here was john kerry the other night. >> mr. romney, here's a little advice. before you debate barack obama on foreign policy, you better finish the the bait with yourself. chris: here's was romney doing the same to kerry back in 2004. >> the other day i heard that the junior senator from massachusetts is thinking about putting together a balanced ticket. and he wondered whether he could pick someone with views different than his own, he selected himself to do that. chris: a shared handicap is their money an of course northeastern elitism. listen to the pot here calling the kettle black on "hardball" back in 2008 when he was being talked about for mccain's running mate. >> how many houses do you have? >> one less than john kerry. that would be four. >> come on, how many do you have? four? that means the other guy, you've got 11 between you on the ticket. >> i'm afraid i can't hear you. >> ok. that's an old reagan trick, i can't hear you. chris: here's how jon stewart wove the elitist and flip-flopping story lines together to link romney with kerry. >> mitt rom

kerry washington is with us. and then with music from this album.ight lights. alanis morissette, and you can see her live on tour this fall, including tomorrow night at the fox theater in pomona in california. she'll do a green day song for us. tomorrow night we'll by joined by keanu reeves. and tony bennette. first guest tonight, our first guest is an oscar nominated, golden globe-winning actress who, alongside husband antonio banderas, make up one of hollywood's most formidable animated cat-slash-human power couples. she has a recurring role on the third season of "raising hope" - it premieres next tuesday at 8 on fox, please welcome melanie griffith. ♪ >> jimmy: you look fantastic. thanks for coming. it's a pleasure of meeting your daughter, dakota a couple weeks ago. she was here on show making fun of you. >> yes, yes. >> jimmy: she was making fun of you tweeting. this is something you do. you retweet yourself. you use it as e-mail thinking you're sending personal messages, people don't necessarily respond. >> she should not say things like that

senator kerry. i wonder how senator kerry would fare against 2004 candidate kerry?> it's one thing to be certain, but you can be certain and be wrong. it's another to be certain and be right or be certain and be moving in the right direction, or be certain about a principle and then learn new facts and take those new facts and put them to use in order to change and get your policy right. [laughter] >> i mean, who, if i may -- [applause] >> thank you. who among us does not fail to think that we must be in so far as not to? [laughter] am i right, ladies? back me up. [cheers] >> kerry unveiled another under-utilized weapon. >> known as spring day in 1945, that great uncle helped liberate one of the concentration camps at buchenwald. ladies and gentlemen, barack obama's uncle is here with us tonight. please join me in saluting this american hero, charlie payne. [applause] >> [bleep] kidding me? barack obama has an adorable white, war-hero uncle? why is this the first time we're seeing this? [laughter] if i'm obama, every time i campaign down south, i'm having that guy s

did john kerry lock up the secretary of state job last night? >> you know, john kerry wants to be secretary of the state the way that you want to either be the quarterback of the new york giants or the owner of a strip club. but, so, he -- that's to say he -- >> giants, giants. >> that's to say he wants it bad. i don't think he's locked it up, because the truth is he wanted it up last time around, snatched away by hillary clinton. he has a formidable competitor in susan rice, very close to valerie jarrett, the president, very close to both of them. she's got a lot of internal champions and everybody in the administration says she knows the president's mind in a way that john kerry, as respectable as he is, is not. and i would continue to give her the inside track on that job. >> well, if he doesn't get it, he and i can go together in on the strip club. >> he would be a good partner for you. >> that would work out nicely. before break, an incredible moment, regardless of party, you couldn't help but appreciate this. former congresswoman of arizon

kerry: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from massachusetts. mr. kerry: i'm going to momentarily yield time to the senator from arizona but let me just say very quickly to the senator from kentucky, who i asked the other day whether he's ever been to pakistan, whether he's ever been to egypt, i think if he had he'd know something more about the millions of people in those countries who aspire to democracy who have invested in our values and who are trying to have a different future. i particularly, i don't know, resent is not a particularly attractive word, but i've got to tell you to hear him say the foreign relations committee has done nothing on dr. afridi just does a disservice to the efforts we've been making in what is called quiet thoughtful diplomacy. not all diplomacy is conducted by passing a fly-by-night amendment on the floor of the united states senate pretending that's going to improve relations or change the world. when you sit down with people and you talk through

