if you want to the list of top reward cards, check out our website, gerriwillis.com. have a great evening, see you back here tomorrow. lou: good evening, everybody. president obama is on resurgence. president obama back in the lead in fundraising. for the first time in three months the romney campaign be concerned? who will pick it up tonight. you heard the campaign mantra, forward. ron christie says it should be

blackwardsl. and walking off the job abandoning hundreds of thousands of students with a struggle for health care. and why are the markets mostly moving higher in the face of stagnating economic growth? chief investment strategist charles schwab is with us. we begin with good news from the president, bad news for governor romney. who was in ohio today and did not seem fazed in the least. >> forward is a campaign, then forewarned is a better term. we know what would happen. we would see more massive deficits, more years of uncertainty in this country. lou: the latest democratic

public-policy poll shows the governor ahead. the trend continuing in other swing states as well. it has a president ahead of mitt romney and nine out of 10 swing states except north carolina. nationwide the president leads the daily tracking polls. don't get too worked up about the latest polling well some will feel a bit of a sugar high from the convention, the basis structure of the race has not changed significantly. president obama is ahead in the money race as well. the obama campaign and democrats raise $114 million last month, slightly more than the 111.6 million collected by romney and the g.o.p. and that is a slow economy and a jobless recovery. in chicago religious leaders: the teachers strike a national

embarrassment. teachers walked off the job this morning after they failed to agree on a new contract with mayor ron emanuel administration. meeting the students caught in the political crossfire. the latest developments from chicago. >> what we want? when do we want it? >> 26,000 strong among teachers and support staff on strike force the nation's third-largest school district to close its doors in 400,000 school kids are not in class. some school cafeterias remain open a half day to serve breakfast and lunch. >> this is in my view a strike of choice. it is the wrong choice for our children. it is not necessary. >> chicago teachers already the highest paid of any major city.

but other obstacles remain including a new teacher evaluation system, the union and supporters do not like. >> you need to come up with a better plan. we are going to continue to keep our children out until you come up with a better plan and give the teachers what they rightfully deserve. >> tha there has been tension fr some time. fulfilling a campaign promise to add an hour to the school day, teachers say it was done without their input which undermines their trust. >> it energized and galvanize teachers to be more united. >> their allies of president obama, the president enforced a former chief of staff and has been been endorsed by the american federation of teachers which includes chicago teachers. the white house has no specific reaction from the president but called for quick resolution. >> his concern for the families

affected by the situation, we hope both sides are able to come together to settle this quickly. and in the best interests of chicago students. >> mitt romney weighed in on the strike saying i'm disappointed by the decision in the "chicago tribune" to turn its bac back te negotiating in good faith but also hundreds of thousands of children. which is essentially his position on the strike. making sure reporters know today he did not give two hoots what the national figures might have to say about the situation here in chicago. fox news. lou: apparently chicago's teachers don't give two hoots about what rahn emanuel says. much more on the teachers strike ahead in tonight's nicole. -- "chalk talk." turning the back on the kids bring it back to present to politics. president obama faces deep

disapproval of his handling on the economy and any bounce that comes out of the convention seems unlikely to last. joining us now, digital politics editor, good to have you here. this looks pretty formidable. looks like it is for real, isn't it? >> five, six, seven, still would not be the nine george bush got. lou: don't be like that. >> i'm sorry to be a party pooper, but that is the truth. in this race, things have not yet congealed. we talk about the small number of undecided voters, the independent voters. there's a lot of changeability in this race. when you look at how this stacks up, you have certainly an advantage for obama heading into the home stretch, he is the incumbent.

