united states. >> president obama accepting the democratic nomination last night here in charlotte, north carolina. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. from charlotte, north carolina, this is "democracy now!" we are breaking with convention: war, peace, and the presidency. we turn to our two guests for discussion and debate about president obama's speech and record. we turn to who is joining us here in charlotte, north carolina, a professor of sociology at georgetown university, author of many books including, "can you hear me now? the inspiration, wisdom, and insight of michael eric dyson." , a he also wrote "making malcolm: the myth and meaning of malcolm x." was also joined by glen ford. we welcome you both to "democracy now!" last night you were in the time warner cable arena those of us to be held at the bank of america stadium, but because of the weather, it was canceled. talk about your response to his address. >> it was electrifying in the sense that obama had before him the task of repudiating all of the lies and deceptions and deliver di

he then hops on air force one and arrives here in charlotte, north carolina at 2:45 pm this afternoonarts. [ laughter ] >> bill: peter you think it's tough to get charlotte right now, wait until the president gets here. >> yeah, really. >> bill: congressman chris van hollen democratic leadership comes up the top of the hour here. to stick around. [♪ theme music ♪] >> bill: hello everybody and welcome to the "full court press" here from charlotte, north carolina and the democratic national convention on this wednesday september 5th, the second official day of the democratic convention and what a contrast between here and in tampa, particularly in the case of the dueling first engage in negative partisan attacks against president obama. last night the first lady of the united states here in charlotte giving a very inspirational look at where she and barack obama came from, what values they learned, and how they are putting those values in play and the policies of the obama administration. what a powerful -- between those two, hands down michelle obama wins that contest. we'll talk about

of the hour and the top of the news coming up from the democratic national convention in charlotte, north carolina i am shepard smith. this is "studio b" at the bottom of the hour in charlotte, north carolina. crews are tearing down the stage at the football stadium. organizers say the threat of severe wet tomorrow forced them to move the move indoors. he will be here, inside this building on the main convention stage. it has the protection of a roof but about 50,000 fewer seats than the stadium. that means some folk whose had tickets to see the speech need to make other plans. >> this is television. that is where i will be, parked in front after television. >>shepard: the president will hold a huge conference call to speak with disappointed ticketholders. we could see in improvement in the nasty weather that everyone here has endured during the start of the convention. our meteorologist is back in the severe storm center. we had severe storms yesterday, let me tell you. somewhere, there is a pile of about 30,000 umbrellas because wherever you go they take your umbrella. >>guest: i don't think it

from charlotte, north carolina, this is "democracy now!" breaking with convention -- war, peace, and the presidency. we are broadcasting from charlotte, north carolina, daily two hours of coverage from the democratic national convention inside and out. a the 2012 democratic master convention has entered its second day here in charlotte. former president bill clinton is scheduled to speak tonight. other speakers today include los angeles mayor antonio villaraigosa, cecile richards who is the president of planned her head, and sandra fluke, the recent graduate of georgetown university law center who came under attack after inge speak -- after speaking out about insurance coverage for contraception. the convention opened on tuesday, exactly nine weeks before the general election. on opening night, democrats touted president, and his achievements on issues ranging from health care and women's rights to immigration and ending the war in iraq. about two dozen democratic congress women and candidates took the stage together to criticize the republi

we're live from charlotte north carolina. and the first day of the democratic national convention. this is going to be a much, much, much more different convention here in charlotte than you saw last week in tampa. there are a lot more delegates. the delegations are much more diverse or much better reflect the face of america. nobody will be talking to an empty chair and first lady michelle obama kicks off the convention tonight with her keynote speech. lots going on. we're glad to be here with all of you. but first, we take a quick break to get the latest, today's current news update from lisa ferguson out in los angeles. good morning. >> good morning everyone. we are awaiting some big speakers. the democratic national convention tonight in charlotte. and as bill mentioned most notably is michelle obama who we are expecting will highlight her humble background and work to convince struggling americans that her husband understands what they are going through. but a new poll from the pew research center shows voters are more interested in party platforms than they are in convention

talking about jeb bush yesterday >> announcer: broadcasting live from charlotte, north carolina the siteational convention, this is the "bill press show." live on your radio and on current tv. >> bill: yes charlotte north carolina. it is the "full court press." and it is the time-warner cable arena but the democratic convention is no longer here. they're packing it up. packed it up actually, most of it, last night. we are the last people here on radio row in charlotte this morning. good to you have with us. and taking a look back at a dynamic and very, very exciting third night of the democratic convention. every night, every night here i thought was just absolute home run. john is calling from up in anchorage, alaska. god knows what time it is in anchorage. thanks for joining us. >> caller: hey, bill great show. 2:00 in the morning man. >> bill: good for you. you loyal friend. >> caller: you have a great show great speeches. i'm from pennsylvania originally. the vice president took it home. hit them right on the nose. >> bill: he was really good. you could see why he's been such a loyal

