six hidden fault lines, and it lays out struggles between chicago and washington, but bill clinton and his 57% approval rating is firmly planted in president obama's corner with the release of this new ad. >> this election to me is -- this is a clear choice. the republican plans is to cut more taxes on upper income people and go back to deregulation. that's what got us into trouble in the first place. >> i want to bring in dan rather. molly ball, good to see both of you. fewer than one third wasn't that voucher system. obviously the romney campaign

knew that with paul ryan, this was part of what they were buying. do you think they're surprised by these numbers? >> i think they may be slightly surprised by the spread in the numbers, but it was said when paul ryan was named, he brings energy to the romney campaign, youth, vigor, but it was said by myself as well as others at the time, at least initially he was going to be a drag on the ticket action a and medicare we're the main reason. whether it plays out over the rest of the campaign, we shall see, about you right now it's advantage obama. >> when we talked about it for months, where the economy stood, how people felt about their lives, in our nbc/"wall street journal" poll, even though they do have concerns about that, they still like baquerizo mcmillan more. we also show that, you know, as we see in this cbs poll that medicare looks like it could be

a drag on the republicans. is this an issue that's going to have legs? >> yeah, what i was really struck by in this poll was not just the numbers on what people think about medicare, which i think was true before paul ryan was named, that the republican plans was pretty unpopular, but the fact it's so important to people, it's coming up as people's third-most important issues. i think that shows that paul ryan on this ticket has made medicare a much bigger issue, and i think his skills of salesmanship and the attacks they're making on obama, that maybe they could turn around those numbers a bit. i think we could see that hasn't happened a bit. and the president still has an advantage on this issue. >> there is one play where paul ryan seems to be helping. that is with wisconsin.

now it's a two-point raid. can keep in mind that over the years, basically what's basically asked of a vice presidential nominee is number one, does he make any big mistake and he carries his home state. obama will not winter by any 14 points. >> if nothing else, it forces the obama team t spend money there, right? >> but we have to look at the campaign as a whole. right now, the romney/ryan ticket is giving obama a chance to focus on medicare, instead of what romney and ryan want to focus on, which is the economy and job. they will use medicare to try to chop up paul ryan and romney like benihana. >> let's talk about, if you

will, bill clinton, always an interesting character. new ad, he talks of obama it will air in new hampshire, virginia, north carolina, florida, ohio, iowa, colorado, nevada, i'm wondering, molly, are those the states where people associate him with better days? is this part of an economic strategy on the part of the obama campaign? what do you think is at play here? >> well, that's basically just a list of swing states, but it doesn't -- you mentioned clinton's approval rating earlier. he's popular all over the place. he's a reminder of better times. that's why republicans talk about him action too, why mitt romney brings him up and tries to use him as a foil for obama. well, that was a good democratic president, what we have here is a bad democratic president. we've seen him rolled out as a prop by both sides. obama citing clinton as proof that the democratic economic philosophy cuss successful if we

give it a chance. i'm a bit surprised that the democrats haven't gotten clinton out there sooner. i wonder what wrangling was going on behind the scenes to get him to tape this ad. i know that the democrats have just been seething that clinton is cited by the republicans as much as them. >> we also know which side women voters are on. let's talk more about todd akin. planned parenthood commissioned a poll by hart research associate, that's half of the team that works with us. 50% of women have doubts about a romney presidency. 40% say he's out of steps with women's issues, big gender gap already. did the akin thing, the heightened part of it may have started to die down, molly, but does this have legs? and is this something that the democrats talk about and fund-raising on the rest of this campaign?

