chris, you know, the howard johnsons, i remember those howard johnsons, the orange roofs and great ice cream. >> sure. >> laura: clearly the president who i alluded to has taken more vacations in three and a half years than any president in recent memory. he tries to turn the table on mitt romney because, of course, romney is on vacation this week along planned family vacation. there and images of him jet skiing or boating or wind surfing abound on the internet. so obama thinks ah-ha, i have my moment. isn't that kind of a gift to give the president when there is no need to do that? >> you know, it might be. and those are maybe not the best images to send out. but it is the first week of july. and there are a lot of people taking vacations. and he is with his family. it's not the first week of october. so, you know, as we micromanage this campaign, they are under a white hot spotlight as you know, laura, because the obama policies have been so detrimental and the center and the right of this country want president obama out and he they want these policies stopped and, therefore, the ro

i don't know where he got that from but i remember the days i wanted to go to howard johnsons.e cream. i wanted the ice cream. those were good memories and good time to mention that. well played, nicely done. president obama seems to be outplaying mitt romney so thoroughly now that conservatives and republicans behind the scenes appears to be in a bit of a panic. wall s journal in a tough he had tore yam against mitt romney about how he's running his campaign. and his boss, murdoch has been tweeting away about how he doesn't like romney. tough o chicago pros will be hard to beat unless he drops old friends from the team. chances of that, doubtful. this is not the first tweet or the last tweet murdoch said about romney. he has been hammering him over and over saying i'm not sure this guy has what it takes to win. i saw romy, i thought i saw him in the middle of a ring--let me see. what the hell is going on here request, no, no murdoch the elbow from the sky. murdoch who is supposed to be on your side running fox news channel and wall street journal editorial page and the whole p

and my sister, we traveled around the country on greyhound buses and on trains and we stayed at howard johnsons. i was 11. if there was any kind of swimming pool, it didn't matter how big it was. you spend the whole day there and you were real excited to go to where the vending machine was and get the ice and that was like a big deal. you just see the sights and stop by a diner someplace. you would have that chance to take a little bit of time off to spend with your family. when you retire, you retired with dignity and respect. you were part of a community. that basic bargain is what built this country. that's what made us an economic super power. that's what made us the envy of the world. not the fact that we had the most millionaire or billionaires, but the fact that our economy grew from the middle out. there were ladders of opportunity for people to get into the middle class even if they were born poor. the reason i ran for president, the reason i ran the first time for a state senate seat on the southside of chicago was because for too many people that bargain and that dream felt like it w

and sometimes we'd take the train, and stay at howard johnsons. and, you know, as long as there was a little puddle of a pool, i'd be happy. and you'd go to the ice machine and the vending machine and buy a soda and get the ice, and you were really excited about it. and what was important was just the time that you had to spend with your family. it wasn't anything fancy. >> while the president was fondly reminiscing about his nothing-fancy summer vacations, mitt romney found himself forced to talk about something no other presidential candidate has ever had to talk about. where his money lives. >> with regards to any foreign investments, i understand, and you understand, of course, that my investments have been held by a blind trust, have been managed by a trustee. i don't manage them. i don't even know where they are. that trustee follows all u.s. laws, all the taxes are paid, as appropriate. all of them have been reported to the government. there's nothing hidden there. there's nothing -- if, for instance, you owned shares in let's say renault o

, he was in ohio, he was reminiscing about vacations and it wasn't martha's vineyard, it was howard johnson's this is what he had to say today. >> my grandmother and my mom and my sister, we traveled around the country on greyhound buses and on trains, we stayed at howard johnson's and you know, i was 11 and so if there was any kind of swimming pool, it didn't matter how big it was, right, you would spend the whole day there and then you were real excited to go to where the vending machine was and the ice machine and get the ice, and that was like a big deal. >> so that's the president. he did write about that in "dreams of my father" going to seattle, going to california, going to disneyland. this is what he remembers from his childhood, what he wants to talk about, not martha's vineyard. the politics of vacationing, major, we saw the criticism and i thought frankly it was really silly of mitt romney and ann romney on jet skis. that's what they do. >> that's what they do. >> that's how they vacation. i don't really think it's analogous -- there's the president in martha's vineyard. >> i was

