tv America Live FOX News September 4, 2012 10:00am-12:00pm PDT
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trophy. its creator says he gained 20 pounds perfecting the recipe, but it's got to be worth it. i made you tryy fried beer when i started this show. he's still angry. jon: beer should be served cold. thank you for joining us. jenna: "america live" starts right now. megyn: fox news alert on a new poll that shows a major challenge for the president's re-election and just might explain some of what we've seen on the campaign trail in recent weeks. welcome to "america live," everyone, i'm megyn kelly live here in charlotte, north carolina, at the dnc. the hill releasing a new poll this morning after speaking with hundreds of likely voters, that's different from registered voters. these are people they actually believe will show up on election day, across the political spectrum. based solely on job performance, only 40% of those polled believe that president obama deserves to be reelected.
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54% say he does not. when asked if they're satisfied with president obama's handling of the economy, one out of every two people said, no, not satisfied, and with some 52% saying that they feel like the country is in worse overall condition than it was four years ago, these polls help define the challenge for the president and his team here at the democratic national convention. chris stirewalt is our fox news digital politics editor and host of "power play" on foxnews.com live. put these in perspective for us. >> well, look, here's the deal. the president knew all along what you and i have talked about, what your viewers have talked about is this, there are two questions in every re-election effort, and the first question is, does this guy, is this guy the guy you want to keep in the job? and then the second question is, is the other guy worth the risk? is he worthy of this challenge? and the president at this moment with just 63 days left until the election headed to charlotte to try to still rally his base has to admit that he's failed the
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first question, it's just too late. nobody's going to say at this point, you know what? we're happy, we've had a great time for the last four years, we like the way things have been. he's going to fail that test. that's why they're going to stay on the attack, brutal attacks that they've already been doing for five months, they're going to keep doing it for the last two months on mitt romney. megyn: if 54% of those asked say i do not -- he momentum deserve to be reelected, then why is this race polling nationally and in the swing states so close, you know, within a point or two of one another? >> well, one thing is the advantage of incumbency, people are loathe to make a change because of the fear of what else there is out there. so incumbency's one thing. another thing, remember this, we're just past labor day. people will now start paying attention to this election, and that drum beat, with a new fervor as they go forward. folks are back, the kids are in school.
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my little man had his first day at school today, families are focusing now on what they're going to do about the fall, and they have to take it seriously. and what this poll tells us and the reason this is such an important poll is 54% of likely voters say he doesn't deserve another chance, he's got big, big trouble. megyn: the poll slightly oversampled republicans, trying to get the numbers in the front of me, but there were a few more republicans in this poll than democrats. does that invalidate it? >> no, it just changes. look, these are not predictions, polls are not predictions. what they are are snapshots, and, yes, maybe this has a republican oversample, but when you look at a gap like that, at a 1-point gap, that's -- 14-point gap, that's not a republican oversample -- megyn: just to interject, i found it. it has 36% republicans, 34% democrats and the rest undeclared. >> i mean, look, let's say that
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it was heavy republican, even so that doesn't invalidate it. we take all these polls with a grain of salt, but what we are craving right now in the political universe are snapshots of voting attitudes heading into this final two months of the election. this is one that tells us that mitt romney better get ready to get the hide taken off of him by the president and his allies -- though they are running short of money to do that -- and the other o thing we can be ready for is the president to come into charlotte and lay down a powerful line of attack against romney and the republicans because that's what he's got. that's his only -- megyn: because it can't be a referendum on him. these numbers show it cannot be a referendum on him if he hopes to win re-election. i want to ask you about a fox news poll that really caught my attention. it shows, this is the latest fox news poll just out. it shows on favorability, this is an area which president obama has consistently had a significant advantage in most polls over governor romney. look at it now.
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favorability for obama, president obama, 51%. for governor romney, 49 percent. 49%. getting very tight there, chris. is that not an eye-opener? >> not bad for a vampire who let a woman die of cancer, i guess you could say. the democrats had five months to try to tear down mitt romney, and for the romney campaign when you talk to these people, the name of the game has been survival. that poll reveals that mitt romney is still alive going into the home stretch. megyn: he had, president obama's had such an advantage over mitt romney when it came to likability. i mean, we did so many segments on that in the months past. to me, it's surprising to see it so tight now suddenly and who knows whether that's related to what we saw last week at the republican national convention, all the personal stories about mitt romney and the care he took of his loved ones and his family and his neighborhood and people in trouble and whether these conventions actually do make a difference. but the romney camp has got to be somewhat comforted to see
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those numbers getting a little tighter now. chris stirewalt, thank you. >> you bet. megyn: you can hear here at the democratic national convention they're playing some music, they're warming up. things don't really open up until tonight at 6 p.m. we're going to have some big speakers including our first lady, michelle obama. but right now they're just running through a little of the music, making sure off the ts are crossed and is are dotted so that things go off without a hitch. the white house is also dealing today with some fallout from an interview the president did last night. at issue now is a remark the president made when he was asked to rate his performance on the economy. listen here. >> your party says you inherited a bad situation. you've had three-and-a-half years to fix it. what grade would you give yourself so far for doing that? >> you know, i would say incomplete. megyn: republicans are hitting away at that remark, pointing out that the president has had three-and-a-half years to address the economy. we will hear the campaign's response just ahead, and we'll
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have a fair and balanced debate with joe trippi and karl rove. also getting attention today, our nation inching closer to a new benchmark finishing nationa6 trillion mark later this evening. on the housing front, construction spending fell in july by the largest amount in a year mainly weighed down by a drop in money spent on home improvement projects. 47 million americans received food stamps in the month of june. will any of this hurt the president's chances? and not karl rove, it's ed rollins and joe joe trippi toda. stay tuned for that. well, chicago mayor rahm emanuel is having to cut short his trip to the democratic national convention because of a union problem back at home. the mayor will speak tonight as planned but was supposed to remain many r in -- in charlotte
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through friday. instead he's returning home to try to avert a strike by the teachers' union. steve brown is live in chicago with more. steve? >> reporter: hey there, megyn. os o tense my, the mayor's office says mayor emanuel is doing the obama campaign of sorts, they asked him to host a watch party for the thursday night speech by the president at the obama campaign headquarters for staffers. not directly connected the to what's going on here at home, but the situation does not look all that good. the mayor spending time this morning greeting students on their way into school today for the first day of school here in the city of chicago and not taking questions about any of the schedule changes or the problems with the teachers' union. very opposite kind of show yesterday in daley plaza involving a lot of union folks, a lot of them teachers, including members of seiu and the chicago police and firefighters' unions as well in
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a big show of strength about their unhappiness specifically about the teachers' union. and the president of the union certainly didn't pull any opinion. s. >> the only way to beat a bully is to stand up to a bully! [cheers and applause] >> reporter: now, the cornerstone issue in the dispute is a longer school day and year. that is what mayor emanuel ran on, that is what he is trying to institute. the school board has voted to do so, but the teachers say, hey, that breaks the contract, come back to the table. so that's the dispute. strike deadline is monday, we were told negotiations are continuing in private, but no word on any breakthroughs yet. back to you. megyn: all right. steve brown, thank you. well, interestingly organized labor has supported the democrats in recent years with tens of millions in donations and massive get out the vote efforts, but we're now hearing stories about unhappy union members. can we expect the same effort and donations this year? we'll show you what we found in the federal election records