>> absolutely. this whole episode with todd akin was an opportunity for democrats to restart one of the main lines of attacks that they've been hoping to use as we get closer to the general election. that's this war on women theme that doesn't have any sort of new material in the past several weeks until this came along. that's why why you saw republicans moving so swiftly and unan missly. part of it was, sure i trying to save that missouri senate raise, but the other part was trying to caught rise the wound, to make sure that damage doesn't spread to the other part of the party. that's the official platform of the republican party as set forth in tampa next week. so this is a reminder of where republicans stand, which is not where most people in america stand. it's a small minority of americans who don't think there

should be any exception. >> i guess if you had any doubt the democrats would continue to remind voters about this whole thing, look at what happened yesterday on the campaign trail. watch this. >> make sure that you tell people that your president believes that women should be able to make our own choices about our health care. >> choice. she doesn't have to say todd akin, dan, she didn't have to talk about the war on women. all she had to do is say choice. >> the whole todd akin thing is a disaster for the republican ticket, and they know it. that's the reason they're desperate to get him out. you can bet as they speak, they're trying to get him out of the race. here's why -- we talked about the key swing, within those states, the key vote is with suburban women, which way they go. they were sort of tending romney a look before they started. the akin thing took it all off the table, put the focus, and here's a point to remember. emphasize it time and time

against, paul ryan, the vice president, is closely tied to akin. he was an ally of akin. he supported many of the things that akin did. i'm not saying he ade made clear he disapproves of what akin said about rape, but the democrats were trying to tie ryan closer and closer to akin, and again keep the focus on that. where the romney/ryan ticket will try to get back to the economy and jobs. obama has problems, and i've said it before and i'll say it again, i think that romney can win. he's not out of this, but the momentum for the moment, partly because of akin is in the direction of obama. >> again, molly, you brought this up, obviously the other aspect of this is the fact that the republicans thought they had a chance to take over control of the senate. this is a key seat, probably maybe the second easiest seat they thought they might be able to pick up. here is sarah palin, perhaps suggesting a third-party candidate can help the

republicans here. >> missouri is a must-win state. the way we do that is to have someone like sara stillman run even as a third-party candidate. >> she was one of the people who todd akin beat in the primary. lisa murkowski did it, molly, what do you think? could someone come in as a write-in? >> well, i think -- the republicans that i talked to think that the only thing worse than todd akin staying on the ticket in missouri would be to have a third-party candidate splitting that vote and making it even less likely that a republican wins that seat. i'm not hearing that it's something the preparations are under way for, and there may be a bit of sour grapes for sarah palin. stillman was one of the mama grizzlies she was counting on, and there was a lot of split in the primary and akin ended up

sneaking up the middle. >> there's another month they could try to push him out. it would take a court orders to get him off the ballot. do you think that todd akin could be convinced between now and then, dan? >> i doubt it. i doubt it. but if they're going to get him out, they have to get him out quickly. they want him out so so badly before the convention. but they've got to get him out early or have to live with it. i think the third-party thing would suck votes away that akin might -- i think a third-party independent in missouri would hurt the republicans more than the democrats. we talked about two states here that i had not thought were in play. i thought missouri would probably go for romney this time, and wisconsin would probably go for obama. with ryan on the ticket in wisconsin, wisconsin is now in play, now with the akin problems in missouri, obama will have a chance there. this is a ding-dong battle.

i can't recall a campaign that seemed to close and so volatile at this time, but we want to remember what looks to be the case in august, by the time we get to october may not be the case. michael dukakis led george bush, and then lost by four or five. >> dan rather, love having you on. molly, always terrific to see you. thank you. florida governor rick scott just held a press conference to talk about contingency plans as isaac approaches. sunshine state. and the controversy is brewing over a firsthand account of the special forces raid that killed osama bin laden. it is written by one of the navy s.e.a.l.s who was there. the pentagon didn't know anything about it. that operation is still officially classified. we have that story next. like a squirrel stashes nuts, you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® liquid gels. nothing starts working faster than zyrtec® at relieving your allergy symptoms for 24 hours.

