it may not be as sexy as putting it all in read and seen what happens, but that is not the man we elected. >> how do you think he sees himself? >> i think he sees himself as somebody who likes to hold things together and pull things together, and i think shocked at the disparity between that and i guess the people you sought the rnc, the people who are trying to portray him as something much different. that seems so counterintuitive to knowing him. >> do you feel if we take people's impression of him from the media, do you think if we

had -- if we add up, do you feel we get this president or not? >> i think the american people get this president. i meant that is why his numbers are stubbornly good. >> stubbornly ok. >> stubbornly ok, despite the challenges to the economy. like i said before, is he really like that? they know what "like that" is. i think that is very much fundamentally who -- a function of who he is. i don't know the functions in terms of being a better president, better at governing things, but it is something that is important to the american people to latch onto and to get an idea, especially in these times when we are not sure how our government is functioning. >> one question you grapple with in your book is the fact you are a competitor. when there are campaigns, white house figures, in the past, people would have to come to politico.com, or c-span.org to see those videos, and now they

can go to whitehouse.gov. >> i think the most important thing is to provide context of some comes in to watch videos. videos are a horrible way to communicate. it evokes a feeling. if you want people to learn something, it is better that those things are just written and a list next to the video to be looked at later. i think the video -- the venue is just as important it is not just the tv screen, but contextual information. i do not see a problem with people putting out their own point of view in their own platform as long as we do not rely on any one source of information. i think would be horrible if the press were replaced with nothing but west wing week. >> not on your colleagues would agree.

>> i think you have to have room for both. at first, the press was so apprehensive about what i was doing. but quickly into it, started incorporating it into their broadcast. >> last question for you. what platform is next? text message, campaign, the twitter campaign? what do you see rising or what do you see changing even in this cycle? >> i'm just trying to get a handle on this now, but i think the 30-second ad is becoming too expensive. like if mitt romney wants to win with negative 30-second ads, he will out raise president obama.

>> these the only things you cannot get rid of. it is between two pandora songs. it is the last place someone like me can bear -- can guarantee 15 seconds of your time. i think this will be something you see happening a lot more. >> you will be 37 on election day, you are having a second kid. you are working on the outside spending area. >> i'm working at an online strategy communications firm, and we have all kinds of progress of clients, like the unions, the naacp. i am making vide for them. same side of things, but the one thing that my videos no longer a star is the barack obama. >> does the president have a nickname for you? >> he calls me funnyman on

occasion, because of my sense of humor. >> thank you very much. [applause] thank you very much for taking us behind the scenes, behind the lens. >> starting tomorrow, watch a gavel-to-gavel coverage. every minute, every speech, live here on c-span. coming up, the democratic national convention -- committee news conference. and then we will hear from president obama. he held a labor day rally with the workers in toledo ohio. heading into the democratic national convention, we talked about the most important issues in the 2012 campaign.

>> i am from missouri. i'm here to support president obama because i thi he has the experience and intellect and what it takes to get the job done for america. >> in from illinois. i wanted to cast my vote for president barack obama so he can continue the movement he started four years ago. if it will take four more years to get this done. >> i am from vermont. i am here because i am supporting a visionary inclusive america looking forward rather than back. >> i am from vermont. i am supporting reelection because i believe we all need to reinvest in america. >> imf delegate from north carolina. i am here to cast my vote for full marriage equality.

>> hello. in a delegate from south carolina. my main purpose for this week of the convection is too -- for the convention is to reelect president obama because i know he cares for us. >> fall in the delegate from greenville, south carolina. i am here because i expect obama to do great things. we will re-elect our president for another four years. >> on our convention hub website at c-span.org/campai gn2012, you can discuss the campaign and a share your own videos. here are a few videos from the convention. the democratic national convention committee held an open press conference on monday, previewing what is expected over the next few days. speakers include steve kerrigan,

anthony fox, and the los angeles mayor and chair of the convention, antonio villaraigosa. this is about 40 minutes. >> and good morning, everyone. welcome to charlotte. we are desultory -- we are excited to get things kicked off. last week, governor romney and congressman ryan had the opportunity to let off a division. the questions most americans are focused on. they failed, given that opportunity. we look forward to having this conversation this week about where we were 2008, where we have come, and how we have built the economy for the middle class out to restore economic security for the middle class. with me this morning are the --

is the ceo of the democratic convention, steve kerrigan. mayor fox. charlotte. our convention share. mayor villaraigosa and the dnc secretary. between that group which should be able to answer, if not all, many of your questions. if with that, i will turn it over to steve kerrigan. >> thank you. good morning, everybody. as ben said, in the ceo of the democratic national convention committee. on behalf of our team, i want to welcome you here. we are excited to have you here at the convention. we hope you had a great time at the media party on saturday night. we hope you continue to have a great time in this incredibly of vibrant and dynamic city. this week represents the culmination of one year of planning for us. planning that began with a three primary directives from the

president. making sure that this convention is the first of its kind off, to think outside of the box, and to find as many ways as possible to engage more americans in this event. on all three counts, i am proud to say, we have done just that. this is the most open and accessible convention in history. we begin our planning not just by looking at a venue blueprints and different scenarios for logistics', but by reaching out to the american people. in 2011, the first lady sent an e-mail to supporters around the country announcing that we were coming here to charlotte and really engaging them and asking them how we can make this their convention. more than 2000 people wrote in. we read every response. one thing was clear. they wanted more ways to participate in our democracy and this convention. beginning this afternoon, you will see how we have made the request a reality. for the first time in convention history we will kick off the

advent -- we'll kick it off with an event that is a family-free of them to. it will celebrate the region. it will give everyone the opportunity to see give the folks here the region to participate in the convention that they have never had before. the public is excited to attend all of our caucus meetings here. they will begin happening this morning. and it will be here throughout the week. on thursday we will close out our convention activities with where americans will have the opportunity to come to the stadium and see that great moment in history. while all of this is happening on the ground here in charlotte, we will be engaging the online like we have never done before. we are on eight different

digital media platforms, our first convention mobile aapp. people will be able to follow our -- all of our convention activities. it brings us all together. we are excited for you to help us shares that story all around the country. we look forward to beginning -- to working with all of you this week. we have great partnership in this community and leadership all around the country with the campaign and with our great convention chair, mayor villaraigosa. we will be led through many of the proceedings with our chair. we cannot done the work of the last 18 months, planning this convention, without great partners here on the ground. we have grown to become a very close friends with my partner in

all of this planning who is an incredible leader all around the country. that is your host mayor, mayor anthony fox. [applause] >> thank you. thank you, steve, for your partnership. for that, the democratic national convention committee and the platform. i want to thank you all for being here today. it is a pleasure to welcome you to charlotte. our city has been waiting a long time to host the convention. in fact, our state has been waiting a long time. it is and about 150 years. we are thrilled to have the democratic national convention here. thrilled to have our party fighting for the cell. we think that is a very important statement for us to make as a party. before i go any further, i do have many thank yous to give. people have done so much to

make this successful, particularly our law enforcement officials at the local, state, and federal levels to make -- who are helping to make this convention what we wanted to be. they are an integral part of this process. we cannot thank them enough. ever since the first lady announced the site of the democratic convention through an e-mail, nearly one year and a half ago, we have been working and our citizens have been preparing and are excited about this wonderful event. throughout the week, the world will have the opportunity to expiries north carolina, and a dynamic state. charlotte is part of that wonderful narrative. charlotte residents are ready to put their best foot forward. i think many of you have already seen what we know this part of the dna of this community, which is good, southern hospitality. if we like to say hello to you when you are coming down the

street. we like to treat you well. although this convention will wrap up on thursday, its legacy will live on long after the last confetti falls. it will be a testament to what we have done over the last couple of years to improve ourselves for future generations. today you have an opportunity to see some of the legacies. it will be the first festival that is part of a convention. it is opening up families and an opportunity to be part of a wonderful event. you have an opportunity to hear from james taylor, who hopefully not be singing fire and rain today. hopefully he will be sitting some songs that bring sunshine out. we are working to engage more people and supporters to bring people to the table through this

convention. over the last several months, i have had an opportunity to go through the north carolina and through the 931 program where we offered an opportunity for volunteers to get one ticket to watch the president get the nomination at a bank of america stadium. you should have seen the overwhelming interest and enthusiasm in people. lines wrapped around the door. it has been incredible to see the ground energy for this president and this convention in north carolina. so, i hope this opportunity that you all have to see our city and see our state in action like this will give you an impression of north carolina that i think is true to form. it is a progressive state and continues to look forward. it is a community that has shown resilience over time. it is an excellent backdrop for this president to accept the nomination to our party. with that, i'll turn it over to

my good friend, the mayor of los angeles, antonio villaraigosa. [applause] >> ladies and gentleman, you just heard from a great leader here in at charlotte and i think the face of the new south. when i first came here a few months ago, this is my third visit to charlotte. what i saw, and what i have seen whenever i have been in the south, is that southern hospitality that you speak of. what i also saw was a great, a vibrant city. a green city. you know, i wish we had as many trees as you do. a great, a vibrant downtown. a great place to host this democratic convention. and so, thank you, mayor fox, for your leadership.

the outgoing conference of mayors, early on, i saw that he is not only the leader for the south, if he is a leader for the nation. stephen, thank you. a lot of people have asked me about the specifics of the convention and how things are going. i said, let me be clear about something. stephen and others have done all the work. there are hundreds of volunteers and staff members -- thousands of volunteers who have done the hard work to get us here. i will be responsible if something goes wrong. that is what happens when you have the big job. but these are the people that are going to ensure that this is as smooth as possible. of what to thank you. all of the staff have done an incredible job. -- i want to thank you. all the staff have done an incredible job. if it is an honor to gavel as in tomorrow. it is our turn. after what we saw in tampa, i am

proud to say that this is a convention that will be more than a little different. we will show them how it is really done. i will tell you why. this is a new way to engage america in the political process. you just heard how open and accessible we have been. this is a working convention. the last convention took advantage of the number of people that were there. some 25,000 of volunteers got involved. we can do a lot more than that this time around. we are going to engage everybody who is a part of this effort. that is a big difference between us. charlotte, we will also present our vision and affirm our values. we will show the country that we are the party of openness and opportunity. a party of ingenuity and innovation. we will get down to business,

roll up our sleeves, and get the country moving forward. we kick off our first day here in charlotte, the convention will be the most diverse. we are very proud of that. diverts in every respect. but certainly, much larger. some 6000 delegates will be here. you will see people from every walk of life. the rich, the poor, black, white, latino, asian, for muslims and jews, christians -- if we are all celebrating this great america. we believe that a party's convention ought to present its vision. we will be crystallizing the choice between a candidate who wants to build an economy from the metal out versus one who wants to build an economy from the top down. president obama is committed to fighting for middle-class

americans. we will be highlighting american heroes from across the country. people who showed grit to move this country forward. we will also account the last four years. we have the story of a president who inherited the worst economic crisis since the great depression. if we will celebrate a president who rescued the auto industry. who passed historic health care and student loan reform. we will articulate a path forward. president obama wants to reclaim the american dream. he promises that hard work will get you a fair shot and a fair shake. the convention is about laying a roadmap for where american needs to go to provide longer-lasting economic recovery. before i introduce our next speaker, who has been a long- time leader in our party, in the

tradition of the mayor of los angeles, as i said many times, i would not be chair if i was not major. let me say a few words in spanish. [speaking spanish]

[speaking spanish] it is now my pleasure, as i said, we worked together on a platform committee. i will not say how long. a woman who has been a real leader in our party. the secretary of the democratic national committee. [applause] >> it is an incredible honor to serve as secretary of the democratic national convention with my friends, who i have known for just a few years, mayor villaraigosa. he is a true star in the

democratic party. it is going to be a great convention under his leadership. thank you, mayor, for what we are about to do and what we will do over the next three days. i cannot go three steps without someone saying, "welcome to charlotte." it is just a fun to be here. it is extraordinary how warm everyone has made us feel. it is a true spirit here that i know is part of north carolina. part of the south. and i hope, part of all of america. if all of our delegates are so excited and pleased to be here. we got a chance to look at the hall. it is truly beautiful. everything looks great. we are going to have a good time here doing some serious work that is incredibly important to our country. before i go over some of the details and numbers, and i promise you there and not be too

many, i would just like to share with you that i have participated in at 10 presidential conventions. do not start adding up. but that is quite a lot. because of that, i can say, first hand, that this is truly the most diverse, the most open, the most transparent, the most just and exciting convention we are about to undertake that i have ever seen before. it is a big. it is a bold. it is beautiful. it is america. if i am proud to be part of it. we have a lot of important work to do. part of that war, of course, is the nominating of our great president -- part of that work, of course, is nominating our great president. all of which are absolutely open

and transparent. every single delegate will have a copy of our platform on their shares when they walked into the convention hall tomorrow. -- on their chairs when they walk into our convention hall tomorrow. we are proud of our president. equally, importantly, we are proud of the plans he is laying out. if specific plans for the next four years. they are in our platform. he will speak of them to all of the american people when he accepts our nomination on thursday night. there are -- here come some numbers. there are 5556 delegates. if there are a 407 alternates. i would just like to highlight a few, special parts of our process that are important, i think, to our party and,

frankly, important to our country. if each party develops a state plan where they do outreach as well as out reached to everyone who is part of america. so, for example, are african- american delegates, -- our african-american delegates, who are so passionate about our country as all of us are, went from 24% in 2008 to 27% in 2012. our hispanic and latino delegates, there are over 100 more hispanic and latino delegates then there were in 2008. we have reached out to some unique groups in 2012. to our veterans, off to our seniors, to our workers, and, particularly, to our voters. we have a record number of u.s. voters. 644.

285 of those young voters are actually students. in many cases, this is their very first convention, their first political experience, and we, frankly, will benefit by their participation. we will learn from them because they are our future. our oldest delegate -- no, it is not me. just want to put that out there. our oldest delegate is the honorary elzena johnson. she was born in 1914. pretty amazing and wonderful. something i aspire to. our youngest delegate is samuel gray of iowa. he was born in 1994. yes, he will be 18 by election day.

is he terrific? [laughter] not only will our convention be, for all the delegates here in the hall, but i did want to mention that we have already, and i'm sure there are more being pulled together, all over america, over 4000 watch parties. that means that you multiplied all of the delegates and guests and the platform committee members and rules committee members and volunteers and workers and a folks able to come to the carolina fest, and folks able to come to the big stadium thursday night, with thousands and thousands, and interested of voters, all across america to all of these parties in every single state. so, i just wanted to share with

you that this is not just about us here in charlotte. that is wonderful for all of us who are able to be here, but also for the rest of america. thank you, again, for letting me give you some of the numbers that are important to us to be here in charlotte with all of you. we are now going to open this press conference for questions. >> could you please address the politically strategic decision behind choosing charlotte and also other battleground states? >> that is a good question. i am delighted charlotte was

picked independent of politics, but politics makes sense for the democratic party. the president one north carolina -- won north carolina in 2008. that was the first time since jimmy carter. there is a lot with his work to support veterans, his work to support women, his work to support bringing manufacturing to american shores of the work to put infrastructure investment back into north carolina, and the city like charlotte, which is the fastest-growing metro region in the country, so i think the people of north carolina understood the president had their back and at the end of the day would have his back. there is also the campaign used

to mobilize the south. i mentioned the program, which was an effort to get people to volunteer for the campaign. in exchange, you had the opportunity to watch the nomination. that has been successful. when we open the convention and said to sign up if you wanted to come, that has been overwhelming, and i think that is an idea of the energy on the ground in north carolina. when you come into the south, everyone in the south is part of a convention like this, so there is also a ripple effect of being in north carolina. we border virginia and a lot of states that could be competitive in this race, and in particular north carolina and virginia are going to be states to watch in this convention, and i will add one other point. north carolina was tight in

