>> expect a prolonged period of time that we'll deal with very heavy rain, locally i to 18 inches. a storm surge up to a foot above normal levels. martha: thank you very much much. bill: fox news is your election headquarters. follow us anyway you want, tv, web or foxnews.com. rnc is the website all week. we'll catch you a bit later. "happening now" starts right now. jon: we begin with fox news alert, an eye on isaac as that killer tropical storm gains strength in the gulf of mexico barreling towards new orleans nearly seven years to the day after hurricane katrina devastated that stretch of the gulf coast. good morning to you i'm jon scott. jenna: lots of news to get to today. i'm jenna lee. the brand-new information on isaac's track, let's talk more about this. forecast to become a hurricane a little later on today, states of emergency in effect with warnings and watches along the gulf coast, and evacuation orders already in place.

this is a storm that pounded parts of florida with high winds and rain leaving flooding behind and forcing a one-day delay at the republican national convention. we don't want to minimize the importance of this storm and its potential danger but we'd be remiss in not talking a little bit about how isaac could still complicate things for the g.o.p. as they try and strike a balance between celebrating governor romney's nomination and paying attention to the storm taking an eerily similar path. first we have team fox coverage of isaac. janice dean is live in the fox weather center getting a new bulletin on the storm. we'll be with here in a moment. we'll start with jonathan serrie live in new orleans. how seriously are residents taking the warnings there? >> very seriously. long lines at gas stations, some residents taking to twitter and

other social media to alert others as to which gas station still has supplies. we also went to stock up on supplies at a local supermarket and found the store completely out of bottled water, almost out of bread and running low on flashlights and other supplies that you might need in a hurricane. it's not an indication of any roads being sealed off, as you can see the weather here is absolutely beautiful, trucks can come and go, but it just shows you the consumer demand for these supplies. residents of new orleans clearly taking the warnings very seriously, jenna. jenna: that seems like good news at least at this time. we mention the timing, isaac is expected to make landfall on the 7th anniversary of hurricane karina. that is astonishing. you can't write that. that's ironic. what is different now from seven years ago if you look at the city. >> it has changed the way people approach hurricanes. you don't hear residents talking about hurricane parties, you hear them talking about

preparation. right now there are some mandatory evacuations about to go into effect at noon local time, central time on portions of placaman's parish and outlying areas. here in new orleans it's expected that those residents will be sheltering in place. it's not expected to be as severe as katrina right now the city has no plans to open a shelter of last resort. you remember during katrina they opened the superdome. you won't see that. you will see well stocked and well prepared residents hunkering down in their homes, jenna. jenna: it wasn't just the storm, it was the storm surge as well that was such a problem for the city. something we'll be talking a lot more about. jonathan at his post in new orleans . thank you. jon: despite the threat from top box storm ice i be the republican national convention will open officially a few hours from now. the rnc chair will call the convention to order and

immediately adjourn it until tuesday. party officials were forced to cram a four-day event into three days because of the storm. reince priebus is the chairman of the republican national committee. he'll be banging the gavel at today's ceremony to bring this convention into order. the storm has largely bypassed tampa or so it would seem. are you feeling that you made the right decision to handle the convention the way you did? >> well, you had to maybe the decision, i mean, you can't make -- it's not like a baseball game where you get to make the decision just before the first pitch. you've got thousands of people and buses, and the emergency services are telling you you can't get people across the bridge. you've got to err on the side of safety when it comes to something like this. i'm sure you understand that, and when you can't get people on buses, and when the secret service takes down all the tents outside of building, obviously that is an easy call to make. jon: it seems now you've got two

challenges really, dealing with the hurricane, and also fending off the challenge from president obama and the democratic national committee. what is the bigger concern right now? >> you know, i think that the great thing about where we're at in this election is the facts are on our side . the stage as we experiment. >> charlie crist from the former governor is going to be aggressing the former democratic convention, he has a big speech there. would he say about that? >> obviously, he didn't have a future in the republican party and he is searching for a way to

rights act power. and so the democrats want to use him. and he is willing to be used. that is what he is about. i was not surprised at all. >> are you expecting this convention will give governor romney a significant bump? >> he has are to gain quite a few points on the president since the addition of paul ryan to the ticket. >> i don't know what significant means anymore. part of the different challenge in the new spectrum, this is from both sides of the aisle come you haven't two or three news cycles every single day. unlike 10 years ago, you know, 14 years ago, it is a lot different in this is a big three-day event. this is all that was going on. it is a big boost to our party, a big boost to our nominee. trying to measure what that means, it's very difficult. >> mitt romney has spent the better part of his years running for president, and yet a lot of

voters do not know him. you have this opportunity to to introduce into the nation. do you feel that the message is going to be blunted by the tropical storm or hurricane? >> first of all, we will tell the mitt romney story. which is the story of the american dream. a story that braces success that is celebrated come online as presents your success. we are going to do that. this is just the reality of life. and so you have to balance all of the news, including our convention and the mitt romney message. obviously, it is newsworthy what is going on in the gulf and we are keeping our eyes on that as well. all in all, it is still the message of optimism that we can do better, americans deserve a better future, and we are always ready in this country for a marriage. it's. bill: i know you have a busy day ahead. a lot of balls to juggle.

reince priebus, the republican national committee chairman. martha: does fox news alert for the national hurricane center releasing an update on tropical storm isaac. hurricane watch and warning. our meteorologist has been working through this. at 11:00 o'clock advisory, we have 65 miles per hour, still a tropical storm. it is trying to get its act together, but because the storm is so large, 200 miles away from the storm, having a hard time straightening. that is kind of the good news. that we are expecting a hurricane within 12 to 24 hours, and we are going to see incredible amounts of rain. this system is forecast to slow down. that is not good news. there it is as we head to monday into tuesday, coming very close to the golf course, new orleans right on top of the west of you. that means that you would get the worst of the storm surge, unfortunately come the worst of

the winds and rain. the right quadrant will come on top of you. there is that cone of uncertainty. he could move a little bit more to the left or right. certainly over the next 12 to 24 hours, trying to get this right so that we know exactly where this storm is going. still a little bit of a landfall close to new orleans. they a tattoo or a cat three storm, no, but it's going to slow down and bring incredible amounts of rain. up to 18 inches of rain. that is not good news. we are also going to see potential for tornadoes. tornadoes around the orlando area, scraping the southland, counterclockwise motion.

that is going to bring the threat for tornadoes. they are not going to be really hard-hitting tornadoes, but certainly some damage could be cost. rainfall estimates, this is just an updated amount. 18 inches across louisiana. parts of texas, the good news is that they need the rain, but not this much. not this much in a short of period of time. okay, temperatures come just to give you a temperature of what the storm is -- we are expecting a hurricane within the next 12 to 24 hours, and it could intensify landfall. we are expecting it somewhere around southeastern wheezy and a entity overnight. it is still unknown since 5:00 a.m. martha: tuesday and wednesday

looks like a hot period of the storm. >> just make mention from the storm is forecasted to slow down. that is going to be rain upon rain. potentially a very dangerous situation. >> we will be rating in washington just for search. bill: what potential mestas in the golf. martha: so many for so many people. bill: the race for the white house is in a dead heat as republicans get ready to open for the convention. governor romney running in the polls right now neck and neck with president obama. martha: a fair and honest debate ahead.

