they could not get underneath the power lines. that's how high the water was. >> just one of the many examples of just how bad things have gotten there in new orleans. msnbc's tamron hall is there and joins us to fill us in. the situation seems to be getting worse because this is such a slow moving storm. >> you know what's interesting, how you measure what's worse. this thing, thomas, when it rolled in, this has been consistent. i can't even honestly say it's been up and down. this is what we've consist intly seen in this storm since it barreled into this region. you were talking about plaquemines parish. a portion of that area was under mandatory evacuation. about 7,000 in the area most susceptible to this storm. i interviewed the president of that parish right before the storm. and he was concerned that their levee would be over top. the deal here is, thomas, that is not a part of the billions spent to secure new orleans and the levee system for new orleans.

in fact, just a short time ago, the army corps of engineers said that system is working. they are right now concerned about the pumps, but the levee system, the billions spent to improve that infrastructure, that's working. we're talking about a different levee system in plaquemines parish that they've not been able to secure. so there are many questions harding that. but the bottom line is the national guard moving into that area, they hope to rescue as many as 12 people, as we understand, who are trapped. the parish president said that 12 feet, 14 feet of water in some of these homes. so that is a big focus right now. obviously, you've got thousands of people without power. just shy of about 500,000, thomas, in this region. i'm talking about louisiana. i'm talking about alabama. and georgia. so -- excuse me, alabama, mississippi, louisiana. and so we've got a lot of issues here. so in addition to this storm that you see that's still hovering over new orleans. the rescues that are important right now. people without power.

that is important. the power situation will not be dealt with until these winds are -- you can't send in people to fix the power lines. i can't even get to my blackberry. i have a laundry list of streets closed because of power lines being down. rescuing those people who may be trapped in plaquemines parish is of immediate concern. when i can knock down five priorities right now as we're deal with this storm. it is not the levee system put in place in new orleans but we know right now the people here are in an unfortunate situation yet again seven years to the day that we were here for hurricane katrina. >> you said you spoke to plaquemines parish president talking about the levee system. did he address why that wasn't part of the billion-dollar plan to address -- >> it's interesting. hang on, sir. for some reason, someone is

driving through these shots. but the bottom line is that according to billy, the parish was responsible for coming up with that money. the federal funding went into securing new orleans. and he says that they have fallen just shy of the money needed. most of that levee system is earth. the last couple of days they were sandbagging that area trying to secure. but again, the community knew they were at risk. not blaming the people, of course not, but we knew the risk going in with plaquemines parish. and billy knew the risks as well. he was concerned that the levee would be overtopped by the water. this concern was acknowledged. so now there are many questions that we have here different than we had with katrina because i do believe billy has been proactive. he's even very vocal. he's a straight shooter, one of those southern kind of guys. he'll answer those questions. he's saying in his estimation, what's happening in plaquemines parish and we're about an hour and a half away from there, it's

worse than katrina for that region. he says he did not see water levels to this sdreeg degree in parish when hurricane katrina hit here. interesting numbers here. but we're talking about lives. we're talking about people who seven years later are dealing with this storm. is not katrina. meteorologists say do not compare this to katrina but nevertheless, the hardships being felt by this monster storm will linger for days from now, thomas. >> msnbc's tamron hall reporting from new orleans. we're going to be speaking with senator mary landrieu coming up in the half hour here to talk about what's taking place in plaquemines parish and also about louisiana as a state. right now the gop numbers man, paul ryan is prepping to make his big debut when he takes center stage at the gop convention in florida. he's going to have a tough act to follow after ann romney's big speech last night. there you see mrs. romney this morning attending a victory breakfast in tampa with paul

ryan's wife jana. ann romney's speech is the most buzzed about on twitter. she got a standing ovation after telling the story of a man, a marriage and a family. >> i love you women! and i hear your voices. i read somewhere that mitt and i have a storybook marriage. well, let me tell you something. in the storybooks i read, there never were long, long rainy winter afternoons in a house with five boys screaming at once. and those storybooks never seemed to have a chapter called m.s. or breast cancer. a storybook marriage? nope. not at all. what mitt romney and i have is a real marriage. >> new jersey governor chris christie followed ann romney on that stage. dished out plenty of red meat rhetoric in his keynote address.

