Transcripts For CNNW The Situation Room 20120828

from the role call that begins. it will formally put mitt romney up for the presidential nomination. i'm wolf blitzer in tampa. you're in "the situation room." all that coming up. let's get straight to hurricane isaac though. it's closing in on the gulf coast right now expected to make landfall a few hours from now. it's more than a chilling coincidence for a region marking the seventh anniversary of hurricane katrina. chad myers is over at the cnn weather center. he's got a look at what's going on. the latest update, chad, what is the latest on isaac? >> it is going to be a surge storm, not really a wind event for most people, 75 miles per hour, most homes can survive that. most trees will be okay. maybe some things will be falling over, knocked over, bump in the night. this is all the way from mobile to new orleans into pontchartrain itself and down through here through parish. this is where most of that surge is going to come. if you're on the other side of the storm, you're going to see an offshore flow and won't see much of a surge. but through the bayou, south of new orleans up the missiippi h ver, farther to the left not en that much, like one degr we're going get a lot of damage in baton roug focus on new orleans becse it's the closest to the gulf of mexico. baton rouge only a few miles up the river. at center of that eye, the eye wall itself could go right over baton rouge with 75-mile-per-hour winds. that's all in the cards for the people tonight. gulfport and biloxi all back to bay st. louis, they were hit so hard witha,eight to 12 feet. many areas did build back up their sea wall protection and everything since katrina. eight to 12 feet may not be devastating like the 25-foot wall of water. i say wall of water. it's not a sue nam my like getting higher -- it keeps going until the water is literally coming in on shore and knocking people's homes down. five to eight feet in lake pontchartrain. six to nine from grand isle. we have reporters across the coast literally we are covering the entire event one side to the ore and up through new orleans as well. we're not seeing winds 100 miles per hour like maybe forecast, what we're watching right now, wolf, we're watching for the center of the eye to get smaller. think about an ice skater as she skates on one skate with arms out. that's what we have right now. a 70-mill-around eye. when that eye gets to be 20 miles around, that ice skater bringing her arms in, that angular momentum gets stronger, wind speeds will pick up tonight. >> and it's a fact, isn't it, that this whole system, the hurricane has been moving more slowly than originally anticipated meaning it will stay over that gulf coast region a lot longer? >> dreadful. dreadfully slow right now. the winds could be at hurricane strength for five hours, maybe more. could be tropical storm force winds for 36 hours. and rainfall because it's almost coming to a halt could approach 20 inches. i know they've tried to keep the water out of new orleans from all the surrounding bodies of water, but they have a lot of water which is rain that they're going to have to pump out of new orleans back into that water. it's a bowl. literally you have to pump all that rain watder out and hope the pumps keep working like they're supposed to. >> chad, we'll check in with you later this hour they're going to get a new forecast for what's going on. as soon as you know what's going on, our viewers will know as well. thank you. in new orleans the army corps of engineers is closing the flood gates to the world's largest pumping station for the first time since it was constructed in katrina's wake. our own brian todd is over there. brian, tell our viewers what's going on. >> reporter: wolf, the first very serious squall of this storm just hit us. it's still kind of present here. not quite as serious as it was a couple minutes ago. a very serious band of rain along the mississippi river. you can see some of the white caps down here on the river just under the crescent connector, the crescent city connector bridge. that bridge we're told is going to remain open. they have to monitor these conditions. we're looking at category 1 here pretty soon. and the storm surge that you and chad were just talking about, that is going to be key. not necessarily on this river, but in other areas. we talked about the levees that have just been upgraded. $11 billion spent to upgrade the levees, flood gates and walls. this is going to be the first big test of it. we just got this first big squall of the storm here, wolf. it's coming along. >> and they're pretty confident it can handle a category 1 hurricane even if it stays on the ground for a long time, is that right, brian? >> reporter: they're very confident they can handle a category 1 and beyond, wolf. they think up to category 4 or 5, almost katrina strength storm. the system as it's constructed now can handle that kind of storm. this is not going to be that. but, again, as chad mentioned, very slow moving. this kind of rain and much, much heavier is going to be hanging over this area for hours basically starting now. and that's what they're really worried about. some really serious rainfall in new orleans. they're going to have to activate those pump systems. have some video we can show you. we were just at lake pontchartrain maybe about eight to ten miles north of here a short time ago. you saw the really first very serious storm surge of this thing with the waves really slamming the coastline off lake pontchartrain. and people still out there. mitch andrews telling people do not go out there, but we saw plenty of people out by the water. maybe they're from here and seasoned in this kind of thing, but he's telling them don't do what we're seeing these people do here. but that was a very, very serious storm surge. it's a little different here. not as much wind here as it is up there. but as you can see, we're getting a lot of rain. and i'm getting a bit of a wind squall here as well, wolf. >> all right, brian. we'll check back with you. the president meanwhile has signed an emergency declaration for the state of mississippi, the national hurricane center is projecting storm surges of up to 12 feet in parts of the state. cnn's john zarrella is joining us from gulfport. what are you seeing? >> reporter: wolf, that's exactly what the big concern of course here is, water. two kinds of water. rainwater up to 20 inches of rainwater, and the storm surge from the gulf of mexico you see behind me. see the waves starting to come in now? we just about within the last hour had the first of the real rain and squall that we've seen here at all from hurricane isaac. and this, wolf, here this is highway 90. and it runs all along the gulf coast here in mississippi. and a lot of this is going to go under water tonight, no question about it. now, where we are, the elevation is about 20 feet. so as you drop off down to sea level, not likely we'll see any water up here. but certainly on the lower level of the road down there. look at this over here, wolf. a lot of people still out here, still sightseeing and watching the waves come in and taking pictures. some folks were even in the water just a few minutes ago. we haven't seen a lot of police officers chasing anybody away yet. but, again, we haven't really seen a lot of wind. just that first squall line that came through just a few minutes ago, wolf. >> john, gulfport, mississippi, as all of our viewers remember sustained really devastating damage during katrina exactly seven years ago this week. so how are the residents preparing now? are many of them evacuating? >> reporter: the three coastal counties ordered the low lying areas evacuated. 110,000 people evacuated. there are 19 shelters open including two special needs shelters. the mississippi emergency management officials told us they have about 1,000 people in those shelters as well. you know, the casinos that are along the coast here, they've already been closed down as well. they're done. no business there anymore until all of this is said and done. and today earlier today we were out and we saw hundreds of people packing sandbags. the county providing truckloads of sand. and these folks were coming out who live in the low lying areas, katrina still very fresh in their memories and saying, look, this time we're not taking any chances. we know this is not a katrina by any stretch of the imagination, but we are still susceptible to a lot of rainfall and a lot of storm surge. and they were filling the sandbags and getting ready. and a lot of the folks we talked to said, yeah, this is not a katrina and we hope that in our lifetimes we never see another one like that. you're absolutely right, terrible devastation all through this area seven years ago. wolf. >> hard to believe exactly seven years later we're about to see another hurricane hit this area. john zarrella, we'll get back to you. earlier today over at the white house president obama spoke about isaac. he's urging everyone to heed the warnings and take the storm very seriously. >> i want to encourage all residents of the gulf coast t listen to your local officials and follow their directions including if they tell you to evacuate. we're dealing with a big storm. and there could be significant flooding and other damage across a large area. now is not the time to tempt fate. now is not the time to dismiss official warnings. you need to take this seriously. >> very good advice from the president of the united states. we're just getting in a new cture of hurricane isaac from nasa. take a look at this. we'll put it up. we'll show you what's going on. there it is. you see the size of this storm. seems to be pretty well organized. it's moving slowly. we're told that that's bad news because it will hover over the gulf coast including louisiana, parts of alabama, parts of mississippi for a longer time leaving lots and lots of rain. a big danger here is the floods that inevitably will develop. that's the picture just coming in from nasa. as isaac heads for new orleans so are the storm chasers who make their living putting themselves wherever the worst weather is. we're going to talk with one of them. and coming up, a former democratic congressman is set to address this republican national convention here in tampa later tonight. what arter davis is taking heat from democratic colleagues. and all eyes on ann romney and the candidate's wife as she takes center stage later tonight. what the five romney sons told me about their mom's big night. i spent some time interviewing all five sons. you'll see the interview. that's coming up right here in "the situation room." ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] you've been years in the making. and there are many years ahead. join the millions of members who've chosen an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. go long. to experience the ultimate expression of power... control. 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by building on the cisco intelligent network they're able to serve up live video, and instant replays, creating fans from berlin to beijing. what can we help you build? nice shot kid. the nba around the world built by the only company that could. cisco. back to the gulf coast in a few moments. the latest on hurricane isaac is coming up. we're about to get a new forecast as well for the national hurricane center. meanwhile, the other big story we're following taking place right here in tampa, the republican national convention. about to kick into full swing with a role call of states that will formally nominate mitt romney as the republican presidential candidate. tonight all eyes will be on another person, a former united states congressman and a former democrat. and joining us now, former democratic congressman artur davis here at the republican national convention. you got a big speech tonight. >> and i got a florida suntan on top of it. >> if somebody would have said to you four years ago when you seconded the nomination of barack obama to be the democratic presidential nominee that you'd be speaking at this republican convention four years later, what would you have said? >> wolf, i'm sure i would have been surprised. the same way a lot of other people who voted for president obama in 2008 and don't plan to vote for him now, if you plan today say to other individuals who walked away from the obama camp that four years later they'd they wouldn't be supporting him, they'd be shocked too. >> i don't know if -- >> i think it was meant more for you guys than for me. >> well, it's a tough letter. >> i've seen the media reports on it. >> given the magnitude of your recent transformation they write "we can only conclude that rather than a true conversion, your actions are the result of a nakedly personal and political calculation or simmering anguish over failing to secure the democratic nomination for governor." those are strong words -- and you used to be very active within the congressional black caucus. >> well, my grandmother is deceased, but she taught me a long time ago, don't lower yourself to other people's level to get in a fight with them. i recognize that in the african-american community there's an intense loyalty towards president obama. and i understand that. i respect at. there's a huge sense of community pride in the president. and i think some of the individuals who signed that letter were probably looking to get some media attention. some others i think were sincerely reflecting the sentiment i just described. they're loyal obama supporters. and i think they struggle with how an african-american cannot be in that camp. but i'll make the point to