we both spent a lot of time in iowa before. let's talk about, first of all, were you surprised by this selection? >> i was pleased by the selection. i think this moves a lot of very important issues front and center in this race. issues that frankly have been sort of pushed on the sideline as president obama has run this personal smear campaign against mitt romney and has sort of been stuck on this distraction in my opinion. now, paul ryan's nomination as vice president is going to force is those issues to be discussed because the left thinks that taking responsible positions to control the size and scale of government and doing things to put our fiscal house in order and doing things to trust people and believing in them instead of government is something american public doesn't want. and i think governor romney has done a great service to the country by putting those issues forward with paul ryan and i think he has done a great service for his own campaign. forink it is a good move tore it. >> mike: people have been saying be

is this going to be the mantra as we move forward about iowa, iowa, iowa? >> well, right now it is and it certainly tells you which is a big swing state. iowa now, new hampshire this weekend. paul ryan is going to be in florida talking about and going to be asked about medicare. so iowa, very important. president is there today. he's talking about the wind tax credit as well which mitt romney is against and republican governor in the state is for that. we're hearing mitt romney is going to be in ohio today and he's going to be talking about coal and hitting the president on that. so all about the midwest, the industrial midwest, certainly that's what the pick of paul ryan was all about. >> so i know that you, chuck todd, mark murray all sit around and make these concoctions of numbers from the electoral votes. as you bring up new hampshire, we know that the president is going to be in colorado. what's the latest chemistry project you guys are working on with the votes? >> well, you know, the easy thing is to shake up or looking at what is paul ryan mean? an

i live an hour and a half from debut -- iowa. -- dubuque, iowa. this is where my mother in law is from. some of you -- you may be vikings or bears fans. we are united. i won't hold that against you. i see packers hats. but at the end of the day, we are americans. america is special. [applause] america is the only country founded on an idea. that is the big difference here. what is unique about america is that we recognize the points and facts, the principles that our veterans fought for. our rights, they come from nature and god, not from government. [applause] that is who we are. that is what we believe. and if we reapply those principles we can get this country on track. help us do this thing. help us bring this state to the mitt romney column. we saved it for our kids, our grandkids. thank you, everyone. have a great -- [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] [applause] [no audio] [no audio] >> you are welcome. >> several live events to tell you about this morning -- the n

he is at the fair at the iowa -- he is at the iowa state fair, which we just saw. then mitt romney with marco rubio in miami. >> there are still wolves in the woods and we saw this. we saw this when saddam hussein invaded kuwait. our energy supply may be held hostage, but we did what was right. and we did what was necessary and destroyed a threat, and we freed eight people and we locked a tyrant in the prison of his own country. >> tonight, 10 million of our fellow americans are out of work. millions work harder for lower pay. the incumbent president says that unemployment always goes up a little before the recovery, but this only has to go up by one more person before a real recovery can begin. >> c-span has aired every moment of every party convention since 1984. watch the group -- watch the republican and democratic conventions live on c-span. >> the reform party nominated their presidential and vice- presidential candidates this weekend in philadelphia. army veteran andre barnett is running for president with ken cross running for vice president. they spoke for

president. >> it was a rowdy reception in iowa for mr. ryan, he was interrupted by a group of hecklers who tried to yell over him and took it a step further by actually attempting to rush the stage. >> are you going to cut medicare? are you going to cut medicare? answer the question, are you going to cut medicare? >> we like to be respectful of one another and peaceful with one another and listen to each other these ladies must not be from iowa or wisconsin. >> like i said, she must not be from iowa. so -- >> usa usa! >> everybody stay calm. president obama was also in iowa, kicking off a three-day campaign swing through the state. he was quick to take some shots of the vice presidential candidate. accusing him of blocking a bill to aid farmers in this drought. >> unfortunately right now, too many members of congress are blocking the farm bill from becoming law. i am told that governor romney's new running mate, paul ryan might be around iowa the next few days, he is one of the leaders of congress standing in the way. so if you happen to

