thank you everyone. thank you for watching. connie tweeted to say that it has been seven months since president at a press conference. we thank you for being with us. that's it for us tonight. good night from new york. neil: forget about these guys going at it for your vote. they have nothing on these guys going at it for your wallet. get ready. if you think that political fight is getting nasty, just wait until you see what happens. tomorrow is the data day that you can buy apple's mini ipod tablets. same day, same to your call. the apple screen that is new, a

lot is on the line. it may be cool itself. apple has always had the cool stuff. now microsoft says it does, too. that remains to be seen. be sure mean business now, and they are spending a ton of money hoping that the days announcement starts changing perceptions fast. >> the company that once seemed to accept them being thrown in their face, well, it seems that they are not going to anymore. so start your hard drives, that is the most significant technology battle in a

generation. and it is on. coming to a retail store near you tomorrow. the fallout from these guys having it out. we have robert gray first, who took all of his end. what did you learn, robert? >> what we saw was that windows tablet is touch screen. for the digital natives, they grew up touching things and on computers. it is very intuitive. with through antiplatelet tablets before. you recognize a lot that is going on here. tablets aren't new. microsoft had a decade ago, they just never caught on. microsoft is now back with this windows version. it not only works on tablets but desktops. dell is showing off a 27-inch desktop. you are seeing things double. as a desktop you can flip it around, and take it with you like a laptop. i talked to steve about the lack of applications.

third-party people creating games, social websites, not a mention of facebook, by the way. and i talk to developers and they told me they are holding back to see if this really catches on. >> the screen is bigger than 5 inches, it is far better than apple and google starting this quarter. >> you notice that he made a the caviar. larger than 5 inches. that excludes phones. that excludes the iphone five. that is a lot of items being sold. neil: we have earnings out of apple today that are still great. that is the way of the world.

is it getting too crowded, and is microsoft too late? >> i think that they are way too late. they think this is another rehash of what i will try to do four years ago when they are trying to catch up with the same people that have caused apple to be the most capitalized company in the u.s. i think the key point is what is cool is often what is first. the second time around, not so interesting. i think the reason they have to do this is they are losing share. microsoft is losing share become. every day to have another situation where you have more applications available. i think the key thing is, i know it sounds hyped up, they seem like they are investigation. neil: i will give you the benefit of the doubt. you don't want to mess with the

basic system on it. they decided to do that. i like my ipad very much.@ but i'm not going to use it as, you know, a desktop or even a laptop alternative. people are pointing me to this thing and saying this might be a. when you make of that? >> microsoft can't afford to sit on the sidelines. right now, consumer electronics is big business. consumers are out there buying electronics. retail sales jumped 1.1% last month. in part because of rising gasoline prices pushing gasoline sales. we are talking about 5% electronics. this is an $8.5 million monthly spending them so they have to get a visa. right now they're going to fight. as consumers make the decision, am i going to get that many ipod or that tablet, and there is a lot of spending gging on.

[inaudible] [inaudible] >> everyone, even the best buys of the world are really hitching up to this wagon. the consumers are not coming out and buying machines. if we do like we have been with automobiles and waiting longer and longer to refresh, still running widows xp and windows vista operating systems, it is really hurting the entire supply

chain. neil: it was a new trend for six months ago. there is one coming out tomorrow that is going to be great. and to have them finally say, -- [bleep] [laughter] >> i mean, we are used to that. you know, this is kind of cool. we would be showing this. that is a kind of cool feature. that is in the apple product. to robert's point, it is a microsoft product. >> yes, look, we are reaching the graduation level with all of these devices. it is not out there. that is exactly why i worry

about microsoft coming out with another message, routing an already crowded market. i think people need is clarity. how are consumers supposed to cope? if it were me, i go back to and ipad. neil: we are getting to the point where these people can board and ipad board a variety of devices. the mix-and-match, just like you might do with something else. that point was made with some technology, not all technology.

>> i think that consumers are going to do what they do best. that is consumed. they are going to get the newest and best and consume it. whether it comes out every month or quarter. neil: do think it hurts sales in other areas? >> sure. but we are definitely going to see a pullback in other areas. but we are seeing is that consumers are pulling back one or two months in order to binge spend the following two months. it is fascinating that we are seeing such robust sales area very tepid employment growth. yet the consumers are spending because the housing market is stabilizing. neil: i do remember the occupy wall street. obviously, it is ubiquitous. and both companies be ubiquitous? can these devices into the mainstream? >> i think there is room for a couple of grams. now you have a third guy coming in already with two solid

players. and you're going to have people except a whole another option. keep this in mind. this is why facebook has not signed up to do an apt as a partner. neil: that microsoft is trying to leverage off the database. >> that is absolutely right. they are saying we are going to sell more than the other guys do. most of them are going to wait and see. obviously, shareholders as well. stock has been cut in half. neil: you did a great job reporting on this. should worry because i think it's going to be a success. then again, i thought the first bush would get reelected.