you that i've made before, a political party is not a prison. you don't need a permission slip to leave it. many americans have left the democratic party in the last several years. i'm excited about the choice i've made. honored to speak to this convention tonight. >> you've walked around -- i don't know if you've walked around on the floor, not a whole lot of african-americans on this republican convention floor right now. you're obviously now one of a handful. how does that feel? >> well, we've got a lot of work to do in the republican party. there's no question that for a long period of time that the republican party has let others define it with respect to minorities, with respect to equality. i think it's time for conservatives and republicans to step up to the plate and start it for ourselves. ultimately i think you can be a good conservative and someone who cares about lifting um people in poverty, governor mitch daniel ss one of the most eloquent spokesmen in this country at attacking poverty and he's a hard core conservative. governor bobby jindal in louisiana has done a tremendous amount to help kids in poor failing schools. he's a hard core conservative, but he still cares. i think those of us who are conservatives have an obligation to talk about that side of conservatism that also wants to close gaps in this society. >> a lot of people are comparing your conversion from democrat to republican from someone who supported president obama to someone now supporting to charlie christ, who next week will be speaking at the democratic convention in support of president obama. so he's obviously changed as well. can you relate to him? >> oh, he has a right to do whatever he wants to do. i know much about governor christ, but i know this about myself, when i was in the democratic party, i was in the conservative wing. some of the very same people you referenced signed that accused me of being too conservative. i'll le other people make their judgment about whether christ's statement now is consistent with his record in the last 15 years. i'm kofrt comfortable from speaking from the democratic center right. >> you were one of those so-called blue dogs, is that right? >> i was a conservative democrat. >> and you were comfortable as a conservative democrat. >> i was comfortable because there used to be a lot of us. in the last four years the conservative democratic wing of the party has been sawed off. it's no longer vibrant. consistents of only a few members of congress right now. the democratic party has moved in what i view a leftward direction, not a direction i share and not a direction most americans share in my opinion. >> if you were by chance to run into the president of the united states, barack obama, a man you know, worked with him, what would you say to him? he would say artur, what's going on? >> i would say, mr. president, i have enormous respect for you and wish you the best, but reasonable people can disagree. reasonable people can have different opinions and tolerate each other. and i would say, mr. president, that's the kind of america that you talked about in 2004. and i'm willing to bet you the president would say, you know what, i understand that. i understand that. >> artur davis, good luck with your speech. >> thank you. i appreciate it. >> thanks for coming in. >> good to see you. thank you. much more on this republican convention coming up here in tampa including my interview with all five romney sons. standby for that. meanwhile, hurricane isaac is packing strong winds, lots of rain and a pretty slow punch to the gulf that you can see from space. look at these pictures. we're going to get the latest on its strength and when it's expected to make landfall in just a few minutes a new forecast about to come out. and there are also curfews in effect across the gulf coast including in new orleans. we're going there live as they brace for this hurricane. ♪ ♪ wow... 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[ tires squeal ] and if you get into an accident and use one of our certified repair shops, your repairs are guaranteed for life. call... to switch, and you could save hundreds. liberty mutual insurance -- responsibility. what's your policy? bracing for hurricane isaac all along the gulf coast including in new orleans. we're going to go back there live in a few moments. first, john king is here. john, we're here at the republican convention. they were moving along pretty much on script, but then ron paul and some of his supporters interfered, shall we say. >> we heard a little bit of what will pass for drama at mitt romney's republican convention. without a doubt this is now mitt romney's party. as they're going through the prefungt ri set the stage business, the rules committee -- people at home thinking what do i care about that, that includes who gets to sit here as delegates. ron paul supporters lost a few fights with the romney campaign and with the republican national committee. when the kre den shlgs committee came out and announced the results, there was some booing. and then john sununu, a very prominent mitt romney guy has rubbed a lot of the ron paul people the wrong way shall we say. abrasive guy in some ways. they lost some of the rules fights as well. they were chanting point of order. they believed their carried the day. reince priebus said i carried the day. and the convention organizers had the other delegates chant usa. little bit of a competition. make no mistake about it, some of the ron paul supporters are not happy with the whey they're being treated here. will it affect the outcome of the election? not at all. does it tell you about the ron paul legacy and the feistiness of his grass roots, his supporters will see that throughout the convention. >> ron paul refused to speak because, a, he wouldn't let the romney people review his speech in advance. and he says he can't fully endorse the republican presidential candidate. >> i don't fully endorse it. some people say ron paul only had a moderate number of delegate. in a close election, who knows. we expect they're here, expect them to vote republican. there is a libertarian gary johnson here in this city trying to peel off some of those ron paul supporters. it's a little bit of drama. there are paul supporters, some santorum supporters and others who aren't quite happy with mitt romney. but this is not so much about mitt romney. this is more the grass roots paul supporters against what they view as a republican establishment who wants to keep their power in the halls of party in washington as opposed to out in the states. >> little tension here at this republican convention. john, thanks very much. let's get straight to cnn contributor and sirius xm rdio host keith dominic. he's at the cnn grill here in tampa as well getting some unsolicited advice from his panel. pete, what's going on? >> thank you very much, wolf blitzer. i'm here with a brilliant panel. we're going to have a great discussion about the future of the gop. we're here at the rnc in tampa. let's take a snapshot because rick santorum and chris christie are speaking tonight. whose party is this? let's take a look real quick. >> some republicans worry that the republican party will come off even more conservative. this is from dane quail "the philosophy you hear from time to time, which is unfortunate, is one of exclusion rather than inclusion. you have to be expanding the base, expanding the party." >> long-term conservative principles that they're to be successful and implemented, there has to be a concerted effort to reach to a much broader audience. >> the republicans party brain is under water rightnow. how do you turn that around? >> you start turning around tonight. >> all right. so let's start with karen santorum. your husband rick is speaking tonight. so is chris christie. whose party is this? is there a fracture? or are we trying to make this up? >> i think we're united. i think the republican party is definitely wanting to continue what they have always done, and that is, you know, keep to our founding principles and keep faith and family and hard work ethic and things like that at the forefront. we're excited. >> ross, i mean, there's these three different factions at least. the fiscal conservative, the religious and social conservatives and the libertarians. we see what's happening on the floor with ron paul s. there a fracture? >> actually, i think compared to some years the republican party's pretty united. i mean, mitt romney has run a fairly generic campaign in certain ways. he's run as a sort of i'm, you know, i'm mr. republican, i'm for low taxes, strong national defense and so on. i don't think it's been a particularly creative campaign overall. but i think he's fairly successfully sort of presided over the different factions, kept they will nullified, maybe except during the floor fights going on right now. and also, i mean, look, you're running against an incumbent who republicans don't like very much. and the party is at the very least united around the idea of beating barack obama. so i think the media narrative of fractures is probably a little overstated this week. >> what i see is this is the tea party's triumph. certainly romney's doing a good job of trying to preside over it. but let's give the tea party it's due at once. three years ago we were laughing at these guys who are these nut cases disrupting these things -- >> speak for yourself. >> right. but you had a big chunk of america saying who are these nut cases disrupting town hall meetings? they're going to be a flash in the pan. three years later they have effectively taken over a major american party and if they win in november, they will have taken over the american government. you will never see a more effective grass roots movement, you have to go back to the civil rights movement to find effective, this is their party and they earned it. >> you deserve it too. >> the things that unite the republican party are so critical now. let's start with our belief that faith and family -- not centralized and expanded. we will trust a job creator and entrepreneur over a regulator or a bureaucrat. and, finally, we believe that individuals are going to make better choices for themselves, their families, their businesses than some far away bureaucrat is going to make for them. those are fundamental to the direction of this nation. those are fundamental. >> the economy as you said also reflects -- i mean, those are sort of generic and over arching principles, right? and i think the success of romney has been sort of focusing on the principles. and maybe, you know, leaving some of the underlying details -- >> right on to the path we choose going forward. >> there's obviously a tremendous amount of difference. got pretty dirty between your husband and mitt romney. and let's be honest, there's not a ton of enthusiasm. mitt romney's not captain inspiration. your husband frankly is a lot more inspiring than mitt romney, but can he bring them back together and the people that supported your husba? and the people most importantly support ron paul? >> i believe he can. >> you're hoping? >> i'm anxious to learn more about him. i'm a mother. we know mitt romney from running against him. so i see a different person. but i know he's great with national security. i know that he's really good with welfare reform and jobs and the economy and lowering taxes. i know he'll do everything he can to support families. what i as a mother want to learn more about is mitt romney as the father, as the husband. because it speaks volumes about all of us, you know, when we learn more about how people operate in their daily lives. >> she's actually just setting the stage for the secret rick santorum-led rebellion going to fracture the party in a few hours tonight. >> it's so funny how people in the media want so badly for the republican party to be fractured. this is in fact a diverse -- it is a diverse party. it is not all one face. it is in fact a big tent. but around these core principles, to use your phrase, but principles that really mark a fork in the nation, a huge fork in the road. >> the diversify, if the gop were to build a house, a third would be a church, a third would be condemned because they don't like -- and the third mitt romney would buy. >> come on. >> it would be a great investment. he'd buy that too. >> i'm going to talk kids. we're all different. we're all individuals. but we're still a family. and the republican party is so much similar to that. >> that's true. >> we're still very much united and together. >> i just think that the party is united. it's united around the tea party vision chr vision, which is an extreme vision. and part of what you're seeing right now, frankly, romney you cannot show me a difference between the romney and what the tea party would have to say. >> first of all, i was on the campaign trail for months. and i have to tell you, the tea party people are not nuts. they were some of the best and most beautiful people i ever knew. >> they are to the far right. >> if you think of the democrat party, what's happening is they're so extreme. they're talking about completely your serping, big government, more and more government intrusion into our lives. we don't want that. but with obama care we won't get there. >> you mean romney care. romney care. in other words you're attacking obama for adopting your candidate's view. >> but how extreme can the republican party be if it just nominated mitt romney, man? >> a candidate who has to run away from his own fine record because the tea party's taken over this party and it won't accept -- >> i want to keep doing this, but we have to get back to wolf, carly. thank you