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Ron Paul Reviews Romney Speech; First Lady Fires Up The Democrats; Bill Clinton Prepping For Big DC Speech; BET Founder Betting On Obama; BET Founder Betting On Obama; Joe Biden Speaks Tomorrow; Reggie In Charlotte; Obama's Former "Body Man" Supports Re- Election; Wendell Pierce in Charlotte for the DNC; Robert Gibbs on Obama Trying to Recapture Excitement, Re-Election Efforts; Comparing Obamacare, Romneycare.

Aired September 05, 2012 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Texas Congressman Ron Paul noticeably absent from the Republican National Convention last week, but his appearance on Jay Leno's show last night caused a little bit of a stir.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY LENO, NBC HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": What did you think of the Romney speech?

REP. RON PAUL (R), TEXAS : Well, it was nice. He said a lot of nice things, and it wasn't anything that I could say -- except a few, that, you know, it was -- it was very pleasant and all, but it wouldn't have been the speech that I would have given. I would have talked more about maybe foreign policy and some other things.

LENO: Yes, there was no mention of --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Well, it looks like rain moved the party indoors. That's what the Democrats are doing here in Charlotte, North Carolina. I'm Suzanne Malveaux live from the site of the Democratic National Convention. One of the big stories of the day, of course, is the change of venue for President Obama's acceptance speech, that is happening tomorrow night. The details are in in just a minute. We're going to get to that.

First, also take a look ahead at the big is speaker tonight, we're talking about former President Bill Clinton. What is he expected to say and is the Obama team worried? We're going to take a look at that. We're going to talk about the big speech from last night as well. First lady Michelle Obama got -- getting the Democrats fired up made the case for re-electing her husband to another four-year term. Well, she says that the issues facing the country are personal, not political for the President. And Michelle Obama, she was personal as well in the speech last night. She talked about how the President's decisions are shaped by his values, and she focused a lot on the family. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE OBAMA, U.S. FIRST LADY: Thank you. Oh, thank you so much.

With your help. With your help. Let me -- let me start. I want -- I want to start by thanking Elaine. Elaine, thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: I want to bring in our White House Correspondent Brianna Keilar. Brianna, I must say, when you and I listened to that speech last night, it wasn't anything that we hadn't heard before, but it really did seem like she was very calm, she was very personable, and very passionate about what she was saying.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Sure. And it's nothing that we say, oh, that's new. I mean, we know the President's personal story. We know that he came from humble beginnings. But maybe it's a reminder to some of those voters that they're trying to hang on to that he did come from humble beginnings. And even though I think you saw -- especially compared to Ann Romney's speech which I should tell you that Michelle Obama did not listen to.

MALVEAUX: She didn't?

KEILAR: She did not watch the speech I'm told by a source but certainly the campaign is well aware of what Ann Romney said. And I thought some of the contrast was that it wasn't as overtly political. You heard Ann Romney talking about the reference to the, they didn't build that line. She talked about there needing to be time -- it's time now for a grown-up to be in the White House. Michelle Obama was very careful. She didn't get political overtly, but it was there. I mean, she was talking about her humble beginnings. You saw her brother and you saw the President's half sister on earlier in the night reminding people. And she talked about the struggles that President Obama had as a child growing up. Financially, his family -- just reminding people, hey, he knows what this is about and in parenthesis what she didn't say, Mitt Romney didn't. And that's really I think what she was trying to push through.

Why do you suppose she wasn't more overt? Do you think that the campaign felt like there is a different set of rules for Michelle Obama than Ann Romney? That she would not be able to get away with delivering kind of the red meat that we've seen from the other side?

KEILAR: I don't think so. I think that they thought that this was actually a better way to go. That this is a way that they felt people responded to better. I think that if you talked to a lot of the Democratic analysts, they thought that actually maybe some of the political barbs from Ann Romney, they weren't really sure if that is the right way for her go. And in this case, they thought because Michelle Obama is so popular, because there is sort of this somewhat a little apolitical nature of the spouse, right? That they felt this was just more effective. People like her, try not to give her too hard of an edge in this.

