his republican rival. >> it was a rerun. it could have been on nick at nite. we've seen it before you might as well have watched it on a black-and-white tv with some rabbit ears. nbc's kristin welker is traveling with the obama campaign and in toledo, the very latest stop on the president's swing state tour leading up to the convention. everybody wants to go through ohio to get to pennsylvania avenue. kristin, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. in fact this is president obama's 11th trip to ohio so far this year. that gives us a sense of how important this state is to the campaign. president obama will be talking to folks with the uaw union this morning, marking labor day, really trying to energize the labor vote here in ohio, which was so critical to him winning this state back in 2008. the focus of his remarks today, thomas are really going to on the auto bailout, the 2009 bailout as what he seeds as one

of his largest achievements. according to the center for automotive research, 12% of ohioans have a connect to the auto industry, so this is something this community cares a lot about, and of course it allows the president to draw a sharp contrast to mitt romney. you talk about the back-and-forth are we better off than four years ago, the obama campaign trying to flip the switch and tremendousing to ask the question, will we be better off four years from now? i think you'll hear him talk about that as well. this is a state he won by five points back in 2008. it's far below the national average. if you look at the polls, the polls show a very tight race. the romney campaign trying to emphasize that this state, like many other states may be getting better, but not quickly enough. that's what we'll hear from the romney campaign as they rebut

what president obama will later say today. we can expect president obama toia a sports analogy, a football to tail a -- you may remember that mitt romney this weekend did something similar when he said it's time for america to get a new coach. president obama apparently will have an answer for that today. campaign aides tell me on the sidelines president obama is working on his all-important speech he'll deliver this thursday. they tell me it is still a work in progress. thomas? >> kristin, take us behind the curtain of the campaign to reveal what is being said about governor martin o'malley, considered to be a rising start on the democratic side, a trusted surrogate of of the campaign. the reaction to his honest response to bob shechieffer's

question. >> reporter: that's why you heard stephanie cutter today being very affirmative in fact her words we are better off. so certainly i think it was an unexpected distraction from what they trying to keep as their center mental, which is that president obama is still the best person to lead the country. jong they were thrilled about it the i think that's stephanie came out so forcefully today. >> kristin, thanks so much. appreciate it. joining mess is congressman melvin watt. it's great to have you with me this morning. i'm going to let you get finished hooked up there. congressman, you can hear me, right? congressman, how about now? do you hear me now?

simplts you sound like you're in the middle of the grand canyon. >> i do, but you can still hear me, right? kristin welk traveling through toledo, the rnc and reince priebus have jumped on the comments that were made about president obama and his push for another term. take a listen. >> the fact is barack obama has a tough sell this week. he's going to have to tell the american people we're on the right track and everything is going to be great. this isn't the days of f democratic r, where you get four terms as president. >> sir, as we talk about what's facing your state, north carolina, unemployment rose under the first part of the president's term, currently higher than the national average. are the people of north carolina in your estimate ace better off since the president was elected four years ago? >> i think the whole nation is better off than they were four years ago, because we were in the ditch.

we were absolutely in the ditch. we were in the second worst depression/recession that we have ever had in this country, so yes, people are still struggling, but we are a heck of a lot better off than four years ago. >> sir, headline in "the charlotte observer" reads polls give romney small lead in north carolina in presidential race. the poll is finding the president has this excitement gap within north carolina. sir, can you hear me or no? sir, can you still hear me? >> i can hear you from the grand canyon again. >> this is better than nothing. >> okay. >> let's talk about, in addition to an excitement gap going on in north carolina, there is north carolina's democratic part in disarray over a sexual harassment lawsuit. some candidates are in tough races right now, deciding not to appear with the president this week. do you think he can pull off a

two-peat given this climate? >> do i think he can win north carolina? is that what you're asking me? >> yes. >> absolutely i think we can win north carolina. we have won it four years ago, and it's going to be a close race, but i think part of our challenge here in north carolina and at the convention is to mobilize and motivate our base and get them to turn out. if we do that, you'll have the same result from four years ago. >> sorry for the grand canyon-style interview, but it was great to have you on. we hope to have you back. it was in north carolina in a president obama won this narrow victory over john mccain four years ago, the first time the state had backed a democrat since jimmy carter in 1976, but by january 2010, the state's jobless rate had peaked. it remains at 9.6% today.

in november of 2010, those economic troubles helped republicans seize control of the state legislature for the first time in 140 years. so what must the dumbs and president do accomplish this week? joining me from charlotte is professor melissa heaarris-perr. what the future is going to look like, so casting this vision for the next four years, here's what he had to say about the campaign kickoff back in may. take a look. >> the real question, the question that will actually make a difference in your life, in the lives of your children, is not just how we're doing today, but how we'll be doing tomorrow.

