but ohio moved the other way from lean obama to tossup and there seven-day forecast joe and i were talking about this last week when we did the map week evidence that wisconsin with the choice of ryan is moving to tossup and i suspect which next week with new polls we will be in the tossup category. the race is very much up in the air. the president's advantage has declined significantly since the beginning of the poll in late april in terms of solid obama states and romney has been firming up his position. we are in for a barn burner here in the next 80 days. >> chris: joe, let me ask you and let's put up the map again, if we can. control room is going crazy. there we go. because when i look at this map one of the things i notice is that with the exception of evan bayh's state of indiana romney has not built a solid lead yet in any of the swing states that obama won four years ago. maybe it is tightening up a little bit but how steep a hill does romney have to climb? >> it was going to tighten up. i mean in april we were lookin

gwen: the obama campaign response? >> the woves says the obama -- "washington post" says the obama is not removing the bill's work requirements at all. in fact, o buster: is getting stats to -- states to move 20% more people from welfare to work. and the president's response to the romney ad? it's not true. gwen: neither campaign is being completely truthful but they're rolling in the mud for a reason. first, on the welfare debate, what is real, what is false and why are we arguing about it? >> some people are surprised we're even discussing welfare at all. it's not a big issue in the campaign. gwen: it's a hot button. >> yes, what is the central you? economy. the people have jobs on their minds and has someone in their family who does not have a job. it's not accurate. all the independent fact checkers have said it's not accurate. what the roll any campaign is trying to do with this is reach out to those blue collar working class voters who may not be quite sure about governor romney. they've heard all summer long that

obama's doing the same thing with obama care. he started this week now talking about the healthcare, yeah, the republicans have called it obama care forever and now he's embracing that. it's obama care because i care. it's so interesting. >> i don't think either side really necessarily wanted to have this debate in this way. >> but here we are, one weekend and it's medicare, medicare, medicare. i don't want talk about -- one weekend, is paul ryan a help or not, historically v.p. nominees lift the apart's ticket by four points but i think the bump issue is gone these days, according to gallup. romney only gained a point after the ryan announcement. we put it to the matthews meter. 12 of the regulars, has paul ryan been a net plus or minus for mitt romney in his first week on the ticket. seven said plus, five said minus. by the way, some of that split is here. kelly, you are with the majority. howard and helene, you're with the minority. kelly? >> i'll say plus because he appears to energize romney and make romney better when they a

and that's what the obama campaign does not want. i don't agree with the conventional wisom of getting back to the economy and jobs. the voters know the economy is bad. to clinch the dole against obama, the romney-ryan ticket has to explain the solutions the only way to solve the debt is reform medicare responsibly and i think having the obama debate is good. >> chris: i was going to say that, joe. one thing that happened. instead of the obama care being about acess and man date. now it is it about taking the money out of medicare to pay for obama care and thatblings obama care which is not a popular program back . >> but the other thing, chris, if you are going to reform the entire health care system for the lower cost of the medicare. the problem is, repeal obama care and take the 716 billion don't do what ryan want tod do when he try tod pass his budget. what you are going to end up with, is an insolvent medicare in 2016. and ed gillespie didn't have a good answer for how they will fill the gap from 2016 to 2024 which obama's plan

. >> the o'reilly factor son. tonight. >> obama has been in office for four years and he is running on the clinton economy. >> new charges that mr. obama is trying to run on bill clinton's economic record as the former president takes center stage in the re-election campaign. but clinton was once an obama critic. >> this whole thing is the biggest fairy tale i have ever seen. monday -- we will take a look at that situation. >> ordered federal law enforcement agents to break the law. >> the obama administration in legal hot water over its immigration policy as a new lawsuit says ice officials are being ordered to release suspected illegal aliens. don't miss our factor investigation. >> i can absolutely confirm that we don't use opium products. enough is enough. >> cycling super star lance armstrong stripped and band for life. all over doping charges. is he guilty or is this just a witch-hunt? geraldo rivera will tell us. caution, you are about to enter the no spin zone. the factor begins right now. hi i'm monica crowley in for bill

now the obama campaign loves all of this. they think this is going to work to their advantage. senior voters down in florida. but the romney and ryan campaign, this is a calculated risk they're making, fredricka, taking the gamble here and making the gamble here that the voters out there want to have this conversation even if they may not necessarily agree with this ticket on some of these issues. of course the romney campaign also put out some guidance earlier today that as president mitt romney will be writing his own budget. he is no going to be passing paul ryan's budget word for word. >> all right. jim acosta traveling with the romney/ryan camp now. appreciate that. through virginia. >>> all right. the white house responded to ryan's selection by tying him to the policies that crashed the economy. cnn's jessica yellin is at the white house. jessica, what, specifically, is the obama camp saying? >> reporter: hi, fredricka. it's the obama campaign that is slamming this choice as a sign that mitt romney is doubling down if you will on the narrative that the obama campaign has

