that is something i don't see joe biden doing as well and we of course have the paul ryan/joe biden debate coming up which will be a huge proving ground. james, i wonder in terms of bill clinton, how does the administration best use him apart from dispatching him out to florida and so forth? are there marching orders they should give him in terms of things to focus on? >> how to use him best. four words. as much as possible. the guy is a political person and you're right, i agree with you absolutely. he possesses the numbers, he possesses -- it's underneath his skin, waiting to bubble out, and people like him. they like him because they know he means it. politicians, a lot of terrible people can mean it. hitler meant it. stalin meant it. on the other hand, franklin d. roosevelt and john f. kennedy meant it. just meaning it isn't enough. but there is a kind of ardor, a kind of passion that emerges from deep inside. we teach students to find themselves inside, to access themselves and then at the proper moment onstage, to let it emerge and it emerges genuinely. that's when we believe them. t

joe biden was trusted. he's the guy who always took the train from washington back up to wilmington. >> because? >> because that's where he lived. >> and because his two kids were orphaned. >> his kids were orphaned. his first wife died in a tragic accident. he's the kind of guy who liked to ride the train, who liked to talk to people on the train. his dad was a car dealer. he's an average guy. he went to state schools. he knows how to speak the real language. the onion newspaper, the humor newspaper, they've got a guy they call onion joe biden, and he's a guy with tattoos and a muscle tee who's always polishing his pontiac. that's an exaggeration, but on the other hand, that's who joe biden is. and the other thing about joe biden -- and i think the senator will agree with me -- he was one of the best informed, most detail focused guys. he was chairman of the foreign relations committee, chairman of the judiciary committee. this is not just a show horse by any means. >> it helps if you're 29 years old when

you often hear the story from joe biden. just a kid from scranton, p.a., trying to make it in the tough, tough world. that's the message he'll resonate on the president's policies toward the folks not born with a silver spoon in their mouth. it will be interesting to see how he does that tonight, how fiery the rhetoric can be. it has been fiery in the past. most interestingly enough, with joe biden, the most important thing he can do for president obama is not have a gap tonight and also reiterate the message he's fighting for those who are not of means, who are not of extreme wealth. that's what his position here is for, president obama. it's something he's quite good at and enjoys to do. >> steve, you had some thoughts on joe biden. what have you got there? >> i think there's a fascinating subtext to his speech tonight because there's sort of a tradition, a more moderate tradition with re-election conventions. part of it is their vice president gets a chance to make the point, hey, i'm in line for the next election. there'

thank you, joe, for being tough but fair. >>> coming up, there was one word joe biden literally loved saying last night. what was it? literally it was the word. he loves saying the word literally. this is "hardball," the place for politics. [ male announcer ] wouldn't it be cool if we took the nissan altima gave it greater horsepower and best in class 38 mpg highway... ...advanced headlights... ...and zero gravity seats? yeah, that would be cool. ♪ introducing the completely reimagined nissan altima. it's our most innovative altima ever. nissan. innovation that excites. ♪ throughout our entire lives. ♪ one a day men's 50+ is a complete multi-vitamin designed for men's health concerns as we age. ♪ it has more of seven antioxidants to support cell health. that's one a day men's 50+ healthy advantage. [ male announcer ] finally, mom's oven-baked tastes straight from the microwave. like oven-roasted chicken in a creamy alfredo sauce. marie callender's new comfort bakes. it's time to savor. marie callender's new comfort bakes. you misare you sure?et toss. eeeee! yeah. i get all my

is the white house not using joe biden to best effect? are they afraid to have joe biden go out and do interviews? >> i don't think so at all. i think joe biden is out there at campaign stops all over the country. he draws big crowds and everybody is very enthusiastic to have him. joe biden is a great leader in our country. he's authentic. he says it the way he sees it. >> if the president is re-elected, if he is or if he isn't, is joe biden a likely contender in 2016 if he wants to, or would you expect that hillary clinton or some of the younger faces we've seen, corey booker going to the iowa delegation breakfast the other day or today, rather, is a key indicator? >> we have many good choices in the democratic party but let's get through this election first and elect this extraordinary president who in no ordinary time was able to pull us from the brink of depression, job creator from day one, more jobs in the private sector in one year than in the eight years of the bush administration. one election at a time. >> democratic leader nanc

what about joe biden in 2016? >> joe biden november 6th. my mom, my entire family, making sure we re-elect the president. look, we have a team we're running against. mitt romney, he said his foreign policy expense -- give me a break. you've been following international relations for a long time. you have mitt romney who in 24 hours visiting our closest ally offends not only the prime minister but all brits. so, i mean, we have important issues about foreign policy, both domestically to discuss in 60 days. you're going to see the vice president and president do that. >> beau biden, good luck to your dad today. >> thank, andrea. >>> women are center stage as republicans attack abortion and reproductive rights especially pl funding for planned parenthood. >> this past year women learned when we're not at the table we're on the menu. so why are we having to fight in 2012 against politicians who want to end access to birth control? it's like we woke up on a bad episode of "mad men." >> your new president could be a man who stands by when a publi