>> i know the simple truth. and i am not afraid to say it. our ideas are right for america, and their ideas have failed america. here's their plan. whistle a happy tune while driving us off the fiscal cliff. as long as they are behind the wheel of power when we fall. >> let's say good morning to our wednesday political power panel. joy ann reed, managing editor for the grio. chris kofinas and aliss. we're going to look forward before we monday morning quarterback here. alice, i want to start with you. as we talked about, paul ryan is tonight. this is the biggest speech of his life. the obama campaign is already out with this new ad hitting ryan. take a look. >> mitt romney has chosen paul ryan to be his vice presidential candidate. mr. ryan is new to the national scene with out of step views from a bygone era. >> alice, what does paul ryan

need to do to silence anyone who may think he's a risky pick on mitt romney's part? >> he was a fantastic pick on romney's part simply because the biggest issue in this election cycle is economy. and who is going to turn the economy around to create jobs? and paul ryan's approach and the romney/ryan ticket is to take away and do away with big government spending and encourage private sector growth and start out to balance the budget. and their plan for middle class america is one that will work which focuses on energy exploration and encourages better job skills for people out there entering the workforce. it includes doing away with obama care and reducing the debt and deficit. and also doing away with burdensome government regulations. those steps will go a long way to helping to turn the economy around and create jobs. paul ryan knows these numbers. he's been a numbers cruncher for quite some time. and as one great iowa blogger said, he is the president's worst nightmare. and that's because he does know the numbers.

and the obama campaign doesn't like to talk about the economy because the economy is in a bad shape and the policies have failed to make things better for the american people. but the romney/ryan ticket has a solution that this country needs. >> chris, the obama ad also hits paul ryan on his record for women. he has to follow in the footsteps of sarah palin's speech in '08 where she knocked it out of the park. are democrats hopeful that paul ryan doesn't make a case for women voters tonight, the all-important middle class working woman? >> well, to be honest, i'm not sure what the focus of ryan's speech is going to be because i don't think he's going to be talking about women's issues because his policies and positions when he was in congress, or since he's been in congress are not very good for women. i'm not sure what he's going to say about the deficit and debt because if you look at his numbers for a guy who is supposedly a budget guy, can't do math because his very budget idea is adding to the debt. he's going to have to talk about voucherizing and privatizing a

program most american s cherish. he's going to give what people expect but the message is not going to be bought just because he says it. it's going to be bought as credibility. when you scratch past the surface you see a plan that doesn't pass muster. >> all right. so joy ann, he doesn't think that he's going to talk about medicare tonight. the new "washington post" polling goes into this week's convention saying romney topped the president on the issue of medicare. so what democrats were hoping to win on especially in florida is that message. so has the romney camp turned that issue around in their favor? >> well, i think one poll really doesn't necessarily tell the story. what you have is an electorate very polarized. each of these guys is going in with a pretty high base. very few undecided voters left. older voters are skewing toward the republican party and toward romney and ryan regardless. but today, greeting ryan is a full page ad in the tampa

tribune about the issue of voucherizing medicare. that's an issue that tends to favor democrats. what cuts against that is that older, senior voter, particularly older white voters tend to skew toward the republican party and toward romney as opposed to president obama. i think for paul ryan it's a national challenge at humanizing himself on the issues of medicare, on these women's issues which cut against him and on the compassion issue. i think ann romney had to humanize mitt romney. tonight paul ryan has to humanize himself. >> speaking of ann romney, she spoke briefly this morning about her big speech. she was addressing a group at a victory breakfast. take a listen. >> i said last night, you can trust this man. i also said he will not fail. >> all right. so alice, your reaction to the speech. was that ann romney's finest moment last night? >> i think she did a fantastic job. and as tom brokaw said, she not only talked about her husband but why he would be a good

