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Romney/Ryan "Farewell Rally" In Florida; Mitt Romney Makes His Case; Eastwood And "Invisible Obama"; Now It's The Democrats' Turn; Isaac Leaves Neighborhoods Underwater; 7.6 Magnitude Quake Off Philippines; Three People Shot Dead In New Jersey Grocery Store; Phone Call Made Before Colorado Shooting; Pentagon Warns Bin Laden Book Author; Outburst At Trial For Three Soldiers
Aired August 31, 2012 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Stories we're watching right now in the NEWSROOM.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Mr. Chairman, and delegates, I accept your nomination for president of the United States!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Mitt Romney makes it official on the final night of the Republican National Convention. Now the GOP ticket returns to the campaign trail.
Romney says he'll add 12 million jobs during his first term. That sounds ambitious. But we may already be on that path and it might not matter who is in the White House. We're fact checking Romney's big promise.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINT EASTWOOD, ACTOR: What do you want me to tell Romney? I can't tell him to do that. Can't do that to himself. You're absolutely crazy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The good, the bad, the crazy. Clint Eastwood has a lot of us talking this morning all thanks to a few minutes in an empty chair.
Good morning to you. Happy Friday. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for being with us. We start with presidential politics. Just outside of Tampa, the Republicans' brand new nominees are breaking camp from their party convention to hit the trail.
But first we've learned Romney is heading to Louisiana to view the damage from Hurricane Isaac. That's his new presidential plane by the way.
CNN national political correspondent Jim Acosta is at the farewell rally that's taking place in Lakeland outside of Tampa. Tell us more, Jim.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Carol. You mentioned the new campaign plane is sitting right behind me right now. We'll be getting on that plane shortly to go to Louisiana with the GOP nominee.
He is officially now the Republican nominee. He will be meeting with Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and as you said going off to look at some of the storm damage in that state. But make no mistake this is a very important state we're in right now.
Florida and Ohio where Romney will be later today with Paul Ryan, these two states are critical to Mitt Romney's chances of winning the White House. He has to win one of these two states.
If he doesn't win one of these two states, it becomes mathematically very difficult for him to win the presidency. So we do expect Mitt Romney to come out and talk about the economy. He'll have his running mate Paul Ryan at his side.
But also in addition to that, Carol, the campaign is really pushing this message that Mitt Romney talked about last night. It was sort of a new message to undecided or maybe voters that could be persuaded to switch sides in this campaign.
Going after the president describing him as somebody who -- that Mitt Romney said he wanted to succeed last night because he wanted America to succeed but he just hasn't succeeded. That is according to the Romney campaign.
And so Mitt Romney will be coming out and I think he will be also delivering that message as well. And then you talked about the campaign plane earlier, Carol.
Something very critical also happened last night with Mitt Romney accepting the GOP nomination. They are now officially tapping into general election funds where they have a sizable advantage over the president.
Before the president had the advantage heading into last night because the Romney campaign was only using primary funds up until that point, but now they can tap into those hundreds of millions of dollars they've been raising over the last couple of months -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Jim Acosta reporting live from Lakeland, Florida.
Now let's turn back the clock to the convention and Mitt Romney's primetime opportunity to win your vote. Romney says he'll revitalize the nation and economy held hostage by a failed presidency.
Before we listen, heads up. We're going to take a break from the short excerpts of sound you usually hear on television and run longer chunks of what Romney had to say. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: His promises gave way to disappointments and division. This isn't something we have to accept. Now is the moment when we can do something and with your help we will do something.
I'm running for president to help create a better future. A future where everyone who wants a job can find a job, where no senior fears for the security of their retirement, and an America where every parent knows their child will get an education that leads them to a good job and bright horizon.
Now is the moment when we can stand up and say, I'm an American. I make my destiny. We deserve better. My children deserve better. My family deserves better. My country deserves better.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Some are saying it was a shame, though, because before Romney delivered the most important speech of his life, a Hollywood icon went off script and kind of stole the show.
