you just lived through a steve kornacki moment. he remembers more about your life than you do. >> thanks for having me. >>> mitt is behind. let the blame game again! our cyclists have their fingers ready for some finger pointing on friday, september 28th. [ male announcer ] this is anna, her long day teaching the perfect swing begins with back pain and a choice. take advil, and maybe have to take up to four in a day. or take aleve, which can relieve pain all day with just two pills. good eye. something this delicious could only come from nature. now from the maker of splenda sweeteners, discover nectresse. the only 100% natural, no-calorie sweetener made from the goodness of fruit. the rich, sweet taste of sugar. nothing artificial. ♪ it's all that sweet ever needs to be. new nectresse. sweetness naturally. >>> when a campaign begins to show signs of falling apart, everybody looks for somebody to blame. just today politico blamed mitt romney. steve kornacki disagrees with that conclusion. >> i know that guy. >> krystal ball blame

we start with steve kornacki in charlotte with an adoring crowd behind him. as much in love with steve as we are. how about that, you're a rock star, brother. >> it's not just me. it's you too. i feel like lee corso on game day with this giant crowd behind me. i need head gear to put on later or something, but you can tell, i think, from the reaction of the crowd behind me, there is, i'm picking up walking around here today and talking to people, a lot of optimism among the democrats here. i think it comes from what you just mentioned, toure, the polling right now coming off the republican convention last week suggests a minimal at best bounce for mitt romney so i think there's a sense from democrats things didn't go the way republicans hoped they would and therefore there's an opportunity for obama to have a strong convention and build a more substantial lead in the polls. i would throw in a cautionary note, the alternate interpretation is that this is really the modern reality of polarization in politics, there are fewer undecided voters, public opinion's m

joining us now from the site of the dnc, steve kornacki, the host of msnbc's 3:00 p.m. show "the cycle." he's also a senior writer for salon.com. thanks for being here. >> happy to do it. >> how much does union support matter to the democrats in terms of their ground game, their get out the vote efforts, everything they need to do to convey that political messaging into votes? >> i think it matters maybe even more than it did in the past. you started to outline the reasons in the last segment. what it gets down to is the ground game because i think we're at the point in the campaign where we can say, look, if you combine the money that the campaigns have with the outside money, with the super pac money, it's clear that obama is going to be outspent by romney and the republicans, but the bigger implication, the bigger problem the democrats have is that's going to trickle down the ballot as well. you start talking about senate races, house races, you talk about gubernatorial races on the ballot this year and state legislative races and you have seen since 2010 when republ

you just lived through a steve kornacki moment. he remembers more about your life than you do. >> thanks for having me. >>> mitt is behind. let the blame game again! our cyclists have their fingers ready for some finger pointing on friday, september 28th. [ male announcer ] this is anna, her long day teaching the perfect swing begins with back pain and a choice. take advil, and maybe have to take up to four in a day. or take aleve, which can relieve pain all day with just two pills. good eye. something this delicious could only come from nature. now from the maker of splenda sweeteners, discover nectresse. the only 100% natural, no-calorie sweetener made from the goodness of fruit. the rich, sweet taste of sugar. nothing artificial. ♪ it's all that sweet ever needs to be. new nectresse. sweetness naturally. new nectresse. sleep train's inveis ending soon. sale save 10%, 20%, even 35% on a huge selection of simmons and sealy clearance mattresses. get 2 years interest-free financing on tempur-pedic. even get free delivery! sleep tr

joining us now from the site of the dnc, steve kornacki, the host of "the cycle." he's also a senior writer for salon.com. thanks for being here. >> happy to do it. >> how much does union support matter to the democrats in terms of their ground game, their get out the vote efforts, everything they need to do to convey that political messaging into votes? >> i think it matters maybe even more than it did in the past. you started to outline the reasons in the last segment. what it gets down to is the ground game because i think we're at the point in the campaign where we can say, look, if you combine the money that the campaigns have with the outside money, with the super pac money, it's clear that obama is going to be outspent by romney and the republicans, but the bigger implication, the bigger problem the democrats have is that's going to trickle down the ballot as well. you start talking about senate races, house races, you talk about gubernatorial races on the ballot this year and state legislative races and you have seen since 2010 when republicans won control