we can presume that john kerry was there.s experience in this kind of setting. just go beyond the 2004 debates with then-president bush when john kerry was the democratic challenger. he had a series of debates way back in 1996 when he was a sitting senator with another republican governor of massachusetts who was trying to unseat kerry. his name was bill well. they had three debates actually that were epic in scale. so john kerry is clearly battle tested. the president is going to go to ground. he's had some fund-raisers. he just finished one. he's on his way to senator jay rockefeller's house but on sunday he heads to hend henders nevada. they don't want to be in d.c. for this debate camp as we're calling it around here. training at altitude in nevada, preparing for wednesday night in denver when so much is on the line, martin. >> sounds like a boxing match. nbc's mike viqueira, thank you, sir. we'll be right back to "clear the air." [ female announcer ] born from the naturally sweet monk fruit, something this delicious coul

the closest analog i can find is john kerry in 2004. you can think back to the trajectory of that campaign. in the summer months, it was tied in the polls. kerry was even ahead for a time. bush went second with their convention. had a much better convention than democrats. labor day on for the entire month of september, bush was ahead six or seven points in the national polls. in that month, there was loud public second guessing of the kerry campaign. people were saying he's blown this perfectly winnable election. what changed it for kerry was the first debate. september 30th of 2004. he outperformed bush in the first debate. the gap was erased overnight. from that point on, you had a neck and neck election through election day. now because he lost, we say here are the things that kerry did wrong. but critics were silenced and it looked like he was running a competent campaign. the the lesson is that race was about as winnable for kerry as this is for romney. so romney needs to go into this debate and clearly have a better performance t

john kerry's speech was so effective.reminder how vulnerable the republican ticket is on the issue not only about the inexperience and how sloppy and confused their positions have been on things like afghanistan. >> i agree with you, it was a strange omission, but i will say they've been accused, republicans have been accused in the past of pandering patriotically and pandering to that notion. real quick, the conventions are over and now we look ahead to the debates. what do we expect frr both sides in the weeks to come, other than debate preparation? will we see them on the campaign trail? will we see a lot of ads? will they hunker down and go away for a little bit? >> there's no hungering down. i think they're both in new hampshire and iowa in the next few days, so they bump into each other. we have a narrow pool of states they're fighting intensely over. there's so much money, the republicans will have a significant money advantage. the question is whether there's -- you start to get into the margins, whether another 1

bush and john kerry fought it out every day about the war. in 2008 we were at war, and barack obama and john mccain fought it out every day in that war. this week when the financial crisis was absolutely on fire, at that debate, they were talking about the wars. this year, president obama does bring it up, he does bring it up at most of his stump speeches, how he explains what he has done and planning on doing talking about the two wars. he doesn't have to say much more because he's speaking to an empty room. the romney campaign has no identifiable position on afghanistan. they have been unwilling and unable to hold up that side of debate and so regardless of what it means for the candidates as a country we are deprived of a national discussion about a war we are in. 70,000 american families having skin in the game right now. we have -- that's part of the reason i'm looking forward to the debates. some ways sort of a post-policy campaign. and you can't do that in a debate, at least unless the debate is really bad. >> this is -- this is billed

you see john kerry.fords, you see eva longoria, all of the people who are lined up to speak. so there is a real sense of camaraderie. it is not posh in any way. there's a plate of grapes and some water. but other than that, really, it is all about what's happening on stage. not what's happening backstage. >> cenk: one more question along those lines. you said that speeches get slashed because of time reasons. is there one line or direction you were going to go in the speech that got cut that you could share with us here with our audience? >> jennifer: well, i did have a really good line that you know, i talked about the solo at ford and how the rest of the story or the rest of the line was it is unfortunate that that guy at ford and workers like him weren't able to pull themselves up by their father's bootstraps. i think the guys would have liked that. i didn't have a chance to say that. >> eliot: that's a great line. save it and use it some other time. >> jennifer: thanks. don't tell anyone. >> cenk: al