Clint Eastwood raised his eyebrows and set the internet ablaze when he talks to an empty chair representing invisible Obama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EASTWOOD: OK, you want to make my day, all right. All right, I'll start it. You finish it. Go ahead. All right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The Obama camp poked fun at Eastwood's empty chair tweeting out this picture on the president's Twitter account. It shows the commander-in-chief sitting in a personalized chair with a caption saying, this seat's taken.
All right, it's the Democrats' turn now. Their national convention officially starts Tuesday. And watch this, just last hour party leaders unveiled the stage with all the glitz and glamour of a Hollywood blockbuster.
In just a minute we'll give you a glimpse of who will speak at the four-day event in Charlotte. But first let's take a look at the big picture of the upcoming Democratic National Convention.
Our senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash is at the RNC on this morning after. Dana, Republicans seem to be a bit more energized coming off their convention. Do Democrats have to tweet their strategy now?
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, Carol, unclear if they have to tweet their strategy. You know, I don't think it was a big news flash for Democrats that Mitt Romney was going to try to make himself more palatable to women and young voters. To make himself more empathetic, more real, more a guy who cares about you and me especially since the Obama campaign did a pretty good job the entire summer of defining him as somebody who was distant and somebody who was more focused on firing people than anything else in his business career, kind of trying to undermine his credentials.
So I don't think they'll tweet their strategy necessarily. But there is no question that the Democrats know full well that they have to make a strong case for keeping President Obama in his job. As Mitt Romney said, he -- it's time to let him go.
The Democrats have to make clear that not only should President Obama get four more years, but Mitt Romney is not good enough to take a job.
COSTELLO: Well, the Republicans seem to have softened their rhetoric at least for a bit at the Republican convention. Mitt Romney basically said, Mr. Obama is a likeable guy.
But it's OK to realize that he's failed. It's time for a friendly divorce. It's OK to vote for something else. It's an interesting strategy. Will it work?
BASH: It was. You know, I was standing on the floor of the convention hall listening to that and all I kept thinking in the way Mitt Romney was describing the relationship between voters and President Obama was as if voters were kind of -- had been dating President Obama.
They were intrigued by him. They loved being courted by him. They thought that the relationship as they moved forward was going to be fabulous and then they realized maybe they didn't get everything they thought they were going to get.
Some people out there, women or men, might know that feeling in their own lives. And this is something -- this is another way that Mitt Romney tried to relate to people, making people, connecting the whole dynamic of the Obama presidency with people's individual lives and experiences.
So that was -- there is no question that was intentional. It was a little bit under the radar but seemed to certainly connect with people in the hall, but those are the people who -- he was preaching to the fire and whether he got those independent women and suburban swing districts. That is the key thing that we're going to be watching for.
COSTELLO: Dana Bash reporting live from Tampa this morning.
Democrats do plan to put some big names behind that podium. Former President Jimmy Carter, First Lady Michelle Obama will speak on Tuesday. Carter by remote, which means he won't be at the convention, but we'll hear him.
Mrs. Obama, of course, will be there in person. Former President Bill Clinton will speak on Wednesday and then the convention moves to the Bank of America Stadium, home of the Carolina Panthers, for Vice President Joe Biden and of course, the president's big speech.
In other news this morning, two bodies are recovered from a flooded parish home in Plaquemines County. They are the first known casualties of Hurricane Isaac in the state of Louisiana. Isaac is just a tropical depression, but it has left many towns under water.
CNN's meteorologist Rob Marciano is in New Orleans this morning. Good morning.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Carol. Yes, the flood waters have yet to recede in many spots especially south of town, actually north of town and west of town for that matter. So close to flood warnings are out.
Yesterday, I got the opportunity to take a ride with the U.S. Coast Guard, the captain of operations of the Mississippi River. He wanted to go up and see just what he had to do to clear the way for commerce and shipping to get back onboard and also the colonel for the Army Corps of Engineers.
What we found was that the Mississippi has a ton of barges and a couple big tankers have run aground so they have to figure out what to do with them before they open the way for full on shipping.
