>> i'm with romney and romney east plan 's plan. >> we can play stop the run t mate later, guys. >> take a question! >> ryan's plan puts you in charge of your medicare. and ultimately your social security. although i don't want to muddy the waters with that. forget -- >> this dude wants to cut government entizlements. >> funniest person in america. you know, this might sound funny coming from me, but i'd say jon stewart. >> those eyes. >> i don't want to muddy the waters, forget i meant that. >> not familiar precisely with what i said, but i stand by whatever i said, whatever it was. >> and we begin with paul ryan's red carpet rollout. barely underway, but already fraying at the edges. bl blue eyes is headed to las vegas

for a victory rally. any way, ryan's hope is that it goes better than the heckle fest yesterday at the iowa state fair. the same afternoon that mitt's body guy tweeted out a picture of the candidate at a miami juice shop owned by a convicted cocaine trafficker. now, if that wasn't enough to make you think romney east team is withering in the dull drums of august, just listen to mitt romney struggle to say how his budget is different from paul ryan's. >> can you give us an idea of any principles in the ryan budget or significant provisions with which you disagree? >> well, i can tell you what's radical and extreme is to spend a trillion dollars more every year than you take in. well, the items we agree on outweigh differences. we haven't gone through piece by piece and said here's a place where there's a difference. >> yeah,s he's going to have to get back to you on that, right after he finishes courting coal

miners in eastern ohio. but why the awkward attempt to distance himself from his running mate? is it because democrats are painting ryan as an entitlement slashing extremist? even as ryan railed against the stimulus, he was writing to the energy secretary to request millions of dollars or is it because ryan cast controversial votes supporting the t.a.r.p. bank bailout, the auto bailout, even penalty taxes on ceos? that's a no-no. or is it because ryan's family built its fortune on government funded public works projects or as politico reports today, is it that quote there is an unmistakable con sense ses romney has taken a risk with ryan that has a huge chance of going horribly wrong. ouch. let's get right to our panel. with us from washington, msnbc contributor, former bush cheney

adviser, robert traynham. republican strategist, terry holt and brendan daley. thanks so much for being with me. so, robert, i want to start with you. i thought it pretty astounding that mitt romney did not seem ready to answer what is probably the the most obvious follow-up question, which is how is your budget different than ryan's? why did that take him by surprise? >> i'm not sure it took him by surprise, but there was an answer. he intimated look, i'm the guy running for president. i'm at the top of the ticket. of course we're going to have differences because in a legislature, i was an executive and you know what? that's okay because we're two different people and have two different offices. if you look four years ago when barack obama chose vice president or then senator biden, there were differences between those two. there's nothing wrong with differences and when you take a listen to what mitt romney has said, consistently, it says this

is my number two, these are my issues and these are my policies. >> i have no problem with disagreeing. i swrus would have been prepared and expected that question to come and had a better answer. intimated? you don't intimate when you're the bold guy with the bold choice. again, i just think he should have had an answer there. >> well, i respectfully disagree. i think he did have an answer. i think you just don't like the answer. >> didn't say much. >> well, okay. disrespectfully disagree. what he said was look i'm not going to pick through everything in the ryan plan, but philosophically, i agree with the majority of it. >> all right. now, brendan, i have a question for you. you worked with congressman ryan during your time on the hill working for pelosi. the latest spin coming out of the romney campaign is that he is some kind of guy who can work in a bipartisan manner. some of the democrats we named pushing back on that. is he a true bipartisan? >> well, he's a very nice guy

and people like him, but no. look at the budget he proposed. the last budget the house voted on in march, guess how many democrats voted for that? they knew this slashing of medicare was a real problem and their bonus would hit them during the campaign. and to your earlier point about governor romney, of course he doesn't want to embrace the ryan budget because he knows it scares seniors and independents. this pick was to help the base, but it doesn't help independents or seniors. puts those people in play for president obama. >> terry. the romney camp is as brendan was mentioning, they are working overtime to try to talk about the obama cuts to medicare. that's their talking point. let's take a look at the new ad they just put out today. >> mitt romney on how to pay for college and start a business. >> take a risk. get the education. borrow money if you have to for

