the better-than-a-hot dog- hot dog. the rain in tampa has given way to some very welcome sunshine for now. msnbc will, of course, continue to monitor the track of tropical storm isaac and have the very latest from the republican national convention. thanks so much for watching. chris matthews is next in tampa. it's getting dampa in tampa! let's play "hardball." >> good evening. i'm chris matthews down in tampa. let me start with this republican convention down in tampa. i came down here with one thought in mind. this could be the game changer for mitt romney. here comes romney's chance to show his human side. i've seen it done before, in

1988, when george w. bush senior came into the new orleans dome and gave the speech of his life that certainly got to me. but here i am in tampa, hearing a message that troubles me as an american. it started with that joke, so-called, that the republican candidate told friday about no one having asked him about his birth certificate. here's a guy, born to a famous family, mocking a guy born with none of his advantages. imagine the president of the united states having to produce his papers, just to prove he's in office legitimately, and that's how funny this birther thing has gotten. then i put it together with this new romney tv ad attacking obama for passing out welfare checks. and just to rub it in, to ensure that no one missed the point, did you catch romney following it up by saying, this was obama's effort to excite and shore up his base, passing out welfare checks. his base. i've lived through other politicians talking like this. it's not been good for america in the past, it's not going to

be good now. welfare queens, young bucks buying booze with food stamps. i know the images that presidential candidates have used in the past. so let's get back to his compassionate side, mr. romney, and you're not doing it yet. but we begin with tropical storm isaac. it's already postponed the convention by a day. that's tonight. and now threatens the gulf coast and cross over to new orleans. todd santos is with the weather channel. todd, size up what they're facing here in north america. >> all right, chris. you know, we're talking about a system that has a very large wind field, especially, referring to the tropical storm force winds at the moment. still a tropical storm. we just received the latest advisory from the national hurricane center. it came in at 70 miles per hour, as far as the sustained winds this system. there's a look at the current stats with that. it's moving towards the northwest at 12 miles per hour. we do expect to see the system actually slow down a little bit in forward speed. that may compound some of the effects along the north central gulf coast. again, tampa, kind of dodging a bullet with that westward shift in the track. though still in line with some potential severe thunderstorms today, again into tomorrow. but there's a look at the folks

that really need to be on alert with this, especially in and around new orleans, not just concerning, again, the central portion of the cone, but keep in mind, we're talking about at least, again, a category 2 storm, if not potentially stronger than that as it makes landfall. and as you slow a storm down, it has a better chance of seeing some development as you go through the next couple of days. as far as where the system is headed after that, pushing up towards the mississippi valley, still a lot of uncertainty with that piece of the track, but we do expect this to be increasing to hurricane strength as we go through the next couple of days. storm surge will be one of the bigger issues, especially with a system that has that big of a wind field, 6 to 12 feet in and around the biloxi area, new orleans as well, some slightly smaller numbers down towards pensacola. also the power outage potential with this system is quite large to go along with that. so, chris, again, as far as tampa is concerned. you guys, i think this is now on the closest approach, and again, moving away from the area, but we could still see some showers and thunderstorms as a result moving into tomorrow. >> thank you so much, todd santos. michael steele was chairman of the republican national

committee, the man who actually brought them down to tampa in hurricane season. howard fineman is editorial director for the "huffington post" media group. both are msnbc political analysts. what made you think that this was a good time of year to come to tampa? >> because this is a great place to have a convention. these are great people, they're putting on a great event for us. and look, you take all of that into consideration, even as you've noted, and before, in 2008, we were in minnesota. we had an issue with a hurricane here in fact gulf region, we stopped the convention. so, you know, the country's going to do what the country needs to do at the right time, in the right moment. but it doesn't impact the convention. we'll go on with a great convention. and thank you, tampa, for having us. >> what a politician! what a politician. just to keep it on that level of lightness. howard, why is it that we go to the coldest places in america for the primaries, in the middle of winter, why do we go to the meat locker up in iowa, it's always so cold there, and new hampshire, then the hottest part of the year, when it's sweaty and hot down here, we come down to tampa or atlanta.