bunch of times we'd just take greyhound busses, and sometimes we'd take the train and stay at howard johnsons and, you know, as long as there was a little puddle of a pool i'd be happy, and you'd go to the ice machine and the vending machine and buy a soda and get the ice and you were really excited about it, and what was important was just the time that you had to spend with your family. it wasn't anything fancy , but you understood you spent time with your family, they were cared for and you had a sense of security. you could provide for your children an education that would allow them to do even better than you do. that was the basic bargain that built america's middle class. the largest middle class on earth. that's what built our prosperity, the greatest economy the world's ever known. and so those shared memories, those shared stories, that was the basis of our campaign when i ran for president. that's what i talked about the first time i came to cedar rapids, because we came together as democrats and independents and republicans because for too long that basic bargain, that vision of w

the country on greyhound buses, or trains, and once in a while we would rent a car, stay at howard johnson's did not matter how big the pool was. if there was a pool, i would just jump in. i was excited to go to the vending machine and get the ice bucket and get the ice. then the chance to retire with dignity and respect -- that dream of a strong middle class -- that is what america has always been about. [cheers] that is what led me to get into public service. that is what led to my first campaign, making sure that access to that middle-class, that growing, driving heartbeat of america, that that was available for everybody. it was not just available for me and for michelle, but it was available for every kid across this country. and that is what led me to run for president of the united states, and that is what led me to ask you for a second term as president of the united states, to fight for america's middle class, and everybody is trying to get into the middle class. [applause] >> four more years! four more years! four more years! >> you know, that idea has been getting battered a littl

vacation that i had as a kid, we traveled around the country on greyhound busses and we stayed in howard johnsonselighted to take a vacation with my family. i'm sure all americans appreciate the memory that they have with their children and grandchildren. >> the battle of the vacations. we're back with more of the roundtable. george, this seems silly, it goes at something that's at work in this campaign, that's essentially a class conflict. >> they're trying to make mitt romney not likable. pete hart, i have said this before, go back all of the complicated metrics, the likable guy usually wins. they're trying and so far in succeeding in making mitt romney's core argument, i'm a business guy a negative. the country doesn't look upon his business career in a happy way. >> and what they're doing with that business? what do you think with this notion of going after his investments abroad, offshore accounts, making that part of the argument against it? >> he's done things that the average american can't relate to. look i'm a private equity guy, i'm aware of some of these -- >> do you have an offshore

what it was like to be able to take a family vacation and get on the greyhound bus and go to howard johnsonsbut also, trying to relate his story to the story of millions of americans where as mitt romney is more saying and also, obama is still saying we can do this together because i believe in you. where as mitt romney is saying i can fix everything. i feel your pain. i understand what you, you are going through and i -- and i can fix it. i'm going to fix it for you. and to be honest, i love hillary clinton, but that was part of what she was trying to do last time and i think people want to be a part of something in a campaign. tha part of the optimism that president obama brought in 2008 and what motivated people the first time and i think will again. >> do you agree with that? sfwl absolutely. i think part of the problem here is the presumption of political omniscience. we're down here on the ground. we're not looking up there. you're assuming that you come in with your tools and your toolkit and get out of the way and let a better man fix the thing. >> he created 150,000. made $250 milli

. >> we traveled the country on greyhound buses, howard johnson.pool, i'd jump in. >> barack obama is holding his own and if i were in the romney campaign, that would worry me. >> who are you? >> there's a lot to love about mitt romney. but the election still is going to be a referendum on obama's policies. >> fire barack obama and hire mitt romney. >> are you suggesting that mitt romney is guilty of some kind of te felony? >> release the tax returns. if mitt romney's not hiding something in bermuda -- >> i pay all the taxes legally required and not a dollar more. karen finney, jared bernstein is the former economic adviser to the vice president and msnbc contributor and dr. james peterson, an associate professor, good afternoon to all of you. jared, if i can start with you. can you help us understand these 501 c4s? they're what allow corporations and billionaires to donate money with complete secrecy because the the tax code says groups like karl rove's cross roads gps are social welfare organizations. that's ridiculous, isn't it? >> it is. that s

