and john mccain is no ordinary candidate. [applause] you may not agree with john mccain on every issue, but you can't always count on him to be straight with you about where he stands and to stand for what he thinks is right for our country regardless of the politics. i can tell you that as president, you can count on john mccain to be what he is naturally, a lossless reformer who will clean up washington and get our government working again for all of the american people. [applause] so, tonight i want to ask you whether you are independent, a reagan democrat, a clinton democrat, or plain old democrat. this year when you vote for president, vote for the person you believe is best for our country, not for the party you happen to belong to. [applause] i ask those of you who are watching or listening, vote for the leader who the age of 17, when he first raised and took an constitution, our has always put america first. , i appeal to independents, democrats, and republicans. let's come together this november to make a great ameri

mccain. senator miller represented georgia in the u.s. senate and was governor of the state for two terms, standing on the stage in new york city 16 years ago, he supported republican president gorge w. bush and opposed democratic nominee john kerry. [applause and cheering] mr. miller: thank you very much. thank you. thank you very much. since i last stood in this spot, a whole new generation of the family has been born. four great-grandchildren. along with all of the other members of the close knit family, they are our most precious possessions. i know that is how you feel about your family also. like you, i think of their future. the promises and perils they will face. i believe the next four years will determine what kind of world they will grow up in. like you, i ask which leader is it that has the vision, willpower, and backbone to best protect my family? the clear answer to that question has placed me in this hall with you tonight. for my family is more important than my party. [cheers

he said, quote, i can't stand john mccain. ladies and gentlemen, perhaps no accolade we hear this week is better proof that we've chosen the right man. [ cheers and applause ] >> clearly what the majority leader was driving at is that he can't stand up to john mccain and that's only one more reason to take the maverick out of the senate, put him in the white house. [ cheers and applause ] my fellow citizens, the american presidency is not supposed to be a journey of personal discovery. [ laughter ] [ cheers and applause ] this world of threats and dangers, it's not just a community and it doesn't just need an organizer and though both senator obama and senator biden have been going on lately about how they're always, quote, fighting for you, let us face the matter squarely. there is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you. [ cheers and applause ] [ cheers and applause ] there is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you in places where winning means survival and defeat means deat

mccain. [applause] it was just a year ago when all the experts in washington counted out our nominee because he refused to hedge his commitment to the security of the country he loves. with their usual certitude, they told us that all was lost, there was no hope for this candidate, who said that he would rather lose an election than see his country lose a war. but the pollsters -- [applause] the pollsters and the pundits, they overlooked just one thing when they wrote him off. they overlooked the caliber of the man himself, the determination, and resolve, and the sheer guts of senator john mccain. [applause] the voters knew better, and maybe that's because they realized there's a time for politics and a time for leadership, a time to campaign and a time to put our country first. [applause] our nominee for president is a true profile in courage, and people like that are hard to come by. he's a man who wore the uniform of his country for 22 years and refused to break faith with those troops in

and that man is john mccain. (clapping) you, know in our day, politicians have readily shared much less retails. then the nightmare world in which this man and others equally brave served and suffered for their country. it's a long way from the fear and pain and squalor of a six by four cell in hanoi to the hat oval office. but, if senator mccain is elected president, that is the journey he will have made. it's the journey of an upright and honorable man. the kind of fellow whose name you will find on warmer morial's and small towns across this great country. only he was among those who came home to the most powerful office on earth. he would bring the compassion of what's once been having powerless, the wisdom that comes even to the captives by the grace of god. the special confidence of those who have seen evil and have seen how evil is overcome. (clapping) a fellow prisoner of war, a man named tom moe of lancaster, ohio (clapping), recalls looking through a pinhole in his cell door as lieutenant commander john

mccain. [cheering] [applause] it was just a year ago when all the experts in washington counted out our nominee because he refused to hedges commitment to the security of the country their usualth certitude, they told us all was lost and there was no hope for this candidate, who said he would rather lose an election than see his country lose a war. [applause] but the pollsters a overlooked one thin, the caliber of the man himself, the determination and resolve and the shared gut of senator john mccain -- sheer gut of senator john mccain. [applause] the voters knew better, and maybe that is because they realized there is a time for politics and a time for leadership. a time to campaign and a time to put our country first. [applause] [cheering] our nominee for president is a true profile of courage, and people like that are hard to come by. he is a man who wore the uniform of his country for 22 years and refused to break faith with those troops in iraq who have now brought victory within sight.

