what he really wanted to do was get americans back to work. >> amy holmes, maria cardona, we're going to have you back in just a moment, hopefully, after we listen to mitt romney. he is scheduled to speak at any moment, as we've been telling you. we are waiting on him in cincinnati, ohio. we'll bring it to you live when it happens. and also, just a program note. don't forget to join us for cnn's full coverage of the democratic national convention. we'll be live in charlotte, north carolina, tuesday beginning at 7:00 p.m. eastern time. >>> it was just over a month ago that the colorado movie shootings rocked the nation. millions of dollars were donated to the victims' families. so, where is that money now? we'll explain. >>> and caught on tape, a cop kicking a man in the chest during an arrest. we'll find out what police are saying about this. to meet the needs of my growing business. but how am i going to fund it? and i have to find a way to manage my cash flow better. [ female announcer ] our wells fargo bankers are here to listen, offer guance and provide you with options tailored t

what he really wanted to do was get americans back to work. >> amy holmes, maria cardona, we're going to have you back in just a moment, hopefully, after we listen to mitt romney. he is scheduled to speak at any moment, as we've been telling you. we are waiting on him in cincinnati, ohio. we'll bring it to you live when it happens. and also, just a program note. don't forget to join us for cnn's full coverage of the democratic national convention. we'll be live in charlotte, north carolina, tuesday beginning at 7:00 p.m. eastern time. >>> it was just over a month ago that the colorado movie shootings rocked the nation. millions of dollars were donated to the victims' families. so, where is that money now? we'll explain. >>> and caught on tape, a cop kicking a man in the chest during an arrest. we'll find out what police are saying about this. to meet the needs of my growing business. but how am i going to fund it? and i have to find a way to manage my cash flow better. [ female announcer ] our wells fargo bankers are here to listen, offer guidance and provide you with options tailored

maria cardona and amy holmes are up next. we'll chat about it. >>> but first, veterans returning from wars in iraq and afghanistan often come home to fight another battle, trying to find a job. one army vet decided to use what he learned in the military to start a business. here is this week's "how we got started." >> in 2003, i was deployed with the 101st airborne division as part of "operation iraqi freedom" when i came home, i didn't really have a plan. i decided to do something that i was good at. when i was a leader in the army, you're asked to lead soldiers into combat situations that are pretty stressful. being trained for that allowed me to have the courage and the confidence to be able to do what i did in the army on the civilian side. >> reporter: so, in 2008, joe dering started empower in middleton, connecticut. empower is an outdoor adventure facility that teaches leadership and building. >> get one step out of the comfort zone and push themselves just a little bit more because they're going to learn and grow from

maria cardona and amy holmes standing by, ready to tee it up and tell us what each candidate needs to do to let the sun shine in. >>> but first, here's a question for all of you political junkies out there. since 1930, has any candidate won the presidential election without winning florida? the answer's coming up. ♪ i can do anything ♪ i can do anything today ♪ i can go anywhere ♪ i can go anywhere today ♪ la la la la la la la [ male announcer ] dow solutions help millions of people by helping to make gluten free bread that doesn't taste gluten free. together, the elements of science and the human element can solve anything. solutionism. the new optimism. and the human element can solve anything. multi-policy discount... paperless discount... paid in full discount... [yawning] homeowner's discount... safe driver discount... unicorn discount. unicorn wearing a sombrero. olé... countless discounts -- now, that's progressive. call or click today. so let's talk about coverage. based on this chart, who would you choose ? wow. you guys take a minute. verizon, hands down. i'm goin

let me bring back maria cardona and amy holmes. amy, as you see it, who's got the advantage, president obama who's done so many, or mitt romney who frankly had to do it just to get the nomination? >> exactly. well, the president obviously has the incumbent advantage and he's been president the last four years and dealt with these issues on the front lines at 1600 pennsylvania avenue. as you mentioned, mitt romney as the gop nominee, he had to go through quite a gauntlet. i'm not sure that one person has the edge over the other. i think the question will be, you know, who gets off the best line and who's able to address the voters' concerns most directly and most pervasively. >> maria, same question. who do you think has the edge? a lot of people have been saying, mitt, where are the details? who do you think that is advantage right now? >> well, it's interesting, because going into it on issues and substance, i think that president obama has the advantage, because he's the one who has been a lot more clear and has offered a lot mor

de voto latino, jamal simmons director de raben group y maria cardona directora de dewey square mas adelante:. la capital de la nacion es considerada como una de la ciudades mas amigables para los peatones... ...tambien:. segun expertos un noviazgo sin sexo hasta el matrimonio haria la relacion de la pareja mas duradera.... excelentes condiciones atmosfericas para maÑana viernes, pero prepare su paraguas este fin de semana... detalles del pronostico, despues de la pausa... ... segun unun estudio,washingt ciudades mas amigables para los peatones .. la capital recibio el estatus dorado, como una de las ciudades mas exclusivas para caminar en toda el pais, segun un listado elaborado por el centro de informacion para peatones y ciclistas... el alto honor esta en consonancia con la vision que impulsa el alcalde vicent grey, que quiere que para el ano 2032, al menos el 75 por ciento de todos los viajes que se originan en la ciudad sean a pie, en bicicleta, en transporte publico u otros metodos de transporte limpio... buenas noches, hoy tuvimos aguaceros antes del mediodia, y cielos mayor

