back in 2008 the pig wearing the john mccain shirt won. jenna: at a rib cookout this happened, huh? jon: they are awfully cute. jenna: thanks for joining us on this friday. jon: "america live" starts right now. we'll see you again next week. >> and we start with a fox news alert regarding a new twist on the campaign trail as we are just moments from governor romney flying into some of the hard's-hit -- hardest-hit areas. the republican team now earlier today saying farewell to tampa following their party's convention. the two were originally scheduled to go to a campaign event in virginia, but we got word earlier of a change in plans. instead, congressman ryan is flying solo to virginia while governor romney heads to new

orleans. he is due to arrive any moment now, and once there he'll meet with louisiana governor bobby jindal and check out damage caused by hurricane i.c.e. rack. we expect to see -- isaac, we expect to see that soon. meanwhile, an ever-tightening race for the white house. on august 11th, that's when ryan was announced as governor romney's running mate, the real clear politics average had president obama in the lead 48 to about 43%. so fast guard or to today -- forward to today, and the president's lead has virtually disappeared. he is now only a half a percentage point ahead of the governor. chris stirewalt is our fox news digital politics editor. hi, chris. >> hi, allison, how we doing? alisyn: doing well. let's talk about the tightening race, is this all to be attributed to that postconvention bounce? >> no. no, no, no, far from it. we haven't even really seen the postconvention bounce yet. what that poll's tracking is good sentiment for romney's

post-ryan pick. they made an effective use of the couple of weeks they had to go out and campaign and, basically, tune up for the big show down here in tampa. and, you know, they executed. they got it done can. they did what they wanted to do. ann romney's speech, marco rubio's speech, probably even clint eastwood's speech which was a big hit in the convention hall, all in all, put the republicans where they want to be. so what i would expect to see is the bounce you described there maybe even double up. by the time president obama takes the podium in charlotte next week that he will have some ground to make up himself. alisyn: and what do you think the bounce following this convention will be for mitt romney, if you could predict the number? >> well, we don't like to predict the number too much, but we can say that a typical bounce might be six points, seven points, something like that. and you think about what romney's doing today, talk about we know he's just now arriving down in louisiana to survey the storm damage and meet with

governor jindal. he's on a plane that looks an awful lot like air force one. of he is now cloaking himself in a presidential authority, the trappings of this. and helping americans -- that's what he did last night, that's what he's going to do in louisiana today. look, picture me in this role. you can imagine me doing this, americans, you can imagine me doing it. he did it last night, he's doing it again tonight. that's good politics, that's doing it right. alisyn: you alluded to the uptick in mitt romney's personal likability numbers. so who does he have to thank for that? is that ann romney? is that picking paul ryan, or is that, you know, him seeming more emotional at the convention and seeming more likable? >> you know, likability's important and, certainly, ann romney is a likable person. she's charismatic, she's very warm. paul ryan and his young family and all that stuff. but the thing that matters most for mitt romney isn't likability, it's favorability or approval. are you okay with this guy? because if you listen to

romney's speech last night, he said, i get it. you may like barack obama more than you like me. you may have been inspired by him in 2008, and here he's talking to that same group of voters we're always talking about which are moms in suburban counties of swing states and saying, look, i understand you felt good in 2008. marco rubio had the best line of the night on this, summed it up in one sentence: we're not saying he's not a good man, we're just saying he's not a good president. and romney is saying exactly that, you don't have to like me more, you just have to think i would do a better job. alisyn: another big headline is the fallout from clint eastwood's appearance last night. there have been a barrage of nasty editorials and some ugly tweets that have come out including many folks in the hollywood community, but, chris, as you said, in the hall itself people seemed to be eating it up. what are you hearing today? >> well, here's one thing i'll point out, and i don't understand this about the president and how he responded to this.

he rebutted -- clint eastwood did the empty chair and said -- it's an old comedy return. bob newhart and others have used it over the years, but it's a comedy routine. that's the gag. and it was funny and well received in the hall, but the white house took great offense to it and said this chair's already filled and tweeted out a picture of the president in the chair. i thought, why engage? it was a comedy can routine by an actor to lighten up the room down here in tampa. why put the president in there? and also clint eastwood, people love clint eastwood. he's one of the most venerated americans. the guy made unforgiven, for goodness sakes. he is a well-loved character. i don't know that if i was the president i'd want to be in a spitting match with him. alisyn: and we just showed that tweet that the president's twitter account sent out. all right, chris stirewalt, thanks so much for coming in. >> you bet. alisyn: all right. as we've been talking about, hollywood icon clint eastwood has come under attack for his appearance at the republican national convention, some

calling him sad, others describing him as, quote, pathetic, and some others using words we can't repeat on tv. so next hour we get reaction to all of this from a fellow actor. also on the campaign trail this hour president obama is due to arrive just a short time from now in texas. once there he'll be meeting with soldiers at fort bliss thanking them for their service, also marking the two-year anniversary of the end of u.s. combat operations in iraq. the trip billed as an official white house visit, not a campaign event. but, of course, it gives him the chance to highlight the fulfillment of a popular campaign promise from 2008. extreme weather in the gulf coast states this afternoon as the tropical depression once known as isaac moves out of the area. parts of mississippi battling major flooding from hours of drenching rain. moth point hit especially hard where more than 100 people had to be rescued from rising flood waters. be. >> yes, i'm very scared.

this morning it was that high. it hadn't never been that high. >> do you wish you would have evacuated? >> i was okay, but after it got so high, we knew we had to go. >> where'd you evacuate from? >> biloxi. >> well, it was coming up, and i said i've got another two feet before it comes in, it's time to go, yes, i should have evacuated. >> fox's steve harrigan is on the ground in mississippi. what do you think? >> around the clock work going both from emergency management teams as well as the army corps of engineers, they're trying to save this dam from collapsing. it's a 2,000 foot earthen dam. you can see some of those tractors, they are pumping water around the clock to try to reduce the level of water and the pressure that's built up since hurricane isaac. and off on the other side of this 2,000-foot dam they are trying to dig some slits in the top of that earthen dam to try and release some of the pressure, let some of that water out. this is a 700-acre lake, some