to the mccain advisers picking on her. there was an attempt by the mccain advisers talking on background -- we don't know their identities -- to blame sarah pay e lin for mccain's loss. i totally disagree. i think if anything she helped john mccain close that gap with barack obama. and i think there are many, many people who vote for john mccain who wouldn't have had sarah palin not been on the ticket. she excited the republican grassroots. i i think she's more trying to put her side of the story out there. the caller makes a good point on the per diem issue. i don't exonerate sarah palin of everything in the persecution of sarah palin. like all political figures, she has her pluses and minuses. on the troopergate issue, the firing of the head of the d. of public safety, while there was one political report which tried to blame her for not taking steps to stop her husband todd from contacting the head of public safety, the other report by the judicial counsel exonerated her. >> host: from politico, the mccain camp, palin a

sydney mccain is in there, as well. there will not be an endorsement but that's the central question. will the family endorse joe biden going forward in the final months of this campaign? >> over the years i covered senator mccain and biden. i saw the friendship and personal connection they had personally. it was a very, very powerful experience. all right. jeff, stand by. we'll get back to you. anderson, over to you. >> let's go to our panel. governor, i wonder what you make of this video and also just in general, the out reach two independents, two republicans. >> i think it's hugely important as we were noting last night with the republicans that were speaking, that this should not be a buy ninary choice. you have to create this permission structure for people that voted for trump and dissuaded to come over to your side. it critical they see other people who are like them whether it's big people within big leadership positions or just everyday people and anderson, can i just say a word about this the theme of leaders

there is a video going on introducing john mccain. we expect a video narrated by cindy mccain. let's listen. the 1970's, joe was assigned to a trip overseas. >> i was the navy senate liaison and i used to carry your bags on overseas trips. the son of a gun never carried my bags. he was supposed to carry my bags, but he never carried my bags. >> that is a bit of the video playing at the convention. that is cindy mccain talking about her late husband, senator john mccain, and his relationship with joe biden. we go to rick davis. rick, you were close to john mccain. he ran his presidential campaign for him. i know you are close to cindy mccain. talk about this relationship. >> it is two men from different backgrounds. after a while, from different parties with different ambitions and views of the world, but they found a unique relationship that was both a friendship and a desire to work together to make the world a better place. in that, really, that is what really characterizes the relationship between john and joe biden. joe biden served as a mentor of john mccain early on. this

you heard from colin powell and cindy mccain. and astead, we also had calamari, we had this remarkable roll call from all 50 states and seven territories. what is it that you think was accomplished last night? >> i think the goal of last night, kind of an overarcing theme of what we'll see throughout this convention is projecting joe biden as not only a competent government leader who can pull the levers of government in the way that president obama has not, but also as a decent person and a good man. they're trying to show a contrast in humanity that they think can appeal to voters across the sprek trectrum. it's an interesting play from democrats to say, we may have ideological differences and may disagree on policy, but joe biden is someone we can agree on as a better person than donald trump. i think you saw that last night. that's what the man tanlg front cindy mccain and that's what you get from progressives like aoc or addyi barken. these are people with clear solutions on what the country needs. but what they're saying in

cindy mccain in that video highlighting that biden's unlikely friendship with john mccain. the campaign overplaying the tie to the republicans. plus jill biden about to take the stage to talk about the man she knows better than anyone else. it's so good to see you. you too! so really, how are you? oh well, look! that's what we're both taking right now, fanapt. you know it's really been helping me manage my schizophrenia. i used to hear these terrible voices. loser! you're such a failure. you're so embarrassing. i used to feel like everyone was staring at me. but we're doing much better now, right? yeah. fanapt is approved for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults. in clinical trials, fanapt significantly improved symptoms of schizophrenia compared to placebo. fanapt may change your heart rhythm which could elevate risk of sudden death. your doctor will consider this when deciding among treatments and may prescribe another medication first or may instruct you to take a smaller dosage of fanapt. the good thing to know, is we're not alone. call 8557 fanapt eh, not enough fi

