>> joining me today, msnbc political analyst and former rnc chairman the notorious michael steele. is back. heather magee, vice president of demos is here, msnbc contributor and former chief economist to vice president joe biden. jared bernstein. and the man with the golden throat, msnbc political analyst and georgetown university professor michael eric dyson. halloween has come early for the romney/ryan ticket. we've already gotten a sneak peek at governor romney's costume. he showed up at monday's debate disguised as a foreign policy moderate. now looks like his running mate will dress up as a champion for the poor. in a few hours congressman ryan wil deliver his first major policy speech of the campaign that will foe tus on poverty and upward mobility. according to excerpts released ryan will say --

what a costume. as a champion for america's underprivileged ryan will likely attempt to hide the fact that 62% of the spending cuts he proposed in his 2013 house budget come from programs that help the poor. according to the center on budget policy priorities and while romney will say that every american should have the ability to rise to escape from poverty his budget would bring the cleaver down on programs that give the disenfranchised a shot including job dwrantss and pell grants. under ryan's plan, pell grants for 1 million students would be eliminated. ryan will say in today's speech that, quote -- it is unclear whether that

compassion includes steep cuts to food stamps as part of ryan's budget plan 8 to 10 million americans will be kicked off the program that helps them feed themselves and their families. and finally, a new report from the urban institute finds the ryan budget would slash funding for medicaid by $1.7 trillion and cut the number of people enrolled by 50%. given this, dressing up as a champion for society's most vulnerable will be quite the costume drama. let's not forget how romney and ryan characterized those in need of government assistance or in ryan's words the takers. >> right now about 60% of the american people get more benefits benefit s in dollar value than they pay back in taxes. we're going to takers versus

makers in america. they'll be dependent on the government for the livelihoods. >> this halloween is shaping up to be downright terrifying. jared bernstein as someone who knows about numbers and budgets and economics, the case that the romney/ryan ticket i think will probably make over the course of the next two weeks will be some version of that which they've spun for the last few months which is this notion that supply side economics trickle down economics benefits the country in terms of economic growth. there is a chart that david leanhart published in the new york tiles -- >> i love charts. >> they are based on facts. and if you look at it, the more you cut taxes the less the country's economy grows. how do they keep making this argument at this point is this. >> that's a good question because what we have found is that supply side tax cuts this trickle down notion, really results in two things, far less revenue for the federal government so a larger budget

deficit and exactly what you would expect, higher incomes at the very top of the scale based on the very large tax cuts that leaves you with. if you look at the romney/ryan plan trickle down double down. not just making the bush tax cuts permanent adding $5 trillion on that. the theory of the case when it comes to poverty is drawn from this trickle down idea. the thing that's holding back poor people is not the fact that they don't have enough jobs at living wages, not that they can't afford health care, they're discriminated against from an equal educational opportunity, they have too many government benefits, food stamps. >> if you take those cuts way i, which i find wrenching that you think about the market failure that poor people have experienced, emotionally wrenching, society wrenching, bad politics in economics they look at those and say that's the way to go if you want to reduce

poverty, force people to pull themselves up against the boot straps. the evidence goes the other way. over the business cycle expansion over the 2,000s, poverty rates did not go down, they went up. >> chairman. >> yes. >> i ask you, in terms -- look, there is an argument to be made here. jared makes an eloquent argument. we had stats we used. what is the point of introducing a policy speech like this late in the campaign season? >> i don't know what the specifics are behind doing the policy speech at this point but i do know that it is consistent from the paul ryan perspective with his relationship with jack kemp who was an advocate and really the father for a form of empowerment that goes to some of the core roots of what the republican party and this economic philosophy has been about. it has been sort of that boot strap argument. but the thing that i always appreciated about jack kemp he had sort of thurgood marshall

