standing ovation. >> liberty and justice for all. >> that's the former congresswoman gabrielle giffords leading the pledge of allegiance brings thousands watching her to tears. lots to talk about today, final day in charlotte. beau biden, the son of vice president joe biden will be our guest and steve israel will join us. illinois governor patt quinn is our guest and judy chu will join us and mitt romney's foreign policy adviser is our guest. "starting point" begins right now. hey, everybody, welcome. our team, dana bash joins us in the midnight diner. we've been given one plate of

french toast among the four of us. >> that is serious french toast. >> it is giant but still one plate. >> we could feed a village off that plate. >> ana navarro is joining us and ryan lizza down at the end. a washington correspondent for "the new yorker." the stage now set for the final push to election day. president obama accepting his party's nomination with a speech that some people say was great. others say it wasn't a home run. but a big hit with delegates in the convention hall. the president says unlike mitt romney his leadership has been tested and proven. dana bash has an assessment of how it went. the president is known forgiving great speeches and this is not considered to be a great speech. >> i think the word most people are using and it's accurate is safe. it was a safe speech but he definitely wanted to come cross as somebody who has been humbled by his four years and somebody who understands and wants the american people to understand

it's not easy. >> barack obama accepted his party's nomination with the kind of soaring rhetoric that got him elected four years ago, except home and change were replaced by a reality check. >> i recognize the times have changed since i first spoke to this convention. times have changed and so have i. i'm no longer just a candidate. i'm the president. >> yes, we can now a plea for patience. >> america, i never said this journey would be easy and i won't promise that now yes, our path is harder but it leads to a better place. yes our road is longer but we travel it together. we don't turn back. we leave no one behind. >> but he still sprinkled in that familiar obama oratory. >> our problems can be solved

and our challenges can be met. the path we offer may be harder but it leads to a better place. i'm asking you to choose that future. >> the obama campaign ripped into mitt romney for not offering enough specifics at his acceptance speech last week. the president too long that a step further. >> they want your vote but they don't want you to know their plan. and that's because all they had to offer is the same prescriptions they've had for the last 30 years. have a surplus, try a tax cut. deficit too high? try another one. feel a cold coming on, take two tax cuts and roll back regulations and call us in the morning. >> he offered new promises for a second term. >> i'm asking you to rally around a set of goals for your country, goals in manufacturing, energy, education, national security and the deficit.

>> reporter: some specifics a vow to create 1 million new manufacturing jobs and cut growth of college tuition in half over the next ten years and cut oil imports in half by 2020. vice president joe biden took on the role of eyewitness to the president while he made tough decisions. >> ladies and gentlemen, i'm here to tell you what i think you already know, that i watch it up close, bafry rebravery resides in the heart of president obama and time and time again i witnessed him summon it. he has courage in his soul and compassion in his heart and spine of steel. >> and biden delivered the bumper sticker line he loves. >> we can now proudly say what you've heard me say the last six months. osama bin laden is dead and general motors is alive. >> reporter: though the night belonged to the president, the democratic nominee from 2004

offered one of the most mem abl one liners of the night. >> ask osama bin laden if he is better off now than four years ago. >> when it comes to lasting images from the convention, it is this moment, former congresswoman gabby giffords shot through the head last year and now walking without a cane to cite the pledge allegiance. >> liberty and justice for all. >> conventions are highly political events but that goes without saying was nonpartisan. somebody who covered gabby giffords in congress to see her do that was remarkable. >> so sad in a way because she was struggling to get up there but what progress. >> >> i love the ending. for all, it was great. we'll check in with new york congressman steve israel to ask him that very question.

first let's go to alina cho in new york with a look at the rest of the stories making news today. >> good morning, soledad, we're keeping a close eye in wall street. in less than 9 o minutes, the labor department will release its jobs report and there are signs that hiring may be picking up. economists surveyed by cnn money expect 120,000 jobs were added last month. cnn money.com's managing editor lex harris joins me with a preview. the question is, will it move the needle on unemployment? >> it almost certainly won't. as you said, the economists we spoke to are looking for 120,000 jobs. i've seen some estimates that are a little higher but to talk about a real recovery, you need to see 200,000 or more. 120,000 is not awful and continues this story of slow, steady gains. >> lex harris, thank you very much. we're also following breaking news out of china. a series of earthquakes killing

at least 43 people. the four quakes range from a 4.8 to 5.6. the earthquakes damaged more than 20,000 homes. hurricane leslie spinning in place in the open atlantic right now. but the storm still has its sites set on bermuda. leslie is a category one hurricane, expected to remain stationary through the morning, 430 miles seestd of bermuda. bolters and swimmers on the east coast are being warned to look for dangerous swells. leslie is expected to intensify and pass east of bermuda on sunday morning and it could be upgraded to a category two with 105-mile-per-hour winds. prince harry is now in afghanistan for his second tour of duty. the news confirmed just a few minutes ago by britain's ministry of defense. prince harry will serve for four months an an apache helicopter

pilot. it comes four and a half years after his last tour and comes a couple of weeks after the infamous pictures of harry naked in las vegas surfaced. coincidence this is happening now? probably not. >> i bet they are happy to most past that. alina, thank you. let's get back to the top story, the end of the democratic convention here in charlotte. let's get to steve israel, our guest, the chairman of the democratic campaign committee. also charlotte's mayor, anthony fox. good morning. congressman, let's get your reaction first to the speech. >> the president did what he had to do. reminded the american people that he withdrew our troops from iraq and be rejoined with families and made the decision to kill osama bin laden and did it. and he rescued the auto industry from devastation and depression. >> been described as a safe speech, do you agree with that? >> it reminded the american

people that he made them safer. >> that's not what he said when they say safe. >> a choice, do we want to continue to build on progress or go back to the policies that got us into the mess to begin with. >> a speech that was navigating direction versus being one of the as spirational, over the top. president obama has given some amazing speeches. >> was it the greatest speech in human history, no, but the american people want to know what you've done and where you're bringing us. >> the national journal wrote this about this speech. it was a great speech yet it fell short. obama still has work to do with the vision thing. convincing voters that he has a credible practical plan to turn the nation around is a process not a speech. >> look, i don't think the american people are looking for a speech. they are looking to know what you've done to rescue us from a near depression and where are we going and what choices do we have? and that's what he laid out last night. >> was it a mistake to not have more about obama care.