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a member of the elite navy s.e.a.l. team that took out osama bin laden has written a book about it. in the famously secret community, that alone is causing controversy. it was not vetted by government officials. the operation is still classified. joining me now former navy s.e.a.l. captain dib couch, also a "new york times" best-selling author. this book was not cleared by the defense department, the white house, the cia has not reviewed it, though a spokesperson for the publisher says it was vetted by a former special ops attorney. aren't s.e.a.l.s or special ops generally required to sign a nondisclosure agreement and what about the fact this is still classified? >> sfwlr security concerns there, and yes, special operators, as i understand it,

do sign nondisclosure agreements, so there are security concerns here. both a classified operation, and the unit that conducted the operation is a classified unit. so there may be security considerations here associated with this work. >> he is retired, this author, but presumably others on that navy s.e.a.l. team 6 are not. of course this is not the first book by a former s.e.a.l., but it is about what i think is arguably the premier operation we've known about in our lifetimes. is he breaking faith with others who are still active? >> well, i haven't seen the work, but i think there's always the risk of doing that. aside from the security considerations, there's also the political considerations. it seems that a great deal of navy s.e.a.l.s are writing books. i hate to see s.e.a.l.s cast in some sort of political action committee, if you will, that might be in opposition to a sitting commander in chief. so there are both security and political overtones to this work

that's coming occupy. again, i haven't seen it, but there are potential for both those conflicts. >> in fact "new york times" does say they think it could have an impact on the presidential race. do you think that's true? again, none of us knows what's in it. this has been tightly guarded, but just knowing the interest, the early printing of this book is huge. they're expecting this to be a blockbuster. >> right. well, i wish my books would sell so well. i think we'll have to wait and see. there is the potential for conflict there, and i'm sure those who are still in uniform are looking at this with some trepidation as those of us who have gone before them and no longer in uniform. >> have you had any conversations with special ops, any of your friends who are either active or former navy s.e.a.l.s? >> not about this. this is too new. i haven't talked to some of my friends there. i'm awaiting to see what the

public affairs officers both at the u.s. special operations command and the navy special war fare command have to say about this. it is of concern. i think would all like this to go away. let these professional lawyers go about their business, because we're a nation at war. >> the time i have spent with the navy s.e.a.l.s, and did on and off for about six months in coronado, i found them to be very protective of one another, very protective obviously of their operations. they took this code of silence that they have very seriously, but maybe if you're looking for a silver lining here, could the up side be, i don't know that this publicity could discourage some young future radicals or islamists from joining the cause? >> well, we would hope that our enemies would see some of our capabilities and think better of

going down the extremist road. that remains to be seen. the up side, it may encourage some young men who want to join the services and become military special operators. there's always that benefit as well, but again we have to see what this book has to say, and hopefully it will not breach security or not enter into the political realm of things. >> thank you, former navy s.e.a.l. captain dib couch. it's good to see you. >> thank you, chris. two more people in texas have now died from the west nile virus. federal officials say it's the largest outbreak ever. 41 deaths have been reported across the country, 28 in texas alone. [ male announcer ] when this hotel added aflac

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contributions under $50 for the first time. it could give a boost to obama's fund-raising. . the top of the ticket is also jabbing republicans over women's issues. first up vice president joe biden. >> i value women in the workforce. i don't employ anything, but i value women in the work force. and then at a manhattan fund-raisers, the president said, quote, the interesting thing here is that this is an individual who sits on the house committee on science and technology, but somehow missed science class. if you're not sure who is telling the truth on the campaign trail, there is now of course an app for that. the super pac app using politi-fact and factcheck.org to check out. and it turns out the drought that's hurting so many farmers in the midwest may turn out to be a bless fog wine makers there

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developing now, we've got a new update on tropical storm isaac barreling through the caribbean, and still with the potential to impact the republican national convention in tampa next week. nbc meteorologist bill karins has the storm track. bill, what is going on? >> good morning, chris. it does look like this storm will get its act together and head somewhere to the united states. the big million dollar question is at what intensity? we'll get rain and wind, but the path actually improved. first things first, a look at the storm currently just south of the virgin islands and puerto rico.