president and did it with great compassion and a lot of women were brought to tears in the convention hall last night because it was a very heartfelt speech. what she also did, which was incredibly important, was she appealed to the women in the audience and across the country watching on television. she talked about how women have a hard job in this country. moms of this country, grandparents of this country. women get up earlier and stay up later to get their kids ready for school. and they worry about putting gas in the tank and food on the table. women have a difficult role. and also an important role in this election cycle. and she empathized with them and stressed the importance of them getting involved. >> a big night for ann romney. also for chris christie. however, a lot of people have been analyzing the fact that christie didn't mention romney until 16 minutes into that speech last night. before that he focused primarily on himself. take a look. >> we need politicians to care more about doing something and less about being something.

and, believe me, believe me if we can do this in a blue state like new jersey with a conservative republican governor, washington, d.c., is out of excuses. >> more about doing something, less about being something. i don't know. mixed message there because he was definitely doing something for himself there last night. if you are mitt romney and you make this early appearance on that convention floor to thank ann for her speech and then you have to sit there and watch chris christie and the cutaways. did you guys notice the cutaways? he looked heavyhearted and in pain at times in a room that was supposed to be full of love for him. what did you think of chris christie's speech? >> well, it was an interesting juxtaposition. i thought ann romney did a really good job. i think she gave a great speech. then you go to christie where he talks about himself. he didn't get the memo his job was to go there and talk about mitt romney. very self-serving speech. and to be honest, when you look at the message, the part about the line where he talked about shared sacrifice. give me a break.

you can't talk about shared sacrifice when you aren't willing to talk about the wealthy paying a little bit more in taxes. it's a little bit laughable. a very selfish speech, i think, on christie's part. i don't think he did a lot of service to the romney campaign. >> all right. i want to thank my wednesday power panel, joy-ann reid, chris kofinas and alice stewart. we are keeping a close eye on what's taking place with isaac. a slow moving category 1 hurricane. now sulking -- or soaking the louisiana coast. i'm going to talk with senator mary loaned randrieu who rode o storm in her home. former congressman artur davis, a former democrat and ted cruise who sprinkle someday spanish into his big speech. and as always, we want to hear what you think. do you think they should have switched up last night. maybe let ann romney go last and

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as we speak, rescue efforts are under way in new orleans, specifically in plaquemines parish. hurricane isaac's storm surge topped the levee leaving people stranded. climbing to their roofs of their homes wait tock ring to be resc. this shows the severity of the winds coming through. some higher gusts tearing the awning off a starbucks there. this is just a category 1 storm. nothing to take for granted when dealing with isaac. joining me from home is democratic senator mary landrieu of louisiana. it's good to have you here. from your sources from within

the state, where has isaac done the most damage? is it plaquemines parish? >> that is one of the pinpoints of the damage. i just spoke with craig fugate. he's embedded in baton rouge which is our state capital at the emergency center and spoke with him at length this morning. and the facts are these winds have been hurricane level for now over 12 to 15 hours in some parts of the state. the lower parts of the state. i'm in new orleans and have been experiencing these winds in the central city. they are going to continue to go on, which is really limiting. the people that can get out on the street to do the assessments necessary. we do see from the television, of course, the drama going on in plaquemine parish. those are local levees. not federal levees that were overtopped and people should have evacuated and didn't. the coast guard is now on the scene helping people to move to

safety. electricity is out in many parts of the metropolitan area. over 350,000 homes without power, which is complicating matters. but, you know, we're still right in the middle of this. this storm is nasty, and unfortunately sort of stationary. >> senator, as you -- >> it doesn't seem want to to move. >> as we talk about what's being seen in plaquemines parish and people asked to evacuate, those who couldn't, climbing to their rooftops waiting for rescue, you said they were local levees topped there nork, not the fede ones. is there an effort or concern that there needs to be federal attention put in that area and other areas where now they can take their sights off of what's been done post-katrina to focus on other areas like plaquemines parish? >> our congressional delegation fought hard to encourage the corps after katrina to look at this particular levee. but they do cost analysis that

