bill: good morning, everybody. it's tuesday as we move on a pair of major developing stories today. we flew down here on saturday. it's day number four for our excursion. officially yesterday the convention kicked off for 90 seconds. reince priebus says it was a perfect minute and a half. martha: it's good to be here in

tampa. good to see you this morning. as we have been saying we have two huge stories converging, the eerie case of deja vu as tropical storm isaac churns in the gulf of mexico, it comes 7 years to the day it became very clear hurricane katrina would hit the city of new orleans. that happened august 29. bill: we are in tampa, as you know, first pull day of the republican national convention will get underway later. forecasters say isaac is on the verge of becoming a hurricane. maximum sustained winds need 74-plus to get to category one strength.

st. charles parish outside of new orleans, folks have been filling up sandbags to protect their homes. they are hoping the levees will hold up. conditions this hour are what? >> reporter: a lot of heavy winds. i want to show you our live camera shot. there is very little rain so far. but that's expected to change as the storm system moves into shore. $15 billion has been invested in that levee system you mentioned. the levee system protecting new orleans. most residents, the ones we have spoken with say they are

optimistic it will serve them well during this storm. bill: there are residents staying put in their homes. how many and how are they feeling about this storm based on the history in that city, jonathan? >> reporter: people are taking this seriously because of what happened with hurricane katrina. city officials are doing things differently. instead of the refuges of last resort, the superdome and re fiewdges that were open for hurricane carina, they remain closed. officials are saying you need to get out of town or prepare your homes to shelter in place. most residents appear to be doing that. most say they don't have any choice. >> a lot of people aren't work and they don't have the means.

they don't have the resources, they don't have the money and they don't have anywhere to go. >> reporter: other residents who have the means to go anywhere they want, many of them are telling us they, too, prefer to stay in new orleans. they fear if they leave their homes there may be roadblocks and they prefer to be here. martha: the going -- the gulf coast braces from louisiana to florida. it could get extreme flooding. it has always been a large storm throughout the course of following this one. that's one of the big problems in terms of how much rain it may

get. storm surges could top 10 feet and that could be a tough situation for a stretch of the gulf coast. bill: you never know what's going to happen with this storm until it makes landfall which hold a lot of drama for people on the gulf coast. if they stay put in case the power goes out the pumps will not be running. some stations are running out of gas we are told already in new orleans. >> i'm filling up my car. i came here last night and they were out of car. >> i saw the lines every wrestle. there is no line here, so i thought let me jump in and get it while i can. bill: prices at some new orleans stations are 15 cents higher than just yesterday. that's gouging. we could see higher prices at

the pumps in the coming days. martha: 1,500 members of the mississippi national guard have been dispatched to the coast to help out. >> 10-12-foot storm surge. if you add that to a 4-foot tide we are look at 16 foot of water that could come into the streams, rivers and tributaries. martha: because it's slow moving the hit can happen over several hours of the course of the evening. everybody is watching his closely throughout the course of today. bill: in this hour we'll get a full report from the national hurricane center on isaac's track and how powerful it's expected to get. it's our best source of information to talk to people in

southeastern florida for what's happening on the radar and the map. martha: the sun shine is out here. it's been a tense couple of days as they try to strike that balance getting ready for the convention and having preparations in place for all those people along the gulf coast. you can feel the energy. you have the top man on the ticket as well as the second man on the ticket working their way here. bill: officially day one. martha: we are getting things rolling. the reason we are here, it kicks off today. governor romney and his running-mate paul ryan should arrive mid-morning. we saw the pictures of them preparing as they were getting ready yesterday. the governor is expected to formally receive his party's nomination for path later today.

reince priebus kicked off the convention yesterday. take a look. >> it's my privilege to proclaim the 2012 republican national convention in center and called to order. the 2012 republican national convention stands in recess subject to the call of the chair. martha: two people who may have some anticipatory butterflies are the two big speeches tonight. ann romney will be center stage as she makes the argument for her husband as president of the united states. and that man, the governor of the state of new jersey, the great state of new jersey, my home state. he's one of governor romney's strongest supporters. a lot of focus on what his speech will be like and how much he may stray from the text as he

said he might. steve is outside the convention center. good morning, steve. >> reporter: good morning, martha. as far as ann romney's speech, she spent her day much like her husband and her husband's running-mate, practicing. we are told the romneys went off to church and there was practicing with the use of teleprompters the same size and distance they will be using inside the convention itself. we know nothing else about her speech other than her husband says he like her speech have much. yesterday she had time to bake several hundred welsh cakes which are like scones with raisins they are bringing here to share with friends.

i guess you can judge your friendship with her by whether you get one. martha: let's talk about governor christie. he's known as a bold guy. his statement get him in the news quite often. this is a serious moment for him in terms of his political part of the stage and his future and his support for governor romney this evening. >> reporter: there were some suggestions chris christie would have to tone down his speech for a nationwide audience. that notion was dismissed by reince priebus this morning. have a listen. >> i think prosecuting obama for what he promised in this country and what he delivered is something chris christie can do very well. and i think you will see a side of chris christie that doesn't always come across in the 30-second clips.

>> reporter: in a recent town hall meeting christy said he will talk a little bit about himself, his american story. martha: a lot of blanks to fill in for people who don't know him that well. thank you so much. see you a bit later. bill: it's going to be a moment. christy on stage. romney on stage. chris christie is the keynote speaker. this address will set the theme and the tone of the convention. the keynote speaker is usually chosen because of their national appeal. or because they might be rising stars. do you think that will be the case of chris christie? get off the beach, america. a quick look at the newspapers. here is what the tampa bay times -- the storm still haunts in the sense it's been a story.

martha: the front of the "wall street journal" is the quintessential campaign photo. you can see paul ryan in this photo as he kind of -- he's hugging one guy and reaching out to hug the hand of another while trying to make contact with somebody at the same time. bill: that's what we call social multitasking. this storm is nowhere near the size of katrina. don't think that just yet. and the protests you will hear about more today. they are kept way away from the convention area. but they will make their presence known and the police are ready for it. so that's what we have. martha: we'll talk about what we can expect tonight. things are starting to get going in tampa. the sun is out behind me and we'll speak with liz cheney this morning. we'll get a closer look at what

she is anticipating for the key pote speech tonight. she wants to talk about the war on women so-called that has been launched. bill: former governor jeb bush tells us what romney needs to do to spring board him to the white house. martha: the nation's soaring debt. they seized on that by building a debt clock within the times forum. paul ryan lashes out at president obama. we'll show you what he said. bob and andrea are here. >> the contrast between the president obama plan which put us in a nation in tet, doubt and decline versus mitt romney's visions and solutions for a better future to get us back to prosperity couldn't be clearer

