rob christensen. news and observationer out of raleigh, north carolina, chief political reporter and columnist. he joins us from charlotte. here's a twitter message, donna writes these conventions are stupid, simple as that, she puts it. let's debate issues. i don't need a pep talk. mr. christensen, do these conventions matter these days, this day and age? guest: they don't matter like they used to. obviously, they used to actually make news. they actually picked a president and a vice president. so they haven't mattered in that sense in 40 years. but they do matter in that they do allow the parties to get messages out in ways that are not commercials. let me go back to the walmart moms i talked about in the focus group that we were talking about early in our conversation, these were moments that shopped at walmart, part of our focus group, and one of the things they were really sick of were the negative ads. in a battleground state like north carolina, that's all they get is one charge after another

. >> reporter: rob christensen, who's covered politics here for nearly four decades points out team obama'sd game is legendary. >> they never really left the state since the 2008 campaign and have been heavily organizing since last year. republicans are now beginning to organize. >> reporter: more than 40 campaign officers like this one in raleigh. mitt romney's campaign has 19 like this one in charlotte that opened in may. >> we're going to continue to take our message to the voters. we're not in the contest to see who can open the most offices or anything like that. >> reporter: they are betting ads and apathy will be enough to close the narrowest of gaps. in north carolina, craig melvin, nbc news. >>> we're going to now turn to afghanistan. is the mission there undermined, that's what some are asking following the pentagon's announcement they are suspending some training. this follows a surge in attacks on u.s. and other coalition troops. joining me now, military analyst and retired army colonel jack jacobs. you were one of the first, i saw you on "nightly news" as saying this could be u

rob christensen, thank you very much for your time. >> sure.retty major news out of washington, reuters news agency is reporting that the united states will drop the iranian dissident group huge ya ha dean -- mek from the terror watch list. for years they have been thought to be a record group, but they are also very much in opposition to the current regime of the ayatollahs there. and so washington has decided, apparently, that better to have them on our side. they are, they have been dropped, the people's mujahideen of iran, or mek, they have been dropped from the terror watch list. we'll be right back with more "happening now." when you have diabetes... your doctor will say get smart about your weight. that's why there's glucerna hunger smart shakes. they have carb steady, with carbs that digest slowly to help minimize blood sugar spikes. [ male announcer ] glucerna hunger smart. a smart way to help manage hunger and diabetes. [ male announcer ] glucerna hunger smart. extra curricular activities help provide a sense of identity and a path to

our next guest is rob christensen. he is a political advisor from the "news & observer."ook at north carolina as a battleground state this year. in 2008 president obama was the first democrat to win the state since 1976. we will be looking at davidson college professor susan roberts. and our next discussion will be on gay and lesbian issues. ryan butler will discuss a prohibition on gayle gay marriage in the north carolina state constitution. delegate for the state, ryan butler. "washington journal" at 7:00 a.m. on c-span. and "news makers" tomorrow on c-span with antonio villaraigosa. he'll talk about how the democratic convention will differ from the republicans' and areas where he thinks republicans fall short like immigration and the future of medicare. >> at the ryan plan on medicare, the voucher plan, do you think that is a point of vullnerability that democrats will try to exploit in charlotte? >> well, independent fact checkers, not just democrats, they have said that until point of fact, mr. ryan actually proposes that states -- to take $715 billion out of medica

. >> phone numbers on the bottom of the screen for our guest for rob christensen.r guests will be with us for plenty of time to take your calls. move this forward. what are the goals this week? >> they have similar goals. they have to get the face of obama. it is not quite the same. they do not have to warm up to obama let republicans up to warmup suit romney. the same to creecreate enthusiasm that they had in 2008 parent you have the realities of an economy. it is hard to recreate that level of incitement -- excitement in 2012. that is one thing this does. both nationally and in north carolines. the democrats are hoping to do what they did in december. they helped turn the thousands of volunteers that are being used at the convention in use the intel turn them into their political organization. -- and help turn them into their political organization. they have to reach out to voters. one of the messages is that the obama administration did not work. the obama plan has not worked. now it is time for a change. it is time for the american people to turn a page and tr