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,

that's george bush's. tax cuts is a way to drive the economy and drive the debt beyond that is also george bush's approach. it's not just him, it's the whole team. they need to embrace that or reject it. this sort of middle ground is not what chris christie would say courageous. >> ana marie, you're on the floor. what do you think -- is there excitement or is it like a wait and see attitude? what's the feeling? >> you know what? i guess it's a surprise. we're hearing the paul ryan speech is zbieng to be a retread of his stump speech which shows you how few new ideas they have here really. >> wow. so we shouldn't be looking for anything new. >> i'm sorry, i can't hear you. there's also a lot of music. >> well, i'll leave it be. we'll watch and see what happens. richard wolffe and ana marie cox, thank you for your time tonight. we'll be right back. this country was built by working people. the economy needs manufacturing. machines, tools, people making stuff. companies have to invest in making things. infras

among them, "bush's brain: how karl rove made george w. bush presidential." he also wrote "the architect: karl rove and the dream of absolute power." i wanted to play an ad from karl rove's superpac, american crossroads, who paid $9 million to air in battleground states in july. it highlights the obama comment that prompted tuesday night's "we built it" theme at the republican national convention. before we play a clip, if you could talkut karl rove in the convention. you were just with him at a political event. >> he cited me from the audience in a bad way, as usual there was a moment in the movieee "godfather 2" when one of the bosses says that we are bigger than general motors. there were those who said that carl grove was finished after 2008, when bush left office. >> scooter libby indicted, crowe was about to be indicted. >> yes, but it did not happen. karl rove is bigger than the republican party. in texas, when george bush was governor, he took over the republican party's financing, started a political committee, and he has done the same thing here wit

what mistakes should he avoid that george w. bush made. look, the bush administration didn't end on a really happy note economically. >> right, right. remember the phrase no new taxes, i think that romney should be no new spending. remember the prescription drug benefit that george bush passed. >> paul: a huge expansion. >> a huge expansion, that contributed a lot to the growth of the tea party which was the insurrection inside the republican party. in 2010 they swept democrats out of office and we have the insuggestives, and one piece of data in the romney economic documents that caught my eye, he will push spending back to 20% of gdp, the average since 1968. during obama's term it's risen to about 24% of gdp. if he sticks to that, that means to spending will not rise during the romney presidency. >> paul: i would have to say romney has to avoid the bush mistakes of subsidizing housing and created a housing bubble which led to the crisis. >> to his credit, even in places like nevada when it's been politically not, not the easiest thing to

one while the judge after another was appointed to keep george bush's friends out of jail. has the great man from tennessee said, to the victor belongs the spoils. that was how andrew jackson made his contribution. it has been a sad history. what is really sad, we have no media we can trust. anybody can buy it. [applause] so how people are to be informed by don't know. i read foreign papers to find out what is going on here. i will read a british paper. >> one thing you suggesting chronicles of empire is this is not a new thing. the media essentials working for the administration. promoting their wars, getting behind -- getting the people behind their corrupt policies. >> they can't think of anything else to do i suppose. they support power. >> do you support the idea that in the past few certainly did of having another -- having a new constitutional convention? >> thomas jefferson thought we should have a constitutional convention every 30 years, once a generation. i think that is a bit too often but every now and then certainly. there are a lot of things that break down a

george herbert walker bush. [applause] my friends, this campaign is about philosophy, and it is about character, and george bush wins hands down on both counts and it is time all of us came home and stood beside him. chose albert gore. and just how moderate is prince albert? well, according to the taxpayers union, al gore beat out teddy kennedy, two straight years, for the title of biggest spender in the senate. and teddy kennedy isn't moderate about anything. and i am not kidding. how many other 60 year-old do you know that still go to florida for spring break? [applause] out that that great big costume party in new york, mr. gore made ahenceforth, he said, the "central organizing principle" of all governments must be -- the environment. wrong, albert. the central organizing principle of this republic is freedom. [applause] and from the ancient forests of oregon, to the inland empire of california, america's great middle class has got to start standing up to the environmental extremists who put insects, rats an