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bill: we mentioned before the break. that's our soaring national debt. a major issue on the campaign trail. welcome back. in an interview yesterday with our own bret baier, paul ryan from his hometown in janesville, wisconsin, laid out his case against president obama. >> the contrast between the president obama plan which put us in a nation in debt, down at decline versus mitt romney's visions and solutions for a better future to get us back to prosperity couldn't be clearer. what we want to do is highlight those contrasts by showing them

how we'll get this country back to work, how we'll get the country out of debt and get the american ideal revived. bill: bob beckel, former campaign manager. and andrea tantaros. how did the show go yesterday. >> how do you look so damn good in the morning? >> he left his swear jar at home. bill: what paul ryan just said is something you will hear hammered into your head tonight, tomorrow and thursday. what do you think of that theme, andrea. >> it's an excellent theme especially if we are going after independents.

one of the most important issues is the debt. you talk about doubt. it has a choke hold over small businesses. it's also a theme i don't expect the democrats to be talking about at all. they don't want to acknowledge the debt and the decline and rising unemployment numbers. the republicans have to hammer that home all week and get under bob's skin. >> they are missing one word. deceit which is what most of what they are doing is. the romney-ryan budget will put us in more debt. bill: have you read the path to prosperity? >> i also read "the wizard of oz" which is about the same thing. there is a way to do it. you can raise taxes on people like you and me who make too much money. >> you and i both know even if they tax rich guys like you at

100% they couldn't even chip away at the budget. bill: paul ryan is a numbers guy. $16 trillion in debt. 8% unemployment. that's the case they are going to make. >> the chair of the budget committee has done nothing about it. bill: he passed a budget. he brought it to a vote. >> what romney has said about taxes put us so much further in debt. you are blaming obama for this. $5 trillion was built in for entitlements. >> bob, to say someone like paul ryan does not have the guts to deal with entitlements, talk about deceit. >> notice how quiet they have him on that subject. >> the president has not had his own democratic senate pass a budget. what's the president going to do other than give out free birth

control pills. that's the only plan i have heard and we are smarter than that. it's not going to get our economy back. >> what puts you in such a bad mood this morning. >> i'm in a great mood. bill: you, an hour ago, you looked like come on, now. i have a minute left here. this is what's going on tonight. ann romney and chris christie. who is the headline from that pair? >> i think they both are headline makers. ann romney because she is her husband's best surrogate. i watched an interview with her on piers morgan. she is so likeable. she is his better half. bill: even beckel will like her. >> i do like her. the problem with mitt romney is

a disconnect between him and middle america. i don't know what it is. but he doesn't seem to be able to connect. maybe she can do that. chris christie i guarantee will make a mistake. he has a tendency to put his foot in his mouth and i know a lot about that. >> talk about a pot-kettle situation. foot in mouth syndrome? martha: coming up right here it is new jersey and tampa. governor chris christie has never addressed an audience the size of the one he will see tonight. he will bring a little jersey to the proceedings. supporters are saying let chris be chris. insights from liz cheney. >> i'll be down here sunday to see if there are any idiots on the beach to tell them to get the hell off the beach.

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bill: back in tampa live we know ohio's senator rob portman confirming his role. he will play the role as president obama during the debate practice sessions. the one who plays the role of vice president joe biden is still a bit of a mystery.

martha: let's update on tropical storm isaac which is hours away from making landfall. you have thousands of people trying to make their way to safer ground. rick leventhal is live from dauphin island in alabama. you are still waiting for the worst of it, right? >> reporter: the sun was shining a few minutes ago it started raining. dauphin island is one of several barrier islands between the florida panhandle and the louisiana gulf coast. there is three miles of water between here and land. this is the dock. this happens a couple times a year, it's not that rare. we are a half-hour from high tide. but there could be a surge of

several feet coming this way. we have white caps out here that could get work. i can tell you the skies are definitely dark to the south so we could have more severe weather headed this way. martha: even though it looks as though it may not be as bad as it could have been, we just don't know what happens. how are the residents responding to all this? >> reporter: in this complex most people have gotten out. there are three or four boats left on lifts or in the water. but for the most part residents have heeded the warnings. on the left side of the island there is standing water. the evacuation order remains in effect for this area. people who are still here are planning to hunker down during the storm, martha. bill: keeping a close eye on the

storm. we'll take you live to the folks at the national hurricane center. that will provide the vital information for the latest on that storm. martha: governor chris christie set to deliver the keynote speech at the republican convention. he's probably going over the final touches of his speech. what can we expect? liz cheney joins us coming up next. are you receiving a payout from a legal settlement

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martha: here we are on the floor of the convention center right by new jersey. governor chris christie will give the keynote address. it's a significant spot to be in. what we are told is he will make the case for mitt romney. not so much against president obama. we do know he's going talk about new jersey, the experience he had there and the response people have had to cost cutting in his state of new jersey and make the case it can work across the country as well. he's obviously a rising star in

this party. this is a big moment for him. all eyes will be on new jersey and chris christie as he takes that podium tuesday night to give the keynote address. martha: can you tell i'm from new jersey? i like hanging around the new jersey delegation. he's also known for one liners. >> i think we'll enjoy the next few days down here in florida. weather will come and go. they brought me down here specifically as i'm sure you know, brought me down here on sunday to make sure if there are any idiots on the beach to tell them to get the hell off the beach. [applause] some lines are so good they never go away. martha: that was always a winner. he's referring to last year when

he told people to get off the beach as hurricane irene was threatening his state. what can we expect to hear from the sometimes unpredictable chris christie. liz cheney is here. to be chosen for the keynote speech is a big privilege in this environment. chris christie was someone looked at for vice president. governor romney made no mistake about making that clear. what do you hope he brings to the table tonight? >> what he has done in new jersey will be a basis for what we'll hear tonight. this is somebody who actually walks the walk. i think you will hear governor christie talk about the challenges the nation faces and the tough things we'll have to do to bring the country back. i think it will be a real contrast to a lot of the empty rhetoric you hear from the other side. people have gotten to know this governor as a straight talker and it will serve republicans

well to hear more of that this evening. martha: does he concern you at all. there was talk he should tone it down and other folks are saying you have got to let chris be chris. is there any negatives to him being him? your opinion? >> i think for somebody to do what he has done, to prevail in new jersey as a republican with this straight talk. somebody who says we cannot afford not to deal with this debt crisis. we cannot afford to have this out of control spending we have got. i would not suggest chris christie ought to tone it down at all. i think this message is just right for the country. i think you heard reince priebus earlier. martha: i looked at a poll this morning. 41% said they don't have an opinion of chris christie. it is one of the first times he will be on the national stage and who knows what his

