not have a voice, the democracy advocate in venezuela, the political prisoner in iran. it has been hard to muster the resources to support fledgling democracies and to intervene on behalf of the most desperate. the aids orphan in uganda, the young woman who has been trafficked into the sex trade. it has been hard. yet, this assistance along with the compassionate work of charities, people of conscious, people of faith, have shown the soul of this country. and i know, too, i know, too, that there is a weariness. i know that it feels as if we have carried these burdens long enough. but we can only know that there is no choice because one of two

things will happen if we don't lead. either no one will lead and there will be chaos or someone will fill the vacuum who does not share our values. my fellow americans, we do not have a choice. we cannot be reluctant to lead and you cannot lead from behind. mitt romney and paul ryan understand this reality. our well being at home and our leadership abroad are linked. they know what to do. they know our friends and allies must be able to trust us. from israel to colombia, from poland to the philippines, our

allies and friends have to know we will be reliable, consistent and determined. and our foes can have no reason to doubt our resolve because peace really does come through strength. our military capability and technology advances will be safe in mitt romney's hands. we must work for an open economy to grow our exports and influence abroad. if you are worried about the rise of china, just consider this. the united states has negotiated, the united states has ratified only three trade agreements in the last few years and those were negotiated in the bush administration. china, china has signed 15 free trade agreements and is in the

progress of negotiating as many as 18 more. sadly, we are abandoning the field of free and fair trade and it will come back to haunt us. we must not a lou the chance for energy and independence to slip. we are bless with the gift of oil and gas resources here in north america and we must develop them. we can develop them, but we must develop them. and we have the ingenuity to develop alternative sources of energy, too. but most importantly, mitt romney and paul ryan will rebuild the foundation of our

strength, the american economy. stimulating private sector growth and stimulating small business entrepreneurship. when the world looks at us today, they see an american government that cannot live within itself means, an american government that continues to borrow money, that will mortgage the future of generations to come. the world knows that when a nation loses control of its finances, it eventually loses control of its destiny. that is not the america that has inspired people to follow our lead. after all, when the the world looks to america, they look to

us because we are the most successful economic and political experiment in human history. that is the true basis of american exceptionalism. the essence of american is not ethnicity or religion. it is an idea and what an idea it is. that you can come from humble circumstances and you can do great things that it does not matter where you came from. it matters where you are going. my fellow americans, ours has never been a narrative of

grievance and entitlement. we have never been jealous of one another and never envious of each other's successes. no, ours has been a belief in opportunity and a constant struggle, long and hard, up and down, to try to extend the benefits of the american dream to all. but that american ideal is indeed endangered today. there is no country, no, not even a rising china, that can do more harm to us than we can do to ousts if we do not do the hard work before us here at home.

more than at any other time in history, greatness is built on mobilizing human potential and ambitio ambition. people have come here from all over because they have believed our creed of opportunity and limitless horizons. they have come here from the world's most impoverished nations just to make a decent wage and they have come here from advanced societies as engineers and scientists to fuel the knowledge based revolution in the silicon valley of california, in the research triangle of north carolina along route 128 in massachusetts, in austin, texas and across this great land.

we must continue to welcome the world's most ambitious people to be a part of us. in that way, we stay young and optimistic and determined. we need immigration laws that protect our borders, meet our economic needs and yet show that we are a compassionate nation of immigrants. we have been successful, too, because americans have known that one status at birth is not a permanent condition. americans have believed that you might not be able to control your circumstances, but you can control your response to your circumstances.

and your greatest ally has been equality education, but today, today, when i can look at your z zip code and tell whether you're going to get a good education, can i honestly say it doesn't matter where you come from, it matters where you're going. the crisis in k 12 education is a threat to the very fabric of who we are. my mom was a teacher. i respect the profession. we need great teachers, not poor ones and mediocre ones. we have to have high standards for our kids because self-esteem comes from achievement, not from lax standards and false praise.

and we need to give parents greater choice. particularly, poor parents, whose kids, very often minorities, are trapped in failing neighborhood schools. this is the civil rights issue of our day. if we to anything less, we condemn generations to joblessness and hopelessness and life on the government goal if we do anything less, we will damage our global imperatives for competitiveness and if we do anything less, we will tear apart the fabric of who we are

and cement the turn toward entitlement and grievance. mitt romney and paul ryan will rebuild us at home and they will help us lead abroad. they will provide an answer to the question, where does america stand? the challenge is real. and the times are hard. but america has met and overcome hard challenges before. when ever you find yourself doubting us, just think about all those times that america made the impossible same inevitable retrospect. our revolutionary founding against the greater military power of the time. a civil war, brother against brother, but we emerged a more perfect union. a second founding when impatient patriots were determined to overcome the scorch of

segregation. a long struggle against communism when the soviet union collapsed and in the aftermath of 9/11, the willingness to take hard, hard decisions that secured us and prevented the follow on attack that everyone thought preordained. and on a personal note, and on a personal note, a little girl rose up in jim crow birmingham, the segregated city of the south where her parents can't take her to a movie theatre or a restaurant, but they have her convinced that if she could have a hamburger -- she could become the president of the united states if she wanted to be and she becomes the secretary of state.

