in the 2008 primaries. bill clinton is now one of the most popular political figures in america and i guess we shouldn't be surprised. he falls down an awful lot but more than any other politician i have ever seen, he has a nod for always ending up back on top. that does it for "the cycle" in charlotte. martin bashir, it is all yours. >> thanks, steve. good afternoon. it is wednesday, september 5. what did we learn last night? ♪ >> the truth matters, that you don't take shortcuts. or play by our own set of rules. >> it is time for democrats to grow a backbone and stand up for what we believe. >> being asked to paw your fair share isn't class warfare. it is patriotism. >> this is the president who saved the american auto industry

from extin extinction. >> added 4.5 million private sector jobs. >> then don't have a record they can run on. >> no one in this country should ever go broke because of an accident or an illness. >> they don't have a record they can run on. >> being president doesn't change who you are. no, it reveals who you are. ♪ dream on ♪ dream on ♪ dream a dream come true >> we begin on day two of the democratic national convention that may prove vital to the re-election of president barack obama. and the president has just arrived in charlotte. seen here disembarking air force one an hour ago. tonight we will hear from former president bill clinton. but it will be a tough act even for him to do much better than the headliner last night. first lady michelle obama who offered a personal perspective

on the values that guide her husband every day in the white house. >> for barack, these issues aren't political. they are personal. barack knows the american dream because he's lived it. and he wants everyone in this country, everyone, to have the same opportunity no matter who we are or where we are from or what we look like or who we love. >> if the first lady michelle obama sought to reignite the flame for the president earlier, massachusetts governor deval patrick aimed to reinvigorate the fight. challenging supporters to stand with the president against attacks on everything from his foreign policy to health care reform. >> if we want to win elections in november and keep our country moving forward, if we want to earn the privilege to lead, my message is this.

it is time for democrats to grow a backbone and stand up for what we believe! >> that fiery speech raised the bar important those that followed. but it was keynote speaker san antonio mayor julian castro that took the most full-throated fight to mitt romney blasting his tired retread of failed economic policies. >> first they called it trickle down, then they called it supply side. now it is ryan -- romney/ryan or is it ryan/romney? either way, the theory has been tested. it failed. our economy failed. the middle class paid the price and your family paid the price. mitt romney just doesn't get it. >> now, republicans were just as vigorous in their response today. mitt romney was in hardware store in new hampshire to talk shop. look being as stiff as any two-by-four in the house while

chuck grassley was out in iowa? we are within an administration that believes in trickle-down government. we believe in a philosophy according to the constitution we want to trickle government up to government. >> can someone get that man an empty chair? okay. better try someone else. how about ann romney working the female factor at a women for mitt rally in ohio? >> when did it become unpopular in america to be successful? we are not going to apologize for our success. and we are not going to apologize for america. >> that's funny. i don't remember anyone asking the romneys to apologize for their success. then again, no one apologized for america either, did they? let's get right to it with msnbc's lawrence o'donnell, host

of "the last word" who joins us now live from the convention in charlotte. they are cheering behind you, lawrence. before focusing on the details of the first lady michelle obama's speech, what was your overall impression? this wasn't a kind of laundry list of thoughts thrown together in 30 minutes. this was like a symphony which began with the hard work and love of her parents and expanded into her marriage to the president, and then climaxed in that moving finale where she spoke of the world she wants to leave for her children and for all of america's children. >> yeah. martin, it was a great speech to be in the room for. you can see there's one line in that speech. that really, really bothered ann romney. and that is when the first lady said that they don't measure success with money. they don't think of that money is the equivalent of success. whenever you hear the romneys using the word success, what they mean is money. that is all they mean by

success. and so what you heard from mrs. obama last night was a very different take on how to define success in this country. >> it was also a series of surgical strikes on the romney/ryan ticket because we learned she says about honesty and integrity. that the truth matters, said the first lady. that was an -- against the lies that have been told by paul ryan. we learned about gratitude and humility. so many people had hand in our success. and a clinical strike on the misquoting of the president when he said that we all rely upon infrastructure in this nation. she literally cut them to pieces and no one knew she was holding a knife. >> well, that was the great thing about the way the speech was written, martin. you could written exactly the same speech in the campaign where romney was not the opponent. those sentences all had merit and value on their own. but in -- in romney world there was a real echo to many of those lines. and so that is why it was so doubly effective.

