Republicans See Little Bounce From Convention
RAJPAL: A warm welcome to our viewers across Europe and around the world. Hello, I'm Monita Rajpal and these are the latest world headlines from CNN. The United Nations and Arab League's new special envoy to Syria is soon to address the UN's General Assembly. Algerian diplomat Lakhtar Brahimi was appointed to the role last month following the resignation of Kofi Annan. A record number of Syrians have fled the fighting. More than 100,000 refugees crossed the country's borders in August, almost doubling the number of Syrians seeking shelter in neighboring countries. A suicide attack in eastern Afghanistan has killed at least 25 people and wounded 50 more. The blast occurred during the funeral of a local elder. A district chief was among the wounded. No one has claimed responsibility. A fresh perspective on the US presidential race. A new CNN/ORC poll says Mitt Romney only got a slight bounce after the Republican National Convention last week. The one percent boost puts him in a dead heat with President Barack Obama, both pulling 48 percent of the voters. Well, let's break down the numbers in that poll -- in that new poll. Isha Sesay joins us again live from the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. Isha.</s>ISHA SESAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there, Monita. Yes, thank you. And I'm pleased to say I'm joined by Paul Steinhauser, CNN's Political Editor, to take a closer look at this CNN/ORC poll. Always good to have you with us, Paul. I want to start with the main talking point out of all of this, this issue of the bounce or the lack thereof that Romney got after their convention. Give me some perspective on the numbers.</s>PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, let's take a look at them right away. And remember, our poll, CNN/ORC National Poll, was conducted Friday through Monday, through yesterday, entirely after the Republican Convention. Take a look at the numbers among likely voters. It was 49 percent President Obama, 47 percent Mitt Romney last week before the convention started. Now it is an actual tie, 48 percent, 48 percent. Did Mitt Romney get a bounce? Not really, just one point, there, really is not a bounce. But you know what? You look back over the last couple of cycles in the last 10, 12 years, there has not been much bounces. Those bounces of yesterday, of many years ago, really don't happen anymore.</s>SESAY: Why is that?</s>STEINHAUSER: There's so many reasons, including these conventions are now back-to-back and they're kind of just right on top of each other.</s>SESAY: All right. I want to move onto another question posed to likely voters. Did the Republican Convention change perceptions of Romney? Give us your take on those numbers as they came out.</s>STEINHAUSER: And this is maybe the more interesting number, because Republican officials told us last week they didn't the horse race numbers would change, but they wanted Mitt Romney's favorable rating among Americans to go up. Did it? Our poll indicates it did go up a little bit. Back last week, Mitt Romney's favorable rating was 50 percent, his unfavorable was 46 percent. Now, it's 53 favorable, 43 unfavorable. So, he's a little more likeable, it seems, in the eyes or the minds of Americans. And I guess for the Romney campaign, they will say that's a victory.</s>SESAY: Yes, but it's such a -- again, within the margin of error --</s>STEINHAUSER: Exactly.</s>SESAY: -- when you look at those numbers. And the goal of the convention, one of them was to make him connect with American viewers. So, the fact that you get such a statistic -- statistician, to get the word out, would say paltry increase, was it really a failure?</s>STEINHAUSER: I think the Romney campaign would say no, it's not a failure. In fact, they will point to some numbers on leadership and on how he relates to women and middle class, and those numbers did see a bump. He still trails women and middle class to President Obama, but they're happy with it. But one other number, I guess would say it is a failure, and that is, did the Republican Convention make people more or less likely to vote for Mitt Romney? 36 percent saying more likely, 46 percent saying less likely, and 13 percent said made no difference. That's not a great number for Mitt Romney.</s>SESAY: And just before I let you go, any official statements coming out of the Romney campaign since we got these numbers?</s>STEINHAUSER: Not yet. These numbers are so fresh, they probably haven't even seen them yet.</s>SESAY: They will. I'm sure they will. Paul, thank you for joining us.</s>STEINHAUSER: Thank you.</s>SESAY: Monita, some important perspective on this CNN/ORC poll. As Paul said, they are hot off the press. Back to you.</s>RAJPAL: All right. Isha, thank you very much for that. You talked about connecting. At these conventions, the role of the conventions is to connect with the electorate, and a lot of the time that falls on the shoulders of the first lady. And the first lady Michelle Obama headlines a list of tonight's speakers at the Democratic Party National Convention, and she'll take on the same roll played by Ann Romney at the Republican Convention last week, seeking to humanize her husband. Here's a reminder of part of her speech.</s>ANN ROMNEY, MITT ROMNEY'S WIFE: It's true that Mitt's been successful at each new challenge he's taken on. You know what? It actually amazes me to see his history of success being attacked. Are those really the values that made our country great?</s>CROWD: No!</s>ROMNEY: I can only stand here tonight as a wife and a mother and a grandmother, an American, and make you this solemn commitment. This man will not fail.</s>ROMNEY: We're the mothers. We're the wives. We're the grandmothers. We're the big sisters. We're the little sisters, and we are the daughters. You know it's true, don't you?</s>ROMNEY: I love you women!</s>ROMNEY: I read somewhere that Mitt and I have a storybook marriage. Well, let me tell you something. In the storybooks I read, there never were long, long, rainy winter afternoons in a house with five boys screaming at once.</s>ROMNEY: And those storybooks never seem to have chapters called "MS" or "Breast Cancer." A storybook marriage? No. Not at all. What Mitt Romney and I have is a real marriage.