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with lou dobbs next. and a new profile in "the new york times" suggesting that the president's senior adviser may be the person really running the country. we'll take a closer look at valerie jarrett who has become so powerful, she now gets her own taxpayer-funded secret service detail? plus, hurricane isaac uncovering a mysterious piece of history. look at this. a ship that some suggest dates back to the civil war era, but we have some revealing answers surrounding what it could really be. trace is on it next. and we are live here in charlotte, north carolina, for the democratic national convention getting under way officially tonight. a sneak peek next at the first latino keynote speaker. tonight's big speaker will be first lady michelle obama, but before she speaks to this crowd, the youngest mayor of a major u.s. city, julian castro, who's just 37 years old, will address the party faithful from this stage right behind me. you can see debbie
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wasserman-schultz warming up at the moment. he's been to the white house over 12 times in his short estimate. he's expected to focus, at least has in the past, on immigration and green energy issues. but these addresses can be critical for party notables. back in 2004 barack obama's address to the dnc put him on the map nationally. we'll see what happens for mayor castro tonight. questions?
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>> it is unions like yours that helped to forge the basic bargain in this country, the bargain that built the greatest middle class and the most prosperous country and the most prosperous economy that the world has ever known. megyn: well, that was president obama yesterday in toledo, ohio, reaching out to unions and their supporters. organized labor played a big role in his 2008 win, but has recently complained about some of what they think the president has failed to do.
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so look what we found in the federal election records. watch this. democrats in blue have seen the lowest backing in 22 years, there's the donations they make to the republicans in red, and if you squint and put on your glasses, you might be able to see it. [laughter] joining me now, lou dobbs, syndicated radio host or loudobbs.com. a big shocker that the unions favor the democrats more than they favor the republicans, but it is a headline that their donations to the democrats and to the president are down overall, and we had talked about on this program a while back about how they had said they were going to start putting their money into their own local union issues more so than into this president and his candidacy. is he actually losing union support? >> i think he is. at least at the margin, megyn. and the reason that this is perhaps very important to the outcome on november 6th is that for the first time we've got a democratic president telling the
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house membership and the senators that they're going to be effectively on their own in their campaigns. this is a president now desperately fighting for his own survival, and what we've watched the unions do in part because of where you are seated now is a right-to-work state, it's a quote-unquote nonunion state, and this is a democratic party that is trying to figure out the way toward victory november 6th. they're not entirely sure of their strategy to this point. the unions focusing on local and state races which, by the way, in 2010. and too often this is part of the forgotten political reality we're in, just two years ago the democrats were devastated at the polls. people keep looking back, understandably, to the presidential election of 2008, but 2010 is one in which we saw statehouses go to the republicans, we saw state legislatures going to the republicans. we saw the senate where the
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democrats had a much larger percentage control dwindle, and the house, of course, they lost. so this is quite an interesting strategic test for -- megyn: but i'm trying to figure out where, i'm trying to figure out where they really stand because when you look at that graph, it clearly shows they've donated less to president obama if the democrats than they did back in 2008. there's no question when you see it on that graph and you check the actual numbers. but we just did a story yesterday with tucker karl louis vuitton. look at the difference -- carlson. look at the difference between '08 and 2012. the donations are down tens of millions. we did a story talking about how they were pledging to spend more than $100 million to help president obama win in his re-election effort this time around, so i'm -- they're saying that on the one hand, and on the other hand they're not actually forking over a lot of dough, and they're complaining about north carolina being the state for the dnc, why didn't president obama approve the keystone pipeline, they think he should have been
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more aggressive on various labor appointments and help for big labor and card check, what's the truth about where they stand? >> it's important for your audience to understand that this is partly political theater that we're witnessing. this division between labor and the obama presidency, i think, is for real, but it's far, it's a far shallower division than might otherwise be the case in the perceptions of many. remember, this bargain, you just heard the president refer to the bargain yesterday on labor day. he's talking about a bargain between the democratic candidates and office holders in this country and the teachers' unions, you know, the federation of government workers, you name it in which they are taking money from the taxpayers, moving it through the union, returning it in terms of ground force across the country for local and state elections, and then boosting those democratic
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candidates. that bargain remains intact. megyn: well, and we saw the vice president come out yesterday and talk about how, you know, he's trying to make this all about the evil republicans and how they are not pro-union and spoke to a group and said, look, we should be thanking you. quote, we owe you. and in the cases of the democrats, that is true when you look at the number of dollars and efforts that the unions have put out on their behalf -- [laughter] >> vice president biden said it's one of those instances, you know, he's far more literal in his statement and factual in truth than i'm sure he ever intended. we owe unions about, you know, a trillion dollars in unfunded pension benefits, we owe unions across the country through municipal bonds almost $4 trillion primarily to public employees. i mean, this is a staggering amount of money. this bargain that president obama referred to yesterday, megyn, what you are -- you're at
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the epicenter of what may be a breaking of that bargain. megyn: let me tell you something before i let you go, lou. you know, all of your sentiments have result inside the backlash here in charlotte to the point where the unions have now organized something called hug a thug to offer free hugs at a convention-related event here because they feel that they want to show their members they're valued employees that do important work, not union thugs. look, look what you did. >> well, you know, doggone it, i think that may be going overboard, you know? maybe a wave would be helpful. i don't think we have to go as far as hugs. but i'm sure they've gotten further, i'm sure the service employees union put up banners saying brought to you by the service employees' union on the other side of the arena, perhaps another banner saying brought to you by the federation of government employees. i'm sure they're very direct and overt in their sponsorship and proud of it. megyn: well, i understand that
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the head of the service employees' union actually will speak here tonight, but other unions have said we're taking a pass because we don't want to do this big presentation in a right-to-work state. just wanted to show you the damage you have done, lou dobbs. >> i want to apologize to everyone. i know people are sensitive to that, and i would never want to in any way -- well, upset a thug. [laughter] megyn: thank you, lou. >> thank you so much, megyn. megyn: see you soon. they're really starting to bust it out with the music getting ready for tonight, sounding pretty good. the band is not actually playing from the look of it, right? i don't see any actual music being played. maybe this is track. in any event, it's getting harder to hear. coming up next, a dramatic story from pakistan today on faith, justice and sharia law. it started with a young christian girl accused of burning the ce ran, but there's now a dramatic twist involving an imam accused of planting
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evidence. and which candidate really has the best new idea for fixing the economy? the president yesterday accused mitt romney of not offering a single new idea, not getting specific with his plan. just ahead, a debate over what the president is offering for solutions. >> when governor romney had his chance to let you in on the secret sauce of job creation --b [laughter] erence. like how a little oil from here can be such a big thing in an old friend's life. we discovered that by blending enhanced botanical oils into our food, we can help brighten an old dog's mind so he's up to his old tricks. it's just one way purina one is making the world a better place... one pet at a time. discover vibrant maturity and more at purinaone.com.