it looked like she wasn't really trying in any way to take shots at romney but romney is such a big target. it is really hard to miss him. and start talking about the way things should be in this country. >> let's focus for a moment on ann romney because today she offered her pitch to women. listen to this, lawrence. >> women, you need to wake up. women have to ask themselveses who is going to have and be there for you? i can promise you, i know mitt will be there for you. he will stand up for you. he will hear your voices. he knows how to fix an economy. he is a can-do kind of guy. >> lawrence, i'm slightly confused. i thought that republicans and this ticket is about self-reliance, self-sufficiency, unless, of course, you are a woman, and in that case you need a can-do kind of guy. >> it is just -- you know, all she ever comes out with is cheerleading stuff. it is as if she's addressing a

kindergarten class. it is the moss simplistic stuff you can imagine. i mean, michelle obama was operating 15 grades higher than ann romney ever has in any of her public comments ever. there just isn't any reasonable comparison between these two. ann romney is absolutely vacant on the matter of governance, any sort of policy difference. she hasn't said a single sentence to women about government that would in any way be relevant to why they might vote. whereas mrs. obama last night was talking about her own life and -- the relevance to government in her own life. and how these decisions of government makes -- affect real people. prior to mrs. obama taking the stand last night, there was a mother that came on that stage to talk about what the obama care bill has meant to her in and the fact the lifetime limit

on her daughter's insurance policy which she would have hit by the time her daughter was 5 or 6 years old because of the amount of heart surgery. that change in the louisville time making it unlimited has literally changed the possibilities for her daughter's life and her daughter's ability to get the medical care she needs. that's real. that's in-law. president obama signed that into law. that means something to that mother. what would mitt romney put in-law? what would he change in-law that would mean anything to any mother except what we no he would do, what he says he would do, repeal obama care and take that charge -- >> indeed. lawrence, you were referring then, of course, to stacy lynn who was speaking, she is from arizona about her beautiful young daughter. and, again, there were a number of speakers who got out there yesterday and defended the president's health care reform. but it is interesting because paul ryan keeps telling us that he will get rid of the

affordable care act and yet, interestingly, we have discovered a letter from mr. ryan which has been published by the nation today asking for a wisconsin health center grant which funded -- which would be funded directly by the affordable care act. so -- hang on a second. paul ryan says the stimulus was horrific but we discover he asked for money on behalf of businesses. and then we find out he wants to repeal obama care as he call it, affordable care act. then we discover that there he is writing for a health center for a grant. you mean, does this man apply the biblical narrative your left hand should not know what your right hand is doing? >> well, you no, he is a congressman who just does business as usual. and tries to get away with it. that's a classic move of trying to get money out of something you voted against. we have seen people do it over time. now you elevate to this visibility level, the vice presidential candidacy, this is the kind of thing that's absolutely glaring. martin, what we are still

waiting for, what we still are trying to find, is that letter he wrote trying to keep that plant open, the automobile plant in his district that closed down in his district before president obama took office and he now wants to blame president obama for that automobile plant closing down in his district. what did paul ryan do to be save that plant? >> lawrence, i wish you every piece of luck as you pursue that letter. i'm afraid it is unlikely ever to see the light of day. lawrence o'donnell of "the last word," as ever, thank you so much, lawrence. >> thanks, martin. next, it is bubba time. stay with us. [ rosa ] i'm rosa and i quit smoking with chantix.