says something like only x number of people live behind this levee so we can't help it. but they fail to realize that that protection is the first level of protection as well as grand isle for an entire metropolitan area. so our delegation has been fighting the corps assumptions for years and years and years. that's not to say the locals don't have responsibility and the state, but the corps' assumptions have to be adjusted for this gulf coast region. we are the eye of these, you know, we're hurricane alley. most of the hurricanes in the country will hit somewhere along the gulf coast. and i think we have to have some, you know, different assumptions. but nonetheless, the coast guard, which is terrific, is out there doing what they can. and we're going to continue to press the corps in the future for some additional help. >> democratic senator mary landrieu of louisiana. thank you for taking time out for us and stay safe and we'll be talking again soon. thank you. >> thank you.

it's a big night for congressman paul ryan as he accepts his party's nomination for vice president. and truly introduces himself to a nation. and then tomorrow, it's going to be all about mitt romney. his wife really did steal the show last night. can he do the same? megan mccain joins me to weigh in on that next. wider awake. only the beautyrest recharge sleep system combines the comfort of aircool memory foam layered on top of beautyrest pocketed coils to promote proper sleeping posture all night long. the revolutionary recharge sleep system from beautyrest... it's you, fully charged. receive up to a $300 beautyrest visa prepaid card when you buy select beautyrest mattress sets. t dog. every bite goes above and beyond the call of deliciousness. that's a big 10-4 kosher. with no fillers, by-products, artificial flavors or colors. hebrew national. the better-than-a-hot dog- hot dog.

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you are the ones that have to do a little bit more, and you know what it's like to work a little harder during the day to earn the respect you deserve at work. and then you come home at night and help with a book report just because it has to be done. >> ann romney delivering what is considered the most important speech of her life at the republican national convention last night. many of her remarks appealing directly to women. the hopeful first lady focused a lot on her marriage of 42 years, a little less on politics trying to set the stage directly for her husband. >> i can't tell you what will happen over the next four years, but i can only stand here tonight as a wife and a mother and a granmother, an american and make you this solemn

commitment. this man will not fail. >> the biggest question now, can mitt romney outshine his biggest fan? we want to say good morning to meghan mccain, daily beast columnist and daughter of former republican presidential nominee senator john mccain. she joins us from tampa. your thoughts. did she give her husband a tough act to follow for tomorrow night? >> the only down side of her speech last night is that she is ghif giving her husband a very tough act to follow. there wasn't one woman, democrat or republican out there that didn't find her appealing and warm and just, you know, quite frankly looking like the next first lady. >> she's got a lot of gravitas. what was the atmosphere like in the convention center? lawrence o'donnell noted he didn't think that ann romney's speech drew the same reaction that sarah palin's did in '08, but do you think that's comparing apples to oranges? >> oh, i think that's a completely unfair comparison.

ann romney last night was going as the spouse. and the potential first lady, sarah palin was more, you know, red meat to the lion so to speak in trying to turn up more politics. her speech last night was about life and love and being a woman. >> your dad is going to speak tonight. any insight on what to expect from him? he starts off at 8:00 p.m. >> i think you can expect red nooet t meat to the lions, if i know my father. it's going to be what chris christie didn't do last night i think my father will give to republicans tonight. >> you speak about chris christie what he didn't give. do you have a monday morning quarterbacking of that speech? what did you think especially with that being backed up to ann romney. >> i love chris christie. i'm a chris christie groupie. i was expecting, you know, a much harder, more attacks on president obama and this administration and it seemed more like chris christie possibly running for 2016. which is all well and good except for the fact that right now we're here to celebrate mitt