bulges were noticed, there were fears it could collapse. if it did, it would release a 17-foot wave down towards louisiana, we're about 50 miles north of new orleans. that water would flow down the river, so there's real concern here about what it would do to people who live along that river. louisiana governor bobby jindal ordered an evacuation thursday of up to 60,000 people. they were given 90 minutes pretty much to leave, but right now efforts really working around the clock today as well. they're going to try and lower the levels here to prevent that dam, which has already been damaged, from corrupting and breaking up completely. back to you. alisyn: all right. steve harrigan, thanks so much for the update. americans are facing a surge in gas prices just in time for labor day weekend road trips. here's a lmp prices nationwide. residents of the states shown here are paying up to $3.80 for a gallon of regular gas. people living in these states face $3.92, and these unlucky

folks paying as much as $4.32 a gallon. fox's trace gallagher following all this live in the our west coast newsroom. tell us more of the bad news, trace. >> reporter: make no mistake, it is going to cost you a chunk of money to go away this labor day weekend, but it's going to cost you even more to fill up to come home on monday despite the fact that the oil and can gas refineries are coming back online in the gulf. you've got supply being down, demand being up for the holiday weekend so, of course, prices are up. since tuesday when hurricane isaac hit, take a look at these numbers. gas nationally has gone up from $3.75 to $7.83, that's eight cents a gallon in just the past four days. and in august alone the price of gas across the country has gone up 30 cents a gallon. that is the highest rise in august in seven years. but take a look at what's happening in other states,

particularly in ohio. just since tuesday in columbus, ohio, you've got gas up 14 cents a gallon. in cleveland it's up 20 cents a gallon, and look in cincinnati. in the four days, up 22 cents a gallon. these price spikes, by the way, have attorneys general in some states warning gas station owners not to gouge people over the holiday weekend. beginning next week we've got a couple of things working in our favor. one, you've got kids back in school, so demand will go down, supply might go up. the prices likely to go down. and many states and gas stations will start switching their blends from that expensive summer blend to the more reasonable fall and winter blends. that could bring prices down a little bit as well, but keep in mind there's still two months of hurricane season yet, and whatever happens in the tropics could very well effect our gas prices, ali. this holiday weekend you are going to pay through the teeth for gas. outside, here, like $4.90 a

gallon. for unleaded. crazy. alisyn: that's rough. that's why you take a horse and buggy to work. thanks so much, trace. >> reporter: you bet. alisyn: the pentagon is threatening to take legal action against the navy seal who penned a book about the night osama bin laden was killed. now we talk to a veteran who predicted the obama administration would be reluctant to go after that seal for spilling secrets. what does he have to say today? and a chilling new report from the u.n. saying iran has doubled its nuclear production efforts. we get reaction from ambassador john bolton. and one day after federal reserve judges struck down the new voter id rules in texas, that state's attorney general comes on "america live" to tell us why he thinks the judges got it all wrong. he'll tell us what texas plans to do about it. >> there's times where, for example, i don't have something to show because maybe i didn't want keep it. >> if they can get their hands on an card.

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alisyn: this is a fox news alert, governor mitt romney due to arrive any moment now in louisiana. he is scheduled to meet with governor bobby jindal and tour the damage from hurricane isaac. the governor was supposed to travel to virginia for a campaign event with his running mate, paul ryan, but he changed his plans to visit new orleans instead. the white house says president obama will visit the region on monday as we get more news and video with governor romney, we will bring that right to you. well, there is new controversy over the issue of voter id laws in america. and this involves a battle that's brewing in texas, and it could wind up at the highest court in the land. there's a law requiring voters to show photo id at the polls, and it was unanimously struck down yesterday by a federal panel of judges. but the state's top law enforcer says he is vowing to the appeal

this. he believes that a win before the supreme court is almost guaranteed. so here now the man making that claim is texas attorney general greg abbott. good afternoon, mr. abbott. >> great to be with you, thanks. alisyn: thanks for being here. what did you think when you heard this federal panel of judges struck down the law requiring photo id? >> well, we were very disappointed because it was just four years ago that the united states supreme court issued a decision saying that voter id laws were perfectly constitutional. that upheld an indiana law that required voters to show a photo id when they go vote. texas passed a law that was premised on that already-valid indiana law and also premised upon a georgia law that was precleared by the united states department of justice. so now we have a divide in the united states of america. we have one set of laws that are fine for indiana, we have another set of laws that this court says are not fine for the state of texas. we live under one united states, under one constitution, and texas deserves the same

constitutional rights and principles and guarantees that are provided to indiana. alisyn: now, i mean, of course, mr. abbott, you know the rap from critics of these laws, they say they disenfranchise poor voters. let me read to you a portion of what the judges said in their decision in which they founded as though they agreed with that criticism. they said well a 200 to 250-mile trip to and from a department of safety office would be a heavy burden for any prospective voter, such a journey would be especially daunting for the working poor. do they have a point? >> two reasons why that is wrong. first, the united states supreme court addressed that issue in its opinion four years ago, and it said, and this is a virtual quote, that having to go through the time and trouble of gathering together all of your documentation, travel down to the department of motor vehicles and pose for a picture is simply not an infringement on the right to vote. the second thing, though s is look at the facts.

in the two states that have had voter id laws for the longest period of time, indiana and georgia, voter participation by minorities actually increased, not decreased. so the claims of voter disenfranchisement have proven to be false. alisyn: and yet one of the points the judges made in their decision, they said having to go obtain a photo id, many poor voters don't have a driver's license, so having to go to the department of public safety and obtain some sort of photo id, they said they would have to in some cases verify their identity in order to get one, and that could in some cases cost $22 to pay for a certified copy of their birth certificate. wouldn't that eliminate some voters, eligible voters from the polls? >> not at all. because, first of all, generally speaking texas is going to be providing these voter ids for free. but secondly, importantly, again this law was premised on the indiana law upheld by the supreme court. a similar provision alied in

indiana for those who -- applied in indiana for those who had no other way of coming up with a photo id, they had to come up with a birth certificate that cost them $9 four years ago. in texas it costs $22, so is this court saying the difference between a law that's constitutional and unconstitutional is $o 13? i don't think that's what the constitution means. alisyn: so as we've reported, the next stop for you, it sounds like, is the supreme court. what makes you so confident they would side with you? >> we are appealing this directly to the united states supreme court. we feel confident that if the court applies the precedent it established four years ago to our case, our case and our photo id law in texas should be upheld just like the law in indiana. alisyn: nyu recently did a study estimating that 3.2 million eligible voters do not have a state-issued photo id. are you confident today that none of those people who want to vote would be turned away? >> right. very important because some