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when bill clinton delivers his speech tonight he will find that his reputation among republicans is actually a lot better off than it was power years ago. just ask mitt romney and paul ryan. >> under president clinton, we got welfare reform. >> this is very different, by the way, than the democratic party of bill clinton that said that the era of big government was over. >> no wonder bill clinton and so many other mainstream democrats are revolting against the backward direction president obama is taking this part and our country. >> joining us now from charlotte, policharlott charlotte.

the author of the new book, "what's the matter with white people," joan walsh. good day to all of you. you heard mitt romney in claiming bill clinton is revolting from the president. have you done reporting on the subject in your book," the promise" which i read. would you please bring mr. romney up to speed? >> well, you know, it was a nice try by mitt romney to say that bark bash is some radical departure from bill clinton. but the radical departure from bill clinton was george w. bush and what he did in the first eight years of this century where they -- tried to slash taxes and slash regulations as a way of growing the economy. they have pathetic, utterly pathetic, job growth, some of the worst in many, many decades compared to bill clinton's 22 million new jobs. so what president clinton will do tonight is say yeah, okay, if you want to go back, let's go back to me. not to bush. who by the way didn't even show up at the republican convention

which gives you some idea of, you they, what their feeling is about him. >> john, you anticipated my question to the great david korn. these would convention could not be more different corks they in regard to former presidents? for the democrats, president clinton could not be more present for the republicans, president bush cannot be more absent. yet, republicans keep telling us that things are much better four years ago. yet, never mentioned bush. explain that to me, david. >> well, the republican convention last week in tampa reminded me of the old soviet union. comrade bush is no longer with us. he has been photo shopped out of the of the pictures. this is soviet style revisionism. were you off better off four years ago? december of 2008 when we were losing 850,000 jobs a month due to the bush/cheney recession? they don't go into those details. they are counting on amnesia amongst voters and really want to start the clock on january

20, 2009. bill clinton, i think -- i haven't always been a big fan of bill clinton issues but i think he will be great tonight. he will take this issue on and he will take on the welfare issue they tried to raise in the last few weeks. the -- republicans and he will knock it out of the park. and i don't think you will hear mitt romney or paul ryan mick a single reference to bill clinton after tonight, up until election day. >> we have been watching live pictures of gabby douglas who will be giving the pledge of allegiance this evening. there is a wide shot of the stage. she was just given a walk-through. joan, if i might come to you, i want to read the last line from your most recent article. and you say this. if anyone should be nervous about clinton's unvetted speech, it is mitt romney. what do you mean, joan? >> well, you know, martin, at this convention, there's so little tension. there's so much excitement that i really think a lot of our

colleagues are inventing a form of tension and making their there be a big story line in the last couple of days. the obama team is really nervous about this speech. what could president clinton possibly say? they haven't been able to vet it yet. and it is just kind of ridiculous, almost like some reporters are buying into this notion that there as more policy difference between the two presidents. i think even politico referred to clinton as the centrist and obama as the liberal. ultra liberal. when there is very, very little daylight between the two men when it comes to policy. they did have a few bitter moments in 2008. but that's a long time ago. i think that bill clinton knows very well that whether it is on welfare or whether on his entire legacy, the best thing for his legacy is the re-election of barack obama. it has been a lot of reporters in search of drama where it doesn't exist. >> also really good for hill hil hillary clinton, too. i hate talking 2016 at the 2012 convention.

if that's a possibility she is considering running four years from now, it gives bill clinton tremendous motive to do exactly what needs to be done at the moment and i think joan is exactly right. this is a made-up story by reporters of -- that like to look for tension that may not exist. >> you are being cynical there. we couldn't help notice how diverse the crowd is in charlotte. and you tweeted today that mitt romney has named congressman west to lead his black leadership council. alan west? i mean, this is man who made race baiting an art form. isn't alan west a man that said there were 79 communists masquerading as democrats in the house of representatives? >> he might not even hold his seat, martin, in florida. i do want to take a little bit of issue -- >> hang on a second. i was addressing that question to corn who tweeted. would mind? >> i -- >> sorry. >> let's think back a long, long, long time ago. back to last week.

last thursday when mitt romney talked about getting rid of the divisive nature of politics. and then puts alan west who is really truly objectively speaking, perhaps the most divisive guy in the house tea party republican caucus who asked -- who is -- you know, i will drive the car. remember, when he came to beating up the democrats. i will drive the car. 79 communists. he makes them the head of his black leadership counsel scil. i guess mitt romney didn't read his own speech. >> john, you wanted to correct something said earlier. please do so. >> not necessarily correct. just slight issue with my colleagues. i agree that bill clinton ultimately will be a big asset for the ticket. agree there is no open tension or hostility anymore between the two men. but they are not close. and bill clinton has a lot of submerged or maybe not so submerged frustration over 2008 that never is going to completely go away.

