Obama Makes Case for Second Term; Interview with Beau Biden; Jennifer Granholm Gives Speech at Democratic National Convention
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The president says he needs more time to fix the country's problems. Did the speech hit the mark? We'll look at this that this morning. Also, the August jobs report. It's being called the most politically important jobs report in history. We're going to have those numbers for you, and tell you what they mean. And a crowd brought to tears with this.</s>GABRIELLE GIFFORDS (D-AZ), FORMER U.S. CONGRESSWOMAN: With liberty and justice for all.</s>O'BRIEN: Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords makes an emotional return to the political stage as she leads the Pledge of Allegiance. Joining us this morning, Beau Biden, he's son of Vice President Joe Biden. Also, Governor Romney's foreign policy adviser, Mario Diaz- Balart is with us. It's Friday, September 7th. And STARTING POINT begins right now.</s>O'BRIEN: Welcome, everybody. Our team this morning, starting from the very end as she puts her microphone on, Dana Bash is with us. She's the senior congressional correspondent. Ana Navarro is a Republican strategist. Anthony Foxx is the mayor of Charlotte. We give him a thumbs up for the time here. We appreciate it. And also we're joined by Beau Biden, who's the attorney general of the state of Delaware. But also we want to talk a little bit about the speech that you had introducing your dad. Very emotional as well. Today, of course, is the first day of the rest of the campaign obviously. Team Obama eager to seize on post-convention enthusiasm, heading for three battle ground states this morning. Last night, the president accepted the Democratic nomination, made his case for four more years, says he needs time to finish what he started. Let's start with Dana on this speech. Thumbs up or thumbs down?</s>DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think that you're going to probably get that answer from this panel. But I think my personal view of it, as somebody who's covered a lot of speeches, is that it was safe. It was a speech that President Obama knew that he had to give to try to convince people that he is somebody who has had a tough go of it. He's had a tough economy. And he feels that he just simply needs more time.</s>BASH (voice-over): Barack Obama accepted his party's nomination with a kind of soaring rhetoric that got him elected four years ago, except hope and change were replaced by a reality check.</s>BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I recognize that times have changed since I first spoke to this convention. Times have changed and so have I. I'm no longer just a candidate. I'm the president.</s>BASH: "Yes, we can", now, a plea for patience.</s>OBAMA: America, I never said this journey would be easy and I won't promise that now. Yes, our path is harder, but at least to a better place. Yes, our road is longer, but we travel together. We don't turn back. We leave no one behind.</s>BASH: But he still sprinkled in that familiar Obama oratory.</s>OBAMA: Our problems can be solved. Our challenges can be met. The path we offer may be harder, but it leads to a better place, and I'm asking you to choose that future.</s>BASH: The Obama campaign ripped in to Mitt Romney for not offering enough specifics at his acceptance speech last week. The president took that a step further.</s>OBAMA: They want your vote, but they don't want you to know their plan. And that's because all they have to offer is the same prescriptions they've had for the last 30 years. Have a surplus, try a tax cut. Deficit too high, try another. Feel a cold coming on? Take two tax cuts, roll back some regular races and call us in the morning.</s>BASH: He offered new promises for a second term.</s>OBAMA: I'm asking you to rally around a set of goals for your country, goals in manufacturing, energy, education, national security, and the deficit.</s>BASH: Some specifics, a vow to create 1 million new manufacturing jobs. Cut growth of college tuition in half over the next 10 years. And cut oil imports in half by 2020. Vice President Joe Biden took on the role of eyewitness to the president while he made tough decisions.</s>JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Ladies and gentlemen, I'm here to tell you what I think you already know. But I watch it up close. Bravery resides in the heart of Barack Obama and time and time again I witnessed him summon it. This man has courage in his soul, compassion in his heart, and a spine of steel.</s>BASH: And Biden delivered the bumper sticker line he loves.</s>BIDEN: We can now proudly say what you've heard me say the last six months -- Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive.</s>BASH: Though the night belonged to the president, the Democratic nominee from 2004 offered one of the most memorable one liners of the night.