choice about supporting women and families in this country. >> tonight's keynoter, san antonio mayor julio castro, will try to inspire an outpouring of support among hispanic voters. he'll be introduced by his twin brother, texas state representative and congressional candidate, joaquin castro. >> little sibling rivalry here? you get 90 seconds, you get 18 minutes? >> he's getting more time than i am. i just get the introduction but i have the easy part. >> it's very meaningful that joaquin is going to introduce me. i think it will be something very memorable from both of us. >> will they give the president a better grade than he gave himself on the economy? >> your party says you inherited a bad situation. you've had three and a half years to fix it. what grade would you give yourself so far for doing that? >> you know, i would say incomplete, but what i would say is the steps that we've taken in saving the auto industry, in making sure that college is more

affordable and investing in clean energy and science and technology and research, those are all the things that we're going to need to grow over the long term. paul ryan campaigns today in ohio and iowa, and this morning with matt lauer on "today" he answered critics who say he twisted the facts in his convention speech in tampa. >> what they're trying to suggest is that i said that barack obama was responsible for our plant shut down. that is not what i was saying. read the speech. what i was saying is the president ought to be held to account for his broken promises. after our plant was shut down, he said he would lead an effort to retool plants like the janesville plant to get people back to work. good day. i'm andrea mitchell in charlotte for the democratic national convention. if you hear pounding behind me, that's because they're working on the podium, getting ready for the big day, the big night. joining me, obama 2012 senior campaign advisor and former white house press secretary, robert gibbs. robert -- >> i thought that pounding was only in my head. i'm so glad you said that.

>> you should not be partying all night. the party really begins here today, tonight, and michelle obama, what is the big test for michelle obama? we know she's practiced, she's a practiced speaker, she's been on the national stage, unlike ann romney, who hit it out of the park with her first effort, really, using teleprompters and all the attention. what is the tactical political effect of michelle obama? >> i think michelle made her debut four years ago in what was an off the chart speech. i think she, because of her closeness obviously with the president and her viewpoint, she can really tell the story of his values, his upbringing, what he believes, and what he wants to do yet for this country. i think she is going to be a powerful and passionate advocate for the president tonight and will give a great speech. >> unlike mitt romney, who needed to have the biography filled in and ann romney was trying to explain just who is this man who has been described variously as robotic and not

warm and cuddly to the outside world, at least, president obama has a very high popularity quotient but his big gap is on answering the republican bumper stickers, which is are you better off now than you were four years ago and did you build it. don't they have an easier time of it, their slogans? >> well, if all you do is believe in slogans, look, the entire convention we saw in tampa was recycled old tired slogans with recycled old tired plans. i think michelle's going to talk about the values that barack obama brings to the oval office, and look, let's be clear, we're way better off than we were four years ago. four years ago, when barack obama walked into the oval office, we were losing 800,000 jobs the last month george bush was there. we've had 29 consecutive months of job growth but the reason the president gives himself an incomplete grade is because we've still got a long way to go to get back to the type of

economic security that middle class families expect in this country. >> the economy is better, the job creation is better, but people clearly aren't feeling it because by two to one, people believe the country is moving on the wrong track. that's a problem. >> people like the president understand that we can and must do more. we can and must do better. the question, though, is are we going to continue on that forward path of continued job creation, fewer foreclosures, more people going into business, or are we going to go backwards to huge tax breaks for the wealthy. it didn't work eight years ago. it got us into this mess. mitt romney and paul ryan would have us believe that if we did the very same thing, somehow it's going to lead to a different outcome. i think the american people are smart enough to understand that an economic theory built on tax cuts for the wealthy and wall street writing its own rules is exactly what got us into this disaster. >> looking at tonight's program,

michelle obama, you don't have to be a political genius to figure out which groups this administration is trying to turn out. you like the beat? >> did you just do this for me? this is special. this is nice. they go wherever i am. it's great. no, i think, look, i think we have a diversity there in our party that we're enormously proud of. >> you've got to turn out women voters, hispanics. >> absolutely. >> and you've got to turn them out, close to the numbers you had in 2008 to make up for mitt romney's advantage with white men. >> one, i think we are actually ahead of where we were with hispanics four years ago and i think again, it comes from the fact that the president cares passionately about strengthening the economy, improving access to health care, improving access to education, and actually believes in immigration and immigration reform, unlike the other party.

