doesn't look that way last night. and he made clear that being president is not only a big deal but a much bigger deal than being a challenger who would like to be a president. i am the president. i consider it the best line of the night. third he asked president obama to vote for him. this is something you need to hear directly. a person wants your vote, he should ask for it. it's something i learned for working for tip o'neil all those many years. that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "politicsnation" with al sharpton starts right now. thanks, chris. and thanks to you for tuning in. tonight's lead, you have the power to move us forward. we are 60 days from election day and the power of the people was central to president obama's speech at last night's democratic convention. the president is making an argument that's bigger than a political campaign. he's staking his election hopes on an argument about america

itself. individual success, yes, but also a spirit of what we can do together. >> we also believe in something called citizenship. citizenship. a word at the very heart of our founding. a word at the very essence of our democracy. the idea that this country only works when we accept certain obligations to one another and to future generations. >> citizenship. a commitment to one another. and to future generations. these are the values that should unite us as americans. and while politicians love to throw around words like freedom, patriotism, and duty, the president redefined what it truly means to be a citizen in a country of self-government.

>> we, the people, recognize that we have responsibilities as well as rights. that our destinys are bound together, that a freedom that asks only which what's in it for me, a freedom without love or charity or duty or patriotism is unworthy of our founding ideals and those who died in their defense. as citizens, we understand that america is not about what can be done for us. it's about what can be done by us. together. through the hard and frustrating but necessary work of self-government. >> self-government. freedom. a shared commitment to our fellow citizens. our destinys are bound together. we are all in this together. the president made it clear

moving forward is not going to be easy, but we can get to a better place if we make it happen. >> so you see, the election four years ago wasn't about me. it was about you. my fellow citizens, you were the change. . >> as i sat in charlotte and listened to the president's words, i went back to when i was six or seven years old when another president, a young man stood up in 1961 and said ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. from kennedy's challenge to obama's interpretation last night, that's what makes this country work. we all must put in what we can do. we all have a stake in making the country work and awaken together. joining me now is crystal ball,

cohost of "the cycle" here on msnbc and david corn bureau chief for "mother jones." he's writing about the speech today and we're glad to have both of them here tonight. >> good to be here. >> thanks. >> the president talked in a new way about citizenship and freedom last night. how does it relate to values in this election? >> well, you know, from the book i wrote a couple months ago "showdown" that we talked about, the president since the 2010 elections has been thinking about how to respond to the rise of the tea party and how to take those republicans on in a political context. and he decided that really talking about the difference in values and vision which is what he has from a progressive perspective and what they have from a very, very conservative perspective was the best thing for him in terms of sitting up

an electoral context. he didn't talk that much about the accomplishments the last four years. he talked about the value and vision between him and the other side, the republicans. and told the voters out there you have to decide. there are two different paths here. i believe in progressivism through which we use government to advance economic interest in this nation. and they believe more freedom from government, the government is the enemy. >> but is this battle between how they see government. clearly there's a huge difference in how romney and ryan see government. and how the president laid it out last night. what does that mean in the next 60 days going into this election? is this going to be about how we define who and what makes this country work? >> well, i think as the president said, he laid out that this is the choice between two

very different directions. and to me over the course of the three days of the dnc, we got to this really tight crystallization of the difference between the visions. it's you're on your own versus we're in it together. i think what the president did last night is laid out the idea that this is who we are. and this is who we've always been. we've always been in it together. and the way that he talked about citizenship, i mean, i have to say you're opening actually really moved me. those lines he spoke about citizenship and the fact that these battles we've fought and won together, we've done together as citizens that again we're all in this together. to me that is the essence of this country. and that is the essence of the battle that we're fighting. and if god willing the president wins another term, we have to be there past election day. we have to be there past the inauguration. we have to be there to fight for the change that we want and to back him up. >> now, isn't that really the

point, david, that we have to be there? that's what the president was saying. ghandi said we are the change we seek. isn't that a real point that's going to drive this election? those that feel we must be part of the change as opposed to those that are saying we'll let it be a survival of the fittest in many ways. isn't this a real change in how we look at this election and we frame going into the debates what we're really talking about as a country? >> i think the president was talking to different audiences last night. of course at the same time. to those few undecided voters out there or independents who might be leading towards romney but can still win back. he's talking about look at the type of country we want to have. let's think really hard and fast about my approach versus their approach and where do you want to be on that? to the people in the room who voted for him, i think he was good saying listen, you made