2008. he has a ground force that is unrivaled, and mitt romney has spent millions of dollars in north carolina and cannot seem to get any distance, and that is an indication this race is going to go all the way down to the wire. >> good morning. this convention as i understand it is the first one to bar corporate contributions and lobbyist contributions to the host committee and capped individual campaign contributions, and there is some money that goes into the

official committee, and it is my understanding there has been two different nonprofits to help this. do you think the experiment has been a success or a failure this year? >> i would say it is of huge success. we have over 80 times the number of donors to this convention than any other convention in history. it is an effort to continue in our goal all around the country and give people an opportunity to invest, and our grass roots effort has engaged thousands of people across the country who want to be part of this, and i think it is a huge success. we are thrilled with the results here. we are working at the convention center, and the stadium is going to be beautiful as well all because of the effort we put forward, which is the

president's goal of making those memos 63 did the most accessible in history. it really did mean we allow more people to be part of this, so part of our ground roots efforts were part of that. we are thrilled with how it works. we are thrilled with the engagement across the country, and we are thrilled to have done it this way, so i would say it was a success. >> i have three very quick questions. you say the number of hispanic delegates there is 100 more. when will you be releasing the schedule of when speakers are scheduled? can we find out who is speaking on each night?

gov. christie in particular. >> the question was how many total number of hispanic delegates. that was 2008. let me get that for you. i only have the percentages here. the reason i say that is because of until this morning, delegations could change if people are unable to be here. we have last minute changes, and we know there are approximately 100 more than there were in 2008. we know the percentage has gone up by of these 1%, positively more, but i would like to give you the exact number and not

have questioned later about where we were in accurate in any way. on the piece of paper i have, i do not have that number, so i want to get that number. i want to promise as soon as we have that we will release that information, which we always do. i do not know how we did this, but i forgot to save 50% of our delegates are women, which is pretty special, so i wanted to make sure i added that. i want to add one other thing on a personal note. on the rules committee saturday we chose our sergeant of arms. he is john lewis. for don lewis to be the sergeant at arms of the democratic national convention, for someone like me, who was proud to march on the wall with martin luther

king, it is an amazing statement about america, and i am so proud he will serve as sergeant at arms for this democratic convention. you have a second third and fourth question? >> we will get out to everyone on the list, and make sure you have signed out for the convention press list as well. we will get to the speakers by about 10:00 p.m. the night before, so if you are getting pressure from editors on individual stories, we are happy to negotiate. >> what kind of weather would motivate you to move the presidential speech inside? a lot of delegates talk about 2008 as an exuberant, enthusiastic of event.

the u.s. expect to see levels of enthusiasm this year, and if not, is it problematic? >> thank of america's stadium is going forward. we are monitoring the weather, and we have contingency plans, but we monitor on a regular basis, and we want to make sure everyone is safe, so we make a decision based on that. we could not be more excited. we have got thousands of people signed up to get community credentials. we are thrilled to be able to welcome tens of thousands more people than ever before, so we are going to do everything we can to stay there and continue that great evening. the second thing is enthusiasm. i think i just answered that. the excitement and passion folks have not just for this convention but this president

and the causes he believes in and the vision for our future is possible normally, and is a lot more so this week, and i think the energy and excitement for what is at stake and the importance of this election has really ratcheting enthusiasm, and we are seeing a great deal of excitement across the region. >> it is a question for mayor of year-ago 7 -- villairagosa. could you talk about the role hispanic voters have in this convention? the keynote speaker and how this translates into the politics of the democratic party? >> i think a little different than republicans.

we will have one all lot more delegates. latino delegates, african- americans, women, asians, people from every walk of life. i think you will see in addition to having very prominent roles as the keynote speaker, in my case sharing this convention -- chairing this convention, you will also see our platform expresses my values. we have a platform for comprehensive reform. these are our values, and i think you will see a reflection of that. you will see a reflection on the president's record on issues, whether it is the 9 million latinos that will benefit from the affordable care act, 150,000

latinos that got student loans because of the work of president obama, the 2 million latinos hold out of poverty, so the face of our party will reflect the values of our party. the platform is open, accessible convention will reaffirm that. >> can someone tell me what role has the university of california played in funding the obama campaign and also in funding the obama campaign? >> thousands of individual contributions from students. i am not quite sure the answer to that question.

are you looking at no particular effort in charlatan? >> is it true that the university of california is one of the biggest funders of the obama campaign? >> i think that probably speaks to graduates' or students at the university who have contributed, but the you want to speak about what you are seeing on the ground in terms of support? >> i am a regent of the university of california and a graduate of ucla. go, bruins. they do not talk about what is going on in california, but california is very strongly in support of president obama. people ask me when i am

washington, d.c., or campaigning, why would the mayor of los angeles to be in florida, new mexico, nevada, and i said it is simple. it matters to the people of california who is in the white house. we believe we have benefited ies ofy by the policy i president obama. we believe strongly the bush policies set us back. you talk about enthusiasm. we know president obama will win. we have tens of thousands of volunteers across california who will be calling into nevada, colorado, every state here in california. this is why you ought to vote. there are two tabs, a crystal clear choice before us. one man, our president, wants to

invest in the middle class. another will take us back to the failed policies that got us the worst recession since the great depression, and there is a great deal of support. i do not know who they are talking to. talk to some of the volunteers here. there are kids, older folks like me, they are here and excited. my kids are coming. initially i said, this is a big day. i want my whole family there. they want to work. they want to do what they can to make this a successful convention, so you see a lot of enthusiasm in california. i saw it in new mexico. i saw it in nevada. i see it in florida, and i will

see it in texas when i go to the jefferson-jackson dinner. >> last question right over here. >> a gallon was reporting this morning governor romney's acceptance speech was the lowest rated since 1996. can you talk about whether the president believes an incumbent president's acceptance speech can help him win and what framework he is thinking about, and what measurement he would use to measure the success of it? >> let me start by addressing the piece about the gallup poll and governor romney's speech. most americans are looking for answers to the questions about how we are going to restore economic security for the middle class.

the middle class has been stretched thin, so they want to know how we are going to create good paying sustainable jobs for the middle class and insurer america wins a race to the talk, and the republican convention did not address those questions last week. we heard the same recycle and widely the bug attacks against the president we have being treated widely -- heard the same widely debunked attacks against president. we are going to use this convention to answer those questions. we are going to have an honest question about where we were in 2008. manufacturing was in decline. the auto industry was on the

brink. we have made progress. businesses created new jobs. we created more than 500,000 manufacturing jobs after that sector had been in decline, but now we need to lay on the pillars of how we are going to restore economic security for the middle class, and that involves paying out the deficit now in a balanced way. that involved in building the economy with education and infrastructure. every speaker chosen will address how we are going to build the economy, whether that is one of the american heroes, someone who overcame adversity and made a contribution to rebuilding our economy. you are starting to see those on the president's trip. you start to see that in ohio, a

gm worker who was laid off and has now been rehired, so the president believes his speech will be the opportunity it not to just talk about where we come from, but to lay down that vision, because that is the issue on top of most americans' minds. the speech is not final yet. it is something he will be working on throughout the trip, leading to charlotte. he has laid out the basis for the speech and the questions he will answer, and i think this race has been closed and competitive all along. the chairman anticipated romney would get the visible bumped out of their convention. that has not happened. even florida has remained steady. this has been a tight race in

key states over the last year and a half. i think if you are undecided you want to see that vision for the middle class. now that is what the president will lay out this week, and i think that will bring to a resolution that they would like to continue that progress instead of going to the same economic policies that caused the crisis in the first place. i think we have to wrap their. -- there. >> starting tomorrow, watch gavel-to-gavel coverage of the convention from charlotte, north carolina. coming up tonight, we hear from president obama at a labor day rally with the united auto workers and then a campaign rally with paul ryan in greenville, north carolina. that is followed by the preview

of the convention. we will hear from delegates about the next four days in charlotte. we will hear from delegates about the most important issues for them in the 2012 campaign. >> i am from south carolina. the most important issue for me is the financial situation. thank you, and have a great day. >> i am a delegate from burlington, vermont. we are having a wderful time. it is a great host city. i would like to give a shout out to everyone watching. >> i am a chairman of the party, and i am pleased to be here for the democratic convention, and i am supporting barack obama as president. >> the most important issue for

me is health care. i was pleased we got a health- care bill passed on the most important issue, and we should all be supporting the president on that. >> he takes women's issues and latino issues. >> you can watch videos, gavel- to-gavel coverage, and add your comments. that is actiot c-span.org/campan 2012. >> we are asking students to send a message to the president as part of the documentary competition. in a short video, students will answer the question, what is the

most important issue the president should consider in 2014 when amonte and this is open to students grades 6 through 12. for complete details and rules, go online. >> president obama spent time in ohio monday at a labor day rally hosted by the united auto workers union. the speech challenge republicans who refuse to back the president's plan to help the auto industry. mr. obama says he plans to offer a better plan for word than nit romney at the convention this week. this is at half hour. [applause]

>> hello, toledo. thank you, thank you. it is good to be in toledo, ohio. thank you. >> obama, obama! >> thank you so much. first of all, i have got to say thank you for that outstanding introduction. give a round of applause. i was listening backstage, and i thought i heard a little preaching going on.

folks in the crowd were going, yes. he can talk, no doubt about it. it is great to see so many good friends who worked so hard on behalf of working families every day. we have got sheriff and brown, one of the best senators in the country, one of the best congressman in the country. we have got my friend, your friend, our secretary of labor in the house.

we have got your outstanding uaw president in the house. rich trumpka is here, and the president of the national education association, so we have got some working people in the house. to everybody working hard each and every day, happy labor day. happy labor day. thank you.

feel free to take a seat. i have got some things to say. for those of you who do not have a seat, make sure to bend your knees a little bit. we do not want you fainting. sometimes folks standing too long drops off. we are on the way to our convention in charlotte this week, but i wanted to stop in toledo to spend this day with you. a day the belongs to the working men and women of america, teachers and factory workers and construction workers and students and families and small business owners, and i know we

have got some prada autoworkers in the house, helping to bring toledo back. it is working folks like you who fought for jobs for generations of american workers. it is working people like you the help lay the foundation, things we are taking for granted that were not always there, the 40-hour work week, weekends, and no pension, minimum-wage, -- pension, minimum-wage, health care, medicare. those things happen because working people organized and mobilize. it is unions like yours that help support the basic bargain

of this country, the bargain that both the greatest middle- class and the most prosperous country and the most prosperous economy the world has ever known. you know what that is, because it is simple. it is a bargain that says if you work hard, if you are responsible, your work should be rewarded. if you put in enough effort, you should be able to find a job that pays the bills. you should be able to afford a home to call your own. you should have health care you can count on if you get sick, that you can put away and not to retire, maybe take a vacation every once in awhile -- nothing fancy, but you can enjoy your friends and family, and most

importantly, that you can provide your children with an education to make sure they do even better than you do. [applause] it is an american promise that says no matter who you are, no matter what you look like common on no matter where you come from, no matter what your last name is common on no matter who you love, you can make it here if you tried. that is what we are fighting for. that is why i am running for a second term as president of the united states of america. last week the other party gave their sales pitch at their convention down in florida. >> boo!

>> do not boo. vote. [applause] i have to say, it was something to see. despite all the challenges we face in this new century, we saw three straight days with an agenda out of last century. it was a rerun. you might as well have watched it on black-and-white tv with some rabbit ears. it should have been on nick at nite. if you did not dvr it, let me

give you a basic recap of what they said. good the economy is bad. fault, andobama's hal governor romney has the secret to creating jobs and growing the economy. that is the basic summary. they spent the most time on me. they were talking about me, and there was a lot of hard truths and choices they said, but nobody bothered to tell you what they were, and when governor romney had his chance to let you in on the secret sauce of job creation, he did not offer you a single new idea. it was a retread of the same policies that have been sticking it to the middle class four years, and after the convention

governor romney came here to ohio, and he said he is going to be the coach that leads america to a winning season. the problem is everybody has already seen his economic playbook. we know what is in it. on first down, he hikes taxes by nearly $2,000 on the average family with kids in order to pay for massive tax cuts for multimillionaire's. that is further down. it sounds like an unnecessary roughness to me. [applause] on second down, he undoes

reforms. he wants to get rid of rules that are there to protect our air and water and workers' rights, to make sure health care is there for you when you get sick, and on third down, he calls for a hail mary. ending medicare as we know it by giving seniors a voucher to pay medicare for additional costs out of their pocket. there is a flag on the play, loss of an additional $6,400 a year for the same benefits you get now. that is their playbook. that is their economic and i have one piece of advice about the romney ryan game plan. punt it away.

it will not work. it will not win the game. you do not need that. there was one person at the convention last week who was not entirely on script. while they were busy telling folks how bad things are, your governor -- do not boo. john k. six stood up there and told everyone ohio is number one in the midwest in job creation,

which got people confused because if it is all obama's fault and nothing is going right, what is going on in ohio? i guess the theory was it was all the governors doing, but i think we need to refresh his memory, because a lot of those jobs are autoworkers' jobs like yours. the american auto industry supports one in eight jobs in this state, and just a few years ago when the auto industry was what was in hismo playbook? what detroit go bankrupt. do you remember that? think about that would have mean not just for ohio but for

america. if america had thrown in the towel just like that, and gm and chrysler would not be there. even ford could have gone down as well, a production shutdown, factories shut. once proud companies shut down and sold for scrap, and all the men and women who built those companies, you would have been spent for good. we did not run that play. more than 1 million americans across the country would have lost their jobs in the middle of the worst economic crisis since the great depression. across the midwest it would have been another great depression, and it is not just workers. think about everybody who depends on you -- schoolteachers, small-business

owners, the server in the diner who knows your order before you walk in, the bartender who knows your order before you walk-in. their livelihood is at stake as well, and so is something else. how many auto workers were on the assembly line, but your dad's and granddads and mothers worked on the same line? how many are second and third and fourth generation? how many have sons and daughters you hope to work on those same assembly lines? these jobs are more than just a paycheck. they are a source of pride. they are ticket into middle- class life.

they are a symbol of america's innovation. they are a source of american might. is that is not worth fighting for, what is? we are not about to do nothing. onre not going to give up your jobs and communities. we are not going to lead detroit go bankrupt or toledo go bankrupt. i stood with american manufacturing. i bet on you. i will make that bet any day of the week, and three years later that is paying off for america out. vice we love you, obama! next three years later, the american auto industry comes back, 200 and -- nearly 350,000

new jobs, so it is funny seeing governor romney and governor casey, and others who have tried to rewrite history and now that you are back on your feet. these are the folks who said if we went back on our plan you can kiss the american automotive industry goodbye. now they are saying it was their idea all along. seriously. or what they are saying is the problem is that you, the workers, made out like bandits in this whole thing, that we did this whole thing because it is all about paying back unions. really? even by the standard of political campaigns, that is a lot of you know what. workers made some of the biggest sacrifices. 700,000 retirees sought a reduction in the health benefits

they earn. the hours were reduced, pay and wages were scaled back. you gave up of promise and was made for you for the sake of fellow workers and the company. you made sacrifices, which is why i do not understand why these folks have the nerve to talk about your life you are a greedy special interest to the needs to be beaten down, after all the unions have done to build and protect the middle class. they were saying you are responsible for what has taken place. they make sure construction workers conduct fair trade. dayan blame teachers and public servants for what happened instead of what happened on wall

street and the historic clash. what you need to know is when they are trying to take your collective bargaining rights away, when they are trying to pass a right to work cause, which really means the right to work for less and less, you should know this is not about economics. this is about politics. this notion that you should per soon anti-worker policies in the hopes that unions like yours will unravel. it is the same top down philosophy that says everyone should fend for themselves. on thursday i am going to offer what i believe is a better path forward. a path that is going to grow the economy and create more jobs and strengthen the middle class, and

the good news is starting on october 2, as you get to vote early. [applause] then you can choose which path to take. you can choose their plan. you can choose to give massive new tax cuts to those who have already made it, or you can choose my plan, to keep taxes low for every american in the middle class and every american striving to get into the middle class. fourrscut taxes for a middle-class families, and i have cut taxes by a total of $3,600 for the typical family, and now i am

trying to make sure taxes are not raised a single dime on the firs $250,000 of any family's income. that is 98% of americans. it may be 98.9% of this auditorium. your taxes will not go up kebab because my belief is you need relief to the ragged i do not need to -- your taxes will not go up because my belief is you need relief. mitt romney does not need relief, but that is a choice in this election. you can choose whether we give new jobs to ohio or whether we keep them in states like ohio. unlike my opponent, i want to stop giving tax breaks to companies shipping jobs

overseas. i want to give those tax breaks to companies investing right here in toledo, right here in the united states, all across toledo and the midwest. you can decide whether borrowing money from your parents is an answer when a young person asks how they are going to go to college. you heard about that, right and mine this young college student says, how can i get help going to college? they said, you need to borrow money from your parents. i guess that is one of approach. i have got a different approach that says let's make sure americans lead the world in educating our kids and training our workers for the jobs of tomorrow, and that means let's hire more teachers, especially in math and science.

let's help more folks go to community colleges to get trained in the skills that employers are hiring for right , because the truth is some sort of higher education, that is not a luxury anymore. that is an economic necessity that every family should be able to afford, and that is what i am going to be fighting for. that is what i am going to be fighting for. you can choose an energy plan like the other guy is offering for that is written for the oil companies, or you can choose and all of the above strategy for american energy, which means we drill for more oil, but it also

means we are going after the energy sources for the future. my opponent said renewable energy sources are imaginary, but folks here manufacturing solar panels might disagree. these jobs are not imaginary. now they are our future, and i want to stop giving a $4 billion a year subsidy to oil companies making money every time you go to the pump, and i want to use that money for companies that are creating jobs right here in ohio. it is up to you whether we go to gold health care system and decide when to cover you and where to cover you and drops you when you need it most. i think we should move forward

with the new health-care bill that is already cutting costs and saving lives. they call it obamacare. it is true i care. is true. [applause] i guess the other side of the plan is the romney does not care side. now is not the time to fight the battle of the last four years. we need to move forward. you get to decide what the future of the war in afghanistan is. did you notice governor romney did not say a word about our troops who are in harm's way over there? because of my plan, 33,000 of them will have come home by the end of this month.