clearly, george bush doesn't care about george bush's people. when was the last time that you saw your family? >> sunday noon. >> there were thousands of stories like that here. all these delegates can do is huddle together and hope that help arrives on the club level and thinking of happier times. >> i would like to tell my wife, jenny, and my daughter, naomi that i love them and that i'm doing all right. >> we leave you now with some haunting images of this terrible day. ♪ [laughter] ♪ >> jon: we'll be right back. @e [cheers] [applause] >> jon: it's already been -- it's already been a strange, eventful week in st. paul. for more we turn to our political analyst thanks for joining us. last night, day one of the convention, how would you assess day one at this moment? >> well, john, day one went off without a hitch. the hurricane -- the hurricane hit right on schedule. category two. enough to moisten new orleans but not enough to drown it. the republicans pulled it off perfectly. >> jon: hurricane gustav was deliberate? >> absolutely. look,

interview from one thousand nine hundred eight then vice president george bush was asked about his involvement. can you reconcile that you were there mr underscored three separate occasions that it was a hostage swap and told you were doing the most radical elements in iran and you were dealing straight away with the ayatollah khomeini told what they were doing and not what we were doing and that's the big difference and then i expressed my concerns and reservations about that that it's been testified to under oath by mr poindexter that's not the end of the story though during the arms for hostages deal investigation it was found that only twelve million of the thirty million dollars that the iranians reportedly paid for was accounted for the discrepancy resulted from a diversion of funds aimed at funding the contras in nicaragua enter all over north of the national security council and a national security adviser admiral john poindexter who had full knowledge of the operation both assuming they had reagan support so did the president know the activities were illegal and if not how could somet

the tax cuts of george bush, they create the the great deafcy. absolutely untrue. the tax increases of bill clinton in the 1990s created the surplus. not accurate. they are rewriting history. anything to avoid looking at the state of the economy now, which is perilous, indeed. high unemployment, massive debt -- >> and getting worse. >> and it's getting worse. >> and his number one policy issue was last on the list in the gallop poll. their biggest concern is jobs. >> let's remember, we could be leading the world out of this. >> we could be, but we aren't. >> it will not work. >> it will not work. say that again. >> it won't work. >> all right, guys, good to see you both. and coming up, what happens when a democratic senate candidate praises communist china? he gets rewarded at a prime time speaking slot at the democratic convention. and former obama economic advisor, austin goolsbee is here for a "hannity" classic one-on-one shootout. will he defend president obama getting four more years. and also a segment that should have all women outraged. how ann romney is tr

george bush understands. you understand. i understand that the family has always been the very heart of civilization. we know the importance of the family to a child growing up. we know the help of family can leave your kid out of school. we know the importance of family where one generation helps take care of another -- young and old. and then, there is a future. that word symbolizes hope and opportunity. to make sure hope and opportunity are always there, we need a strong economy, so there will be good jobs for all who seek them. [cheers and applause] we need an investment in our national defense that brings us long-term security in the world. we do not need the future of -- the future the democratic party sees, the party of george mcgovern, jimmy carter, walter mondale. [crowd boos] just wait -- it gets better -- ted kennedy. and now, everybody, michael dukakis. [crowd boos] that future has america in retreat. that future has higher taxes and a guaranteed loss of job opportunities, and that future has more government inte

interview from one thousand nine hundred eight then vice president george bush was asked about his involvement. can you reconcile that you were there mr underscored three separate occasions that it was a hostage swap and told you were doing the most radical elements in iran you were doing straight away with the ayatollah khomeini told what they were doing and not what we were doing and that's the big difference and then i expressed my concerns and reservations about that that has been testified to under oath by mr poindexter that's not the end of the story though during the arms for hostages deal investigation it was found that only twelve million of the thirty million dollars that the iranians reportedly paid for was accounted for the discrepancy resulted from a diversion of funds aimed at funding the contras in nicaragua enter all over north of the national security council and national security adviser admiral john poindexter who had full knowledge of the operation both assuming they had reagan support so did the president know the activities were illegal and if not how could something of t