about joe biden, richly reported, well-written. we saw him out hammering this theme, osama bin laden is dead, general motors is alive. tell me about joe biden and the difference he makes compared to most vice presidents. >> he's the number one surrogate for this campaign and this candidate. in some ways he embodies the spirit in good and bad ways of 2012 more than mitt romney or barack obama. neither one of them are dirt fighters. they don't get down in the mud with gusto. joe biden is a guy who is like the id. he's, he has the much, from the gut. he can throw a punch in the gut and still smile at you after he hits you there, that's kind of an incredible skill in politics, he's a guy with longstanding real appeal to white working-class voters. where the obama's campaign greatest weakness is with that class of voters and older white voters, those are the primary targets for the romney/ryan campaign. and biden speaks to that group in a lot of ways more comfortably, more persuasively than president obama does himself. so he'll in a lo

here's joe biden. here's joe biden. he's taken ryan to task over a number of facts and discrepancies in the speech last week. here was the vice president speaking at an rally in new york. >> much of what they told you at your convention simply what they say in my old nabld neighborhood, not on the level. you heard congressman ryan on wednesday blame the plant closing in janesville in his hometown on president obama. let's take a look at the facts. what he didn't tell you was the plant in janesville actually closed on president bush's watch. while he was president. before the sacrifices you made, uaw members made, before those sacrifices and the courage of the president, but for that, all the gm plants would have been closed. >> so how do you think this debate is going to be coming up next month, a debate between that guy and ryan the guy he's taking shots at? >> you know, i have a cover story in the "new york" magazine about biden. i spent a lot of time with him in the last month. he is fired up and re

thank you, joe, for being tough but fair. >>> coming up, there was one word joe biden literally loved saying last night. what was it? literally it was the word. he loves saying the word literally. this is "hardball," the place for politics. >>> bill clinton threw out more specific numbers in one speech last night than the republicans did in the entire week in tampa. >> a reasonable plan of $4 trillion of debt reduction in a decade. for every $2.5 trillion of cuts. >> not that the republicans did not have a plan to solve the nation's economic problems. >> we are going to solve this nation's economic problems. we need to stop spending money we don't have. we will not duck the tough issues, we will lead. >> and as a last resort, we will use magic. >> back to "hardball." speaks of clinton's speech, you may have caught this snapshot of hillary clinton making her diplomatic address. she was in southeast asia. before watching, the secretary of state had this to say about the remarks. quote, i received the as-prepared version which i am anxious when i can to compare with the as-delivered vers

biden, and joe biden, you could say it was long or over the top, but he really made the point about the middle class and about that choice election. one other speaker whom you know very well is john kerry. i have been hearing certainly from the diplomatic community their take-away from john kerry's speech last night and some of his recent behind the scenes behavior is that he is really moving up at least at this point and it's never over til it's over, in the sweepstakes if there is a second obama administration, who would be secretary of state. he's played a behind the scenes role as an envoy to some of the most troubled parts of the world without any publicity, he is trusted as a very confidential envoy and there's a lot of competition. susan rice, other players. but john kerry has a lot of supporters now. what is your take-away? >> i think he would be a great choice. i think he would have been a great president, by the way. >> i should say you worked in that campaign. >> yes. right. 60,000 votes in ohio, we would be finishing the second kerry term. i talked to him. he's not focus

and joe biden. he was fantastic. >> president bush was not present at the convention and was barely mentioned by anyone except briefly by his brother, who said it's time to cut him a break. >> and my brother, well, i love my brother. he is a man of integrity, courage and honor. and during incredibly challenging times, he kept us safe. so mr. president, mr. president, it is time to stop blaming your predecessor for your failed economic policies. >> well, i always like to remind people he didn't keep us safe september 11th, 2001. it was always after that. if a democrat had been president on 9/11, the republican party would have participated such villainizing of the democrats, it would never have ended. let's move on to the broader question here of how they treated the most recent chief executive. not much action there for w. pure love for bill. >> well, chris, i think they decided down down in tampa that for every minute george bush was mentioned, they were going to drop that percentage in the polls.