[applause] he said ending the war in iraq was tragic. i think it was the right thing to do. i said we would end that war. we did. i said we would go after a al qaeda. we did. i said we would take out bin laden. we did. [applause] our troops are out of iraq. we are bringing them out of afghanistan, and as long as i am commander in chief, we will serve our veterans as well as they served us, because no one who fights for this country should have to fight for a job or a roof over their head when they come home. that is why i am running for a second term.

we have got some big choices we have got to make, and the other side is going to spend the next two months fighting back with everything they have got. they are going to give you an avalanche of attack ads and insults and distractions, and they may mossad's the truth a little bit -- massage the truth a little bit, and they will be given $10 million checks from wealthy donors. even if you do not vote for them, they say maybe we will discourage people with all these negative ads so you will decide to sit this one out. >> no!

>> i am counting on something different. i am counting on you. if you are not registered to vote, you have got to go to gottaregister.com. not got to register. gotta. if you want to find out how to vote early, starting on october 2, you need to go to gottavote.com. not got to vote. gotta. gotta register, gotta vote, because we got a whole lot more

work to do. we have got more jobs to create. we have got more cars to build. we have got more schools and more great teachers to higher and more young people to send to college, and we have got more troops to bring home and more veterans we got to take care of and more doors of opportunity we have got to open up for everybody willing to walk through them. that is what is at stake in this election. that is why i am asking for your vote. that is why i need you to knock on doors. that is why i need you to get on the phone. i need you to talk to your friends. i need you to talk to your neighbors. i need you to stand with me, ohio, and if we win toledo, we will win ohio, and if we win ohio, we will win this election.

if we win this election, we will finish what we started, and we will remind the world why the united states of america is the greatest nation on earth. god bless you, and god bless america. [applause] ♪ >> ♪ knocking on the dollaor ♪ ♪ ♪good hearts turned to stone ♪

own ♪ake care of our ♪e take care of our own wherever this flag is flown ♪ orleans,icago to new from the muscle to the bone ♪ from the shotgun shack to the superdome ♪ ♪ ♪ we take care of our own ♪ ♪ we take care of our own wherever the fly is alone, -- the flag is flown, we take care

♪f our own the will to see ♪ ♪ where are the hearts, where is the love that has not forsaken mea ♪ ♪ where is the spirit that will reign over me ♪ flown ♪er the flag is we take care of our own ♪

we take care of our own assessmen♪ where ever athe flag is flown ♪ ♪ we take care of our own ♪ fax after this rally, president obama went to louisiana to a survey ongoing who recovery efforts from hurricane isaac. the president will speak at the democratic convention on thursday, which you can see live

on c-span. the democratic national convention starts tomorrow afternoon at 5:00 eastern. democrats will be presented with the convention platform. jimmy carter was the to the crowd on video. the keynote address will be delivered by the mayor of san antonio. then remarked from first lady michelle obama. live gavel-to-gavel recovered -- coverage is here on c-span. first lady michelle obama will speak to the delegates at the national convention on tuesday. she visited the time warner cable are reno. -- arena. president obama will deliver his remarks of the bank of america stadium on thursday.

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♪ >> if we turn away from the needs of others, we align ourselves with those that are bringing about the suffering. >> of the white house is a bully pulpit and you ought to take advantage of it. >> obesity in this country is nothing short of a health crisis. >> and totally, somebody had their own agenda. >> it would be a shame to waste it. >> i think they serve as a

window to the path of what was going on with american women. >> really the only way that you can trust. dodge the first ladies were over writers. they are journalist and wrote books. >> they are more interesting than their husbands because they are not limited by political ambition. >> both socially adept and politically savvy. >> dolly madison loved every minute of it. miss monroe absolutely hated it. >> you can't rule without knowing what women want and what women want to contribute. >> with too much looking down, i think it was a little too fast.

>> probably the most tragic of all of our first ladies. >> she later wrote in her memoir that she felt she never made any decision. i only decided what was important and when to present it to my husband. stop to think about how much power that is, it is a lot of power. >> part of the battle against cancer is to fight the fear that accompanies the disease. >> she transformed the way that we look at these rules and made it possible for countless people to survive and to flourish as a result. the i don't know how many presidents realistically have that kind of impact on the way we live our lives. >> walking around the grounds, i

am constantly reminded about all of the people that have lived there before and particularly, all of the women. >> first ladies, influence and image, a new series on c-span in cooperation with the white house historical association coming in february of 2013. >> starting tomorrow, watch gavel-to-gavel coverage of the democratic convention from charlotte, north carolina. every speech, live on c-span. republican vice presidential candidate paul riot in greenville, north carolina. then the preview of the democratic national convention. and later, mike allen interviews president obama's former videographer. >> anytime i want to get the real message of what is going on

in tv, politics, etc., c-span is the way. i don't have to have it filtered. i can hear from the horse's mouth what the horse really eight for dinner. -- ate for dinner. >> c-span, greeted by cable companies in 1979 brought to you by our television provider. >> republican vice presidential candidate paul ryan campaign than north carolina on monday and spoke at east carolina university. 250 miles from charlotte where the democratic convention is being held. ♪ >> hey, hey. awesome. wow. thank you. you know, i was just talking to pat.

he tells me you are going to win next week. go pirates! thank you so much, greenville. it is really nice to be here. i also hear that you have really good barbecue. my old buddy ron hayes is here, too. i am so happy to be here with your next governor pat mccrory. [applause] friends, there is a little gathering going on in charlotte. [audience booing] we know your governor is over there and your lieutenant governor and we also know president obama is going to be there.

and president obama is going to be giving it a big speech. and there are going to be a lot of speeches, a lot of words. let me quote president obama four years ago, "if you do not have our record to run on, then you paid your opponent as someone to run from." ladies and gentleman, that is exactly what president obama is doing today. [applause] you see, the president has no record to run on. in fact, every president from the great depression who asked america to send them into a second term could say you were better off except for jimmy carter and except for president obama. [applause] in july of 1980, the unemployment rate was 7.8%. for the past 42 months, it has been above 8% under barack

obama's failed leadership. when businesses go bankrupt -- when businesses go bankrupt, that means fewer paychecks. fewer jobs. the unemployment rate in north carolina is 9.6%. in 1980, under jimmy carter 330 businesses filed for bankruptcy. last year, 1.4 million businesses filed for bankruptcy. we have a very clear choice. take a look of people having a hard time making mortgage payments. 77,000 delinquent mortgages by the time jimmy carter left office. under president obama, 3 million. so, when you take a look here in charlotte today, the president can say a lot of

things and he will, but he cannot tell you that you are better off. the jimmy carter years look like the good old days compared to where we are right now. [applause] and so, that is why we have a very crystal clear choice. we can either choose to stay on the path that we are on, the path of debt, the power of the doubt and decline, the path of joblessness, or we can get things turned around. we can elect mitt romney the next president of united states. we can get america back on track. that is what we can do. [applause] after four -- i love you, too, man. after four years of the runaround, it is time for a turnaround. and that is why we need mitt

romney. [applause] what is missing is leadership. leadership to actually see the problem and fix the problem. mitt romney is the kind of person whose entire life story tells us this is the kind of leader we need. very few times before have i ever seen a situation where the man and the moment meet so perfectly. look at what this man has done with his life. look at the beautiful family he has raised. look at the communities he has supported. look at the tens of thousands of jobs he has helped create. remember the olympics when they were back in salt lake? remember the stories of corruption, of bloated, wasteful spending? sounds familiar, doesn't it? what did they do? in utah, they asked the man from massachusetts to drop

everything and say the. he moved his family. he said the olympics. he turned around. he made it an american success story and we are all better for it. [applause] look at what the man has done in business. and by the way -- is a good thing to be successful in business. we do not think that is bad. we do not resent people who are successful in business. we want to emulate people. when what more people to be successful in business. that is how you create jobs and prosperity. [applause] mitt romney was a man who turned around struggling businesses, who started small businesses, who helped big businesses. i am so proud to stand up to -- next to a man who knows from experience that if you built a small business, you can have

the small business. [applause] just line up the record of these two gentleman when they served in public life. under president obama, we have 23 million men and women in this country struggling to find work. 9.6% unemployment right here in north carolina. one of every six americans today is living in poverty. that is the highest rate in the generation. take a look at family income. household income in this country as a result of these failed economic policies has gone down $4,000 over the last four years. the credit rating of united

states of america, our precious credit rating, has been downgraded for the first time in the history of our country. when mitt romney was governor of massachusetts, he led. when he was governor of massachusetts, unemployment went down. when mitt romney was governor of massachusetts, household income rose $5,000. when mitt romney was governor of massachusetts, the credit rating improved in massachusetts. [applause] that is the kind of leadership we need. and remember, when president obama about four years ago said we are not read states or blue states, we are just the united states of america. we will set aside job listings and get things done for the people. this is the most divisive atmosphere i have seen and this is the third president i have served with. when it mitt romney was the governor of massachusetts, nine of 10 legislators in his

legislature were democrats. he did not demonize them. he did not demagogue. he reached across the aisle and he passed the budget without raising taxes. that is the kind of leadership we need. [applause] now we are going to hear a lot of words this week. but here is the final word we're not going to hear. we are not going to hear about how people are better off. you see the president cannot run on his record. that is why he will be running a campaign based on envy and division based on frustration and anger. guess what? we are not going to fall for it, are we? audience: no!

>> and then he will talk about medicare. i am excited about this debate. we will win this debate on medicare. [applause] let me tell you why. would you probably -- under obamacare, president obama takes $716 billion from medicare to pay for obamacare. the call that an achievement. i understand there are a lot of people who go to medical school here. medicare -- obamacare is the greatest threat to medicare and obamacare is among the greatest threats to young people who want a future in health care and the best way we can give people a future with health care and save medicare is if we repeal obamacare.

that is what we are going to do. [cheers and applause] we want to be in control of our health care. we want to keep the promise. and so, we do not think it is just enough to point out terrible policies. we do not think it is just enough to point out the kind of ugly campaign that is being run. we owe you an alternative. we want to earn your support. we want to deserve victory. we want to make sure that when you go to the polls, you know that you get a very clear choice of two futures. here is what we are going to do to get people back to work in this country. here are the ideas. that is what the romney-rights plan for a stronger middleclass is all about. get people from welfare to work. is about getting people back on

their feet again. it is about free enterprise. [applause] we believe in the principles that made this country the greatest, the most freest, most prosperous country in this land. that is what made this country great. [applause] hour at 5-point plan is really quite. one, we've got a lot of energy in this country. let's use that energy in this country. create jobs, lower gas prices. keystone pipeline, natural gas, oil, coal, nuclear. renewables, all of it. and look at the people

struggling to find jobs. we want them to be able to go to great institutions like ecu to get in the education training system so they can get those jobs and get those skills. [applause] and by the way, we know that if we make more things like these great boats you make here -- very cool boats, by the way. and we know if we grow more things with our fantastic agricultural prospects america has, we can sell more things overseas. that is why we need training that works.

[applause] we need to level the playing field for our agricultural community. we need to level the playing field for our manufacturers. and we need to crack down on countries that she'd like china so we can make sure that americans play on a level playing field and if we do that, we when. we need to create jobs right here. there is one issue that is something i have worked on a long time. it seems to me like common- sense. has escaped the president. he has been lacking in leadership. but all the things he has promised and he has done, it is basically this. we have got to stop spending money we just don't have. we have got to cut spending. we have got to get this budget deficit under control.

we have got to get this deficit under control. it is draining jobs. it is hurting our economy. and it is clearly mortgaging our children's future. and the engine of economic growth, the job creators of this country, are the small businesses. need to champion small businesses. we need to help them out. he will hear the president talk about this a lot. he will say that we just want to cut taxes for really well the people at the expense of everyone else. here's how the game works in washington. and by the way, the republicans are just as guilty of this as democrats. what happens is, you pay your taxes. you send your money to washington. been special interest groups, and they carve out the tax code. and if you do what they want you to do, then you might get some of that money back. we just want you to keep your money in the first place. [applause] it is really simple. we don't think jobs and

prosperity and growth are created by having washington pick winners and losers. so what we are saying is plug all the loopholes so everyone is the tax rate down by least 20%. this means small businesses, families keep more of what they earn so they can keep their money, make their decisions, decide what they want to do with their lives, invest in businesses, create jobs. [applause] you can do this without even -- more importantly, you get people off the unemployment line and back to earning a paycheck. their lives are dignified. they are paying taxes. everybody wins. where i come from, we usually think of lake superior as overseas. other countries around the world, they figured this thing

out. that figure out if they attack their businesses all lot more than their competitors are, they will lose jobs. well guess what? canada, one of our biggest competitors, one of our biggest trade partners, they lowered the tax rates for all their businesses 15% last january. president obama is requiring, is pushing that the top tax rate on all the successful small businesses were most of our jobs come from are up by 40% in january. [audience boos] 8 out of 10 businesses in america file their taxes as individuals, as people. we call number -- call them llc's or partners. if we tax our businesses at a higher rate than our competitors, then we lose.

and by the way, all these policies the president is talking about means more spending in washington. that is not the way to create prosperity. the way to create prosperity is to unleash the entrepreneur. let them provide. let them build businesses that they build. that is how you create jobs and prosperity. [applause] we don't think the president's idea of taking money from families, of taking money from successful small businesses, and dole in the mouth to favored constituencies -- solyndra and the rest -- picking the winners, is regulating. if this kind of economics works, then we would be enjoying a golden age along with greece.

it does not work. but this campaign is not just about jobs or the economy or prosperity. it is much bigger than not. no matter what generation you come from, this really is the most important election in your lifetime. it is. [applause] and the reason is because we will be determining not who is going to be president for the next four years. we are going to be determining the path of america for at least a generaon. what kind of country do we want to have? what kind of people do we want to be? that is what is on the ballot. if i could boil this down, it is basically this. our founders thought it right. our rights come from nature and

god and not from government. that is the american idea. [applause] that is the entire vision of america. we believe government is there to secure all right. we believe the president has compromised national security. we believe the goal of government is for -- to promote be equality of opportunity. we believe in freedom and liberty works. we want to stick with it. when we apply those principles and elect good men and women to go to washington to turn this around, we will look back on this moment and say we got it right. "the americans can be counted upon to do the right thing, but only after they have exhausted all the other possibility is,"

compared -- said winston churchill. i think he got it right about now. this is the commitment meet and mitt romney will make your fellow citizens. we will not kick the can down the road. we will leave. we will not blame others for the next four years and play the policies of division. we will take responsibility. we will get that done. [applause] and we will not try to replace our founding principles or try to transform this country into something it was never intended to be. we will reapply our founding principles and -- principals. they make us who we are. [applause] this is a defining moment.

the president cannot tell you that you are better off. and if we want to improve things, then how would this administration to accomplish that? it would not. friends, north carolina is crucial. eastern north carolina is crucial. this is one of those kinds of elections where individual states may make the determination not just of who the next governor is going to be or who the next president is going to be, but what kind of land your kids are going to inherit. this is it. we can do it. the point i want to make to you is it is in our control. we are americans. we can control our own destiny. we can do this. this is something we can get done. god bless you all and thank you for coming out today. let's do this. we can do this. thank you very much. thank you very much.