and look, there is simply not a better advocate for barack obama than michelle. >> speaking of michelle obama, she famously was reluctant to campaign at times and in the midterm election, it's been written about. we don't have to go there but she now seems all in. >> she's not only all in, she's completely comfortable. i think part of this is when we were sitting around in late 2006 talking about whether barack obama would run, she had a lot of questions because obviously, she just wasn't used to this. it wasn't anything she had ever done before. look, she's completely at ease, completely comfortable, again, the best advocate that we could possibly have for the president. i'm looking forward to hearing her and i think she's going to do a terrific job. >> what about all the talk about bill clinton? he's got this big speech in prime time tomorrow night, but there's a lot of talk that there's still an uneasy relationship. you watched it. you were in the middle of the '08 campaign, saw all of the personal anger that went both

directions, the president towards president clinton and president clinton towards barack obama. >> which you would expect, because president clinton had a pretty big dog in that fight with hillary clinton. but look, we're all on the same team. we have been on the same team for four years. i think he's going to be a terrific spokesperson because in bill clinton, you have what happened in 1992 and in 1993, coming into office at a time of economic transition. at a time in which the middle class didn't feel the security that they needed, much like they do today. but bill clinton made some really tough decisions, led this country forward and we were the better for it. it was only after bill clinton left that we again handed out tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires and watched the whole thing collapse. i think what president clinton can do is talk about the exact analogy that we're living through right now. >> i'm not sure about your play list, gibbs. >> where's my ipod? this is pretty cool, though.

i have to admit. >> thank you. thanks for putting up with it. >> i'll take the band with me. >> one quick final question. i really want to ask you, you've been with president obama from the beginning. what's going through his mind as he gets ready to prepare for his big night, the big speech? >> you know, he obviously takes these moments extremely seriously. i know and i have talked to the speech writers that have been working with him, has been focusing on making the best case that he can. but look, he's calm and he's relaxed. he's always been that. i think the best thing about him is he never gets too high or too low. he's very, very even-keeled so he'll be pitch perfect for the moment. >> as they used to say, no drama obama. >> that's it. >> thank you, robert gibbs. great to see you. we're just getting started here in charlotte. coming up next, more music and california congressman and co-chair of the democratic

caucus, javier bacera plus chad griffin, president of the human rights campaign. up next with our daily fix, chris cillizza. first, flashback, 1976. barbara jordan breaking barriers. >> but there is something different about tonight. there is something special about tonight. what is different, what is special? i, barbara jordan, am a keynote speaker. hey. hey eddie. i brought your stuff. you don't have to do this. yes i do. i want you to keep this. it'd be weird. take care. you too. [ sighs ]

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we're back in charlotte, where they're checking the

microphones now, getting ready for the big convention start tonight. in 2004, a little-known state senator started his climb to the top with a keynote address in boston. a political milestone recalled by his fellow illinois senator, dick durbin, when he nominated him in denver four years ago. >> four years ago in boston, i introduced a friend, an illinois state senator most people had never heard of, with a name most people couldn't pronounce. 30 minutes later, barack obama's keynote address had changed politics in america. touching the hearts and inspiring the dreams of a nation. tonight, barack obama will accept our nomination to be president of the united states of america. >> four years later, on thursday night, senator durbin will be introducing president obama one more time. joining me now, of course,

senator dick durbin. not even looking a day older, senator. someone is looking older and that's the president of the united states. he gave himself an incomplete in an interview in terms of fixing the economy. how does he respond to the republican argument that yeah, it's incomplete and that people are not better off than they were four years ago? >> take a look at four years ago. where were we? people had lost about 30% of the value of their retirement savings. the financial community was in collapse with an $800 billion government bailout. our automobile companies were flat on their back. we were engaged in two wars at that time. 750,000 jobs a month we were losing. are the republicans suggesting we want to go back to that? of course not. we have made progress. >> if things are so much better and there has been progress, and the facts are there's been a lot of progress, when you look at the numbers, why is the wrong track/right track number upside down? it's two to one, people feel in

