the case for mr. obama. in the clintonwages rose about 30%, nothing like that really happened during the obama years. wages did not rise anything like that, clinton inherited a $290 billion deficit. changed it, to a $236 billion surplus by the time the clinton years were done. mr. obama has inherited a $459 billion deficit. yeah, that's worse, but it's even worse now. 1.3 trillion. and homeownership rose to a record high during the clinton years. it's declined under president obama, and the mortgage crisis, although we have to be fair about that, it's still high in the mid-60% range. it's really clear when you look at those numbers, very different economic performance from these two administrations, and they're in pains now to try to explain that to make them work for them not against them. >> the other interesting thing i noticed, president clinton bringing up, president obama has an approach proposed by the bipartisan simpson-bowles commission. we talked about this so much. >> endlessly. >> they keep stumbling into this.

the case for mr. obama. in the clintonaverage wages rose about 30%, nothing like that really happened during the obama years. wages did not rise anything like that. clinton inherited a $290 billion deficit. changed it, to a $236 billion surplus by the time the clinton years were done. mr. obama has inherited a $459 billion deficit. yeah, that's worse, but it's even worse now. 1.3 trillion. and homeownership rose to a record high during the clinton years. it's declined under president obama, and the mortgage crisis, although we have to be fair about that, it's still high in the mid-60% range. it's really clear when you look at those numbers, very different economic performance from these two administrations, and they're at pains now to explain this and try to make that context work for them and not against them. >> that's right. another interesting thing i noticed in here, president clinton, again, bringing up, brb has -- president obama has an approach proposed by the bipartisan simpson-bowles commission. we talked about t

he's the principle writer this week of the clinton/obama relationship. could bill clinton possibly have done anything more for barack obama? >> you know, i've been looking at all the reviews this morning and even among conservatives. the harshest criticism you can find is that it went a little too long and maybe it should have been edited down. the more i thought about it, watching the speech, when you know these guys have had a difficult relationship, when you know at the bottom they're not close friends as bill clinton said in an interview before the speech, he said we're not close friends. >> we don't have a romance. >> they don't have a romance. when you know that and watch the speech and you see him go logically through the case for why obama is better than romney, to me it makes the power of the argument a little stronger. if you're sort of loosely attached obama voter from 2008 who's looking at this guy and is skeptic skeptical, wondering what's happening to the economy, who better to make that case to you than somebody who's been skeptical of obam

chris, when you were hearing the arguments laid out by president clinton, were you hearing him augment the existing message of the obama campaign or was he running his own clinton or obama campaign? >> well, i thought it's as if bill clinton was the best staffer president obama has, because he went out and got the numbers. he really did the arithmetic in a way i thought the president and none of the people around the president has to do. arithmetic is a good word, by the way, reminds us of grade school, elementary school. when you talk about how bill clinton balanced the budget and held the debt down and actually reduced the national debt during his second term, you have to wonder all he did was look at spending and revenue and did the logical choices, whereas w. came in and did the opposite. starting a couple of wars, cutting taxes, going wrong-way car in both directions of revenue and spending. so it seems so logical when bill talks, then to bring up the history of the democratic party and job production, 42 million versus 20-some million on the republican side. saying the democratic brand is pretty good. there's an

and that hug between the cool obama and the cuddly clinton seemed, well, heartfelt. the talk back question for you today, will bill clinton's magic put president obama back in the white house? facebook.com/carolcnn. your comments later this hour. >>> bill clinton's speech, of course, will be a tough act to follow. but president obama will give it a go in charlotte tonight. the question is, what is president obama going to say? we'll find out. '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. feeling bloated for no reason. that's what i remember. seeing my doctor probably saved my life. warning signs are not the same for everye. if you think something's wrong... see your doctor. ask about gynecologic cancer. and get the inside knowledge. nothing complicated about a pair of 10 inch hose clamp pliers. you know what's complicated? shipping. shipping's complicated. not really. with priority mail flat rate boxes fr