What the Army Corps general found was that the levees seemed to hold up well, but the system that was designed since Hurricane Katrina did OK. Here's his comment on that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLONEL EDWARD R. FLEMING, U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS: We're still in the middle of this. You know? If you think about seven years ago today, everybody walked out of their house and saw the sun and sky and thought everything was over.
And then the water continued to come up and up and up and we saw a little bit of that this morning. We were cautiously optimistic but we're still watching. Water is still rising particularly on the west bank as it falls on the east bank and we have to be vigilant.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: So may breathe more of a sigh of relief tomorrow, but today there are still coastal flood warnings out. Water is still high as the colonel said just about all the way around Lake Ponchartrain.
And the dam in Mississippi, the lake has come down a couple feet. They may relieve some of the pressure there, but so far so good in regards to what is going on in the Mississippi, a lot of rain there.
By the way, here in New Orleans no more rain expected today, but utility crews, there are hundreds of them that lined up earlier along Canal Street to combine efforts to try to restore some power. Still hundreds of thousands of people are without power in the state of Louisiana.
COSTELLO: Rob Marciano, thanks so much.
A tsunami warning has been lifted for Japan, Taiwan, and other Pacific Islands after an earthquake struck off the Philippines, 7.6 magnitude quake hit just a short time ago. We don't have any reports of damage or injuries right now. But people in parts of the Philippines are being told to head to higher ground.
Three former soldiers accused of plotting to kill President Obama. Next, we'll tell you why chaos erupted in the courtroom right in the middle of their trial.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It's 16 minutes past the hour. Checking our top stories now, a 23-year-old man shot and killed two of his co-workers at a New Jersey grocery store this morning. Then he turned the gun on himself. Our affiliate WABC reporting employees were stocking shelves early this morning when that man opened fire.
The man accused of opening fire at a Colorado movie theatre made a phone call just before the shooting. The public defender for James Holmes says he called a University of Colorado switch board used to get in touch with faculty.
Holmes was back in court yesterday as prosecutors and lawyers argue over the contents of a notebook he mailed to a university psychologist. It is not known if that notebook will be admissible in court.
The Pentagon threatening legal action against the former Navy SEAL who wrote a tell all book about the Bin Laden raid. Officials say the author of "No Easy Day" Matt Bissonnette violated secrecy agreements and broke federal laws. He and his publisher may have to forfeit royalties.
We understand Paul Ryan is speaking in Lakeland, Florida in front of the new campaign plane. Let's listen.
(BEGIN LIVE FEED)
REPRESENTATIVE PAUL RYAN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: President Obama made a whole bunch of promises when he ran for president and now we've seen a laundry list of broken promises, 23 million people are struggling to find work today.
The unemployment rate in Florida is 8.8 percent, foreclosures, houses under water, the highest poverty rates in a generation. Half of all college graduates are either unemployed or not working in the field that they studied for.
College graduates should not spend their 20s in their childhood bedrooms looking up at faded Obama posters wondering when they can get out and move on with their lives. The president was recently asked, do you have any regrets? Would you have done anything differently?
He said, I need to talk more and tell the American people a story. So he needs to do more talking and we need to do better listening? Is that the idea here?
Friends, we have suffered from no shortage of words in the White House. What is missing is real leadership in the White House. The question is this.
If we stick with this same leadership that we had during the last four years, how do we expect anything to be different over the next four years? It won't be.
(END LIVE FEED)
COSTELLO: We're going to jump away from this. As you can see the vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan speaking to a crowd of supporters. They are going to bid adieu to Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan.
They are going to get aboard that plane and fly to Louisiana where Mitt Romney will be meeting with the Republican governor of the state of Louisiana Bobby Jindal. We'll keep you posted.
In other news this morning, a group of soldiers are in court accused of plotting to kill President Obama, bomb a park, and overthrow a military base.
But the biggest crime they're accused of is killing a former soldier and his girlfriend to keep their plans secret. Yesterday, chaos broke out in the courtroom. Here is Rob Macko from our affiliate WJCL in Savannah, Georgia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sit down.