there were sort of references to it but no specific references to the aca. >> i think there was a lot of references to it before obama's speech. i think they laid it out. bill clinton spent a lot of time talking about health care. he did a lot of the dirty work for obama and a lot of the heavy lifting for obama. i think that was one of the biggest challenges, not only was he competing against obama from 2004 and 2008 but bill clinton from the night before who set the bar very, very high for him. >> i want to the speech looking for a very specific agenda this president wanted to pursue if elected. you're in congress, i didn't get that from last night. i still don't know in january what he's going to tell you guys in congress to do. he talked about very -- talked about goals in terms of manufacturing jobs and the deficit, but what is the president's legislative agenda? >> no matter what his legislative agenda is going to

be, he's going to accomplish it if we continue to elect republican majority that do nothing and stop the president from succeeding. >> let's assume you win back the house, what are you going to do? >> he talked about how you rebuild the middle class and create manufacturing jobs and retoolg the energy industry and more jobs in clean technology. we can no longer grow an economy based on industries that are no longer exist. we need to create and generate new industries and that's what he talked about. 21st century economic agenda. >> president obama spent time laying out the word compromise and talking about compromise, because we all recognize that's something the american people want. people are tired of what they perceive as a do nothing congress and congress in washington, which is how the congress has the approval numbers it has. right after he talked about compromise, he gave us a long list of things he refused to do. let me tell you, compromise and

refuse are not happy words. >> we have compromise over and over and over. we are up against a tea party congress, every time we want to compromise, they say compromise is a dirty word. the president talked about the things he hoped to accomplish and things he put on table to reduce debt and rebuild the middle class and start small business, the american people know he couldn't accomplish those things because you have a republican congress instead of foeng using on how you create new small businesses, spent two years trying to shut down planned parenthoods. so he had to describe the environment but more importantly talk about what he's still willing to do. he made another offer, you have rejected compromise and slammed the door in the face of middle class. i'm still willing to talk to you and fight for middle class jobs and new technologies and protecting medicare and helping senior citizens and waiting for a republican congress -- >> i think you're making the case for him better than he did himself. >> let me say this, as a local government official who has to

balance the books, i thought one message came through clearly, people are concerned how the country deals with the long-term fiscal issues, the thing that came through in inton's speech as well as the president's speech, the republicans are really throwing up a lot of rhetoric but they are not throwing up a plan that actually helps us address that issue. you cannot balance the budget on the one hand and promise deficit budget busting tax cuts on the other hand. they haven't shown that they have the ability to deal with the math. i think that's a big issue. >> math arithmetic is what president clinton talked about. he'll take his speech, probably compress it a bit and take it on the road. how helpful will he be in doing what you need to do, elect more democrats to congress? >> exactly right. this is a choice. the president i think is going to win this election. but he needs a partener in

congress. there's a deep sense of buyer's remorse set in with the republican congress. they wanted a rep congress that would focus on new jobs. they got a congress focused on opening up new opportunities for millionaires, jobs at home, they got a congress protecting tax breaks for corporations and shipping jobs overseas. when the president says that is a choice, he's right, it's a choice between policy that's create jobs at home and expand the economy from the middle class out or republican presidential candidate that thinks you can expand from the top down. >> doesn't answer your question. bill clinton on the road for democrats will be i think very effective. he has completely rehabilitated and become a effective surrogate, very strong like in my home state of florida. i think -- i'm happy for bill clinton, because i know this was a sweet justice for a hurtful

primary years ago. >> i'm sure he'll enjoy that sweet justice. steve israel, congressman from new york. it didn't take the romney camp to respond to the president's address. less than an hour after he releft the stage, 15 ads were released in battleground statsz, iowa, new hampshire, ohio and virginia, all considered to be toss-ups on the cnn election map. each ad ends with a pledge that romney will create new jobs in that particular state. a pledge ranging from 59,000 new jobs from new hampshire and 700,000 new jobs in the state of florida. something like could be very convincing to voetders. coming up next, he calls mitt romney an extreme conservative man who doesn't deserve the title of governor. we're going to talk to illinois governor patt quinn. we're back in just a moment. >> thanks for joining us. appreciate it. ntgomery and abigail higgins had...

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oh, hey alex. just picking up some, brochures, posters copies of my acceptance speech. great! it's always good to have a backup plan, in case i get hit by a meteor. wow, your hair looks great. didn't realize they did photoshop here. hey, good call on those mugs. can't let 'em see what you're drinking. you know, i'm glad we're both running a nice, clean race. no need to get nasty. here's your "honk if you had an affair with taylor" yard sign. looks good.

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with investment information, risks, fees and expenses to read and consider carefully before investing. see, the election four years ago wasn't about me. it was about you. my fellow citizens, you were the change. >> welcome back to "starting point," it is our final day in charlotte, north carolina, the president laid out his vision for his second term last night. illinois governor pat quinn spoke earlier in the week. >> glad to be here, great speech last night. >> some people said it was a safe speech. do you think he had to deliver a safe speech? >> when i heard the quote from the speech, the highest office in a democracy is the office of citizen and i've known barack obama a long, long time. he understands that the power of our country, the most strong

power is power of citizens banding together. that's what he was trying to get across. if we are going to change america, everybody in, nobody left out. >> how does that play in critical rust belt states, where mitt romney has just released a number of ads at the end of those ads and various states and important critical swing states that say i'm promising jobs if you elect me. >> i've lived in the midwest and illinois and our auto industry is alive and well and thriving. when i became governor, chrysler in illinois had 200 jobs on the flat of its back. today they have over 4,000 jobs. over and over again we heard last night the importance of making things in america, especially cars. the president believes in manufacturing and that is the strength of our economy and we'll continue for the next four years. >> when you spoke on the floor on tuesday, you said that mitt romney is extreme -- i'll play a little chunk of what you said.

>> there's something else the republicans left out of their convention. any explanation of why they call mitt romney governor romney. we already know this extreme conservative man takes some pretty liberal deductions. evidently, that includes writing off all four years he served as governor of massachusetts. >> the republicans came out and attacked you for that saying this. governor quin, who like president obama presided over job crushing tax hikes and fiscal mismanagement is in no place to lecture anybody about extreme policies. that's a spokesperson from the republican national committee. >> i think you're pretty extreme if you don't disclose your income tax returns. george romney, the father of mitt romney, when he ran for president, disclosed years and years of tax returns. as far as jobs, we've created over 140,000 jobs in illinois

and more than 40,000 manufacturing jobs. and i think that's what the president is talking about. we've just go to focus in on that. i think he said last night our job is to bring the troops home from afghanistan by the end of 2014 and use the savings that we have to invest in job creation, manufacturing especially. >> wasn't a lot of that money spent on the troops actually borrowed money. when people are doing a fact check on what the president late out, that's not money you can really take from troops and translate into economy. that money is debt basically. >> i think basically you want to invest in america and job creation and education. if you want to be pro-business, you have to be pro-education, the president said that over and over again. so did president clinton in the day before and first lady michelle obama. we understand education and investing in that pays great dividends for generations really. >> still ahead, we're going to

talk about the asian american vote could be key in the battle for the white house. judy chu of california is coming up, the first chinese-american woman elected to congress will be our guest. you're watching "starting point" live from the midnight diner in charlotte. >> announcer: this is the day. the day that we say to the world of identity thieves "enough." we're lifelock, and we believe you have the right to live free from the fear of identity theft. our pledge to you? as long as there are identity thieves, we'll be there. we're lifelock. and we offer the most comprehensive identity theft protection ever created. lifelock: relentlessly protecting your identity. call 1-800-lifelock or go to lifelock.com today. at usaa, we believe honor is not