approach as well. sometimes the government actually or someone else has to reach down and help -- bend down and help you up. we'll see. i want to wait to see the whole speech. i understand taking the piece out. i don't know exactly how they're going to frame this argument at this stage. i like the power of it. i'll tell you why. it's about time that this campaign, this president and this nominee for president on the republican side, talk about the poor in this country and bring this into the light of day. my biggest concern has always been whether it's the obama administration or future administration, all of this growth in the economy and all this, you know, rising tide lifts all boats, let's talk about people having a boat first. when the tide comes in, they can actually take advantage of all the trickle down, all of the programs, all of the things that are supposedly going to be put in place. i want to wait to see what they're going to say, to spell out their agenda for addressing poverty. i'm glad it's about time we're talking about it. i think it's a little late in the game to be honest because i've said over a year ago, this

should have been a lead-off discussion for the party. but we're here, so let's see what happens. >> heather, the poverty never came up in any of the presidential debates. we have 48% -- according to the census bureau 48% of this country is on -- is in poverty or on the verge of poverty. poverty is considered to be $23,000 for a family of four, which is a very, very low bar, and with $11,170 for a single person and yet the national discussion has been largely silent on -- in terms of this presidential cycle. i wonder is addressing it enough? can paul ryan go out there -- we know some of the verbiage he's going to use we believe americans are better off in a dynamic free enterprise based economy that fosters economic growth, opportunity and upward mobility and keep reading these bells of the american dream, upward mobility, is there going to be scrutiny as far as the actual prescriptions? >> i think this is showing actually that the campaign sees this as a vulnerability and, of course they should.

mu mitt romney said he's not concerned about the very poor. the problem is this don't take personal responsibility for themselves. two out of three dollars in the ryan budget cuts come from these programs. so we know this is a serious vulnerability when many americans are seeing themselves and their situations reflected in the face of what we've also -- always talked about as the poor as if this is some sort of natural state of being for some people as opposed to something that could happen to any of us, particularly in an economy like this. what's so frustrating about it is that the conversation i'm sure that romney is going to have today is not going to mention any of the things that government, that are outside of the government. for example, allowing unions to actually allow people in a free market, you know, ban together and collectively bargain for, you know, better -- some dignity on the jobs. those kind of things are outside of taxes and government and spending, but are a lot of the reason why we've seen the

economic insecurity grow. >> michael eric dyson, i want to call your attention to an interview the president gave to the des moines, it was off the record. i'll have to read you his best. summon my best obama. his counter argument basically to romney and ryan's argument about supply side economics and freeing, unshackling the american economy and taxpayer. he says -- is that enough of a forceful rejoineder? >> probably not. but in these times of bold gestures, looks like a calm reasonable retort that president is offering. we know both sides are not speaking in a structural manner as the chairman indicated and as both mr. bernstein and miss magee indicated they're not

speaking seriously about issues of poverty. what is paul ryan's plan? to hack at the social person, whack the poor and take away the american dream. >> that's why we call you the golden throat. >> on the other hand the anemic policies being offered as a counter measure, don't seem to adequately address the fact that 23 million -- $23,000 for a family of four is pretty ludicrous. you not only have the poor but the working people. people who work 60, 70, 80 hours a week make it above the poverty level. then they have latch key effects. you can't stay at home and watch your kid, can't go with them to the school system. all the things with their kind of virtue want to support as the basis of democracy, that is to say you take personal responsibility for your kids. they don't acknowledge how the economic forces impoverished people so very fundamentally and then they want the personal

responsibility to kick in while the government doesn't take its role. let me end, obama says this, the reason knows the government is not the enemy because he come from a people that were owned and it was a government sponsored program. if the government sponsored your ownership the government has to step in. that's 100 years ago, 200 years ago, but we seen the legacy of slavery, economic inequality, jim crow law all of that stuff operates. >> certain systemic failure within american society and yet there's been -- i'm flagger gasted at the notion, like 40 -- huge percentage of this country is living at sort of an economic line where a medical bill sends them into poverty. >> let's be clear about that. >> the fact is, the medical bill shouldn't send them into poverty because we recognize decades ago that we need some social insurance prevent precisely that. if you look at the magnitude of our poverty programs, they're really fairly marginal as