thank you so much. >> thank you stephanie. >> stephanie: we'll be right back live from charlotte, north carolinare the democratic national convention? charlotte, north carolina. >> the arena workers can't wait to kick us off. >> stephanie: we are literally working on fumes. i may be in masking tape because they are actually masking us up. jacki this from tom brokaw. >> one pill makes you larger one pill makes you small [ inaudible ]. [ laughter ] >> stephanie: yeah, that's our favorite story -- >> i was hoping to have some atlantisol -- >> stephanie: jacki schechner is hyped-up on [ inaudible ]. my little shoulder doing the news coverage with pneumonia. >> good morning, everybody. the only consensus we have seeing so far on the job numbers is they are fairly open to interpretation. we did create new jobs, so that is 30 straight months of positive job growth. and most experts say we need be creating about 200,000 new jobs every month to get us truly out of the hole. the administration says as usual there is more work to be done. harry reid also said they keep blocking efforts. mitt romney put out

live this afternoon from charlotte, north carolina. le for the undecided voters could make all the difference especially in north carolina, the site of the democratic national convention. in 2008, the president, well, the then senator obama, edged out senator john mccain in north carolina by less than half of a percent, less than 17,000 people. this is the latest from the charlotte observer newspaper, 47 percent of likely voters will pick governor romney compared with 43 for president obama. that is in the margin of error. you can see it was taken before the democratic convention. 6 percent were undecideed. they will be important. james has the news. james? >>reporter: good afternoon. fox talked to and listened to undecided voters in north carolina. we heard about the deep level of anxiety about the state of the country and their family's future. i am looking for someone who will help the middle class and open up jobs. i have a son who 25. it is hard for him to find a job. i feel that we are not getting what we were told we were going t

now, live for news charlotte, north carolina, with more. good morning, doug. >> good morning, it was a long speech. that is what we have come to expect with former president clinton. there was last minute drama. but he pretty much stuck to his script and made the case for president obama. in fact, as he wrapped up, president obama emerged on stage, there, at the convention, thanking him for the endorsement. the clinton speech touched on the economy and his reasoning for why the recovery has taken so long. >> president obama started with a much weaker economy than i did. listen to me now. no president, no president, not me, not any of my predecessors, no one could have fully prepared all the damage that he found in just four years. >> he stressed the need to work across the party lines but that sentiment came with tart dan attacks, too, going after republicans who held their convention last week in florida. >> in tampa, the republican argument against the president's re-election, was, actually, pregnancy syma -- simple and snappy: we left hi

she addressed the nation and the convention this week in charlotte, north carolina. en we come back, voter rights, a voter suppression. ben jealous ahead of the naacp will join us. ♪ [music break] >> from charlotte, north carolina, this is "democracy now!" we are breaking with convention: war, peace, and the presidency. democraticing the convention inside an ounce. in this last segment, we're joined by ben jealous head of the naacp. i saw folks from the naacp at the republican convention and now here the democratic convention. voter rights has been a clear message. what do you mean? >> this country thinks it should be one person, one vote. we should be allowed to vote free and fair. we see more states pass more laws, push more voters at the ballot box than in the last hundred years. it is not simply a republican thing, because we saw republican governor of michigan veto strict photo ids, we saw bob macdonald of virginia actually expand the ran for -- enfranchisement of the formerly incarcerated people. it is a far right thing. it is having a real a fact on this race a

we're coming to you live from charlotte, north carolina.ent. good morning. how are you? i'll have more awkward conversations than i'm equipped for because i'm raising two girls on my own. i'll worry about the economy more than a few times before they're grown. but it's for them, so i've found a way. who matters most to you says the most about you. massmutual is owned by our policyholders so they matter most to us. massmutual. we'll help you get there. >>> welcome back to "starting point." tonight, president obama is going to accept his party's nomination. but democrats hit a snag on the floor yesterday. they amended their party platform, reinserting their language on god and israel that was in the 2008 platform but not in this year's platform. they had to vote three times by voice, with many delegates yelling no at each attempt. here's how it sounded. >> all those delegates in favor say aye. all those delegates opposed say no. >> no! >> in the opinion of the -- let me do that again. all of those delegates in favor say aye. >> aye! >> all th