what's the thinking? >> i just remembered driving through a blinding snowstorm in iowa from one event to the other. >> to here. >> right. on balance, i'd rather be here. >> i like it here too. >> let's talk about this campaign. it's gotten pretty nasty right now. i brought up this -- i'll keep talking about it tonight. michael, you're the former chair of the party. why do -- why does this candidate talking about things like welfare? by the way, mitt romney defended his campaign's welfare ad by saying this. it was actually an erroneous ad. he says president obama would drop work requirements for welfare recipients. in truth, the hss directive allows states more latitude in welfare, but insists that states improve employment outcomes, not reduce them. he told the "usa today," "there's no question in my mind that the president's action in this regard was calculated to build support for him among people he wants to have excited about his re-election. just as so many of the things he's done were designed to try to shore up his base. and weakening the work

requirement in welfare is an enormous mistake." why is he saying the president is trying to get more welfare recipients to vote for him by making it easier to get welfare checks? is that not ethnically charged? >> it's not -- i don't think it's ethnically charged as you're alluding to, chris. but i think it's been documented, at the beginning of this administration's term, they did weaken those rules, generally with respect to the states encouraging them, in terms of the number of people they had on their roles. they've now gone to the hss and said, look, we want to make this a part of the law, we're going to amend the law, without congressional approval, by the way, to do this. >> that's erroneous. everyone checking this out has said it's dishonest. howard? >> first of all, a number of republican governors, including at one point, earlier on, in an earlier incarnation, governor mitt romney, asked for leeway in enforcing the work fair rules that went in originally with bill clinton, in the deal that was done in 1996. that's number one. number two, it doesn't abolish -- there's nothing that the president said, no order

that the president gave, abolished the requirement that people work and study, often it's studying, for welfare. nothing said that. and the ad is just flat-out wrong on the facts. >> but howard, on the facts -- >> the nuance to it, in real life -- no, the ad itself -- >> he gets people to study -- >> the ad itself says that barack obama basically, as chris translated it, wants to give away welfare checks. that's not what the president proposed. and it's not what he -- what states asked him for permission to do. >> but giving away the welfare checks, that's your interpretation of it. >> even the ad itself, mike. the ad itself says -- >> but the fact of the matter is, the loosening of these rules -- >> they're not loosening. loosening is not the right word. >> giving more leeway. that's loosening the rules. >> no, it's not. it's asking to be creative -- it's asking them to be creative -- >> the definition of the term -- >> okay. >> the ad's wrong.

>> every single person who's looked at the ads -- and i want to know why they're running an ad like this. why would you run an ad like this, attacking welfare recipients and saying the president's playing to his base. what does romney mean? >> they're not attacking welfare recipients, they're attacking the policy -- >> okay. >> -- that lessens the requirements that have been in place for over 20 years. >> let me ask you a political question, mr. chairman. why is he accusing the president of doing this to excite and energize his base? >> why is he -- >> why did romney say that, just recently? he just said it over the weekend, he's doing this -- he's making it easier to get a welfare check, because that's the way to excite his base. >> well, yeah, again -- >> do you want me to read them again? >> i don't need you to read it, i got it. >> what do you think? >> this administration, whether it's on gay marriage, or the hispanic vote, for three years he did nothing with -- >> but stay on the -- >> i'm just saying. going to those baseline constituencies and talking in terms that they understand, it gets them excited, that's what the --

>> let's talk to, howard, about who hears the dog whistle. i heard it. >> your interpretation of the dog whistle is your interpretation. >> let's move on to another interpretation. >> here's what i know. i know that everybody, democrat and republican, campaign and noncampaign, has been focus grouping like crazy among undecided, working class white women. >> right. >> especially in places like ohio. but -- in every swing state, and what i'm told is that the republicans found, to their surprise, over recent weeks, that the welfare ad really worked with those women. now, they were surprised, because women don't, as often, respond on the welfare issue, but at a time when everybody's strapped, when everybody's struggling, old resentments resurface. that's my interpretation of what's happening. now, wait a minute, the romney people saw that, and they're defending and using and driving, with money, an ad that every fair -- every fair analyst, every fact checker from the --

every fact checker has said is just factually wrong. >> an ad that you just sat here and admitted that white women, that part of that focus group, agreed with. so -- >> but it's a dishonest ad they agree with. >> the ad itself is straightforward. >> where's a 30-year-old white woman that agrees with this ad, against this old vestige of -- i assume you're talking racism here, and that's not what this ad is about. that's an easy leap for you guys to make. >> it's not a leap. because i allow you to go back to -- >> the process -- >> -- to mr. romney himself -- >> and playing politics with it zpit. >> let me come back to what romney said, quoted here with susan page. there's no question in mind that this action was calculated to build support with people that he wants to have excited about his re-election. just as so many of the things he's done were designed to try to shore up his base, and