romney. >> i just got this e-mail that maybe your mom cindy mccain is going to join us tomorrow. is that true? can i say that? >> yes. and you know she kind of thinks you are a cutie, so very excited. >> i am excited to have her on. i'll have the mccain lady time with both of you tomorrow. meghan mccain from tampa. i appreciate it. we're keeping a close watch on what's happening in new orleans right now. the levees are intact expect for the local one as we heard from senator mary landrieu in plaquemines parish. still lots of flooding. storm surge there. not everyone evacuated, though. about 120 members of the national guard are helping in and around areas of new orleans now to rescue people. plus, republicans, they continue to gather in tampa making their case against the president. house speaker john boehner saying he should be tossed out. ben labeouf is the spokesperson for the obama campaign. their response next. not in my! this new flavor lock pack from maxwell house helps seal in freshness.

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within seconds, the wind picks up. even 20 miles an hour. they are gusting to 84 miles an hour in this wind tunnel. >> easy, and it's a stinging rain. >> yeah, i want to thank mother nature for this free daeerma abrasion here. >> that's the "today" show's al roker and jim cantore. this storm's damage is far from over. it's forced a massive national rescue to take place. a national guard rescue in plaquemines parish. this is a live look in st. bernard of another rescue that's taking place there. just look at the water that's amassed there on the street level. damage is visible all over and around the gulf. nearly 500,000 customers are currently without power. now if that wasn't bad enough, forecasters say it could be friday before this storm is truly gone. and there's another tropical

storm on the horizon. now for the very latest on the storm track, we want to check in with wnbc meteorologist raphael miranda. explain what we're seeing, where this storm is going to be going because, obviously, the gulf, it's already battered already and doesn't look like it's going anywhere any time soon. >> that's right, thomas. it's all about the slow forward movement of hurricane isaac. again, still a category 1 hurricane. and the storm, as you can see on the radar here, the eye wall has been fighting off the dry air. that's allowed this rain machine to keep going. the engine pulling in all of that tropical moisture. that's why the torrential downpour still extend from the panhandle to central louisiana. take a look at what we've seen. rainfall totals already 9 1/2 inches of rain fallen in new orleans. and, of course, it's nowhere near over. we've seen half a foot of rain in boothville and close to half a foot in mobile, alabama. this is what we'll dump on top of what's already falling.

another half a foot possible around new orleans and another foot of rain possible from gulfport to baton rouge. it's all about the flooding and the storm surge. of course, the winds as well. those hurricane force winds will stay to the south n and west of new orleans. we want to switch gears and check in with gabe gutierrez from plaquemines parish. we've been hearing that is one of the areas hardest hit because the local levees there the manmade levees were toppled earlier today. >> that's exactly right, thomas. we've been here for a few hours now. what we've seen has been incredible. let me get out of the way and show you. a full national guard rescue going on right now. in the distance you can see the flood wall. that is what the problem area has been behind that. there's one neighborhood that is completely under water. national guard and local emergency officials have been going back there on their boat and trying to rescue people in that neighborhood. at least about 10, 12 feet of water from what we can tell.

that levee behind us is about 20 feet high. but the storm surge of this -- of isaac has just been incredible. the parish president here says that it is worse than katrina and the national guard has rescued several dozen people. they plan to rescue up to 60 people. this is a very rural parish that was told to evacuate three days ago. several people didn't, however. and this is the situation. again, let me step out. you can see national guard officials are here. they are trying to figure out how many people are still stuck in that subdivision. we spoke with several residents. some of them very thankful they've been rescued but also we spoke with one woman whose husband is still back there taking care of their pets in the second story of their home. we do not know if he has survived. we do not know how many people are over there right now but we can tell you that conditions here in plaquemines parish have been deteriorating over the past several hours, and there's a national guard rescue of several dozen people under way right now. thomas? >> gabe gutierrez reporting for us. oh, gabe, before we let you go.

