site of the republican national convention in tampa. isaac is now a hurricane and churning through the gulf. msnbc's tamryn hall is in new orleans but we begin with bryan norcross, hurricane expert at the weather channel. let's talk about the track. what do we see, how strong is it getting? >> well, it is a hurricane now. the main feature with this storm, though, is that it is huge. it's over, much larger than a normal hurricane we see. let me give you the numbers as they are right now. it's a 75 mile an hour hurricane with extraordinary low pressure for a category 1 hurricane so it still has a little room perhaps to get a little stronger before it gets to the coast, and moving to the northwest but i want you to look at the radar. this is coming out of new orleans here. there's the center and we see it kind of sliding along the coast, which is not necessarily good, because what that will tend to do is increase the duration of the time that the bad weather is over new orleans. now, the worst of the weather is down here right now.

now, watch as we go to what's called rpm future radar, a simulation of the radar over the next day. watch the oranges as they come in. there we are, 3:00 this afternoon, still kind of offshore but notice the bands increasing over new orleans. but the real strong stuff down in here, this rotating around is still not there so this afternoon, the weather deteriorates and then tonight, here we are midnight, it's still not there so it really gets there in the overnight hours and then into tomorrow, and notice by noon tomorrow, nearly 24 hours from now, the center is still south of new orleans, still has to go north, still has to bring all this over. so it's going to start tonight and it's going to go through the day tomorrow. this is going to be an extraordinarily long duration event for the folks of new orleans, southeastern louisiana and mississippi. >> bryan, as it goes over that hot gulf water, what is the likelihood that it is going to gain strength? >> it might gain a little bit of

strength but i don't think that's really the issue. the issue is that it's a huge thing that's going to have wide-ranging effects so when you take a big thing and move it slowly over a point, it takes a long time for it to go by, and i think the most notable thing about this in the end is going to be people saying it was relentless, the wind was blowing and blowing and blowing and blowing and blowing for perhaps a day and a half before it really starts to let up in a big way. this is going to be through the day tomorrow once it starts late in the day today in the southeastern louisiana populated area. of course at the coast it will be sooner than that. >> bryan norcross, thanks for all those warnings. that is exactly why louisiana is bracing for this impact of a storm that is going to move slowly and stay for a long time. just moments ago, governor bobby jindal not here in tampa for obvious reasons, gave residents this warning. >> this is a slow-moving storm, so there are going to be many communities that will face several hours of heightened wind strength as well as heightened

rainfall compared to normal, and so that will result in localized flooding, will likely result in downed tree limbs and power lines. we strongly encourage people to follow the advice of their local leaders about when it is safe to leave. >> msnbc's tamryn hall is in new orleans. you have been there for the last two days talking to people, looking at the preparations, and you know from your previous experience just how much they have done to prepare since katrina. are they ready? >> yeah, you know, the flood walls are up, a lot of businesses in the french quarter have boarded up their windows. people have slowly started to move out of this area. this morning you could hear hammers going, a lost activity. now i can look pretty much both directions and i'm just a block from canal street. i'm the only person that i can see, maybe a few people down, just a bit aways but that's about it. i think people certainly have taken the advice of the governor, taken the advice of the president, and they are hunkering down. those who had relatives, for example, in baton rouge, other

places they thought might be safer, have headed that way. we have a new threat to report. just getting this in. tornado warnings in effect for waveland, louisiana. there are tornado warnings in effect for a great portion of this area, northeastern orleans parish, in southeast louisiana, southeastern louisiana also on the list. southern mississippi, i'm just getting this information in. we are talking about the threat of the high winds, of course, the threat of flooding and now we're talking about tornadoes which are often seen in hurricanes in this kind of tropical weather. right now, andrea, i do believe what the times-picayune, says many will weather the hurricane at home. they think this is the best place. folks have great confidence in the levee system. we know there is concern about the pump system because if this hurricane stays over new orleans, we're looking at three to four inches of rain an hour. according to the president of jefferson parish, one of the

