[♪ theme music ♪] >> bill: good morning, everybody it is wednesday august 29th. great to see you today, welcome to the "full court press" here on current tv. yes indeed lots to cover today, lots happening in our nation's capitol around the country, certainly where president obama is on the campaign trial. dough in new orleans where hurricane isaac has hit landfall for the second time and of

course in tampa and around the globes. do you get when you press a bunch of conservative americans into to one place, you get the republican national convention. we'll cover it all and take your calls, but first let's take a little time out to get the latest today's current news update lisa ferguson. good morning, lisa. hi bill good morning, everyone. of course your republican national convention is underway. the gop delegates are looking forward to what is happening today, and that is because paul ryan will be addressing the convention. many are saying he is number 2 on the ticket but number 1 in

the republican hearts. according to the latest abc news "washington post" pullout last night, only 40% of viewers see anymore a favorable light. we can expect a warm welcome for ryan tonight. but do not a lot of work went into the speech. i want to get back to last night addresses. first off last night's entire we built this theme was a bit of a scheme considering taxpayer money built the convention senator. we also saw former congressman artur davis describe the affordable care act as a tax system that the americans can't

control. and chris christie did taught new jersey's economy. but first we have more bill coming up after the break. see you then. ♪ brought to you by spiriva handihaler. this year the presidential campaigns are running a record number of ads targeting hispanic voters, who may well decide the election. [spanish vo] but it was the jfk campaign that ran the first tv ads in spanish. [spanish] >> in 1960, it's not that the hispanic vote was not that big but it was concentrated in a few crucial states. (vo) but it was 40 years later that another presidential candidate really spoke to the hispanic voter: >> as the governor of texas, he understood the growing political power of latinos. (vo) and now more than ever, candidates have to both walk the walk, and talk the talk. [spanish]

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[ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation, on your radio, and on current tv this is the "bill press show." >> bill: all right. you have seen the republican party on parade in tampa. how do you like it so far? hello everybody, and a happy wednesday. wednesday august 29, 2012. good to see you today. thank you so much for joining us. this is the "full court press" on current tv, where the tackle the news of the day every day

for the next three hours. i have a great big old fashion townhall to talk about the issues of the day wherever they happen to be taking place, whether it's hurricane isaac in new orleans or president obama out in fort collins, colorado or other parts of the world we'll tell you what is going on. and of course get you involved in the conversation. that's the big fun of it. 866-55-press, 866-55-377. we are all here assembles, the team press here ready to go this morning. what do you say guys? >> hey, bill. >> good morning. >> bill: and maybe the number one story is hurricane isaac which made land fall for the first time about 8:25 pm and

then went offshore and then came back and hit landfall again at 5:10 this morning according to abc news. i was watching last night anderson cooper, and lester hult, both of them in therrian slacks out in the rain, and i was thinking i know one of the cameramen for cnn tweeted me yesterday, and i was watching on camera and thinking about my friend the cameraman. >> oh. man. >> but there was a lot of split-screen coverage last night. the latest, here is talking about the surge that we're -- that people down in the gulf coast, particularly louisiana are experiencing. >> we have seen peak storm surge amounts gauges of up to 11 feet. some of the areas to the east of

the storm are starting to reseed a little bit now, but we still see any water rising in new orleans. >> bill: and one of the problems is that the storm is not moving as fast as they thought it might snfl >> it has moved very little over the last couple of hours, but a slow movement is expected this morning. >> bill: so that means it is just sitting there dumping rain rain, rain. but it looks like they have all of the plans in place. >> i saw there were a whole list of bars in new orleans that were going to stay open during isaac. >> bill: well there's that famous drink, the hurricane, everybody walking around with those great big glasses. >> uh-huh. >> bill: did you all stay up late last night, watching the

convention. >> i stayed up later than i wanted to watching i'll put it that way. >> bill: so did i, and it pissed me off. the fact that i had to state up that late to watch chris christie. i was not happy. >> you came in in a bad mood this morning. >> bill: i was in a bad mood. we'll be talking with eliot spitzer, host of "viewpoint" on current tv ben labolt, press secretary for the obama campaign will be along as well and we'll talk to a republican who is actually supportive of planned parenthood and tried to get the republicans to adopt a kinder and gentler platform plank in the platform when it comes to abortion rights for women. didn't succeed.

but we'll talk to you about that. but first -- >> katie couric has ripped into her new employer with harsh comments. she said the network projected its own issues on her and what she labeled quote, a poisonous atmosphere. she said she looks forward to her up coming talk show. >> bill: i don't know, man, you dump on your former employer you never know in this business. >> if they ever made a movie about mitt romney -- >> you never heard me say anything about bad about cnn. >> never. >> if they ever made a movie, those bastards over at cnn. >> if they ever made a movie about mitt romney who would

play the conservative. daniel day lewis was recommended. >> he is playing lincoln now. >> in the old ways he said he would recommend carey grant. >> bill: my suggestion is that mitt romney can play mitt romney because he'll have nothing else to do after november 6th. >> in new york yesterday during a practice session a boy probably no older than 12 or 13 year's old shouted "will you marry me." he tennis player went over to the boy brought him on to the court and gave him a quit tennis

lesson. >> bill: the most fun of the day, of course was the little mini tentfest created by the ron paul supporters. the romney campaign came down with both feet on the ron paul supports yesterday during the day. ron paul had -- his followers had been working to get as many delegates as they could out of iowa and maine those states where not all of the delegates were decided on the primary date, and they came up with twice as many in maine as mitt romney thought they deserved, and the romney campaign clamped down on them full force. the ron paul people protested. they booed some of them walked out, but by the time the convention got underway last night, that was all over and forgotten.

by the way i think the ron paul people were right, but it show there is no room for decent in that party. and then john kasick from ohio, and bob mcdonald from virginia scott walker from wisconsin, nikki haley, none of whom had anything to say. they did adopt the republican party platform. it is so extreme. the most fromming article in the "new york times" this morning compares two platforms, one which is pretty moderate pretty progressive, caller for investments in mass transit, calling for saying that the people here even if they don't speak english should be given every opportunity in this country, and another platform that says that english has to be

the official language in this country, and there shall be a human rights amendment with no exceptions for abortion because of rape, incest or the health of the mother. and then the republicans got around to making it official. they took a vote on who should be their party nominee. and john boehner read the results. >> mitt romney has received 2,061 votes. [ cheers and applause ] >> bill: all right. so that's what they came to tampa for. it's too bad mitt romney didn't give the speech right then and there and thenen the convention. but we had to go through the big

tra-la-la. chris christie grieving the keynote address. there is something about chris christie that i like, he usually says outrageous things and is usually very very colorful. i knew i would disagree with everything he would say, but i was ready for a barn burner. he was terrible. i really -- i really thought he was terrible. he spoke in nothing but platitude. he didn't say anything. he did look -- he just looked like a bus, you know. he is so big. >> i thought it was cruel that they had a game at the rnc guess how in jelly beans are inside chris christie. >> bill: i know. and my mother told me you can either be loved or respected, so it is better to be respected than loved or loved -- i mean i

never got it. was stuff like this where he says here is what it is. i'm going to tell you the difference between the two parties. >> i know the simple truth, and i'm not afraid so say it. our ideas are right for america, and their ideas have failed america. [ cheers and applause ] >> bill: let's have some examples, right? the stuff he said like on scene seen -- seniors, that mostly what they care about is making sure those benefits are there for their grandchildren. they believe that seniors are selfish. wait a minute, that doesn't mean that what they are doing is right for seniors. he goes on to say about teachers, for example. again, making the difference on where the democrats and republicans differ on teachers.

