>> interview an empty chair. we've got the real deal. melissa, first, what do you make of mitt romney heading off to new orleans? the president, as we saw -- if we can get that map back up and show everybody the travel plan for the president and the vice president, the states they're going to hit. but mitt romney , there's the president's travel. mitt romney going straight to the gulf today . bobby jindal inviting him there.
>> absolutely. i am nothing but pleased that governor romney is heading to the gulf coast . there is suffering there. there's devastation and damage there. and mitt romney taking the time out of campaigning to go i think is, you know, i could read it in bad ways, but i'm not going to. i'll see that solely as a good thing because it will keep cameras there and that will bring resources. as important as that kind of empathetic move is, what i want to be certain is that this visit will help to drive home to mr. romney and to the republican party that collective action is necessary. we do need government to do things like build levees. the one levee that was overtopped in this case was not a federal levee, it was a local levee. i hope he takes that lesson home from the gulf coast .
>> the one thing that people can't escape from this is how people will look at this with the political lens and the eye of the fact that president bush , a republican, flew over new orleans, there was pictures on the plane and him looking out very concerned. thanking brownie for his work at wonder, you know, this is a political necessity to go there and look presidential for mitt romney or, as you say, helping with the empathy.
>> yeah, well, i mean, again, we can read this in ways that he's just trying to not be bush and perhaps that's true. but you know, again, for me, this is just in my role as a gulf coast resident, if he comes and brings with him cameras and those cameras help to bring resources and attention, then in this case i'm going to do nothing but say good and positive things about it. the question isn't just the photo op . the question is the policies. he has on his ticket, a vice presidential candidate who stood in the way of fema funding. he has in his policy platforms things that would reduce the ability of the gulf coast to be safe from storms. he made fun of, last night, the idea of global warming and rising waters, and did that while people were suffering on the gulf coast . so the photo op is nice. i'm happy for it. but it's got bring policy with it.
>> the speech, monday morning quarterback that. did he deliver on coming across and letting the american voter get to know him better and really hit a home run ?
>> i think it's not a home run for one reason. the one reason i do think sure he has strong lines, good zingers in there, he talked more about himself. but here's what he didn't do. he did not explain anything about his actual policy. he basically said the president's no good, i'm great, trust me, i'm do better. so for those who are predisposed to trust him, that is going to be sufficient. but for everybody else who is looking for policy content, to what that trust may mean, he failed to hit a home run on that.
>> very interesting, richard wolffe was talking about this is about a firing and hiring decision. and seeing if he can meet the bar on wanting us to fire the president and hire him. and it is down to that trust issue.
>> yep. and the president hasn't had his chance to make his case yet, which will come this week.
>> we'll see it, we shall see it. all the chairs and whatever they bring out. you can catch melissa here on weekends at 10:00 a.m .
>> absolutely. i am nothing but pleased that governor romney is heading to the gulf coast . there is suffering there. there's devastation and damage there. and mitt romney taking the time out of campaigning to go i think is, you know, i could read it in bad ways, but i'm not going to. i'll see that solely as a good thing because it will keep cameras there and that will bring resources. as important as that kind of empathetic move is, what i want to be certain is that this visit will help to drive home to mr. romney and to the republican party that collective action is necessary. we do need government to do things like build levees. the one levee that was overtopped in this case was not a federal levee, it was a local levee. i hope he takes that lesson home from the gulf coast .
>> the one thing that people can't escape from this is how people will look at this with the political lens and the eye of the fact that president bush , a republican, flew over new orleans, there was pictures on the plane and him looking out very concerned. thanking brownie for his work at wonder, you know, this is a political necessity to go there and look presidential for mitt romney or, as you say, helping with the empathy.
>> yeah, well, i mean, again, we can read this in ways that he's just trying to not be bush and perhaps that's true. but you know, again, for me, this is just in my role as a gulf coast resident, if he comes and brings with him cameras and those cameras help to bring resources and attention, then in this case i'm going to do nothing but say good and positive things about it. the question isn't just the photo op . the question is the policies. he has on his ticket, a vice presidential candidate who stood in the way of fema funding. he has in his policy platforms things that would reduce the ability of the gulf coast to be safe from storms. he made fun of, last night, the idea of global warming and rising waters, and did that while people were suffering on the gulf coast . so the photo op is nice. i'm happy for it. but it's got bring policy with it.
>> the speech, monday morning quarterback that. did he deliver on coming across and letting the american voter get to know him better and really hit a home run ?
>> i think it's not a home run for one reason. the one reason i do think sure he has strong lines, good zingers in there, he talked more about himself. but here's what he didn't do. he did not explain anything about his actual policy. he basically said the president's no good, i'm great, trust me, i'm do better. so for those who are predisposed to trust him, that is going to be sufficient. but for everybody else who is looking for policy content, to what that trust may mean, he failed to hit a home run on that.
>> very interesting, richard wolffe was talking about this is about a firing and hiring decision. and seeing if he can meet the bar on wanting us to fire the president and hire him. and it is down to that trust issue.
>> yep. and the president hasn't had his chance to make his case yet, which will come this week.
>> we'll see it, we shall see it. all the chairs and whatever they bring out. you can catch melissa here on weekends at 10:00 a.m .