our latest nbc news/"wall street journal" poll the country is heading in the wrong direction. how do you win re-election with the unemployment rate as high as it is and with so many people feeling that we're not headed in the right direction? >> we are moving in the right direction. not as fast as i or the president would like it but this reflects something else in america. for the last 20 years, long before this president, americans, middle income americans have seen their purchasing power decline. they're working harder, most productive workers in the world. their take-home pay doesn't reflect it. they are struggling to get by. what the president wants to do with his tax policy is make sure those middle income and working families have a fighting chance. the difference of course, at the republican convention, they want to make sure those at the highest income categories are protected before they help those with middle income. >> they say they are trying to help middle income people also but in fairness to you democrats, mitt romney was criticized by even the "wall street journal" editorial page for not being specific enough. doesn't the president have to be specific about how he's going to

invest in infrastructure, improve education, do all the things that he believes are necessary to improve our economy, without blowing the deficit sky high? >> if you take a look at the majors the president has brought to the senate, for example, specifics. what we're going to do in terms of expanding opportunities for education, for innovation and research, for infrastructure. >> how is he going to pay for all that? >> it can be paid for, as long as you order your priorities correctly. i set up simpson-bowles. it was a bipartisan commission created by the president to deal with the deficit and still keep america moving forward. we can still use that as a template. i know the president will when he's re-elected. >> you voted for it. >> i did. >> there were tough choices in that. the president said nice job, thanks very much. he didn't fully embrace it. a lot of people in the business community and others, even outside that world, say that if he had really gotten behind it and said look, this is a great game plan going forward, i don't have to accept every little piece of it, but he put no

enthusiasm behind it. he patted them on the back in the rose garden and let it go. >> it's been the model for all the negotiations since, between the president and speaker boehner and the conversations have continued in congress. here's the problem. let's be honest about it. if barack obama said this is my plan, you know exactly what senator mitch mcconnell would have said. if he's going to be a one term president we can't let him pass his plan. that was the problem, the poisonous atmosphere that many republican leaders created on capitol hill. i think this president in his second and last term under our constitution is going to have a different political dynamic. he's going to reach out to try to build this kind of bipartisan consensus and i think simpson-bowles will be the basis for it. >> if re-elected, he will have smaller margins, of course. >> of course, that's true. but look at what happens december 31st. it all comes to a head. the so-called cliff, we can't escape it. it isn't a matter of we'll get through to the next election. we have to work and decide it. with the president's leadership,

he's already told me the general plan, we can get this done. >> and gibbs brought a band, you brought your own pianist with you. let's plow our way through as they rehearse behind us. obviously they need the rehearsal time because they have just gotten into the hall. a lot is going on around us. we're live in charlotte. paul ryan was on the air this morning with matt lauer on "today" and this is what he had to say defending his comments about simpson-bowles. >> what we did was we took the things we liked in simpson-bowles, added new reform ideas and we passed alternatives. that's my point. the president didn't do that. the president didn't offer a budget to fix the problem. the senate hasn't passed a budget in three years. >> of course, he voted against it. >> he votes against it and now he's saying this is something we embraced and loved and why didn't the president do the same. paul ryan and his fellow republicans from the house, all three voted against it. thank goodness some republicans in the senate who are still

working together with democrats voted for it, so for him to be critical of the president having voted against the plan, i'm sorry, doesn't wash. >> one final thing on foreign policy. are you concerned about some kind of blowup with iran, october surprise, israel taking action unilaterally? what is the administration doing to try to persuade israel that we've got their back, they don't need to take quick action? >> we have worked more closely with israel than any other administration, building the largest most diverse coalition to put sanctions on iran, putting an iron dome which is a defense mechanism ready to respond, god forbid, if necessary. what we're saying to the israelis, let's make sure we work together, stop iran from developing a nuclear weapon but don't precipitate the kind of war that could be devastating throughout the middle east. >> dick durbin, thank you very much, senator. >> my chorus has arrived. >> we got it all covered. up next, with musical accompaniment, the daily fix and

the republican response with andrea saul. don't miss msnbc's prime time coverage of the democratic national convention, kicking off at 7:00 eastern tonight. [ male announcer ] it's simple physics... a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. celebrex can be taken with or without food. and it's not a narcotic.