MALVEAUX: OK. I know they are all watching and maybe holding their breath a little bit over Bill Clinton and what he's going to say tonight. I had a chance to talk with Mack McLarty, he was the former chief of staff for President Clinton. They are very close. He had a chance to talk to the former president yesterday and I know that he's got a little bit -- little hint of what's in the speech tonight. Listen to what he told me earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MACK MCLARTY, FORMER WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF, BILL CLINTON ADMINISTRATION: I think President Clinton will clearly focus his speech on the economy. And he will compare and contrast, in my judgment, pretty sharply the differences of the Republican party, the Republican candidate, and President Obama and the policies that basically are very similar to the Clinton policies that provided a good measure of prosperity during his two terms.

MALEVAUX: And there is --

MCLARTY: He might -- he might mention that once or twice.

MALVEAUX: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Once or twice or three or four times, right?

MALVEAUX: And he might just mention that. How worried are they in terms of the vetting process? Is somebody physically going over there and taking a look at this? Because Bill Clinton, he doesn't go by anybody's talking points. We've seen that in the campaign already.

KEILAR: So, I will tell you, I don't personally know the answer to that, but I have read that the sort of themes of the speech, the campaign is very aware of but the specifics have not been vetted. That's actually something I'm trying to confirm and is very interesting. But I think that the problems Bill Clinton has run into in getting off message with President Obama have largely been off the cuff remarks, right? In interviews that we've seen where he talked about Mitt Romney's sterling business career.

But -- so, I think if you were to talk to the campaign, they would say, no, they think that Bill Clinton is a very good messenger for them. And I think it's because of this argument that you're hearing from Republicans, are you better off than you were four years ago? There are -- as we know, a lot of people may say, no, or I'm certainly not where I want to be.

The point of having Bill Clinton is to say, yes, but were you better off 12 years ago? Were you better off 14 years ago when there was a Democrat in the White House and things were going along a lot better, and he is the one who's going to say, you know what? I know what it takes to build a good economy. I did it, and President Obama is on the right track and Mitt Romney is not. And that's why they think he's a very good messenger.

MALVEAUX: The big picture of the long view. KEILAR: Yes.

MALVEAUX: All right. Brianna, thank you very much.

KEILAR: Thank you.

MALVEAUX: Good to see you as always.

The First Lady, other convention speakers, have talked a lot about the jobs created under President Obama's watch. So, we're going to actually take a look at those numbers and quick fact check from our own Tom Foreman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For weeks all over the country, the Democrats have been making one cornerstone claim about the economy and they repeated it over and over again here that the President has created more than four million jobs. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR RAHM EMANUEL, (D) CHICAGO: And today, our economy has gone from losing 800,000 jobs a month to adding 4.5 million private sector jobs in the last 29 months.

GOV. DEVAL PATRICK, (D) MASSACHUSETTS: Who added 4. 5 million private sector jobs in the last two and a half years?

MAYOR JULIAN CASTRO (D), SAN ANTIONIO, TEXAS: We've seen 4.5 million new jobs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: On the face of it, that is correct, 4.5 million jobs have been created in the private sector. Here is the problem, though. All that's being created here is the jobs created, being ignored is all the jobs that lost. When you look at it that way, the President is still about a half a million in the hole. He hasn't been able to offset the losses while he's been president. If you include government jobs, it gets even worse. If you look at the unemployment rate, still a problem there. It's worse than it was on election day, it's worse than it was on inauguration day, the only silver lining is probably that it's not as bad as it was at the peak. Another big claim is the quality of these jobs. Listen to what the First Lady said about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE OBAMA: That's how he brought our economy from the brink of collapse to creating jobs again. Jobs that you can raise a family on. Good jobs right here in the United States of America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: The problem with saying that these are good jobs is the facts don't seem to support it. Some of the jobs were temporary, paid for by the stimulus or perhaps census work, that sort of thing. So, they didn't really last. And some of the jobs just aren't worth the jobs we lost. A variety of studies have said that we lost more middle and upper income jobs and we have gained more lower level jobs. The simple truth is that the numbers may be technically correct in some of these claims, but when you look at all the details, there is an awful lot more that needs to be seen. This is Tom Foreman, in Charlotte.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: The BET founder, Bob Johnson, was not a fan of President Obama four years ago, so what has actually changed? We're going to talk to him live in just a minute. That would be you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Republicans have tried to portray President Obama as bad for business, but BET Founder Bob Johnson, he is betting now on the President. He is joining us live. And Bob, four years ago, you were -- you were big in the Hillary Clinton camp. You have now moved over. Explain why.