steve kornacki wrote that aforementioned salon.com article. he's co-host of "the cycle" that comes on at 3:00 on msnbc. tell me, where should republicans be pointing the finger if governor romney coming up short first fuse in november? >> i would say at themselves. there are obvious deficiencies with mitt romney as a candidate. i wouldn't deny that. >> the party itself is to blame? >> with the party -- romney is the representative of what this party has decided it wants to be. what the republican party basically decided in the obama era fingerprints to be is an anti-obama party. they've existed on, you know, the economy is bad. you're the average voter. you don't like where it is. just blame obama and use as the protest vehicle. to the extent they've decided to stand for anything, they move forward and farther to the right than they were under george w. bush and the republican congress in the 1990s. it left romney with this choice to run on their ideology, which is toxic to general election voters, or he can just run as -- if you don't like ob

joining us now from the site of the dnc, steve kornacki, the co-host of "the cycle." he's also a senior writer for salon.com. thanks for being here. >> happy to do it. >> how much does union support matter to the democrats in terms of their ground game, their get out the vote efforts, everything they need to do to convey that political messaging into votes? >> i think it matters maybe even more than it did in the past. you started to outline the reasons in the last segment. what it gets down to is the ground game because i think we're at the point in the campaign where we can say, look, if you combine the money that the campaigns have with the outside money, with the super pac money, it's clear that obama is going to be outspent by romney and the republicans, but the bigger implication, the bigger problem the democrats have is that's going to trickle down the ballot as well. you start talking about senate races, house races, you talk about gubernatorial races on the ballot this year and state legislative races and you have seen since 2010 when republicans won control

and steve kornacki. cohost of "the cycle" here on msnbc. michelle, what does president clinton need to do tonight on night two in his speech? >> well, bill clinton has become the rock star of the party once more. he's rehabilitated whatever with issues he had. he's got to get out there and tell people that barack obama can take us back to the time when like during the clinton years we were all richer and happier and safer. i mean, he's got to make the claim against what the republicans are saying which is tla barack obama is nothing like clinton. clinton is the obvious person to combat that message. >> now, steve, we sometimes go by slang names with former president clinton. you know, bubba, elvis, but we forget the substantive differences between clinton and bush. and i think that that is what is going to be at the heart of tonight. where with clinton and bush on taxes and jobs. clinton the tax rate on the rich was 39.6, private sector jobs he created 20 million. under president bush the tax rate on the rich was 35%, private sector job los

steve kornacki, mudcat saunders, and i know mudcat is working on his campaign. we have to talk about that at sam point, mudcat. thank you for your time. >> we need to talk about taking that crook out and we can do it. aircraft can tore can be beaten. in fact -- thank you. >> all right. and thank you. hi to let you get your plug in. also let me plug steve on "the cycle" weekdays at 3 p.m. eastern right here on msnbc. thank you, both. >>> governor romney's 47% problems just got worse. wait until you hear what bill clinton said today. and senator scott brown's staffers caught on tape, doing an offensive tomahawk chop at elizabeth warren supporters. i want to know where his apology is. >>> and scott walker is siding with unions. yes, you heard me right. we're throwing the penalty flag on him tonight. all that, plus 42 days to go and the obamas are having some fun in new york. you're watching "politicsnation" on msnbc. >> we're very happy you came on with us, mrs. obama, and brought your date. >> i brought him with me. he had a few minutes in his schedule. >> you kno

it was a great experience. >> that's steve kornacki lunch. little-known fact. the other thing that is fascinating here is the way you went about everything you had. you had online screening and crowd sourced the score. the crowd sourcing nas natured me. how did that process work, and is that a workable model for other films and tv shows? >> i'll say it this way. is it workable? we have what i believe to be for a tiny movie the best soundtrack of my cost us zero dollars. so, yes, it's possible, and it is the future. the way it came about is there's a place called red bull sound stage is a website for up and coming bands. they saw the movie. they loved the movie, and we made a deal with them where we put up four scenes and asked people to send us their original music to see how it would go. i had no idea what to expect. i thought we'd get maybe 30 or 40 submissions, i didn't know how good they'd be. we got 1200 and my producing partner and i listened to all of them. they were amazing. we put a total of 22 songs in the movie and the soundtrack is just tremendous.