♪ >> ♪ riding down the highway goin' to a show stop in all the byways playing rock n' roll getting robbed getting stoned getting beat uo broken boned getting had getting took let it jump i tell you folks it's harder than it looks it's a long way to the top if you want to rock n' roll

it's a long way to the top if you want to rock n' roll if you think it's easy doing one-night stands try playing a rock-and-roll band it's a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll ♪ ♪ [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> former president jimmy carter will speak to the crowd on video. the keynote address will be delivered with remarks by -- [no

audio] >> anytime i want to get the real message of what is going on in tv or politics, c-span is the source. i don't have to have it filtered and i can hear from the horse's mouth what the horse really eight for dinner. >> c-span, created by cable companies and brought to you by your local television provider. >> on this labor day monday, the traditional start of the fall campaign, the democratic party preparing to convene the

national convention. the delegates will gather inside the time warner cable arena and the president will formally accept his party oppose the nomination down the street at the bank of america's stadium. this is the first time they have posted a national party convention. a little preview the politics and the agenda ahead for the democrats along with a republican response let's begin with a look at the schedule for the next couple of days. tomorrow, the democrats will vote on the democratic platform and an address by jimmy carter. the keynote address will be delivered by the mayor o san antonio and the first lady michelle obama. then the nominating speech by former president bill clinton and the traditional roll call of states that will happen after 11:00 eastern time. we will have coverage of the entire proceedings.

and thursday from the bank of america stadium, senator john kerry and vice-president joe biden along with the acceptance speech by president obama. our national political correspondent, thank you for being with us. there seems to be two questions folks are asking. are you better off today than you were four years ago, at the obama campaign is saying, will you be better off for years from now? what is going on? >> i think what the obama campaign has been trying to argue all law and whether people will buy this or not, i don't know. are you better off than you would have been without barack obama? you will see a lot of ordinary people giving testimony to the folks that struggled over the last four years, but also how specific obama policies have

helped them. his energy is going to be poured into scaring the heck out of people about what they republican presidency will apply. that will be the balance here at this convention. >> talking to the staffers, what do they need to come out of charlotte? >> a couple of things are going on, but they are completely downplaying the idea that the republicans got anything out of that convention. they understand that they have to motivate their base which they will be doing a lot of this year. one thing they have pioneered is the use of a political convention as an organizing tool. we saw that with the big rally in denver four years ago and they are going to try to do that here because it is a swing state and they will try to use this

convention to get their ground operation here and in virginia supercharged. >> in the weather conditions look better with forecasts calling for partly cloudy conditions on thursday, the backup plan to have president inside of the time-warner ran out. assuming all goes well, the president will accept his nominating speech, one of the questions on whether or not they will fill the stadium. >> these conventions are aimed at the television audience and it does appear that people are just kind of turning the channel and going elsewhere. there was a 40% drop off in the nielsen ratings between sarah palin and acceptance speech in 2008 and paul ryan. there is another big question. these audiences that are watching the conventions tend to be older, overwhelmingly people

55 or older. there is a question of what the value of these conventions really are in the twenty first century. >> did the republican campaign get a bounce nationally? showing in north carolina, he is ahead at the moment? >> is really hard to measure a bounce. our polling director who i think is really one of the best in the business was saying that there are a couple of problems. conventions are back-to-back and the other problem is there is a holiday weekend in the middle. they are just notoriously hard for pollsters because people are doing other stuff. right now, and looks like they were pretty flat coming out of the convention but i think that the polls are particularly unreliable at this moment. >> new convictions matter? do they need to change?

>> of the democrats have skilled theirs back to three days from four days. the republicans had to do with them voluntarily thanks to a couple of hurricanes. i heard more and more people in tampa last week really questioning the value of this. that included the speaker saying that four days is just too long. even john sununu said i don't think we will be doing this again. at this point, there will be doing something like this, but given the amount of money that these cost, $100 million to put on, there will be a lot of rethinking. >> lee shared what the democrats are saying about republicans. today, the republicans aimed at the obama campaign. this video was released a couple hours ago. >> these are the steps that we

must take. right out. to start getting the economy back on track. to help create jobs and grow this economy. we are going to end our dependence on foreign oil. we will recruit an army of new teachers. we will make college affordable. we will repair are crumbling roads and bridges. tonight, more americans are out of work. families are looking for work. at a time when so many people are struggling to keep up. if you are willing to work with me and even harder in this direction, i promise you change will come. >> a republican national committee is responsible for the content of this advertising.

>> its teams to carry out the themes that people that were excited about the president may be disappointed in him today. >> i think the measures of looking at the democratic base suggested the democrats are not very excited about this election, but it is a different kind of excitement. four years ago, it was idealistic and i think, basically, a more of the kind of excitement. this time around it is fear and it is anger and it really reflects the nature of our politics. he i saw a lot of that negative energy in tampa, too. you don't have the aspirational sense that you had from both parties for years ago. >> carry this in charlotte, n.c., a correspondent for the washington post along with the team leading the coverage. their work is available on-line.

the delegates continue to arrive on labor day. how much enthusiasm as this year to four years ago from the base of the party? those that go back and try to recruit supporters and get the vote to the folks on election day? >> we hear that the number of volunteers has fallen. and again, i think it is partly because of the difficult economic times. people have other concerns than politics in their lives. i think some people are turned off by the anchor. but the democratic base continues to tell pollsters that they are very enthusiastic about this election. for the first time in our washington post poling, we see a similar level of enthusiasm among republicans. the most conservative republicans are as excited as the most liberal democrats are.

i think the one reason for that is paul ryan. >> of denver, colorado and senator barack obama accepted the nomination. compare what he said then to what we might hear this thursday. >> four years ago, i stood before you ever told you my story. the brief union between a young man from kenya and a young woman from kansas that were not well off or well known. but shared the belief that america, their son could achieve whatever he put his mind to. it is that promise that has set this country apart. the through hard work and sacrifice, each of us can pursue our individual dreams and still come together as one american family to ensure that the next generation can pursue their dreams as well. that is why i stand here

tonight. for 232 years, at each moment when that promise was in jeopardy, ordinary men and women, farmers at teachers, nurses -- they found the courage to keep it alive. we meet at one of those the fighting motions when our nation is at war had our economy is in turmoil. tonight, more americans are out of work. more of you have lost your homes in the even more are watching your home values plummet. more of you have cars you can't afford to drive, credit cards, those you can't afford to pay it tuition beyond your reach. these challenges are not all of government making. but the failure to response is a direct result of liberal and politics in washington that the

failed policies of george w. bush. [applause] america, we are better than this last eight years. we are a better country than this. >> that speech part of the video library. you can check it out with the last convention speeches. that was four years ago. the karen, what will we hear this week? >> barack obama was saying, let's go out and make history. he was also selling himself as an agent that could fix what was wrong with washington. we also saw that in the three presidents that were elected before him. they all were claiming, i can bridge the gap, bridge the

partisanship. the partisanship is worse than it has ever been. what we are hearing now is that washington is broken. the american voter are going to have to pick a side and break this high. one side or the other is right. it is a different kind of message this time around. whether we hear it this week, i assume we will. we are still trying to hear where he is going to sort of take this forward from here. >> we are going to go down to the floor with our colleague and a guest. >> lots of people on the floor right now out in the media folks with cameras pointed toward the podium because we heard first lady obama is coming out for her orientation. we have known for a long time,

the political editor. this media here shows the competition of people after increasingly useless events. >> we are trying to create more news events and we are focusing on a little more enterprise work. trying to stay away from the everyday things that go on and we build this new collection meter to be able to track the sentiment on twitter of people towards barack obama and governor romney. we want to see what people are saying about these guys. people are like, they are up and down. >> kinney said that the specific events that might cause people hosea attention? can you follow individual states? gosh you can't follow individual states because the pool was too small. what we have been able to do is

but to them. we are getting a score for 12 of the swing states that will be battlegrounds in this election as well as a national number for the states combined. and we are able to put some de- specific events on the meter so you can see why this number jumped so high or why obama is popular today. the democrats wanted to send nice things to the president on his birthday. >> there is a lot of excitement about whether on this convention. the people are here saying this is the first letter of election. we really won't know until election day how close a monitor is of voter sentiment. >> we are excited about the meter, we have no idea what it is telling us. we won't know. over time, we will be better at analyzing it and be able to prepare the outcomes to see if

it told us anything that what polling data did. we think that if nothing else, it is interesting to watch and see the conversation trending in the social media spaces can see how quickly it dissolves. by next week, they are on something else entirely. >> we have an active community today. >> the easiest way is to go to the usa today online and if you google yet, the twitter alexian meter, it is there. there are hashe tags. i am happy to sell directions. >> the first lady waited until you were done. >> karen, we talked about the

24/7 news cycle. the news media has the of the process, hasn't it? >> i am wondering this week if i need to shut down by twitter account while the speeches are under way because there is this entirely separate conversation going on simultaneously. it sharpens our understanding in some ways and in others, it distracts us. >> we saw that last week with clint eastwood. it created an avalanche, an explosion of tweets during the last hour of the republican convention. >> letter was valuable during the paul ryan speech that people were treating the factual errors as it was happening. one thing people don't understand is that in a print publication, my deadline was

10:45 at night which meant that the press is start running even as the speakers are still speaking, essentially. it is a real challenge, but the web allows us to catch up with things before our next edition. >> i know you are a native of san antonio, but as a visitor and we look at some of the scenes, give our viewers a sense of what is happening on labor day monday and how this is leading up to what will occur tomorrow, wednesday, and thursday. >> and the democrats are trying to get a feel of openness about this event at a sort of community celebration. there is a lot of good music and food out there. and really a very diverse crowd of people. if they lower the temperature by 10 degrees, it would have been

perfect. >> this is labor day and in past campaigns cycles, democrats and republicans have been feverishly campaigning. how does it matter, should it be campaigning? or is it irrelevant? >> of the campaign is putting out this video, and we have to remember that these candidates are human beings. i can only imagine how completely exhausted governor romney and his family must feel right now. sometimes i feel like it is better for a candidate to recharge the batteries can get another burst of steam going, especially since this will be a week in which the democrats get first crack at dominating the message. >> a barack obama made his national debut in boston in july

of 2004. a lot of attention on the mayor of san antonio tomorrow as he delivers the keynote address. let's take a look back at what he said in 2004. >> is that fundamental belief, the fundamental belief that i am my brother's keeper. i am my sister's keeper that makes this country work. it is what allows us to pursue our individual dreams and still come together as one american family. out of many, one. even as we speak, there are those that are preparing to divide us. the spin masters that embraced the politics of anything goes. i say to them, tonight, there is not a liberal america and a conservative america.

there is the united states of america. there is not a black america and a white america and latin america and asia and america. a there is the united states of america. the pundits like to slice and dice and our country and to read states and blue states. red states for republicans and lose dates for democrats. we were shut off some got in the blue stated we don't like federal agents looking around in our libraries in the red states. we totally and the blue states and we have gay friends in the red states. there are patriots that oppose the war in iraq and there are patriots that support the war in iraq. we are one people, pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes. all of us defending the united states of america.

in the end, that is what this election is about. do we participate in a politics of cynicism? or do we participate in the politics of hope? >> eight years ago by what was that a little-known state senator from illinois, barack obama, a candidate for the senate. as he lived at the trajectory of his life, in 2000, he could not get a credential to get inside the convention. his credit card was rejected. four years later, he gets the key to the address and this week he will excess of the nomination for a second time. >> even as these parties are nominating a candidate for a

three-nominating a candidate, everybody has an eye on for years from now. a lot of people with presidential aspirations are making a point of going over and visiting iowa. these conventions are also about the future of the party. certainly in 2004, the speech that made a career. barack obama was not on anyone's radar. >> he has been just about everywhere including this network. gov. o'malley of maryland and delivering a speech primetime and performing with his help the band. we have not seen much from the governor of new york. >> i honestly don't know what his schedule is here. >> hillary clinton is secretary of state, traditionally the

secretary of state does not attend political events. her husband is delivering a prime-time address that will certainly get a lot of attention. >> that is one of the most highly anticipated speeches of this convention. >> what does he need to do? the new yorker has an extensive piece of of the cool relationship that has warmed up between these two presidents. >> people are close to clinton and they say essentially that divide he was getting from barack obama was, i don't need your advice until fairly recently. what bill clinton has that barack obama, for all of his guests as a politician lacks, ability to sort of reached out and touch white, blue-collar democrats. he can deliver that message in a way that barack obama has struggled to do. i think we are going to hear a

lot. a lot of those people are those that are most affected by this economy and are sort of the swing voter category. >> of the governor of arkansas delivering the speech, in conclusion, part of the video library. i suspect a different speech for president obama. >> i am sure president clinton was relieved that clint eastwood. his own speech will not be considered the biggest gaffe in recent convention speech making history. >> we will check in with you one more time. the democrats have released a time lapse video to show you the republican side, how the candidates * forum was transformed into a political arena. the same place where the bobcats play, the time warner are read out. let's watch.

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a time lapse view of the arena as it was transformed into a political arena. the first day as tomorrow. susan is next to the podium. >> i am here with melanie, the national press secretary and has been living in charlotte for six weeks? >> this will be weak seven. i have been here since the end of july. >> we just watched the time lapse video. what is the message that you want to leave america? >> the theme is americans coming together and we have really taken that to heart. we are opening the festivities today. it is an open event and free for all to come and kickoff with the labor day celebration.

we are closing the event at bank of america stadium where obama and vice president by then -- biden will explain and made clear the choice in the election between president obama as vision of moving the country forward and governor romney's vision of moving the country back to the failed economic policies. >> we heard "we did not build this." >> the counter is, that is not true. i find it remarkable that the republicans based an entire evening on false information. i am not shocked. we heard several lies. he was not honest about the plant that closed in wisconsin under the bush administration. not under president obama. and there were other things that

weren't truthful at the convention, it is not shocking at all. what you will hear is the president's vision for moving the country forward, building an economy that is built to last from the middle class out. how different from what we heard in tampa where they want to build an economy from the top down. we will talk about the economy and the to the speakers were selected because they can personally defined in the choice in this election whether it is about the economy or women's health. we're going to hear from a range of speakers. again, moving forward, from the ones to go back to the failed policies of the past. >> of the discussions from the political pundit class, are you better off than four years ago, how do you want to frame the question for voters?

>> everyone remembers when the president of office and we were bleeding 700,000 jobs a month. we are better off than where we were four years ago. do we have more work to do? absolutely. the president is prepared to do that work to continue moving us forward. we have had job growth for the last 28 months. >> you mentioned last night in denver will be the big stadium event. that is a risky and rain storms every afternoon. if you have to move that inside, what does that do for the sendoff with a large crowd? >> we are prepared to go forward rain or shine. we will monitor the weather for the safety of delegates and our friends coming from all over the country. and if there are severe weather warnings, we have contingency plans in place.

right now we are planning to go forward rain or shine. we have lots of people in town that are ready to send the president off for the last stretch of the campaign. >> of the set up for the today show, very critical real estate. will that be there throughout the convention? >> i think being in the middle of the delegates and in the middle, that is where the action >> as each of the speakers talk about how president obama's vision will move this country forward. there will be delegates from all over the country. it is about the grass rroots. half of them are women. we are proud of the the first repair it -- diversity.