joe biden understands this. it's what you learn growing up in scranton, pennsylvania, and claymont, delaware. >> it was a neat place to grow up. i mean, we thought it was, and still do, think it's completely normal. four kids, three bedrooms, mom and dad, and of the probably 16 years i lived in that house, there was a relative at least 14 of those years living with us full time. my parents never doubted for a second i could be president or vice president. there was this notion that nobody is better than you, you're no better than anybody else, but nobody is better than you. and in this country, you can be anything you want to be. >> and i think that sense of optimism is what he feels for america. >> his parents taught him the fundamental truths that make this country special. basic beliefs that have defined what it has meant to be middle class for generations. >> middle class wasn't a number, it wasn't your net worth. it was more a value set. it's the idea that everyone in this country who works at it can do wel

>> i think joe biden was joe biden tonight. the guy you get to like. he's the brother who sings at the wedding. the guy in the family who always goes a bit over the top, but the love is manifest. i think his loyalty to the president couldn't have been more on display tonight. i think he gave barack obama who can be a cool customer a much more human face tonight. i think that's always what joe biden has brought to this partnership. sfl. >> chris, what is important about the vice president using the president's first name, how he sees him daily. all that personal stuff about how close they are just as friends, as men. what's important about that? >> well, it's -- it's not exactly a bromance, but you know, the modern vice presidency is two doors away from the presidency. it used to be the vice president was somebody who had an office up in the senate as presiding officer. in fact in lincoln's day, went back to maine after he was elected. now the vice president is a junior partner. joe biden actually works right around the corner from the oval office. and

>> i don't think anyone can cage joe biden. he has been a tremendous contributor. he has been an outstanding vice president. >> you know, it seems as if they're careful about suddenly about interviews and how often we see him? >> if you think about the responsibilities the vice president has been asked to take on by this president, leading not just transition afghanistan and iraq, major decisions on foreign policy, implementation of the stimulus and being in the room for all the most important decisions, i don't think they shy at all from having joe biden be central to the leadership of this administration. >> senator menendez your role in the party sometimes you're the highest ranking hispanic democrat in the united states senate, what role are you going to be able to play for the president in the state of florida? will you do the same things you were able to do in 2008 or your own campaign going to get in the way a little bit? >> certainly i'm going to be focused on our campaign because it's an opportunity to connect with the people of new jersey on what i've bee

. >> president obama following joe biden who gave a heart felt speech to some americans on four more years. >> it's never been a good bet to bet against the american people. never. my fellow americans, america is coming back. and we're not going back. and we have no intention of down sizing the american dream. >> let's say good morning to our friday political power panel. we have matt miller. karen finny. and susan. gang, it's the morning after. karen i start with you because the romney camp released a statement on the jobs report not wasting any time on this. saying if last night was the party this morning is the hangover. paul ryan also taking to taxpayer waves this morning on cnbc. take a look. >> this is not what president obama promised. i would argue this is the result of failed leadership in washington, bad fiscal policy coming from the administration and that's where we had this very tepid report. >> nbc's first read calls today's jobs report a win for romney and the gop. is anything over 8% bad news for the president with two more jobs reports left between now and election d

the other guys put on the up up man for the president, joe biden. i think you lost some of your luster in this business. >> well, chris, i know it's going to make a lot of our republican friends unhappy with me, but i thought it was kind of strange seeing clint eastwood talking to an empty chair. i get the point, but the one hour you have the american people tuning in that aren't on the table networks and you're looking at an empty chair? i didn't see the humor in it. a lot of people did. i wouldn't have chosen that line of attack against the president. >> you know, joe, he apparently thought up of this shtick in the green room. to say could i have that chair please? >> i think even though obama seems to have gotten the big bounce today in the gallup approval, you can bet that romney is way up with people who yell at empty chairs. i would say that's a demographic that they capture. >> you are cruel to our hero. i'm going to forgive my saying something later. this is probably the man's career going on hunches. this didn't work. let's talk about the c

you can send joe biden anywhere. people will come out to see him because he's a sitting vice president. you don't need to limit him to the blue collar states. but what i think this is coming down to and everybody sort of agrees to this is that most people have made up their mind about fortunate. either they think he deserves a second term or they don't. the growth potential is on romney's side. romney has to convince people that he is a legitimate alternative, if you don't think that obama deserves a second term. will he do that? i don't know. that's what this ad blitz from now until election day is designed to do. >> let me show you a little clip. >> romney wants to present that. >> let me show you a little clip of one of those new ads. >> here in florida, we're not better off under president obama. home values collapsed. home construction jobs lost. high rate of foreclosure. romney's plan provide alternatives to foreclosure. end the mortgage lending freeze. create over 700,000 new jobs for florida. >> effective? >>