weakening the work requirement is an enormous mistake. he's saying that obama did to this try to get people to vote for him. what do you think of that. do you think that's why the president did it? >> i don't know why the president did it. i know that's the effect of what ft.'s done. in the sense that it does -- it does galvanize within certain communities a response. >> sure does. >> it's galvanized a response with you too. >> because i grew up with it. you grew up with it personally. >> absolutely. >> it's not a southern issue. >> the law has worked since 1996, chris. >> because the governors have asked for more liberalism -- you know why, because sometimes training has something to do with getting a job. if they can get someone to go to school -- >> the ultimate objective is to get people who are on welfare into good work environments. and even a lot of republican governors have said, let's work with that and see how we can improve it. i think the problem is, in our discussion, was the word "loosening." the problem with the ad is that the ad itself says that the president wants to get rid of

and has quietly gotten rid of all work requirements and welfare. that's not true. it's just not true. >> look, i think all of this stuff is aimed at moving the white working class over to the candidate. in an interview with the associated press today, president romney says obama has embraced the extreme positions of house republicans. let's watch. >> he has signed up for positions, extreme positions, that are very consistent with the positions that a number of house republicans have taken. and whether he actually believes in those or not, i have no doubt that he would carry forward some of the things that he has talked about. >> let's go back to what i thought would be the optimistic view with this election, this wonderful convention down here is going to be about. i've seen it done before. i saw george bush sr. do it, where a president can come out of his shell, a candidate, and really embrace the american

people in a way that he hadn't been able to do before. let's face it, thursday night, whatever the weather, he's going to speak to the american people, romney. do you think he -- how would he cut through the problem he's had, this sort of opaque personality, this distance he's had from most people. how does he do it? will he try? >> i think, absolutely, he will try. and i think the way it's going to be set up is, you're going to have those voices leading into his speech on thursday night, that begins to craft that image, to create that image so you begin to see that other side. and i think of all the speeches between now and his, is ann romney's. i think she will have the greatest moment to really kind of get us inside that relationship a little bit, to show us a little bit of that side of -- >> howard, what do you make of that? >> what i make of it is the american people have serious doubts about re-hiring president obama as the economic steward of the economy, and the economy is the number one issue. in that sense, the election is there for the taking, for mitt romney. >> yeah. >> but the only way mitt romney can do it is to prove that -- to

tell people what's inside of himself, not just as a guy with a spreadsheet, but as a guy with a heart. >> agree. >> and if he can do that, not only at the convention, but thereafter, look at the current polls, he's got a chance to pull this off. it's there for the taking for him if he can do it, but instead, they've been running an entirely negative campaign. >> i think he can run the high ro road if he changes his mind. michael steele, thank you. howard fineman, thank you. coming up, from the republican national convention here in tampa, the man who had hoped to be giving the acceptance speech is going to talk, we'll ask newt about this dog whistle and this romney dishonest ad campaign. also, this republican party wants to show one face to its supporters and another to a national audience here on television, that's why michelle and sarah and the w. are not really going to be speaking here. and four days of free advertising for republican

presidential candidates. how seriously might the romney campaign be damaged if isaac shortens this one, reduces to it a day or two? finally, let me finish with this tampa convention, what it can be and what it shouldn't be. this is "hardball," the place for politics. hey. hey eddie. i brought your stuff. you don't have to do this. yes i do. i want you to keep this. it'd be weird. take care. you too. [ ghs ] so how did it go? he's upset. [ male announcer ] spend less time at gas stations. with best in class fuel economy. it's our most innovative altima ever. ♪ there's so many choices. the guests come in and they're like yeah i want to try this shrimp and i want to try this kind.

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welcome back to "hardball." well, nine months ago, my next guest stood between mitt romney and the republican nomination, only to be taken down in iowa with a brutal barrage of super pac ads. since then, the two have made up and newt gingrich is here in tampa this week, leading newt you, a set of workshops for republican delegates. and he and his wife, callista, are set to speak thursda evening during a tribute to ronald reagan. welcome, mr. speaker. you certainly engineered an excellent speaking spot.