your parents. >> hope they can afford it. romney's plans could cut college aid for ten million students and eliminate the tax deduction for college 2006. >> that's a new o bama ad. now, a new romney ad. >> you paid into medicare for years. every paycheck. now, when you need it, obama has cut $716 billion from medicare. why? to pay for obama care. so now the money you paid for your guaranteed health care is going to a massive new government program that's not for you. >> we're trying to keep it fair here, two on two, equal time for the ads. so, terry, here's my question. isn't that a pure lie? >> which one? >> the romney ad. it's just -- it's a lie. it doesn't tell you the the next part of the story that is that the cuts that president obama took out go right back into the program. >> well, listen.

ordinarily, the entitlement issue would be a thorn in the side for republicans. it's hardly an election year if the democrats aren't demonizing republican plans. what's different about the this election season, i would submit a huge difference is that this is a first season that we can really say in a presidential campaign that the president himself, the democratic president himself, cut these entitlement programs to pay for his bloated health care budget. >> both the ryan budget, even your side has agreed to this. both the ryan plan and president obama look at that same $760 billion in potential savings of money that was going to insurance companies. >> right, but what's different is -- >> let's just start there. >> what's different about that is that republicans have been honest with the public about the ballooning entitlement deficit we have. it's the demagoguery on the left that is new here and that

presents a special challenge to senior, so democrats among senior voters. president obama -- >> hold on. >> a measure of this -- but in 2010, the democrats lost the senior vote by -- >> wait a second. >> fact of the matter is is, that's going to be a very significant margin of victory for whoever wins this election is who wins this battle over defining the issue of entitlement. >> the memo the committee put out said you're not supposed to say entitlement. >> i get to say whatever i want. >> if we agree it's the 760 billion comes both plans have it, then what is ryan do with that plan? he puts that money towards off setting the costs for what? tax cuts for big oil. president obama put that is money back into the program to actually increase the solvency of the plan.

brendan, you know the details better than i do, but also to lower costs for the program and if i'm not mistaken, the cbo said the ryan plan will increase costs. >> that's exactly right and also that the obama plan in the affordable care act will extend the life of medicare for another eight years. i just said it puts money back into the program. >> lies are you calling out here? come on. >> the program that -- president obama stole money from older americans. >> terry, we're not going to sit here and have a flat out lie. take the $760 billion cuts. >> hey, karen. >> let's let robert talk. >> can i raise my hand? >> yes, you can. >> i think two things. just to be fair about this argument, we need to say both republicans and democrats need to hold hands here and say that people that are at or near retirement are fine. folks near 55 years or older, you are fine. i think that's a bit of a

disengeneralous statement to say we're trying to scare seniors. number two, i want to go back to something that was mentioned a few minutes ago about congressman ryan not being bipartson. one name we have hard is congressman widen. when you take a look at the bipartisan legislation that did not pass, and brendan, back me up on this, the president did work with democrats to move the ball forward. >> you know i love you, but even senator widen has put on a statement. it was in the hill today. it was very aggressively pushing back on the assertion that they really worked quote unquote together. they had some ideas they were in agreement on, but he pushes back on the notion that was such of a bipartisan deal. from the guy himself. >> no, i'm with you, karen.

>> with the simpson bowles commission, he led the house republicans to vote against the simpson bowles recommendation. >> what i love about this is we got three more months to talk about it. thanks so much. >> thank you. >> stay with us. we've got much more ahead including a congressman who unlike paul ryan, is willing to talk about the nation's drought. >> ryan's budget replaces medicare with a voucher program and i believe social security becomes a lottery, which will save the government tons of money because if your monthly check has a black dot, we stone you to death. [ kate ] many women may not be properly absorbing the calcium they take because they don't take it with food. switch to citracal maximum plus d. it's the only calcium supplement that can be taken with or without food. that's why my doctor recommends citracal maximum. it's all about absorption.