and given the way he treated john mccain when he was ill. i think that is something that could clearly stay with his widow. i will tell you, this is a real friendship. they disagreed on everything, including important matters like the use of force. john mccain and biden had a mutual respect for each other. they were both men of the senate. they were institutionalists and believed in working across the aisle. as you see you had republicans like john kasich talking. i think this is a natural progression from a personal point of view from john mccain's window. >> they had a really close friendship during all those years as well. >> abby, the dnc wants to show joe biden has a big tent with this video, with a whole bunch of other things they plan on doing. how effective do you think that will be. >> the entire country is watching. it's an opportunity for the candidate and their vice president to show, to persuade some voters and show what they could offer. i think there's an argts to be made and perhaps the democratic party buys into that. people

pushing this theme that they started at the meeting last night keynote speakers will include cindy mccain the widow of the late senator john mccain a republican who formed an unlikely friendship with joe biden during their senatorial career also headlining tonight will be the candidate's wife joe biden's wife dr jill biden she will be the headline speaker so this will be a major event including as well former democratic party luminaries such as former secretary of state john kerry will also be addressing the convention virtually as we've mentioned once again pointing out the immense experience that joe biden brings to the role of president. mike hanna in washington thank you. the mayor of rio de janeiro has scrapped plans for an app to reserve space on copacabana beach was that a crew that said it would be the only way for somebody at this to maintain distance that it has been mocked widely online so instead sitting on the sand will remain

, and we saw the dnc cindy mccain narrating a video about the friendship between mccain and biden. here's a look. >> and when millions of americans were faced with losing their health insurance, it was joe's friend who saved obamacare by crossing the aisle. >> mccain cast his vote with a thumbs down. >> john and i have been given awards about bipartisanship. we don't understand why you should get an award for bipartisanship. >> thank you for your example of how to remain the same good guy that you were when you first got here. >> i just wanted to ask both of you, did you think that was effective in terms of outreach to republicans? mark, you first. >> i think it's very effective. and not just in terms of the outreach to republicans, but overall it's a unity message. it's a message about working together and reminding people about a time when people like john mccain and joe biden worked together to get things done. that's what people are hungry for and that's the bell they were ringing. >> tim, your thoughts? >> yeah, i'd say, look, this week actually is the anniversary of john mcca

mccain and hearing john mccain in his own words. it brought back just the close friendship that there was between john mccain and joe biden for so many years and how much they believed in the institutions of government and in democracy and america being a shining beacon on the hill for the world, the entire world in comparison to what we have in donald trump who i think many including myself perceive as a threat to american values, a threat to american security and a laughingstock internationally. so i thought it was emotional. i thought it was beautiful. i thought it brought joe biden the human, the family man, the father, the husband, the son into our homes. >> angela the last word goes to you on that. >> yeah. anna, you could make me cry but i don't know what's going on. all of a sudden there's bernie. but i would say, you know, one of the most -- one of the most important things to me throughout this process has been your voice. truly. because i know you're always speaking your truth and so i know that if things are resonating w

the video by cindy mccain on her late husband john mccain and the endorsement of colin powell. let me begin with you on that. >> more of that leadership we were talking about earlier. i was moved by cindy mccain telling us the story of the friendship between those two former senators. not -- i thought that was terrific. talking about how important that relationship was. even when they got to the senate and they were on opposite sides, they were able to come together as friends. it speaks volumes to the fact that joe biden has been able to work across the aisle since he's been in washington. the will bring together this coalition of democrats to work hard for america after he's elected president. cindy mccain and colin powell did a terrific job of telling the story of why jones -- joe biden's leadership is leadership we need right now. >> you headed up the republican greg rational campaign committee for the house. what was the strategy in those remarks tonight? independent and republicans who have not been happy with president trump. what better symbol and cindy mccain? colin po