ohioans love joe biden. you know, he may be old school, but even the tea party folks like medication and social security, and the ryan budget would decimate in my judgment actually kill medicare as we know it, begin the privatization of social security, cut pell grants for our students, raise taxes on the middle class, give tax toss wealthy people. we can debate the paul ryan/mitt romney budget. i hope we do during the next 65 days, because that is is draconian extreme budget, and mitt romney called it a marvelous budget, but a budget that would be devastating to the programs that working middle-class ohioans and americans care about. >> i have no doubt we will do that. john, let me go back to the convention, do you think you're at a disadvantage? do you think there's an advantage in going second, that you can answer the things that were said at the previous convention? >> not this time, because i do think the president will spend the majority of his time trying to explain himself, what happened, why his pre

on a side note, joe biden arrived in charlotte. thissi year a lot has been madef the enthusiasm gap. we will hear what young voters have to say about that at the convention straight ahead. [ thunder crashes ] [ male announcer ] if you think all batteries are the same... consider this: when the unexpected happens, there's one brand of battery more emergency workers trust in their maglites: duracell. one reason: duralock power preserve. it locks in power for up to 10 years in storage. guaranteed. so, whether it's 10 years' of life's sunny days... or... the occasional stormy one... trust goes a long way. duracell with duralock. trusted everywhere. sven's home security gets the most rewards of any small business credit card! how does this thing work? oh, i like it! [ garth ] sven's small business earns 2% cash back on every purchase, every day! woo-hoo!!! so that's ten security gators, right? put them on my spark card! why settle for less? testing hot tar... great businesses deserve the most rewards! [ male announcer ] the spark busine

so joe biden is solid. i don't think they're going to be holding him back at all. >> the right has caricatured joe biden in a way that they have set expectations very, very low. not just for the speech tomorrow night, which is less important. all eyes will be on the president but particularly for that debate on the right. you saw the glee. i can't wait until paul ryan destroys joe biden. i can't wait for the debate for a lot of reasons. not because i think it will be one-sided. and it is one-sided, it won't be against joe biden. >> i think you will have to really, really hope for that mr. ryan is ready, because mr. ryan has had all of this build up. and one, we've seen he is fast and furious with the facts, which joe biden will not let him get away with. and we really have never seen him debate at that level. he is going to no man's land. joe biden has been on that national platform in those national debates before. and if he is not careful, he's going to treat him like, let me teach you, son, how we do thi

here's what joe biden brings. the whole issue of the vp candidate, being the attack dog was taken away from the role joe biden could do in the last election. he was running against sarah palin, she's a mom, a woman. a historic figure in her own rig right. in many, many cases, joe biden had to pull punches. he does not when it comes to paul ryan. he can go in as joe likes to go in. as the sitting vice president, not candidate, he has the position of a certain kind of authority. he was there when the tough calls were made on foreign policies. he's been there when the tough calls have been made on domestic policy and so he has what it takes to speak to these issues. >> do you agree this time around, biden would be so gracious in the debate and will be leashed as the joe biden you know? >> i think so and i can't wait. i cannot wait for that. seriously. think about what an outstanding job he did in the debate with sarah palin. there was a lot of anxiety and he was pitch perfect. i think it will be a little bit of a dif

that wednesday spot was important for joe biden. he's been bounced from it. he'll be the undercard on thursday night and in his place is the husband of a woman at this point who is his chief rival for 2016. am i reading too much into this? >> no, no, i think that's pretty much right on. i think we clearly have not only daytime, but a budding relationship between a sitting president and former president, and that's a good thing. i think it's strategic on both sides. i think the president of the united states needs mr. clinton to help him with that narrow sliver of undecided voters, especially women ages 30 to 50 who grew up with bill clinton as sort of their teenage or childhood president. that's important. the second thing is is that bill clinton and hillary clinton need barack obama. they need him to perform strongly and to do well, because if barack obama loses and loses on the scale of a carter, that is very bad for the democratic brand for years to come and that is not helpful to a, perhaps, nominee or presidential candidate hillary clinton. so on many le

you can do what vice president joe biden does text the word awake to 622639. we'll read the responses later in the show. the next 30 minutes is your cram session for this wednesday, september 12th. a lot to tell you about including breaking news out of germ any that will impact the debt crisis plaguing europe. >>> plus, the first lady of the united states reminds us she can duggy better than laura bush ever did. that clip, later in the show. live at 5:30 a.m., you are at 30 rock. violent protest against the united states. at the u.s. kons late in benghazi, at least one american staff member was killed after they stormed the compound and burned it down. looking at the scene, you can hear gunshots going off. the attackers were armed with automatic rifles and grenades. libyan forces stationed there were said to have done little to stop the violence. in egypt, protesters scaled walls destroying the american flag, ripping it to shreds and replacing it with a black, islamic banner. the diplomatic staff had been evacua evacuated. both incidents in reaction to a littl