this change happen. the things we accomplished came about because you supported me and you worked hard in 2008. if you want us to continue down that path, you have to stay engaged. as difficult as things get, governing is harder than campaigning. the obvious line last night, i am the president, i thought in some ways he was saying things are harder now than when i said i was just a candidate. you have to work harder within the system to get these accomplishments. so i think he's trying to rev up the base, rev up those people but also speak to those who are not as engaged and get them to give him another chance. >> crystal, as we deal with how you look at government different, from your vision, from how you approach things comes your policy. president's message is fairness. >> right. >> but the republicans aren't concerned with being fair. look at paul ryan's budget. cut medicaid by $1.4 trillion.

give millionaires $265,000 tax cut. one is talking fairness, collecting work. the other's talking about you get what you deserve, or your get what merit brings you. and those that do the best should get the most. >> right. and it's also an i've got mine kind of an attitude. i think at its core, this message is about the american dream. you know, are we going to continue to be a country where we can have a barack obama or a michelle obama where someone who comes from modest means who has difficult situations growing up can aspire to be president. are we going to continue to be that country or be a country where the rich get richer and the poor stay poor? to me that is the essence of this campaign. and i think the president connected with the core of american values in that speech last night. >> david, we also saw he did not surrender the theme of hope and

change. he kind of interpreted how it is the more mature concept and is something hope and change does not mean something dashing and immediate. let me show you where he talked about his hopefulness for america last night. >> i'm no longer just candidate. i'm the president. while i'm very proud of what we've achieved together, i'm far more mindful of my own failings. knowing exactly what lincoln meant when he said i've been driven to my knees many times by the overwhelming conviction that i had no place else to go. but as i stand here tonight, i have never been more hopeful about america. not because i think i have all the answers, not because i'm naive about the magnitude of our challenges. i'm hopeful because of you.

>> david, i think that's a real elevation of bringing hope and change to another level of interpretation. >> i think you're right. this is all about the -- we're in this together message that he's trying to get at. i think he's basically telling voters you get to decide if that's an american reality or just a hope. >> david corn and crystal ball, thanks for your time tonight. and don't forget to catch crystal on "the cycle" week days at 3:00 p.m. eastern here on msnbc. coming up, president obama is fired up and ready to go with a new poll showing a big bounce out of the convention. his highest approval rating since the death of osama bin lad laden. also mitt romney's probably still soft from the pounding he took in charlotte. >> ask osama bin laden if he is

better off now than he was four years ago. >> in romney's world the cars get the elevator and the workers get the shaft. >> we'll see how romney's battered image may effect his strategy in some key battle ground states. plus a top republican official blinks in a standoff on voters rights. we must keep the pressure on. you're watching "politicsnation" on msnbc. welcome aboard! [ chuckles ] ♪ [ honk! ] ♪ [ honk! ] ♪ [ honk! ] ♪

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long. today our facebook family couldn't stop talking about president obama's big speech. stanley says he hit on all the right points and reminded everyone who he is. joe says he knocked it out of the park. verna says after that speech, her heart is full of hope, pride, and determination. we'll have more on the president's speech coming up. but what did you think of the speech? we want to know. head over to facebook and search "politicsnation" and like us to join the conversation that keeps going long after the show ends. hungry for the best? it's eb. want to give your family the very best in taste, freshness, and nutrition? it's eb. eggland's best. better taste. better nutrition. better eggs. 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.

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"politicsnation." the conventions have been a time for both parties to lay out a path forward for america. president obama made a clear case last night. but we're still waiting on governor romney. he forgot to address a jobs plan in tampa. that is, unless you think gutting regulation or offering $5 trillion in unpaid tax cuts is a job plan. i certainly don't. but our president does have a proposal. it's called the american jobs act. and one year ago tomorrow, he presented that plan. economists say it would have added 2 million jobs. but it failed because every single republican in the senate voted against it. and the house gop didn't even bother to take it up. but don't worry. shot at it when they return to washington next monday. >> if the republicans are serious about being concerned about joblessness, we could

create a million new jobs right now. if congress would pass the jobs plan that i sent to them a year ago. >> so how about it, republicans? joining me now is hilda solis, secretary of labor. thank you for coming on the show tonight. >> how are you? and happy former labor day. and it's great to come off the convention. wasn't it great, reverend? >> i thought it was a great convention. let me get to this point about jobs. it's been one year since the president presented the american jobs act. the unemployment report today proved that we still are in a tough climate. but where would we have been had the gop passed that bill? >> it would have been a million jobs added. obviously right now with the rate of unemployment ticked down, we could have had it lower if we could put a million people back to work in infrastructure jobs, construction, but also putting teachers back to work, firefighters, and also modernize