clinton balanced the budget had a surplus by the end. obama has added $5 trillion in debt to the deficit. and obama has had this question as to what he's done on welfare, bill clinton signed republican plan welfare turning into work into law. so there are sharp differences no question that after his defeat in 1994, bill clinton moved to the center, hard to make the argument barack obama has done that. whether or not the voters are going to notice that or whether they're going say bill clinton vouches for barack obama we'll have to wait and see. >> thank you. >> coming up, charles krauthammer with his analysis and our coverage from the democratic national convention continues live in charlotte, north carolina. >>> welcome back to charlotte. you can see official roll call to place barack obama's name in for the presidency is underway. we watched delegates just moments ago. now they're moving onto the state of florida. and after this weaver going coo keep one eye on this continuing with charles. >> charles krauthammer joins joins us live from was

the last election. advisors to bill clinton told me today that he is going to draw a direct line from the policies of bill clinton to the proposals of barack obama, and bill clinton, of course, will brag a little bit about the economy when he was in office, when unemployment was about 4.1 percent and bill clinton was going to say, i raised taxes on the wealthiest americans, everybody told me it would sink the economy, and he was opposed by all of the republicans in congress and yet they had the greatest period of economic expansion in several decades, and he will say that is why you should re-elect president obama. >> for remarks thank you. one of the things that they do during these conventions is write the party platform. now, that is a document that is usually quickly forgotten, but the democrats made a point today of making a change in their platform and we asked nancy cordes to look into that for us, nancy, what did you find out. >> well, scott, the problem was that the democrats made a few oversights when they were creating their platform, at least that is what the democrats call it, republicans call it shameful, there was no mention of go

it's different than when you saw romney out on the trail having nice things to say about bill clinton's economy back in the day and how obama has gotten away from what new democrats were doing in the 1990's. >> how many -- chris: how many people think hillary clinton doesn't want to be president? >> maybe she doesn't know it yet. chris: i love that answer. predictions from these top so the 9:15 meeting looks like it's going to start a little late... um, but i uh... (interupting) oh okay - okay yup that's fine. excuse me - sorry. yes! vo: from the new, to the hard to find: when it's on your mind, it's on ebay™. chris: welcome back. michael, tell me something i don't know. >> the important number out of charlotte is 50, as in 50 million, that's the goal that democratic superp.a.c. leaders, rom emmanuel is taking over -- rahm emanuel, is taking over, that they think they can raise. chris: trish? >> given the jobs numbers on friday, the expectation is that they will engage in another round of bond buying to try to stimulate the economy. so far -- chris: the market? >> the market loves this but it's like an addictive sugar high.

it's different than when you saw romney out on the trail having nice things to say about bill clinton's economy back in the day and how obama has gotten away from what new democrats were doing in the 1990's. >> how many -- chris: how many people think hillary clinton doesn't want to be president? >> maybe she doesn't know it yet. chris: i love that answer. predictions from these top that fridge in your kitchen may have crossed this bridgour new car probably rode these rails. that shipment you just received was tracked by satellite. we build and maintain. we invest and innovate. so we can deliver what america needs. this year alone, freight rail companies plan to spend twenty-three billion of their own money, not taxpayer dollars, to build bridges, maintain track, and develop new technologies to keep freight rail and our economy moving. there's a lot riding on these rails. but it makes millions off west marylanders every year. now they're running dishonest ads. why? because voting for question seven is a vote to build a... world-class resort casino in maryland. creating thousands of jobs and... ...according to the official d

clinton balanced the budget had a surplus by the end. obama has added $5 trillion in debt to the deficit. and obama has had this question as to what he's done on welfare, bill clinton signed republican plan welfare turning into work into law. so there are sharp differences no question that after his defeat in 1994, bill clinton moved to the center, hard to make the argument barack obama has done that. whether or not the voters are going to notice that or whether they're going say bill clinton vouches for barack obama we'll have to wait and see. >> thank you. >> coming up, charles krauthammer with his analysis and our coverage from the democratic national convention continues live in charlotte, north carolina. dad vo: ok, time for bed, kiddo. lights out. ♪ (sirens) (train horn) ♪ vo: wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. norfolk southern. one line, infinite possibilities. there's natural gas under my town. it's a game changer. ♪ it means cleaner, cheaper american-made energy. but we've got to be careful how we get it. design the we