the obama campaign says, we're thrilled, this has energized the base. going to raise money to put medicare front and center r. they both right? >> they're both right. we've seen that play out over the week since he was announced. you've seen the base excited. very similar to the palin pick last time when you saw so many people energized, peel making calls. i think it is -- we expected that we would be talking about medicare so much. this was a campaign, the romney campaign, focused on where are the jobs. that john boehner slogan was a centerpiece of their argument for -- for gaining the white house. and so we're talking about medicare, but i think the republicans have very much been on the offensive on this. they had a campaign ad out. now you see obama on the defense. an odd place, i think, for the democrats to be on medicare. >> incredibly odd place. if you look at karl rove, the editorial page of the "wall street journal," they think maybe there's a tipping point. they're trying to make the case, maybe it's all they can say. they're trying to make th

the obama campaign as well as the romney campaign. a campaign is angry about the welfare ad that folks are running debunked by the fact checkers. the romney campaign on other hand is very focused on the fact that they think the media is not looking at the big picture in a lot of instances. romney for example did a press conference few days ago where he laid out his medicare policy on a white board. at the end was asked about the tax returns and what led most of the story was of course the tax returns, not the debate they were pushing about medicare. you are seeing it come from both sides. to be fair, in a lot of instances both campaigns are perfectly willing to encourage these kind of things when they are aimed at the other party. >> bret: a lot of times, judge, to casey's point it is like campaign on both sides, trying to put the rabbit out there and have reporters chase it. >> bret: understood. i think the american public realizes the overwhelming numerical superiority of liberal and democrats in media. the perfect antedote to that i

the offensive on this. they had a campaign ad out. now you obviously see obamaive, an odd place, i think, for the democrats to be. >> it's an incredibly odd place, michael. and if you look at karl rove, look at the editorial page of the "wall street journal." they think maybe there's a tipping point. they're trying to make the case, and maybe it's all they can say, but they're trying to make the case, if they actually have a policy debate about medicare. after a few years in which every american has made tough choices, maybe they can turn this issue in their favor for once. >> the karl rove position is that, in the past, you have not had democratic legislation that took any money away from medicare, and the obama health care bill did take some money away. now it's mostly to providers and not beneficiaries, but republicans feel like for the first time, they have sort of an in, that they never had before. i still think, john, that most likely, you know, they might be able to fight the democrats to a draw on this, but i'm not sure it's really where they want to be

>> there is no question the obama allies have done the most damage. they hurt mitt romney and they are most effective and there more of them in many of the key markets around the country. they are winning, if you will, in terms of moving the numbers with negative ads. some happen to be reprehensible. can mitt romney change things? of course, he can. we have a lifetime left in politics. the vice presidential role will be a part of it. he has to work on the economic plan and convince people he will fight for the middle class. the damage that has been done in the spring and the summer said he is a rich guy, he's hiding his taxes, he doesn't care about you and the community. it's a steep hill. that's a scar the obamas have put on him. he will own the second half of august. he has a big opportunity to do that. the question is, can he? are they up to the challenge? >> thanks very much. we'll be right back. well that was uncalled for. uhh... mr. gallagher. incoming!!! hahaha! it's wasteful. you know jimmy. folks who save hundreds of dollars switching to geic

mitt romney's beginning his final sprint to the republican convention, but president obama isn't about to let him have this week's spotlight all to himself. also, paul ryan's presence on the republican ticket, just one factor putting his home state back into play. see why we now call wisconsin a toss-up. >>> and smile for the camera. stores now installing new technology that not only knows who you are, it will serve up tempting deals based on what you buy. welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. wolf blitzer is off today. i'm john king. you're in "the situation room." >>> we're heading into a monster week for mitt romney and paul ryan, as they gear up for the republican convention, now just a week away. to start building excitement, the running mates reunite monday in one of this year's all-important swing states. cnn's joe johns is here to look ahead at what else we can expect in a big, big week ahead. >> that's right, john. it certainly looks like the ryan/romney campaign could be changing its strategy already. last week, paul ryan himself said, and campaign