BOB JOHNSON, FOUNDER, BET: Well, first of all, obviously, when the Democrats won, President Obama won. All the Democrats surrounded President Obama and said, we want to make him the most successful president since Bill Clinton. And I think he's laid the foundation for that. I think there is some work to be done in moving forward.

MALVEAUX: Tell me about the work.

JOHNSON: Well, first of all, I think the key issues that the public wants to hear, and I hope he'll talk about it on Thursday, is entitlement reform, tax reform, and a focus on creating the kind of regulatory framework that allow businesses to invest, innovators to innovate, and for small businesses to want to hire people. It's a focus on jobs. Now, jobs are not created by government, but government can stimulate the environment for the private sector as it has done for the past three or four years in creating jobs, can do it. But it won't come out of Washington without a commitment to deficit reduction, entitlement reform and tax reform.

MALVEAUX: OK. You're calling in the Bobcats -- Charlotte Bobcats. You are a very successful businessman, and I would say -- I would venture to say, not small business but big businesses. Are you -- I mean, under Obama's administration, you will be paying more taxes, there will be more regulations. Are you going to be better off -- I mean, are big businesses, people like you, who make money and create jobs going to be better off in another four years?

JOHNSON: Yes, I don't think business people are concerned about paying taxes. I think business people are concerned about a tax framework that's predictable. You know, are we going to have a framework that says, this is what the capital gains rate will be and they're not going to be yo-yoed up and down. This is what dividends are going to be taxed at. This is how we are going to reform the entire system to put more money into a business's ability to invest in new products, new services and hire employees. Businesses are expecting a free market regulated economy, there will be taxes, there will be regulation. What we want more than anything else, Suzanne, is certainty. And I think what President Obama can talk about is certainty. Now, Simpson Bowles laid down a framework for some level of certainty, because it said, everybody's got to share and sacrifice. We're going to increase taxes based on a tax reform strategy. We're going to cut entitlements so that we don't continue to explode the deficit and the debt.

MALVEAUX: Right.

JOHNSON: But those things have to be focused on by a leader.

MALVEAUX: But that was rejected by the President.

JOHNSON: It was rejected by the President, and it was rejected by some members of the Republican party. And that's what business people are concerned about, is where is the leadership? Whether it's governor Romney or whether it's President Obama, we want to hear -- we're not worried about the past. What happened in the past is done and gone. So, we're not asking the question, are you better off? Business people don't look back, they look forward. What we're asking is what's going to happen after the election, what's going to happen four years after, ten years after? Where is the framework to make the United States globally competitive and hire people?

MALVEAUX: So, what does the fed need to do? We heard from the fed chair, Ben Bernanke, this was just last week, and he was hinting pretty strongly that there would be an additional economic stimulus. Is that the way to go? I mean, how do you project that certainty so people like yourselves and others have the answers that you need to move forward?

JOHNSON: Yes. I -- you know, there's plenty of liquidity in the system. There is plenty of money sloshing around adding more -- and the interest rates are about as low as they're going to go.

So companies -- I'm on the board of four or five public companies. These companies are saying, when are we going to get consumers back in the stores buying? When is the housing market going to bottom out? Now, one thing I give the President credit for is the automobile industry. And when I got into the automobile industry about 2007, 2008, I was selling Chrysler and GM cars and we were making close to $300 million to $400 million. Today, some four years later, we're $1.2 billion in revenue. And that's a successful example of president leadership and president initiative.

I think he needs to focus on things that say, this is what I'm going to do. And, to me, if he wanted to have a slam dunk opportunity to win re-election, is pivot towards Simpson/Bowles tax reform, entitlement reform, restraining the growth of the debt. Without that, the business community is going to sit back on the sidelines, they'll take jobs overseas, they'll reduce employment, they'll become more productive. In the end, we're not going to move that 8.3 down.