>> what is your biggest concern? >> concern. i do not know if i am as much concerned as excited to get things rolling and senate president obama off for the rest of the campaign with a big sendoff in the stadium. we are really excited. >> six weeks of personal planning. it all comes down together. >> thank you for having me, susan. >> which is classes. with his gracias. his benchmark will be looking at the polls around september 15. that will give him a good sense of where this is moving. were you looking at once we get beyond these conventions? >> they are about selling out a broad theme. the three debates will be crucial in seeing the two candidates side-by-side, seeing

them in positions where they not only have to defend their own ideas, but also to explain and get into the details and a way that you do not see at the convention. >> karen tumulty of the post."t"the washington the chairman of the national republican committee is here. >> happy to be in charlotte. >> what is your agenda for the next couple of days? >> we went to get in the stories. we need to be here in person. we have a war room. we have a rapid response team. we have a press conference with circuits. we have one of the biggest operations that we have seen on either party in charlotte.

we have had a full day of press conferences and meetings. we need to get into the story. tell the truth about where we are at in the economy. but the president promised and what he delivered. are you better off today than you were four years ago? that is what we will ask until election day. >> the democrats are countering by saying, will you be better off four years from now, what will happen if mitt romney is elected? there are trying to get a twist on that question. >> we have had -- they have had a lousy run at it. the president promised to carpet the world. he said he did unemployment below 8%. the debt and deficits are through their own. there is very little that he can do that is better today than it was four years ago. we are tired of the hypothetical and the twists and turns.

the facts lineup. he did not do the job. no one is happy about that. it is what it is. it is time for a new president. >> the traditional commission -- convention bounce. we have had back-to-back conventions. mitt romney received little if any bounce from the republican convention. does it matter? >> he did receive a bounce. he got a couple of them. one, paul ryan. two, last week. he solidified the good will that is coming off of the thrice- presidential run -- vice- presidential run. people are getting to know mitt romney. the president is stuck at a certain number of likability and getting new voters to look at him. the president is step. it is a mitt romney that can keep going up because people are

starting to get to know him. that is why you are seeing obama. this is nothing new or earth shattering. it is why obama is tearing down mitt romney. their team knows. they will admit it to you. they cannot get ahead just based on the facts. the only way they can is by tearing down mitt romney. they know the economy is in the tank. they know they will be blamed for it. the tactic is to play 30 and the divisive. divisive.and be >> walk us through the state's unique to clip from the democratic to republican column. >> we are sitting in a state that's important. that is north carolina. we are doing well here. fourth carolina, florida, very

important to us -- north carolina, florida, very important to west. ohio, virginia. we need to kick off a state that barack obama one i won in 2008 and bush did in 2004. we also need to win wisconsin. we can win wisconsin with paul ryan on the ticket. we have done well there with scott walker. if we take those 10 electoral votes in wisconsin, and put it in our back pocket, and you pick up and idle or colorado, you get there some breathing space with virginia and ohio and other states. that is the formula for us. we feel good about where we are bad. the democrats will tell you something pretty similar to what i am is saying.

we like the direction in which we are heading in the polls we are seeing lately. >> in 2000,, as florida with, when the nation. are you looking at one state in which if it goes for the president, we win. >? >> ohio is where it is bad. we have a better ground operation than the democrats do. that is because i feel good about virginia and north carolina and florida. i am confident about those states, but we will still work hard. it will get one of those eight states. it is a matter of making sure we work hard and keep our head down and talk about the facts. there is nothing more important to the republican party right now than making sure this is an election that is decided by the facts of where we are at on

jobs, spending, the economy. if we do that, we win this race. >> let me ask you about other races. in missouri, with todd aiken in the race, --still in the race, is that a lost cause? >> know. he has an opportunity to get out of the race. i have said what i am going to say about that race. we have a country to save. barack obama is the one that is in the way. he has not fulfilled the mission. that is what i am focused in on right now. >> explain what he needs to do in terms of the deadlines. one has passed. if he would get out, what is the next deadline for him to do so? >> it is september 25. you can file a document with the court. give us a better opportunity to win that race. giving us the best chance to win

and doing the right thing in putting liberty and freedom first. that is about it. my focus is on the top of the ticket. it is some barack obama and mitt romney and what we need to do to put our country back on track. >> the obama campaign is out with a new ad. >> the middle class is carrying a heavy load in america. mitt romney does not see id. under the from the plan, a middle-class family will pay up to $2,000 more in taxes, giving multimillionaire's a $250,000 tax cut. romney is the middle class harder and gives millionaires a bigger break. is that the way for a reform for america? >> i am barack obama, and i approve this message. >> the middle class in taxes are big issues.

>> the president should talk about his record, what he did. he made this economy so bad that middle-class families are making $4,000 less a year than they were four years ago. middle-class families are paying almost $2,000 more a year for health care when barack obama said he would solve it. there is $6,000. you have a lot about $250,000. do we want to raise taxes on 850,000 small businesses in america when we are not creating enough jobs? the problem is in an ad like this, it plays on fear, division. the president did not fulfill the mission. everyone is worse off the matter where you fit in on the income bracket. if he would have completed a third of this mission, we would not have this conversation. he did not. this economy needs to be better than what it is.

the president cannot connect the dots to get the job done. >> if you look at the polling numbers, this is tied with the present slightly ahead. or mitt romney slightly ahead in key states. 60% say the country is heading in the wrong direction. why is it still so competitive? >> the barack obama brand is broken. the brand is not what he said it was in 2008. it takes time to lay that case out to the american people. you are laying out laying-- it is an indicator of what will happen. people have made up their minds. this economy is not what it should be. that is doomsday for barack obama. it is a matter of us staying focused on the issues. always going back to the facts. going back to the economy.

over time, what people already know is that the economy is not clear is should be. the president did not fulfill his mission. that is why we will win in november. they believe mitt romney can get the job done, put a businessman in charge that can set and meet goals. people are tired of the speeches, pomp and circumstance as. it is time to get a results t-driven person in the white house. >> explain your mind about the pixie dust that has gone away. >> it is just an expression. the barack obama of hope and change, the brand of hope and all of the pixie dust that goes along with that is wiped away. people know what they are kidding. they have a president that is in love with giving speeches. he is in love with this drive to campaign. you have to be in love with

governing, sausage making, getting the job done for the american people. that is tough. he has not been able to do it. >> to convention still matter? will they be different four years from now? >> they matter. it may be the funding mechanisms may be different four years from now. you will have a three-or four- day convention that will be the same, but the problems party have -- parties have is that the large -- as does not allow national parties to raise soft dollars for conventions. you should not use taxpayer money to do this. the legislature has to on coffee hands of these national parties so the national parties bear the responsibility of raising the money. you can put these things on and a more of the ship -- efficient, effective matter.

>> thank you for stopping by. the chairman of the republican national convention. it is not a partisan event. it is carolina fest. after jeff bridges is on the stage. life in coverage, here on c- span. ♪

♪ after jeff bridges on the stage at carolinafest in raleigh, north carolina. the traditional start of the convention will start tomorrow. we will have clydebank coverage on c-span. we have done this with the republicans. we will do so this week with the democrats. let's take a look back with those speeches and memorable moments from democratic conventions. >> who ever is inaugurated, the american people will have to pay mr. reagan opposed the bills. the budget will be squeezed. taxes will go up. anyone who says they will not is not telling the truth to the american people. [applause] i mean business.

by the end of my first term, i will reduce the reagan budget deficit by two-thirds. let's tell the truth. [applause] that must be done. it must be done. mr. reagan will raise taxes and so will live. he will not tell you. i just did. [applause] >> it is time to wake up to the new challenges that face the american family. it time to see that young families in this country are never again forced to choose between the jobs they need and the children they love. [applause] time to be sure that parents

will -- are never again told that no matter how long they work or how hard their child tries, a college education is a right they cannot afford. [applause] it is time to ask, why is it that we have run up more debt in this country in the last eight years than in the previous 200? make sure it never happens again. [applause] >> somewhere at this very moment, a child is being born in america. let it be our cause to give the child a happy home. a healthy family. and a hopeful future. let it be our cost to see that that child has a chance to lead

to the full list of heart dog- given capacity. -- god-given capacity. [applause] let it be ourcause to see that child grow up strong and secure, never struggling alone, with family and friends and a faith that in america no one is left out. no one is left behind. [applause] let it be our cause that when this child is able, she gives something back to hurt children, her community, and her country. let it be our cause that we give this child a country that is coming together, not coming apart. of bond was hopes and in streams. that list its people and

inspires the world. let that be our cause, commencement, and our new covenant. [applause] my fellow americans, i end tonight where it all began for me. i still believe in a place called hope. god bless you, and god bless america. >> i know my own imperfections. i know that sometimes people say i am to serious, that i talk too much substance and policy. maybe i have done that tonight. [applause] but the presidency is more than

a popularity contest. it is a day-by-day fight for people. sometimes you have to choose to do what is difficult or unpopular. sometimes you have to be willing to spend your popularity to pick the hard rihgt over the easy wrong. [laughter] [applause] [applause] we are here tonight because we love our country. we are proud of what america is and what it can become. my fellow americans, we are here united in one purpose, to make america stronger at home and respected in the world. [applause] a great american novelist wrote, you cannot go home again. he cannot have imagined this

evening. tonight, i am home. [applause] where my public life began. where our nation's history was written in blood, idealism, and hope. it where my parents showed me the values of family, faith, and country. thank you. thank you, all of you, for a welcome home i will never forget. [applause] >> if you do not have a record to run on, consider your opponent as someone people should from from. if you make a big election about small things. it has worked before. it feeds into the cynicism we have about government. when washington does not work,

all of its promises seem empty. if your hopes have been dashed, it is best to stop hoping and settle for what you know. i get it. i am not the likeliest candidate for this office. i do not fit the typical pedigree. i have not spent my career in the halls of washington. all across america, something is stirring. [applause] with the naysayers and not understand is that this collection has never been about me. it is about you. [applause] >> a look back at past democratic nominees and past conventions as part of a c- span's video library. check it out on our convention hub at c-span.org.

we are sharing tweets and asking you to post your videos via tout. ask delegates about with this expect in north carolina. >> i am from greenville, south carolina. the most important issue is the financial situation and immigration. thank you. have a great day. >> i am its delicate from burlington, vermont. we are having a wonderful time. i like to get a shout out to c- span and all my friends watching. >> i am a chairman of the democratic party. it i am please see be here for the 2012 democratic convention. i am supporting barack obama for president. >> i am with the colorado delegation. the most important issue is health care. i was pleased we got a health care act passed. we all should be supportive of

the president for that reason. >> is of a colorado delicate. i will vote for present obama -- [unintelligible] i am proud to be voting for him. >> send us your comments. we will use it as part of our programming. it is part of c-span convention hub. go to c-span.org. the stage is set inside the forum at the time warner arena. the gavel will come down tomorrow for two days of sessions. day 3 will take place at the bank of america stadium. tomorrow evening, former president jimmy carter in making a presentation. he accepted his party's nomination in new york in 1976. the keynote address by chileans castro.

first lady obama will be on the podium later. she will deliver her remarks primetime tomorrow evening. wednesday, the democratic candidate is elizabeth warren. the nominating speech is former president bill clinton. that will be followed by the roll call of states after a lot o'clock eastern time. our coverage will continue with one of those traditions. it is the 46 democratic convention . senator john kerry of massachusetts, followed by the vice-president, accepting the nomination and 930 eastern, and president barack obama at 10:00 eastern time, whether committing -- weather permitting. >> starting tomorrow, watch

courage of the democratic convention from charlotte, north carolina. c-span. on mike allen into these prisons obama's former videographer. followed by dnc convention chair. later, the democratic national committee hold a news convention -- conference. the national journal daily convention brief and discusses the election in numbers. that will be live from charlotte done 9:30 a.m. eastern on c-span. the politico playbook features valerie jarrett. she is entity by politico's -- is

interviewed by politico's mike allen. >> we are asking middle and high school students to send a message to the president as part of this year's c-span's student cam video documentary competition. student's will answer the question, "what is the most important issue the president should consider in 2013?" there are 15 dawson dollars in total prize is available. this is open to students great sixth through 12th. for rules, go to the studentcam.org. >> heading into the democratic national convention, hear from delegates and a south carolina residents about the most important issues for them. >> you saw here to support

president obama. he is the only candidate who has experience and what it has to get the job done for america. >> i want to cast my vote for president barack obama. >> i am from vermont. i support a visionary-inclusive america. looking for, rather than looking back. >> i am from vermont. i support obama because we all need to reinvest in america to make it successful for the future. >> i am a delegate from north carolina. i am here to cast my vote for full marriage equality that the democratic national committee has put into their platform. >> i am a delicate from south carolina. my main purpose for this week is

to re-elect president obama because i know president obama cares for us. >> i am a delegate from greenville, south carolina. i expect us to do great things. we will re-elect our present for another four years. >> you can visit c-span's convention hub to watchweb- exclusive videos, create and share clips from our coverage and add your comments using tout. that is a c-span.org/ campaign2012. presidentbama's for more videographer predicted 50-second political ads will become more common than maunder 30-second ads. he released a new book about his experience, which began during the 2008 presidential campaign.

he sat down with politico's mike allen. this is 25 minutes. >> please welcome chief white house correspondent mike allen. [applause] >> welcome to charlotte, we're so excited to have been here for the debut event in the politico hub. we had a great time in our hub in tampa, and we miraculously transported up here and we are excited to have you here. we will be doing three events a day here, several live broadcasts and at night, it turns into the politico lounge. we hope some if you will join us to celebrate. we're kicking off a daily convention playbook breakfast. first we will have some fun with

the first presidential videographer who was behind the scenes with barack obama when he went from becoming senator obama to president obama. and then we have the chairman of this convention, the l.a. mayor. we are excited to talk to the chairman. before we bring out arun, thank you to "the charlotte observer" our partners here. they have fantastic coverage in the run up to this. we are excited to be partnering with them and sharing content with them throughout the convention. also are thrilled to thank team bank of america for supporting these conversations here on their own turf. they have supported the playbook breakfast back in d.c. and tampa, and now excited to have them here. the director of public policy

will welcome us. jim, thank you for having us. >> welcome to charlotte. i want to welcome everyone on behalf of bank of america. we have over 15,000 employees working here. we are proud of our civic leadership here in charlotte. we're delighted to be cosponsoring this morning with the charlotte observer. the publisher is here. we had a great week last week in tampa. mike and the political team pull together the leading political figures and newsmakers each morning and engaged in thoughtful, substantive dialogue each morning. we're looking forward to the same thing here in charlotte this week. that is the essence of why bank of america is involved, because the politico team takes difficult issues we're facing as a country, getting be on the slogans and 30-second sound bites, and get some thoughtful dialogue going as we really tackle some difficult issues this country is facing. we are proud to be a part of this.

we welcome the politico team to charlotte. [applause] >> thank you for the welcome and your great journalism. i want to welcome arun. [applause] by the end of the night when we were pre taping his practice speech, i was the only one left. i got stuck at his gate. i do not have the podium credentials. i could not follow it all. >> the greek columns for your idea? >> i made them myself, in fact. [laughter]

>> the were the underdogs family come to this big machine. different things are running up against each other. i had a team of four people tracking the president. by the end of the night, we were free taping his practice speech. there is something called the cadillac credentialed. >> they are probably could. good idea? >> i did not think about. i was so used to these big speeches.

i was always the guy back by the port-o-potties backstage. i did not look around like, this is not my said. you know, my said is the corridors in the back of the stadium where the president is holed. that is more where i would say was where my meat and potatoes was. >> the president did an education speech in philly and you had never talked to him? >> i had not met him. i had not even interact with the campaign much except for some to say, your the only, so do not mess this up. a great day. it was a national education association and candidates were making speeches. the president said, my teacher is a -- a sister is a teacher. hillary clinton said, my mother was a teacher. joe biden said, "i sleep with the teacher almost every night." i thought, i really hope joe biden is to be the vice- presidential nominee for senator

obama. >> so did we. excellent. we have a clip here. [video clip] >> why are you filming me now? >> no matter what happens, our children still love us. that is the key. >> and the white house briefing room. >> this is a collection. [video clip] have you met john? just don't trip. with every do, don't trip. -- whatever you do, don't trip. ok, i am not going to make a fool of myself? [laughter]

>> i want to call my mom. >> leave a message. >> hi, mom. >> by name is -- please call the white house. [laughter] you see how lebron may be the best player. >> [unintelligible] >> he lost because boston was a

better team. come on, man. oh! >> i don't think he will get one in the water. >> just before i go on -- keep it up. i am proud of you. i like that. [inaudible] can i press the button?

