msnbc contributor jonathan capehart and democrat strategist julian epstein. okay.put this to everyone. the romney campaign has very courageously released the tax returns on a friday afternoon. they indicate mr. romney paid more than he needed to in tax, which is interesting because i have one statement mr. romney made back in january where he suggests that people who pay more tax than they o don't have any business running for president. then i have another statement from his campaign today which explains why he paid more than he owed. get this, they did it all for the sake of consistency. toure. >> oh, my goodness. this is such a great moment for the obama campaign. i mean, look, there's a break glass in case of emergency for every campaign. they clearly broke it in boston this week. we can't deal with that 47%, we have to do something to change the conversation. what is the thing they least want to talk about? let's talk about that because this is preferable to talking about that. i don't think they're going to change the conversation but they're trying to. this

let me go to you, jonathan capehart. jonathan, the president and in an interview today talked about how he's been depicted by the gop. well, let me show you the quote. "usa today," he says the republicans have spent a lot of time creating a fictional barack obama who is supposedly taking the work out of welfare reform and doesn't think small businesses are -- their own businesses. does the president and the democratic party this week have to show the american people who the real barack obama is? is there a problem that he's been mischaracterized successfully by the republicans? >> well, the problem important the president has been that you have a republican party that's been calling the president a failure. without telling the american people that they are complicit in the failure saying the president has been. so i think what the president needs to do is to remind the american people where we were when he was inaugurated on january 20, 2009. to talk about where we are right now which is -- a heck afterlet better than we

washington post writer jonathan capehart joins me now. both parties have lots of trinkets for sale.ssage. this is a mug, a coffee mug at the democratic national committee store with the president's birth certificate in case anyone has any doubt. they are trying to let us all know. >> of course, there are still a lot of people who still doubt whether the president's birth certificate is real, but this is the obama administration's way -- i should say the obama campaign's way of putting it out there. look, he's a citizen of the united states, he was born in this country, and he is legitimately president of the united states. >> made in the usa. now the speaker's looking ahead to the next 24 hours. michelle obama is the star attraction. >> right, right. in the way that ann romney was the star attraction for her husband at the republican convention in tampa, first lady michelle obama will kick things off tomorrow, as everyone knows or says, the first lady is the president's biggest secret weapon. she's someone who connects with voters, and particularly, the folks who are here. i'm sure

. >> jessica taylor, jonathan capehart, thanks to all of you. want to note here that ana is with us on a saturday afternoon, which is a big deal, but an even bigger deal that it is your birthday. >> it's actually tomorrow. but in some time zones it's already. my cousin lives in japan. >> jonathan capehart wishes you a happy birthday. and that's it. he is not going to say anything. he we thought he might sing. but we're not going to get a song out of him. >> no, no, you will not. >> thanks to all of you. i appreciate your time. >> thank you. >>> president obama in milwaukee, wisconsin right now, a battleground state. mitt romney had hoped to tip his way with a choice of favorite son paul ryan as his running mate. we are going to take a look what the polls are saying about whether that gamble is paying off, next. does your phone give you all day battery life ? droid does. and does it launch apps by voice while learning your voice ? launch cab4me. droid does. keep left at the fork. does it do turn-by-turn navigation ? droid does. with verizon, amer

you back here tomorrow at noon eastern, when i'm joined by hugo lindgren, maggie haberman and jonathan capeharten, find us on facebook. "andrea mitchell reports" is next. good afternoon to you, andrea, live from charlotte. >>> good afternoon. thanks so much. coming up live here from our wonderful charlotte house, democratic leader nancy pelosi will be joining us live at this great location along with convention host governor bev purdue and chris matthews, charlie cook, mark halperin, jonathan capehart and michael steele. all that next right here, "andrea mitchell reports." this country was built by working people. the economy needs manufacturing. machines, tools, people making stuff. companies have to invest in making things. infrastructure, construction, production. we need it now more than ever. chevron's putting more than $8 billion dollars back in the u.s. economy this year. in pipes, cement, steel, jobs, energy. we need to get the wheels turning. i'm proud of that. making real things... for real. ...that make a real difference. ♪ i don't have to use gas. i am probably going to the gas stat

we're still waiting on that. >> jonathan capehart ken vogel, thank you to both. >>> next team romney, union men? stay with us. >> i want to see some experienced referees with nfl experience come back onto the nfl playing fields. >> i have a lot of good friends, the owner of the miami dolphins and the new york jets, both owners are friends of mine. [ male announcer ] at scottrade we believe the more you know, the better you trade. so we have ongoing webinars and interactive learning, plus, in-branch seminars at over 500 locations, where our dedicated support teams help you know more so your money can do more. [ rodger ] at scottrade, seven dollar trades are just the start. our teams have the information you want when you need it. it's another reason more investors are saying... [ all ] i'm with scottrade. i didn't think it was anything. i had pain in my abdomen... it just wouldn't go away. i was spotting but i had already gone through menopause. these symptoms may be nothing... but they could be early warning signs of a gynecologic cancer, such as cervical ovarian, or uterine cancer. f