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megyn: we have a dramatic story from pakistan today that is now gaining worldwide attention. a possible reprieve for a young christian girl accused of blasphemy against islam. the young girl is facing the death penalty for allegedly burning the quran, but now a muslim imam is under arrest accused of planting evidence to make christians look bad. trace gallagher has the details from our west coast newsroom. trace? >> reporter: and, megyn, some
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people say this young girl is 11 years old, others say she's 14. either way, she appears to have downs syndrome, and we are not going to identify her. she's been in jail for two weeks, and she'll be there at least until friday because her bond hearing has been canceled twice. and now you have the very well known cleric who has been arrested for allegedly framing this girl. but here's the deal. many muslims who lev in the village -- who live in the village are calling for the cleric to be freed and for the girl to be punished. and even ifs she is acquitted, she's in grave danger because those accused of fending islam are often killed by public mobs, even children. human rights groups say the blasphemy laws in pakistan which call for the death penalty for speaking ill of islam are used to prosecute nonmuslims and settle vendettas. for example, last january the governor of the punjab province
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called for reforming blasphemy laws. he was assassinated by his bodyguard. just 4% of pakistanis are christians. this girl lives in this village with very few other christians, and many of them have left the village altogether, and it won't be until at least friday, megyn, before we find out this girl's fate. megyn: all right. trace gallagher, thank you. well, a growing debate over who has the best plan to get americans back to work. the rnc gives a look at what the president is offering for solutions. and through the summer of 1980 president reagan was trailing significantly in the polls with the race tightening up right around the time of the national convention. like mitt romney, he was trying to unseat a one-term incumbent. unemployment then, like it is today, was the big issue. and can reagan was being portrayed as someone who was out of touch with real working
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with a look at what kind of solutions they say president obama is really offering. >> these are the steps that we must take. there are plenty of steps we can take right now, right now to start getting our economy back on track, to help create jobs and grow this economy. megyn: joining me now, leslie marshall, a syndicated radio talk show host and a fox news contributor, and lars larson who's a syndicated radio host with media networks. all right, guys. so the rnc comes out with this ad, lars, that says, you know, all this focus on mitt romney and what specific new ideas he's offered, and they're pointing the finger back at president obama saying where are your new ideas? we're hearing the same rhetoric we heard four years ago. fair? >> well, of course it's fair because the president made promises to bring back jobs to keep unemployment low, and his ideas are really old democrat ideas; borrow money, spend money
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on make-work jobs that really don't make jobs long internship. what are romney's old-fashioned ideas that the dnc wants to disparage? oh, drilling for oil, digging coal, doing some trade agreements that the president hasn't bother to do while china's writing trade agreements right and left. those are old-fashioned ideas, but they make jobs. the president's idea? i guess borrow money and make more make-work jobs for a few years and see if that works. megyn: leslie, what specifically do we expect to hear from president obama tonight or thursday night that's new? what have you heard from him recently that's new in terms of turning this country around? >> well, actually, we're seeing a lot of new turn around and, lars, i missed you so much being away, and i can tell you missed me greatly that i was away on vacation for a week and you the week before. [laughter] when we look at just today what's happening n rockford, illinois, there's a chrysler plant that's busier than it's
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ever been. they were dark can. there are more jobs in the auto industry as one example. today we have home sales up across the board except, i think, in alabama and delaware. that's looking pretty good, 48 out of 50 of our or states. the president needs to talk about and will address a lot of these positives which he has always maintained from the beginning was going to be a very slow climb and a very slow growth. >> leslie, leslie, what are the new ideas? she asked you what the new ideas are there. aren't any new ideas. he's saying in some states things are doing better not because of what the president has done. what are the new ideas that barack obama -- >> honestly, part of the new idea, lars, would be the new concept of congress both left and right working together, and that has to be done whether it's your guy or my guy -- >> do you mean rubber stamping anything -- >> -- in the white house in november. when you talk about new ideas, lars, you're -- [inaudible conversations] megyn: let me jump in because that's the point.