michael was saying. now when governor romney made that gaffe or whatever it was that heather mentioned what he said was i don't worry about the poor because we have a safety net. the safety net as they just mentioned is very porous and barely there. but secondly these guys whack the heck -- whack and sack out of the safety net. whatever holes were there, medicaid, they cut -- the romney budget cuts $800 billion for medicate. >> you are talking about the obama budget and the ryan budget as if they are actually the current law of the land. >> but -- >> you got to listen to what they're saying. >> the bottom line is ryan did a budget. he put it on the table. it has been a discussion for almost two years. that's a good thing. let's see what a romney/ryan administration actually does when they get in there and do -- >> doesn't matter what they put in the budget? >> look, it's a framework. >> i agree with that. >> it's a framework. >> yeah. i don't like the framework. >> you start at the edges and bring it to a point -- you're going need to get democrats to pass it in the senate. >> framework says a lot. >> here's what we do know, paul

ryan -- >> you guys don't like the framework. i get that. at least it's something that we can begin to have the discussion. i agree, there are elements of this budget that are not good, that are problematic. but at least it brings the parties to the table. if congress wants to be serious about addressing the poor and that safety net you're going to begin somewhere, at least you've got something you can look down and go we don't like that so here is a better plan. >> the table is great but if the wolf comes to the table -- >> the metaphors are flying. >> gentlemen and lady, we know that mitt romney is also giving a speech tomorrow according to the "new york times" going to give a major jobs and debt speech on thursday. there's going to be all sorts of policy floating around for us to discuss. we have to go to break. afterwards which battlegrounds are making the campaigns nervous? if you ask them not a single one. we will climb back on the swing set next on "now." [ horn honks ]

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if barack obama opens up and gives his college records and applications and if he gives his passport applications and records, i will give to a charity of his choice, inner city children in chicago, american cancer society, aids research, anything he wants, a check, immediately for $5 million. one caveat, the records must be given by october 31st at 5:00 in the afternoon. >> that's a nutty conspiracy theorist dressed up as a real estate mogulist for halloween.

donald trump trying to launch an october surprise. what do you make of that, my friend? >> it's a little baffling what exactly -- i understand the birther b.s. he's trying tos press but i don't understand what he's trying to press with the idea we need to see the president's college records and application as if one keeps one, except this really -- really ugly idea that the president didn't deserve to go to the universities that he went to in some way. i actually don't know what the theory of the case is he's trying to do except get more attention for donald trump incorporated. >> what's insane is that he doesn't have any grounds to launch this latest conspiracy theory. he's kind of out there putting money out in the either effectively, a bounty. >> the thing that's interesting about it, i would love to take $5 million from donald trump and give it to a good cause as opposed to donald trump and the question is, the only reason not to do if you're the president is because that was nuts. >> this is also true. >> and won't be the end.

>> but what it does speak to and what is perhaps or definitely more of a substantive conversation is that, you know, it's game time and this race is tight and, you know, i talked to michael steele before this program began and said your party has a race and you pointed to me and said your party has a race. it's tight and important to note that the president is going to log 5300 miles in the next 24 hours. he's going basically everywhere. going to iowa, colorado, l.a., las vegas, to florida, to tampa tomorrow. mitt romney no more stationary going to -- everyone is going to ohio. romney will be in nevada, in iowa. everybody is making basically a last-minute dash. i think we have a photo of the two, the romney plane and air force one in the same hangars. these guys will meet at various battleground states. the question is, michael steele, you know, is there -- how much of the romney lead is a -- i won't say a fabrication, but how much of this is self-fulfilling

prophecy. the more you talk about the lead the more he will actually -- >> can i interrupt he's not leading, actually. the president is still leading and he's got -- he's been gaining but that he's not leading. it's so funny because i think we as, you know, progressives you know, we tend to think because he's got momentum and he shouldn't. >> gallup polls say romney is leading. >> that's just one poll. >> the averages of a lot of poll. >> it wasn't an outliar. >> look deniability, you can live in that world all you want. two weeks out from a presidential election in which two things you need to consider. one, either one of these men should be running away with this thing and they're not and there's a reason for that. the country is largely still making up its mind in one sense. i think they're going to come down in the voting booth. that's why you've seen 47, 48, 49. but this is the reality. ohio. the president has his firewall, ohio, iowa wisconsin and he's