and as democrats gather for their convention our team is in north carolina in charlotte north carolina to cover the event we'll take a look at some of the president obama's promises from four years ago and find out if he has come close to fulfilling them. it's tuesday september fourth eight pm in washington d.c. i'm meghan lopez and you're watching r.t. . well starting off this hour it's one of the most highly anticipated book releases in the us a first hand account on the raid it will sum up in one's compound and a detailed explanation of the events leading up to those tense moments in the book named no easy day a firsthand account of the mission that killed osama bin laden was published today by penguin books and is already a bestseller on amazon it was coauthored by two men the well known journalist kevin mauer and a former navy seal whose use the senate pseudonym mark owen turns out the former navy seal is actually thirty six year old matt bisan that from rangle alaska for many americans this book is exactly what they wanted an inside look at what really happened in the a lot of bo

you're watching "starting point" live from the cnn grill in charlotte, north carolina. >>> you're watchingstarting point," coming to you live from charlotte, north carolina. we want to talk to jack markell who has been sitting on our panel this morning. head of the national governors association. you why did it take so long for the democrats to answer with any kind of articulate message, anybody should tell you the answer should be yes, to are you better off than four years ago, from a pr standpoint, the answer is say yes and something else after that. they really struggled over the past 24 hours. why is that? >> i'm here not in my capacity as chair of the national governors association but here as a democratic governor. i didn't follow all that closely the last 24 hours, but to me it is clear that we are better off. especially going back to what i said a little while ago, we were in unbelievably desire straits, the financial markets were frozen and economy was in free fall, hundreds and thousands of jobs being lost every month now 29 straight months of job growth. is it enough? do we want

the democratic national convention live from charlotte, north carolina. >>> good evening from charlotte, the arena home to the bobcats. tonight it is noisy and about the democrats. we get our first primetime glimpse of the message they have planned. days after tampa, 63 days until the election and a lot has changed as we said at the top of the broadcast since the days of hope and change, the last democratic convention in '0 #. tonight we hear from a man billed as a rising star, young mayor of san antonio and from a more established star, first lady, michelle obama. our team is in place for all of it including the largest fleet

>>shepard: thank you, james, from charlotte, north carolina. that's president obama's side and well have more of a look ahead to tonight's speech, and his rival, governor romney, has been keeping a low profile but his vice presidential nominee, ryan, is way out there today and now we are getting word from him on his thoughts about last night's speeches and how this particular convention has been going. well hear more on that in a minute and look at what we heard from speakers of the dnc last night and how much holds up to scrutiny in fact check type as we approach news time. oh, we call it the bundler. let's say you ne home and auto insurance. you give us your information once, online... [ whirring and beeping ] [ ding! ] and we give you a discount on both. sort of like two in one. how did you guys think of that? itust came to us. what? bundling and saving made easy. now, that's progressive. call or click today. i honestly loved smoking, and i honestly didn't think i would ever quit. [ male announcer ] along with support, chantix is proven to h

they are coming to watch the democratic national convention in charlotte, north carolina, and the president's speech. organizers say it's expected to be one of the largest watched parties in the country. and ktvu's ken pritchett is live in charlotte with how delegates are scrambling to secure a seat now that the president's speech has been moved to a much smaller venue. >> reporter: california's delegation got a taste of what to expect tonight, after their experience last night when many guests were not allowed into the arena, just as president clinton was about to speak. it was all due to overcrowding. to see musical acts such as mark anthony warm up, there is reason to be at the convention early. but eight hours early? >> i got here at 2:00 just to make sure that i have a good seat. >> reporter: delegate javier gonzalez was not the only one. we found delegates catching up on work, others sleeping in their coveted seats. others tagged with familiar names, trying to save a spot. why? >> yesterday was a very crazy night, people trying to fight for spots, whenever was open. >> reporter: they sa

>>megyn: welcome back to the time-warner cable arena in charlotte, north carolina. this is usually a basketball facility. would plays here? the charlotte bobcats. if you want to watch a sports fan, you should not be watching me but you should stay tuned for shepard smith who has made it to charlotte. he is ready to continue programming with you. welcome back. >>shepard: there is no hurricane. have you had a nice time? >>megyn: no one is here. >>shepard: good to see you. the democrats are not the only ones campaigning here this week. we will have details on the speech from the vice presidential nominee, paul ryan, in his key battleground state. with a day until the democratic national convention kicks off, we are learning more about the platform on issues from economy, to abortion, to immigration rights. and across the state of louisiana and the gulf coast, hundreds of thousands are reportedly without power after the complete drenching from the hurricane. we are live in new orleans. it is all coming up, unless breaking news changes everything. this is "studio b" this