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good morning, welcome back to "starting point," i'm alina cho. the fbi is now investigating a shooting at the u.s.-mexico border. mexican officials say one of their citizens was hit and killed monday. and border patrol agent

statements say that border patrol agent pulled the trigger, a statement from the border patrol rather says agents were being pelted with rockses and that a weapon was fired. lawyers for drew peterson insist their client did not kill his third wife kathleen savio. they do plan to fight the verdict from a jury that found him guilty of murder yesterday. savio's 2004 death was considered an accident until peterson's fourth wife, stacy, disappeared back in 2007. he faces a maximum 60-year prison term when he is sentenced on november 26th. lab reports show oil found on louisiana's beaches after hurricane isaac did come from the 2010 bp oil spill. louisiana state university performed the test. 13-mile stretch of shoreline remains closed and bp is promising to help clean up the mess. boy band one direction almost spoiled r eedry hannah's

until -- >> the vma, the video of the year award goes to rihanna! >> he was a little excited. rihanna sporting a new short hair cut won the moon man for video of the day, the most coveted award for we found love. one direction took home three awards including best new artist. rihanna's ex, chris brown won two. >> i'm guessing you were busy last night and might have missed that? >> i'm glad to see that. glad you caught me up. i saw speeches last night. >> that's right, so did i, watching you on tv. >> good to know, rihanna won. >> and she looks great. >> looks -- yeah, fabulous dress. one of the most emotional moments at the democratic national convention, gabby giffords recited the pledge of

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you didn't elect me to tell you what you wanted to hear, you elected me for me to tell you the truth and the truth is is will take more years to bimt up commons from decades and the kind of bold, consistent experimentation that roosevelt experienced during the only crisis worse than this one. >> we know we have more work to do and we're not there yet. not a date has gone by in the past four years that i haven't been grateful as an american that barack obama is our president because he always has the courage to make the tough decision.

>> that was the president and the vice president laying out the case for four more years in front of a jam-packed arena last night. one of the most emotional moments of the entire night came before those two speeches. congresswoman gabrielle giffords walked on the stage to recite the pledge of allegiance. >> i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indif visible, with liberty and justice for all. >> judy chu of california is a friend of gabby gifford and also at the speech last night. nice to have you this morning. let's talk first -- i thought that was such a high point, so emotional. you couldn't watch that and not be moved by the progress she's made and her determination to get up there and recite the pledge of allegiance.

tell me how she's doing and how that came to be. >> people gasped when she came out. it was incredible to see her and see her struggle but per severe in getting out on the stage was so inspirational. she is doing so well. >> she wanted to do the pledge of allegiance i'd heard because doing something that required more ad-libbing might be more of a challenge for her. >> exactly. she went ahead and did it and put that hand up even though it was difficult and able to complete it. >> let's talk about the speech overall. do you think that speech resonated with your constituents in the state of california where you've had serious tough economic times? >> i was very moved by it. i thought the president did a great job. he had to show his record accomplishment and layout the vision and fire up the crowd and he did all three. >> he fired up the crowd for sure and probably fired up the crowd outside of the crowd in the tents but did he fire up the

crowd, the picture they've shown of that crowd, 35 and under and no college and living in the swing states, did he fire up that crowd with that speech? >> he had to show he could make the tough presidential decisions and he did. look, osama bin laden is did and general motors is alive. >> that's a refrain from the vice president's speech and that of course got a huge round of applause last night. >> when i walked the speech, i saw a pretty serious mismatch between the rhetoric when he talks about fdr and bold experimentation and mismatch between the choice he was laying out saying the stakes are extremely important. what he was actually proposing, i didn't hear a specific legislative agenda for what he's going to do if he wins. you're in congress. what can we expect in january of 2013 from democrats if he wins? >> he actually has laid out what he's going to do one million

more jobs in manufacturing -- >> that's anr as spir raceal goal. what is it you'll put forward if you come back to congress with him? >> they do require legislation, i know because we've been in the midst of it and yes, doubling the exports, insuring that we have more manufacturing, stopping the tax credits for bringing overseas and bring them back here. all of those things require legislation. >> immigration reform, do you think he'll pursue that in the first year if re-elected snd. >> i think his act with regard to the deferral of students is a first step. yes, he's already expressed that he is for comprehensive immigration form. >> i'm a pro-immigration reform republican, i agree with the deferral action but it was terribly political and terribly

late. there's been a lot of dream act students that have gotten deported in the last three years and didn't deliver on his promise, his promise watsz he would pass immigration reform in the first year. he had a majority in the house and senate and missed the window in time. so much in politics is about timing. he's going to go into a congress now that if things are what we predicted is are going to be a republican house, probably a very close much closer senate, he hasn't worked well with congress and reached out to democratic voters. you teed up the issue. if you sat through the rnc and sat through the dnc, who has the better message for -- obviously that was a big theme in the president's speech last night as well, the middle class and latinos as one and two. >> they have better latino singers, mark anthony belted it out yesterday. if you're a latino voter, i would tell you, do not focus on

immigration because i don't think barack obama is going to have the political capital. >> the list -- the issues you think the democrats have failed on. if you're a latino voter -- >> you have to look at the entire package and foreign policy and trade and social val values. the one good thing about this election is that the choice is starkly different. and you've got -- latino voter and every american voter has to look at the two choices and full package and vote according to that. >> a couple of things, you have to look what this administration has done on immigration, they have taken steps and it's really interesting when the administrati administration takes steps they are not given credit. you look at the state like arizona where the administration has challenged the immigration law in arizona which is not an insignificant matter. on deficit reduction, he has a $4 trillion plan to balance the deficit that balances $2.5 trillion in tax cuts with $1 trillion in new revenue.

that is not someone new to the table. he has proposals -- >> you ee leked him not to just tell you the truth and we all know if he goes and deals with the long-term fiscal crisis, he's going to have to make really hard choices on medicare and social security. let's be honest. he did not layout what he would do on those controversial things. >> one could argue either did mitt romney so they are left -- >> romney's speech was even less -- there was nothing in it. >> convention speech is different than a state of the union. i don't expect the same level of detail but he did have more promises four years ago than he did this time. >> four years ago we knew specifically what he was going do, cap and trade, financial regulatory reform. right now i think it's still vague. >> soledad is getting angry -- >> i'm trying to hit a commercial break so we can continue our conversation. it will be interesting to see if

your constituents in california thought that was a speech that would move them from the undecided category to the decided. >> california is not undecided. >> those who are. >> anyway, let's get right to alina cho with the stories making news that don't involve politics. >> soledad, great to see you again, authorities in venezuela charge the captain of a u.s. cargo ship with arms trafficking. u.s. embassy officials say the captain and 15 crew members are being detained after three assault rifles were found on board the vessel. a man who lives in charlotte, north carolina, the site of the democratic national convention accused of threatening to kill president obama twitter. he made a initial court appearance yesterday. according to the criminal complaints he sent five tweets, including the secret service is going to be defenseless once i aim the assault rifle at barack's forehead.

he was high on marijuana when he sent the five tweets. a federal judge ordering united and american airlines in a lawsuit that alleges -- the holder of leases at the twin towers sued for $8.4 billion in damage. this week a judge dismissed the request by the airlines to throw out the case. chicago is bracing for a teacher strike, a walkout is scheduled for monday with teachers and support staff in the nation's third largest school system. still trying to hammer out a new contract in this 11th hour. if they do strike, it would be first time in a quarter century. a walkout would impact 700 schools and just about 400,000 students. >> remains of neil armstrong will be buried at sea. a family spokesman confirmed the news. still not known when and where it will happen. we do know this, a public

memorial service is scheduled next week at washington, d.c.'s national cathedral. the legendary astronaut died last no due to kpli kakss from heart surgery. he was 82 years old. amy poehler and will arnet. are splitting up. both are nominated for emmys later this month. poehler for "parks and recreation." they have two young sons together. sad to hear that news. >> that is sad. i thought they would stay together forever. still ahead, what you might have missed at the convention last night. one of the most fiery speeches of the entire night came from jennifer granholm, so pumped up. . the entire hall got on their feet. tdd#: 1-800-345-2550 when i'm trading, i'm totally focused.