people have put out that study, i think that was by the brenton center. that study has shown to be statistically flawed. also, importantly, it's my understanding that study you're quoting was paid for in part by george soros who is antagonistic to cleaning up the voting rolls here in the united states of america, so that's been completely discredited. the evidence showed that people in the state of texas and people across the country that are required to show a photo id to vote are not going to be disenfranchised. alisyn: mr. attorney general greg abbott, thanks for explaining your perspective on all of this. >> thank you. alisyn: new advice from a government watchdog on political correctness. a big list of common, everyday phrases that you may, in fact, use. well, in fact, they may be racially ugly insensitive slurs? up next, who you may be offending without even knowing it. plus, two democratic pollsters weigh in on governor romney's performance at the rnc and his message on president

obama's so-called war on success. plus, what should we expect when the democrats respond at their convention next week? >> now is the moment when we can stand up and say i'm an american, i make my destiny the. we deserve better. my children deserve better. my family deserves better. my country deserves better! [cheers and applause] okay, team! after age 40, we can start losing muscle -- 8% every 10 years.

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alisyn: fox news alert now on a story breaking in just the last hour or two. an ohio judge ruling in favor of a lawsuit by the obama campaign that challenged special voting privileges for military families and service members. the obama campaign, you may remember, filed a lawsuit targeting ohio's election chief

over the legality of a law that gave military families extra time, extra days to vote. well, now it appears a judge has issued a preliminary injunction in favor of that lawsuit temporarily saying that all voters will be afforded the option of casting their ballots in person during the three days leading up to election day. have you ever used the expression "going dutch," or talked about "holding down the fort"? then you had better pay attention to this new advice from that state department bureaucrat. you may be insulting your friends and colleagues with racially insensitive and/or sexist remarks without even knowing it. trace gallagher has more. >> reporter: according to the chief diversity officer, the man you just saw, john robinson, americans are pretty much offending each other every day without even knowing it. you mentioned the phrase hold down the fort?

well, it's offensive, right? it's offensive becaus apparently, to american indians the p pase was initially meant to say if you hold down the fort, you are protecting the fort against attack by indians. the next one, if you pay your own way, you go to a restaurant, it's called going dutch, right? well, it's offensive to the dutch because awz you see -- as you see there, it portrays them as being cheap. if you use the phrase rule of thumb, ali, you would be a woman hater because it referred to an antiquated law that says a switch or a rod to beat your wife could not be thicker than the width of a husband's thumb, because if the bruises were thicker, that means the husband violated the rule of thumb and could then be brought up on charges. you can't use the word handicap because that's offensive to both beggars and the handicapped because it's kind of a combination of both, right? it means that you had your cap in hand as a beggar. get it? and black and tan, one of my

favorite beers, by the way, apparently offensive to irish. it's one of the biggest irish beers in irish pubs, but it's offensive because it refers to a group that once committed atrocities against an irish. it's a stout, by the way, and a lager. you mix them together, and it separates, and they call it black and tan. alisyn: i know all about the black and tan, trace. that is a fascinating study of etymology. i use rule of thumb all the time. yikes. so this state department official wallets us all to stop -- wants us all to stop using this phrase? >> i used hold down the fort two nights ago with my daughter. who knew? these are common phrases we all use, and some are saying they could be offensive, but really what's not these days? alisyn: good point. new controversy for the former navy seal writing a tell-all book on osama bin laden's death. the author facing possible legal

action, we're going to speak to a former "america live" guest who said the administration accused of its own leaks would be reluctant to go after a seal for spilling secrets. we're going to get his take now on this change. and a small town squabble gets national attention after a deaf 3-year-old was apparently told to change his sign language name because the way he introduces himself resembles the shape of a gun. and two top democratic pollsters feel governor romney and the gop scored major points in tampa. how will democrats respond when they kick things off in charlotte on monday? >> hope and change had a powerful appeal, but tonight i'd ask a simple question: if you felt that excitement when you voted for barack obama, shouldn't you feel that way now that he's president obama? [applause] you know there's something wrong with the kind of job he's done as president when the best feeling you had was the day you voted for him. [laughter] [cheers and applause]

alisyn: fox news alert. governor mitt romney arriving just a short time ago in louisiana. he's scheduled to meet with governor bobby jindal and senator david vittert. they will assess damage from hurricane isaac and meet with

first responders. reporter: mitt romney traveling with his wife ann and several advisers here. they will be meeting with louisiana governor bobby jindal who has become a household name during the gulf oil spill and also taking a very active and public role in managing this emergency associated with hurricane isaac. the governor will first take them to meet first responders at a command post, then take them out to some of the areas that have been impacted so that mitt romney can meet one-on-one with some of the louisiana residents who are -- who have experienced great hardship as a result of this. not particularly large category hurricane, but one that has inflicted so much damage because of how slowly it moves through the area dumping in some places records amount of rainfall. alisyn. alisyn: incredible video where

you are showing us just roofs above the flooding. today a visit by governor romney comes less than 24 hours after the governor officially accepted his party's nomination for president. asking americans to support him and quote turn the page on the obama administration. >> how many days have you woken up feeling something special was happening in america. many of you felt that way on election day four years ago. hope and change had a powerful appeal. but tonight i ask a simple question. if you felt that excitement when you voted for barack obama, shouldn't you feel that way now that he's president obama? this president can ask us to be patient, this president can tell us it was someone else's fault, this president can tell us that

the next four years he will get it right. but this president cannot tell us that you are better off today than when he took office. [applause] america has been patient. americans have supported this president in good faith. but today the time has come to turn the page. today the time has come for to us put the disappointments of the last four years behind us. to put aside the divisiveness and the recriminations. to forget about what might have been and look ahead to what can be. now is a time to restore the promise of america. [cheers and applause] alisyn: now that governor romney made this case to the american people, what are the challenges facing president obama in charlotte and his party's

convention? doug schoen is a former adviser to president clinton, pat caddell was an adviser to jimmy carter. pat, what did you think of the speech? >> i thought the speech was good. it wasn't great, about it was good. i can see the themes developing. they are trying to shift the party away from the party of being no, talk about the future. three or four different times last night he talked about what i believe is the moral test of our tribal religion of america which is you give your children better than you have. he didn't attack the president personally. he challenged him. that he hasn't been a leader which is important to the swing voters an also hit on the points of saying, you know, things aren't going to get better. what he cited was powerful. alisyn: doug, there were a few