this was a good speech for joe biden. he's had a couple of weeks where he hasn't looked as serious as he could be. this was a serious speech. the fact they made him a warm-up act, i think that was interesting, but when you look at bill clinton's speech, you understand why. >> they wanted clinton. they decided this. >> absolutely. that speech was huge. >> also, the poll numbers. bill clinton, michelle obama, extremely popular. joe biden is viewed more negatively than positively. >> the three most popular democrats in order are michelle obama, bill clinton and barack obama might be third. >> right. >> no question about it. stick arpd. you guys are sticking with us. we're going to go to the white house. alan krueger coming up. programming note for you. a big sunday on "meet the press." an exclusive interview, david gregory sits down with mitt romney, his first appearance on "meet the press" in five years. but first, i know you guys want to know this. the white house soup of the day. the staff will be eating roasted chicken a

biden. [ applause ] >> i move to suspend the rolls and nominate by acclamation joe biden as the democratic vice presidential candidate. [ applause ] >> welcome back to "morning joe." look at this bar. it is full. we got great next guest with us, attorney general from delaware, bo biden, last night had the honor, you saw that, of nominating his father joe biden for a second term as vice president. that was moving. >> you know, mika, so sad that joe biden. >> yeah. >> like a rocky stoic he can't let himself go and enjoy that remarkable moment. >> the lights on there, he got to enjoy it, he knew he was on camera there. >> i know. >> we love him and he is such a real guy. obviously moved to tears by seeing you put his name in the nomination. what a great thrill for any father. i loved your mom talking and your dad starting the speech, just talking about what a great, great difference she's made in his life. >> and my life and my brother's life. i torgts to mention my -- forget to mention my brother last night. i'm starting mentioning my brother. my only hiccup last night. i said he's been ther

i think joe biden did him a favor. i think the timing worked out nicely for them. >> are there still bruised feelings there? >> there's a wariness, as will always has been, that joe biden can -- i've been taken by how separate the operations have been. the president does run his own shop. there's wariness but i don't think hard feelings. >> you get a sense though, john, that the staff has a deep distrust, the president's staff has a deep distrust for joe biden. >> the staff was more upset than the president was. the president wasn't bhap as was reported, the vice president went to obama and apologized in a very full throated, genuine way. i think for barack obama that was kind of -- it was over and done with at that point. >> i think he was hung out to dry on that. they're putting him out in front of millions of people to campaign. they can't be that worried about him. >> joe biden is not someone who sits well with control freakishness. he is sort of an unguided missile. there are always going to be people who are wary

right now, vice president joe biden is on the campaign trail in the critical swing state of florida. as we mentioned a few moments ago. he talked about the gop ticket in ft. myers. >> what they're doing these days, if you notice, they're not talking anymore more about what paul ryan and governor romney are really for. they're spending an awful lot of time telling you what we, barack obama and joe biden are against and what we've done. and they just attack everything. >> the republican vice presidential candidate paul ryan also has a very busy day. congressman ryan is going to have a rally in ohio in just a couple of hours. more on that in just a moment. this morning, though, he was in derry, new hampshire. >> all these promises were made in the idea of hope and change. and people, it sounded pretty good. but when the rhetoric went aside and the time to act occurred, the ideas are the old ideas that have failed time and again. >> and as we speak, former senator rick santorum is also in ohio, getting ready to stomp for the romney campaign. he is appearing with ohio republican congressm

or joe biden is going to be standing there besides ryan. >> and you know what the magic was here? no matter how many times paul ryan said nora, the bottom line he was trying to sell that he voted for a bill but not the contents of the bill. did he just like who it was named after. you voted for the bill or you didn't. i think in your previous segment crystal got to this point. they've taken whatever it is we thought was good about paul ryan. i'm starting to think that maybe we were wrong about him. i was one of those people who thought this seems to be a sentient human being, they've subtracted al of that and he is like a second mitt romney. he won't answer any questions, has no specifics and doesn't understand nor can he explain his own policies. >> my favorite ryan thing is when he does that we don't want to get too technical thing. and when everybody says i don't want to get too technical, it's because they can't. they'll get in trouble if they do. >> yeah. but here's the thing about that. and i actually think we have to be very careful because we're very smart people and we kn

