second romney calling pro-obama ads wrong and inaccurate. hello kettle, this calling. ent a lot of time on the show discussing this wave of wrong by romney and his supporters. ads, which he did not pull. ads which he did not stop running them more often again and again. let's just review a few of them. there was the ad which took us to 2008 clip of then candidate obama quoting senator john mccain, quoting mccain saying if we keep talking about the economy we're going to lose. romney's ad removed the "mccain" reference and made it look like obama was saying that about himself. the independent fact-checking authority, and "the war room" and your own brain agree that that is a lie. then there was romney's ad saying that under obama's plan for welfare you would not have to work or train for a job. they just send you your welfare check. as we discussed here and polite fact confirmed, more lies. then there is the infamous you did not build that ad which took a snippet of an obama speech and used it completely out of context. fact checking, fact checking organization and not a

with the convention just day away romney on the campaign trail, greeted by a new obama ad featuring a familiar democratic face. >> reporter: that's right. it may not surprise you but bill clinton is now officially in the 2012fray, the star of the new obama ad. you see them trying to hone in on winning over the middle class voter. romney was in new mexico today. he was talking about energy and blaming the president for the economy. >> the medium income has dropped in the last three and a half years by $4,000. i know this is the best the obama team can do but we can do better and we will. >> reporter: clinton spoke of the good old days when he was in office. >> president obama has a plan to rebuild america from the ground up. investing in education and job training, it only works if there is a strong middle class. that is what happened when i was president. we need to keep going with his plan. >> reporter: more from clinton ahead. he will be a speaker at the democratic convention. >> all right. thank you. we will hear from you tomorrow. >>> tampa getting ready to host the convention and

an effective response team would have nailed obama on a cancer ad. i would have said a he a you will getting sick, sick of this poisonous style of campaigning and sick of politicians like obama who blame others for their failed policies and broken promises. instead, romney spokeswoman responded by lauding universal healthcare in massachusetts. terrible! when obama scored with that romneyhood line, the best romney's communication team could come up with is obamaloney. really? conservatives are worried for a reason. they've seen this movie before and they know how it ends. in defeat. romney's team should be going into the republican national convention seven points up. not down. he must regain this lost ground over the next few weeks and he shouldn't rely on his vp pick to help much. this is his to win or lose. point by point, he must give the voters a sober, brutally exacting description of how dire the situation is for america. then he needs to hit the trail with a road show to explain how his policies will begin to turn things around. this is what he

obama on the economy is terrible. we appreciate it plenty more as the factor moves along this tonight. battle of dueling ad. both campaigns without new spots. who is more effective. military veterans critical of president obama are now accused of using their uniforms for partisan politics. we hope you stay tuned for all those reports. >> laura: in the unresolved problem segment tonight, we are just about two months away from the election. the political ad war is a take no prisoner situation. both obama and romney teams put out new ones today. take a look. >> some thing obama care is the same as free healthcare but nothing is free. obama is raiding $716 billion from medicare changing the program forever. taxing wheelchairs and pacemakers, raising taxes on families making less than $120,000. free healthcare comes at a very high price. the romney/ryan plan will restore medicare funding and protect and strengthen the program for the next generation. >> some of our children's greatest experience have been in the smaller classrooms. >> but mitt romney says class sizes don't matter. and he supports paul ryan's budg

the koch groups, america for prosperity plans an ad buy to begin next week. should the obamaampaign be worried? it seems despite all those republican dollars spent, romney isn't inching up in the polls. let's bring in our strategists who are ad makers. the ad men i must call them. democrat steve mcmahon and republican todd harris. gentlemen, you are both gentlemen. this campaign right now, look at the differential, why is not paying dirt? why is your dirt money, you're not getting pay dirt on the romney side. what are you doing wrong? >> the fact is you can reach a point of diminishing returns with advertising budgets. and what you have on the romney side over the last few months of about 150 million in pro-romney, anti-obama spending. about 130 million on the democratic side. which for the average poor bastard that has to sit and watch all of these. >> is that how you talk with your friends? you swore. are you talking about how in secret romney is really a charming fellow? in public you're gross. >> that's right. for the average person who has to watch these, it's the equiva