possibilities are in the future. i know you are focused on ann romney who will be out there tonight. and the women. there has been a war and women apparently that has bench discussed. >> i'm fed up with it. i'm really sort of at the end of my rope in terms of the democratic party claiming we have a war on women. the democratic party seems to believe the only things women care about is government-funded contraceptives and government handouts from cradle to grave. we saw the life of julia the obama campaign put up on the internet. it's condescending and offensive as a woman. the women i know care about the economy, they care about economic opportunity. we just took our oldest daughter to college. i looked around at the young women in her class. they want jobs and want to be successful in their lives. they want to ve for a party

that will provide that economic opportunity. we want a president who understands mayor case an exceptional nation. the idea that the democrats are sort of sidelining women on these issues that we worked for decades and decades to be considered equal. it looks to me like the democratic party is a party trying to take us backwards. martha: president obama dominated with women. how do you hope to get that message across? >> the fact that we have women like governor haley. they are out there fighting this fight. and they are working for american men and women. people are given high office or elected to high office based on the content of their character. it shouldn't be an agenda issue.

martha: condoleeza rice is also speaking. you can blow your horn and say we have a lot of women involved or say we have a lot of people involved. we we don't look at women's vote as something that is different and unique. >> women's issues. women's issues are bread and butter issues. we want to know we'll be able to put food on our table and our kids will grow up in a country where they will be safe and prosperous. martha: thank you. give our best to your dad as well. >> thank you. martha: bill, tid you go outside? bill: to your left. there you are. we came outside because it's the first day we have seen sunshine in four days. there are blue skies, more so than we have had here. over my left hand shoulder. that's the times four arena.

that's where the convention will be held. to my right shoulder way down the line is the convention center. there are 15,000 reporters here in tampa. 400 air-conditioned bus that will shuttle delegates to the convention on a daily basis. it's been mapped out for months. with 15,000 reporters. you know what they do, right? they eat. and that's about all they have been doing for the past four days. but that changes tonight in prime time as you will see with chris christie, the governor from new jersey and ann romney. they will be in town in about 1 hour and 30 minutes. we expect to see that arrival live in tampa. we'll see you then. back inside, martha. martha: isaac may have rained on

tampa but as bill just showed you it's nice out there. it has not damped republican spirits. what a new poll says republicans have enthusiasm compared to their ticket four years ago. larry sabato is here on that. we'll be right back.

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bill: when governor romney arrives in tampa an hour and 15 minutes from now he will find a fired up republican party solidly behind him. they believe romney is a stronger candidate than john mccain was four years ago and they really like his running-mate paul ryan. larry sabato is with us. good to see you, professor.

what do you make of that number? 74%, 75%. >> it's because of the conditions this year as much as anything else. the republicans smell victory in 2012 and they didn't smell it in 2008. as you noted i think paul ryan has head a big difference for romney. bill: the unemployment 8:plus percent. those are the reality and the head winds that are incumbent president obama is running into. >> the blows domestic product that is only growing at 1.5%. even people who aren't touched by unemployment are touched by slow economic growth. those conditions make a president vulnerable.

i think we are in one of those periods again. bail * that's barely a crawl when you are trying to get out of a hole. mention paul ryan. 71% already now -- this is before his big speech wednesday night. 71% of this poll of republicans consider paul ryan to be popular. what explains that? >> they agree with him on the budget, they have gotten to know him over the years, and they simply agree with his positions on the debt, on the budget and fiscal issues. i think he also adds youth and energy to the ticket. they can identify with ryan in a way they had iy doing with romney. this team they see as energizing romney as well as the party. therefore, they get energized. bill: how much of that was a calculation or how much of that has simply happened? >> the romney people will take

credit for all the good things that are happening. that's what politicians do. bill: were if you st. paul in 2008? >> yes. bill: how ds this compare based on the feeling you get in tampa opposed to st. paul. >> i think the delegates feel much more confident they have at least an even shot of victory. and back in 2008, because of the bush unpopularity, because of the economic situation, it was a very different feeling. they knew it was more of a long shot. this is not a long shot at all. bill: i get that same impression. when you talk to the hard-core of the party, their attitude four years later is much different than what we found in minnesota. also in this poll. i don't know if you are tapped into this. but 14% of democrats in that policy after the pick of paul ryan made them more likely to vote for mitt romney. i don't know how that compares

historically. but 14% of democrats struck me as interesting. >> mccain got the votes of 10% of democrats in 2008. obama got 9% of republicans. that's a little higher. fit hold it will certainly help romney. paul ryan is a 42-year-old irish catholic. who does that remind you of? john f. kennedy was 42 years old when he announced for president, an irish catholic. bill: paul ryan is right there in the heart of the country. that will likely decide this election in 70 days. wisconsin, the spillover into inch and ohio as well. >> tonight is about chris christie.

that's the most important card of the evening. christy has the ability to enthuse the base. that's what conventions are funding amount alley about. they are not just selling an image of the candidate. they are also about getting the base totally bought into the campaign, to the cad i so they can -- to the candidacy. and christy can do it. about it are it's the red meat in politics. but what about ann romney's appeal to folks who don't know about her husband as yet. >> it's an introduction to what romney has to do himself. a spouse will be appealing for lots of reasons can open the door for the audience to get to know romney better. but romney has to let people in the door. he has to show people what he really is and only he can do that in the acceptance address. bill: thanks for bringing your crystal ball down here.

what's next? martha: coming up just hours now until tropical storm isaac is expected to make landfall. we have a live update coming moment away from the national hurricane center on exactly how powerful this storm is expected to be when it smashes into the gulf coast. bill: ann romney will be center stage at the convention later tonight. she'll be in tampa in a matter of minutes. how is she getting ready for the big night. he's spontaneous and he has a great sense of humor. but these are serious issues he's talking about and this is a serious race and these are serious times. [ pilot ] now when you build an aircraft, you want to make sure it goes up and stays up. [ chirp ] with android apps, you get better quality control. so our test flights are less stressful. i've got a lot of paperwork, and time is everything here.