ROB MACKO, WJCL REPORTER (voice-over): The step father of 17- year-old Tiffany York, Wesley Thomas, lunged from his chair and tried to attack 26-year-old Army Sergeant Anthony Peden inside the Long County Courthouse.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The man's daughter is dead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're not helping the situation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am not doing anything.
MACKO: Peden is accused of shooting and killing York.
NICHOLAS YORK, BROTHER OF VICTIM: I didn't know it was going to get to that situation. I didn't know he was going to run at him. I was scared honestly. I didn't know if they were going to start shooting. I didn't know what was about to happen. MACKO: Nicholas York is Tiffany's older brother and sat with his mother during court proceedings. Prosecutors announced they'll seek the death penalty against Peden, 26-year-old Private Christopher Salmon and 21-year-old Private Isaac Agucci.
They are charged with killing York and her boyfriend former Army Private Michael Rork last December in Long County. The soldiers are accused of being part of antigovernment militia planning to bomb a park, overthrow Fort Stewart and kill President Obama.
Investigators say they stock piled $87,000 in guns and bomb making materials. Prosecutors say the soldiers killed Rork and York to silence them.
(on camera): The judge says this will be a long process. Each defendant will get new public defenders who specialized in capital cases. After that there will be another hearing then an arraignment before the case even goes to trial.
(voice-over): Nicholas York says he supports the death penalty for the soldiers.
YORK: I want to kill them. I want them dead. They took something from me that is not replaceable. They put so much stress and heartache in my family.
MACKO: Besides the outburst from York's stepfather, one of Michael Rork's family members yelled at Salmon who is accused of shooting and killing Rork. The soldiers looked straight ahead only responding no, sir or no, your honor, when the judge asked if they had anything to say.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Rob Macko from WJCL in Savannah, Georgia joins us now live via Skype. Were you in the courtroom when that chaos broke out?
MACKO: Yes. I was right next to Wesley Thomas. In fact I heard the rumbling and rustling and I turned my camera and he was right here. I could actually touch him. Of course, at that point, he had already tried to lunge toward the soldier and obviously I was trying to focus on him.
COSTELLO: So will the family be allowed back in the courtroom?
MACKO: I think so. I mean, other family members, you know, they kept their composure. The brother, Nicholas York, Tiffany York's brother, he did swear a little bit at Peden.
But they kept their composure and of course, Tiffany's mom has been very emotional through this whole thing, but I think that they'll be allowed back in.
The judge did say, you know, I'm not going to tolerate outbursts like this again, but I think they'll be a lot better.
COSTELLO: Rob Macko, thanks so much for sharing with us this morning. We appreciate it.
The Republican National Convention is in the history books and now that all of the balloons have dropped and there were a lot of balloons. Did the GOP do enough to get your vote? Still to come, three voters will join me to rate Romney and the RNC.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. The question this morning, what did you take away from the Republican National Convention?
Republicans arguably brought it, a beautiful stage, a touching video tribute, a line up of young, diverse, and up and coming republican stars, and at least three memorable speakers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANN ROMNEY, MITT ROMNEY'S WIFE: I love you women.
RYAN: I hope it's not a deal breaker, Mitt, but my play list starts with AC/DC and ends with Zeplin.
SENATOR MARCO RUBIO (R), FLORIDA: My dad used to tell us. (Inaudible) in this country you're going to be able to accomplish all the things we never could.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Yes, there was Clint Eastwood, the Republicans' much anticipated mystery guest, who took us on one bizarre magic carpet ride.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EASTWOOD: I can't tell Mitt to do that. Can't do that to himself. You're absolutely crazy. You're getting as bad as Biden.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Eastwood was talking to an empty chair. It symbolized President Obama, who later tweeted this picture yet another example of why both Republicans and Democrats should jettison celebrity speakers, but I digress.