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what can president obama -- is this music as irritating to you folks at home as it is to me? i can't hear -- [laughter] my apologies. there's only so much we can do with the band practicing for their big evening. the question i have for you, leslie, is what can he say to the people specifically that he's going to do if the republicans stay in the control of the house and we have a divided congress and we give president obama another term? what specifically is he telling the american people he can get by the existing republican-controlled house? >> when the president speaks to the not just the democrats out there, but to the american people, he needs to do something that i think he and others failed with health care reform regarding, megyn, and that is to be concise and to be specific about where we are, where we were, where we're headed and how and what mitt romney is doing
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differently -- >> oh, leslie. >> -- and how there is nothing new coming from mitt romney except paul ryan regurgitating the ideas that he put forth before that many americans, especially the elderly populationover america, don't favor. megyn: but let me get back to you, lars. i'm going to give you the floor larceny, but that's my question. if president obama continues to say mitt romney's not offering anything new, at some point the american electorate's going to say what are you offering that is new? where is the answer to that question? >> exactly. let me give you a couple of specifics that he could act on tomorrow. he could activate the keystone pipeline into canada, and that would bring more jobs. he could do a number of things. he could make it easier to lease lands to drill for oil on public lands which is down, leslie. most of the drilling that's gone up is on private lands mostly outside of federal control. there are a number of things. the president, well, the other evening dr. rice pointed out,
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condoleezza rice pointed out that china's negotiated 15 new trade treaties while the obama administration has negotiated zero, and china's on track to negotiate 18 more of them in. those trade treaties mean jobs for americans as we sell our goods around the country. those are within his control without congress, and if you're saying he can't be successful without an all-democrat congress, he had an all-democrat congress for two years, and he did diddley squat with it. we've got high unemployment for, what, now we're headed to 44 months of high unemployment? this is crazy. he's offered nothing new except borrow and spend. it's not going to work if they give him four more years. megyn: go ahead, leslie, as now peace and quiet overcomes the arena. [laughter] maybe they're watching "america live." maybe they have our program on. >> it's something that you would break up -- i was hoping you'd break out in song. [laughter] megyn: listen, they sounded very nice but very loud. go ahead, leslie. >> lars, you have such a short memory because we have sat here
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on this very show on a very segment like this discussing what the president should have been in washington and he was negotiating trade deals with brazil, etc., so, please, don't talk to me about the president completely neglecting trade, first and foremost. secondly, with regard to china, at least the president's willing to work in a globalceps with china -- sense with china. mitt romney just wants to put an x on the map there. megyn: but just to -- [inaudible conversations] i have to wrap it up. i have to wrap it up, but i really would like your response to this, leslie. okay, that's fine, china, whatever. what can he get up and tell these folks on thursday night, you know, the folks whoo gather, 75,000 of them at bank of america stadium and the american public, about what new ideas he can offer america in a second term if we have divided government? >> first of all, i don't feel he will fail if we have divided government. other presidents in the past left and right have been able to work with a split congress, but
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that is up to congressional members. the president has a number of things that he can put forth. first of all, with regards to health care, and i know you don't like this, lars, but -- >> it kills jobs! >> -- will create jobs. >> kills jobs. >> secondly, as he's already done with regards to the auto industry will create jobs as we are seeing today more jobs created, right at this very moment with regard to the auto industry. he needs to also talk about how the private sector and the public sector need to work together instead of the demonization of lars and his buddies with regard to the federal government. because it is the small businesses that work with the federal government to create those tax dollars to build those highways, roads and bridges. >> [inaudible] megyn: all right, guy cans, i've got to -- guys, i've got to run. >> he gave chrysler away. megyn: even though the band has given us this beautiful forum to talk in silence, i have another
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guest coming up. always a pleasure, thanks so much. >> thanks, megyn. love ya, leslie. [laughter] megyn: coming up next, a new piece in "the new york times" suggesting valley jarrett may be -- valerie jarrett may be the person with the most influence on white house decisions on how america is run. we'll take a closer look at this political adviser and ask why exactly is she getting taxpayer-funded secret service? we're being told this is a big deal. and at this time in 1980 president reagan was trailing significantly in the polls with the race tightening up right around the time of the national conventions and thereafter. unemployment was the big issue, reagan was being portrayed as someone out of touch with real working families, and wait until you see what else we found. [ mother ] you can't leave the table till you finish your vegetables. [ clock ticking ] [ male announcer ] there's a better way... v8 v-fusion. vegetable nutrition they need, fruit taste they love. could've had a v8...
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playing again. bear with us. [laughter] who knows how the show's going to go o from this point. new questions this afternoon about the influence of one of the president's closest friends and advisers. the questions arise from a new york times profile suggesting that valerie jarrett, seen here, is really the power behind the president. and sets the agenda in the white house. the piece telling the story of her relationship with the president and how he leans on her as he fights for four more years in the white house. richard miniter is author of the book, requested leading from be-- "leading from behind." this piece in "the new york times" goes back for several pages and talks about how she may be a mother or sister figure to the president, but she is somebody who has huge, huge amounts of power and is the person who is sort of his liberal left-leaning conscience in the white house. put it in perspective. >> well, it's hard to overestimate valerie jarrett's role in advising the president. first of all, most advisers
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usually have an expertise like water policy or disarmament, but her expertise beyond chicago politics and real estate seems to be barack obama's personality and personal needs. she has been a mentor to the president since 1991, and this is in my book but not in "the new york times" article, they met at a café in chicago in 1991, both obamas and valerie jarrett from. that moment forward, she's shaped both of their careers. so this is a very unusual figure in american history, and if valerie jarrett is a mentor to both the first lady and the president at the same time, and they're deeply indebted to her. every major job that michelle obama has held since 1981 in one way or another was gotten for her by valerie jarrett, and for barack obama she played a key role in all of his campaigns from 1991 forward, and it's hard to overestimate how large of a role she has. barack obama has said she never makes an important decision without talking to her first. megyn: all right.
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this is how i'm going to do the interview now. hopefully, i'll have hearing by the end of the program. i want to ask you about the secret service detail because we're talking to former white house people who are saying this is extraordinary for her to have her own secret service detail 24/7 door to door -- [inaudible] full secret service detail paid for by the taxpayers. how extraordinary is that? >> well, it makes it hard to -- [inaudible] doesn't it? it's very unusual. karl rove who had a similar but much more diminished role compared to valerie jarrett certainly didn't have a secret service detail. megyn: right after 9/11, some top bush aides had it right after 9/11. >> for a brief period of time. right. and it was a temporary measure. but for the most part, only the president and the first lady as well as retired presidents or former presidents get secret service detail -- megyn: and the vice president.
