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Mitt Romney to Speak at Republican National Convention; Isaac Still Impacting Gulf Coast

Aired August 30, 2012 - 15:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And we continue on, live from the CNN Grill here in Tampa, Florida. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

We are at the center of all things Republican National Convention, hours away from a tremendously huge night for who will eventually be the nominee once he accepts the nomination, Mitt Romney, biggest speech, really, of his political career.

This is what all the months and months of handshaking, the campaign ads, the money, the stump speeches, it all comes down to this. Former governor of Massachusetts taking the podium, at the RNC, inside the forum, steps from where I am to accept his party's nomination for president of the United States.

But I wanted to show you this one moment. This is from last night, Mitt Romney sitting around with some little ones, sitting on his sofa. This is, obviously, in Tampa. He's watching the convention coverage, and his grandfather here as well.

They have the takeout pizzas on the coffee table, and, you know, obviously the fact that we have a camera there, you're hearing the camera flashes, tells us this is certainly not an unscripted moment.

But it does highlight one of the challenges Mitt Romney faces, making a connection with voters beyond simply being Mitt Romney the candidate, getting them to connect with Mitt Romney the human being.

Chief political correspondent Candy Crowley, host of "STATE OF THE UNION," who has been to so many conventions, since 1980.

So you are the perfect person to talk to. But really, question number one, how does he connect? How does he connect tonight?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, that's what they have been asking themselves for the last, you know, nine, 10, 11, 12 months.

It isn't even -- we have talked a lot about the likability aspect, but I don't think it's likability. It's that people cannot go in and pull a lever on voting day for a guy they don't think gets them.

BALDWIN: Because voting is personal.

CROWLEY: Voting is personal. And you don't want someone in the Oval Office that doesn't understand what you deal with on a daily basis and where government can get out of the way and where government can step in, how you view government, what your daily problems are, that kind of thing.

So it's the relatability part that he needs to show. Now, the problem is that there's -- whenever you have a candidate who doesn't seem to emote, and we have seen, you know, Bob Dole, same kind of thing. Everyone says, yes, but he just seems so stern, and this and that all the time.

Michael Dukakis, another guy that people just couldn't get a handle on, and felt...

BALDWIN: You're talking people who didn't go on to...

CROWLEY: They didn't go on, but I'm also naming Midwesterners, and maybe it's my sort of Michigan/Missouri axis that I grew up in, but it's not a group that emotes all that well.

BALDWIN: But will the rest of the country understand that?

CROWLEY: That's right. No. And they may.

In the end, I think people do want someone who's going to fix the economy. But they want them to fix -- they want the president to fix the economy in a way that will help them. So that's where the relatability comes in.

BALDWIN: So tying in empathy with economy.

CROWLEY: Right.

BALDWIN: Because he's obviously outpolling the president or at la little bit when it comes to the economy, but to the likability or whatever word you want to use, he's not as strong.

CROWLEY: Right. What's interesting is, when you're trying to do this, and somehow show people that you understand them or their problems, you get something like a George Bush the dad, when he goes, message, I care, because, you know, they're just -- so you can't go overboard and you can't underdo it.

I mean, it's a very tricky situation, because it's a feeling. It's not about what you're saying so much as, yes, yes, I think that guy gets it. At the same time, he's going to have to flesh out some of the big ideas that Ryan talked about last night. Because where this campaign has moved is, it's no longer, do they think it's just enough to say the economy bad and President Obama has failed. They have got to say, and here's what I'm going to do.

BALDWIN: Right, specifics.

(CROSSTALK)

CROWLEY: Well, I don't know that you're going to get details like, and then I'm going to get rid of this tax deduction or put this new one in.

(CROSSTALK)

CROWLEY: I think that you will get a direction with some meat to it.

But you also, remember, these -- you have to know I think you will get a lot about what, you know, who I am. Here's where I came from. Here's how I view America, and here's what shaped my views of America, how I got here.

BALDWIN: Do you think he has a funny bone in his body?

CROWLEY: Oh, sure. Sure.

But I have seen so many politicians along the way that just could not -- it just wasn't -- their humor didn't translate. I mean, even his kids will tell you he's goofy. And it's hard to be -- have a goofy sense of humor, a slapstick, sort of prankster sense of humor and come across as presidential.

So I don't envy any of these on either side of the aisle trying to, you know -- and I think always the best thing is, do what you're comfortable with. Do what you're comfortable with. Anyone else looks fake.

BALDWIN: After tonight, the next few moments, really, before November 6 are the debates, you, congratulations, it's been two decades, hallelujah, it's time we have a female moderator. What moment, what is the aha moment that we should be looking for in this campaign?