low-lying areas of concern, the pumps can remove about an inch of water an hour so obviously, i don't have to do the math for you. you know what that means. there's a great concern for flooding here but at this point at least in the french quarter, that would normally be bustling with tourists, you would have businesses like this one behind me greeting folks, perhaps bringing in much-needed income, we are not seeing that. of course, we know the cruel irony here is that so many people are still in the process of repairing the damage we all witnessed from katrina seven years ago. there have been a number of people who said i'm not even done with my home yet, i'm not completely, you know, past the damage of katrina and here we go again. they don't mean that in a flip way. it's just a way of dealing with the pressure and intensity of having such a big storm on the horizon, a storm that could hover over new orleans. right now we have another band of rain coming in. we'll be stationed out here the next 24 hours, critical for new orleans, for mississippi as well. we know alabama included.

>> it's just relentless. they have a long, long way ahead of them according to bryan norcross and the storm track. it is going to be at least two days of relentless water and high winds. thank you very much. be safe. senator mary landrieu of louisiana joins me now from new orleans. senator, thanks so much. i know you have a lot of preparations and a lot of people to deal with but we appreciate your coming. what about the preparations and the change since katrina? i know your brother the mayor has talked about this but you're not going to be recommending that people move to large places, certainly not like the dome again. >> well, there have been so many changes since katrina. first of all, there has been unprecedented cooperation between the federal, state and local governments. this is not the same fema that showed up for katrina. this fema is stronger, it's smarter, most importantly, and it's prepared and cooperative with our local officials. they have been on the ground for

a week. president obama has already talked with the mayor and the governor and all the parish officials that should be affected, and the federal government and the people of the united states have invested billions of dollars since katrina and i think it's been a smart investment, to make this part of the country more resilient. it's so important to the nation. we've got to keep this mississippi river open and operating. we've got oil rigs that they may be temporarily shut down today, but they are going to be back up and running as soon as possible, pumping millions of barrels of oil to the rest of the country. so it's an important region for it to be strong and resilient. the federal government underinvested in it for decades. that is starting to turn around. i think we'll see some positive results of that as the storm passes through. >> senator landrieu, this is a bipartisan concern. we understand now from our reporter that governor romney

has called governor jindal, called the governors bryant of mississippi and bentley of alabama. he has called the three governors i presume from tampa, from his location here as he awaits of course the nomination later today and the acceptance speech on thursday. so you've got both president obama calling the governors, making his statements today, and governor romney projecting his concerns. do you think that we can have our domestic politics and also deal with this natural disaster at the same time? >> i hope so. you know, i've been one of the leading fighters for disaster aid in the budget and as you know, not everyone in congress agrees with the way and how that aid should come down. but so far, you know, we have enough money in the disaster account, if you will, and there was a bipartisan agreement. it was, you know, some members wanted to scuttle it but it held, the bipartisan agreement, to fund disaster aid over and

above the general budget which is the way it should be so that governors, whether they're republicans or democrats, don't have to be scrambling around for offsets while the storm is bearing down. that is the argument that i successfully made last year and was able to convince enough members of congress and put enough political pressure to actually get it done that way. there were others that wanted to do it differently. so we're very happy, there's money in the fund, we're happy that fema is a stronger, better place and you know, the cooperation is unprecedented. >> senator, looking forward, what more needs to be done? does the army corps of engineers have the plan now, is it all as prepared, as rebuilt as it can be? what about the people who have still not gotten into homes and are still waiting for more relief since katrina, seven years ago tomorrow? >> well, the building back from katrina is going to go a long

time. it's going to be probably another three or four, maybe even five years. the difference between that storm and this is this is a hurricane where the levees aren't going to break. we're knocking on wood and saying our prayers and praying and the corps of engineers is on the ground but what happened in katrina, it wasn't the hurricane that got us, it was the multiple levee failures and there was a massive flood like noah's ark. that is not going to happen this time. there may be low-lying flooding, may be some storm surge. we believe the levee system will hold. in the metropolitan area. now, there are other parishes, st. charles parish, the north shore, where we still need levee protection which is why i led the effort successfully to tag some of that restore money so the taxpayers won't have to continue this massive investment. we're getting bp, when they pay