>> they believe in teachers unions. we believe in teachers. >> bill: that got a lot of applause, but what does that mean? right? what is a teacher's union? teacher's union are teachers banded together to fight for better working conditions better tools, better salary better benefits. if you clamp down like mitt -- chris christie did on teacher's unions, you are clamping down on teachers. let me tell you something -- and i know i'm going to get in a lot of trouble this morning because everybody this morning is supposed to say isn't ann romney wonderful. she was so good. she was tremendous. i'm sorry. i thought she was terrible. i know she had an impossible task which was to humanize mitt

romney. but i thought she was so overboard and so giddy like a teenage girl you know -- she would laugh at her own lines i found it very awkward, and the stuff she said didn't make any sense either. like mitt romney yeah he is wealthy, but he wasn't handed his wealth. >> as his partner on this amazing journey, i can tell you that mitt romney was not handed success. he built it. [ cheers and applause ] >> bill: he was a wealthy man, he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. remember he said we don't need pell grants, kids should just ask their parents for money. and her big thing last night was

we're here for you women. >> i love you women! [ cheers and applause ] >> bill: uh-huh. [ laughter ] >> and i hear your voices. >> bill: yeah, we hear your voices women. >> women! >> women! >> bill: yeah, right. he, he he he. but the fact is his husband's pollties are disastrous for women. it's part of the republican war on women. they want to repeal obamacare which means women get -- have to pay for contraception, pay for a mastectomy, pay for a colonoscopy, most of them lose their health care. they have destroyed how many public sector jobs disproportionately go to women across the board. so i thought this whole phony

appeal about ann romney last night just fell flat on its face. i novi been watching the coverage, everybody says she is wonderful. she is the star of the show. i'll give you this much ann romney is a better speaker than mitt romney. but i thought chris christie and ann romney both bombed last night. what do you think? 866-55-press? am i being too hard on ann romney. 866-55-press. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." ♪ but only current coverage will put you at the collision of tv and social media. we'll provide unsurpassed insight into the most buzz worthy tweets, posts and pontifications, from the entire social stratosphere including you. join in, tweet us, and you could be a part of our on-air and

online coverage. >>now that is politically direct.

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>> i only stand here tonight as a wife, mother grandmother, an american, and make you this solemn commitment. this man will not fail. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> bill: all right. there she is ann romney. one other thing, so they have been married 43 years. that's great. god bless them and i don't want to take anything away from that, but that doesn't qualify you to be president of the united states. everyone is making a big deal out of that. my question is so what? george and laura bush had a happy marriage their policies were a disaster for this country. what about dick and lynn cheney. going down the list. the fact they have been married 43 years. okay. and she talked about how his

business experience made them comfortable and wealthy and helped a lot of other people become wealthy. yeah, mitt romney's business partners destroyed a lot of jobs for thousands and thousands of americans. but she never mentioned bain cap capital. because they know it is a poison pill. may, mark, good morning. >> caller: good morning, bill. i agree with you completely. and i liken people like ann romney to tight rope walkers, one that works without a safety net and one without. the guy with a safety net is not nearly as worried about his next step. it is there in the background that if i do have a background i have an incredible safety net. she is probably intelligent, but

she -- >> bill: that's good analogy, mark, i like it. she is smart and attractive. but she is insane i think. arlene in philadelphia. good morning. >> caller: good morning, bill it's good to talk to you. i listened last night to current, because i wanted to hear the republicans get torn another one. >> bill: got it. >> caller: and it was the best part of the night, because that's -- those are my thoughts -- those are my thoughts exactly. >> bill: listen, i'm glad to hear that arlene and i got to tell you i thought vice president gore and eliot spitzer, joy bayhar john fugelsang cenk uygur were

terrific. they will be on tonight again. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> bill: well, you know, that was a david stockman theory,

♪ >> announcer: heard around the country, and seen on current tv this is the "bill press show." >> bill: 33 minutes after the hour. here we are the morning after the first night of the republican national convention the morning hurricane isaac has for the second time struck land and is here to stay and already doing a lot of damage down there in the new orleans area. we'll go back to your tweets and comments about last night.

first a little word of advice if you are one of those people looking for extra money at the end of each month to makens meet. you might want to check out this out. as long as you have a little extra time and take advantage of the training that incomeathome.com will give you. you want to earn extra money at home full-time or part-time, incomeathome.com. they are giving away a thousand bucks just to check them out. that's incomeathome.com. many many calls and many tweets already. mission midnight says bill you

are not being too hard on ann romney, just the fact that you listened to her co-dee sending speech gives you the right. and bison ranch says keep it up. mrs. feel sorry for me i am ms deserves criticism. she is a panderer just like her husband. >> bill: look, she has been through a lot, and i don't want to -- i'm not taking anything away from her. i'm just saying for her to get up there and say i'm a woman i identify with all of your women and we all love you, does not take away from the fact that her husband's policies would be a disaster for american women. he supports the human life

amendment, for example which would say that the small government party -- that they say the government will decide the health care -- what happens to a woman's body. the government politicians, supreme courts will decide. that's what the human life amendment is. and even if a woman is raped or victim of incest her life and health are threatened but the government will tell you what you can do. beverly in st. david illinois. good morning. >> caller: good morning, bill, love you. how are you doing? >> bill: i'm doing great. thank you. >> caller: i have never heard a more con sa sending, self absorbed speech in my entire life. and chris christie what an

idiot. >> bill: i didn't think chris christie delivered the goods. i love a good red meat speech from either side. i like the flavor and color of it, but i thought it was flat. and she was really con sa denning. and i don't think they have a clue as to how out of touch she came across. >> caller: the women in the audience, did they notice that she was not wearing any jewelry at all, trying to dummy herself down? >> caller: i didn't notice that i noticed that nancy reagan red dress how could you not. thanks beverly. stewart in st. petersburg florida good morning, stewart. >> caller: good morning, i find it funny that you criticize ann

romney when you never criticize obama when he stammers and stutters -- >> bill: we're talking about the republican convention last night, the speeches by ann romney and chris christie. >> caller: that's the point i'm making, if you are going to criticize her for laughing in her own speech that's nervousness. >> bill: she is on national television, and she is supposed to deliver the goods. i thought she was embarrassing overly eager and ineffective. >> caller: i find -- >> bill: phony is the word i would use. i thought she colossally phony. margo good morning.

>> caller: ann romney said when i had ms and cancer he was really nice to me. it's like of course you are going to be nice to your wife. >> bill: yeah, he wants to repeal obamacare which benefits mainly women and medicaid and medicare. >> caller: yeah, and romney was sitting there listening to christy saying when is he going to talk about me? is this his campaign speech for 2016, because all he is talking about is himself? >> bill: oh, i know. this is chris christie -- by the way it was like 23 minutes maybe into his speech before he mentioned mitt romney. >> caller: and he had this look on his face like my god -- >> bill:. yeah, and chris christie says everybody stand up, now tell me who is the nominee of the party here. i just want to play a little bit

of this clip. >> caller: please do. >> tonight we are speaking up for ourselves, and stepping up. tonight we're beginning to do what is right, what is necessary to make america great again --. [ cheers and applause ] . >> bill: that's not it. what he did say is it's time to stand up, and if you are willing to stand up and fight for what is right, i will stand up with you. and i'm thinking what? he is not the nominee of the party. >> caller: right. >> bill: thanks, margo. pa -- patricia is in detroit. >> caller: i agree with you, i am tired of ann romney's pity party. and we're celebrating our 47th anniversary, and i'm the same age as the mittster and we have

been through a wonderful life, and i don't sit there and say it's a story book life but i have never heard of a story book life with ms and cancer. you say yes, she has been through a lot. let her try to go through the doughnut hole. >> bill: yes. >> caller: i see women every day -- >> bill: yeah patricia that's the thing. i don't think they have any idea what real americans are going through. i don't mean to say they are not real americans, but i don't think they have any idea what working class, middle class americans are going through. they have never been there. they don't know it. when you with worth $250 million a year. and then they want us to believe that mitt romney irons his own shirts. give me a freaking break. amelia in miami.

