Politics

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. Good morning. I'm David Greene.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And I'm Steve Inskeep.

Democrats hold their convention this week. And yesterday on this program, we heard one version of the challenge President Obama will face. Cokie Roberts said the president will need to talk of more than President Bush's failures and Mitt Romney's tax returns. He will face the challenge of defending his own record and speaking of what he'd do in four more years.

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

You may have heard some street noise behind some of Mara's interviews there. That was the sound of CarolinaFest. Charlotte gave Democrats a taste of the South there yesterday.

People outside gave NPR's Debbie Elliott a taste of what they're thinking.

DEBBIE ELLIOTT, BYLINE: What better way to kick off a political convention than a Labor Day street festival?

(SOUNDBITE OF A MARCHING BAND)

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And now here's something that's organic to our political discussion - the nation's economy. As the parties hold their national conventions, we're checking in with mayors in swing areas of the country.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Julian Castro, the 37-year-old mayor of San Antonio, Texas, has been called the new face of the Democratic Party. And on Tuesday night, he'll become the first Latino to deliver the keynote speech at the party's national convention.

Over the weekend, parishioners at St. Paul Catholic Church in San Antonio sent off one of their own with a breakfast taco rally.

The bus is always the center of attention. Partly because it's a hulking 1970s tour bus that somehow made it from Arizona all the way to Charlotte, but mostly because of what's inscribed on the side of it in thick, black letters.

"Sin Papeles, Sin Miedo," it reads in Spanish. "No papers, no fear."

Carrying a bunch of undocumented activists, the bus rolled through the country, through states like Arizona, Texas, Louisiana and Georgia, and into Charlotte on the eve of the Democratic National Convention.

It's been a rough four years since Barack Obama accepted his party's nomination during a celebratory Denver convention that launched the freshman Illinois senator to the White House.

Recovery from the worst economy since the Great Depression has been excruciatingly slow. The national unemployment rate has remained stubbornly above 8 percent.

President Obama spent the day campaigning in Ohio and visiting Hurricane Isaac-ravaged areas in Louisiana. Scott Horsley joins Melissa Block to talk about the president's message.

Melissa Block speaks with Ryan Lizza, Washington correspondent for The New Yorker, about his new piece on the relationship between President Bill Clinton and President Barack Obama.

Is Mitt Romney shifting his abortion position again?

It's fairly well-known that Romney proclaimed himself in favor of abortion rights when he ran for office in Massachusetts, then reversed himself before launching his presidential bid. But recently, the GOP nominee seems to be softening his opposition somewhat. Or is he?

With only a couple of months before the election, authorities are putting out word that federal employees need to beware of the line between protected political activity and prohibited electioneering. A few high-profile dustups have attracted attention already this year and watchdogs are investigating 168 possible violations of the Hatch Act.