CROWLEY: I don't -- honestly, I think it's a building up.

I mean, and you're right. This is the biggest audience that Mitt Romney has ever seen. This is his biggest chance to date. And, really, when you add it all up, and there are 90-minute debates and there's three of them, he has less than 10 hours left, as does President Obama.

BALDWIN: To make a pitch.

CROWLEY: To make the pitch. Because the rest of it is, where does this ad go, where does that guy -- where do we put the candidate? What do we do?

Sure, something could happen on the campaign trail, but largely that strategy is these few hours left to these two men, between now and November that they have a chance to say, hey, swing voters, hey, persuadables...

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: I'm your guy. No pressure.

CROWLEY: No pressure at all. BALDWIN: No pressure at all.

Candy Crowley, we will all be looking for your analysis. I love hearing your analysis a little later on tonight. Thank you very much.

Paul Ryan, he does have some harsh words for Obamacare's possible impact on seniors. He says it is threatening to destroy Medicare.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, I want to bring you back in.

And let's just play some sound here. Let's just listen to what the congressman from Wisconsin actually said last night, because I want you to fact check this for us. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PAUL RYAN (R-WI), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Seven hundred and sixteen billion dollars, funneled out of Medicare by President Obama. An obligation we have to our parents and grandparents is being sacrificed, all to pay for a new entitlement we didn't even ask for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Is that true, $716 billion that he's saying Obama cut from Medicare?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a bit misleading, Brooke.

And the details are important here. There's a couple of points. First of all, what they're referring to specifically is this idea that, look, we need to control spending when it comes to Medicare. So they're going to -- they want to cap just how much Medicare can spend in any given year over the next 10 years.

And when they sort of figure out, look, what the caps are and what Medicare typically grows by, the difference is where they get this $716 billion. So they haven't taken any money out of it yet, but they say, look, in the future, it could be $700 billion less than they would have otherwise spent for it.

Also, the implication, I think, is a little bit misleading, Brooke, in that the implication is that people are going to lose benefits. And if you look at the plan, which I have done, and you and I have talked about it a few times, there's no evidence that seniors are going to lose any of their benefits under Obamacare as well. So, you know, both the Obama plan as well as the Ryan plan do want to control costs. It's just a little bit different in terms of where the money comes from and exactly how it's executed, Brooke.

So, then explain to me, Sanjay, exactly where the bulk of the Medicare money, where it's coming from, where that $700 billion-plus will be used.

GUPTA: Right, first of all, again, there's nothing that's been taken out yet. You're sort of projecting forward. You say, look, we need to cut costs on Medicare, so where are some of the sort of proposed areas?

One is, you know, the private insurance companies. Right now, Medicare does pay private insurance companies under a plan known as Medicare Advantage. And those plans tend to be more expensive.

You're going to see some of those rolled back. Also, the amount of money paid to hospitals will also start to decrease. And this was part of an agreement with hospitals and the White House. They said, look, if you're going to add more people to have health care insurance, hospitals agreed as a result to lower their costs.

Those are a couple of the big areas. But again, it's this notion, every year they're going to look and say, how much is it costing to keep Medicare going? What's the cap? And if there's a difference there, a delta, so to speak, they're going to figure out where those cuts need to happen. It's going to be done on a year-by- year basis.

BALDWIN: What would Medicare look like if Mitt Romney's elected?

GUPTA: Well, it's a little bit unclear, because, you know, exactly how much of the Ryan plan or the Ryan plan that he did with Senator Wyden that Mitt Romney is going to adopt is still a little bit unclear.

But I think what you can say is it's going to look more private. The best way of sort of simplifying it is that seniors, after 10 years from now, will also be offered a voucher. They could stay with Medicare or they could use a voucher, which would be around $8,000, they propose, to buy insurance on the private market.

So that, you know, the whole notion there is that if you introduce competition, if you introduce some private sector options, you could lower costs that way. You know, with both these plans, whether it's the Obamacare plan or this Ryan-Wyden plan, there's very little evidence to say exactly what would happen, if they would work, if they would lower costs, because a lot of this is brand-new.

But it's different philosophies. One wants to do more private sector competition and one wants to sort of lower costs to providers, such as insurance companies and hospitals.

BALDWIN: OK, Sanjay, thank you.

GUPTA: Thanks, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Isaac still causing problems, mandatory evacuations under way right this minute. We will get you an update on that jam we have been talking about. And we are told there is still very much so that possibility, it could break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Now to the latest here on Isaac, which is very much so wreaking havoc along the Gulf Coast. Here's some fresh video we have cut for you of this man returning to his flooded Louisiana home, just to rescue his animals.