their fine to the federal government, that money is coming back to the gulf coast for levee protection, for wetlands protection and again, not just protecting the people that live on the gulf coast in mississippi, alabama, louisiana and texas, but for the benefit of the whole nation. so we're doing as much as we can to contribute locally. we're using that bp money smartly. we're going to get revenue sharing and then continue to depend on the corps' portion of the corps' regular budget. >> senator landrieu, our best to you, to the mayor, to your constituents, to all the people of new orleans and louisiana. our hearts are with you. thank you so much. >> thank you. we're just getting started here in tampa. up next, we hit the convention floor for a preview of what to watch tonight. still ahead, a power-packed hour with michigan governor rick snyder plus tom brokaw, chris cillizza, susan page and a lot more. what makes a sleep number store different?

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see what else comes standard at libertymutual.com. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? they got off to a delayed start but the republican national convention will officially kick off in less than an hour with the delegates themselves. joining me, our team of crack nbc correspondents on the convention floor. kelly o'donnell, luke russert and john yang. kelly, start us off. convention speakers typically members of congress. this year, not so much. a different story. i wonder why. also, some interesting delegation seating locations noteworthy there. >> well, i'm right here in the heart of michigan's delegation and it has a front row seat because this is one of the home states for governor romney that they really want to emphasize. you get a sense that things are really picking up here because we just, for example, had a chance to talk with the deputy campaign manager for governor

romney, katie gauge and garrett jackson. they have been watching this unfold from a distance and are finally here able to soak it up. very excited about actually seeing this unfold. here is wisconsin, also front row seating for the delegation that represents paul ryan and of course, the rnc chairman, reince priebus. what you find here are front row seats for delegations that have a particular emotional connection to the candidates and also political connections. no mistaking here that the battleground states get great placement and when you talk about the speakers list, we just saw senator thune, who was practicing a bit before. but we also saw the first lady of puerto rico practicing. that's where you get a bit of the difference on some of the speakers here, that they want to emphasize as much of a range of the party as they can, knowing that at times politically that's challenging for them. so you won't see all of the brethren of paul ryan from the house speaking here at this convention even though they're attending. so you have a bigger mix of those things. but the energy and the action is starting. they say they're very excited

and this is one of those moments where we begin looking around and spotting people everywhere we look. >> love being down there on the floor. luke, you have pointed out that four out of the five speakers in the 9:00 hour of the convention tonight is a minority. the party is listening to those calls to be more inclusive. it is also seating, interesting seating you have puerto rico, the district of columbia, large minority delegations up front as well. >> it's fascinating. the republican operative i spoke to close to the campaign said this is the effort of the gop and romney campaign to try and grow the base. president obama, the number that he has to get, he needs to get 80% of the minority vote, a lot of folks feel, to win re-election. that's the number thrown out there by chicago and our friends at national journal. they are trying to cut into that margin. what will we see at 9:00 p.m.? interesting list of speakers. number one, brian sandoval, governor of nevada, latino, followed by ted cruz, republican senate candidate in texas, latino. davis, african-american, from

alabama. nicki haley from south carolina. last but not least, ann romney introduced by the first lady of puerto rico. a lot of puerto rican immigrants in the orlando area. make no mistake, they are trying to turn out the latino vote. having three latino speakers on the convention floor on tuesday, trying to hit at that margin. fascinating for a party that a lot of people say is populated by white men. not the image they are showing tonight, in tampa on tuesday. interesting to see if it works in november. >> first thing, they have to overcome rhetoric in the primary debates on the immigration issue. john yang, ron paul has a lot of supporters. there was a fracas yesterday, they were upset about this new rule change which is going to make it tougher for insurgent candidates, sarah palin and ron paul and others, very concerned about this. what about what they're going to do today when that rule is supposed to be adopted around

4:00 this afternoon? we hear that ron paul may actually be coming to the hall to talk to his delegates. >> that's right. he is on his way to the hall now to greet his delegates. one place he won't be is up on the podium. he turned down an opportunity to speak because he says the romney campaign asked him to do two things that he would not do. number one, have his comments vetted by the campaign and number two, endorse mitt romney. he says that's something he can't do. his supporters, including the strong delegations he has like nevada here, have seats at the rear of the hall. they don't have great seats, looking at the podium. they are upset about the rules changes that will be voted on this afternoon. they're also upset that more of their positions aren't in the party platform, which will also be adopted later this afternoon. but because of the numbers, because of the rules, there's not much they can do about it except make a little noise and some of his delegates say they will try to do just that.