is left without john mccain and congress is also left without you, chris. i thought you were a highly skilled staff member of the senate armed services committee. confess, i was part of the military industrial congressional caucus, because my district made most of the country's defense and intelligence satellites. it was a huge deal for the economy. it was the economic driver to have aerospace firms doing that. it doesn't mean we can't do better with small suppliers and all that, but i just thought i would put that out there. my question is this. it first relates to the capacity of congress but yes, we need defense reforms and need to think about new systems most members of congress are pretty analog, and these are digital systems. at the wilson center, we are educating staff to understand ai, but if members of congress wrap their heads around, if they have time for this, the concepts and systems we need for the future, that is the first part. david raisedrt, andissue of intelligence, it is not just leaving the leaders of the military alone in making sure t

wife of one- time republican presidential nominee and senator, john mccain, who died in 2018. now, sources won't say tonight if cindy mccain will endorse joe biden, but in a portion of the video obtained by cbs news, she talks about her husband's close friendship with him. and as we come on the air tonight, there's growing frustration that warnings about the spread of coronavirus are not being heeded on college campuses. the university of notre dame now says it will cancel in-person classes for the next two weeks after 80 people there tested positive overnight. there's a lot of news to get to tonight, and we have a team of correspondents with all the news. cbs' ben tracy is going to lead off our coverage tonight from the white house. good evening, ben. >> reporter: norah, good evening. so, postmaster general lou dejoy was facing bipartisan backlash, and at least 20 state attorneys general are planning to sue the trump administration, accusing it of trying to disenfranchise voters by making it harder to vote by mail. postmaster general louis dejoy is backing down, says he will

senator and that p is voiced by his wife cindy mccain. and obviously dear friend of joe biden and the biden family. before that, colin powell, it's important to point out that colin powell has endorsed democrats for the last four cycles. 2008, 2012, including john mccain, 2016, and now 2020. >> martha: one of the things that come to mind when you watch the last few minutes and put together last night, you had john kasich last night, a group of republicans, you have colin powell, you have this svideo of john mccain talking about his friendship with joe biden and i want to bring in brit hume because obviously that speaks to their argument that he works across the aisle. on the other hand, you had almost a third of the delegates going to bernie sanders. you have a lot of progressives in the party who maybe aren't that enthusiastic when they watch some of these speeches tonight, brit. >> the truth about joe biden is a very nice guy on a personal basis and he's not mean-spirited and he's never been really terribly partisan in his conduct as a

former secretary of state colin powell and cindy mccain with a testimonial of her husband john mccain's friendship with joe biden. tonight, we hear from former president obama and the vice presidential nominee kamala harris. and this morning, we have new details about what they plan to say. >> now to your coronavirus update. overnight, 1,300 more americans died from the virus. and hundreds more students at universities across the country have tested positive. notre dame, just the latest university to suspend classes just eight days after reopening. we'll have much more on these developments in a few moments. but first, let's begin our coverage with cnn's jessica dean. she is live in wilmington, delaware, with the democratic convention. jessica? >> good morning to you, alisyn. yeah, last night, we saw yet another mark of a modernized convention during a pandemic time with that newly reimaged role call across the country, which people really loved and seemed to enjoy, since none of us have been able to travel that much. got to see a lot of the country. we also heard a lot about leadership

what we saw tonight, to your point is we saw cindy mccain really connecting joe biden to john mccain on a level of friendship, a level of, again, as we are showing pictures there, this idea of honor and service to the country. and i think that, that was done rather effectively and then, of course we saw colin powell come up, the former secretary of state, republican, came out and endorse joe biden as well. the connecting thread that we will see through the next couple of nights where joe biden is appealing to liberals in his party and disaffected republicans and independents here in the u.s. >> yeah, and then, tough words from former president bill clinton who said that the ovales of should be a command cent er not a storm center what else did he say and will his message resonate beyond the traditional democratic voter? >> the interesting thing, one, where bill clinton spoke was the 9:00 hour, which is still prime time, and a lot of people will have seen his speech. you know, in past elections we have seen him speak in the 10:00 hour. that's the golden hour, that's the hour where the

