0 political season. speak important a high and principled reason. and people will learn who you are. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton. msnbc's special coverage of the democratic national committee starts now. four years ago a major party nominated an african-american presidential candidate for the first time in american history. now nearly four years into his first term, with the war in iraq over and the war in afghanistan still on, with osama bin laden dead, auto industry rescued, economy out of the freefall it was in but nowhere near where it needs to be, tonight the democratic party makes its case for four more years for president barack obama. an address tonight from the first lady. keynote tonight from a young fast-rising star who even republicans say could be the first latino president. the democrats make their case for young voters, latinos, for women, middle class. it starts tonight. msnbc's prime time coverage of the democratic national committee begins right now. ♪ >> thank you for joining us. i'm rachel maddow. here with me are ed schultz,al sharpton, steve shmitt. lawrence o'donnell will be joining us as well. leading our coverage from charlotte, north carolina, the site of the democratic convention this year, it is, of course, my friend and colleague chris matthews. chris, the data is mixed on whether republicans got any sort of bump in the polls out of their convention last week. but beyond just the raw numbers, what do you think that the democrats most want and need to get done this week? >> well, the numbers may tell you something. there was no bounce at all hardly at all from the republicans. but for the difference in the sound and feel of the crowds, last week was like a business convention. people had to go to. this is a joyous crowd. we have never gotten a warmer reception from msnbc than i felt here. excitement of happy faces, diversity. it is a different version of the dream, democratic party. also, democrats just have more fun than republicans. so when you are down here they just enjoy life more. it is a wide open feeling. i think it is fair based on the number last night, overnights and results we had, just people watching the evening before, labor day night last night on this network, tells you there is a lot of excitement. you know what i think? i think they need a booster shot like when you are a kid. you get that first shot that inoculation, we got -- the country got tonight 2008. i think the democratic party this week needs a booster shot. little pain last few years but promise of better help to come. that's phrase i would you don't to describe this week. there is a much better put. that's what the democrats have to get across to the millions of people still stuck in the mid. >> narrative over the last, i guess, couple of years on the republican side has been division. republicans dealing with primary challengers to their own incumbent candidates and rise of the tea party movement. democratic narrative has been about depression. has been about democrats not being enthusiastic about the loss of the magic. right? you are saying that at least in charlotte right now, it doesn't feeling like that alt. >> i feel a lot -- the democrats are wild and willie crowd. er in not always logical. i have been at conventions they didn't have a prayer and happiest, almost delirious in san francisco in 1984 and were not going to beat ronald reagan with mondale. there is a lot of happiness here. if the president -- let's start with the first lady tonight. i would expect -- she will come out on that stage tonight, looking like a million bucks. she will look like the all-american first lady. it is going to drive people up here through the roof. i think when bill clinton hits here tomorrow, elvis is coming tomorrow night. elvis. bubba, big guy. the big guy. there's not enough names for that guy when he shows up here. you expect by the time biden and obama hit that floor or hit that stadium thursday night, this place will be through the roof. democrats are ready to strike. by the way, you didn't say it. what they are afraid of may be as bigs what they hoped for. because the democrats see them coming. never have a presidency without a war ever. they always have a war ready inform go like a little pezz machine. another war coming. iran next time. they see that coming. they see the religious right ready to come in and take away their rights and supreme court ready to be pruned down to a completely right-wing operation. they see a lot of things coming then don't like the looks of. women especiallily and mine ports and hispanics, never accepted in this country by the republican party that takes over and says our number one goal is to deport all of you. it is not going to be very popular. lot of this right now is going to be about fear of the enemy at the gate. i think that's part of what will propel this party through thursday might. >> i think that you are right. i think the democrats have a two-part goal for this week. one of it is one part of it is defining their opposition. right? defining opposition the way you are talking about. the other thing, of course, is consolidate the facts that exist there. and consolidating the dined of enthusiasm chris says he seeing on the ground. there is one thing that's going on for the democrats this year that appears to be totally unique in modern history. and that is that looks like the incumbent president this year will be outspent. potentially by a lot. last night on the eve of the democrats opening their convention, romney side leaked to reporters that the republicans for the third straight month raised $100 mmm or more. for the fourth straight month, the republicans outraised president obama and the democrats. the first month they outraised the president was may. and they did it again in june and did it again in july. and we do not yet know what the democrats raised in august but the republicans continue to blow the roof off with a $100 million plus month. no, those numbers don't count the outside expenditures by the super pacs. that effectively functions as extensions of the campaigns and in any language other than legalese. karl rove's groups plan to add another $300 million on the republican side. alone conservative billionaire brothers charles and david koch plan to spend $400 million against president obama and democrats this year. they claim to spend -- put that in perspective, these two guy, plan to spend more than the entire john mccain campaign spent in 2008. money is always a huge factor. even a defining factor in national elections. but no president seeking re-election has