>> so he's got an attack -- >> but mitt romney doesn't see it. under the romney plan, a middle-class family will pay an average of up to $2,000 more in taxes, at the same time giving multimillionair multimillionaires, a $250,000 tax cut. >> all right. so today there he has the attack ad how debt cal of a dance will this be for the president? >> first of all, i'm excited to be here -- >> melissa, i'm sorry to interrupt. i want to get your microphone turned on. before the congress mast couldn't hear me, now we can't hear you, so we can make sure sure melissa's mike is turned on?

we're going to take a quick break. we'll work out our labor day gremlins, live on the air for all of you to watch. we're back after this. some laxatives like dulcolax can cause cramps. but phillips' caplets don't. they have magnesium. for effective relief of occasional constipation. thanks. [ phillips' lady ] live the regular life. phillips'. yeah, and i took on all the bigger, tougher ones. but now that mr. clean's got this new select-a-size magic eraser, i mean, he can take on any size job. look how easily he gets things cleaned. it's enough to make you cry. you, specifically. not me. i'm just happy we don't go near rex's mobile home as often. because it's hard to clean or because you're scared of an itty-bitty doggy?

[ dog barks ] aah! oh! [ clears throat ] yeah, that was a sneeze. i think i sprayed myself. [ male announcer ] new mr. clean select-a-size magic eraser. lets you pick the right size for every job. sven's home security gets the most rewards of any small business credit card! how does this thing work? oh, i like it! [ garth ] sven's small business earns 2% cash back on every purchase, every day! woo-hoo!!! so that's ten security gators, right? put them on my spark card! why settle for less? testing hot tar... great businesses deserve the most rewards!

[ male announcer ] the spark business card from capital one. choose unlimited rewards with 2% cash back or double miles on every purchase, every day! what's in your wallet? here's your invoice.

we want to take you back to charlotte, north carolina, an all-important state that president obama was able to win in 2008. i think we have our labor day gremlins figured out. can you hear me and can i hear you? >> well, sort of. >> well, i can hear you. so let's talk about north carolina and the president's delicate dance, the one that he needs to perform for the country this week to really get the

electorate back in an excited frame of mind. can he do it? >> yeah, it's a two-part piece, i think for the president. one he's really going to have to show enthusiasm about his own record. there's a lot of people hoo here? charlotte to say i am excited to reelect this president as president of the united states. he's got to give them the talking points to remind folks he's done what no other many was able to do in passing the health care act. he has to talk about the ways he stood strong against a congress, that would have allowed student rates to double. when he's talking about a tax increase, it's a return to historic norms, that where we are right now basically allows the wealth jest americans off the hook from paying their fair share. i think the message is we have to move all together.

irges what do you think about this question, are you better off and how it's being answered? >> ultimately there's a lot of ways to say we are better off, but we're in a situation of moving towards being much better off. so let's take, for example, the affordable health care act, the president's signature piece of domestic legislation. there are many families who can right now say yes i am demonstrably better off today as a result of the affordable care act, but he's also got to remind folks that most of those provisions have not yet kicked in, and that the quality of health care, the access to health care that americans are going to experience is actually going to show up in the next term. i think the other really important thing he's got to point out is to the stint there are unemployment woes, those are mostly being caused by republican governors who have cut public sector jobs? states and lots, the private

industry has been adding jobs at a fairly robust levels, but we're seeing the policies of reps keeping folks from being ability to see that job gain. >> melissa, is this about the president reminding people that you reap what you sow, and reminding about the confidence they instilled in him, allowing him to cast that vision for the next four years? >> i think that's what the polling data shows us, that people still feel this is a president they can trust,r. and i think what we saw at the goch convention, particularly with bringing on out condoleezza rice and others from the george w. bush administration, that the romney plan is not a plan forward. it's actually just a return to the policies of the george w. bush administration, which were clearly repudiated in 2008 by the american people.