30, $40 million per month scoring on the personality and character. he has run the most singularly negative campaign of any incumbent certainly in the modern era. imay have to reach back until postrevolutionary times to find somebody this negative. mitt romney is still alive, to say the race is dead, all the economic numbers you talk about and all the things you say, i doubt any bounce within a mama received was a shocking, 12, 14-point bonus will bide with him. the race will get back to where it was, a title int tie going ie first debate october 3. lou: there are some strange developments to those. senator john mccain, for whatever reason to stay irrespective of whichever party on november 6, he seems to see

the striking possibility the fiscal cliff will be resolved the matter which man is elected. john mccain taking note governor romney has high unfavorables. how much more support like this can governor romney stand? >> the people who lose elections tend to offer some advice to the people in the subsequent cycle. look, here's the deal, fiscal cliff will be dealt with. how is a big question. even if we dealt retroactively have to wonder about the uncertainty. how that affects business and investments between now and january. the other thing is who wins have a great deal of influence on what the resolution will be. senator mccain is certainly right there will be something done, but what? it depends on what happens, it

is true in the largest sense but senator mccain is not in an ideal position to offer advice to his follow-on as republican nominee. lou: we might even add unsolicited. as we look at what is happening here though, governor rahn emanuel is not anywhere near closing the deal. he has a president whose policies, a man who is unpopular with his handling of the economy, until recently a relatively low approval rating sitting at 50% in the latest gallup read, but the fact is governor romney is not yet appealing to the middle class, it seems. here's talking about productivity, trade, the debt.

most americans i can safely say want to talk about prosperity and jobs, what does it look like and feel like and what is it going to be and how is he going to get us there? >> and you may. but i will say this. when you get to this moment, basically these two powerpoint presentations that have gone on for two weeks. decent honorable americans to do their very best to avoid politics, now's the time people have to make a decision. when that happens, then they said okay, i will pay attention. there's a large persuadable number inside obama's numbers, the number of people who will stick with the incumbent because everything is terrible, all choices are terrible so i will stick with the incumbent. the big moment comes in octobe october 3 with the first debate. when mitt romney walks out, he will be presidential and could experience a substantial rise for he will not and will

experience a substantial fall, that is just the deal. when you get to october 3, that is when the rubber meets the road. lou: the products being expansionary. i do recall you talking about in your usual language and vivid color, the prospects of the convention and what would happen then. now we must await the first debate, this is a tiring thing waiting for the right moment, the right event, but we will stay with you because we found it productive to do so. we appreciate you being here. >> we appreciate you. lou: we have all been through, if it weren't politics, i could say church. they walked out on a 16% pay hike, how did the chicago mayor

rahn emanuel except them to accept such a lowball offer? we will show you how hard they work. in tonight's "chalk talk." how can a stock market possibly be this high when confidence is so low? how can stock prices keep moving higher as the economy heads towards a cliff? if fiscal cliff. one of the smartest minds on wall street joins us. [ female announcer ] they can be enlightening. hey, bro. or engaging. conversations help us learn and grow. at wells fargo, we believe you can never underestimate

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lou: investors watching, waiting for ben bernanke to give any sign of additional quantitative easing. poor economic outlooks outweighing stimulus possibilities from the fed. the dow jones tussles down 52 points on s&p. america is cutting back on credit card use, credit in general july for the second straight month total borrowing, shares of aig off after the fed says they will cut their holdings below majority stake for the first time since the taxpayer-funded bailout took place in 2008. intel, another big loser, down on the day.

20% off the high back in may. joining me now, senior vice president, chief investment strategist for charles schwab. welcome. this market monday after monday the market declines, and against all conventional thought seems to be rising most of the tide. what is going on? the economy continues to disappoint, leadership checkered and prospect. what is going on? >> we talked about this with the wall of worry very well built. the pervasiveness of pessimism has the foundation for the market to do well. not to mention corporate earnings have been strong.

lou: as we are nearing another quarter, what is going to be determinant in the direction of this market because there is a substantial wall of worry and some stubborn facts that don't want to go away. speak i think the fiscal cliff is a big issue in terms of the economy, were th one of the priy things holding businesses back. there is animal spirits i think that wants to come out. lou: you bring those together, you've got two. >> i think some of the rally recently is also based on at least better than expected in europe. only local negative tail risk having been diminished by what they did recently. lou: a recent report from the world economic forum turning over the lead competitiveness to

the northern european nations and moving us down. what is going on? with all of the disastrous in the sovereign debt crisis, financial crisis, they are considered more competitive than we? >> it is several northern european countries. we have a real problem if we start to find ourselves below those nations. lou: italy and spain, you're in real trouble. meanwhile, the swiss who did the world economic forum report for some reason decided they would be the leader. >> they have become a safe haven to the extent that is on the checklist, they certainly did that. lou: it seems some sense what