>> i'm steve kornacki here in charlotte where the skies just opened up on us. forget healthcare and the budget. tonight we are getting to the real issue, which candidate is the best looking? >> that is my thoughts on sally fields and clint eastwood. it is september 4th and you're in the cycle. >>> dnc kicks off tonight in charlotte and the crowds are starting it file in. 35,000 delegates media and fans are expected to be there no rub elbows and give speeches. tonight, mayor villaraigosa, rahm emmanuel, harry reid, jimmy carter and lilly ledbetter. all leading up to keynote speaker julian castro and headliner michelle obama. more on them coming up. vice president biden is expected to be there thursday and the president later in the week. >> whatever i say here today, it's going to be at best, a distant second to the speech you will hear tonight from the star of the obama family, michelle obama. on thursday night, i will offer what i believe is a better path forward. a path that will create good jobs. and strengthen our middle class. and grow our economy. and the

>> i'm steve kornacki here in charlotte where everyone is still talking about bubba's big night. oh, yeah, and that other prime-time speech. >> who are the democrats playing to this week, their base or the middle? is there even a middle anymore? howard fineman makes his debut in "the cycle" this hour. >> every convention has a party, but what do each convention's musical choices say? >> all that, plus what i want to hear from the president tonight. it's september 6th. the grand finale of the dnc, and you're in "the cycle." >>> good thursday afternoon to you. as all you cycle fans know, that means the intersection of presidential politics and, of course, baseball. so as we are in the bottom of the sixth in the election cycle, the game is tight. last night the democrats sent in their premier setup man, a left-hander named clinton, and set up he did. >> i want to nominate a man who's cool on the outside. but who burns for america on the inside. >> i could have watched that speech all night. like all good setup men, he left no doubt where he stands in relation to the closer, presiden

we are joined by steve kornacki, company host of "the cycle." msnbc poli karen finney. a tale of two cities. tampa and charlotte. would political conventions. but could their stories be any more different than they are today? >> we have been saying all along the contrast you are going to see in this election is very dramatic, very different and i think democrats did an excellent job last night starting to make that case and lay this out, very proud. >> steve, do you agree? >> yes. you know, what struck me watching that last night, i heard a theory about this race that it is sort of the mirror image of with our that barack obama and democrats are basically sort of enjoying some of the same advantages and funking the same way in this race that george w. bush and republicans were in 2004. and you know, the -- setup for the convention this week is the republicans are coming off of what at least in terms of the polling was a disappointing convention for them and that kind of reminded me of 2004 with the democrats. john kerry and democrats in boston did not get much of a boun

steve kornacki, cohost of "the cycle" week days at 3:00 on msnbc. thanks a lot. appreciate it. >> one of the most notable speakers at the democratic national convention is here tonight. she's nancy keenan is going to be talking to us about the fresh news about the 2012 campaign and, of course, the lady parts. that's the interview tonight. we'll be right back. [ music playing, children laughing ] [ slap! slap! slap! ] [ music, laughter stop ] [ male announcer ] when your favorite foods fight you, fight back fast with tums smoothies. so fast and smooth, you'll forget you had heartburn. ♪ tum tum tum tum tums [ male announcer ] tums smoothies. there's natural gas under my town. it's a game changer. ♪ it means cleaner, cheaper american-made energy. but we've got to be careful how we get it. design the wells to be safe. thousands of jobs. use the most advanced technology to protect our water. billions in the economy. at chevron, if we can't do it right, we won't do it at all. we've got to think long term. we've got to think long term. ♪ >>> al jazeera blish just