a massive drought, a bill stalling congress and questions about the farm bill and drought relief efforts that are blocked in congress by republicans. as you can see by this map, it's a question most farmers across the u.s. and certainly at the iowa state fair, would like an answer to if they could talk to a senior house republican like say, paul ryan. but here's how ryan chose to respond. >> what do you think should be down about the drought problems here? >> we'll get into all these problems later. right now, i just want to enjoy the the fair. >> in other words, b according to paul ryan, at the iowa state fair, the iowa state fair, where you can get pork on a stick, butter on a stick, pretty much anything on a stick, where people with our competing to see who grows the tallest stocks of corn and there is a cow made of butter, that's not the time or the place to talk about the farm bill? congressman, it's the iowa state fair. that's like going to the super bowl and not talking about football.

joining us now, democratic congressman joe donnelly of indiana, who's running for the state's open senate seat. welcome, congressman. >> thank you very much for having me. >> so, let's talk a little bit about the farm bill and what's happening. past their versions of a farm bill with bipartisan support, but it's sitting there. what's happening? >> it couldn't get through because they couldn't get a vote past. i should be in washington right now along the every other member of congress voting on this farm bill. at the farm of mr. newsom in columbus, indiana a few weeks ago, it was 106 degrees. you could see the tcorn wilting before your eyes. and this is one of the most painful disasters they have ever dealt with. and here we are in congress, we can't even get a vote on this.

all we ask is for a vote. an up or down vote. >> you served on the agriculture committee the last time the farm bill was passed before there was a tea party, which we'll talk about them in a second. so, how different was that political climate? compare to me back then what you are experiencing this time when you were trying to get it done pretty much in a crisis mode. >> sure. in 2007, when i served on the ag committee, we pass ed the bill, got it to the floor. overwhelming votes in committee and on the floor. this year, there was another overwhelming vote in the committee itself to bring the farm bill to the floor and then it got held up there and we couldn't even get a vote. the tea party members have held this up and the fellow i'm running against for u.s. senate, richard murdoch, he has been against the ethanol standard for our farmers. he has refused to come out and speak for crop insurance programs and he has refused to say he's for our farm bill. it is an extraordinary effort to

turn your back on the very people who are the heart and soul of a state like my state of indiana. >> richard murdoch, like paul ryan, is a tea party-fueled candidate. murdoch i believe is also a friend of governor romney's. they campaigned together recently, and you mentioned it was the tea party that was really blocking these efforts to get this legislation passed and try to bring some relief to the farm es. so, do you think voters really understand? do they understand that candidates like your opponent, what they're proposal on farm policy? ethanol? social security and what the ryan budget would do to medicare? >> here's what we understand. we are basic meat and potatoes, hard working people here in indiana. when we go to work, we expect to work with the other folks there. my opponent said his view of bipartisanship is for democrats

and independents to do what republicans want them to do. he said medicare is unconstitutional. here in indiana, all we want to do is go to work, get things done, pay down the debt and move our country forward. >> looking at the polls, you're in a dead heat with your opponent. then again, mitt romney has a double digit lead there. but richard murdoch is not as popular as mitt romney, but he's very different from dick lugar. so, what's going on in your state? >> the people of indiana have said you know what? we're not interested in more partisan division. we're not interested in more screaming than yelling. we want to get things done. i've served in a republican leaning district for three terms now and the reason why is i'm not worried about democrat or republican. i'm just worried about what's right for america. that's what we want in the u.s. senate as well. >> so, you know, congressman, let me ask you a final question here.