you said talking with senator mccain years ago, i can only imagine the conversation in the situation room with a choice would be between surrender and lose, or fight and lose. the question obviously is how do we get in this terrible situationw of vulnerability, io the kind of scenario you just described where the chinese have weapon systems doctrine that will render our beautiful weapons, i do want to say useless, but at much less powerful. how did that happen? >> as ice in the book as you just said no and as i can't say enough condemnatory to suggest that china is ten feet tall and the united states has no effective means of responding. o. and is heading in a worse direction. how did we get here? there is a handful of things. one obvious reason is that for the past two decades we have been very focused on the events that followed 9/11 and the wars we were fighting and global counterterrorism operations. that was an enormous strain on our decision-makers and resources, but that is not the whole story. the reality is that during that period of time in over the past 25 years, the lions

two years ago yesterday, john mccain died, a hero in saving the affordable care act. so people have acted with brilliance, courage, for the rest of the american people. the president is acting with pharma, anding to not telling the truth. he is about chaos. we are about science. we will have more to say about this as we go forward. about science, science, science, instead of the president's notion mongering about cures, about which he knows nothing. chaos and how we are treating the affordable care act, chaos and how he is treating the fda, of science dominating the approval process, politics is. i know this conversation will continue. leader schumer: thank you, speaker, and the job you do. thank you to the biden campaign and the dnc for holding this call. senators, onereat democratic, one republican, essential in expanding health care. john mccain was essential when the republican senate try to undo it, to help us stop it. let's not forget them. donald trump has made his name in reality tv, but this week, at the republican national convention, the trump campaign tv.r

you say at one point that you were talking to senator mccain about this some years ago, the theof you imagined situation where it would be between surrender and lose or fight and lose. is,the question obviously how do we get -- how did we get in this terrible situation of vulnerability into the kind of scenario you described where the chinese have weapons systems that will render our beautiful weapons -- i do not want to say useless, but much less effective. how did that happen? christian: i say in the book, i am not trying to suggest that the united states has no effective ways of responding. we do, it is just that the overarching story is a bad one. and is heading in a worse direction. how did we get here? there is a handful of things. one obvious reason is that for the past two decades we have been very focused on the events that followed 9/11 and the wars we were fighting and global counterterrorism operations. that was an enormous strain on our decision-makers and resources, but that is not the whole story. the reality is that during that period of time in over the past 25 years,

john mccain said he was younger, and cindy mccain said she was younger. there was mrs. mccain at a democratic convention, supporting mr. biden, along with general powell and others. what did you think of that? rick: she's really there supporting her husband, who passed away with a 40 year relationship with joe biden. it wasn't an endorsement, per se. but when she got a call from the biden campaign to help narrate a little story about the relationship between the two of them, she jumped at it because she knew there was a special relationship there. john mccain, when he was in the navy, met joe biden as a navy liaison to the senate, and traveled all over the world. even though ultimately, as a senator they disagreed a lot on policy, they lived in an era where you could do that and still have a cocktail at night. so i think he wanted to honor we don'tage, which is have to be strictly partisan in everything we do. there are things that are good for the country, and you put that ahead of politics. tom: i thing i hear a dog in the background. no doubt that is lincoln the dog.

mccain. she highlighted the biden-mccain friendship and the importance of leadership around the world. >> joe biden will be a president we'll all be proud to salute. with joe biden in the white house you'll never doubt that he'll stand with our friends and stand up to our adversaries, never the other way around. >> that, of course, was the longtime republican and former secretary of state colin powell officially backing the biden-harris ticket. last night information president bill clinton gave biden a political boost and biden's wife dr. jill biden assured voters that biden can heal a divided nation. we get more now from cnn's jeff zeleny in wilmington. >> reporter: the second night of the democratic national convention settled under the virtual convention mode in a much easier way. some of the old school methods, the roll call vote, for example, really came to life on the screen in ways that they had not in years before. democratic officials expressed to me afterwards, really excitement abo