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obama on the economy is terrible. we appreciate it plenty more as the factor moves along this tonight. battle of dueling ad. igns without new spots. who is more effective. military veterans critical of president obama are now accused of using their uniforms for partisan politics. we hope you stay tuned for all those reports. [ male announcer ] to hold a patent that has changed the modern world... would define you as an innovator. to hold more than one patent of this caliber... would define you as a true leader. to hold over 80,000... well, that would make you... the creato of the 2012 mercedes-benz e-class... quite possibly the most advanced luxury sedan ever. ♪ join mercedes-benz usa on facebook for the best summer sweepstakes. join mercedes-benz usa on facebook questions. when you're caring for a loved one witdon't have them.ot questions about treatmentou where to go for extra help, how to live better with the disease. so many questions, where do you start? alzheimers.gov. the answers start here. after you jumped buship in bangkok,n. i thought i'd lost you. >>> surfing is my life now. but who's going to ..

the koch groups, america for prosperity plans a ad buy to begin next week. should the obamapaign be worried? it seems despite all those republican dollars spent, romney isn't inching up in the polls. let's bring in our strategists who are ad makers. the ad men i must call them. democrat steve mcmahon and republican todd harris. you are both gentlemen. this campaign right now, with your dirt money you're not getting pay dirt on the romney side. what are you doing wrong? >> the fact is you can reach a point of diminishing returns with advertising budgets. and what you have on the romney side over the last few months of about 150 million in pro-romney, anti-obama spending. about 130 million on the democratic side. which for the average poor bastard that has to sit and watch -- >> is that how you can talk with people? in public you're gross. >> that's right. for the average person who has to watch these, it's the equivalent of being overtaken by a tidal wave or an avalanche. they are both getting bombarded -- >> how come -- we went out in iowa. i compared the bombing in world wa

by raising that issue in this ad, the obama campaign is adding to the evidence that mitt romney has spent his whole life dodging taxes. in his business life at bain, his business and other companies he was involved in and yes in his personal life. that's why they are trying to do this. they are creating the political impression that romney's life has been one scheme after another to dodge taxes. that's the impact of the marriott corporation son of boss thing that is in the new obama campaign ad that the romney campaign is trying to avoid from by talking about a web ad from a super pac instead. that same issue, the idea of mitt romney as a tax avoider, is also the importance of the front page story about mr. romney's finances that runs in "the new york times" today. this is information, this story is based on information not from his tax returns, which we have not seen, but instead from investment disclosures, financial disclosures that he legally had to make as a candidate. among all the other sources of income mr. romney has declared, among all of those other things he's done to make mon

by raising that issue in this ad, the obama campaign is adding to the evidence that mitt romney has spent his whole life dodging taxes. in his business life at bain, and his business life at other companies he was involved ip, and yes, in his personal life. that's why they're doing this. they're trying to create a political impression that mitt romney's life has been one scheme after another to dodge taxes. that is the impact of the marriott corporation son of boss thing. that is in the new obama campaign ad that the romney campaign is studiously avoiding and trying to distract from by talking about a webb ad from a super pac instead. that same issue, that idea of mitt romney as a chronic tax avoider is also the importance of the front page story about mr. romney's finances that runs in the "new york times" today. this is information, the story is based on information not from his tax returns which we have not seen, but instead from his investment diesclosure that he had to make as a candidate. among all of the other sources of income that mr. romney has declared, among all of those other

the obama ad we're focusing on tonight by a pro obama super pac. ust par for the course? >> well, first of all, i think it's amazing that he can remember a time when campaigns actually pulled ads deemed to be wrong. first, i think there's a lot more watchdogs out there in this campaign. >> so we know about it more? we pay more attention? >> yes, we pay more attention to it. and, you know, the rise obviously of television advertising has been out there for a while. but now it's almost a campaign unto itself. we used to talk about the money and we certainly talk about the content but there's so many people watching these ads now. i'm not sure there's more. but there are more ads. so numerically perhaps there are more. i tell you, they are earlier. a lot earlier they went negative and a lot earlier they went not just stretching the truth, just plain-out lying about stuff. >> john, because i guess the power of the super pacs and the money involved, they're able to kind of take it to a whole new level. >> they're taking it to a whole new level. last july

appears to hold up. >> president obama continues to renounce the republican super pact ads. >> you have these super pacts that are just going crazy. >> yet the white house and obama campaign will still not criticize a democratic super pact ad suggesting romney deserves blame for joe soptic's wife dying of cancer. bain capital did not treat him as badly as implied. the steel worker saying he was offered a buyout. >> in my department they actually offer to do buy our jobs out from underneath us. >> bain took over goc steel and shut it down. he said in reference to romney i am not blaming him for her death i wouldn't do that. hard to do that anyway since soptic's wife had her own health insurance after the plant shut down. she died five years after the company went bankrupt. all reasons they had a stinging review from romney himself who charged the president's ool l s allies are focusing on attacks. >> whatever happened to a campaign of hope and change. i thought he was a new kind of politician. >> while obama campaign spokeswoman yesterday claimed chicago was in the dark sayi