Governor Romney approached the stage like he was about to give the state of the union and introduced himself to a skeptical electorate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President of the United States of America --
ROMNEY: My mom and dad were married for 64 years. If you wondered what their secret was, you could have asked the local florist because every day dad gave mom a rose, which he put on her bed side table.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Big picture though, the Republican Party had three major goals to sell their candidate to convince Americans they are a party that invites diversity and there really is no Republican war on women. So did they succeed?
Talk back question for you this morning. What did you take away from the Republican National Convention? Facebook.com/carolcnn. Your comments later this hour.
Mitt Romney and the GOP want you to know it's OK to vote Republican even if you voted for Mr. Obama the last time. Some voters are considering that change. They'll join us next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Mitt Romney giving the speech of his political life at the Republican National Convention making some big promises to those in attendance and to those watching at home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: I'm running for president to help create a better future, a future where everyone who wants a job can find a job, where no senior fears for the security of their retirement, and an America where every parent knows that their child will get an education that leads them to a good job and a bright horizon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So the big question this morning, did Governor Romney seal the deal with voters?
Joining me now for our middle class "Talk Back" segment. Our Republican -- Skip Becker, he's a semi-retired small business owner in Pennsylvania; Moira Binder a Democrat who suffered through long stretches of unemployment and has a house under water, she lives in Virginia; and Nana Boone an upper middle class working mom who voted for Obama in 2008 but she is open to voting Republican. She lives here in Georgia.
I want to start with you, Skip. You wanted to get to know Mitt Romney better, find out more about his plan to fix the economy. Did you get that last night?
SKIP BECKER, REPUBLICAN/SEMI-RETIRED BUSINESSMAN: I think to some extent I did. I thought he was a lot more at ease in many respects than I anticipated and so I think that was a -- that was a good thing.
I'm not sure that I got a lot of -- of real depth. I think I got what most people got out of it, which is a number of promises.
COSTELLO: And -- but no plan. BECKER: No. I -- except for the fact that he is going on a jobs tour I didn't -- I didn't hear a plan. There were five things that he listed but they didn't necessarily constitute any kind of definitive plan.
COSTELLO: Nana, you're open to voting Republican, right? So did -- did -- did Mitt Romney come alive to you? He talked a lot about his wife as a working mom. You're a working mom. Did that resonate with you?
NANA BOONE, UNDECIDED VOTER: You know, I have to agree with what he was just saying. He did connect with us. He talked about having females as a part of -- of his team. He talked about understanding the importance of the job of a mom and how important that is particularly when he spoke of his wife.
But again, I didn't hear how he plans on helping my family. I didn't necessarily hear what he's going to do in order to increase or improve the conditions for middle class families in America. He talked a lot about, you know, what he plans to do or rather what he promises to do, but, again, there wasn't a definitive plan. There was no substance I felt in the second half of the speech.
COSTELLO: And Moira, Mitt Romney says it's ok to love Obama and want to break off the relationship. Let's listen to what Mitt Romney had to say about that and then I'll ask you about it after.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: How many days have you woken up feeling that something really special was happening in America? Many of you felt that way on Election Day four years ago, hope and change had a powerful appeal.
But tonight I'd ask a simple question. If you felt that excitement when you voted for Barack Obama, shouldn't you feel that way now that he is President Obama?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So, Moira, you voted for President Obama in 2008. Are you ready for a divorce?
MOIRA BINDER, BADLY IMPACTED BY ECONOMIC DOWNTURN: I'm not ready for a divorce and I'm -- I'm pretty frustrated by that tactic that they used last night, because you really have to work at a relationship.
And I don't think that the Republicans have shown up in the last couple of years. They've done everything they could to stymie any work getting done on Capitol Hill. They have not been present or care about me, personally, as, you know, a citizen, as a taxpayer, as a home owner.
And no, sometimes things get hard in a marriage and in a government and sometimes you have to go through the hard times. And I think President Obama is taking us through those times and we have to realize that some of the decisions that were made previously were not really good decisions and letting Wall Street run rampant is not good for the country. And so I'm not kicking him to the curb.