they came in with john kerry with what i think was the best speech i have ever seen john kerry give. they came in with joe biden who was classic joe biden. n. barack obama, talking in a really tough terms. the democrats suddenly all national security? what happened to american policy as we know it? >> one of the interesting things about this night is it gives democrats a chance to look strong on some of their biggest issues traditionally. both defense and national security. how many times did we hear the name bin laden tonight? one of his favorite lines, osama bin laden is dead and general motors is a life. >> all three of them were killed mitt romney and paul ryan. it was relentless. >> the president wrote it in. -- rubbed it in. and bill clinton had the best speech. what surprised me about this is it seemed aimed more at democrats. this gives you a sense of what's this will be going forward. we can see them try to do that with democrats. he had them chanting, "four more years" constantly. >> i thought going in that -- because bill clinton did so well that barack obama of a competit

i don't dissent from everything kerry said. of course she's absolutely right.nd i have no interest in the idea of perfection. but it is a serious question as to whether we should try to improve the health of humankind and to improve the health of our children. if we can do that at a very early stage, if we can make people more resistant to disease, longer lived, healthier, i think that that is something that a good person would try to do. >> i'll come back to you. i want to ask ian about that. do you think there's something wrong with that vision,? >> i think it's an obscene vision we've seen in history before where it leads. on one degree we should credit professor harris because he's showing us that science is going faster than society can cope at the moment. and with the logical extremism we're seeing these ridiculous and grotesque views. there is presumption around it. it is purely a medical issue. secondly that somehow inferior. there's a secondary status to disabled people and therefore we should do what we can to eliminate them. the fact that a disabled

good to see both of you, as always, so, secretary of state for john kerry?o is a frontrunner for the position. >>shepard: we have one of those right now. >>guest: everyone expects hillary clinton to move on and take a well deserved rest. she has done a great job and the inside boating is that john kerry will be the next secretary of state. there are other candidates but he is in the lead. >>shepard: and it makes sense he would be here on this night with this topic with that job and his future, right? >>guest: certainly. this foreign policy being the focus it makes sense to give a trial run and set the stage. the talk that hillary clinton will make other plans, it makes sense to have someone --. >>shepard: go on. >>guest: maybe for 2016 but it makes sense for john kerry to come here and talk about foreign policy, an important night to talk about foreign policy but we know that the issue of this election is jobs and the economy and the current president has failed to make things better for the american people. they will talk about foreign policy tonight we wil

senate foreign relations chairman john kerry called romney's statements, quote, callous and reckless. indiana republican dan coates, who once served as ambassador to germany, was asked about the kerry criticism of romney. listen. >> let's avoid the political statements right now. >> should that be true of mitt romney, as well? >> i think we need to keep the political focus on the election separate from the possible implications of what goes to security and how to protect our citizens. >> and late today president obama weighed in. >> there's a broader lesson to be learned here. you know, governor romney seems to have a tendency to shoot first and aim later. as president, one of the things i've learned is you can't do that. you know, it's important for you to make sure that the statements that you make are backed up by the facts and that you've thought through the ramifications before you make them. >> joining us now is ari fleischer, who's an unpaid occasional communications adviser of the romney campaign and also democratic strategist and obama 2012 pollster cornell belcher. ari, the