</s>RAJPAL: Ann Romney, there, speaking at the Republican National Convention last week, and of course, Michelle Obama will be taking the stage a little bit later on tonight or today in the -- in Charlotte, North Carolina. So, the question is, what's the life of a political life -- political wife really like, and how do the two candidates' wives each see their roles? I'm now joined by "Newsweek's" senior writer Allison Samuels, author of "What Would Michelle Do?" and Anita McBride, former chief-of- staff to first lady Laura Bush. I'm going to start with you, Anita, thank you very much, again, for being with us. We heard there in Ann Romney's speech, she talked a lot about -- she used the words "mothers," "wives," "sisters," "grandmothers." In fact, at the inauguration speech for Barack Obama last -- in 2008, we heard Michelle Obama use the same kind of terms of "wife," "mother," the roles that they play. What is it about the role of a devoted mother and wife that appeals to the American electorate?</s>ANITA MCBRIDE, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF TO LAURA BUSH: Well, I think it is such a unique vantage point, of course, for the first lady, which will be Mrs. Obama tonight, making this speech. And then, of course, for Mrs. Romney last week, it's a unique vantage point to talk about this very personal side of life together with the person who's running for the most important position in the land if not the world. So, they -- they really have an opportunity to share with us from their unique vantage point, really, the character of the person. And it is hard when this is the person you love most in the world, and you know there's a lot of criticism for them out there. You have to persevere, and you have to be positive and connect with people all across the country and let them see this person from -- through your eyes.</s>RAJPAL: Allison, some have described the Michelle Obama that we see on the campaign trail as a highly-edited version of this Harvard-educated lawyer. How different is the Michelle Obama we see today from the one we saw just prior to the 2008 election?</s>ALLISON SAMUELS, SENIOR WRITER, "NEWSWEEK": I think Michelle Obama today, she pulls back a little bit. She holds back a little bit, and I think that is intentional. I think she wanted to make sure that she did not overshadow in any way or distract from her husband's presidency, and I think that was probably a smart move on her part. Many people will tell you, she's smarter than he is in many ways. And that's something that she had to sort of make sure that that didn't, again, become the topic. That didn't need to become the conversation. And she's savvy enough to have been able to do that without it looking forced. She looks still very natural, very genuine on camera. She's been able to really become, I guess, a great supporter of him without, again, becoming a distraction. And that's something, I think, that took a lot of savvy and smarts on her part to do.</s>RAJPAL: How could -- how much could she contribute to this potential bounce that Barack Obama could see after this week's convention?</s>SAMUELS: I think she has a great chance of getting people revved up again. She is such a personable person. She's so genuine, she's so sincere when she's on stage, when she's talking to people. All of that comes through, that authentic love that she has for him, the passion that she has for him and her family. And I think that will resonate with people. She'll be able to say, look, I have this passion, I believe in my husband. You should believe in him as well. And even though he's had four years, he needs for more to compete what he started.</s>RAJPAL: Anita, how -- how would Ann Romney appeal to the female electorate through -- who are looking for a strong role model? Remember, it is the female electorate that Barack Obama really connects with.</s>MCBRIDE: Well, first, I want to comment to something Allison just said. I absolutely agree on Mrs. Obama. Any of the unease or missteps from 2008 are gone. She has had a solid platform as a first lady. She's quite comfortable in the role. As far as Mrs. Romney, she has to tell the American people a lot more about herself. And I think if you listen very carefully, there's this -- quite a list of challenges that she has faced in her life, too, and a life that they built together. The health challenges are something, raising a big family and raising them mostly alone without help. That's a strong example as well. And remember what she said when, back in April, when she was criticized for not having had a quote-unquote "real job," she did remind people, this is about women making choices. This was her choice and also it was hard work. So, I think she has to try and paint her life and have people try and connect with that.</s>RAJPAL: And what do you think about this? Is the American public voting for the individual? And right now in America, it is a man? Or are they voting for the couple?</s>MCBRIDE: That is such a great question, and actually gives an opportunity to really remind people this role of first lady is an unofficial role. It has no position description and has no salary. It's what you make it. More and more, we expect a lot out of the first ladies, and we do get it. But we don't elect them, and that is really important for us to remember.</s>RAJPAL: Allison, your thoughts on that?</s>SAMUELS: Well, I agree with that. But I also wanted to add, what I like about what Michelle will probably have to say today -- Ann Romney, obviously a mother of five boys, great role model. But Michelle has a different reality, which is she had to go back to work after each child. And I think -- so you'll hear a different -- because she needed the money. The family needed the money. So, that becomes a different narrative that she will tell that I think will resonate with a different group of women and a different group of people. So, I love that you have the stories of these two women that are very different. Both women, both very real stories, very relatable stories. But I think Michelle's story tonight will be slightly different, and it'll be interesting to see how the audience responds.</s>RAJPAL: All right, Allison Samuels and Anita McBride, thank you very much for your time. We appreciate it. Well, CNN has extensive coverage and expert analysis for you from the Democratic National Convention. We'll be back live in Charlotte, North Carolina in around 20 minutes for the official opening of the convention. That's 10:00 PM here in London, 11:00 PM in Berlin, as Wolf Blitzer hosts "The Situation Room." All of it part of our America's Choice coverage of the 2012 US presidential election. Still to come here on CONNECT THE WORLD, she has overcome race and gender boundaries to get to the top. We introduce you to this month's Leading Woman after the break.