times when mitt romney seemed to get a little choked up when he talked about his family's history. do you think it makes democrats a little nervous to see mitt romney who they have depict as robotic seem more emotional? >> yes, i think this was an important step. that's right that the governor began to develop themes he will use in the general election. but i think he accomplished something else alisyn that very important. he humanized himself. he associated his own life experience with that of the average ordinary american family. and most all he had an explicit appeal to women which i thought was authentic and real about his associations in his personal, professional and governmental life. alisyn: what do democrats need to do at their convention starting monday. >> i think they have to ask themselves a question. they can continue down the road of being an allout negative campaign rick any sent of the

campaign in 1980 or whether the president can pivot and pivot back to some degree of hope and change. admit his own mistakes. he has to have bill clinton speaking for him wednesday. to be able to address the questions of growth -- i thought karl rove laid it out and i know doug agrees. the president can say i made a mistake about simpson bowls. we should do that. if he continues this negative campaign i think that doesn't look good against the republicans. alisyn: at the party's convention at mid his mistakes? is that what we might hear from the president or what you would recommend? >> i would recommend to acknowledge that we have not aread everything we wanted to and haven't gotten everything done that he had hoped to. governor romney laid out a clear challenge to the president. i think it's one that can be addressed.

the president also has to tell us where he wants to take america in the second term. pat's right. he's just been relentlessly negative. he hasn't set out broad themes and specific policies for the future and he has to be humble and acknowledge that not everything has been perfect but ultimately the choice redounds to the democrat's benefit. >> i agree with doug. what we are saying is he's got to say i learned some things. things didn't work out. he has to acknowledge that and say i am grow and show the reason the simpson-bowles which doug has been articulate about, it was a good plan and he threw it under the bus. he needs to bow back and revisit it. people have positive feelings about a president they are willing to hear this. but this relentless negative is wearing on the public and swing voters in particular, i believe.

alisyn: is there any indication we'll hear a positive tone at the convention or has the negativity been working? >> i'm smiling because i think bill clinton is going to take a positive tone. he's going to contrast the way he's approached government which is an inclusive all-in approach versus an all for one basically you are on your own approach for the republicans. i think there is no indication that the president -- the current president will do what pat suggested, which is to acknowledge things haven't been as good as he would have wanted or he will be fiscally disciplined and conservative. we may be surprised. but i don't think there is any evidence the president will tack to the center and embrace simpson-bowles. >> in three years he has never taken our advice. alisyn: we look forward for your

insight next week for the democratic convention. the pentagon just sent a threatening letter to the navy seal to wrote a book about the mission to take out usama bin laden warning of possible legal action. in three minute we'll talk to the head of a vets group about the possible fallout if the administration goes after this guy. clint eastwood has been mocked and criticized over his appearance at the republican national convention. we'll look at the beatings being dished out on this 82-year-old icon. [ wife ] your dad's really giving him the business... the designated hitter's the best thing to happen

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alisyn: the pentagon threatening legal action against a one-time member of seal team six. he was there the night usama bin laden was killed. his explosive new book reveals previously unknown the raid. the pentagon said fit hits store shelves it may get even worse for the ex-marine. what did you think of the news that the administration is considering taking legal action against this guy? >> it surprises me a bit. i was on the show a couple weeks ago saying i didn't think they would take action. they hedged. they said they would consider legal faction he goes forward with it. there is still a hedge in there as to whether they would want to do it. i'm not going to condemn a book i haven't read and don't know about. this guy says he bent over backwards to make sure he's not

releasing classified information. but he has time to go through proper channels and get the book vetted. he signed a non-disclosure agreement that before he put anything out it would be vetted. but why is the administration coming down on this guy but they haven't released an independent investigation on all the leaks from the white house on the bin laden raid in the first place. the virus in the iranian nuclear facility. there are big things to be investigated that aren't and instead we are going after this guy. alisyn: the administration says there are fbi investigation underway as to who leaked that information to the "new york times" and the associated press. these two u.s. attorneys are tasked with spearheading these investigation. but you think something should go further. >> two u.s. attorneys in the chain of command of our president. investigations are usually more effective when they are

independently conducted. the seriousness with which the forgot out. the level of detail that compromised sources and me thofds intelligence. there should be an indy inquiry and holding somebody accountable. but they are trying to tell their side of the story. they are frustrated. his book contradicts a lot of the official narratives coming out of the white house. clearly this seal wants to set the record straight because he doesn't think people have been shooting straight on the issues. alisyn: apparently there wasn't -- i haven't read the book yet -- a firefight with usama bin laden. he wasn't even armed according to this seal. is that important information for to us know? >> i don't know that it's classified information that changes the decision. you have got to give our

commander-in-chief a lot of credit for pulling the trigger on that. and you have to give credit to this guy for literally pulling the trigger on that. the president said i, i, i got bin laden. this guy says no, i was on the third floor and put some rounds into usama bin laden. but we need to take a larger look at this and say whether it's the leaks or voting in ohio or claiming backlogs in the va are a good thing, it makes you scratch your head and say does this administration get it? are they going to take on the big issues like the $16 trillion that really are a national security threat. it leaves me puzzled. alisyn: if this seal team 6 member reveals classified information in the book what should the pentagon do? >> i think they should follow standard procedure. but in the past when special

operators have released books, the pentagon has not come down on them. this would be unlikely politically i don't see how it's a good idea for obama. and we have seen a lot of things from this president motivated by the political ramifications. dose want to pick a fight with seals 70 days out of the election? i don't know that it's the right idea. even if they are standing on sound ground that we shouldn't be releasing classified information. alisyn: some of the best stories from the republican national convention got the least attention. yesterday we heard powerful stories of how governor romney went way above and beyond to help neighbors in need. we'll bring you one of the better stories next. there are new reports iran has doubled its nuclear weapons production efforts. we are live on the carrier enterprise ambassador bolton weighs in on these new