>> caller: i just remembered something -- this is the first time i have ever called a radio station. >> bill: i'm glad you have. thank you, mary. >> caller: i'm 68 years old, and i'm sick and tired of them talking about medicare. i am secure but both of my children have juvenile diabetes as children when they are seven and eight, and i have struggled with this my whole life -- >> bill: medicare is not going to be there for them if romney is elected. >> caller: that's what i am saying. my son is healthy but what about five years from now when he turns 50? what is going to happen to him? he loses everything because of no insurance. >> bill: paul ryan will give him a check for maybe $5,000 and say go out and buy your own insurance for you and your family.

it's not going to work. >> caller: my parents back in the 70s, if you had a disease you couldn't get hospital insurance -- >> bill: and now you can thanks to president obama and mitt romney would repeal it. they cannot say we're here for you women on the one hand, and then say we're going to repeal obamacare at the same time. it absolutely -- one contradicts the other. i don't care what color dress ann romney wears. ♪ >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

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joining us. >> my pleasure. thanks for having me, man. ♪

>> announcer: heard around the country and seen on current tv this is the "bill press show." >> bill: 14 minutes now before the top of the hour here on this wednesday august 29th. this is the "full court press" coming to you live all the way across this great land of ours from our studio on capitol hill in washington, d.c. brought to you by the good men and women of the union, you can go to their website at cwa-union.org. also one of sponsors of last night's coverage on current tv. a great panel lead by al gore and features jennifer grandholm, joy behar john fugelsang, and eliot spitzer, who is up early this morning

with us again. good morning eliot. >> yeah, it is a little early it seems after watching last night what they pretend is a convention. >> bill: indeed. good job by the way last night. i was ready for a real barn burning from chris christie, and i was really disappointed. he -- he didn't rise to the occasion, i thought. what was your take? >> i thought his speech was flat predictable pandering. there was nothing. it was in keeping with the rest of the evening in terms of its complete dilutional claims of economic theory and if chris christie is supposed to be some better orador completely missed me. >> bill: i have to tell you our ideas are right, their ideas are

wrong. that's a good start. but then he didn't really say anything. >> nothing of substance, nothing to put your teeth into. no data no facts, nothing to support a case. i thought the best speech of the evening by far was ann romney's. i thought hers was a good speech. i thought the rest were absolutely abombedable. >> bill: exactly. and i didn't watch every minute of it i must admit. artur davis didn't seem to make much of a bounce last night did he? >> nobody did. and it was hard to watch. i got to tell you, because you sit there saying is this an alternate universe is there

really no fact base to their claims about the economy. job creation correlation to who was in office when what the economy has done. the irony that the folks on the stage claiming we have brought jobs back -- those jobs were almost exclusively in the sector which president obama resuscitated with the obama bailout, but whether you are talking about ohio or the tire manufacturer in south carolina -- the nikki haley talk, they are created because obama said let's do something. >> bill: let's get to ann romney. i'm not as positive about her speech as you are, but the message -- what i found most disturbing was, was she was there -- well to humanize mitt romney, which is an impossible task, but also to reach out for

the women. we love you women. we listen. we hear you. and my husband is going to do more for women than anybody else. i mean, when you look at the policies of mitt romney and paul ryan that are horrific. >> you and i have a identical view of their policies. what i found more appealing about her speech than the rest is there weren't rank falsehoods in it. it was a heart felt speech about viewing life through a particular prism and the obligations, difficulties, the burdens that women face and it would, i thought effectively stated to that defense. and to that extent give her credit for it. >> bill: i agree with that. but the ultimate falsehood i guess is that my husband is

going to be there for you. >> that we clearly disagree with, and as we have saying since their platform came back and since the todd akin flap this is their choice. >> bill: eliot spitzer, you see him every night on current tv with "viewpoint" at 8:00 pm eastern. you and i have been to a lot of conventions in our day, including in new york city which is a great place to have a convention. do these conventions still serve a purpose, and will we see them continue? >> it depends on what you mean by purpose. but i think long gone with the days when there was uncertainty going into the convention and there would be four or five votes on the substance of the platform, and great speeches, and back room deals still being

cut. that doesn't happen any longer so the purpose is now just to have an advertisement for a political party. so it lacks the drama. and i think four days is too long. the hurricane cut this one to three. it will be interesting to see in the next cycle whether they decide both because of expense and because of tv coverage that they decide four is too much. so we'll have to wait and see how it evolves. >> bill: the only wrinkle yesterday was with regard to ron paul. the ron paul people don't care because they are there for the long term. >> yeah they are not playing to the traditional calculus of we better be good to these folks. they are planting seed towards a

long-term revolution towards libertarianism. they are nuts. but that's what they care about. >> bill: eliot you are burning the candle at both ends my friend. i appreciate very very much. and you'll be there on current covering the convention again tonight. thanks eliot. >> thanks. always fun to chat with you. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." ♪ online coverage. >>now that is politically direct.

♪ >> announcer: taking your emails on any topic at anytime.

this is the "bill press show" live on your radio and current tv. >> bill: republicans for planned parenthood? sounds like a contradiction in terms, doesn't it? but randy moody is the head of it, and joins us at any top of the hour. our comments from twitter, golly gee says i like the speech by chris christie's huge nastsy ass best on ann romney. nan blunt says no bill you are not being too hard on ann. her story rings false just like her [ inaudible ]. and we talked about holding back disaster relief funding. the money to fund these campaigns would more than pay for any damage the hurricane might do. >> bill: yeah it has been half a billion dollars so far. ed smith and republicans for

planned parenthood in the next hour.

[♪ theme music ♪] >> bill: good morning, everybody. good to see you today. it is wednesday august 29th this is the "full court press" on current tv. welcome to the program this morning as we tackle the big issues of the day. i'll bring you up to date on isaac, and now slamming new orleans, on the republican convention, now slamming tampa. president obama out on the

campaign trail in fort collins, colorado. we'll take your calls at 866-55-press, and it is not all politics today. the obama administration yesterday announcing new fuel-efficiency standards for american cars up to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. who says obama is not doing anything about global warming. first we take time out to get the latest from lisa ferguson in los angeles. good morning, lisa. >> hi, bill good morning, everyone. a lot of talk this morning about last night's speakers at the republican national convention. and plenty of that has to do with keynote speaker, chris christie. one of the trending topics this morning is how little he mentioned mitt romney's name. think progress live blogged the rnc and found that chris christie said the word mitt

romney just seven times, but said i 37 times. >> we live in an era without leadership. it is time to end this era of absenteeism in the oval office. america needs mitt romney and paul ryan now! >> the governor spent much of his speech taughting his own record in new jersey. as i promised last hour here are a few things he did not mention. new jersey ranked 37th in gdp growth last year. under romney massachusetts was 47th in job growth. two, new jersey has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country right now. it is coming in fourth behind nevada california and rhode island. the state lost the most jobs in

the country at 12,000 last month, and new jersey ranks 44th in personal income growth. we're live in chat, current.com/billpress. (vo) campaign commercials that run only on the internet are old hat this year, but in 1998, they were brand new. the first candidate to use web only ads, was former wrestler, jesse "the body" ventura, in his bid for minnesota governor. >>it's the new jesse ventura action figure. you can make jesse battle special interest groups. >> i don't want your stupid money. >>ventura was an interesting candidate because he ran as an independent and he recognized that was a great distribution system for him, and a way to bypass traditonal media and traditional political parties, and go directly to voters. (vo) and he scored one of the biggest 3rd party upsets in american politics. now, everybody puts campaign ads on the web. campaigns are set to spend 7 billion dollars on tv ads this year, but the right ad on the internet can take the

opposition to the mat. (vo) current tv's look at campaign ads that changed history, is brought to you by spiriva handihaler. if you have copd like i do you know how hard it can be to breathe and what that feels like. copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva helps control my copd symptoms by keeping my airways open a full 24 hours. plus, it reduces copd flare-ups. spiriva is the only once-daily inhaled copd maintenance treatment that does both. and it's steroid-free. spiriva does not replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms. tell your doctor if you have kidney problems glaucoma, trouble urinating, or an enlarged prostate. these may worsen with spiriva. discuss all medicines you take, even eye drops. stop taking spiriva and seek immediate medical help if your breathing suddenly worsens your throat or tongue swells you get hives, vision changes or eye pain, or problems passing urine. other side effects include dry mouth and constipation. nothing can reverse copd. spiriva helps me breathe better. does breathing with copd weigh you

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♪ >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation, on your radio, and on current tv this is the "bill press show." >> bill: on the seventh anniversary of hurricane katrina to the day, new orleans hunkers down under hurricane isaac. this time the levy is expected to hold. good morning, everybody. wednesday august 29th. good to see you today. this is the "full court press." we're coming out to you from our

studio right here on capitol hill on your local progressive radio station, and on current tv. you are part of the program whether you are listening or watching. you can expand your listening, watch, and viewing experience by going to our chat room joining thousands and thousands of full court pressers across the land who are watching listening and talking to each other on current.com. also give us a call at 866-55-press, and we will welcome you to the table and conversation. team press here ready to serve you, peter and dan of course. and the videographer. he is behind the camera, so you seldom get to see him. the republican convention getting underway yesterday.