steve kornacki, cohost of "the cycle" week days at 3:00 on msnb krrb. thanks a lot. >> one of the most notable speakers at the democratic national convention is here tonight. she's going to speak with us about the fresh news about the 2012 campaign and of course the lady parts. that's the interview tonight. we'll be right back. [ dog ] we found it together. on a walk, walk, walk. love to walk. yeah, we found that wonderful thing. and you smiled. and threw it. and i decided i would never, ever leave it anywhere. because that wonderful, bouncy, roll-around thing... had made you play. and that... had made you smile. [ announcer ] beneful. play. it's good for you. out! your kind is not welcome here! nor your odd predilections! miracle whip is tangy and sweet, not odd. [ villager 1 ] it's evil! if you'd try it, you'd know. she speaketh the truth! [ villagers gasping ] reverend? ♪ can i have some? ♪ [ chuckles ] ♪ [ honk! ] ♪ [ honk! ] ♪ [ honk! ] ♪ [ male announcer ] now you'll know when to stop. [ honk! ] the all-new nissan altima with easy fill

joining me now in charlotte is steve kornacki, co-host of "the cycle" on msnbc. jonathan capehart, opinion writer for "the washington post" and an msnbc contributor. first, thanks to both of you for being here. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> steve, let me start with you. this is a very close election. what do the democrats need to do in charlotte tonight and this week? >> you know, the word i keep coming back to is context. you know, what obama is up against, what democrats are up against. powerful tendency of swing voters when the economy, when economic anxiety is high, unemployment is stalled at a really high level. there's just this sort of tendency to want to take it out on the incouple went and that really is -- i look to that republican convention last week and to me that was sort of -- the overriding theme. especially of romney's acceptance speech. it was a very generic acceptance speech. we talk about how there weren't that many details in there. i that's intentional and by design. romney strategy here, you know, is not -- say as little as possible that i

. >> steve kornacki, thank you so much. good afternoon. it's wednesday, september 26th. what's that stench? ♪ >> misery loves mitt. his poll numbers sink to new lows. >> the polls are not favoring mitt romney. >> there's no time off. it's around the clock kind of work. >> i don't pay a lot of attention to the day-to-day polls. >> now the bri ph ople >> we trust our internal polls. >> i'll go up or down. >> one goes one way, one dog goes the other way. >> yes, mitt's dream is going another way, too. >> that's quite a guy, isn't it, paul ryan! listen, ro/r h, sweet jesus. >> sweet jesus, indeed. >> romney/ryan, there we go, that's great. >> stop it. this is hard. you want to try it? did i -- was i a little strong? >>

professor kornacki remembers an address that almost killed a bill. a history lesson next. whoa. right? get. out. exactly! really?! [ mom ] what? shut the front door. right? woop-woop! franklin delano! [ male announcer ] there's oreo creme under that fudge! oreo fudge cremes. now in two new flavors. constipated? yeah. mm. some laxatives like dulcolax can cause cramps. but phillips' caplets don't. they have magnesium. for effective relief of occasional constipation. thanks. [ phillips' lady ] live the regular life. phillips'. now we need a little bit more... a little bit more vanilla? this is great! [ male announcer ] at humana, we believe there's never been a better time to share your passions because the results... are you having fun doing this? yeah. that's a very nice cake! [ male announcer ] well, you can't beat them. [ giggles ] ohh! you got something huh? whoa... [ male announcer ] humana understands the value of spending time together that's a lot of work getting that one in! let's go see the birdies. [ male announcer ] one on one, sharing what you know. let's do it grandp