>> john yang, if you were sitting any farther back, you would be outside the hall on the perimeter. thanks to all of you. john yang, luke russert, kelly o'donnell. we will watch you all afternoon and evening. it's mitt romney's big week but tonight the spotlight is shining on his wife. his wife ann and of course, the keynoter, new jersey governor chris christie, two pivotal speakers, tasked with firing up the conservative base but also reaching out to independents. joining me now, chris cillizza, msnbc contributor and managing editor of post politics.com and "usa today" washington bureau chief, susan page. thanks both. chris, our daily fix, what is ann romney's challenge tonight? >> well, it's a big one because it's a challenge that mitt romney hasn't been able to overcome which is sell himself as something more than a rich business guy who wears a suit when he wakes up in the morning until when he goes to sleep at night. >> it's from costco. >> i will give them credit for pushing this out because i got a

text last night from my mom, who is not too political, saying mitt romney buys his shirts at costco. >> i know your mom. if they can reach your mom, they are in better shape. >> she lives in connecticut, heard that message. the thing i would say is her task is significant and it may be as big, i think this speech, this ann romney speech may be as important as the mitt romney speech in a lot of ways because what does mitt romney have to do? he has to sell himself as more than just the character that the ads in the swing states by president obama have painted him as, which is a wealthy businessman who cares about his rich friends and feathering his own nest and doesn't care about average people. what can ann romney do to that narrative? she can say this guy is my husband, this is -- i know him in a way no one else knows him and here's what you need to know about him, and this is why he should be president. the best thing even for people who don't like mitt romney, people say he seems like a good family man, seems like his wife and his five sons love him. play it up, tell mitt romney the man, not mitt romney the politician because he has not done a good job of telling that

story himself to date. >> chris christie was on with matt lauer on the "today" program, susan page, and he had this explanation or defense of mitt romney's decision not to release more of his tax returns. >> i think you could always look back in retrospect and say maybe i would have done this or that differently but in the end do i think any american voter is going to say i'm not voting for him because of this, no. i think they're much more concerned about mounting debt and deficit and the other issues we're talking about, joblessness and those are the things that will decide this election. >> but this tax return issue contributed to the very impression that chris was talking about, that mitt romney is someone who is exotic with investments you can't understand that involves swiss bank accounts so i think -- remember, it was chris christie in january who said he thought mitt romney ought to put out more than two years of his tax returns. he said he thought that would be a way to settle this controversy. but at the end of the day, do i

think this election turns on whether mitt romney releases more tax returns, no. it's going to depend on whether people believe they can trust him to fix the economy. >> there is a reason that chris christie is the keynote speaker. >> i was going to ask you both, why is chris christie, who is not everyone's cup of tea, he is brash, he's big, he's bold, talking to the romney people today, they say he is going to be brash, big and bold. is that what they want? >> there's a couple reasons. one is we forget this because he becomes sort of a national figure but this is a guy who was elected the year after president obama as a republican governor in a blue state of new jersey. so that's one piece of it. i think he will try and tell that story of how he worked with democrats so i think they would disagree. i think the other piece of it is to susan's point, mitt romney struggles to connect with the average person. no matter what you think of chris christie, he comes across as an average joe or average chris, whatever, pick your cliche. but he comes across as somebody who understands what regular people like.