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alisyn: fox news alert. brand-new video just coming into our newsroom as governor mitt romney arrives a short time ago in louisiana. he's scheduled to meet with governor bobby jindal. you see him with his wife ann. he will meet with senator david vittert. they will assess flooding damage from hurricane isaac it was easy to miss some of the most

personal and compelling stories from the republican national convention because they weren't televised in prime time. among them the testimony of one family who says governor romney stood with them through one of the most tragic events of their lives. >> reporter: mitt romney and clint eastwood got the spotlight and big headlines. but, man, oh man, you talk about the heart rending stories that were before them. it happened earlier in the evening. these are people who knew mitt romney years and years ago including a couple whose son 14 years old died of cancer in the 1970s:'. mitt romney was the bishop in their church. he befriended their dying son and even wrote his will. >> the next time mitt went to the hospital he was equipped with a yellow legal pad and pen.

together they made david's will. that's a task no child should ever have to do. but it gave david peace of mind. so after david's death we were able to give his skateboard, his model rockets, and his fishing gear to his best friends. >> reporter: the boy also wanted mitt romney to deliver his eulogy which he did. then there was a story told by this woman whose daughter was born premature in 1982. they didn't know if she would live. but they knew mitt romney would be there either way. listen to her. >> as i sat with her in intensive care consumed with a mother's worry and fear. mitt came to visit and pray with me. as our clergy he was one of the few visitors allowed. i will never forget how when he looked down tenderly at my daughter, his eyes filled with tears and he reached out and

gently stroked her tiny back. i could tell immediately that he didn't just see a tangle of plastic and tubes and wires, he saw our beautiful little girl. >> reporter: the baby by the way lived, but not without complications. the child died -- other woman died at age of 26. she says even during the presidential campaign mitt and ann romney reached out to offer their sympathy as well as their love. great story. the prime time awedien didn't see them. but those inside the hall were riveted by both of those stories. alisyn: i can imagine. they are both such powerful stories. disturbing new reports suggest iran doubled its efforts to produce nuclear weapons. former ambassador to the u.n. john bolton weighs in on what that could mean for america's

foreign policies. plus jeb bush went off script to call out president obama for blaming his brother george for america's economic woes. test e. they need a third the blood of onetouch ultra. zipwik tabs target the blood and pull it in. call now for free strips and a meter. the charcoal went out already? [ sighs ] forget it. [ male announcer ] there's more barbeque time in every bag of kingsford charcoal. kingsford. slow down and grill.

alisyn: this is a fox news alert. less than 24 hours after the republican national convention and the race for the white house is kicking into high gear. we are watching two big events this hour. screen right we are awaiting congressman paul fine the key swing state of virginia. the newly minted vice presidential nominee about to speak in richmond. screen left, we are awaiting the president's remarks to troops at fort bliss, texas.

let's start with fox's ed henry, fort bliss, texas. it's hard to believe it's been two years. >> reporter: it is. i'm surrounded by many of our men and women at forward bliss honorably serving our country. they are honored that the president is coming here to announce he was ending combat operations in iraq. the president signing an executive order trying to improve access to mental health services for our men and women in uniform. i should point out, i have spoken to some troops who say they are deploying back to fort bliss in october. last night praised the president for the usama bin laden raid but was blistering in the rest of his view of the president's foreign policy. take a listen. >> i will begin my presidency

with a jobs tour. president obama began his presidency with an apology tour. america he said dictated to other nations. no, mr. president, america has freed other nations from dictators. >> reporter: aboard air force one jay carney told reporters he was surprised mitt romney did not mention afghanistan with the ongoing war. he's surprised the republican nominee did not make of that in his remarks. he did not mention syria as well. there is pushback because the obama campaign believes it was an exaggeration to call it an apology tour. but the white house dealing with a controversy its own. a charge that maybe the president was using an auto pen to sign condolence letters to the families of fallen navy seals. jay carney said i think that was

stated to be false. the president signed every such letter personally. they want to make sure they put this controversy behind them. especially with the president arriving behind me in a few moments at fort bliss. alisyn: we have some brand-new video coming in of governor mitt romney landing in louisiana. this happened just a short time ago. the republican presi nominee planning to tour water and wind dmajt wake of isaac one day after accepting his party's nomination. carl cameron is in virginia with the latest. >> reporter: hi, alisyn. we are in new orleans. governor romney arrived here a short time ago. and he as you said decided to peel off from paul ryan and come here to take a look at isaac's damage. he will have a meeting with louisiana governor bobby jindal. they will meet with first

responders and he will thank them for what they have been doing and the work they have ahead of them. they will have a separate try for those who have to deal with the natural disaster. mr. romney has come three days before the president. the mayor of new orleans and some of his staff have been complaining for romney and the republicans to come before the president is a distraction from their relief effort. there was some expectation that criticism from come from the republicans. but romney made it clear even before he and paul ryan were formally nominated. the running mates and the presidential candidate for the republican party that he wanted to come down here sooner but the storm didn't allow it. last night's speech was a conflict he couldn't help. this is his first opportunity to come and so he has. we understand he will be meeting with some families. from here he will go on with his campaign trail while paul ryan

takes care of the virginia event. tomorrow and sunday he will take a day or two off for labor day. about it looks as though he will campaign at least today and tomorrow and starting it out with this first step for him having left tampa to come here to new orleans, yet to be another statement of his decisive challenge, what is aides often say, when romney sees a challenge he runs toirtd and this is an example of that. alisyn: campaign carl always in the right spot. thanks for the update from new orleans. the road ahead is likely to get rougher for mitt romney. sarah palin says he can expect the president to ram up his attacks against the gop ticket as the day draws near. guys, you were the first and possibly only reporter in america to have the clint

eastwood story a day before it happened. you knew he was going to be the mystery guest at the convention. how did you know that? >> it was actually just fortuitous. i was at a party after one of the nights of the convention it was very late. i was exhausted. i almost didn't go to the party. but i got a credible tip from a credible person close to the romney campaign. and voilà, i got tip. the moral of the story is always go to fancy parties. alisyn: did you have any idea what clint eastwood would be saying at the convention? >> no, i don't think anyone did. and i don't know if he did at certain times. when we watch these conventions year after year they are very carefully choreographed down to every smile, every syllable, every wave. so to have an unscripted piece of performance art by an