you've got a crew of wild people here. he's going to pay for beer afterwards. free beers on newt. okay, you've engaged in what i consider very problematic rhetoric in the campaign trail. when you accuse bobama, the president, of being a food stamp president and everybody gets into the birther fun and there's a -- i don't even know what game that donald trump's going to pull this week. he says he wants to go on the offensive with the birther talk. do you have a problem, thinking back on it, of having used ethnic politics, with terms like food stamp president? >> look, i find your assumption so absurd that it's hard to answer your question. >> okay. >> but let me take the birther thing for a second. >> sure. >> what mitt romney did the other day, people say, you ought to relax, you ought to be a little bit lighter. so he tells a joke. now, it tends to be a joke that serves him in a totally different way that you're calculating. it reminds everybody in michigan that he was born in michigan,

he's a michigander, and the poll that came out this morning, he closed a five-point gap in michigan. >> how does that justify the use of that reference to birther talk, when birther talk has been poisoned -- >> it was a throwaway line. it's part of the common culture. >> do you think it's funny that the president had to show his papers to shut down the birther talk? that he had to go to hawaii and get his documents released. do you think that was funny? >> i think that it is bizarre that people think that it is a challenge to be able to say, i was born there, here's my birth certificate. what's the big deal? >> because it hasn't stopped. because we've got members of your caucus, the republican caucus, like louie gohmert and these people that keep talking it up. >> but romney was making, by any reasonable standard, he was making what's called a joke. >> first one he ever told. >> and it was a joke that actually -- >> no -- >> okay, let's listen to romney. here's mitt romney telling the joke. if it was a joke, there certainly was a punch to it. >> now, i love being home in this place where ann and i were raised, where both of us were

born. ann was born at henry ford hospital. i was born at harper hospital. no one's ever asked to see my birth certificate. they know that this is the place that we were born and raised. >> you know, it's amazing how -- you know how african-americans generally, at least people who have e-mailed me in the last couple of hours, how they react to this? do you understand they have a reaction? they think this is racial talk. that this whole thing about welfare cheats is relentless stuff -- >> i think there are a lot of people in america who listen to people like you -- >> i'm alerting them to this? >> who tell them all day, every day -- >> so it's my influence on them? >> you just had a panel where the guy who was black was telling the two guys who are white that they were nuts. i think michael steele knows he's black. i don't think this is a great shock to them. >> you can laugh about it, but you don't think you've used it in the past? what's a food stamp president? >> a food stamp president is a guy whose policies are so

destructive, that he creates the longest unemployment since the great depression and he puts more people on food stamps, most of them white, than anybody else. why do you assume food stamp refers to black? what kind of racist thinking do you have -- >> let me tell you what type. >> you're being a racist, because you assume -- >> let me tell you why. because from the beginning of paying attention to politics, ronald reagan would talk about the welfare queen, who was african-american. he'd talk about the young buck waiting in line -- >> he didn't say that. >> yes, he did. he talked about the welfare queen out in chicago -- >> who was african-american? >> yes. i don't think he ever used the term, who was african-american. >> he didn't have to. how about the young buck waiting in line for food stamps to buy booze with? this is a history we have here. and this lingo is so clear to every african-american watching right now. >> so we're not allowed to tell the truth about food stamps. >> you sit here and chuckle about it as if it's not a glame you're playing. >> we're not allowed to talk about food stamps because your sensibility tell us that 35 years ago -- >> newt -- >> give may break! >> you've got that diabolic smile of yours, and you know you

think you're winning here, but everybody out there who's black or white knows exactly the game that's being played here. >> no, here's the game. you have the worst president -- >> oh, that's your shot? >> no, wait a second, economically. we just put up a chart today at new university, which people can get at newuniversity.com, that shows every recession since world war ii, all of them are up here, except one. the obama depression is down here. >> okay. >> now, is that a racist -- >> let me ask you about romney and what he said the other day. why would romney say that obama is reducing the requirements -- the work requirements for welfare checks to excite and energize his base? wait a minute, why would he -- what does that mean? >> it means that liberals who hate the work requirement, the 101 democrats -- >> who are the liberals who hate the requirement? >> the 101 democrat who is voted against it in 1996. >> i thought it was bill clinton who signed that bill. >> that's right. and when he said he would sign it, half the democrats in the house voted no. obama was against it, after

