disasters on the federal level. >> mr. chairman and delegates, i accept your nomination for president of the united states. host: mitt romney has been too many conventions, but last night he officially became the party candidate. welcome to "washington journal." we will spend the first hour getting your reaction to the speech last night. the numbers to call if you are a republican --

make sure you meet your television or radio when you call in. if you have called in the last 30 days, give others a chance to call in this morning. you can get to us on line. our facebook page where your postings are welcome. on cs -- on twitter as well. you can e-mail us. the newspapers this morning are full of headlines that talk about last night's speech. here is a headline. "romney vows to restore u.s." in the washington post to their headline "romney seizes moment, lashes obama." "romney house leadership, lots of jobs." "romney vows to deliver country

from economic travails." this is the first page of the tampa tribune. there headline ". restore "" the baltimore sun, there headline focusing on president obama. "romney: obama excitement gone." part of that is reflected from usa today. there had line is "we deserve a better." he writes that from the same podium where republicans spent three days attacking obama and mocking his experience and comparing him to jimmy carter, romney's remarks softened the tone to one of disillusionment.

here is a look at that theme repeated several times. >> every family wanted this to be a time when they could get a little bit ahead. and do more for the elderly mama now living alone. give a little more to their church or charity. every small business wanted these to be their best years ever when they could hire more and do more for those who stuck with them during the hard times. open a new store. sponsor a little league team. every college graduate thought they would have a good job by now. they could start paying back some of their loans and build for the future. this is when the nation was supposed to start paying down the national debt and rolling back deficits. this was the hope and change america voted for. it is not just what we wanted.

it is not just what we expected. it is what americans deserve. [cheers and applause] host: mitt romney from last night, he will be in richmond today. here is the headline. call get to your phone reactions. your thoughts on the speech last night. good morning from detroit. caller: hello. i had a couple of problems. one of them i had was, he never mentioned afghanistan. he never thanked our troops for the sacrifices they are making. he wants to be the leader of the free world and wants us to vote for him, but they cannot thank

the troops? i think that is an inexcusable. that was one of the main problems i had. host: did you watch the whole speech? caller: yes. host: thank you for the call. we say good morning to joe on the republican line. caller: suspended a good job covering the convention. i thought it was the greatest beach i have ever heard in my life. i think it will be a landslide win. i got so fired up i could not go to sleep. i know mitt personally. i am convinced he will govern like ronald reagan. i think he will be the greatest president in history. i cannot wait to cast my vote for the man who will be by far the greatest president in history. i think mitt romney will be even better than reagan. host: how did you get to know

him? caller: six years ago i met him in georgia. i have been with him four or five times. i am so excited. we tried to get him to come to barbecue to celebrate. i just want to say, c-span is great. i have never been this excited in my life. i want to say to the american people. vote for mitt romney. he will be the greatest president in history. host: if you missed the speech, you can always go to our convention hub. next up, herman is on the independent line. caller: good morning. host: if your on speaker phone pick it up and go ahead with their comments. caller: i am the independent to is stuck between two evils it

would seem. between romney and obama. fiscally conservative and socially liberal. at the same time he says things like obama promises to stop the oceans and hill the planet. host: how did you vote last time? caller: i voted for president obama. host: do you think the appeal of the romney campaign going after dissatisfied obama voters will work? caller: it is the question we have as a cost. yes, the socially fiscal policies of obama are making -- it is not what we wanted. at the same time, the cost being portrayed is not what we want either. host: let's go to philadelphia.

caller: i just wanted to add a comment. i grew up as a democrat. where obama has taken this country is deplorable. i think the has the wrong vision. i am so excited, i cannot wait to vote for mitt romney. they are going to turn the country around. it will get us back on track. the debt, the lack of jobs, then developing energy in this country, foreign policy, all of the points he talked about. he is hitting all the cylinders. this is the first day in the last four years i have really felt good about this country again. host: the speech wrapped up early enough there could be enough time pretty headlines in the papers. lots of analysis, too. this is from "the wall street journal."

and fort myers, florida. this is the democrat line. caller: i would like to state that the nominee for the republican party spoke well last night. you have to be very vain to talk a bit -- to buy into what he is talking about. i hope people understand what is taking place. there has been a plan since he

took office to make sure he is one term. it will not happen. the republicans will not be able to buy their way to the presidency in 2012. thank you. host: those comments were also reflected this morning in the op-ed of the new york times on the speech last night.

we go next to franklin, n.c. on the independent line. a libertarian, george is on the line. caller: i just wanted to comment on c-span. i have been watching it for years. you are becoming the new reality television. i do believe you attract a lot of people on both extremes. as far as to i will vote for, at last presidential election i voted for ron paul for the right and vote. this time i will vote for ron paul. i just believe he is the only person i have heard -- the only prominent politician whose message is the same every time

he gives it. have a good day. host: thank you. evan is a democratic caller. -- ivan. caller: i listened to the whole speech. he did a fair job. it has not changed my mind it. when he started talking about the wars and the different countries he is against, that is exactly what he has in mind as far as i am concerned. anybody who wants to go to war after these two we just had and one we are still in, go right ahead. we will all talking about it months after he gets in there. you will hear them calling you up and crying the blues. host: thank you for the call. getting your reactions to the speech last night and showing you portions of the speech. we will obviously have it later

in the schedule. you can catch it any time at our convention hub. among the themes was an appeal to those who voted for obama in 2008. here is a look. >> how many days of the world and a feeling something special has happened in america? many of you felt that way four years ago. tonight i would ask a simple question. if you felt that excitement when you voted for obama, should you not feel that way now that he is president obama? [applause] host: we go next to nebraska, michelle is on the republican line. caller: i just wanted to say there is absolutely no difference between obama and romney. they pretty much a vote for this and things. the patriot act, wars, they are funded by the same people. there is pretty much no difference. host: it sounds like you will

not be voting for a republican. caller: i was a delegate. i will go and change -- i will not be a republican anymore. they cut out the platform. all the rule changes. they have disenfranchised everybody there. i will not be a republican anymore. host: who is your candid it then if you will not vote for a mitt romney? caller: i will probably go third-party just to push the third party because i think we need to end the stranglehold of the two party system. host: michele, a disaffected republican from nebraska. the headline is a different story. independent line from new york. good morning. caller: thank you.

