

three states because of the remnants of hurricane isaac. this storm devastated small towns in louisiana. and cnn's brian todd spent the day in the town where two people died trapped in their home by rising floodwaters. brian. >> reporter: wolf, you can see behind me just how devastated this town is. this was once a street. that was a street. and you can see what happened to this building right here. it was in this town where the first reported fatalities from isaac occurred. we got access to that house only with an airboat. and we realized as soon as we got there the odds were stacked heavily against those who stayed. it's still almost unapproachable and dangerous. we have to navigate around seeping natural gas and downed power lines just to get near it. this house is where the first two reported fatalities from isaac occurred. a couple trapped inside. the fire chief here knew them and had to pull their bodies out. do you think this couple ever had a chance to get out once the water started flowing in here?

>> the water came up so fast, we had a lot of emergency personnel that had a rough time getting out. so an elderly couple needing assistance would have been very, very tough to do. >> reporter: there may have been one opening, maybe. the couple was found floating in the kitchen of this house. the kitchen is around the other side of the house. we can't access that right now. what we're told is that the water levels at the time rescuers got here were about eight feet higher than they were now up to the attic vent right there. if the couple could have gotten to that, possibly they could have gotten out. he declined to identify the couple by name. he says emergency officials got word to as many people as possible when the levee near here was overtopped. one of the neighbors tried to get the couple to leave, and they wouldn't. now the only creatures that can inhabit this town are either amphibious or have to ride what's floating. as we move around by airboat, we

see homes that are flooded, buckled. chief says one home floated about a mile from its foundation. bobby landry and seven others in his family stayed through the storm too. he lost one house to hurricane katrina and then moved here and remodeled this one. now this. he and his family had to climb out windows as the water rose toward the second floor. >> i feel empty. it hurts. >> reporter: bobby, do you want to come back and live here? >> this is great living right here. on this side of the river right here, the people in this community are all tight, close. unfortunately, there's not enough of us to be worried about. >> reporter: an exhausted fire chief is worried about more potential losses. >> it's not something i want to see and i hope that's the last ones we do see. we're still checking a few other residents along that area here. and we're hoping that everybody made it out. >> reporter: when i asked the chief if this town will ever recover from this, he said he thinks so. but he also said since the storm happened, they have talked to several resident who is have packed up and never coming back.

the chief is also reeling from this. he lost his home and this store and gas station, which was his business. wolf. >> what a story. what a sad, sad story indeed, brian todd on the scene for us. thank you. more on the story coming up later as well. other news we're following including the stock markets, they're reacting to the federal reserve chairman ben bernanke's latest hint that he's ready to take some controversial action to stimulate the u.s. economy. [ male announcer ] drive a car filled with

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the federal reserve chairman signaling that more monetary stimulus might, might be on the way. lisa sylvester's monitoring that and some other important stories in "the situation room" right now. what's going on, lisa? >> hi, wolf. saying the economy is far from satisfactory, ben bernanke hinted a third round of asset purchases or so-called quantitative easing could be coming and that would inject more money into the economy. it would be controversial though for the fed to stimulate the economy without congressional

approval. at the fed's annual retreat in wyoming bernanke said the previous two rounds of easing drove stocks higher and created more than 2 million jobs. the market reacted favorably holding onto gains today and closing out the month higher. the dow etched up .7%. and months of drought and extreme heat have sent food prices soaring. the world bank reports global prices are up by 10% in july. staples like corn and soybeans increased by 25% to an all-time high. the report emphasized the consequences of spiraling food prices citing riots in africa and the middle east in 2008. and more than 600,000 mr. coffee single cup brewers are being recalled because of a burn hazard. according to mr. coffee recall.com built up steam can force the brewing chamber to open sending hot coffee grounds and water out. the "los angeles times" reports 61 people suffered burns to their faces and hands. so something to be concerned

about especially folks trying to get their coffee first thing in the morning. they might want to be a little careful with these single-cup brewers. that's the ones that are being recalled, wolf. >> just be careful. brewing coffee. thanks very much for that, lisa. so how far is too far when it comes to attacks on the president of the united states? and what will the democrats do to counter the tough words during the republican convention? some unsolicited advice. that's next. what do you got? restrained driver in a motor vehicle.

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to be there for them when they need us. [car alarm blaring] call now and also ask about our 24/7 support and service. call... and lock in your rate for 12 months today. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? president obama was targeted early and often on the final night of the republican national convention in tampa. take a look. >> our problem with president obama isn't that he's a bad person. it's that he's a bad president. >> when somebody does not do the job, you got to let them go. >> 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. >> so how will the democrats respond to all of this? let's go to pete dominic standing by with a panel that has some unsolicited advice. >> thank you, wolf blitzer. great to be on cnn and for me to be talking about something that i actually am an expert at, which is talking to large groups of live audiences and delivering those lines. i've done standup comedy for years in front of audiences like that. and mitt romney, sorry, van jones, i'm a climate change warrior, but the dumbest thing the president ever said was that oceans line.

and mitt romney got him. and he delivered it well. >> he milked that pause. >> did you see him bite? he bit his lip. i did not know mitt romney could bite his lip. >> channelling clint. >> the problem i have now is that up until that moment he had me. he's talking about his boys and -- >> you were writing a check. >> i wasn't writing a check, but i was tearful and then all of a sudden in the middle of the speech he turns into this dis machine and takes one of the most important issues -- look, john mccain and president obama agreed four years ago that climate change is unreal. i think that's an unfortunate low now for a republican party in the middle of a drought and this kind of problem. >> i actually think the line had nothing to do with climate change. >> what'd it have to do with? >> i would guarantee you somewhere in that speech you would have found a reason to get motivated to beat mitt romney because that's who you are. i think that line had to do with

humorous. president obama hadn't even been elected president. he'd only won the democratic national convention -- hang on, let me finish. no. he was talking about the hub rous of a man making grand statements. and i thought mitt romney ended that line. it wasn't just comedic timing. he ended with a simple and clear statement. i want to help you and your families. which in his personal life it's what he's done. to me it all made sense. >> with the narrative that you're the messiah and then you say something mes yanic, i'm sorry, you don't want to play into that. that was fair. sorry. >> i understand, van, why you took it personally. this is obviously a very important issue. >> planet earth, not me. six billion people. >> but i think in the -- as political attacks go, as attack lines go, this was mild stuff. and it was mild stuff across the board. >> i agree. >> i think what was striking

about last night was how far out of their way romney in particular but also marco rubio went to say we're not attacking president obama, the man, we are -- >> is that how it felt to you, mr. mayor? >> look, let's be honest with this. mitt romney's first point when he finally got to talking about in big picture words what he was going to try to do was he's going to add coal, he's going to do all this stuff to pollute the environment. and it seems to me that taken in context with the comment van picked out, i think it's absolutely right. he's making a statement about the environment. >> it's really important to realize that climate change was never mentioned all last week. that's important. but that line still it's a line that president obama said in 2008 and he's using it against him. and let's give credit to mitt romney. i don't give him much credit when he talks he's very robotic. he had a line well-written and he nailed it. >> the weakness in the speech was not that he delivered

disses. the weakness in the speech was that the second half which was supposed to be policy substance was more of the same, you know, broad generalities that we're used to from the romney campaign. and i think the thing for obama to do next week is to counter those generalities with specifics. i think obama should go negative in a way in his convention speech here. but say here's what romney's going to do. here are the 16,000 terrible things that mitt romney's going to do. that's what i'd be writing. >> isn't what politics is supposed to be about, honestly, is a battle of ideas? okay. you guys don't agree with mitt romney's ideas. but i think what mitt romney said, what all of these speakers said was, we don't agree with this guy's ideas. we don't think he's performed well. that is totally fair. and now i really hope that the democrats will follow that lead instead of concluding as, van, sometimes you do and others will do, i don't agree with you therefore you're a bad person. think about the adjectives the democrats have used even this

week, mean, insincere, angry. let's talk about ideas. let's talk about ideas and say, i don't agree with your idea, but i don't think you're a bad person. >> let me say this though. what i found interesting about the republican convention was that it at a high level they were saying what the president's been saying for the last three and a half years, which is that we've got big challenges facing this country and we've got to confront them. the difference is is that next week the president will be talking about the things he's done. they're talking about stuff -- there's dumb things without even help. >> how much do you think the president is going to talk about the things he's done? how much about the health care bill, for instance? >> it's one thing the president should do. i have two kids. and what i saw yesterday from the republicans and from romney was saying the same thing my younger son says, the house is torn up and my big brother did it. taking no responsibility for the role he played in messing up the house. >> right. >> so there's no confession from romney. the republicans have not cooperated on even priorities that they have to help this

president get the job done. and then they point the finger. i think this president should step forward and say, listen, we had stuff we could have done together. if he can confess -- the republicans have never confessed to their role in the lack of progress. if he can come forward and confess, which i think would deal with some of the hue brous stuff but also point out where the country was let down back to the moral high ground and what people want to hear and it's the truth. >> what i find interesting about that recommendation is that the central charge against president obama over this last four days is that he has not led. and i find it so interesting that president obama continues to equate himself with a congressman or equate himself with congress in general. it's interesting that today, today president obama while he's touring with the troops what does he say? he says congress, do something. i think the majority of american people actually think the president should do something.

do something. >> he's got to have a partner. >> bleed. >> we have a system of government with three branches. >> i understand. >> and they all have to work together. >> i understand. honestly, when you do not put forward a budget -- >> you're -- >> one of my great republican leaders -- >> don't start flapping at me, man. >> but you are. don't you have some concern about the fact that the republicans did not do more to reach out when he did reach out? it was your view that he actually never tried. >> my view is that president obama rushed through, crammed through, a set of legislative priorities that were important to him. that were important to him. >> we got to go. not one mention of dirty harry. we will be right back here in charlotte.