octagenarian on stage. it was surreal to watch. it was cool to see clint up there, but then he starts addressing this empty chair. it was hard to hear in the hall at times and i was worried this might be veering off into cringe-worthy territory. but he pulled it back together at the end and made. >> points i thought hit home just for your average person. he said, look, this government belongs to us, the people, not the politicians. they are our employees. you have got a guy who isn't getting the job done, you let him go. very plain spoken. he brought things back in there. but i can imagine the romney camp was watching, thinking what's going to happen next. it was a big risk but it looks like they survived it. it probably appealed to a lot of people. alisyn: i'm sure there were white knuckled moments for the

staffers who tried to core grate of so carefully. let's talk about how mitt romney can cam tappize on this mow d and capitalize on this momentum. >> the democratic national convention in charlotte. it will be interesting to watch what their message is going to be and how they are going to present president obama. if you are the democrats at this moment, i don't envoy them because they have a tough task. they have to convince americans to re-elect someone who has a disastrous record. he can't run on the economy. his own pollsters are telling him you can't convince people there is a recovery here because there isn't. we'll have another unemployment report which will be interesting to look at. they will run my prediction is a very negative campaign focused on narrow things like free government mandated birth control and student loans and how awful mitt romney is. i think the romney campaign what

they do is spring board after what we just saw. i think it was a very successful convention for the gop. and we just heard that report from trace gallagher, the humanizing of mitt romney from some of his friends, some of the people in his church and his wife. i think that will go a long way to at least possibly tart to close that likability gap which is the biggest obstacle romney has to being elected president. alisyn: mitt romney hasn't been comfortable trumpeting any of those stories. they are powerful stories. voters would like to hear about those. the campaign would like to humanize him. will mitt romney become more comfortable telling the personal stories we heard him talk about in his speech where he appeared to get choked up at times talking about his parents. >> his parents and his children. i'm going to be posting the video of those families talking about how helped them during

really terrible ordeals and trials at townhall.com later today. i'll admit on national television, i cried. it was that moving. i have covered for more than a year. i never heard these stories. it, walk art. romney doesn't want to go out there and say look what a great person i am, how compassionate i am. but at the same time, these stories are part of his story. and i think they run counter to the caricature we have seen painted of him of this greediy monster. alisyn: feel free to continue -- good work. growing outrage after a school asks a parent of a deaf child to change this sign language name.

the boy's parents are fighting the decision. former governor jeb bush getting some things off his chest at the rnc as he went off script and sent a personal challenge to the president. >> you were dealt a tough hand, but your policies have not worked. in the fourth year of your presidency a real leader would accept responsibility for his actions, and you haven't done it. [cheers and applause] i was teaching a martial arts class and having a heart attack. my brother doesn't look like heart attack patient. i'm on a bayer aspirin regimen. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen.

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alisyn: let's go back to the campaign trail and a debate over a speech by one member of the bush family to attend the republican national convention. governor jeb bush was supposed to address the issue of education reform. but almost as soon as he stepped up to the podium he went off

script with these remarks. listen. >> before i begin my remarks i have something personall i would like to their with you. i have been so blessed to be part of a family that committed its life to public service. my grandad and my father have been incredible role models for me and served our country honorably. my brother, well, i love my brother. [cheers and applause] he is a man of integrity, courage and honor. and during incredibly challenging times, he kept us safe. [cheers and applause] so, mr. president,

mr. president, it is time to stop blaming your predecessor for your failed economic policies ... [cheers and applause] you were dealt a tough hand. you were dealt a tough hand but your policies have not worked. in the fourth year of your presidency a real lead wore accept responsibility for his actions and you haven't don't. alisyn: has the president taken enough responsibility or is he still blaming others. lars larson is a syndicated radio host and alan colmes is a her to of a new book "thank the liberals for saving america and why you should." that was interesting how jeb bush went off script. he was supposed to be talking about education reform. but clearly he wanted to get some of these things off his chest. is he right?

that a real leader accepts responsibility for the place we are today in this country? >> yes, he is, and i believe this president has. there was some advance word he would be defending his family of course he should. this is the beginning of the 2016 race for president. that particular speech. the president said he wished things could have moved faster. he acknowledged that. this is something we heard is not true. mitt romney spent -- i have never seen an acceptance speech where you spend most of the time knocking the other guy. no vision. he spent time blaming obama rather than saying what he was going to do. i don't believe that's what this president has done. and it's about time the other side takes some responsibility. >> alan, you are so wrong. so me the sound bite in the

thousands of speeches this guy has on, president obama. in which he accepts responsibility for what's happened in the last 3 1/2 years. a lot of suspected the president would blame the last buy for the first six months. then it became a year and two years. we are 3 1/2 years in and every speech he gives on the economy he says, well, you know we were hanged this tough situation. step up to the plate. you asked for the job. you got the job. you haven't done the job. the fact is that he doesn't want to accept -- what job has he done? >> he turned it around. we were lose be 750,000 jobs a month when he took office. now we are gaining 150,000 jobs a month. >> alisyn, let me throw some real numbers at my friend alan whose next book ought to be called "watermelon liberals, green on ought outside and red on the inside." >> what do you mean by

watermelon. >> i mean you are green on the outside like s solyndra, green taxpayer money and socialist red on the inside. >> it's odd that you would say watermelon. >> these days every word is said to be some kind of slur. there are fewer americans -- listen to me, alan, there are fewer americans working today than the day barack obama took the oath of office. he slowed the drop in jobs. this week 357,000 new americans filed for unemployment. alisyn: alan, is there a statute of limitations on how long a president can invoke or blame his predecessor? >> i don't buy the belief in the first place he's blaming bush. he's running a reelection campaign. he unlike mitt romney has actual policy ideas. we have known -- we lived with this president for four years. we know what his ideas are.

we know what his plans are. he accomplished a great deal. he turned the job market around. you can't ignore losing 3/4 million jobs a month. housing starts are up. we have better housing numbers. indicators are up. alisyn: i'll give you the last word. do you think has laid out enough substance in policy? >> no, not nearly enough yet. but he will. and the fact is his plan is to diminish government, build the private sector, drill for oil. get coal. get natural gas. that's how you build. you do not build it by borrowing money from china and hiring people to do make work jobs and sending those billions of dollars off to unions who are your buddies or wasting them on failed efforts like solyndra. alisyn: thanks so much for the debate. >> love ya, alan.