it's trying to flare up. here's the forecast path from the hurricane center. we are watching over the next five days the storm tracking towards florida, has to go over a lot of lands, and that's why we're thinking that what the state of the storm is come sunday night and monday will term exactly what the impacts will be. our forecast models, excellent agreement. you usually don't see this much agreement five days in advance. you know they all pretty much head for either the eastern gulf or over florida. that means the hurricanes center has got the forecast coming very close to tampa. also, of course, the republican national convention will be there monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday, the most significant impacts look like monday night, tuesday morning, with improving kinning thus actual. too early to say the max winds, but almost guaranteed to get rain and wind in the area. my biggest fears is the water temperatures from the keys to just off tampa are like 85 to 90

degrees. that's steroids for these storms. we do not want this storm to go over that region. would rather have it go up the spine of florida than head into the gulf with the potential to get much stronger. that's what we need to watch carefully. all friends from mississippi, alabama and georgia are watching it as well. when the republicans convene on monday they'll likely adopt what may be the most conservative platform in history. it included a human life amendment, which banning abortion without exception, is it promotes abstinence as the only time of family planning that could be funded by the government. it -- rejects, quote, the use of the military as a platform for social experimentation" and republicans come out against same-sex marriage, giving support to the defense of marriage act. let's bring in john braybander, and former dnc community

indications director karen finney. you know, the democratic chair, debby washer man shultz sent out this tweet. it's 2012 and the republican party's message tells women, no choice, no exceptions. the polls already show mitt romney has a problem with women voters. will it make it only more difficult? >> first of all, i think for the democrats to imply that is insulting to women, that they only care about abortion. small business owners will be negatively impacted. we saw the pew report that showed middle-class families are struggling more than ever, so i don't think this race will come down to who do you agree on abortion or disagree with. i think people are much more sophisticated than that, and women certainly need to and will look at much more than just the abortion issue. >> is that the message from the democratic matter? >> no, john makes exactly the mistake that most men who don't

understand women make. two things -- this is an economic issue for women. when you tell women that they are not the ones who will make the final decision with their doctor about what medicines they can take, about what procedures are the right ones for them and their health, that's not just an economic issue, that's also an issue of, you know -- if you don't trust -- my judgment with my doctor being what procedure is right for me, then that -- that goes much deeper to how you think about women in our culture and society. that's what congresswoman debbie wasserman schultz was speak to, many women, we hear what you just said, john, in a different way than the way you want it. it's not that we only care abortion. we care about being treated as equal human beings, and we fought very hard to get to this point. now a lot of the language sounds like we're going many, many steps back. that's how we hear it. >> this is just aanecdotal,

john, but i'm surprised how much conversation the todd akin comments have brought about. i'm just talking about men and women. would you acknowledge that this is not the conversation the republican party wanted to be having just days before the convention? >> absolutely not. clearly first of all, almost in a universal voice, the republicans came out and criticized akin for his comments. saying it was wrong, you saw the calls for him to get out of the race. >> i just want to make sure we differentiate, because i think there are two things. one is the comments he made about rape, which is disavowed, but the other brings up this whole issue of choice, it brings up the whole controversy over the war on women, and so i think -- and it also brings up a relationship that a lot of democrats are drawing between todd akin and the vice presidential nominee and the positions they hold on women's

issues. >> well, yeah, but i'm not sure i believe that's true. a lot of this is brought up by the same people who don't want to talk about what's going on with the economy, the government takeover of health care. let's be clear about this platform. the difference between the republican side and democrat side, republicans are very pro-women. we want to give women everything they need from an health care, opportunity and ability to grow as human beings and prosper in this country. the difference is we also represent the unborn child who has a heartbeat as well. we'll have them represented in our platform, whereas the democrats have chomp to ignore that completely. to me that's something that is a huge distinction that people have to understand. we're pro-women just like the democrats are. the difference is we also represent people and children and unborn children who can't voice their own concerns and fight for themselves. >> karen, to his point and i think there is a point to be made, one of the things this has done -- first of all, i don't remember us ever talking about palace forms so much in a