the fed will do, what do you think it will be? >> i think they're certainly on the fence. maybe moved a little toward the third round of quantitative easing. ben bernanke realizes inflation risk, we have diminishing returns from the various quantitative easing, increase since it is almost providing this artificial pressure down not letting market forces come into play. they may extend a tightening timeframe out. lou: what is your outlook, should there be quantitative easing? any more stimulus and monetary policy. what happens? >> i would cheer no additional

stimulus from the fed. my view is irrelevant. i do not think that is what ails us. what they have done so far appropriate with qb one, i think that was necessary. qe2 was little bit more questionable although kept deflation at bay and help the housing market. i don't think it is needed now. lou: i have to ask you, do you see a way through the 16 claim dollars national debt? if the country does not reinflate? >> i think you're going to have a combination of free inflation, but also you have to have everything else. we cannot do this purely on the spending side or the tax side, you need a structure in place to

grow the economy and appropriate monetary policies to work alongside that. >> we continue to add two things that the playing field is not level and it will take some time. probably will be a much higher crisis. lou: is there a wall street capable of taking the advance point on this? there's incredible muscle memory of the pain of 2008, it will be a factor of time and uncertainty in prices. lou: thank you so much for being here, we appreciate it.

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chicago teachers say no, we're doing too good of a job, more everything. don't worry, it is all about kids, right? we will pick that up with "chalk talk" tonight. pushing it back until later this week, the advisor putting daylight between herself and attorney general eric holder. why? want to try to crack it? yeah, that's the way to do it!

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[ male announcer ] get a 4-week trial plus $100 in extras including postage and a digital scale. go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again. lou: >> this is in my view a strike of choice. the wrong choice for our children. lou: chicago mayor rahn emanuel last night after they declare

their first strike in 25 years reading the former white house chief of staff, now mayor of chicago, with a crisis the white house apparently now wants no part of. you can imagine why. being the chairman against a critical constituency, the teachers, in the present adoptive hometown. press secretary for the president simply wants both sides to come together, but we have got no word from education secretary artie duncan. basketball buddy of president obama, he was much regaled as he entered the president's cabinet. we can't find the guy, have not heard about him. what is going on? and why are teachers striking to

begin with? teachers insist it is not about the money. this has to be about the kids, right? the teachers are upset about a new evaluation process the union says put too much weight on the test scores. test scores? you mean you actually want there to be some sort of empirical metric by which you judge a teacher's performance? that is completely unreasonable. teachers who were laid off and keep them on the job and they don't really care where they want a system of races as well. upon experience, you need experience if you want to be a teacher. teachers rejected a 16% pay hi

hike. that is not enough, how in the world are you going to make do with a lousy 4% increase over four years and millions of people don't have jobs, one and a half times what the average worker in chicago earns, these are special people. they have been disrespected and belittled for too long. i don't know why they feel that way. chicago teachers have the highest salary of any major city. that is $76,000. per year. that doesn't include benefits, health care, pension. the average chicago family earns $47,000. $47,000. it is not just exorbitant pay, teachers pay 3% of their health care costs and get ready for

this, 71% out of every dollar is set aside for public education. this is one of those fortunate times i have a 10% -- it works out in defense as well because $0.71 on the dollar is also 71%. that's what happens to work out either way. $41,000. the pension. $41,000. let me write that down, we have time to write it out. $41,000. in retirement a teacher makes almost as much as a working man or woman in chicago. by the way, the seventh most expensive system in the country. makes you wonder about the other six, doesn't it?