we have been talking about that continue to talk about the big speeches by ann romney and chris christie last night. we haven't talked yet about rick santorum -- >> who? >> bill: yeah, he got his time in the sun. michele bachmann did not. herman cain did not, ron paul did not. tim pawlenty did not. john huntsman remember him, did not. newt gingrich -- well he gets tomorrow to do some silly thing with callista but he is not going to give a speech. to me it sounded like a rick santorum campaign speech. but our good friends and buzzfeed did notice a certain theme in santorium's speech last night. >> i shook the hands of farmers and ranchers because i held hands, hands weathered and warm

i gripped hands, hands i glass glass -- clasped hands, hands of leaders, hands of hands, the dirty hands, i shook the hand of the american dream. >> bill: this is hands on speech. >> apparently. talk to the hand. [ laughter ] >> bill: ben labolt is the press secretary for the obama campaign, and he'll be joining us to give us his take on the speeches last night. ed smith is the president of one of our great labor leaders in the country, going to talk and chris christie's talk last night. and republicans for planned parenthood, yes, you heard that

correctly. republicans for planned parenthood. but first -- >> announcer: this is the "full court press." >> the chat at the water cooler on this wednesday, nbc is not happy for howard stern for ripping into jay leno. he ripped into leno last week for laying off part of his staff, calling him a spine less maggot. his bosses asked him to quiet down, but he went back to his radio show saying he would rather lose his job on "america's got talent" that stop talking about leno. modern family is ann romney's favorite. >> all in the family? >> no modern family. she said so it is a open an

gay-friendly show. steve tweeted that he'll offer mrs. romney the role of efficient at cam and mitch's gay wedding as soon as it is legal. >> bill: yeah right. like her speech last night, right. saying we're here from the women, yet her husband would take health care away there women. >> a united airlines attendant required last night he served has the longest serving flight attendant serving for 63 years. he started walking the cabin in 1949 as one of the first male's flight attendant. he took the job he said because he liked the idea of working with women. he has flown over 200 million miles. >> bill: oh, my god. they had to let him go because

he was slow getting his walker down think aisle with his drinks. >> yeah, really. >> thank you, dan. 11 minutes after the hour. yes, indeed we saw the first night of the convention last night. among their items of business was to adopt the party platform. virginia governor bob mcdonald, governor ultrasound otherwise known as is the one that presented it to the convention. it included the human life amendment plaining and a recommendation that there will no more funding for planned parenthood. there is on organization republicans for planned parenthood that offered alternate language. randy moody joins us from tampa. thanks for being with u.s. today. >> i'm glad to be here.

>> bill: what did you propose to the platform committee? >> well we looked at what has been the platform, the position over the years, and we have always spoken out for a women's right to determine her own reproductive choices. we also think that if you want to prevent abortion which apparently is what at least some of the republicans want to do maybe you ought to teach people about their reproductive system and -- and also help provide ways to control for women and men to control their own fertility. and so that -- the gist of what we proposed of course the platform committee was full of zealots if you will and people who want to improse their own

religious beliefs on the country, if you will and so of course we did talk to some delegates who, i think, many were intimidated by the -- what i would call the right-wing lobbyists that were put on the platform. so there really wasn't much hope. i think your idea in being there, and i was there, was to show that there's a -- there is a different view and the traditional republican view -- and i have been a republican -- my first vote was cast for barry goldwater in 1964, and there is a different view among a lot of republicans -- >> bill: let me interrupt you and ask. did you get a hearing? were you able to make a presentation to the committee? >> oh, heavens no. [ laughter ] >> well, nobody could see it. not even the news media. there was a draft -- there were

subcommittee meetings, and nobody could see it except the delegates. i happen to get a copy because i -- later on -- because i knew a delegate or two who under the table gave me a part of it. >> bill: yeah. >> but the only way you would know what was in there -- and of course the so-called human life amendment was in the draft, and there was no discussion it passed. >> bill: and no vote i guess, right? >> no. until they voted the whole platform in. so there was no opportunity, and i haven't been a delegate to a national convention since 1984. >> obama: and i did see that phyllis said this is the best platform ever adopteded by the republican party, and now we know why. so what strikes me as unusual is -- you are the quarter.

i'm not. but from what i know of planned parenthood, planned parenthood is an organization that at one time enjoyed significant republican support, correct? >> oh definitely barry goldwater for instance and his wife found our arizona affiliate -- >> bill: barry goldwater and his wife? >> that's correct. george hw bush was the was one of the lead sponsors in the house of representatives for the title 10 family planning program, and that bill was signed by richard nixon. so there is a long tradition of support for what planned parenthood does, and we have always had republicans and still do have republicans on our affiliates all over the country, donors, volunteers board members -- >> bill: what do you says to republicans today who say we

have to defund planned parenthood because it is against everything the republican party stands for? >> well, it's not. the republican party stands for individual responsibility personal freedom, and i heard chris christie say last night that government shouldn't get in the way of a person and their health care. well, that's exactly what the current republican platform does, and so -- you know they are making our case for us. the problem of course is that if you are going to put your own personal religious views out there, and try to impose them on everyone else through your political party or the government, that's the problem. >> bill: right. randy moody is our guest, he is co-chair for republicans for planned parenthood and you can reach out to them. the website i have for you is

plannedparenthoodaction.org is that correct, randy? >> yes. you can get that or just go to republicans for planned parenthood, and you'll find our website. >> bill: okay. >> any of the planned parenthood websites will get you to republicans for planned parenthood. >> bill: okay. so my final question to you is -- and don't take this personally -- but we hair the rhetoric about defunding planned parenthood from mostly -- every leader of the republican party, so why are you still a republican? [ laughter ] >> well, i think there needs to be a voice for -- reasonable republicans within the party and i have been asked that a lot. >> bill: i'm sure. >> why don't you switch? and a lot of people have. we have lost particularly a

lot of women who have become independents or democrats. but i think there should be a voice for reasonableness, and people who carry on the long-time tradition of the republican party for individual responsibility personal freedom, and choice. >> bill: well i admire your courage and stick to ittiveness and your leadership on this issue, randy. and maybe the republican party will swing back to where it started on this issue. randy moody, thanks so much for your time this morning. >> thank you so much. >> bill: again go to republicans republicansforplanned

parenthood.com. i asked a nun one time that same thing. and she said because it's my church dammit and i'm going to stay in to fight for it. >> announcer: where radio meets television, now on current tv.

[ ♪ theme ♪ ] ♪ >> announcer: this is the "full court press." the "bill press show," live on your radio, and on current tv. >> bill: chris christie of course attacks the unions last night in his speech. ed smith the president of ulico will join us in studio in the second segment to respond.

here is a story that i saw out of wftv down in orlando, florida. a man accused of pocketing $80,000 after stealing the identity of a professional athlete. he used that id to go into a bank and get a debet card sent to his new address in orlando. you hear a story like that again, and you any identity theft, identity theft. what have i done about it? i have the protection of life lock. they are the most comprehensive program out there. but it can't protect you or your bank account if you are not a member. so i urge you to call now. if you are not happy give them a call within 60 days and cancel and they will give you a full

refund. see life lock for details, and then call them at 1-800-356-5967. i mentioned at the very top of the hour but want to be sure you are caught up on this latest announcement by the obama administration yesterday. again, who says there is not a big difference between mitt romney and barack obama. the barack obama administration announcing they have introduced a new historic leap on limited miles per gallon. >> this will cut oil consumption

by 12 billion barrels, and save consumers more than $1.7 trillion at the pump. >> bill: so huge savings and great news for the environment. of course it means less emission of -- of green -- greenhouse gases, more efficient cars, more electric cars. by the way, before you think that this is terrible for the united states -- for the american auto industry these standards have been endorsed and supported by gm by chrysler and by ford. american manufacturers say we can do this. by the way they should have done this a long time ago in my judgment. i think they could have done it a long time ago, and it started with bill clinton and al gore when they started putting

pressure on the automobile manufacturers, and they started coming around. but who is not behind this? the republicans in the house, senate, and mitt romney who says this is too extreme. it is too much hardship on the auto manufacturers, and it will be too costly for consumers. but let's go back to this -- i wanted to talk about this as part of our coverage of the convention today, because there are some real differences between the two parties on these important issues, not just taxation issues but on environmental issues, and education issues and there is a colossal one. there is no reason we can't make as fuel-efficient of cars as

japan has been making for years. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." ♪