all. throw it back to wolf blitzer. thank you guys very much. we're take ago quick break. we'll come back. we'll come back. great. the pace of change is accelerating. the way we... perform, compete and grow. and people are driving this change. that's the power of human resources. the society... for human resource management and its members know... how to harness that power, because we help develop it. from the next economy, to the next generation, we help get... the most out of business, by getting the best out of people. shrm. leading people, leading organizations. in communities across the country. whether it's supporting a delaware nonprofit that's providing training and employment opportunities, investing in the revitalization of a neighborhood in the bronx, or providing the financing to help a beloved san diego bakery expand, what's important to communities across the country is important to us. and we're proud to work with all of those who are creating a stronger future for everyone. welcome back. we're here on the convention floor. we're standing by for the start of the role call of states that will formally nominate mitt romney to be the republican presidential candidate. later tonight one of the highlights if not the highlight of the night will be ann romney. she will take the stage for the first big speech of this convention. her family, and it's a large family, will be in the arena to support her. just a little while ago earlier today i had a chance to sit down with her sons, all five of them, to get their take on their mom's big night. >> we're here in the cnn grill with the five, yes, five romney sons. let me introduce them to our viewers here in united states and around the world. we'll start all the way to my right, ben. that's you, right? >> yes. >> and matt, right? >> that's right. >> tagg, you're the oldest, right? >> i am. >> yes. josh. and craig. >> yep. >> all of us are here. we're together. we're getting excited because your mom is going to be speaking tonight at the republican convention. have you already heard her speech? >> i have not heard her speech. i saw her up there practicing a little bit, but i didn't get to stop and listen. very excite today hear what she has to say. i'm sure she'll say nice things about my dad. >> have you at all been consulted on what she should say? any of you guys been consulted about the substance of the speech? >> no. she's written most of it herself. she's had some help from speech writers but most has been her own thoughts. she'll talk about my dad and his vision and why she should be president and what he'll do once he's there. >> she's really an amazing woman. i spent some quality time with her in iowa. almost exactly a year ago. and i got to know her. and i realized at that time you tell me a little bit about her inspiring story, because she inspired me. and you've lived with her your whole lie. >> just the fact she raised us boys and we're still alive is inspiring enough. we gave her so much trouble growing up. really looking at her, we're so proud of her. she battled with m.s. and was really at a low point several years ago. and she's just fought hard. she's out stomping for my dad. hitting the trail everyday. we're really proud of her. >> and you're a doctor, ben, so you know something about her medical condition, not only m.s. but breast cancer. she's amazing. she's got a lot of emergency. how do you explain that? a lot of m.s. -- people who have m.s. aren't as active, as lively as enthusiastic as she is. >> well, you know, i think m.s. can take a lot of different forms. we're very glad that it hasn't affected my mom as much as it can affect other people, i think. and she counts herself very fortunate for that. she's also taking a very active role in making sure that she stays on top of her disease both with conventional therapy and with alternative therapy. she's done a great job of staying on top making sure she eats healthy, she's active, she's fit. all those have helped her. >> she told me when i spent time with her, she gets tired once in a while. but she has ways of dealing with it. >> yeah. she talks to us a lot on the trail. and she'll tell us, okay, it's time for me to te a break. >> she knows. her body is telling her. >> she knows. and sometimes she overdoes it a little bit. she's admitted that. but she tries to keep it within a reasonable amount. so she's not overexerting herself. >> i ask you because you're the doctor, is there one alternative medical procedure that really helps her? i know the horses have helped her a lot. >> the horses helped her a whole lot. she's done acupuncture and reflexology, little herbal medicine. all sorts of things have helped her. >> i know all that kind of stuff works. tell us a little bit before we move to your dad something you want to share about your mom. >> you know, she has just this great motherly instinct. i think each of us in our own way were pretty rough kids. and we're pretty naughty at times. and she's had a ton of patience for us. always showed us love and respect. just a great mom. kept us in line. >> you want to share something else? >> yeah. it's just, you know, we're very proud of her for the fight that she's been through and also i think she has a tremendous amount of compassion for people she meets around the country. she really understands that, you know, you don't always see the troubles people are going through, but she's always very compassionate and very sincere in her dealings with other people. >> you love her very much i'm sure like all of you do. on the plane coming here to tampa today she gave everyone little cakes. you grew up eating those. >> that means less for us. we're little upset about that. >> she gave me one on the bus last year. those are delicious. >> yeah. those are grandmother's recipe. >> i guess her grandmother wasn't a very good cook, but my mom wanted to take something from her grandmother anyway. >> she knows she has to hide them from me. she leaves them out, they're gone. >> all right. much more of my interview with the five romney sons coming up later in "the situation room." they get personal and talk about their dad as well. i ask them if they have political ambitions. any of these five sons want to be a politician like their father, like their grandfather? much more of the interview coming up later. we're also closely monitoring hurricane isaac right now. in the next hour we're going to go live to grand isle, louisiana. we're starting to see the first real bans come ashore. we're also awaiting a new forecast. chad myers' standing by for that. in communities across the country. whether it's supporting a delaware nonprofit that's providing training and employment opportunities, investing in the revitalization of a neighborhood in the bronx, or providing the financing to help a beloved san diego bakery expand, what's important to communities across the country is important to us. and we're proud to work with all of those who are creating a stronger future for everyone. how did the nba become the hottest league on the planet? by building on the cisco intelligent network they're able to serve up live video, and instant replays, creating fans from berlin to beijing. what can we help you build? nice shot kid. the nba around the world built by the only company that could. cisco. you walk into a conventional mattress store, it's really not about you. they say, "well, if you wanted a firm bed you can lie on one of those. we provide the exact individualization that your body needs. oh, yeah! wow. once you experience it, there's no going back. at our biggest sale of the year, every bed is on sale. queen mattresses now start at just $599. and save an incredible 50% on our silver limited edition bed. only through labor day, only at one of our 400 sleep number stores. i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. call and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans, it could save you thousands in out-of-pocket costs. call now to request your free decision guide. i've been with my doctor for 12 years. now i know i'll be able to stick with him. you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. plus, there are no networks, and you never need a referral. see why millions of people have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp. don't wait. call now. we're standing by for the role call to begin. jim acosta reports from the floor. >> reporter: mitt romney landed in tampa with his wife, ann, by his side for her night in the spotlight. >> i think we will see that my speech is heartfelt. and i think a lot of you've been covering me long enough and you know that i've never gone off of the written text. so this is a unique experience for me. >> reporter: within minutes the romneys arrives at the convention. and before you could say tell prompter, then leaving her husband behind closed doors, mrs. romney was doing her walk-through for her convention speech. the man at the top of the ticket still has until thursday to craft his remarks, but advisors say the candidate, who is often criticized for being too scripted, will open up. >> it will be a clear vision of a romney presidency and very much from his heart about america. and why he wants to be president and what a presidency would be like. >> reporter: ohio senator and vp short lister rob portman says the softer side of romney could go a long way in firming up his support. they're expecting him to speak from the heart, is the way they're describing it. is that what he needs to do? >> listen, i think he's going to give a great speech. and the american people are going to get a new view of mitt romney. they're hearing a lot of attack ads right now. certainly in my home state of ohio they're nonstop. i think folks will really like what they see. >> reporter: don't forget the man delivering the convention's keynote address, chris christie, who could be setting the stage for his own future presidential run. and what's a party without some crashers? ron paul supporters cheered on the texas congressman as he entered the floor. they're fired up over changes to the convention's delegate rules. and paul wasn't telling them to keep it down. what's your message, congressman? >> same one i've been giving you for 35 years. >> were you okay with the whole process? >> i think they're expressing themselves rather well. >> reporter: meanwhile democrats outside the convention telling their version of the real romney. >> governor romney doesn't have what it takes to grow this economy, the lessons he learned as a corporate buyout speciast were not lessons that should be apply today a national economy. >> jim acosta on the floor. we'll check back with him shortly. we're keeping you posted on two major stories we're following right now. at the top of the hour we'll get the latest update on hurricane isaac from the national hurricane center. we'll go live to louisiana. here in tampa the republican convention we're standing by for the role call of states. we'll follow that as well. our live coverage from the republican national convention continues right after this. 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>> wolf, up to 80 miles per hour with wind gusts to 100. here's the problem i see. northwest movement at 8 miles per hour. we are still 105 miles from new orleans. that means this storm is still going to be in the water, warm water, the bayou, which is still water, for another 14 hours before it really gets as close to new orleans as it's going to get. that means this may still intensify even more. a lot of storm surge coming in already. right over here shell beach is already seven fe above where it should be. bay st. louis right there, we actually have a camera we'll show you in a little bit. that's now 5.6 feet above where it should be. and we're just getting started. here's the camera i was talking about. this is actually a parking lot. this is a dock. all you can see right now are the tops of the docks. i know you will talk to that storm chaser in a little bit. this storm is intensifying because the eye is beginning to get smaller. think about an ice skater. one foot on the ground bringing her arms in, she skates or spins faster. so the smaller the eye gets in here, the faster it's going to go. if we get down to a 20-mile-per-hour wide eye, people in mobile, gulfport, they're getting slammed by the first outer bands. winds there 60 miles per hour already, wolf. >> all right. it's pretty amazing just how wide it is when you think about it, chad. they're already getting hit and it's still hours away. could be a category 2. let's get to ed lavandera now in grand isle, louisiana. ed. >> reporter: here within the last 30 to 35 minutes or so we've seen the most intense parts of this storm begin to make its way on shore here in southern, louisiana. we're on the island of grand isle, louisiana, which is about 60 miles south of new orleans. just a while ago it's hard to imagine here there are homes about 400 yards or so behind me. this is on the north side of the island looking back toward new orleans. all of the rain now swirling around here in grand isle. the visibility has been cut down dramatically. you can't see the homes there. we've begun to see some of the storm surge coming out of the bay and make its way on to the island. but that's been under control. nothing terribly serious there right now. here are the conditions that have simply deteriorated before our eyes here in the last few minutes. if you look back over this way, not that you can see all the way to the gulf waters, but beyond these homes is where the gulf of mexico is. and there's a levee that goes all the way along the beach there. they expect the storm surge to make its way over