i appreciate it. listening to his speech last night, i found it to be trumpeting. i found the whole republican convention -- i hate to sound partisan because i am pretty much an independent, it is one big lie. their theme for tuesday night was rebuild -- the build bridges. there are roads, bridges and you built the business -- he was talking about the roads and bridges and they know it. the statements mr. ryan stated, even one of the own fox people rode a paragraph that said mr. ryan seemed to misstate as many facts as possible within one

speech. they used the term blatant lies. i have watched this man lied again and again and again, mr. romney. he reminds me of a car salesman that will make anything to make a sale. it rings hollow with me. i am not a big fan of obama either for several issues the lady before me mentioned it. host: did you vote for him last time caller: i did it. i was sick and tired of these gung-ho older guys -- as a former vietnam guy myself. i cannot appreciate what the senator from arizona would do all the time. you look at the republican party, they just want war all the time. i would like to see them say, ok. how many of you are going to send your sons to sign up right

now and see how much of a clamor we get. i have been on this a little bit too long. i cannot believe a word this man says. he creates a mythical guy out of this guy obama. host: we appreciate your call. we are getting as many as we can until 8:00 this morning. you can always catch us at cspanwj. let's go to california on our democrat line. it is rachel. caller: good morning. i am actually democratic. however, i found the mitt romney

speech was outstanding. i really was interested in what he had to say. host: what struck you about his comments? caller: it was the fact about the choice -- it parents having the choice for schooling. what mostly stood out for me was, of course he is making the same promises regarding jobs that obama did. i am totally dissatisfied with the whole obama situation. i am a middle-class person that worked for the last 22 years. i have been unemployed for the last two years. i have not been able to find jobs, affordable health care insurance, and all these promises that were made in 2008. here i have nothing. i am looking for a change right now.

i will be voting republican this year for certain. host: mitt romney was introduced by senator marco rubio who had been considered as a possible vice-presidential candidate. a number of stories about him this morning. this one from "the washington times." here is a little bit about what he said last night. >> let me be clear so nobody misunderstands. our problem is not that he is a bad part -- person. by all accounts he is a good husband, good father, and thanks to lots of practice -- a good golfer. our problem is not that he is a bad person. our problem is he is a bad president. [applause]

do you think he is watching tonight? because his new slogan is the word "forward." forward. a government that spends $1 to -- $1 trillion more than it takes an. a government intervention into health care paid for by higher taxes and cuts to medicare, scores of new regulations. these ideas to move us backwards. [applause] these are tired and old big government ideas that have failed everywhere they have been tried. these are ideas people come to america to get away from.

[applause] these are ideas that threaten to make america more like the rest of the world instead of helping the rest of the world become more like america. [applause] as for his old slogan, the only change is that hope is hard to find. host: all of that speech available in our convention hub at c-span.org. you can comment on line as well. getting lots of comments on facebook.com.

a reminder that we will have coverage of the democratic convention next week after labor day -- gavel-to-gavel coverage of every speech on c- span. michael is on the independent line. caller: thank you to c-span. i have a comment about romney giving the speech, really trying to win overswing give voters. that is the only winnable segment of the population. i find swing voters very odd because if he voted for obama last time and you know you are voting for, it would be insane to vote for romney now. vice versa, if he voted for mccain it would be ought to vote for obama now. it would be ignorance of

politics if you can be won over by a convention speech. it has no details about what mitt romney will do. it is all hyperbole and fallacy. the democratic convention will be the exact same thing. if you are a swing voter, i find it ignorant to be a swing voter. host: the thing coming out from mitt romney at this convention, or at least the appeal is to switch them over. what is the appeal going to be for the president as a campaign next week? caller: i do not know what the president will say. i voted for a obama, but i do not know how i would vote for him again. i see his policies as these middle of the road, old school corrupt democrat policies. i am not a conservative at the same time. i think it is a dog and pony show all the way around. host: you voted for the president last time? caller: i voted democratic for

the two elections i could vote for. i probably cannot do it again. i will not vote for romney though. that is the opposite of everything the believe in. host: thank you for chiming in. a reflection on the theme of last night of appealing to obama voters. an analysis of the speech last night. next on the republican line is that the. caller: good morning.

i just cannot see how anybody would want four more years of obama flying around in the air force one at $180,000 an hour. golfing 90 days of the last year. he spent more time -- over half of a year flying around the country and a golfing then he did stay in the white house. i do not understand it. it is another thing i really believe is that -- the lord is the one who created this world. i do not think he likes the babies being butchered in the clinics. until that really stops, there will not be any big change happening in this country. i am glad of mr. romney is for saving their lives. you people need to look out there and see what the lord says about homosexuals.

he says and romans chapter one verse 18, of my wrath is against -- host: the think the issue of abortion and same-sex marriage will be big issues? caller: i do. when he joined up with the homosexuals, the lord says he is out of there. those are got's babies in there. jeremiad the profit said before you were in the womb i ordain you. host: he will be back on air force one today heading to texas. we will have coverage on c-span. writes --iated press rights -

next up we go to maryland. john, good morning. caller: [unintelligible] host: you are breaking up a little bit. caller: if it is all about hope and change -- i think it is about honesty. [unintelligible] host: yourself on is breaking up on us. good morning to jessica. caller: good morning, sir. let me say this. i voted for obama as an independent last time. i am very unlikely to vote for him again. as far as mitt romney is concerned, that was a no-brainer choice for me since the primary.

as far as i am concerned, with the selection of paul ryan and the race. i want to know exactly -- when you talk about the republicans do not want him to do anything or do not want him to succeed. how does this guy press their health care at a time when the economy is going to hell in ahandbasket? number two, what has he accomplished all these years he has been in office? he is going around on any given day anywhere in the country and overseas. he is not taking responsibility for his own actions. i want somebody -- this is my

responsibility now. i am not passing the blame on anybody. somebody not wallowing in self pity or blaming others. host: another half hour of your phone calls. dallas, texas, we say hello to jessica. republican line. caller: hello, how are you. i think one part of the speech that was my favorite part you guys have not mentioned is this part. he talks about business and says something about "is the genius of the american free enterprise system to harness the extraordinary creativity and talent of the american people. this is my favorite part "to creating tamara's prosperity and not trying to redistribute today's." forget about who likes to, this

is not a popularity contest. policies go on par with the trend -- is like a demagogue government. they appeal to the lower class is because they up -- they promised all of these things. is not what is going to take a country like the united states to continue to prosper. that is up but i think is the most important part. we all need to make a living. host: jessica is calling from dallas, texas where yesterday another federal ruling on the election lot down there.