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speak to each and everyday it seems like we have some new members in this election. we do today. brand-new polls on the race for the white house. it shows that the president and governor romney are running neck and neck ahead of the convention. according to a new "washington post" abc news poll, the governor holds a slight 47 to 46% lead. in the meantime from the president's approval rating, almost dead even with 50% approving of the job mr. obama has been doing, 46% do not. even among the president's supporters, most say they are anxious about the president's performance for the next four years. joining us now is joe trippi. he fox news contributor. very comfortable there you look on the floor. >> yes, it is great to see you. nice and quiet.

martha: i'm glad you have some time for us today. the democrats generalize their strategy here. they have tried to paint governor romney as this big bad business dude. they have also tried to paint him as an extremist. that is the strategy of the last 10 weeks. do you see them changing their strategy in the next 10 weeks to come? how so? >> i don't think they will. it has been the same polls that you're talking about. it shows that it's kind of working. a large number of americans say that they think of him as somebody who will lean more to helping the rich than working people. i think with the convention, this stage is set for him to come in and try to really introduce himself to the 30% or so of american people who say they don't know enough about him. he was not able to do that before. the obama people have done an effective job interfering with his message.

like bill clinton did, at the democratic convention in 1992, what ann romney does in reaching out to women, talking about what you will do it for families -- he has to re-introduce himself. bill: bill: martha: it is also an opportunity for him to reintroduce himself as a president, a potential president of the united states. he read glamour magazine? [applause] >> no, i don't think that's on my dinner table. martha: i ask because the president just gave an interview to glamour magazine. he was giving a one on one to glamour magazine to connect with women voters. the strategists, as a strategist, do you think this is a smart move for him to give an

interview to glamour magazine? he has been giving interviews to entertainment tonight and the like. >> i absolutely think it's a great idea. i think that mitt romney should do the same thing. one of the problems is that we have is that people are sick of the negative ads in the super pacs and all the negative ads. it is pop culture. it is the best way to actually reach people. glamour magazine, entertainment tonight, those kinds of shows. we have seen this again. with clinton playing the saxophone. george bush went on some of these shows. i think it is -- i mean, it looks different with the president is doing it. i admit that. but it's a smart thing for him to be doing. bill: martha: it could be a gift, a subscription gift. i want to show you another quick number. when the polls are asking folks, do they think the country is on the right track, and you see

polls, they are very pessimistic in general. asking someone from the democrat side, if you are sitting back and you are watching the rnc and you're paying attention to the storm in the gulf of mexico, how do you create a message for next week? because you do have that opportunity to keep on creating for the next several days. how are you taking this on and what is your strategy? reporter: basically most people at this stage in the game have made a decision. that is why you see that 50% approval ratings and 46% disapproval. that is really not going to change that much. what we are seeing is that people don't have a solid opinion of romney, like it or not, that is what the obama campaign is going to do. that is where they can have the most effect. you reintroduce him. the democrats are smart. they are going to try to interrupt that. they will try to keep the pressure on. it will not give him good air

for the next four or five days. they will come into their convention and hope that the romney doesn't do that then. what you will do. in the 2008 convention, mitt romney and rudy giuliani showed up at the convention that he was nominated that. both parties will try to interrupt each other. romney will try to get some clear air here. paul ryan will try to make that's the best thing that he could do right now. martha: we will see what the next thing comes. not a lot of clear for anybody. joe, always nice to have you on the program. thank you for the time. >> republicans are doing everything they can to appeal to a key voting bloc. how they hope to use their convention to attract more women

voters. that is next. california rocked by a rare event that could last for days. we will tell you what we are we will tell you what we are talking about and how it hadr happened. let's broaden the world's energy mix. let's go.

jenna: we just spoke with joe trippi about the role of women voters in november. governor romney's wife, and company, speaking in primetime at the convention tomorrow night. the rnc will also feature several other high profile women, including kelly ayotte, nikki haley, former secretary of state, condoleezza rice, and susana martinez. newt gingrich's wife, callista gingrich. we have john with more.

reporter: this one is going to be all about women voters who make up the majority of the electorate. at present, he has a deficit of about 11 points to barack obama. governor romney is reaching out to women, talking to them about pocketbook issues, mortgages, gasoline prices, pledging on saturday that he will do whatever he can to help the growing number of women who own their own businesses. pam bondi will also be speaking tomorrow night. picking the governor romney's policies are the right ones for women in america. >> we care about the economy. we care about the job market. we care that unemployment is at an all-time high. we care that the poverty level for women is at an all-time high. reporter: the obama campaign is

countering that argument. they put on a new advertisement for women, they say that the republican party has moved too far to the right for them. i spoke with someone from the republican party asking what mitt romney could do to connect with them. marsha blackburn said she would like to see the romney campaign do something else. >> a couple of things specifically that he needs to do. the republican party has some great women. those women need to be moved to the forefront. they need to tell their story. reporter: move to the forefront even more than they are. a big program, a very powerful, prominent way.

jenna: just for the record, and rightfully so. [laughter] jenna: only the facts are. john, interesting report now. jon: let's talk about the role of women in the rnc. joining us now is eight national political reporter. aaron, we had on a poll that showed in the low 60% of the country, thinks we are in the low percentage of the track. can you explain the disparity? >> part of the reason is that president obama talks about his wife and daughters all the time. all kinds of issues that he talks about. the way that mitt romney tries to talk about it is that under president obama's administration from the unemployment rate has gone up with women. the obama campaign has tried to bounce back and say that those numbers are not quite right. but there is a disparity in how

they talk about women, certainly. jon: there is a lot of in the messaging? >> that's absolutely right. as john was pointing out in your last segment, mitt romney hasn't talked to women in a more personal way. that is part of the reason that they want to have ann romney out in a big way, trying to communicate how mitt romney is as a father and husband to get a more personal connection with women voters during his speech. jon: taking a look at some poll results. when asked which candidate will do a better job handling women's issues, president obama wins in this pool. fifty-three to 32%. that from the "washington post", abc news. that is a pretty big gap, a 21-point gap for mitt romney to try to overcome in the next 71 days. >> that's right, but if you remember, democrats have been on the defensive saying that they are better with women's health.