msnbc political analyst and former dnc communications chair karen phinney, msnbc contributor jonathan capehart of the "washington post" and co-host of msnbc's "the cycle" steve kornacki of salon.com. catastrophic events changed the nation. this morning, president obama visited the memorial at the pentagon to speak about the legacy of september 11th. >> 11 years ago memorial services were held for americans of different races and creeds, backgrounds and beliefs, and yet, instead of turning us against each other, tragedy has brought us together. i've always said that our fight is with al qaeda and its affiliates, not with islam or any other religion. this country was built as a beacon of freedom and tolerance. that's what's made us strong. now, and forever. when the history books are written, the true legacy of 9/11 will not be one of fear or hate or division. it will be a safer world, a stronger nation, and a people more united than ever before. >> today, yards away from where the trade cen once stood the freedom tower is nearly complete. its importance has far less to do with architecture than

i think that will be challenging. >> thank you, maggie haberman and jonathan capehart. we have to leave it there. i hope you guys stay cool. >>> coming up, team obama plans to tout the president's efforts on financial regulation reform, something barney frank has done from the very beginning. >> this is a very good bill. the package of consumer protections in this bill is clearly better than any single time in american history. >> dodd-frank also happens to be a partisan lightning rod that governor romney and paul ryan said they would repeal. we evaluate the legislation and its future ahead. so anyway, i've been to a lot of places. you know, i've helped a lot of people save a lot of money. but today...( sfx: loud noise of large metal object hitting the ground) things have been a little strange. (sfx: sound of piano smashing) roadrunner: meep meep. meep meep? (sfx: loud thud sound) what a strange place. geico®. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. hed me ysymsinen aormer o be n nec s.msamfogo.. idide? you're not my dad ahh!! hey honey,

jonathan capehart and professor michael eric dyson, thank you both.s welcome back to work, boys. now you can go home for two months. nice work if you can get it. when you take a closer look... ...at the best schools in the world... ...you see they all have something very interesting in common. they have teachers... ...with a deeper knowledge of their subjects. as a result, their students achieve at a higher level. let's develop more stars in education. let's invest in our teachers... ...so they can inspire our students. let's solve this. wthe future of our medicare andr electiosocial security. for... man 1: i want facts. straight talk. tell me your plan... and what it means for me. woman 2: i'm tired of the negative ads and political spin. that won't help me decide. man 2: i earned my medicare and social security. and i deserve some answers. anncr: where do the candidates stand on issues that... affect seniors today and in the future? find out with the aarp voters' guide at earnedasay.org >>> at this point in our broadcast we were planning to focus on

in new york, i'm joined by steve kornacki, co-host of "the cycle" jonathan capehart and ari melba.n around a lifetime of flip-flopping, six years of lackluster campaigning in a 90-minute televised debate with the president? >> he almost has to. this is such a fascinating election to me because it's simultaneously one-sided and close. if you look at the real clear politics average of all the polls, it's basically a three or four-point lead in obama's favor. it's not huge, but it's a stubborn and persistent three or four points. it's been that way the entire race and it seemed basically immovable from either side. stuck at that three to four-point level. the hope that romney can take coming into this debate is john kerry in 2004 was being written off sort of like romney was. kerry was perceived to do much better than bush in the debate. closed the gap substantially. there were a lot of soft democratic vote worries strayed from his side. his debate performance brought them back into the fold. that's not the case now. it's more of a mishmash of democrats and republicans and casual vote

>> that for jonathan capehart, the black fin is like cheers.that dumb tv guys like me wear their uniform to a morning live shot in a bar, but smart candidates like martin o'malley take the tie off. >> well, mika, it has been a great week. this really has been i think the best convention any party's put on since ronald reagan 1980 goes to detroit and changes american politics. the democrats needed this badly. they had a depressed base. a lot of people have been grousing about barack obama for the past three, three and a half years. this week, they did a great job. mitt romney's team, they better serve their candidate better or they're going to have a tough fall. >> this has been a wonderful home away from home. the black fin, thank you, everybody. >> if it's way too early, willie, what time is it? >> we'll see you back in new york on monday. >> thank you, guys. humans -- even when we cross our t's and dot our i's, we still run into problems. namely, other humans. which is why, at liberty mutual insurance, auto policies come with new car replacem

