byron pitts met some of them. >> all right, ready?rter: 39-year-old mary perry is a stay-at-home mom in chapel hill with a husband, three kids and a growing passion for politics. >> this is mary perry with the obama campaign. >> reporter: she volunteers 30 hours a week. her goal, re-elect president obama. you have a full life outside of volunteering for president obama. >> yes. >> reporter: so, why do it? >> i feel like we've come a long way from 2008, when president obama took office, and it's just too important for my future, for my kids' future, for me to say, well, i'm too busy. >> reporter: in 2008, obama's slim victory in north carolina was built on an army of volunteers. >> thank you guys for coming out. >> reporter: perry was 1 of 17,000 volunteers and paid staff across the state who knocked on doors and made phone calls. compare 2008 to 2012. is it easier or harder to sell president obama? >> i would say asking for volunteers is even easier. >> reporter: easier? >> i would say, my experience has been. >> reporter: because? >>

omports from byron pitts, norah o'donnell and bob schieffer. anna werner on a big jump in jses of west nile. it could be this country's worst outbreak of the virus ever. armen keteyian reports the f.l.l. is pledging millions medical research as a new study finds football players have a much higher risk of dying from brain disorders. and space walking astronauts use rdtoothbrush to repair a space asation while the sun shows a flair for the dramatic. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley reporting tonight from the democratic national convention. ha pelley: good evening, bad weather scuttled the first day of the republican convention and now rain is forcing the democrats to scrap what they moped would be a spectacular s aish here. they planned to move out of this rolia tomorrow to stage the t esident's acceptance speech outdoors in the massive stadium that is home to the carolina panthers. hut president obama will be on the stage behind me instead in a much smaller forum which leaves no room for tens of thous

byron pitts spent time with some of the foot soldiers. >> all right, ready?er: 39-year-old mary parry is a stay at home mom in chapel hill with a husband, mome kids, and a growing passion for politics. >> this is mary parry with the obama campaign. >> reporter: she volunteers 30 hours a week. her goal: reelect president obama. tou have a full life outside of volunteering for president obama. denthy do it? >> i feel like we've come along way since 2008 when president obama took office and it's just important for my future, for my futu' future for me to say, well ,'m too busy. >> reporter: in 2008, obama's slim victory in north carolina was built on an army of volunteers. >> thank you guys for coming out. >> reporter: parry was one of 7,000 volunteers and paid staff across the state who knocked on doors and made phone calls. compare 2008 to 2012. is it easier or harder to sell president obama. >> i would say asking for volunteers is even easier. >> reporter: easier? >> i would say. my experience. >> reporter: because? >> i think we had a lot of new people in 20

> pelley: back now on its first night of the democratic national convention, here in charlotte, byron pitts has been talking to some of the delegates down on the convention floor, byron. >> reporter: despite the noises and signs,-- the enthusiasm, across the country, scott, they hope that the mayor of san antonio and mr. obama-- mrs. obama can help close the gap. >> pelley: we'll be hearing from the mayor of san antonio delivering the keynote address shortly. he is a young man, julian castro is his name. and he will be introduced to most of the country right here tonight. he is the first hispanic keynote speaker in the history of the democratic party's national convention. and john dickerson, our political director, why the emphasis on a hispanic keynote speaker tonight? >> well, the hispanic population is the most populous minority and the fastest growing, it is a crucial part of barack obama's voting coalition. but there has been some disappointment that president obama has not delivered on issues. so tonight the message-- message being sent here is a hispanic has pride of place. this is

. >> byron pitts is roving among the delegates and he has caught up with a new jersey delegation. >> scott, we have talked to a number of delegates tonight who say the energy level in this room is far higher tonight than it was at this time yesterday. and in great part because of the upcoming speech by president clinton, last night mrs. obama spoke in part to women voters, the mayor of san antonio spoke in part to hispanic voters, i was talking earlier to congressman from missouri who said that there is simply no single person better equipped to speak to the broad base of the democratic party on behalf of president obama than president clinton and scott, it is no accident when president carter addressed this audience it was by videotape, the campaign wants president clinton, the best of bill clinton live and in living color. >> byron thank you very much, we have special guests up here in the anchor booth tonight. two men who really brought down the house last night, julian and joaquin castro. >> is 33-year-old mayor of san antonio and you may have noticed these men bear a striking re

byron pitts was here for that speech last night. ning, byron. >> good morning norah, good morning charlie. democrats and republicans say she gave a strong speech. no headlines were expected. her job was to energize the base and humanize her husband. >> i have seen firsthand that being president doesn't change who you are. no, it reveals who you are. [ applause ] >> mrs. obama spoke far less about the leader of the free world and more about her husband, father to their two daughters. >> i didn't think that it was possible, but let me tell you today i love my husband even more than i did four years ago, even more than 23 years ago when we first met. >> part of her task was to speak beyond the audience to women at home and middle class america. >> he believes that when you work hard and have done well and walk through that doorway of opportunity, you do not slam it shut behind you. no, you reach back and you give other folks the same chances that helped you succeed. >> some of her loudest applause were to her most personal remarks of th

this morning, byron pitts is at the stadium. byron, what does this change now? >> reporter: well, good morning, norah. according to the dnc, some 65,000 people would have stilled the stadium tonight, another 19,000 on the waiting list. but mother nature had other plans. tonight's forecast called for thunderstorms. a lot of safety concerns. organizers decided to move president obama's speech from outside to inside, and that's disappointing news for the thousands of volunteers who earned tickets to see the president speak. volunteers like christine gaston of charlotte. >> i waited in line for 3 1/2 hours. i am disappointed. it was in 90 degree temperatures. but i want president obama to win another term. so i would do it all over again. >> reporter: now that president obama will speak indoors, the big fireworks show has been cancelled, and charlie and norah, that big balloon drop we're used to at conventions won't happen this year because organizers say there wasn't enough time to move everything from the outdoor arena to inside. >> byron, one question. for all th

in the meantime, byron pitts is down on the convention floor talking to some of the delegates tonight await the president. >> reporter: scott, a short time ago i talked to governor deval patrick, the governor of massachusetts, a personal friend of president obama. the comparison between the two elections, both historic. he said he talked to his friend in recent days, talked about his spenchg and he said we should expect to see a more forceful president obama tonight than we've seen in the past. scott. >> pelley: and we are watching the end of this film that the convention is seeing. president obama will be coming out shortly. his wife will have a few remarks before she brings her husband out. bob schieffer, it strikes me, it's a very different situation the president is in. before he was talking hope and change. ( cheers and applause ). well, and here comes mrs. obama now. let's listen in. >> thank you so much. tonight, i am so thrilled and so honored and so proud to introduce the love of my life, the father of our two girls, and the president of the united states of america, barack o

one was byron pitts. who as the tower fell and you were right there, you didn't know, you said you just froze. >> yeah. >> and he grabbed you because you didn't -- you just didn't know what was happening. your mind couldn't process that. >> i couldn't compute what was happening because the building was literally beginning to crumble from the top and come down on us. and roll toward us and he pulled us away and we hid in a school for, i don't know, 24 hours after the school right by the twin tours. and, yeah, there were people that we worked with through day and night covering the story that you just bonded with forever. and then there were so many people who never got to go home, so it's sort of hard to talk about without thinking that it's a little bit indulgent. >> another thing that really quickly was of reasons -- you said that you walked around, that you just intuitively knew that what you were breathing in was awful. you said before others where you were walking around, i guess you had a shirt and y