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bill: fox news alert. we are awaiting a statement from the president, president obama and the white house on tropical storm isaac churning 70 miles an hour in the gulf. that storm on the verge of becoming a hurricane. when the president speaks we'll take you there live to the white house. then he heads out to iowa and colorado for two campaign events. back here in tampa martha is outside. martha: how you doing, bill. it many beautiful out here. but folks are very concerned about what's heading their way. let's go to the national hurricane center in miami. dr. rick knabb is standing by. how bad do you think this is going to be? >> it's a slow north ward

motion, and the size of the tropical storm, all those things together make for the water hazards being of primary concern. the storm surge 6 feet above ground level in the southeastern coastal louisiana area. and inland the heavy rainfall and flooding that could result from so much monther coming out of this slow moving tropical storm. martha: one of the big concerns is something everybody will be watching is the new flood control that's been put into place. what in terms of your models and what you are looking at, how do you think that system will work? >> when i was at the hurricane center previously in 2005 i did the report on hurricane katrina and visited the risk reduction system around new orleans. it's a very different setup it was prior to katrina.

this storm will be weaker. based on our storm surge forecast, we talked to the army corps of engineers. they are confident if the forecast hold that their system will perform as intended. but we also have to keep in mind that there is going to be rainfall, potentially heavy within that system and there still could be flooding because of the freshwater components. martha: it sounds like the dump of rainfall that will come across the land once it hits. >> this will move over inland states. they will get rainfall and the river flooding. not just the flash flooding immediately. but the river flooding could last quite a long time. so not just a coastal event and inland one as well. we have lad lots of people lose their lives because of the flooding. martha: i think sometimes people

see it's not technically a hurricane. they think that means they don't have to be as concerned and you are pointing out you have to be concerned. especially when you might get flooding to think about. what are the moment in the clock that you are looking at that we'll have to pay close attention to. >> the arrival of winds of tropical storm force on the coast in the hurricane warning area will happen today as some of these bands move onshore. fortunately for those folks the southern and eastern parts of the circulation have been the wetter and windier. later today the conditions will start to go down hill. that's when people need to be out of flood-prone areas and not get in their cars because of that flood potential. martha: they need to pay attention to whatever information they can get as to what's coming their way. we'll speak to you later, many

thanks. bill, back to you. bill: it's humid out there. you can feel it in the tampa air. but his point is well taken about folks inland who could lose power for the coming days. something to watch as we move throughout the week. now in tampa republicans taking full advantage of president obama's remarks on small business. also chris wallace, peggy noonan, including the theme for the night based on this. >> somebody helped to create his unbelievable american system that we have that allowed you to thrive. somebody invested in roads and bridges. if you have got a business, you didn't build that. somebody else made that happen. are you receiving a payout from a legal settlement

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martha: good morning once again, everybody. we are back here live in tampa and we are waiting to hear from president obama at the white house, that is expected to happen any minute. he is expected to address the threat from tropical storm isaac, the system near hurricane-force as it threatens the gulf coast area. it looks to be heading towards new orleans, and that, unbelievably exactly seven years after hurricane katrina it is not expected to hit with the

kind of force that hurricane did, thankfully. we will listen to the president live when he steps in front of the podium. we'll bring that to you as soon as that gets underway. so, it is time to get this party started. shall we? we've been here for a couple of days and things are really getting underway now in tampa. brand-new hour starting for "america's newsroom" coming to you live from the republican national convention. good morning, everybody, i'm martha maccallum. bill: i'm bill hemmer. finally. we're calling it day two only because yesterday lasted only a few minutes. the convention will kickoff at 2:00 eastern time. governor romney touching down a bit later in tam path. we wil tampa. we will watch that plane touchdown and is wife is expected to speak tonight which will be one of the highlights. martha: one roberts joins us with a preview. he is live in the convention

center for us this morning with a look at what we can expect today. >> reporter: we've just been listening to "three doors down" one of the featured performers tonight. volunteers are getting together all of the booklets and 4600 delegates and alternates are going to need to make it through the convention. there will be a reading of the rules and that all important role call where mitt romney is expected to get the 1144 delegates he needs to become the official nomination of the republican party, which he will accept on thursday night during his big speech. of course, there are a lot of big speakers tonight as well. kelly yeah at is going to beer, chris christie will be here. the theme is "we built it. tez said if you have a business you didn't build it. they are getting traction from women orders.

country star lane turner will be singing what will probably become the anthem of the romney campaign, his new song "i built it" martha. martha: with isaac till out there. we have been discussing over the last 48 hours whether it will change the convention any further. what is the mood of the organizers in terms of how things are looking for them? >> reporter: i will tell you that the top brass at the rnc is watching what is going on with isaac with a huge pit in their stomach. they are hoping that nothing bad happens in southern louisiana, or in mississippi, that they don't have to cancel another night of the event. they are watching it closely and make any changes they need to. as to how it might affect the tone i think you'll hear a lot of speakers being very respectful of that. chris christie is the keynote speaker is supposed to be full of fire. does reince priebus think he'll change his speech at all? here is what he said on fox & friends this morning.

>> nobody wants to mess with that new jersey attitude. chris will be chris tonight but i think he'll talk a little bit about the mitt romney story from his perspective, why he thinks we need a change in the white house. i think you may hear some things about the fact that the president made a lot of promises but he didn't deliver on too much. >> reporter: chris christie was just on stage a few minutes ago checking it out one last run through before tonight. he skwroebd a couple o joked a couple of days ago that he was here in tampa to tell the people in florida to get the hell off the beach east did in new jersey a new years ago. he seems to be in fighting form for this opening night of the convention. martha: governor christie and romney have got even to know each other well throughout the course of this. i'm sure governor christie is received up for his moment in the national spotlight. john, thank you very much. john roberts on the convention floor for us right now. coming up we'll speak some gale

gicho, romney for president communications direct err. we'll speak to her on what we could expect to hear from mrs. romney tonight. she knows her very well and has been with her in the run up of all of this. we'll see what she has to say when gail gitcho joins us. bill: this is the time to be on the beach. martha: when a hurricane is coming he says you're tan enough, you have to get off the beach. bill: john boehner is saying the republicans are in a strong position to retain their majority in congress and he suggests they could even expand to lead. he made the comments at a lungs in tampa. he said in this election he's not taking anything for granted. some are suggesting this is a change in tone from his prediction last april when he warned the democrats had a one in three chance of regaining control of the house. martha: the president is running a few minutes late right now. we are waiting for the update

from the white house on the hurricane. there is a new poll showing a big issue for the voters and the campaign is, which is no surprise the economy. 72% of registered voters say that the economy is the major factor when it comes to who they will select in the fall. the national debt is on track as we know to reach 16 trillion over the course of the next few days. they are expecting that number to roll over on the floor of the national republican convention. they have a debt clock of their own inside the convention center not missing the opportunity to make that centerpiece of the discussion out there. bill: it has not become an issue just yet, but there are number of protestors who have come to tampa. police in fact out number the protestors four to one outside of the convention area. they expected 5,000 demonstrators for yesterday's march but only 250 showed up, blaming tropical storm isaac for a low turn out about a thousand officers lined the streets.