our schools and highways in our infrastructure. it's a proposal that republicans have previously supported. so what we would like to say is we want the public to notify members of congress. the gridlocking has been the members of congress. we need to say, look, it's not about what party you're a part of. it's about helping our constituents, our grassroots people. people who live in our communities. and i know the president is so, so focused on what we need to do to make sure that we create opportunity for people that are underemployed that need the skill levels that we are investing right now in education credentials. everything we can do. and need to make sure it continues. >> so you're saying the public ought to be pushing members of congress. where is the outrage? you said a million jobs. when i look at the fact republicans have refused to push a jobs bill that they supported

in the past like the infrastructure bill. this year zero senate republicans voted for it. house republicans refused to even hold a vote on it. and these are things they've supported in the past. whe where's the outrage? >> all i can say is previously these proposals as a former member of congress i can tell you they were supported by republicans and democrats. and we know these things will put people back to work immediately. then we can get on with our discussion of where we go in the years after. right now the immediate concern is we have people out of work. we also have to avoid the deficit reductions that don't harm people that are still vulnerable and make sure we get people together. the best thing i can say to you is the president says for us to give the word out that people need to contact their members of congress in the senate. because that's the best persuasive evidence that we have. contact your member. these proposals are not just from obama. they're also from republicans. so they make sense.

let's put these people back to work. let's decrease the unemployment rate from 8% down to 7%. we could put a million people back to work, construction workers, teachers, firefighters, everyone. >> now, the vice presidential nominee for the republicans, paul ryan, slammed the white house for the jobs report today. take a listen. >> this is not even close to what a recovery looks like. this is not what president obama promised. i would argue this is the result of failed leadership in washington, bad fiscal policy coming from the administration. that is why we have this very tepid report. >> failed leadership in washington? but that would make him part of it. he's part of the leadership in the house. secretary? >> you know what? i would tell you, look. the president came in knowing very well that the first thing that we had to do was work with people across the aisle. and he did everything he could, but there's so many times and

instances where you have to say wait a minute. we're not going to wait any longer, and we have to go to the public. that's what the president has done. and everything we've done has helped to create 4.6 million private sector jobs. to help provide support. we lost 8 million before i was even fully in my job. so hello? we have to keep working on this. and we know who's with us and who isn't. you saw it at the convention. you saw who was with us in terms of helping the military, helping working families, helping women, helping children, helping our seniors. we cannot avoid the concept that, look. if the romney plan and ryan plan come into play, they're going to get rid of a lot of the support systems currently helping our fragile economy. and we have to stick with those individuals. so the -- so i can just -- all i can say to you, reverend is, look. we had a wonderful convention. you saw the representation.

it represented everyone across the board. >> i saw that, secretary, and tomorrow is a year anniversary. and i've seen they have not voted for a jobs bill. they've done nothing but block. and i think it's time for them to move it forward. secretary solis, i'm going to have to leave it there. have a great weekend. >> thank you so much, reverend. still ahead, president obama is fired up after the convention pounding his message and giving a big shoutout to former president clinton. >> somebody e-mailed me after his speech and said you need to appoint him secretary of explaining stuff. that was pretty good. >> a new poll today shows the president got a big bounce out of the convention. but first, bill o'reilly really steps in it with some talk about women's rights. stay with us. [ female announcer ] you can learn a lot about a minivan

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there was a theme through the democratic convention. women senators took the stage showing solidarity in the fight for reproductive rights. we heard from caroline kennedy who said to vote for president obama because women's reproductive health is under attack. and activist sandra fluke warned

about the policies if romney led america. it's been two years of attacks on women's health. but in the gop universe, none of it exists. rnc chair reince priebus compared the war on women to a war on caterpillars. speaker boehner said the war on women was manufactured and fabricated. and now fox host bill o'reilly is on the bandwagon. >> all i'm hearing this week everywhere i go is that the women -- american women, their right to choose is being threatened. don't know what that means. to choose what? i don't see any women's rights under assault at all. i don't see it. nobody's denying anybody's rights to anything. >> you don't see it? are you watching the same republicans we are? the gop platform bans abortion

with no mention of exceptions in the case of rape or incest. paul ryan co-sponsored a forcible rape bill that said public funding could only be used for abortion in cases of quote, forcible rape. all told, democrats say the house gop has backed 55 votes on anti-women policies. did bill o'reilly think we wouldn't notice his efforts to ignore the record? nice try, but we got you. mid grade dark roast

