Doris Kearns Goodwin on the DNC: The mood of the country and party has changed

TRADITION OF AMERICAN POLITICS AND AMERICAN HISTORY. AGAIN, IT'S A CAMPAIGN OF REASSURANCE FOR THOSE VOTERS. >> YOU DON'T GET A SECOND CHANCE TO MAKE A FIRST IMPRESSION. YOU LOOK BACK AT THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES THAT DID THAT WELL, THEIR ACCEPTANCE SPEECH, YOU LOOK AT REAGAN IN 1980, BUSH IN '88, BUSH 41 SURPRISED A LOT OF PEOPLE IN '88, CLINTON IN '92, OBAMA IN '08. THOSE ARE SOME HIGHLIGHTS. WHAT DOES KAMALA HARRIS NEED TO DO TONIGHT TO MAKE THAT FIRST IMPRESSION WITH VOTERS JUST TUNING IN? >> I THINK I'D EVEN GO FURTHER BACK IN TIME TO A CANDIDATE WHO MADE AN IMPRESSION, WHICH IS IN 1932 WHEN FDR IS THE FIRST CANDIDATE TO DELIVER THAT SPEECH IN PERSON. FDR KNEW HE HAD TO CHANGE THE DYNAMIC OF A DEPRESSION THAT HAD TAKEN THE MOOD OF THE COUNTRY SO FAR DOWN. SO HE FLIES EIGHT HOURS FROM ALBANY TO CHICAGO TO GIVE A TALK, AND THE HAPPY WARRIOR IS WHAT HE PRESENTS. THAT'S WHAT KAMALA WILL HAVE TO DO TONIGHT TOO. "HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN" WAS THE SONG, BECAUSE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A NEW DEAL AND CHANGE THE MOOD OF THE COUNTRY. OVERNIGHT THE MOOD OF THE COUNTRY CHANGED BECAUSE OF HIS CONFIDENCE AND HIS OPTIMISM. I THINK JFK DID THE SAME THING IN 1960. THE PROBLEM FOR HIM WAS YOUTH. INSTEAD, HE MADE IT AN ASSET. HE SAID WE'RE GOING TO TAKE OUR YOUTH AND GO INTO THE '60s WITH A WHOLE NEW APPROACH. WE'RE GOING FORWARD, NOT BACKWARD. HE LIKENED HIMSELF TO SOMEBODY DIFFERENT FROM THE OLD GUY. EISENHOWER WAS ONLY 50 AT THE TIME, BUT HE WAS CONSIDERED THE OLD GUY. HIS SONG WAS "HIGH HOPES." I THINK THE MOOD OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY HAS CHANGED. SHE NEEDS TO KEEP TO THAT. SOMETHING IS IN THE AIR, AS THEY SAID LAST NIGHT. THEY'RE SPEAKING TO THE PEOPLE WATCHING ON TELEVISION AND TELLING THEM THERE'S THINGS YOU NEED TO DO, YOU'VE GOT TO GET MOTIVATED, YOU'VE GOT TO GET TO THE POLLS. THAT'S WHEN RHETORIC MATTERS, WHEN IT MAKES A CHANGE IN BEHAVIOR. IF KAMALA CAN KEEP THAT UP JUST AS WALZ DID LAST NIGHT, IT'S A CHANGE IN THE ATMOSPHERE ENTIRELY. >> LAWRENCE, THE DEMOCRATS HAVE DONE SO MANY THINGS RIGHT. LET'S TALK ABOUT ONE THING THEY'VE DONE HORRIBLY WRONG. >> WHAT? >> TIMING, SCHEDULING, PRIME TIME. THIS IS, AS YOU SAID, THIS IS A TV SHOW. WHEN YOU START BARACK OBAMA AT WHAT TIME? >> 11:02. THAT'S TWO MINUTES AFTER PRIME TIME. HE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE FINISHED TWO MINUTES BEFORE 11:00. >> THERE'S A REAL PROBLEM THERE, AND THEY KEEP MAKING THAT MISTAKE EVERY NIGHT, GOING TOO LONG. >> BUT THAT'S FOR THE EAST COAST. >> MIKA MAKES A GOOD POINT BECAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE RESPONDED TO THAT LAST NIGHT, SAYING, WAIT A MINUTE, WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER TIME ZONES? IT'S NOT MY DESIGN. IT'S THE DESIGN THAT THEY END AT 11:00 P.M. EASTERN, WHICH IS PRIME TIME IN PENNSYLVANIA AND GEORGIA. THAT'S THE DESIGN, AND IT'S ALWAYS BEEN