you know, do you believe that here you've got a tea partier now at the top of the ticket in paul ryan for the vp nominee. l you've now got, you've got murdoch, who's also a tea party-fueled candidate for senate. is that going to hurt governor romney in the campaign? i mean, last time, although it was unexpected, president obama actually won indiana. do you think democrats are going to be able to pull it out in the fall? >> well, i think it will be a case where they'll probably be more people looking at the president now. but what my focus has been is on the senate race. and what i know from everyone i've talked to from all the towns i've talked to, sullivan, indiana, columbus, indiana. bedford, indiana, what's in our bones is do the work, do it right. don't worry about the politics and stand up for your country. this extreme partisanship, this extreme tea party idea, nobody's buying it here. >> thanks very much for joining

us. next, chris christie. keynote speaker. any questions? stay with us. >> first off, it's none of your business. max. this is the plan that revolves around you. introducing share everything. unlimited talk. unlimited text. and a single pool of sharable data that powers up to 10 devices. the first plan of it's kind. share everything. only from verizon. add a smartphone for just $40 monthly access. this is new york state. we built the first railway, the first trade route to the west, the greatest empires. then, some said, we lost our edge. well today, there's a new new york state.

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second? if you want to put on a show and gik l every time i talk. so angry, so terrible. work it all out. >> i'm huggable and lovable, babe. >> try to keep these things interesting. i have something better today. i have to rearrange my sock door. this is like the hotel california. you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave. the day of reckoning has arrived. whether you like it or not, you're stuck with me. >> ah, yeah, the soothing sounds of the new jersey governor. but will that big personality appeal to voters beyond the jersey shore? apparently, the republicans are gambling yes. stay with us. today's top lines are coming up. rogaine? well, i'll admit it.

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tod today's top lines. >> it's so nice to be outside washington. >> how many of you have the paul ryan fever? >> that guy next to romney is not a romney? you sure it's not brick romney or chad? >> reminds me at the guy at the olive garden who comes over to see how everything was. >> romney unveiled his choice on a ship on which both men served. i'm sorry, were served refreshments. >> it gets you here. right here. >> a bold alternative. >> yeah, that's what i'm in the mood for? >> what's gutsy about giving millionaires another tax break? >> white, christian and male? that's a triple not threatening to me. >> if you happen to see congressman ryan, tell him how important this farm bill is. >> you see the president come through on his bus tour, ask him, where are the jobs, mr. president? >> all the way around. four more beers. except for the person with the

romney sign. i'm teasing. >> i splurged on egg mcmuffin, a sal salad. >> you're setting me back, gabby. >> i like to hunt here. >> small varmits. we'll take a look at the differences. i can't imagine any two people who have the same positions on all issues. >> how many years of tax returns did you turn over? >> it's a confidential vetting process. >> will not release his tax returns because he believes there is politically damaging information. >> i'm going to release the same amount of years that governor romney has. >> why shouldn't voters be able to see your tax returns and paul ryan's tax returns to make the same judgment you did? >> take away the tax shelters that are enjoyed by people on the top tax brackets. ♪ >> all right.

let's go right to our panel. we're joined by ana marie cox and jeffrey sax. i'm going to start with you because i think we need to move back to the tax conversation. despite what paul ryan says, i think it is a relevant question. you know, it seems that there is, it's important and yet ryan is trying to dismiss it. romney is trying to dismiss it. and the suspicious that we heard over the last week, maybe he paid a dramatic less amount than the rest of us. politically, the idea, that the wealthy play by a different set of rules. isn't that why they don't want to have this conversation? >> i think that's exactly it. i think by not releasing them, we keep having the same conversation. is suspicions about what's in romney's taxes have to be worst

than what's in them. there's an adage in horror movies that you never open the door to see the monster because what people imagine is going to be bigger and badder. that seems to me what the problem is. why doesn't he release them? we can only believe as he keeps not releasing them that that invisible monster gets worse and worse. even worse than that monster behind the door is the monster we can see in ryan's tax plan, which is the monster that doesn't eat anything. he would pay barely anything under ryan's tax plan. >> to your point, i think the fact ryan is specific and romney is not, means the obvious question to governor romney is where are the specifics. do you agree and yet, he still doesn't want to talk about it. professor, speaking of playing by a different set of rules, "the new york times" took a look at the top 400 returns from many of the top earners.