they look at other states under challenge. atlanta, georgia is next up. this is anthony and the democrat line. caller: hello. good morning and thank you for

taking my phone call. this is on the georgia law. in maryland you have to have extra ids in order to even get our driver's license and things of that nature. host: what is an extra caller:: before we only had to bring pretty much a proof of residency and a picture id. now we need social security cards and things of that nature, a birth certificate. i just want to speak about mitt romney's speech. i am democratic. one thing the republicans constantly elude or deny release date is that they pretty much have been the force that has stopped change in the united states. they have not voted on anything he has tried to pass.

to close what i am saying is, if republicans would have a problem with government, why are they running for office? thank you very much. host: thank you. bobby is an independent caller from alabama. caller: last time i was with obama, but this time i will change. let immigration know they have no help on the democratic side. they hold nothing on the democrats. i just want people to know that you can say romney has created more jobs that obama has created and he is not even president. that ought to tell people something. host: among the speakers last night, the surprise guest people were waiting to hear from was actor and director clint eastwood. he spoke last night for about 10-15 minutes.

getting a lot of reporting in the paper this morning. [cheers and applause] >> thank you very much. some of the people in their own party disappointed when they did not close get no. why close that? we spent so much money on it. i thought maybe it was an excuse -- what do you mean shut up? [laughter] okay. i thought it was because somebody had a stupid idea --

idea of trying terrorists in new york city. [cheers and applause] i have to hand it to you. i have to give credit where credit is due. you did over row that finally. we are moving onward. i know you were against the war in a rock band. you thought the war in afghanistan was ok. -- war in iraq. we did not check with the russians to see how they did for 10 years. [laughter] host: the deal with the chair was if he did not see the speech, he was talking to the chair as if he were talking to president obama. shortly after the speech, the president jose to weeded out this from the president. a photo at the white house --

president tweeted this picture with the caption "this seat's taken." caller: good morning. i am a conservative republican. i remember when obama was elected. i had a good feeling about that. we have our first african american president. maybe the democrats will stop injecting race into every presidential race. but it will not happen. it used to be when you called somebody a racist, it really meant something. it was a bad thing. they are starting to throw the racism thing out there so frequently that it is beginning to lose its meaning with me anyway. another thing on this voter i.d..

this country is so equally divided. say a president lost by 1000 votes. somebody went back and found out that 5000 illegals voted -- voted for dead people or whatever. the election was a fraud. when we elect our president, it has to mean something. everybody has to accept it. if we ever find out that an election was stolen due to fraud, all would break loose -- all hell would break loose. i am for the voter i.d. it is the only way to keep people not qualified from voting from voting. i think the democrats -- i do not understand the reasoning behind being against somebody

proving that they have the right to vote. host: carl from west virginia. are taking your comments about the mitt romney speech at the -- as the republican convention wraps up. we want to remind you our gavel- to-gavel coverage of the democratic convention gets underway next tuesday. we will have complete coverage. every speech and every minute on c-span. president obama heading out of the white house today. here are how things are playing in his hometown. chicago is next up. good morning. caller: i just have to say their entire convention was one big lie.

the "we bill to that?" in a stadium or 61% of a funding came from government tax payer money that was built by a union labor. lying is part of the conservative dna. that job creation? the cbo has already predicted the country will create over 12 million jobs in the next four years. mitt romney is just repeating what the cbo says. then he gave out the red meat to the birth there is. when the world needs big things done, it needs an american to do it. we have an american. then he dismissed taking care of our environment. really? without the oceans we will perish. it was one big lie. host: last nine among the themes

mitt romney focused on was about the disappointment on the president's theme from 2008 of hope and change. here is a look. >> let me make this very clear. unlike president obama i will not raise taxes on the middle class of america. [applause] as president, i will protect the sanctity of life. i will honor the institution of marriage. [applause] i will guarantee a america's first liberty, the freedom of religion. [cheers and applause]

president obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans. [laughter] and to heal the planet. [laughter] my promises to help you and your family. [cheers and applause]

i will begin my presidency with a jobs tour. president obama began with a apology tour. america dictated to other nations. no, america has freed other nations from dictators. [cheers and applause] host: just a reminder if you missed the speech from last night, all of it and all the speeches available on our convention c-span.org hub. . taking a look at a couple of facebook postings.

also taking your tweets as normal. here is one from ron. alex is next on the independent line. caller: hello. how are you doing this morning? i just had a couple of points to make. i do not feel like -- i do not think he is representing the country very well. he is bringing religion into it. you are free to express her religion however you want in the country, i do not think -- if he was the president he would be the voice of the country. there are too many people not religious.

host: make sure you turn down your television to be able to -- i think we actually lost alex. let's go to arcadia, louisiana. caller: this is gene. i am african-american. i watched gov. romney last night. his speech was one big lie. listen to me. the republican party, they are liars. not only are they lyres, they are chronic liars. beyond that point, they are evil. they are evil people. they seek to destroy this united states in order to get this wonderful smart black man out. as a deterrent there is no person of color to run again. they hate to african-americans.

they talk about us like we are dogs, like we are something under their shoe. that is okay. you will find out how intelligent we are. we are not the stupid, good for nothing, lazy dog to portray us to be. thank you so much. host: austin, texas is next up. this is the republican line. caller: hello. speechned to romney's last night. i watched the whole convention. romney said nothing. he is so proud of the american dream he is living. what he should do is tell us how much money he made for outsourcing american jobs. how much money he made for setting the framework for outsourcing american jobs. romney makes good money. he hides it overseas. he does not get -- he does not

release his tax returns. therefore, we know nothing about how much money he has made. he is proud of the american dream. he destroys most jobs he has created. he created a few thousand jobs, but he destroyed 1 million jobs. host: john is calling from austin, texas. the houston chronicle -- this headline focuses on the texas voter i.d. lot blocked. cleveland ohio is next. caller: i wanted to comment on the lies mr. romney tells. he never tells the truth. he talks about the $716 billion that president obama was supposed to take out of the fund.