♪ >> announcer: radio meets television, the "bill press show," now on current tv. >> bill: 33 minutes after the hour now. it is wednesday august 29th the morning after the first official day of the republican national convention down in tampa, and hurricane isaac hovering over new orleans on the seventh anniversary of hurricane katrina. lots to talk about here today on the "full court press." we're coming to you live as always from our nation's

capitol. and brought to you by the good men and women of ulico. providing specialty insurance, investment products and services. you can find out about more good help they provide to america's union. you can go online or ask the man himself, president ed smith in studio with us. great to see you. >> great to see you too. >> bill: i was thinking about you last night with watching chris christie. >> yeah, i watched him too. >> bill: yeah, you saying -- >> well, couple of things he did mention mitt romney twice i think. i thought he was running for president -- >> bill: well at the end of the speech where he said stand up

everybody, if you stand up i will stand up with you, and i'm thinking he is not running for president. >> exactly. and he credited his dad going to school on the gi bill you know, that government help, and then he talked about his mother taking three buss to work, and i said i wonder if those were public transportation. >> bill: oh, god forbid. the woman running for lieutenant of delaware last night saying we need to get government out of the way so small business can thrive. and she has had millions of dollars in government contracts, and her advice for entrepreneurs was go get government help. >> it's the same christy, hey,

we love teachers we just didn't like the organization they formed to protect themselves. >> bill: yeah. here is chris christie saying here is the difference between us, republicans, and democrats. >> they believe in teacher's unions. we believe in teachers. >> bill: what is the difference right? >> well as long as organizations don't have unions they are powerless. as every other entity the aarp does a good job for seniors but the idea that they can't represent each other -- >> bill: yeah, it's a band of

teachers formed by teachers so if you are cracking down on the union, you are cracking down on the teachers. >> yeah, you can't separate them. and when the teachers ban together they have more power than if they were picked off individually. and that's what this whole message is. it's a sad commentary on -- on all of the credit they talk about building businesses and things like that but do you ever hear them credit the workers. because i guarantee when they say they built it there were workers there building it each and every day, and that's what is lost. >> bill: absolutely. you have a great piece in "huffington post" called "unions matter more than ever".

i'm pretty sure we have this up on our website. i could not agree more, and yet when you look at the numbers the membership in america's labor unions is down lower than i guess it has ever been. why? >> because they are not allowed to form unions. if -- you know they have been demonized. they are the bad guys and if you look at every poll ever taken, given the choice workers would provide unions every day so there is a voice for the workers. all statistics show where there's a union workplace, you do have hire wages, health care

benefits. and every family wants those things. if you saw nikki haley talk about the non-union workers at boeing. because those workers are not allowed to have a union. there's no way that workers can form unions today. the national relationships board issued a complaint against that a company that did not bargain with their unions and they went crazy and say, wait the national labor board is there to supposedly serve companies, and workers, right? but they went nuts calling to abandon -- >> bill: it's like they finally did something. >> that's right. they never did anything.

so that's my point is workers today would love to form unions be in unions they weren't the things that unions bring them but it has become so lopsided that it doesn't allow them to form unions. >> bill: i think a lot of people didn't appreciate the roll that unions have played in this country. talk about that. >> yeah i come out of the labor's union, and we built this -- look at all of the infrastructure that was built by american workers by american unions. and the unions -- with management together labor and management together but workers through their unions set up their own training and apprenticeship programs which

are the best in the world. they are first class facilities, and they are all privately funded when the worker and the employer. and they are not burdened with student loans. they accept their own healthcare funds. a tremendous success. pension -- bill remember pensions? >> yeah, right. >> workers don't have pensions anymore. two in ten workers has a pension today. we are were talking about 1980 before we came on here. what has happened to retirement security? all americans want retirement security. all americans want a -- a good wage -- you know, and they are

willing to work and be productive. union workers are productive. they pay their taxes, fly their flag every day, serve in the military, and i said we have demonized america's best. >> bill: that is true. there would not be a middle class but for the unions today. >> yes when i was young gm was the largest work force. and workers formed unions in some big big battles. >> bill: oh, yeah. >> workers formed unions and fought for those things and if you look at wal-mart which refuses to let one of their employees be in a union. this is a free country.

if workers want to be in a union, those workers simply are not allowed to form a union. >> so the problem today with the fact there is such a percentage of america's workers in unions is not because workers don't want or see the need for a union but because the opportunity is not there. >> the opportunity is not there. the laws don't allow it. the laws don't work for workers. management has a concerted effort to stop at any cost that workers would have a seat at the table. and there has been this effort this movement away and you go back and look at the republican party platform. >> bill: i want you to hold that thought. we have to take a break here. ed smith is the head of ulico,

which is not a union -- >> but provide services to unions. >> bill: we're talking about unions, and i know we have a lot of union members listening and give us a call at 866-55-press. we'll be back on the "full court press." >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."

♪ >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." live on your radio, and current tv. >> bill: ben labolt is the press

secretary for the obama campaign. he is in tampa and will join us by phone in the next hour. right now we're talking about unions, and why they matter more than ever with ed smith. a lot of people think we have got everything we ever fought for. we don't need the unions anymore. >> it's all going awade. pensions, good jobs, good wages. my father years ago had a saying. he said a worker should haven't to work all week and still be eligible for food stamps because the job paid such low wages and no benefits. and that's where we are going to in this country. >> bill: let's jump out to madison wisconsin, and say hello to steve. >> caller: good morning, bill.

the sighs like scott walker and chris christie they always refer to unions as the special interests. and what is more than a special interest the narrow interests of guys like the koch brothers or the brood interests of unions that elected and represent millions of people. >> bill: yes speak to that. the equivalency between the koch brothers, you know, and the teacher's union, or the laborer' union -- >> yeah, it is citizens united. it's such a joke that you can put them in the same sentence because the billions of dollars that the koch brothers, and the guys is from vegas -- >> bill: sheldon adelson. >> who operates non-union hotels. and there's no way that worker's

money could ever match their money. and the other point that the caller made about unions are democratically formed organized. they elect their officers. they practice democracy every day. and union members vote in greater numbers. they participate in the system, and that's what we need more of not less of. you know this voter suppression, republicans are practicing now which is also their gain well unions have always been one to encourage voting of all citizens. >> bill: oh, totally. and participate in a lot of drives. you have started -- before the break -- i went to come back with that. i'm sorry. the republican party platform today is really part of the war on unions. >> we went back and looked at the republican party -- if you

go back 50 years, and when you go back 52 to the 60 platform of the republicans, when you go to their convention in 60 and look at the platform they promote collective bargaining and the right of union and management to negotiate what is called a union shop, which means where the majority of the workers have voted to the union, then all workers belong to the union. fast forward to today when they call for right to work laws in all states. when they call for banning where the employer could recognize a union. they call for the banning of project labor agreements who have been most successful in building our infrastructure. they call for the evolution of the davis bacon act.

and they say those wages are artificially high in this year's platform, and it calls for lowering wages for workers. that's in their platform today. this -- this movement of nut cases that have taken over their party -- and you go back -- you know, and you look at historically both party platforms, you know, recognized the valuable worth of unions. >> bill: yeah, you wouldn't recognize the republican party today. >> no. >> bill: beth is calling from hartford connecticut. >> caller: you get up every morning go to your job, and you are supposed to work for free. there's no respect. you can't bargain, but all kind of legislation is given to corporations from laws to

incentive, to everything, but what does the worker get out of this? >> bill: yeah, good point. >> that's why we have to have unions. because who speaks for workers? unions. and when you do away with the unions, there's nobody to speak for your point. that's right. you are invisible. >> bill: uh-huh. >> the companies view you as you don't have a seat at the table. and when you don't have organization, when workers ban together they are called unions, and that's who is in this country is speaking for unions. and that's why on this labor day we have to think about the things that made our country great. and unions played such a vital role in every aspect of this society in making this country great. >> bill: amen. you can go to ullico.com.