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introducing at&t mobile share. one plan lets you share data on up to 10 devices with unlimited talk and text. add a tablet for only $10 per month. the more data you share, the more you save. at&t. welcome back. there's good news for president obama in a new gallup poll. after three days of rnc attacks, the president's approval rating stood at 43%. but during the dnc, it spiked to 52%. that's a nine-point jump in just a week. the president is now at his

highest approval since may of 2011. the death of osama bin laden. with exactly 60 days until the election, the president is more popular than he's been in 16 months. today he was looking to build this momentum with -- on the road with vice president biden. delivering his message to voters. >> i refuse to ask middle class families to give up their deductions for owning a home or raising kids just to pay for another millionaire's tax cut. i refuse to ask students to pay more for college or kick children out of head start programs or eliminate health insurance for millions of americans who are poor or elderly or disabled. all so folks like me and mr. romney can pay less. >> the president also says his opponents have just one idea and they think it works for everything. >> tax cuts when times are good,

tax cuts when times are bad. tax cuts to help you lose a few extra pounds. tax cuts to improve your love life. it'll cure anything according to them. >> he also gave a shoutout to some of his biggest supporters at the dnc this week. >> michelle was amazing. president clinton made the case in the way only he can. somebody e-mailed me after his speech and said, you need to appoint him secretary of explaining stuff. >> 60 days to the election, 26 days to the first debate. president obama is emerging from his convention with a spring in his step and a bounce in the polls. joining me now is patricia murphy, editor of citizen jane

politics and dana milbank, columnist for "the washington post." thank you both for joining me. >> hi, reverend. >> thank you. >> the president has sharpened his image to take all the way to election day. what do you think? >> well, look. this is exactly the sort of position he wants to be in after labor day. we want to be careful with any one poll, because these polls can bounce around a lot. but if this gallup result is confirmed in other polls next week, he's going to be in quite a formidable position going into the election which is a huge surprise given where the economy is and given the ae tacks he's sustained. had not a terrific unemployment report today. but if he's getting the bounce it appears he's initially getting after romney had no bounce at his convention and he's got what seems to be a message that's resonating, he's going to be in a very good position. >> patricia, if the bounce is

reflected in other polls and you look at the fact that nearly 50,000 tweets in a minute after his speech which set a record many people were watching and responding. if all of this proves to be so, he's in a formidable position, dana milbank says. >> well, i obviously totally agree with that. and you have to really give the democrats credit for using every speech of their convention on every night of their convention was focused on selling barack obama. and there has been a lot of dissent within democratic ranks. many grumbling about what he did or didn't do. others in the past saying what he didn't live up to. but with this convention, there was none of that. every democrat was on the same page. we're proud of his record. we're here to tell you to vote for him because we're going to vote for him again and support him every step of the way. the republicans had no such thing. the keynote address by chris

christie barely mentioned mitt romney. very few people talked about mitt romney. so i think the democrats if this bounce is real, the democrats really get a lot of credit for staging it and directing it completely toward their nominee and getting him re-elected. >> just to substantiate patricia's point in the republican convention, there was 213 mentions of romney during the whole rnc convention. in the democratic convention, there were 686 mentions of president obama. but let's get down to the lec r lector -- electoral map. florida, iowa, nevada, new hampshire, north carolina, ohio, and virginia. but he's not advertising in michigan, pennsylvania, and wisconsin. coming out of the convention, is romney's path to victory more

narrow than before? and must he win ohio to win this, dana? >> reverend, it was always fairly narrow. we tend to look at this in national polls. when you look at the battle ground polls, it was already going to be a difficult path for romney. and it appears the last couple of weeks have made that more difficult still. now, you may see a state that he appears to be pulling out of pushes into somewhere else. you see obama going into a place like georgia where you wouldn't expect democrats to be spending any money. there are any number of things that can pivot between now and election day. i don't think you want to say it's all about ohio. but clearly the way you arrange these building blocks for romney, he has fewer possibilities right now than he did a couple weeks ago. >> now, patricia, one of the things we saw strong in the president's speech last night was foreign policy. and there were a lot of people