clinton said he would sign it. >> so what's your point? >> my point is -- >> do you think most americans are against the work requirement? >> i don't think poor people noticed it, pause i don't think that's in their -- but i think liberals loved it. i think liberals thought, that's right, let's go back to dependency. why are we requiring poor people to work -- >> why don't you like dependency? >> you tell me. >> well, you tell me. you just say they like dependency. >> there's a book called "the tragic of american compassion," in which he outlined step by step to the degree to which the left dislikes requiring people to work. >> we just had howard fineman on the show who talked about how white working women are responding so well to this ad, as dishonest as it is. >> what is this editorial, as dishonest as it is? >> because every editorial, every fact-checking group of america, every single one of them that i checked, said this ad is dishonest. politifact, every one of them, says it's dishonest. >> i don't think it's dishonest. i helped write the bill. >> who's getting rid of the work

requirement? >> the obama administration. >> you're a perfect spokesman. >> wait a second, mathews. why would they have a waiver if they're not going to use the waiver? >> because getting education -- no. because sometimes it's smarter to put a person in school so they can get a job. >> you're allowed to put them in school. that's not a problem. >> that's not what they did. let me ask about this convention. when are you speaking, exactly? >> i've got two hours a day for the next four days. >> at your school. >> and callista and i are speaking thursday evening, i don't know the exact time, because frankly with having canceled monday night, they're shaping -- but they're doing a tribute to ronald ray dpeagareae feel it's a logical thing for us to do. >> what changed your mind about mitt romney? >> barack obama. >> go ahead. >> my choice is mitt romney or barack obama. for me, as a conservative, that eliminates everything. >> so whatever justifies the means? the means justifies the ends? the ends justifies the means. >> no, if you think -- you won't

agree with this. but i think the re-election of barack obama is a disaster for this country. >> and what about -- >> and i think that romney is far better for this country -- >> what do you want romney to say thursday night that you haven't heard him say yet? let's put on your political hat, which is generally on your head, mr. speaker. tell me how he turns that middle, thursday night? >> look, i don't think mitt romney should play games about trying to be somebody he's not. >> which would be? what would be playing a game? >> people say he's got to show his human side, he's got -- here's the choice. here's a simple choice for america. you've got a terrifically fun guy as president, who would be great to have a beer, but he's a plumber who can't fix the plumbing, and the house is getting wetter and wetter every day. you've got a guy -- >> how do you know this new plumber of yours is going to come over when you call him? >> because you've got a guy who has a tradition of turning things around, in business, in the winter olympics, as governor. and he's coming in and he's saying, okay. i've got a management personality. i'm actually kind of a ceo.

but, by the way, we're going to have 4% economic growth, we're going to create millions of jobs, the country will be better off, and we'll have energy independence for america. >> so what's his problem? why isn't he winning big? >> i think he will be by november. >> okay. but i think we have a challenge here. the question is, i think you're right about the plumber. the question people have is, is he going to come over when i need him. mr. speaker, thank you. we'll be right back from tampa, the site of the republican convention. this is "hardball," the place for politics.

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this is what i love to do. talk to people, and actually listen! i'm going to listen to these people. so we're down here in tampa. where are you from and what do you think? >> i'm from tampa. welcome to tampa, mr. matthews. i saw you this morning, loved you onmong "morning joe." we're going to re-elect president obama. >> this is my hometown. i'm excited to be here for

whoever withins. >> good for you. >> from tampa, florida. definitely for president obama. >> do you like this weather? >> love it. >> nadia from tampa. obama! >> oh, gosh! >> glen goodman from tampa, we have some events that my wife and i have worked hard to build. >> dave trot from michigan, and all politics is locally, and locally, the local folks aren't doing with well. >> duke, and i wonder how romney's going to rule when everybody in the senate goes against him, just like they went against obama. >> we'll see. >> what is a liberal? >> what's your answer? >> liberty. >> okay, thank you. i know where you stand. >> i'm ann from lakeland, and i loved you on "morning joe" this morning. >> aren't you nice. >> i'm mike from the university of florida. and all of the college students are going for barack obama. >> okay, thank you. >> hi, i'm maggie from tampa. i'm for obama, but happy to have the rnc here in tampa. >> that's nice. >> we're for obama all the way. >> are there any republicans

here? we had one out of six. come here, come here. this guy. this guy's a ron paul man. tell me about ron pall. why you're mad he didn't get to speak this convention. >> he didn't only get to speak, but his delegates aren't getting seated, the party's changing rule -- >> but you're a delegate, sir? >> i was elected a delegate in oklahoma, but they didn't seat me, because the republican party changed the rules and ruled against us. >> okay, ron paul's spokesman speaks out. thank you. >> i'm amy, i'm from washington, d.c. and i live here in tampa and i'm for obama. >> we need some republican voices here. any republican -- yes, sir? you're a delegate, sir. >> charles, detroit, michigan. i'm a veteran. i want to end the war and bring our troops home. >> thank you! >> i'm from the bahamas. let's keep on. >> i'm sheena from the virgin islands, and i want to know, are the republicans going to really take women the women's right to choose? >> okay, thank you. keep asking. thank you, all. thank you all. >> ron paul or obama, they're stealing the signs. thank you very much. disparate voices here in tampa.