alisyn: coming up, we have to tell you this. frightening news out of the middle east where the u.n. nuclear watchdog agency says iran has doubled its nuclear weapons production efforts. what can be done to stop it? former ambassador to the u.n., john bolton will be here to what he in. one school's effort to get a child to change his sign language name. a hollywood icon giving one of the more memorable speeches of the rnc. why critics are slamming him and twitter users are mocking him. >> you mentioned something about having a bringing everybody home, and you give that target date. and i think, mr. romney asked the only sensible question. he said why are you giving the day out now? why don't you just bring him home tomorrow morning? [cheers and applause]

alisyn: we have new information on that deadly shooting today at a new jersey supermarket. prosecutors say a 23-year-old employee killed two co-workers before taking his own life. police say they found an ak-47, a handgun and extra ammunition at the scene. motive is still under investigation. support is pouring in from across the country for 3 1/2-year-old hunter spanger. his parents say his teacher at his nebraska preschool are asking him to change his sign

language name because the sign for hunter resembles a gun to some people and that apparently violates the school's weapons policy. >> reporter: the outrage by the deaf community is growing. and the school is trying to walk this back. but the parents wonder why the school doesn't apologize and move on. the deal is when hunter signs his name he does this for an h and the school things that looks like a gun and violates the weapons policy. the school won't talk at all about their weapons policy. the school said hunter was using the wrong type of sign language. the district says the school district teaches american sign language for students with hearing impairment.

asl is recommended by the nebraska dent of education. but the nebraska department of education says it does not recommend asl. that's up to the districts themselves. and the family is getting immense support. >> the encouragement and support is more than i could have asked for and it's been extremely helpful. >> reporter: after a national outcry, the school district released this week a brand-new statement saying again, imquoting, grand island public schools has not changed the sign language name of any student nor is it requiring any student to change how his or her name is signed. but the parent feel like the school is calling their credibility into question. they say they are sticking by their story. so for now hunter gets to keep

his sign language name but a lot of people say the school needs to revisit how it approaches this issue. alisyn: we look forward to an update on that. thanks, chris. there are new worries iran's nuclear capacity just doubled. bowl * on coming up. plus the u.s.s. enterprise. coming up a look at what it takes to guard that crucial waterway. insulin users test often. freestyle lite can help you test easy. they need a third the blood of onetouch ultra. zipwik tabs target the blood and pull it in.

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alisyn: new concerns about security in the persian gulf. the u.n. nuclear agency is out with a new report that shows iran is expanding its nuclear program. ambassador john bolton will be joining us in a minute on that. but first we want to go to the strait of hormuz. that's the path through which much of the world's oil supply travels. iran has threatened in the past to block that waterway. the fifth fleet u.s.s. enterprise near the strait of hormuz and one of our own just got back from an exclusive visit on that ship. melissa francis is live in bahrain.

>> reporter: i was talking to them about going through the strait of hormuz. they say they have done it eight times. as they get out there iranians and speed boat.come out and circle the ship and give them a good look over. i asked them how critical is your presence in this region? and here is what he said. >> they are very concerned got global economy. on around job is to make sure freedom of navigation occurred through that critical strait. the amount of trade and commerce that goes through here. just take a look at what goes through there. >> reporter: on a much lighter note you may recognize the deck of that aircraft carrier from top gun. it's the actual vessel top gun was shot on. but i was much more excited about that than they were. >> over here is where he did the fly by.

you got the fuzzy dice from the movie. >> reporter: you watched it to figure out which window. this is a source of pride. >> yes you want to figure out where it was done since it was done on your ship. >> reporter: the enterprise has been out on the open waters for 51 years. it was parked off cuba during the cow ban missile crisis and it's getting decommissioned this fall. >> reporter: thanks for sharing all that with us. let's turn to iran and a blockbuster claim about its nuclear capacity. the u.n. nuclear watchdog group saying the number of uranium enrichment centrifuges iran is keeping in an underground bunker has doubled since may. iran insists its program is for peaceful purposes only. former ambassador to the u.n., john bolton, hello, mr. ambassador.

so this week the iaea released the its report and found there have been extensive activity as the this particular complex and the number of centrifuges have more than doubled. what do you make of this? >> i think it shows clearly iran is not deterred or impeded by the increased sanctions in place on its oil exports and financial transactions. it shows it's clearly determined to proceed with its very broad deep nuclear weapons program. you are talking about also a more advanced generation of centrifuges that are for productive in enrichment. the report shows iran continues to try to obscure its likely nuclear weapons work at th the

parchin artillery base. the efforts to stop them are again failing. alisyn: what should the u.s. do now? >> i represented for quite some time that in the -- given the failure of sanctions and diplomacy that you have to look at the use of military force against that program. let's be clear. the most likely outcome right now is that iran will get nuclear weapons. if iran gets nuclear weapons. others will as well it's a very unattractive choice. but that choice israel is facing right now. alisyn: perhaps it's because we are consumed with what's going on on the campaign trail but we haven't been talking that much about iran. i'm sure you have, but in the media, the president and the administration, we haven't been talking much about it. can we assume there are decisions being made behind closed doors about how to handle

this? >> i think decisions are being made in israel looking at physics rather than politics. i think they will wait until the last minute before making a decision to strike iran. but i don't think they will wait beyond that last minute. i don't think our electoral calendar has anything to do with it. i think the chances the obama administration will use force against iran are zero, zero, zero. i think that's one reason they are so confident and on the political offensive in vienna at to try and increase the influence of the u.n.'s non-alliance movement. alisyn: for israel, what defines the last minute possible? >> i think they are very worried, given the limitation on israeli military power that this fothat thisfordu facility couldd

their capability. if it goes much farther they might be able to. there is always the threat russia will resume shipment of sophisticated air defense systems that can defeat anything but stealth aircraft which israel doesn't have. israel is on a short time fuse here. alisyn: what do you think will happen next? >> i think iran will continue toward building a nuclear weapon and israel is where the aches. they have got to make the very risky, very potentially costly decision whether they will strike. i think despite the obama administration's throwaway phrase all options are on the table, including military force, israel doesn't believe that, iran doesn't believe that, and israel will have to act on its own. alisyn: ambassador john bolton, thanks for your expertise on that.

octoberer to director clint eastwood adding humor to the rnc. but not everyone was amused. are those attacks justified? radio talk show host janine turner weighs in. >> whether you are democrat or republicanner to whether you are libertarian or whatever. you are the best and we should not ever forget that. and when somebody does not do the job, we have got to let them go. [cheers and applause] every bite goes above and beyond the call of deliciousness. that's a big 10-4 kosher. with no fillers, by-products, artificial flavors or colors. hebrew national. the better-than-a-hot dog- hot dog.