. >>> and welcome back to "starting point," we're coming to you live from charlotte, north carolina, the democratic national convention kicking off today. back in 2008, president obama won north carolina but only by 14,000 votes. this year it could be another tight race. the most recent cnn poll has president obama and mitt romney in a statistical dead heat. the newest state poll taken during the republican convention shows mitt romney has the lead at 47% over president obama's 43%. joining us this morning, north carolina governor and democrat bev perdue. nice to have you with us. >> i like the digs here in charlotte. looks good. >> we like them very much as well. they are not outside with the rain yesterday. >> it doesn't rain in north carolina. >> really? >> i have a hairdo from yesterday that would say that's not true. >> we do have humidity. >> you do. >> let's talk about the bump i was talking about out of the rnc, across the board you didn't see a bump for mitt romney but did see it here in north carolina. >> i think the people in north carolina are beginning to get engaged in t

there live once more from the black fin saloon in charlotte, north carolina and we got a great crowd. seriously. you all are really -- >> this hour, we're going to do something a little bit different. what we all know, the democratic convention easily trumped the republican convention. willie geist, zoo lander style. who wore it better? >> bow tie, gingham thing. >> it is amazing.

their national convention gets under way tuesday in charlotte, north carolina. >> melanie alnwick has more on what they had to say on the sunday tax shows. >> reporter: the message machine for the democratic national convention was out in force sunday. one big question, how to defend the president's economic record. on fox news sunday, chris wallace pressed obama advisor david axelrod about unemployment going up, income going down and debt rising too. >> just looking at the president's record and those statistics, david, is the average american better off than four years ago? >> i think those are the workers whose industry would have collapsed if the president hadn't intervened are certainly better off. i think that the millions and millions of young americans who have health care today who wouldn't have had it for the president hadn't acted are better off. >> reporter: it is a defense that was offered across many channels. >> can you honestly say that people are better off today than they were four years ago? >> no, but that is not the question of this election. without a doubt, we a

charlotte. republicans are sending some of their heavy hitters to north carolina. look at the rapid response team and how it could effect the democrats' message. hundreds of people gathered together to watch the race over the weekend had no way of knowing that within minutes some of them would be running for their lives. they were there to see some oversized trucks tear down a dirt track. but one of the trucks went out of control and right into the crowd. [screams] >> the disaster at the races coming up. [ male announcer ] this is the age of knowing what you're made of. why let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in

[ cheers and applause ] >> hi, i'm bill o'reilly reporting from charlotte, north carolina tonight. thanks for watching us. we're awaiting caroline kennedy's speech, which should pop up any time. obviously we're not at the convention center because it's simply too noisy there and the security situation with the president speaking later this evening, a nightmare. so we are at the nascar hall of fame here in charlotte. a very, very nice place. you see miss kennedy walking out. we'll begin the evening by going to her speech. >> join you tonight for the most important reason i can imagine, to make sure that barak obama is reelected president of the united states. [ cheers and applause ] four years ago, i was inspired by the way senator obama had lived his life, fighting for jobs, giving hope to the hopeless, and working day in and day out for the america he believes in. i was inspired by barak obama's vision for america, an america where we look out for one another, where we take responsibility for our sisters and brothers, and most of all, for our children. back then i was inspired by

charlotte. republicans are sending some of their heavy hitters to north carolina.ook at the rapid response team and how it could effect the democrats' message. hundreds of people gathered together to watch the race over the weekend had no way of knowing that within minutes some of them would be running for their lives. they were there to see some oversized trucks tear down a dirt track. but one of the trucks went out of control and right into the crowd. [screams] >> the disaster at the races coming up. [ pilot ] now when you build an aircraft, you want to make sure it goes up and stays up. [ chirp ] with android apps, you get better quality control. so our test flights are less stressful. i've got a lot of paperwork, and time is everything here. that's why i upgraded to the new sprint direct connect. [ chirp ] and the fastest push-to-talk nationwide. [ male announcer ] upgrade to the new "done." [ chirp ] with access to the fastest push to talk, three times the coverage, and android productivity apps. now when you buy one motorola admiral rugged smartphone, for nin