MALVEAUX: Bob, you have a lot of good ideas. Is the President listening? Is the Obama administration listening to you?

JOHNSON: Well, I've talked to the President on one or two occasions. I'm not as close to him, obviously, as other people who are whispering in his ear. But I have been out talking on television saying this. I've been to fundraisers to support him.

MALVEAUX: OK.

JOHNSON: I hope he is. And I plan to keep saying what I've been saying.

MALVEAUX: All right, Bob Johnson. Thank you, Bob. Good to see you, as always.

JOHNSON: Thank you, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Joe Biden getting ready for his big night. We're going to look at what it's going to take to give a killer speech.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CASTRO: When it comes to getting the middle class back to work, Mitt Romney says no. When it comes to respecting women's rights, Mitt Romney says no. When it comes to letting people love who they love and marry who they want to marry, Mitt Romney says no. When it comes to expanding access to good health care, Mitt Romney --

CROWD: Says no.

CASTRO: Actually --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Julian Castro, Democratic Convention keynote speaker, got a lot of laughs, wild applause as well, in front of a friendly crowd here in Charlotte. Well, Castro is also mayor of San Antonio, Texas. He is the youngest mayor of a large U.S. city. And a theme last night, Mitt Romney is out of touch, politically divisive, and his words, quite simply doesn't get it.

Well, you never know what is going to happen when Joe Biden speaks. And now all eyes on the vice president who speaks at the DNC, that is tomorrow night. In 2008, he did a great job of firing up the crowd, getting across the message of change to everybody. Let's just take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN (D), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The American people are ready. I am ready. Barack is ready. This is his time. This is our time. This is America's time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So what does he need to do to make sure he doesn't make any gaffes? Well, let's find out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX (voice-over): In a forum that's all about talking the talk, the biggest challenge facing Vice President Joe Biden may be just keeping quiet.

BIDEN: Unchain Wall Street. They're going to put y'all back in chains.

(INAUDIBLE)

She's easily qualified to be vice president of the United States of America, and, quite frankly, that might have been a better pick than me.

MALVEAUX: And that wasn't the first time when Biden made repeated gaffes.

THOMAS BASILE, POLITICAL SPEECHWRITER: The goal of a vice presidential speech is the same goal for the vice presidential candidate generally. And the first goal is do no harm. So, even among Democratic circles, Joe Biden is seen as this one man gaffe machine. So his first job is to get into and out of the convention without any major verbal stumbles.

MALVEAUX: But the six-time senator can also be an effective weapon for the party, when he trains his sights on the opposition and fires.

BIDEN: They call their plan new, they call it bold and they call it gutsy. But the neighborhood I come from, there's nothing gutsy about giving a millionaire another tax break.

MALVEAUX: Figuring out when to shut up or put up is never easy when you're the number two. Geraldine Ferraro had to focus on her ticket, but still remind people of her history-making moment.

GERALDINE FERRARO, FORMER U.S. VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The promise of our country is that the rules are fair.

MALVEAUX: Gore also took the vision route and led a Macarena dance to shake off his wooden personality.

AL GORE, FORMER U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: Millions of people are losing faith in the very idea of democracy, but you cannot kill hope that easily. Not in America. Not here.

MALVEAUX: For Biden, the best advice may be just to stick with what's in the script.

COSTAS PANAGOPOULOS, FORDHAM POLITICAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR: We know that the vice president is prone to gaffes, but the conventions are very scripted. And so there will be fewer opportunities for those types of errors. And I think that if he sticks to the script and comes across as competent and supportive of the President and their achievements over the past few years, I think that he'll be fine.

MALVEAUX: Or, since it's Biden, fine enough.

BIDEN: Every presidential election has come down to one fundamental look as it relates to the candidates. Who has the most character? Who has the character, the conviction -- of their convictions and who has the vision? Folk, it will not surprise you, on that score, I don't even think it's close.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: We're going to have more live coverage of the vice president's speech here on CNN tomorrow night.