campaign. the differences are significant on women's issues and other issues between the democrats and republicans. could this also have the effect, and we've seen how important this has been, of really energizing the republican base. this is an issue that's very, very important to them. and is this something that they can turn into a positive? >> well, i mean, again i think it's meant -- the document itself i think is meant to appease the most conservative parts of the republican base, but those aren't the voters that mitt romney needs to win this election. you're right about the party platform of the in the past, i mean democrats have always said our platform is -- this speaks for our party, and even last cycle you had john mccain saying who cares what's in the platform, so i think the document on the republican side is used more an an appeasement. one of the things you'll see candidates in the same way you've seen people squirm when you're talking about the ryan

budget or the akin comments is, you know, candidates are going to be asked, do you agree that rape rape, or do you believe in forcible rape? other sections in the documents say we believe we shouldn't be given subsidies for those wind energy credits. that's already hurting mitt romney in iowa. there is a number of places where if you're going to say this is a 2k0u789 that stands for our party, people will be in the position of do you agree with this or not? when it comes to women, i don't know how you can say it's pro-woman to also say, you know, what about caring for -- we are pro-life as well in the sense we care for the life of that child when that child is born. that's why we don't want to cut all the kinds of food assistance, nutrition programs, the kinds of programs that help low-income women access health care services they need to stay healthy, to take care of that children, they need to be better parents for their children. >> i've got to stop you there.

it's just the start of the conversation, but a conversation that will continue. obviously on the democratic side as well, as we look at their platform. karen, good to see you. john, thanks so much for coming on the program. >> glad to be here. romney is going to try to get back to talking about the economy. let me bring in jim talent, also a romney campaign senior adviser. it is good to see you. good morning. >> thank you. good to be here. >> we note mitt romney will announce that north america can achieve energy independence by twenty20, but we also know that's something that's eluded every president since nixon. what's the cornerstone? more drilling? >> more exploration. important thing to remember is changing new techniques make this the goal of northern energy dependent, but make a super power not only achievable, but probable, and we can do it in about the same amount of time as

it took us to get to the moon. we're talking about 3 to 4 million new jobs, a trillion in additional revenue for the states and the federal government, half a trillion in additional gdp, and what we're going to do is the stop the policies that have been suppressing production. >> isn't that production is up under the obama administration, and up significantly? >> no, it's down on federal lands. it's up on private lands that they don't control. leasing, permitting on federal lands, both onshore and offshore is down on average about 50%. the retch we need to get in offshore drilling has virtually disappeared. the president was cited for contempt by a federal court for one of the more torium he has issued. what we need to do on several cornerstones, one of the them is to allow the states to is it approve approval on federal lands. it takes over 300 daze for the

federal government on average on a lease application. colorado does it in 27 days, and they do a better job of protecting the environment, by the way. a lot of this is taking advantage of the apparatus we already have to produce enormous amounts of energy and jobs. >> we should say in the last two days romney's campaign has raised $10 million in oil money. can a is it fair to say they -- and let's look at florida, when you're taking millions of dollars from people who clearly have an interest in seeing more drilling? >> i would encourage people to look at the white paper, and this plan comes from places like the kennedy school, the manhattan institute, the citigroup, which conducted a huge, t. boone pickens. people who knows energy know this is not only possible, but probable if we do it.

we can open up the offshore with robust five-year plans of production, beginning with the states that really want to do it, which is virginia and the carolinas. they want to do it on a bipartisan basis, been suppressed by the president. we need jobs in this country and lower prices for energy and higher gdp, and we can get it. this is really the future. the biggest thing a presidential candidate's proposed for the economy since i think the reagan tax cuts in 1980. >> i also need to ask you about your old seat. there's a september 25thth deadline. are you getting any pressure to run? >> oh, a couple people brought it up with me, but i said no, i'm not running for the senate, and, you know -- it's -- >> there's nothing that would convince you to do it if you thought you could help the republicans win control of your senate? >> no, one of your colleagues subpoena a shermanesque denial? yeah, it's the first time i've

been compared to sherman, but no, i'm not going to do it. i did say a couple days ago that i thought congressman akin should step down, in part because it's a distraction from issues like we're talking about, like this energy plan, we're talking 3 to 4 million jobs. >> sarah palin suggests maybe a third-party candidate. is that a possibility? >> well, there's still time for mr. akin to step down. i'm disappointed he hasn't to this point. i hope he does, so we can unite and defeat clair mccaskill who has supported the president's economic policies who has missouri as well as much of the country mired in unemployment. we've had unemployment at 8% for longer than the great depression. we need to do our part in missouri. >> former senator jim talent, good to see you, sir. thanks for coming on. >> thanks, chris. james holmes expected back in court.