going to -- he's building his whole campaign around making sure that firewall stays in place. romney's got to find a way to crack that firewall. this is -- chuck todd i thought put it perfectly. the president has the map. the obama team, they've got the map in place to kind of pull together those pieces. the romney/ryan team have the momentum. the question is does momentum overtake the map or the map suffocate the momentum? that's going to be the next couple of weeks be here that are in play right now. this thing is close. the president is behind. he is behind. that's why you have chicago concerned about reinforcing those firewalls, the president on the plane the way he is. this thing is going to boil down to hard ground games. >> let me say something about the lead. whether or not he is up or down, we know the thing is really close. jonathan writing in "new york" magazine obama's lead is narrow, he says it's a lead.

he is leading and his lead not declining and the perception that romney is pulling ahead ed years. i actually heather what did you think of that? because on one hand i thought that's good because everybody's been saying you got to put some vision out there. do you think that's an effective tool. >> i think it's great. i hope that people get to read it. this is something we did when i was on the edwards campaign in 2008 when we were trying to make sure that in all of the sort of campaign spending and all the advertisements, debate talking points, you actually respect the american voter and say hey, this is what i would do with the parts of the economy, our democracy, women's right to choose all of that. this is what i would do. here it is in print. see it for yourself. i think americans are actually hungry for that kind of detail because they're sick of, you know, this. >> i wish this was a country that was attracted to, you know,

haifa lieu tent movies but it's a booty call nation. the reality that's a prop, a great prop, substantive prop but the reality is, that this nation is so addicted to the stuff that passes and leaves off the scene and you've go to seize the moment. i think the president understands both. the need to release 3.5 million but you have to be prosecuting your case before the american public going on television, on popular shows and expressing yourself. >> the release of that document was a response to i don't want to say consumer demand, almost pundit demand. they were taking in too much coming in. i have five points. where's yours? everything in there is the stuff the president has been talking about thus far. i want to get back something michael said. the country is still making up their mind. frankly the vast majority of the country appears to have made up their mind and when you talk about the swing states what i understand from campaign insiders it's not ohio, it's a few counties within ohio and they know which counties they

are. that's how tight this thing is as well. >> i'll stand corrected. that's what i was referring to. not necessarily the country as a whole but this subset -- >> ten ladies in ohio. >> that means the karl rove approach, for better or worse, is the one that has to be mastered here. he understood that it was those ten guys in those ten counties and women. >> and a reason the obama team has spent the money they had in january this year as opposed to august this year like the romney team has had to do. so advantage to the obama team for the organization, the ground game and their structure. that's something the gop, the national committee and the campaign are trying to match and they're doing a very effective job of doing that but that's what it boils down to in the next 24 to 36 hours and then they're off and running. >> i have an update for all of you, white house senior adviser david plouffe said during a gaggle on air force one regarding donald trump and his bounty for information, direct questions should go to boston because donald trump is mitt

romney's biggest supporters. he owns everything he says. take that and put it in your hat. known tea party yam tater alan west has upped the ante over who cares more about the american dream. west's highly questionable new ad campaign ahead. ally bank. why they have a raise your rate cd. tonight our guest, thomas sargent. nobel laureate in economics, and one of the most cited economists in the world. professor sargent, can you tell me what cd rates will be in two years? no. if he can't, no one can. that's why ally has a raise your rate cd. ally bank. your money needs an ally.

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you can expect some help. but what you might not expect, is you can get all this with a prepaid card. spends like cash. feels like membership. president obama raised some eyebrows during monday's foreign policy debate when he said this of the looming sequester, $109 billion due to hit in 2013 if no action is taken by january 2. >> and first of all the sequester is not something i proposed something that congress has proposed. it will not happen. >> republicans in congress have repeatedly blamed president obama for the sequester seemingly oblivious to the fact that the original idea came from the white house it was discussed to and agreed to and signed off on by both parties a as a worse case accidescenario. the complete lack of any progress made ever since has