he spoke of his vacations when he was growing up where they staid at howard johnson's. >> you were excited to go where the vending machine and the ice machine was and get the ice. that was, like, a big deal. >> reporter: a big deal, especially when it's this hot. three more jobs reports before the election. the president has to hope for improvements or he's going have to beat mitt romney and the statistic that no president has been re-elected with unemployment over 8%. bianna? >> thank you, david. let's bring in matthew dowd with more. thanks for joining us. >> thanks, bianna. great to see you. >> with just four jobs reports left before the election, does the election hang on the economy? >> well, yeah, the dominant issue has been and will continue the be the economy, which is wrapped up in a lot of things. what money people have available. it's a huge thing about jobs. every time a report comes out, i think we have four left, one right before election day, they're an indication for the country of where the country is headed. that, as it stays unchanged or looks lackluster, it's a problem

heard the president talking about how he vacationed as a child on greyhound buses or going to howard johnsonsrast to mitt romney new hampshire. subtext of the campaign coming out class warfare. >> you have all invested heavily in the bain capital element of trying to convince people of what mitt romney is about. and yet this particular ad got four pinocchios from the "the washington post" which is not true. >> bill: joining us now from north carolina, the purveyor of bernard goldberg.com. i undery stand before you get to this analysis you have a comment on watters world. >> this is a serious point. the people in watters world who thought the declaration of independence was signed like in 1964, whatever, they should not be allowed to vote. here is why. no, here is why. that young woman gets one vote. right? charles krauthammer gets one vote. does that sound fair to anybody listening to this? it makes no sense at all to her vote and krauthammer they get one vote each. makes no sense. >> bill: here is the rub on t though. our founding fathers in their business come and i mean this seriously said

. >> is that the contrast of the president talking about growing up staying at howard johnsons, may oray not have been a pool, riding greyhound buses and the water skiing of mitt romney. is this a fair contrast we're seeing this week that the president obviously raises. >> it's the kind of contrast i think that says look, both are legitimate options for an american family vacation. it's just that the majority of americans -- i'd say about 99% -- are probably not on jet skis in new hampshire. they're probably more able to relate to the experience president obama was talking about. and that really is the heart of the matter. i worked in the 2004 campaign as well. and i remember the infamous john kerry photo. and the problem that mitt romney really has is that it really does play into the narrative that he is out of touch. and also the hypocrisy for him to come out and attack president obama's vacation while he's on this ritzy vacation. this is a problem he's had time and time again. his own hypocrisy. and just that feeling that he's completely out of touch and doesn't really understand h

. >> we went around the country on greyhound buses and trains and stayed at howard johnsons. >> reporter did not mention last summer's was nicer on ma that's vineyard. romney said the voters wouldn't begrudge him time off. >> all americans would appreciate the memory they have with the children and grandchildren. >> republican group cross road gps is keeping the heat on the president with a new $25 million ad buy. >> barack obama has lots of >> head winds coming frommy europe. we have had a string of bad luck. >> th the said the super pac ads will reign down on his head but revived a line from 2008 to say he is ready. >> i'm skinny, but i'm tough. >> republicans are pointing to comments from senate candid 2004 where he said bush was overcelebrating economic stats. that month the economy created 31,000 jobs. much -- 310,000 jobs. much different time. >> john: much different. ed henry in sweltering pittsburgh. thank you so much. now to the chief political correspondent carl cameron on how the candidates are using a struggling economy in an effort to cast the other as unfit for the white ho

and we would stay at howard johnson's, and if there was a pool somewhere, it could look like a puddle, it could be so small, i was so excited and you would go to the ice machine and the vending machine -- i was 11 years old. that was a big deal filling up that bucket of ice and getting that soda. and the point was that your vacation didn't have to be fancy. it just gave you a sense of how you could spend time with each other. that was part of that american dream. and then the notion that you could retire with dignity and respect after a lifetime of work. you know, that's the idea that got me into politics, because my feeling was given how much this country had given me, and given michelle, i wanted to make sure that that same bargain held for the next generation. that it wasn't just about me, it was about making sure that every american had those same opportunities, and the interesting thing is when i first started running for the u.s. senate let's say in illinois, and i would be driving around and we would go to downstate illinois, small farm towns or sometimes we would be in the big