mitt romney is using john kerry as a stand in, rather obama is using john kerry as a stand in and kerry has practice from his run in 2004. on sunday, obama is going to nevada where he is going to be practicing for the final three days. >> torey dunnan, live in washington, keeping an eye on the debate prep for us. in political news, throwing back a cold one may provide an insight in to how you will vote. the type maybe an indicater of your views. the study published claims republicans are more drawn to sam adams as far as democrats, think heineken. >>> do you have need for speed? are you looking for something fun to to this weekend? you need to go no further than bob davidson ford, for a ride along, you are never going to forget. good morning maryland anchor, charley crowson got a taste of the extreme racing sport known as drifting. >> reporter: with its burning rubber, roaring engines and hair pinned turns , the sport of drifting may look like recklessness or eco run a muck. imagine if you did this for a living. >> it's like being in control of a roller coaster,rist amazing. >> reporter

john kerry knows this.not hesitate to risk his life to protect the men who served with him in vietnam, president kerry will not hesitate one moment to use our military might to keep america safe and secure. john kerry believes in america. and he knows that it's not enough for just some of us to prosper. for alongside our famous individualism, there's another ingredient in the american saga. a belief that we're all connected as one people. if there is a child on the south side of chicago who can't read, that matters to me, even if it's not my child. if there's a senior citizen somewhere who can't pay for their prescription drugs, and has to choose between medicine and the rent, that makes my life poorer, even if it's not my grandparent. if there's an arab american family being rounded up without benefit of an attorney or due process, that threatens my civil liberties. it is that fundamental belief, it is that fundamental belief, i am my brother's keeper, i am my sister's keeper that makes this country work.

you heard my friend john kerry. president, this president, has shown the same resolve, the same steady hand, in his role as commander in chief, this brings me to the next il illustration o tell you bthe next crisis he faced, in 2008 before he was president, barack obama made a promise to the american people, he said, if i -- if we have bin laden in our sights, we will we will take him out. he said, he went on to say, that has to be our biggest national security priority. look, barack understood that the search for bin laden was about a lot more than taking a monsterrous leader off of the battle field, it was about so much more. it was about righting a wrong. it was about healing, a an embearable wound, he knew message he had to sip around world. if you attack, innocent americans we'll tell you to the end of the earth. look, most of all, most will all, president obama had an unyielding faith in the capacity and capability of our special forces, the finest warriors in the history of the world. the finest warriors in h

>>> why mitt romney should feel inspired by john kerry? you are in "the cycle" for wednesday, september 19th. >>> in just a few hours mitt romney will be heading back out on the campaign trail. his first time since friday and the first time since that hidden video of a private fund-raiser made not so private. first mitt is speaking at a meet the candidate event with univision and facebook and then miami. romney did let two cameras in to the two fund-raisers on tuesday, first time allowed for him and didn't mention the hidden video of may. >> the president and i offered two very distinct paths. and his path is one which has been not just spoken about. we have seen it. this idea that the president has of redistributing. i know there are some people in our country who want to have a government take from some to give to the others. they'd like to be the others on the receiving end of that and feel that the redistribution model makes sense. >> romney expanded in "usa today" writing, quote, i'll sur sue policies to grow the economy and lift amer

kerry didn't blame the soldiers.hey just couldn't help themselves because the country they grew up in those john wayne movies in the comic looks to turn those poor guys into monsters. that is what liberals think about our soldiers in the country they serve and then there is one last reason liberals really despise the military. his name is george s. patton and all that he epitomizes. [applause] i love just running for some of his most famous quotations. it gets every liberal a migraine. he said the good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect lan executed next week. liberals hate that one because they are always in search of perfection. he said if everyone is thinking alike then somebody isn't thinking. [laughter] the liberals hate that patton gem because they seek conformity and then there's this patton's classic. the battle is the most magnificent competition. brings out all that is best and removes the all bad is -- all men are afraid in battle he said. the coward is the one who lets his fear overcome

