Rep. Cummings says 'US is and will be better off' than four years ago, predicts voter turnout for Obama will be greater than in '08

With the Democratic National Convention starting in Charlotte, NC this week, Democrats have a big challenge convincing voters that they're better off now than they were four years ago.

This morning on "Starting Point," Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) tells Soledad O'Brien the answer to this question is a resounding yes.

"The question is whether the country is better off now and will the country be better off? And I think the answer to both of those questions is yes," Cummings says. "We're looking towards the future. I just watched the Republican convention where they talked about the good old days, so to speak. This is a future situation. The country knows that we - this president has accomplished a lot. He's come in. He talked about healthcare. He accomplished healthcare. He talked about eliminating Bin Laden. He did that. He talked about reform to our economic system. He did that. And I can go over all the things he's done, but the thing is - and he's done it, Soledad, with maximum opposition."

Cummings says the constituents that he hears from feel that President Obama is facing unfair treatment by other lawmakers in Congress.

"I've talked to my constituents, and I'm very much in touch. And, what I think is going to be probably a greater turnout of minorities than even in 2008," Cummings predicts. "The reason why, and this is what they tell me, my constituents, they said they have seen the way he has been treated, and they have been proud of him. They were proud to vote for him, and they're still proud of him. And they know that he goes and gets up every day. He's thinking about them. He's working for them, and they see the Republicans as being major opposition to everything he's done."

See more from his interview in the clip below.