he can talk to the average guy, he speaks a language people understand. i think -- >> walked the floor yesterday -- >> yeah, he was mobbed by people. he's someone who people can come up and say how you doing. people don't feel that way about mitt romney. remember, the convention is meant to tell a full story of the party as well as the nominee. christie tells a piece of a story that mitt romney struggles to do. >> he's another side of diversity for this republican party. >> oh, he is. when he talks you feel like you can believe him. why do we love to cover chris christie? because he often says what he actually thinks. he said in that interview that he thought mitt romney would take back the words that -- >> that was -- >> about the birth certificate. >> with matt lauer. >> he believes the president was born here in the united states and that it shouldn't be discussed. i think if he had to do it over again, he wouldn't make the joke but you know what, when you're on camera 12, 14 hours a day, and you're out at big rallies and you're just going off the cuff, there are going to be times you will say stuff you wish you could take back.

believe me, i could put together a catalog for you of things i wish i could take back. wrap it up that way. listen, i think if you get a chance to talk to governor romney, i think he would tell you he wishes he could take that one back. >> that is exactly what you're talking about, about chris christie. turning back to ann romney for a moment, she came here to sort of get the lay of the land as speakers do. she's looking out at the teleprompter, she said to the reporters on the plane she's never given a speech like this, she's never given a speech from a text. she speaks off the cuff. that's one of her charms. that's one of the reasons she's so effective. she also in the interview talked about her miscarriage and talked about the effect on her son and told a story that it didn't appear that governor romney had actually heard before, about how she regretted not having prepared him for the fact that the child, they had had this miscarriage. it was very human. i don't know how personal she's

going to be tonight but that is more personal than we have heard before. >> it is. i have had two long interviews with ann romney, i never heard this story. it's just what touches people's hearts when they see public officials reveal a little bit of themselves, make themselves vulnerable. it was a very touching, human, real genuine story. and you know, she can talk not only about being married to mitt romney for 43 years and raising their sons. she can talk about how he stood by her when she had -- she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and battled breast cancer. those are the stories mitt romney has trouble telling about himself. >> those conventions are about telling the story. most people know so little about mitt romney. we have to remember that. they may know he's a businessman, a governor. they may not have ever seen ann romney or seen a picture of her. this is a real coming-out moment for them. that's why it's so important. people are paying attention. >> chris cillizza, we will pay attention to you later in the show again. thank you so much. thanks, susan, as always.

home state advantage still ahead. live from tampa, michigan governor rick snyder joins me. up next, we are live in gulfport, mississippi where the casinos are boarding up, residents are bracing for isaac's landfall. my volt is the best vehicle i've ever driven. i bought the car because of its efficiency. i bought the car because i could eliminate gas from my budget. i don't spend money on gasoline. it's been 4,000 miles since my last trip to the gas station. it's pretty great. i get a bunch of kids waving at me... giving me the thumbs up. it's always a gratifying experience. it makes me feel good about my car. i absolutely love my chevy volt.

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calm here. it's not very deep here as well. we're talking maybe three or four feet, even 100 yards out from the shore. >> those waves are whipping up pretty bad. paul, what is the timing so f far -- >> reporter: the timing so far with the weather coming in is really as we head throughout the next 24 hours, that's when the center of isaac will make its closest pass to here in gulfport. we expect the actual center to come into southeastern louisiana which is really not that far. new orleans might be 60, 70 miles off to my west here, so again, we're talking about some of the most intense impacts from isaac will be almost constant heavy rain coming in as we head through tonight and tomorrow morning and the storm surge. this area, by the way, gulfport and coastal mississippi, they were slammed by katrina almost seven years ago. in fact, it was seven years ago tomorrow. so this area is very sensitive. we're talking a 28, 29, 32-foot storm surge came through here

and i would have been easily under maybe 15 feet of water where i'm standing. so the forecasted storm surge with isaac is to 12 feet. we have a sea wall here, it dropped down about three feet, there's the beach. i can't go on it because it's closed now. gulfport police are making sure people are out of the surf. we can easily have that water pretty close to this seawall. in fact, i talked to the harbor master of the port here in gulfport, right over my left shoulder here, which was completely demolished with katrina, was rebuilt and just reopened last year. they already have a sea level rise of three feet and again, isaac is still several hours from making its closest pass here in gulfport, mississippi. andrea? >> thanks so much, paul goodloe in gulfport. looks as though that water is going right up against it. we are less than an hour away from the start of activities here in tampa. up next, getting to know you. tom brokaw, michael kranish on what to expect from mitt romney's big speech thursday night. don't miss msnbc's prime time coverage of the republican national convention. it kicks off tonight at 7:00