many paid less than 15%. some paid far below the rate most of us paid and some paid zero. so when we talk about the tax returns. when i think about what was happening in 2008, 2009 and 2010, is the reason that governor romney won't give us anything before 2010 and by that, i mean specifically doesn't want us to see 2009 because he doesn't want us to see what was going on in 2009? >> i think we've already seen even from what he's shown us that he doesn't pay much in tax. much less than we do when we pay our normal income taxes because the super rich pay low tax rates on capital gains. in 2009, because the stock market went down in the midst of the financial crisis, there were ways to off set those capital gains with some of the losses that had been incured, so in 2009, the rate of tax he paid may have dipped almost to nothing. we don't know. but i think what's striking is that even in the normal years, they're paying much, much less.

the capital gains rate is 15%. people are paying higher rates than that. this is alady an abusive situation because the rich have gotten super rich over the last 30 years. most of america has been struggling and i think they want to double down on that kind of abusive system. >> i want to go back to something you were saying. i think this point gets glossed over in the talking points. today, you had governor romney, coal miner. they're paying taxes on their income. and their wages. they don't have the swiss bank accounts and capital gains to worry about, so that's one set of rules. but then as you say, the super rich, they've got their capital gains and a whole other system in addition to income, if they have income. by which their taxes are governed. >> well, capital gains is part of income. it's just coming through in a different way by the rise of the value of the assets they hold, so you can put income in different forms if you're lucky

enough to have that kind of wealth. >> exactly. the wage income, that's taxed. that doesn't, doesn't get pushed aside. but this capital gains income is not only set at a lower rate, but it's easier to put offshore. we know that mitt romney has a lot of money in the cayman's and caribbean and the tax havens switzerland. that's a known abuse of the system. there are trillions and trillions of dollars meld held in these offshore tax havens and this has been a game also for the last 30 years. >> they happen to be legal. >> a lot is legal because our system is rigged and most americans know it. unfortunately, you have to say, as terrible as the ryan plan is in this regard, the democrats are not so bold also, because they also go to the big campaign financier financiers. both parties, republicans worse, democrats less bad, but both parties are catering to a legalized system that is rigged

for the super rich. this is our problem in the united states. we don't have the revenues now even to pay for preschool for children even to pay for keeping our roads intact and so forth. i say in my book, we're not paying the price of civilization. we're falling apart. unfortunately, it's a bit bipartisan. >> it strikes me though that when we talk about again, moving these assets offshore, i think of tyco. that's extraction of resources that are here in the united states and the rest of us still have to pick up the tab, but i want to play something from paul ryan and get your response, so let's take a listen. >> what i hear from people around this country, they're not asking where are the tax returns. they're asking where the jobs are. >> emowhen i hear the it's a

distraction, usually, that means they're hiding something and want you to focus on some other shiny object, right? >> that is totally the case. they would rather talk about anything but his tax plan. of course, it's true the obama campaign would rather talk about anything but the economy. so everyone has distractions, but yeah, this is definitely. i think the whole vice presidential pick and the the times of it came at the time for romney. paul ryan is kind of the shiny object to this equation. >> yes, he is and speaking of our friend, paul ryan, in that interview, he was talking about eliminating tax shelters. as i understand it, we've got a new ad today that's sort of poking fun at how uncomfortable that might be for governor romney because in reality, essentially, under the ryan plan, you've got governor romney would pay .82%. so even though he says oh, yeah, we're going to do away with all these loopholes and tax havens,

it really doesn't matter because at the same time, he's not really paying much in taxes. >> let's also be clear about the ryan plan not really being a plan cht it's half -- >> fair enough. >> half plan at best and half baked certainly. because it cuts the top tax rates and it says we'll make it up by closing loopholes, but he has never told us which loopholes and so, there's a huge hit, trillions of dollars, over the next ten years, that's already announced and then he says, but we'll be revenue neutral. we've heard that before and he hasn't told us how. so this isn't really a plan. this is a come on in a way. it's a gimmick. it says we're going to cut rates, but make it up. but we won't tell you how. >> what sort of strikes me here, just listening to it, if you don't know, if you don't have the depth of knowledge as the professor here, saying that we're going to cut all these

loopholes and lower your tax rate, there's something that just doesn't pass the smell test there, right? >> no, it doesn't and of course, the thing that they don't talk about or they talk about it as though it's a good thing, shutting down all the government things they consider sue per flous. like medicare and medicaid and just focus on social security and defense. the reason they don't talk about those is because if they did, they would cut off some of their campaign funding. those apply to people who give money to campaigns and i have to adhere, romney has said that corporations are people, too. people pay taxes, right? we work for a living and pay taxes on those things. if corporations are people and what they do can be defined as work, then there should be taxes on those wages as well. >> how about that. thank you so much for joining me. next, why the ryan pick has some in the gop humming this tune. stay with us. >> why is that brave?

