to help us make sense of it, we're joined by cornell belcher and ron brownstein. ron, you wrote about this demographic shift and one of the things that struck me is that if i get it right, whites look at the situation in the country and they say minorities have too much influence. but minorities inside the system look and say we don't have enough influence. so there's some kind of a disconnect there. >> first of all, as you say, the demographic change going on in the country is one of the most profound and reshaping our politics. when barack obama was elected, nonwhites were 26%. barack obama is the first president in american history who lost white voters by double digits and actually won the white house. as we're living through this change, there are different reactions to it. >> it's perception. >> and diversity is not only deepening, it's broadening. more states are affected. minority share of the population increased in every state from 2000 to 2010. so the reactions to this, we have a quarterly poll that we do called the heart land monitor and we asked americ

. >> ron brownstein wrote about a "national journal" poll that said two-thirds of african-americans in the u.s. said that barack obama's policies would significantly help their advancement. the number for whites was 21%. hispanics fell somewhere in the middle but there was quite a gap in -- >> there's a gap. and those numbers have gone down in terms of african-americans saying that obama's election creates more opportunities for african-americans. >> it's gone down. >> it's gone down a bit since his election. and certainly in my own survey, it's not as high as 70%. it's closer to around 30%, 40% who are saying that is going to help them but i also think that the obama election is not just -- there's not just one phenomenon that accounts for all this. i think that takes place against the backdrop of many things. it's certainly a huge event. and one that for at least many people of color and others as well indicates that things may be possible in this country. there are a lot of people thought weren't possible a few years ago. it's an event which sort of i call it the final revolution in

joining us is david gergen and ron brownstein.h us this morning frommer. ron, who do you think stood out the most last night to you, david? >> well, it was -- it was like a spring training feel to it. it was a warm-up game, very important. because, suddenly, barack obama looked much more vulnerable than he did only a few months ago. this is a nomination worth taking. i think governor romney came in, he was much more relaxed as a candidate than he was four years ago. i think, generally speaking, he seemed the experience is working well for him. and very importantly, i think, ron, a lot of people who saw this, tim pawlenty was expected to go out and take a couple hard swipes at him when he ducked and romney was able to pivot off of that and turn health care into a positive story for himself, i think all of us thought, wow, he walked away from this unscathed. the surprise for those who haven't followed her because she is doing very well out in iowa, was michelle bachmann. she was interesting and self-revealing and she wound in owner