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what a coincidence? what's in your wallet? [ all screaming ] watch the elbows ladies. just moments ago on the floor, ron paul defeated, of course, but amassed a lot of delegates in those caucuses and he came to the floor surrounded by his delegates, his supporters. they are not happy with a rule that is going to be adopted later this afternoon, a rule that came out of the platform committee, which will make it harder for insurgents like ron paul to get as many delegates in future years, four years from now, people like mitt romney will have a lot more control over that delegate selection process. joining me here at the table, tom brokaw, nbc's special correspondent and the boston globe's michael kranish, washington bureau chief of "the boston globe" and co-author of "the real romney" the definitive

bio of mitt romney. thank you both for joining us. you have seen so many of these conventions and so many spontaneous and not spontaneous eruptions but there really is a division that they're trying to patch over between ron paul and the romney team. they tried to give him a video, they won't give him a speech because he has not yet endorsed, as john yang was reporting earlier, he still has not endorsed mitt romney but wants to protect the future of rand paul, his senator son. >> right. >> who has national ambitions. >> it's unlikely he will do something dramatic and go as a third party candidate because of his son and also because of his age. but you know, you have that kind of mobile army that exists out there of people who are not happy with what they're being treated and they still have real reservations about the ideology of mitt romney. i spent a fair amount of time with the ron paul people in south carolina, for example, and i get it. when you're with them, these are people who are overnight clerks in discount motels and they are

forklift operators in discount places and warehouses and so on. when he talks about building a taj mahal for an embassy in iraq or afghanistan, they go crazy because they don't think that's going to advance their interests whatsoever. i think he will continue to have an appeal to people who are at the working class or are deeply suspicious of the government in almost every regard and give voice to a lot of their concerns. >> what they've been shouting behind us, behind this glass, is "let him speak, let him speak." but the romney team is very well organized, they are here, they are in control, they are planning to roll out a biographical saga of the real romney. you wrote the book but they want to tell a slightly different story. what is it that they are trying to change about the public's impressions of mitt romney? >> if anyone knows about division at a convention, it's mitt romney because 48 years ago when he was 17 years old, he was

by his father's side in the 1964 convention and barry goldwater was the nominee. george romney tried to get that convention to endorse a plank that said they would support civil rights legislation which goldwater had opposed and to oppose extremism. they rejected both those proposals and mitt was there. he was at the epicenter of this war within the republican party when his father was trying to turn it more to the moderate side. now the story line has flipped. 48 years later, mitt romney is coming in trying to convince these delegates that he represents what in effect is today's goldwater wing, that he is, as he's called himself, severely conservative, quote unquote. last thing they want is for ron paul to play a role that his father was in a very different way as a moderate was playing, trying to disrupt the '64 convention. they know what can happen when there's disruption. goldwater was trounced and they want a unifieed message but some aren't getting that message. >> there's real opportunity here because the new cbs poll which again, as the other polls have

shown, showed a static race. it's basically tied. we're talking about 46 for president obama, 45 for mitt romney, no difference at all. there's a really interesting number here. the number of people who say they are still undecided about who mitt romney is. they have not been persuaded one way or the other by all of the negative ads, they have not been persuaded by his success or failure in defining himself. they still don't know who he is. that is a large number of people who are open to suggestions. >> that's who he will be talking to on thursday night. he will be talking to those people who are the undecided. he knows he's got the republican base at this point. my guess is that the ron paul people will make some noise here, but will see very little of it on television, because they don't have that many seats on the floor, frankly, and that will be a tightly controlled convention as they now are. what mitt romney has to do is reach the undecided voters especially in key states, places like ohio, iowa, wisconsin, virginia.