made the president's optimism on monday all the more surprising. though perhaps not surprising the issue perilly came up -- barely came up in any of the debates. the consequences of the sequester would be devastating. the spending cuts which total $1.2 trillion over nine years would do damage to the economic recovery. in an interview with the des moines register tuesday a transcript of which was released this morning president obama previewed the coming showdown saying, quote -- joining us from washington the sage of capitol hill and my celebrity topple gaerng nbc's luke russert. let's talk about that -- >> good afternoon. >> good afternoon, my friend. let's talk about that quote from the president. basically outlining in no uncertain terms sort of what the grand bargain looks like. how much of that is a kapow to

the people who were hoping the president wouldn't lay his cards out so early in the game. >> it all depends on who wins the election. more so a lot of people are freaking out about this statement. i don't take it as very significant from talking to people from around capitol hill. we know if the president wins he can walk this back if he wants to. he has four years to do as he may. what's interesting here and is being lost is that this whole issue really comes down to a game of chicken about the bush tax cuts for those making $250,000 and above. where there could be worries if the president has gone this far out saying the sequester won't happen the worry on the left he would be boxed on the right by not allowing the tax cuts for the 250 and above to continue. that's the game here. what the best intelligence suggests is that what's going to occur is if he is reelebt the some sort of punt. they can't get this done in the

lame-duck session but some sort of punt until april perhaps where you keep the status quo and then have some sort of large deal you have tax reform tied in to the spending cuts and getting more revenue, you would grow the base. the question becomes that $250,000 number and no one knows that and until people know that a lot of this is going back and forth in political spin. >> jared, luke uses the word that is used a lot these days when talking about congress which is punt. and politico has a story out today that gave me shivers in this halloween season which was, be forget about the 2012 deadline, fiscal cliff politics is all about 2014 about a dozen senators who could be party to a deal because of their leadership spots and committee positions or because they've inserted themselves into the horse trading so far are up for re-election in 2014 among them mitch mcconnell, max baucus, dick durbin, these are the deal makers are. we are going to kick this can down the road? >> the reason that analysis

doesn't make sense this is an unusual situation if you don't do anything a lot of really bad stuff happens. you can't just sort of let this thing unfold on its own. and as far as can kicking goes or punting, i think the white house and the senate democrats have been incredibly consistent on the following point and it's not new at all, which is that they're simply not going to fold on the expiration of the high-end bush tax cuts. that's what luke was talking about, the above 250,000. let me say a number that hasn't been said here, the top 2% of households. these guys agree on 98%. they all agree that the tax cuts should be extended for the broad middle class but we're just fighting over the top 2%. that's $1 trillion of revenue in deficit savings over ten years. it's real money. my view is that if it takes going over the fiscal cliff to ply the leverage that the white house and senate democrats have on that i think that that's where the deal comes. i do believe that the sequester, the automatic spending cuts,

will be pushed forward, punted but on this tax issue i don't think the white house is going to move on that. i don't think they should. >> to be very clear, i mean in terms of how this works out electorally, what we'd be saying is those members who were willing to do whatever we see happen, were doing it to save tax cuts for the very richest americans. so as long as the debate is framed that way, that this is all about preserving tax cuts for the very richest americans at a time when everyone else in the country is suffering, that should be high electoral ground for them. >> it should be, but look, if mitt romney has been able to survive we think so far the 47% comment, and the ryan owepea to go along with the romnesia, there's no american public to discern the shenanigans going on behind the scene. he's talking about most of us, the 47%, from $250,000 and above, so the reality is, that

those people are being blinkered in the 47% should stand for the interest of those who are at the top. the republicans's ability to make that case to the masses of america is something that's both scary and -- >> the fact that this administration in my view has basically punted in any kind of real reform here even when you had certain republican conservative leaders come to the table with sim son bowles and ryan -- >> house republicans voted against simpson-bowles. >> i want to make a broader more important point. we're dancing where the political parties want us to dance and play. and luke russert knows this to be true because he knee sees this grap every day on the -- crap every day on the hill. when washington is talking about we're going to spend -- cut a trillion dollars over ten years? you think that's going to happen? why? because you're committing future congresses to make those cuts and as we've seen already, that