also still with us, jonathan capehart and victoria defrancesco soto.ne question in particular that always upsets you. tell me sort of that irritating question and your response to it. >> the irritating question is people usually ask why don't you leave? when i explain to them it's similar to someone leaving a domestic violence situation. you may try to leave one time but if you know you're going to be beaten or abused, you're afraid to leave. i've seen girls beaten up, tied up, held hostage with guns to their heads. it made me afraid to leave. once i got out, i was actually happy. i work with young laiders who are trying to leave a situation i did. >> what's important to me is how the president framed this issue. was he consistently used the question of slavery. in part, you don't look at someone who has been enslaved and say why didn't you leave. the issue of sex trafficking, people assume that somehow something you did asked for it. when you are talking to young women who have heard that over and over again, who maybe internalized that, what are the

reportedly, he has been marching sssten cal, a joining us is jonathan capehart, washington post columnistken vogel, chief investigative reporter for politico. i need to start by plang you a clip at a paul ryan rallyod whoold san get off welfare. she asks him what he should do -- what she should do. his answer is that w must grow the economy, not allow the president's welfare work requirement. then in a long, rambling answer, this is what he recommends hot hand out. teach a man to fish, he can feed himself for a life. don't simply feed fish. >> don't simply feed fish. >> that's not terribly empathetic -- or sympathetic. >>t's bonkers, isn't it 12? >> i don't know about bonkers. the poor man is stuck -- >> he's talking about feeding fish now. >> yes, he's talking about eding fish -- >> but he uses the erb,iv a fish once -- >> the problem he has is he's stuck in this mind set, in the long term a good thing to be worried about deficit and debt, anthe practice jeker to it's put this country on, but there's a woman sayi to m, onwee, wan to get off and i can't. she's looking to him -- >> she's a

we're joined by karen finney, melissa perry, host of melissa harris perry and jonathan capehart.ight gbegin with you, bill clinton takes the stage at the dnc on wednesday and we read today he's been advising the president's campaign, telling him not to go at mitt romney for flip-fl flip-flopping, but his right wing ideology. do you agree? >> bill clinton is a two-term president. in fact, the only living two-term democratic president, so undoubtedly, you know, this campaign ought to take the former president's advice and i think where i agree with president clinton on this is simply that americans seem to care less about the idea of whether or not a candidate is inconsistent than to add sort of where they stand now. i think they run into a little bit of trouble though with framing mitt romney as sort of just far to the right wing. i think what they have to do is frame the whole party that way because romney really does have a record that is a flip-flop record. he governed as a relative moderate in massachusetts. >> indeed. now, karen, bill clinton hasn't always had the greatest re

right now we're joined by ari mel ba of "the nation magazine" and jonathan capehart of "the washington mitt romney has attacked the president and his administration for their handling of this very fluid situation. now the president has responded. listen to this. >> there's a broader lesson to be learned here. governor romney has a tendency to shoot first and aim later. and as president, one of the things i've learned is you can't do that. that, you know, it's important for you to make sure that the statements you make are backed up by the facts and that you've thought through the ramifications before you make them. >> do you think it was irresponsible? >> i'll let the american people judge that. >> it's important for to you make sure the statements you make are backed up by the facts. he's failed miserably on that for some time. and you thought through the ramifications before you make them. what he says, he doesn't appear to have thought through any of this. >> that's right. i think what's disturbing for them, for people who follow the campaign closely, there's nothing new about mitt

. >> well, jonathan capehart, thank you for your time tonight. >> thanks, rev. >> up next, a civil rightsole miss. stay with us. look at those toys. insurance must be expensive. nah. [ dennis' voice ] i bet he's got an allstate agent. they can save you up to 30% more by bundling your policies. well his dog's stupid. [ dennis' voice ] poodles are one of the world's smartest breeds. are you in good hands? >>> 50 years ago today, we saw the beginning of a fight against segregation that forever changed the civil rights movement in had this country. on september 20th, 1962, james meredith walked into the campus of the university of mississippi, trying to become the first african-american to attend ole miss. meredith had a federal court order saying he should be allowed to register. but he was physically blocked from enrolling by state officials. and massive crowds that spiraled out of control. and became a national story. >> nearly 6,000 troops patrol oxford to maintain order and arrests amount to more than 200 as smaller disturbances erupt the next day. >> president kennedy addressed the nati

joining us now from charlotte is ""the washington post's"" jonathan capehart.ave us classics. james taylor, mary j. blige, foo fighters. the rnc, kid rock, three doors down. there's a gigantic qualitative gap. >> sorry, i could hardly hear what you were saying. even though it's raining, they're a little loud. i shouldn't have done that. i'm really sorry. >> it's okay. >> having been in tampa and being here in charlotte, you saw my tweets. you were responding. the band, the in-house band was playing stevie wonder and michael jackson and all of these songs by musicians who you wouldn't associate the republican party liking let alone knowing and playing in their arena. and i thought yesterday god's appointed choir really were fantastic. >> they were awesome. >> they were just fantastic. >> i just got to say, it's a really silly argue, but i'll play along here. i will say to play along here. i would say to both of you guys, or everyone else, you win. i don't feel the need -- i won't speak for all republicans because maybe they do. i don't feel the need to compete w