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we're back here at the dnc preparing for next week in charlotte with the mayor of charlotte and our brilliant panel. it's time to give our unsolicited advice, not that anybody asked. let's start with van jones. >> well, my unsolicited advice would be to my good brother clint eastwood, you know, i feel his pain. i've been that guy. my advice is, remember, it gets better. it gets better. tomorrow will come. >> my advice is actually to the media, both liberal and conservative, both print and television, i would ask members of the media to check their gender bias. i have been so disappointed. all of the discussion today has been about the new leaders of the republican party.

and people mention paul ryan and marco rubio and they kind of stop. yes, they acknowledge that women gave some good speeches. but why isn't anyone talking about susana martin nez or mia love. any of these fantastic women that spoke. check your gender bias, folks. we got women in this party who are awesome. >> amen. i absolutely agree with that. why do you think suzanna martinez. >> first of all, utterly authentic. totally real. secondly, she gave a very human, authentic description of why she was a republican and how she came to realize she was a republican. and beyond all that she was funny as heck, you know? >> i thought the back-to-back of condoleezza rice with such completely different styles, the sort of academic sort of rhetorically, you know, gifted and then the more down-to-earth governor and so on.

that was probably the best sustained stretch of oratory in the whole convention. >> these are not just good talkers. >> they're doers. >> they're great leaders. doers. >> is it somehow politically not correct for us to talk about women and focus on women? >> i just think we don't have enough practice at it. i am the subject of media bias on gender for many years. i just don't think we have enough practice at it. and i think habitually people i think men are the leaders. and i think it transcends political party. so just check our gender bias. >> in the campaign of 2016 all of that will change. >> my wife's actually calling me right now. i got to get permission to give my unsolicited advice. so here's mine. actors, mine is kind of for clint eastwood, but actors and politicians and sometimes you can't tell the difference, but last night you could. and sadly enough a u.s. senator was a much better actor than one of our most-celebrated actors.

i mean, marco rubio gave a very, very good performance. and clint eastwood didn't know where he was. i'm a stand-up comedian, we write our own material, we perform our own material. and oftentimes people say did you come up with that on the spot? that's what it's supposed to look like. so my advice to the obama campaign, if they ask -- >> my advice, because they know better. democrats know better because democrats know what celebrities are actually like. that's why my advice to the republican party, just because republicans like to say make fun of the democrats, make fun of hollywood, but secretly republicans are so jealous that all these movie stars are liberals. and so as soon as a movie star comes along and wants to speak at a republican convention, republicans get all star-struck. they give him a chair. they give him 11 minutes. my advice, don't be star struck. learn from the democrats who

would never invite barbara streisand to speak. >> which celebrity do you wish was a republican? >> anne hathaway. the list is long. >> oh, mr. mayor. >> you're in charlotte. you have convention goers who are going to be coming in. and i wanted to tell all the folks out there, don't get seduced to believing that ba barbecue is monolithic. you have to try all of them before you can pick your favorites. >> whoa, good advice. >> three flavors? >> what's your favorite? >> i'm a vinegar-base guy. >> uh-huh. >> you look silly asking. >> no, you don't. >> i look like a new yorker asking that question. >> no, people understand. >> we have a little bit of time left. i want to ask you, i don't want to just focus on clint eastwood, his speech at all. i want to focus on what i think was a missed opportunity. i think ann romney referenced that this morning on television,

those movies, it's a four-day commercial, really. and they missed the opportunity to play the movie, the narrative on prime time. and they gave that away. >> they missed the opportunity also to have those incredible testimonials on primetime. >> yes. >> it should have been marco rubio, testimonials, video, incredible video and then mitt romney. >> well, they made this gutsy move or what people thought was the gutsy move to talk about his mormonism, his faith. and it played fantastically. >> yes, it did. >> but nobody in america except for the millions watching cnn saw it because it wasn't on in the primetime block. >> you mentioned barbecue, before we go, mr. mayor, tease us. next week, what's the best part of this convention? you're a democrat. >> the best part of this convention is the fact the president has unedited time to tell the story of what's happened over the last four years and what he's going to do with the another four years going forward. this president has had more legislation passed since any

president since lyndon johnson. he's been successful to getting us 29 successive months of job growth. i'm very pleased with what this president has done and pleased with what he'll do with another four years. >> carly. >> it's definitely the case biggest problem has been a lack of television air time. that's the biggest problem. >> add it to their time. >> i think the mayor has it exactly right in this sense. i think the republicans' charge was performance-based. >> right. >> mr. obama, you haven't performed. now what the president has to do is demonstrate that he's performed. the american people will be listening because no matter what he says, they got their lives, they know what's going on in their communities. and they actually know most of them -- >> you're way too high minded. he needs to tear down mitt romney. >> well, he'll probably do that too. >> but what are you looking forward to next week? >> well, first of all, i'm looking forward to being here with this fantastic panel. >> yeah. >> this is my second democratic convention actually. i'm not a virgin here. i have been to one before.

whatever -- that's right. >> some horrible jokes here. >> don't go back. >> whatever your politics are, conventions are great events. >> there's been nothing more for me, i don't know about you guys, hanging out with you guys rk getting to know you guys and sharing our ideas and respecting each other and having a civil respectful discussion all last week. looking forward to doing it all next week. thank you very much for joining us. looking forward to next week right here in charlotte, mr. mayor, thank you for joining us. dnc all next week. >> our turn coming. >> you'll get it. back to wolf blitzer right now. >> all right, guys. good discussion indeed. excellent unsolicited advice. coming up you're going to see the first previews of cnn's brand new documentary obama reveal. jessica yellin has been working very hard on it. president of the united states spoke to her and she asked him what it's like to be "as cool" as he is. your going to hear about his so-called cool demeanor. also there's new information

coming in about iran and its nuclear program. david sanger of "new york times" has new information. he's joining us as well. how much division is there between the obama administration and the israeli government when it comes to the severity of iran's nuclear program? stay with us. by working people. the economy needs manufacturing. machines, tools, people making stuff. companies have to invest in making things. infrastructure, construction, production. we need it now more than ever. chevron's putting more than $8 billion dollars back in the u.s. economy this year. in pipes, cement, steel, jobs, energy. we need to get the wheels turning. i'm p. making real things... for real. ...that make a real difference. ♪ for real. ...that make a real difference. perform, compete and grow. and people are driving this change. that's the power of human resources. the society... for human resource management and its members know... how to harness that power, because we help develop it.

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fierce clashes have erupted in two centers of opposition in syria. lisa sylvester is monitoring that in "the situation room" right now. what's the latest, lisa? >> hi, wolf. reported government shelling in aleppo. this video purportedly shows that fighting. a regime officer and 30 soldiers were killed in clashes with rebel fighters. heavy artillery shelling was also reported in homs province. and the u.s. says there's been an influx of syrian refugees. a former navy seal's attorney says his client did not violate anything. warned the writer whose pen name is mark owen that he broke the law and the pentagon was considering legal action against him and his publisher.

a full report on this in our 6:00 p.m. eastern hour. and this was the case of sticky fingers. that's apparently worth millions in quebec. thieves took a substantial quantity of maple syrup from a warehouse outside montreal in quebec city. canadian media reports say up to 10 million pounds of syrup was stored in the warehouse. the theft was discovered during a routine inventory check and the empty barrels were found. that maple syrup has to be somewhere though, wolf. >> all right. thanks very much, lisa. coming up in our next hour right here in "the situation room," despite iran's new rounds of denials, it may be getting closer and closer to creating nuclear weapons. we're taking a closer look at how the obama administration and the rest of the world is responding. standby. but up next, the good, the bad and the chair. we'll check out peoples' reaction to clint eastwood. go-gurt?

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he was the highly anticipated mystery guest, the actor clint eastwood's speech was supposed to be a huge surprise. but the bigger surprise may have been his actual performance. cnn's miguel reports. >> reporter: what started as classic clint. >> i've got mr. obama sitting here. >> reporter: turned into political drama with even the candidate's wife on cbs this morning having a tough time with positive spin. >> he's a unique guy. and he did a unique thing last night. >> reporter: the four-time oscar winner did get rave reviews from fellow actor john voigt and some guys who texted him.