What is that, some cats and a parakeet? Robert Sanders (ph) waded through water for blocks to reach this home. This is Plaquemines Parish. To save these animals -- we're told he has at least three dogs and six cats, but several hundred people thankful to be rescued from the floods themselves. Thousands of others are thankful that Isaac didn't take more from them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're extremely lucky. Compared to the people down south, we're very, very lucky. I mean, this is nothing. This is nothing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Louisiana's governor, Bobby Jindal, says officials are moving forward with plans to breach a levee to reduce water in Plaquemines Parish.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. BOBBY JINDAL (R), LOUISIANA: The idea is to allow that water to flow out of that area, and now that the winds have shifted, they're also planning to have pumps on site to help de-water that area as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Now, a new crisis, new fears have developed. We're talking about this dam that's right along the Louisiana/Mississippi border. It's called the Lake Tangipahoa Dam. Thousands on the Louisiana side have been ordered to evacuate within sort of this smaller radius.

Here's CNN's David Mattingly for us in Mississippi -- David.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is a dam on the Tangipahoa River.

It creates a 700-acre lake inside the state of Mississippi at a state park. That dam has been damaged by all the water that's fallen from this tropical storm/hurricane. So they're working right now with a sandbagging operation to shore that dam up. At the same time, they have some other operations going to possibly relieve some of the pressure behind it.

But this dam in Mississippi, should it fail, would affect people downstream, most of them living in Louisiana, downriver, down the Tangipahoa River. So the parish president in Louisiana has issued a mandatory evacuation order for people living a mile on either side of that river, as a precaution. The governor's office is backing him up on that, telling people they should pay attention to this, because they don't know what's going to happen with the dam.

In fact, we heard from Louisiana's governor about this just a short time ago. Listen.

JINDAL: There are concerns at Percy Quin about a dam over in Mississippi, that if this dam were to break, it would take about 90 minutes for that water to get to Kentwood.

We have been in contact with our Mississippi counterparts, including the Department of Transportation over there. They are planning a planned breach of that dam to avoid, to prevent the dam from breaking. This morning, they were concerned that the breaking was imminent.

MATTINGLY: That operation planning to relieve some of the pressure that is on that dam right now so that the repair operations can continue, and hopefully that dam will not fail, but people in two states right now, are very worried about it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: David Mattingly, thank you there for us in Mississippi.

I know a lot of you have been reaching out, wondering how you can help. You can. Just go to our Impact Your World Web site, and that is CNN.com/impact.

Any moment now, we are getting word that tonight's mystery Republican speaker will be doing a walk-through at the forum here in Tampa. You will see Mr. Clint Eastwood in a matter of moments. Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: It is Mitt Romney's big, big night. Some time after 10:00 Eastern, the former Massachusetts governor will be stepping up to the podium next door to me here at The Tampa Bay Times Forum and he will accept his party's nomination.

In fact, guys, are those live pictures on the left-hand side? Taylor Hicks, he's preparing. Again, we're waiting for Clint Eastwood, that mystery guest, to pop up. As soon as that happens, we will bring it to you live.

But, again, Mitt Romney speaking tonight. We're awaiting actually his arrival as well to check out the stage, fix the height of the podium, check out the microphones, the hall. We're going to see him very shortly as well.

But here with me now, senior Romney adviser Bay Buchanan.

And it's nice to have you on.

BAY BUCHANAN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Thank you very much.

BALDWIN: Nice to meet you. BUCHANAN: Good to be with you.

BALDWIN: Let's just first start with give me something, give me some details of the speech tonight. Give me one nugget. What will he be talking about?

BUCHANAN: I think what you're going to see is Ann Romney started, but you will get to see a little bit more about who he is. Not only is he an amazingly competent and courageous leader, as he's proven time again, but you will see the good and decent man up there prepared to take charge of this country and turn it around.

That's what I'm hoping. It's not -- that you get to see a little bit about who he is, and Americans can kind of start to understand the character of the man, but then also to that he will tell you, from his heart, what his vision for America really is.

BALDWIN: Now, Bay, we say good and decent, but I know you have seen the poll numbers, these numbers when it come to honesty. Let me just read this.

This is the "USA Today"/Gallup poll. President Obama sitting at 48 percent for Americans saying trustworthy and honest, and your boss at 36 percent.

What can he say specifically tonight to help to perhaps close that gap when it comes to an appearance of a lack of honesty?