plus, the surprise message tonight from the widow of john mccain as dr. jill biden prepares to take center stage. covid college chaos: tonight, notre dame cancels in-person classes for two weeks after ornsctane mbl dthou but will it stop the source of the spread, those off-campus parties? pandemic pods: in our series "the new normal," with slsch closed, some families hire private teachers for their kids. but what about those who can't afford it? grave counter-intelligence threat: tonight the stunning report from the republican-led senate committee about the connection between 2016 trump campaign chairman paul manafort and the kremlin. tonight, ellen's emotional apology to her staff after she fires her top three producers. what she says about the future celebration in the sky tonight honoring the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment, which helped give women the right to vote. >> this is the "cbs evening news" with norah o'donnell, reporting from the nation's capital. >> o'donnell: good evening to our viewers in the west and thank you for joining us. we'

tonight we have cindy mccain, john mccain's widow, nare raritying a piece about how senator mccain and senator biden were good friends. is this to tell republicans that you can still be republican but not vote for donald trump? >> reporter: well, and megan mccain and cindy mccain have been very critical of president donald trump during the last three and a half years, but like you've said, frank, the democrats are trying to create this big tent coalition, showing they can reach out to disaffected republican voters and tell them it's okay not to vote for president donald trump, or at least that's the idea of including some of these republican speakers like former ohio governor john kasich last night, and like you said what will be a deeply personal video tonight about the well right- hand late john mccain. >> you also mentioned jill biden will will be take bout what kind of man her husband is. bill clint license also be speaking tonight. what do you see as his role here? what does he need to do tonight? >> well, frank, like some of the other speakers, we've also received a an excerpt of

cindy mccain talking about joe biden's unlikely friendship with john mccain across party lines, certainly, and colin powell last night, the former head of the joint chiefs, chair of the joint chiefs, and secretary of state. >> joe biden will be a president that we will all be proud to salute. with joe biden in the white house, you will never doubt that he will stand with our friends and stand up to our adversaries, never the other way around. he will trust our diplomats and our intelligence community, not the flattery of dictators and despots. he will stand up to our adversaries with strength and experience. >> michael steele, at a time when the democrats need to unite their party, the bernie sanders wing, aoc and the other progressives, is this a good strategy? there were a lot of republicans in this convention, kasich the first night, and a former republican, at least, colin powell, and of course the mccain tribute as well. >> yeah, no, i think it's a smart strategy, because this is not an election, so that we're all clear here, this is not an election about big policy. this is not an e

. >> bret: the voice of the late john mccain, the pieced was voiced by his wife. obviously, the biden family as well. before that, it's important that he has endorsed democrats for the last four cycles. 2008 and 2012, including john mccain in 2016 and 2020. >> when you watch the last few minutes, and you put it together with last night. you have a group of republicans, tonight you have powell, and you have this video with the john mccain's while talking about his friendship with joe biden. i want to bring in britt, because it speaks of the argument he works across the aisle. then you have a third of the delegates going to bernie sanders. you have a lot of progressives in the party that aren't as enthusiastic as they watch these speeches tonight. >> the truth about joe biden is he's a very nice guy on a personal basis. he is not mean-spirited, and he has never been really terrible, terribly partisan. the stories you hear about him reaching across the aisle have all a rate of truth because that's the guy he was. even as vice president, he was a dealmaker. that's why

the video by cindy mccain on her late husband john mccain and the endorsement of colin powell. let me begin with you on that. >> more of that leadership we were talking about earlier. i was moved by cindy mccain telling us the story of the friendship between those two former senators. not -- i thought that was terrific. talking about how important that relationship was. even when they got to the senate and they were on opposite sides, they were able to come together as friends. it speaks volumes to the fact that joe biden has been able to work across the aisle since he's been in washington. the will bring together this coalition of democrats to work hard for america after he's elected president. cindy mccain and colin powell did a terrific job of telling the story of why jones -- joe biden's leadership is leadership we need right now. >> you headed up the republican greg rational campaign committee for the house. what was the strategy in those remarks tonight? independent and republicans who have not been happy with president trump. what better symbol and cindy mccain? colin po

john mccain. she's just one of the republicans going to bat for this democratic nominee. and back again with us tonight to talk about that and more, retired four-star u.s. army general barry mccaffrey, a decorated combat veteran of vietnam and a former battlefield commander in the persian gulf, as well as the former head of the u.s. southern command and a former member of the clinton cabinet. so, general, we heard from colin powell tonight. we heard from cindy mccain. those are important voices, and it got me to thinking the last time a casual news viewer saw this version of their current military, the secretary of defense, the head of the joints chiefs, they were marching with the president over to lafayette square on that terrible day in washington. the head of the joint chiefs wearing camo, maybe hoping to blend into the foliage and not stand out and be seen there. so tell me what you made of the voices from our recent past and tell me the contrast between what people get to see of modern times