so you -- there's got to be some nervousness on the part of the obama team until they see the text of his speech which apparently is being written by bill clinton which -- usually uses speech writers. so -- you know, to the extent he wrote a lot of this i am hello, this could prove interesting and he doesn't like to be controlled. he doesn't like to be on anybody else's script and he's going to go his own way. it is going to be fun to see what happen. >> joan, correct the correction. >> i just remember that we p went through this in 2008. and there was all this drama. that was real drama. bill clinton was very angry. there's no doubt about that. but that was real drama about how he was going to behave and he -- he gave a terrific speech and has been a great surrogate and gone off the reservation a few times. it is true. with his remark about romney having a sterl career and, you know, maybe they shun go so hard on bain capital. he does do that. you know, i don't expect anything like that tonight. >> i don't either.

he is in close touch with the obama campaign. >> joan walsh, david corn, thank you so much. a programming note, brian williams exclusive interview with bill clinton will air tonight on "nbc nightly news." check your local listings for that. do stay with us. >> who is playing joe biden in your debate prep? who will? >> we will be announcing that shortly. >> uh-oh. >> you can do it right now. >> i have time on my hands. >> i guess -- i guess it is a no. >> melanie shea led the company to more than $3 million in receive new in three years.

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that.

♪ countdown continues tonight. would of the democratic national committee, former president william jefferson clinton, set to headline. stay with us.

much more ahead. ♪ [ acoustic guitar: upbeat ]

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had made you smile. [ announcer ] beneful. play. it's good for you. frto fox and one of its favorite friends, here are today's top lines, love and war. >> every time the republicans have a convention is like the democrats have to have one, too. >> charlotte, north carolina the queen city so named for the band that toured here in 1982. >> enthusiasm is clearly on the republican side. >> mitt romney's our candidate. there's no changing that now. >> they didn't begrudge anyone else the success. in fact, they admired it. how hard you work matters more than how much you make. it is about the difference you make in people's lives. change is hard. never happens all at once but eventually we get there. >> it was the best speech, period. >> president obama tucked away the clinton doctrine in his

large drawer of discarded ideas. >> his plan is to go back to the bush program on steroids. >> maybe it was a personal beef with the clinton. >> what bill clinton has called the same ideas they tried before except on steroids. >> any chance you will run as a third party? >> i have to take a rest and prepare for 2016. >> look out. >> trying to remain nongaffe -- >> they keep bringing up you are not accurate with some of your statements. >> were your ears burning last night? >> i don't think governor romney meant no harm. he just has no idea how good he has had it. >> the strongest proponent of this rigged game. >> being asked to pay your fair share is patriotism! >> summers on the beaches of the cayman islands and winters on the slopes of the swiss alp. >> he chose to criticize president obama instead of even uttering the word afghanistan.

>> take out. >> the president said i have got your back. >> it is time for democrats to grow a backbone and stand up for what we believe! >> let's get right to our panel now. we are joined by steve kornacki, company host of "the cycle." msnbc poli karen finney. a tale of two cities. tampa and charlotte. would political conventions. but could their stories be any more different than they are today? >> we have been saying all along the contrast you are going to see in this election is very dramatic, very different and i think democrats did an excellent job last night starting to make that case and lay this out, very proud. >> steve, do you agree? >> yes. you know, what struck me watching that last night, i heard a theory about this race that it is sort of the mirror image of with our that barack obama and democrats are basically sort of enjoying some

of the same advantages and funking the same way in this race that george w. bush and republicans were in 2004. and you know, the -- setup for the convention this week is the republicans are coming off of what at least in terms of the polling was a disappointing convention for them and that kind of reminded me of 2004 with the democrats. john kerry and democrats in boston did not get much of a bounce in 2004. but george w. bush and republicans in new york that year really did. i was watching that last night and trying to figure out this week our bounces just a thing of the past or can democrats get one out this week and my guess watching last night is they may get something substantially bigger than republicans got last week and -- that would really be keeping with his mirror image of 2004 and 2012 thing. >> steve, maybe that's got is nothing do with the fact that chris christie and marco rubio said a lot about themselves last week. and less about their candidate. so how does that compare with the democrats last night? take a listen. >> this is the president who brought osama bin laden to justice, who ended the war in iraq. >> that was the change we fought