interview from one thousand nine hundred eight then vice president george bush was asked about his involvement. can you reconcile that you were there mr underscored three separate occasions that it was a swap and told you were doing the most radical elements in iran you were doing straight away with the ayatollah khomeini old what they were doing and not what we were doing and that's the big difference and then i expressed my concerns and reservations about that that it's been testified to under oath by mr poindexter that's not the end of the story though during the arms for hostages deal investigation it was found that only twelve million of the thirty million dollars that the iranians reportedly paid for was accounted for the discrepancy resulted from a diversion of funds aimed at funding the contras in nicaragua enter all over north of the national security council and a national security adviser admiral john poindexter who had full knowledge of the operation both assuming they had reagan support so did the president know the activities were illegal and if not how could something of this sc

george w. bush does better in the suburbs. george w. bush wins the election and becomes president of the united states. virginia. this is the state where the demographics are changing. do the math first. 2004 now. see thred. in the richmond suburbs. in the washington, d.c. suburbs. that's 2004. george w. bush does very well. he wins. we come fast-forward to 2008. blue. barack obama wins the washington suburbs. wins down in the richmond suburbs. and changes this. again, he only broke even with john mccain in virginia among suburban women statewide. but closer into the city areas he does better. look at the gap for george w. bush. 17 points over john kerry amongst suburban women. anderson, close presidential elections in the united states are decided in the suburbs. one more example for you. we'll show you the state of ohio. this could be the decisive state this year. this is where president obama was today. again, a tie between obama and mccain in 2008. we know what happened. obama carried the state 52-47. you go back in time. george bus

interview from one thousand nine hundred eight then vice president george bush was asked about his involvement can you reconcile that you were there mr underscored three separate occasions that it was an honest to swap and told you were doing the most radical elements in iran you were doing straight away with the ayatollah khomeini told what they were doing and not what we were doing and that's the big difference and then i expressed my concerns and reservations about that that has been testified to under oath by mr poindexter that's not the end of the story though during the arms for hostages deal investigation it was found that only twelve million of the thirty million dollars that the iranians reportedly paid for was accounted for the discrepancy resulted from a diversion of funds aimed at funding the contras in nicaragua and her all over north of the national security council and a national security adviser admiral john poindexter who had full knowledge of the operation both assuming they had reagan support so did the president know the activities were illegal and if not how could somethin

our guest host is george bush, george p. bush, son of former florida governor jeb bush, chairman of the national political action committee. your dad is overseas so he would have called in. >> absolutely. >> since you know him. >> i got an in. >> we've had him on before, he's always great when he comes on. checking u.s. equity futures this morning, they're flat basically. you can see up three points or so with the dow since the fair value is down, the futures are down 5, represents a move of 0.2%. >> how excited are you, joe? say it with enthusiasm. >> we always have to do that, show you that, in case one of these days we are going to have a big enough move to where you want to know on the percentage basis but many days we do not. >>> let's talk about our top story this morning, mitt romney's pick of congressional congressman paul ryan as his running mate, we've been taking a look at the decision all morning, here are some of the highlights. >> paul ryan, i just couldn't be happier about this choice, he's a terrific choice f

george w. bush does better in the suburbs. george w. bush wins the election and becomes president of the united states. this is the state where the demographics are changing. virginia. do the math first. 2004 now. see the red. in the richmond suburbs. in the washington, d.c. suburbs. that's 2004. george w. bush does very well. he wins. we come fast forward to 2000. blue. barack obama wins the washington suburbs. wins down in the richmond suburbs. and changes this. again, he only broke even with john mccain in virginia among suburban women statewide. closer in the city areas, he does better it look at the gap for george w. bush. 17 points over john kerry among suburban women. anderson, close presidential elections in the united states are decided in the suburbs. one more example for you. we'll show you the state of ohio. this could be the decisive state this year. this is where president obama was today. again, a tie between obama and mccain in 2008. we know what happened. obama carried the state 52-47. you goack in time. george bush won