And some big names lined up to speak at the Democratic Convention tonight. The headliner, former President Bill Clinton. He's going to nominate President Obama for a second White House term. Perhaps display the genius that has made him campaigner in chief.

Also speaking tonight, darling of the Democrats, Massachusetts Senate Candidate Elizabeth Warren.

And tomorrow, of course, the big night. That is when President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden formally accept the party's nomination.

And once known as the President's body man. We're going to talk to Reggie Love. He is back. We're going to go to him live and talk about his former boss.

Don't forget, you can watch CNN live on your computer while you're at work. Simply head to cnn.com/tv.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Former President Bill Clinton speaks tonight, 10:00 Eastern Time, 7:00 p.m. out west. It's going to be his seventh (ph) straight Democratic Convention speech. Joining us right now, someone who's definitely going to be watching the speeches as well, Reggie Love. He's President Obama's former personal assistant or body man, as some people like to call you.

You're from Charlotte, right?

REGGIE LOVE, PRES. OBAMA'S FORMER PERSONAL ASSISTANT: I am. I grew up here. Went to elementary, middle school and high school here in Charlotte.

MALVEAUX: And, of course, Duke.

LOVE: And, Duke. So I tell everyone all the time, if you would have said 15 years ago that there would be a Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, I would have said no way. But who says that hope and change don't happen? So, progress in motion.

MALVEAUX: And you're only 30 and you have big plans. I know you're in business school. Things are moving very well for you. But tell me a little bit about -- we heard Michelle Obama, the First Lady, saying her husband hasn't changed. The presidency hasn't changed him at all. You know him very well. I mean, what do you think? Has he changed? Is he the same guy? Describe for us a little bit about who this guy is as someone you intimately know.

LOVE: So, I think Michelle was spot-on. I think the priorities and the things that are ultimately core to the President have not changed in the last three-and-a-half years. I think, more than anything, I think the responsibilities and the pressures have probably become a little bit heavier. And his sense and his sense of urgency to make sure those core values are seen throughout the rest of the country has definitely increased over the last three years.

As we all know, it's been a -- it's been a tough couple of months, but growth has been happening and we've seen -- we've seen new jobs being created, we've seen economic growth over the last 29 months. So I think he's -- he hasn't -- he hasn't changed at all, but he's definitely working to make things better for everyone.

MALVEAUX: When you guys talk, what do you talk about?

LOVE: Mostly sports. And in the summertime, we talk about, you know, the classic sports. But -- and then we also talk about some of the things you see, you know, when you're traveling out in the country, you run into families and to kids who you have been able to affect. And I know when he passed the health care legislation, there were a lot of moments out there where you'd run into families who basically felt like they were not longer going to be devastated because of a precondition -- pre-existing condition that one of their family members had. Those kinds of things are always moving. And it is grounding for him and grounding for the staff, and good to know that, you know, regardless of the back and forth in D.C., at times, you are out there making a difference.

MALVEAUX: Last night, Michelle talked about being the mom-in-chief, and talked about it four years ago that it was the most important thing for her to have an environment to have the two daughters protected. How has the President, and how has he evolved as a father. What is he like?

LOVE: I think that he's been and a very difficult thing to do. It is being president is a lot easier than it was in the campaign. As you remember in 2007 and 2008, he traveled five, six, seven days a week. And so, over the last three and a half years, he has been able to, like she mentioned spend some time with them, and have dinner almost every night of the week. I think that you guys remember that he has been able to coach Sasha's basketball games and sort of, you know, I think obviously being a parent is -- I'm not a parent, so I'm not an expert, but obviously the best thing about my parents were that they were around. And having someone, even though he is the President of the United States, to be around for those moments is an amazing thing to do.

MALVEAUX: Is he more protective of the daughters now that they are approaching the teen years?

(LAUGHTER) LOVE: You saw with that picture, they look so grown. I am taken aback how fast they are growing up. But of course, you are protective of beautiful young ladies dislike that. If I had daughters, I would be. You would be the same way.

MALVEAUX: That's right. Do you keep in touch, does he text or e- mail?