that is the key to the democrats keep coming. women's health and the democrats are better in terms of those policies. the romney campaign hasn't really battled back yet on that particular message. and we expect to see more of that in the next 71 days. jon: when asked whether the differences in women's issues would be a factor in voting, 48% say those entering say yes. it will be a major factor. 26% said a minor factor. and some senate would not be a factor of all. half the population is thinking that the differences are between the two parties would not be anything important at all. >> i think that's the case. they want to think about the economy and economy only and the specific issues only for the

overarching theme is about the economy and the unemployment rate. they don't want to be talking about what will be the smaller issues and there might. jon: mitt romney has been pointing out that most of the issues of them falling on women, close to 90%. >> that is part of their messaging. they bring everything about to be economy. any kind of demographics group at the obama campaign is targeting with specific issues come the romney campaign comes back and says, sorry come the most important thing is how the obama administration has affected those groups with the economy. that is the message of the message the message of this convention all the way through. jon: for a political reporter, tampa, florida, is the place to be right now. thank you so much. jenna: and unexpected hit cracking the top 10. a look at a documentary about the president that is surprising hollywood with its message. a documentary with some creative

licensing. also, hurricane warnings now standing along the northern gulf coast. live on the ground in mississippi where the governor has just declared a state of emergency. rowing business. but how am i going to fund it? and i have to find a way to manage my cash flow better. [ female announcer ] our wells fargo bankers are here to listen, offer guidance and provide you with options tailored to your business. we've loaned more money to small businesses than any other bank for nine years running. so come talk to us to see how we can help. wells fargo. together we'll go far.

you will work with it will jenna: the latest weather advisory putting in new orleans and the in the path of tropical storm isaac. expected to reach category one

hurricane strength before making landfall. a lot can happen in the next several hours. we have a reporter, steve, and biloxi, mississippi. what is expected? >> right now it is a beautiful morning here on the mississippi coast. temperatures expected to get into the mid-90s. we could see some deterioration as early as this afternoon. eventually, expecting wind gusts along the mississippi coast of up to 100 miles per hour and 12 to 15 inches of rain. that rain could make things difficult for people along the coast. it is a slow moving storm. people here also keenly aware of what could happen seven years ago with hurricane katrina. they are making preparations accordingly. no real sense of panic or the governor has declared a state of emergency. but as of yet, no mandatory evacuation. schools are open, but if we

could see that flood surge of 12 to 15 feet -- this area could be well under water. as early as this afternoon we could see people start to move to higher ground. jenna: steve, thank you very much. all along the coast we will continue to watch. some models hitting new orleans from at least one introduction showing the category to hurricane. hurricane katrina was a category three when it made landfall in louisiana and mississippi almost seven years ago today. this is what a category one hurricane looks like. sustained winds, upwards of 95-miles per hour. damage to a mobile homes, trailer parks and the like. shrubs and trees will be hurt. this type of hurricane, a category two storm packs a bigger punch. upwards of 110-mile per hour winds. those winds will cause damage to roofs and windows and mobile

homes could see damage, street signs could be blown down. katrina was a category three. it made landfall, you can see again, much harsher of a storm winds upwards of 130 miles per hour, homes could see structural damage to roofs and walls. extensively on trent damage to mobile homes and trees. there is the track. we will be tracking isaac over the next several hours bringing new information as we get it. jon: a fox news alert. it is the first day of school in baltimore, maryland, and already, we are sad to report a school shooting at a high school in parks on trent baltimore. perry hall high school as you can see in these pictures. hall high school. a student has been shot. now, it is a bit of a strange situation. the authorities are saying that there is no active shooter at the school right now. we don't know how they know that. but that is the word from the police spokesman. it was the first day of classes.

perry hall high school in. hall. a suburb of baltimore to the north. we know anything about the condition of the student who has been shot. the student was taken to a hospital. again, police say that there is no active shooter on the scene. it appears that they have someone in handcuffs there, and maybe that's why, but again, we are going by the information that has been officially released. when we get more, we'll bring it to you now on our program. in the meantime, hundreds of earthquakes shaking southern california. the u.s. geological survey is describing it as a rare seismic swarm. the last one like it hit in 1970. some of these earthquakes reached magnitude of 5.3. they were felt as far east as arizona. we have our reporter in los angeles. where exactly has aground been shaking? >> well, raleigh as a farming

area just east of san diego and north of the mexican border. what was unusual is not so much the magnitude, although anything over 5.0 can definitely rattled. it was the duration. brawley saw 30 quakes in a four hour period. here is some damage inside one home. mobile homes off their foundations were were knocked off, ghassan winesburg. watching this closely, this guy was taking one of those quakes when it hit. reporter: we had no injuries. just hospital patients that were evacuated. jon: does the earthquake news mean anything? >> these swarms of earthquakes are not on the list it. they sit on the ball line.

some experts say they can't predict the future, that they -- this area should expect more of earthquakes. maybe another five-point oh. but they have never seen a swarm followed by a bigger earthquake elsewhere. >> a 5.5 earthquake in southern orange county, but not in the los angeles area and we wouldn't expect it. we also don't expect to see any impact on the san andreas fault. it is just too far away from it. we have seen these types of swarms. many times over the last century. never seen a followed by anything else. reporter: there are hundreds of earthquakes every day in southern california. this event, and the big one, the fault line that splits the pacific plate from the continental plate, it is unrelated. an unusual situation, but you

cannot tell the rest of us that we should be on our toes, if you will. jon: let's hope it's not a sign of things to come. william, thank you. jenna: you have the earthquakes in southern california. jon: you know them well. >> certainly. brawley probably didn't get a lot of sleep last night. definitely earthquakes in california, you have a big storm in the gulf. a lot of the u.s. affected by a lot of different things. the tropical storm is following the same track as hurricane katrina did seven years ago. live coverage we will have all day and we will be right back. m♪ ♪ can you hear it? ♪ fueling the american spirit ♪ no matter when, no matter where ♪ ♪ marathon will take you there

♪ fueling the american spirit

jenna: president obama. a hit at the weekend box office. cracking the top 10 despite a small release. 2016, obama's america. it is supposed to be a look at what some conservatives say could be the consequences of the president policies of the next couple of years. our reporter is taking a look at this, dennis kneale. reporter: tinseltown had a lackluster weekend at the box office. a place in the top 10. the documentary took an even more than the number one film of the weekend.