ever been at a financial disadvantage to his opponent. this is a brand-new thing. bringing into the discussion lawrence o'donnell who is in charlotte for us. lawrence, let me ask you about what chris was say being enthusiasm on the ground. what it feels like there. also, about this issue, democrats, big financial challenge. >> well, the proof of the enthusiasm is that harry reid just took the stage to a standing ovation. i think that's the first one, i believe that's the first one in recorded history for harry reid outside of nevada. but that's what this crowd about. this is a really enthusiastic crowd. as chris can tell you, this is normally the time, the hour, in a convention where no one is listening. there is a speaker up there who has a microphone. no one on the floor hears a word and don't care who it is because they are waiting for the big event. they are actu having they have quieted down because this crowd is now very well educated on what it takes to get things done in washington. what kind of majority you need in the senate and struggle this president and harry reid has with the problem of needing 60 votes to get things through. on the financial, what challengers to incumbent presidents will always tell you is it would only be fair if the challenger has more money because the president has air force one and rose garden. the president has incumbency and president has all sorts of tremendous advantages and that's always true of any incumbent president running but what we are seeing here in this fund-raising is unprecedented and very troubling terms and in terms of the uncontrolability of it and the lack of connective tissue to the candidate himself. romney will have so much money being spent on his behalf and that he will not have to defend and no matter what they say in those super pac ads, that's the new dynamic of this. and when we have seen the -- polls be so stubborn on mitt romney, there's reason to not fear -- democratic circles, there's reasons not to fear that gigantic money bubble they have now, that it is going to be targeted, we have to remember, all of it, all of it will be targeted to only eight states. >> lawrence, thank you. i-want to bring in chris on that question, too. in terms of what we know about how the democrats are going to try to deal with their financial disadvantage. do they need to campaign -- different way than they usually would in order to account for being the poor kid at the table here? i mean, they -- the democrats greatly you spent john mccain in 2008. they have that luxury. they are the opposite position now. >> they have to be doing what they haven't done the last few days. whether it is on welfare or i built this may self or it is the latest stuff from ryan. and they have to -- atune the voters to the fact the other side is quite willing to deal dishonest in its advertising campaign because supposed the koch brothers and rest have a lot of money at the last minute and can say almost anything now. they are ruthless about saying things well outside of the strike zone. if they do that, the democrats have to prepare the -- undecided voters as well as their own base, not to believe that stuff. this is the dangerous thing. if you apply huge amounts of money, last minute spending, with developments and honestly take place, maybe a good showing by romney or -- ryan in the debates, maybe what they make look like a good sale, or a bad unemployment number coming in last weekend of the campaign. and they can blow that up to the biggest thing in the world. they have honest truth to deal with and dishonesty to deal with. monday kwlind it all, they don't necessarily have the truth. they can sell untruths and right on the eve of the election, we have never had a situation like this with so much firepower and money power that can be used dishonestly and the voters and the democrats have no chance to respond in time. >> i want to go now to andrea mitch whole is on the convention floor for us. andrea, we are hearing from lawrence and chris that this feels like a different level of excitement and engagement from the people on the floor. i want to get your perspective on that because you are on the floor. also look ahead to what people are expecting from the first lady michelle obama's speech tonight. >> look, that is part of the reason for the excitement because first of all, have you these people and the configuration as you can see behind me, i'm above the podium which is a really great vantage point. as you can see, people are -- very, few people, very few delegations are actually on the floor. it is a bowl. they are up and around on the sides. that is, i think, making it sound a lot larger, louder, than it actually might be. it is very loud. they are very excited and they are not all here yet. there are a lot of empty seats. typically people are at dinner now but will be here in time for the keynote address. people are excited to hear castro the keynote speaker, but principally this is michelle obama's night. she is already throughout the campaign. they sent sought an e-mail a half hour ago asking people to text and send in $3 donations in advance of her speech. she told ryan seacrest today on his radio show she had not watched ann romney's speech and came here briefly to look at the stage and look at the teleprompters but this is a woman who no longer needs to practice. she is pthe political pro, far more than her husband. second most popular anything in the country right now. the most popular political figure in the country is bill clinton who, of course, gives the big speech tomorrow night. but her speech tonight is going to be all about you need to know more about barack, you need to know more about my husband. it is a big pitch to women, to the struggling middle class, talking about empathy and how much he cares. and that's the personal side. she's really selling him and his policies. >> thank you very much. we are told to expect that sort of personal address from the first lady tonight. the hulian castro keynote address cess enly to put your spotlight on this young up and comer in the democratic party, see what the future leadership ranks of the democratic party may look like. we are told a lot of the undercard speeches tonight are going to be what they call sharp contrast numbers. meaning you are going to hear a lot about mitt romney and paul ryan. looks like it is going to be a big, aggressive speech night. democrats planning on doing a big tribute kennedy legacy tonight. that's coming up this hour. please stay with us. this gets going and fast. welcome aboard! 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