prosecutors are trying to get the university records. two good samaritans were killed last night in los angeles. they were trying to help someone who had just gotten into a car crash. that driver last control, hit a fire hydrant. that sent a fountain of water rushing into the sky. power lines came down on the water and electric roe cuted the two women who had come to try to help the driver. jim joyce being called a hero, credited with saving a woman's life on monday when he saw her collapse at chase field before the diamondbacks game. joyce gave her cpr, even kept going after paramedics arrived. the woman could leave the hospital this weekend. you may recall that joyce had been best known for making a bad call that cost detroit's armando galarraga a perfect game in 2010. the ump admitted his mistake, apologized to galarraga, who

said no hard feelings. cnbc's mandy drury is here with what's moving your money? i've heard reading tea leaves, but this is an analysis that looks at coffee grounds. >> id kind of weaver, but it's a special coffee cup politics analysis which supposedly helps to identify where to meet up with swing voters on the campaign trail. likely independent voters who are undecided are most likely, according to this analysis to head to starbucks for their morning cup much joe with nearly 14% saying that's where they perform koifz most often. mcdonald's is the number two choice. but between those two, which one dlifrz which wane -- go to starbucks most often seem more inclined to cast a ballot for obama. mcdonald's they'll more likely vote for romney. who knows if it's the truth, but it's fun. your carnival booze cruise story got so much reaction, but

we couldn't find a person who thought it was a good idea. let me read a couple things for you. cruise lines need this like a hole in their ship's hulls. boils them into floating fat houses. lisa writes -- like i said to be stuck on a boat in the ocean with a bunch of drunks. no thanks. i wonder if you got any reaction? >> you know, it's interesting. i did a similar poll on twitter yesterday, cry. i would say make 90% of the people who tweeted back to me said exactly the same thing. they couldn't possibly do something like that, because maybe the boat would be completely full of drunks, but you know what? i responded and said clearly my followers aren't frat boys, because i can't imagine a single frat boy who would say no. >> other similar cruise lines probably have similar things. >> absolutely.

there are similar all you can drink packages. >> they must sell. mandsy, thank you so much. >> thank you. we'll be right back. s. those ideas that start with us rolling up our sleeves... ...and end with a new favorite room in the house. and when we can save even more on those kinds of projects... ...with advice to make them even better... ...that's a game-changer in itself. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. get flooring for every budget with pergo gunstock oak laminate for just $1.88 per square foot. constipated? yeah. mm. some laxatives like dulcolax can cause cramps. but phillips' caplets don't. they have magnesium. for effective relief of occasional constipation. thanks. [ phillips' lady ] live the regular life. phillips'.

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at relieving your allergy symptoms for 24 hours. zyrtec®. love the air. ed easiest and simplest is also america's most popular -- walking. a new stilledy states that over 100 million americans walk for their exercise. over 60% of adults say they walk for at least ten minutes a week, which is you want from 56% in 2005. call them party crashers. democrats have some tricks up their sleeve to steal some of the spotlight from next week's republican national convention. richard, what are they up to? >> good morning, chris. the unwritten rule, the opposing party lays low during the

convention, but not this year, at the heart is a war room close to convention central, there they'll host daily press events and march out those of the middle-class americans from all walks of life. leading the charge will be the vice president, on opening day in tampa and other locations through tuesday, and when asked if he would be in florida, mr. biden jokingly said i'm going to be the speaking at the convention. and representative clyburn and debbie wasserman schultz will also flank the veep. the president will be in swing states colorado, iowa and virginia, holding college-themed events. the air attack will be led by the first lady on the late show with david letterman on wednesday, her third appearance there. for the moment there is a lull in the scheduled onslaught. that's the final day when mitt romney formally accepts his nomination. for romney, this is familiar. he was part of the bracketing strategy in 2008.