does not happen. they lay out these broad propositions. if we're serious about dealing with the budget we cut what we need to cut now, raise the revenue we need to raise. >> wait a second. that's exactly -- i agree with a lot of what you said. but that's exactly what the white house has tried to do. i mean the idea that the white house -- >> the white house has not tried to do that. >> i listened to you. i think -- >> let's all listen to each other. go ahead. >> thank you. the white house -- the president has had a budget in place that does exactly what you just said. now, i will agree that neither republicans nor democrats have take than budget seriously. but he has a document that's been scored by the congressional budget office and the gridlock that we're stuck with, as we would both agree, nobody is looking at that plan and that's the one is a very good plan. >> you're right. both democrats and republicans voted it down. you're be right about that. >> luke, the president initially made the comments to the des

moines register because they were off the record, a moment of unguarded honesty. he's contended that the republican fever will break and deal making possible in 2013 if he is re-elected. your assessment of that? can he get it done? if he wants to. >> oh, sure. i think if you look into those comments and other things, there would be some savings in health care reforms. to me the bell that went off is medicare. if president obama were willing to trade anything with -- in regards to medicare which he was during the grand bargain talks with speaker boehner that's something john boehner would go for. look, john boehner and barack obama both do not want their legacies to be just years in this case would be four years of inaction between 2010 and 2014. i think there is some im pe tus to get it done. again, i can't tell you the big issue here enough, the $250,000 tax cuts, which side is going to blink first on the game of chicken.

even if president obama is not re-ele re-elected, it wouldn't surprise me if he let them all expire, all coupled together in the name of deficit reduction because it would be hard to make them law again because anything that adds to deficit cannot be passed with reconciliation and won't have a 60 feet majority in the senate. the 250 k number is the ball game. >> luke russert, our eyewitness to the high stakes game of chicken that is occurring and will continue to occur in the lame-duck session of congress. >> tastes like chicken, my friend. >> thank you as always for the intel. >> be well. >> governor romney claims that u.s. used to promote free enterprise around the world and, quote, our president doesn't have the same feelings about american exceptionalism that we do to which president obama later responded -- >> it's worth noting that i first arrived on the national stage with a speech at the democratic convention that was

entirely about american exceptionalism. and that my entire career has been a testimony to americaning exception allism. >> does the american dream prevent our leaders from being critical about the country. we'll discuss that next. rogaine? well, i'll admit it. i was skeptical at first. but after awhile even my girlfriend noticed a difference. [ male announcer ] rogaine is proven to help stop hair loss. and for 85% of guys, it regrew hair. save up to 42% now at rogaine.com.

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and that my entire career has

there's no such thing as a somali dream, chinese dream. there's one dream, the american dream, why people came to these shores. >> that was a new ad from congressman alan west running for re-election in florida. in a "new york times" op-ed this weekend, the opiate of exceptionalism he argues american's politicians are forced to wrap themselves in the cloak of the american dream instead of discussing the issues facing the american country. he writes --

michael eric dyson, this is in a time when talking about the u.s. ranking 34th out of 35 in economically advanced countries in child poverty off 14 in education, our infant mortality rates are worse than 48 other countries and yet we talk about american exceptionalism and any suggestion otherwise is deemed unpatriot unpatriotic. >> the trajectory of the discourse around american exceptionalism tracks the ways in which the suffering of the masses of the people was often cloaked in the notion of american exceptionalism to keep them in place so that martin luther king, jr. was as great a patriot as we've been able to imagine and yet he was able to be critical of a nation. james baldwin said i love america more than anybody and why i reserve the right to

criticize her. there is a tradition of speaking honestly to the issues that affect the american dream that keep it from being shared widely that is really patriotic at its roots but unfortunately the debate is so narrow and so shallow that everybody has -- you know, politicians are like bad wide receivers. they've got to spike the ball after every catch, promote themselves -- >> you are the king of metaphors. not even a question. in the beginning about alan west to say nothing of the politician alan west is, there is no chinese dream which is such a fundamentally flawed -- ludicrous statement. people in china are not dreaming the same dreams of like freedom and economic stability. >> i really don't understand how even if you want to promote the american dream that means you have to take down somebody else. that's pretty ridiculous. look, i think this is a box that politicians check. one thing i almost disagree with in the shane piece you were talking about a second ago, it