. >> speaking of elevating the dialogue, our next hypothetical match-up, chris christie and joe biden. snifr get your five second delays ready for that one. >> christie obviously the tough guy from new jersey, biden the every man from delaware. my personal view on this quick take, i think that everybody's favorite uncle wins over the class bully. what do you think, melinda? >> i like both those guys a lot. i think it was mike gersen of the "washington post" who said joe biden is maybe the last human in american politics. i think it would be for those of us who care most about the story, it would be a dream come true match-up if you were have to have mr. get the hell off the beach versus putting you all back in chains. anything could happen at any moment. >> it would be fun for all of us. >> not lacking in drama. >> certainly. another person who last night got a lot of 2016 buzz based on a phenomenal speech was governor deval patrick from massachusetts and steve kornacki talk to him about his future recently. >> you have said you're not going to run for re-election income 2014. you wan

and as joe biden pointed out today on the campaign trail, we removed one of the greatest threats to our national security. >> you want to know whether we're better off? i got a little bumper sticker for you. osama bin laden is dead and general motors is alive. >> four years ago, the economy was in a freefall. it has turned around. even mitt romney, listen to this, even mitt romney admitted this in a radio interview back in january of this year. >> you've also noted that there are signs of improvement on the horizon in the economy. how do you answer the president's argument that the economy is getting better in a general election campaign if you yourself are saying it's getting better? >> well, of course it's getting better. the economy always gets better after a recession. there's always a recovery. >> isn't it a hard argument to make if you're saying, like, okay, he inherited this recession and took a bunch of steps to try to turn the economy around and now we're seeing more jobs, but vote against him anyway? isn't that a hard argument to make, is that a stark enough contrast? >> dueio

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. >> it does feel to me like joe biden did two really important things. one he gave us the backstage pass to the presidency. this is what i see when this guy is acting as president. the other was i really did love his car thing, i don't know, i'm slightly obsessed with the transformers and keep finding reasons to have transformers on the show. so i have this feeling like when he was talking about my daddy was a car guy and that's totally different than when mitt romney's daddy was a car guy. i can just see him beating down the republicans in some important way. is that right? is biden an effective counter over and against the romney narrative of like the american automobile industry, for example? >> biden is the gift that keeps on giving. you just really to put him next to a live mike and you never know what you're going to get. he's very candid and truthful and he has a lot of good mount ease, but the truth about this administration is that he does speak truth to many of the realities of the labor movement, of immigration reform, all those things we have

vice president joe biden did a little up close ander. al campaigning at a stop in southern ohio on sunday. this photo was taken by the ap after the press pool had been escorted out of the room. joan, he may have won one swing voter but think he lost two judging by the expresses there. >> the two men don't look like they're going to be voting obama/biden any time soon and hope the secret service was nearby because the vice president looked like he was in danger. >> he'll go -- joe biden will stop at nothing for some votes. >> he should. if he can get her and a whole bunch of other women agencies 350 to 50, he will be the next vice president of the united states. >> i was just going to say, joe the biker, picture, and the joe the pizzeria owner lift of president obama, these help with the obama/biden ticket's worst demographic, killed with white men. if they can erode romney's lead a little bit among white men and a picture is better than a thousand words. >> yes. >> you know, they can win this election. >> i just like anything that begins

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moments ago joe biden touched down in charlotte, north carolina. he was sporting his trademark aviator shades as he got off air force 2 with his wife jill. on thursday the vice president delivers his speech to the democratic national convention and if his recent remarks are any indication that speech should give us a view of smoking joe at his rhetorical best. >> much of what they did tell you wasn't on the level at that convention. these guys are bush on steroids. it would have been voted on, but he voted no. we are for medicare. they are for voucher care. he would not let it go to the floor. he walked away. >> now it's a good thing the vice president is so fired up and ready to go, because with paul ryan on the opposing ticket, he certainly has his work cut out. each new day brings a fresh revelation about the remarkable mr. ryan and his many talents. yes, he can catch fish with his bare hands, but that's not all. mr. ryan is also said to be a budget wonk of scrupulous honesty and marathon runner of record-breaking speed, capable of leaping tall

. >> funny about joe biden. i feel as if his presence now in the campaign is, that the campaign, the obama campaign, are they trying to mute it a little bit? >> i don't think that's the case. i think it's the story the media love. there goes joe biden doing whatever, doing a gaffe. >> it makes the campaign, well, we're not going to put him out for interviewers? be more careful? >> i don't think that's the case. vice president biden connects with people on a very bill level. you see him talking to regular voters, there's an energy that's in the room. i think the campaign, you'll see him going out. in pennsylvania, ohio. i don't think they're going to back way from that. >> micromanager too much? >> no. i think, overall more of an asset than people thought in the beginning. >> yeah. >> i agree. >> there have been the gaffes, i think he gets the message over well. if biden runs in 2016, he'll be a gap of 28 years. first presidential campaign. 2008, 2016. has anyone else in american history ever had a bigger gap tha

remember, joe biden is part of a tag-team championship team. paul ryan and mitt romney want to take that belt away from them, so they've got to bright the fing. he's going to have to come with a little bit of aggression f you will. >> we just heard from chris christie a few moments ago from this morning talking about debate changing the narrative, saying this is going to be a game changer. that's the first time we've heard one of the surrogates really raise expectations to that level. what are you hearing from the ryan campaign about the presidential debate on wednesday in terms of expectations? >> well, i think both sides have been trying to lower expectations. it's put you in the best position. you can almost win by losing the debate, if you will. if you don't meet the expectations, what you said, i'm up against a skilled orator in president obama or a very skilled politician, a four-decade politician in joe biden. i think the two candidates have been trying to lower those expectations. they do know that governor romney is pretty good. he's g