my 89-year-old mother and my 87-year-old aunt, and i saved tons of money. i said at least $1,400 on prescription copays and colostomy copays. i spent three times more money than i have on obamacare. i am sure seniors have noticed the money they have saved. they are moving $40 billion a year. they were going to have more people this insured. if they cut the waste out of medicare -- they are taking advantage of the people. i hope seniors look and count their money. they will see that is a lie.

i think it is the biggest sinful life. we would not take care of our senior citizens. we would buy and treat them. if you are 65 now, you are only going to be safe until your 75. it will kick in on everybody. host: it will spend even more time on medicare in our next segment. here is a headline from usa today. they put a charge in there about jobs and the issue of jobs across the country. the headline to the graph is "graphs come back unevenly in states." they look at the average unemployment rates throughout the united states. the darker states are the ones with unemployment above 8.5%. the highest rates 11.6% and

nevada. rhode island is 11%. north carolina 9.4%. new jersey 9.3%. the district of columbia 9.3% unemployment rate. the lowest north dakota at 3%, nebraska at 3.9%, south dakota of 4.3%, vermont at 4.6%, and oklahoma at 4.8%. that is from usa today. let's go to the republican line in longview, texas. this is joe. make sure you meet your television. caller: he is letting me talk for him. he is a republican but i, a democrat. i am from louisiana myself. host: your calling on the

republican line? caller: that is the only way to go through. host: we ask you to call on the line that best reflects your political party. we go to the independent line. thomas from dayton, ohio. caller: i consider myself an independent, but i have been in both parties. how did the vote in 2008? caller: i did vote for obama. i have been a manufacturing worker my whole life and i have seen this country take me and cut my third because i am supposed to compete with slave labor in china. mitt romney -- i will not be able to vote for him. i might go third party. i want somebody to put a stop to the outsourcing of our jobs. it is absolutely destroying america. mitt romney reminds me of -- he gets on tv and makes $400

million a year and he has a plant with 700,000 people in china. he says he cannot bring none of the jobs back to america because he could not afford it. he makes $400 million a year. i have been fighting this crap for 30 years. this is what i voted on for 30 years. god bless america. to the ones i want to say something. the 5000 votes he was talking about and west virginia -- gore lost the presidency even though he had 500,000 more votes than george bush. host: so you are voting for president obama at this time? caller: i do not know. i might go to the green party. i want somebody to stop the outsourcing of american jobs for slave labor. it is not cheap labor, a it is slave labor. host:, from dayton, ohio. here is the washington times.

apiece that says the president is in overdrive in return to charlotte. john is on the democrat line in north carolina. caller: how is it going? i just want to say a couple of things. i am actually a registered democrat. i am going independent for the upcoming election. i am in the swing state of carolina. you know, i do not understand

this two party system. obama and mitt romney pretty much on the same. i am an african-american guy. host: what is it that makes them sound the same? caller: look at some of the foreign-policy. it is the same across the board. a lot of americans probably do not know what is going on with israel withiran. israel wants to go to war with a iran. the media -- he is trying to go to war with iran and he wants to attack iran. this is what i have been reading online. you have mitt romney who seems like he is anxious to get into another war. i just read something about -- i do not know if it was a five- star general, but somebody said we do not be sending boys to another war in the iran. it is crazy.

he passed universal health care in massachusetts. he supported the act that obama past. he has not even talk about the federal reserve on it. we do not have a two party system in this country. is that not odd that people are putting almost billions of dollars into these campaigns -- host: john talked a little bit about foreign policy positions. a front page story in the new york times. a couple more minutes of your

phone calls. the headline this morning in the charlotte observer -- our caller was from north carolina. here was the headline. our convention coverage coming up next week starts on tuesday, gavel-to-gavel convention coverage. tuesday starts with the presentation of the platform. jimmy carter will speak via video. julian castro. on tuesday night to michelle obama. all of that, all the speeches here. next up, neil is in philadelphia. he is on the independent line. caller: i voted democrat, i have voted republican. i voted for george w. bush twice. i voted for obama the last election.

i wanted to call and comment on some of the issues regarding the voter i.d. and voter registration issues nationwide. there are two things i am seeing here. i do not come from a state where there is a large immigration issue. i do come from a state where there are people who are -- the have been here for years and do not drive. the issues are not that has registered voters, we are worried about people stealing votes. the issues we are finding is that people who would be affected are students. the guidelines are so stringent where every college id does not have an expiration date. if i am a student, my id is not valid even though i have been here for years and am about to graduate and get a host: job i will let you go there. we are trying to focus on the

reaction to the speech last night. the romney campaign has been criticized by a democratic ads and other campaign ads for mitt romney's time as head had been capital. he talked about his success during the speech. >> that business we started with 10 people has grown into a great american success story. some of the companies we helped start our names you heard from tonight. an office company called staples where i am pleased to see the obama campaign has been shopping. [applause] the sports authority that became a favorite of my boys. we helped start an early childhood learning company called bright horizons that michelle obama praised. at a time nobody thought we would see a steel mill built in america, we took a chance and bill one in the cornfields of indiana.

[applause] today steel dynamics is one of the largest steel producers in the united states. these are american success stories. [applause] the centerpiece of the president goes the entire re-election campaign is attacking success. is it any one -- is it any wonder that anyone who attacks success has led the worst economic recovery since the great depression? [applause] in america, we celebrate success, we do not apologize for success. [cheers and applause] host: all of that speech at the convention hub at c-span.org. let's get one more call. here is nancy on the republican

line. caller: i just want to say i thought gov. romney's speech was written. right now we are in a crisis. -- his speech was riveting. it hit home like the kind of speech ronald reagan gave it when he was running for president. it is a speech we need to hear. we need to wake up. we need to get the country going. governor mitt romney made that clear in his speech. i think if we do not do something, and we do not wake up and we do not vote for him, then we are all going to be in a sorry state come four years from now. our country is going downhill. it will continue to go downhill. we need a president who is willing to start thinking about

the american people and about ws success and what defines mediocrity. host: thanks for all your calls the bank more "washington journal" coming up here on c- span. in the next hour, we will be talking to stan greenberg about the campaign. later, former fema director joe allbaugh will talk about the impact of hurricane isaac. we hope you stay with us. more "washington journal" ahead. ♪

>> c-span coverage of the democratic national convention starts next week. featured speakers tuesday night include the san antonio mayor and first lady michelle obama. wednesday, a massachusetts senate candidate and former president bill clinton. use our convention hug to make and share video clips. >> we offer an opportunity. we demand responsibility. we will build an american community again. the choice we offer is not conservative or liberal. in many ways, it is not republican or democratic. it is different, it is new, and it will work. >> connect with other viewers

with twitter and google hangouts. >> in the movie, we rattle a lot of cages. >> i grabbed my cameraman and pretended to be important. >> i made my way onto one of the un buses. does anyone know a good song we can sing? "99 bottles of beer on the wall ." anybody? >> i was told that there were u.n. peacekeepers that killed -- >> at the beginning of the crisis and here, we have these fighters fighting each other.