>> well, you know, there were safer choices. read all that noise over the last couple of weeks and because paul ryan has carried the house republican budget over the last couple of years. we've taken some brave positions. >> it is catastrophic what he does. if they lose, it will be the single biggest reason why the republicans lost the ryan plan. 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, we can help brighten an old dog's mind so he's up to his old tricks. it's just one way purina one is making the world a better place... one pet at a time. discover vibrant maturity and more at purinaone.com. i've been fortunate to win on golf's biggest stages.

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mitt romney may think paul ryan was a bold pick, but for house and senate republicans fighting to save their jobs, well, not so much. congressman alan west of florida trying defend his support for the ryan budget and then scott brown of massachusetts, candidates like george allen and mcmahan are scrambling to distance themselves. joining me now -- and guy cecil,

executive director of the -- gentlemen, thank you so much for joining me. all right, rob, let's get right to it. traditionally, medicare is an issue that's been an advantage. it's not surprising that republicans with the ryan budget don't want to have this conversation cht but you've got the romney team that put out a new ad today, we'll talk about that. but you've also got the national republican campaign committee having put on this presentation with guidelines for candidates to try to decrease the advantage their democratic opponents would have and their video shows lessons learned from polling and previous races and my favorite part is, it says you should use third party validaters. credible ones like your mom. let's take a look at this candidate who did just that. >> he will protect medicare benefits for seniors now and in the future. >> i approve this message. >> me, too.

>> thanks, mom. >> now, i'm going to cut to paul ryan talking about medicare this week. and then we'll talk about it. >> our point is we need to preserve their benefits because government made promises they've organized the retirements around in order to make sure we can do that, you must leave room for us that are younger. they started from the clinton commission in the late '90s, so in order the make that promise for those current seniors, like my mom, we need to reform it for the next generation. >> like my mom. quite a coincidence there, rob. nice script. >> well, karen, i appreciate you having me on. look, i think it's not credible to say that people won't destroy medicare. the reality is, it's going bankrupt in ten years will be out of money. you have a choice between every senate democrat we're running against, $700 billion to pay for a new government program which nobody likes versus the republican plan, which says if

you're over the age of 55, your plan, going to be untouched and you can go on with things as they are. but for people like myself and you, karen, the plan's not going to be there unless we make some reforms. >> but wait a second. again, the ryan plan also takes that, looks a that the same $760 billion, but under the ryan plan, the cbo has said it would increase costs for people on medicare. that goes back to off setting the tax breaks for the wealthy versus while people may not like the phrase, obama care, poll after poll shows people actually like what's in there and they don't like the idea of turning medicare into a voucher program. the problem i have with your argument is that it's a bit disingenuous to say that obama in this new ad from governor romney's mpaign, that obama's taking this money out, but not also acknowledge so does congressman ryan's plan.

>> i appreciate the facts of thing, but the reality is that the $700 billion has been taken out to pay for obama care, which is wildly unpopular. versus paul ryan's plan and the republican plan, which says if you're over the age of 65, 55, you're fine. your plan won't change. but for people like ourselves, we have to and myself, and you, karen, and you, guy, this is going to go, going to bankrupt in 2024 and no one disputes that. >> i'm so glad you mentioned the fact it's going bankrupt because guy, my read of the obama plan says, again, let's take that $760 billion, reinvest it and extend the solvency of the program and you know, the other problem i have with some of the republican talking points on this is it's going to be fine now. we're not going to do anything, but in ten years, then it's going to be great. so why not like make it great now? which is i think what obama's