melissa, great to have you. you'll be with me at 11:00 a.m. this week to cover the convention. you can always catch melissa on weekends on 10:00 a.m. so as democrats gather, republicans are laumpling a convention counter-offensive. vp paul ryan will be campaigning in greenville about 200 miles from charlotte. romney will stay largely out of the spot light, but over the weekend he told the people of ohio it is time for a change. 23 million people are out of work or stopped looking for work or are underemployed. if you have a coach that's 0-23 million, you say it's time to get a new coach. let's say good morning, bring in our polyer, joy ann reed, managing editor for the grio. keith boykin, and susan.

susan, i want to start with you. there's been a lot of debate, are you better off? stephanie cutter responded this morning. >> by any measurement, the country has moved forward from what we inherited four years ago, but we're threat there yet. that's the point. the president makes this clear on the campaign trail every single day. there's so much more we need to do. >> the obama team saying this convention will be not about today so much, but about tomorrow, looking forward to the vision of what's to come for this country. the romney campaign is looking back. over the past four years, using that as an example for why we need to change. is this the right way to go into this, and is the republican narrative on to something? >> the problem with the team obama strategy is they're telling people these are the facts, but people are not feeling it so when governor romney goes out there and says, you know, we need change, we

need to change how we're doing business, we need to get people employed, people feel that, they know what the unemployment rate is, they know what it is not to be able to pay their bills, so. >> all right. so keith, i want to ask you, the romney campaign released this today, saying my plan for a stronger middle class will champion small businesses, create millions of good jobs and build a better future. there we have romney appealing to the middle class, saying it's time for a change. how does the president make the case to the middle class, the all-important middle class that he need to stick with him and vote him back into office? >> well, unquestionably in answer to that, we are better off. we had two quarters four years ago. we now only have one war, because we ended the war in iraq. we were -- now we've added 3.5

million new jobs, the stock market was at 6600, the dow four -- and now it's at 13,000. it's doubled. we've gotten rid of osama bin laden. we've actually been able to rescue the auto industry, and i think the campaign has to be more proactive saying we have done a lot, and stop apologizing for it. this is a country that's been through a lot since the bush administration, we've been able to weather that storm because of president obama's letter. >> joy ann, a statement in "the washington post" was made that obama did not change washington. who is to blame for any inaction during the president's first term? should he be the sole person responsible for this? even though we can pull up the video of everyone on the right, let's make this a one-term president. doesn't that just stand in the way of a regular old americans coming back? >> i think that is one of the

sort of the most maddening arguments, barack obama said he would bring everyone together. we know from thomas draper's book and other can see, that to not include paul ryan met literally on inauguration today to plan how to obstruct every single thing this president did. much mitch mcconnell saying their number one priority, their top priority was making barack obama a one-term president, and reps executed that strategy. one of the big lies, sort of the obama first term is he controlled congress for two years because of al franken's seat being contested, his own seat needing to be refilled. the democrats had a 60-vote for literally four months. other than that the republicans filibustered everything. it was a strategy on both sides to completely obstruct the

president. so when you look at that situation, i'm not sure what the president could have done differently with an opposition that was determined to obstruct, determined to bring down his presidency, literally from the day he was inaugurated. i wanted to talk about the stimulus, the campaign ads, wait until you hear these numbers. group dumped 3 billion in ads over the next nine weeks. "the washington post" is warning that when these attack ads come out, they're basically going to make your hair stand on end. do you think this will be the defining time when people are going to see stuff that comes out of the woodwork and the money that's being spend poured into this? >> it's incredible. think about the fact that the obama campaign itself is outspending the romney campaign by about $10 million, but the super pacs are overwhelming. >> hence the dangers with both sides coming out with those ads.

what happens when a super-pac that runs independentsly, does something that the campaign isn't planning on? >> it says i'm not a part of this, i have no control. >> they're literally not a part of it. that's what people are concerned about. how far will those super pacs go? >> keith, jump in. >> many p p.m. is a known brand and mitt romney is a brand being defined during the summer, so i don't think that those ads will have that much impact. and these criticisms, when they see the real president obama, they'll say it's not true. >> not only that, i was just in tampa. since every other thing is a political ad, at a certainly point you tune it out. there's so much noise you just tune it out. >> but unfortunately people run negative ads because they work. >> and if you tape everything on

dvr, you can run right through them. my thanks to all three of you. a big unemployment report to be released this friday, just hours after president obama addresses the national convention, and the-mile-an-hour public, one of the final ones, what the president needs to do to get people back to work. more after this. melody shay, founder of asa products led the company to more than $3 million revenue in three years, but some bad decisions caused sales to plummet to a tenth of that. instead of giving up, she got her mba and took what she learned to rebuild her company. dnnks hi i hainmybdomen.. wo gi reneno sy mth.. i hainmybdomen..