anyway, the president's pitch is slamming the rent. the gigantic hurricane is coming that is now called "frankenstorm." and what about the fiscal cliff. john ratzenberger is with us and why he says the fiction is better than washington lawyer ve. but because of business people like you, things are beginning to get rolling. and regions is here to help. makingt easier with the expeise and service from business loans to keto cash management,ning. we want to be your partner moving forward. so switch to regions. and let's get going.

together.

>> he is hoping you won't remember. neil: my next guest says that it is his policy that is hurting the middle class.

>> expenditures in the government since 2000 they were about $1.5 trillion as we would've been at the 2008 baseline. that has to be financed. but if you take that pay about 40% of the tax burden, that means that the other 60% is paid by everyone else. people at the family income level, they are paying all those taxes and tax burdens. what that amounts to is about

$4500 per individual in that middle class group as a result of the excess spending since 2009. neil: does that middle class group know that they were so outraged by that, with all due respect, the late great senator george mcgovern, -- >> i think you are right. i think people don't know that. but that is the problem. because when i think that people think is that this burden is not just a burden of the rich. it is actually a burden of the middle class. the taxes on the rich, income levels going up is better, what

is treasury? what does his treasury department tell us. it will bring in less than $100 billion a year. >> raising revenues is not going to move the needle much. in order order to really get some bang for the buck, you have to cut out a lot of bug. >> that is right. and if you play this forward, another way to make your point, even with the president and his rosiest of scenarios, he is talking about 20% of gdp going off in the wrong direction. if we were to raise our taxes, that would mean raising the taxes on the average american by 50%. neil: we will watch very closely. thank you for figuring all this out. it is great to have you on the show. next, voters in michigan could help liven up what the president

could be in for. a little sticker shock in november. and the ladies are boring for justin bieber.

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neil: don't count michigan out when the numbers come down to the president's polling. dead even. according to ceo mike jackson, we would like to know what he makes of this presidential campaign. you would think that a state

that benefits from the auto bailout is not doing more for the president. what is going on? >> well, i think that we have to remember that the decision to step in the auto industry was made by george bush. >> that's right. it was made by the president. it was in the fall of 2008. and he handed the industry ought to president obama. obama decided to restructure the industry. it was a fundamental decision that was made by george bush. neil: that mitt romney was against that. anyway, we got the structured bankruptcy. the only difference was we had a lot of taxpayers spending a lot of money to get that. but they're apparently does not seem to be nearly the ill will towards mitt romney because of that. why is that?

>> well, i think there is a basic understanding that mitt romney had been president, he would have done what was necessary. but we did not have an industrial armageddon. an industrial lehman brothers type of thing. >> do think as president he would have done this? >> yes, he would have. maybe different access would've been different. but i do think he would have stepped in and bridge the gap. with romney on this issue, the last two or three years of intensive discussion, maybe he would have done it a bit differently. but he would not have left that prices. he would not let that sweet be industry away the one what about what is going on in the midwestern states. a lot of the manufacturing states. why is that? and wise men from the doing as well as he is? it does go against the grain of

what you would conventionally think should be the case. what is happening? >> well, i think at the auto industry is a bright spot, but the overall economic recovery is tepid and weak. we are down to growth of 1.5% gdp. and imagine, neil, this is the greatest monetary and fiscal stimulus in the history of mankind. 0% interest rates. qe-3, and for trillion dollar deficits. and we have growth of 1.5%? the only reason the unemployment rate is down is because so many people are discouraged and have left the work force. i mean, there is real pain out there across america. the question has come, who is going to get this economy moving again? obama has had for years and still has not figured out how to get it done. were this mitt romney really have a greater understanding of what americans need at this

moment? a greater and stronger economic growth? >> what explains the kick up an auto activity? obviously, a lot of people -- people have a lot of old cars and they had to replace them. but it is really disproportionate to aamost any other sector as a comeback. what is going on? >> here is the way to think about it. in 2008 and 2009, the country had a recession. sales plummeted from 70 million per year down to the selling rate of $9 million a year. people could not get other correspondents to get them replaced. it they pushed out the average age of cars in america 11 years. and by the way, they did not prepare the cars during this time. so they had to do something. either repair the car or take that money and put it on a down payment on a newer car.