LOVE: We -- I still have my place in D.C. so we have a pickup game every now and then. I think of him as a mentor, a friend and like a big brother. There are not many decisions that I make that I don't try to give him a head's up on get his opinion on. And I'm grateful to have those insightful conversations with him.

MALVEAUX: You have direct dial to the President. No bad.

Reggie, good to see you, as always. Congratulations.

LOVE: Thank you, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Pleasure.

You might know him from his role in "The Wire," but Wendell Pierce is turning on the star power here at the DNC.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: You might recognize him as the role on HBO's "The Wire," and he has also been in the movies "Waiting to Exhale" and many others, of course.

Actor Wendell Pierce is in Charlotte with us this week, and he is talking about political festivities.

You are very much involved here. You're an activist and you are into politics because you were active in the campaign four years ago. What brings you back now?

WENDELL PIERCE, ACTOR: Well, for me, President Barack Obama. People a generation ago would have said that Robert Kennedy was the person who inspired them and got them involved in politics, and for me, was President Barack Obama, because I saw him putting in policy the things I need to see in the community.

MALVEAUX: Like what?

PIERCE: Call to service. Young people getting involved and making sure we have things to support the middle-class, because I saw an idea of people thwarting opportunity, only my kids go to school and only certain people get access to jobs or education, and he has expanded that. That is more to what America is to me. There's more opportunity and more education and more innovation and more ideas and growth. So that's what inspired me.

MALVEAUX: I saw you on the convention floor last night and you and a number of actors and musician activists. And will.i.am and several others are involved and bringing his message to young people. Four years ago, there was a different vibe and people were excited and passionate. When you travel around and go across the country, do you see the same enthusiasm? and what do you need to get people out there to vote? Because that is the main concern of the campaign.

PIERCE: Well, it is very important. What you have to realize is that the last campaign was so aspirational and inspiring that it is easy to get caught up in that, in the emotion of the campaign. And then you have to roll up your sleeves and get into the conference room and open up the white board and get to work. The nuts and bolts of getting the policy done. Sometimes people turn off to that and they don't realize that you have to dig down deep and focus on that. And we have to realize that is what the President has been doing over the past three and a half years. And now, reminding people that the work he has been doing has an impact on their lives, and explaining that, and making sure that the message gets out.

(CROSSTALK)

PIERCE: And that is the thing that affects the communities. It's the thing that inspired me as a small business owner, to start a new grocery chain, Sterling Farms, and going into the underprivileged and underserved people to bring food. That came from the White House, literally. The President and Mrs. Obama asked the American enterprise to get off of the sidelines and join the fight, and that is what I am doing as a small business owner, also.

MALVEAUX: Talk about the community of New Orleans, because I have a lot of relative theirs. And they watch your shows. They're big fans. But clearly Hurricane Isaac brought new challenges outside of the levee walls. We saw Mitt Romney and the President making appearances there. How is that handled? Are you thinking that the community is being taken care of in an appropriate way, or that it was politicized? Are you confident the community is being taken care of in an appropriate way?

PIERCE: Well, people need to be taken care of. Some people lost their homes and some people lost their lives. We, as Americans, no matter the political persuasion, should be concerned about that. The importance of New Orleans and the whole southeastern Louisiana region has been proven time and time again with the port and how much we give to the country. So there's value in making sure that we are protected.

And people see the politics that come down. I hope that is not, you know, a part of the agenda. But if it is, that is on them. The most important priority is to make sure that the people are taken care of.

MALVEAUX: All right.

PIERCE: And New Orleans fared well this time.

MALVEAUX: They did.

PIERCE: So all of the money and the energy that went into rebuilding the levees worked. MALVEAUX: Yes, that is the good news. Our families are alright.

Wendell Pierce, thank you so much. I appreciate it.

PIERCE: Thank you.

MALVEAUX: He says we may be better off than we were four years ago. Campaign adviser, Robert Gibbs, will tell us why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: It was history-making moment four years ago when President Obama officially became the Democratic nominee for president. Now, he hopes to recapture the excitement that the campaign generated the first go around.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To Chairman Dean --

(CHEERING)

BARACK OBAMA: -- and my great friend, Dick Durbin, and to all of my fellow citizens of this great nation, with profound gratitude and great humility, I accept your nomination --

(CHEERING)

BARACK OBAMA: -- for the presidency of the United States.