t ou aicovn,ernc febl wre.ngctblnmyins t meon

ifhihi g.yor.boc loncanthdeed [ dog ] we found it together.upbeat ] on a walk, walk, walk. love to walk. yeah, we found that wonderful thing. and you smiled. and threw it. and i decided i would never, ever leave it anywhere. because that wonderful, bouncy, roll-around thing... had made you play. and that... had made you smile. [ announcer ] beneful. play. it's good for you.

mitt romney's speech tess convention gets the lowest rating since -- we'll talk about that coming up. plus democrats descending on charlotte, plus the protesters. and why one california gel gatt got the boot. it involves a bit of booze and the charlotte police force. ♪ ♪

[ male announcer ] its lightweight construction makes it nimble... ♪ its road gripping performance makes it a cadillac. introducing the all-new cadillac xts. available with advanced haldex all-wheel drive. [ engine revving ] it's bringing the future forward. it's bringing the future one is for a clean, wedomestic energy future that puts us in control. our abundant natural gas is already saving us money, producing cleaner electricity, putting us to work here in america and supporting wind and solar. though all energy development comes with some risk, we're committed to safely and responsibly producing natural gas. it's not a dream. america's natural gas... putting us in control of our energy future, now.

there are projects. and there are game-changers. those ideas that start with us rolling up our sleeves... ...and end with a new favorite room in the house. and when we can save even more on those kinds of projects... ...with advice to make them even better... ...that's a game-changer in itself. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. maximize your budget with mosaic tile, starting at just $3.98 per square foot.

republicans are staging a counter-convention in charlotte, something the democrats planned to do in tampa last week, but had to scale back because of hurricane isaac. as many as 50 republicans, including the chairman reince prieb priebus, marco rubio, nikki haley, and bob mcdonnell will be in charlotte. and pile ryan won't be far away. among the republicans in charlotte, john spicer who joins me live. >> thanks for having me, thomas. >> absolutely. first of all, to several of the polls, including one that shows mitt romney got little or not post-convention bump. did he miss an opportunity? >> absolutely not. when you look below the top line, you'll see the intensity is extremely high. governor's favorable, likability rating is extremely high. our convention gave us an

opportunity to speak directly to the american people about who he is, give them a great understanding about his visions and the solution he has to, so i think by every measure on our side we look at it as a tremendous success. the governor laid out a five-point plan talking about what he would do day one to get the economy moving. conversely they'll have to answer the fundamental question, are you better off than four years ago when president obama came and said i want your support going forward? i think unequivocally the answer is no by every single measure, the debt, the deficit, health care costs, college costs, groceries, there's nothing going in the right direction. i think the president will have a heart time making the case that anybody in this country is better off than they were four years ago. >> sean, here's what president obama had to say in colorado yesterday about mitt romney and the republican convention. take a look. >> there was a lot of talk about

hard truths and bold choices. the interesting thing was, nobody ever bothered to tell us what they were. and when governor romney finally had a chance to reveal the secret sauce, he did not offer a single new idea. >> so, sean, how respond to that? glen kessler on august 30th had this to say -- romney's policy paper issued by the campaign contains few details, mostly a collection of policy assertions such as reducing debt, overhauling tax code, foster free trade. also when he brings up and wants to see 12 million jobs added, moody analystics already put out that 12 million jobs would be created under the trends of president obama. >> the governor put out a plan

on his website, there's a big difference. president obama promised hope and change. for the first two years, he had a democratic congress both in the house and senate, he took his eye off the ball, his priority wasn't jobs and the economy, and look where we are now. governor romney has laid out his vision, about energy dependence, talking about unleashing coal that will create jobs, conversely, he understand day 1 how to get things going and where to focus. he's laid off a series of metrics, unlike this president, who as you pointed out, what did he spend hick time campaigning on? attacking mitt romney, attacking the republican congress. he's got to at some point take responsibility. he's been in office for four years, he was the one in 2008, i understand the problems this country is facing, i've been the solutions, and four years later it's blame, excuses alibis, no