george w. bush does better in the suburbs. george w. bush wins the election and becomes president of the united states. virginia. this is the state where the demographics are changing. do the math first. 2004 now. see the red. in the richmond suburbs. in the washington, d.c. suburbs. that's 2004. george w. bush does very well. he wins. we come fast-forward to 2008. blue. barack obama wins the washington suburbs. wins down in the richmond suburbs. and changes this. again, he only broke even with john mccain in virginia among suburban women statewide. but closer into the city areas he does better. look at the gap for george w. bush. 17 points over john kerry amongst suburban women. anderson, close presidential elections in the united states are decided in the suburbs. one more example for you. we'll show you the state of ohio. this could be the decisive state this year. this is where president obama was today. again, a tie between obama and mccain in 2008. we know what happened. obama carried the state 52-47. you go back in time. george b

served the troops into afghanistan we still have about twice as many troops as we had under george bush it has certainly not made afghanistan a safer more secure place we are not in a better position to you know withdraw now and declare victory than we were you know years ago you know that when you have the kind of civilian casualties that you have with drone bombing for example that you would you simply aid and abet those very terrorist organizations that you are trying to. go after in the first place what is it that makes you concerned with regards to mitt romney's foreign policy plans if anything you know his plans are basically let's increase the military budget you know i mean and. he you know he has a lot of sort of machismo and bravado and he beats the war drum you know he wants to. really flex muscle against iran but you know so too does the obama administration though they're a little bit more they're less warmongering about it but they're basically in agreement about coming down very hard on your iran and holding no options off the table so they they both threaten to use war w

george w. bush does better in the suburbs. george w. bush wins the election and becomes president of the united states. this is the state where the demographics are changing. virginia. do the math first. 2004 now. see the red. in the richmond suburbs. in the washington, d.c. suburbs. that's 2004. george w. bush does very well. he wins. we come fast forward to 2000. blue. barack obama wins the washington suburbs. wins down in the richmond suburbs. and changes this. again, he only broke even with john mccain in virginia among suburban women statewide. closer in the city areas, he does better it look at the gap for george w. bush. 17 points over john kerry among suburban women. anderson, close presidential elections in the united states are decided in the suburbs. one more example for you. we'll show you the state of ohio. this could be the decisive state this year. this is where president obama was today. again, a tie between obama and mccain in 2008. we know what happened. obama carried the state 52-47. you go back in time. george bush w

george bush had been there eight years. it's a very, very long time to work out what you think is good and bad about your country's financial system. this all happened on his watch. >> well, honestly, i did not vote for george bush because i knew that his background was every company he ever ran they said went bankrupt. i ran to the booth to vote al gore. i didn't want that to happen. let's say it's 100% george bush's fault. for the last four years now, the economy hasn't changed -- >> i wouldn't say -- certainly some of it began under president clinton. if you're president for eight years, i don't think you can end up blaming others. you've got enough time. >> you could say it's bush's fault. at the same time, obama, he's had four years and it hasn't changed. and the real truth is if you ask very experienced businessmen, they'll say that the president really has no effect on the economy. it goes up and down. that's what they'll tell you. >> but isn't it true? you've got a country that's $16 trillion in debt. and it has the

george w. bush does better in the suburbs. george w. bush wins the election and becomes president of the united states. this is the state where the demographics are changing. do the math first. 2004 now. see the red. in the richmond suburbs. in the washington, d.c. suburbs. that's 2004. george w. bush does very well. he wins. we come fast forward to 2000. blue. barack obama wins the washington suburbs. wins down in the richmond suburbs. and changes this. again, he only broke even with john mccain in virginia among suburban women statewide. closer in the city areas, he does better it look at the gap for george w. bush. 17 points over john kerry among suburban women. anderson, close presidential elections in the united states are decided in the suburbs. one more example for you. we'll show you the state of ohio. this could be the decisive state this year. this is where president obama was today. again, a tie between obama and mccain in 2008. we know what happened. obama carried the state 52-47. you go back in time. george bush won by five