tonight, a special edition from charlotte, north carolina, and the democratic national convention. it is day one. and we are here. tonight secret weapon first lady michelle obama. we'll tell what you we learned about her very big speech. and the president sets up a giant debate after he grades himself on his handling of the economy. what did he say? >>> and end in sight of these record-breaking prices at the pump. we have news of when gas prices will go down and how much. >>> silent heart attacks. millions of americans having heart attacks and they don't know it. tonight, the symptoms how to tell if you've had one and how to prevent more. >>> and when harry met alex. as it wears off after the racy photos with the cheeky 6-year-old. how the prince handled his tiny subject. >>> good evening from charlotte, north carolina. and this week, the democratic national convention, and as we come on the air tonight, not long from now on that stage. the first lady michelle obama will enter the arena do give a speech to millions of americans about her husband and the pressure is on. because a br

charlotte. republicans are sending some of their heavy hitters to north carolina.nse team and how it could effect the democrats' message. hundreds of people gathered together to watch the race over the weekend had no way of knowing that within minutes some of them would be running for their lives. they were there to see some oversized trucks tear down a dirt track. but one of the trucks went out of control and right into the crowd. [screams] >> the disaster at the races coming up. [ mother ] you can't leave the table till you finish your vegetables. [ clock ticking ] [ male announcer ] there's a better way... v8 v-fusion. vegetable nutrition they need, fruit taste they love. could've had a v8... 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! [ male announcer ] well, you can't beat them. [ giggles ] ohh! you got something huh? whoa... [ male announcer ] humana

we'll be right back live from charlotte, north carolina.uncer: it's like a mensa meeting with fart jokes. it's the "stephanie miller show." ♪ and pontifications, from the entire social stratosphere including you. join in, tweet us, and you could be a part of our on-air and online coverage. >>now that is politically direct. um, miss ? you have hard water stains and that cleaner's not gonna cut it. you need lime-a-way. it's 4 times more effective at removing limescale than the leading bathroom cleaner. lime-a-way is specially formulated to conquer hard water stains. for lime, calcium and rust... lime-a-way is a must. [ air howling ] [ air howling ] peppermint that cools as you chew. stimulate your senses. 5 gum. now in micro pack. [ ♪ music ♪ ] >> announcer: stephanie miller ♪ you got blood on your face a big disgrace waving your banner all over the place ♪ ♪ we will we will rock you ♪ ♪ we will, we will rock you ♪ >> stephanie: all right. jim ward on the guitar. come on. we're rocking them at the democratic national convention from charlotte

. >> we will take you live to charlotte, north carolina, to preview this week's democratic convention in a moment. mr. obama's republican rival, mitt romney, attended church today in new hampshire. his wife, ann, was by his side. new hampshire is one of those all-important swing states that could decide this race. romney has crossed the 1 million mark in twitter followers. he sent a tweet that reads "1 million active followers. thanks, everyone, for your support. help us keep the momentum going." he also added a link to a donation website for his campaign. >>> in afghanistan, u.s. special operations forces have suspended the training of afghan police recruits effective immediately. the move follows reports that more than 40 nato members have been killed this year by insurgents dressed as police or afghan soldiers. 14 were killed in august alone. u.s. forces will revent all current members for reinstating the training. >>> the reverend sun myung moon is dead, the controversial leader of the unification church, best known for conducting mass weddings, sometimes with thousands of church-

tens of thousands converging on charlotte, north carolina for the democratic national convention. along with president obama's supporter are his critics as anti-obama demonstrators gather in the city. >> people feel really rejected. >> these democrats are not what they seem and people have to understand that. that is the message i'm bringing. >> reporter: the president's team laying out the case identify second term and framing mitt romney's approach to the economy as a return to republican policies of the past. >> what mitt romney is going to offer america is top down trickle down fairy dust. it didn't work then. it is not going to work now. >> reporter: president obama continuing the theme while speaking to students at the university of colorado sundays. giving this critique of last week's republican national convention. >> despite all the challenge that we face in this new century, what they offered over those three days was an agenda that was better suited for the last century. it was a rerun. it could be have been on nick at nite. we've seen it before. you might as well have