responsibility, no sense of pleasurement. a lot of focus has been on the classic campaign question that you keel bringing up. here's newark democratic mayor cory booker speaking this morning. >> the nation has a role to play to make strategic investments so we all get a return on investments. mitt romney doesn't understand that, r.o.i., that's what your business was all about, but instead we have a guy more interested in tax loopholes. >> how do you respond to that, saying he's more interested in tax loop holes, basically staying insulated as a 1 percent-er, and keeping people more insulated. >> look at the governor's track record, whether it was running bain capital where he took nothing -- made something out of

nothing, created great companies, his work at the olympics where he turned a failing olympic ventures into a source of national pride. he took a state that didn't have a balanced budget, moved them up to 30th, balanced the budget. >> sean, he moved it up to 47th out of 50th. >> no, no, no, that's if you average it over four years, look where he was day 1 and at the end of four years, he got that state up 30 places in four years. >> the job performance out of bain, was that strictly out of cash making or job creation s h stwh. >> you have to make money to hire people. >> or to let them go, could be the counterpoint to that. >> let me take you back a step and look at the notion that everywhere he has gone through his life, he has tackled problems and they have come out better and figured out solutions that make something better. that's the guy we need right

now. everyone wants to attack him as opposed to saying, if cory booker and governor o'malley think this country is better off, then a, saying so with the accomplishments, but after four years, they've got got nothing to show for it. >> sean spider in shalt, we'll talk again, thank you, sir. >> thank you. with the economy, number one issue all eyes will be on the new monthly job on friday f economists expect employers added 118,000 jobs in august, compared to 163,000 back in july. that's the nation's unemployment rate, it will hold steady, which brought in from newt gingrich. >> i think the biggest event next week will be the friday morning jobs report. if that report is bad, actual drown his speech. they want to talk about eastwood? friday morning jobs report is a lot bigger event next week.

joining mess is jared bernstein, now an msnbc contributor. it's good to have you here. that's some powerful language, and a lot of people would say he's right on. it really will set the town for how the president can get reele reelected. i'm just trying to wrap my head around a compare source to jobs report to a hollywood actor. i've never heard that before. the level of unemployment is quite misguided. what really matters, and the political science models look at this, is the direction. if the unemployment rate is improving, that definitely helps the incumbent. the unemployment rate has been constitutional at around 8.3%, but if you go back a year or

two, it was -- if you like at the make roe economic indicators, actually private sector job growth, we are doing much, much better than four years ago based on some of those keep measures, so it's certainly the case, the president needs more economic momentum to help him, but i wouldn't go ahead too wound up about the level as a predictor. >> jared, the president and his team would argue the economy has improved. the president points to after 8 million jobs were lost, 4.5 million private sector jobs have been added during his add mir. if the private sector bakley is doing well, in terms of the money it's bringing in than it has in the bank, there's not a lot he can do to inspire people to hire more people. isn't that the case here? the private sector is doing well, but they're just not hiring. >> i think the private sector is doing okay. i think it would be doing

significantly better, but the public sector hag shedding workers on a monthly became. if that were not the case, instead of looking at an 8% unemployment rate, we would be looking closer to 7%. still too high, but moving solidly in the direction. so it's always been to provide states to top that hemorrhages of teachers, policemen, firefighters, sanitation. folks that are very important to our communities, so i think -- and i think that one of the mechanics you will here is yes, the private sector is coming back, and then you get to issues around the fiscal cliff. we need to resolved that with. >> jared, while i have you are he, you want to ask you about this. republicans have been going after your former boss, joe biden. it article, biden unchained. will he be unchained when he

speaks on the floor of the convention thursday night? >> i think the think you'll hear from joe biden is a thing he -- yes, i used to work for him, but i thought this before that. he connects with -- today is labor day, so this is in my mind today. a lot of people in the working class have been hurting, not just in the great recession, but for decades before that. while the economy has expanded, their fortunes have been relatively stagnant, even through the expanse of the 2000s, he understands that in his gut. look for him to connect them to the agenda that his company has help, in terms of the job market, health care, areas like that. >> jared, thank you. up next, the protesters have come to town, what they're looking for. plus mitt romney reaches a new twitter milestone, as the president wins out for the most

retweets at the rnc. we'll show you what he did to get that special dedication. plus of course you can always tweet me. [ male announcer ] research suggests the health of our cells plays a key role throughout our entire lives. ♪ one a day men's 50+ is a complete multi-vitamin designed for men's health concerns as we age. ♪ it has re of seven antioxidants to support cell health. that's one a day men's 50+ healthy advantage.