THAT WAY. AND IT'S ALWAYS BEEN CONSIDERED A FAILURE WHEN YOU SLIDE OVER, BECAUSE WHATEVER YOU GET AFTER 11:00 P.M. WILL BE A SMALLER AUDIENCE FOR THAT SPEAKER THAN THAT SPEAKER WOULD HAVE GOTTEN AT 10:30 A.M. IT'S THE NATURE OF THINGS. PEOPLE HAVE TO GO TO BED AT A CERTAIN POINT. WHAT'S INTERESTING ABOUT IT IS OBAMA STARTED AT 11:00 P.M., BUT CERTAINLY AT MSNBC, THE RATINGS WENT UP AFTER 11:00 P.M., BUT IT PROBABLY WOULD HAVE BEEN HIGHER IF HE HAD SPEAKING AT 10:00 P.M. YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THE BRIGHTNESS OF THE HARRIS CAMPAIGN TO THE MORNING IN AMERICA REAGAN CAMPAIGN. I HEARD FROM SOMEONE WHO WAS HEARING THAT FROM HIS REPUBLICAN FRIENDS, SAYING, HEY, THIS IS REMINDING ME OF THAT FEEL THAT WE HAD. >> DONALD TRUMP IS PLAYING INTO THAT BY TRASHING AMERICA EVERY DAY, BY TALKING ABOUT AMERICA IN DECLINE, BY TALKING ABOUT AMERICA BEING A, QUOTE, STUPID COUNTRY. YOU TALK ABOUT HANDING THE MANTLE TO DEMOCRATS -- >> IT'S WHAT BUTTIGIEG CALLED THE DARKNESS LAST NIGHT. THE MOST IMPORTANT LINE OF THE NIGHT WAS IN EARLY PRIME TIME. GEOFF DUNCAN, FORMER LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF GEORGIA, HE SAID TO REPUBLICAN VOTERS, HE SAID TO THEM DIRECTLY, REPUBLICANS, IF YOU VOTE FOR KAMALA HARRIS, YOU'RE NOT A DEMOCRAT, YOU'RE A PATRIOT. AND WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR IN THIS CONVENTION FIRST TWO NIGHTS WERE, YOU KNOW, THRILL THE BASE, AND IT DID. AND LAST NIGHT WAS THE VERY FIRST TIME THERE WAS A SERIOUS REACH OUT TO VOTERS THEY DON'T HAVE YET AND THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET, THE NIKKI HALEY REPUBLICAN VOTER. GEOFF DUNCAN DID A BRILLIANT JOB OF REACHING OUT DIRECTLY TO THAT VOTER. I THINK TONIGHT KAMALA HARRIS WILL HAVE TO DO BOTH. SHE WILL THRILL THE BASE. SHE WILL FIND A WAY OF ECHOING WHAT DUNCAN SAID LAST NIGHT IN REACHING OUT TO VOTERS WHO SHE KNOWS SHE DOES NOT YET HAVE. >> RIGHT, RIGHT. I'M CURIOUS, DORIS, BEFORE WE GO WHAT'S GOING ON WITH RFK JUNIOR, AND I GUESS THE CONCERN OR WORD THAT HE MIGHT BE JUMPING TO TRUMP, DROPPING OUT OF THE RACE. WHAT'S GOING ON THERE? >> OBVIOUSLY IT HASN'T WORKED WHAT HE WAS TRYING TO DO, SO THAT WHATEVER SPIN HE'S GOING TO PUT ON THE IDEA THAT HE'S DROPPING OUT AND ENCOURAGING TRUMP OR ENDORSING HIM, HOPING FOR A CABINET POST, I'M NOT SURE IT'S GOING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE ANYMORE. FOR A PERIOD OF TIME, HE WAS UP TO 20% EARLY ON. IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE THAT EARLIER, BECAUSE HE SEEMED TO BE SAYING SOMETHING DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHER TWO CANDIDATES. I THINK NOW IT'S GOING TO GO WITH AWHIMPER RATHER THAN A BAG WHEN HE GOES OUT OF THIS. >> RFK JUNIOR WILL DROP OUT TOMORROW AND POSSIBLY ENDORSE DONALD TRUMP IS WHAT WE'RE HEARING. >> BOTH MEN HAVE EVENTS IN THE PHOENIX AREA TOMORROW. THE KENNEDY CAMPAIGN HAS PUT OUT A STATEMENT SAYING ROBERT F. KENNEDY WILL ADDRESS THE NATION ABOUT THE FUTURE OF HIS CAMPAIGN. THAT'S CODE FOR DROPPING OUT USUALLY. IT DOES SEEM CLEAR THAT RFK