good to see you. >> good to see you as well. >> bill: all right. i'll be back a quick shot and tell you what the president is up to today. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." ♪ septic disasters are disgusting and costly, but avoidable. the rid-x

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to learn more, visit lysol.com/schools. lysol. mission for health. ♪ >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." >> bill: we have a busy hour coming up next with reid wilson from "politico" in tampa. ben labolt, press secretary from the obama campaign also will be

with us. and of course your calls at 866-55-press. president obama out appealing to young workers young democrats, young activists these couple of days in aims iowa yesterday, and then fort collins, colorado where he spent the night. today he will be leaving on air force one for colorado mid-morning, and then going to charlottesville, virginia where at 3:30 afternoon a big grassroots event at charlottesville, and then back here to washington, d.c. jay carney will be meeting with reports on air force one. so no briefing at the white house today. president obama announcing another trip, by the way, to iowa, colorado, and i think -- i think back to virginia again next week. this man is on the road. he is taking nothing for

granted. we'll be back with hour number 3.

[♪ theme music ♪] >> bill: hey good morning, everybody. it is wednesday, august 29th. great to see you today, and welcome to the "full court press" here on current tv, where we tackle the big stories of the day, and invite you to comment. take your calls at 866-55-press. lots going on president obama on the campaign trail, republicans gathering in tampa, and isaac battles new orleans. we'll tell you all about it.

and in tampa last night, what do you get when you cram 10,000 brainwashed conservatives into one big auditorium and fill them with propaganda for three or four hours? you get a republican national convention. the worst ideas starting with chris christie and ann romney. we'll bring you up to date on that and a whole lot more, but first we start out with today's current news update with lisa ferguson. good morning. >> hi bill. good morning, everyone. president obama is leaving forth this morning to ement bark on day two of his college campaign tour. yesterday he was in iowa and colorado, and today he is headed to charlottesville, virginia. the gop is getting on his case for campaigning during the republican convention saying it breaks a three-decade precedent. romney doesn't exactly have a

clean slate on this issue. democrats pointing out he travelled to denver in '08 for a big interview with katie couric. and there is the road to charlotte. the president kicks off the tour in des moines, iowa on saturday followed by stops in colorado ohio, and virginia. and obviously ann romney is making a big push for women voters. her husband's campaign is saying it does believe women will determine this year's election. that is likely going to be a tough sell for the ticket considering their stance on mayor women's issues like health care, birth control, abortion and todd akins recent legitimate rape remark. but they say that's fine. the moms they want to win over don't care about akins comments or abortions.

they say they are just concerned with their family and making ends meet. we'll see how that plays without with the voters. more bill press coming up. see you then. ♪ put you at the collision of tv and social media. we'll provide unsurpassed insight into the most buzz worthy tweets, posts and pontifications, from the entire social stratosphere including you. join in, tweet us, and you could be a part of our on-air and online coverage. brought to you by spiriva handihaler. if you have copd like i do you know how hard it can be to breathe and what that feels like. copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva helps control my copd symptoms by keeping my airways open a full 24 hours. plus, it reduces copd flare-ups. spiriva is the only once-daily inhaled copd maintenance treatment that does both. and it's steroid-free.

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of sununu, you're wrong. mitt romney, you're wrong. we need more teachers, not fewer teachers and more cops and more firefighters that support our (vo) this is joy. >>who the heck does mitt romney think he is? (vo) this is joy on current tv. >>if mitt romney treats his magic underwear the same way as his tax returns, then he's been going commando for the past 10 years. >>since when do you get to say stuff like that on tv? >> listen, if you'd read your email once in a while, you'd know i have a new show. (vo) always outspoken.

>> you think because this is an election year you can just say anything? >> hello! say anything, that's the name of the show. [ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation, on your radio, and on current tv. this is the "bill press show." >> bill: republicans finally get started in tampa, and hurricane isaac on the seventh anniversary of hurricane katrina hammering new orleans. good morning everybody it is the "full court press." great to have you with us today. we're coming to you live from our nation's capitol. tell you what is going on, and

we'll take your calls and get you involved in the conversation at 866-55-press. we're talk republican -- the republican convention and we're talking hurricane isaac in louisiana, no matter person to tackle those issues than rich masters, democratic strategy from louisiana. >> who dat. i'm glad to be here. thanks for having me back. i haven't been here since the current tv debut. i was here the day before you went on, when you were still test driving the deal. >> you look good with all of that makeup on this morning. >> i hope i don't blind your cameras. >> we put a bit of powder on mr. master's head there. [ laughter ] >> bill: the theme of the campaign last night, they had a

lot of [ inaudible ] before they got to chris christie and ann romney. one of them was congressman scott from south carolina. >> let me close by giving president obama a heart-felt message from the good people of south carolina. hit the road jack! and don't you come back no more, no more no more! thank you! >> bill: class act, huh? >> the whole thing last night, i have never seen that many white people since i covered david duke. >> bill: what a sea of white faces. >> my ten year old daughter said dad -- i said what do you think of the speeches? she said i think they are fine but do not they not allow any black people? she has grown up in washington, d.c. -- >> bill: black faces and brown

faces are only allowed in the convention if they are on stage. >> right. >> bill: and when mitt romney came in they loved condy rice alongside of him. >> you so the poll that romney has zero percent of black people voting for him. which frankly sounds a little high. [ laughter ] >> bill: okay. we have lots to cover here. and we'll get help a little bit later from reed wilson. ben labolt, press secretary for the obama administration, but first -- >> overhead lines making news on this wednesday, the naked vegas scandal could be blowing um even more. >> which one? >> harry -- >> harry they are calling him.

[ laughter ] >> reported to be third in line to the thrown strip billiards game -- >> billiards? that's the wrong game to be playing naked. [ laughter ] >> was caught on photos last week. now report is it had also been caught on video. >> bill: what an idiot. >> there have been very quiet inquiries to see how much that video is worth. >> bill: how could somebody be taking a video and you not know it. >> yeah. >> the mars rover turned itself into a radio station and broadcast the first-ever song from the red planet. it successfully transmitted a new track called "reach for the stars" -- >> really, will-i-am?

of all of the great music we have on this planet? >> and we, will-i-am. >> that's what we give them? that's our contribution to this universe. >> the rover it's a does not actually have speakers a radio transmitted the song back to earth when they heard it -- >> bill: people haven't put it together yet. do you think that curiosity thing is doing this on its own? bs, there are little people up there pushing the buttons. >> and dr. phil had car trouble this week. he couldn't get his 1957 convertible started, so he had it towed to the shop and then the shop called him and told him his car had been stolen.

thieves broke into the shop and took the $100,000. >> oh, man. i feel really bad for him. anyone who can afford a hundred thousand dollars car can afford to have it stolen. [ laughter ] >> bill: all right. thank you. we hear about hurricane ramming into the shore of louisiana. you have been through it i'm sure, but this is a state that is basically underwater -- >> it is. it is literally below sea level. >> bill: people don't realize the damage that a big storm like this can do. >> yeah, everyone knows i am from louisiana, and people come up and say it looks like it is only a category 1 or tropical storm. in that could be worse for the city, quite frankly. because the city is -- especially post katrina has been built to withstand a lot of wind. and even if a category 5, katrina a few years ago outside

of the high at downtown where the windows were blown out, by and large the damage didn't come from the wind. the damage came from the water. and the worry that i have with isaac is the fact it has slowed down and is just sitting there with wave and wave and wave of rain. i just pray it goes through louisiana and gets up to the midwest where we could use that rain. the more water that gets dumped the more danger the people are in. south of the city there is -- some of the levies are being over topped -- not significantly at this point, but they are over topped. again, it shows for years and years and years -- and the interesting thing and how you tied it into to watching the republican convention is we have to have a budget where everybody sacrifices. people in louisiana and the gulf