>> it sounds to me like he is dodging the question. i walked out of my apartment, a very nice and comfortable place to live, and i came out and i was grilled by a man who was waiting very nicely for us in a nice suit. my spidey sense started tingling. he simply said, "is this movie more important than your family?" >> waste, mismanagement, and crimes committed by its troops. find out sunday at 8:00 on c- span. >> "washington journal" continues. host: we are joined by democratic pollster and strategist stan greenberg who is

also a co-author of a best- selling book. here though to talk to us about reaction to the republican convention and to look ahead to charlotte. we have been talking to our viewers about their reaction to mitt romney speech. predictable.d i think he was successful in not being as an abrasive in the primary. it was a bit of a transition. i did not really hear anything that broke out of the box for me or was memorable. it was solid. a clear way. he is not an eloquent man or charismatic. i did not think it was that revealing of him personally which is part of what he needed to do.

there was the personal charity side that has been emphasized. i am not sure that people came away from that speech and said this is someone i want to live with for the next four years. host: there was one comment that said something to the effect that previously he had said i am the guy who can fix it. the tone of this speech was trust me to fix it. guest: to me what was new was i am a businessman and that is what i will bring to the presidency. he is saying now -- i think their success will bring the economy back. host: the headline this morning

in "the financial times" -- how do you thing that will appeal to those who voted for president obama in 2008? guest: i understand the strategy because there is disappointment. these are all people who voted for obama and have a sense of disappointment. he needs to identify with them and say you can fire him and turned to mitt romney. what i did not see was a reason to turn to mitt romney. let's acknowledge to get there you are disappointed. what i did not see was a reason why to turn to mitt romney as the alternate. host: it is too early for polls after, but one of the snapshot polls stood at 47% for president

obama and 46% 4 mitt romney. guest: this is not great for the challenger because you have the president's convention following this convention. usually you get five or six points. john mccain had it in a very difficult headwind in 2008. he moved closer and in some slightly ahead. then it fell back. host: stan greenberg is our guest for the next 45 minutes. we are opening up the phone lines for your comments. the convention starting tuesday

in charlotte -- will you be there? guest: i will. my wife is a member of congress. she is a delicate and i am a devoted spouse. james carville and i do democracy corps. we will participate in other events during the convention. so i will be active and interested but not in the kind of role that i had with president clinton. host: the issue of medicare and the selection of paul ryan -- i will ask your thoughts on the selection of paul ryan and have they changed since the convention wrapped up. guest: i think it makes the paul ryan budget central. i thought it was a very odd

speech. it was quite different. it really was dismissive of the president. he spends a lot of time explaining it. even conservative commentators are still speaking about the fact that the speech needed to be forthright. you cannot have a theme on the first night, that we are the truth tellers. host: does that issue come back to haunt him? guest: eventually, the debates. we have so much advertising. if you are in ohio, you are saturated with advertising. i do not think the conventions are going to move the numbers.

the conventions tend to be biased toward people who are already for the candidates. the debates matter. they have big audiences and swing voters pay a lot of attention. that is when day move, cuts to all the advertising. host: the selection of paul ryan obviously brought the issue of medicare to the forefront as the number-one issue in the campaign right now. is that the issue that the obama campaign wanted to have as the number one issue? guest: yes. when you get to the economic debate, it is pretty clear. it is going to be the president saying let's talk about what is a world view and what kind of economy we want to create or how we are going to have a middle- class future. then you get to the orion

budget. i think it is problematic for them because in the end they do want to turn it into a voucher and limit what people dead from the government. that will erode their support. host: we have a couple of calls for you. we go to tampa, florida. hi, linda. guest: i do not believe mitt romney really has much to brag about when most of the jobs he created are very low-paying without any health insurance. my second comment pertaining to his religion. i would like to know if he has any relationship with that warren geoffs. guest: i did not hear the very

first part of it. host: the creation of jobs. he said his goal was to create 12 million jobs in his speech last night. guest: no one really thinks there is a plan here for jobs. but i do think plans matter. i am not of the view that it is all about personality. this is a very tough economic financial crisis and really took a toll on people. what jobs pay matter a lot. jobs are paying 20% less than the people are very focused on grocery prices. it is tough out there. what record you have on this and what you are going to do to

create jobs, people are serious and want to know what is your plan. i think the president has an opportunity at the convention to go much further in telling where he is going to take the country or create jobs. host: do you think his speech will be more specific? guest: probably. the as the president and it is in his interest to have this election decided by what you are going to do rather than what happened over the last four years. i did not mattemind that the da. debate. the country does not want a debate over whose fault it was. they want to hear what you are going to do. the more the president goes out there and says what he is going to do, the more mitt romney will be called upon to say what he

will do. caller: hello. i just cacannot believe these people talking about mitt romney when we have had dolly -- svengali in the white house for years. might insurance rates have gone up $20 in the last six months. through aarp. -- on television but they are nothing but a big insurance company. the other thing is he has been on the golf course more than he has been a president. we havhost: we will get stan

greenberg's response. guest: i appreciate your point of view. he was handed a mess when he came in. 750,000 jobs lost each month. he would talk about private sector jobs created and the iraq war. osama bin laden and other issues. i think the country shares your judgment that that doesn't matter so much. it is tough out there and people want to know what you are going to do now. people want to know can you make their lives better. i think mitt romney posed a strong question at the end of the speech or a choice in which he said i am focused on making your life better paying bank i think that is right. people want to know how you are

going to create middle class jobs. host: she started the conversation talking about medicare. we spoke a moment ago about paul ryan. i want to show our viewers some specifics paul ryan said in his speech on medicare. [video clip] >> for my mom's generation, my generation, and my kids and yours. [cheers and applause] so, our opponents can consider themselves on notice. in this election on this issue, the usual posturing on the left is not going to work.