>> i got some texts, clint's the man, from some young guys i know. >> reporter: unscripted and unplugged eastwood spoke twice as long as planned causing reportedly nervous moments for romney's campaign staff. >> i wondered about, you know, when the -- what? what do you want me to tell romney? i can't tell him to do that. can't do that to himself. you're crazy. >> reporter: the performance could be described as a hit,in visible obama on twitter quickly grew to 50,000 followers. and something called eastwooding has taken off, basically cute pics of empty chairs. a party and a campaign upstaged by a celebrity and a chair. now, i think the rule here, wolf, is no matter whether it's a birthday party or political

party, rule number one, you don't upstage the guest of honor. wolf. >> good point, miguel marquez, thanks very much. and you're in "the situation room." happening now, iran may be getting much closer to a nuclear weapon capability. a new u.n. report shows it's stepping up production of nuclear fuel and hindering efforts to monitor a key military site. will israel feel the need to strike soon? what should the united states do? we're taking you inside iran. the republicans have moved on from tampa as the democrats move into charlotte for their convention. cnn's jessica yellin sat down with president obama for a brand new documentary. she's here this hour with a preview. and harvard university draws some of the brightest kids in the country, but now it's investigating claims that dozens of students -- dozens, may have cheated on a final exam. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world.

i'm wolf blitzer in charlotte. you're in "the situation room." the political fireworks in tampa now are over. but spotlight shifting here to charlotte, north carolina, where it's president obama's turn to go on the attack and make his case for another four years in the white house. i'm here at the time warner cable arena, the site of the democratic national convention. they're getting ready for the convention to begin on tuesday. the podium has just been unveiled. and only days from now thousands of democrats will be gathering from across the country for all the excitement here. i'll be leading cnn's coverage of all the big events, the speakers among them, the first lady of the united states, michelle obama, the vice president joe biden and former president bill clinton.

and of course the president of the united states himself. much more on the political story coming up. but right now i want to get to the situation in iran. there are reports it may be getting much closer to a nuclear weapons capability. the united nations' nuclear watchdog reports iran has boosted production of high grade enriched uranium which could be used for a bomb and making suspicious changes to a key military base. could this trigger an israeli attack? and will the obama administration be forced to act? the "new york times" david sanger has reported extensively on this story. his new book is entitled "confront and conceal." david is joining us now. david, thanks very much for coming in. here's the question. how close is iran to having that capacity to produce nuclear weapons? >> well, wolf, as we've discussed before, to build a nuclear weapon you really need three things. you need the fuel, you need the

knowledge of how to put it together and a way to develop it. what the iaea reported yesterday in their most recent assessment is that iran has produced a significant amount of new fuel just in the past three months while the pressure was going on them with the sanctions and other steps. we think that they have the knowledge to build a crude nuclear weapon, but it would probably take them months to go do it. and they would need to enrich that fuel to a higher level. and to deliver it would probably take a couple years. but the question is, are the israelis willing to let them even get to a capability. and you've been hearing a lot out of israel lately suggesting they may be interested in i guess what we call an october surprise. >> yeah. there's definitely reports, a lot of reports in the israeli media suggesting something might happen even before the november 6th elections here in united states. listen to what mitt romney said on this very subject last night at the republican convention in

tampa. >> 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 we should talk to iran. we're still talking. and iran's centrifuges are still spinning. president obama has thrown allies like israel under the bus. >> all right. when you heard that, david, and you covered this story extensively, i have as well, what was your reaction when you heard him say those words "president obama has thrown allies like israel under the bus?" >> i was thinking about to what we heard from ehud barak who said in a tv interview just a few weeks ago that he can't thing of an administration that had done more for israel's security. and while he didn't say what he was speaking about directly -- he wasn't specific, two big things you could think of would be the administration's great

ramp up of american forces in the persian gulf including anti-missile forces. and then of course as i've reported before in both the times and in "confront and conceal," the president's fairly direct role in a covert program called olympic games. not what just ended in london, but the covert effort to undercut iran's centrifuges with a computer virus, which by most accounts slowed the iranians down. both of those and increased sanctions are more than the bush administration did although olympic games began in the bush administration days to give president bush his credit. i think it's going to be a hard case to make that the president has simply talked to the iranians and not done anything to stop them. >> but there seems to be a difference of opinion as far as the time sense of urgency between the obama administration and the israeli government on how much time is really left

before that line of no return happens. >> that's right. and the israelis have made the argument that they would need to act before iran got a real capability. and you have to remember that the israelis have two factors under consideration that are different from the u.s. they're a lot closer to iran, missile-range and of course closer to the gulf. and, secondly, the israeli military does not have the capability to get into the deepest site in iran, a deep underground facility that the iaea reported as getting pretty close to completion, a place where they could enrich uranium. the united states does have the ability, we believe, to get into that site with bunker busting bombs that israel does not have. and so to the american view, the u.s. has got more time to deal with this. they're trying to say to the israelis we've got your back. the question is do the israelis

trust that president obama when pressed with evidence that iran was very close would act militarily? and that's where you're seeing this big behind the scenes tension frequently not so behind the scenes between the israelis and the u.s. >> when i was in jerusalem a few weeks ago, i interviewed mitt romney there, but i also interviewed ehud barak, the defense minister, i think you were referring earlier to the interview he did with me when he praised the obama administration in terms of dealing with iran's nuclear programs and the military-to-military connection, the intelligence-to-intelligence connection. he and perez were very happy. netanyahu, the prime minister, may be on a different page. >> well, netanyahu is considered to be a bit more cautious than ehud barak. i think as you got a sense from that interview and we all did with your interview with barak

that he's the one pushing the possibility of military action the strongest. but the talk has gotten so intense that the country's president, shimon perez, came out the other day and made the argument that this would be the wrong time to strike iran, that it would isolate israel and probably drive the iranian program further underground. a subject i think you took up with mr. barak and he rejected. >> yeah. and mr. per ez was also praise worthy of the obama administration as well. david, thanks very much. excellent reporting you've been doing in "new york times." >> thank you, wolf. great to be with you. >> thank you. and iran this week has seized an opportunity to try to present its case on the nuclear issue. it's been playing host to dozens, dozens of world leaders attending a summit of non-aligned nations. cnn is inside. >> once again denied they have a

secret nuclear weapons program and all part of a campaign to weaken the country. the islamic republic of iran, western powers say it's a threat to world peace and developing the capacity to build nuclear weapons. this week the international atomic energy agency said it was "unable to conclude that all nuclear material in iran is in peaceful activities." israel says it has no doubt iran -- and threatened a military strike against the facilities. the warning sounds serious. but the nonalign movement conference, a summit representing 120 countries from the middle east, africa, south america and asia, no one seemed more stressed out about iran. >> i don't qualify iran as a danger to the region. danger to the region for me is poverty. >> reporter: you share the view that iran is a threat to the region? >> no. i don't say. that's why we are here. >> it is important country.

it's a vibrant country. it is country in development. >> the fact that south africa is here, we are saying that is important. we need to be united. >> reporter: many of the officials here said iran's nuclear program was legitimate and heard the nation's supreme leader declare that iran would not seek nuclear weapons. >> translator: i emphasize the islamic republic will never seek nuclear weapons. >> reporter: ban ki moon told the summit claiming that another u.n. member state israel does not have the right to exist or describing it in racist terms is not only utterly wrong but undermines the very principles we have all pledged to uphold. iranian officials also deny ever calling for the destruction of israel. they say the now infamous israel should be wiped off the map comment was a call for the ouster of the government in favor of one palestinian state. the view from tehran is that the west sees iran as a threat to u.s. influence in the middle east. both itself and through its

allies like hezbollah and hamas. iranian officials say western powers are trying to whip up iranphobia using tehran's nuclear program to justify tough economic sanctions that are aimed at weakening iran. that strategy may not be working here in this summit, but it seems to be gaining traction in america. a recent cnn poll showed eight out of ten americans believe iran, which says it doesn't have nuclear weapons, is a bigger threat than north korea, whose foreign ministry bodes it already has a defensive weapons arsenal. wolf. >> reza, thanks very much. joining us from inside iran. he's been reporting there all week. president obama tells troops he made good on pledges to end the war in iraq and to get osama bin laden. you're going to hear those comments. that's coming up next. you'll also hear a preview of president obama's interview with cnn's jessica yellin from our brand new documentary "obama revealed." plus, it was the biggest speech of mitt romney's political

career. paul begala says he utterly failed. we'll ask mary matalin what she thinks as well. both are standing by for our strategy session. two years ago, the people of bp made a commitment to the gulf. and every day since, we've worked hard to keep it. bp has paid over twenty-three billion dollars to help people and businesses who were affected, and to cover cleanup costs. today, the beaches and gulf are open for everyone to enjoy -- and many areas are reporting their best tourism seasons in years. we've shared what we've learned with governments and across the industry so we can all produce energy more safely. i want you to know, there's another commitment bp takes just as seriously: our commitment to america. bp supports nearly two-hundred-fifty thousand jobs in communities across the country.