. >>> much more ahead from here in charlotte, north carolina. stay with cnn. >>> you didn't laeelect me to t you what you wanted to hear. you elected me to tell you the truth. and the truth is it will take more than a few years for us to solve challenges that have built up over decades. >> president obama closes the democratic national convention asking voters for four more years. but will they buy in? >> this mans has courage in his soul, compassion in his heart, and a spine of steel. >> vice president joe biden accepting his own nomination and calling his boss the defender of average americans for keeping general motors alive and making that osama bin laden call. good morning to you. welcome to "early start." >> i'm live at the midnight diner in charlotte, north carolina. it is 5:00 a.m. in the east. >> would he head back to john in a moment, but first we begin with breaking news. a series of earthquakes hitting southwestern china killing at least 43 people. according to the u.s. geological survey urks the four quakes ranged from a magnitude 4

thanks, live from charlotte, north carolina.we'll see you tomorrow. >>> three days after he accepted the republican nomination, mitt romney's twitter account surpassed the 1 million mark. romney thanked followers and made a point to call his followers active. some high profile figures have been accused of beefing it up with fake accounts. president obama's campaign page has more than 19 million followers. >>> the obama administration introduced one ofs it big secrets, the white house beer making recipe. two brews are made with honey harvested from the white house beehive. it comes after the online brewing community filed a freedom of information act request. >> freedom of information act for the beer resty. great. all right. i'm jamie costello. coming up all new at 6:00, how often do you text compared to how often you talk. we look at how your fingers are doing all the talking instead of your lips. >>> plus, buying a new home can be confusing. abc2 news is working for you to make sure you don't get scammed when it comes to your

it kicks off in charlotte, north carolina. local reps are down in charlotte for the dnc. governor o'malley and congressman, hoyer and edwards as well as mikulski. the speech is from michelle obama and leian castro. the dnc will wrap up thursday when obama gives his address. >>> the dnc has gotten off to a soggy stat but here is something, a tower cam captured a rainbow over charlotte, north carolina, as storms passed through the area. >>> we had rainy weather across our region. i guess you say this is going to come for a few more days. >> it is going to linger. we have the remnants of isaac moving in across the area. we will have this until wednesday and showers around in to thursday. we can see what is going on, i'm going to zoom in closer. we have a few showers lingering, frederick county, carroll county, to the north and east. if you are heading to pennsylvania, this morning, you are going to run in to heavier rain showers across the area. they have flood watches and warnings in the vicinity. temperatures, once again, very warm outside, muggy, we can see the 76 degrees

charlotte north carolina. now whether or not organized labor will be a major talking point at the d.n.c. remains to be seen but joining me now for a preview of the convention is our t. correspondent lives wall in charlotte hey their lives so a lot of controversy surrounding the venue why north carolina. that's exactly yes mag and a lot of controversy surrounding the decision to hold a democratic national convention right here in charlotte as i mentioned in that report charlotte is one of the twenty three right to work states look beyond that charlotte also has some of the harshest anti union laws in the country and of course a huge event like this attracting scores of delegates and members of the media descending upon charlotte and staying at hotels and the hotels here happen to not be unionized so a lot of union members not happy about that which could pose a president a problem for president obama because back in two thousand and eight they donated more than eight million dollars to his campaign so they were

now it is the president's turn in charlotte, north carolina. what will be the focus? good to see you ron. >> good to see you, fred. in charlotte with the sweat to prove it. >> i know. it is sweaty isn't it? the goal of the republican convention was to reintroduce mitt romney, to humanize him, will he spell out specific proposals for term number two or reminding america what he has accomplished during his term? >> i think the two principle goals will be kind of offensive in terms of romney and critical in terms of obama second term. the first goal has to be to kind of paint over the picture, repaint the picture they have been working on about mitt romney all summer in swing states. they spent millions of dollars of ads portraying him as the problem in the economy and arguing he has enriched the few at the expense of the many. the republican campaign made it very concerted effort to undo that portrait. more important than that and what has to be the critical element of the convention is give the american voters a better sense of what president obama would do in a second

north carolina for the convention. the president went on the attack in his speech saying mitt romney is not offering new ideas to grow the economy. the national convention is officially underway in charlotte, north carolina. democrats will adopt a party platform today that is in sharp contrast with the republican blueprint. they are calling for higher taxes on wealthier americans. also supporting same-sex marriage and abortion rights. the first lady will be the keynote speaker tonight as she makes a case for her husband's reelection. she did her practice walk-through of the stage yesterday. mark matthews is in charlotte, north carolina he will be reporting live from the democratic convention. you can get instant updates from mark by following him on our facebook page mark is also tweeting. >>> republican vice presidential candidate paul ryan is stumping for votes today in ohio where he told supporters that america is not better off after nearly four years of president obama's leadership. ryan says the president will say a lot of things thursday night, but he will not be able to convince voters they are better off now than four years ago. >> still ahead, we will stay on top of that breakin