BUCHANAN: Well, there's two points.

First of all, as you didn't mention, Barack Obama was at 60. He is down 10 to 12 points because of the kind of campaign he's been running is so ugly and nasty.

BALDWIN: But these are our poll numbers that we have today.

BUCHANAN: There's today, but he was much higher before. Barack Obama has come down almost 10 points on popularity and likability.

It's the kind of campaign he's running. But you have to understand, when the American people didn't really know Mitt Romney, you have $100 million being spent against him this summer to try to tear his person down, to try to make him look like nobody would ever want to vote for. So you can't expect his popularity numbers to go up during that period.

But now I think Americans are tuning in for themselves tonight, unfiltered. They will see a guy up there. First, the whole convention, the kind of sense that you get, these are great leaders we're offering. Our party's about the future.

And Mitt Romney is a truly decent and good man. You cannot take that away from him. He has earned that reputation, and I think you will see it tonight. And he deeply cares about this country and has a plan to make it a better place for all Americans. BALDWIN: And tonight's the night. He will have tens of millions of people watching to make that pitch and to show us perhaps a part of himself that many Americans have not seen.

BUCHANAN: Exactly.

BALDWIN: There has been well-documented flip-flopping with regard to Mitt Romney. And I'm just curious, to what do we attribute this gap, this lack of honesty, this perception from the country?

BUCHANAN: Well, as I said before, we have not had a chance to get Mitt Romney before the country. In a primary, it's contentious, people are against one another. And so you can't as an individual...

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: But he's had speaking engagements. He's been interviewed.

(CROSSTALK)

BUCHANAN: The good news is, he truly is that person. He truly is a remarkably wonderful man.

You saw Ann talk about him, a wonderful father, a wonderful husband, family man, a man that cares about his community, and has really given back to this country and to those around him. But the key here is, you can focus on those numbers all you want, but when it comes to November, people are going to vote about the issues dearest to them.

And Americans suffered enormously under President Barack Obama. And they're going to recognize, we can't have just four more years of him. Things are not getting any better. The key issues are economy, jobs, debt, Obamacare. This is what America cares about.

And the Republican Party, the Republican ticket has the answer, has the solution that will turn America around, so that America can work again.

BALDWIN: Here's where I'm curious. Being you're a female, conservative, you're part of this tight inner circle that is Mitt Romney, have you ever found yourself sort of arguing to be part of this speech?

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Your role, who you are, who you represent to be part of the speech tonight?

BUCHANAN: Oh, without question it's going to be.

He knows that. This is his opportunity. And he has never failed to come up and meet that mark, I mean, whether it being debating John McCain.

BALDWIN: How does he do it, though? Because he hasn't done it yet.

(CROSSTALK)

BUCHANAN: I will tell you how he does it.

When was the last time he had an opportunity to truly speak from his heart directly to the American people for a period of time where they could absolutely listen without it being filtered by the media? It hasn't happened until now. This is the beginning of the general election.

We have a remarkable candidate and an amazing ticket, one that offers so much for this country. And I think when Americans tune in, they're going to say, wait a minute, this is a man that not only has the answers and the courage to make certain he addresses those serious problems and solve our problems, but he is truly a good and decent, wonderful man, a man that we would be proud to have as our president.

BALDWIN: Tens of millions will be watching.

BUCHANAN: Absolutely.

BALDWIN: They will be watching.

BUCHANAN: We hope so.

BALDWIN: Bay, thank you. We appreciate it. Nice to meet you.

BUCHANAN: Delighted.

BALDWIN: The so-called tell-all book about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden last May, it is getting all kinds of attention. I know you have heard some of the back and forth here about this the book. So will this controversy surrounding this book, it's entitled "No Easy Day" -- of course it will -- the question is how, how will it rewrite history books and how it contradicts the account from the White House?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: We are still a week away here from the release of a new book that gives an insider's view of the raid that left Osama bin Laden dead.

The book is called "No Easy Day," and it's written by a retired member of SEAL Team 6. Media outlets, they got an advanced copy today. The author, who the Pentagon now says can be revealed, his name is Matt Bissonnette -- in this book, this is this man's version of how Osama bin Laden was killed.

It very much so differs from how this critical mission was reported from the White House in one major way. And here it is. Take a look at this animation with me. And it shows bin Laden, the raid as previously explained. It shows those Navy SEALs entering the bedroom where they found Osama bin Laden. You see them shooting them. Bissonnette writes, though, that one of his SEAL team members shot bin Laden as soon as he poked his head around the door of the bedroom, not actually inside the room.