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just days before taking the national stage here in charlotte, a fiery president obama isn't holding back out there on the campaign trail. among other things, he was rallying troops today at ft. bliss in texas and defending what he considers to be promises kept on the front lines. >> two years ago i was here to mark a historic moment in the life of our nation and our military, the end of major combat operations in iraq. it was a chance for me to say on behalf of the american people to you and all who served there, welcome home. and congratulations on a job

well done. some thought the end of combat was just word games and seman c semanti semantics. but i meant what i said. so you kept training up those iraqi forces. we removed nearly 150,000 troops. and this past december under general austin's leadership, the last american troops came home including the fourth brigade combat team from bliss. when i was here two years ago i told you something else though. that we had more work to do. including taking the fight to al qaeda. and there too i meant what i said. with allies and partners, we've taken out more top al qaeda terrorists at any time since 9/11. and thanks to the courage of our forces, al qaeda is on the road to defeat and bin laden will never again threaten the united states of america.

if you hear anyone trying to say that america's in decline or that our influence is waned, don't you believe it. here's the truth, our alliances have never been stronger. you see, we may be turning a page on a decade of war, but america's responsibilities to you have only just begun. hey. i hear you. america's greatest days are yet to come. and that we remain the greatest force for freedom that the world has ever known. so god bless you. god bless all our men and women in uniform. and god bless the united states of america. >> cnn's chief white house correspondent jessica yellin had a chance to sit down with president obama for a special documentary entitled "obama revealed, the man, the president." jessica is joining us now. you really did get a unique

interview with the president. among other things you asked him about his cool, calm personality. what did he say about that? >> hi, wolf. well, the president said he believes essentially that his ability to be calm and cool is an asset. not surprising that he said that, but he acknowledged some people he thinks misinterpret it. here's some of that interview with the president. >> sometimes michelle and i not doing the circuit and going out to dinners with folks is perceived as us being cool. it actually really has more to do with us being parents. when we're in town here in washington, in the evenings, 6:30 we want to be at the dinner table with our kids. and i want to be helping with their homework. and i think that's sometimes interpreted as me not wanting to be out there slapping backs and wheeling and dealing. it really has more to do with the stage we are in our lives. >> if you're re-elected, your girls will be older, they'll

probably have their own weekend plans. they might not want to hang out with mom and dad. >> it's already starting to happen. yeah. >> do you think you might do more outreach, what you call back slapping, with members of congress? >> my hope is is that getting past this election, people will have the opportunity to maybe step back and say, you know what, the differences that divide us aren't as important as the common bonds we have as americans. some of that i'm sure will require additional effort on my part. hopefully we'll see more effort on the other side as well. >> with delve a little more deeply into these issues in the documentary, wolf. the partisanship in washington, what part of that falls on the president's shoulders, what part of it is the republicans, to what extent his calm, cool personality has been an asset and a challenge in office, wolf. >> i know you had a chance also, jessica, to interview a wide range of people who know him quite well including his former

personal aide, reggie love. what did he tell you? >> well, we learned from reggie love that the president does not like caffeine. and we learned a little more. but reggie says it best. let's listen to reggie. here's a clip from the documentary. reggie love knows the president as a strong, mid-range shooter. >> take his mid-range jumper and attack the basket. knock down open shots when he's got them. >> reporter: the kind of guy you want on your side. and love has been on the president's team since the campaign days. what's he like when he's just hanging out? >> he's like a guy. he likes the bulls. he likes the bears. he likes sports. likes cards. like most guys i know. which i think can sometimes be hard for some people because they're taking aback by it because they're like, oh, wait, he's like me. but he's the president. >> reporter: as his personal assistant and confidant, love's seen the president as few others have. >> he's very much a person who

enjoys the simple things in life. enjoys watching a good game. enjoys a good cocktail. he's competitive at everything he does. if it's bowling or pool or shuffleboard, there isn't anything i think he'd be okay at losing at. >> even shuffleboard. so, wolf, we also interviewed secretary of state hillary clinton, former chief of staff rahm emanuel. a lot of people sat down with us to give real insight into the president's three and a half years in office. >> i'm really looking forward to seeing the documentary. gloria borger did an excellent documentary. i'm sure your documentary will be excellent as well. i want our viewers to know it premiers monday night, this coming monday night on the eve of the democratic convention here in charlotte, 8:00 p.m. eastern only here on cnn. jessica, thanks very much for doing this. i know you worked really hard to get this ready.

the pun daents have now weighed in. and we're sampling your messages the republicans put out during their convention in tampa. and we'll also look at what's in your fruit and vegetable bin. guess what, we have a major recall to tell you about. nitiess the country. whether it's supporting a delaware nonprofit that's providing training and employment opportunities, investing in the revitalization of a neighborhood in the bronx, or providing the financing to help a beloved san diego bakery expand, what's important to communities across the country is important to us. and we're proud to work with all of those who are creating a stronger future for everyone.

a major earthquake strikes off the coast of the philippines. lisa sylvester's monitoring that and some other top stories in "the situation room" right now. lisa, what's the latest? >> hi, wolf. well, the 7.6 magnitude earthquake generated a small tsunami. it happened during a heavy rain and triggered a landslide that killed a 50-year-old man and injured a young boy. officials said that earthquake

was centered in the western pacific ocean and felt in the east of the philippines. and a 23-year-old gunman killed two of his co-workers before killing himself early this morning in central new jersey. it happened at a supermarket. the middlesex county prosecutor said the gunman had an ak-47 assault rifle and a handgun. the gunman fired 16 rounds during the attack. an 18-year-old woman and 24-year-old man were killed. and up to 1 million mangos from mexico are being recalled because they may be contaminated with salmonella. the mangos were sold at a number of stores including costco, kroger and some wholefoods stores. health officials are investigating 103 cases of salmonella infection. most in california. and baseball season, well, it may be winding down, but it's just the beginning of corn maze season. and an ohio man, well, he's combining his love of both. cnn affiliate wxix reports that it took bill irons two weeks and

a gps to cut this 12-acre-maze honoring, yes, the cincinnati reds. he did it at the reds' requests. he says this one was especially important to him even though he's been doing it for 13 years. pretty amazing when you see the bird's eye view. quite some work. hats off to him. looks really cool, wolf. >> yeah. looks very cool indeed. baseball season in my mind not winding down, lisa, at all. i think it's just getting going now that we're getting ready for playoffs, world series. i got really high hopes for my own washington nationals. >> did you just see that screen? you could see the two sides essentially his map of what he used. and then actually seeing the result. that's unbelievable to think that that's actually corn maze that you see there. but that's a very, very intricate design. pretty cool stuff. >> very intricate indeed. he loves the reds. go reds. all right. i say go nationals too. thanks very much, lisa.

offense or defense, now that the convention is behind him, should mitt romney go on the attack like his campaign commercials? should he focus on sticking up for his record, what he wants to do? paul begala and mary matalin are standing by live in our strategy session. and harvard university draws some of the brightest young people in the country. but now it's investigating claims of a major cheating scandal involving dozens of students. great shot. how did the nba become the hottest league on the planet? by building on the cisco intelligent network they're able to serve up live video, and instant replays, creating fans from berlin to beijing. what can we help you build? nice shot kid. the nba around the world built by the only company that could. cisco. so, what's the problem? these are hot. we're shipping 'em everywhere. but we can't predict our shipping costs. dallas. detroit. different rates. well with us, it's the same flat rate.

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let's get straight to our strategy session. joining us now our cnn contributors, democratic strategist paul begala. also joining us republican strategist mary matalin. paul, you wrote a very, very tough piece on the daily beast today about mitt romney's speech last night. among other things you said this, i'll put it up on the screen, let's be blunt, he failed. romney never an electrifying

presence couldn't generate enough wattage to power a refrigerator light. what was your biggest problem with mitt romney's speech last night? i thought he showed emotion. he showed compassion. there was some tears in his eyes when he spoke about his family, his mom and his dad, certainly his wife and kids. >> right. >> what was so bad about it? >> first off, that's a very good point. it was my usual totally nonbias, nonpartisan perspective. there's probably not much he would have done frankly that i would love. to put my cards on the table. you are right, when he talked about his parents especially and his throat caught, he's clearly a good family man. lots of people are good family people. doesn't mean they ought to be the president. the question is not, is he good to his own family, he is. will he be good to your family? here's where he failed, wolf, the most important thing he had to do was chart a course. tell us where he wants to take america. what will he do from the failed

bush orthodox? he didn't do that. he needed to give us new ideas for the economy and jobs. and he didn't do it. it was a huge missed opportunity for governor romney. >> was it a huge missed opportunity, mary? >> i cannot tell you how really moved all across the board conservatives were. and they have a very high bar. they are a hard lot to please. i'm proud of paul for admitting he's hardly an undecided independent objective voter here or observer. not only did mitt romney do everything he needed to do, the whole convention -- the whole of it was greater than the sum of the parts. it showed what mitt romney is, showed where the party wants to go which is a stark contrast that the democrats have charactertured. i think everyone was moved from

artur davis to rubio to ann romney, clint eastwood. of the ten conventions i've been to it's been my favorite so far. >> there were a lot of effective speeches. clint eastwood i strongly disagree. paul, go ahead and respond. >> look, the best speech of the convention was given by romney. it was just given by ann, not by mitt. he wasn't terrible. he really wasn't. but he didn't do what he needed to do. it was ann's job to humanize him. and she did a wonderful job. she took this an ma tronic robot, which is most people's image of governor romney. and made him into a dad, a husband. it was a terrific speech by ann romney. but mitt didn't then have to do that. he didn't have to humanize himself further, and he's not very good at it. he need today chart a course. what is he going to do to create jobs for the middle class different from what bush did, different from what obama did? he could have been a third-way leader but it's not in him. he doesn't have any ideas that

herbert hoover or george w. bush couldn't run on. >> hold on, mary. instead of speaking in general -- generalities if you will, what he wants to do, should he have gone in this acceptance speech into those kinds of specific details what he would plan on doing in a second term as paul would have liked? >> he specifically charted a big contrast from the public sector big government overreach philosophy that the democrats have tried and as rubio said, people from all over the world are running away from those philosophies and those policies and said the philosophy of constitutional conservativism is. the five areas that would grow the economy, he would unleash a torrent of jobs and productivity and prosperity just opening up our own energy sector. we have to do debt retirement. we have to incentivize small business. we have to get rid of obama care. and we have to match skills with jobs. it was very visionary, very

future-oriented. and these are the same people who are complaining about his 59-point economic plan, now they don't like his five-point framework. there's nothing that mitt romney could say that would make paul begala or his ilk happy. i'm sure next week when i'm talking about the democratic convention, i won't be happy with it as well. but what we needed to do as a party, mitt romney was already up 15 points per james carville's own poll of independents before the convention. and then obama won them by eight points. in the last go-around this is going to be a great fall. and he's going to win -- romney's going to win with a mandate for real change. not hope and change. we're not going to heal the planet. we're going to help your family. >> that was a strong line in romney's speech last night. >> i kind of like the planet. i mean, republicans want a moon colony. i kind of want to heal the planet. i hunt here, i fish here, i breathe here, i raise my kids here. >> you're talking about newt gingrich. >> right. >> he didn't get the nomination.