"expendables." take a look at what came in. that number, number eight with a bullet. "2016", obama's america. raked in $6.2 million. this much is tony's new premium rash. that number that is unheard of for any documentary. especially for michael moore. the new film was based on the work of dinesh d'souza who argues that obama cannot this be the anti-colonial issue.

now they say that we will just expand in time for the republican national convention. jenna: interesting. thank you, dennis. jon: the convention is just underway in just a few hours from now. a chance for the party to try to rally around the nominee. the tea party movement with its socially conservative ideals seem slow to warm up to the republican nominee. that all seem to change. they consider paul ryan one of their own. the tea party is seeing on display at the convention, just yesterday, herman cain and michele bachmann led hundreds of activists in tampa, florida at a rally. joining us now is alan ratner. and also pete snyder. both are fox news contributors.

>> have the the tea party members uncomfortable with paul ryan? >> i've never seen a party more energized than it is right now. you not not only have the tea party in full effect and fired up about mitt romney and paul ryan, but ron paul supporters. people are excited. people are ready to win in november the. jon: is at all because of the addition of paul? >> ticket to focus on the economy. they focus on the fiscal issues. one of the the tea party movement, we would still have runaway spending in washington, we would have legislators who are continuing to rack up debt for the nation. it's been a very good director for the country for the republican party over the past few years. the key to the tea party are the fiscal issues. that is why they like the romney and ryan ticket.

jon: it does seem that the addition of paul ryan has energized republicans, even some of whom might have been a little lukewarm about mitt romney in the beginning. >> i still think that they are lukewarm about mitt romney. but i think they don't have much to say in a have to do something to win. they don't like barack obama. that is really what is going on. they need to get out of the house or they're not going to win the election -- the republicans will win the election. jon: the feeling is that republicans swept the house of representatives, or swept the democrats out of power, in large part because of tea party power. you see that same kind of thing happening again at this time? >> i still think that iraq obama is going to win the election. and i think they have to sway in the middle. the problem is the social issue.

making people who would normally go with vote with republicans take part, particularly young people. jon: alan, if you look at where independents are right now, you look at survey after survey. mitt romney is beating barack obama and beating him badly. in states around the nation around independence. they are out there for romney and ryan right now. it is the president who thought that he was being cute and putting in -- trying to tackle the medicare issues. sing it to romney-ryan tories for being horrible for the republican party. it is the exact opposite. this is an election about big ideas come in, the country is in peril right now. independents and republicans announced that they are supportive. supportive of the romney-ryan ticket. >> they both have to make their

case. this week and next week. we will see how it falls. i think that actually it's not going to be so easy. listen, i have a cousin who is a republican. many cousins who are republicans. they are telling me that mitt romney will win the same way. i'm not so sure. jon: we will be talking with charlie crist in about 15 minutes and brit hume what he brings to the democratic party. you say that independence is really rallying for the independents i've heard is that because they are concerned about the same kind of thing that the tea party folks are? >> you know, in this election, the problems that are facing america and the problems that are facing year, they are all fiscally related and focus on the economy. you look at what democrats are concerned about, independents and republicans, men and women, every ethnicity. it is all economic issues. the top issues are the economy.

unemployment, debt, this has been a transcending election. america is focused on the economy. jon: we will see what happens as this convention rolls along. jenna: tropical storm isaac gaining strength as it barrels toward the golf course. when the storm to make landfall. we will have that coming up. minute by minute coverage. you can't forget what's happening overseas. syrian rebels claiming they shot down a helicopter of the military near damascus. the fighting continues. a live report is coming out.fib? next okay. ♪ fiber one is gonna make you smile. ♪ [ male announcer ] introducing new fiber one nutty clusters and almonds.

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jon: gunfire wraps in baltimore, maryland at a high school. we have more from the newsroom. hall, maryland. the baltimore county police department has released a statement saying that they have a suspect in custody. we are told that moments ago we were showing live video of someone under arrest. you were right. back at perry hall high school. first day back to class. we don't know who the alleged gunman is. we are told that one student was shot and taken to a nearby hospital. via medevac. the students were escorted to the perry hall shopping center. parents were told to be reunited with their children. you can only imagine the panic that was going on on all those parents minds as they got word about a school shooting. at a school that was recognized as one of the best schools by

newsweek and the "washington post." one of america's best schools. the year 2010, 2010, and 2012. this came as a shock to all of the faculty there. parents come and of course the students. we don't have an update yet. >> terrible thing on the first day of school. everyone is looking forward to getting school year started. jenna: this fox news alert, so many stories happening. we don't want to forget what's happening overseas as well. dramatic developments in syria making headlines. hundreds of people are dead, according to activists. the bashar al-assad government. rebels claim they shot down a military helicopter that crashed near damascus. amateur video will be seen of that.

leland vittert is live with more. reporter: that rebel helicopter crashed is the only bright spot. they have have been losing ground a weekend in one suburb of damascus where they were overrun by governments. 300 people died. the amateur video, a huge showing of the helicopter. it is a morale booster for the rebels. it hasn't made much of a difference. president assad's air force has impunity in the skies. using the air force to pound away. on the ground from the rebels are so badly outdone an out of print by. it means it is a battle of attrition as the rebels continue to lose aleppo, but in that damascus suburb. there was some horrible amateur video for the picture of the bodies lined up in this area is heartbreaking, to say the least. we are told they're at least 300

people dead, possibly as high as 600, over the weekend, government soldiers overran the rebel position and then just water people out well. now they are having a mass funeral there inside that town, perhaps you're really living out the word of a high-ranking syrian official who said they will win this battle. the civil war by whatever the price is. that means however many civilians they need to kill. jon: tropical storm isaac is potentially a disaster in the making. a huge storm. nearly seven years today after hurricane katrina hit there. more than 1 foot of rain is possible now. teen isaac is on the way. isaac is forcing the rnc to delay by one day.

we will go in-depth coming up next. be sure to act on trent watch your world with neil cavuto. he talks to jeb bush about the convention and the plans for a hurricane isaac.

jon: we begin this hour with a fox extreme weather alert. tropical storm isaac churning in the warm waters of the gulf of mexico targeting a broad section of the gulf coast. warnings from louisiana to the

florida panhandle. forecasters predict this storm will strengthen to a category 1 hurricane before coming ashore near new orleans late tuesday or wednesday, almost seven years to the day when hurricane katrina made landfall. isaac hitting south florida with torrential rains and winds knocking out power to thousands. prompting, louisiana, mississippi, alabama and tphr-r tflorida to declare states of emergency. we are expecting news conferences coming up. jenna: jon just mentioned for us there, isaac looks like it's steering clear of tampa, looks like it. jon: they are getting wind and rain but not too bad. jenna: a big issue for the republican national convention, one we will continue to talk about over the next couple of hours. we are glad you are with us, i'm

jenna lee? i'm jon scott. republicans are getting ready to kickoff their presidential nominating convention while keeping an eye on isaac. the g.o.p. releasing a revised schedule canceling all of today's events except for the start. reince priebus will gavel the the convention into session this afternoon. he tells us about the challenges he is facing. >> you have to balance all the news, and the mitt romney message, it's news worthy what is going on in the gulf. we are keeping our eyes on that as well. it's a balance, but all in all it's a message of optimism that we can do better, americans deserve a better future, and we are always ready, i think, in this country for a message that is optimistic. jenna: earlier today governor romney was rehearsing his acceptance speech a little bit north of florida. chief political correspondent carl cameron is live at romney headquarters in boston. hi, carl.