we know the difference between protecting a program and raiding it. our nation needs this debate, we want this debate, and we will win this debate. host: paul ryan the other night, protecting and strengthening medicare. guest: as you know, his budget takes the exact same money from reforms and medicare. just no difference between what the president has proposed. just makes no sense. ultimately, this debate will be serious. the fact they want to introduce a voucher and turn medicare into a fixed amount of money to buy health insurance is a shift for seniors. that will penetrate going forward. he says he wants that battle.

that is what they should say, but the more this is debated, i think the more problematic it will be. host: do you think mitt romney did not want to have this battle? guest: once he's elected paul ryan, that was his decision. they are talking about changing medicare in fundamental ways. host: let go back to calls. the independent line, go ahead. caller: yes, sir. i have a couple of questions. one is the voter id. if i need an id to get on an airplane or money out of my bank, what is the problem with an id to vote? another question is where do the

republicans and democrats make the distinction about income for middle class? thank you. guest: the latter is a good question. there used to be a fairly permissive set of policies for taxes and utility bills. using your address to prove that you are a registered voter. what they have created is a poll tax in which you have to spend money to vote. they ruled that pilots the constitution in particular states. i think it is pretty clear where this is happening and why. the question you raised about middle-class income is very important. james carville and i have

written a book about the income levels for middle-class. we are very inclusive. 60% say they are middle-class. if you do it by income, it is probablynder $125,000. we actually think anybody working hard and wanting their kids to do better or go to college, that represents the middle class values that our parents gave us. that makes us unique in the country. i think that is what makes america exceptional. that may be one of the differences that ronnie and obama today. -- mitt romney and obama debate. where you draw that

line is fairly important. host: you also have some strategy in your book been big you write that the president should make a big part of his argument that the country needs to elect republicans to rescue the middle class who are willing to work together. guest: this place is so dysfunctional. votesrs know it. i think the president came here innocently thinking he could work together. we do know the republican senate leader did say our goal is to make him fail. bringing the government to the brink of default. it is a very tough environment.

i think the president can go beyond the message and say give me democrats and republicans who will work together. we have this gridlock. i think there is added support if he goes down that road. host: let's go to dennis on the line. good morning. caller: good morning, c-span. i just want to say the speech from paul ryan and mitt romney -- you know, this is dangerous. it is misleading. they are misleading in their speech and bank i am a registered nurse. about medicare and debt, they are lying. they are not telling the truth. i listened to them and -- i do

not believe what they are saying anymore. last night, he blew his speech. i think he is done. thank you very much. guest: i think we will have a real election. it is not over yet. but you raise an important point. i am trying to understand the strategy because they are saying we're not going to be run by the fact checkers. some things in their speeches just factually enormous problems. there is a bravado and barreling through that we are not going to pay attention to the fact checkers and we are going to go forward. i think people are skeptical about the media said they are checking their own sites. on facebook and twitter and going to sites and doing their

own fact checking. it does not matter whether you are truthful or not. i think voters will find a way to sort that out. host: what is your way of getting the news in the morning? what are the first couple of things you check each day? guest: "the new york times" first. i use the ipad for getting the news. i download "the wall street journal" and "the financial times." "the washington post," going to the opinion page first. then we are back to the politics. host: are you also on twitter? guest: facebook and twitter. there will be commentary after. host: a tweet from maverick -- guest: healthcare.

look, cost is the issue here. if you listen to ryan and romney's speech, david brooks column, they think the main problem facing the country is the cost of health care facing the government. if you think that, what you do is reduce the government's cost , trying to solve the deficit problem. in the books that we wrote, the problem is health care costs. it is not the government's health care costs. it is total health care costs. it is not going to happen. it is just not going to happen. we have a health care reform law and there is reason to believe that law can make health

care more affordable than bank there are some serious things that people can do that were pushed out by special interests to go further in this law to make it work. my view is double down. i think progressives should say the single payer debate is very interesting. we need to do it in a way and take it beyond the law because the goal has to be reducing the cost of health care for middle- class families. host: let's go back to our phone calls. caller: yes, how're you doing this morning? you just hit on a lot of the points i think we really need. we need some clarity in there. we know barack obama and what he thinks about health care.

it seems to me the mitt romney- paul ryan ticket is we're just going to beat everybody. how they going to do better? i have not seen anything from them. they do not talk like people getting something done. i would like to see some clarity on mitt romney's income tax and how much money he has in overseas accounts. that would be a good start. he thinks he is going to get elected. i am a conservative. the better start getting some clarity. host: are you going to vote for him? caller: yes. guest: let me try to help you get your republican vote on that. to be honest, obamacare as identified by the republicans,

as we know it is mitt romney's health care plan put on the national stage. it is a conservative plan. it is an individual mandated -- the democrats are for single payer. individual mandate is what republicans and conservatives were for including mitt romney. the right thing for him was to embrace massachusetts and his plan. republicans do not want to go that road. they think it is a replay of old politics that are dysfunctional. i think he needs to go a different road on that. i do think he would benefit by telling the country where he wants to go. in the end, he is going to say it is about what the president did. mitt romney is going to have to say with clarity where he will

go. founded independent polling a decade ago and every month we sent out memos on monday or tuesday about what we think the president ought to do in the convention speech. we release our data. our view has been the more people have access to information, they will be able to make better decisions. we do not have any special interests that fund us. host: a story said the democracy corps has outlined a passed to a democratic house. how can that happen? guest: week focus on just the republican seats. most of those carried into

thousand eight but those that are most vulnerable. i think that is the danger for mitt romney. particularly in the house races where people have voted multiple times for the paul ryan budget. their vulnerability is raising taxes on the working poor and pushing 2 million kids into poverty and that 20% cuts in education. there are other things that people really dislike along with the medicare changes that exposes the house candidates and makes it possible to contest the house. host: back to phone calls. paul is on our independents' line. caller: good morning. i saw lots and lots of promises but no substance whatsoever in mitt romney's speech.