that levee and start to creep its way in here. in this area of grand isle they expect perhaps about seven feet of storm surge. we're about four feet high. here's where we've done the math on this throughout the day, we're going to be in good shape if that holds up. but we know as chad mentioned that this storm has just started here in grand isle. and the intensity of this will just continue to increase. we have seen dramatic -- excuse me. the wind speed increase dramatically here in the last few minutes. and the gusts really intensified as well. er erin. >> i don't know, erin, if we should let -- i bet we should let him go inside, what do you think, erin? let him go inside. ed lavandera is getting through some messy times. >> that is just -- >> it's not funny. it could be very, very serious indeed. but we want ed lavandera and all of our reporters to be okay. they're on the scene for us. they're watching what's going on. we'll check in with them once it's okay. but this is a serious, serious storm. and you know what, the storm is obviously going to hover over what's happening behind us here on the convention floor. >> so many decisions on whether to celebrate, how to celebrate and what it could mean if we do have a hit. even after it hits it's like katrina, sometimes you don't know how bad the damage will be? that could impact thursday night mitt romney's speech. >> these people here are getting ready for the nomination. here's what's going on right now. let me update our viewers and get back to hurricane coverage in just a few moments. the nomination just seconded. you see john boehner, the speaker of the house, he's going through the process as well. and within the next few minutes they will formally begin the role call of states. as you know, you need 1,144 delegates in order to be the nominee. let's check in with dana bash. she's on the floor right now. dana, set the scene for us. i want our viewers to get a flavor of what's going on with this upcoming role call. >> reporter: well, what's going on is mitt romney was just formally nominated and that nomination was seconded. he was nominated by an official from the state of virginia, a swing state. and it was seconded by his top advisor, ron kaufman from romney's home state of massachusetts. now what's going to happen is as you said the role call will begin. so they're going to go through all of the states. and the states will announce who they are going to throw their hat in for for the nomination. that will be for the most part mitt romney. one of the moments of drama, if there is one, it's symbolic drama, but it is drama, that we're looking forward to down here on the floor is which state puts him over the top? meaning which state is the one that will actually give him enough delegates to officially clinch the nomination. we are hearing perhaps it will be one of the states where he has a home, maybe one that starts with an n, we're told. if that's the case, i'm looking for new hampshire. they're trying to keep it a bit mysterious. traditionally -- let's listen in now, actually. >> alabama, 50 votes. >> madame secretary, i'm proud to lead the alabama delegation. alabama is on the move. three national football championships in the last three years. a leader in transportation technology. three world class auto manufacturing plants and a new jet plant just announced. but, madame secretary, we need a job builder who will slash the $16 trillion debt holding us back. alabama's 50 delegates unanimously ca our votes for the only person who can do that, the next president of the united states mitt romney! >> alabama, 50, romney. >> alabama, 27 votes. >> madame secretary, alaska, the largest red state in this glorious union enjoys an abundance of pristine coastlines, towering mountain ranges, roaring rivers, serene lakes and streams, gigantic glaciers, wonderful wildlife, extraordinary natural resources and unprecedented god-created majestic beauty. alaska stands ready to elect a new president of the united states. alaska casts 18 votes for governor mitt romney and nine votes for representative ron paul. >> alaska, 18, romney. >> american samoa, nine votes. >> madame secretary, from the people of the territory of american -- the only american soil in the southern hemisphere. as proud americans we cast our votes, our nine votes, to elect the next president and vice president of the united states of america governor mitt romney and congressman paul ryan. they will restore economic hope and stability to all the people of america. god bless them. god bless the people of american samoa. and god bless the people of these great united states of america. thank you. >> american samoa, nine, romney. >> arizona, 29 votes. >> madame secretary, i'm jan brewer, governor of the great state of arizona. [ cheers and applause ] >> they love you. >> fellow delegates, thank you. you know, governor romney may not be from the west, but he's a westerner at heart. good old west. he embodies our western spirit and shows all that can be achieved with the american formula of hard work, faith and opportunity and freedom. i am proud today to advance and announce that arizona, the grand canyon state, cast 26 votes in president nomination of mitt romney, and three votes for ron paul. >> arizona, 26, romney. >> arkansas, 36 votes. >> madame chair, the great state of arkansas cast its 36 votes for the next president of the united states, mitt romney and the next vice president of the united states paul ryan. [ cheers and applause ] >> we're going to continue to watch the roll call. you can see where the tally is. remember 1,144 the magic number. he'll get it. the question is when will he get it. we'll soon find out. more of the roll call, more of the republican national convention right after this. [ annie ] this is the story of a girl named annie who dreamed she could fly. like others who braved the sky before her, it took a mighty machine, and plain old ingenuity to go where no fifth grader had gone before. ♪ and she flew and she flew, into the sky and beyond. my name is annie and i'm the girl who dreamed she could fly. powered by intel core processors. ♪ powered by intel core processors. well another great thing about all this walking i've been doing is that it's given me time to reflect on some of life's biggest questions. like, if you could save hundreds on car insurance by making one simple call, why wouldn't you make that call? see, the only thing i can think of is that you can't get any... bars. ah, that's better. it's a beautiful view. i wonder if i can see mt. rushmore from here. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. connecticut -- >> they're continuing the roll call of states here in tampa at the republican national convention. just finished up with colorado. let's take a look see where we stand. remember, 1,144 the magic number needed to make sure that mitt romney will be the nominee. connecticut announcing its decision. >> -- proudly casts all 28 votes for our friend and our good neighbor governor mitt romney! >> connecticut, 28, romney. >> delaware, 17 votes. >> madame secretary, the great state of delaware, the first state to ratify the constitution, the first state to make its -- ladies and gentlemen, excuse me, to make its pride in our country and our constitution and our way of life known cast all 17 of its delegates, all 17 of its delegate votes for the man who will return constitutional government to the united states, the man who will return the rule of law to the white house mitt romney. >> delaware, 17, romney. >> district of columbia, 19 votes. >> madame chair, the district of columbia's excited to pledge all 19 of our delegate votes to mitt romney. >> district of columbia, 19, romn romney. >> florida, 50 votes. >> madame chair, please i ask that we take a moment of silence for those that have been affected by isaac, the storm as well as those that will potentially be impacted by the storm. madame chair, florida is the sunshine state -- well, most times. i am lieutenant governor jennifer carol, proud home of governor rick scott who has shown america that florida knows how to prepare and respond to hurricanes and provide hospitality to our visitors. florida is also -- [ cheers and applause ] florida's also proud to have been the home of governor romney's first major state primary victory. the proud home to the convention that will nominate governor romney for president and a proud home of 29 electoral votes that will put governor romney over the top in november when we make him president romney. so we are proud to cast our 50 votes for the next president of the united states, governor mitt romney. [ cheers and applause ] >> florida, 50, romney. >> georgia, 76 votes. >> madame secretary, on behalf of the georgia republican voters with the state of the south have a heart stand here as chairman of the gop with speaker of the house david rollston and we along with governor nathan dill proudly give 72 of our delegate votes to the next president of the united states, mitt romney and paul ryan. >> hold on. whoever controlled the microphone -- >> could i please have the state of georgia repeat your vote count? >> yes, you can, madame secretary. 72 delegate votes for mitt romney. we have three for ron paul and one undecided. >> georgia, 72 romney. >> so let's take another quick break. we'll continue to monitor what's going on. remember, 1,144 needed to make it official. we'll keep the tally going at the bottom of the screen. much more of our coverage what's going on the republican national convention floor right after th. 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[ female announcer ] to nurses everywhere, ♪ (train horn) vo: wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. norfolk southern. one line, infinite possibilities. all right. state of illinois now announcing its support for mitt romney as this roll call continues. let's listen in. >> michelle and barack obama -- we're going to bring them back. and we're the state of the soon to be immediate past president of the united states of america, illinois casts 69 votes unanimously for mitt romney to be the president of the united stat states. >> illinois, 69, romney. >> indiana, 46 votes. >> madame secretary, the great state of indiana where governor mitch daniels led us to a $2 billion surplus, tax cuts and plural balanced budgets and where we'll soon elect mike pence, our 50th governor and richard murdoch, the 51st vote to repeal and replace obama care in the united states senate where we will have two republican women join us in congress and our already strong congressional delegation expand our state house legislative majorities and keep all of our statewide elected offices proudly cast all of our 46 delegate votes to america's next great president, mitt romney. [ cheers and applause ] >> indiana, 46, romney. >> iowa, 28 votes. >> madame secretary, the great state of iowa, the land between the missouri and the mississippi, the land thateeds millions of fellow americans with our corn, beans, hogs and cattle, the first in the nation caucus state that serves our political process by rewarding hard working, liberty loving candidates with delegates to this magnificent convention. iowa casts 22 votes for ron paul and 6 votes for mitt romney. >> iowa, six, romney. >> kansas, 40 votes. >> madame secretary, i am proud to represent the great state of kansas. a state where we often say, there's no place like home for barack obama in chicago. a state where we grow leaders like general dwight d. eisenhower, senator bob dole and our incredible governor sam brownback. a governor who is leading us to become a no-state-income-tax. in kansas we celebrate success like ku basketball, the wsu shockers and k-state football otherwise known in 2011 as the texas state champs, leadership, success, these are all great qualities in mitt romney. we are most pleased to offer 39 delegate votes for mitt romney and one for rick santorum. >> kansas, 39, romney. >> all right. so you can see mitt romney waiting that 1,144 delegates, the votes needed for him to become the republican presidential nominee. if you're confused why some of these states are giving ron paul more votes than mitt romney, we'll explain on the other side. go-gurt? yep...doh. 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[ female announcer ] for more information or to find a retailer near you, visit tempurpedic.com. all right. they're already up to maryland right now. they're reading the number of delegates, number of votes for mitt romney in maryland. just want to point out to our viewers, when the announcer tells us how many votes romney got, she is not saying what ron paul or rick santorum or anyone else gets. they are only formally announcing publicly from the podium what mitt romney is getting. no mention of ron paul from the podium whatsoever. also in some of these states you probably noticed that ron paul is actually doing better as far as vote count. this concern that mitt romney in iowa for example even though santorum and mitt romney did the best among the actual beauty contest in iowa, the iowa caucuses, ron paul though when it actually came to the iowa convention got most of the actual votes. that's why he got more votes in iowa as an example. let's continue to monitor this roll call. >> as chair of the michigan delegation and the governor of the great state of michigan, it is great to be here. we were at the state at the bottom for the last decade. and we're proud to say with republican leadership, we've balanced our budget, reformed our tax system, we're paying our liabilities, and we need that mess in washington fixed. we're the place to look to. and we're proud of that. also of the home of the best tourism with pure michigan. you're all welcome to come. and i'm very proud to report we take great pride in being the home state of governor romney and the romney family. as such, i'm very proud to defer the announcement of our vote to governor romney's brother, scott romney. [ cheers and applause ] >> the great state of michigan where mitt romney's father, george romney, served as governor. michigan, where ann romney and mitt romney were born, raised and fell in love. mitt romney loves our country. he will bring jobs and opportunity to the poor and middle class. he will restore fiscal sanity and economic growth. he will provide america with leadership in bringing peace and prosperity at home and abroad. i am truly honored to announce these votes for a man who happens to be my brother and whom i love, mitt romney, the next president of the united states. [ cheers and applause ] >> michigan, you saw scott romney, mitt romney's older brother making the announcement. we'll take a quick break. they're about to go over the top. i want on the other side to be there when they do. >> 24 votes for mitt romney, four votes for ron paul. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] you've been years in the making. and there are many years ahead. join the millions of members who've chosen an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. go long. in communities across the country. whether it's supporting a delaware nonprofit that's providing training and employment opportunities, investing in the revitalization of a neighborhood in the bronx, or providing the financing to help a beloved san diego bakery expand, what's important to communities across the country is important to us. and we're proud to work with all of those who are creating a stronger future for everyone. you want to make sure it goes up and stays up. 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[ chirp ] with access to the fastest push to talk, three times the coverage, and android productivity apps. now when buy ootorola admiral rugged smartphone, for ninety nine ninetyine, you'll get one free. visit a sprint store, or call eight five five, eight seven eight, four biz. getting very close to mitt romney formally getting the republican presidential nomination. nebraska just making its announcement right now. remember, 1,144 number of votes needed to make it official. romney will be the republican presidential nominee. very, very close to that. once that happens there is going to be a lot of excitement. they're going to be dancing. there's going to be music. so standby for that. they're getting close. let's listen in to this announcement. >> nebraska, 33, romney. >> nevada, 28 votes. >> in nevada, freedom is not just a word, it is a way of life. the silver state is well represented here at the national convention. we have delegates from clarke county, home of las vegas entertainment capital of the world. douglas county on the shores of beautiful lake tahoe. mining capital of the world. and washo county, home of the biggest little city in the world. six states nominated the champion of the constitution congressman ron paul for president of the united states. iowa, minnesota, alaska, virgin islands, oregon and nevada. in the spirit of freedom that inspired the founding of our country and in honor of the liberty that has made the united states the greatest country on earth, we proudly cast 17 votes for congressman ron paul, five abstentions and five for romney. >> nevada, five, romney. >> new hampshire, 12 votes. >> madame secretary, new hampshire, the granite state where it all begins. >> once again i want to point out to our viewers from the podium they're only announcing the votes for mitt romney. they're totally ignoring the votes for ron paul, the republican congressman from texas. even though in some of these states we just heard in nevada, he is getting more votes than mitt romney and that is clearly irritating a lot of folks, ron paul supporters who have gathered here. i just want to point out they are trying as best as they can to ignore ron paul and the votes he has received. >> new hampshire, nine, omney. >> new jersey, 50 votes. >> madame secretary, the garden state, the proud home of tonight's keynote address given by governor chris christie proudly casts all 50 of its votes for the next president of the united states, governor mitt romney! >> new jersey, 50, romney. [ cheers and applause ] >> so there it is. it's over the top for mitt romney. he is now the republican presidential nominee, not just the candidate. mitt romney going over the top. you just heard it there live there now celebrating all the mitt romney supporters. erin burnett is here. it's fascinating, erin, the way they have tried even at this great moment of celebration for mitt romney to completely ignore ron paul even though in some of these states he did better than mitt romney. obviously ron paul was never going to get the republican presidential nomination. but what a snub. >> right. >> i think my tweets on my twitter inbox, they are going off the roof right now because a lot of folks are upset about that. >> the ron paul supporters are loyal. and they are -- they want much more of ron paul. earlier of course there was the whole ruckus on the floor and waiting to get the information. theyanted to have more for ron paul. >> yeah. there are ron paul supporters here. let's go back and listen to the rest of this roll call. it is official now. mitt romney, the republican presidential nominee. they're going to finish the roll call to make it completely official. then by acclimation paul ryan will be the vice presidential nominee as well. let's listen in to new mexico for a moment. >> -- respect god, to respect the flag, respect others and respect themselves. new mexico is looking for a president who will unite this country instead of divide it. new mexicoasts all 23 votes for the next president of the united states governor mitt romney. >> new mexico, 23, romney. >> new york, 95 votes. >> madame secretary, the great state of new york, the empire state which stretches from the atlantic ocean to lake erie, new york, the media capital of the world and the financial capital of the world, new york, which won from the democrats more congressional seats than any other state in sweeping nancy pelosi out of the speakership and john boehner into the speakership, new york reacting to the vision of mitt romney, of an opportunityty socie of free people and free enterprise proudly casts all i 95 votes united states mitt romney! [ cheers and applause ] >> new york, 95, romney. >> mitt romney the republican presidential nominee went over the top 1,144 just a little while ago. john king is watching this together with erin and me. john, as you see what's going on right now, this is just largely a formula, if they will. but i'm pretty surprised the way they have totally ignored ron paul. some of those states like iowa, nevada, he got more votes than mitt romney did. but they're not even reading the number of votes he got from the podium. >> wolf, to be frank and in a word it seems pretty petty. there's no suspense here. mitt romney is going to be the nominee of the republican party. paul ryan will be the vice president. mitt romney is officially the nominee ofhe republican party. yet there's bad blood. e ron paul supporters went to state conventions after the primaries and caucuses and they took over those state conventions. and, yes, they surprised the establishment. they won more delegates at those than they did on primary or caucus day. it has the campaign mad. but they did it within the rules. and so here the romney campaign forces essentially tried to rewrite the rules with the help of the republican national committee. so there's bad blood on the floor. mitt romney to won. to not mention ron paul's vote total during the roll call seems like taking that bad blood, shall we say, to the fifth grade petty level. i have in my hand, i don't know if we have time to show it, this is a fact sheet. some ron paul supporters were distributing on the floor complaining about the rules being rewritten. they say not only does it hurt ron paul this time, their argument that sarah palin is on their side is that it hurts grass roots activists the next time we elect a president. what many republicans see, wolf and erin, is the romney campaign already gearing up, getting ahead of themselves perhaps thinking that if he is elected president, these new rules would help him not face a challenge from the right or from -- are they thinking that far ahead? is that conspiracy theory? who knows, but it seems silly on a day mitt romney gets this crowning achievement of his career to have a petty support with a fight with a man romney gets along with quite well with. there's no bad blood between ron paul and mitt romney. but there is bad blood between ron paul supporters and their party. for those at home thinking who cares there aren't that many ron paul people, remind you, george w. bush won a state in 2000 by about 335 votes, every now and then every vote matters. you don't really want to make these people mad. >> all right. hold on for a minute. i want everybody to hold on because it does sound pretty petty. i've covered a lot of these conventions. and i don't remember a time if ever when the person on the podium reading the roll call fails to mention anyone other than obviously mitt romney in this particular case the leading candidate. complete snub of ron paul. i don't remember that happening. maybe it has happened in the past. i certainly don't remember it. dana bash is on the convention floor. jim acosta's there as well. standby. we're going to get some reaction to what's going on. we'll take a quick break. more from the republican national convention right after this. ♪ ♪ i do anything ♪ i can do anything today ♪ i co anywhere ♪ i c go anywhereoday ♪ la la la la la la la [ male announc ] dow solutions help millions of people by helping to make gluten free bread that dsn'tteluten free. together, the elements of science and the human element can solve anything. solutionism. the new optimism. all right. i want to listen to this. just listen. they're going to make anma an anuncement. >> pennsylvania.72votes. >> madam secretary. i'm governor tom corbett. proud to lead this delegation from the great commonwealth pennsylvan, eradle of democracy, the birthplace of a na where constitution and declara o were both created, where this party started in pennsylvania with its first meeting in pittsburgh and its first national conventi in 1856 in philadelphia. and i'm proud to say that we are here to tell the world that we are open for business. and i am proud to say we are going to support the president, the next president of the united states by casting 67 votes for mitt romney! and 5 votes for paul ryan. >> pennsylvania. 67. romney. puerto rico. 23 votes. >> once again, they're not naming ron paul, how many votes ron paul is getting. you heard pennsylvania say paul ryan, that would obviously a blunder on the part of the spokesperson from pennsylvania. he meant ron paul, but they're not announcing ron paul's delegates or votes from the podium. dana bash, you're on the floor. a lot of ron paul supporters are pretty upset. what's going on there? >> reporter: that's right. some of the ron paul supporters are very upset for the reason you were discussing earlier, not so much that they don't have -- of the rules which are issues that for the most part deal with four years from now, but just for the symbolic slap in the face they're getting by the fact that they're not being announced, delegates are not being announced from the podium. he talked when he started about the fact it is symbolic traditionally in recent history for a key state to put a nominee over the top. my understanding in talking to republicans on the floor is that they're hopeless, new hampshire is an important swing state for him. it didn't happen, went to the next state new jersey. the main reason is because they couldn't calculate the math, weren't entirely sure, they didn't know where the ron paul delegates would be and how many would cast their votes. that's why it didn't work out in terms of the theater and symbolism exactly how they wanted. >> clearly dana, thanks very much. john berman is at the main delegation. tell viewers what happened. >> reporter: i am amid some empty seats in the main delegation. the reason, a good part of the delegation walked out. this was ground zero for the ron paul protest earlier. i think we have video of it. there was argument over seating, which delegates would be seated. at that point, this erupted with people shouting. there are people here shouting. they did not get seated. they were very, very unhappy with how things went, wolf, and simply walked out. i can tell youe m people here, mittomney supporters are relieved with the outcome. it is a lot ss tenseout the ron paul people here and they did cast their ey cast 14 for mitt romney. evenn the absence of n paul delegates there were some for ball. >> j, as him why they decided to publicly snub ron pauli even though he has a lot of votes. they're not even reading the >> talking to governor john sununu, heboutthis delegate drama on t floor. what do you make of this protest it almost seems onhe floor on the part of ronaul forces. >> people have to understand whhis convention is concerned about. let's take iowa. mitt romney and rick santorum each got about a third, even more than a third of the votes each. ron paul didn't do that well. but because the ron paul folks in essence packed the caucus that follows the caucus, they end up with virtually all of iowa's votes. that's not the way to run a convention, and the ron paul people are upset that the delegates at this convention have expressed concern about what they feel is a hijacking of process. >> do you think they abused the process? >> if you look state by state, talk to people in the states, you'll hear some strong comments from people that took the time to show up at those primaries or caucuses and find out they don't get delegates because of parliamentary tactics. >> should that effect the nation caucus rights? >> i don't think so. i think folks in iowa are going to address that issue with internal rules. >> ann romney is speaking lat tonight. wep hearin s going to show theofter sideof mitt romney. why are we getting to that ow, vernor. >> because there's apoo presidential campaigns. to tell you the truth, most people don't pay attention until the kids go back to school, just before or just after labor day, and this is the right time for that to come and be if you will the presentation of this candidate to america. we've got about 70 days. presidential campaigns are sort of like basketball games. basketball games, it is all in the last two minutes. in a presidential campaign, it is all in the last two months. >> governor sununu, appreciate it very much. we are entering that stage as the governor mentioned, heading into the final two months. wolf, i'll toss back to you. interesting to hear those words from john sununu. he doesn't hold back. he doesn't exactly show the softer side of mitt romney. >> he doesn't mince words. john sununu, we'll take a quick break. here in tampa after this. >> one vote uncommitted, one vote for -- you expect something $40in return. billionaire oil tycoons charles and david koch and their special- interest friends are spending $400 million to buy this year's elections and advance their agenda. what's their payback? 