for. s that 'twas change president obama deliver. >> president obama saved the auto industry and saved a million jobs. >> i for one will not stand by and let him be bullied out of office and neither should you. >> now, steve, if i didn't know bert, i would say that the democrats are usually the ones who are all over the place and at the moment, they are showing far greater discipline, far greater unity, i mean, that's not how it is supposed to be, is it? >> sure. well, they have been under relentless attack by the republicans since barack obama became president and managed to enact some serious landmark achieves in 2009 and 2010. you know, whatever you think of it, that was most productive congress since the great society days. and now they are motivated to defend it and if you look at the flip side of the republican party, base of that party, people who were in that last week and more broadly speaking republican voters are not wild about mitt romney personally or ideologically.

two, basically the goal of the romney campaign has been to make mitt romney function as a generic candidate. a protest vehicle for swing voters who are fed up economically and want to take it out on the incumbent, their goal is to make mitt romney inoffensively and well rounded and no real -- no strong views, nothing offensive coming out of and it the result is you are going have a convention that is going to come across as a little directionless. >> very quickly. i would like michael's thoughts on this as well. >> certainly. i think the argument, though, remember republicans went into their convention divided trying to distance themselves from the akin sxoemts they are having a hard time being a sort of bigger tent party than they have ever been. part of what we have seen and what we are see thing week is the way that republicans have been attacking democrats has galvanized democrats. i'm feeling that when i have been out at the events with del xwats and people are feeling increasingly energized and again increasingly clear about what needs to happen between now and november. >> michael, do you agree that democrats appear to have been as

it were provoked to be more disciplined by the attacks from republicans? >> well, i don't know. lot of planning goes into these conventions and i don't know how much they are able to turn on a dime. but i think there is no question that it does feel to be clicking in a way that it was than in tampa. part of it is the hall. i think, you know, it can be distorting to be inside the building and there may be an argument for watching it on tv. but there's just so much more energy and enthusiasm here. it feels like a party. and, you know, in tampa, there was a sense of boy, i hope we don't screw this up. there were a series of speakers people were nervous about. how will ann romney do and her big debut? you know, can mitt romney give the speech of his life? in -- charlotte, i almost get a sense democrats feel like there is that old -- carnival game where you try to ring the bell and hit the hammer and try to ring the bell. who can ring the bell hardest? michelle obama gave a terrific speech. everyone knows bill clinton is going to give a good speech

because he was president for eight years and done it all his life. barack obama gives great speeches. there is a sense of can you top that? already, even after the first night. who can ring the bell hardest? so i just think it -- the whole -- environment is complete live different here. we have gone from don't screw it up to how hard can you ring the bell? >> right. amazingly -- looks as though john boehner may have sense when he said it would be hard to fall in love with mitt romney. karen, you wanted to chime in. >> i was going say, look, here is the other difference i would say. democrats are very comfortable talking about who we are and what we stand for and we made no apologies for that. you saw every speaker very comfortable and not using euphemisms or coded language, speaking very directly about our values and michelle obama made a great case for the vision of america that we are trying to defend. i think we made the argument to women, we don't just love you, we actually trust you. and i think everybody was very clear what they were talking about rather than trying to not anger this group and not anger that group and keep this fragile

coalition together and see -- try on get people to go out and, you know, fall in love with a guy named mitt romney they really don't know if they even like. >> karen, will you slightly -- were you taken aback by the number of times the issue of abortion was mentioned yesterday? because that's traditionally something that republicans like to discuss in great detail. yet, there it was perhaps more times than in any time, any convention in the last 20 years where it was mentioned by democrats. >> you know what -- you know, martin, you heard me say this before. i think when republicans miss all the time is that for democrats, we understand that this issue, this is not an issue off to the side. we are talking about an issue that goes to the core of whether or not you trust that a woman can make a responsible decision about her health care, about medical procedure, and about the medicines she is going to be taking. she is going to consult with her doctor and make the best decision. for us abortion goes to the heart of, you know, women, rights and equality. it is not just some issue off to the side which is how the republicans are trying to treat