he led events with eric cantor and what will republicans do in response? rnc chairman reince priebus said whatever they do to us, we can do ten times over it them. if they punch us, we put on the brass knuckles and punch back. >> thank you very much. meantime first lady hopeful ann romney will be going to bat for her husband at the rnc, trying to show his warm and fuzzy side. howard bragman joins me. hey, howard, how are you? >> good. good morning, chris. >> it's interesting, because there's been this talk about how they used the vice president to sort of make him seem -- mitt romney seem more relaxed. now they're trying to get ann romney so though she can be more warm and fuzzy. what do you think? can that work? >> i think theoretically it can

work, but the republicans have a big problem. the major broadcast networks have already said they're not going to broadcast ann romney's speech. that was a golden opportunity for the romney campaign to humanize their campaign, and they're not going to have it. probably more people will watch michelle obama on herman than hear what ann romney -- >> we should say you can see it on msnbc. "new york times" has a description about this set, quote, which i thought was interesting -- from the dark wood finish to the brightly glowing high-resolution creeps that look like skylights, every aspect has designed to quan warmth, opens in. how is this a strategy, howard? >> i think they need to do everything they can to portray warmth and accessibility. people just like president obama better, and part of it is because of a lot of his

switching around on issues. part of it is because of hi view on abortion, and other issues important to women, and part of it strategically they want to talk about the economy, and he doesn't invest a lot of time talking about his personal life. he's nervous talking about his work career as bain. >> if you were to go on board as a consultant, because you can't change a person's basic personality, but what will you tell him to do, howard? >> i think he has to say here's who i am. i think he has to embrace his career. i think he has to embrace his religion, and it really looks like he's trying to push those things aside. i don't think it's working for him, chris. the numbers support that. he's got to be -- right or wrong, he's got to accept who he is, and people love authenticity, and i think they can real it and they're not feeling it. >> they'll have a chance when he

gives the speech. it will be fascinating. always good to see you, howard. thank you for coming in. >> thanks, chris. today's tweet of the day comes from molly ball, who was at the top of the show. she writes -- idea, to convince us his is warm and fuzzy, romney begins snuggling with voters individually. what makes a sleep number store different? you walk into a conventional mattress store, it's really not about you. they say, "well, if you wanted a firm bed you can lie on one of those. if you want a soft bed you can lie on one of those." we provide the exact individualization that your body needs. welcome to the sleep number store's biggest sale of the year. not just ordinary beds on sale, but the bed that can change your life on sale. the sleep number bed. never tried this before. this is your body there. you can see a little more pressure in the hips. take it up one notch.

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a programs note. tomorrow night chuck todd's special documentacy "mitt romney, the making of a candidate" debuts. that will wrap up this hour. i'm chris jansen. thomas roberts is up there. hey there, thomas. good morning, everybody. the agenda, diving deep into the quinnipiac polling numbers. mitt romney, picking paul ryan as vp, and provided no bounce, but is medicare the real reason. todd akin remains uninvited to the gop convention in tampa, but look at that, another uninvited

guest named isaac is coming anyway. and call me maybe, how about text me money? the president repalestinians the underdog in funds raising, but will texted donation help close the gap? [ female announcer ] how do you define your moment?

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making a delicious choice that's also a smart choice. splenda no-calorie sweetener. with the original sugar-like taste you love and trust. splenda makes the moment yours. hi, everybody. good morning. i'm thomas roberts. topping the agenda, the new numbers are out for the battle for the battlegrounds. it's the president who is winning the messaging war over medicare. a new quinnipiac/"new york times"/cbs poll shows a narrowing lead for the president. romney getting a bump in the land of brats and cheese thanks to paul ryan. it was ryan who catapulted medicare into the national conversation and the campaign debate, a debate the current vice president spoke of in a very personal way last night. >> my mom -- she died when she was 92, the last four years of her life living