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>> and, of course, the vice president and the second lady. it's enormously expensive to taxpayers. because valerie jarrett travels so frequently both to camp david and can on overseas trips with one or both of the obamas, it seems to make sense, at least that was the part of the article that made it internally. megyn: she has said to have really play add key role when it comes to this contraception mandate that has caused so much trouble for the president politically, requiring coverage of reproductive, you know, of contraception. and, apparently, this was said to have gotten a little out of control for the president politically, but valerie jarrett was the one steering this. is it true that she's sort of his liberal conscience? >> she's certainly far to the left of the american mainstream, and she comes out of the african-american aristocracy, i mean, for generations her family has gone to elite schools and done very well and been influential in politics, and
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that as a result gives them a sort of an establishment left view. and perhaps even more so. valerie jarrett has come out publicly for redistrict b the wealth -- redistricting the wealth, so it would not be surprising that she is sort of seen as the left side of barack's brain. she is described by staffers, by the way, as the other half of barack's brain. also when he wants to take a more moderate course, she meets with him, and then he suddenly changes to a more left-wing course. so she seems to have some direct influence, but it's hard to measure exactly. megyn: they said whereas karl rove was called president bush's political brain, she's been called barack obama's political spine because she is, apparently, reminding him at all turns about how he was elected to office to fulfill a liberal mandate, and when he starts veering to the center, she's there to pull him back to the left. in that regard, is she serving him well politically? is that working well for this
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president as he seeks a second term in the white house? >> well, i don't think it's serving the president very well in two senses. one, because valerie jarrett tends to quarrel with other strong women who would otherwise be allies of the president. i mean, she's famously behind driving oprah winfrey away from the obama white house. and, of course, her clashes with hillary and with susan rice and other strong women in the senior levels of the administration have caused problems. she is a wave maker. she acts like a chief of staff without the responsibilities of a chief of staff. and this new york times article we've been talking about is extraordinary because "the new york times" has sort of waited more than four years to take a close look at valerie jarrett. this should have been looked at in '08 or '09 when her role was just emerging. megyn: the bush administration had karl rove, we also remember harriet meyers. richard, thank you. we are hearing that the democrats will likely push
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forward on their campaign message that the gop is waging a war on women with speeches by sandra fluke and others, and coming up republican south carolina governor nikki haley will join me to answer those attacks. and hurricane isaac[ fe unearthing a mystery.? more on that coming up. and annoying account fees. at e-trade, our free easy-to-use online tools and experienced retirement specialists can help you build a personalized plan. and with our no annual fee iras and a wide range of low cost investments, you can execute the plan you want at a low cost. so meet with us, or go to etrade.com for a great retirement plan with low cost investments. ♪
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megyn: hurricane isaac uncovers a piece of american history off the coast of alabama. the sell -- skeleton of a ship with an illicit past all revealed. trace gallagher has the details. >> reporter: you talk about a ghost ship rising, this is pretty amazing. some historians have looked at this, and they believe this is a blockade runner built by the brits back during the civil war. president lincoln, you'll recall, ordered the blockade to
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cut off the south from trading with europe with hopes of weakening the confederate army. now, these runner boats about 150 long were designed to outrun the steamships and bring much-needed supplies to confederate states. this ship you're looking at is the monticello, crashed and burned trying to get through the union ships guarding the bay. but other historians believe it's the aurora which was a rum-running boat back during prohibition in the 1920s, and we spoke to another historian today who says, nope, it's neither of the above. she says, quoting here: we believe it is a 20th century schooner named rachel that wrecked while she was carrying a load of timber during the 1930s. we know this because we actually spoke with people who remembered the incident from their childhood. it's been partly uncovered back during hurricane ivan in 2004, again during hurricane ike a little bit in 2008, and now again for hurricane isaac.
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so whenever there's a hurricane that begins with an i, you see this ship. but it won't be there for long because the sands will shift, and the ship will be covered up again soon enough, megyn. but quite a sight on the beach in mobile bay. megyn: sure is. all right, trace, thank you. coming up, new fallout for the white house after the president gives himself a grade of incomplete when he's asked to rate his performance on the economy. we'll tell you why he said that and why some say that answer does not cut it. plus, president ronald reagan was trailing significantly right around the time of the national conventions. the polls were tight, this is back in 1980, and unemployment was the big issue. at the time he was called out of touch with real working families. sound familiar? wait until you see the rest of what history may have to teach us. and the u.s. national debt is expected to cross $16 trillion today. we'll tell you how much that really is. how much is that per family? and look at how long this spending spree can continue. ♪ ♪
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megyn: a fox news alert on challenges for the president's reelection team as they head into this week of the democratic election. president obama speaking at an event in virginia a short time ago. for weeks his team has been on the attack. but now they are facing new head winds with that new poll from the hill we reported on last hour. and how voters see themselves four years after the president took office and controversy over how the president grades himself when it comes to the economy. here is what he said with a local tv station. >> reporter: your party says you inherited a bad situation.
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you had 3 1/2 years to fix it. what grade would you give yourself so far? >> i would say incomplete. megyn: here is ed henry a few feet below me on the floor of the time-warner cable arena. >> reporter: this is the second straight day the president's team runs the risk of being overshadowed by one of these damned if you do, damned if you don't questions. when people like governor martin o'malley of maryland said no we are not better off, they said ah-hah. take a listen to what the president said in a little bit more of thatyou know, i would sy incomplete. historically after these big financial crises, where a lot of
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people are dealing with debt or a collapse of a housing market, that creates bigger challenges and we are seeing this not just in the united states but around the world. >> reporter: white house officials pointed out the president said this in interviews before. what they did not mention is some of those interviews were quite a bit a time ago, not 3 1/2 years into the first term. in an interview with oprah winfrey he said he deserve a b:plus. i think the challenge for the president when he gives his speech thursday night is to explain what he means by incomplete. i think today in that event at norfolk, virginia, the president was trying to suggest what he would do in a second term. >> the other side may not have been eager to talk about their ideas, but on thursday night i'm going look forward to sharing mine with you.