>> iowa state and iowa. >> are you more -- >> this is a factor. bears, vikings. >> you have a lot of basketball. >> we have a lot of cubs fans. >> i live an hour and a half -- >> i am behind you 100%. >> my grandfather went to -- great school. i keep going. we had an event for governor crawford. that is the centerpiece -- this is -- >> you -- we got this and -- >> we ran again. >> he ran before and almost beat him. and now he's running again. >> this year -- >> good to see you. >> nice to see you there. >> no question, no question. >> i would speak to him, too. [applause] >> he spoke at the state fair and is introduced by the register's editor. this is about 10 minutes. >> sit down, guys. >> good afternoon. we will wait just a second to let the media get positioned. my name is rick green, the editor and vice president of the des moines register. we want to thank you for being here and appreciate your patience. we know it is hot and warm but it is worth the wait. [applause] >> this has been a political soapbox. this is a chance to bring forward gre

we both spent a lot of time in iowa before. let's talk about, first of all, were you surprised by this selection? >> i was pleased by the selection. i think this moves a lot of very important issues front and center in this race. issues that frankly have been sort of pushed on the sideline as president obama has run this personal smear campaign against mitt romney and has sort of been stuck on this distraction in my opinion. now, paul ryan's nomination as vice president is going to force is those issues to be discussed because the left thinks that taking responsible positions to control the size and scale of government and doing things to put our fiscal house in order and doing things to trust people and believing in them instead of government is something american public doesn't want. and i think governor romney has done a great service to the country by putting those issues forward with paul ryan and i think he has done a great service for his own campaign. forink it is a good move tore it. >> mike: people have been saying be

i of in wisconsin and iowa -- i was in wisconsin and iowa watching him. how do they deal with the delicate balance? in the end americans pick presidents. governor romney says thank you, paul, but to win he has to step forward -- >> it is clear they're walking a delicate balance. i think you'll see it in the coming weeks. romney is going to establish himself ashe man who's running for president, vote for me. ryan is my sidekick. and that's generally the way it works. though so many conservatives out there see ryan as so important now to energize them and get them to the polls in november. >> when you talk to folks, there's no question this pick was largely designed to give mitt romney someone he likes and can work with and to energize the conservative base. how did the romney campaign deal with the questions of, well, might it hurt you in the middle, though? >> that's certainly a possibility. but romney is hoping that he himself can make the case to those voters in the middle and let ryan worry it the conservatives, as well. romney thinks he can handle tha

we both spent a lot of time in iowa before. let's talk about, first of all, were you surprised by this selection? >> i was pleased by the selection. i think this moves a lot of very important issues front and center in this race. issues that frankly have been sort of pushed on the sideline as president obama has run this personal smear campaign against mitt romney and has sort of been stuck on this distraction in my opinion. now, paul ryan's nomination as vice president is going to force is those issues to be discussed because the left thinks that taking responsible positions to control the size and scale of government and doing things to put our fiscal house in order and doing things to trust people and believing in them instead of government is something american public doesn't want. and i think governor romney has done a great service to the country by putting those issues forward with paul ryan and i think he has done a great service for his own campaign. forink it is a good move tore it. >> mike: people have been saying be

but let me ask the question about iowa's role, the process began in iowa, the president spent an unprecedented three days with seven stops. michelle obama will be joining him. six electoral votes. iowa is relatively small compared to other states. why all the attention? guest: the president has said that he has sweet nostalgia for iowa, because it is the state that took the dare on him and others had doubts. he fills a connection and does not want to lose it. some people say the path to the white house means you need to get those electoral votes. it is one of the few swing states that could go either way. both candidates are really getting hard for iowa. guest: what kind of reaction did paul ryan get yesterday? guest: it was a huge crowd. republicans i spoke to at the state fair including senator grassley and others, the reaction they're getting is extremely favorable. democrats were very scornful. host: let me take you to last year's iowa state fair with the process was getting under way. mitt romney was beginning to dip his toe into iowa politics, not forcefully entering the caucuses but app

man actually can look authentic milking a w cow, it was president obama who was on offense today in iowa suggesting that voters that the trickle down sound you hear is not milk into a bucket. >> they think if we get rid of more restrictions on corporations, if if we end medicare as we know it, take up a voucher system, this will all lead to jobs and prosperity for everybody. they have tried to sell us this trickle down theory before. and, guess what, every time it's been tried, it has not worked. it did not work then. it won't work now. >> if the romney campaign is enjoying a momentary energy boost, the current vice president, joe biden, was down in north carolina today mocking the very idea of ryan as a bold, brave choice. romney's new wing man will be released in one year his tax returns to the public. gutsy indeed. former dnc chairman howard dean and former chairman, msnbc analyst michael steele. michael, i'm going to start with you. >> sure. >> we've heard the word bold ma many, many, many times. >> many times, yes. >> but he did face some heckling today in iowa. >> yeah, yeah. >> so