all right. what does the president need to do? i'm in charlotte right now. just got here from tampa. what does the president need to do to get some new momentum, fresh momentum out of his convention next week? >> actually, i think he's got a similar challenge to governor romney. the easy part is attacking romney just like romney's easy part is attacking obama. i'll do that. i advise that super pac as you pointed out, we're going to keep hammering romney for his terrible record. the president and only the president can tell us what a second obama term will look like. where's he going to take us? and the central challenge, the president has said this in previous speeches, i want to hear it in charlotte when he says this is a make or break moment for the american middle class. when the president puts the middle class at the heart of his economic policy, that's the most important thing he can do in this speech. and then draw those policies out. here's what i will do to build new jobs for the middle class. that's his most important objective. >> i'll give you the last word, mary. >> well, he has to say what he's doing next, but before that has to explain why he's been a

failure in his first term as mitt romney said last night, only two presidents have failed us in this century. and the last one was carter. and he was beat by reagan. >> that's the last word. jimmy carter. when i heard mitt romney raise the name jimmy carter yesterday obviously it was causing some alarm bells to ring out there. jimmy carter's going to be speaking addressing this convention here in charlotte, but not personally. he's going to do it remote via video. so we'll hear from jimmy carter here in charlotte next week as well. all the festivities beginning here on tuesday. guys, thanks very, very much. we'll continue this conversation. so do you want to know what it's really like to experience the democratic national convention from the inside? this coming tuesday join the cnn election roundtable. i'll be there along with cnn's political team. you can submit your questions, get answers in realtime in this live virtual chat. don't miss the cnn election roundtable coming up on tuesday at noon. you can log onto

cnn.com/roundtable to get all the information you need to know. meanwhile, an extraordinary story of survival. a u.s. marine veteran and his disabled wife swept out of their vehicle and forced to swim for their lives in the floodwaters from isaac. and is mitt romney upstaging president obama? the new republican nominee makes a presidential-looking visit to the disaster zone in louisiana.

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isaac is moving north over arkansas soon missouri bringing heavy rain. it's left behind major damage, a lot of flooding along the gulf. there are homes still with water as high as the rooftops. hundreds of thousands of people

are still without power. and in isaac's wake an extraordinary story of survival. here's cnn's meteorologist rob marciano. >> reporter: wolf, the rain has stopped here in new orleans, but in many spots across southeast louisiana the floodwaters are still high. and in some cases flood victims are still cut off. yesterday we caught up with a couple who has quite the survivor story. coast guard choppers continued the work of rescuing victims of hurricane isaac. >> we were directed by the sheriff's department to evacuate, but we couldn't get too far down the road before we got swamped. >> reporter: joe and melonie were caught by the storm surge in plaquemines parish. >> the water is rising inside the vehicle. the dog getting all anxious. needless to say we were too. we called 911. they said stay with the vehicle. we were trying to do that but then the water kept coming over, coming over and then a crack in the front windshield. so trying to get out.

>> reporter: melonie's declining health made it difficult to evacuate before the storm and even more treacherous during the storm. >> i had her wheelchair in the back of the bed of the truck. and so we were able to crawl through the back window. i broke it out. and then set her up on the wheelchair getting her elevated. then the water kept coming, kept coming until eventually swept us both off. then we were both in the water estimated 10, 12-feet deep. >> reporter: a retired marine colonel, a strong swimmer, helping his disabled wife stay afloat. >> she kept saying i'm not going to make it. i said, yes, you are. we're going to make it. >> reporter: he could now see dry land. >> we were only a couple 300 yards from the levee, we could see the cattle walking on it. >> reporter: they managed to get to some reeds and other debris, something to latch onto. >> she was already shivering and getting close to hypothermia. so i tried to stabilize her best i could on a telephone pole and put another piece of wood debris

underneath her head to keep her elevated. i actually climbed over the reeds to get to the levee. >> reporter: having to leave his wife to run and get help was not easy. >> that was my biggest decision ever in my life to leave her. >> reporter: but she was still there when he returned. >> considering her health and her mobility -- extremely proud of her and her ability to withstand the severity that we went through. >> reporter: what are you most thankful for right now? >> that we're here talking to you. >> reporter: certainly happy to be alive. joe admitted to me he wished he'd evacuated before the storm. and there are likely many that may do things differently the next time a storm comes this way, wolf. >> rob marciano, thanks very much. our heart goes out to all, all those folks. more political news coming up here in "the situation room." you've heard all the political pund ents, now real undecided voters are reacting to mitt

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the political pundit certainly have varying takes on mitt romney's convention performance, but what matters most is what real voters out there think. particularly those who haven't yet made up their minds. cnn's tom foreman talked to some undecided voters. >> reporter: one of the things we saw last night in paul ryan's speech we saw again tonight when we heard big talk about things like the american dream, about making things better. this audience liked it. why do you suppose that is? >> well, we all have a dream. we want to see it come true. we've been very disappointed over the past almost four years. and where do we go from here? >> reporter: now, does that turn into action though? there's a difference between saying i have a dream and i trust this person to lead me toward it. do you feel moved to think that mitt romney's the guy to help you get closer? >> i felt his strength was his business background as far as evidence of his ability.

his five steps were all good ones, but there's a lot of details as to how they happen. we'll have to wait to see. >> reporter: how much were you looking for this speech to inspire you, to make you feel energy? or how much are you do you look for that from any candidate? >> i look for that a lot. you want to feel the person you choose to lead your nation is going to inspire you, they're going to lift you up and drive you towards achieving your own goals while you work towards your goals as a nation and as a community. do you know what i -- >> reporter: did you feel inspired tonight? >> a little bit. i feel i know him better as a family man and i know he's worked for what he has, so that does inspire me a little bit. >> reporter: i want to show you another piece of tape here. it was really very interesting. when he hit that big, big finish, i mean, this is the giant payoff, this group was as

flat as if they were watching grass grow. look at the reaction. >> that future is out there, it is waiting for us. our children deserve it. our nation depends on it. the peace and 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! [ cheers and applause ] >> the crowd was just going crazy in that hall. why not here? >> i don't know. i just felt like it was rhetoric. you expect someone to end with a bang and he did, but it didn't say anything new to me, didn't speak to me, just what i thought someone would say, nothing new at all. >> what about you? >> i didn't think it did

anything, seemed like a stump speech on the campaign trail, seemed like any other speech he had. he had good energy, but didn't do anything for me, not at all. >> reporter: let me ask a couple others questions. president obama is well noted for great, energetic speeches and people respond to him. this was a great energetic finish, but no response? >> well, i feel differently. >> reporter: you do? tell me. >> i feel differently. i was happy to hear him speak as he did. he made himself more human. he talked about family. he talked about the responsibility that we, the people, not the government, are responsible for what we do. we give the government money, they spend it carelessly. >> reporter: all right, a big change there. all of you were being measured by southern methodist university, great system to measure responses. measure yourself by raising your hands.

how many of you came in here undecided about who you would vote for, even if you leaned to one side. put your hands up if you came in undecided. now put your hands down and raise your hands if you are closer to making a decision now than you were. not that many. and again, that is the challenge for mitt romney because he has got to get folks like this off the dime if he wants to win in november. >> tom foreman, thanks very much. very interesting reactions from undecided voters. it draws some of the smartest students in the united states. now harvard university is investigating a major cheating scandal. we've got new information. and the buzz over clint eastwood's rather bizarre appearance at the republican convention. taking a closer look at why a lot of people are still