senator john mccain, a republican. for the second night, lester, we're seeing some republican voices really getting primetime at the democratic national convention. we await dr. jill biden's speech in a minute but let's go to a former top advisor to president obama who ran his campaign, david plouffe. an interesting moment in the democratic party. on the one hand we see how it's reaching out to shore up its left flank, bernie sanders, alexandria ocasio-cortez, and now this section of the convention with former general colin powell and this tribute with john mccain. can the democrats be all things to all people? >> well, you have to do both. you're going to need great turnout, particularly in a pandemic when voting is more challenging, and joe biden is doing extremely well with seniors and suburban voters and i think voices like cindy mccain and colin powell are helpful. by the way, arizona could determine who our next president is so cindy mccain's voice takes on extra meaning there. >> let me turn back to jeremy bash.

mccain, during the primary process, talked to his press corps all of the time. stage ofwe got to this the campaign, it was difficult to get time from mccain. they were very tight on the candidate's time because they knew it was a precious resource and they knew there was a risk reward. reward to talk to new voters, but the risk is that the candidate gives off a bad message and makes a mistake. >> hans nickel is joining us to nichols is joining us to take your question. --ublicans, what is reporting like now versus that? >> i'm in my living room. it is difficult to develop sources. i would say that is the main change. idon't want to pretend that am -- you can't meet people for drinks. you can't have the sidebar conversations. that said, it can be more efficient because you can be texting, emailing with 20 people. everyone this kind of doing it. last night, you have a rolling conversation with your sources about what you are seeing on the convention. as opposed to if we were there, all of the reporters would be in their newsrooms, we would be working in our -- on

john mccain was essential in the republican senate right to undo it, to helping us stop it. let's not forget them. they are great donald trump made his name in reality tv. but at the republican national convention this week, the republican campaign is producing surreality tv. the u.s. leads the world in coronavirus so far, close to 180,000 have died so far. every one of them, leaving families and friends with open hearts. and republicans pretend donald trump has a handle on the virus, spending their convention trying to papier-mache over reality to cover up the fact donald trump has failed to contain covid-19. let's be clear. theident trump ignored advice of experts, downplayed the virus and refused to take swift action to contain the spread. just other western country about, every other asian country and developed country has done a far better job than us, but they had leadership and we didn't. we had chaos. as a result, the trump administration response to covid teen has been an international hasrrassment -- to covid-19 been an international embarrassment. we are experienc

due to scheduling changes, because of senator mccain's funeral, he was unable to do so. but i have david's questions here today and i just happen to be a big admirer of ulysses s grant and ron's books so i think we will have a fantastic time at the book festival. before we talk about grant, we need to ask a question about alexander hamilton. how could we not? when manuel miranda first approached you and said he wanted to create a hip-hop musical based on your book, what was your reaction and did you think it would become a cultural phenomenon? >> people say when you are writing the alexander hamilton biography, did you have any idea it would be turned into a hip-hop musical. i always think to myself the question answers itself. when i first met lin manuel miranda in the fall of 2008, he was co-storing in costarring in his first musical, the height. it asked me to be this historical advisor to this yet nonexistent show. i said you mean you want me to tell you when something is wrong. he said yes, i want historians to take this seriously which was music to my ears. i was a

as a publican's working for particularly when john mccain was over 70 well joe biden is 77 he'll be 70 and on election day we've never allowed 10 a president this old before and so it's not that they're going to add anything to biden's total i think he's now getting about the maximum that he could be getting the question is whether he to tracks whether she describes his you know it's going to be her from from the candidacy there are 2 democrats that i think and i don't necessarily agree with them but there are 2 democrats who i believe would add or at least not her the biden can a c. one of them is is. karen bass the credit congresswoman from california who is head of the congressional black caucus she is more to the left than the average american but her kindness and her decency is so strong and so apparent in how she answers questions in how she deals with issues and i believe that while substance absolutely matters the character of the candidate matters more at this point in 2020 and that the american people looking for someone who they trust someone who they have confidence in and