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i think folks in new orleans and through the mississippi gulf coast have been anticipating a slow storm and a lot of wind and rain for a long period of time. >> that's exactly right. moving at 8 miles per hour. so if it is 105 miles from you now, at 8 miles per hour, you do the multiplication, division, you have 14 hours' worth of this before you get to the eye. then at least another 14 or 20 hours of it blowing the other direction. so that's what you get. you get 24 to 36 hours of at least tropical storm force winds and if the center eyewall continues to form like it is, we could have hurricane winds for a good couple, three hours in downtown new orleans. remember, get above 30 floors, anderson, go ahead, go ahead. >> i was saying i think we have a connection with the reporter in grand isl john zarrella is there. what is the situation? ed will he have endar a. >> that's okay. if you have been watching in the last hour, one of the strongest bands hit us rather intensely about an hour or so ago. in between it, it weakened. all the homes behind me a little while ago you couldn't see, sheets of rain were whipping through so intensely, our visibility had been cut down dramatically. all of that had been completely obscured. we couldn't see it. now we're able to see the homes. looking northward where you are, anderson, in grand isle 60 miles south of new orleans, this is end of the road from louisiana to new orleans, this is it. we're looking back over this way where hurricane isaac is coming toward us. you can see the storm surge. winds are pushing out of the north. you can see that storm surge pushing water out of the bay back onto the island. everything seems to be under control now. i spoke with the mayor in grand isle awhile ago. he and his team in grand isle are driving around the island, doing a little bit of a survey. a lot of road, this is very low lying area. a lot of roads have started to become overwhelmed with water, and that makes driving in this area, grand isle and to the north towards new orleans where you are treacherous if not simply impossible today. we will be watching through the rest of the afternoon, anderson, towards the south where the storm surge is expected to come out of the gulf, at some point, and they're anticipating here we could have several feet of water across several parts of the island. back in 2008 during hurricane gustav, all of this was covered in three feet of water. weill b watching that clos anderson. >> intesting, themountf rain we had ten or fifteen minutes ag gives you an i of the power of the storm. we're getting a tasteof . ios early hours. >>u and i have been in these many times. es squalls come, you can barely seer hear anything. it is very powerful. they tell people don out in this tufffyou're curious, don't do it. saw some people by lake pontchartrain, the mayor saying don't come out in this stuff. >> chad myers back into the conversation. the levels of rivers have been low now for quite some time. >> sure. >> there's a lot of concern about saltwater moving through the rivers and the damage that could do. in terms of rain, though, how much rain do you anticipate seeing in this area? >> there's no question, new orleans will get 20 inches of rain in the next8 hours. on and off. ches. in m0 me it is on, every time t rain comes down, that rain brings the wind with it. when it stops raining, winds calm, then it gets rainy again and winds pick up. ed will hee endare a is between uas. another one is on the way. derson.en't seen anything yet, you have all of this still to come, thes big squalls with more wind still coming your way in about a hf hour, you get a break. in an hour and a half, you get another big one, bigthan the one you just had. >> reporter: that's really important for people in this area to realize the length of time we're going to see this rain in terms of their own preparations. a lot of people are prepared, have taken it seriously. a lot of lessons learned since katrina. >> absolutely. we talked about how new orleans wasn't under mandatory evacuation order. seven parishes are under mandatory evacuation orders. that's not insignificant. there are a lot of people heeding orders and getting out. >> also dusk to dawn curfew in plaque parish. >> soledad o'brien, when i was there earlier, people were nailing everything shut. what are you seeing there? >> reporter: similar thing. very few people on the streets, occasionally someone walks by with a dog. the big concern is that storm surge, idea of the storm camping out as chad was describing for 24 hours or so, certainly rainfall, then storm surge. earlier we had a chance to see what they call the wall, the long name, inner harbor canal surge barrier at lake born where the intercoastal highway and lake born meet up. the pblem during hurricane katrina, that became a basic channel so the storm surge could rush into the city under that bridge and basically flood parts of new orleans, lower ninth ward and saint bernard parish. they created a wall, 26 feet from the water up, 200 feet down, runs for two miles from new orleans across saint bernard parish. the goal is when they close the big gates, three massive gates, when we saw them close those today, basically shuts that down. there's no channel. that should they hope block storm surge that will rush up as it did and potentially damage new orleans. it moves the perimeter 13 miles outside the city so the water cannot rush in. for a lot of people here, you and i have both talked to folks quite a bit since we have been here, they feel comfortable because the hurricane is going to be category one, maybe two as chad has been talking about. also with this new 1.1 billion dollar structure, they feel something like that could protect them from storm surge. >> reporter: a lot of people talking this may be the first testament. with a cat one storm, won't be the full test people would like to see so they have full confidence for moving forward in the future. we will check in with our correspondents. stay with cnn for full coverage of the storm. right now, back to wolf in tampa. wolf? here at the republican convention. what a contrast to what you're seeing on the gulf coast. what's going on behind me on the convention floor, they're twisting and shouting. mitt romney is the republican presidential nominee. paul ryan the vice presidential nominee. we got excerpts from ann romney's speech. we have that coming up. two stories, very different stories, celebration in tampa and potential disaster on the gulf coast. we will be back. 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[ female announcer ] get the travelocity guarantee any way you book, including our new app. you'll never roam alone. all right. paul ryan is about to be named the vice presidential nominee by ak limb agency, the only candidate for vice presidential nominee. he is about to get that now. mitt romney is the republican presidential nominee. all of that is official. let's go to candy crowley on the podium watching what's going on. candy, what are you seeing up there? >> we saw the floor demonstration of what we have known many months would happen. we're getting into the meat of the evening where folks begin to talk. we have just gotten excerpts from ann romney's speech, she and chris christie, new jersey governor tonight, really the main speakers. she will do at least according to excerpts exactly what we thought she would do, talk about her husband in a way that begins to reach out to folks and say here is what he's really about. one of the passages that sort of struck me was when she says i read somewhere that mitt and i have a storybook marriage. in the storybooks i meant, there were never long rainy afternoons in a house with five boys screaming at once, and the story books never seemed to have chapters called ms or breast cancer. of course, ann romney had both. a storybook marriage, not at all, what mitt romney and i have is a real marriage. it seems to be the theme this is the man, that's the recurring theme to some of the paragraphs we're seeing, this is the man can lead america back to prosperity. this is the man and interspersed in that refrain are personal stories from ann romney. again, she's a kickoff witness as you will, if you will, to those not just in this hall who already voted for her husband in the roll call vote but to folks on the couches, here is what my husband is about. she is prime time star of this three day long effort to answer the question who is mitt romney, wolf. >> and chris christie will be the keynote speaker. the very outspoken governor of new jersey. she will speak before him. he will then kickoff his remarks. and we're bracing for who knows what chris christie might say. any indications, candy? >> well, i talked to a couple folks yesterday. they said yes, you know, chris christie is hugely popular in the conservative base of the republican party because he is an in your face guy, taking on critics, they love him for that. i was also told listen, part of this is about again reaching into the living rooms, reaching into the independents, reaching the swing voters. remember, they said chris christie is a republican in a democratic state. they say last time they looked at polling numbers, he had 50% approval rating in new jersey. may not sound great, but there aren't many republicans in new jersey. they say he has a history of working with independents, attracting independents and swing voters. you will hear that chris christie as well, wolf. >> all rig, stand by, everyone. they're formally nominating the congressman from iowa nominating paul ryan as the vice presidential nominee for the republicans. this is happening by a.m. limb agency, not doing a roll call, just happened by acclimation. there's mitch mcconnell. let's listen in briefly to mitch mcconnell. >> delegates and altnates, pursuanto t rule 40 a, motion t nomina by ak limb agency is in order. the chair recognizes our distinguishedriom pennsylv. fr th state ofconsmove paul be nominated by acction by this replican national convention as its candidateor the office ofice presiden of the uted ate mr. chairman, pau ryan believes inamerica. [ applause ] >> without objection, the previous question is ordered. the questn on the motion honorable paul ryan be nominated by acclimation. those favor say aye. opposing say no. in t opinion of the chair, the motion is laid on thetable. delegates and ladies and gentlemen, i am proud to announce paul hash overwhelming sported ofthis convention to be the next vice president of the united states. [ applause ] >> the chair appoints the following great americans to search as escort committee for their brother. >> it is official now, paul ryan is the vice presidential nominee for the republicans. mitt romney is the presidential nominee for the republicans. jim acosta is on the floor getting reaction from a family member. jim, what have you got? >> reporter: i am with the nominee's son, josh romney, joins me on the floor for the california delegation. josh, your mom is speaking in a couple hours. have you had a chance to look at her speech? can you give us a preview? >> i can't give you a preview. i haven't seen the speech. i talked to her, she's excited to give it. nervous but excited. it will be fun to see her tonight. >> she was saying earlier she has never given a prepared speech before, something written for her, but she's out on the stump. where does she get that, being in a political family all these years? you obviously could do it as well. >> my mom as a child was very shy. i inherited that. i had my mom's shyness as a kid and we both grew out of it. she grew out of it, became a real people person, loves it, loves being on the campaign trail for my dad. so yeah, she has been doing it a long time and has gotten good at it. >> your uncle scott in the michigan delegation announced