obama tried out the schamus the dog line this week, this past week in iowa. the campaign has been holding that in the bag for several months. you should have seen him when he first did it. beside themselves. >> a quiet romney transition is in the works where there are people coming from boston to capitol hill to talk to 202-585-3835 -- republican lawmakers about if there's a romney win, what would they do legislatively. >> republicans will use the president's, you didn't build that against him and at the republican convention and traveling heck hers in charlotte. >> when we return, the big question we put to these folks this week had to do with chelsea clinton. she teased she may try her hand at the family business. >> we are suckers for this. chelsea clinton raised a few eyebrows this past wek when asked? she would try a turn at the family business. "before my mom's campaign, i would have said no. now i don't know." which powerhouse political family will see one of its own in office next, the clinton or the bushes? chelsea clinton works for nbc news as a spe

iowa is an interesting state. president obama won this battleground state in 2008 by almost ten points but if you look at the polls, it shows the race basically deadlocked. if you look at the unemployment, it's far below the average, 5%. but if you talk to some iowan, they'll tell you they don't feel the economy is recovering here so there's a little bit of disparity in terms of the unemployment rate and what iowan are actually saying. they have a high population of seniors, about 14%. so romney and ryan are really going to have to explain to them why they're plant overall entitlements will ultimately wind up being a good thing, why in their words they believe it's going to save medicare because there's a lot of trepation about that right now. so that's going to be a challenge for them. president obama is on a three-day bus tour through iowa. by the way, hi will be joined by the first lady. her ratings are far higher than her husband's, so she always draws a big crowd and certainly we call her his secret weapon, n

iowa. eastern iowa is strong catholic territory. then you go through states like indiana and pennsylvania and michigan and ohio. a big number of catholics. >> if we see other polls come in, places like ohio, it entreesing to see what the impact is. he should have impact with catholics. the problem is ryan pick may reach the midwest or romney campaign has to hope it is. the polling is showing that the region is slipping away before the pick. it changes the debate a little and putts ryan front and center and he can appeal to some people. see if it comes back. >> bret: let's be clear. this is over 30 days. texas is likely not lean romney. but if you get new polls that could change. south carolina. >> we have told south carolina go poll. they fail to poll. we were very clear about this. ultimatum. south carolina, poll or else. they haven't. so joe and i unilaterally decided we're going to say south carolina, we don't care whether you poll or not, we'll make it deep red for romney. but this is not the only state that is messing around wi

iowa farmers are very resilient. i'm very encouraged that we're going to get through this and we don't need to make any bad move, we need to instead recognize, we still have the cheapest and the best quality of food in the world and we're very proud of it and we're resilient enough that we're going to come back. >> governor, we don't have a farm bill and the reason we don't have a farm bill is the house republican congress are not in support of it, they see it somehow as a give away. what's your message to them? senator grassley and amount of iowa senators support the grain bill, explain why you should -- >> the biggest problem a lot of people have is the massive expansion of the food stamp program. we have more feel on food stamps than ever before. they have liberalized the rules, and a lot of people think they need to tighten that up. president obama is trying to undo the work requirement. we think we need instead of putting more people on -- >> governor branstad, they haven't done that. they haven't undone the wor

actually, those people are from iowa, and they are from an organized group called iowa citizens for community improvement. and it was interesting, ironically, this exact same location a year ago the iowa state fair when mitt romney made this gaffe a year ago. >> we have to make sure that the promises we make in social security, medicaid and medicare are promises we can keep. and there are various ways of doing that. one is we could raise taxes on people. >> corporations. >> corporations are people, my friend. >> oops, the reaction to the ryan selection should really surprise no one. it was not an etch-a-sketch moment for the romney campaign. i tweeted this this weekend. romney has picked a running mate that's from a congress that has a 7% approval rating. you tell me how is that change? it's not, and it's no game changer either. the ryan rollout is probably the least popular vice presidential pick in 12 years. just go to the numbers. usa/gallup poll today, 42%, they say it's fair or poor. 39% say it was an excellent or good choice. i mean, sarah palin, joe biden, john edwards, joe lieberman,