>> reporter: hi, there, jenna, in fact mr. romney is in the process of communicating from his lake house in new hampshire to his actual home and residents in bellemont, massachusetts. his headquarters behind me where the staff is hard at work trying to figure out how best to make use of what is left of the republican national convention. mr. romney is expecting his speech to go off on thursday. mrs. romney is expecting her speech to happen tomorrow night. they both this morning did a little bit of a run through before they left. they went in and went over a quick rehearsal of it and as they were heading in they were asked by reporters exactly where things stand. listen. >> governor, do you have a message for the people of new orleans? >> my thoughts are with the people that are in the storm's path and hope they are spared any major destruction. >> have you given any thought to canceling the con ar convention? >> we have a great convention ahead.

>> he pointed to his wife and said she'll be great. they are very concerned about the track of isaac and how it impacts the people in the gulf not so much the convention, now that it seems that they are for large measure sort of out of harm's way. mr. romney is expected to make calls out toe to officials in states. bobby jindal is a friend. hailey barbour, he'll call officials in alabama and he's been in touch with florida governor rick scott. there had been a plan for mr. romney to meet with mike levitt the former health and services secretary in the bush administration and former governor of utah. that has been postponed. they plan to go forward but there is absolutely no denying it now that the republican party and the romney campaign have begun to realize that isaac has really changed the dynamics here and the contents of their speeches, when they will be given. we are told there is still go ahead but an awful lot of worry in the romney camp that the

storm might change things again. jenna: carl, when are you heading to tampa? >> that depends on governor romney and the storm and the air traffic, et cetera. at this point he's planning on being there on thursday for his speech, and mrs. romney has to make hers tomorrow. paul ryan will be leaving wisconsin today after a rally in his home towns of jamesville, a send off ral refrom the folks back home. he had not planned to go to tampa until wednesday when he will give his acceptance speech for the vice presidental nomination. he will go today to get ahead of the storm and outer bands as they begun to whip around. jenna: all systems go until they are not. that is the plan at this point. >> reporter: there is sort of an object lesson here from the strategic point of the romney campaign. for months, for years, really they have been accused to being two wetted to a very disciplined structured campaign strategy,

not aggressive, not let mitt be mitt. they have been meticulous about staying to plan. but they say they have to be nimble into making last minute changes. jenna: thank you. jon: tropical storm isaac isn't the only thing range on the republican's parade. democrats are taking every opportunity to try and throw a wet blanket over the goings on. charlie crist who left the republican party to become an independent will speak at the democratic convention in charlotte. yesterday he wrote an editorial endorsing president obama. joining us now in tampa is our senior political analyst brit hume. brit i want to share with my viewers the closing line from that editorial that charlie crist wrote for the tampa bay times. he writes, president obama has a strong record of doing what is

best for america and florida, and he built it by spending more time worrying about what his decisions would mean for the people than for his political fortunes. that's what makes him the right leader for our times and that's why i'm proud to stand with him today. how upset are republicans about all of this? >> reporter: as far as i can tell, jon, not at all upset. charlie crist really is yesterday's man in the state of florida, and national lee where he was once thought to have some ambitions and prospects. i would say that his announcement for obama falls clearly under the heading of things the world will little note nor long remember. because he established a reputation here in florida as being an extremely flexible politician. he was once thought to be a conservative republican, now apparently he's a liberal democrat. it's been a migration that has taken a number of years and it was marked by a number of political set backs by him. he's not a big figure any more.

jon: republicans wasted no time in releasing quotes from charlie crist that he's given over the years. one of them said i don't agree with the guy, meaning president obama, on hardly anything he does, i mean what they are doing with healthcare right now is unbelievable. that is a quote from 2010. and then i think charlie crist is a conservative and always has been. i believe in less tax he, less spending, less government, more freedom, i'm a reagan republican. that one goes back some years farther. this is the guy who is speaking to the democratic national convention? >> reporter: well apparently he's going to have a speech. it -- you know it's kind of an interesting footnote to awful these developments, but these kinds of switches normally don't really move the needle very much in terms of the public perception of the parties or candidates. occasionally there will be an exception to that when somebody successful and conspicuous in one party switches a lean

skwrapbsess. a allegiances. i don't think that applies to him. his best days are well behind him i think, and i don't think this new presence in the democratic party will revive him very much. jon: in 2004 a sitting democratic senator spoke at the republican convention nominating george w. bush for a second term. he took a pot shot at the nominee of his own party, john kerry. i want to play that clip for you. >> this is the man who wants to be the commander-in-chief of the u.s. armed forces? [booing ] >> u.s. forces armed with what, spit balls? jon: talking there about the votes john kerry had cast against various weapons systems. i remembered that line, i thought it was a pretty powerful speech. >> reporter: it was. remember this about zell miller. he was a conservative, he was a democrat, and at that stage they

there still were conservative democrats around. most of them have moved to the republican party, which required a party shift, but not a principle shift for them. zell miller's presence was a symbol of a shift in the fortunes of the democratic party in the south and in the makeup of it. they were losing people like zell miller and that was meaningful at the time. this is a different matter with charlie crist of course who was once a conservative and is now apparently a full-blown liberal. it represents a shift of a different kind. jon: and completely unregistered, or with no party affiliation at least -- >> reporter: i guess he ran as an independent against marco rubio after losing to him in the primary an went nowhere. his star really had begun to fade. it's kind of sad really. jon: it won't have the same impact as say a zell miller did in speaking to the republicans. >> reporter: i doubt it. zell miller was a colorful