it as a way to get women to distract from the fact that if you think i don't know when i have been raped then how can you see me as a ceo of a company? >> indeed. karen finney, steve kornacki, michael crowley, thank you so much. keep it locked on msnbc. chris matthews is coming up live from charlotte as day two of the convention speeches begin. that's just ahead at 5:00. next, what paul ryan won't tell you about his huge role in america's rising debt. stay with us. [ thunder crashes ] [ male announcer ] if you think all batteries are the same... consider this: when the unexpected happens, there's one brand of battery more emergency workers trust in their maglites: duracell. one reason: duralock power preserve. it locks in power for up to 10 years in storage. guaranteed. so, whether it's 10 years' of life's sunny days... or... the occasional stormy one... trust goes a long way.

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we are not going to do that. we will lead. >> yet, when ryan had a chance to support the so-called grand bargain being negotiated by the president and house speaker john boehner to reduce the debt, he plat-out refused. "the new york times" reported it this way. quote, eric cantor, second most powerful house republican, told mr. obama during negotiations over an attempted bipartisan brand bargain that mr. ryan disliked its policy and was concerned that a deal would pave the way for mr. obama's easy re-election. congressman peter welsh is a democrat from vermont and the chief deputy and delighted to say he joins us live from charlotte. good afternoon, sir. do you believe that congressman ryan put party before country n and startling the grand bargain because he feared it would not only help reduce the deficit, it would also help the president. >> he did. that's exactly what happened. i mean, ryan is -- literally

becoming the fibber in chief in this election. you know, he was the decisive vote on whether or not that simpson/bowles proposal would go for an up or down vote. every member of the commission was in a tight spot but you had people like senator durbin of -- very respected liberal, and who voted for it. to have congress vote. and you had -- you had senator coburn, very conservative republican, voting for it. he didn't like a lot of things in it. but it was the one chance that con would have had to be put on the spot to vote yes or no on the debt. ryan's vote made the difference and he killed it. now he is running for vice president and in addition to running some three-hour marathons, he's also rewriting history about how the bowles/simpson plan was not brought before congress. >> also, sir, you mentioned his magical three-hour marathon, there's also his idea that without any new revenues on the table, you just cut spending and

everything but defense and then the debt disappears. even though he admits they haven't even run the numbers yet. i mean, is that a fair distillation of this man's approach? some people call that voodoo economics. >> it is a fair distillation. here is the thing that's inning about paul ryan with his earnestness. his stated purpose in political life is to get rid of our debt. he gets an "f." he voted for all of those bush policies that got us into this trouble, iraq war, credit card -- >> mr. walsh, why do you keep referring to pacts when you talk about paul ryan? why do you keep insisting that we reflect on historical legislative record? you know the man is not interested in those facts. >> well, that's right. but i think america is because, in fact, america is concerned about the debt. but they -- need to have a way to get out of it where we are growing jobs and reviving the middle class. so -- factual argument does have a place and, in fact, what we are bogey to see in this election is obama being charged

with reminding people of how he got here. also, setting the record straight when folks like paul ryan who voted for all the policies that -- caused this debt and then when he got into position of responsibility to right the budget, has a ryan budget, martin, as you know, that increase it is debt by $6 trillion in ten years. that's astonishing. he does that because he's unwilling to do anything with the -- anything on revenue. then, of course, he had the opportunity for paul ryan to make congress be on the spot where every one of us would have a vote yes or no on $3 trillion debt reduction deal. and he blinked. that's essentially what happened. >> there is another thing we discovered today view yeah the nation magazine. given mr. ryan's relentless attacks on the affordable care act, which he believes is -- i guess satanic and destroying the entire fabric of the nation, what do we learn? we learn that paul ryan quietly requested money from or as a result of the affordable care

act, in order to fund the community health center which was a grant application. again, i just don't understand this man. are we to believe that he wants to get rid of this act? or are we to believe he likes to exploit its benefits for his local community? which one is it? >> well, that's what he has done. i mean, this is a situation -- politically it is very good for him as -- leader in the republican party to be vilifying president obama in the health care plan. congressman who is trying to do what his constituents needs, we immediate health centers. those community health centers in vermont, we have them. they are really tremendous. folks on the basis of sliding scale income can show up and get health care that they need. so i actually -- am fine with paul ryan doing that. i'm not fine with the hypocrisy and double talk. >> peter welsh from vermont. thank you for joining us. it is a president touches down in charlotte, we will look ahead to his speech to the nation.