florida is still in play to some degree. and persuade them that he represents not only their values but they can be comfortable with him on a personal basis, they can turn to each other, a couple in a living room watching him, and say not crazy about him but i can live with that guy. >> he's a sort of mr. fix-it, somebody that can fix the economic problems. >> you do not change your personality. there's not a change that takes place at his age and given all that he is, i think they understand that he has to come out and be warm but also, he really has to say i'm the guy who can replace the guy that you voted for and get the economy moving again. it's time to get rid of the other guy. >> he'll have validaters. i was talking to kelly ayotte, the senator from new hampshire. when she speaks tonight, she will speak about small business people. she will speak about her husband, joe, who is going to be sitting in the new hampshire delegation. i said what does joe think of the speech, you will talk about him, and she said you know, as

we watch ron paul again on the floor, there he is live, reaching out to his supporters, senator ayotte said to me let me practice the speech and joe said to her i don't want to hear it until i hear it live on the floor. sort of a lovely moment. he's going to be sitting out there in the new hampshire delegation, she's going to be talking about him and his role in business and he wants to hear it for the first time when -- >> they're going to have a lot of small business, independent businesses on screen tonight and on that podium because they think that's a great strength for them going forward. but let's talk for a moment about when mitt romney stands up there thursday night, will he be seeing his father, do you think? >> i think he will be hearing his father's voice in his ear. it's an extraordinary moment. his father had tried for years to become the presidential nominee, of course dropped out before the first primary in 1968, so it must be really an extraordinary moment. he's got to pay homage to his father and that really has been something he's been thinking about since his father failed to

win the nomination when he ran in '68. >> always great to have you. "the real romney" is the book. you are the real michael kranish. thank you so much. and tom brokaw, as always. we'll be back in a moment. [ male announcer ] hey, isn't that the girl who tore out your still-beating heart? ok, how's this gonna play? try manly [ screams ] [ male announcer ] eew, ok, just do your thing. hey! hey! [ male announcer ] definitely a little bit epic. stride.

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more rewarding, more entertaining. year after year. it's the reason why we don't have customers. we have members. american express. welcome in. republican presidential candidate has not won michigan in nearly a quarter century, 22 years. but mitt romney was born there. his father served as governor of michigan. so joining me now, republican governor of michigan, rick snyder, and still with us, tom brokaw, nbc's special correspondent. governor, first of all, michigan is a must-win state but our information is that the romney campaign has not put up a big ad buy in michigan. have they given up on michigan? >> not at all. they have been active there. they just came, romney and ryan came from an early event just last week or so. they turned out 8,000 people in commerce township. it was a wonderful event. they're doing well in michigan. i just encourage them to keep

going because most people assume michigan's going to be a democratic state, and it has for many past presidential elections, but in 2010, we swept statewide for republicans and have made a huge difference there. we're re-inventing our state. it's very exciting. we're the come-back state in the united states. >> partly perhaps because of auto bailout money? >> well, i wouldn't describe it that way. the auto bailout is something that needed to take place. it could have been done a lot of different ways. it got done but if you look at it, i would give credit to people in the companies for really re-inventing their companies. if you look at, ford was doing well without the bankruptcy, went on and did well. the leadership of chrysler turned over, they're doing great. gm's doing well. so you got to give a lot of credit to the people that are in these companies working hard, turning out great products. in michigan, we've had agriculture come back, we've had other industries come back. tourism. tour michigan. we're hitting on all cylinders and only being held back by the mess in washington. >> the fact is, governor, the auto industry, especially

general motors, couldn't have made the kind of comeback they did without the infusion of federal money and the determination of the early part of the obama administration to reorganize under the terms that they did. >> what i would say is it was good it got done and i appreciate that, because it wasn't about the bankruptcy of two companies. it was about the automotive supply chain and it got done. there were other ways it could have been done but the point is it's history. it was a positive history. the question on michiganders minds is they respect that. the issue what is are we doing for jobs today, tomorrow and for the future of our kids. i view it as people should talk about it, acknowledge that it worked and just move on and focus on what's on people's minds today. how are we going to get the job for our kids coming out of school and how do we move forward for the people that still need a job. >> what's going to happen to detroit? >> the city in terms of -- it's a challenge but the thing is, we've worked hard to build a good partnership. i viewer the mayor and city