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a new tower rises above the new york sky line, al qaeda is on the path to defeat and osama bin laden is dead.

>> welcome back, everybody, you're watching "starting point." one of the the most popular speeches came from the man who accepted the nomination eight years ago, john kerry, as he praised president obama's leadership. here's how that went. >> it took the president obama against the advice of many to give that order and finally rid this earth of osama bin laden. ask osama bin laden if he is better off now than he was four years ago. >> senator kerry said now is not the time to outsource the job of commander in chief. jennifer granholm also brought the house down. former governor of michigan. she had the convention crowd in a frenzy as she praised the

president's decision to rescue the auto industry. listen to this. >> in florida, 35,000 jobs in ohio. 150,000 jobs and in the great state of michigan, 211,000 good paying, american jobs all across america. manufacturing is rebounding! why? you know what i'm saying! >> the crowd drowned her out a bunch of time with chants of usa. i've interviewed her a number of times, i had never seen that side. >> this is one of those things that just -- i was in the hall as i think many of us were yesterday and saw it and it played very well in the hall. i'm watching it on tv for first time, boy does she look like a female howard dean who had a lot

of red bull. little much on tv. >> it was on a risk for howard dean because he was running for president. >> she's a tv personality now. >> i think that job went to someone who could accept the risk in doing that. she's not running for anything. >> she has a tv show now this will probably get her a little attention. >> amazing. >> and might have even got her a cabinet position in say if obama gets re-elected. >> what happens is prime time speeches are so pitched towards the swing voters who are least informed voters in the electorate. and so the primetime speeches don't get the crowd always going so much. >> that had the crowd completely going. i was really surprised. still ahead this morning on "starting point," we've covered what's going on inside the convention center. but what about outside on the streets of the city?

"time" columnist joel stein is back with us, closing night party rundown. we'll hear that kim kardashian flew in last night for all of the parties. you were hanging with kim kardashian last night? >> absolutely not -- >> i just advertised that.

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welcome back, everybody. you're watching "starting point." time to clean up in charlotte. the final night of the dnc wrapping up with lots of after parties. joel stein has been checking them out. this assignment of going to parties -- >> am i the official cnn party correspondent?

>> yes, you are. >> oh, my god. what a great job. >> tampa versus charlotte. be careful, the mayor of charlotte is sitting next to you. >> i love charlotte. everything about charlotte. >> the mayor seems happy with that answer. the parties. >> the parties here were better. they really were. >> what made them better? >> more celebrities. better bands. >> kim k flew in. >> i don't think she is really called kk. >> i know, we did. as the new correspondent, you just coined a phrase. >> so kk was out last night with her new boyfriend. >> you didn't see her? >> no. i didn't see her. >> who did you see? >> there were a lot of celebrities. >> like who? >> jessica alba. >> yeah. >> i kept seeing jared leto and some crazy beard. >> i have a picture, yes. he's so handsome, though, even with a beard. he has dreamy eyes. >> you should have brought

soledad with you. >> i was asleep by then. >> these conventions, when i was young and i had a lot of energy, i couldn't get tickets to the hot parties. now, i get all the tickets and i'm just too tired to go by the end of the convention. so this is not a happy -- >> there was not one candidate who addressed that issue. it's a problem. for all americans. >> i think it is a huge issue. it should be a part of the platform of both candidates. i don't want to leave charlotte without telling you i love the southern hospitality. >> thank you. >> the people here were just so special. >> even when they were turning you down in terms of being able to get into the arena, it was like, no, ma'am, that's not going to happen. >> i'm not blaming you or your city, i'm blaming the party, the democrats. i couldn't get into the clinton speech. i got there two hours. i felt like there was a riot going to happen. the party clearly knew how many credentials they gave out. >> i don't think they do. that part of arithmetic they may not get. obviously, more passes were given out than seats in the arena. >> i thought there was going to

be a riot. but i think the problem is like with the whole democratic party, they can't say no. they knew there were a limited amount of seats, but people kept asking. they gave it out and hoped for the best. >> i was there two hours before they locked it down. if you had gotten in earlier, it was more of the timing of the secret service. plus, you know with president obama coming, that was the secret service issue that was different so they locked it down. >> they had no idea the president might be there? >> they lock them down. >> listen, the same thing happened last night. i can tell you, i was locked out for a while. and until i pretended to be part of the entourage of a very helpful senator -- >> how did you get in >> i'm not going to say who it was. >> does he know you were pretending? i got real close to david gregory. that's how i got in. did they know you were pretending? >> oh, yes. >> oh, wow. >> there's something to be said for bipartisan friendships. [ laughter ] >> and we leave it at that.

so a thumbs up for the city of charlotte. >> thank you very much. >> thank you for having us. >> i will come back, if that's okay. >> yes. >> you should give him the key to the city. >> oh, my god. i have never gotten a key. i am the correspondent for parties. >> give him a key and some tickets. still ahead this morning on "starting point," half an hour away from a very key august jobs report. we'll bring that to you the moment we get those numbers. also, the vice president got emotional his his son nominated him for another term. beau biden will join us. we're back in just a moment. to, in case i get hit by a meteor. wow, your hair looks great. didn't realize they did photoshop here. hey, good call on those mugs. can't let 'em see what you're drinking. you know, i'm glad we're both running a nice, clean race. no need to get nasty. here's your "honk if you had an affair with taylor" yard sign.

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welcome, everybody. our "starting point" this morning, barack obama says he's all in as he vies for a second term. listen. >> but know this, america.

our problems can be solved. our challenges can be met. the path we offer may be harder, but it leads to a better place, and i'm asking you to choose that future. >> the president says he needs more time to fix the country's problems. did the speech hit the mark? we'll look at this that this morning. also, the august jobs report. we'll have those numbers for you and tell you what they mean. and a crowd brought to tears with this. >> with liberty and justice for all. [ cheers and applause ] >> former congresswoman gabrielle giffords makes an emotional return to the political stage as she leads the pledge of allegiance. joining us this morning, beau biden, son of vice president joe biden. also, governor romney's foreign policy adviser, mario diaz-ball art is with us.