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here is a look at this hour's hot shots in spain. look at this. a firefighter surveys destruction left by a wildfire. in ooet ee open i can't, a man and his donkey wear traditional garb to respect the passing of the prime minister. in mal asia, fireworks light up the skyline. in germany, a baby kangaroo peeks out of his mother's pouch from the zoo. hot shots, pictures coming in from around the world. harvard university draws some of the smartest students from the united states and around the world. now dozens may be involved in a cheating scandal. lisa is back, looking into the

scandal. what have you found out? >> the undergraduate class with more than 250 students was assigned a final exam. the student run newspaper identified the class as government 1310. an introduction to congress. and cnn has obtained a copy of that exam. the test instructions clearly state it is open book, open note, open internet, with one major rule. quote, students may not discuss the exam with others. but harvard's administrative board has been investigating whether almost half the class of more than 250 students inappropriately collaborated or pl plajerized the exam. the review hasn't been completed. >> i was appalled by the news, i'll tell you why. you don't want to see harvard and cheating in the same sentence. it is horrible when any student

cheats or is accused of cheating. we look to harvard as being one of the world's leader institutions in education. as a leader, we expect more from places like harvard. >> the cheating came to light after the assistant government professor teaching the course noticed similar answers from students. ben samuels is a senior and editor of the harvard crimson. he says students in the class they spoke to whether dumbfounded they were being accused of cheating. >> i think at this point there's just more confusion than anything else. the students we talked to by and large at this point are still trying to figure out exactly what it is that they're being accused of. >> in a statement, harvard university president drew faust said the allegations represent totally unacceptable behavior that betrays the trust upon which intellectual inquiry at harvard depends. other colleges around the country are taking note. andrea goodwin is the director of student conduct at university

of maryland. >> i think they're probably going to use this opportunity as are many campuses across the country to educate students about the importance of integrity, importance of academic integrity, making sure students understand that it is not just about cheating on an exam or a quiz or homework assignment, that it's much more important. >> now, if it is determined that the students cheated, they could face disciplinary action, including being kicked out of the school for a year. wolf? >> lisa, thanks very much. happening now. hurricane disaster and the race for the white house. mitt romney makes an unexpected trip to louisiana. also ann romney talks to cnn outlining why she thinks women will want to vote for her husband. why a former u.s. navy s.e.a.l. may not see any royalties for his controversial book about the killing of osama bin laden.

i am wolf blitzer, you're in i am wolf blitzer, you're in "the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com we're coming to you live from the site of next week's democratic national convention. the time warner cable arena in charlotte, north carolina. the spotlight from the republican convention hasn't cooled yet, but the party's newly minted nominees are out there on the campaign trail, tweaking a schedule to squeeze in a presidential looking visit to a disaster zone. cnn's national political correspondent jim acosta is in new orleans with details. what's the latest with mitt romney, jim? >> reporter: wolf, mitt romney was scheduled to visit three battleground states today. at the last minute, his campaign aides scheduled a stop here in louisiana so mitt romney could go and visit some of the storm

damage in this state. it is a sign that this campaign with just two months to go will have plenty of twists and turns, including one last night. >> mitt romney! >> reporter: just before takeoff from florida, mitt romney picked up where he left off at the convention, returning to a sales pitch to independent voters that chose the president four years ago. >> you listen to the last guy running for president, he laid out what he was do, he was unable to do it. time to give someone new a chance, hold us accountable. >> reporter: joining the gop nominee to make the case, arguably the star of the convention, ann romney. >> give this man a chance and he will not fail. >> reporter: his running mate tried to set the terms for the debate to come. >> this is the chance where we have a choice. do we want failed leadership, stagnant economy, debt crisis, welfare state, or do we want the opportunity, that american idea where everyone can make the most

of their lives, define happiness for themselves. >> reporter: romney showing off a newly wrapped campaign plane and mixing of his schedule. he dropped a trip to virginia to survey damage left by tropical storm isaac in louisiana. >> a lot of questions for you. draw some attention to what's going on here so people around the country know folks here need help. >> reporter: there was also some cleaning up to do after the convention that had nothing to do with all of the balloons. >> what do you want me to tell romney? i can't tell him to do that. can't do that to himself. >> reporter: clinlt east wood's rambling with a chair that was supposed to be president obama had some cheering. reporters took note the romney family was not laughing. >> we appreciated clint's support and he is a unique guy.

>> reporter: seemed to defend him saying judging an american icon like clint eastwood through a typical political lens doesn't work. his add libbing was a break from all of the political speeches and the crowd enjoyed it. but then this tweet was sent out aimed at east wood and romney saying the seat is taken. >> not a word in massachusetts where job growth was 47th out of 50. >> reporter: signs of tough fights to come, obama campaign released a video of the speech and joe biden offered rebuttal in ohio. >> we do not think you grow the economy from millionaires down, we know you build it from the middle class out. that's how you build america. >> reporter: and campaign aides are down playing expectations of a post convention bounce for mitt romney. wolf, lo and behold, a new reuters pole shows mitt romney leading by two percentage points coming out of the convention.

so some good news for the gop nominee there. at the same time, wolf, we should also note mitt romney's aides talked to reporters about the clint eastwood event earlier this afternoon, and according to stew stevens, top adviser to mitt romney, mitt romney was laughing back stage when clint eastwood was on stage, they thought he did a good job on the convention with that skit he had on stage, although at one point another campaign aide did tell reporters they had no idea what he was going to do with that chair when he put it on the stage. they thought, wolf, he was going to sit in it. wolf? >> i'm sure they didn't think he was going to do what he wound up doing, certainly didn't think he would ramble on for what, 12 minutes, did they? >> reporter: no, that's right. they said basically that they let this night or this part of the night be whatever clint eastwood wanted to do. it was an i

it was -- he was given carte blanche to do what he wanted. it sort of overshadowed what happened last night because so many are talking about it today. mitt romney had a biographical video that played before the 10:00 hour. ann romney herself told reporters she wished that played in the 10:00 hour instead of clint eastwood. >> thanks very much. president obama will visit the hurricane disaster zone next week. today he was on official business visiting u.s. troops in texas. he still managed to slip in some of his campaign themes into the remarks. cnn's athena jones is at fort bliss and has this report. >> hello, team bliss! >> reporter: president obama spent friday at fort bliss, texas, visiting troops to mark the two year anniversary of the end of the u.s. combat mission in iraq. >> because of your determination to succeed, you turned back an insurgency, you stood firm against sectarian strife.

>> reporter: ending that was was a promise he campaigned on. >> two years ago i was able to come to bliss, mark the end of our combat mission. that night i told the american people that all our troops would be out of iraq by end of the following year. at the time, i know some folks didn't believe me. but i meant what i said. >> reporter: his return to the base was billed as an official event, rare in the midst of a heated election season. on the campaign trail, his republican rival, mitt romney, fresh off his big night in tampa kept the pressure on. >> measure us, hold us accountable, do the same with the president. you listen to the last guy running for president, he laid out what he would do. he was unable to do it. time to give someone new a chance. >> reporter: the obama team spent the day hitting back, first in a web video highlighting what the gop nominee left out of his

acceptance speech thursday night. >> at a time when 84,000 american men and women are fighting for their country in afghanistan, not a single mention of how or when to bring them home safely. >> reporter: later dispatching vice president joe biden to speak before auto workers in ohio where he mocked republican claims their proposals represent bold change. >> there's nothing gutsy about giving another trillion dollars in tax breaks to millionaires. there's nothing bold, there's nothing bold about turning medicare into a voucher system. there's nothing bold about kicking 19 million kids and elderly off medicaid with no place else to go. >> reporter: with hundreds of thousands still without power in the wake of hurricane isaac, romney also visited the town of la feet, louisiana to meet with governor bobby jindal. the president plans to visit the state monday.

asked about the timing of the president's trip to louisiana and why he isn't going sooner, the white house cited logistical challenges, the chief concern with a disaster area is making sure they don't divert resources from locals that need them. wolf? >> athena jones traveling with the president in fort bliss, texas. isaac also blamed for four deaths, including an elderly couple that drowned in their own home. brian todd is in plaquemines parish with the latest. >> reporter: wolf, you can see behind me how devastated this town is. this was once a street. that was a street. you can see what happened to this building here. it was in this town where the first reported fatalities from isaac occurred. we got access to that house, only with an airboat, and realized as soon as we got there, the odds were stacked heavily against those that stayed.

it is almost unapproachable and dangerous. we have to navigate around seeping natural gas and downed power lines just to get near it. this house is where the first two fatalities from isaac occurred. a couple trapped inside. urban truel knew them and had to pull out their bodies. >> did they have a chance to get out once the water started to flow here? >> water came up so fast. we had a lot of emergency personnel had a rough time getting out. so elderly couple needing assistance, very tough to do. >> reporter: there may have been one opening, maybe. the couple was found floating in the kitchen of the house. the kitchen is around the other side of the house, we can't access it now. we're told the water levels at the time rescuers got here were eight feet higher than now, up to the attic vent there. if the couple could have gotten

to that, possibly they could have gotten out. he declined to identify the couple by name. he says emergency officials got word to as many as possible when the levee near here was overtopped. one of the neighbors tried to get the couple to leave and they wouldn't. the only creatures that can in habit the town are amphibius or have to ride what's floating. as we move by airboat, we see homes flooded, buckled. the chief said one house floated a mile from its foundation. bobby landry and others in his family stayed through the storm. he lost one house to hurricane katrina, moved here, remodeled this one. now this. he and his family had to climb out windows as the water rose toward the second floor. >> feel empty. it hurts. >> do you want to come back and live here? >> this is great living here. this side of the river, people in this community are all tight, close. unfortunately there's not enough of us.