council, they should be running detroit and at the state level we are trying to be a good partner. all of us need to come together to say a couple things. one, we need to get the financial stability for the finances of the city so it can be solid. the second one is the citizens of detroit deserve better services than they're getting today. a lot of us are working hard to make sure that happens. they deserve a better answer and we're working to deliver that. >> but they should have local control or are you still involved in this city manager dispute over who should run detroit? >> i have always believed in local control. it's only if there's a massive emergency where they are unable to do that effectively did we put in place an emergency manager law. in fact, that law goes back to governor blanchard years and years ago. we enhanced the law with an early warning system and made it easier for a manager to do the job faster, better and get out. we did a consent agreement in detroit and are working under that and it's working. >> you had a big rally, 8,000 people as you point out, with mitt romney, paul ryan on friday in michigan, then he makes the comment, he said it was a joke,

about the birth certificate. you were there. how was it received and what do you think he meant? >> well, i think it's one of those comments he probably didn't really think enough about and probably wished he didn't. you're on tv all the time, everything you're covered, that was just one of those remarks. i don't think there is anyremari don't think there was any real intent to make the birth certificate an issue. hopefully people look at it that way and we'll talk about jobs. >> governor, there's another issue in play here and that's whether or not president obama is giving welfare recipients a free ride by not requiring them to work. a number of people have looked at his program and have said, look, he's responding to what the governor has wanted and want more flexibility in how they administer the programs and he's really responding to what they asked for. so my question to you is, has what president obama done for the state of welfare in the state of michigan helped you and are you happy in that regard? >> we are still fully analyzing

that. the concept of more flexibility to governors is a good thing, but i think there should be performance metrics. we should be held accountable for performance but flexibility on how to do it. at the same time, i think it's important that welfare is not intended to be a perpetual state. and the idea of having a work requirement or having providing the opportunity to work is critically important. that's one thing we did in michigan. i created community ventures program for the structurally unemployed in the most challenged cities to say, we have to break through this. it is really about helping people get a job. if people have a job, many of these other issues don't disappear but can be managed much better because people can make a livelihood. >> the real question is, do you think president obama in responding to what the governors wanted in terms of flexibility in how they administer the welfare program has sent a signal to the welfare community, you don't have to work for it anymore. or has he responded specifically to what the governors wanted? >> that's one of the things, the message could be read both ways,

depending on what the audience is. >> let me quickly interrupt you, john yang is on the floor with ron paul. let's listen. >> we are here with dr. paul who is getting a tumultuous reception working through the crowd. dr. paul, what's your reaction to this reception? he said, he told me a little bit earlier that the reception was nice. he says he doesn't really bother him, he doesn't wish about things. it doesn't bother him he's not speaking, but he did say the rules changes and the platform, as far as he's concerned, are up for discussion and consideration. of course, andrea, the romney campaign party officials may have a different idea of that as dr. paul continues to move his way through this crowd. he was in the nevada delegation, which is a stronghold of paul support. he's being handed copies of the constitution and the declaration

of independence as he tries to make his way through the convention hall. andrea? >> thank you, john yang, right in the middle of the hustle and bustle. thank you, governor snyder, making your points about the welfare reform proposals and the controversy over the advertisement that the romney camp -- >> my question is, you had a little dotted line connection to iowa when a gateway, and now you're in michigan. so when iowa plays michigan, where are you? >> i'm a strong wolverine. we have strong big 10 teams. >> i'll let you debate that during the break. we'll be right back. no that's n. [ hikers whispering ] ...that's not yours. [ goat bleats ] na, na, na -- no! [ male announcer ] now you can take a photo right from video, so you'll never miss the perfect shot. [ hikers laughing, commenting ] at&t introduces the htc one x. now $99.99.

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and that's it for edition of "andrea mitchell reports." tomorrow live in tampa, senator marco rubio, house majority leader eric cantor, david brody and maggie haberman. tamron hall is live next. we'll be back with full coverage from the convention right here

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