(CHEERING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Joining us now is Robert Gibbs, former press secretary and now one of the campaign advisers.

Good to see you, Robert.

ROBERT GIBBS, FORMER PRESS SECRETARY & OBAMA CAMPAIGN ADVISER: Nice to be here.

MALVEAUX: I cannot say I am missing those days of the briefings --

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

MALVEAUX: -- the back and forth all of the time.

(CROSSTALK)

MALVEAUX: And the headliner today, we will see President Bill Clinton, and are you vetting him? what is the situation there?

GIBBS: Well, we have been working with former President Clinton since we asked him to do this speech. You know, a bunch of people who used to work for Clinton in the Clinton White House are in our White House. And again, they are working on the speech. The one thing that is fair as we all know that Bill Clinton is going to be marking up that speech probably about 10 minutes before he goes out. So everybody knows that. And we are certainly comfortable with that. He spoke at this convention in 2008, and he did a lot of important things for us in that speech. I think that he will do a lot of important things tonight, because he is going to tell the story of what is it like to be in a presidency that inherits an economy that has been neglected and needs to be rebuilt. That is the story of him coming in 1992 and 1993 and the store riff Barack Obama coming into the White House of 2009.

MALVEAUX: And, Robert, how do you explain to people who feel like there is a statute of limitations, that at a certain point, you can't go back to blame the last president. You can't blame Bush for all of the things that you cannot accomplish this goal but we tried hard. Is there a point where the President says, absolutely, 100 percent, this is my economy and this is my policy, and I'm the leader and I will get you out of this?

GIBBS: Well, nobody is in doubt who the President is, but, Suzanne, we --

(CROSSTALK)

MALVEAUX: Or whose fault it is, essentially.

GIBBS: Well, look, I wish it didn't exist either and I wish we didn't have to blame George Bush for millions and millions of jobs that got loss and bad budgetary decisions and wars that weren't paid for and wall street writing its own rules and I wish it didn't happen either, but the American people, that's what that eight years represented. And, look, we are trying to dig out of that hole. There is a lot of discussion, are we better off? Yes, we are. Do we still have a long ways to go before we are back to where we were before all of those bad economic decisions resulted in this calamity? Yeah, we are, and that is what we are working on and the President's responsible for doing.

MALVEAUX: And one of the things that struck me during the campaign -- and this is actually really close to when he was -- when he was accepting the nomination -- it felt like this energy that it was going to happen and he would win, he used to say things, and you are very familiar with this that he would disappoint people, and he made these promises, and he had a to-do list, but also a vision of this guy, and what he could do the turn the country around. And some people are saying they are disappointed, so what does he do or say to that?

GIBBS: Well, I think that, and you will hear him talk about this thursday, and obviously, the knowledge of what we have been through, and the calamity that we have had to come through and the progress that we have to make, and you know, I don't know that people listened when he said that as well as you did, Suzanne, when he said, look, this is going to take longer than a few months or even a few years, and again, we lost eight million jobs and it is going to take more than a certain number of years to get it back. The important thing is, are we making progress along that path. Are we moving the country forward and giving the middle class families the security they deserve, and we are making progress on that path, and after Thursday, people will know again for sure exactly the President's plan to do that.

MALVEAUX: And how does he govern differently, if he gets a second term. And if he changes things, because you are not looking at a detente between the two sides. It is contentious in Washington. And he did not bring about a change of bipartisan. How does he accomplish what he wants to? So far, we have seen the presidential privileges. Is that how he governs the next four years?

GIBBS: Well, it is a big-choice election and each side has put a hefty number of chips on the table, of here's what we believe, and here's what we believe. And somebody is going to win that bet and somebody is not. Does that mean that everything that the winner wants is going to be done? Absolutely not. But we will have a period after this election where we understand not unlike Bill Clinton did in 1997, that, OK, we have had the big argument and the big debate and we've had the election, and now we have to come together to get things done. Not everybody is going to get everything they want, but what we need the Republicans to do is to come at least a little off of them saying no on everything. If they will not say no on everything, we can, by definition, make progress.