COSTELLO: Nana, the Republicans really tried to show it was a party that welcomed diversity. Did you believe them?
BOONE: Not necessarily. I did think that Mitt Romney did a good -- a good job in the beginning or the first half of his speech with trying to relate to the everyday American, but he went on the attack for the second half of the speech in my opinion and again that took him away in my opinion from being like the guy next door.
He didn't necessarily relate, I felt, to me. I don't think he necessarily related to people outside of -- of what he knows. And not necessarily just from a racial perspective but from a socioeconomic perspective as well. He has been successful in business and he talks a lot about not apologizing for that success but that's not everyone's story.
So does he really understand other individuals' stories to be able to relate to them and offer them what they need as president?
COSTELLO: Ok, Skip. I'm going to ask you the question about Clint Eastwood. It was a big mystery guest. Republicans were very excited that Clint Eastwood was going to speak at this convention and then he came out and started talking to this empty chair.
What went through your mind as you sat and watched that?
BECKER: I'm a Clint Eastwood fan but I think, more importantly than his -- his -- his unfortunate speech is the fact that there was some time in the planning of his appearance that somebody said, let's bring an icon of the Republican Party back. You all remember "Dirty Harry" and the rest of those -- those sort of very tough-minded conservative films.
Let's bring Clinton the on stage and sort of reinforce what we're all about. Well, I'm a lot older since "Dirty Harry" came out and so is Clint. So I'm not sure it served the purpose they wanted.
COSTELLO: Moira, would you care to comment?
BINDER: I thought it was embarrassing. I was -- I was kind of sad and he wandered all over the place. And it was just -- I thought it was a really poor introduction. And because he was unscripted, I think that it took away from the message that Romney and his team was trying to send that night. So I thought it was yuck.
COSTELLO: Yes you kind of agree with Nana. We were talking about it a bit in the break and Clint Eastwood's appearance came right after that moving video tribute to Mitt Romney.
BOONE: Right.
COSTELLO: And right before Marco Rubio. BOONE: It was a huge distraction I thought. But again, I tried not to -- I tried to not let that deter me from being open and receptive to what Mitt had to say but it definitely wasn't a good use of time unfortunately.
COSTELLO: I know it's hard to put into words.
BECKER: I think, I think --
COSTELLO: Go ahead, Skip.
BECKER: -- I think well, I was just going to say the mention of Marco Rubio is very interesting because there's a -- there's a stark contrast between bringing old Clint out as a kind of representative of the back bone of the Republican Party when, in fact, it's Marco Rubio. These young men are now going to take a hold of this party, presumably and make it into a party of today and surely tomorrow.
I think that was -- that was the saving of what could have been a catastrophe.
COSTELLO: All right. Skip -- Skip Becker, Moira Binder, and Nana Boone, thank you all for being with us and sharing your thoughts. We appreciate it.
BOONE: Thanks for having me.
BINDER: Thank you.
COSTELLO: We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Clint Eastwood was indeed the Republicans' mystery surprise guest and what a surprise he was. Eastwood gave an unforgettable speech in more ways than one. He spent the majority of his time on stage debating an imaginary President Obama who was represented by an empty chair.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINT EASTWOOD, ACTOR: So I've got -- I've got Mr. Obama sitting here and he is -- I just was going to ask him a couple questions. I mean, what do you say to people? Do you -- do you just, you know, I know people -- people are wondering. You don't have -- ok. I wondered about, you know, when -- when the -- what? What do you want me to tell Romney? I can't tell him to do that. He can't do that to himself. You're absolutely crazy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: As you might expect, he quickly became sort of an Internet sensation shall we say. Let's take look at some reaction from around the web. "Time" magazine called Eastwood, quote, "A rambling old dude". "A fistful of incoherence" says Yahoo. And Salon.com said, Romney was "upstaged by a chair". Wow. Nischelle Turner joins us live from Los Angeles. Have we heard from Clint Eastwood this morning?
NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORROSPONDENT: No. I haven't heard a word from him. And I did hear you talking to those average every day voters who were saying they thought it was kind of unfortunate. And I think that's what most people are saying, Carol. Because Clint Eastwood has had so many great performances throughout his career in the movies. He's got academy awards.
But that performance last night at the Republican National Convention really has a lot of people wondering exactly what was going on.
Let's listen to a little more of the speech. Ok?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EASTWOOD: You want to make my day, huh? All right, all right. I'll start it. You finish it. Go ahead. Make my day.
All right. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TURNER: Now, that was actually the end of the speech there. And that was probably the clearest point that he made during the whole 12 minutes. At times it was very awkward and it was downright confusing as well in parts.
Now, as you can imagine the Twitter-verse on fire. I want to give you kind of a taste of what was being said during the speech last night.
Let's start with Star Jones the talk show host tweeted "I just -- I can't believe I just watched Clint Eastwood turn into somebody's drunk Uncle Harry on the stage of the GOP RNC. He humiliated himself."
And "Saturday Night Live" star Seth Meyers also got a kick out of all of it. He tweeted, "That was so awesome. Biden has to go shirtless for DNC to top it."
And finally film critic Roger Ebert he's a big fan of Clint Eastwood but he was not a fan of that speech. He posted "Clint my hero was coming across as sad and pathetic. He didn't need to do this to himself. It is unworthy of him."
And we should say that Mitt Romney's camp, Carol, did say that Clint Eastwood was ad-libbing and yes I think that that we know that.
And by the way, you know, I was telling you last hour about that fictional Twitter account "Invisible Obama" that was set up, 40,000 followers already. So people are kind of getting a kick out of this.
COSTELLO: I know. I don't know. Like I said before, it just makes me sad because I love Clint Eastwood and I don't know what he was thinking. It's just hard to figure.
TURNER: Well, when you go off script, he had five minutes. He went 12 minutes. I think that sometimes, you know, you lose your train of thought. I've done that on live TV before myself.
COSTELLO: Me, too.
TURNER: You know -- it happens.
COSTELLO: That's what I always say. The secret to a good live shot is to keep it short. Nischelle Turner --
TURNER: Exactly.
COSTELLO: Thank you so much. We appreciate it.
TURNER: Sure.
Watch "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" 11:00 Eastern on HLN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: The college football season kicked off last night but one player might not be exactly ready for primetime. Andre Parker from Kent State which would be my alma mater picked up a fumbled punt and ran it 58 yards the wrong way. Couple of Townsend (ph) players actually tackled him before he reached the wrong end zone. Of course the play didn't count because a muffed punt cannot be returned.
Tim Burke is the assignment editor for the popular sports Web site, deadspin.com -- hi.
TIM BURKE, ASSIGNMENT EDITOR, DEADSPIN.COM: Hi, good morning, carol.
COSTELLO: I'm guessing you put a clip of that on your site.
BURKE: Yes, I did. And, you know, I think we may have to update. I attended Ohio University and we had a certain saying about Kent State. "Students, we may have to update that to "can't read, can't run the right way, Kent state."
COSTELLO: That is so bad. The Kent State football program has improved in recent years. Back in the day when I went there we used to wear paper bags over our heads wishing for the days of Jack Lambert.
BURKE: Well, yes. They have made a comeback. I think the rest of the mid-American conference -- a lot of other smaller conferences have made a bit of a comeback despite the inequalities of the BCS system which is now on its way out.
COSTELLO: Ok. Let's not talk about my alma mater anymore because it hurts too much. The big game this weekend is reigning champ Alabama against Michigan. Alabama of course, from the power house SCC. Can any league match them this season? Maybe the PAC-10? BURKE: Well, the PAC-10 certainly has a shot. They do have the number one preseason ranked team in the USC. The SCC has obviously been the target for everybody in college football for the past decade or so.
But the real intriguing story with USC is that, you know, this is a season in which they're looking toward the past and leaping into the future. They are supposed to be coming off of these allegedly very strong NCAA sanctions and yet Coach (inaudible) has put together a very solid team that's really looking to challenge Alabama, LSU, or any off other SCC for, you know, a shot at that UCS championship.