. >> does joe biden know if he's doing this stuff on purpose? and just how bad a week was it for mitt romney? >> tragic disgraceful outrageous disgusting. >> was his week worse than this kid's? >> justin, run. >> was it better than this guy's? we can't say for sure, but one answer we do know, this is the path mitt romney is charting. >> terrible course. >> ben smith, can mitt romney recover from this week? >> of course he can recover. i mean, you know, you just never know what's going to happen. in 1996, a race clinton ran away with this period was consumed by a skndsle of fund-raising by chinese donors. what did you make of the week? >> well, i feel like the new phrase should be shut your loop hope. i think we need to say shut your loophole. the week was full of things we thought we were going to hear in the debate like foreign policy, big foreign policy debate define what mitt romney is going to be like on foreign policy and as it laid before him that was my biggest take away, we saw how he would react to something that was big and he failed.

and joe biden the old pro he is did a good job of making the key point. individuals are suffering, obviously. but the country as a whole, they argue, democrats argue, is better off and certainly better off than otherwise. >> how about the fact they said i want the press to hear this. >> and i think sometimes, chris, if you win a couple of away games to pursue your analogy when you're coming home on the trip home you're not paying close attention. they knew they were coming here. i think they -- >> let's think about it. let me get a little tough here. it seems when a candidate has to spend a whole week of a convention to establish the fact that he's a human being, it's an amazingly low bar. when you go to prove i'm a person with a ticking heart and i have some compassion and humanity and some personality. that's a low bar. >> that's all they did. >> don't forget they feel like -- this is what republicans believe. they have the opposite problem reagan had. reagan had all the likability in the world but he had to prove he was ready to do the job. they think

republicans have been going after your former boss, joe biden. it article, biden unchained. will he be unchained when he speaks on the floor of the convention thursday night? >> i think the think you'll hear from joe biden is a thing he -- yes, i used to work for him, but i thought this before that. he connects with -- today is labor day, so this is in my mind today. a lot of people in the working class have been hurting, not just in the great recession, but for decades before that. while the economy has expanded, their fortunes have been relatively stagnant, even through the expanse of the 2000s, he understands that in his gut. look for him to connect them to the agenda that his company has help, in terms of the job market, health care, areas like that. >> jared, thank you. >>> up next, the protesters have come to town, what they're looking for. >>> plus mitt romney reaches a new twitter milestone, as the president wins out for the most retweets at the rnc. we'll show you what he did to get that special dedication. >>> plus of course you can always tweet me. [ male announce

we're focused on one thing and that's re-electing barack obama and joe biden and moving this country forward. all that speculation there's plenty of time for that. the president did it because he's a true believer and he knocked it out of the park last night. >> let's keep the focus on 2012. much of president clinton's speech was in economic defense and endorsement of the president's policies over the last four years. now under the clinton administration, the labor market, it was strong with unemployment just under 4%. that being at the end of his term and economic growth was also strong with clinton averaging 3.8% growth in real gross domestic product. the obama campaign announced clinton will take that message on the road. what happens to the republican economic message when clinton takes that defense to very important swing states? >> well, i think what we'll have is we're going highlight the difference between the clinton years and the obama years and that president clinton gave a fantastic speech last night. people from both sides of the aisle agree it was a very warm compassion

biden and katherine, a former judge, prosecutor, journalist, and author of patriot acts. first, thank you to both of you for being here. >> thank you. >> catherine, did the romney campaign think they could run this campaign without producing any specifics? i mean, what is that kind of strategy? >> i think so because in a specific one on one conversation several times, romney and ryan have said we don't want to offer anything that the democrats can then attack. well, you attack something, to ferret out problems, to understand what the ramifications are of action. so we're saying, we're not going to let you know things because the consequences could be devastating for an awful lot of people we hope will turn out and vote for us. i think they've signaled that. just like when ann romney said you've gotten all of the tax returns you're going to get because we don't want to be attacked. they don't want a broad discussion of the policies and issues that they intend to follow. >> but jared, you can't have people rally around things that they don't know who they are rallying aroun