. >> let me bring in cnn contributor maria cardona. also amy holmes. that tape was the talker all week, talking about who doesn't pay taxes. then the romney campaign hit us with his 2011 tax return and we started hearing more about his last 20 years of paying taxes as well. anything surprising there for you? >> well, it's not surprising that the romneys wanted to put out their tax return so that we could stop talking about the secret video, but i think that shows just what a bad week it was when now we're talking about the tax returns, which is not a great story for romney to begin with. in terms of tax returns, not really anything surprising. we knew that he pays taxes at a much lower rate than probably you and i and amy do and the majority of middle class families. what is interesting that i found in there is that he actually deducted less on his charitable contributions so that he paid more in taxes to equal what he had said earlier that he would pay in taxes. which then contradicts what he had said to a reporter basically saying that he has never p

maria cardona, margaret hoover, dana bash. >>> it was a rousing speech from former ohio governor ted strickland last night. it not only fired up the democratic convention, it also became one of the highest trending topics on twitter. strickland relentless less llesd mitt romney for practicing what he calls vulture capitalism, accusing the gop nominee of profiting off the destruction of jobs and companies. >> mitt romney never saw the point of building something when he could profit by tearing it down. if mitt was santa claus, he would fire the reindeer and outsource the elves! >> ted strickland, he didn't stop there. the former ohio governor claimed mitt romney has so little economic patriotism even his money needs a passport. strickland on fire last night. meantime, the romney campaign, mitt romney himself, continues to prepare for the upcoming debates which leaves his running mate paul ryan to spread their message that americans are not better off than they were before president obama took office. campaigning in iowa, ryan continued to use jimmy carter to mock the president's recor

. >> dana bash, thanks very much. 5:30 eastern, maria cardona. right now let's send it back to zoraida in new york. >> thank you very much, john. it has been a week since hurricane isaac made landfall in southeast louisiana. only now are thousands of homeowners realizing the extent of all the damage. not in new orleans where the nulevees held but first west of the city in laplace where it took days for the water to recede. >> it would have been nice if they put levee protection as well as our areas. all they did was protect new orleans. they didn't protect the outerlying areas. so the water had nowhere to go. so it had to come this way. we have over 10,000 homes out here like this affected like this. a major disaster here. >> lots of people upset about that. president obama got to see the destruction firsthand when he toured st. john the baptist parish yesterday. he assured families who lost everything that help and answers are on the way. >> we are getting on the case very quickly about figuring out what exactly happened here, what can we do to

maria cardona and republican strategist ana novaro. so, ana, do latino voters have a sense of humor? >> latinos have a sense of humor. i've said before when he tries to be funny, a lot of times he misses the mark. he's not going to be running for comedian in chief. he's running for commander in chief. he has to show us he's qualified. frankly, carol, i don't find anything wrong with what he said. was it funny? no, not really. was it offensive? no. was it derogatory? no. he was acknowledging something that was true, his father was born in mexico under very particular circumstances. i would like for him to be a latino, toochlt i think it would be great to have a latino running. it would be great to have somebody that has sensitivities and understands. i think i need to have a conversation with mitt romney, who is coming to miami tomorrow, because if he is going to be a latino, we need to work on rolling his rs and swinging his hip and a couple of other things he needs to learn before we take him on as one. >> so, maria -- so, maria, i do

maria cardona and amy holmes are with me talking politics. amy, cnn has learned that in the vice presidential vetting process, the romney camp asked for ten years of back tax returns from potential vp candidates. now, as you know, he's been criticized for only releasing two years of his own taxes. so doesn't this make it just a bit hypocritical here? >> mitt romney knows what's in his taxes for ten years. he wanted to know what was in paul ryan's. i think it was due diligence to find out for his veep pick everything that he could about that candidate, and if you remember, john mccain was roundly criticized for not learning more about sarah palin. so it seems that the republican candidates -- damned if they do, damned if they don't. >> maria, what do you think it is? ten years of back taxes. >> absolutely. here's where it becomes incredibly hypocritical. mitt romney to, amy's point was doing absolute due diligence. he wanted to make sure that his vice presidential pick had nothing in their taxes that would keep them from playing the role of a