mitt romney remind me of a guy in the bar trying to pick up women, telling her everything she wants to hear how beautiful she is and promising this and that. once he gets what he wants, he dumps her. when she asks why, he says, "you were dumb enough to fall for my lies. " guest: i think you raised the right issue on this. i do think voters want to know what you are going to do. they know these are special times. they have been hit hard. it really was a great recession, maybe a depression, and they know we have not come out and long term problems are facing the middle-class. they are looking to leaders to say what is your plan and where are you going to take the

country? what mitt romney is saying is it is ok to throw this guy out. i do not think they are going to turn to him unless he lays out where he wants to take the country. host: jacksonville, fla., good morning to you. caller: good morning. i really appreciate c-span and i watched it quite a bit. one of my main goals is to watch the debate. also, i have a problem with banks not lending money to homeowners. in the stock market, banks should the banks and the stock market should be left to the stock market. banks are hoarding their money and using it mainly for the stock market. tha tis really wrong. our last quarter say an increase

in employment. i do not recall offhand. my main question is what do you think about banks being banks and leaving the stock market alone? guest: i appreciate the question. i am not a policy person to answer the best policies to be for the banks. again, i have worked in presidential campaigns and i have watched them closely. the debate really are a decision points. you can see people's brains after the final debate really making up their mind and moving. one of the toys will be about

the banks. people do think they were one of the main causes of the economic crisis. even though they think president obama has been hostile to business and wall street, when you ask voters whether the president did more for main street or wall street, they thought he was more for wall street because he did not go far enough. it is not far enough in regulating the banks. people think they have not been checked or reformed. people think there needs to be more, not less, done with the banks if we are going to have a strong economy. host: just a reminder to our c- span viewers. we will have all three presidential debates as well as the vice-presidential debate as well. also, gavel-to-gavel coverage of the democratic convention next

week in charlotte. pittsburgh is next. caller: i think there is an important question that should be asked. my neighbor last year or last election -- there are 12 of us who live on the block. this time, only two of them are going to vote for obama so far. i think people are tired of hearing white men and this voter id -- that is discrimination which does not mean in any sense to me. these neighbors here are going back to obama, no prosecution against the black panthers for putting violent on people's heads. they are voting for the guy and

are being called racist. i definitely think it is happening in my neighborhood and from some other people. keep playing this race card because a lot of white people voting for him are disgusted at being called racist. guest: i appreciate your question. look, i will tell you one thing that is happening. what i do know is when you look at the effect of this crisis, the people hit hardest are young people and minorities but also the white working class, white voters. their incomes were hit hard. the have seemed long term unemployment before president obama -- they have seen it long

term unemployment before president obama during president bush. that is one of the challenges. to the extent that there is any recovery at all, it is slow and hard for a lot of those working- class folks who some of them voted for the president in 2008. they are thinking hard about how they are going to vote. a lot of them in michigan and ohio have come back at the in the states for obama. and finally i would say in the work that james and i have done with working-class voters, race was absolutely central to their thinking of what the problem was. it is the long-term problems of the economy. there is a lot of anger around that. host: let's go to our independenct line.

caller: good morning. i am an independent but i voted for george bush and john mccain. i will not be voting for mitt romney. my dad serves, my brother serves, and my nephew is in the military right now. under this president, he has really taken care of military families. mitt romney has five sons and none of them have served. yet he wants to go to war with iran. i think that is alarming. the other thing is it is so unimagined to keep your money in unamerican to keeperic your money in overseas banks. he ships jobs abroad and that is why we are in dire straits.

he actually made money shipping jobs abroad. guest: i appreciate your comments about what has happened with military families. there was a lot of bravado at the end of the mitt romney speech yesterday about the use of military abroad and the strength of america. president obama has very high marks with the country on handling national security and the war on terrorism. he is pretty balanced in the way he has dealt with libya, egypt, and syria as well as support for veterans. i think republicans are on the defensive on the issue. i promise you people will mention the cayman islands and other offshore accounts as a big deal. it is top of the list. you cannot be running for president and having an account in the cayman islands to avoid

taxes or a campaign saying we are running on truth but not be willing to talk about these things. host: we talked earlier about president obama mentioning george bush and inheriting the economy from the previous administration. jeb bush said president obama has to stop blaming the previous president. [video clip] >> well, i love my brother. [cheers and applause] he is a man of integrity, courage, and honor. during an incredibly challenging times, he kept us safe. [cheers and applause] so, mr. president, mr. president, it is time to stop

blaming your predecessor for your failed economic policies. [cheers and applause] you were dealt a tough hand. you were dealt a tough hand, but the policies have not worked. in the fourth year of your presidency, a real leader would accept responsibility for his actions, and you have not done it. host: would it have been advantageous for president obama mentioning the previous problems? guest: he was not at the republican convention. but bill clinton certainly will be playing a prominent role. the bush years were a lost decade. the country has still right now if you asked who is responsible for the deficit or the state of

the economy, many more people will say george bush and president obama. that is a pretty amazing conclusion. they are not looking for the president's to blame george bush. they want him to get on with the jobs. they do not want someone to come with the presidency who has the same policy as george bush. i think that is fair. do we want to bring in someone who wants to cut taxes for the very wealthy? do we want someone with that world view to be leader of the country? host: a couple more phone calls. bill is on our republican line. go ahead. caller: this is bill. good morning. i do appreciate c-span. as a matter of fact, i recorded the whole entire convention.

one thing i want to point out about lies being told, i would like to point out that our representatives here were caught up in a lie with "anderson cooper 360" on her quote about how romney was in lockstep with the rnc on their platform on abortion. the lie that she was caught up in because she'd misquoted the "l.a. times." here it was saying it does not matter. things like that matter to the american people. the introduction of obamacare does matter to the american people. nancy pelosi's comment, "we just

need to pass it. then we will know what is in it. " guest: i appreciate the comment. i do think honesty and being factual, not being truthful, distorted or leaving out things is very important and i think voters will be demanding of leaders on this all across the board. the issue with dealing with this is what it is is it the republican party's position on abortion. what we have is the vice president's position selected by mitt romney, the conventions position, and thwe are electing governors, legislators, not just the president. the position of the party does matter. in that sense, i think she was right. host: stan greenberg, i want to

thank you for spending some time with us here on "washington journal." coming up, we will focus on fema and hurricane isaac in louisiana. we will hear from joe allbaugh. take a look at democratic and attitudes of undecided voters. our guest will be frank newport, editor in chief at gallup. all that is ahead on "washington journal." ♪ >> during the republican and democratic conventions, we are asking students to send a message to the president. in a short video, students will

answer the question -- what is the most important issue the president should consider for 2013? there is $50,000 in total prize is available. the competition is open to students grades 6 through 12. go online to studentcam.org. >> john kennedy once met with the british prime minister and the daily newspapers to discuss issues between the two powers which they sure did but only long afterward we got the notes of what they said to each other in private. kennedy spent a lot of the time complaining about bad press coverage. macmillan said why do you care? brush it off because it does not matter. kennedy said that is easy for you to say.