then don't get nickle and dimed by high cost investments and annoying account fees. at e-trade, our free easy-to-use online tools and experienced retirement specialists can help you build a personalized plan. and with our no annual fee iras and a wide range of low cost investments, you can execute the plan you want at a low cost. so meet with us, or go to etrade.com for a great retirement plan with low cost investments. ♪ for a great retirement plan with low cost investments. you misare you sure?et toss. eeeee! yeah. i get all my friends' pics as soon as they take them. really? you just missed an awesome dance off between the dads. oh... wow! (laughing) you just missed the cake fight. seriously? everyone's taking pictures like they're paparazzi. are we missing that? we're not, check it out.

aww, yeah, haha. excuse me. vo: get all your friends' photos automatically with share shot on the galaxy s3. hey! first dance! are you kidding me??? they're sharing the spot light in charlotte, as thousands rally, protesting what they call bad politics and corporate greed. >> we want people to come out here and speak their mind and let the candidates hear what their real problems are. >> nbc's mark potter joins us live with the latest. explain the scene outside the center today, and is the protester turnout as big or as troublesome as the police thought? >> reporter: today it's actually pretty quiet. there's no scheduled protest.

there's a labor day protest, but that's not a protest march. the protest march will resumed tomorrow through thursday. the big march was yesterday when about 800 protesters, activists walked through the uptown area past some of the corporate headquarters, past duke energy, bank of america. they stopped at those locations to hold specific rallies, complaining about the policies of those companies. the protest organizers predicted they would have thousands of protesters, but the police say they only got about 800. the mark was completely peaceful. only two arrests for minor charges, and there seemed to be a good relationship between the police officers and the protesters. the police officers may have actually outnumbered the protesters. there are a lot of officers here from the local, state and federal level. they have a command center set up with screens where they can watch everything, helicopters in the side.

they're keep a close eye, tries to anticipate problems. the biggest concern is some vile president activists could mix in with the others. there's no evidence of that happening. right now it's very peaceful, and doesn't look like it will affect the convention at all. >> mark potter, thanks so much. both democrats and republicans are both revolutionizing this convention season with huge social media roll-outs. the ultimate goal, to boost the online presence of their candidates, and kick up follower counts. which social media kings are coming out ahead? richard, explain. what are we seeing? >> good morning. lookic at the convention. it's a ballots of the social media giants. google is the heavyweight here as the official social network. matchable.com took these picket 'tis last we're of the conversation rooms. a recording kiosk where notable

like darrell issa recorded a google message. facebook will have photo spots at various areas. attendees can most pictures to their timelines. twitter has been pushing the political index, governor romney's score has dropped to a third from last week's peak. the president's has continued to cover in the 30s. it will stream all speeches start to finish live on its website. you can see the countdown there. 4,000 watch parties nationally. part of that programming, actor c kal penn, will lead an online panel. one star not on the list, but getting the social media campaign to be there is betty white, a facebook petition has close to 20,000 likes, but the buzz winner so far, that is the

obama campaign's this seat is taken post. it was retweeted over 50,000 time, and the president's second-most retweeted post ever. romney's top tweet is this one, repeated 4900 times. romney's followers also just hit a major milestone. over 1 million. by contrast, thomas, the president's twitter account has over 19 million. wasn't it facebook that got betty white to snl? >> that's right. richard thank you so much with the digital deets. and he'll be with us to break down what we're watching. seek us out at hashtag msnbc. a new e-book claims the former navy s.e.a.l. who wrote a tell-all book when the raid broke the unit's code of silence because of, quote, bad blood with his former unit.

tonight msnbc will air a documentary on president obama, and talks about how that hist y historic event played. >> it would require invading pakistan's sovereign territory. intelligence put the odds at 50/50 that bin laden was even there. if it did not succeed it would be a disaster in political terms to rival jimmy carter's efforts in 1980. it would be much safer to launch a drone attack, but also less sure, because we would never be certain we had gotten our man. >> i will tell you that there are moments in your presidency, and i think this is true of every president, president presidents i admire, presidents i've been critical of, where you really do put politics aside, where you have great clarity about the profound privilege and responsibility of this office.