critical including myself of mr. romney who didn't even mention afghanistan in his speech. and he was on fox today explaining why he didn't mention the war in afghanistan in his acceptance speech. watch this. >> they were essentially saying you don't care about the u.s. military because you would have mentioned the war and troops in your acceptance speech. do you regret opening up this line of attack? now a recuring attack by leaving out that issue in the speech. >> i'm going to regret you repeating it day in and day out. you talk about the things you think are important. >> things that you think are important. is he saying that afghanistan and the troops being there is not important? >> well, if you listen to the answer, that is really exactly what he said. i think it's not important to him electorally. i think he's got a lot of data

coming in from polls this is not going to be an election that pivots on afghanistan. the problem, though, is he left that field totally to barack obama and the democrats. and the democrats took all the credit that they wanted to and have basically taken that issue off the table for republicans for the first time in decades. so again, that i think was a big error on romney's part. and the democrats took full advantage of it. one note of caution here. we remember to 2008, john mccain came blazing out of his convention with a big bounce, was actually winning in september. so a lot of things can change. but in you are coming out of this convention and you're barack obama, you definitely feel happy with the job the demes did for him. >> dana, let me go back to the foreign policy with you. was it a big mistake and was romney's explanation today less than effective in explaining it? >> worse than that, i think he made his problem a whole lot worse because he could have said well, you know, i had a lot of other issues to talk about. now saying it's not important.

of course we all understand what he means in a political sense. this isn't a foreign policy election, but i imagine for the thousands of americans over there in harm's way in afghanistan, they don't want to hear what they're doing is not important. both sides have been neglecting a lot of the foreign policy. but i think that was a very legitimate line of attack that the president was able to deliver. because of the absence of mentioning. >> patricia murphy, dana milbank, thank you both for your time tonight. >> thanks. coming up, president obama lays into romney's record. but he wasn't the only one tossing a few zingers the governor's way. and your voting rights took a big turn today. we'll tell you why ohio secretary of state is folding. here's what happened...

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karate dojo, but did you know he does this? he hang glides from cranes. that's putin in the white suit trying to look like one of the long neck birds. biologists say it teaches the birds how to fly. and putin soars high. check him out. very graceful gliding through the air. he even has some birds following him. amazing. somebody call sarah palin. she could get up there and really see russia from there. from hang gliding to robot cheetah. well, looks like a rabbit to me. whatever it is, it was pounding that treadmill. its best speed is 28 miles per hour. i think i just heard paul ryan say he could race quicker. and we close tonight with the breakout star of the week, san antonio mayor julian castro.

he went on charlotte's podium -- he went from charlotte's podium to late night tv. well, sort of. >> it's true. i have a twin brother. and in case you're wondering, yes sometimes we totally switch lives for a day just to screw with people. in fact, i may not even be the real julian right now. i'm just kidding. or am i? >> could the mayor and jimmy fallon also be related? you be the judge. and that's today's summer break. hmm, it says here that cheerios helps lower cholesterol

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mostly on the future. but he couldn't help getting in a few zingers. >> if you can't afford to start a business or go to college, take my opponent's advice and go ask your parents for money. feel a cold coming on? take two tax cuts, roll back some regulations, and call us in the morning. >> oh, that had the crowd rolling. but all week democrats exposed governor romney's record and resume. let's start with foreign policy. >> my opponent and his running mate are new to foreign policy. >> the most inexperienced foreign policy twosome to run for president and vice president in decades. for mitt romney, an overseas trip is what you call it when you trip all over yourself

overseas. >> he chose to criticize president obama instead of even uttering the word afghanistan. >> it isn't fair to say that mitt romney doesn't have a position on afghanistan. he has every position. >> and of course, he was hammered on the issue of fairness. >> no, governor romney, corporations are not people. people have hearts. >> it's never been a good bet to bet against the american people. never. >> today's republican party believes in two sets of rules. one for millionaires and billionaires and another for the middle class. >> we believe that we're all in this together is a far better philosophy than you're on your own. >> after a week like this, mitt might want to get back into his