yesterday in iowa at the iowa state fair he drew thousands to see him speak at his first solo event. and then as he mentioned his second solo event here in colorado. the high school gym behind me was at capacity. there was at least 2,000 people, probably more. one of the more ruk kus campa n campaig campaigns. something to note just because we haven't seen much polling about what republicans think of paul ryan, in the 72 hours since ryan was announced on saturday, the romney campaign has raised $7.4 million online. that's just in three days. that's a big haul, but to put that in perspective, sarah palin pulled in $10 million over a three-day period after john mccain picked her in august of 2008, wolf. >> and money talks in politics. as it does in so many other ways of life. you've got some pictures of paul ryan from college. and i want to share with our viewers, tell us what these pictures are. what's going on there? >> reporter: yeah. this is one of the fun parts about sort of looking into a candidate when they become a national figure is looking back on who they were when they were

what's happening in iowa that's concerning to the president? >> republicans had the landscape all to themselves in iowa for about a year. they ran their gop primary to push that message for about a year. that's given the obama campaign something they have to be concerned over because now they have to walk this uphill climb, as the president tries to gain back some of the momentum he's lost from 2008. >> there's some math behind that. >> no question about it. when you look at the importance of iowa, only 6 electoral votes, but you have 6 plus h1n1's new hampshire's four. suddenly that pits the president over the 270 number. he wouldn't have to win virginia, north carolina, ohio or florida and could still get over the edge. >> there's also symbolic importance for the president. there's his caucus win in 2008 that was pivotal during the last election. it's also a state he visited right after announcing his reelection plans. >> this is a state that has some symbolic importance, but make no mistake, this is about hard poll numbers, the battle map an

he'll be sharing the political spotlight in iowa with the president, who kicks off a three-day iowa bus tour, unprecedented in council bluffs. nbc's ron mott is in des moines at the state fair. warn you against the deep fried butter but other than that, you're on your own. what do you think ryan's appeal is going to be? is he going to directly counteract what the president's saying about the farm bill and the drought, or is it going to be the broader appeal about the fiscal conservetism which we know appeals to iowan sns? >> reporter: my hunch is because this is a fair ground, everyone is munching on funnel cakes and corn dogs, he may not want to get into the political weeds and talk about the budget in too specific terms so i think he's probably going to stay pretty high level and talk about the country in general, the direction he and mitt romney want to take the country. i can tell you this, obviously when you run for president or vice president, you got to hit a state fair or two. this is one of the better ones around the country. there is a lot of energy here about paul ryan and by

let's look at iowa. the president won in a blowout last time, but it is truly a toss-up state. >> without a doubt. look at 2000 and 2004, al gore won in 2000, george w. bush won in 2004. the result in 2008 is a bit of an anomaly, not much of a ben benchma benchmark. what both sides are focusing in, and this ryan pick, without a doubt, has energized these conservatives, who were a little unsure about mitt romney. >> so then you look at wisconsin, we moved it tos toup. ten electoral votes. if governor romney can put that in place, puts iowa in play, you have a very different midwest than you had four years ago. >> without a doubt. that is one of the places that governor romney probably thought was out of his reach before this. it at least now makes it competitive. and it sends a signal to all these outside super pacs to start spending money there, right now. it's going to ensure that the obama campaign and democrats are going to have to spend their limited resources there as well. >> so let's take a hypoth

in iowa. and the president has some company there. i am told that governor romney's new running mate, paul ryan might be around iowa the next few days. >> what a beautiful day to be at the state fair. >> tonight, the candidates on the move and looking for support. plus jfk international is one of the nation's busiest airports. security is supposed to be extraordinary. so how did a stranded jet skier just pop a fence and just stroll across the runway. >> this is something that has to be investigated. >> shepard: tonight, security hole at the airport. and investigators say a man hit his head and forgot his own name. >> i woke up with a splitting headache and i side of my head. i couldn't remember who i was. >> so he just started walking two weeks later he traveled a thousand miles. tonight, the remarkable story of a senior citizen's survival and how his own wife helped him get back his memory. but first from fox this monday night, a 30-minute long gun battle just off the campus of texas a&m university. a man barricade in his home with a