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democrats are about to gather in the second day of their convention in charlotte. the president has arrived and reportedly re eed rehearsing th he will deliver tomorrow. nbc's kristen welker joins us live from charlotte. kristin, most of us are aware that the president is one of the finest orators of the 21st century. frankly, he's got his work cut out to match the first lady's delivery last might, doesn't he? >> well good afternoon, martin. after the first lady wrapped up her remarks last night, people started tweeting michelle 2016. so i think that says it all.

she set the bar pretty high for president obama. i spoke with one of his aides last night that said his speech is in good shape. he has been practicing it. he has been working on this speech for several weeks now with his team of speech writers. so they are feeling really good going into tomorrow night. of course, there is a lot riding on this speech. if mitt romney's challenge was to really introduce himself to the american people, to make people like him, president obama's challenge is to make people fall in love with him once again to remember why they were so excited about him back in 2008. and also, convince them to stick with him, despite the fact that the economy still hasn't recovered to the extent that he and other americans would like to have seen at this point. so there is certainly a lot riding on this speech but right now, the president, according to his aides, is feeling good about this speech and they are, too. >> kristin, to your point just now, about the president needing to, i guess, get them to fall in love with him again, the first

lady made that point, didn't she, when he said last night that he's the same man that i fell in love with. he is committed to those issues and is seeking to improve thisnition. nothing changed in relation to this man. >> absolutely, martin. i think she -- was very effective about making that case. she's, of course, as we talk about, all of the time, really his most powerful political weapon. her approval ratings are far higher than his are. people really love her. they love listening to her and she had this entire crowd last night just with her when she was speaking. you are absolutely right. her point really was about the fact that the president hasn't changed, his values haven't changed. he's still the same person she fell in love with. you also heard her talk a lot about how he is as a father and that's something that resonates with this type of a crowd as well. >> very briefly, kristin, if you could. can you just talk us through the president's itinerary for the next 24 hours? >> well, not a whole lot on the public schedule.

he will watch president clinton tonight from a tv i am told. i am trying to find out if we are going to see president at all tonight. the campaign being very close-lipped about that. he will be watching president clinton on the tv this evening. and then he will, of course, be practicing his speech, getting ready for tomorrow night which will, of course, be his all-important moment in the spotlight here at the democratic national convention. >> you, kristen welker, will being there live. incomes's kristen welker. thank you so much. >> thanks, martin. we will be right back to clear the air. at purina one, we believe small things can make a big difference. like how a little oil from here can be such a big thing in an old friend's life. we discovered that by blending enhanced botanical oils into our food,

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stage last night from patrick to the first lady herself, the most obvious difference between last night and the republican convention was actually in the audience. interest didn't matcher way the cameras panned or tilted. this was a comprehensive crowd that represented modern america. black, white, young, old, sikh wearing his turban. compare that with the republicans in tampa. here was our own chuck todd's response as he walked the floor last week and reported back to my colleague rachel maddow. >> i'm at america samoa. in years past i would need bin octoberlers to see the podium. >> i would need binoculars. their party is too narrow and vision too restricted.

as senator lindsey graham said last week, we are not generating enough angry white guys to stay in business important the long term. when journalists asked romney rarm to disclose his tax returns he said we are being divisive. when people question paul ryan's voodoo economics, which miraculously raised revenues from tax cuts, he says we are dividing the nation between rich and poor. the reality is quite the opposite. and the evidence was there in the crowds. if mr. romney and mr. ryan can't bring themselves to listen to any of the speeches of the democrats convention, then they could still learn something from just looking at the audience. because they will soon discover that it wasn't manufactured or manipulated for the cameras. it was simply made here in america. thanks so much for watching. chris matthews, the maestro, picks things up for now.