>> reporter: the fire chief is worried about more potential losses. >> not something i want to see, hope it is the last we do see. we're checking a few residents along the area. we're hoping everybody made it out. >> reporter: when i asked if the town would recover, he said he thinks so. they talked to some residents that packed up and aren't coming back. the chief is reeling as well, he lost his home and this gas station which was his business. wolf? >> awful. brian todd from plaquemines parish. fresh from the republican convention, ann romney talks about women voters and the gop. did she answer the question? stand by. details of the legal battle over a former u.s. navy s.e.a.l.'s book about the killing of osama bin laden. ♪ pop goes the world ♪ it goes something like this ♪ everybody here is a friend of mine ♪ ♪ everybody, tell me, have you heard? ♪

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ann romney spoke today to our own chief political correspondent and host of state of the union, candy crowley. candy, you had a chance to interview ann romney this morning. you asked her about the problem that republicans seem to have across the country, attracting women voters. i'll play a clip of what she said to you. >> those that may not have voted for a republican in the past are coming up and telling me this, that enough is enough, that they care not about their own job and their children's job and their husband's job, which they do care about those, they care about the legacy of debt we're leaving their children. and i think they recognize it is time for someone that understands the economy, understands job creation, understands how responsible he is going to be in making sure their children are not going to be burdened with the debts. >> you know, it was interesting. i was watching almost all the

speeches. mike huckabee focused on social issues, cultural issues, if you will. most of the other speakers, including ann romney wanted to talk about the economy. >> from the get go, they thought it is the state of the economy. socially conservative republicans say it is a distraction to bring up the cultural issues. it is in the planck. everybody knows what the republican party stands for. if we get wrapped around that axle, it takes away. ann romney says this is what women care about, they care about jobs. i guarantee you will get that answer from every republican if you ask them, they have that talking point out there. this is what women care about is jobs, which is true. i did say republicans had this problem for three decades. this isn't a mitt romney problem, this is a republican party problem as well. she thought women would take a

look. >> it was interesting you asked her to share with all of us the reaction mitt romney had to his acceptance speech. >> since everybody else critiques it, why not see how he felt about it. she said really it was much more reflective. when they were alone, they thought about his dad and his mom, what they might have thought. you know the folks that were up there that talked about mitt romney and good works he has done through his church, one of their sons found one of those folks and brought them to the suite where the romneys were, and got to reconnect with them. it was more reflective of hey, what did you think of the speech. >> now, in charlotte, north carolina, specifically. this is the most cnn, orc poll. romney 48%, obama, 47%.

that's a tie. 3.5% sampling error. unemployment in north carolina is at 9.6%, candy, national average, 8.3%. what does the president need to do in the next two months beginning the next few days in north carolina to regain north carolina. captured it four years ago, not by a lot, did win north carolina a few years ago. >> a couple of things. the first is everyone says you can't talk about the economy. you can't ignore the elephant in the living room. the way they have been talking about it, which is to say it is not great, but let's remember where it was. and what this administration has always wanted to do with reelecting is say maybe you're a little disappointed, maybe you thought i would do better than this, maybe we all thought the economy would be better by now, but do you really want to go back to how we got in this mess in the first place. as always, they want to frame

this as a choice, because they think then even those suffering, as long as they can see ahead and believe hey, we're kind of on the right track, i believe this guy can do it, maybe this guy needs a little more time, and by the way, the other guy is unacceptable to me, they think that's the path to victory. >> candy crowley, terrific lineup. 9:00 a.m. eastern this sunday morning. we will be watching. you'll be here in charlotte. >> i will. >> thanks very much. up ahead, i talk to the obama campaign's press secretary about what the president needs to do here in charlotte. first, it is the controversial book grabbing headlines. now the military is cracking down on the former navy s.e.a.l. that wrote it. [ male announcer ] citi turns 200 this year.

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a major legal storm is brewing for the former navy s.e.a.l. that wrote a tell all book about the raid that killed osama bin laden. it is possible, possible, he may not get any money at all from the sales of the book. our pentagon correspondent barbara starr is working the story. barbara, what's going on? >> this turned into a high stakes legal fight between the federal government and the navy s.e.a.l. and the federal government is warning that it might consider legal action against him and his publisher. appearing on cbs's "60 minutes" in disguise, under a fake name, mark owen. this is the former navy s.e.a.l. that wrote "no easy day." his account of being on the raid that killed osama bin laden. >> my worry from the beginning, it is a political season. this book is not political

whatsoever. doesn't bad mouth either party. >> he retained a washington, d.c. attorney that once represented bush white house adviser karl rove in the investigation into the outing of cia operative valerie plame. rove was not charged. this legal position is in question. he wrote he is in material breach and violation of agreements he signed to protect classified information and promising to submit his work to a security review. luskin wrote back saying the agreement only requires the government to review writings under certain circumstances. >> if you're in possession of classified documents as a navy s.e.a.l. would be, you sign a nondisclosure agreement. that agreement says if you write a book, any book, fiction, nonfiction, and you use information that might even

derived from classified information, you have to get preclearance from the pentagon. >> mark represented clients in similar cases. >> the s.e.a.l.'s attorney's strongest case is the agreements signed don't apply to the factual circumstances of the bin laden raid. >> the publisher penguin group could be at risk. >> rather than cooperating with the government, penguin not only increased the print run but expedited publication date, which is a brazen slap across the government's face. >> penguin, the publisher, has not commented publicly since the pentagon sent this letter. in addition, you know, a lot of people say the s.e.a.l. could maybe avoid charges because the government may not want to discuss the bin laden raid in open court, if it came to that, but the defense department, wolf, is already raising this other possible solution saying it might seize all the money

from the book sales. wolf? >> we'll continue to watch this story. thanks very much, barbara starr at the penalty gone. we are live in shorcharlott north carolina. this tuesday, president obama gets his chance, the three day convention will begin. he will be at the podium on thursday. just ahead, i'll talk to the president's campaign press secretary about what he needs to do to counter mitt romney's convention message. ♪ wow... [ female announcer ] sometimes, all you need is the smooth, creamy taste of werther's original caramel to remind you that you're someone very special. ♪ now discover new caramel apple filled werther's original.

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what does it say to you that mitt romney went to louisiana today, sort of upstaging the president who is only going to show up there monday? >> look, i worked for the president a long time. i know it takes a lot of resources to send a sitting president to a disaster area. he has been wanting to go. he is looking forward to going monday. this isn't a political thing, this is an opportunity for president obama, for mitt romney to think about the people in louisiana, visit with them, hear their stories, hopefully take some of that back to people in washington. >> jen, i am presuming you watched all or part of the republican convention and watched mitt romney's speech. >> i did not all of it, we were campaigning, but i did watch the speeches. >> okay. but he had to show his compassionate side because that's his problem with voters who think he doesn't understand their problems. doesn't the president have the reverse problem which is that when he comes to this convention

in charlotte, doesn't he have to show that he is mr. fix it and can actually fix the economy? >> well, you know, i have to say i think the american people want to hear a plan, they want to hear an agenda. the president has been out there talking about fighting for the middle class, talking about preserving health care for americans, talking about making sure kids have the opportunity to go to college. the american people know a lot about the president. fortunately, we don't have to re-invent him. >> jen, unemployment is still above 8%. doesn't he have to show how he's going to get it down? >> well, he's been talking about it. he's laid out plans. you'll hear him layout the choice next week. we know we made some progress in the last four years. more work needs to be done. that's why he wants to go back and spend another four years fighting for the middle class. >> let me play a clip, jen, of what romney said in tampa last night. then we'll discuss on the other side. >> okay. >> i wish president obama had

succeeded because i want america to succeed. [ cheers and applause ] but his promises gave way to disappointment and division. this isn't something we have to accept. >> so what do you say to those voters out there who are disappointed that they believe the president hasn't really delivered? >> well, i think if you talk to an auto worker in ohio or michigan, talk to a teacher in almost any state in the country working because of the president fighting for more funding for teachers, if you talk to kids under 26 who are covered by their parents' health care plan now, they disagree with what mitt romney said. we know this country has been through a tough time. there's more we need to do and the president has been talking about that and he'll talk about the choice next week.

>> the criticism of mitt romney's speech was that we really didn't hear anything from him that we didn't already know and that we haven't already heard before. so can you give us a little preview? are we going to hear some new policy prescriptions from the president in his speech in charlotte or at least some promises and direction about what he would do in a second term specifically? >> there's an old saying, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result, and i think that defines what mitt romney did or didn't present last night. the president has been out there talking about his agenda, talking about his being a fighter for the middle class. the american people know him well, they know him much better than mitt romney and he will layout the choice next week. i promise you the american people will have a good idea of the road map he is going to present moving forward for the next few months and for a second

term, next friday maybe we will chat again. >> are you saying he will outline a new vision, new plan, specific series of steps, get into details or continue to say what he has been saying? >> wolf, he has been out there talking about what he thinks needs to happen now, what he thinks needs to happen in the years ahead. i'm not going to get too ahead of the speech, but he will layout the choice. he will layout what's at stake in november, and i promise you he will be ready to deliver by thursday. meantime, he's still working on it. >> we know the choice. what about his specific direction and his specific plans for what he would like to do if he were reelected. >> gloria, i know you've come out with us before. he talks about that every single day he's on the campaign trail. he'll be talking about that tomorrow, sunday, monday, tuesday. and people are familiar with what his phoning us ifocus is. i expect you'll hear more from

the president about that on thursday. he has been out there laying out his agenda. there isn't a secret about his agenda. this is an opportunity to talk on a big scale with a big megaphone. we're looking forward to doing that. >> before we go, have to play a clip from clint eastwood last night in tampa. watch this. >> what do you want me to tell romney? i can't tell him to do that. he can't do that to himself. you're absolutely crazy. you're getting as bad as biden. [ laughter ] >> you're the campaign press secretary. you want to react because that's really generating a lot of buzz out there as you well know. >> it certainly is. this may make me an old soul, but i do enjoy clint eastwood

movies, i am still a fan. i don't think the romney group thought they would be talking clint eastwood. because they're lacking in a jenld a, that's what people are talking about all day. i don't think it was in the plans they were thinking a few weeks and months ago. >> did you think clint eastwood was disrespectful to the president of the united states? >> i think he is an actor, he has been in a lot of classic movies, you know, and it was a will confusing to watch what he presented last night, but you know, we're not worried about that. we're worried about mitt romney and paul ryan and what they're representing and how the president lines up with that, and we feel pretty good about where we are. >> but jen, the campaign did tweet, seat taken, referring to the empty chair. >> that's right. >> so it is clear, this is an argument you're not unhappy to have with clint eastwood.