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i'm seema mody with your cnbc market wrap. markets were virtually flat most of the day, but selling picked up late in the session. that left the dow off 33, the s&p finished unchanged, and the nasdaq gained three. apples shares rose nearly 2% after it won a patent suit against samsung. it hit an all-time high earlier before falling back. and tiffany's shares soared more than 7% today, despite cutting fiscal year guidance. investigators took comfort, though, in an upbeat holiday forecast. that's it from cnbc, first in business worldwide. now back to "hardball."

our demographics are changing, and we have to change, not necessarily our core beliefs, but how we -- the tone of our message and the message and intensity of it, for sure. this is going to be a close election, but long-term, conservative principles, if they're to be successful and implemented, there has to be a concerted effort to reach out to a much broader audience than we do today. >> back to "hardball." that was jeb bush, of course, speaking the hard truth, you might say, on "meet the press" this past weekend. the republican party has an image problem, one that is not helped by the ridiculous comments by senate candidate todd akin, of course, not to mention the extreme abortion position, likely to be in its platform this week. so is the party trying to solve that problem in a meaningful way? of course not. their solution seems to be their version of see no evil, hear no evil. keep some of the more trouble-making voices away from the podium this week, that seems to be the strategy. the ceremony has been truncated,

thanks to the forecast, of course. but even if the weather were perfect, here are some faces you wouldn't see in prime-time this week. tea party leaders sarah palin and michele bachmann, birther dru donald trump, who said he had to cancel his trip here, and alan west and stephen king. the party is trying to pave over all the problems they have. will it work? david corn is an msnbc political analyst and aarerin mcpike is a reporter for real clear politics. thanks for joining. david, it seems it's been cleaned up, the act. you've got governor ryan speaking, governor christie speaking, the candidate, and especially the candidate's wife, putting a more moderate position or moderate face on the party. none of the people that most of us would call extremists are up there on the platform, especially during network broadcast time. >> well, this is what we can call the soviet part of the campaign, when you start photo shopping out of the picture what's been happening for the past year.

so when you have, you know, michele bachmann calling people un-american, you know, she won't be there. you know, you had this republican primary, where you had newt gingrich earlier, talking about food stamps. we had rick santorum saying that this is about the end of liberty, the end of freedom. they were very, very extreme and strident voices. and mitt romney, if he's going to win, and the conventional wisdom is he has to start making a play for some of the voters in the middle. and yet, that hasn't happened yet, keeping the crazies off the platform, maybe gives them an opening. but still doesn't really give them much of a case for the independence yet. >> and let's talk about some of the platform language. because normally you wouldn't speak about the platforms. they're boring. but this time around, the platform is so tough. look at the position on abortion. it basically says, give the rights of the 14th amendment, the ones we all enjoy as citizens, to the unborn child, right up to the point of conception. that means you've got this personhood thing out there, which means you're basically outlawing abortion. this is strong language. i'm not sure they want to get that in the front of the average middle of the road voter.

do you think? do they want that out there? >> that's why mitt romney didn't really respond to that at all, because he didn't want to create any kind of trouble with the base, so that the base makes more noise about it. >> how's he hide from his own platform when the democrats throw it back at him? >> what's interesting is, this happens time and time again, you've been covering this a long time. the ideologues of the party, it happens in the democrat party too, often take control of the platform, and the candidate often says, go ahead, platform doesn't really matter to me. it's what's on the podium. it's what the cameras see, when they record, that i care more about. so here they are, keeping the crazies off. but letting the extremists write the platform. >> and instead, they're having several names talk in prime-time like condoleezza rice and brian sandov sandoval, the governor of nevada, both of whom are pro-choice republicans. that is the image that they want to project to a larger audience. >> we'll catch this stand your ground language under the second amendment. we support the fundamental right to self-defense, wherever a law-abiding citizen has the right to be. so they're getting into that,