contributor jonathan capehart of the "waington post," nbc news politicaanalyst former pennsylvania governor andhe ndrrent govnorfnoed the queen bee of -- >> great honor. >> it's our honor. the queen bee of the grio.com joy reid and host o cycle, steve kornacki. president obama is minutes away obitveddressing tnt bn ausy morning for both filled with speeches and media appearances in and around new york city. mitt romney spoke to the clinton global itiative and sat down with education nation. president obama spoke to the u.n. general assembly, follow thatirere d the first lady taped for "the view." the meeting of the united nations general assembly has put foreign policy front and center. president obama used the ait tack on the u.s. consulate in libya and the death on ambassador stevens to make the case for a broaderhilophy regardinthtu of the relations between the middle east and the west. >> the events of the last two wes also speaks to the need for all of us to honestly address the tensions between the west and the arab world that is moving towards demoacy. >> while he mad car tt the vide

see you back at noon eastern, 9:00 pacific when joined by ed rendell, the "washington post" jonathan capehartknacken. fund us at facebook.com/now with alex. "andrea mitchell reports" and in new york city. good evening, ain dre ya. great to have you here. >> thanks so much. we are here for our education nation summit. and joining us today education secretary arne duncan, new york city schools chancellor dennis wolcott, also my conversation with former secretary of state condoleezza rice that kicked off the summit today. and chelsea clinton with a reading revolution in one city. all that next on "andrea mitchell reports." >>> i'm meteorologist bill karins with your business travel forecast. after a chilly start what a beautiful afternoon it's going to be in so many areas of the country today. from the great lakes to the ohio valley, all through the eastern seaboard. little hotter from areas of texas back out into arizona. we're still pretty warm in many areas of the intermountain west. nice in l.a. today, 78. enjoy your day. ♪ leaving my homeland ♪ playing a lone hand ♪ my life begins today ♪ ♪

msnbc political analyst karen finney and anna marie cox of "the guardian" and msnbc contributor jonathan capehart has had his hair beautifully cut for this occasion. karen, if i might begin with you, somewhere i formed the impression that mr. romney's campaign was all about jobs anded economy. now he's talking about the almighty's name on coins and he's hanging out with pat robertson. what exactly is going on now? >> oh, martin, come on now. he was in virginia, and i mean a couple things. number one, this is a clear attempt to go after the evangelical voters in the republican base who already don't trust him, but also -- >> karen, he's already won the primary. >> oh, but in order to win the general election, let's take a look at virginia folk. president obama actually lost the white vote in virginia but won the african-american vote and that's a big part of how he won the state. so my read of that language was a very clear pandering and outreach to what evangelical voters in the state trying to use god, frankly, as a wedge issue, which i find very offensive. president obama has never said anythin

the other point to jonathan capehart is i do think the president is a better president than a debatero the early primary debates, especially when there were many candidates in the ring, he didn't stand out. he never had errors either. that's the thing about barack obama. it was almost boring or flat and the washington media that's looking for a big moment never got one with him. but when you're up four points, as steve said, you don't need a big moment. >> jonathan, if mr. romney is going it turn things around, then he'll have to do it by himself. just today you've got newt gingrich, the serial adulterer out there with todd akin, the man who leth ma advertised rape. these men are not really doing mitt romney much in the way of favors, are they? >> depends on who their audience is. this is going to be a base election. meaning mitt romney has to excite his base to ensure they come out. >> he's been exciting his base for six years. how much longer does he have to go on and try to do this? >> he's got to do it until the voting -- until the polls are closed across the country. and so -- bu

pacific when swroinds by frank bruni, steve, jonathan capehart and tony danza. tony danza. is coming up next. alright, you ready kevin? and... flip! whoa! did you get that? yep, look at this. it takes like 20 pictures at a time. i never miss anything. isn't that awesome? uh that's really cool. you should upload these. i know, right? that is really amazing. pictures are so clear. kevin's a handsome devil. that phone does everything! search dog tricks. okay, see if we can teach him something cool. look at how lazy kevin is. kevin, get it together dude. cmon, kevin. vo: take 20 pictures with burst shot on the galaxy s3. is now within your grasp with the e-trade 360 investing dashboard. e-trade 360 is the world's first investing homepage that shows you where all your investments are and what they're doing with free streaming quotes, news, analysis and even your trade ticket. everything exactly the way you want it, all on one page. transform your investing with the e-trade 360 investing dashboard. and also to build my career. so i'm not about to always let my frequent bladder ur