kerry, what are you doing about itings and the president has to be held to account at the debates. even though this is a domestic debate wednesday, romney should question him on it. lou: your thoughts? you get the last word. >> i've been in des moines, iowa there, and people there are frustrated about what's going on in washington. they believe the administration's covering this up. they don't want white wash, but want answers. president's phenomenontures could tumble if they are not forthcoming and honest about what happened in benghazi. i think president obama's fortunes go lower opposed to up in the next days to come. lou: thank you very much. >> thank you. lou: much more on the obama administration's involving narrative, if you will, later, we take that up with the a-team. governor romney is a clear underdog right now, so why won't the liberal media call him just that? an underdog. could it be because voters love an underdog? we'll take a look at histories november surprises. the prints presses running over time. wall street loves it. the economy, apparently, needs it, and with

the kerry brothers, thomas and isaac kerry, wound up in toronto. it was kind of an exodus because they had reached the limits of what was possible in washington, and they could see they weren't going to be allowed to go any farther, and so they moved on. yeah. >> say something about the research, your frustrations, your triumphs? >> well, um, i always knew like your question that i was going to do this book, and one reason why i knew it was because the sources were so interesting, and there were so many good sources. probably the first and foremost was the anna thornton, by the time this story takes place, is 55 years old. she has been keeping a diary of her life for close to 40 years. and pretty much wrote down every day, you know, five days a week, six days a week what happened in her life. she budget -- this is not -- she wasn't, this is not an emotional diary, she was not an expressive type of person, but she just said what happened in her life. mr. adams came over, you know, that was john quincy adams, mr. adams came over, we played chess. i r

going back to kerry washington and going back to some of the speeches, you know, i like kerry washington i think that she was sort of giving her marching orders on what to go out there and-to-aand did it she brought it home. does fear work? sometimes it does. sometimes you have to do what you need to do to get your base out to vote. as some of your earlier. >> laura: whether it's dishonest or not. >> i don't think she was dishonest at all. i think she made very poignant points. these are serious issues that the democrats are looking at. >> laura: she didn't address them seriously. she addressed them like someone who gets paid to read other people's lines on a cue card or teleprompter. i mean god bless her but that's just irresponsible. >> she did a great job. >> laura: i think she is a talented actress but leave the politics to the adults. i appreciate it thanks so much. plenty more ahead as the factor moves along this evening. new polling out today shows that mitt romney is gaining steam in his presidential run. we will show you the latest numbers. then geraldo on the democrats flip flo

john kerry 52-39 won the first one, won the second one, and won the last one 53-47.orge bush got his ass kicked in five out of the six debates he was in. and the media painted him as the victor. and what happened in the next debate. debate number three another crushing victory 56-30. so in fact at it out of the last nine presidential debates have been won by democrats. in fact a great majority of the debates since 1960 have been won by democrats. do you hear that from the media? no, it's all even. it's not even. look at the numbers after the debates. the democrats are still going to play it safe. and so a spokesperson said the only way he could lose is if he fell off of the stage. she probably should haven't said that, but it reminded me of the one time that a candidate did actually fall off of the stage. [ cheers and applause ] ♪ >> cenk: oh poor dole. i always felt bad about that. just sad to watch. i don't suspect that's what is going to happen in these debates. i understand these debates may be epic. so who would we bring in to talk about an epic set of debates?

democratic nominee senator then john kerry of massachusetts? >> i actually did vote for the $87 billion before i voted against it. >> jennifer: kerry was discussing, of course, his decision not to support a supplemental bill that would fund the u.s. troops. now republicans pounced on that statement calling kerry a flip-flopper. remember that ad about him on the windsurf. then a label like that, of course would argue helped him to lose to president george w. bush. but the point is that once the dye has been cast, an impression has solidified. once a story about a candidate takes hold, it is a really tough narrative to get it back. so how does a war room react when the negative impression, when the narrative starts to stick and when anything a candidate said is then viewed through that prism. tonight in "the war room," we actually have the perfect person to answer that question. ted devine is a democratic strategist. he was a senior adviser to senator john kerry's presidential campaign and he's coming to us tonight from washington, d.c. tad, so g