trains and stayed at howard johnsons. >> and that's why the wheels on the bus go round and round every time an election comes round. >>> thanks for watching. i'm candy crowley in washington. head to cnn.com/sotu for analysis and extras, and if you missed any part of today's show, find us on itunes. search "state of the union." "fareed zakaria gps" is next for our viewers in the united states. >>> this is "gps," the "global public square." welcome to all of you in the united states and around the world. i'm fareed zakaria. on today's show, the presumptive president-elect of mexico, enraeon war, drugs, the economy. can mexico be the next emerging market star? >>> before that, aour truly global public square. we've assembled a panel to talk about the many international problems -- syria, egypt, iran, europe, and more. and on this july 4 week, we'll also look at america from the outside in. >>> also, who creates jobs? is it the 1%, or is it the middle class? we have a debate, a fascinating debate between two 1%-ers. >>> finally, tanks for the memories. a somewhat beautiful ballet by 50-ton

sometimes we'd take the train and stay at howard johnson's. as long as there was a little puddle of a pool, i would be happy. you'd go to the ice machine and the vending machine and buy a soda and get the ice and you were really excited about it. and what was important was just the time you had to spend with your family. there wasn't anything fancy, but you understood that you could spend time with your family, they were cared for, you had a sense of security. you could provide for your children an education that would allow them to do even better than you did. that was the basic bargain that built america's middle class, the largest middle class on earth. that's what built our prosperity, the greatest economy the world has ever known. so those shared memories, those shared stories, that was the basis of our campaign when i ran for president. that's what i talked about the first time i came to cedar rapids. because we can't together as democrats and independents and republicans because for too long that basic bargain, that vision of what it me

heard the president talking about how he vacationed as a child on greyhound buses and going to howard johnsons and hojo and that was in direct contrast, a contrast to mitt romney who was in new hampshire on his speedboat and on jet skis, so i think that interesting sub text of the campaign is coming out about -- which is essentially class warfare. >> schieffer: i want to ask all of you, what about this criticism that is coming out of the wall street journal from the weekly standard, both of which are owned, obviously by rupert murdoch. and basically the idea is that the campaign is too insular and have to make some changes. how do the romney folks, now you are out there covering romney, jan, how do they feel about that? >> they believe and they are very focused they can kind of tune out a lot of that outside criticism and they think they have a plan and people are always naysayer, have been critical of every republican campaign for the last 20 years so they are really going to stick to this plan of focusing on the economy, they believe they have a plan, they have specifics and they are going t

my mom and my sister, we dratraveled around t country on greounduses and trains and stayed at howard johnsons that's why the wheels on the bus go round and round every time an election comes round. >>> thanks for watching. i'm candy crowley in washington. head to cnn.com/sotu for analysis and extras, and if you missed any part of today's show, find us on itunes. search "state of the union." "fareed zakaria gps" is next for our viewers in the united states. >>> this is "gps," the "global public square." welcome to all of you in the united states and around the world. i'm fareed zakaria. on today's show, the presumptive president-elect of mexico, enraeon war, drugs, the economy. can mexico be the next emerging market star? >>> before that, aour truly global public square. we've assembled a panel to talk about the many international problems -- syria, egypt, iran, europe, and more. and on this july 4 week, we'll also look at america from the outside in. >>> also, who creates jobs? is it the 1%, or is it the middle class? we have a debate, a fascinating debate between two 1%-ers. >>> finally, tan

my sister, we traveled around the country on greyhound buses and on trains, and we stayed at howard johnsonse wheels on the bus go round and round every time an election comes 'round. thanks for watching "state of the union." i'm candy crowley in washington. head to cnn.com/sotu for analysis and extras. and ou

for someone like howard johnson to mistakes much more representative of the complexity rather than what is conveyed in that point. and it just made me wonder if they may be that way in which we simplified story like this, where we reduced taxes he is itself a product of the history and a lack of knowledge, that we aren't yet able to appreciate the complexity of the history. >> to me, complex is great. things are rarely black and white in life. >> no pun intended. >> there's lots of great, lots of things we know, lots of things we don't know. i think that's really part of the richness of life, even in our day-to-day life. and i really wanted to capture that and tell a story that was sweeping and historical, but was really humane. these people are very, very few men and how they live their lives. i wanted people to connect to that. >> one of the really incredible carrot turns to make you go little bit to the third side. i'm just going to read his name out that because he's quite a carrot. i think i'll go forward one step. @. so a dose that eudora shields. adolfo theodora shields, his mome