they arrested one man who was caring a machete over the weekend. that march remained peaceful yesterday. police in riot gear were called in to prevent protestors from approaching the convention center. we'll watch and so if that progresses today. martha: it takes a lot to make a major event like this go off without a hitch. to prepare the city of tampa has brought in more than 3,000 police officers from all around the state. we see the presence of them as we come in every morning. national guard out there. tons of protection all throughout the city. the money comes from a $50 million federal grant to pay for security, including 48 horses for crowd control and they are out there in force, we can attest to that. bill: martha just mentioned this. we are awaiting the president in a matter of moments live from the white house. we'll hear his comment about tropical storm isaac running a few minutes behind there. the national hurricane center reporting that the tropical storm is nearing hurricane strength. it is almost there at a minimum category 1, 74 miles per hour,

not quite yet at that strength. isaac on track to make landfall in new orleans later tonight ander lie -- and early tomorrow. residents up and down the gulf coast bracing for more of this coming their way. >> we should be relatively okay. i'm not kidding myself, i know we'll have winds, and water, but as far as katrina's destruction, i'm knocking on wood. >> we have to err on the side of cautionment if we think -- if they tell us it's a category 2 we plan for a category 3. 65-mile an hour winds, we are planning for 80-mile an hour winds. bill: seven years ago katrina came roaring onshore. it is not anywhere near the size of katrina. with any storm, marie ahh take caution. live in the extreme weather center. what are you seeing. >> reporter: it still has maximum sustained winds of

070 miles per hour. but we had dry air across the storm system. we are seeing deep convention around the storm system which means it's strengthening. there is an eyewall trying to develop there near the center of the storm center. you can see it wrapping around, around the center of the storm. we are going to see changes as we head into 11:00am eastern time from the national hurricane center as a new advisory will be issued and we'll see if tropical storm isaac gets bumped up to a hurricane, then it would maximum sustained winds at least of 74 miles per hour. regardless of the amount of wind we see from isaac the big story rile will be the amount of rainfall that we are expecting, locally up to 20 inches will be possible across southern parts of mississippi and southeastern louisiana could see incredible amounts of rainfall from isaac. the reason for that is that isaac is going to be slowing down. it has already done that today now moving at a forward speed of 7 miles per hour.

as it makes landfall late tonight into early tomorrow morning, take a look at where it will be by wednesday at 1:00pm. not much further inland. as we head into thursday still sitting and spinning over the state of louisiana and mississippi producing more heavy rain and gusty winds. another big concern of course is the storm surge anywhere between 6 to 12 feet along coastal areas of louisiana and mississippi and that is above normal tide levels. a big concern of course severe weather we could see some isolated tornadoes. bill: you know, maria due day marie maria two days ago it was moving fast and then it literally slowed its speed, it cut it in half down to ten miles per hour. is it moving at that rate now or has it picked up a little more? and what is the complication from a slower-moving storm now. >> the big concern if it slows down is it is sitting over very warm water. that will allow it to

strengthen. warm water over the gulf of mexico stat state temperatures over 80s. if it slows down it's barely going to move once it makes landfall across louisiana. it will move very slowly over the next couple of days. this will be a prolonged event as far as the wind goes, the storm surge and the heavy rainfall so that is a big concern, about 48 hours of possible tropical storm force or hurricane conditions, bill. bill: thanks, maria. martha: let's go back to the white house where president obama is speaking now about the tropical storm. let's listen in. >> i just got an update from secretary napolitano, administrator fugate, the head of fema, and dr. rick nabb the director of the national hurricane center on preparations underway in the gulf. this storm isn't scheduled to make landfall until later today, but at my direction fema has been on the ground for over a week working with state and local officials in areas that could be affected, from puerto

rico, and the u.s. virgin islands, to florida and more recently louisiana, alabama, and mississippi. yesterday i approved a disaster declaration for the state of louisiana so they can get the help that they need right away, particularly around some of the evacuations that are taking place. and right now we already have response teams and supplies ready to help communities in the expected path of the storm. as we prepare for isaac to hit i want to encourage all residents of the gulf coast to listen to your local officials, and follow their directions, including if they tell you to evacuate. we are dealing with a big storm, and there could be significant flooding and other damage across a large area. now is not the time to tempt fate, now is not the time to dismiss official warnings. you need to take this seriously.

and finally, i want to thank everyone who has been working around-the-clock to get ready for isaac. the hardest work of course is still ahead. and as president i'll continue to make sure that the federal government is doing everything possible to help the american people prepare for and recover from this dangerous storm. and as we get additional updates from the hurricane center, as well as from fema, in terms of activities on the ground, we'll be providing continuous updates both at the local and the national level. thank you. martha: president obama at the white house of course talking about the storm as we get ready for it to make landfall over the next several hours in the gulf coast area and the preparations this he's been making, and speaking with greg fugate at fema as everybody hunkers down and hopes for the best but you always have to prepare for the worst as well. bill: one of the critical things in the storm, martha as is

always the case. what town, what area, what part of that shoreline is on the eastern side of that storm? because they will bear the brunt of this. there will be water damage everywhere. the right side is critical. it can jog right, left or keep going straight at the last minute. no one knows. that's what we wait on. martha: we'll keep you posted as any information comes in on isaac. in the meantime when the convention kicks off this afternoon in earnest, what should you be watching for out there today? we have a great team coming up in the next block, peggy noon and is here, chris wallace is here, we'll speak to them. bill: one of the most anticipated speakers to the night certainly is ann romney, the impact she has had on governor romney's wife. and vice versa, and what role she may play in the final months of this campaign. martha: vice presidental candidate paul ryan on his way to tampa as we speak fires back at critics who say he's too young to run for the office.

here is what he said. >> you know, bret, i never planned this for my life. i wasn't one of these people who had my life mapped out. i loved the study of economics and that's what i thought i was going to do with my live. life. ♪

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that fit almost anywhere so you can take them everywhere. dentyne split to fit. practice safe breath. martha: lots of buzz and preparation going on on the floor at excitement builds. tonight is the first big night of the republican nation until convention. weather forced the republicans to shorten the program by a day. a lot to look forward to as we get ready. who else better to talk to is chris wallace from fox news sunday. getting pretty interesting around here. >> i think we need to stop all this nonsense about whether or not the republicans should hold their convention tonight or shouldn't hold the convention.