</s>SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Ask Osama bin Laden if he is better off now than he was four years ago.</s>BASH: And when it comes to the lasting images from this convention, it is this moment, former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords shot through the head just last year and now walking without a cane on stage to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.</s>GIFFORDS: Liberty and justice for all.</s>BASH: And whether or not the president gets his wish that the American people give him more time could depend at least in small part on something that happens about 25 minutes from now, and that is a very, very important jobs report.</s>O'BRIEN: We'll talk more about that in just a little bit. Less than an hour after President Obama left the stage last night, the Romney camp released 15 new television ads that are going to run in eight critical battleground states, in Colorado, in Florida, in Iowa, Nevada, in New Hampshire, in North Carolina, Ohio, and Virginia -- all of those considered to be toss-up states in the CNN election map. Each ad ends with a pledge that Mitt Romney will create new jobs in that particular state. A pledge ranging from 59,000 for New Hampshire or 700,000 in the state of Florida. Other -- we're going to talk to the rest of our team in just a minute. First, I want to get an update on some of the other stories that are making news today. Alina has got that for us. Hey, Alina.</s>ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Soledad. Good morning again. And good morning to you. As we mentioned, in less than 30 minutes, the Labor Department will release its August jobs report. There are signs that hiring may be picking up, and economists surveyed by CNN Money expect that 120,000 jobs were added last month. We will have the numbers and what they mean for you and the presidential race at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Hurricane Leslie spinning in place in the open Atlantic right now. But the storm is veering toward Bermuda. Leslie is a category 1 hurricane, expected to remain stationary through much of the morning, 430 miles southeast of Bermuda. Boaters and swimmers along the U.S. East Coast are being warned to look out for dangerous swells. Leslie is expected to intensify later today and pass just east of Bermuda on Sunday morning. And by then, it could be upgraded to a category 2 hurricane with 105 mile per hour winds. Lab results now prove that oil found on Louisiana's beaches after hurricane Isaac did come from the 2010 BP oil spill. Louisiana state university conducted those tests. A 13-mile stretch of shoreline remains closed this morning. BP is promising to help clean up the mess. In fact, it says it was already working on cleanup in the area before the storm. And the most coveted award at the MTV Video Music Awards Video of the Year goes to --</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The VMA, the Video of the Year Award, goes to Rihanna!</s>CHO: I love that guy. That's funny. Rihanna won for "We Found Love," sporting a fabulous gown and a short haircut. The other night's big winners, One Direction with three awards, including best new artist. Rihanna's ex, Chris Brown, won two. Nicki Minaj and Drake were also big winners. You know what, whenever I talk about this kind of stuff, it makes me feel old, you know? I've heard of some of them.</s>O'BRIEN: No, no.</s>CHO: It makes me feel old.</s>O'BRIEN: Let's talk about the dress. She looked fabulous. What I loved the most, when she won, then she does the turn to show the dress has no back. It's like, oh, did I win?</s>CHO: She is a smart girl.</s>O'BRIEN: See the whole dress before I walk up. Yes, very smart girl. All right. Alina, Thank you.</s>CHO: You bet.</s>O'BRIEN: It was a very emotional moment last night for the vice president, Joe Biden, when the convention moved to nominate him for a second term. He choked up, he teared up. Listen.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a motion to suspend the rules and nominate Joe Biden by acclimation as the Democratic Party's vice presidential candidate. Is there a second? All in favor of the motion say aye.</s>CROWD: Aye!</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All opposed? The ayes have it. The motion is adopted pursuant to the convention rules. Joe Biden has been invited to make an acceptance speech.</s>O'BRIEN: Joining us this morning, the man that made that motion, Joe Biden's son, Beau. He is also Delaware's state attorney general. We also should mention joining our team this morning, David Frum. Hi, David. Good morning. And Ron Brownstein. Nice to have you guys. Let's talk about your nomination. Your dad seemed so moved. And I thought his speech where he talked about, you know, Jilly, as he likes to call her, light of my life and love of my life and life of my love. I mean, it was really a wonderful speech. What was different the second time around than the first time in the nomination? It seemed more emotional this time around, surprisingly.