>> press the orange one. >> good job, national security team. get back to work. >> of course that is from many, many, many hours of much less interesting, much less fun footage. that is part of what i was able to do, captured authentic backstage for trail of a man -- portrayal of a man similar off camera as on camera. >> how often does he say, "give me some space"? >> very rarely. and easily had to beat in regard to restroom break. there were a few instances in which other people were like, "i think we should not film this." both times were not because we were worried about getting the president saying something i'm, particularly, the people in the room wanted to make sure other

people would react in a way that would be honest. he is used in the filming all the time. let's say he is trying to make a point to someone, they may give less frank advise if there on my camera. i tried to keep a sense of when it was ok and wasn't o.k. to film based on that verse is the president's comfort. >> you yourself are not an aggressive documentary maker? >> i am not someone who works very hard to be anonymous or behind the scenes or a fly on the wall. i am kind of a chatterbox and loudmouth. with the soccer in coming years as a "oh, come one" which is me. i think that helps me do what i was going to do, because to be this kind of anonymous, working, camera documentary person is one

thing, to be honest and speaking with everyone in the room lets them see where i'm coming from and know what i am doing. >> how to there, to be a campaign videographer? >> from the very get go the campaign had a group together from people than in chicago. they sort it expanded it i think, they wanted -- not knowing exactly what it was going to do. i think it became apparent that documenting the campaign trail was going to be the most useful thing for a campaign, which is a little hard to hear as a guy coming from a film school arts background. >> in 2008, where were they putting these clips? how quickly to they turn them around? >> pretty quickly. this was during the days of standard definition.

we were shooting things on tape. it would take as long as the speech to up load and we could not really compete with television stations, but we started learning tricks and to get things up on youtube as fast as possible. >> you talk about how the president has a unique ability to be the same off camera that he is on, that his sort of the opposite of a ham. >> i think that is right. his very kosher. [laughter] >> this is a risky proposition. there's no way president bachmann would have a videographer.

in think, sure, let the kid follow him around. it shows the amount of trust and understanding that the president has a very unique to permit a personality and 100% the same on and off camera. people ask, "is he like that?" you can see it in the still photographs as well. and the president and first lady are touching foreheads and surrounded by secret service. that is just what you see. there are many photographers surrounding him. >> got a good shot. >> he is able to create the sense of private space. another example was in the convention last year. we were in kansas city where the president was watching his wife make her speech. even though we were in this room full of reporters and it was not necessarily the most private moment, every time he watched her speak, he would unconsciously play with his wedding ring.

we're very attuned to him and we were immediately noticing that and zoomed in on and made for a wonderful video clip. >> the other side of the coin is he is boring behind-the-scenes. he is just there. >> i think people are wanting this access. i'm not sure they know what they're asking for access to. photograph in hundreds of meetings there almost identical. when you are around for a while, you realize the things most interesting are not necessarily all the way backstage, but halfway back stage, that moment between public and private or just before a speech or in between having to greet the teacher of the year and maybe a family who has a soldier who has fallen in afghanistan. being able to switch between those things and watch some have that emotional intelligence i think is worthy action actually is.

>> why is that better than backstage? >> i think it is more telling to watch the body language of the president reading someone in the outer oval office and what that means and how they shake hands -- greeting someone in the outer oval office and what that means and how they shake hands, for something that is probably scripted to begin with. if something was easy to solve, it would not make it all the way to the president's desk. >> tell something about barack obama we do not know. >> he is an intensely curious person. i think it is one of the most useful things about backstage. he is very much like a dad or even when you know something, he wants to know one more thing and how you know that. ferry dad-like -- very dad-like. we are in eastern europe and hosting a dinner or something and the leaders were coming in.

one guy from -- i'm going to mess this up, had a name of ethnicity from another country. i said, that is interesting. why? what you mean? tell me about that. >> he has an incredible mind and wants to know and learn things. >> were you free to talk to him or was it a speak when spoken to thing? >> it depends the situation. when he is performing official duties, i will not hike up. he is very approachable on a plane. i think we worry more on our side by not wasting his time because he's so gracious with his time. i write about a funny moment where stephen colbert snack one of his books into the library at the white house, which is a big no-no.

i let him do it because i was filming i thought, this is great for the movie. i hustled down the hall and i'm like, "mr. president, stephen colbert left a library in the book if you want it." it was confusion. it was like, "what do you mean? don't we have good security?" it went back and forth before it was shut down. he was like, "go get the book, stop talking to him about the book, go back to the oval office." >> [unintelligible] >> reggie love, former body man for the president. >> what was your vibe about him having you there? >> at first, it was tolerance. but you become work buddies. like a said, i was never totally behind the scenes. i was kind of interacting with

folks. we definitely had a work friendship. >> we would love to bring you into the conversation, so signal if you have a question and we will bring you a microphone. you have been in the car. what is it like? >> i had only been in the car once. the car is exactly what you think it is. those doors are hard to close. [laughter] they got people for that. >> what else could you see? can you see the gas masks? what is it like? they are there. >> there is a wonderful video that spike jones it without war were he shows of all the gas masks and things like that. i did not see that. it is definitely all that and more is in there.

the car is a small bubble, the helicopter is a pretty small bubble. air force one is bigger. the elevator is the hardest one. he has to get in there, secret service has to get in there, immediate staff has to get in there, the video that almost makes the cut. i was a 25% you make the cut. but i am the one who wants the shot of him coming off the elevator. so it involves running up a lot of steps. this can definitely, definitely warrant injury, hazards. >> some people do not like to be on -- you are like this close, too close. did you shoot on marine one? >> yes, the best thing is not shooting inside. you fly so close to the

washington monument. let's say i rode in marine one a dozen times. each time i was trying to get that shot right. slow motion, not slow-motion. i really wanted to get it right. i'm happy to say in the archives, there's a beautiful, beautiful flyby of the washington monument. once he was asking about computers, i was trying to explain, and it was too noisy. it can be confusing.

>> what about the plane? >> it is great. >> there is a but coming. >> it is a flying office. yet no excuse to not be working. i cannot upload to youtube. there is no power on the plane. an air force one, your info communication the whole time, so there is no reason not to work. it is designed to keep the president working along with his staff. >> we have a question. yes, sir? go ahead. >> adam bell, "charlotte observer." is there anything you shot that later they said you could not use? >> i not allowed to erase anything. every scrap goes into the archives and will go into a library. more than that, i think we're try to make it more useful. video search is hard to figure out. i think if the archives can be searchable, it will be a lot more useful to historians. >> yes, ma'am. >> the president was here in 2008 on election eve, were you with him?

>> i believe that was the day the president's grandmother passed away. wow, it was sort of a -- it was a solemn day for sure. for us, it was one of those moments where the president did cry a little bit remembering her it was like, well, this is real and authentic, but is is something we will highlight? we decided not to use it. we decided to show it like we always showed any other speech, just the one had on shot. it does sort of play that thing in politics, this peculiaraity, is this too horrible to be real? >> you can tweet us questions.

>> i am with fox global. i'm curious if any of your friends of the white house communications office got involved and a little review of the book before it came out? >> no, no one had seen the book. a couple of days before it came out -- i got mine pack, so i did leave them with my white house friends, but everyone was gone. people came back from the weekend and there will have the book waiting for them. >> and you gave one to the boss? >> i gave one to the boss, whom i doubt has had a chance to read it. i did also give it to folks in the outer wall office. i bet when they start quoting things from the book to him, he will then be like "i am going to read it real quick." he is such a gracious reader, he could polish it off in a few hours. >> [unintelligible] >> they hand them all kinds of things.

>> but what was his habit on the campaign trail? >> he would be constantly reading stacks of papers, briefings, and a lot of nonfiction history. >> in the politico the book that just came out, in a story on the front page of today's "new york times," talking about the president as a competitor. everything from cards to basketball. you probably saw him this way a lot. >> he is a very competitive person. a lot of it is his athleticism, but also the way he thinks. i'm not much of an athlete. i know looking at a your thinking, "this guy can tear it up." it is not the case. i did get a chance to play cards and games with him sometimes. it is not just that he is competitive, he is very smart competitor.

he plays games smartly. he reprimanded me playing poker once because i did something that i was not sure what would happen. he was like, you're just gambling, not playing the game. it was true. it was advice that took seriously. you should be aware when you're just gambling. >> how did that reflect the way he runs the world? >> an think a lot of times, when you're on the outside and watching the debate say health care or something, you have these visions of view, the lone wolf, takes care of things and makes this great stand or all these things, and it is this narrative that is not accurate to the world. it is not how the "game" is played and results are achieved. it may not be as sexy as putting it all in read and seen what happens, but that is not the man we elected. >> how do you think he sees himself?

>> i think he sees himself as somebody who likes to hold things together and pull things together, and i think shocked at the disparity between that and i guess the people you sought the rnc, the people who are trying to portray him as something much different. that seems so counterintuitive to knowing him. >> do you feel if we take people's impression of him from the media, do you think if we had -- if we add up, do you feel we get this president or not? >> i think the american people get this president. i meant that is why his numbers are stubbornly good. >> stubbornly ok. >> stubbornly ok, despite the challenges to the economy. like i said before, is he really like that?

they know what "like that" is. i think that is very much fundamentally who -- a function of who he is. i don't know the functions in terms of being a better president, better at governing things, but it is something that is important to the american people to latch onto and to get an idea, especially in these times when we are not sure how our government is functioning. >> one question you grapple with in your book is the fact you are a competitor. when there are campaigns, white house figures, in the past, people would have to come to politico.com, or c-span.org to see those videos, and now they can go to whitehouse.gov. >> i think the most important thing is to provide context of some comes in to watch videos.

videos are a horrible way to communicate. it evokes a feeling. if you want people to learn something, it is better that those things are just written and a list next to the video to be looked at later. i think the video -- the venue is just as important it is not just the tv screen, but contextual information. i do not see a problem with people putting out their own point of view in their own platform as long as we do not rely on any one source of information. i think would be horrible if the press were replaced with nothing but west wing week. >> not on your colleagues would agree. >> i think you have to have room for both. at first, the press was so apprehensive about what i was doing.

but quickly into it, started incorporating it into their broadcast. >> last question for you. what platform is next? text message, campaign, the twitter campaign? what do you see rising or what do you see changing even in this cycle? >> i'm just trying to get a handle on this now, but i think the 30-second ad is becoming too expensive. like if mitt romney wants to win with negative 30-second ads, he will out raise president obama.

>> this will happen a lot more. >> you will be 37 on election day. he will have your second child, a girl. you are working on the outside spending area. >> i work at revolution messaging. we have all kind of progressive clients with their unions. i am and making videos for them. it is much different. the one thing that my video no star is barack obama. >> did he have a nickname or scolding name? >> he called me funny name because we shared a similar

sense of humor. that helped us gel. >> much as ross is for coming in. >> thank you for having me. [applause] >> thank you. >> first lady michelle obama is in charlotte. she visited the time warner cable of arena or she will deliver remarks to delegates. she is one of the speakers on the opening day of the convention. [no audio]

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>> if we turn away from the needs of others, we align ourselves with those forces that are bringing about the suffering. >> we ought to take advantage of it. >> obesity in this country is nothing short of a public health crisis. >> when somebody had their own agenda. >> i think they serve at -- as a window on the past to what is going on with american women. >> she becomes the chief confidante. she is really, the only one in the world he can trust. >> many of the women who work first ladies, a lot of the war writers, journalists. they wrote books.

>> there are quite frankly, more interesting as human beings and their husbands. if only because they are not defined and politically limited by ambition. >> dolly was politically savvy. >> dolly madison loved every minute of it. mrs. monroe absolutely hated it. >> you cannot rule without including what women want and what women have to contribute. >> there was too much looking down. i think it was a little too fast. not enough change of pace. >> probably the most tragic of all of our first ladies. they never shared a bed. >> she later wrote in her memoir that she said, i, myself never made any decision. my only decided what was important and when to presented to my husband.

you stop and think about how much power that is. it is a lot of power. >> part of the battle against cancer is to fight the fear that accompanies the disease. >> she transformed the way we looked at these bugaboos and made it possible for countless people to survive and to flourish as a result. i do not know how many presidents realistically have that kind of impact on the way we live our lives. >> just walking around the white house grounds, i am constantly reminded about all of the people who have lived there before, and particularly, all of the within. >> first ladies, influence and image, a new series on c-span produced in cooperation with the white house historical association. coming in february, 2013.

>> watch coverage of the democratic national convention. every minute on c-span. coming up, los angeles mayor antonio villariagosa, followed by a preview of the convention and followed by president obama and a labor day rally with beef uaw in toledo, ohio. tomorrow, we will focus on the conviction with susan ferrechio, with a preview of the speakers. at 11:00 a.m., anthony foxx on how the city has prepared.

followed by a charlotte chamber of commerce president, bob morgan. washington journal, 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. the political playbook profits facers a conversation -- features a conversation with the lorraine jarraett. she system with politico's mike allen. that is starting at 7:55 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> gavel-to-gavel coverage of the democratic convention starts tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. eastern. every minute, every speech allied on television and on- line. speakers include first lady obama and gillian castro. wednesday, elizabeth warren and former president bill clinton. thursday, vice president joe

biden and president barack obama. >> this november, the torch will be passed again to a new generation of americans. with barack obama and for you and for me, our country will be committed to its cause. the work begins anew. the hope rises again. the dream lives on. >> i am from vermont. i support a visionary-inclusive america. looking forward rather than looking back. >> i support president obama for reelection because i believe we all need to reelect -- reinvest for him to make it successful in

the future. >> is a a delegate from south carolina. my main purpose for this week is to reelect president obama. i know president obama cares for us. >> connect with other viewers with twitter and google hangouts. convention hub at c-span that or campaigns/2012. >> the los angeles mayor said that a republican defeat in november would be the best way to end the political gridlock in washington. he is chairman of the democratic national convention in charlotte, north carolina. he sat down with mike allen for 40 minutes.

>> you were late. i left pastor bedtime. what will people know about barack obama after the convention that they do not know now? >> people know a lot about president obama. well we will do is remind them what he has done, what he has done to put us in a better place than we were four years ago. what he has done to stop the

hemorrhaging of 800,000 jobs per month when he took office. 3.5 million jobs over a six staff -- six-month amount of time. he has staved off -- stop the hemorrhaging of foreclosures to say the auto industry. to turn gm from a bankrupt company to the leading auto manufacturer in the world. tell the story of the last four years. 29 consecutive months of job growth. more than in the eight years before. there will be other stories that we will mention. a great family man. a man who loves his wife and

children. someone who cares about the middle class. that is some of what we will talk about. take us behind the curtain. >> will we see that you concede at this convention? what will be different than in 96 or 2000? >> we wanted this to be the most open and accessible convention, the morris dubos -- the most the worst. over 6000 -- the most diverse. over 6000. there will be some -- every walk of life. we are celebting with men and women on labor day. there will be thousands of people at the family-friendly festival. at bank of america stadium, which seats 60,000 people from

every walk of life. you will see people from every corner of the earth. there will come to this great country. it will also be a working convention. very differently than the one in tampa. we understand that we will get out spent. with the super packs. we have invested in the most comprehensive effort to get out of the goat. we will be recruiting people. we recruited about 25,000 volunteers. we expect to do that multiple times. >> you are talking about collecting data. >> knocking on doors, getting

them to do what it takes to get people out to vote. >> your roots are in the labor movement. there was a story on the front page of "the boston globe to date about the union's being down. there has been a clear trend in that direction. they are a big part of the muscle and cash register of the democratic party. they are a big part of the heart and soul. >> chief steward. president of the local state that is 25 years old. there is an organizer for the teachers' union. you said muscle ancaster sir -- use the muscle and cash register. think about labor day.

what made america great. we had a middle class. they bore a big part in helping to prove that middle-class. stand before the notion that when you were carved and -- that wealth has to be spread out across the board to people who work hard. they are a major constituency in our party. it is important for us to stand up for collective bargaining rights. stand up for the notion that people work hard. >> membership is going down. what do you do about that? >> i am not in the labor movement in the morning.