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or a prior dose of influenza vaccine. tell your doctor if you'vever had guillian-barre syndrome. redness, firmness, swelling and itchingt the injection site occur more frequently than with flone vaccine. other common side effec include pain, ad ache, fatigue and muscle aches. if u have other symptoms or problems following vaination call your doctor immediately. vaccination may not protect everyone. 90% shorter please. i have a callback monday. [ female announcer ]isit fluzone.com or these locations to find fluzone intradermal vaccine. tiny needle, big protection. ♪ alisyn: hollywood icon clint eastwood getting hammered by critics after address the rnc. he was the mystery guest. he spent much of his speech arguing with an empty chair. i've got mr. obama sitting here.

and i just was going to ask him a couple questions. so, mr. president, how do you handle -- how do you handle promises that you made when you were running for election and how do you handle it? what do you say to people? do you just -- i know people are wonder -- you don't? okay. but i would just like to say, something, ladies and gentlemen. something that i think is very important. it's that you, we own this country. [cheers and applause]

politicians are employees of ours. they are going to come around and beg for votes every few years and it's the same old deal. it's important that you realize and that you are the best in the world. and whether you are democrat or republican, or whether you are libertariane -- orwhether you ar whatever. if somebody does not do the job, we have got to let them go. [cheers and applause] alisyn: the off the cuff speech was immediatel immediate panned.

a tweet, this is a perfect representation of the campaign. an old white man waring an imaginarily barack obama. president obama tweeted this picture with the tweet "this seat's taken." janine turner spoke at the rnc. you are the perfect person to talk to you are an actress and you understand hollywood. you are also a political

speaker. what did you think of his speech? >> i thought this speech was fantastic. just fact that he walked on the stage. a hollywood icon. he's the mayor of carmel, california. the fact that he walked on the stage to endorse mitt romney -- that's why everyone is commenting so negatively. they are scared. it was very important. alisyn: in fairness he was a little halting. he did seem to lose his way a bit. he did make some off-color jokes. at one point he made a joke about the president saying something vulgar. he joked about joe biden's intellect. were all those appropriate for the moment? >> here is what i feel. the criticism coming from the liberals is to be expected. this is one of the reasons the more hollywood conservatives don't step forward because of this incredible character

assassination. that's why so many don't. i think conservatives, libertarians, independent, tea party, we should embrace the fact that he was there and he took a stand against this wave, the tide of hollywood to walk out there and represent hollywood. that's a huge, huge thing. he an actor. you can say things and do things quirky and different. but what he said is we own our country and the politicians are our employees. that's brilliant. needed to be said. alisyn: he is an actor an is an american icon. he's also 82 years old. does he deserve a bit of a pass if his delivery was sometimes unfollow for the and or awkward? >> yes. he was impromptu. he didn't have a script. he came. i want everyone to realize, this is why hollywood actors don't step forward because of this vast criticism. i encourage all of us to support

clint eastwood and the fact that he walked on that stage at 82 years old. he cares about his country. he wouldn't have done it if he didn't think america was in great jeopardy and we should be applauding this. the liberals will be ugly because they are scared. because clint eastwood walked on that stage and endorsed mitt romney. alisyn: one of the interesting juxtapositions. watching the proud last night. the crowd seemed to be eating it up. they were sort of hanging on his every word. >> i was there. alisyn: they knew everybody seemed as though the crowd knew it was a comedy bit that he was doing. and they were waiting to see if it delivered. having said that, there was a cutaway where paul ryan's wife looked a little uncomfortable with the unpredictability of what he was doing. >> can't please everybody.

i would definitely want mrs. ryan to be pleased. alisyn: i guess what i'm getting at is the response watching it on tv and what people are saying seems to be different than the tone in the hall where you were. >> the tone in the hall was fantastic. it was deafening applause. hollywood actors don't step forward. five people. i'm one of them. we don't take the risk. he did. many don't because of the criticism. let's just embrace the fact that he was there and now let many pivot. we have 8 days to get mitt romney and paul ryan elected to save our country. like clint eastwood said, it's time to get somebody out there who can do the job. alisyn: thanks for your first-hand eyewitness take on all of this. remembering the first man to walk on the moon. we are live where family,

friends and admirers are holding a service for the late astronaut and american hero neil armstrong just ahead. >> hello, neil and buzz, i'm talking to you by telephone from the oval room at the white house. this has to be the most historic telephone call ever made from the white house. i just can't tell you how proud we all are of what you have done. for every american, this has to be the proudest day of our lives. for people all over the world, i'm sure they, too, join with americans in recognizing what an immense feat this is.

>> that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. alisyn: with those words neil armstrong became a national hero as the first man to walk on the moon. today close family and friends are gathering to pay their respects and remember a remarkable life to inspire generations to reach for the stars. mike tobin is live in cincinnati, ohio. >> reporter: it's interesting, alisyn. a very private and humble neil armstrong would not have been comfortable with all the people showing up for the memorial today. a fellow astronaut said the only thing he would have liked was the flyover of the f-18. but you need to take the time to recognize such an historic life. >> there are a lot of heroes, people serving their country

overseas, risking their lives to protect our freedom. civilian heroes who do things. but i think neil will go down in history as probably an exceptional -- >> reporter: the first pictures from this private memorial are coming out. you can see buzz aldrin and michael collins paying their respects. in 2010, something that drew neil armstrong out into the public eye what his dissatisfaction with cuts in the budget that impacted nasa and space exploration. his colleague from apollo 8 said it's time for entrepreneurs to step up the way they once did for aviation. alisyn: some call this a fitting cosmic sendoff.

a rare blue moon tonight as we remember the late neil armstrong. this won't happen again until the year 2015. so look up wherever you are tonight. think of neil and give the moon a wink. we'll be right back. okay, team! after age 40, we can start losing muscle --

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you'll never know unless you call. ♪ ♪ >>megyn: the oldest message in a bottle ever found setting a new world record. this 98-year-old bottled message got caught up in a fisherman's net while sailing off the northern coast of scotland. the previous world record holder was beaten by five years. the message was sent out as part of a scottish government experiment and asked the