they cut hair at various ages but if early as the age of 50. a pension of three fourths of the highest salaries this number is going straight up in one recent 71% of education dollars spent are going to the retirement system. chicago's public school system is steeped in red ink facing a prospect of a million dollars deficit at the end of the school year. you could understand why they would not be happy with a 4% raise. teachers had one of the best in the country working at one of the shortest schooldays. back then a year ago, get ready for this, five hours and 45 minutes. students no school for seven hours each day. can you imagine this? this must explain why chicago

students are doing so well because these teachers have been disrespected, more than half of chicago fourth-graders, more than half, 52% cannot. read a basic level. they can't read at a basic level. teachers have the audacity, administrators have the audacity, this mayor has the audacity to talk in absolute terms about what they're doing in chicago? you want me to talk about the murder rate in the capital as well and how many young people are dying? but stay with education for just a minute. 40% of chicago students, 40% of their students are dropping out. this looks like a crisis rahn emanuel said he loves to exploit. could it be president obama,

let's be honest about this, is it in fact not just a strike, but also political theater? i hate to even suggest such a thing because a level of cynicism in chicago while it would match what rahn emanuel once said, not to ever waste a crisis. in chicago and cook county, this is a crisis. could it be the decisions have already been made about the kids and the pay levels and the length of days will come together, all of this is designed to discomfort parents, to annoy the kids and to disrupt the system so they will be thrilled to have any resolution, one that will come at a day, a week, even bringing president obama.

bring him in and have a last-minute resolution. so all this goes down to all the people paying through the nose again. not be earned by the teachers in chicago. that couldn't be. because it is all about the kids, right? lou: this was supposed to be a post-racial era. this president and government have turned martin luther king dreamed upside down. what we put up with those who are racially dismissive? although the book "blackwards." when does the stonewalling and? hundreds of mexican citizens and border patrol agents murdered by an obama justice department program. still the department of justice refuses to answer the direct simple questions, who is

responsible. we will tell you why jay-z says the occupant movement is already about the 1%. he says it is un-american to demonize the word that rhymes with "witch." next.

lou: our next guest says the obama election was supposed to herald an era of a post-racial america. in his new book details how the opposite has been the result. joining us now, former special advisor to george w. bush, author of the new book "blackwards," how black leadership is returning america to the days of separate but equal. congratulations on the book.

this is your first television interview, let's get to it. post-racial seems to be the watchword of the obama administration before the president even took office. how did we get here? >> it is a sad state of affairs. this is supposed to be the post-racial era. within the first month we had the attorney general of united states tell us we were a nation of power on race, the president came on later to say the police officers acted stupidly resting henry louis gates. of any knowledge. it was another thing after another the allies of the president has said if you oppose the stimulus, you are racist. if you're against obama can health care reform are racist because you don't want the president to succeed because he is black. i said no, this is not what we were supposed to have herald,

not the american milken four. we should truly be taking diversity as our fabric to say this is what this is country is all about rather than the ethnicity with the election of obama. lou: it was before his election, as you point out, the congressional black caucus, these are organizations devoted to the perpetuation of ethnic identity and interest. what i struggle with is how are those interest any different than anybody else of interest and why aren't they combined? isn't that what it is supposed to be all about? >> i devoted an entire chapter to the caucus, and it should come to an end. they were found to be the conscience of the congress.

his replacement a caucasian gentleman running to represent a 60% white district -- 60% african-american district said if i win, 60% of my constituents are african-american, i want to learn what some of the issues are and he was told for over 200 years we have essentially a congressional white caucus, you're not allowed to join, you're not allowed to mack invited to, don't come. lou: extraordinary. all these other issues, voter identification. if you want integrity in the editorial process, you're being not only called a racist, but each state doing so is being challenged by the justice department on the basis of discrimination against minorities. >> . sanity. they hav had a panel specificaly dealing with voter id.

person after person got up and said we were trying to disenfranchise us, institute attacks, hold the black vote down, so this is race neutral. but the state has the ability to maintain the integrity of the voter rules and unfortunately people are using to go out and vote for obama and hurting the country in the process by calling us racist and there is no racism. lou: it is basically the baseline for a romney vote for african-americans looked like it would be about 0%. >> and what does it tell you? do you have 96% of african-americans casting their ballot for president obama, if you had 96% of the whites voting for republican, you would hear that his racist but it is fine

if you're black to do it for an african-american president? lou: asked what he is voting for president obama, because he is black. a matter of identification. which is an answer that can be proverb anyone with any ethnicity of any race toward any candidate either way, martin luther king turning on his dream. >> i saw many buttons, both black, you can never go back. you have people, people in the democratic party saying you have to vote for him based on the color of his skin rather than the content of his character, we are headed in the wrong direction and i'm concerned we're more racially insensitive as americans due to this administration. lou: ron christie, the new book, "blackwards," how black leadership is returning america to the days of separate but equal.

let's make it a shirt that doesn't happen. thank you very much. it is also on loudobbs.com. new evidence in the search of a killer. and we will have that developing for you next. ally bank. why they're always there to talk. i love you, james. don't you love me?