>> as a leader, your features affect each other. >> you have to put major efforts in organizing them they also have to focus on new markets. just like capital does. them takes you will see on technology and changes in an industry. maybe going into those new markets. >> the union should be more creative. >> many of them are. people are trying to break.

california about 32 -- prop. 32 pretend to be an effort to stop big money from special interest. it is only focused on labor. it does not impact corporate america. america is the second-largest -- is the second-largest city in the country. i have had my own challenges. would i have said to public- sector unions is, we have to understand in these tough budget times that the -- to protect the quality of life, your business in the future, we have to work together to redefine the

benefits that we have. to make sure that they are sustainable going into the future. i have been a big supporter of pension reform. governor christie said -- i heard his speech. >> senator chris kristi. >> you said that, not me. he talks a lot about the pension reform they got. it went from 70% -- 7% to 12%. a five-point increase for seven years. i went from 6% to 11 permanently. i am not proposing that we change the retirement age to 67

i say that because the other day when we lived to 65 or 62, -- >> democrats have been reluctant to take the position you articulated. >> it happens. in the president's budget, he addresses the issue of pensions for federal employees. there are some democrats who are willing to do that. you should be pro-worker and pro-union. find a balance. that is the difference between democrats and republicans. i do not see the public since taking on their interest the way you see mayors and other democratic leaders on the issue of seniority and tenure. teeters, in particular.

every decision is driven by seniority. we can honor our teachers. we can pay them more periods we can hold people accountable. i am not a part to send -- i am not a partisan person you saw a democrat. i put the country first. he is charting the right path. it has gotten a little bit of play. you need the republican party platform. you close your eyes of 2012. close your eyes for a moment. it could be 1812, where things are out that there are proposing. that is different. the work party is challenging

ourselves. not everybody. we have to do more of that. one of the reasons why i expect that we will win is because it has gone too far. to the right. >> you are back from enemy territory. you read the republican convention in tampa. you seem to hang out at city hall. >> they call me the skunk at the party. [laughter] the first thing i said, i know you expect me to come right at the republicans. we are in the middle of a growing hurricane. it as much as we want to criticize one another, let's be clear that democrats and republicans agree on this -- priority number one is the health and safety of the people

from that hurricane. we do not talk of a lot about the fact that a democrat was working with a republican, who was working with president obama seamlessly to protect the health and safety. we love the fight. we have to acknowledge -- i was there to compare and contrast. i did. they will be here as well. we welcome them. i used to be chair of the democratic party convention is [speaking in spanish].

my first language is an english. when i was speaker of the california state assembly, the first thing i did -- people say the gentleman from the other side of the aisle. if the democrats and republicans together. i had to have a caucus in my party after i announced it because the democrats did not like it. the republicans got up and chastise me because they said we were trying to spy on them by putting them together. when you sit together, maybe you will figure out you have something in common. you went to a town hall and you got screamed at. we have had challenges in our district and in our state that we can find common ground. there are a lot of republicans there from california that i know were friends.

you can disagree without being disturbed their role the judge without being disagreeable. of the first time ever and the only time -- i gave them the opportunity to name every vice chair barrett of the committee had a vice chair. there are one or two that have chairs. i let the minority leader do that. our biggest job is to get a budget. you can get up on the floor and the me up. we can fight. your job is like my job is to get a budget.

one of the reasons why california is broken is because she need a two-thirds vote. you used to make it until last year to pass the budget. you needed a two-thirds vote to pass the taxes. it made it difficult anything done. >> to you see any signs of movement in that washington -- in washington? what would it take? >> it will take a republican defeat. >> you had a republican defeat in 2008. >> they will get that the politics of no does not work. from day one, i understand on inauguration day, within a few days afterward, they got together and said, block everything the president proposes. mcconnell said my number one job is to block the president and beat him.

both parties have to understand -- to listen to orstein with american enterprises -- says it is broken up on all des. it is more broken on the right. i agree with that. there will be people in that party who say they have to start being for something. we have to start working together on some things. sequestration is an where there will have to do something. they can and should do that. both parties need to come together. was the outgoing president of the council for mayors. the different between mayor's republican and democrats -- last year they took on nation-building.

they said we cannot build bridges and -- the baghdad and canada are and not in baltimore or kansas city. >> that is the first time the u.s. conference of mayors at a foreign policy. >> since 1971, when we took on the vietnam war. that was controversial. this was not a war resolution. this is a nation-building resolution. we have to start investing in our temperature of share. we have a $2.20 trillion -- lion bill. simpson-bowles should be a template for how we fix things. right and left to say that the president did not adopt the recommendation for his own commission. he did not say that he was on

the simpson-bowles commission and voted against it. he did not say if you know what it does, it cut spending and closes tax loopholes and raises revenues. $4e president's plan has trillion in spending. it closes tax loopholes and refuses to extend the bush tax cuts. when people say that we are taxing the rich, we are taxing them to where we work under the clinton administration when we created $23 million, when we took the bush policies -- bush 41 -- that brought us deficit and took it to surpluses and no deficit. mayors are very different. we are taking on -- we have to deal with the real world. please come visit los angeles. [applause]

[laughter] if anything happened seriously and i have to get back to watch, i will. i am chair because i am mayor. mayors -- per capita -- in numbers we are safer that was the last time. since i have been there, 41% drop in homicides. 40% drop in violent crime. i say that to say this. there is not a republican or democratic way to keep people safe, to pick up the trash. many of the problems we face in this country can be dealt with, have to be dealt with on a bipartisan basis. i am chair of the convention but

i am a democrat with a small "d." i believe strongly in what i call the radical center. it is the path toward and i believe the president is moving down that path because like samson goals -- simpson-bowles, he is doing both. i am taking one step in wherever i see it. this year, i have been against the death penalty since i have been an adult. taking on proposition 13, challenging republicans and democrats. it is the holy grail. it is part of oregon in this mess. that is on the right.

on the left and taking on pension reform and seniority, i am quadrupling the number of bike lanes in l.a. and guess what? i needed an eir, an environmental impact report. we can do this together. luckily it got through the legislature and we have to do more of that. i think they're smart ways for us to move forward on a bipartisan basis. when the lives of this election and i believe there will, there will figure out, they have to be a party of yes. they have to be a party that is willing to work with the other side. they're all -- there will always be partisanship. this is the most partisan time since the civil war. that kind of partisanship is

strangling the country. >> speaking of your efforts to be part -- bipartisan, they cannot out someone with a spanish surname. did you hear from any of the latino office holders about that? >> the next day or the day after, george stephanopoulos asked marco rubio about that comment. he knew i was talking about the fact -- his answer was i agree. that is true for both parties.

when i have an opportunity to respond to that, i said he is right. it is true for both parties. it is not just true for latinos. it is true for blacks and europeans. i am not going to vote for you just because you are latino or african-american or european american. you vote for people based on what they have done, what they're going to do. the notion that read speeches and having the people at the convention, the joke was they have more people on stage than they did in the crowd, i have heard some of you say that on tv. i have left the iowa delegation where i was informed i'm going to be at the jefferson jackson

dinner. >> that is a momentous event. >> it is a prelude to other things. it is an honor. i went to the -- to the event, the party for five southern states yesterday and it was so diverse, i was so great -- it was so great to see that. i think marco agrees was made. i agree with him. it applies as much to assess the this to them. i believe our policies are much more inclusive. egger were not for the voting rights act for civil rights,

where for a constitution that is broadening our life. i think it is different and comfortable. we did not hit a response. the other thing i said is i thought they two best speeches were marco rubio who was very inspiring, and susanna martinez. i love clint eastwood as actor and i respect him. that was not his finest performance. i think it is not fair to do that to clear these would. they're supposed to be so organized and this was supposed to be scripted and this was supposed to be the manager's.

somebody did not manage that very well. >> have you avoid your empty chair moment? -- how do you avoid your empty chair moment? >> by not having empty rhetoric. by telling the truth. >> let's talk about the management of the convention trade -- convention. >> that there was for a lot of the people, for some of you folks but it was for a lot of the people who have been doing hard work. let's be clear. i have not done any of the heavy lifting. there were hundreds of passionate, dedicated staff members and want to thank them. their work really hard. i do not get any credit for it.

i will get blamed. that is what comes with these jobs and i accept it. it will be managed fairly well. it will be difficult getting from place to place. someone asked me about the difference between the los angeles convention, boston, denver, and now charlotte. i felt like it went smoothly and it did because it was september 11. a lot of security -- everyone needs to know you have to give yourself extra time. i almost got laid for my early show and i was nervous because it was hard getting in. i am hoping it will go as smoothly as possible.

in an event that big, many moving parts, there is always something that will not go as planned. >> there will be real people. also we can see and hear, help connect the dots for us. to seenk they're going themselves. a cross-section of america. we all should feel good about that. when i say we all, i am not just saying democrats. americans feel good about that. i think as i said, there will see a party -- >> help us interpret what we're going to see. >> i learned something yesterday. i did not know. they ask you, what color suit are you wearing because they

want to kind of let you in right. i thought they were joking. >> you speak thursday night. you have six minutes or something? >> yes. >> what kind of suit are you wearing? >> the blue suit. this is a black one. i have a blue one. when you have to travel like this, you bring two suits and a jacket and a bunch of suits. blue and black. >> if you have a question, please go ahead. please state who you are. speakwonder if you can -- yesterday we saw governor o'malley. [unintelligible] that is hard at defining where

things are. >> i opened up knowing i would guess that. the answer is yes. we are better off. we were losing 8000 jobs a month. we lost three and a half million jobs and that is the party was speaking to. this is about governor malley. if you listened to it's full answer, he hit it out of the park. he laid out the differences have occurred over the last four years versus the policy that got us here and the beginning of this recession. coax focused on the -- folks focused on the no and two other circuits who did not ask the

question. >> people are not clearly better off. >> things are never absolute. i just answered it. are we better off. do we want to be? there is the 12 million jobs -- do you know where the 12 million jobs come from? he has not shown to the path. if we keep on this path that we're going to create 12 million jobs over the next four years. >> the obama jobs. >> we're going to move forward. i know you do not know much about me. my grandpa got here around 100 years ago. he came with the shirt on live -- his back. he worked in the fields in l.a.

and california. he built a small business that was very thriving, supportive of middle-class life. the most significant catholic boarding school at the time. loses all his money in the depression, had a younger wife, she left him. put his daughters in a foster home. i tell people this was the greatest generation. the sacrifice during world war ii so again have a better life, so we could make investments in world-class education, infrastructure that would be the envy of the world. virtually everything that has created this quality of life.

we understood back then that rewarding work was important. we wanted to create wealth, we do not want to be a nation of polar opposites. he left the country of rich and poor to a country that was opportunity. i believe strongly that president obama's path is a path more along those lines than the path that says keep on cutting taxes that we cannot afford. we cut them in a way that this -- disproportionately helps people that will not even put it back in the economy. it is not enough for them -- they have so much money to investments. when we cut into the middle class, the opposite is true. i believe and believe strongly that we are better off and we will be a lot better off if we

continue down this road. >> everyone is watching president clinton's speech on wednesday. how does he embraced -- the more president obama talks about the clinton recovery, the more clinton has embraced obama. it is pretty smart. [laughter] >> i love you guys. that is pretty smart. first of all, the clinton years were great years. the clinton policies are the obama policies. the bush years that clinton inherited, bush 41, were taken to the steroid level under bush

43. they do not want to tie themselves to bush and we do want to tie ourselves to clinton. >> is it true you have not seen the speech? >> i have not seen any speech, to be honest. >> you're working on your own. >> what happens is this is how my life works. i pick up the phone and what do we got to do? the answer is i started working on my speech. aftera six minute speech all. i am more focused on kind of responding to being the voice and the face of the convention. >> one of your hallmarks has been the measure r. extend not trynig tying to

it. >> we would have been a sales tax on the ballot. -- put a half penny sales tax on the ballot. we have to start making investments in doubling the size of our rail system and growing public transit and repairing our highways and bridges. providing the investments that we need to grow our economy and infrastructure is that foundation. every said that -- everyone ihad said it will not pass. there was a lot of deposition from the nay-sayers. almost immediately, people said you said you build a subway. you would -- had said you will increase the size of the rail system. i said this was a half penny

sales tax. generating $40 billion over 30 years. not a 10 cent sales tax. we're not treating this overnight. the more i got the criticism that we were not building all this, it gave me an idea. fund figure out a way to against the future and accelerate it so went to the congress and american fast forward and i said you have little program underfunded. is it transportation loan program. we have deficit and -- deficits and debt. why do you rewards cities and states that want to put their own money. to make these investments. and you will create 1 million jobs. everybody asked me, everyone

said there is again. i did not go to washington to watch the cherry blossoms bloom. i brought back a $546 loan -- million loan. and 1.57 then dollars. it is a loan and allows us to leverage or dollars and i am saying to the people in california, let's extend measure r and we will be able to build this. american fast forward and the extension in 10 years. 257 dozen jobs. we have opened up for three

light rail lines and construction. and to others. we will break ground in a third. we started this year and next year we will break ground in the region. unprecedented effort to remake a city when it comes to transportation. >> let's talk about our hosts. you look at it with a mate -- mayor's eye. what have you seen, what do you enjoy doing? >> don't you just love southern hospitality? they are so warm and gracious. >> there is southern california hospitality. >> we're fairly warm, too. very warm, in spanish, my home is your home. very warm in that respect. i love the trees.

this is a beautiful city. >> i have not seen a lot of fun things. the whole area is great. i love this downtown. a great mayor here. when you talk about the new cells, he is the face of the new south. this is a city you could see yourself living in. >> you are glad the convention is hear? >> absolutely. we want to be the party, the big tent. there is no geographical part of

the city that we're not going to work hard to win. we won by 14,000 votes last time around. it was the first time in 26 years that we won north carolina. we are spending a lot of money. north carolina -- carolinians will be appreciative. people want you to work for their vote. >> what are president obama's chances of winning here again? >> i think they're very good. he is either up or within the margin. >> the poll in the observer today, romney is up by four. >> just outside the margin.

they're going from one event to the other. this is going to be a long few weeks ahead here. thinking 64 days now. we're going to work hard and the way to election day. we have always said this will be a close election. the country is evenly divided koreas i expect that we will win. >> thank you out there in c- span land. and those on politico.com. we thank the bank of america for making these conversations possible and thank you for the visit. [applause] >> starting tomorrow, watch

gavel-to-gavel coverage of the democratic convention. from charlotte, north carolina. every minute, every speech live here and c-span. next, the dnc holds a news conference previewing the convention. president obama tens of the labor day rally with the united autoworkers in toledo, ohio. later, paul ryan holds a rally in greenville, north carolina. >> tell us who you are looking forward to looking -- hearing from this week. >> i will go ahead. >> i am looking forward to hearing president clinton. he is a great motivator. >> i am looking forward to .lizabeth warren and

>> i am looking forward to vice president joe biden. he calls it like it is. the as appropriate at this convention. >> my heart is always with my home state in barney frank. i have ever heard such a brilliant orator. he always comes up with something that just has that massachusetts trying to it and i love it. it cannot wait. >> for me, it is joe biden. this guy has been around the block. he is a senator for decades. he knows that he's a fighter. he's a middle class guy. he will go out there and tell them what he thinks that he really feels. the nation will sit back and go wow, this guy is not a joke, this is real. i am excited to hear him fight back against paul ryan and mitt

romney. >> we love joe. >> the political playbook breakfasts features a conversation with senior white house advisor to president obama, valerie jarrett. live at 7:55 a.m. here on c- span. the national journal daily convention briefing tomorrow features a conversation with leading political pollsters discussing the election in numbers. live from charlotte at 9:30 a.m. eastern here on c-span. >> sisk and's gavel-to-gavel coverage of the democratic convention starts tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. every minute, every speech live. bijan speakers include san antonio mayor julian castro and

michelle obama. wednesday, elizabeth warren and vice -- and president bill clinton. >> this november, the torch will be passed again to a new generation of americans. with barack obama and for you, and for me, our country will be committed to his cause. the work begins anew. the hope rises again. and the dream lives on. >> i am from abroad. i am here because i am supporting a visionary inclusive america. looking forward rather than looking back. >> i am from vermont. i am supporting president obama because we need to reinvest in

america to make it successful for the future. >> i am a delegate from south carolina. my main purpose for this week is to reelect president, because i know president obama cares for us. >> connect with other c-span viewers with twitter and google have outspread convention how that c-span -- hub at c- span.org. >> we're asking middle and high school students to send a message to the president as part of this year posies didn't jam video documentary competition. . this year's student cam documentation -- documentary competition. the student cam video competition is open to grades 6 through 12. go online to studentcam.org.