coast have sacrificed for years. we put tax cuts ahead of building levies. and that's democrats and republicans fault for years ignoring these things. so the two events on cnn watching this live once again happen to the best city in america, and then the juxtaposition after that -- and chris christie -- by the way hats off to the carpenters who built the stage strong enough to hold chris christie. >> bill: he is a bus. >> and his words are worse. i like this guy -- he is a likable guy. and i can agree with these message. everybody is going to have to sacrifice. what he doesn't say is that

under the ryan budget everybody does sacrifice except wealthy upper class white business owners. >> bill: but also tying these two together it's the ryan budget that has cut $1.8 trillion out of emergency release that fema would have to give to cities and states on the gulf coast to get ready for something like this -- >> absolutely right. and that's just one portion of what that budget does. the catholic bishops have called the ryan budget immoral. >> bill: you sat there with your family last night. let's start with chris christie. being in politics republicanor democrats, i like a good barn burner of a speech. i expected that of chris christie last night. and i thought he really fell flat. >> he did. i think for a certain segment of audience -- first of all, he is

not polished and when you put him up -- >> bill: and platitude after platitude. >> that was all it was. he started off -- again, i watch for speech construction. there was no speech construction. >> bill: the thing about his mother, i never got the point, do you want to be respected or loved -- >> yeah, coming on the heels of ann romney's all about love speech, and then he comes in and says it is going to be tough love because everybody is going to have to sacrifice. if he wants a reputation of being a tough talker god bless him, because someone needs to have a tough conversation with the american people and he is right. everyone is going to have to suffer. the problem is, words don't get it done. if you look at the paul ryan mitt romney team, what they are proposing, you are not sharing the pain equally. working pour get hit. the middle income get hit.

labor gets hit. education gets hit fema gets hit. the only ones that don't get hit are the very wealthy. >> bill: yeah. chris christie -- it took a long time before he mentioned mitt romney -- >> ten minutes by the way. >> bill: i thought it was longer actually. [ laughter ] >> bill: but then when he gets to the end of his speech and bringing everybody together, to me he sounds like he is the candidate. >> it's now time to stand up. stand up. everybody stand up. [ cheers and applause ] >> because there's no time left to waste. it's time to stand up with me for america's future. >> bill: wait. >> i will fight with you -- >> he is the governor of new jersey. >> somebody looked at the

transcript and said that chris christie said the word "i" 37 times last night, and said the words mitt romney 7 times. >> yeah. and the key noted speech as you know is a very important piece. we learned that in 2004 when barack obama got up. compare the barack obama speech in 2004 for john kerry to what he saw last night with chris christie. >> bill: people will be quoting the barack obama speech and nobody will ever remember chris christie. >> no. >> bill: ann romney her goal was do humanize mitt romney and lock up the women's vote. how did she do? >> she didn't do well. listen, in her defense, she had an impossible task. one of the commentators said she

has the most difficult task of the night -- >> bill: to humanize a robot -- >> humanize someone who has no human qualities whatever. so she had the most difficult task of all of them. of the speeches i thought it was the best. >> bill: sure but that's a low bar. [ laughter ] [ laughter ] >> very low bar. there wasn't one speech last night -- i expected more out of nikki haley quite frankly. i have heard all of this talk about how awesome she is and i thought it felt flat. >> bill: ann romney was saying i love you, all of you women, and we hear you, you know. and yet her husband's policies right take healthcare away from women. take jobs away from women across the board.

>> yeah, it's impossible. >> bill: it's like can you con the american people by putting a woman up there and say i love mitt romney. >> yeah, i have not seen anything in this entire convention that has led me to believe that they have any sway in the 33%. 33% will be voting one way, 33 the other way, and the battle is in the middle. i didn't see anything that would pull the middle away from barack obama. >> bill: you can give us a call -- we urge you to give us a call, because you were probably as bum as we were to stay up to watch the speeches.

i am angry at chris christie and ann romney and the whole world because of it today. >> announcer: on your radio, on tv, the "bill press show," new on current tv. unsurpassed insight into the most buzz worthy tweets, posts and pontifications, from the entire social stratosphere including you. join in, tweet us, and you could be a part of our on-air and online coverage. >>now that is politically direct. you want to save money on car insurance? no problem. you want to save money on rv insurance? no problem.

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cc ♪ >> announcer: radio meets television, the "bill press show," now on current tv. >> bill: all right. 25 minutes after the hour. rich masters in studio with us. ben labolt coming up pretty soon here, the press secretary for the obama campaign. rich overall when you look at this contest now. you have romney obama, big

differences between them, how do you see it shaking down? >> listen at the end of the day, people are worried about the national numbers because it's a dead heat and there are some days when romney is up. you can't look at national numbers. they mean nothing. if you look at the state by state numbers, barack obama is tight or winning almost every single swing state. and listen you know, david ploff and axlerod and jim messina know all they have to do is get over the threshold and they will get there. >> bill: and we love the fact that they are fighting back this time. >> hard. >> bill: rose is calling from

louisiana. hey, rose, good morning. >> caller: hey, how are y'all this morning? >> bill: we're great. what is on your mind? >> caller: i'm in total agreement with y'all about the convention, it is the most -- i would say sorry. we are very blunt here in louisiana. >> yes, ma'am. >> caller: i didn't see any substance at all. i'm an african american woman for all my life as you would say, but i didn't see anything that would make me want to change from a democrat to support mitt romney. and ann romney i sympathize with what she had, but it looks like that is her crying call right now. and we as women we want someone like barack obama that is going to take care of us and deal with our healthcare and chris christie he is just a bully. [ laughter ] >> bill: all right --

>> caller: anything to say positive about what he wanted to do. i the he is running for president. >> you are right about that. >> bill: rose so good to hear from you. the outreach to women that ann romney was supposed to deliver, she didn't do that. >> she delivered outream to wealthy white evangelical christian women. they were going to vote for mitt romney anyway. that speech is designed for that geographic. and she knocked it out of the park for that group. >> bill: yeah, and women worried about medicare medicaid or -- >> or their jobs or their parent's healthcare that they now have to take care of, there is nothing there for them. >> bill: you can follow rich online at richmasters.com. come back again soon okay?

>> i'll do it brother. thank you. >> bill: good to see you brother. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." ♪

♪ >> announcer: on your radio, and on current tv this is the "bill press show." >> bill: we got 33 minutes after the hour now. it is the "full court press" comes to you live on your local progressive talk station, and on current tv. reminding you, the paperback on my latest book "the obama hate machine" is out in the bookstores now. if you want a signed copy go to our website, the

billpressshow.com billpressshow.com. and tell us how you want it signed anything you want me to put in it. and we'll get it out to you for mailing packages everything for $16.99. and then of you up in the buffalo area i look forward to seeing you at the talking leaves bookstore on friday april 17th. republican national convention delayed one day, and underway last night. the first night is in. how are we doing so far. reed wilson is the editor and chief for "the hot line." ray, reid, good morning. >> hey, bill, how are you? >> bill: all right. what are the reviews for last

night? >> i think they had to squeeze a whole bunch of speakers into a little bit of a shortened lineup. but i think it introduced us to somebody who could be a new political star in ann romney. her speech has been very well received. she tried to humanize her husband, and for somebody who has not been in front of a lot -- hasn't been in front of a lot of microphones and hit the big podiums, and given the big addresses, she did very well. >> bill: i guess the risk is that as has happened before with political spouses, some people might think we got the wrong romney. [ laughter ] >> it's funny this is a -- mitt romney comes from a family that is very political, his dad was governor ran for president, and

his mother ran for the u.s. senate, and you said it not me that ann romney showed she is better at that i feel your pain connecting kind of stuff. >> bill: yeah and tough to humanize mitt romney even for ann romney. but you did not mention as the star of the night the keynote speaker, chris christie who had the star role. he was the final speaker. i have to tell you, i was looking forward to a real barn burner of a speech. i was disappointed. what is the buzz in tampa about christy's speech. >> of all of the keynote speakers throughout history, 16 have run for president of the united states, two of them have succeeded. if chris christie ends up running as president of the united states, he won't have