certainly we thought about the fact that if there was a failure here, it would have disastrous consequences for me politically. we knew the examples of the carter presidency. we understood what happened there, but i tell you, the i wa throughout this entire enterprise was i really want to get those guys back home safe. >> there are people who had said let's not do this, let's wait, let's give it a little more time, so he had made a really tough call and i think so much, so much hinged on that. >> as the world now knows, the mission was a success. >> tonight, i can report to the american people and to the world the united states has conducted an operation that killed osama bin laden, the leader of al qaeda. >> so you can see "barack obama making history" hosted by chris matthews when it airs tonight on msnbc, 10:00 p.m. eastern. defin?

the blissful pause just before that rich sweetness touches your lips. the delightful discovery, the mid-sweetening realization that you have the house all to yourself. well, almost. the sweet reward, making a delicious choice that's also a smart choice. splenda no-calorie sweetener. with the original sugar-like taste you love and trust. splenda makes the moment yours. with the original sugar-like taste you love and trust. on every one of our carda reminder...ate. that before this date, we have to exceed expectations. we have to find new ways to help make life easier, more convenient and more rewarding. it's the reason why we don't have costumers. we have members. american express. welcome in.

chances are, you're not made of money, so don't overpay for motorcycle insurance. geico, see how much you could save.

sarah palin beats paul ryan. well, she beats him when it comes to marathons. turns out congressman ryan did not have a two hour and 50 something run time like he claimed last week. it was more like four hours, one minute, 25 seconds. runners world magazine debunked his fib. ryan later admitted his brother owns the fastest marathon title in the family and he has never run a sub-three. the last republican vice presidential nominee sarah palin has a best time of three hours, 59 minutes. a runner-up will get to fulfill california delegate duties at democratic national convention taking place in charlotte. one is out after a night of heavy drinking and a police intervention. two delegates came back to their hotel, apparently passed out. one appeared to be unconscious so staff called the paramedics. he was sent to the hospital, then released the next day but the other delegate started fighting with hotel staff and emergency teches. the delegate was not arrested

but was asked to leave. a sand sculpture of president obama in charlotte is intact after getting pummeled by rain the other day. there were rumors that it had washed away. the sculpture was slightly damaged but has been fixed already. the visitors bureau from myrtle beach, south carolina footed the $30,000 bill for their neighbors to the north. now the white house honey ale can be made in your very own home and not just brewed at the white house. the recipes were released over the weekend. one of the main ingredients will be extremely hard to come by, however. white house honey. they have their own hives at the white house. that wraps things up for me. see you back here tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. eastern time for the first full day of the democratic national convention. among my guests, senator bill nelson, and sheila jackson lee, michael steele and eugene robinson. until then, follow me on twitter. don't go anywhere. we say happy labor day to our friend, alex wagner.

hi, alex. good to see you, as always. we have a big show today. it is halftime at the conventions. president obama preps for the dnc with a swing state tour, while eastwooding continues to cast a shadow over team obama -- sorry, team romney. we break down the romneys'not so big mo, plus examine what's actually factually happening with welfare and we'll discuss how race factors into the gop's criticism of the president's policy. and the obama doctrine. former assistant secretary of state p.j. crowley and foreign policy's susan glasser evaluate the president's foreign policy resume four years later, when "now" starts in a mere 180 seconds. when the doctor told me that i could smoke for the first week... i'm like...yeah, ok... little did i know that one week later i wasn't smoking. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to help people quit smoking. it reduces the urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix.

if you notice any of these stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems, which could get worse while taking chantix. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you develop these stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away as some can be life-threatening. if you have a history of heart or blood vessel problems, tell your doctor if you have new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack. use caution when driving or operating machinery. common side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping and unusual dreams. it helps to have people around you... they say, you're much bigger than this. and you are. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor if chantix is right for you.

you won't just find us online, you'll also find us in person, with dedicated support teams at over 500 branches nationwide. so when you call or visit, you can ask for a name you know. because personal service starts with a real person. [ rodger ] at scottrade, seven dollar trades are just the start. our support teams are nearby, ready to help. it's no wonder so many investors are saying... [ all ] i'm with scottrade. the first half of the game is officially over and the scoreboard looks mostly unchanged. as the dems prepare for kickoff, the coaches are speaking on the sidelines, the cheerleaders are out in force, and at some point very soon,