>>>
who lived till 93, we lost her a couple years ago, she was at the last convention with me. i can't picture -- my mom was a smart woman, but my mom, i can't picture handing her a voucher at age 80 and saying you go out in the insurance market and you figure out what's best for you.
ladies and gentlemen
, it's just that simple. we are for medicare. they are for voucher care. it's basic.
>>
welcome back. it's 25 past the hour. here with us now former democratic governor and former chairman of the
democratic national convention
tim kaine
, who is now running for a
u.s. senate
seat in
virginia
. speaking tonight?
>>
i am indeed. zeks sig
>>
excited?
>>
i am very excited.
>>
mark halpern is with us. you have new information on what the first lady might be saying.
>>
a little preview from her speech. the big theme they want to drive is the
middle class
.
michelle obama
by her own upbringing is going to talk about the importance of the
middle class
and her husband fighting for the
middle class
. she's going to testify to his strength and the way he's dealt with adversity in a way only she can. and she's going to talk about an issue she's worked on a lot, military families. those are three things are things she can uniquely do and she's got the confidence of having done this once before, unlike
ann romney
, who did a good job in her maiden appearance,
michelle obama
will be able to come back and do a good job.
>>
tim kaine
, the
middle class
are hurting and frustrated. the poll shows the president has his work cut out for him.
>>
i think the president and his team can do it. what i'm talking about tonight is results. we're not where we want to be at as a nation but --
>>
but that's a tough sell, isn't it?
>>
i look at this maybe like a
virginians
, we're at the n the middle of two wars, and the last credible intelligent for
bin laden
is eight years old.
virginia
is the most
military state
in the country between
active guard reserve
,
military veterans
. one in nine
virginians
is a vet. this is a state that appreciates a tough commander in chief.
>>
it comes down to the economy, it comes down to people's wallets.
>>
virginia
has seen some significant benefit from some of the president's policies. are we still in need of more acceleration in the economy? absolutely. we got to grow the economy, fix the budget. we have to find common ground. but if you just look at the economic stats and your guest in the segments
stock market
plummeting to the 7s and 6s, losing jobs in the hundreds of thousands, gdp shrinking, now it's growing back.
>>
i think pride morning right after the big speeches, we'll be getting a new jobs report.
>>
it will put a shed on the entire convention. one way or another. i'm wondering why you're here, why you're speaking lon. you're running a really tough race, one of the closest in
virginia
. and yet not only are you come hearing and embracing the president, embrace being the
national party
, you're speaking tonight.
>>
yup. i'm here because first i am who i am and i'm not changing it. i'm a supporter of this president and i want him to get re-elected. i've got a great
virginia
delegation here i'm going to be
spending time
with. i was the dnc chair that picked charleston to host this election. we can't ignore the south. when there was a choice about a
convention city
i thought charlotte's got a lot to offer, we'll come and --
>>
he knows how to play a crowd, doesn't he?
>>
i've been in a lot of bars.
>>
so, mike, it is difficult for some democrats like claire mccaskell to come here because there's a disconnect between let's say
swing voters
in missouri and the
national democratic party
.
virginia
is going to be such a tough place for democrats this year but if -- don't you start to feel like in
mitt romney
can't win
north carolina
and
virginia
, he's not going to win this election?
>>
instinct tells me he's got a better shot in
north carolina
than he does in
virginia
but that's a stunning number that you just recited. one in nine in your state members of the military, former members of the military. we're here in the state with
camp lejeune
and do you have an explanation or a theory as to why there is almost an unconscionable absence of speaking about the
war in afghanistan
from both candidates?
>>
you're going to hear about it from the president. he was down in talking not only the anniversary of the year in iraq and people make commitments all the time butch each said we'd get out of iraq and we did. he said we in
virginia
looking at it through our eyes, the president won
virginia
in
2008
when he was a neophyte running against a bona fide
american war
hero. this a battle tested president who made very difficult decisions. he's made tough decisions here and
virginians
respect him.
>>
are you confronted at all by voters as you make your rounds in the state with the feeling that some
people express
, a lot of
people express
, the weight of this war, being carried by almost when you're in the middle of two wars your guardsmen and women are getting redeployed repeatedly. i wasn't to the deployments, i went to the funerals, i went to
afghanistan
to see our guards men and women there. the military families with the relief that these repeated deployments is coming to an end. i know time between deployments is decreasing. at quantico they're not being given to start tomorrow. they're being told your active.
>>
first of all, i love the way you talk about the staff. sequestration, the cuts that are likely to come at the end of the year if we don't have a deal,
virginia
would be one of the top three states affected by this.
>>
sure would.
>>
how are you addressing this in
virginia
and how can democrats learn from you around the country?
>>
i don't know if i have anything to teach but i'm addressing it by reminding people how we got here. we got here because we started a whole series of policies that ran up the deficit. we put the wars on the
credit card
, we put the walks there's two working stat jis on how to balance the budget. one is pledge allegiance to
grover norquist
. that's one strategy. that's the other guy's, my opponents and the romney/ryan strategy. the second one is, snop, i we have if you can let the
bush tax cuts
expire at the
top end
, you have revenue that will then soften the need for any of these --
>>
we've got to go to break. but will t he believes he needed to do that.
>>
what do you think though?
>>
i think the
big game
going forward is we have to make sure the porous afghan/pakistan border is --
>>
did you agree with the president?
>>
i did not have any objection to that.
>>
does that mean you agree he tripled the number of troops in
afghanistan
.
>>
i'm not a military man.
>>
is that a yes? you're good. i need a yes.
>>
i thought it was important to do.
>>
you can't put that in a 30-second ad, can you?
>>
but the draw down was very important.
>>
for the life of me i can't figure why he tripled the number of troops in
afghanistan
. if you're a general, your job is to get as many troops for your theater as possible and to accomplish your mission . i have great respect for the general to ask for those troops but if you're commander in chief, you have more of a responsibility than to the general.
>>
within a few weeks of the president coming into office, the taliban were 50
miles away
from the
nuclear materials
in pakistan. part of the reason was to make the border less porous so we not ris ak power grab of the
nuclear weapons
. that was part of why he needed to do it. now we need to draw down and we are.
>>
still ahead, former secretary of state
madeleine albright
joins us right here on the set. she's right here on "
morning joe
." hey, bro. or engaging. conversations help us learn and grow. at
wells fargo
, we believe you can never underestimate the power of a conversation. it's this exchange of ideas that helps you move ahead with confidence. so when the conversation turns to your financial goals... turn to us. if you need anything else,
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>>>
welcome back to "
morning joe
." meteorologist bill karins. quick weather update and we'll return back to charlotte for our continuing coverage of the
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