with the tv debates to come, we go with yogi, but steve kornacki warns the debates don't always move runners. it's getting late early in this race. so the question is, which yogiism will we go with here? obviously, there's still more to come, et cetera, et cetera. i have to go if the romney campaign is going to change what's going on in this race, which is the president winning, not by a landslide but winning, they have to figure out one message and stick with it. i couldn't believe my ears yesterday about what he's saying about health care now. let's take a listen. >> i have experience in health care reform. now and then the president says i'm the grandfather of obama care. i don't think he meant it as a compliment, but i'll take it. there was during my primary. we thought it might not be help. >> now he's embracing being the grandfather of obama care. it seems like not just in this week but weeks past, romney is on one page on monday, a different page on tuesday, paul ryan is over here, john sununu and his surrogates are over here. they have to figure out what to say and stick with

the queen bee of the grio.com joy reid and host o cycle, steve kornacki. president obama is minutes away obitveddressing tnt bn ausy morning for both filled with speeches and media appearances in and around new york city. mitt romney spoke to the clinton global itiative and sat down with education nation. president obama spoke to the u.n. general assembly, follow thatirere d the first lady taped for "the view." the meeting of the united nations general assembly has put foreign policy front and center. president obama used the ait tack on the u.s. consulate in libya and the death on ambassador stevens to make the case for a broaderhilophy regardinthtu of the relations between the middle east and the west. >> the events of the last two wes also speaks to the need for all of us to honestly address the tensions between the west and the arab world that is moving towards demoacy. >> while he mad car tt the videtrkheioe s no reflective of american values the president defended the u.s. response and underscored that free speech is essential to prosperity and to pe

i'm steve kornacki. for all of you asking, can we get the bill, he's on the way. bill clinton is taking center stage tonight. what's he going to say? a lot of democrats aren't sure. >> i'm krystal ball we're are with the former head of the rnc, michael steele joins us ahead. >> michelle obama was incredible last night. you know what else was incredible? the way the democrats owned marriage equality. >> i'm s.e. cupp. we're so forward looking we're already thinking 2016. can you say castro rubio? >> all that, plus i'll try to contain my excitement about bill clinton tonight. who are we kidding? i can't wait. fortunately, you don't have to wait for the cycle". it starts right now. be

steve kornacki. the idea that the obama campaign and frankly bill clinton would be off message on wednesday night with each other seems to be really naive. it's in both of their best interests to get this right. >> no. it absolutely is. especially now. compared to four years ago coming off that heated primary. maybe hurt feelings and everything, but clinton, that the republicans made him a central player in her attacks. holding up clinton as the good democrat, comparing obama against. clinton looks at the welfare attacks using now and wants to defend that record and the other thing, soon as this election is over talking 2016, and hillary clinton is a prospect. >> you brought up 2016. what i get to do. live pictures we're going to show you. this will be a trivia question some day. who was the first potential 2016 candidate to address the iowa delegation breakfast, of course that happens every day this week? the answer is newark mayor cory booker, michael shear, heard it here first, booker, wins a sena

. >> steve kornacki, thank you so much. good afternoon. it's wednesday, september 26th. what's that stench? ♪ >> misery loves mitt. his poll numbers sink to new lows. >> the polls are not favoring mitt romney. >> there's no time off. it's around the clock kind of work. >> i don't pay a lot of attention to the day-to-day polls. >> now the british now polish people. >> we trust our internal polls. >> i'll go up or down. >> one goes one way, one dog goes the other way. >> yes, mitt's dream is going another way, too. >> that's quite a guy, isn't it, paul ryan! listen, romney/ryan, romney/ryan. >> oh, sweet jesus. >> sweet jesus, indeed. >> romney/ryan, there we go, that's great. >> stop it. this is hard. you want to try it? did i -- was i a little strong? >> romney/ryan. >> not sure precisely what i said but i stand by what i said, whatever it was. ♪ cleveland rocks jumping jean james dean ♪ ♪ cleveland rocks >> we begin with the president and mitt romney in a fever-pitch to gain the american heartland with candidates holding dueling events in ohio this afternoon, sp