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whatever i say here today, it's going to be at best a distant second to the speech you will hear tonight from the star of the obama family, michelle obama. >> that was president obama in battleground virginia today, norfolk, virginia, about an hour ago getting the crowd excited for the first lady's speech this evening. but they didn't really have to build excitement. she is the star of the show. during an interview in colorado,

the president gave himself an incomplete grade on handling the situation he inherited as commander in chief. the obama campaign is hoping for a better grade from undecided voters. joining me now, chris cillizza, msnbc contributor and managing editor of post politics.com and "washington post" national political correspondent, karen tumulty. we're going to slow jam the news. >> i really do love this. this has always been my dream. >> a number of us were at a briefing this morning, a bloomberg briefing with the top command from the obama campaign. what is their response to the whole question of his giving himself an incomplete on his handling of the economy? >> well, they basically say that what they're going to do is make the point that first of all, that people are going to be a lot worse off, they're going to argue, going forward if mitt romney is elected president, and second of all, that people would be a lot worse off today had barack obama not done the things he did as president.

what they promise we are going to be hearing from a lot of average americans who have had a real struggle in the last four years but who have been benefited by their decisions. >> of course, the bumper sticker of are you better off than you were four years ago -- >> you hit exactly on it. i take their point and it's totally fair and totally right. at the same time, we know politics tends to be bumper stickers and simple slogans. what mitt romney and paul ryan will say is look, unemployment was at 8% plus when president obama took over, it's at 8% plus now. there are arguments to make, one of which is factual, is the president gets too much credit when the economy is good and too much blame when the economy is bad. but it's a complex argument. it's a ten-sentence rather than one-sentence argument. in political terms it's harder to sell. >> what they do know is through their advertising campaign, all spring and summer, they managed

to really hurt mitt romney in terms of his popularity. >> what they are going after is the idea that mitt romney does not share middle class values, that if he is elected, they are going to make the argument he is going to enact policies that will benefit people very much like mitt romney. that is their chief argument against him. >> let's talk about michelle obama's speech tonight. here's an interview, radio interview that she taped on monday with joe madison in d.c., the radio interview. let's play a little of that. >> i'm going to remind people about the values that drive my husband to do what he has done and what he's going to do for the next four years. i'm going to take folks back to the man that he was before he was president, because the truth is that he has grown so much, but in terms of his core values and character, that has not been changed at all.

>> michelle obama's task here is pretty obvious, reach out to women. she doesn't have to popularize her husband as ann romney had to, but she has to explain him and explain the case that they are not hurting so much from the economy that they should turn their backs on her husband. >> here's what we know. she's going to be greeted like a rock star and will probably get as big a reception, maybe a bigger reception than president obama gets thursday night. that said, it's a tough task. four years ago, her task was a little easier because it was kind of like here's the barack obama i know, you may not know him yet. most people feel like they know him in one shape or form. in some ways, what she has to say is look, this has been hard on us, it's been hard on the country, but he is still the right man for the job because i know him best and i know how he thinks about the american people first and foremost every day. i think that's her task. >> by the way, she's a much more beloved figure than she was four years ago because four years ago, she was sort of having to

introduce herself against a backdrop where people were a little bit suspicious of her. she had been characterized on the campaign trail as angry and now she is truly beloved. >> the other thing that has been circulating today, paul ryan did all the morning tv shows, he was on "today" and defended the way he characterized the shut-down of that gm plant in janesville. this is with matt lauer. >> what they're trying to suggest is that i said that barack obama was responsible for our plant shut-down in janesville. that is not what i was saying. read the speech. what i was saying is the president ought to be held to account for his broken promises. after our plant was shut down, he said that he would lead an effort to retool plants like the janesville plant to get people back to work. it's still idle. people are still not working there. lots of people i grew up with who lost their jobs there still don't have those jobs. >> i know that was a little hard to hear but what he's saying is

that the plant remains shuttered because of the president's policies, but clearly, it was a mischaracterization or misrepresentation. >> the thing that has really taken the hit in the last few weeks is paul ryan's reputation as a straight shooter, as a -- as someone who would stand up and tell the truth even when it wasn't popular. >> one thing i would add, though, in a way, paul ryan is playing a very traditional vice presidential role which is taking the heat on himself. paul ryan is the guy out there defending his comments, not mitt romney. you could argue it's working for them though to karen's point, paul ryan's reputation has definitely taken a hit. >> all right. chris cillizza, karen tumulty, we leave you with this concert. coming up next, how do democrats recapture the magic of 2008? california congressman xavier becerra joins us next.