And, last hour, I talked to former CIA operative Bob Baer about really the differences in the accounts and really if it really matters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT BAER, FORMER CIA OPERATOR: What you have to understand is, when the SEALs do a takedown like this, they are moving at such a high speed that anybody that acts in the least suspiciously is shot and killed.

It's their modus operandi. They never change it. You'd have to see one of these things when they run through a house, three steps at a time, shooting, throwing flash-bang grenades.

Once they hit that door, you're more or less dead unless you're on the ground, surrendering.

BALDWIN: So then are you saying that the differences in accounts really don't seem that significant?

BAER: Well, it's the White House hyping an event. They had to make it look like that bin Laden was resisting. It's a typical political spin you get out of any White House and, you know, the political aides of the president want to make the president look as best as he can through this and the truth is really the first casualty in a raid like this.

But I think the point is that the White House did approve it. It was a courageous decision. The SEALs did a wonderful job and we've got a SEAL coming out and talking about it.

It happens -- as I understand from the SEALs, this guy was a very, very good operator, one of the best. He's a hero and the rest of it, but the SEALs do not like talking in public about their operations. They like to be quiet heroes. It's just a fact.

So, as I understand it from the SEALs, they're unhappy that this guy went to print.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Bob Baer, thank you. The book is already number one on Amazon, even though, we mentioned it, it won't be released until next Tuesday. Next Tuesday.

Now that we know the mystery speaker no longer a mystery, it is Clint Eastwood, Mr. Dirty Harry himself. He will be the speaker tonight right before Senator Marco Rubio here in Florida and then, of course, the man of the night, Mitt Romney.

And it kind of got us thinking, what other celebrities do Republicans have in their corner? We have a look at that here as we're looking at some of these live pictures on the convention floor in the Forum.

We are, again, watching and waiting for Clint Eastwood, also, Mitt Romney. Both should be swinging through this Forum any moment now. Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: More than a few showbiz heavyweights, they are lining up behind Republican Mitt Romney. Witness Clint Eastwood, the star of "Dirty Harry" movies, director of big Hollywood films like "Million Dollar Baby," is the mystery guest speaking tonight at the RNC.

But you know what? Eastwood is not alone here. Here with this is Kareen Wynter.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Away from the glare of the red carpet, some Hollywood celebrities are harboring a shocking political secret. They're not all card-carrying liberals.

MITCHELL SCHWARTZ, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: There's a lot of Hollywood people that support Republicans.

WYNTER: In fact, Democratic strategist Mitchell Schwartz says there's an impressive list of famous movers-and-shakers backing presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

Clint Eastwood recently endorsed him.

CLINT EASTWOOD, ACTOR/DIRECTOR: I think the country needs a boost somewhere.

WYNTER: Romney got a post from comedian Jeff Foxworthy, who campaigned for him back in the primary season.

MITT ROMNEY, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Jeff Foxworthy's going to make all the difference in the world.

WYNTER: Mega-producer Jerry Bruckheimer attended a private fundraiser for Romney back in May and actor Dean Cain prefers the Republican contender.

DEAN CAIN, ACTOR: I firmly support Mitt Romney.

WYNTER: Romney's Republican support may support some as ironic, given Republican attack ads like this one from a GOP Super PAC, calling Obama a celebrity president who's tight with the in-crowd.

His story in Steven Ross, author of "Hollywood Left and Right, says Romney has made several under-the-radar stops to California to stuff his campaign war chest.

OpenSecrets.org says he's collected more than $17 million, statewide, and rubbing shoulders with the entertainment industry elite.

STEVEN ROSS, AUTHOR, "HOLLYWOOD LEFT AND RIGHT": He is coming to Hollywood and there is conservative money. It has always been here. It has always gone into Republican campaigns.

WYNTER: But quietly. In Hollywood, few celebrities seem willing to go public with their Republican beliefs and some that have say they've paid a price for it.

KELSEY GRAMMER, ACTOR: I mean, I am a -- I'm a declared, out-of- the-closet Republican in Hollywood.

JAY LENO, LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW HOST: Oh!

WYNTER: Kelsey Grammer recently told Jay Leno he thinks it's possible he didn't get an Emmy nomination this year for his work on "Boss" because of politics.

LENO: Don't you have five Emmys?

GRAMMER: Yes, I do have five Emmys.

LENO: And how long you been a Republican?

GRAMMER: Well, about -- just after that last one, I became one.

LENO: Oh, is that what - oh, I see.

WYNTER: Still, some Hollywood conservatives won't hide their contempt for the president. Oscar-winner Jon Voight is outspoken.