and "starting point" begins right now.diaz-balart is with u. and "starting point" begins right now. welcome, everybody. our team this morning, starting from the very end as she puts her microphone on, dana bash is with us. the senior congressional correspondent. ana navarro. and also we're joined by beau biden, the attorney general of the state of delaware. but also we want to talk a little bit about the speech that you had introducing your dad. very emotional as well. today, of course, is the first day of the rest of the campaign. team obama eager to seize on post convention enthusiasm. heading for three battle ground states this morning. last night, the president accepted the democratic nomination, made his case for four more years. says he needs time to finish what he started. let's start with dana on this speech. thumbs up or thumbs down? >> well, i think that you're

going to probably get that answer from this panel. but i think my personal view of it, as somebody who's covered a lot of speeches, is that it was safe. it was a speech that president obama knew that he had to give to try to convince people that he is somebody who has had a tough go of it. he's had a tough economy. and he feels that he just simply needs more time. barack obama accepted his party's nomination with the kind of soaring rhetoric that got him elected four years ago, except hope and change were replaced by a reality check. >> i recognize that times have changed since i first spoke to this convention. times have changed, and so have i. i'm no longer just a candidate. i'm the president. >> reporter: yes, we can, now a plea for patience. >> america, i never said this journey would be easy. and i won't promise that now.

yes, our path is harder. but it leads to a better place. yes, our road is longer, but we travel it together. we don't turn back. we leave no one behind. >> reporter: but he still sprinkled in that familiar obama oratory. >> our problems can be solved. our challenges can be met. the path we offer may be harder, but it leads to a better place, and i'm asking you to choose that future. >> reporter: the obama campaign ripped into mitt romney for not offering enough specifics at his acceptance speech last week. the president took that a step further. >> they want your vote, but they don't want you to know their plan. and that's because all they had to offer is the same prescriptions they've had for the last 30 years. have a surplus? try a tax cut. deficit too high? try another.

feel a cold coming on? take two tax cuts, roll back some regulations, and call us in the morning. >> reporter: he offered new promises for a second term. >> i'm asking you to rally. around a set of goals for your country, goals in manufacturing, energy, education, national security, and the deficit. >> reporter: some specifics, a vow to create 1 million new manufacturing jobs, cut growth of college tuition in half over the next 10 years, and cut oil imports in half by 2020. vice president joe biden took on the role of eyewitness to the president while he made tough decisions. >> ladies and gentlemen, i'm here to tell you what i think you already know, but i watch it up close. bravery resides in the heart of barack obama. and time and time again i witnessed him summon it. this man has courage in his soul, compassion in his heart,

and a spine of steel. >> reporter: and biden delivered the bumper sticker line he loves. >> we can now proudly say what you've heard me say the last six months. osama bin laden is dead, and general motors is alive! >> reporter: though the night belonged to the president, the democratic nominee from 2004 offered one of the most memorable one liners of the night. >> ask osama bin laden if he is better off now than he was four years ago. >> reporter: and when it comes to the lasting images from this convention, it is this moment, former congresswoman gabby giffords, shot through the head just last year, and now walking without a cane onstage to recite the pledge of allegiance. >> liberty and justice for all. >> and whether or not the president gets his wish that the american people give him more time could depend at least in small part on something that

happens about 25 minutes from now, and that is a very, very important jobs report. >> we'll talk more about that in just a little bit. less than an hour after president obama left the stage last night, the romney camp released 15 new television ads they'll run in eight critical battleground states, all of those considered to be toss-up states in the cnn election map. each ad ends with a pledge that mitt romney will create new jobs in that particular state. a pledge ranging from 59,000 for new hampshire or 700,000 in the state of florida. we'll talk to the rest of our team in just a minute. but first, an update on other stories making news today. good morning again. and good morning to you. as we mentioned, in less than 30 minutes the labor department will release its august jobs report. there are signs that hiring may be picking up, and economists surveyed by cnn money expect that 120,000 jobs were added last month. we will have the numbers and

what they mean for you and the presidential race at 8:30 a.m. eastern time. hurricane leslie spinning in place in the open atlantic right now. but the storm is veering toward bermuda. leslie is a category 1 hurricane. expected to remain stationary through much of the morning. 330 miles southeast of bermuda. boaters and swimmers along the u.s. east coast are being warned to look out for dangerous swells. leslie is expected to intensify later today and pass just east of bermuda on sunday morning. by then, it could be upgraded to a category 2 hurricane with 105 mile per hour winds. lab results now prove that oil found on louisiana's beaches after hurricane isaac did come from the 2010 bp oil spill. louisiana state university conducted those tests. a 13-mile stretch of shoreline remains closed this morning. bp is promising to help clean up the mess. in fact, it says it was already working on cleanup in the area before the storm.

and the most coveted award at the mtv video music awards, video of the year, goes to -- >> the vma, the video of the year award, goes to rihanna! >> i love that guy. that's funny. >> rihanna won for "we found love," sporting a fabulous gown and a short haircut. the other night's big winners, one direction with three awards, including best new artist. rihanna's ex, chris brown, won two. nicki minaj and drake were also big winners. you know, whenever i talk about this kind of stuff, it makes me feel old, you know? i've heard of some of them. >> no, no. >> it makes me feel old. >> let's talk about the dress. she looked fabulous. what i loved the most, when she won, then she does the turn to show the dress has no back. it's like, oh, did i win? >> she is a smart girl. >> see the whole dress before i walk up. yeah, very smart girl.

it was a very emotional moment last night for the vice president, joe biden, when the convention moved to nominate him for a second term. he choked up, he teared up. listen. >> we have a motion to suspend the rules and nominate joe biden by aclimb nation as the democratic party's vice presidential candidate. is there a second? all in favor of the motion say aye. >> aye! >> all opposed? the ayes have it. the motion is adopted pursuant to the convention rules. joe biden has been invited to make an acceptance speech. >> joining us this morning, the man that made that motion, joe biden's son, beau. he is also delaware's state attorney general. we also should mention joining our team this morning, david frum and ron brownstein. nice to have you guys. let's talk about your nomination. your dad seemed so moved. and i thought his speech where

he talked about, you know, jilly, as he likes to call her, light of my life and love of my life and life of my love. it was really a wonderful speech. what was different the second time around than the first time in the nomination? it seemed more emotional this time around, surprisingly. >> the whole convention seemed more emotional to me. there was a great energy obviously in 2008. it was a whirlwind for our family. my dad had just gotten a call. my mom rebuilt our family. everybody up here has gone through something. and we went through something in 1972. my mom came along -- i have two moms now. she came along in 1977 and rebuilt our family. and helped my dad rebuild our family. that's why you saw my dad talking about my mom who was so incredibly proud. full-time teacher. and helping raise my kids. she's an incredible mother. >> his speech was a strong and fiery speech.