it seems like joe biden is a familiar figure 60 years ago. barack obama, of course, has an exotic name, an freezing rain name. he's not an unusual fellow. these aren't strange personalities. leon panetta is the most common, regular -- someone you would have met 100 years ago. is the democratic party that new age that they scare people. maybe i'm part of that reality. i don't see them as strange at all. >> it goes back to the propaganda factor. it's not just that rush and fox and those guys say something, it's that we say the other thing. if we say that barack obama isn't a muslim, that must not be true because we're the liberal media, we're the mainstream media, and nothing we can say -- we say can be trusted. >> i have called an anti-posture for years. just saying no to everything. thank you, guys. i think you nailed it. it's psychological. anyway, howard fineman and joe klein, thank you. coming up, it's not ignorance it's cycle. could barack obama be the democrats ronald reagan. there's a big thought. it comes from andrew sullivan and the f

it's going to be so weird. >> i think to be fair, i think joe biden ran ads in delaware in 2008. >> did he? >> i think he did. so you can do this. but you're absolutely right, and -- >> let me do the math on that. 72. go ahead. >> ryan is sitting -- >> no -- >> -- up to be -- >> he was up, mike? >> i think he was. >> and ryan is setting himself up here to be what he always wanted to be, win or lose. so the election doesn't determine ryan's fate. if romney loses, there's going to be a huge chorus of the republican party saying, it was just that guy's fault. >> whose fault? >> mitt romney's fault. >> that's what i think. john, you write for "the nation," you're not a right-winger, but don't you have a sense they'll say, that's the way the pendulum goes. they'll stay he didn't have enough ideological weight to win. >> i think you're right about that, but i also think that paul ryan is worried about that issue. and, you know, paul ryan is a very ambitious political player. he's a nice guy. hard worker, very disciplined. i think much more disciplined than mitt romney. >> he's up at 4:00 in t

it seems like joe biden is a familiar figure 60 years ago. barack obama, of course, has an exotic name, an african name. he's not an unusual fellow. he seems like a person you would hang out with, play golf with. these aren't strange personalities. leon panetta is the most common, regular -- someone you would have met 100 years ago. are the democratic party, the new age that they scare people? i just don't see that myself. maybe i'm part of that reality. i don't see them as strange at all. >> chris, it goes back to the propaganda factor. it's not just that rush and fox and those guys say something, it's that we say the other thing. if we say that barack obama isn't a muslim, that must not be true because we're the liberal media, we're the mainstream media, and nothing we can say -- we say can be trusted. >> i have called an anti-posture for years. just saying no to everything. thank you, guys. i think you nailed it. it's psychological. anyway, howard fineman and joe klein, thank you. coming up, could barack obama be the democrat's ronald rag?

also, we're waiting to hear from vice president joe biden. he's expected to deliver remarks at an event in iowa any minute. we'll be watching both of those and get you the highlights. now, while mitt romney's comments caught on camera at that fund-raiser last may are getting most of the attention this may, he also made headlines in exclusive one-on-one interviews with telemundo's jose diaz-balart. for one thing, romney downplayed a report of infighting in his campaign. >> i've got a terrific campaign. my senior campaign people work extraordinarily well together, i work well with them. our campaign is doing well. and frankly, these process stories take away from what's really of concern to the american people. >> so, no changes in your campaign? >> no, i've got a good team. >> telemundo's jose diaz-balart joins us live right now. amigo, as you know, right before your interview yesterday, governor romney trying to gain some attraction with latino vote voters, so essential to his campaign, spoke at the latino chamber of commerce in los angeles,

so joe biden is solid. i don't think they're going to be holding him back at all. >> the right has caricatured in a way that they have set expectations very, very. low not just the speech tomorrow night which is less important. all eyes will be on the president but particularly for that debate on the right. you saw the glee. i can't wait until paul ryan destroys joe biden. i can't wait for it. not because i think it will be one-sided. and it is one-sided, it won't be against joe biden. >> i think you will have to really, really pope for, that mr. ryan is ready. because mr. ryan has had all of this build-up. and one, we've seen he is fast and furious with the facts, which joe biden will not let him get away with. and we really have never seen him debate at that level. he is going to no man's land. joe biden has been on that national platform in those national debates before. and if he is not careful, he's going to treat him like, let me teach you, son, how we do this. that could be the worst thing that could

chris, you saw rahm emanuel and vice president joe biden repeating the line that the president simply needs this bumper sticker that osama bin laden is dead and gm is alive and well. you hear a lot of his supporters say this administration and this president does not talk enough about his accomplishments, particularly, for example, health care even. >> i thought governor patrick of massachusetts was the best at that. that guy came on like thunder and point after point open service. the man put it all together. i would try to learn from him. the most important lesson this week is president obama can't do this alone. he needs confederates. jack kennedy once said we don't need friends, we need confederates. we need people out there in the field fight our cause. that's what you need. i want to see michelle. i want to see rahm emanuel. i want to see governor patrick. i want to see all those people out in the field, bill clinton leading the way as confederates for this guy. they can't go back in to putting their staff on television. give me a break. nobody wants to hear from the staff. they