bush. >> sean: we aren't talking with george w. bush. >> you don't see george w. bush in the romney ad. the reason why bill clinton is appearing in a barack obama ad is the two men share a common vision for america of shared prosperity where everybody moves forward and pays their fair share as opposed to. >> sean: talking points, this is annoying. >> let's talk about the ads. >> sean: talk about the bill clinton ad. >> you don't see george w. bush in an ad. >> he said the tax cuts should be extended because of a poor economy. he said stop attacking bain they are a good company. bill clinton said that mitt romney has met the threshold, he can be president. he gets the big speaking engagement, why? to save barack obama becaus. >> you don't see george bush in an ad because george bush is not running for president. he said it it in the ad today. what is the choice. president obama has done nothing about talk about bain and mitt romney's tax returns and nothing to lay out the clear choice of a plan here and for are bill clinton to come out and say there is a clear choi

served the troops into afghanistan we still have about twice as many troops as we had under george bush it has certainly not made afghanistan a safer more secure place we are not in a better position to you know withdraw now and declare victory than we were you know years ago you know that when you have the kind of civilian casualties that you have with drone bombing for example that you would you simply aid and abet those very terrorist organizations that you are trying to. go after in the first place what is it that makes you concerned with regards to mitt romney's foreign policy plans if anything you know his plans are basically let's increase the military budget you know i mean and. he you know he has a lot of sort of machismo and bravado and he beats the war drum you know he wants to. really flex muscle against iran but you know so too does the obama administration though they're a little bit more they're less warmongering about it but they're basically in agreement about coming down very hard on your ran and holding no options off the table so they they both threaten to use war wh

but to pool the latinos as george bush and i know george bush and certainly romney is no george bush, bush did a great job at getting out latinos. but mitt romney and paul ryan team are just not going to be able to do that. if they had mario on the ballot, on the ticket, i think they would have got a lot of latinos. >> geraldo: i think they would. congressman price, you know paul ryan. you may not work out with him. i don't know but you are good friends. how do you think he did today? he went to the villages. he went to the heart of the medicare recipient community in florida today with his mom. do you think that he can get over the initial reaction from mine and your mom and others that this guy is scary because he is going change things? >> i did what the other side didn't believe he would do and that is go right to the seniors in the state of florida and speak to them and say there would be no changes under our plan for anybody over the age of 55. no changes. the fear mongering is simply not true. i want to address the issue you of the latino and african american voter and elsewher

bush it has certainly not made afghanistan a safer more secure place we are not in a better position to you know withdraw now and declare victory than we were you know years ago you know that when you have the kind of civilian casualties that you have with drone bombing for example that you would you simply aid and abet those very terrorist organizations that you are trying to go after in the first place what is it that makes you. concerned with regards to make romney's foreign policy plans if anything you know his plans are basically let's increase the military budget you know i mean and. he you know he has a lot of sort of machismo in and bravado and he beats the war drum you know he wants to. really flex muscle against iran but you know so too does the obama administration though they're a little bit more they're less warmongering about it but they're basically in agreement about coming down very hard on your iran and holding no options off the table so they they both threaten to use war where we should be using diplomacy we talked about money in politics and everyone knows campai

i counted with george bush that he had apologized to the chinese over a plane incident. george bush apologized after abu abgraib and on a trip to africa if we are losing the looser definition of apology. what's wrong with that? i have problems seeing what the problem is. i don't get i apologize issue. >> i am interested in the differences between how mitt romney would lead his foreign policy endeavors. mitt romney talks as a hawk. do you think he would lead as a hawk or would his approach be similar topom president obama's? >> i have yet to see any serious concrete policy differences with the possible exception of romney's position on israel. but generally speaking i think that what we are hearing from the romney campaign now is campaign rhetoric rather than policy differences with obama. >> well, so, what do you -- what do you consider to be the biggest foreign policy threat to the u.s. in the next four years? and will president obama handle it? will it be different from that the mitt romney from what you could read between the lines. >> the biggest pending issue would