you just saw barack obama speak. you know where he's going now? he's going on a campaign trip. he's going to iowa, and eyes going tand he's going to colorado. he's continuing to politic, guess what, what he does has no effect good or bad on what is going to happen to the folks along the gulf coast. they ought to go ahead and do their business. this is a very important process, nominating and perhaps electing a president of the united states. they should stop worrying about the hurricane. it has nothing to do with this convention. martha: i mean -- >> they'll send us the sermon. martha: i hear what you're saying, and you're right the president is keeping on his schedule. it appears what they are going to do here is just go forward as expected and just do it one day at a time. obviously if something catastrophic happens you change your plans. >> i'm not sure you change your plans. why wouldn't you continue to hold this convention? martha: it would be in some eyes

insensitive. i understand your point, which is that the business of the country is also extremely important. >> i remember when john mccain canceled his campaign for about 48 hours during the financial crisis in 2008, barack obama said a president has to be able to do more than one thing at a time. this party can do more than one thing, they can sit there and pay the attention that is deserved to the folks in the gulf coast and go ahead and speak about this very important choice that the country is facing in november. martha: good point. let's talk a little bit about what we expect tonight. things will get rolling in earnest this evening. chris christie will do the keynote address. it's always fun when you're in the hall and you see people walking around to get ready for their speeches. take a look at the prompter out there. there he is with his wife, marry patmarch mary pat, the first lady of new jersey.

>> he's larger than life, literal low and figuratively character. i expect him to do two things, to make the case why president obama does not deserve to be reelected, he has failed over the four years, and make the case as to why the romney vision, the republican vision is better, and i expect him to do it in an extremely entertaining fashion, and, you know, i'm looking for him to blow the roof off the place. in a sense i think there is the potential here, we'll see, the potential for what we saw with barack obama's keynote in 2004 in boston. he's a much bigger figure than obama was in 2004, he was obscure state senator, but he could make a speech that puts him in the center of the debate about the future of the republican party. martha: it's a lot of pressure on him. the bar is set very high. i think the expectations are very high that people will walk away that don't know him that well across the country and say, wow, there is a superstar for the future of the republican party. pressure? he says he's not nervous. we'll see how that goes.

ann romney of course has a very significant night tonight. >> i heard something, i didn't know this when i was at the romney house this weekend, they told me that they had a family meeting about a year and a half ago about whether or not mitt romney should run for a second term. and it was mitt and ann, their five sons and the five daughters in law and the vote was ten-two against him running. the only two people who voted that he should run was ann romney and their eldest son, tag. all the others said no. she was the driving force that said, the country needs you, you have special skills, the country with these economic problems so desperately need now. i think she'll try to human nice him and warm him up. we see in the polls that is an issue for voters. in addition i think she will walk as only a wife can about why she thinks her husba is the right person for middle class voters, for women, i think she can do a lot of good for him

today. martha: we'll see, big night tonight, we'll see you in there. chris wallace, always a pleasure. bill: we are going to talk to peggy noonan live here. is there really a war on woman? we'll talk to her about that. congressman paul ryan addressing reports that he looks too young for the office he seeks. what would he say about that

bill: 25 minutes past the hour. we are live in tampa. we'll see governor romney within the hour landing in tampa.

joining me now is peggy noonan, columnist for the "wall street journal," fox news contributor live here in tampa. good morning to you. >> good morning. great to be here guys. bill: give me a sense. i saw you in st. paul four years ago in 2008. give me the sense of comparison that you would draw from 2008 to what you're hearing, or what the vibe is, or what the feeling is in tampa four years later. >> all right. the vibe here has been a little bit weird, let's say, for the past two days there's been almost -- people have a sense of something impending. they've sort of been a little bit nervous, anxious, the storm, all the stuff that is going on. what i think they can do tonight is turn it all around. they can light this candle. they can have the gavel go down at 8:00pm and have some wonderful speakers who sort of make people think about, oh, my gosh, that's why we are here. bill: the weirdness that you

refer to is the inch expected nature of this convention at the moment because the schedule is off. if the storm comes onshore and everybody is okay in the gulf coast we are in a whole different mind frame at this hour 24 hours from now, are we not? >> absolutely. you also will have had the beginning of something. you will have had chris christie come, and i suspect say something, or make some jokes, or make an assertion that let's that crowd on the floor for the first time let out its pent-up lust to get this thing going and have a lot of fun and cheer your guy. bill: the keynote, that's like friar's club in midtown manhattan. that was rudy rudy giuliani roll. and he hit it out of the park. when you hear from chris christie, the unexpected nature

of their speech goes along the same thing we've seen with the unexpected schedule with isaac, with the storm that came and went. >> the unexpected nature of christie's speech you mean? >> the way they deliver it, and people will say, oh, i see what you mean now. >> people will say, i'm at a convention, this is democracy playing itself out every four years. they are going to get excited. also ann romney has a wonderful opportunity to -- i was thinking before how will we know ann romney's speech was a success? we will know if at 1:00 in the morning at the bar at the hyatt hotel delegates are looking at each other and saying, we did the right thing. we picked the right guy. that's how we will know. bill: you think it's that immediate reaction? >> it will take two hours for people to say, that was it, that was it. i get it, this works. bill: what is her biggest challenge tonight? is it the message, is it the way she relates to her husband?

is it the way that she tells the american people how he took care of her some 14 years ago when she was on the lowest point of her life? depression, breast cancer, ms, all the challenges she has faced as a human being? >> i think probably the biggest immediate challenge is just don't get too excited, and don't get too intense, and don't get any stage fright, just relax, go out there. this is what i think she wants to say. she knows mitt romney better than any human being in the world. they've been married for 42, 43 years. she has been with him through thick and thin. she clearly loves him. she also find him deeply admirable. so it seems to me part of what she is going to be wanting to do is to explain to the awe audience at home and in the hall, this is why i admire him. this is why i'm here in the middle of a crisis putting my

family and myself through this when i haven't been well. this man can be trusted. i think that simple message, i know him, you can trust him, would be very powerful. bill: there is a gender gap as you know. >> yeah. bill: does she close that gap with women, and how effectively? >> i don't know if she closes it, she can make progress. i mean part of the story of human history is that women civil hraoeuz me civil lies men and hume nic hume nice humanize him. she can say, i knew him when he was nothing, i knew him when he was something and he's a good man. bill: thank you, peggy. martha: winning the women's

vote, both campaigns have tried very hard to speak to this very important group of voters. is it working? ann romney, once again the role she will play tonight and the role she has played in her husband's political life. she has been called the mitigator, she has been called the mitt stabilizer. coming up we will speak with a woman who knows her very well, romney's communication director here in "america's newsroom" live from tampa. hi. i'm henry winkler.