when it comes to the evacuation orders, are people there getting the word? i mean, i know some people weren't able to get out. but were people able to get the word of what the storm's conditions are now to know that this storm has effectively stalled in the area? >> well, in this area, and i'm speaking about plaquemines parish, many of them said they expected them to be bad but not this bad. overnight there was -- and as i step out of the way, there's even, you know, more national guard troops are showing up. the residents have been telling us that it came on very quickly. the floodwaters just came into their homes. so before they realized it, the water was already in the second floor of their homes. some of them had to get themselves to the roof. so if you are asking if people are heeding the evacuation warnings, at this point if they are back there, they have been rescued or the rest of the emergency operators have not gotten to them yet. we're being told they're having a very tough time actually getting to some of the

neighborhoods because the water is so high up that they can't get under the telephone lines and power lines. so a very difficult situation over here, thomas. we'll continue to monitor it. >> nbc's gabe gutierrez, thanks. we'll check back in with you. want to take you back to tampa and the man who hopes to be america's next vice president is prepping for what could be the biggest speech of his political career. paul ryan will formally introduce himself to millions of voters during an address in the primetime spotlight night. this morning, his wife jana stressed her knimt the campaign during a women for romney breakfast. >> i just want to say thank you to the romneys for welcoming me, my husband, paul, our three children on this journey. our families, our children, our future, that's what this race is all about. >> nbc's ron mott joins me from tampa on what we can expect to hear tonight from paul ry.

obviously this is going to be the biggest night of his life. biggest speech for sure. >> good day to you. he'll be front and center. a lot of folks getting their first look at paul ryan tonight. and we are told that he's going to focus a lot on -- in the speech on the budget. that's what he's an expert at. he's considered a budget hawk. republicans have circled around his plan for trying to turn america's economic fortunes around. he's also going to try to shore up his lack of experience if you will in foreign affairs. and so we expect to hear a little bit on that front as well. he's a social conservative. we'll have to see how much he goes into that area and has been considered for a lot of republicans the third rail for them and in light of this todd akin controversy. we'll see how much he gets into that. what mitt romney has been trying to sell paul ryan as is almost as an outsider but with an insider's knowledge of how washington works. the reality is that paul ryan has been in congress the halls of congress one-third his life. he's 42 years old. he's been in congress for 14 years. so we'll see if he tries to sell himself as someone who can actually effect some change in

washington. everyone knows how well congress is regarded by the american people. so this is a big speech. we've asked him on the plane a couple of times what he's going to talk about. he wouldn't give us any spfrks. he said he wrote a lot of speeches early in his career and knows the power of words. >> obviously hindsight being 20/20 and how things have been digested since last night and today in the media news cycle, do you think they are paying close attention especially since this is a condensed schedule and we have a lot of people, senator john mccain, rob portman speaking tonight, tim pawlenty, mike huckabee and condoleezza rice. >> a lot of voices to be heard tonight. paul ryan is one of the new rock star -- one of the new rock stars of this party. there will be some wrapped attention in this building when he comes out. it's been the year of the wisconsin delegation. scott walker got a huge applause yesterday when he came out. obviously the chairman priebus is from wisconsin as well. so they will cheer quite heartily for paul ryan tonight.

a lot of folks getting their first look at him and the american people can decide whether they think he's fit to serve. >> ron mott from tampa, thank you. appreciate it. want to keep a close eye on what's taking place along the gulf as we continue to watch the rescue operations that are taking place in and around new orleans. specifically in plaquemines parish where local levees were topped early this morning. these are manmade levees. about 8 to 9 feet. water, storm surge was able to pour over forcing major evacuations in that area. we're going to take you back there, get you up to speed on the local evacuations and much more about the track of this storm that it's just right now stalling over the area. want to try to crack it? yeah, that's the way to do it! now we need a little bit more... a little bit more vanilla? this is great! [ male announcer ] at humana, we believe there's never been a better time to share your passions because the results... are you having fun doing this? yeah. that's a very nice cake!