>> reporter: at the iowa state fair today he found excited supports. >> congratulations. hey. >> reporter: and a few loud and persistent hecklers. we were right in the middle of it all. >> -- from iowa -- >> reporter: the hecklers have come here from the romney supporters. but ryan didn't let that distract him, talking right over the shouting. >> i'm guessing the reason -- he only knows left turns. [ laughter ] >> reporter: as he worked his way through the fair, ryan avoided the funnel cakes and cotton candy and as the fitness buff who swears by the challenging p-90x program. >> we can play stump the running mate later. >> reporter: what do you like about ryan? >> i think he's conservative. he's right on the money. >> reporter: and almost as many who still don't quite know who he is. what do you think of paul ryan? >> i have no idea. i don't know anything about him. >> i don't know what i think about him yet. >> reporter: what do you think about paul ryan? >> i don't like him. >> reporter: why not? >> because i'm a democrat. >> reporter: ryan is just 42 years old, he said

the president shakes hands and buys beer at the iowa state fair. for an easy way, it has become a big campaign battleground. look who is watching your every move. this new facebook technology pushing the bounds of privacy. where to go for extra help, how to live better with the disease. so many questions, where do you start? alzheimers.gov. the answers start here. mom: ready t♪ go to work? ♪ ♪ ♪ every mom needs a little helper. that's why i got a subaru. announcer: love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. like a squirrel stashes nuts, you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® liquid gels. nothing starts working faster than zyrtec® at relieving your allergy symptoms for 24 hours. zyrtec®. love the air. >>> less than three months to the presidential election, some new states, smaller states, are becoming prime battle grounds. in the race to get to 270 electoral votes, tiny places like new hampshire, four electoral votes, wisconsin, four, iowa, with six are becoming big battle grounds. this past week, i spent some time in iowa. >>

these ladies must not be from iowa or wisconsin. so like i said -- you must not be from iowa. all right! my guess is -- my guess is the reason president obama isn't making it here from council bluffs because he only knows left turns. you know, but as you see the president come through on his bus tour, you might ask him the same questions that i'm getting asked from people all around america and that is where are the jobs, mr. president? [cheers and applause] now, one thing we have got to get straight ... one thing we have got to get straight is we are not growing this economy like we need to. we are not creating jobs like we can in america. and that is why mitt romney and i have have a plan for a stronger middle class to get this country back on track, get this country growing jobs again and get us back on the path to prosperity in this country. cheer -- [cheers and applause] there are five things we are going to do right away that are designed to create 12 million jobs. number one, we have energy in this country. let's use that energy in this country. everything, renewables,

congressman, it's the iowa state fair. that's like going to the super bowl and not talking about football. joining us now, democratic congressman joe donnelly of indiana, who's running for the state's open senate seat. welcome, congressman. >> thank you very much for having me. >> so, let's talk a little bit about the farm bill and what's happening. past their versions of a farm bill with bipartisan support, but it's sitting there. what's happening? >> it couldn't get through because they couldn't get a vote past. i should be in washington right now along the every other member of congress voting on this farm bill. at the farm of mr. newsom in columbus, indiana a few weeks ago, it was 106 degrees. you could see the tcorn wilting before your eyes. and this is one of the most painful disasters they have ever dealt with. and here we are in congress, we can't even get a vote on this. all we ask is for a vote. an up or down vote. >> you served on the agriculture committee the last time the farm bill was passed before there was

these ladies must not be from iowa or wisconsin. like i said, she must not be from iowa. so -- hey. all right. >> look, this is always the danger of the ryan pick. if you make the race a clash of big ideas, then the economy takes a back seat. romney talked about the economy yesterday in florida and ryan did the same in iowa but it is medicare that dominated the day. asked repeatedly about differences between his own medicare plan and ryan's, it sounded a lot like romney was hedging his bets. >> i'm sure there are place that my budget is better than his. >> [ inaudible ]. >> there may be. i will take a look at the differences. >> you said during a debate earlier this year, paul ryan's latest medicare proposal is absolutely right on. so i'm curious, is there anything about it you disagree with? >> the items that we agree on i think outweigh any difference there is may be. we haven't gone through piece by piece and said, here is a place where there is a difference. i can't imagine any two people, even in the same party, who have exactly the same positions on all issues. >> now, republi