ad. now a factually bogus obama super pac ad.features a laid off steel worker named joe. >> when mitt romney and bain closed the plant, i lost my health care. and my family lost their health care. and a short time after that, my wife became ill. i don't know how long she was sick, and i think maybe she didn't say anything because she knew we couldn't afford the insurance. and then one day she became ill and i took her up to the jackson county hospital and admitted her for pneumonia, and that's when they found the cancer. by then it was stage 4. there was nothing they could do for her. she passed away in 22 days. >> that's obviously a very sad story. keeping them honest, as heart wrenching as the loss of a job and the death of a spouse obviously is, virtually nothing else about the story fits the time line or the facts. mr. romney was on the books as being ceo of the of the company when the mill shut down in 2001, but he had left two years before to run the olympics. you could argue he still had a hand in running how the company w

and there are probably more anti-obama ads than pro obama ads, but there are plenty of pro obama ads there's a saturation point. the second factor i think is that mitt romney, you know, the candidacy has yet to catch fire, and the poll numbers really aren't moving, as you said. >> i think that's a very good point, and so i try to think about it this way. that obama is going to have more money than any presidential candidate in history and mitt romney is going to have a whole lot more money than that. yet, when you think about the election, you're dealing primarily ifio talk to the campaigns, eight, maybe ten states and a certain number of undecided swing voters within them. people who know the president well are not engaged. it's a large amonth of money to reach a fairly small amount of people. that raises the question, is the obama campaign doing a poor job fund-raising or does it not matter? are they right to put their money into other things, like, by the way, being president. >> they would like to have more money, right inthe money is never unimportant. it's just not decisive, i

each ad goes straight for the gut seeking is to reinforce your negative views about either mitt romney or president obama. as pieces of political theater, tools of political war fare, each one is formidable and each one is false as in not true. we'll confront the defenders of these ads. we're not taking political sides, we're simply trying to report facts. we begin tonight with the new mitt romney ad. >> in 1996, president clinton and a bipartisan congress helped end welfare as we know it. but on july 12th president obama announced a program to gut welfare. under obama's plan you wouldn't have to work or train for a job. they just send you your check. >> in a moment you'll hear from newt gingrich to defend the ad. but first, i want to show you how mitt romney is campaigning on the claims made in that very ad. >> with a very careful compuexee action, he removed the requirement of work from welfare. it is wrong to make any change that would make america a nation of government dependency. we must restore and i will restore work into welfare. >> listening to that and watching the ad you would think that the

the denial and the backlas backlash. >> we do not control the ad. >> the week ended where it started, aiding refusing to say whether obamas a democratic ad. >> i don't think romney understands what he has done to people's lives. >> which accuses republican romney of being responsible for the cancer death of the wife of a laid off steelworker. >> do you think at that podium it's fair for someone to suggest that a candidate's actions led to someone's death? >> i appreciate the effort to get me to play political pundit. but that is not my job. it's not -- i do not have any role in third party groups that produce the ads. >> except top white house aide david plouffe raised money super pac priorities usa run by former white house aide bill burton. the obama campaign in chicago back pedaling on the original claim it knew nothing about steelworker joe soptic story, the top romney advisor today ripped in the president. claiming mr. obama squandered his credentials as a different type of politicians. telling reporters they have gone from what started at petty distortions and up truth to unbelievable examine rations that diminish

able to make decisions. >> i don't remember any one as extreme as romney. >> a romney campaign ad and an obaman ad. two different issues two different social issues. an election that is supposed to be all about the economy. we are back with the panel. first to the owe bam pbama camp. they were running these ads i think there were five of them now. run them a lot in colorado. the president was just out there in colorado with sandra who testified on capitol hill about contraception. they see they are trying to stir the women's vote here. >> you know. against all of the campaigns celebrities are sort of interesting. but i think that the obama campaign knows that it has an advantage with women. when you breakdown the polls it's not with married woman but there are a lot going on with married woman in the country he has an advantage with them and he needs them to turn out for him. paying attention to these issues, it tends to work it is why republicans became terrified in the middle of a primary that rick santorum was talking about things swing voters for the ultimate nominee and women tend to be m

the ad is wrong when it suggests that president obama raised money for that ad. that is not true. you know it is not true. >> sean: obama's campaign ran it in may. stephanie cutter is on a conference call with this guy on the call. >> and the guy told his story. >> sean: and she denied knowing anything about it. >> he told his story and what we see in the ad is something put together by a pac. is not the president and the president's campaign and you know that. >> sean: he didn't say a word when hair arer harry reid went. he doesn't speak out when joe biden plays the race card. one of his true team members in virginia plays the race card. he is silent. >> he is supposed to speak out against his own force. >> sean: he does against republicans. >> but is not supposed to punch back when republicans say things -- >> sean: what has the romney campaign -- >> you are a food stamp president. it is offensive and has racial connotations. >> sean: it is true. >> it is not true. >> sean: 15 million more american hes. >> we are in the middle of a recession caused by a republican administration.