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and around plaquemines parish. earlier today, that's when floodwaters came over the local levees there in plaquemines parish. a big distinction is these are the nonfederal levees that were breached. so they were not part of the billions of dollars that were spent on levees in and around new orleans to shore up things after hurricane katrina came through. as we had senator mary landrieu on during this hour talking about the fact that they need to relook at certain places. plaquemines parish was not considered for the federal funds to shore up what is to be a porous area as we're seeing now. they've had 2,000 people at least receive evacuation orders in that area for the people that were unable to escape the floodwaters, the storm surge that poured in, they climbed to their roofs and that's where the national guard is now going and trying to take people by boat out of the area. one thing we do have an update for about the gulf situation, airports that have closed down in biloxi, bay st. louis in mobile, new orleans, of course,

pensacola. so this is affecting major travel for the area, as well as we know that over 500,000 people in and around the gulf area are without power as they are riding out this storm. our kate snow just recently interviewed the mayor of new orleans, mitch landrieu. he's been at the emergency operations center all night long. he says he hasn't heard of many major problems within the city of new orleans itself. however, power is out in much of the city. about 60% of the city considered to be without power. the levee system, though, is doing what it's supposed to do for new orleans. and that is good news for that city. we'll keep you posted on that. but president obama as we get back to the campaign trail is on it and in virginia right now while the republicans are holding their convention in florida. we're going to speak with ben labolt, the national press secretary for the obama campaign. he is in tampa as well. ben, i know you were watching last night. paying very close attention and the president took an offensive approach to the republican national convention yesterday on

his college tour. i want to remind everybody. take a look. >> the show in tamp aitampa, i' will be very entertaining and i'm sure they'll have wonderful things to say about me. they've hired all kinds of fancy tv producers. and the only problem is, it won't offer a path forward. >> ben, historically candidates keep a low profile during their opponent's nominating proceedings. is the fact you are doing otherwise indicating that you might be nervous about this campaign and how tight this election campaign fight is? >> we heard some complaints from the romney campaign about it, but governor romney travelled to denver during the president's convention the last time and gave a high-profile network interview on cbs. we're down here talking about mitt romney's plans because that's something that the convention hasn't highlighted so far. you heard a lot of the same recycled attacks on the president, but very little about what mitt romney would do to create good paying, sustainable jobs for the middle class which is the question that americans

will ask when they go to the polls on election day. and so we're here asking where the hard truths. we've heard about hard truths. will congressman ryan look students in the eye tonight and tell them that it will be harder to get a loan if governor romney and congressman ryan are elected? will he look seniors in the eye and tell them they'll be paying thousands more out of pocket for their health care costs if they're e lected. >> you talk about the fact the right has not put out specifics, most importantly about the economy and how they'd get people back to work. what specifically is the president saying to get people to believe he can do that especially if the record over the first four years isn't providing that going into the next? >> well, the president has a jobs act that's been on the table since last fall that would create a million jobs right now. it's filled with ideas that democrats and republicans have supported in the past. governor romney has opposed it and congressman ryan has obstructed it. he's outlined a blueprint for an economy built to last that includes investments in education and research and development and infrastructure. all areas where mitt romney and

paul ryan would cut back. but if you want to talk about specifics and hard truths, tonight is the opportunity for paul ryan to take responsibility. when he walks out on stage and looks at that debt clock for his votes over the years. for two unfunded wars. and tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires that caused the deficit to explode in the first place. and you might as well add $5 trillion on that to account for the tax cut for the wealthiest that he and mitt romney are proposing right now. >> you have to admit on the hill, both sides have played chicken on a lot of big issues when it comes to how the economy has come back or not come back in some people's estimations. republicans have delivered some pretty blistering remarks directly at the president. i want you to take a listen to one from house speaker john boehner. >> a guy walked into a bar and heard that story and he said, well, if you've got a business you didn't build that, well, you know what we do with him, don't you? we'd throw him out. >> how do you respond to that.