-- democratic national convention committee held a press conference. speakers include steve carrigan, and the mayor of all -- mayor of los angeles. this is 40 minutes. >> good morning, everyone. welcome to charlotte. we are excited to get things kicked off. last week, governor romney and congressman ryan had the opportunity to lay out a vision. the questions most americans are focused on. they failed, given that opportunity. we look forward to having an honest conversation this week

about where we were 2008, where we have come, and how we have built the economy for the middle class out to restore economic security for the middle class. with me this morning is the ceo of the democratic convention, steve kerrigan. mayor fox. charlotte. our convention share. mayor villaraigosa and the dnc secretary. between that group which should be able to answer, if not all, many of your questions. if with that, i will turn it over to steve kerrigan. >> thank you. good morning, everybody. as ben said, in the ceo of the democratic national convention committee. on behalf of our team, i want to welcome you here. we are excited to have you here at the convention. we hope you had a great time at the media party on saturday

night. we hope you continue to have a great time in this incredibly of vibrant and dynamic city. this week represents the culmination of one year of planning for us. planning that began with a three primary directives from the president. making sure that this convention is the first of its kind off, to think outside of the box, and to find as many ways as possible to engage more americans in this event. on all three counts, i am proud to say, we have done just that. this is the most open and accessible convention in history. we begin our planning not just by looking at a venue blueprints and different scenarios for logistics', but by reaching out to the american people. in 2011, the first lady sent an e-mail to supporters around the

country announcing that we were coming here to charlotte and really engaging them and asking them how we can make this their convention. more than 2000 people wrote in. we read every response. one thing was clear. they wanted more ways to participate in our democracy and this convention. beginning this afternoon, you will see how we have made the request a reality. for the first time in convention history we will kick off the advent -- we'll kick it off with an event that is a family-free of them to. it will celebrate the region. it will give everyone the opportunity to see give the folks here the region to

participate in the convention that they have never had before. the public is excited to attend all of our caucus meetings here. they will begin happening this morning. and it will be here throughout the week. on thursday we will close out our convention activities with where americans will have the opportunity to come to the stadium and see that great moment in history. while all of this is happening on the ground here in charlotte, we will be engaging the online like we have never done before. we are on eight different digital media platforms, our first convention mobile app. people will be able to follow our -- all of our convention activities. it brings us all together. we are excited for you to help us shares that story all around

the country. we look forward to beginning -- to working with all of you this week. we have great partnership in this community and leadership all around the country with the campaign and with our great convention chair, mayor villaraigosa. we will be led through many of the proceedings with our chair. we cannot done the work of the last 18 months, planning this convention, without great partners here on the ground. we have grown to become a very close friends with my partner in all of this planning who is an incredible leader all around the country. that is your host mayor, mayor anthony fox. [applause] >> thank you. thank you, steve, for your partnership. for that, the democratic national convention committee and the platform. i want to thank you all for being here today. it is a pleasure to welcome you to charlotte. our city has been waiting a long time to host the convention. in fact, our state has been waiting a long time. it is and about 150 years. we are thrilled to have the democratic national convention here. thrilled to have our party fighting for the cell. we think that is a very important statement for us to

make as a party. before i go any further, i do have many thank yous to give. people have done so much to make this successful, particularly our law enforcement officials at the local, state, and federal levels to make -- who are helping to make this convention what we wanted to be. they are an integral part of this proce. we cannot thank them enough. ever since the first lady announced the site of the democratic convention through an e-mail, nearly one year and a half ago, we have been working and our citizens have been preparing and are excited about this wonderful event. throughout the week, the world will have the opportunity to expiries north carolina, and a dynamic state. charlotte is part of that wonderful narrative. charlotte residents are ready to put their best foot forward. i think many of you have

already seen what we know this part of the dna of this community, which is good, southern hospitality. if we like to say hello to you when you are coming down the street. we like to treat you well. although this convention will wrap up on thursday, its legacy will live on long after the last confetti falls. it will be a testament to what we have done over the last couple of years to improve ourselves for future generations. today you have an opportunity to see some of the legacies. it will be the first festival that is part of a convention. it is opening up families and an opportunity to be part of a wonderful event. you have an opportunity to hear from james taylor, who hopefully not be singing fire and rain today. hopefully he will be sitting some songs that bring sunshine out.

we are working to engage more people and supporters to bring people to the table through this convention. over the last several months, i have had an opportunity to go through the north carolina and through the 931 program where we offered an opportunity for volunteers to get one ticket to watch the president get the nomination at a bank of america stadium. you should have seen the overwhelming interest and enthusiasm in people. lines wrapped around the door. it has been incredible to see the ground energy for this president and this convention in north carolina. so, i hope this opportunity that you all have to see our city and see our state in action like this will give you an impression of north carolina that i think is true to form. it is a progressive state and

continues to look forward. it is a community that has shown resilience over time. it is an excellent backdrop for this president to accept the nomination to our party. with that, i'll turn it over to my good friend, the mayor of los angeles, antonio villaraigosa. [applause] >> ladies and gentleman, you just heard from a great leader here in at charlotte and i think the face of the new south. when i first came here a few months ago, this is my third visit to charlotte. what i saw, and what i have seen whenever i have been in the south, is that southern hospitality that you speak of. what i also saw was a great, a vibrant city. a green city. you know, i wish we had as many

trees as you do. a great, a vibrant downtown. a great place to host this democratic convention. and so, thank you, mayor fox, for your leadership. the outgoing conference of mayors, early on, i saw that he is not only the leader for the south, if he is a leader for the nation. stephen, thank you. a lot of people have asked me about the specifics of the convention and how things are going. i said, let me be clear about something. stephen and others have done all the work. there are hundreds of volunteers and staff members -- thousands of volunteers who have done the hard work to get us here. i will be responsible if something goes wrong. that is what happens when you have the big job. but these are the people that are going to ensure that this is as smooth as possible. of what to thank you.

all of the staff have done an incredible job. -- i want to thank you. all the staff have done an incredible job. if it is an honor to gavel as in tomorrow. it is our turn. after what we saw in tampa, i am proud to say that this is a convention that will be more than a little different. we will show them how it is really done. i will tell you why. this is a new way to engage america in the political process. you just heard how open and accessible we have been. this is a working convention. the last convention took advantage of the number of people that were there. some 25,000 of volunteers got involved. we can do a lot more than that this time around. we are going to engage everybody who is a part of this effort. that is a big difference between us.

charlotte, we will also present our vision and affirm our values. we will show the country that we are the party of openness and opportunity. a party of ingenuity and innovation. we will get down to business, roll up our sleeves, and get the country moving forward. we kick off our first day here in charlotte, the convention will be the most diverse. we are very proud of that. diverts in every respect. but certainly, much larger. some 6000 delegates will be here. you will see people from every walk of life. the rich, the poor, black, white, latino, asian, for muslims and jews, christians -- if we are all celebrating this great america. we believe that a party's convention ought to present its vision. we will be crystallizing the choice between a candidate who wants to build an economy from the metal out versus one who wants to build an economy from the top down. president obama is committed to fighting for middle-class

americans. we will be highlighting american heroes from across the country. people who showed grit to move this country forward. we will also account the last four years. we have the story of a president who inherited the worst economic crisis since the great depression. if we will celebrate a president who rescued the auto industry. who passed historic health care and student loan reform. we will articulate a path forward. president obama wants to reclaim the american dream. he promises that hard work will get you a fair shot and a fair shake. the convention is about laying a roadmap for where american

needs to go to provide longer- lasting economic recovery. before i introduce our next speaker, who has been a long- time leader in our party, in the tradition of the mayor of los angeles, as i said many times, i would not be chair if i was not major. let me say a few words in spanish. [speaking spanish] [speaking spanish] it is now my pleasure, as i said, we worked together on a platform committee. i will not say how long. a woman who has been a real leader in our party. the secretary of the democratic national committee. [applause] >> it is an incredible honor to serve as secretary of the democratic national convention with my friends, who i have known for just a few years, mayor villaraigosa.

he is a true star in the democratic party. it is going to be a great convention under his leadership. thank you, mayor, for what we are about to do and what we will do over the next three days. i cannot go three steps without someone saying, "welcome to charlotte." it is just a fun to be here. it is extraordinary how warm everyone has made us feel. it is a true spirit here that i know is part of north carolina. part of the south. and i hope, part of all of america. if all of our delegates are so excited and pleased to be here. we got a chance to look at the hall. it is truly beautiful. everything looks great. we are going to have a good time here doing some serious work that is incredibly important to our country. before i go over some of the details and numbers, and i promise you there and not be too many, i would just like to

share with you that i have participated in at 10 presidential conventions. do not start adding up. but that is quite a lot.

because of that, i can say, first hand, that this is truly the most diverse, the most open, the most transparent, the most just and exciting convention we are about to undertake that i have ever seen before. it is a big. it is a bold. it is beautiful. it is america. if i am proud to be part of it. we have a lot of important work to do. part of that war, of course, is the nominating of our great president -- part of that work, of course, is nominating our great president. all of which are absolutely open and transparent. every single delegate will have a copy of our platform on their

shares when they walked into the convention hall tomorrow. -- on their chairs when they walk into our convention hall tomorrow. we are proud of our president. equally, importantly, we are proud of the plans he is laying out. if specific plans for the next four years. they are in our platform. he will speak of them to all of the american people when he accepts our nomination on thursday night. there are -- here come some numbers. there are 5556 delegates. if there are a 407 alternates. i would just like to highlight a few, special parts of our process that are important, i think, to our party and, frankly, important to our country. if each party develops a state plan where they do outreach as well as out reached to everyone who is part of america. so, for example, are african- american delegates, -- our african-american delegates, who are so passionate about our

country as all of us are, went from 24% in 2008 to 27% in 2012. our hispanic and latino delegates, there are over 100 more hispanic and latino delegates then there were in 2008. we have reached out to some unique groups in 2012. to our veterans, off to our seniors, to our workers, and, particularly, to our voters. we have a record number of u.s. voters. 644. 285 of those young voters are actually students. in many cases, this is their very first convention, their first political experience, and we, frankly, will benefit by their participation. we will learn from them because they are our future.

our oldest delegate -- no, it is not me. just want to put that out there. our oldest delegate is the honorary elzena johnson. she was born in 1914. pretty amazing and wonderful. something i aspire to. our youngest delegate is samuel gray of iowa. he was born in 1994. yes, he will be 18 by election day. is he terrific? [laughter] not only will our convention be, for all the delegates here in the hall, but i did want to

mention that we have already, and i'm sure there are more being pulled together, all over america, over 4000 watch parties. that means that you multiplied all of the delegates and guests and the platform committee members and rules committee members and volunteers and workers and a folks able to come to the carolina fest, and folks able to come to the big stadium thursday night, with thousands and thousands, and interested of voters, all across america to all of these parties in every single state.

so, i just wanted to share with you that this is not just about us here in charlotte. that is wonderful for all of us who are able to be here, but also for the rest of america. thank you, again, for letting me give you some of the numbers that are important to us to be here in charlotte with all of you. we are now going to open this press conference for questions. >> could you please address the politically strategic decision behind choosing charlotte and also other battleground states? >> that is a good question.

i am delighted charlotte was picked independent of politics, but politics makes sense for the democratic party. the president one north carolina -- won north carolina in 2008. that was the first time since jimmy carter. there is a lot with his work to support veterans, his work to support women, his work to support bringing manufacturing to american shores of the work to put infrastructure investment back into north carolina, and the city like charlotte, which is the fastest- growing metro region in the country, so i think the people of north carolina understood

the president had their back and at the end of the day would have his back. there is also the campaign used to mobilize the south. i mentioned the program, which was an effort to get people to volunteer for the campaign. in exchange, you had the opportunity to watch the

nomination. that has been successful. when we open the convention and said to sign up if you wanted to come, that has been overwhelming, and i think that is an idea of the energy on the ground in north carolina. when you come into the south, everyone in the south is part of a convention like this, so there is also a ripple effect of being in north carolina. we border virginia and a lot of states that could be competitive in this race, and in particular north carolina and virginia are going to be states to watch in this convention, and i will add one other point. north carolina was tight in 2008. he has a ground force that is unrivaled, and mitt romney has spent millions of dollars in north carolina and cannot seem to get any distance, and that is an indication this race is going to go all the way down to the wire. >> good morning. this convention as i understand it is the first one to bar corporate contributions and lobbyist contributions to the host committee and capped individual campaign contributions, and there is some money that goes into the official committee, and it is my understanding there has been two different nonprofits to help this.

do you think the experiment has been a success or a failure this year? >> i would say it is of huge success. we have over 80 times the number of donors to this convention than any other convention in history. it is an effort to continue in our goal all around the country and give people an opportunity to invest, and our grass roots effort has engaged thousands of people across the country who want to be part of this, and i think it is a huge success. we are thrilled with the results here. we are working at the convention center, and the stadium is going to be beautiful as well all because of the effort we put forward, which is the president's goal of making those memos 63 did the most accessible in history. it really did mean we allow

more people to be part of this, so part of our ground roots efforts were part of that. we are thrilled with how it works. we are thrilled with the engagement across the country, and we are thrilled to have done it this way, so i would say it was a success. >> i have three very quick questions. you say the number of hispanic delegates there is 100 more. when will you be releasing the schedule of when speakers are scheduled? can we find out who is speaking on each night? gov. christie in particular.

>> the question was how many total number of hispanic delegates. that was 2008. let me get that for you. i only have the percentages here. the reason i say that is because of until this morning, delegations could change if people are unable to be here. we have last minute changes, and we know there are approximately 100 more than there were in 2008. we know the percentage has gone up by of these 1%, positively more, but i would like to give

you the exact number and not have questioned later about where we were in accurate in any way. on the piece of paper i have, i do not have that number, so i want to get that number. i want to promise as soon as we have that we will release that information, which we always do. i do not know how we did this, but i forgot to save 50% of our delegates are women, which is pretty special, so i wanted to make sure i added that. i want to add one other thing on a personal note. on the rules committee saturday we chose our sergeant of arms. he is john lewis. for don lewis to be the sergeant at arms of the democratic national convention, for someone like me, who was proud to march on the wall with

martin luther king, it is an amazing statement about america, and i am so proud he will serve as sergeant at arms for this democratic convention. you have a second third and fourth question? >> we will get out to everyone on the list, and make sure you have signed out for the convention press list as well. we will get to the speakers by about 10:00 p.m. the night before, so if you are getting pressure from editors on individual stories, we are happy to negotiate. >> what kind of weather would motivate you to move the presidential speech inside? a lot of delegates talk