</s>BEAU BIDEN (D), DELAWARE ATTORNEY GENERAL: Yes. You know, the whole convention seemed more emotional to me. There was a great energy obviously in 2008. It was a whirlwind for our family. We'd just kind of gotten the call. My dad had. And talking -- my mom rebuilt our family. I mean, we had like every family, everybody up here has gone through something. And we went through something in 1972. My mom came along -- I have two moms now -- who came along in 1977 and rebuilt our family, and helped my dad rebuild our family. That's why you saw my dad spent so much time talking about my mom who was so incredibly proud of, who if she had her way, she'd be a full-time teacher that she is, and helping raise my kids. She's an incredible mother.</s>O'BRIEN: His speech was a strong and fiery speech.</s>BIDEN: Yes.</s>O'BRIEN: Do you think he -- what was the goal in his speech? What did he have to accomplish, your dad?</s>BIDEN: You know, to give people an insight to what Barack Obama is all about, incredibly difficult decisions that he's made. But he's made those decisions at every moment thinking about what the average American thinks around their dinner table. And to give Americans an insight to his perspective on that, because no one has been closer to watching though decisions being made than my father. And he picked two prime examples. One is authorizing the mission to go after Osama bin Laden and taking him out. And two, is making a very difficult decision to save the automobile industry, which is more than just an industry. It's jobs. It's dignity. It's hope. It's hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of jobs. As Jennifer Granholm really articulated --</s>O'BRIEN: Shouted.</s>BIDEN: -- shouted and connected at least in the hall and I think on TV. She is one of the best speakers I have ever seen.</s>O'BRIEN: Your dad gets some flak for some of the things he says that range from inappropriate to I think his opponents would say idiotic. And a poll says that almost evenly divided, 43 people interviewed said they would use the word good to define your dad, and 40 said they would use the word "idiot."</s>BIDEN: Just in the last three and a half years, my dad has travelled 37 countries, put over 500,000 miles in Air Force II, met with every world leader, respected by every one of them, respected by every leader in the United States Congress, Republican and Democrat. Mitt Romney goes to our greatest ally, and within 24 hours he not only offends the prime minister but offends the entire United Kingdom. So, you know, there's a lot of talk about -- you heard the president talk about the 24-hour news cycle and what's focused on. My father has respect. He had respect we see here in North Carolina -- the mayor knows this in North Carolina. One of my dad's closest friends, Jesse Helms. That's not a name you necessarily talk about at a Democratic convention, but they got things done. They got things done like the Chemical Test Ban Treaty, paying back our debt to the U.N. Just south of here in South Carolina, one of his closest friends, Strom Thurmond. My dad went to the Senate to continue the civil rights movement. Strom Thurmond ran as a Dixiecrat in 1938. But my dad eulogized Strom Thurmond in Columbia, South Carolina.</s>O'BRIEN: Is that hurtful to you and hurtful to him?</s>BIDEN: Oh, no. Because, you know, it's just the kind of the way it is right now. And the other part is, Soledad, they wouldn't be howling as much as they are, the other side, if my dad wasn't scoring points on Mitt Romney. They wouldn't be saying it if it wasn't cutting and scoring points. And that's why they say it. Do you think they -- you know, the Bill Kristols of the world and John McCain and Rudy Giuliani are really trying to help the ticket? Why are they attacking him? They are attacking him because they know he is the most effective person to speak to the middle class and connect with the middle class and make sure that the president -- the American people know that the president has their back.</s>O'BRIEN: Beau Biden, it's nice to have you this morning. Thanks for talking with us.</s>BIDEN: Thanks, Soledad.</s>O'BRIEN: You bet. Still ahead this morning with STARTING POINT, you've heard President Obama's appeal to the nation. Now, Mitt Romney's campaign launching an aggressive Republican response. Up next, Romney's foreign policy adviser, Florida Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart. He'll sit down with us to talk about that. You're watching STARTING POINT coming to you live from Charlotte, North Carolina. And we're back in just a moment.