personality and charlie crist is less so. jon: brit hume, enjoy your week there. jenna: it is certainly no easy thing to put on a convention, it's also very expensive especially for us. both conventions, republican and democrat are expected to cost upwards of $100 million, maybe even more each and we are paying for part of it in fact. both parties are splitting a total of $136.5 million in federal funds. that means $50 million each for security, plus another $18.2 million for things like balloons and funny hats, and campaign signs, and other expenses. more than $18 million for things like transportation, office supplies, certain entertainment and gifts for staff and volunteers. the federal fund don't cover everything we should note and the convention host committees will have to make up the difference. they put out the estimates of

what they think things are going to cost but they don't have to publicize that. we just know that more than $68 million of our taxpayer money is going to either convention. in the peen time there is the national debt it keeps going up. members of congress who are very aware of us that our money is being used for convention want to limb or get rid of the federal subsidies for these political conventions but they haven't been successful as of late. just know you're paying a little bit for what you're seeing. in the meantime we want to turn to what is going on in florida right now. the storm, tropical storm isaac has certainly come ashore there. there's been a lot of wind, rain, flooding. we've also seen power lost to tens of thousands. yesterday we got great advice from a guest who says if you're planning your disaster kit make sure to keep a phone charger that works in your car so if you lose power you can go out to anyone's car and at least charge your phone. that was brian coon, the director of emergency

management. that was great advice yesterday. how are things looking today in the state of florida? >> we are very busy today. we are doing damage assessment down in south florida to make sure that we understand the totality of what isaac has done. we are also as the storm makes its way northward through the state keeping an eye on, as you stated the heavy rain fallses that are occurring. we had tornado warnings generated throughout the state and we are preparing for an impact in the panhandle later on tonight and into tomorrow as the outer bands of that storm bring extremely heavy rain, wind gusts and storm surge to the northwestern part of the state up in the panhandle. >> you wouldn't say you're out of the woods yet. >> by no means, no. jenna: the biggest area of concerns right now is that the tornadoes and the flooding? >> that's the immediate. tornado warnings are life safety issues. we urge everybody to pay very close attention to the local authorities and the news. if they have a tornado warning in their area immediately seek a place of shelter. we'll be focused on the flooding issue here for several days.

immediately with some urban flooding and some flash flooding. as the rains continue we'll have to deal with some river flooding, and the ground in many parts of the state are extremely saturated from previous thunderstorms storms, so we'll keep a close eye on where all that water is going. jenna: real quick here, 20 seconds, how is tampa? is that relatively unaffected? >> tampa will have some winds and rains today. later on this week it's going to be terrific weather for them. jenna: brian, turning you into a bit of a weather forecaster as well. we appreciate the dual information, weather as well as just what to do as far as emergency management. thank you so much for the time again today. >> you're welcome. jon: this guy will be glad to hear that forecast. congressman paul ryan about to get a big send off from his hometown in wisconsin. we'll take you there moments from now. the vice presidental candidate supposed to head to tampa today. jenna: it looks like he'll get there. ryan's trip to campa got delayed because of isaac. there was question about his timing on that. the storm now churning through

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jenna: tropical storm isaac forcing the g.o.p. to scale back its convention a little bit. four days of speeches and events squeezed into three. baby buchanan is the senior adviser to governor romney. nice to have you with us today. >> it's my pleasure to be with you, thank you. jenna: i read a note by mike allen in politico, that when he sat down with governor romney, that he was under the weather, had a cold, wasn't feeling good. >> i understand he's doing very, very well. he's got even some rest here. he'll be ready for thursday night. jenna: one thing we are watching for today is the official

opening of the convention, the gavel to open everything up. what we expect to see is a big debt clock that will be center stage. we shared with our view thaers some oviewers that some of our taxpayer money is being used, tense of millions of dollars. if cutting spending is something the g.o.p. and mitt romney is going to be talking about. why take any taxpayer money at all? >> i don't know why that decision was made. i'm not privileged to the information behind that. i know that money is available for all parties in order to make certain that we do have these events. i'll tell you what the importance of the convention itself is, is that we have an ability, in these couple days, to reach the american people directly, unfiltered to let them know really what their choices are in november. here we have an opportunity to present the governor, his vice alpick pauvice presidental pick, paul ryan. and choices for the people as

opposed to what they that have been getting for the past four years. i think that is very, very important if the direction of the nation is going to be put around, if they have a chance to see what the governor offers. jenna: we were looking at a "washington post" abc news poll which asked whether or not those polls felt confident in the president's handling of the economy, and the majority said they were not competent with the president's handling of the economy but they were also not confident, the majority in the ability for mitt romney to handle the economy. how do you fix that? what is mitt romney going to be telling the american people to instill more confidence, that he is the man for the job? >> jenna, that is an excellent question. i think, you know, there is so much in the last couple months that it was unclear for many americans as to where we're going, because there was so much talk about little issues. and i do of course blame the president for that. i think they want distraction. if we talk about the big issues, where we are today as americans. there are so many millions of them suffering. unemployment is so high.

and for the president to suggest this is a new normal that people just have to get used to this. i think that's one of the key points of governor romney is that we do offer a real contrast, a real opposing point of view, and his message is, that listen we can have a better tomorrow. we can do better. americans are able to do it if the government will just let them. that's what he offers. his energy policy, or tax policy, or cutting that deficit, so that it gets -- moves towards a balanced budget. that all americans understand is essential. jenna: i have to ask you about one more thing when it comes to the message, that is governor romney's reference to popeye over the last couple of days. take a list teen him in an interview with chris wallace. >> remember that popeye line. i am what i am and that's all that i am. i'm doing my best to get this country back on track. jenna: where does this come

from, this line? >> we are relating to middle american, for heaven's sakes, jenna. this is who he is. i think it's a wonderful analogy quite honestly because it gives you a little insight into who he is. he's a machine who is very serious about turning the country around, giving america a real boost, a better tomorrow for everybody, opportunity, 12 million jobs, a new energy sector, reviving the energy sector if you like. that's what america needs today. jenna: if ann romney comes out dressed as olive oil all bets are off on tuesday. then we'll have you back. >> great to see you, jenna. jenna: we look forward to having you back. >> very good, thank you. jon: well it's all about the economy, the race for the white house could come down to who americans think will do a better job fixing the economy, governor romney or president obama. we'll have more on how republicans hope to make their case next.

and we are are awaiting a send off rally for the vice presidental candidate on the republican side in jamesville, wisconsin. congressman paul ryan set to speak there just moments from now.

jenna: we just talked about this a little bit with baby buchanan, the big message republicans want to deliver this week is that governor mitt romney can turn the econom the economy around, including a debt clock. the latest abc "washington post" poll shows the governor leading president obama on who most americans trust to run the economy. simon constable is author of the