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[cheers and applause] >> thursday night i will offer what i believe is a better path forward. a path that will create good jobs, and strengthen our middle class and grow our economy. >> reporter: the mayor of los angeles, the chairman of this convention said today he deserve an "a" for effort. suggesting he gets an "a" for effort for trying to do a good job and turn this economy around. the big question for the president thursday night is what have you actually done, what's the record, megyn. megyn: what happens when you get an incomplete in a class. now i sounds like my nana. when i went to school and you got an incomplete it counts as zero. and you had to retake it class. maybe that's what president obama wants to start at beginning and get another four years. >> reporter: i got a lot of those and got in trouble with my
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mom but it forced me to go back to the table and do better. all right, ed, thank you. this is what happens when you have brit hume out here. he has a few opinions about the news. how big a deal would this economy question be in november? just ahead we'll have a fair and balanced debate with ed rollins and joe trippi. is incomplete acceptable? that's coming up. the gop made the country's soaring debt a key theme of its national convention putting the debt clock center stage. it's on track to hit $17 trillion today. just to give you context on that number with 12 zeros. you would have to spend $900,000 every hour since the birth of christ to burn through $16 trillion. i always get nervous when we do
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math on the show. but that's $900,000 an hour for 2, 012 years. we are getting reports that former president bill clinton is still tinkering with his speech he's scheduled to give in charlotte. it will be one of the most closely watched speeches of this convention and some analysts say it's critical to president obama's effort to win a second term. what can we expect when clinton takes to the stage? now it's your turn, brit. you know his story and what is likely to happen tomorrow night. riskier thanked a van taken just to the obama team? >> reporter: i don't think it's particularly risky. i remember when he was president he would be editing his state of the union addresses in the presidential limousine on the
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way to capitol hill. the obama people may get a chance to look at his speech. but from what i'm hearing, they are only going to look at it. they are not -- they will not dictate content of it or tell him what message they want heard. he knows. he's a very skilled politician. if he made the full decision we hear he's made, that he's going support this president and do all he can to get him reelected he will give an effective speech on his behalf. there are problems with that because clinton pursued in the second half of his first term an entirely different course from the one barack obama has chosen. the contrast between the two men within the democratic party couldn't be great. bill clinton was the leader of the moderate wing of the democratic party. barack obama comes clearly out of the left wing of the democratic party. the contrast is obvious and they clearly have major disagreements.
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i think bill clinton considers himself to be much more of a politician than obama. and i'm sure all will be well and we all may hope something dramatic will happen that will trip up the obama people because it would make news, but i wouldn't bet on it. megyn: we may not want to bet on a repeat of his performance in 1998 where people cleared when he said "in conclusion." >> we met after our defeat. he was teaching at kennedy school and i was the youngest ex-governor in american history. [crowd chanting]
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megyn: they were chanting "we want mike." >> reporter: this young boy governor, rising star in the party, keynote address of that convention. it was dominated -- thought it was michael dukakis' convention it was dominated in part by jesse jackson. it was the endless speech by clinton that was boring and laid a total egg in the hall. he had to make a comeback after that speech. megyn: he had to go on the morning shows the next day. last time around he spoke on barack obama's behalf and it was a much more divisive time. we expect him to do well tomorrow night. how important is the obama campaign to you? this is usually the speech the vice president gives. and we were told that some in the obama campaign were
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suggesting we'll let him have a speaking role and put him in a non-prime time band. bill clinton said i don't think so. >> reporter: he will formally place the president's name in nomination. that's a big role. clearly the obama people are looking for help from this man. he had a successful economy. megyn: does that work? people thinking he likes obama, i like obama. >> reporter: i never thought endorsements mattered that much. but people are watching the convention and he may be able to convince some people obama is in the clinton tradition. in policy terms he is not. both of them are more liberal than any republican nominee, but he comes from a different background ideologically and otherwise. my sense is it can't hurt. and the people in the party remember clinton because he was so successful. i don't think it's going to
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change many votes. megyn: it will be one of the highlights of the convention. brit will be here and we'll have another opportunity to speak. there will be some other highly anticipated speakers tonight on that stage. the first lady michelle obama will take to the stage just after the speaker. san antonio mayor julian castro. cory booker. he called the president's attacks on wall street and bain capital nauseating. he had to come out and walk that back. we hear from actress eva longoria. and remember folks we'll have continuing coverage of the democratic national convention throughout the week. i'll be live from charlotte beginning at 1:00 p.m. then we'll resume with our special prime time coverage of
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in the events at 10:00 p.m. eastern time. a popular children's network is in trouble after an actor sends out a series of lewd tweets involving congressman ryan's wife. we'll have details but it won't be too many details. sandra fluke is among the speakers at the convention expected to push forward with the allegation of a republican war on women. we'll ask nicky haley how the gop answers the view that republicans don't care about women. coming up * 's son michael with what lessons history may have for us in these final three days. [ male announcer ] inside the v8 taste lab.
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megyn: a lineup of high-profile women on the speaker's list for the democratic convention suggesting democrats may be pushing more of their theme that there may be a republican war on women. among those invited to speech, former georgetown university law student sandra fluke and cecil richards the head of planned parenthood and the head of naral. governor, welcome. it does not appear they are getting ready to abandon that argument even though the pollsters tell us it's not necessarily resonating with women, but the democrats seem to feel differently. they will put out this group of women who will say republicans don't believe in protecting
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women's reproductive rights. you see sandra fluke -- she wants birth control to be free. and you have got the pro-choice advocates who will say republicans don't want womb convenient to decisions about their own bodies. >> it's so insulting because that's not the case. we all know someone who has lost a case and we felt our wallets get tighter and we watched the debt our children are going have to pay rise. gas prices have doubles, median incomes lower. women care about a lot of issues. i know pro-choice women in the republican party. i know pro life women in the democratic party. if this is all the democrats have, they are in trouble. megyn: they are likely to talk about the democratic party platform. it does not condemn partial birth abortion it's pro-choice and some would say pro abortion. but they condemn the republican
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party platform as not explicitly providing for an exception in the case of rape other life of the mother. mitt romney says he phase but the platform doesn't. >> all of this is a distraction. at the end of the day that's not what we talking about when it comes to deciding a president. this is a president that gave himself an incomplete yesterday. he basically said that he has had an incomplete in the last four years. in school my children if they get an incomplete they fail. megyn: i was talking about that with brit. i want to take you back on track. i feel like you deflected me on that last one. it is the issue for some people. some people care about the social issues. while they care about the economy they also care about reproductive rights. they don't want the republicans if they come into office telling women if you have been raped or