>> yeah. >> do you think he -- what was the goal in his speech? what did he have to accomplish, your dad? >> to give people an insight to what barack obama is all about. incredibly difficult decisions that he's made. but he's made those decisions at every moment thinking about what the average american thinks around their dinner table. and to give americans an insight to his perspective on that, because no one has been closer to watching though decisions being made than my father. and he picked two prime examples. one is authorizing the mission to go after osama bin laden. and taking him out. and two, is making a very difficult decision to save the automobile industry, which is more than just an industry. it's jobs. it's dignity. it's hope. it's hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of jobs. as it was shouted and connected at least in the hall and i think on tv. she is one of the best speakers i have ever seen. >> your dad gets some flak for some of the things he says that range from inappropriate to i think his opponents would say

idiotic. and a poll says that almost evenly divided, 43 people interviewed said they would use the word good to define your dad, and 40 said they would use the word "idiot." >> my dad has put over 500,000 miles in air force ii. met with every world leader. respected by every one of them. respected by every leader in congress, republican and democrat. mitt romney goes to our greatest ally, and within 24 hours he not only offends the prime minister but offends the entire united kingdom. so, you know, there's a lot of talk about -- you heard the president talk about the 24-hour news cycle and what's focused on. my father has respect. the mayor knows this in north carolina. one of my dad's closest friends, jesse helms. that's not a name you necessarily talk about at a democratic convention, but they got things done. they got things done like the chemical test ban treaty. paying back our debt to the u.n.

just south of here in south carolina, one of his closest friends, strom thurmond. my dad went to the senate to continue the civil rights movement. strom thurmond ran as a dixie accurate in 1938. but my dad eulogized him. >> is that hurtful to you and him? >> oh, no. because, you know, it's just the kind of the way it is right now. and the other part is, soledad, they wouldn't be howling as much as they are, the other side, if my dad wasn't scoring points on mitt romney. they wouldn't be saying it if it wasn't cutting and scoring points. and that's why they say it. do you think they -- you know, the bill kristols of the world and john mccain and rudy giuliani are really trying to help the ticket? why are they attacking him? they are attacking him because they know he is the most effective person to speak to the middle class and connect with the middle class and make sure that the president -- the american people know that the president has their back. >> beau biden, thank you for joining us this morning. >> you bet. mitt romney's campaign

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my opponent and his running mate are new to foreign policy. [ laughter ] but from all that we've seen and heard, they want to take us back to an era of blustering and blundering that cost america so dearly. after all, you don't call russia our number one enemy, not al qaeda, russia, unless you're still stuck in a cold war mind warp. >> welcome back, everybody. you're watching "starting point," coming to you live from the midnight diner in charlotte, north carolina. president obama's speech brought democrats to their feet last night, but already republicans are on the attack.

florida congressman mario diaz balart is joining us this morning. it's nice to have you with us. >> good to see you. >> assess for me how you think the president's speech was. >> great speech. but he's known to give good speeches. >> waiting for the but. >> well, look, the president has had a lot of experience giving speeches. remember, according to him, quote unquote, he has given speeches in 57 states. but he gave a great speech in cairo. and today, egypt is run by the islamic brotherhood. great speeches don't mean great leadership. and the question is, are his policies working for the american people? are his policies working when poverty is up? when unemployment is 8% for 42 consecutive months? when, you know, the cost of living is up, and gasoline prices are double what they were? >> you heard osama bin laden is dead. the auto industry was saved. i think every single person in this diner could cite all of the numbers on the democratic and republican side. is that ultimately what the undecided voters will have to go from?

what is the thing that's going to make someone pick mitt romney over barack obama now that the conventions are over? >> i think quoting president clinton, it's the economy, stupid. and i think people like president obama. he is a very likeable person. but everybody realizes that his policies have failed. he promised some very specific things. he said unemployment would be 6% now, the deficit would be cut in half by his first term. he said if he couldn't solve the economic problem in one term, he wouldn't be re-elected. those are his words. the problem is not his speeches. the problem is not what he says. and it's not that he hasn't tried. i give him credit for trying. but he just has no idea how to create jobs, how the economy works. but he does give a great speech. >> can i ask you, congressman, about the challenge of creating jobs for either party? >> sure. >> certainly, we are coming out of a period of very slow job growth even before he took office. 10 years to the day after the bush tax cuts were passed, there were fewer people working than on the day they were passeded. why is there reason for optimism

that another round of tax cuts would do any better at creating jobs than in the previous decade? >> first of all, the president inherited a bad situation, but he's made it worse. now, what governor romney is proposing is not just tax cuts, it's tax reform. entitlement reform. dealing with free trade with free nations. it's a myriad of different proposals. so i think oversimplifying like that does not give credit to the entire plan. it's a little bit more complex than that. again, just like president obama is more complex. president obama passed 100% of his economic plan. unfortunately, for the american people, it has failed. it's not for lack of trying. it's for not having a clue as to how the economy works. mitt romney, you can criticize him for a lot of things, and it's fair, but he knows how the economy works. paul ryan knows how the economy works. and they have specific, concrete plans that will create millions of jobs. >> but certainly there was a deregulatory posture in the bush years. the epa was not doing the kinds of things it has been doing under president obama. they were the marginal tax rate

cuts. the capital gains cuts. and even in the best years, even before the downturn, we were seeing job growth at half the rate in the 1990s or the 1980s. so, you know, the question is, is there reason to believe that this agenda is going to do much better the second time around? the key elements of it were there in place -- >> meaning the republican agenda. >> yeah. either side at this point. does either side have an answer? a lot of people are dubious that either side has an answer to what has been a very tough 12 years of stagnant income and now stagnant job growth. >> well, you're right. but the reality is that president bush is not on the ballot. it's mitt romney on the ballot. these are the same statements and the same arguments that were made when president carter was in the white house. it couldn't get any better. the state of the malaise, unemployment, would be there forever. it took real leadership, and a change of direction. so president obama wants to change america. i understand that. we don't need to change america. we need to change the white house. we need to change the leadership in the white house. and it's very clear -- two things, that president obama,

who has dtried, has failed. not because of lack of trying, he is just clueless. so mitt romney does present a totally different agenda. a person who understands how the economy works, who has specific plans, that are not president bush's plans. they are governor romney's agenda. >> two things i would add to that. essentially what you're saying is there's a philosophical similarity between the two. so to say, listen, president bush is no longer even part of this is a little bit, i think deceptive, because there is a philosophical similarity that the romney-ryan team is looking back and grabbing onto, number one. >> but i think they are more looking back at the reagan years and reagan philosophy more than the bush years and bush philosophy. case in point, spending. president bush, who i like, and i'm a big fan of, he spent a lot of money. i think the republicans lost 9 majority because we spent too much money in those days. the difference is not -- again, the agenda that governor romney presents is a positive agenda of real economic growth. and not only economic growth.

again, of making sure -- look, when someone says the united states cannot be trusted, how far have we collapsed? that's not me saying it. you can disagree, but i hate to tell you, i think he has a little bit of credibility. still ahead this morning on "starting point," it was a star-studded convention. we'll tell you what mary j. blige had to say when we grabbed her for a quick one-on-one. that's still coming up.

today, scarlett johansson, kerry washington, and eva longoria all spoke at the democratic convention. yeah. this means that obama has all but clinched the 13-year-old boy vote. welcome back. you're watching "starting point." celebrities have been out in force this week at the dnc. the actor zach braff tweeted a picture of himself and jon hamm on the convention floor. a picture of jared leto. he is so cute. female stars had speaking roles. scarlett johansson spoke. eva longoria. kerry washington, an important message for young americans, get out and vote. listen. >> you may not be thinking about politics. but politics is thinking about you.

>> mary j. blige also a part of the warm-up act for the president. she says americans need to stand up to re-elect him. here's what she told me. >> 90 million people should absolutely get out and vote because your future depends on it. your life. everything, your child's life, your health care, your child's health care, every single thing depends on people getting out to vote. it is extremely, extremely important this time. i mean, it's always important, but right now it's crucial. it is crucial. >> mary j. blige adding her voice. still ahead on "starting point," just minutes away from getting that big august jobs report. are more people getting hired? ali velshi will join us. he's standing by for those numbers right now. we'll bring them to you right after this break. you're watching "starting point."