MALVEAUX: All right. I want to make it there.

Robert Gibbs, thank you as always.

GIBBS: Appreciate it.

MALVEAUX: Health care is one of the top issues in the election. And Elizabeth Cohen is going to be with us to break down Obamacare and Romneycare.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: One of the most powerful and emotional speeches was delivered last night by Stacey Lihn. She came to tell how the health care law dramatically affected her family by lifting lifetime insurance caps on her daughter's coverage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STACEY LIHN, SUPPORTS OBAMA-CARE: Knowing we had that below us to catch us if we fall, or if, god forbid, Zoe needs a heart transplant, Obamacare provides my family security and relief.

(APPLAUSE)

LIHN: But we're also scared.

(APPLAUSE)

LIHN: Governor Romney, repealing health care reform, is something we worry about literally every single day. (END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Elizabeth Cohen is joining us from Atlanta to talk about this.

Tell what you say the President's health care reform law -- how does it impact somebody like Lihn's family, first of all?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: In September 2010, what the Affordable Care Act did is made it illegal for insurance companies to have these lifetime limits. Before Obamacare, insurance companies would say we're only going to spend $1 million over your lifetime. Most people don't need that much coverage, but for some people, like Zoe Lihn, they did need it -- Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: And, so, when Romney, talking about repealing Affordable Health Care Act, what does it mean in terms of people like Lihn and her daughter?

COHEN: Insurance companies would be able to go back to imposing these lifetime limits. Again, it was very, very common to have these lifetime limits written into policies before Obamacare.

We asked the Romney campaign are you going to do anything after you repeal it. Are you going to do anything to help people like the Lihn family? Here is the response. I'll read it to you. This is from Andrea Saul, the Romney campaign spokeswoman. She said, "The last thing our health care system needs are more expansive and expensive federal mandates that drive up health care costs and make it harder for patients to find the care they need. That is why Governor Romney has put forward reforms that focus on greater patient choice and control, lower costs and better access for every American."

That was an answer to our question what Governor Romney would do for people facing these lifetime limits in their insurance policies.

MALVEAUX: Elizabeth Cohen, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

For more about how the health care affects you, you can head over to CNN.com/empoweredpatient.

If you can't be at the DNC, we're going to take you on the floor for a look at some of the colorful delegates, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Millions of folks watched Michelle Obama's speech on television, including the first family. This is the view from the White House. You can see the President with his daughters, Malia and Sasha, watching their mom. The administration released this photo of the three of them curled up on the couch.

Here at the DNC in Charlotte, North Carolina, energy inside the conventional hall, lots of it. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) (MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I brought home three berets. Put my inauguration earrings on and I'm set.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wore this in 2008, and I said we did great. I'm wearing it again in 2012.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love the flag because I think the Republicans think it's theirs so I wear it.

UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: From head to toe, I noticed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Head to toe, and even my socks. Look at my shoes.

UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, my goodness.

(CHANTING)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are going to have a big gap, a big gender gap, and we're going to bring Republican women over to the Democratic side.

UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: Are you confident with that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, yes. I feel very good about it.

(CROSSTALK)

MALVEAUX: On television, it looks really big. But when you get down on the floor it's really crowded, Ashleigh.

We're broadcasting our own cameras of Wolf Blitzer getting ready. Right next to them, you have ABC. And next door to them you FOX News.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: America is a very diverse country, with people from all over the world. That's what we like to show in our Democrat parties. That's what our party is like and that's what America is like.

(CHEERING)

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER, (D), NEW YORK: The message is very simple. Middle class incomes are declining. It's harder for middle income people to make due. Which party cares about the middle class? Which party is going to make sure the middle income start improving? We are.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Back then, it was a changing of guard. And now, it's guarding the change. He was the change I wanted. I'd like to say Mr. Romney, I'm more excited about supporting President Obama today than I was the day I voted for him.

UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: Do you have an Obama poster on your wall that's fading? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not fading. It's nice and bright and we're all looking forward to reelecting him.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Brooke Baldwin.