COSTELLO: Ok. So speaking of sanctions Penn State begins its season tomorrow. New era for the Nittany Lions, but no bowl games for now. Is it even worth fielding a team?
BURKE: That is a really good question. I think sometimes those outside the college football community can make the assumption that a bowl game or a championship is the only reason to play college football.
COSTELLO: Come on. That's true.
BURKER: But college football culture would say otherwise. I mean the entire experience of, you know, waking up on a Saturday morning and preparing for college football regardless of how you know your team is going to -- is going to succeed or not, I mean, half of the teams in the top division of college football have no chance at making a BCS bowl to begin with and yet fans still go to the games. Fans still tailgate. Players still play. A lot of them are making their way to the NFL.
So I think that Penn State has a lot to look forward to. And I think the a lot of the doom and gloom that's been predicted for attendance and further businesses in the state college area is probably a bit overstated.
COSTELLO: I like your glass half full attitude. Tim Burke from Dead Spin. Thank you so much for joining us this morning.
BRUKER: Thank you.
COSTELLO: From the gridiron to the political arena Mitt Romney knows what America wants.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: What America needs is jobs, lots of jobs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And he is promising lots of jobs all right. 12 million in all. We'll crunch the numbers. The CNN Fact Check next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COSTELLO: Mitt Romney says that it is a clear choice. If you want a president who can revive the economy and revitalize the nation he is your man. Last night at the Republican National Convention Romney promised a very big turn-around.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: What is needed in our country today is not complicated or profound. It doesn't take a special government commission to tell us what America needs. What America needs is jobs. Lots of jobs. And unlike the President I have a plan to create 12 million new jobs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: 12 million new jobs sounds like a lot of jobs so we decided to put it through the fact check machine here at CNN with our business guru Christine Romans. So is that a realistic number?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's happened before. It happened in the 1990s and, quite frankly, there are economists who already have forecasts on the table, Carol, for 11 or 12 million jobs over the next four years no matter who is president. Mark Zandi at Moody's analytics said it is not really a very high bar to set -- 12 million jobs. That would just be bringing you back to maybe full employment. It's possible he said no matter which person is president.
A guy named Joe Minnerik, another economist, senior vice president of and the community for economic development. He also told us it's possible under a second term for Mr. Obama. It's also possible under a first term for Mitt Romney.
Mitt Romney to be clear, in his economic plan is very clearly stating he would do this in the first four years of a Romney presidency. "History shows, he says, a recovery rooted in policies contained in a Romney plan will create about 12 million jobs in the first term of a Romney presidency.
But here's the cold water for you. Because Diane Swank an economist we often talk about and interview from Mezzaro financial, she says congress holds the key here. If we go over the fiscal cliff in the beginning of the year, no matter who is president up to 2 million jobs will vaporize.
So this is less about the policies of the President economists are telling me this morning and more about whether congress derails all of this and messes it all up -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And that scares Americans even more. Christine Romans, thanks so much for filling us in. We appreciate it.
Up next we asked you to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. The question for you this morning, what did you take away from the Republican National Convention? Facebook.com/carolCNN. I'll get back with your comments.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Now to your "Talk Back" responses. The question of the morning what did you take from the Republican National Convention?
This from Judy. "All that was nice but when will the show end and the real issues be talked about? Stop all the bad mouthing and get on with some truth about your vision for America Governor Romney."
This from Ruth. "Touching story of Romney's mother and what she did to advance the role of women in America. But the Republican policies, platform, and attitude toward women says something entirely different."
This from Nita, "That there are some pretty amazing people and pretty diverse people in power in the Republican Party this time out.
And this from Chris. "If you like the economy of the last four years vote for Obama. If you want better vote for Romney."
Keep the conversation going. Facebook.com/carolCNN. Thanks as always for your comments and thanks for joining me this Friday.
I'm Carol Costello. CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Ashleigh Banfield.