the delegate for the state of michig michigan. it is a family affair for the romneys. how does that touch you. is that an emotional moment? >> it is neat to have a lot of family here, cousins, second and third cousins. >> how many cousins do you have? >> i couldn't count them. so it is fun to have so many people here supporting my dad and mom. it is overwhelming. great support in the family and elsewhere. look at the crowd out here. it is really overwhelming. >> utah delegate. >> that's right. >> josh romney. told us a few moments ago, he is part of the utah delegation. we think that's where he is headed in a few moments. >> he lives in salt lake. go to dana. she's on the floor. dana, getting reaction from some ron paul supporters in pennsylvania? >> reporter: that's right. we were discussing earlier there were ron paul delegates here and put the vote in for ron paul but wasn't announced from the floor. i have two from the state of pennsylvania, tom broza. what do you think happened. >> i wanted to see the chairman keep it fair. i just wanted to see the yea and nay on the rolls. i knew it would be close. i wanted to record the numbers and wanted the chair to announce it. he didn't. i am disappointed in that. but that's the way the cards fell. >> what about you? i talked to you earlier, you're not happy. >> i think if the state chairmen from across the nation were willing to announce the votes, chairman of the national convention should have announced them as well out of fairness. >> we should tell the viewers, he knew beforehand his name wouldn't be announced from the podium because of rules of the party, correct? >> correct. through the rules of the party he was not going to be officially nominated and they were not going to announce him on stage. but what they did was every state announced how many votes ron paul got. and there were a number of states where he had majority. >> one last question. your vote as ron paul delegates, are you voting for mitt romney in november? >> the way i was treated here today, i felt like i was picked on a lot by a number of different people, so i'm not too happy about that, and you know, if i was well received and no she nan begans, i would have considered it in november. >> what about you? >> i am a loyal republican but independent minded. i want to watch mitt romney's candidacy to see whether he will adhere to what got into the platform and see what, because i want to have a voice in his candidacy and eventual administration and make my decision. >> tnk you so much. they'll be watching carefully. thesere two examples of ron paul supporters not thrilled to say the least. >> dana, thanks very much. all right. we're going to continue to watch what's going on on the republican convention floor. big speeches up later tonight. a very different picture coming in from the gulf coast, including in new orleans. on this, the seventherry katrina. we go back to anderson cooper and his team. look at the live pictures from lake pontchartrain in louisiana. more coverage from louisiana and mippi d ala. you see the water beginning to come over the sides of the road. it's a disaster unfolding there. we're tching it all very closely. a very different picture here in tampa. stay with us. coverage of both stories continues after this. this is the plan that revolves around you. introducing share everything. unlimited talk. unlimited text. tap into a single pool of shareable data and add up to 10 different devices, including smartphones and tablets. the first plan of its kind. share everything. only from verizon. get $100 off select motorola 4g lte smartphones like the droid razr. ♪ (train horn) vo: wherever our trains go, the economy comes to life. norfolk southern. one line, infinite possibilities. isaa these are pictures of lake nt you can sethe storm as iis tting lake pontchartrain. brian todd, you were out there earlier today. what was it like out there earlier? >> it was a violent storm surge. it was just getting started. it was starting to flood there. there were people hanging out at the edge of the lake, even though the mayor said do not go out there. he was telling people don't go out there, even if you're curious about it, first time out, it is very dangerous. we're told there are violent surges and flooding near there. so it's a dangerous situation. >> one of the things, we'll talk to chad myers in a moment, one of the things in a storm like this which is going to go on so long, people cooped up, suddenly a band comes through, it will pour hard, right now, we are in a relatively, clouds almost breaking, gotten a little lighter, there's temptation to want to get outside. >> it can be very deceiving. as a matter of fact between one of the rain bands a couple hours ago, there was a pop of blue sky and almost sunlight out here, so you really have to be careful. people don't necessarily realize the danger they're under. police were threatening to arrest people on lakeshore drive on lake pontchartraipontchartra. >> chad myers joining us. >> if you're outside and hit by lightning, you're talking about being washed away in some of the surge. that's why we have tried to stress so much that this might not be a great wind maker. don't categorize it as a cat one wind. this is a major surge maker. it will push 18 feet of water in some places, i am convinced. we already have eight feet at shell beach. shell beach is here on the bottom of lake born. this is almost an impossible map to figure out where you are. but anderson, you are right there. there's the band just went by you. another one 20 minutes away. the wind with the next band will be stronger. every time you get a new band come by, it will be stronger than the next. that will happen until 8:00 in the morning. that's how far we are from closest approach. then the winds shift direction. you're going to be close to the eye. then winds come from the west rather than the east. this is a big time problem for people not protected by levees. >> ed, what are you seeing there in grand isle? how is the wind? >> anderson, we had that one strong band, probably an hour and a half ago. i think we're starting to get that second of the strongest bands we have seen. it is just now starting to pick up. that visibility is dropping down again in grand isle. if you look across the street from the home we're at, also starting to see a little of that rooftop starting to shred a bit in the strong winds we've seen hit here in grand isle. we're keeping our guys on all of this. that is the extent of the deterioration that we have seen. most structure i have seen from where we have been seems to be holding up extremely well so far. power lines, some i see are starting to sway. that will be disconcerting, that will be things that complicate matters for emergency crews as they try to navigate the roadways. you can see that the wind is starting to intensify here again as what chad alluded to, this band of rain making its way. we're going to be looking out here, anderson, you look over the homes. gulf of mexico and the hurricane is just out there. it will be coming at us from that direction. we will be watching that storm surge. what happens from time to time, we make our way around the rooftop of the second story house we're staying in, this is looking towards you and the base side of the island. those homes here in a little while as the rains pick up and start to swirl around us intensely, we'll lose the ability to see those homes. it is incredibly dramatic how intense the rain becomes in a short matter of time and clouds up visibility which obviously makes things more disconcerting as you stand here and know things are going to start to swirl around. you have to dislodge because of high winds. it is a matter of time before this debris is flying around the area pretty good as well. anderson? >> chad, if you could bring up a map, i don't know if you're able to, of the waterways. we're on the mississippi just to give a sense for people not from the area of what the dangers from the water are in terms of where storm surge may come from? >> sure. absolutely. ed had 61 miles per hour wind gust. he is closer to the center or eye than you are. there's grand isle there. turn this on, wind gusts, grand isle got a 54 gust. pilottown, 51 miles per hour. pan out, zoom out. we will take you to the real threat. what's the threat of where the flooding comes from for you. i guess that's the question. flooding comes from new orleans if something fails. if there is a levee that didn't work or a gate that didn't close properly, if there's water that gets into lake pontchartrain from lake born, let me pan out, get out one more time, try to draw all these places for you. you are, clear this, too. and you are right here. you are in new orleans proper. here is lake pontchartrain here. a lot of water is piling into lake born. this is the problem we had with katrina. it piled into lake born and spilled into lake pontchartrain, and that filled up higher than it should have, then that lake pontchartrain spilled into new orleans proper. that's literally been fixed with all of the billions of improvements, as long as they all work properly. this outlet where the water goes out if you want water out of new orleans and dumb into the ocean, that's eight feet above where it should. there are protections there for lower ninth ward. we're already eight feet above where we should be, anderson. if this continues, this surge could be significantly higher than the hurricane center has forecast. i hearyou, anderson, it appears your mike may have gotten water in it. and this happens a lot of times. i did so many hurricanes with anderson. you try to keep it dry, when the rain comes inside ways, everything gets wet. you can take the sponge on top of the microphone and squeeze it out, put it back on. ed, you're at grand isle. i'll toss back to you. you're in your second big band. what kind of wind are you feeling at this point? >> reporter: you know, chad, it's really starting to pick up in the last 20 seconds. just over to the side, see if you can get a shot again, some of the siding on this rooftop is peeling away. a big chunk blew into the street. just as quickly as you start talking. what's fascinating is how quick wind speeds fluctuate. you talk about gusts. all of a sudden, get a thrust of wind almost knocks you off your feet. now you can see some of the damage on that rooftop across the street from where we are. it is slowly peeling away. that's what happens, these storms, it takes hours and hours of beating that it takes on the homes. that's why everything here starts to slowly deteriorate. i imagine the next few hours that's what we'll see, so a rooftop like that, that's the only damage i have been able to see from our vantage point here. everything else seems to be holding up rather well. toss back to anderson. >> all right. hey, chad, sorry. as you say, water kind of gets into everything. mikes are spotty. trying to stay on the air as long as we can. we have a lot of hours ahead of us. in the port area, if you pan over, you can see the mississippi river. you can see with wind picking up, definitely getting more white caps on the river. this whole area is shut down. >> that's right. we were told by port authority it is shut from the mouth of the mississippi to baton rouge. very significant. you know how busy this port is. huge volumes of commerce come through, goods, oil, other things. it is a constant stream. this being shut down at least two days. that's significant for areas way up the mississippi and st. louis and around there. >> obviously airports also shut down as amtrak service in the region. they didn't do contra-flow, getting people to evacuate by changing direction of the high school allowing more out. they decided given the strength of the storm, didn't seem necessary. >> no mandatory evacuations for new orleans. if new orleans needed to be evacuated. that would have been put in effect because of volume of population going out. don't feel they need it here. seven parishes under mandatory evacuation. they have enough avenues to get them out. hopefully they're all getting out now. >> it is, and again the storm not as big as hurricane katrina in terms of wind strength, chad keeps pointing out important thing not just the wind but the storm surge. a lot of lessons in terms of leadership. the state, local, federal level. >> amazing, just about every day the governor and mayor of new orleans have been out there with very, very detailed information. news conference after news conference, putting the word out there, very proactive. a lot of that is being protective, politically and otherwise. they also know how important it is. they have to get the word out and get to as many people as possible and they're doing it. you're seeing the effects. there's been no panic. we will see how the storm comes, what they do after to patrol around and see where the hardest-hit areas are. so far, leaders have been proactive. people are heeding the warnings. >> they have been having news conferences with basically all the officials together on one podium, which is not something you saw seven years ago. seemed much more orderly and controlled. we will have more. you get a sense of the bands that keep coming. there's been a lull. the wind really died down now, we will continue to follow it the next several hours and several days frankly. our coverage continues. we will have more with wolf blitzer after this break. more live from tampa from republican national convention. we'll be right back. >> announcer: this is the day. the day that we say to the world of identity thieves "enough." we're lifelock, and we believe you have the right to live free from the fear of identity