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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. the democrats are counting on a big hispanic turnout but republicans say the latinos and other minorities have higher unemployment rates than the rest of the population and are less enthusiastic about voting this year than they were four years ago. joining me now is co-chairman of the democratic caucus, california congressman, xavier becerra. welcome to my concert. this is really something else. >> we're here to enjoy ourselves. >> and to find out what you think about the hispanic vote and other minorities who are really impacted by this lousy economy, and whether or not you

can turn out the margins the president needs to overcome mitt romney's advantage with white men. >> first, remember that for a long time, minorities have been suffering. they're always earning less, having a harder time getting their kids to college, but they always overcome. that's the thing about america. the american dream, we'll overcome. so the reality is a lot of folks, so long as you can tell them they will be able to go to work, they will get there. >> will they get to the polls? will they be inspired to vote or will they feel less enthusiastic this time about barack obama? >> i believe they will get out because i believe they will understand how important this election is. last election was phenomenal. history. this election, move forward. they'll come out and vote. >> what about the president's polls, you know, what he said today, which was that he has an incomplete on the economy. is that the right message going forward? >> i actually believe the president has done phenomenal work for what he inherited. when you think about it this

way, four years ago today, how many jobs did we gain or lose? 425,000 jobs were lost. last report, last month, 170,000 jobs gained. that's a 600,000 job difference. we're making progress. got to make more, but americans are going back to work. >> you're going to be speaking tonight. hopefully without an accompaniment. just hours before the first lady. tell me what your message is going to be. >> it's all about that hope, about the american dream, about investing in america. if you believe in america, you will invest in america. that's what we have to do from the president on down. we have to invest in those people who somehow managed to hold on to their home, who survived the crash of '08. invest in america. >> tell me about the san antonio mayor who is going to be the keynoter. >> i think he will knock it out of the park. he's a star, he's got a brother, twin brother, who will be in congress with us. they are both going to be stars. it's america's face of the future. >> he's the first latino to

deliver the keynote address. >> as i said, i think he will hit a home run and prove to people throughout the country why san antonio elected a mayor at such a young age. >> do you have a problem going forward with the democratic caucus in that we're at historic levels of disapproval of congress. as a house member, what are your chances of regaining the house? you need 25 seats to regain control. >> i think we can get there and i believe if we launch from this convention with energy and enthusiasm and the truth, we didn't steeee a lot of the trut last week, we will do well. but remember this, we just have to move forward. we just have to work hard and we will get there. the people want to believe that we are going to move this country forward and that's what president obama and the democrats will talk about. you need a partner in the white house working with you in congress. hopefully the president will have a partner next year to work with him, not obstruct. >> isn't there some disappointment in the latino community that president obama

did not do more on immigration? there has been no initiative other than his executive action to try to accomplish some of the goals of the dream act. >> you know, it's really interesting. in the house of representatives, the president pushed to get the dream act passed. guess what? two years ago, we did so with democrats in the majority. in the senate, the senate actually got a majority to vote for the dream act. usually that means you go to the president, it becomes law. guess what, the republicans filibustered. 55 votes out of 100 in the senate did not give us a new law, why, because the republicans demanded that it be a 60 vote margin. so that's what the president has faced on the economy, on health care, and on immigration. he'll get it done. we believe he will. this is one of those things where the people have to recognize what's going on in washington, d.c., the dysfunction. by the way, the people are way ahead of the politicians. they understand what's going on. >> thank you very much. good luck tonight. see you up there. i'll be on the podium.

democrats add same sex marriage to the platform and the president's endorsement, of course. reaction next from chad griffin, president of the human rights campaign. first, 1988, the sharp-tongued keynoter from texas. >> poor george. he can't help it. he was born with a silver foot in his mouth. i look at her, and i just want to give her everything.