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countless discounts. now that's progressive. call or click today. welcome, everybody. breaking news to get to this morning. the key august jobs report is in just in to cnn. chief business correspondent ali velshi has the numbers for us. >> not very good, soledad. just getting off the conference call now with the department of labor. the unemployment rate for the month of august has dropped to 8.1% from 8.3%. the bad news is that only 96,000 jobs were created in august. now, the consensus estimate had been for 120,000 to 125,000 jobs.

we went into this report with president obama 316,000 jobs short of being able to say that every job lost on his watch would be recovered. if you take the 96,000 jobs we got to this month, for august, you add the revisions from the previous few months, he still has to make up 261,000 jobs over the next two months to get there. but the bottom line is, we were expecting 120,000 to 125,000 created, and there was a lot of buzz because of some positive economic reports this week that the number would probably come in higher than that. there were some people estimating 170,000 to 200,000 jobs. so the 96,000 jobs, you can see on the right of the screen, is going back all the way from 2011, january 2011, to now. on the right of your screen, we are expecting 120,000. we didn't get that. we got 96,000. and the last two months have been revised lower. so all in all, always great to have created jobs as opposed to

lost jobs. most of them were in the private sector. there were 7,000 jobs lost in the public sector. but this is not the hopeful number that the administration and frankly the country was looking for. i would say that you would have to characterize this as the glass half empty, soledad. >> all right. alli, thank you. let's talk a little bit about the political implications which is what made that number so important. what's the impact? >> the reason the unemployment number went down from 8.3 to 8.1 is because of people exiting the labor force. one thing that is scary to keep track of is what percentage of americans 16 to 65 are in work. and although you can get lost in the noise about the unemployment number, that number is way below the levels of the '90s and the 2000s. for the president's point of view and the president's party, when people give up on looking for work, they also give up on trying to vote. they become detached from society. and those are the people he needs to motivate. they have to at least have hope. and here they are demonstrating when they quick looking for work

they are giving up on hope. >> these numbers really reinforce my sense of where the race stands after both conventions. to me, it felt like neither mitt romney nor barack obama really demonstrated a second gear that would really expand their coalition beyond what they came in with. and thus the race seems poised for just trench warfare with each side fighting to move very small margins among their various constituencies. and these kind of numbers point in that direction also, soledad. this is not catastrophic enough to drop the bottom out from president obama, but no tail wind behind him at all. and just setting us up for grinding trench warfare. >> is the strategy that you just try to get your base to turn out bigger numbers? >> yes. >> is this a different -- i could a related strategy, just focus on those undecided numbers who aren't necessarily well reflected, for example, for the democrats, that's a challenge? >> it is. because i think ron was saying is exactly right. there are so few undecideds that this just makes the strategy

that we did see in both parties even more important. like we saw particularly this week at the democratic convention, they did such an interesting job, i would say, of trying to pinpoint every single constituency of the party to try to get them out. but the other thing i would say, because this doesn't necessarily move the ball either way, it's a reminder of the history of this. and that president obama would be making history if he wins re-election in these economic times. because, again, no president has won re-election with these kinds of job numbers since fdr. and remember president obama, once, maybe twice, last night harkened back to fdr talking about the need for patience. that was no accident. >> but the parallel is misplaced. because although the unemployment number in november of 1936 was still quite high, in 1934 and 1935 and 1936, the u.s. economy grew at chinese growth levels, 9%, 10% a year. >> well, because they were much lower. >> but if you went to vote in

november of 1936 and you didn't have a job, you think this is a matter of time. things are getting better so fast. nobody feels that now. you don't have that sense of rocket like ascent. >> it all brings it back to ali velshi and these numbers and what it means for the middle class. it certainly hurt both the rnc and dnc. middle class, middle class, middle class, right? >> and remember that number that i told you the obama administration wants to get to, recovering those jobs so they can say they have gotten back every single job since obama lost office, even that doesn't matter that much because the quality of the jobs returning are significantly lower than the ones that were lost. that's part of the problem here. that we're not -- it's not a full rebuild of the middle class. everybody talking about the middle class and the aspirational middle class. for every one of those jobs that's not filled, that's someone else available to take your job, which keeps your wages lower. so you have to take the unemployment rate, the jobs created, the number of hours worked, the average weekly wages

and put it all together, and add that to what david said, that at some point, it just continues to disillusion the middle class about what kind of a career they'll have. so this is just -- it's not a horrible number. it is not helpful. and you're right. this gets us back into that trench warfare. if this number came in at 150,000, 75,000, you'd be hearing a lot of crowing from the obama administration today. i think you'll hear more silence than you would have otherwise. >> ali velshi, thank you. coming up next on "starting point," it was one of the most fiery speeches of the night. she was flailing her arms around and literally shouting. hey, hey, hey. we'll play that for you, coming up next. capella university understands rough economic times have led to an increase in clinical depression. drug and alcohol abuse is up. and those dealing with grief don't have access to the professional help they need.

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the truth is the democrats did not want the embarrassing optics of a half-filled stadium. and nobody wants to look up and see an empty seat. just ask the republicans. [ laughter ] whatever you thought of president obama's speech last night, it certainly blew up on twitter. it was a new record for a

political event. more than 9 million tweets sent during his address. that's close to 53,000 tweets per minute. by comparison, mitt romney had about 14,000 tweets per minute. also, jennifer granholm's speech. wow. no surprise that blew up on twitter. i was tweeting about that. former michigan governor, flailing arms. really i think she likieled through her entire speech. but it got the crowd in an absolute frenzy as she praised the president's decision to rescue the auto industry. listen. >> in florida, 35,000 jobs. in ohio, 150,000 jobs. and in the great state of michigan, 211,000 good-paying american jobs. all across america, auto is back. manufacturing is rebounding.

why? you know why! say it! >> isn't she canadian? >> i thought canadians were relaxed. >> you can take canada out of the girl. >> that is not canadian. >> it certainly is not canadian. >> that is the one thing about that. there will be no buzz about her running for president. not because of her speech, but because of where she was born. >> exactly. >> also marsha mccluen who is also from canada. she said it's a very small box, close to people's face. stop yelling at them. they do not like it. >> they liked it in the hall. >> in the hall, it was amazing. and i think partly sometimes it's the -- >> if women had been able to run in the 1880s, that would have been a perfect speech. but they have invented the microphone. >> no. it really got the crowd -- >> you shall not crucify mankind on this cross of gold. >> sorry. back to me. in the hall, it got the people in the hall. people stood for almost the entire speech and were really sort of waving their arms.

and also -- >> compared to lily ledbetter, who did that but was also very engaging on television for the audience, and kind of found that sweet spot, maybe a little -- >> i don't know. >> but it was fun, right? >> and also, no risk, right? >> anything before 10:00 doesn't count. >> and everybody is talking about it. >> and no risk for her. she's not running for anything. >> you can do stupid pet tricks at 8:00 actually. still ahead this morning on "starting point," black eyed peas frontman will.i.am talks politics and the american dream with me. you're watching "starting point." you misare you sure?et toss. eeeee! yeah. i get all my friends' pics as soon as they take them. really? you just missed an awesome dance off between the dads. oh... wow! (laughing) you just missed the cake fight. seriously? everyone's taking pictures like they're paparazzi. are we missing that? we're not, check it out. aww, yeah, haha. excuse me. vo: get all your friends' photos automatically with share shot on the galaxy s3. hey! first dance! are you kidding me???