and we have exciting new products. today we have great financing on cars because, guess what? they are in a crisis the amount of capital that is flooding into auto financing is unbelievable. everybody wants to talk about it. genuine replacement knee, great financing, we have a recovery under way. neil: that's very interesting. mike, always great to have you. neil: when we come back, mitt romney shifts directions

neil: mitt romney, ladies man? not that the mormon is cruising the bars. for one thing, he doesn't drink. at halftime, let me to throttle this. and it is a hit with women. at this stage, it could mean the entire contest. romney is already favored by white males. the women, of all color, they have always been in the presidents corner. until the first presidential debate nearly a month ago. some say because romney came off as a lot more likable and agreeable. others argue it is because women are finding this economy more disagreeable than the presidents

advertisements. others think that he is picking up speed in the unlikeliest of places. pollsters say it is because in a lot of families, women are the ones paying the bills right now. and they are paying attention. they might just say it is the president who has been unfair economically to them. what you think? >> well, you are right. that first debate was really a turning point. women and a lot of other voters were seeing a cute picture of mitt romney in the media. but then they saw an energetic candidate.

neil: i say that throughout these weeks, 14 or 15 points up on the mitt romney. >> only talk about women or the women's vote, you have to recognize that there is no monolithic voting bloc that is the female vote. we are just as the diverse as men in the population. there is no one women's vote. when president obama won in 2008, he did it with more than 70% -- that is where we are coming from among women. that is where the romney camp needs to talk. neil: so married women are more

inclined to be with romney. it is the single women who are on some of these contraception issues, the other issues, or is it the single woman, you tend to be younger, demographics tend to go for democrats anyway. >> when it comes to married women, at the end of the day, women's and men's interest archive. a lot of them are tied. they care about their sons just as they care about the future of their daughters. obama mentioned his daughter's in the second debate, and it was very ocular with women when they hear this type of frederick. at the end of the day, men and women can work together. neil: in the end, i always think that they have a convincing victory that they need all the keys of voting box going for you or most of them.

the president had a lot of that going for him four years ago. but it would appear to me that losing women has to be the most distressing development. >> absolutely. democrats have been concerned about this. we found a huge republican landslide. this is a voting group that we hear a lot about. women are very diverse. they have different diversity and choice when they go to the polls. but many are going to the polls with their pocketbooks in mind and job opportunities in mind. not just for themselves but for their families. this is something that concerns women just as much as it does men. neil: it is good to see you again. all right, forget the fiscal cliff. next, liz claman on how jobs are already falling off a cliff everyone has goals.

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neil: all right, now the toothpaste giant. colgate on their workforce. they own several other companies as well. along with many other companies talking about their decrease in employment as well. americans are working to get back to work. there is nothing elitist about you. but i know going back to the study, it was almost ingrained

in us to move away from that. it really killed us, didn't? >> yes, and when i started talking about the subject maybe 10 years ago, the average age of someone who is skilled and can make things, whether it is in a factory or a someone like a welder, they are 50 years old. those people are going to be retired pretty soon and we don't have anyone coming up after them. everyone is talking about what kind of how we are going to wear. and they say, wait a second, where did all this water come from? neil: you like mitt romney because you think he speaks more to this than the president. the factory worker, the man on the factory line, it's just not true? >> it is not true. romney is a businessman.

he understands that all business, it stems from three things. mining, manufacturing, and farming. everything springs from that. in order to have manufacturing, you have to ave the skills. well, we never taught our kids skills. >> we have those. you're not going to call a plumber from china. come on over and unplug your toilet. neil: we almost put a scarlet letter to it. >> it is hollywood's dictation on this. i think it came out of the 60s. it was dirty, it was kind of like the charlie chaplin factory workers back in the '30s.

he came home covered in greece. it's not like that anymore. you have to have computer skills and you could make a ton of money, too. guidance counselors, teachers, high school kids should be saying, let's start educating kids like we used to. auto shop, carpentry shop, metal shop. if you are a welder right now come you can make $60 an hour. right now there are $600,000 available in manufacturing. 600,000 jobs. neil: isn't there the argument that even if they found the jobs, it doesn't pay what used to because in this environment, we will pay you anything you are going to get and you will be grateful for a? >> well, the government has to

take things back to national security. somebody has to fix this the government should get out of the way. neil: you can't do both. >> these are times that we shackled. if you take that out of the way, than they could afford it. the strength of america is manufactured. neil: so you don't think we could have a great country based on services and so forth -- buying and selling of stocks? >> if you go back to that terminal. electricity has to come through there. when you where do you get electricity from? it is either cooled dutch

coal-fired power or hydropower electric. they say they can't find workers to repair the turbines. the day could come at the turbines stop and there is nobody around to fix it. there is nobody around to manufacture. somebody has to know that down to 120 thousands of an inch. my job is not essential, even though we all like to think it is. neil: you have been in every pixar movie. your job is essential. >> all right, maybe with pixar it is. but in the long haul, actors, sports celebrities, the rest of us -- the rest of us are not.