plan is trying to do. >> there's a reason why the republican candidate in florida for the united states senate called the ryan plan a joke. every fact checker in the country has raided the attacks about the the $700 billion as false. a lie. while at the same time, the romney ryan republican clan does three things. it tells every senior, including that 54-year-old waitress, they're going to have to pay $6,000 more every single year for medicare coverage. it tells the rich they're going to get a $150,000 tax cut and the bottom 20% they're going to have to pay $150 more a year and that's why you see republican candidates across the country running away from the romney ryan republican plan. it's why dean heller today in nevada refuses to be in the same room as paul ryan. and i would just point out,

karen, that rob's very own committee is funding an ad in montana that simply says the ryan plan will hurt montana seniors, so, if it's bad for montana, it should be bad for the rest of the country. >> we're out of time, but that is a preview of what is going on on the campaign trail as we speak. thanks so much for joining me. coming up, all four candidates on the road this afternoon. we're going to check in on the campaign trail. ♪ [ acoustic guitar: slow ] [ barks ] ♪ [ upbeat ] [ barks ] beneful playful life is made with energy-packed wholesome grains... and real beef and egg. to help you put more play in your day. ice longahd. g w

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with just a dozen weeks until election day, the candidates are hitting the road and hitting it hard. joining me now are ron mott traveling with congressman paul ryan in nevada and kristen welker on the road with president obama in iowa. thanks so much for joining me. kristen, so, earlier stops in iowa, the president talked about his efforts to stimulate the

wind industry, if you will. he's talked about that a couple of days now. and romney is talking about coal in iowa. i'm sorry, ohio. is green an issue that's going to be a winner at the white house? >> well, ipg i think the obama campaign does see this as a winning issue. the wind industry employees about 6 to 7,000 people here in iowa, this is something this community cares a lot about. president obama talked earlier today, pressed congress to extend a tax break for companies -- >> just want to let our viewers -- >> he got a lot of cheers, hammered romney for his opposition to that tax credit. in the meantime, you have mitt romney speaking in iowa today h hammering president obama for some of his regulatory policies, making the case that has harmed the coal mining industry, so energy rielle a big topic of conversation. >> and we've got live pictures

here of president obama at a wind farm, as you can see clearly behind him and obviously, you know, kristen, clearly one of the reasons, as you mentioned, you have governor romney in ohio talking about coal. but also, governor romney has said he opposed those wind energy tax credits that are so popular in places like iowa and other parts throughout the west, which is part of the obama team strategy. >> reporter: absolutely, it is a part of their strategy. >> so, ron, paul ryan is actually set to attend a closed press finance event tonight with gop mega donor, shelley adelson. been a while, and he's been the subject of big exposes by "the new york times" and "wall street

journal." is that why the campaign is trying to keep that closed? are they not wanting to take the risk having a new star seen next to a controversial figure? >> sheldon adelson has made no bones about the fact he would like to show president obama the door. he might be at the front of that list. he's put a lot of money into this race. about $20 million into newt gingrich's failed campaign. he donated 10 million to a super pac. they say they're not raising money, which is why the doors will be closed. >> have they said what the difference between the two? >> they said the fact they are not going to be slis itting donations at this event. this is the nevada finance team looking f looking for where they're going to put their resources. because of paul ryan's really lack of foreign policy experience, sheldon adelson

cares very much about the state of israel. if he has any sit down time with paul ryan, we might suspect they get around to talking about israel and try to bring paul ryan up to speed on what sheldon adelson would like to see. >> in my part of the world, we call that a prospecting event. quickly, what is next for our candidates? ron, i'm going to start with you. >> reporter: well, tomorrow paul ryan is off to ohio, back where he went to college, then to virginia on friday. >> kristen, what's up for the president? >> reporter: well, tomorrow, president obama travels to debuke and will be joined by the first lady. the first time the two will appear here in iowa since the 2008 campaign. >> thanks so much to both of you. and we'll be right back. i'm a marathon runner,

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