. >> let me bring in cnn contributor maria cardona. also amy holmes. that tape was the talker all week, talking about who doesn't pay taxes. then the romney campaign hit us with his 2011 tax return and we started hearing more about his last 20 years of paying taxes as well. anything surprising there for you? >> well, it's not surprising that the romneys wanted to put out their tax return so that we could stop talking about the secret video, but i think that shows just what a bad week it was when now we're talking about the tax returns, which is not a great story for romney to begin with. in terms of tax returns, not really anything surprising. we knew that he pays taxes at a much lower rate than probably you and i and amy do and the majority of middle class families. what is interesting that i found in there is that he actually deducted less on his charitable contributions so that he paid more in taxes to equal what he had said earlier that he would pay in taxes. which then contradicts what he had said to a reporter basically saying that he has never p

cardona. i wish i was with you guys, because it is not the same. >> we do, too. >> it is not the same without you here in person, suzanne. >> and they took away the cnn grill and it was a great time in the last three or so days that we had a chance to chat about this, and it was interesting yesterday, the crowd certainly respo responded to the president, and he made this case. give it more time, and essentially give him more time and he is not done yet, and he got a mess and he needs more time to fix this. it was a convincing to you? >> look, it was -- it was convincing to the base. i don't think that it reached the independent voters as much. we saw it in a focus group being held at the cnn grill. the independent voters s seemedo be precisely in the same place before the two conventions which is not a great thing, because we are fighting for a small pocket of voters. it was a hard speech for obama to give. he did what he needed to do. it is not an easy thing to go out there after having sold

cardona. good to have you guys back. the ladies in the house again. we are a popular item here. >> i agree with you. >> i want to ask you guys, because after this speech, and we were all watching it in the convention and a lot of people who came up to me and said, if i could just vote for clinton again for a third term. there was a sense of we are waiting for obama, and we kind of miss this guy. i mean, you want to weigh in on this, and eb you, anna, do you miss the guy? >> and the republicans were saying the same thing. >> listen, i think that it was a terrific night for bill clinton. i know bill clinton, and i like bill clinton and yes, i admit it on national tv. she sh he showed us last night what a political comeback looks like. he was marginalized and he went from the first black president to being accused of being a racist. and the guy who marginalized him had to call him back to the rescue, and he did it in fine clintonesque form. he was didactic and funny and lengthy, but he was very,

on the left, maria cardona, democratic strategist and cnn contributor, and on the right, crystal wright owner of the pr group wright inc. welcome to you both. >> thank you, carol. good morning. >> i don't hear as much energy as i need to this morning, ladies. but i'm sure you'll -- >> well, good morning. >> i'm feeling it, carol. >> that's so much better. >> crystal, let's start with you. you're a conservative, crystal. ann romney's speech was widely praised too. how would you compare ann romney's speech to mrs. obama's speech last night? >> i think mrs. obama delivered a passionate speech. she certainly stirred the base. but i don't think she moved the needle with independents, women who are on the fence, and disaffected democrats in making the case why her husband deserves another four years. she did say she made an emotional case, hey, look, change is hard. we're in this for the long haul. trust my guy. give him another four years. i think what was interesting is she did try to compete with ann romney. that's natural. she is the first lady. ann romney could be the first lady in waiti

. >> turning to talk about romney's remarks, those and some others, democratic strategist maria cardona. one of the comments at center of all of this, part of what mitt romney said at the fund-raiser held back in may. >> there are 47% of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. all right, there are 47% who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe they are entitled to health care to food, to housing, to you name it. that that's an entitlement. and the government should give it to them. and they will vote for this president no matter what. >> okay. anna, i want to go to you first. when you talk about the position of president, that job is to be the leader of the free world, to be the leader of all american people. when i'm out in the field talking to folks that many support mitt romney, many don't. but the ones that don't, most common thread that i hear is they feel like he's disconnected from them. in those comments we're hearing, look, no matter what

joining me now maria cardona and republican strategist anna navaro. welcome. >> anna, i will begin with you. what does economic patriotism mean? >> well, i don't know what economic patriotism means but i can tell you any time you put patriotism behind anything, it is a good thing. it is a good follow-up. it is a good combination to put with any given word. i suspect it doesn't mean 8.2 unemployment. i suspect it doesn't mean 10.2 unemployment for hispanic, and i suspect it doesn't mean so many americans under foreclosure and it is something that makes americans feel warm and fuzzy and makes us think about sacrifice and defense of the homeland. it is a nice word to use. it is a nice term. >> usually, maria, republicans use that word and quite effectively. >> yeah. actually, that's why i think it is very smart for the president to do this and ann is right. it does work. i think he is smart to do this for the simple reason that what it really means is betting on america. it really gives the president a chance not just to contrast his policies against mit

. >> turning to talk about romney's remarks, those and some others, democratic strategist maria cardona. one of the comments at center of all of this, part of what mitt romney said at the fund-raiser held back in may. >> there are 47% of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. all right, there are 47% who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe they are entitled to health care to food, to housing, to you name it. that that's an entitlement. and the government should give it to them. and they wote for this president no matter what. >> okay. anna, i want to go to you first. when you talk about the position of president, that job is to be the leader of the free world, to be the leader of all american people. when i'm out in the field talking to folks that many support mitt romney, many don't. but the ones that don't, most common thread that i hear is they feel like he's disconnected from them. in those comments we're hearing, look, no matter what i do