stand your ground. look at this. they want unlimited clips -- why would you make an issue of unlimited clips in magazines in your guns? not just certain kind of firearms -- let me get erin in here. we oppose legislation that is intended to restrict our second amendment rights by limiting the capacity of clips or magazines. why do they want to have unlimited clips? this is really -- and supporting the right of state-issued concealed issue carry limits to cross state lines. they want unlimited gun use. >> remember that a lot of voters, throughout the midwest, are single-issue -- i shouldn't say a lot. there are single-issue gun rights voters in many midwestern battleground states, and they are also trying to appeal to them. >> but they're absolutists, these people. >> they are. >> when you don't put the more strident voices on the stage and let them say what the base wants to hear, then you let them write the platform. and you let the gun rights folks whatever they want. the immigration stance is

hard-core. the abortion, no exceptions. and you just basically turn it over to the extremists. and you hope that those independent voters out there only see the pictures. >> this goes back to you covering the campaign. you cover it very well. let me ask you a question. reasonable people are putting in their minds, is romney the man of all the commitments he's made, all the platform language, or is he secretly a moderate, secretly a pragmatist? he's had to cut all these deals with the gun people and the hawks, but in his heart, he's a practical business guy. at the same time, he appeals to the people on the right. how is he? how does a voter know difference between the guy who signed off on all this stuff and what he really is? is there a difference? >> one thing we will know when he addresses the nation on thursday night is, what he believes. this is the first time he is speaking to the entire country with his -- the largest audience. so hopefully, at that point, we'll see what his answers are.

and if he has actually gotten -- >> do you think that will work? is this a litmus test, what he really believes? >> there's a story about mitt romney that to me says it all? in 1994, he wrote a letter saying, we need equal full rights for all gamericans. then he says, you have to consider who i was sending that letter to. so deep down, i don't know what's there. i don't know if the speech will give us a clear indication. it will be written by his team of mad men. >> thank you. not crazy people, right? thank you, erin mcpike and thank you, david corn. up next, if this convention gets cut back to ad day or two, what will the romney be all about? will it be damaged by a cut in half convention? maybe it will be helped by the pr. from tampa, we're here at the site of the republican convention. we don't know when it's going to start.

hey. hey eddie. i brought your stuff. you don't have to do this. yes i do. i want you to keep this. it'd be weird. take care. you too.

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[ villager 1 ] it's evil! if you'd try it, you'd know. she speaketh the truth! [ villagers gasping ] reverend? ♪ can i have some? ♪ we're back. with a tropical storm threatening to actually make landfall in new orleans tomorrow night, republicans here in tampa are debating how to move forward with their convention. republicans out here are concerned with the optics, you might call it, of celebrating in tampa while thousands of gulf coast residents, real people, are being evacuated to save their lives, and seeing their lives turned upside down, of course. turn in the memories of the botched bush administration response to katrina, and you're looking at a gop convention that may have to cancel more than just a few days of festivities. that's a tough blow to a presidential candidate who's

hoping to use this convention in tampa to introduce himself in a real way to the american people. with me now is nbc's david gregory, moderator of "meet the press," and "time" columnist, joe klein. david, what's going on in the heads of the top republican managers about the unfortunate timing of this hurricane, racing now through new orleans. and this convention, which is on schedule to reach its climax pretty much the same time. >> well, you do have this conflict, chris. because you do have this incredible desire for as much time as they can get. they've got a lot of work to do at this convention. you've outlined it during the course of the program. which is romney introducing himself in both a personal way, but also in a more policy prescriptive sort of way. the people i'm talking to say they've got to be nimble. what they're really focused on are the big four. ann and mitt romney, paul ryan, and governor chris christie. those are the four key people. if they have to, you know, basically back up and build up more prime-time in each of the two nights, wednesday and

thursday,ta they'll do that. if tomorrow has to be a day that's curtailed some, they're able to do that. i mean, right now, i think they're operating on the assumption that whatever may be headed toward new orleans won't be so bad that it impacts what they can or should do here. we simply don't know. i mean, the bobby jindals, governor jindal has pulled out of giving his convention speech, we know. but again, right now, what they're saying is, you know, fingers crossed based on the forecast, and we just have to be nimble. >> well said. i think they're, just to use tv language, i've heard they might be very concerned what they call the split screen, where one-half of those people being evacuated, joe klein, and the other half is the celebration, the people with the weird hats on and all the fun stuff at most conventions, which is legitimate in most cases. >> well, it might be time to get rid of all those stupid, weird hats, period. they're like 19th century paraphernalia. and if the republican party -- if there's a split screen, i'll tell you, chris, there are a lot more weather junkies out there