subject matter frequently returned to the speaker's favorite topic, bill clinton. obama and his advisers calculated it was worth risking the perception that obama was trying to ride a former president's coattails to re-election. a cost/benefit analysis, mark. clinton is a larger than life figure. there are pros and cons there, too, in terms of reminding much b people how much better the economy was under clinton. >> the republicans have drawn that contrast and he closed it up pretty good last night. another powerful thing clinton did, i think he sort of marginalized today's republican party in what i thought was a very dept way. he played the ex-president's card by embracing george h.w. bush, ronald reagan and george w. bush. that evokes for people the center. this is a republican party that democrats like bill clinton were comfortable working with. democrats like george w. bush were comfortable with. that separates the republican party really pre-2008 from today's republican party which, frankly, as a brand, is very powerful within the base but is very lacks in the cent

i think hillary clinton and barack obama buried the hatchet a long time before bill clinton and barack obama did. that was a hard-fought race. and this is still quite a psycho drama between the two men. politics, politicos and reporters picking over every sign of any sort of a crack in their solid relationship, that they'd like to portray. but right tonight, we're expecting a very strong endorsement for barack obama and his economic principles from the former president bill clinton. >> let's head across the arena now, jake, to jon karl. jon, look around, tell us about the delegates around you. and tell us what you think the most important thing bill clinton has to do tonight for them. >> well, i'll tell you i've been talking to a lot of the delegates around here. and one the things i've heard over and over again is about that primary four years ago. it's ancient history. it's something that somebody who worked very hard for hillary clinton told me. now, we're all on board. you can see phenomenal dress down here. these delegates are fired up, diane. i've got to tell you, they are fired.

the case he will make with president obama. i found it interesting when you asked robert gibbs about the turn that president clinton made after the and the fact that president obama hadn't made a similar turn, gibbs didn't channel you on the claim. it's on, but it seems to me that he might want people to believe that the president is also a centrist. i think you are likely to hear bill clinton make a strong case for barack obama. to talk about the continue knewty between their -- continuity between the administrations and lay the blame at the feet of george w. bush. >> bret: chuck, we hear all these stories about the angst between the two camps, about the person history here. we don't know if they are going to see the time draft. we expect he will, but he is writing it in long hand. is that part of the mystery and surprise to build up tonight? >> brings back memory of his "state of the union" addresses when he was president and still feeding them in the teleprompter at the last minute. he has been known to work up to the last minute. rahm emanuel, who was chief of staff to both of the guys told us all at breakfast bygones are byg

when bill clinton takes the stand, this is who he is trying to talk to. clinton versus obamaferent. this is how whites with no college education voted. again, even with ross per rotot the ticket, bill clinton won more of the noncollege white vote than barack obama, you think about michigan, wisconsin, other key battleground states, those are the electorate. those are the people bill clinton is talking about tonight. even in a three-way race, bill clinton still ran stronger among noncollege whites than barack obama in 2008. that is the challenge, for bill clinton to reach out to those people, convince them, yes, the economy is tough, but give this guy a chance. >> a fascinating speech to watch. a lot of people listening very, very closely. analyzing every sentence. i'm sure we will as well. whether it's basketball, politics, anything else, president obama doesn't like to lose, and they are brecking out star power, including actress eva longoria. she is ahead. syou know, i've helped a lot off people save a lot of money. but today...( sfx: loud noise of large metal object hittin

the energy secretary under clinton. what does he need to do to persuade people a rock obama can carry on the legacy bill clinton will for the country? >> bill clinton is a symbol of pro-growth democrats. he balanced the budget. he created millions of jobs, technology jobs, green energy. good what he is saying is barack obama deserves the mandate to carry out an economic renaissance in this country, through the middle class, through working people that he is on our side. good >> it was so different from the 1990's when bill clinton was president. it is one thing to say the economy was great for me. it is very different to say we know we have unemployment, but trust me, it is going to get better. >> when the president took office, we were losing 800,000 jobs a month, and now we have a positive job growth in the private sector, 4.2 million jobs. this president, when he speaks, is going to talk about his record, and efforts he is making to create jobs, to bring america together, to boost the economy, to talk about technology and education and green jobs, and i think what we are doing tonight is passing the mantle of a stron