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welcome back to a temporarily quiet rehearsals base here at time warner arena for the democratic national convention. the romney campaign is trying to counter the democrats in charlotte this week.

joining me now, andrea saul, press secretary for the romney campaign. thanks so much for being with us. we hope we have enough quiet to get through the interview. tell me what your response is to what president obama said in the interview about having an incomplete grade. i think you put out a statement saying that that doesn't cut it. >> yeah. incomplete doesn't cut it. this president said at the beginning of his term that if he didn't have the economy turned around in three years, that he would be facing a one term proposition and here we are with 23 million americans struggling on for work, more people in poverty than ever before and we learned today, more people on food stamps than ever before. this just doesn't cut it. incomplete is not good enough for the american people. >> how are you going to counteract the popularity of michelle obama, her appeal tonight to women as well as the strong latino presence here at the democratic convention, when the president has such a huge advantage among hispanic voters? >> well, we have been blessed in this country to have a long line

of great first ladies. michelle obama being one of those, and hopefully ann romney being the next, as you saw last week she gave a great speech as well. so that's expected to come from the first ladies. the real focus here is president obama and can he say that you're better off today. they're trying to convince you that you are and that americans are better off, when that's just silly. it's actually insulting to the hard-working americans who know that they're not better off. he said before you didn't build that, he said the private sector's doing fine and now for the obama campaign to try to convince americans that they're doing better is just not true. >> they are doing better numerically in terms of having lost 400,000 jobs in the period, the month when he took over, now creating 100,000 jobs. he grades that as an incomplete because clearly, it's not good enough. but it's clearly better or there is a track towards recovery. >> andrea, he hasn't created one

single net new job since he's been president. unemployment's at over 8%. he said with the passage of the stimulus bill that his campaign or sorry, his administration would get unemployment to below 6% by now. we're over 8% for, you know, you know, 40 plus months. this just isn't acceptable. >> when we talk about he didn't build it, we both know the context of that. all of the fact checkers, andrea, show that that was -- he was talking about the bridges and the infrastructure that goes into building a small business. >> well, we know what he meant because he said it. he said if you have a small business, you didn't build that, somebody else made that happen. and it's not just that one sentence. he said time and again through his policies that he's hostile to job creators. he wants to raise taxes on small businesses. he's putting more burdensome regulation on all these job creators and it's just not a way

to create jobs and make sure the economy can get going again. >> andrea saul, thank you so much. the music has rejoined us but we're glad we squeezed that in. thanks very much for bringing us the romney campaign response today. president obama takes the stage here on thursday night as the first president to publicly support same sex marriage. joining me now is chad griffin, president of the human rights campaign and someone who knows a lot about the white house from your years with bill clinton as well. how important is not just the symbolic support, but the president's endorsement of same sex marriage? >> andrea, what the president did and what this party has done by being the first party and the first president to support marriage equality in this country, it sends an incredible message to lgbt young people across this country that they are equal citizens in this country and they can grow up with the same dreams and aspirations as their friends,

their family and their colleagues at work. it truly is historic. >> one symbol of that, tangible fact of that, is that you're hosting a big event for michelle obama tomorrow. what has been the importance of her connection to your community? >> that's right. she's attending a lunch that the human rights campaign and victory fund are co-hosting tomorrow, and first lady michelle obama has been a tremendous ally. she has made significant steps as it relates to going after bullying and talking about the importance of not accepting bullying in this country. she has been incredible when it comes to our military, members of the military and their families, including lgbt members of the military. she is an incredible first lady and i'm so excited to see her speech here tonight and be able to be with her at lunch tomorrow. >> will the community be as actively engaged as the president needs? >> there is no question. perhaps more so than ever before. if there is one issue that is black and white in this country,

it is the issue of lgbt equality. president obama supports marriage equality. the republican party and their nominee, mitt romney, not only opposes marriage equality but believes there should be a constitutional amendment in this country that prohibits loving couples from being able to marry their partner. so the differences are grand. mitt romney opposes the repeal of don't ask, don't tell. obviously president obama signed it. president obama signed hate crimes protection. no president has done more for equality in this country than president obama. >> yet the democratic party is holding its convention here in north carolina, where there was a constitutional amendment voted by the people to deny marriage equality. >> that's right. that did happen here in this state and that's why i actually think it's so unique and so historic that right here in the state of north carolina, the democratic party put in its platform the support for marriage equality and we're hosting that right here in this

state. this country is evolving on this issue now more than half of america, majority of americans support marriage equality, and i expect that to continue. i hope that mitt romney's position, too, will evolve. i've said this to you before. i really do believe and hope this is the last time that we will have a nominee from either party that doesn't support full equality for all of our citizens in this country. >> chad, one other perspective that you bring to the table is that when i first met you, you were a young man in arkansas, in little rock, and you came from home and you worked in the clinton white house. there's a lot of talk about the rivalry and the difficult relationship between bill clinton and barack obama. what have you observed? >> you know, look, i see these two, i am so excited that president clinton is coming to deliver such a historic speech here in this auditorium. they are two icons of this party, president obama and president bill clinton. president bill clinton gave hope

to so many, to millions of young people in this country and i think it's something president obama continues. i expect that president obama will be able to inspire young people across this country just as president clinton did when he ran for the first time. >> chad griffin, thank you very much. >> thank you. >> thanks for the music. >> pleasure to be here. celebratory. >> this is the spot. what political story will make headlines in the next 24 hours? that's next right here on "andrea mitchell reports" live from the democratic national convention in charlotte. you know, i was once used for small jobs.