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martha: welcome back, folks. fox news alert right now on the nation's economy. we've got a look at some pretty ugly numbers on consumer confidence that just came out this morning. a private research group is reporting that consumer confidence unexpectantly fell this month to the lowest levels that we have seen since november of 2011. the index fell to 60.6. that is a rough number if you follow these folks. it is down from a revised 65.4 in july, which is also not a good number. the indicators watched very closely because it taps into how consumers are feeling about the economy, what they feel free enough to spend their money on on big purchases, including healthcare which accounts for 70% of u.s. economic activity, so that is in the mix there as well. something to think about as a backdrop as we kick things off this evening.

bill: we have some good digs here don't we? a little home away from home. nice here done. we are 30 minutes away from the expected arrival of mitt romney and ann romney arriving by way of boston. mrs. romney expected to deliver one of the rnc's most anticipated speeches later tonight. on the trail she is one of her husband's most effective backers, and tonight she will tell the country about the mitt romney that only she knows. shan and bream is live in tampa, what is that message, shannon. good morning to you. >> reporter: bill good morning to you as well. we understand she is still putting final touches on her speech right now. as you were discussing, it's going to be about humanizing mitt romney, the husband she is, the husband, the grandfather. that's the message she wants to communicate tonight.

here is a little bit more about ann romney. >> my sweetheart, ann romney. >> reporter: she is that and much more. >> cheerleader, confidant, surrogate, all of the above. >> reporter: she has become a constant presence on the campaign trail. >> we're not going to take it any more. we are taking the white house back. >> reporter: wife and mother to five boys. >> my career choice was to be a mother, and i think all of us need to know that we need to respect choices that women make. >> reporter: she felt the need to respond to charges that she as a wealthy stay at home mom, quote, never worked a day in her life. >> those things that i actually did physically to take care of the house and the children and the bills and all the things which some people think that i didn't work, but, you know, those were -- those were things i was very busy doing. >> reporter: together the romney's have faced the glare of the public spotlight with swipes at things lining her pricey wardrobe and a private pain of her battles with multiple sclerosis and breast cancer cancer . things that made her more

passionate. while the romney's are taking heat from being out of touch with average americans, including dressage. she wants to see horse riding abg he sesabl accessible to all. >> he's funny, spontaneous, he has a great sense of humor. she's are serious issues that he is talking about, this is a serious race and these are serious times. >> reporter: we will hear from ann romney trying to communicate that other side of her husband to potential voters out there. by the way we'll sit down with her, i have a one and one exclusive with her the first one after her speech tomorrow and we'll bring folks a little bit more about what she thinks about life on the campaign trail, what her plans would be should she become first lady. back to you. bill: and the first reaction, that's great. looking forward to that. thank you, shannon. martha: tonight is a big night for mrs. romney and she has at times been called sort of a secret weapon of the romney campaign. they think she is very effective

for the candidate here to talk about that is gail gitcho campaigns communications director. gail welcome. >> very nice to be here. martha: you've worked with the rom no, sir for a longtime. >> i was actually ann romney's communication director last time they ran. martha: what are they telling you this morning, how are they feeling? >> they are very, very excited to be here in florida. ann is practicing her speech. she started thinking about this a longtime ago when she realized she was going to be delivering a speech at the convention. all of the words, awful the seven msent ta phepbts. she will be speaking from the heart, talking about governor romney as a husband, father and grandfather. martha: what are the plans? he's coming down earlier than expected. >> he's going to be here. martha: he'll be in the hall tonight for the speech. >> i don't think you could keep him away from watching her give this speech. martha: will we see him tonight? >> we'll have to wait and see. martha: a little surprise coming perhaps this evening. that is interesting for us to make notes of and think about as

we head into this. obviously when we take a look at some of the polls and we'll pull up numbers as a backdrop here, and they have improved in the categories that we're looking at. first we have a head-to-head poll which shows obama-biden 44, romney ryan 45. among women so much is talked about in terms of the gap. president obama won handily over john mccain last time around with women. that according to our poll is 48-42. some of them are not as close as that one. in terms of your approach for the sort of win inch the female vote obviously mrs. romney will play a role in that. he is the one who has to sell female voters. >> mrs. romney can talk about what governor romney has been like as a husband, father and grandfather. there is no better surrogate to talk about mitt romney than ann romney. thefpee known each other for 45 years, married for 43. they are a very good pair. i think you'll see that from the speech tonight. in terms of the vote governor romney has the opportunity to

communicate the contrast between what president obama has done with this economy, which impacts millions of women, remember that there are 23 million americans that are unemployed, and millions of those are women. there are more women in poverty now than when president obama first took office, and that is a big deal. so when you look at the contrast of what governor romney has proposed versus the track that president obama has it on it's a very clear choice for women to see the kind of life that governor romney has led, what he has done in the private sector, what he has done in the olympics, and how he's lead his life as a father and a grandfather and a husband. martha: you know, i'm curious, the like ability issue. there was a pretty wide gulf in it in the polls for a while. we have numbers we can pull up as well in terms of favorability have also improved somewhat over recent weeks. you're an inside tore this campaign. what has changed in the past couple of weeks? paul ryan came on for one

thing. how -- how he is relating to voters that have moved these numbers do you think. >> people are starting to pay attention. we now have the opportunity that voters are taking a look at this race, what are the big contrasts and the big differences in visions between governor romney and president obama? and you've seen governor romney go out there more, and he's talked about his vision for the future. and so i think that probably plays a pretty good -- there ace good reason why those numbers have changed. martha: on a personal level, do you find him to be more confident now that he's about to be named the nominee? it was a long, hard slog. >> sure, there is confidence there, absolutely. like i said, tonight america is going to be in for a treat with ann romney delivering her speech. ann romney is a remarkable woman and tonight she'll take the stage and american vote hrers have the chance tvoters will have the chance to see her. ee are excitewe are excited to see her. martha: and we may see mitt romney. >> we'll have to wait and see. martha: good luck.

thanks for joining us. bill: we are 20 minutes away from an update on tropical storm isaac. when will it hit the gulf coast has a hurricane possibly? not there yet. we are also getting words moments ago that mississippi has just issued an order to close all the coastline casinos by 10:00am central time, that is 20 minutes from now due to that storm. we'll give you an update on all that of in a moment. martha: another storm, our count throw's ballooning debt is taking center stage at tonight's republican convention. senator brasso joins us in a moment on that.

bill: all right. theme one for day one later tonight, "we built it" that is the campaign theme in tam path. look for that slogan later tonight. how will republicans relate to that theme? senator john brasso out of wyoming for me now. nice to see you. we've talked about a lot of things over the past couple of years, debt, spending, healthcare have all been big issues. i don't think you ever get humidity like this in wyoming do you. >> it's something. bill: you could take a knife and it wouldn't have to be a sharp knife. >> a dull blade. bill: you're a doctor too, that's right. what about the theme?