precludes people from discussing real issues. we've done a lot of issue discussing in recent weeks, not as deep enough as i would like, but it doesn't maybe go that far. one i think that barack obama as he says is a good example, whatever american exceptionalism means he's a good example of it. and sexdsly one of the things peel -- secondly one of the things people are talking about economic upward mobility has been under threat and that is a structural problem in our economy. very much predates this president, by the way. the diminished rate of social and economic mobility we're seeing, if the american exceptionalism argument dampens that discussion that's bad. >> too much insecurity as well. we have to constantly berate other people and promote ourselves at the expense of acknowledging the collective projects of democracy across the world. >> i agree. on that democracy point i think here's one of the most sort of sterling examples of american exception a.m.ism we never talk about, we are this multi origin, multi racial, multi ethnic

democracy. no other country takes -- >> look at this. >> and says okay, you can come from wherever, come to our shores, become a citizen and we will give you an equal say. it is very difficult to create some sort of social cohesion and a sense of a real american people out of people who come from all over the world. but we do it. we need to work on it much more deliberately. we need to not forget this is part of what makes america genius. but it's not easy. and we need to keep that. i think the president has the potential to continue to do that hopefully in a second term. >> i think what you just said there really kind of encapsulates the whole argument about exceptionalism and how do you define it. we get the privilege of defining it for ourselves when we come here. not all of us came here of our own free will and we have made the most of it and found ways to self-empower at and times empower others. that's what makes us

exceptional. to congressman west's point i don't think the congressman as i heard the ad, i don't think he was saying that the chinese in china don't have a chinese dream. i think he's talking about those who come here thinking they're going to sueplant that assumes a lot obviously. the american dream with a chinese dream or some other dream. i think that's what he was referring to. >> he's wrong -- >> even if that is the case i don't think it's a matter of sueplanting the american dream with you know an asian dream, but it's incorporating and that's the beauty and the strength of this country our ability to assimilate and incorporate and make for ourselves real not forgetting our past, not forgetting our linage, not forgetting our heritage, but making that a part of this new fabric we've decided to be a part of and then growing that out so that as an african-american i can appreciate that asian heritage. >> obama says -- romney says it's american.

same thing he's saying, if he says it out of his mouth he's un-american. >> you know we have to go to break unfortunately. something you said jared, i thought is important. the social mobility question. we are trailing europe, australia and canada in terms of whether or not you can be lifted out of your economic bracket, to say from poverty to the middle class to the middle class to dare to dream the 1%. >> that goes against what i think of as american dream. >> we have to go to break but after we come back we'll look at the ps's late night calendar and push for the youth vote.

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team obama is making a last-minute sprint for the youth vote with a series of television appearances aimed at turning out 18 to 29-year-olds. the president will appear on "the tonight show," thursday the first lady a guest on jimmy

kimmel and friday the president will take questions from a mtv special. only a minute left, go with your gut here friends. michael steele, are the kids going to turn out for the president? are the kids going to turn out for mitt romney. >> not as the same way. they're graduating into a jobless economy and having an impact. >> they're going to turn out and get stopped too many of them by the ridiculous voting restrictions oriented towards keeping them from voting. >> they're going to turn out and help the president and all the pollsters will say we underestimated the power of the youth. >> look at that optimism. >> they'll show up and show out to borrow a gospel phrase. >> thank you to michael, heather, jared and michael. michael and michael. that's all for now. back tomorrow live from our nation's capital at noon eastern, 9:00 a.m. pacific joined by john harwood, "the huffington post" sam stein and "time's" michael scherer. find us at facebook.com/now with alex. "andrea mitchell reports" is next live from philly. good afternoon, andrea. >> good afternoon alex.

coming up next, the campaign enters the final stretch. both candidates are crisscro crisscrossing the country. bo biden, the vice president's son joining me and team romney distances himself from rape and abortion made by end yant na republican candidate richard malala. teamster's president james hoffa on the critical vote in ohio. "andrea mitchell reports" right here next. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. celebrex can be taken with or without food. and it's not a narcotic. you and your doctor should balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen,

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