they've definitely picked up on the narrative of the president when he was talking about the speech where he said you didn't build that referring to the fact that in this country it's through the government we have roads, we have school houses, that we have teachers, things that call all of us to rise up, to be successful. but what do you think of them grabbing ahold of that theme and running with the ball? >> the convention last night was based on two lies. one, lies about the president's remarks there when he was talking about the things that there are steps we can take to create a strong business climate. he believes that small business is the engine of job creation. that's why he's cut taxes for small businesses 18 times. why his additional hiring incentives in his jobs act on the table right now that republicans could pass. but at the end of the day, i think that if we're talking about who is going to get thrown out of a bar, at this point in time, the republicans for a reason kept all the congressional republicans at the beginning of the program long

before primetime, they might as well have hid them in the witness protection program. that's because their approval rating is so low. there's been this intransigence from them. i think voters across the country are going to reject that as both a philosophy and a political strategy on election day. >> big week for you next week. you ready? >> i think we are. the president is hitting the road this weekend. he'll be highlighting the stories of american heroes across the country that have overcome adversity during a challenging time for our nation. and have also worked to rebuild the economy in their state. that's something we heard from republican governors about last night from virginia and wisconsin. >> right. >> and ohio. policies that have -- that have helped get this economy on back. the president's policies. such as the auto recovery which

mitt romney has opposed. we're hearing more about that in the roll into charlotte. >> ben labolt of the obama campaign. nice to see you. we'll be back in a moment. in case you didn't get to see all of the highlights at yesterday's republican national convention, here are some of the moments from the first night. the big first night. >> mr. president, i'm here to tell you the american people are awake and we're not buying what you're selling in 2012. this is our america. this is the america we know because we built it. >> some of you may know the last time i spoke at a convention, it turned out i was in the wrong place. may it be said of this time in our history, 2008 to 2011, lesson learned. 2012, mistake corrected. >> i have the honor of standing

before you this evening for one reason. because thousands and thousands of grassroots activists stood united, not for a candidate but for the sake of liberty. we are seeing something extraordinary, something that has dumbfounded the chattering class. it began in 2010 right here in florida. in utah, in kentucky, and in pennsylvania. it continued this summer in the state of indiana, in nebraska, in wisconsin, and in the lone star state.

we are seeing a great awakening, a national movement of we, the people, brought together by what unites us, a shared love of liberty and an understanding of the unlimited potential of free men and free women. >> my grandfather, like millions of other immigrants, didn't come here for some government guarantee of income equality or government benefits to take care of his family. in 1923, there were no government benefits for immigrants except one, freedom. >> live free or die. that's the motto of the great state of new hampshire, but i believe tonight, we all share that view, as have generations of americans before us. look! she wears the scarlet markings! out! your kind is not welcome here!

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welcome back. want to keep you up to speed on

the breaking news we've been following in and around the gulf coast as hurricane isaac continues to batter louisiana and mississippi, alabama as well. these are images coming to us out of louisiana. the big news has been out of plaquemines parish, where the local levees were breached earlier today, water coming over, surging, the storm surge, that is, from this storm about eight to nine feet of water. the national guard is currently evacuating and rescuing people there that took to their roofs for safety. we will stay on top of that story, bring you the very latest on msnbc. that will wrap things up for me this hour. see you back here later today. tomorrow at 11:00, you can join me and florida congresswoman fredericka wilson. meghan mccain will be back. until then, follow me on twitter. don't go anywhere. "now" with alex wagner is coming up next. it was a late night for you. i was following you on twitter.

it was a late night for the country. we will be continuing to monitor hurricane isaac as it slams louisiana and mississippi coastlines. we will get an update at the top of the hour and then, love versus respect. ann romney and chris christie had dueling messages last night but did mitt romney score any wins? we will discuss the hits and misses with the a.p.'s casey hunt and sam stein, plus republicans spent the evening attacking welfare and celebrating voter i.d. laws. we will talk about the grand old strategy. and tonight's p.r. blitz. ezra klein joins us for a closer look at paul ryan and his plan for america when "now" starts in a mere 180 seconds. if you have copd like i do, you know how hard it can be to breathe and what that feels like. copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva helps control my copd symptoms by keeping my airways open a full 24 hours. plus, it reduces copd flare-ups.

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