>> if you've got a business, you didn't build that, somebody else made that happen. bill: how have republicans taken that comment and used it? >> i will tell you. i was at a centennial ranch celebration in wyoming, families that have been in the business for a hundred years, four generations, great awards ceremony. these are families who have withstood floods, drought, a great depression, and a government that claims to be there to help them. they have never been so insulted in their lives. those are the people that built those farms, authors the people that built those ranches. whether it's that, whether it's a dry cleaner or a florist, a carwash operator, i think this is an insult to every hard-working american, any small business owner across this country. bill: would you say this election is about numbers? you were quoted justhis past week when you travel around, $16 trillion national debt. numbers of workers without jobs and the amount of money taken

out of medicare. now that argument has gone back and forth and it's been debated. how can you convince americans about all these issues right now? >> the american people know that this country was built on a combination of opportunity and ambition and innovation and overcoming obstacles. and the president is completely out of touch with that vision of america that i think people in all the communities across the country have. bill: to your point, then, there is this poll from the "l.a. times," 72% say economic record under president obama is a key factor in their vote. >> and the president has failed on jobs, on the economy, on the debt, on the spending. we've had over 40 months of unemployment of over 8%, bill. people want to get back to work. we have 23 million americans who are either unemployed or under employed. only one-third of americans think the country is headed in the right direction. bill: when you look at key elections that have changed the

course of america, put a party in that was there, kick them out of power rally, when you think about the economy, what is the measure of impact that the economy has on an individual vote? >> i think it's a major thing into whether that person is working, has worked, and those people that are looking for work or have worked. the economy is a huge impact. even those fortunate enough to have jobs are earning about $4,000 less now than they were when president obama came into office. the price of gasoline is continuing to go up. people are understanding the pain at the pump. they realize that the quality of their life under this president is worse not better. bill: that's where it all goes down in the arena behind us. what is your sense on friday? how do republicans come out of tampa? >> i think we come out united. you win by a coalition of people who all agree on the major issues, and the major issues are jobs, the economy, debt and spending, and it's a responsible government. what we have with this president is a government that continues to be more expensive and less

effective. bill: senator, thank you. we'll see you inside. john brasso out of wyoming. we have a brees now, does that make it any better? >> i'd rather be in wyoming. bill: i'm sure you would. now it's tampa. night one. martha: thanks you guys. coming up a lot more straight ahead as we wait for the latest new advisory from the national hurricane center, and everybody gets ready to kickoff this convention this evening. we are looking at the tropical storm track of isaac. bill and i will be right back with much more live in "america's newsroom" from tampa.

bill: vice presidental candidate paul ryan has been asked about his youth. he's 42 and he's been asked whether or not he's too young to run for office. we know he's a fit man, he works out every day, and bret asked him about that just this past week. >> are you still doing the p90x thing on the trail? >> every morning. >> and last thing, you're young looking, your 42, do you get concerns that people will say, that guy is too young? >> no, i don't think so. we've had plenty of presidents in their 40s, vice presidents in their 40s. i've been in congress 14 years. i have more experience than president obama did coming into office. bill: congressman ryan also went onto say that he never planned on running for office, and it was his love of economics that

propelled him into public life. you know he came out of college, he was a bit of a ski bump hanging out there in colorado, and that was really -- that's where his mind was. martha: it wasn't clear at that point that that's where he was headed. bill: blew out his knee sent him back to wisconsin. martha: that's when he stuck his nose in the economic books and would he find him here today. bill: his mom was war worried about his future. martha: you look back in the course of history, to be 42 is a grown man by anyone always estimation. only in this day and age does that seem very young. bill: also remember too, elected to the house at age 28, i believe. martha: 14 years of experience in congress as he says, so big night for him tomorrow night. and we'll look forward to that. and in the meantime let's get you an update if we can. that is just moments away we understand. we'll get you the latest information on tropical storm isaac. it is nearing hurricane strength. it's whirling around in the gulf right now. according to the national hurricane center they are looking for the beginning of the landfall process over the next several hours in mississippi.

the state's gambling commission is ordering the casinos along the coast to close their doors. mandatory evacuation orders are in effect in that area. meteorologist maria molina is live in the fox extreme weather center with the latest look at all this. hey, maria. >> good morning, everyone. we are anxiously awaiting the national hurricane center's 11:00am update, that is eastern time of course on tropical storm isaac. so still expected to be a tropical storm, or it still is a tropical storm right now. we want to zoom into the storm system. i want to show you that the system is continuing to organize itself and it's trying to pull itself together and trying to develop an eyewall right there. you can clearly see it on a tropical satellite here over the last several hours it's pulled more thunderstorms on the northern side of it where we had earlier this morning some dry air and it's filling it on in with areas of very heavy rain. it's likely that we could possibly see isaac be upgraded very shortly to hurricane status, and that would mean 74 miles per hour maximum

sustained winds for that. it has 70-mile an hour wind right now. we want to show you pictures of new orleans where we are seeing the wind pick up and rough surf up there. the the gulf of mexico and coastal areas usually is very calm. you can see a lot of activity out there right now. the wind is not at tropical storm force but that likely will be increasing as we head into the next several hours and the storm continues to inch towards the coast. it's moving very slowly at 7 miles per hour and is expected to remain a slow mover or the next several days. martha: 7 miles per hour, it has really slowed down considerably. so what does that mean for the timing on this. maria? i know we are waiting for an update. as far as you know right now, what does the timing look like? >> we know it's going to be moving slowly. regardless whether it's a hurricane or tropical storm that is the biggest concern right now. it's going to stay over louisiana and mississippi for several hours and possibly 48 hours, producing those strong winds, heavy rain, locally up to

20 inches of rain will be possible across southeastern parts of louisiana and also mississippi. flooding will be a major concern not just around the coastal areas but even further inland. if you take a look at the cone as we head into wednesday afternoon still near the coast of louisiana, by thursday early morning hours just over louisiana. typically we see storms come in and out a little bit quicker than this. this is going to be a long wind event with heavy rainfall, again 20 inches of rain. the storm surge is a big deal as well, anywhere between 6 to 12 feet above normal ti tkerbg ide levels. martha: we'll get an update in a little while. we'll be in touch. bill: two big stories watching them eye to eye throughout the week. one of them is coming to tampa right now. governor romney set to aeu arrive here within minutes set to support his wife ann who will be on the stage later tonight to speak at the convention. martha: pretty exciting. our coverage of the republican national convention continues in tam ma as we get ready for the big night one.

we'll be right back.

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