the two. i think it's a little bit of a false division between the obama governing philosophy and the clinton ing philosophy. barack obama has not been the left winger as president that a lot of other people have accused him of being, and many progressives know that to be true. >> certainly. >> there's a follow on in health care that clinton tried. there's tax cuts that the president supported, this president supported. i think there's a unity there. i think obama will try to bridge the two tonight and will probably do a good job. >> howard fineman, very good to see you during the day on msnbc. we look forward to having you on again. >>> straight ahead, i show you some bhiends the scenes fun at the rnc. now it's time to see how the dems are partying and what the slebs and musical acts say about their party. haen std. t inken c haen sen boe. doer ocai e'en. std. 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 ba

convention where last night bill clinton offered a 48-minute point by point rebuttal of mitt romney's critique of the obama administration. clinton putting into nomination the name of president obama. good morning, i'm willie geist. this is another special edition of "way too early" live from the black fin saloon in charlotte. a good deal has been made of the last four years of the relationship between president clinton and obama. last night the 42nd president gave a full throated endorsement of the current president of the white house. president obama even made a cameo after the speech. the two presidents appearing together on stage. president telling the crowd i'll see you tomorrow. president obama arrived here yesterday a day ahead of his own speech, one that's been moved because of weather, the campaign says, from the 70,000 seat bank of america football stadium to the 20,000 seat basketball arena where the rest of the convention has been held. last night that arena belonged to bill clinton. it was a democratic rock star's welcome. even the entrance was vintage clinton. he walked on stage to his 1992 c

the clinton years we were all richer and happier and safer. i mean, he's got to make the claim against what the republicans are saying which is tla barack obama is nothing like clinton. clinton is the obvious person to combat that message. >> now, steve, we sometimes go by slang names with former president clinton. you know, bubba, elvis, but we forget the substantive differences between clinton and bush. and i think that that is what is going to be at the heart of tonight. where with clinton and bush on taxes and jobs. clinton the tax rate on the rich was 39.6, private sector jobs he created 20 million. under president bush the tax rate on the rich was 35%, private sector job loss was 663,000. compares all the rock star stuff, there's a substantive debate that former president clinton can present unlike anyone else. >> yeah. i think for two reasons clinton really is the ideal sort of advocate for barack obama right now. one is as michelle was just saying look at his popularity right now. part of that is a product of how the republicans have treated bill and hillary clinton for the past few years. where they treated them for villains for 15 ye

the program will deliver. why do you think clinton said we should wait and apparently obama will say the same thing. >> clintonouldn't possibly say he needed to change if obama will say he needs to stay the same. that would violate clinton endorsing him. obama promised he would be a one-term president if we didn't see economic recovery in three years. that promise has gone by the wayside along with many others. you have a man who really has never had any private sector experience, who doesn't understand how economics works, who believes you can operate by central planning fiat and by incremental measures and durnt understand long-term planning to real investment who thinks government makes investments when if you knew about investments you wouldn't do it for the government. >> bob shrum, what john harwood reported earlier from excerpts in obama's speech, he's going to talk about fdr and experimentation. i don't know what you think of that, but it could mean changes are coming. when i hear experimentation, i'm not sure what to think. it may be different. >> this whole discussion is naive and precooked. the fact