JON VOIGHT, ACTOR: Obama is not a Democrat. He is a radical socialist.

WYNTER: And producer Gerald Molen, whose credits include "Schindler's List" and "Jurassic Park," is behind the new documentary, "2016 -- Obama's America," a scorching critique of the president

DINESH D'SOUZA, AUTHOR (voiceover): Obama has a dream that the sins of colonialism be set right and America be downsized.

WYNTER: USC professor Dan Schnur, a former Republican political consultant, notes ...

DAN SCHNUR, PROFESSOR, USC: There are pockets of Republican support throughout the entertainment industry. They tend to be very, very strong-willed in their opinion, even to the point where they're willing to risk some professional backlash in order to stand up for what they believe in.

WYNTER: So, while Hollywood's Republicans may appear few in numbers, they're proving a true blue town still has streaks of red.

Kareen Wynter, CNN, Hollywood.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BALDWIN: Back here in Tampa, as the Republican convention winds down, of course, after tonight, the big night, Mitt Romney speaking, the Democrats revving up for their convention next week in Charlotte.

So, what can we expect? DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, she weighs in, coming up next and her thoughts, this week, on the RNC.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: I don't know if you caught this, but I want to take you back to last evening. GOP's Mike Huckabee, Governor Huckabee, having a little fun -- perhaps we'll use that word -- a little fun at the expense of a certain prominent Democrat who happens to be sitting over my shoulder.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE HUCKABEE (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The only hitch in an otherwise perfect week was the awful noise coming from the hotel room next door to mine.

Turns out it was just Debbie Wassermann Schultz practicing her speech for the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte next week. Bless her heart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Here with me now, the aforementioned Debbie Wassermann Schultz. Do I hear some laughs ahead of the Democratic National Committee? Also a member of Congress here in Florida.

When you heard that and you were telling me, you were listening last night.

REPRESENTATIVE DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, CHAIR, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE: I didn't hear his comments.

BALDWIN: You didn't hear that?

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: I was told about them later.

BALDWIN: Were you surprised?

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: You know, it's not surprising, coming from someone like Mike Huckabee, who obviously is unfamiliar with the voice of a strong woman and, so, you know, it's to be expected from a guy who actually, when many were condemning Todd Akin's outrageous, unacceptable comments about something called "legitimate rape" and women's inability, supposedly, to become pregnant from it, Mike Huckabee, showing how dramatically out of touch and unreal he is when it comes to the health care of women, actually embraced Todd Akin, did a fundraising pitch for him through e-mail and rallied the troops on a conference call for him.

So, really, consider the source.

BALDWIN: Considering the source, if he were sitting in that empty chair next to you, what would your retort be?

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: I would ignore him because he's irrelevant.

BALDWIN: Moving on, you're here in Tampa, RNC. You're here in the sea of Republicans.

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: In my home state.

BALDWIN: In your home state. What have you observed? What have you seen?

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: Well, I've seen more embrace of the extremist policies that we've seen from Republicans during this campaign, from Mitt Romney, from Paul Ryan, from the Republicans that I serve with in Congress, who think that we should -- who romanticize the failed policies of the past and who actually worship at the altar of tax cuts for the wealthiest, most fortunate Americans, and who think that we should make the middle class pay for those budget-busting tax breaks, those things that crashed our economy and got us into the worst economic crisis in the first place.

So, a full embrace here of those policies, which is just another example of how out of touch they are.

BALDWIN: There is nothing romantic about the economy right now. You look at the latest polls and Mitt Romney is actually out-polling the president. Does that make you nervous?

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: Well, we're focused on the next 68 days. We've stood up the most significant, largest grassroots presidential campaign in history and, if you look at the battleground state polling, which is really where the rubber meets the road, President Obama is ahead of Mitt Romney in almost every battleground state.

That's because Barack Obama's policies have made sure that the middle class and working families have a president in the White House that is going to bat for them every single day, that thinks that we should continue to invest in education and that everybody should have a fair shot and get a fair shake and, you know, if you work hard and play by the rules, that you can have an opportunity to be successful, unlike Mitt Romney, who has made sure that we have policies and proposed policies to help millionaires and billionaires and people who already are doing really well.

BALDWIN: Let's talk Congress, quickly here, Congress, your job, DNC chairwoman, I imagine part of your job is making sure you regain the majority in the House that was taken from you in 2010.

What is it about your party and your party's record that you want -- that you think the American people are ready to latch onto, to take the ball and run with it? Why?