how would you like it if the press said it to your wife lady dorothy was a drunk? he replied, you should have seen her mother. [laughter] that gives you an idea of what these people are like. >> historians and biographers use the vantage of hindsight to understand their subjects. sunday, your questions, calls, e-mails, and tweets for a presidential historian. at noon eastern on c-span2. >> "washington journal" continues. host: joining us for the next 45 minutes or so is joe allbaugh, who is the former head of fema, now heading the allbaught

international group. hurricane isaac is still ashing a good part of the coast. as an expert on this, how would you gauge the preparation and the response to isaac this time around when you compare it to hurricane katrina? good morning. this is a serious storm still even though it has been downgraded to a tropical depression. still dumping a lot of rain. i think the most significant lesson out of isaac, from hurricane katrina seven years ago, we are learning the lessons as a country we have done a lot better in preparation and response. as more people have listened to their local officials, moved to higher ground when they got the order. i know there were a lot of folks

who were not inundated by hurricane katrina seven years ago that are feeling the effects this time around. there is a lot more focus on mississippi as there should be. it just not new orleans. i think people at the federal, state, and local levels have done an excellent job in sharing information. host: when you hear about these disasters, these storms, what is the first thing that goes through your mind? guest: i cringe about whether people have prepared themselves. individual families. number two, i wince and second guess whether local, state, and federal officials have talked about this. the coastal states are probably the best prepared with the exception of california and new york. they should have exercised this

particular -- i believe they have. by exercise, i mean come together and sit at the table like this and divide up the responsibilities. then walk through either a table exercise or a formal exercise to see what they envisioned in their mind what will work when it comes to reality. the same is true for local officials, getting that information to their residents. host: we are talking to joe allbaugh and focusing on hurricane isaac. we set aside a special phone line. the phone lines are for republicans, democrats, and independents. if you are a resident from the gulf who has been impacted by the storm, the number is -- we will get to your phone calls

in a minute. you talked about officials preparing for the storm. at this time around, there was a news conference a couple days before the storm hit in louisiana. i want you to listen to the tone telling folks ahead of time what residents can expect from the city government. >> out of the abundance of caution, let me say clearly to everybody not the airport or the superdome is going to be a shelter of last resort. in the event that in the evacuation is called, everybody needs to make preparations because we will not be sheltering there. you should begin your preparations to do so. we are just on high alert. i know the anxiety level is high and the storm is uncertain. we are beginning to take these

precautions as quickly as we can. we will stay in touch with you. our emergency operation team is operating as well as each of the president's. we have been through this many, many times before. the best part of wisdom is to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. host: just a day or two before the storm hit. what do you hear in his warnings? guest: i congratulate him as well as other officials in that area. mitch is a friend and he has been through this once or twice. he watched the lack of communication in 2007 -- 2005 with hurricane katrina. they have exercised since then

individually and collectively with the feds. i remember very well be the only press conference that was called before the storm with a sense of urgency was the sunday morning press conference that the previous mayor and the previous governor had asking people to evacuate. at that time, it was too late. max mayfield was on the phone with those folks five or six days earlier urging that they evacuate now. having this press conference and making that information available and tell them where residents may not go helped a great day. deal. my prayers go out to those families who lost loved ones. nonetheless, there are a lot of people who thought they would not be hurt this time around who

are suffering right now. if a local official says evacuate, listen. the coastal states did an excellent job getting that message out this time. host: we are with joe allbaugh, former fema director. we do have a special phone line set aside for those impacted by hurricane isaac. california is of first. john, go ahead. caller: good morning and thank you for c-span. if you listened to mr. mitt romney's speech last night, he took the opportunity for ridiculing obama about the concern of rising seas. he said, "i will give you jobs." i do not know how the pundits did not comment about that. the 25-foot high levees did hold

back a category one hurricane, but what is going to happen when a member 2 or 3 comes rolling through there? not once did he express concern for those people who lost their homes who are in neck-high water over there. guest: one of the concerns you talked about was the construction of the levees. before hurricane katrina, everybody in the area knew those levees that they were only built for a category three. in an area where the corps controls that system, they have added significantly which has helped this time around. the levees that are in control of the parish organizations have

not received that kind of treatment. you heard a lot of information about one of them over topic. they are designed to be overtop but what you worry about is if levees are over-topped for an extended period of time, you worry about a breach. they are closely watching a damn right now that is upstream from about 60,000 people. they are trying to relieve the pressure on that damn right now. the danger is not over yet. you are correct in your assessment about the critical nature of the levee system. host: there were improvements made to the law in 2006. the underlying law, the stafford act, what does that do?

guest: it empowers and it sets out the guidelines and the regulations in which the federal emergency management agency can act on behalf of the president. the fema director was a direct report to the president which is probably my biggest beef with the creation of homeland security. during times of need and when people's lives are at risk, you need a person responsible who acts on behalf of the president of the united states. now with the creation of a homeland security, you have four layers of bureaucracy between the administrator of fema and the president of the united states. whatever the recommendation is from fema, it gets filtered and

not through that direct line. in the middle of a fire fight, you do not have time to talk to a lot of people to get the decisions you have to make to protect property and save lives. host: among those changes were expanded federal assistance, aid to individuals with special needs, expanded assistance to disaster victims, housing assistance, public assistance to states and local government, nonprofit organizations, hazard mitigation, and administrative changes. what is the most prominent change that we saw? guest: two of the most important programs. the public-works category and the individual assistance category. those who have been harmed or think they have been harmed need to call the fema hotline.

they will help you even if you have some insurance. at one of the things that the program did in 2006 was allow people to have assistance even if they have insurance for things not covered by their current private insurance. that helps at a time like this when people are still in their homes trying to figure out where i go or how do i make all of this fit. aside the mental anguish of possibly losing all their possessions. host: one of the stories coming out today -- of the last time around during hurricane katrina, that was a big concern. we have a