JUNIOR WILL END HIS INDEPENDENT CANDIDACY TOMORROW. >> PEACE IN OUR TIME. >> DOUG, GIVE ME ONE OF THE LAST WORDS HERE ON WHAT WE'VE SEEN SO FAR AND WHAT COMES NEXT. AS YOU KNOW, HAVING BEEN AT A LOT OF THESE AND STUIED THEM, THERE'S ALWAYS BEEN ENTHUSIASM AT THE CONVENTION. IT'S WHAT COMES OVER THE NEXT 75 DAYS THAT WILL DETERMINE THE ELECTION. >> THIS CITY OF CHICAGO DURING WHEN EMMETT TILL WAS KILLED, THE MOTHER OF EMMETT TILL HAD THE CASKET OPEN HERE. IN THIS HALL, BLACK WOMEN WERE ECSTATIC ABOUT KAMALA HARRIS, BUT REMINDING PEOPLE OF SHIRLEY CHISHOLM, REMINDING PEOPLE -- YOU KNOW, WHEN JESSE JACKSON ARRIVED, PEOPLE CAME TO HIM IN A WAY I HAVE NEVER SEEN COME TO A POLITICIAN. HE SHOWED UP IN A WHEELCHAIR. PEOPLE IN YOUR BUSINESS WERE DROPPING THEIR MICS TO GO SEE REVEREND JACKSON. THIS WAS CHICAGO AND THIS WAS OBAMA'S ARENA. HISTORY WILL LOOK AT WHAT BARACK AND MICHELLE DID AS THIS POLISHED PIECE OF ORATORY, TIMING. SOME OF THE CLIPS, PARTICULARLY THE SIZE ONE OF OBAMA, WILL LIVE IN DOCUMENTARIES ABOUT THIS TIME FOREVER. KAMALA HARRIS NOW IS -- YOUNG PEOPLE ARE SO ENTHUSED. I SAW FORMER STUDENTS OF MINE SCREAMING. I NEVER THOUGHT I'D SEE ONE WITH A SIGN RANDOMLY THEY'RE ENERGIZED. >> IT IS FASCINATING TO THINK ABOUT THE PARALLEL UNIVERSE WHERE PRESIDENT BIDEN STAYED IN THE RACE AND HOW DIFFERENT THIS EVENT WOULD BE. >> HE WOULD HAVE LIMPED INTO CHICAGO AND FACED A DIVIDED PARTY, AND THEY WOULD HAVE OBVIOUSLY MADE THE CONVENTION ALMOST ENTIRELY ABOUT TRUMP, BUT THERE WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN THAT SENSE OF JOY AND ENTHUSIASM FOR SOMETHING. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN ALL AGAINST SOMETHING, NAMELY, DONALD TRUMP. THEY'RE ALSO FINALLY FOR SOMEBODY. THEY'RE ENTHUSIASTIC, A LOT OF THEM ARE, ABOUT THEIR OWN NOMINEE THIS TIME AROUND. >> GREAT TO HAVE YOU BOTH WITH US IN CHICAGO. THANKS, GUYS. MIKA. >> DORIS KEARNS GOODWIN, THANK YOU AS WELL. LAWRENCE O'DONNELL, THANK YOU. WE'LL BE WATCHING YOU TONIGHT AS PART OF MSNBC'S PRIME TIME COVERAGE OF THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION. >> LET'S UNDERLINE THAT PRIME TIME CONVENTION. LET US HOPE KAMALA HARRIS IS SPEAKING IN PRIME TIME. >> THAT'S USUALLY THE PLAN. [ LAUGHTER ] >> BY THE WAY, JOE, THIS IS MY ANNIVERSARY APPEARANCE ON THIS PROGRAM. THE FIRST TIME I APPEARED ON THIS SHOW WAS THE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION IN 2008. I CAN'T DO THE MATH ON HOW LONG AGO THAT WAS. >> IT'S A LONG TIME AGO. >> YEAH. IT WAS DONE IN THAT RESTAURANT, THAT BREAKFAST PLACE. >> IN DENVER, RIGHT? >> IN DENVER. IT WAS THE MOST FUN I'VE HAD ON TV. >> IT WAS A LOT OF FUN. >> SO I WILL SEE YOU IN FOUR YEARS. >> THANK YOU VERY MUCH. >>> COMING UP ON "MORNING JOE," THE LABOR DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCED YESTERDAY THAT THE U.S. ECONOMY ADDED FAR FEWER JOBS IN 2023 AND EARLY 2024 THAN PREVIOUSLY REPORTED, THE LARGEST REVISION IN 15 YEARS. THIS COMES AS WALL STREET TURNS ITS ATTENTION TO FED CHAIR JEROME POWELL'S HIGH-PROFILE SPEECH TOMORROW FOR ANY SIGN ON