the lead editorial. in a lot of ways obama has been the anti-clinton. let's talk about a couple of areas where obama policies have been in complete contrast to bill clinton. first of all, bill clinton was a fiscal conservative. he did cut spending. there was little growth in the budget under bill clinton. of course barack obama gave us just the opposite. an $830 billion stimulus plan. the second one that's pretty obvious, larry, is barack obama, very famously said he was going to end welfare as we know it. he signed the welfare reform bill in 1996. it was a great accomplishment. we reduced welfare case loads by half. barack obama has done the opposite. continues to put people on unemployment insurance and food stamps and so on. remember this famous quote from clinton. can you imagine barack obama saying that? >> i want david goodfriend's take. bill clinton is a great speaker and he may make the case but everybody knows bill clinton essentially ran ronald reagan's third term with the help of the republican congress. barack obama wants to transform it into

the president's, former president bill clinton. both during the 2008 democratic primaries when obama vanquished hillary clinton. >> this whole thing is the biggest fairytale i've ever seen. >> reporter: and since then, theirs has been a complicated relationship. but president obama is relying on clinton to validate his economic principles. david maraniss of the "washington post' has written biographies of both men. >> events have conspired to bring bill clinton and barack obama to the same place. bill clinton loves to be needed as much as he needs to be loved and he's really needed by barack obama right now. >> and, david, because the original plan it was to be in that outdoor venue where they were not going to be able to drop balloons for obvious reasons, there will not be balloons tomorrow night, after the president accepts his party's nomination for re-election, unlike what you normally see at such an event. as we saw last week when mitt romney accepted his party's nomination. so, david, i know you're a big fan of balloons. no balloons tomorrow, sorry. >> jake tapper leading us off, we'll have to settle for the confetti cannons

negative. >> god bless you and god bless america. >> reporter: in 1992, the year bill clinton was soaring towards the white house, barack obama had just graduated from the harvard law school. but by 2008, it was obama who was soaring and threatening the clinton dynasty by taking on and taking down hillary clinton. >> you're likeable enough, hillary, no doubt. >> thank you. >> reporter: bill clinton was furious. >> this whole thing is the biggest fairy tale i've ever seen. >> reporter: who was hillary. >> shame on you barack obama. >> reporter: the fences mended slowly, but they mended. hillary became secretary of state and forged a close relationship with the president. while barack and bill never became buddy-buddy had something deeper, something rarer. >> there is that secret appreciation between presidents. you've been where other people haven't. when that crisis, that conflict, comes rushing through the doors and lands like a thud on the dense and all the fancy chiefs of staffs and advisers give you a guess, a hedge, only you, only your leadership, only your judgment, only your values, can make that decision. >> reporter:

the relationship. after 2010 when obama lose the house and seats in the senate, bill clinton, they do the famous press conference, obama has cut a deal with republicans to extend the bush tax cuts and liberals in congress are outraged and who goes to bat for obama, bill clinton, says this is a good deal and we have to support it. >> he's going to speak on wednesday night? >> yes, wednesday night. >> we look forward to watching that as well. a quick programming note, jessica yellin has a documentary "obama revealed." it will premiere at 8:00 and 11:00 p.m. eastern time here on cnn. "starting point" is back in just a moment. i was talking to my best friend. i told her i wasn't feeling like myself... i had pain in my pelvic area... and bleeding that wasn't normal for me. she said i had to go to the doctor. turned out i had uterine cancer, a type of gynecologic cancer. i received treatment and we're confident i'll be fine. please listen to your body. if something doesn't feel right for two weeks or longer, see your doctor. get the inside knowledge about gynecologic cancers. knowing can make all the differe

the same bill clinton that reportedly insulted the president. ed klein, welcome back. bill clinton is going to give one of the keynote speeches for barack obamaho has pulled the party far to the left, destroyed the leadership council. why is mr. clinton doing this? >> it's in his interest, larry. they had a big, long intense debate between the white house, especially michelle obama and valley jarrett and the clinton people. the white house wanted him to take a minor role at the convention, something along the lines of jimmy carter's role. and he refused. he said listen, either i'm going to give the nominating speech or i ain't going to show up. and they completely collapsed and allowed him to do that because they needed him a lot more than clinton needed the obamas. >> from what you're reporting, clinton will not show h imthe speech he's writing. what does that mean? what's he going to say? >> he writes in long hand on yellow legal paper. and the obamas have been demanding and, you know, just being on top of him to try to give them a sense of what he's going to say. he's furious, he will not even respond. he says nothing doing, nobody is goin