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you need an abortion to save your life, our platform is you can't have one. >> in south carolina we have don't on our own. we have ultrasounds for that. should that be a platform issue? the republicans made eight platform issue because they knew the democrats were going to make it a platform issue. i'm not going to decide on the president on that issue. we are never going to get 100% of what we want whether it's at work or family or anything we do. but we'll try to get the most of what we can get. what we can say is we deserve better. megyn: i want to ask you about the contraception issue. that gotten pushback from religious groups saying you can't force us to provide birth control for our employees. and they filed lawsuits about this. the spokesperson for this issue for some reason has become the
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former georgetown law student, her name is sandra fluke and she made comments about how upset she was that students at georgetown law would have to spend up to $3,000 a year on their own birth control and she felt insurance companies had an obligation to cover that for them. take a listen to what she is about to say tomorrow night. >> even though it's 2012 we are still having the debate that we thought were won before i was even born. the debate about access to contraception and whether a woman has the right to make her own healthcare decisions. we must remember we have a candidate, president obama who understands the importance of women getting access to the care they need when they need it. [cheers and applause] megyn: getting access to contraception. >> they totally changed the conversation. they are saying groups that
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don't want to cover abortions are contraceptions don't have to. that's an american freedom and you have the right that. she is turning this into an access issue it many not an access issue. florida if there is a religious organization that doesn't want to offer that in their healthcare, she shouldn't have to. why should she force them to do that? megyn: do you think this issue even though it's on the back burner when you look at the polls. folks are worried about jobs and the economy and the debt. do you think this issue could cost democrats? we have seen in particular in ohio, the polls even out now between president obama and mitt romney, and many people believe that the catholic vote in ohio may not be responding to this argument the way the obama team had planned. >> i think you will see women in every state look at the entire issue and i think democrats will see this come back to bite. you can tell a woman all day long republicans hate. but you can say it 20 times and they are still not going to
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believe you. they are going to look at results, they will look at what they want. what they know is the access is there. pro life and pro-choice is something women go through and they experience different things and come up with their views on their own. i happen to be pro life not because republicans told me to be, but because my husband was adopted and i had trouble having children. to make this the only political issue democrats think they have to say to women is just insulting to women and i don't think women are going to bite and i think we'll see those numbers change. megyn: thank you. it's a pleasure to see you. coming up a week after hurricane isaac ripped across the gulf we have news from louisiana about the extent of the damage and the numbers are dramatic. he's the republican vp nominee and she is his wife. paul and jenna ryan just got secret code names from the
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megyn: a fox news alert from the campaign trail. associated press is reporting plr's presidential campaign raids at least $100 million in the month of august for the third consecutive month. the early numbers which include money raised by the national republican party will be publicly released next week. this makes august the fourth month in a row that the romney team outraised the president's reelection effort including money collected by the democratic party. we also have breaking news on
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the aftermath of hurricane isaac. in the last few minutes officious announced the storm damages 13,000 homes in louisiana. isaac ripped across the gulf coast one week ago today. one prominent senator compared the aftermath to that of katrina. >> reporter: that figure is only in louisiana. mississippi and alabama also hit extremely hard. so these numbers are only going to go up. but let many give sow good news. 95% of the power has been restored in this state according to the utility provider entergy. they expect the other 5% to go online by tonight. except in areas that are so flooded that crews can't even get in to repair the infrastructure. this is a fema center behind me. it's one of five that are set up
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throughout the region. these disaster recovery centers as they are called, areas where storm victims can come to get registered. sign for assistance. make temporary house arrangements. brand-new numbers from the feds as well. 95,000 people have sought help. $5.8 million in assistance grants have been awarded for folks who lived in spots like this that are still under water a week later. folks who have lost everything. >> it's all completely gone. we didn't save much of anything. it's toast. >> all of the evacuation orders have been lifted. now the focus is on recovery and on healing, megyn. megyn: a comedian, actor send out lewd tweets involving the
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megyn: fox news alert. breaking details on a story we have been following on "america live" as the pentagon confirms a tell-all book on the mission to kill usama bin laden does in their view reveal classified information. the book "no easy day" was written bay former member of the navy seal team six. this guy who wrote the book was one of the first guys through the door. a pentagon spokesman told reporters it is the height of irresponsiblability not to have this material checked. the guy didn't run it by the pentagon before he published it. the book was released today. we'll bring you more on this story as we get it. we are live in
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charlotte, north carolina. want to tell our viewers they have children out on the stage now. they have been repeating the pledge of allegiance. and together national anthem. we are trying to forge through that not being disrespectful to the flag and the pledge. a campaign debate growing over the president's appraisal of how he has handled the economy. here is what he told the colorado tv station last night. >> reporter: your party says you inherited a bad situation. you had 3 1/2 years to fix it. what grade would you give yourself so far for fixing it. >> i would say incomplete. megyn: we'll take a listen once. then we'll continue with our programming. ♪ whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight
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[cheers and applause] megyn: that's amber riley of the hit tv show "glee." we want to bring you ed rollins who is a fox news contributor. he has had major roles in nine national campaigns. and joe trippi who is the former campaign manager for howard dean. the president gives himself an incomplete. i never got an incomplete when i went to syracuse. but i thought the reason not to get one is it got factors into your gpa as a zero. if he said "a" he would have looked out of touch. if he said less than "a" republicans would have pounced on it >> it's the right answer. it does turn into a zero if you don't complete the job. from the point of view of -- you are right about what would have
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happened if he answered with an "a" people would have those was recklessly out of touch. but, 800,000 jobs were being lost when he came in. now we have 29 months of private sector job creation. he got us out of iraq. he still needs to get us out of afghanistan and is drawing down on that. usama bin laden is dead and the manufacturing sector is growing at a faster stronger pace than the 1990s. but still a lot needs to be done to complete the job, create more jobs. i think it's the right answer for him. i don't think there was a better one. megyn: you know, ed, does this stuff matter or is this trivial nonsense. what grade would you give yourself. if you were a tree, what kind of tree ... is this what drives elections >> it drives voters nuts. i think the president was correct. he has an incomplete grade at this time.
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he has not accomplished what he set out to accomplish. the truth of the matter is there is no guarantee there will be a changed policy if he gets reelected. at the end of the day a guy who does teach at a college. if you come in and you haven't completed your papers and you haven't basically showed up for class but you went out golfing and 150 fundraisers and say give me more time, give me another semester to complete this one you are not going to get a passing grade from me and i'm sure you are not going to get a passing grade from the american public. it's better to say here is what i think i have accomplished. tack them off as joe did. megyn: we play these games with the politicians, the media and the voting public. the gthe gotcha incomplete. no, we are not better off than we were four years ago, yes we are better off than we were four years ago.