"wall street journal" guide to the economic indicators that really matter, all 50 we'll have you recite them to us at a later date. >> i hope not. jenna: why is it so close? if the economy is as bad as everyone suggests it is why is it so close? >> i'm surprised it is so close. you would think it's like an open goal in soccer, slam the ball in the back of the net, the economy is terrible and has been. i think what mitt romney hasn't done and needs to is to convince people that government is not the solution, it's part of the problem to the economy, it's what reagan managed to communicate very effectively when he swept to victory against jimmy carter. jenna: how do you do that, more specific on policies if or saying government is not the direction. >> government is not the direction, we need to get it out of the way. peel it back. we have the government holding a big stake in general motors. you'll notice when general motors was massively ordered by

the government the big competitor got investigated by nasa. you got the so linda thing, pushing of phopblg into things that weren't viable. the stimulus stuff as to who is appropriate, not what is best for the economy. jenna: one of the things that we've been paying close attention to on our show and talking to viewers is how they feel overall about the direction of the country. interesting in this poll, the pollsters asked, you know, how confident do you feel with the president handling the economy. most did not feel very confident about the president. we had that number right there. 58% say not very, not confident. if you look at mitt romney's numbers as well the majority is also not confident. so both men had the majority of people not confident in their leadership. that seems to be a bigger problem than just the election. >> yeah it's a huge problem.

we've gone through a period where, you know, trusting government has gone down, and quite rightly. government -- i mean certainly our regulators and what regulations that was there didn't really work. we had this huge bubble, we have this huge crash, the solutions to that present bigger problems. wall street now threatens the economy even more if they go down then it will be even worse than last time we are told. they didn't break up the banks. we still have this government involvement. i'll be surprised to learn that any one trusts the government. jenna: real quick here in the next couple of days and weeks any big economic indicators getting back to your book, anything in particular. >> this week we've got the second read on second quarter gdp which tells us how much the economy has grown. it's expected to be limp, whether it's limper than expected who knows. we'll be keeping a close eye on that. i'm not expecting it to be very good. next week we will have unemployment figures coming out expected to be weak to.

the big story is apple versus samsung, huge implications for anyone with a smartphone. that is huge. jenna: that is a lot of us. thank you so much. thanks for being on set with us. jon. jon: the republicans have an ambitious goal for november, they already control the house of representatives. now they are hoping to win the triple crown, the house, as well as the senate, and the white house. we'll talk with the hill's ab stoddard about the chances of a republican trifecta. plus we'll go live to alabama, one of the states in isaac's path. rick leventhal is there. >> we just heard from the emergency manager director which says he is certain that mobile will feel some impact from the tropical storm churning out in the gulf. the latest on ou mobile and th on how mobile and the gulf coast is preparing for isaac, coming up. you can mix and match all da. scampi, grilled, the fried -- there's nothing better. [ male announcer ] at last,

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help cover what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you thousands a year in out-of-pocket costs. call now to request your free decision guide. and learn more about the kinds of plans that will be here for you now -- and down the road. i have a lifetime of experience. so i know how important that is. jenna: a fox fox news weather alert. tropical storm i think. along the gulf coast, preparing for the big coast. mississippi, alabama, and florida come all the scary declaring states of emergency. rick leventhal has the latest. >> we just heard from the state emergency management director and from governor robert bentley about the possible impact of the storm. i'm just going wondering the governor in right now.

yesterday you declared a state of emergency, mandatory evacuation freda looks at the storm is trending west. you are so concerned. >> we are concerned. the weather survey says that that the eye of the storm is really somewhat north of what it appears. that may be closer to alabama. we really don't know what's going to happen. it may be 100 miles of variation of what is predicted by now. reporter: today is such a beautiful day. people are saying, it's gorgeous, i don't want to go anywhere. >> you are right. it is all security. by tomorrow it will be different. we just need to be prepared, and that is what we are trying to do. reporter: how are you doing that? >> yesterday we spoke with an national weather service and i met with my cabinet officials. i declared a state of emergency yesterday. that is put in place our emergency operation.

it brings and fema. we also declared a mandatory evacuation for flood prone areas in these two counties. reporter: are you seeing people getting out as far as you know? >> we actually just started this morning at 8:00 o'clock a.m. we want to give them through the day to close their businesses down under whatever it is necessary to do. we may readjust that in one zone area. we are going to go back to montgomery and look at that rate i met with a local official to see if we need to adjust that. reporter: and may not be as bad as you think? >> there are some higher areas that would be safer if we just want to make sure that the flood prone areas are evacuated. reporter: i know you were supposed to go to the rnc this week, tell me about your thoughts, missing it -- are you upset about that? >> honestly, i haven't even thought about it. my job is to take care of the people of alabama. that is what i'm going to do.

you know, i'm concerned about the convention and i hope we have a great convention. but, my job is to take care of the people in our state. reporter: thank you very much, governor for being with us today. there are still people in low-lying areas to get out today. conditions are expected to deteriorate sometime tomorrow. jenna: great information from the governor. a great report as well. thank you so much. jon: this fox news alert. you can see there is bobby jindal. he is in baton rouge, louisiana. giving residents of his states about the information of tropical storm isaac credit could be a hurricane by the time he gets there. he is conscious of the fact that the performance of his predecessor, kathleen blogroll, at the time that hurricane katrina hit, it was large part of the reason he won the governor's chair. so we will keep an eye on what

bobby jindal has to say to the folks of louisiana. if there are important elements, we will bring it to you. in the meantime, republicans won control of the house two years ago. they are aiming to win the white house as well as the senate. even if governor romney wins in november and republicans pick up enough senate seats to gain full control congress, the gop would need some help from democrats to enact any kind of an ambitious agenda. what are the prospects? let's talk about it with an expert on politics. they are hoping for a clean sweep. is it possible? >> there is room for governor romney to pull away and win. if he does, you will see a lot of report for and support for him. it's not looking so great right now. senator bill nelson of florida is ahead.

senator sherrod brown is ahead. tim kane, a democrat that is holding his own. against former governor george allen. in those states right now come again in 10 democrats are feeling that great in this environment, they are doing well. if romney were to pull away, you would see a shift in those senate races. it would likely pick up a few and enough to win control of the senate and house republicans are confident that they're going to holdouts. reporter: the minority leader now in the senate said that obviously, they would like to be the majority leader once again. he told newspapers in the last day or so, because the last two years have been particularly unproductive. the president of the united states has doubled down on the left and didn't come to the senate. the reality is the president -- he is hiding under his desk. mcconnell went on to defend the

remarks he made. he said that as number one priority is to make sure that barack obama remains a one term president. if there is a switch -- if the senate were to flip over to the republican side -- how much work would actually get done in congress? clearly even in the senate, democrats would have the power. >> they obviously do. the senate is set up for that. that is the weight way that the founders intended it to be. a cool environment for everything coming out quickly and politically and polarized from the house. if senator mitch mcconnell becomes leader and president obama is still in office and mitt romney loses the election, they are going to have to work together. they have never worked together well. president obama, as mitch mcconnell pointed out, it has never asked for a private meeting. years into his first term.