quiet room. joining me now is karen finney msnbc political analyst and former communications director for the national -- for the democratic national committee. thank you for being here. >> hey, reverend. >> we talked about a nine-point bounce for the president from just one week ago. how much of that is due to the democrats pounding governor romney for his record? >> you know, i think the republicans and governor romney kind of did their own damage. i mean, you know, i look at that poll and i say okay. the american people had a week -- three days to take a look at the republican party and what they were offering in their own way. right? paul ryan got to go out there and represent himself in the way that he wanted to represent himself without a filter. and it seems to me that what people are saying you know what? we don't want that. we don't buy that. and i will be very interested to see the bounce we get coming out of this election. but more -- ipgs, this convention. but more importantly i think what you'll see in those battle

ground state numbers are continued progress for president obama. >> well, you've got to admit there were some real zingers that democrats gave romney. watch a few with me, karen. >> in romney's world the cars get the elevator and the workers get the shaft. >> if mitt was santa claus, he would fire the reindeer and outsource the elves. >> mitt, you can't just etch-a-sketch away your record. >> osama bin laden is dead and general motors is alive. >> i mean, karen, you're in communication. not only are they zingers but

they're memorable lines that will be remembered. >> absolutely. there were a lot of memorable lines. the way i also look at it, reverend al. if you look at the story that unfolded over the course of three nights, there were some great memorable lines, but even the zingers on mitt romney and his record, all of that was woven into a very clear narrative and clear message about who we are as americans. our values as a party. i was so proud that people talk very forcefully about our values in terms of we the people in terms of rights for gay and lesbian americans. in terms of women's rights. in terms of our soldiers and our veterans. i mean, it was a really clear narrative that said this is the vision of america that we are talking about. and that we are fighting for. >> now, you know, one that i will not forget anytime soon was former michigan governor jennifer granholm. let's just say she had a very

energetic speech last night about governor romney. >> in pennsylvania 34,000 jobs. in florida 35,000 jobs. in ohio 150,000 jobs. and in the great state of michigan 211,000 good paying american jobs. all across america autos are back, manufacturing is rebounding. why? you know what i'm saying! >> and they call me dramatic, karen? i think she kind of threw herself into that one. >> well, that's true. but you know, you were there. the energy of the crowd. i talked to a number of the speakers who said they have

never felt so much energy kind of coming back at them from the audience. what you saw there was she got into it. the chemistry, she was feeling it and the audience was feeling it. there were a lot of great moments like that. >> karen finney thanks so much for your time and thank you for joining us. >> thanks, reverend. we'll be right back. bob... oh, hey alex. just picking up some, brochures, posters copies of my acceptance speech. great! it's always good to have a backup plan, in case i get hit by a meteor. wow, your hair looks great. didn't realize they did photoshop here. hey, good call on those mugs.

can't let 'em see what you're drinking. you know, i'm glad we're both running a nice, clean race. no need to get nasty. here's your "honk if you had an affair with taylor" yard sign. looks good. [ male announcer ] fedex office. now save 50% on banners. [ chuckles ] ♪ [ honk! ] ♪ [ honk! ] ♪ [ honk! ] ♪ [ male announcer ] now you'll know when to stop. [ honk! ] the all-new nissan altima with easy fill tire alert. [ honk! ] it's our most innovative altima ever. nissan. innovation that excites. ♪

we have big news tonight out of ohio. the state's top election official has backed down from his ruling that restored early voting hours in his state. republican secretary of state john husted initially blocked local officials from complying with the court order. now he's reversed course and even issued an apology. he still plans to appeal. but this is a big victory for ohio voters. but it makes you wonder.

what happened to the republican party? the party of abraham lincoln? the party of frederick douglas? today i was struck by a powerful column about doug lasts in the new york times. written by david blight. blight described how douglass fled back in the 1830s. his name then was frederick bailey. he says quote, this fugitive slave was effectively an illegal immigrant in massachusetts. susceptible under federal fugitive slave law. to capture and return to slavery at any time. despite this, frederick bailey was determined to vote as a free man. he knew he couldn't use his own name. so instead he took a big risk. changing his last name in douglass so he could exercise his right to vote. frederick douglass could have

stayed in the shadows. he could have kept a low profile. but instead douglass risked his own freedom and went to the polls. he would eventually become the greatest abolitionist in america, a leading figure in the new republican party. 160 years later officials in that party are trying to suppress the vote which douglass risked his freedom to get. 16 states have passed restrictive voter i.d. laws in the last two years. their count for nearly 79% of the electoral votes needed to win the presidency. this problem of the campaign to suppress the vote is a portrayal of the legacy of frederick douglass. but some of us will use the same resolve that douglass did. that no matter what we have to do, we must stand up and protect our right to vote. it defines what america's about. ef