the president will say. nancy. >> reporter: scott, obama campaign officials tell us that tuesday night michelle obama was about the president's character, and last night with president clinton was about his record and tonight will be about the future. they say president obama will make it very clear where he wants to take this country in a second term. and we just received excerpts from the speech a few minutes ago. here's what the president will say in part, "i won't pretend ghat the i'm path i'm offering is quick or easy. i never have. you didn't elect me to tell you what you wanted to hear. you elected me to tell you the truth, and the truth is, it will take more than a few years for us to solve challenges that have built up over decades." he'll go on to say, scott-- and this is interesting-- that he expects the kind of bold, persistent experimentation that franklin roosevelt pursued during the only crisis worse than this one. and, scott, he's going to ask the american people to rally around a set of goals for the country, goals in manufacturing, energy, education, national security, and the deficit, and it appears that he's going to get into some detail, scott, about th

that sort of sets the standard for what obama. >> look. bill clintonclassic narcissist, as is barack obama. what he did so well last night, talk about himself. the most comfortable and passionate and really sort of a lapsed into that preaches cadence which she did so well when he was either talking about himself or talking about hillary are knocking the gop. but not so much when he was talking of barack obama and the concerns are not just stylistically but substantively between clinton's presidency and obama's presidency on a whole range of economic issues. it's not going to go very well for tonight and through the campaign. >> i think that is really the risk for the democratic party. if you were not undecided and listened to that speech and bill clinton talk about how he cooperated to get work for welfare and the budget deficit under control, they're sitting there, maybe you have a relative who has been out of work for a year. going up. lou: going through his new book. the leaders of both parties and the senate asking the president to get out of the n

the night. president obama made a surprise appearance on stage with president clinton at the democratic convention wednesday. president obama listened backstage while bill clinton nominated him for a second term. >> i want to nominate a man who is cool on the outside but who burns for america on the inside. >> and the crowd went wild when president clinton acknowledged the power of the first lady's speech. >> by the way, after last night, i want the man who had the good sense to marry michelle obama. >> he summed up republican arguments against president obama this way. >> we left him a total mess. he hadn't cleaned it up fast enough. so far he put us back in. >> he said romney's plan to cut the deficit with a $5 trillion tax cut doesn't add up. >> it's arithmetic. we simply cannot afford to give the reins of government to someone who will double down on trickle down. >> his speech electrified the crowd. >> he was absolutely bill clinton. >> crews were supposed to be breaking down this stage and setting up at the outdoor bank of america stadium but the threat of severe weather forced organizers to

would a second term for president obama make him more like bill clinton? we'll have the comparisons between obama and clinton. and later, she has a killer body, but does she have a killer mind for business? kim kardashian will join me about her push to change her perso persona. 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. >>> welcome back, the democrats kicking off day two of their convention in charlotte tonight, and the speaker tonight is former president bill clinton trying to make the case that president obama's policies will lead to booming economic times like he had. john harwood with a tree view now. you mare madonna music playing behind me. last night they got a personal testimonial from michelle obama about barack obama the husband and father. tonight they will get a economic testimon

the present. and he, you know, again, it comes back to obama's the one who has to make the case, andrea. bill clinton can give a great speech. obama has to come out here and make the case to american people about the next four years and put it in the context of the present. not just what he inherited but what he's done and how it's going to be different. i think republicans, you know, while we, you know, enjoyed the speech, let's get to the real matchup between romney and obama on the substance of the argument. >> chris cillizza, give us your daily fix on bill clinton's performance and what it means for tonight. >> well, look, i think chairman steele is right. this is -- it is important to remember this is ultimately a contest between barack obama and mitt romney. now, that said, bill clinton is a very uniquely gifted and talented person at doing what he did last night. he went on almost double the prepared speech length. he, you know, i think for most people -- >> and we're shocked. we're shocked. >> it was 11:18 p.m. on the east coast. most people as far as i could tell were sitting in their seats