neil: how you do it? have you succeed and say the things you do. the left loves you, the right loves you. and it is pretty much from as far as i can tell, you and clint eastwood, and i don't get it. >> my messages go across the board. assyou have to cross the same bridge every day going to work, whether you're republican or democrat. neil: but it doesn't hurt you sounding out for the next movie. >> i just hope they don't watch the show. [laughter] neil: it is amazing. it is a testament to you. john ratzenberger, he is the guy to keep track of this. he is relentless about it. he will creep into the next

pixar film and they won't even know it. anyway, forget about the new apple and microsoft gadgets. if you think that is going to do it in the economy, and get people spending again, you might want to think again

neil:neil: new numbers showing e to americans are going to be spending much anyhow. they are worried about what is going to happen and what is going to happen after the election. when you're worried, what you do? their health care costs, the ucs waiting for regulation that you see increasing.

or just ones that you see coming. we have the energy ceo and katie pavlich. >> people are coming home with a lot of different factors at play. you have obamacare, which doesn't look like it's going to be, we are called, even if mitt romney gets into office, we have people wanting to buy their own health care because their employers are dropping their health care insurance.

worried that they are going to lose their jobs, they are putting more money away for the future. we naturally say, by the grace of god, we close up that line. right? >> that's exactly what americans are doing right. it has been high for a long time. it's lowest it's been in over 30 years. we have a lot of very structural issues in america right now and

americans are not feeling confident. neil: the latest ipad and latest mini, is that just a unique thing or have you describe it? >> the sad fact is that the majority of americans have less than $500 in their bank account for savings.

we get the satisfaction of getting the next new toy. in the long run, there isn't a big light at the end of the tamil at this point. neil: i do think you need a sense of light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. >> they know that something is wrong. the people that get screwed are the american consumers. americans know nothing is going to get done. i think that really bothers people. whether we caught the fiscal cliff or not, it has been the most brutal two years in american history. americans know that. neil: i had a guest on a short time ago that talked about female voters. perhaps more than any other

demographic group just generally here, just as a group, about wallet issues, if that is so, and people are worried, if i'm barack obama, i would be very worried. on the political point, president obama and the democrats and their willing to go off the fusco clips along as republicans don't want to raise taxes on the job creators. the senate democrats and the president saying that we don't care if we go off the fiscal

cliff. neil: bottom line, whether you are left or right, you can see a carrack for what it is. meanwhile, with what they are saying. the president thought that four years ago. should he be worried that his opponent sebastian for weeks ago

seems they haven't been moving much lately. but things are starting to turn around because of business people like you. and regions is here to help. with the experience and service to keep things rolling. from business loans to cash management, we want to be your partner moving forward. so switch to regions. and let's get going. gether. so, which supeast 4g lte service would yochoose, based on this chart ? don't rush into it, i'm not looking for the fastest answer. obviously verizon. okay, i have a different chart. going that way, does that make a difference ? look at verizon. it's so much more than the other ones. so what if we just changed the format altogether ? isn't that the exact same thing ? it's pretty clear. still sticking with verizon. verizon. more 4g lte coverage than all other networks combined.

presidential mean? i hear that a lot. myth -- mitt romney surged in the polls after the first debate because he looked presidential. i think presidential means regal. just the acting royally, speaking forcefully, not loudly, listening intently, but not crazily. presidential means taking notes, but not too long that you take your eyes off your opponent in the debate. presidential means seizing on the other guy's mistakes and jumping, but never at the risk of appearing jumpy. acting presidential means being calm and looking the part. world leaders not embarrassing us ann not scaring us which, alone, would disqualify me from

being considered presidential, but let's move on. part of being president is as much looking and sounding the part as president. people like that in a president, even if the guy who is not president is not doing the job of president. at least he's president so automatically he is presidential. bear with me, i think i have a point. unless the guy who wants to be president starts making folks think, hey, he looks presidential too, sounds presidential too. carefully takes notes presidentially too, looks the other guy in the eye presidentially, too, seems calm like a president, smiles when a president should, and looks attentive when a president should, all the things the president do and things guys wh@ try to be president do. that's what makes mitt romney dangerous to the president. folks think k k