he finally did meet with him, but he got off to a poor relationship with the more northerly leader in the senate who has effective control over the senate floor. because of the power of the minority now, senator mitch mcconnell would have to work with democrats, even if mitt romney was president. there was so much power that the minority had -- and if republicans control everything, they are still going to have to work with you democrats. jon: we are pointing out the president obama has laid the lack of progress at the feet of republicans. yet, he had democratic majorities in the house and senate his first two years in office. he didn't a lot with it. all right, a.b. stoddard. >> i like to blame both parties speak to tropical storm isaac. the states are trying to figure out the appropriate response. as well as the white house and news media.

hurricane ivan, which one will be the bigger event between isaac and the convention? in the meantime, republicans are weighing in as well. >> they brought me down here specifically to make sure that i get the hell off the beach. [laughter] [applause] anyone have occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating? yeah. one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against these digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. approved! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'.

jenna: thank you for joining us today. we want to show you the scene in wisconsin. congressman paul ryan attending a standout rally at his old high school. let's listen in. >> i want to thank the city manager. i want to thank our neighbors on courthouse cell.

for in building all this and for their patients. we really appreciate that. i want to thank you and tell you how proud i am to come to janesville, wisconsin. [applause] [cheers] icn's and uncles and cousins here. the last time that we tallied it all up, we have 67 cousins right here in janesville, wisconsin. our family story is not different than most american family stories. back in the 1850s. the potatoes stopped growing in ireland. our great great grandfather, with the shirt on his back, made his way to boston, worked his way on the railroad to get enough money to buy a farm. that brought him to janesville,

wisconsin. he looked around. it was summertime. and he said this looks just like ireland. then came winter. [laughter] and he said oh, crap. but they made a go of it. lots of immigrants came in those years. this town, time, we have lots of immigrants. irish immigrants. kennedys, fitzgeralds, o'leary's, brian leiby. we all made a go of it. we all raised families here. we are a fifth generation. jenna: paul ryan telling us a little bit of his family story. think about walking into your former high school is the future

vice president if he wins. on fox news.com, he has a little preview of what he's going to say, possibly before the convention this week. paul ryan sits down for a one-on-one interview with bret baier. you can catch that tonight on special report. jon: all right. there is going to be, obviously, to big news events going on on the same time during the final week of august as it gets underway. tropical storm isaac, gaining strength in the gulf of mexico, taking aim at the gulf coast, potentially headed towards new orleans. there is the republican national convention from a major political event. it is already being overshadowed by tropical storm isaac. the news media splitting up the coverage in both events. let's talk about it with jim pinkerton. an editor and writer for american conservative magazine.

and alan colmes has a new book out today. it is called think the liberals for saving america. i am sure it that they have bought some already. [laughter] you are down there in tampa and you are not rushing to cover the hurricane. a lot of reporters are. what is the effect on rnc? >> a lot of reporters from the politicalreporters, are here trying to push the hurricane over on the tampa coverage. for example, nbc news yesterday said that the shadow of katrina hangs over this convention. i don't see bush or katrina. i think there are two perils. one is the storm coverage and one is the political coverage. and i think that using both places -- the news from syria and the eurozone will get clouded out this week. the biggest phenomenon isn't liberal quarters poisoning the republican convention with

references to events or seven years ago. jon: regardless of what happens to hurricane committee republicans owe themselves the best coverage as possible? >> i would think it would have to be the same. pat robertson said last week there was a drought in the middle east and people are disobeying god. i wonder what he will say. to republican conventions and row -- affected by a hurricane -- on a more serious note, honestly, the hurricane probably affects more people. these conventions are infomercials. i think it would probably be done in one eye. do we really need a three-day convention in each case? republicans and democrats? which really is nothing more than a commercial for each political party. jon: you also have the prospect of the storm turns into something major. any storm that drops a 1.5-foot of rain -- you have the

prospect, jim, a president obama coming down on air force one and doing all sorts of presidential things that the media are going to have to cover. >> that's right. alan colmes is right. the storm is bigger news for more people in the short run than this republican convention is. again, what i can't help noting is how even reporters who are here in canada, florida, journalists and other commentators are jumping in. for example, jennifer granholm, the former governor of michigan, now anchors a tv show. the al gore channel. treated out that isaac's storm is the way of punishing republicans. john nolte, he pointed out the things. [talking over each other] jon: pat roberts was a candidate

in 1988. >> the chief of opinion talkshow host. like any other opinion talkshow host. jon: we will have to leave it there. congratulation on the books, alan colmes. will be right bafrck 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. or annuity over 10 or even 20 years? call imperial structured settlements. the experts at imperial can convert your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today.

jon: besides all of the official business of the republican national convention, organizers are planning a tribute to astronaut neil armstrong. the first man to step foot on the moon died on saturday at the age of 82 following complications from heart bypass surgery. joining us now on the phone, his fellow asked her not on that history making trip, buzz aldrin. buzz aldrin, it is a pleasure to talk he would get.

now, neil armstrong has gone. take us back to that moment when you tour on the moon and the rocket engine has shut down. you are what? in your late 30s at that point? it is just the two of you sitting there. were we thinking? >> well, i was 39 years old and he was 38 years old. what we were thinking about is a great success that we had just achieved by being able to be the first to make that very complex maneuver. to orbit around the moon. to actually touch down on its surface. we have done that quite successfully. about 15 seconds, it was certainly magnificent of an achievement for the three of us. as we have seen a combination

combination of our training. we understood this as a technical challenge, the challenges that we would face. but we are always going to be remembered as the crew of the apollo 11 mission. at the same time, millions of people literally went with us to the moon with their presence. in front of their tv sets. jon: i remember watching that night. it was such an awe-inspiring achievement. now, your crew mate is gone. what are your thoughts? >> well, it is very regrettable. especially that he will not join mike and i at the 50th anniversary in 2019. hopefully by that time, we will be able to make a firm commitment to the next major step, and of course, gradually

reorganizing the space program. jon: yes, it has taken some shots since your glory days. buzz aldrin, so the doctor. thank you very much for being with us.

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