rich and i was able to put my daughter through college. >> that was joe soptic in an earlier ad for the obamaaign. bill, let's talk about this. "the washington post" says about your ad, it stretches the bounds of decency. how can you imply that mitt romney and bain are somehow to blame for that poor woman dying of cancer. >> we don't and we're not. those facts checks presuppose that's what we're trying to do. the point of the ad is to tell the story of the sbablth that he had on thousands of people. and that impact is felt still today in those communities. >> but you spent, i mean, you're a smart guy, you have a lot of smart ad people in the group that you're working with. half the ad is him talking about his wife's demise. and it ends with him saying i do not think that mitt romney realizes what he's done to anyone. the implication is clearly that he is responsible or what the actions he took led to his wife's death. >> you know, the story is a very sad one. and the truth is that there are thousands of stories that are, that happened as a result of mitt romney and his time at bain. and some

ad on monday. almost every major news outlet debunked it. here's why. >> president obama quietly announced a plan to gut welfare reform by dropping work requirements. >> totally untrue. in fact, we won't even show the rest of the ad because it's so packed with lies. but here's the truth. states now do have the power to award temporary assistance. republican governors, they asked for this policy change. romney himself when he was governor asked for this change. states still have to fulfill welfare for work requirements. there is no welfare handout. newt gingrich admits he's just speculating on what the obama administration might do someday. >> we have no proof today, but i would say to you under obama's ideology, it is absolutely true that he would be comfortable sending a lot of people checks for doing nothing. >> gingrich is stuck defending romney's lie, so instead of talking about the romney welfare ad, gingrich is going on the offensive. today he called on president obama to disavow the priorities usa ad we told you about at the top of the show. gingrich actually said

the obama ad that you are not responsible for, is a low blow. look at an ad that's airing that's romney campaign put out which is a complete and utter lie. there you go. >> that's why i love mika. >> robert gibbs, thank you very much. >> still ahead -- >> you know it's a complete and utter lie. >> i'm telling you what he should be saying, to make his point. >> wait a minute. >> let me tell you this is what he's trying to do, run out the clock after saying we didn't look at the ad you want to look at the ad. >> i tried to run out the clock. what is this in ohio about military voting. not germane to any part of this conversation. just because you're trying to kill the clock. you would accuse me of trying to kill the clock. nice move, robert. you can tell he's -- >> look forward to conventions and all the elections. still ahead, chuck todd and political strategist rich galen joins us from washington. robert gibbs, thank you so much. nice to see you. next, memories of vp stakes past, editor in chief, ron fournier with his take on who mitt romney may

another fox alert on new heat in the controversy over an obama super pac ad that essentially blames governorness practices for the death after steel worker's wife. the obama team claims they didn't know anything about the details of the attack on romney. >> this ad accuses romney of practically killing her. is this the kind of rhetoric you want to hear from the president of the united states, a president who ran on raising the level of rhetoric? shannon: there is growing agreement on the right and left that this ad and others are quickly helping this to become one of the nastiest races in political history. we'll show you what it could mean for all of us just ahead. a new conflict in the controversy over a fast food chain chick-fil-a. a city review in santa barbara is refusing to sign off on a plan for a new chick-fil-a. what may be the first case we have seen since this protest. the city board tried to stop the chain for political reasons. and admitting why they are doing it. trace gallagher is check-in to this story from the west coast. >> reporter: this chick-fil-a in santa barbara has be

a new national poll has president obama leading mitt romney as a barrage of negative ads take their toll. >>> crash and burn. a test flight of nasa's next general moon lander goes horribly awry. >>> and a fine line. a daredevil from the famous flying wallendas astounds beachgoers in atlantic city. good morning, everyone. i'm lynn berry. those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. >>> and we are going to begin this morning with only a dozen weeks left. that is how much time remains before election day in the race for the white house. now, president obama is doing better in one new national poll and the unfavorable rating for mitt romney has edged higher with most americans seeing the challenger favoring the rich. a cnn/orc international poll indicates that if the election were held today, president obama would win with a seven-point margin over mitt romney. that's 52-45%. now, all of this as the president enjoyed some timely progress with the economy. and conservative republicans ramped up their lobbying for a vp choice for romney. steve handelsman from nbc h