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: Well, there's a reason this Republican Congress has the lowest approval rating in history, since Congress has had ratings. It's the "do-nothingest" of the "Do-Nothing" Congresses. They've been focused on one thing. BALDWIN: There are Democrats in Congress, as well, and we're talking Congress, overall in those numbers.

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: Well, not that have any control over the agenda in the House of Representatives.

BALDWIN: Correct. Correct.

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: So, we're fighting for the middle class and working families while the Republicans have made it very clear they're not interested in working with President Obama to get things turned around or create jobs.

They're interested in one job, Barack Obama's job and we've been pushing and supporting the president, backing him up on focusing on getting our economy moving again, so we can move forward.

And Republicans want to make sure that we can focus, especially our tax policy, on people who are already doing really well and make sure they can do even better.

BALDWIN: Quickly, question, looking ahead to the DNC, 20 seconds, are you calling it Bank of America Stadium or are you calling it "Panther Stadium?"

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: It's the Bank of America Stadium. "Panther Stadium," they're interchangeable. but we're excited that President Obama will accept the nomination in a very different way than Mitt Romney will, in an open-to-the-public, community affair, in front of tens of thousands who we've invited to participate in what will be a very inclusive, participatory convention.

BALDWIN: Hopefully, without the rain.

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: Hopefully, without the rain.

BALDWIN: Congresswoman Debbie Wassermann Schultz, thank you very much.

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Coming up next, we're going to get you a live update on the desperate situation in Syria. In fact, just today, we've learned word of 100 more deaths, the victims including women, young children and the U.S. is stepping in and training these rebels.

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BALDWIN: On the show, we are committed to covering the absolute atrocities underway in Syria, 18 months of this violence, today, even more bloodshed. At least 94 people were killed, nine of them children.

Right now, world powers are meeting at the United Nations to discuss humanitarian aid to these rebels and I want to go straight to Mohammed Jamjoom. He is in Beirut for us, just next door to Syria, and, of course, the story is the same, more fighting, more violence.

Tell me about this fighter jet that the rebels say they shot down.

MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, this happened in Idlib Province in the north of Syria. We were told by rebel Free Syrian Army members and opposition activists in Syria that earlier in the day that rebel fighters were able to shoot down what they are claiming is a Russian MiG jet, a Syrian regime fighter plane, that was flying in the skies above Idlib, attacking parts of that town.

Now, the rebels say that there is video that proves that this fighter jet was shot down. They say that you can also see a fighter pilot who ejected from the plane coming down, as well. And there's another amateur video -- we can't verify or authenticate it - but there's another amateur video that purports to show the wreckage of this fighter jet, as well.

The rebels are saying that this was in retaliation, the attacks today by the regime, were in retaliation for attacks by the rebels yesterday on military bases in Idlib and in the town of Taftanaz, Idlib Province, in which many regime planes were destroyed by rebels yesterday.

Brooke?

BALDWIN: Tell me, Mohammed, about the role, the U.S. role here in, apparently, training the opposition how to run the government. I guess they're already a couple of steps ahead on how to run a government free of Assad? What's happening here?

JAMJOOM: Well, Brooke, essentially, what the opposition is asking for is they want to make sure that in any post-Assad government that basic services can be provided to the Syrian people, that the municipal governments can be set up to provide utilities, to balance budgets, to create budgets.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said that's what the opposition is asking for. They're asking help in how to create budgets and how to make sure that there are utilities for the people of Syria so they can get the kind of services from institutions of the state that they've been lacking for so long with the violence that's been going in Syria now for 18 months.

Brooke?

BALDWIN: Mohammed Jamjoom for us in Lebanon. Mohammed, thank you very much.

Now to this. Not a whole lot of talk on the campaign trail about the war in Afghanistan and our vets.

Now, one veteran tells me what he wants to hear tonight from, as he hopes, Mitt Romney hopes, to be the next president.

Also, Clint Eastwood and Mitt Romney are getting ready to take the stage for a walk-through. These are live pictures there on the floor of the convention. We are watching and waiting for those two gentlemen. Stay with me.

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BALDWIN: Welcome back to Tampa. We're giving you an inside look, a little peek, if you will. You're looking live. This is the floor. This is the convention floor and, just to the left, that's the steps up to the stage where we've been seeing these speakers the last couple of nights.

Here's what we're watching and waiting for -- two people, one being Mitt Romney.

So, what these people do is they want to be able to get comfortable with the podium. They want to stand up there and, so, that is precisely what he is about to do minutes from now, we're told.

We know that his motorcade has left his hotel. They are en route to this convention floor to sort of check out the podium, check out the height, get the feel for the stage.