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you in a congressional hearing on a justice department report on "fast and furious" has been rescheduled from tomorrow until wednesday of next week. democrats said the report would not be ready in time for the hearing. they argued that the date of the hearing was chosen without consultation with inspector general michael borowitz. in announcing this, darrell issa said the administration's excuse or delaying action.

there are new investigations about the death of brian terry. authorities say they arrested one of five men who was responsible for a shootout near the mexico border. they went to the "fast and furious" gunrunning operation led by the justice department's atf. another of the suspects has been in custody since the night of the shooting. his case is set to go to trial until february of next year. three suspects remain at large. up next, president obama, well, he is getting some love from voters. it was this bear hug stage? was the done? the "a-team" reason. we are joined by hank sheinkopf, kevin williams am

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this is a test.

lou: joining us now is the "a-team." kevin williams am, he is

>> we have an incumbent president that is a terribly dangerous position for him to be on, and you can bet your bottom dollar that they are feeling it in the chicago bunker. lou: do you agree with that, hank? >> the overall number that he would vote for, romney has a problem. it's going to go one way or the other. all of that money. lou: attack ads, we are told could be unleashed, will not amount to much? >> people are going to be tired of seeing things that are extraordinarily clever. you help the romney campaign would be able to equal the obama campaign. lou: kevin, the chicago teachers strike. the president staying out of it. it is almost glaring that the

fact that he is not in it. army doctrine, not near it. rahm emanuel, his former chief of staff with a crisis on his hands. what is going on? >> what is going on is that you have a country in which the workforce participation is going to turn on the 16% pay hike that i can't do that with very good. they are basically in the extortion business. you would think a guy like rahm emanuel but be able to handle that. he fingerprinting, arm-twisting sort of guy. you have a great impasse here. you can watch both sides at the same time. lou: he has a tough reputation, but i've never seen him do anything talked. he may have been abusive when he had power, but tough? >> he's a tough guy. i've known him since 1986. he is very tough. he gets what he wants. why this is not resolved? let's be clear. when this is over, someone will pay the price for a. lou: i have another 31 ouster.

you are a democratic guru. i really think is kabuki, political theater for fred i think that it has been cut so that the people in chicago, you know, the result would be that it me up for another round. pensions and health care for teachers. i wouldn't be surprised if the president came in to be dramatically the savior. >> you are being half cynical, too much bread i don't think that that will happen. this would not be the first time you've had a kabuki theater in which there has been a private and public-sector conflict and the unions have had this serious high-profile issue. lou: cheri, what in the world will it take? i was watching the governor

today on the campaign trail. he looks more animated and energetic. but he has, you know, he has senator john mccain now talking about it. it doesn't matter who the winner is coming to this booklet will be dealt with. he is cautiously optimistic about these things and he says that romney has too high unfavorables. when the world is going on there? >> welcome i don't think this is a case where people paying attention for john mccain says if they did four years ago. i don't think that's going to hurt assessment. but that romney has to focus on the economy and jobs. because the president's approval ratings are low, below 60% -- romney still has to improve himself to show that he is the alternative. this is a question that obama has failed. romney has to show why he is better. then he is going to have to do some targeting efforts. talking about israel, and yasser

shavit has a plan for the economy to make this work. we are to know that obama is bad and we have to show that romney is better and do some targeted stuff regarding israel in places like florida where it matters. >> romney is not believable and the president has a spotlight and that is the difference. lou: you get the final word on us. >> i think that romney still has a chance of command had. lou: all right, thank you very lou: all right, thank you very much. ew hank sheinkopf, thank you so much. we will have your comments coming up next. everyday you see all the ways all of us at us bank are helping grow our economy. lending more so companies and communities can expand, grow stronger and get back to work. everyday you see all of us serving you, around the country, around the corner. us bank.

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