>> we have fun from time to time. they did tweet a photo of the president sitting in a chair. a little fun, light response at last night. we're ready to move forward, focus on the convention, talk about the president's agenda, vision for the future, move beyond clint eastwood's presentation. >> see you next week. >> sounds good. the president and first lady will be there and they're getting excited on the streets of charlotte. >> good to hear. >> they were excited in tampa, too. a lot of democrats here, lot of republicans there. that's what these conventions are about. >> great. can't wait to get there. thanks, wolf, thanks, gloria. >> thank you. you want to know what it is really like to experience the democratic national convention from the inside? this tuesday, join the cnn election round table. i'll be there with cnn's political team. submit your questions, get answers real time in this live, virtual chat. don't miss the cnn election

round table, tuesday noon eastern, log onto cnn.com/roundtable. up next, a closer look at a bizarre convention speech that's creating a lot more buzz. we're going to continue to follow the reaction to clint eastwood. for your attention. so we invented a warning you can feel. introducing the all-new cadillac xts. available with a patented safety alert seat. when there's danger you might not see, you're warned by a pulse in the seat. it's technology you won't find in a mercedes e-class. the all-new cadillac xts has arrived, and it's bringing the future forward. chase scene netflix coming soon extra butter tickets swoon penguin journey junior mints movie phone evil prince bollywood 3d shark attack ned the head 5% cashback signup for 5% cashback on movies through september. it pays to discover.

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it was mitt romney's speech, the speech that has a lot of people talking, the clint eastwood speech. the hollywood icon stole the show at the republican convention last night, rattled a lot of nerves with an unscripted, imaginary conversation with president obama who supposedly was in that chair. you're looking at that now, an empty chair. cnn's miguel marquez has more

action on that eastwood speech. a lot of people were stunned. what's been the reaction? >> mr. eastwood was given talking points by the romney campaign. suffice it to say the surprise celebrity guest did a performance that was not so welcome. >> you want to make my day, huh? >> reporter: what started as classic clint. >> i have mr. obama sitting here. >> reporter: turned into political drama, with even the candidate's wife on "cbs this morning" having a tough time with positive spin. >> he is a unique guy and did a unique thing. >> reporter: the four time oscar winner got good reviews from john voigt and some guys that texted him. >> got texts clint's the man. >> reporter: unscripted, unplugged, he spoke twice as long as planned, causing nervous moments for romney's campaign staff. >> i wondered about, you know --

what? what do you want me to tell romney? i can't tell him to do that. can't do that to himself. [ laughter ] >> reporter: the performance could be described as a hit, invisible obama on twitter quickly grew to 50,000 followers. and eastwooding has taken off. cute pictures of empty chairs. a party and campaign upstaged by a celebrity and a chair. oh, that famous chair. the romney campaign at this point is saying hey, look, people loved it in the audience, it is not a big deal. we are moving on, wolf? >> all right. we're going to be following some other stories now. an outbreak of potentially

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let's check in with erin burnett, outfront at the top of the hour. erin, give us a preview of what's coming up? >> all right. well, sad not to be sitting next to you, wolf, looks good there in charlotte. we are back home here, talking ben bernanke. i don't know if you heard, wolf, he made a big speech defending, i mean viciously, vigorously defending his record in terms of providing easy money to the u.s. economy. he says thanks to some of his quantitative easing which totalled trillions of dollars, we have more jobs. how many dollars per job would it be? $1 million for every job created. was it worth it? a crucial question. he is the man, of course, that could determine who wins the election, if he decides to start spending more money between now and november. we call him the king maker. we will get into what he can do and the million dollar jobs number. and a special investigation

a week ago about the gsa, division of the u.s. government that's charged with creating a more transparent, more efficient, less provely gat u.s. government. we have investigation showing employees from hawaii that work at home that work for the kansas city office, transit back and forth with taxpayer money. does that make sense? drew griffin was waiting months to get more information from the gsa, wolf, on how much money was spent and he has gotten details and they're shocking. coming up, top of the hour. >> important two stories. while i still have you. >> yes. >> we will be sitting next to each other next week, down there behind me in charlotte. >> yes. >> what did you think of the republican convention in tampa? you had a bird's eye view, you were right there on the floor, upstairs. what did you think? >> you know, i enjoyed it. i have to say it was funny, wolf, sitting with you, you said they're more organized than the democrats are. they kept to their time. it was very organized. things happened when they were supposed to happen.

and people seemed to be i felt having a good time and really getting behind their candidate. that's how it felt to me. >> except for that clint eastwood. that was not very well organized. >> no. >> you and i were sitting there, listening to him, i was mumbling i was mumbling to myself as i was watching it, it was painful, embarrassing, it was awkward. i was looking to see if he was reading a teleprompter or not. he clearly wasn't. he was just vamping or whatever -- >> rambling -- >> yeah -- >> wolf, you were muttering under your breath. wolf and i were sitting probably -- what was it, 30 feet away from the vip box so we were able to see from the side the romney clan reaction which was -- >> they weren't happy either. they were squirming. it was awkward. everything else was pretty well organized. it was on time. that was a blunder obviously. all right. i'll see you here in charlotte. you're getting ready to company down. i'm here. all right, thanks very much. >> all right, see you soon, wolf. >> see you.

all right, the government takes emergency action to keep the oil flowing after hurricane isaac. lisa sylvester is tracking that and some of the other sttop stories in "the situation room." >> one of marathon's refineries has been operating at a reduced rate in the wake of the storm isaac. the department says it's keeping all options open to address supply issues. facebook stock fell to a new low today after analysts lowered their price targets. analysts say the expiration of several lockup periods when company insiders and major stock holders can sell their shares is also a concern. reuters is reporting the social network's stock fell more than 5% to $18.06. shares have been falling since facebook's high-profile ipo in may. the cdc says 10,000 people who stayed at yosemite national park this summer may be at risk for the deadly hanta virus.

two people have died and four more are reported infected in california. the virus is a rare lung dece e disease. it spreads to people when they breathe in con tap natai contam. neil armstrong was buried today in ohio. he died saturday at the age of 82. in a statement, his family said, quote, the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down, think of neil armstrong and give him a wink. interestingly enough, tonight happens to be a full moon so when you look up there tonight think of neil armstrong. wolf, that's a beautiful moon by the way. beautiful, beautiful picture they pulled out for us, gorgeous moon. >> very nice indeed. all right, good point, thanks very much. a true, true american hero. it's music to political

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michelle obama says everybody should watch the party conventions but this week she admitted to david letterman she hasn't been watching the republicans. >> i as the wife of the guy they're running against, i tend not to watch it but i think it's important for everyone to watch these conventions. because this is the time where you get to know the party. you understand the platform.

you understand the candidates. you know, this is technically where the campaign begins. so i think it's very important for everyone to watch as much of both convection ventions as pos make their decisions. i -- i didn't watch it. >> every political convention has a soundtrack. the republican meeting in tampa was certainly no exception. ♪ living in america that campaign theme songs are as telling about the times as they are about the candidate. we listen to some of the greatest hits with presidential historian doris kerns goodwin. >> 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. [ applause ]

♪ i'm for president ♪ i'm for president ♪ i'm for president ♪ i'm for president ♪ you like ike ♪ i like ike ♪ everybody loves ike for president ♪ >> i love these old songs. they are so fun. politics should be fun as well as serious business. to the extend we can share in part of that fun, i think we're better off for the leadership to do something. ♪ get on the winning boat ♪ the man with the friendly smile will get the honest vote ♪ >> one of my favorite songs, 'cause it's such a crazy distance between the meaning of the songs and the words is "get on a raft with taft." williams howard taft weighed at ties 350 pounds. if you got on a raft with taft, you wouldn't be on that raft very long. what were they thinking? ♪ if he's good enough for lindy ♪ ♪ he's good enough for me ♪ herbert hoover is the only man ♪ ♪ can keep our country free >> the song for hoover, it's,

you know, if he's good enough for lindy, he's good enough for me, meaning that hoover was supported by charles lindbergh who was such a figure hero for having flown across the atlantic. it's hard to imagine if there's anybody today, you know, if he's good enough for xx, he's good enough for me. ♪ happy days are here again ♪ the skies above are clear again ♪ >> roosevelt and his supporters had such a sense of optimism about 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 the roosevelt song. it made people really believe if this guy gets in, things will really be better. indeed, it turned out to be true. ♪ happy days are here again ♪ the skies above are clear again ♪ ♪ vote