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this little girl took all pictures of herself. do we have a picture of the salt shaker? i thought we were going to show that. we're back at the midnight diner in charlotte, north carolina. dana bash is sitting next to me, doing diner tricks with the salt shaker. see? >> that is a jersey girl. >> spent a little time in diners. >> oh, yeah.

>> we can talk about president obama and his acceptance speech last night at the democratic convention. he stressed we're not going back, we're moving forward. four years ago, this was the campaign anthem. a rousing cheer that inspired will.i.am to lend his talents to the campaign. created a really popular video that became a symbol of candidate obama's message. he continues to show his support, and i asked him what today's campaign anthem should be. ♪ it was a creed written into the founding documents ♪ ♪ that declared the best of a nation ♪ ♪ yes, we can >> if 2008 was yes, we can, is there a new slogan that you would put forth for 2012, or is it, it's still yes, we can, take that message and go back? >> today's message should be we are one. we are united. and we need to forge a whole new

energy and american dream. what is the american dream nowadays? freedom? i can go to holland and be a little bit more free in holland. i can go right up to canada and live the same freedoms in canada. and if i was a teacher, i'd get paid more money in australia. so what is our dream? because that dream that we made in 1940, we've got to remix that dream. we've got to remix america. >> the gop at the republican national convention played your song, "oi've got a feeling." does that bother you? are you going to call them and say, cut it out? don't play my music? >> i don't know. why would i do that? >> others have. >> i practice what i preach, and i don't want to be a product of division. if there's republicans that listen to my music, there's families that come and bring their kids to see the black eyed peas. you know, there's republicans that i'm going to help and send

kids to school. so am i going to get upset that they used my music to inspire them to care about their country? no. if they choose to use my music for whatever reason, that's what it was made for, for people to listen to. i don't want to be selfish, hey, don't play my music at your conference. that ain't cool. because it's all for the same thing. we're trying to fix america. they have a different way. i have a different view. they want to support mitt romney, i want to support barack obama. but in hopes that it's all for the greater good for fixing our country, that's cool. >> the school that you created last year, tell me a little bit more about that and the students who you're helping. >> i watched this documentary called "waiting for superman." and it broke my heart, because my mom went to roosevelt high school and stevenson middle school. and the more i watched that program, i realized that superman wasn't going to come, because he is a fictitious mythological character with tights. and he ain't coming to my

neighborhood. to change it. so i was like, wow, maybe i'm supposed to be superman. maybe i'm supposed to go out and collaborate and connect with all the people that are doing good things and ask them to bring that to my neighborhood. so i met lorraine jobs, who has this program called college track. i met dean cayman, who has u.s. first. and the folks over at nasa. then i met discovery education folks. we collaborated to bring a stem skill set to my neighborhood. science, engineering, math, and coupling arts in that equation to create steam and encourage these kids and give them self-esteem to dream and become entrepreneurs. so we sent a rocket to mars, right? and then curiosity beamed back my song. and then -- >> first time ever, from mars. >> only to inspire these kids to take interesting steps.

>> has it been successful? >> yeah, because we just started. starting is successful. and, you know, success is 20 years from now, when i'm 57. i'm 37 right now. it took me 20 years to get out the projects. >> will.i.am. "end point" is up next. nge. (sfx: sound of piano smashing) roadrunner: meep meep. meep meep? (sfx: loud thud sound) what a strange place. geico®. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.

music: "make someone happy" music: "make someone happy" ♪it's so important to make someone happy.♪ it's so important to make meone happy.♪ ♪make just one someone happy ♪and you will be happy too.

welcome back, everybody. before we get to "end point" this morning, i want to update something quick on the new august jobs numbers. 96,000 jobs created is what we are saying. unemployment dropping from 8.3% to 8.1%. fewer people are looking for work. they have left the work force. another detail we just learned, 368,000 dropping out of the labor force in august. so 96,000 jobs created. and that 300,000 plus of people dropping out of the labor force. the labor force participation rate is 63.5%.

the lowest rate since 1981. republican national committee chairman rience priebus tweeted his response to the report just out, and he said this. time it up, mr. president. more of the same is not good enough. this is not an incomplete. it's an f. who wants to tackle that? rience priebus. no surprise he is going to immediately tweet. everyone was waiting for the job number. >> if the labor participation rate today were the same as 2009, the unemployment rate would be 11.2%. so what you have is people really losing hope. and that deflation of hope is just poison for everybody in the political world, but especially incumbents. >> this report following a presidential speech that didn't quite hit the mark, ren forenfo the point that president obama will win this race by convincing a slim sliver of voters that they would like mitt romney even less. >> president obama won in large part because he got young people

who live in a fast food twitter texting nation. and he spent last night mostly pleading for patience. this society doesn't have a lot of patience. >> number one, they'll have to figure out that tiny sliver of undecideds, which some people have said is 1 million voters or les. >> and it's probably going to be turnout even more than undecideds. it will be who can change the electorate and tilt it in their direction. 26% of the vote last time was minority. nothing may be more important, this time whether it's 25%, 26%, 27%. >> last night the president was talking about government programs. what people want is a vision for the society, for the country, for the economy. and this happens to you when you are in washington for a long time. the walls are getting thicker and higher. and he's boxed inside. >> i thought the speech had a number of sort of a vision for society. >> but romney did no better at reaching beyond the people who are already kind of comfortable with his vision of the world.

neither of them really were very expansive in their speeches. and as a result, i think you're kind of left with this kind of 50/50 divide, and kind of this trench warfare struggle. >> we are coming off two weeks of discussion about thoughts and ideas and facts and figures. but we are going to get to the point where the vaunted obama organizing machine is tested. we knew so much about it in 2008, texting and emailing and using social media, and now they are really stepping that up. >> we know that bill clinton will be part of that game. he'll be brought out with his white board. that's what he'll be talking to voters in those key states about. coming up monday, on "starting point," we'll talk to lynn povich. she was my boss many years ago. the first female seniority editor of "newsweek" magazine. she'll be joining us. "american idol" judge randy jackson will be our guest. "covert affairs" star christopher gorham will join us as well monday on "starting point." a quick programming note as

well, sunday night, 8:00 p.m., cnn profiles the republican presidential nominee, "romney revealed," followed at 9:30 by "romn "obama revealed" right here on cnn. and guess what's coming up? mark it on your calendars. >> the debates. >> you have a winner. mitt romney and president obama have their first opportunity to go head-to-head on the issues. debate night coming to you live from the university of denver in colorado. and obviously, we'll get a chance to see that on cnn. big thank you to the folks in the midnight diner right here in charlotte. we didn't get to dig into the food. >> i did. it was good. now to carol costello at "cnn newsroom" >> that looks good. thank you, soledad. team obama, fresh from closing the convention, hitting the trail next hour. the speech being characterized as muscular, strong, defiant, but that's not the speech that is setting twitter on fire this morning. it's this one.