george bush had been there eight years. it's a very, very long time to work out what you think is good and bad about your country's financial system. this all happened on his watch. >> well, honestly, i did not vote for george bush because i knew that his background was every company he ever ran they said went bankrupt. i ran to the booth to vote al gore. i didn't want that to happen. so i wasn't surprised that that happened. let's say it's 100% george bush's fault. for the last four years now, the economy hasn't changed -- >> i wouldn't say -- certainly some of it began under president clinton. if you're president for eight years, i don't think you can end up blaming others. you've got enough time. >> you could say it's bush's fault. at the same time, obama, he's had four years and it hasn't changed. and the real truth is if you ask very experienced businessmen, they'll say that the president really has no effect on the economy. it goes up and down. that's what they'll tell you. >> but isn't it true? you've got a country t

bush it has certainly not made afghanistan a safer more secure place we are not in a better position to you know withdraw now and declare victory than we were you know years ago you know that when you have the kind of civilian casualties that you have with drone bombing for example that you would you simply aid and abet those very terrorist organizations that you are trying to go after in the first place what is it that makes you. concerned with regards to mitt romney's foreign policy plans if anything you know his plans are basically let's increase the military budget you know i mean and. he you know he has a lot of sort of machismo in and bravado and he beats the war drum you know he wants to. really flex muscle against iran but you know so too does the obama administration though they're a little bit more their lesson warmongering about it but they're basically in agreement about coming down very hard on your iran and holding no options off the table so they they both threaten to use war where we should be using diplomacy we talked about money in politics and everyone knows campai

served the troops into afghanistan we still have about twice as many troops as we had under george bush it has certainly not made afghanistan a safer more secure place we are not in a better position to you know withdraw now and declare victory than we were you know years ago you know that when you have the kind of civilian casualties that you have with drone bombing for example that you would you simply aid and abet those very terrorist organizations that you are trying to go after in the first place what is it that makes you. concerned with regards to mitt romney's foreign policy plans if anything you know his plans are basically let's increase the military budget you know i mean and. he you know he has a lot of sort of machismo and bravado and he beats the war drum you know he wants to. really flex muscle against iran but you know so too does the obama administration though they're a little bit more they're less warmongering about it but they're basically in agreement about coming down very hard on your iran and holding no options off the table so they they both threaten to use war w

we saw it in george bush's stance on education on doing work on h.i.v. and a.i.d.s. in africa. his stance on gay marriage, which as you know the african-american community in general seems to be very conservative on the issue of gay marriage, and george bush took those issues. they became policy, and we did see a slight bump in african-american support for george bush in his second term. that's what i would be telling mitt romney. african-americans, hispanic, women, people of color, we are not people from a different planet. you know, we live in this country. we love this country. we're just as patriotic. we want the best, all of us want the american dream. sit down and listen. and it shouldn't be his handlers. it should be mitt romney, and explain to all of these people how they fit in his vision for the future of the country. right now it appears that we don't fit in his vision of future of the country. >> jennifer: it's not just appearance. it's actuality. i appreciate you coming inside "the war room," thank you so much michelle bernard. coming up after the break. everything

i didn't see any evidence of that in the eight years of george bush. and so i'm curious to why you as a party believe that is actually going to work. i mean, it may get you elected. is it actually going to work? >> there's a lot of evidence to it. we had very low rates of unemployment. 4% unemployment through most of george bush's tenure. we saw fairly strong -- >> not in the end. what was the rate the date he left? >> well, now, because we had a financial meltdown. i mean, you know, again -- >> right, to be fair, you can't quote 4% when his final percentage was what? >> well, no, i understand that. i think -- >> what was it? >> the linkage -- i don't remember. probably i think it was 6% or something like that, 6.5%. remember, president obama when he passed the stimulus package said we can't let the unemployment rate get to 8% so it was well below 8% when he said that. no, the connection, though, between lower taxes and, you know, the failure of the bush administration to hand off a strong economy to obama really i don't think there's a nexus there. th