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as interesting as that may be to see the politicians do the rope-a-dope. does that stuff matter? the hill came out with polling showing what americans actually feel. and that poll says that 52% believe the country is in worse condition than it was four year. 54% do not believe president obama deserves to be reelected. they seem to be telling us they don't feel that good about the way things have been going the past few years. >> it's a sour mood. the right track-wrong track. americans by a large margin believe the country is on the wrong strak track. but the polling says they are largely conflicted about both these candidates. they believe that obama's got a better chance of turning around the economy, even though they say they don't approve of his
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record on the economy. and they have questions about romney and his likability -- they don't like him have much in terms -- relative to obama they still like him. what i'm frying to say. we have different numbers from different polls. the fact is voters are conflicted about these two guys. otherwise romney would be ahead of obama. megyn: harry reid has taken to the stage. he's somebody who has slung some mud in this campaign suggesting based on nothing that sources told him mitt romney hadn't paid taxes in 10 years and never backed it up. but the numbers seem to have faded in the wake of the republican convention. >> hundreds of million of dollars have been spent trying to distort his record. we are in a dead-even race.
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the american public got to see him last week, got see him perform ably. got to see him talk in terms of where he's going to go. four years ago it was a bush critique. even republicans were tired of eight years of bush. john mccain was not a great candidate. even though was an american hero. we know the president can't do the things he promised. to say give me another term and i'll finish the job i started is absurd. i think the american people will vote him out of office. megyn: to avoid the referendum on him, that he does need to stay on offense going after mitt romney, making him an unacceptable choice. and what are the risks of that politically making him look small in a way that he definitely did not back in 2008?
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>> i think what's -- the thing out there right now and we saw this before the republican convention. people made up their minds about barack obama. they decided they like him, they don't like him. they have a favorable opinion of him or they don't. or they have a job he profl rating. but they don't know enough about mitt romney. that's the opening for mitt romney that i think he achieved portraying himself in a positive life at this convention. but for the democrats they need to continue the contrast, obama and romney in a way that does not favor romney. they are going to do that. the republicans have taken to saying the president was handed a bad hand. inferring it was bad luck. they will say not was bad policies and romney and ryan want to go back to those policies that got us in this mess. the president had to finish the
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job and give him another term to create more jobs. we got usama bin laden. to keep doing that backwards-forwards. that's where the paydirt is for the obama campaign. that's what i think they will do for the convention the next three days. megyn: coming up a growing controversy at nickel oweddan after one of its stars tweet some ugly comments about ann romney and janna ryan. we'll tell you how it was and what that network is doing about it. unemployment was a big issue and mr. reagan was being portrayed as someone out of touch with real working families. sound familiar? wait until you see the rest of what history may have to teach us after this break with michael reagan. what do we do when something that's hard to paint,
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>> we should acknowledge that ronald reagan ran a smart, classy, high-road campaign. not only did he fail to make a mistake. but he made a lot of smart moves. as we go along during the night make some notes. jimmy carter had no message to offer the voters. he's standing on what he consistently ran. his job rating caught up with him. ronald reagan used the debate to convince votessers that he wasn't the mad bomb from the west. he convinced people unemployment was a key issue all through this campaign, especially in the midwest where jimmy carter won only one state, walter mondale's home state of minnesota. in the end it was a rejection of
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the party and the liberals that have been in command through the 60s and 70s. people simply wanted a change. megyn: that was dan rather analyzing then governor ronald reagan's surprise win over jimmy carter in the 1980 presidential election. for most of the campaign season he trailed his democratic rival. but he browned him 51-41 percent. no one can predict how an election will turn out. there is still a long way to go before americans head to the polls this november. michael reagan is the son of president ronald reagan. welcome back. that dan rather clip is classic. it's fascinating to see. you look at polls leading up to that november 4, 1980 vote, and your dad was not beating jimmy
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carter in most of them from january to november. >> i know. i took 66 airplane rides to visit 16 states between october 6 and november 3. my sister maureen was together same thing. we were looking at those polls. my father was out there just -- the best way to describe it is the way jimmy stuart described my far it. ronald reagan's starred as best friend. ronald reagan became the best friend to the nation. he showed that he wasn't that war monger that the left kept on building him up as. he really was a nice guy and cared about america and was a cheerleader for america. megyn: do you think we could still see that kind of situation? it seems like you tell me -- it seems like there are more polls and more 24/7 cable news analysis and more social media covering the elections. do you think we could see this
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time around a race that's that tight and winds up with such a disparate result on election day? >> i think there are people who want to vote for mitt romney. but he has to convince them he's not the monger and tax cheat. that he's a nice buy with the best interests of america at heart. in fact he wants to move this country forward. ronald reagan ran a smart campaign. it was not a negative campaign. it was a positive campaign an moved it forward. i think people are looking for someone to be positive about america. you have the case where barack obama does nothing but blame the past instead of moving us forward. with mitt romney he can learn a lot from the 1980 campaign. megyn: dan rather talking about how president carter struggled with his base. he consistently ran ahead of his job approval rating, trying to
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paint your dad as some mad hollywood bomber who was not presidential. there are some similarities there between what was happening in that race and what was happening in this race. >> unemployment. look at the inrates. unemployment. 1980 price of fuel, 1979-1980. these were all work against jimmy carter along with the hostages that had been held over 400 days. ronald reagan kept moving forward to talk about what he wanted to do to move us forward, and put people back to work and make it morning in america again. he had a positive message for the future. jimmy carter had no message for the future. you can't run on i didn't get it all done this time, maybe i'll get it done next time. ronald reagan didn't say elect me to finish the job. the job was already being finished in 1983 when his tax
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cuts took effect. megyn: michael reagan. your dad's convention and the one debate he had with jimmy carter turned it all around. the controversy over an actor at a kids' net. call imperial structured settlements. the experts at imperial can convert your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today.
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the nickelodeon. dennis neil is here to explain. >> jason biggs has always been one to take the low road. he made his name by having unnatural relations with an apple pie. now he's gone too far on twitter. last week during the republican national convention biggs tweeted some obscene comments about the wives of mitt romney and paul ryan. he tweeted speculation about parts of their body. those posted messages sparked some outraged responses on this twitter page. worse yet, jason biggs' twitter account is twittered to kids at nickelodeon which is coming out with the "mutant ninja turtles
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which has biggs' voice. some are urging nickelodeon to fire the actor. you so far anyone owedon hasn't put out a response. and the mainstream media hasn't taken much notice of this verbal assault on ann and jan. conservatives say you would see a media firestorm if rush limbaugh had tweeted something lewd about michelle jason biggs hasn't apologized. waiting for a response from anyone owedon and i had no calls. megyn: i checked out his twitter page. i don't recommend it. really disturbing, vial, hateful material on there. dennis, thank you. we'll be right back. don't go away. okay, team! after age 40, we can start losing muscle --
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