kornacki of salon.com. catastrophic events changed the nation. this morning, president obama visited the memorial at the pentagon to speak about the legacy of september 11th. >> 11 years ago memorial services were held for americans of different races and creeds, backgrounds and beliefs, and yet, instead of turning us against each other, tragedy has brought us together. i've always said that our fight is with al qaeda and its affiliates, not with islam or any other religion. this country was built as a beacon of freedom and tolerance. that's what's made us strong. now, and forever. when the history books are written, the true legacy of 9/11 will not be one of fear or hate or division. it will be a safer world, a stronger nation, and a people more united than ever before. >> today, yards away from where the trade cen once stood the freedom tower is nearly complete. its importance has far less to do with architecture than symbolism. proof that a city and country can rebuild and return to the heights it once c

the queen bee of the grio.com joy reid and host of cycle, steve kornacki. president obama is minutes away from addressing the clinton global initiative. it's been a busy morning for both filled with speeches and media appearances in and around new york city. mitt romney spoke to the clinton global initiative and sat down with education nation. president obama spoke to the u.n. general assembly, follow that, abc aired an interview he and the first lady taped for "the view." the meeting of the united nations general assembly has put foreign policy front and center. president obama used the ait tack on the u.s. consulate in libya and the death on ambassador stevens to make the case for a broader philosophy regarding the future of the relations between the middle east and the west. >> the events of the last two weeks also speaks to the need for all of us to honestly address the tensions between the west and the arab world that is moving towards democracy. >> while he made clear that the video that sparked the violence was not reflective of american values the p

in new york, i'm joined by steve kornacki, co-host of "the cycle" jonathan capeht and ari melba. can mitt romney turn around a lifetime of flip-flopping, six years of lackluster campaigning in a 90-minute televised debate with the president? >> he almost has to. this is such a fascinating election to me because it's simultaneously one-sided and close. if you look at the real clear politics average of all the polls, it's basically a three or four-point lead in obama's favor. it's not huge, but it's a stubborn and persistent three or four points. it's been that way the entire race and it seemed basically immovable from either side. stuck at that three to four-point level. the hope that romney can take coming into this debate is john kerry in 2004 was being written off sort of like romney was. kerry was perceived to do much better than bush in the debate. closed the gap substantially. there were a lot of soft democratic vote worries strayed from his side. his debate performance brought them back into the fold. that's not the case now. it's more of a mishmash of democrats and republi

i'll talk to steve kornacki who said romney is not the one to blame for his campaign struggles. who is? the rnc cuts tieing with ale consulting firm over allegations of major voter fraud in florida. bob... oh, hey alex. just picking up some, brochures, posters copies of my acceptance speech. great! it's always good to have a backup plan, in case i get hit by a meteor. wow, your hair looks great. didn't realize they did photoshop here. hey, good call on those mugs. can't let 'em see what you're drinking. you know, i'm glad we're both running a nice, clean race. no need to get nasty. here's your "honk if you had an affair with taylor" yard sign. looks good. [ male announcer ] fedex office. now save 50% on banners. you won't just find us online, you'll also find us in person, with dedicated support teams at over 500 branches nationwide. so when you call or visit, you can ask for a name you know. because personal service starts with a real person. [ rodger ] at scottrade, seven dollar trades are just the start. our support teams are nearby, ready to help. it's no wonder so many inve

in new york, i'm joined by steve kornacki, co-host of "the cycle" jonathan capehart and ari melba. can mitt romney turn around a lifetime of flip-flopping, six years of lackluster campaigning in a 90-minute televised debate with the president? >> he almost has to. this is such a fascinating election to me because it's simultaneously one-sided and close. if you look at the real clear politics average of all the polls, it's basically a three or four-point lead in obama's favor. it's not huge, but it's a stubborn and persistent three or four points. it's been that way the entire race and it seemed basically immovable from either side. stuck at that three to four-point level. the hope that romney can take coming into this debate is john kerry in 2004 was being written off sort of like romney was. kerry was perceived to do much better than bush in the debate. closed the gap substantially. there were a lot of soft democratic vote worries strayed from his side. his debate performance brought them back into the fold. that's not the case now. it's more of a mishmash of democrats and republi