so i think that the people who think that obama on this count somehow betrayed the people who voted for him really didn't pay close enough attention to what he was saying. there were certainly no guarantees on that score. there are other issues in which obama has gone, taking positions -- taken positions contrary to his campaign position. for example, he specifically promised, um, to follow the procedures of the war powers act, and in the case of libya he did nothing of the kind. there are several other examples like that. but the general charge, um, that he's a hawk and he didn't say that, i think, doesn't bear out. um, and having said all that, obama's a guy who also changes his opinions and his positions from time to time. and as a matter of fact, he and his team are pretty skilled at being able to do that. they do have, um, they're swift of foot when it comes to political issues. and the best way to see that is to look back now at the 2007 debate with hillary clinton and joe biden and others. if you, some of you may recall there's a youtube question, will you meet with the leaders o

none from the obama administration . i hope paul will get a start to focus and how to solve the big fiscal crisis that we are in . legitimate plans from the obama team that matches those coming from the romney team. >> we'll report in the past. paul ryan said passion from jack kemp and jourge from bill bennett and compassion and understanding from sam brownbag. he is obviously a big fan of yourings >> i am a fan of his and he's a great man. he is as advertised. good family man and like to go out and hunt and passionate with his country. >> what will the debate with vice-president biden be. >> i think it would be one worth selling pop corn for. paul is a good thinker and he presents it very well. and joe talks pretty well. but when you clash the two ideas, there is no substance on the side of the obama team when you get to the real issues. how are you going to dole with medicare and social security . get the economy going. what is the plan? and then you put out the ryan plan. they will attack it. i see your attack. what is

i think the obama campaign is on to a winning issue. to see how it plays out. >> you mentioned this is the odd period in every presidential race where we meet the new running mate. who knows if it will matter come election day? it usually doesn't. we did meet paul ryan. i tried to ask him a question in this great cluster. part of the question is how successful will he be an how different from governor romney will he be? let's watch this brief encounter. >> they are already calling voters in your state and iowa saying, this is proof they are going to take away your medicare. >> we will take all these issues later. our job is to strength then and protect medicare. that's what we do. president obama is ultimately rationing medicare. we will deal with these later. >> the ryan pick has put medicare front and center. what's fascinating is that the romney campaign says, we have raised more than $10 million. it has energized the base. that's what the obama campaign says. >> are they both right? >> they are both right. we have seen that play out

the romney campaign, is it like george w. bush? that's what president obama would have voters believe. should you buy it? and stunning chinese athletes in the olympics. the politics of sports. can a nation's greatness really be measured by the medal standings? welcome to the journal, editorial report. i'm paul gigot. democrats successfully used the phrase, it's the economy, stupid. and that phrase hit a nerve with the american public, but this may be the time for republicans to make that argument as the labor department releases the latest numbers on america's unemployed. a contradictory message of sorts on friday as the unemployment rate rose to 8.3%, while 160,000 new jobs were added, in july. the romney camp wasting no time pushing their plans for the economy, laying out his economic agenda to the wall street journal this week. and is joining the panel. wall street columnist editor, dan henninger and kim extras many. dan, with the new jobs numbers coming out a week after the second quarter growth figures, measley 1 1/2% growth, is the state of the economy

the obama campaign is extraordinarily skillful. i didn't cover the carter campaign but i would bet you that the obama campaign is more skillful than the carter campaign was at going, at going hard and defining romney. and in a lot of these battleground states particularly the industrial midwest romney is a wall street figure at a time of populism and anger at wall street, they will hammer that home. they have cards to play on that that they are holding back. but romney, as maggie said at the beginning, romney has to do almost everything right and the people around them. they have to have good luck this thing with congressman aiken is bad luck. they have to have good luck the rest of the way to get back to talking about the economy. you know, we said months ago, every day take out your calendar at the end of the day and right down was this a day that we talked about, where the die lock was about the obama economic record or about anything else. and most of the summer there have been very few days this sum wrer it has been, the debate

the obama side needs to disqualify romney. hings and this ad thaw are talking about. i asked will you talk it off the web? it never has been on pay tv and he said no. >> romney's favorability numbers have taken a tumble. the false attacks. is it possible they do more damage to him because he is more unknown? >> that's what the obama campaign and his supporters are bidding. they are looking at 2004. bush really moved to define john kerry very early and he ran ads in march. they started in may and a lot of what we have seen has been negative. the thing about negative ads does is they have been around and often work. what you are seeing particularly now in august is that each of these campaigns is trying to generate some feeling among their base. among those voters because if you generate a feeling or moral outrage and anger, those are the feelings that prompt people to act and actually donate and start knocking on doors and mobilizing behind the candidates. they are trying to grab people by will the colaar and get them to feel an