than there are political junkies. and this storm may bring more viewers to the republican convention than might have been there otherwise. >> they'll be be looking at the other side of the screen. >> and if it's a dignified convention that's about serious things -- you know, we overthink these things. >> you make a good point. what are the serious things. david, on the romney camp, has someone told you what they'd like to be the overall impact in the people's hearts by next sunday? what is it they're trying to do? >> as i talk to republicans in congress, republicans out around the country, they say look, if this is a battle of personalities, mitt romney is probably not going to win. it's got to be about ideology and about policy and results. the republicans i'm talking to say look for mitt romney to really cast himself as a mechanic. the car mechanic who can fix things. he may not be as eloquent, may not set the room on fire or

excite everybody, but he can get things done. there are risks that come with that, but i think that everyone is sort of gearing themselves towards going in that direction. and you're seeing it from romney himself. when he says i am who i am. i'm a data guy. saying he's about metrics. some can sound cold and distant. that may be the risk. but that's the direction they're going. got to be the guy who can execute and accomplish where they would argue president obama has not. >> you know, they seem to be of two minds on this. because the presidential candidate romney has brought people to church with him. that's very unusual, i think, for him. doing it the last few sundays. he is putting more of ann out there politically. so it seems like he's thinking maybe he can sell his personality, his family life. >> they're trying to do two or three different things. the message, most important for

romney to get across this week is it's about jobs. it's about the economy. it's about i can do this better than that other guy can. however, he picked a vice president for whom it's about medicare. it's about abortion and social issues which kind of muddies that message. then the way they've used ann romney is unfortunate because too often she's had to be out there defending her husband on things like tax returns rather than just being, you know, the advocate for him as human being. >> david if you had to score this convention in advance and say what would be a success here. would it be romney breaks through as a person, that he convinces people that i may not have the personality here but i'm the guy you need for this. >> i think it's twofold and i agree with joe. he's got to show who he is. he's a hard guy to get to know. whether it's his faith which is a driving force in niz life, his

marriage, the fact he's a dad and grandfather, i think that's got to come through. that was one of the things i remember from the 2000 convection from george w. bush that came through strongly. he's also got a demonstrate he's leading this republican party rather than the other way around. i think that's something that he's been struggling with. and again as we've been talking about there is a vision. there's a vision to get people back to work. he's got to get back to the terrain. so many people are out of work. who gives us the best chance to get back? i've spoken to people in ohio where there is a belief there are more undecided voters than we know. that's who he's talking to. people who are softly committed who are not ironclad in their support for the president. >> how does he address the oldest question in politics? they talk to the room but it's broadcast. here's a guy who has to talk to

people in the far fringe, the real pro-lifers to the point of relentlessness, the people who don't like marriage equality. how does he talk to those and appeal to the country? >> he's never had a voice for the vast middle. now he has a situation where he's being denigrated by his own base. grover norquist says he's going to be an auto pen. >> what about donald trump showing up here? he says he's going to show up some time this week. >> i'm not going there with donald trump. i don't acknowledge his political existence. >> i don't know if i got a bottom. this is the strangest weather, i've got to say. when are they going to stop having conventions this far south. >> i like when you said that earlier in the program. i always like that. it's true. that is tampa. i just want to say quickly, i think this is his question of

reaching the middle of the electorate. political professionals thnl it's a fool's errand to say we can get things done. are people too cynical? is it simply about ideological warfare. and we ef got to take the white house so we can jam through the change we want. that's what i'll be looking for whether it's that kind of message or would appeal more to the middle of the electorate. >> i'm going to talk about the high road and low road when i come back. thank you. when we return, let me finish with what it can be at its best and what it shouldn't be and already smells like. this is the place for politics, tampa. charity charity to prove how great the fit is even while playing pro football. the best protection now looks, fits and feels just like underwear. get a free sample and try one on for yourself.

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let me finish tonight with this. the republicans could win this election just on the arithmetic. if they can't make something of an 8-plus jobless rate they shouldn't be in the running. the point is and we can agree on this, they shouldn't do some of the stuff they're doing on the eve of this convention. desperate or not. welfare cheats, food stamps, the birther game is below a major political party. including and especially the party of lincoln. i don't know why romney hooked up with donald trump. i don't know why trump himself is pushing the birther issue so hard.