theft. our pledge to you? as long as there are identity thieves, we'll be there. we're lifelock. and we offer the most comprehensive identity theft protection ever created. lifelock: relentlessly protecting your identity. call 1-800-lifelock or go to lifelock.com today. one is for a clean, wedomestic energy future that puts us in control. our abundant natural gas is already saving us money, producing cleaner electricity, putting us to work here in america and supporting wind and solar. though all energy development comes with some risk, we're committed to safely and responsibly producing natural gas. it's not a dream. america's natural gas... putting us in control of our energy future, now. all right. we're watching what's going on here at the republican national convention. it's obviously a dramatic moment. only a few moments ago they formally nominated mitt romney to be the presidential nominee, paul ryan to be the vice presidential nominee. you saw them. erin burnett is with me. saw them dancing, partying. just getting going. later tonight, the real celebration begins, mrs. romney speaking, chris christie speaking. earlier in the day, i had a chance to speak to the five romney sons. >> the romney five. >> the romney five at the cnn grill. they spoke emotionally about their dad. >> let's talk about your dad a moment. he wants to be president of the united states. >> that's just crazy. >> when you think about it, you've got five guys, you grew up. all of a sudden potentially he could be the president of the united states. i mean, that's going to obviously change all your lives if that happens. >> yeah, but not really. at the core of what our family is, we're a family and we love each other. whether he wins or doesn't win, those things won't change, and the values my dad taught us of integrity, hard work, humility, loving your neighbor, those things will still be at the core of what we do and how we live our life and how he -- how much or little he succeeds in business or little or he succeeds won't effect the family long term. >> you probably help him more, you're the oldest, in terms of the political campaign than the other four brothers? >> we've all been very involved. taken leaves from work, quit jobs in the past. this time i have full-time job. all five of us are on the trail, trying to do what we can, go to fund raisers. >> you went with your dad to jerusalem. saw you at the king david hotel. that was a pretty important, not only the london part, jerusalem, the poland part, that was an important trip for you. >> what was interesting for me is how informed people were about the american elections over there. and people came up to me, i mean, grabbed me by the shoulders with tears in their eyes, need your bad as president. >> in israel. >> in israel, saying we need him. that's when it struck home to the fact that people around the world depend on an american president that understands the economy and also the importance for america for strong foreign policy in our leadership of the world. >> i know your dad has been to israel. >> it was important, he met with a lot of leaders in israel and poland, help him form some of the issues and understand the turmoil there. think it was very important. >> john boehner will be speaking here, speaker of the house, said your dad was shy, humble, doesn't like to talk about himself. is that the same person you know? >> i think so. i wouldn't exactly call him shy, but he is a humble guy. doesn't like to talk about his achievements, fortunately has a lot of people he met through his career who do like to talk about the amazing accomplishments he has, whether as governor, business leader, leader at the olympics, he has had some tremendous success. >> when you hear the negative things that the political critics throw at him, you know some of them, a lot of them aren't true, what goes through your mind when you hear the awful suggestions in the ads. >> it is difficult to hear people criticize your dad, especially knowing what kind of man he is, a man of such great integrity and character, we understand that's part of the political process, what was going to happen when we got in this race, something you have to deal with, let it roll off the -- >> how open should he be in his speech. there will be tens of millions thursday listening to his speech. how personal should he get versus substantive policy stuff. what would you like to see as far as a mix? >> needs to be a good mix. he doesn't want this to be an "american idol" contest based on personality and popularity. he wants it to be about the issues that matter, getting the 23 million americans out of work back to work. bringing our debt down. those are things, that's the reason he is running to function those things. at the same time, people want to know who he is, let other people talk about what drives him as a person. >> on the polls, you've seen the polls, matt, on the likability. president obama seems to be more likeable among potential voters than your dad is. you like your dad a lot. >> i love my dad. >> why is there -- does he have this problem as far as likability? >> it is an issue of people getting to know him. i don't know people know him. >> he has been around a long time. >> so has president obama. people have seen him in lots of different settings. people haven't seen my dad in a lot of settings. we see him as a father and grandfather. you wouldn't believe how greatest with my kids, his grandkids. they absolutely adore him. people will get a chance to see him in a different light. >> i noticed, let me let you in, the youngest. >> craig is the youngest. >> you're still a young guy. when i was with him, private time, he is very likeable, very open, has a great personality. but sometimes he holds back when he gets out there before the camera and you know, i think that's a potential problem out there because i covered bill clinton. when you saw him behind the scenes, in front of the scenes, he was bill clinton. your dad seems to be reluctant to really open up once the cameras are rolling. >> yeah, i am not going to presume to give him advice on this. i think myself, not necessarily the political expert on this as well, but i think he's letting himself be out there as much as he can. people will get a chance to know him, especially at this convention. people will get a chance to see him and my mom, get a chance to form their opinion for themselves. when people get a chance to see him on the campaign trail, get a chance to see him speak in person, he is so and mated and passionate, it makes a big difference. >> let's talk a little before i let all of you go about the five of you. who wants to follow in your grand father's footsteps and in your dad's footsteps and be a politician, raise your hand right now. >> i would like to father my grandfather and dad's footsteps, just not the political part. >> everybody keeps suggesting -- >> no, it is josh they usually sounds like a politician. >> it does. >> that's what all the politicians say. >> someone asked me if it was important for my dad to win for my grandfather's legacy. my grandfather's legacy was about you treat people, the way you raise your family. and that's what all five of us are trying to emulate. the other stuff doesn't matter merely so much. >> so nobody wants to acknowledge that they have a political ambition? >> no ambition. >> none. >> you want -- you're a doctor. you've been in residency. radiology? >> that's right. >> do you ever think of becoming like a chief medical correspondent on cnn? sanjay does a pretty good job. he's a neurosurgeon, but maybe you have a potential out there. one final thought from each of you. let me start all the way over here with craig. give me a final thought, two months to go basically between now and election day. a thought about your mom and dad as you go forward. >> you know, just extremely proud of them at this time. they've come a long way. my moms has fought through her disease, my dad has been tirelessly campaigning and getting his message about getting the country back on track and we wish him success. >> i think they're doing this for all the right reasons. they care a lot about helping people and that's why they're in this. my dad does not need this for his ego. he's in this to help people who are struggling. >> and i hope people get to know how generous my mom and dad are and how kind they are and how important it is for them to reach out to others and try to lift up the lives of others around them. >> there are a lot of different opinions, a lot of different facts, but the thing that unites us is our concern about the economy. he we all need the economy to get better. and as i look at my mom and dad and their challenge is to convince voter that he really can turn it around. >> i love my mom and dad so much and i'm so proud of them and i really think we need them in the oval office for lots of reasons. >> guys are five great sons. whatever they say about your mop and dad, they raised five terrific sons. how many grandchildren, 18? >> 18. >> 18 grandchildren. i just met some of them. all pretty precocious and very adorable. thanks very much for joining us here in the cnn grill. my conversation earlier in the day over at the cnn great deal. john king standing by. i really enjoyed spending some quality time with those five sons. and it's true, everything they say, i think they really do really love their mom and dad. >> you know, people watching at home, some are probably not mitt romney supporter, but whether you favor or oppose him, he is the republican nominee and he does have a great family and they're part of the story they're trying to tell at this convention tonight. the five boys understandably and we'll allow them to be biased. their dad is the republican nominee for president of the united states. their mom gives a very important speech in prime time tonight. let's discuss that ahead with me up here in the sky box. donna, you're at my far right. i don't know what to make of that. david, people say mitt romney comes across as stiff, he seems distant, sometimes aloof. the obama campaign has spent millions saying he's rich and he doesn't care about you, meaning middle class america. and they say amm romn mchlann r antidote. how much can she do in one speech? >> i think she can do a lot. a lot of people will be tuning in tonight. and she has 20 to 30 minutes up there to tell his story. and she has done thp t-- they have their two best personal side, one for the personal side with ann and governor christy who can talk about the policy side. and she has a way that she can warm them up, she can tell you things about his faith, for example, which has been so mysterious during this campaign. to give you a sense that here's actually a caring man. he not only has these sons and 18 grand children, but he cares about people i don't understand his family. his goal is not to make people love him or like him, but to like him in the oval office. >> gloria, some pospouses do th because they have to, others because they like. they actually enjoy being an important partner but they also enjoy the spotlight. where does ann fit? >> i think she's a little of each. what she told me was that they discuss everything. i'm sure they sddiscussed the ve presidential partner. she was slow to come to politics, but what she helped me to understand is what's in his head when he seems stiff and aloof and it goes back to his father who was a very brash politician, made a bunch of mistakes and you ruined his political career and one could say maybe mitt romney overlearned his father's mistakes and has become so can did i tell that he self edits every time he's out there and so people feel like there's a real distance. she can be the character witness to that person. >> and the fact that he needs a character witness, is that a weakness or does every candidate need a character witness? >> it never hurts, but romney especially needs to be someone you can connect with. here you're trying to reveal a human being, what he loves and feels, at a political convention, balloon, funny hats. it's a political circus. ann romney is so genuine and warm, maybe she can break through that tonight. it's a very tough job. >> donna, 12 years ago, people said tipper gore had to do that it for al gore. what do you tell the spouse when they're going out to be that character witness? >> of course be yourself. try to give us a glimpse into the personal life, the plman, t person. i'm sure ann romney is a confidant. can share with us some stories that mitt romney will never tell the american people. she's top surrogate for the campaign, she's overcome personal odds. so this is an important moment for her. >> a very important night ahead. ann romney speaks on her husband's behalf. chris christie gives the keynote address. also a lot of key battleground state republicans will speak tonight. we'lls also get an exclusive interview with mitt romney's polster. prime time coverage agains in just a moment. mid grade dark roast forest fresh full tank brain freeze cake donettes rolling hot dogs g of ice anti-freeze wash and dry diesel self-serve fix a flat jumper cables 5% cashback signup for 5% cashback at gas stations through september. it pays to discover. 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. ♪ humans -- sometimes life trips us up. and sometimes, we trip ourselves up, but that's okay. at liberty mutual insurance we can "untrip" you as you go through your life with personalized policies and discounts when you need them most. just call... and speak with a licensed representative about saving on your policy when you get married, move into a new house... 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