his funeral, i was just thinking about his funeral today because of the john mccain memorial gathering at national cathedral. when grant was buried in new york, and he and julia felt very grateful to new york and the city provided this beautiful spot in the new riverside park. grant's funeral spoke to the public very much in the way that john mccain's memorial services have been speaking to the public. that is at grant's funeral, a million and a half people flooded new york city. the funeral parade went on for five hours, but grant and his family made a statement so it was a north/south reconciliation. there were among the honorary pallbearers, there were great union generals, but there were also major confederate generals, joseph, johnston and simon buckner. again, as part of this reconciliation theme, the stonewall jackson brigade from staunton, virginia came up and marked in the parade. black regiments marched in the parade, because grant had been very instrumental in the civil war in terms of recruiting and training and equipping, you know, black soldiers, and so this was really gr

grant's funeral spoke to the public very much in the way that john mccain's memorial services have been speaking to the public. that is at grant's funeral a million and a half people flooded to new york city. grant and his family made a statement. and it was a north/south reconciliation. there were great union generals but there were also major confederate generals. joseph johnston and simon buckner. again as part of his reconciliation theme, black regiments marched in the parade. and so this was really grant's final statement from beyond the grave. and i think that, you know, grant in many ways reminds me what people have been saying about john mccain in terms of his patriotism, his bravery, his dedication to public service, the fact he distinguished himself from civilian service and military service and reminds us what old patriotism should look like. >> as we reconsider grant as you have in this magnificent book what should we learn from grant and his leadership? >> well, i think one reason people have responded to the book -- all the other people i've written about seem to be instan

mccain so -- mccain talk to the press corps all the time. there was a rolling conversation but once we got to this stage of the campaign it was difficult to get time with much mccain and they were tight on the candidates time because they knew is a precious resource and a reward if you talk to voters in the risk if he can't get the message and make a mistake. >> host: hans nichols is taking your questions about the event at the dnc convention 202748 -- independents (202)748-8002 just as a political reporter for axios and covered the "bloomberg news." what is reporting like versus now? >> guest: i'm in my living room. you can't come i don't want to pretend that i'm more of a norman mailer -- but you can't have the sidebar conversations. that said it can be more efficient because you can be texting, e-mailing with 20 people and everyone is kind of doing it. last night you have a rolling conversation with your sources about why you are seeing on the convention and is supposed to if we were there. all the reporters would had been their newsrooms

, the wife of john mccain. their relationship was very close. they traveled around the world together dealing with foreign policy issues. they made negotiations on different items. when he was vice president and when he was senator before that but this is joe biden and the biden camp is trying to use the 47 years in washington as an asset, not a liability. next you will see the trump campaign say he is a creature of the swamp and just a vessel for whatever is going to be the left. >> quick comment on former president clinton speaking tonight. he's been in and out of favor based on a number of issues he has had to deal with personally but they said we want him speaking on the stage. >> this is his eleventh consecutive convention and bill clinton has been part of this party but in recent months, since the me too movement, has been ostracized. tammy duckworth, i asked about some articles saying he shouldn't be speaking and senator duckworth said the democrats have a big tent. this is a former president. he deliver

cindy mccain's voice there, hearing john mccain's voice. i think it also wasn't just powerful in the moment. it reminds people of why joe biden, the core message there. joe biden puts people over party politics. and in the white house what you have right now is the opposite of that. now, what do people want? that's an open question. but i thought that video -- that for me and i'll go to my second one if you don't mind, chris. someone who i think if you follow politics at all you know a guy who was struck down with als, lough gehrig's disease. as a dad, the video of him playing with his son, the necessity of health care. i always say put aside politics a little bit and just watch this, the power of that video. a guy who just had had a child with his wife and suddenly gets this diagnosis and is turned into a health care activist. i thought that was really, really powerful, which is worried because i thought the two most powerful things were videos, right? not speeches. the third thing that i thought was pretty good, angela touched on this the