the process. president obama won the state in 2008. n't let an obama victory happen again, so now, in heavily democratic areas, you won't believe this, early voting hours, they have been slashed. 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on week days. now, if you're a working person, do these hours seem very convenient to you if you're holding, maybe, one or two jobs? democrats have tried to fight this, but the republican election commissioners in the state are blocking it. the republican secretary of state, john hew stead, is siding with them, but only when it comes to the democratic-leaning areas, as ari berman of "the nation" reports, in solidly republican counties, gop election commissioners have approved expanded early voting hours on night and weekends. now, just so we're all on the same page here, in republican areas, early voting is convenient for working folks. in democratic areas, well, not so much. you got to do the 8:00 to 5:00 thing. here's how one democratic party chair put it. the republicans remember those long lines outside board of elect

none from the obama administration . i hope paul will get a start to focus and how to solve the big fiscal crisis that we are in . legitimate plans from the obama team that matches those coming from the romney team. >> we'll report in the past. paul ryan said passion from jack kemp and jourge from bill bennett and compassion and understanding from sam brownbag. he is obviously a big fan of yourings. >> i am a fan of his and he's a great man. he is as advertised. good family man and like to go out and hunt and passionate with his country. >> what will the debate with vice-president biden be. >> i think it would be one worth selling pop corn for. paul is a good thinker and he presents it very well. and joe talks pretty well. but when you clash the two ideas, there is no substance on the side of the obama team when you get to the real issues. how are you going to dole with medicare and social security . get the economy going. what is the plan? and then you put out the ryan plan. they will attack it. i see your attack. what i

of course, we should hold the obama campaign responsible. ere was coordination between the campaign and the super pac. i heard analysts say today it happens on both sides. that doesn't make it right. this is a clear case -- there was -- the conference call shows the campaign knew about this man, they knew about this so-called -- this story, and they promoted it. in fact it's just a stunning thing, particularly given the president's whole unity claim. he was going to be the most unifying president in history. he's ripping this country apart and it's working. people who have seen this ad of this nice man who talks about his wife dying. no time line, no frame reference or mention of the fact that romney was at bain at the time or this wife had health insurance before she lost it. it was long after her husband lost his job at bain. there are so many problems with this. but what republicans need to realize is they need to shift the focus back to the economy, back to the fact that we are at 42 straight months with the unemployment numbers over 8%.

it's the pro obama super pac priorities usa. it's not just the romney campaign outraising the obama campaign. the super pac on the right is swamping the amount of super pac money on the left. when we looked at it on the show a month ago, republican versus democratic super pac money looked sort of like this. that was the ratio in terms of the money on both sides. my hunch is that it's gotten worse since we looked at it last month. but priorities usa, the pro obama super pac are a big fish in the big money pond, but this week, they were nevertheless the small fish that ate everything else in the pond. their ad showing a laid off steel worker from a plant shut down by bain capital not only dominated the political discussion, but it earned a right-wing freak-out reaction. the romney campaign's seething political press with multiple stories about how upset they were about the ad and how horrible it was. the spokesperson outdoing his own typical hyperbole telling reporters specifically about the ad, i don't think a world champion limbo

the same standard. when mitt romney used a quote by barack obama that he didn't understand the economy and obama was talking mccain. you know what his response. sauce for the goose and gander. >> but is that okay to accuse him for killing a woman for cancer. >> they are deceptive and mitt romney is dirty on that basis. the cancer adhurts barack obama because his greatest asset is the decency and likeability he convey. i am supporting obama for reelection and this adhurts him. he needs to repudiate it because it is false and mr. burton who is behind it should realize he hurt mr. obama. liz, we proved they did know about that story. the president never speaks out about the negativity that is really taken politics to an all-time low. does this hurt the president in the reelection effort? >> i do. members of the white house staff raised money for the super pac. it is not a super pac that is unrelated to anything in the white house. the president could stand up tomorrow and tonight and say it is inappropriate and outrageous. and he ought to do that. and i think the american people . lanny agrees with me. america

unlikely voters, obama gets 43% of the vote. has made a clear calculation, getting people involved in the process, is going to ultimately swing disproportionately toward team obama. i wonder to what degree you guys are surprised that this kind of -- the adoption of new technology seems to be much more left than right insofar as the level of granular detail as michael explains, sort of pioneering applications. we're not seeing that out of the gop. mitt romney seems to be running more of a traditional campaign. >> look, there's a marked reason. those numbers tell you the story. democrats really feel like they can win and win consistently and win with safe margins, if they can actually just get people to vote. and so there's a market need there. i don't think that the gop feels that it has the same, you know, force, the same requirements to get out there and develop technology, to meet that need. >> you know, it's not true that romney campaign are the not doing it. they are buying this technology off the shelf, and that means it's n