We also now have confirmed that Clint Eastwood -- yes, Clint Eastwood -- will also be that mystery speaker tonight. So, we've heard that Clint Eastwood will be swinging by the floor of the convention, as well.

We have crews over there, so the second we see either of those gentlemen we will bring that to you, live.

But I want to bring you back here, live with me. I am at the CNN Grill, just really steps from that Forum and, joining me now, another outside observer here at the 2012 Republican National Convention. He is Iraq war veteran Tom Tarantino, deputy policy director for the IAVA. That's the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

Good to see you in person.

TOM TARANTINO, DEPUTY POLICY DIRECTOR, IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN VETERANS OF AMERICA: Good to see you in person.

BALDWIN: Like I said a moment ago.

In terms of Afghanistan and we've talked about this before and I've talked to our folks in the Pentagon, there's been really just a remarkable dearth of conversation when it comes to Afghanistan, specifically in this campaign.

Do you agree with me on that, first?

TARANTINO: Yeah. We have not been talking about the wars in any way, shape or form.

BALDWIN: We're going to talk about the war right now.

Do you see - I mean, from what I understand, both Mitt Romney and President Obama see this U.S. troop drawdown by the end of 2014 and, so, they're on the same page there, but do you see a remarkable difference between the two when it comes to this war, on substance?

TARANTINO: Well, no, because -- not right now because we haven't heard anything substantive from them as candidates yet.

BALDWIN: That's the problem?

TARANTINO: And, so, we don't know. They might be -- there might not be any daylight between them. They might be miles apart, but because they have not talked about the war, they haven't talked military issues, they haven't talked about what we're going to do when veterans come home, we don't know.

All we have is their individual records as the president and governor, both of which are actually quite good, but we don't know what vision they have for the future for veterans in this country.

BALDWIN: It is so important, as you talk about the veterans coming home, and you know, I'm on Twitter. I get tweets from veterans all of the time. They talk about, Brooke, I can't find a job. I can't find a job.

We played sound from Mitt Romney who was speaking at a convention with veterans just yesterday in Indianapolis and he was slamming the president. I mean, both have done the same.

But he was slamming the president, saying he would provide this booming economy, but then how does he do that? How does he do that? How do either of these men do that?

TARANTINO: Right and this is the central problem. You know, IAVA is here and we're going to be in Charlotte next week, specifically because we want the issues that our members care about to be talked about these campaigns.

We're looking at five things. We're looking at defending the G.I. Bill from fraud, waste and abuse by for-profit schools, making sure veterans can come home and find jobs, stemming the tide of suicide that veterans are facing, building a 21st-century V.A. and improving care for women veterans.

These are things that, if talked about, the veterans out in this country will pay attention and they will give them their vote.

Three-hundred-thousand veterans in Virginia and Florida alone, 60,000 in Ohio, we have the power to swing an election if you speak to the issues that we care about.

BALDWIN: You're in touch with these folks who are coming back, you know, bravely serving our country and coming back to a reality check. What's the biggest concern among them?

TARANTINO: Right now, making sure that the American people and that Congress is paying attention. You know, the fact that the two men who are applying for the job for being president of the United States are not bringing these issues to the forefront scares us because I think we can all agree that the budget battle isn't getting any easier.

It's going to get a lot more bloody, it's going to get a lot more contentious over the next year and these things, like veterans' health care, like the G.I. Bill, that we think are sacred, that take care of men and women when they come home from war, that, frankly, no one wants to cut politically are going to start looking cuttable if we can't protect them, if, like, a third of the G.I. Bill goes for a for- profit school industry that largely doesn't graduate students, it spends 40 percent of that money on marketing and recruiting and not on education.

BALDWIN: I look forward to having a conversation with you next week from Charlotte. We'll post-game on whether or not Mitt Romney touches on the issues I know you want to hear and, also, how the president does. We'll score both of them next week when we chat.

TARANTINO: Absolutely.

BALDWIN: Deal?

TARANTINO: Sure.

BALDWIN: All right, Tom Tarantino, IAVA, thank you so much.

TARANTINO: Thanks for having me, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Thank you so much for being with me. It has been an incredible sort of being in the center here at the Republican National Convention. Thanks for being with us.

Huge, huge coverage, obviously, tonight beginning at 7:00. Wolf Blitzer and the rest of the political A-team, covering Mitt Romney, the myriad speeches tonight from the Forum.

Speaking of Mr. Blitzer, let's go to him, live here in Tampa. Your "Situation Room" begins right now.