introduce himself, because he did that all last night. he waited until the very end to speak about the actual ticket and spent most of his time talking about what a great job he has done in new jersey. but then again, that's short of chris christie's stick. >> bill: you are absolutely right on your take. i didn't do the count of the words, but i noticed it was a long time before he mentioned mitt romney, and there was an awful lot of talk about his record in new jersey, which -- which of course he embellished to make a point, but they do -- they do -- if they don't write the speeches for the candidate -- for the speakers they do vet them right? that's why ron paul said he

wasn't going to speak because they wanted to rewrite his speech. >> yeah, there is a team of writering sweating away furiously in a boiler room. but chris christie speech wasn't awesome. he talked about how broken washington is, that is not off message, they might have preferred it if he had done a more overt endorsement of the romney/ryan ticket. we are talking to reid wilson of "the hot line" on "the national journal." look, they adopted the platform last night. they nominated mitt romney and got the see note address and ann romney. what is left? >> that's a good question. i was wondering yesterday

whether or not i could just go home -- >> bill: if romney had given his speech last night, it would have been all over. >> yeah, you could have wrapped it up. >> bill: yeah. >> but what we have got the next two nights is really the end of the foundation they started building last night. we still have to know who mitt romney is. this is between two people mitt romney and barack obama, rather than on a referendum of the president. therefore, you know, you can't win a choice election if nobody actually likes you and the likability numbers that we're seeing for mitt romney right now are disastrous. the latest "washington post" abc poll say 61% of registered voters say president obama is the likable guy, and just 27%

chose mitt romney. that's an incredible gap. so he has to come out and if you don't want to get a beer with him, how about a diet coke. >> bill: yeah. >> one thing that struck me is the roster of speakers have all been very young, sort of fresh faces, first term governors, senator, up and coming stars like ted cruz and marco rubio, mia love from utah. the thing i think we're getting is this is sort of the changing of the guard, the coming of a new generation. paul ryan is very much of that new generation of republicans. >> bill: and no george busch or

dick cheney. >> of all of those alive, only bill clinton will be app tending the democratic convention this here. >> bill: wow. >> yeah, not a lot of happy memories about the last administration. >> bill: and there was some buzz that there might be a mystery speaker. have you heard anything about that and what is your guess? >> well the republican national committee put a to-be-announced item on their agenda. there was some speculation that it might be clint eastwood. >> bill: uh-huh. >> so who knows. i just -- i think i'm allowed to sincerely hope that it is not donald trump. [ laughter ] >> bill: that would be one way to destroy everything they might

have accomplished in tampa, it seems to me. >> yeah. >> bill: hey, reid i'll see you in charlotte when i'll be living out of my suitcase but thanks a lot for your time. >> thanks a lot, bill. >> bill: your calls at 866-55-press. we'll take a quick break and then come back. i'm sure you did what i did despite our better judgment, we stayed up late watching chris christie and ann romney. i didn't think ann romney did such a great job. yeah, she is a better speaker than mitt romney but that ain't saying much. we'll be right back. ♪ >> announcer: radio meets television, the "bill press show" now on current tv. ♪ sign up at rid-x.com.

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>> announcer: on your radio, on tv, the "bill press show." new on current tv. >> bill: you got it. 14 minutes now before the top of the hour. it is wednesday august 29th. we're tracking hurricane isaac, now hammering new orleans, and we're reviewing last night's first night of the republican national convention in tampa. republicans do not have tampa to themselves. also present in tampa is a big truth squad from the obama campaign. and the democratic national committee, we talked yet with debbie wasserman schultz, and joining us now on the line from

tampa, the press secretary for the obama campaign obama for america, ben labolt, ben good to have you back on the program. good morning. >> good morning, bill, thanks for having me. >> bill: let's start with ann romney last night. she was there to put out the message to america's women that we love you women, and we are there for you, women, and mitt romney is going to stand up and fight you. what -- what -- what is the truth of the message here ben? >> you know mrs. romney made a good case for her husband. there's no doubt about that. i think the larger question that women across the country will be asking are what are mitt romney's policies. and you heard very little about mitt romney's policies last night at the convention. you certainly didn't hear about the republican party platform and the fact that it would ban abortion in all forms including in cases of rape or incest

limit access to some forms of birth control, and romney's pledge to defund planned parenthood, and you certainly didn't hear about unwillingness to say that he would advance equal pay for equal work for women, or whether or not he would sign into law a repeal. so i think those are the sorts of questions that they are asking, but it was a broader point last night, you heard a lot of the recycled attacks against the president. very little about mitt romney's plans or vision for the country. >> bill: i that was pretty clear reflecting the campaign so far in many respects. it was attack obama but when it came to laying out what they were for, other than the platitudes about we love you right, no specifics? >> and they have to realize that was a missed opportunity for them. because if you are an undecided voter, the question you will be

asking is who is going to create sustainable jobs for the middle class. and the burden is on mitt romney to explain that. so the burden is on them to explain why it would be any different now. >> bill: they think the silver bullet for their campaign seems to be this motto that they put up, or this -- we built it right? or you built it. and ann romney in her speech last night even played with that line. here is a quick clip. >> as his partner on this amazing journey, i can tell you mitt romney was not handed success. he built it! [ cheers and applause ] >> bill: yeah, not only -- not only -- i want to point out first of all the way they are quoting this, the "new york

times" points out this morning they are misquoting the president. they are making up what he actually said. >> that's right. in many ways the convention program was based on two lies last night. the first were whipping those remarks out of context when the president was talking about steps we could take to create a small business environment. he has cut taxes for them 18 times and has additional hiring proposals on the table right now. and they would allow states to move forward if they can prove that they would move 20% more people from welfare to work. so the entire premise of the convince had nothing to do with mitt romney. it was just attacks on the

president. >> bill: then you get to the chris christie and the keynote speaker, and he was trying to make the case that for seniors how mitt romney and paul ryan would take better care of seniors than president obama. >> the problem with that argument is we're not going to get to future generations under their plan because it would go bankrupt in its first term. but chris christie had more to say about himself than mitt romney last night. and he didn't outline what mitt romney's plans were. governor christy and governor romney shared the same policies as governors, and you saw the same result for the middle class. they fought tooth and nail for

breaks for the wealthiest but the middle class didn't benefit. and that's exact same thing romney is proportion at the federal level. >> bill: the election now, more clear -- the president has been saying -- let me put it this way, that this election is a choice, is a choice. i think people now realize more than ever that this election is a choice not so much a referendum which the romney campaign was trying to make it on the obama administration, but a choice between two different people with two different sets of principles and policies, and two different platforms facing the american people. how do you see that choice? >> i think mitt romney made clear he agreed with that when he selected paul ryan. now we have got a choice between building the economy from the

middle class out, making direct investments in things we know will benefit the middle class, and allow america to win a race to the top, or we can go back to the top-down model, providing the wealthiest with cuts. but we have tried out that philosophy before, and it failed. we heard a lot about hard truths last night. let's see if paul ryan looks students in the eye tonight and tells them, he is going to cut pell grants. he is going to get rid of the funding for college scholarships that the president put in place. the $10,000 american opportunity tax credit that's available if you are pursuing higher education. is he going to look at seniors and tell them they have to pay $6,500 more dollars for healthcare. let's hear some hard truths.

>> bill: ben labolt a busy day for you. thanks so much for carving out some time for us. appreciate it, ben. >> thanks so much bill. i'm talk to you soon. >> bill: i'll be back with today's parting shot. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." ♪ and pontifications, from the entire social stratosphere including you. join in, tweet us, and you could be a part of our on-air and online coverage. >>now that is politically direct.

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♪ >> announcer: the parting shot with bill press. this is the "bill press show." >> bill: and on this wednesday august 29th, my parting shot for today, well, the republican convention finally got underway as we have been talk this morning, and the star of the

night indeed first night, was ann romney. her job was to humanize mitt romney which is kind of an impossible task to start with, because how can you humanize a robot. i thought her speech was terrible. way, way over done and way, way over the top. yeah, better than mitt romney but so what. but you have to agree she has been through a lot. and she admitted happily married now for 43 years, but my question is so what? having a good marriage doesn't qualify you to be president. george and laura bush had a good marriage, and their policies were a disaster for this country. thank you for telling us what a warm and fuzzy guy your husband is when he gets to one of his vacation homes, but his policies

still suck. that's my parting shot. see you back here tomorrow. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show."