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. the economy needs manufacturing. machines, tools, people making stuff. companies have to invest in making things. infrastructure, construction, production. we need it now more than ever. chevron's putting more than $8 billion dollars back in the u.s. economy this year. in pipes, cement, steel, jobs, energy. we need to get the wheels turning. i'm proud of that. making real things...

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he's completely at ease. completely comfortable. again, the best advocate that we could have for the president. i'm looking forward to hearing her and i think she will do a terrific job. >> welcome back it andrea mitchell report, or club mitchell, as you will. we just had the musical stylings

of the d.c. and now we will talk about what political story will make headlines in the next 24 hours. chris cillizza. >> i kind of miss the music when it is gone. >> the music is great, all great. but better tonight. >> hard to do a live show, yeah. >> we will hear from michelle obama. it'll be a huge speech for her. and we will hear from a young san antonio mayor, castro, who could be a rising star. >> i think michelle obama will be the big star. i think we know what we will get from her. connects very well. she is president obama's best surrogate. also, martin o'malley, the governor of maryland, is speaking right at 10:00. this is the guy who struggled on the whole, are you bet are off, question. >> tonight he will have a script. >> tonight he will be very much on script. don't forget, martin o'malley, when the presidency is open again, in 2014 or 2020, martin o'malley's name will be in that

mix. this is a little bit after trial for him too. michelle obama is clearly the headliner. but keep an eye on o'malley and castro. >> you have all of these young democrats that hope hillary clinton stays in the cook island and beijing where she has been dealing with questions of south china seas, while the young democrat are going door to door from iowa to the caucus breakfast trying to get a start. >> martin o'malley is speaking on wednesday. you have kirstin jill brand, appointed to replace senator clinton when she was chosen as secretary of state. these people don go to the iowa breakfast because they like the iowa beef. those it is beautiful, i've had it many times, they go there for a specific reason, to begin the courtship process. if secretary of state clinton decides to when verse her decision to leave public life, if she decides she does want it win, she will be the overwhelming presumtive favorite in a democratic primary.

if she doesn't, well look at a very open field. that at least four or eight years down the line. >> let's get through this election first. >> right. >> keynote address tonight np chris alist why a chris cillizza and i will be here. . we will have another big show tomorrow night. who knows what will happen on the show, but we will have rob emmanuel, melody barnes, james clyburn, mat patrick kennedy and they will talk about their father who will have a tribute tomorrow night as well. and actor eric mccorps mac. my partner, tamron hall has a look at what is next on news nation. >> i love club mitchell as it is called now. coming up in the next hour, a brand new interview with the first lady that perhaps gives us a glimpse of what she will say tonight. we will play that interview for you and i will talk with the

radio host who talked with the first lady and the author of "what would michelle do" will join us with her insight on the first lady. plus, who is julian castro and why is he so important to rapping up enthusiasm with latino voters who are heavily supporting the president, but there is a worry they may not show up in november. iams knows. ...but most dry foods add plant protein, like gluten iams never adds gluten. iams adds 50% more animal protein, [ dog 2 ] look at me! i'm a lean, mean flying machine [ dog 1 ] i am too! woo hoo! [ male announcer ] iams. with 50% more animal protein. [ dog 2 ] i'm an iams dog for life. not a rabbit. woof!

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en.. oy icar iebe gdiye xpan en.. oy until i had the shingles. i have never encountered such a burning sensation... it was like a red rash. like somebody had set a bag of hot charcoal on my neck. i had no idea it came from chickenpox. it's something you never want to encounter.

for more of the inside story, visit shinglesinfo.com hi, everyone. i'm tamron hall. a new interview with first lady michelle obama, a glimpse into hire prime time speech