yes, yes, yes, yes, america, america has a way of making the possible seem inevitable in retrospect, but it took leadership and courage and belief in our values. mitt romney and paul ryan have the integrity, vision and experience to lead us. they know who we are. they know who we want to be. they know who we are in the world and what we offer. that is why, that is why this is

a moment and an election of consequence. because it just has to be. that the freest and most compassionate country on the face of the earth will continue to be the most powerful and a beacon for prosperity and liberty across the world. god bless you and god bless in extraordinary country, this exceptional country, the united states of america. >> a rousing ovation for former secretary of state, condoleezza rice. hitting on foreign policy, education and america's role in leadership in the world. bring back in larry kudlow and john harwood. it also struck me that she talked about the education crisis and really noted that we need to be a leader around the

world and we cannot do that if we maintain an education system that hurts the disadvantage and forces essentially, many people to drop out. foreign policy speech as well from the former secretary of state rice. >> i interviewed her today. she was very critical of obama policies in the middle east, especially syria. so i wasn't surprised. i personally loved the education choice arguments that she's making because i think that would improve the whole education system as she said for the poor. and i thought it was also very, very important that she said there is no tradition in this country of envy or jealousy or success. it's not where you came from. it's where you're going. powerful stuff that brought the whole place to its feet. >> romney saying don't be envious of other success. john harwood, one thing we did not hear much of was romney and

ryan. it was a big picture speech, but it wasn't necessarily a ringing endorsement of mitt romney and paul ryan. was it? >> i think that was deliberate. she has a nonpolitical reputation. it was a nonpolitical speech. you could have given almost all of that speech at either party convention, but it was very well delivered. she was very poised and through a tremendous response, question is going to be, does it do anything to help mitt romney and paul ryan get more votes from some of the swing voters they need, especially women? >> brian, can i just make an add on point. look, you read the speech as i think we were. you will see points in references to romney and ryan as leaders, as experienced people. so please, brian, don't make the the mistake of thinking he's not endorsing them. it's as clear as it can be and

this is not a speech in my opinion that could be given at the democratic national convention. >> thank you. coming up after the break, the man who would become vice president, paul ryan, speaking in just about a minute. when he addresses the rnc, we will have it live and we will take you to the gulf coast. more flood water pouring in as we speak. this video in from pass christian, mississippi. we'll show you more. we're coming right back. [ thunder crashes ]

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this video is from bay st. louis, missouri. several people have been rescued from the water and this frightening video is from plaquemines parish. the plaquemines parish president says his area, isaac has been worse than katrina. for what it has lacked in power, it is making up in the intensity of the rain that is falling and the slowness at which the storm is moving. meteorologist todd gross is tracking the story. >> brian, you took the words right out of my mouth. the storm is changing now. the winds are down to tropical storm force. blowing up from the south, but it's the rain as we take a look at the radar, that's become the

issue. the eastern part of the storm if you look carefully here, is where all the rain is now falling and it's coming up from the south even though new orleans is getting close to the edge of that. so far, they're still under the gun, rainfall that could amount to local 20 to 25 inch amounts. we'll have more to say about that and the levee breach and so much more when we come back. >> thank you. well, they are waiting and hoping the worst is over with new orleans. scott cohn is live in the heart of the big easy. scott? >> isaac, the center passed new orleans about an hour ago. as you can see, it is not over yet. the the rain continues to fall. the wind continues to blow. the flood protection system for this system has handled it with relative ease, but not so much the case about ten miles from hear in plaquemines parish. take a look at the video of the

levee that is under so much pressure now that local officials say they will intentionally breach it, but hopefully releasing the pressure on the levee. this is seven years to the day after hurricane katrina. today is normally in new orleans a day of remembrance, ceremonies scheduled for today canceled because of the storm. >> thank you. as we wait for representative ryan to begin speaking, let's bring back john harwood and larry kudlow. i liked what you said earlier. you said you needed to hear more talk of economic growth and i believe your third point was economic growth. >> i think that's right. i could probably say it twice more. look, there have been a lot of great speeches here, but nothing has sustained about the need to solve the economic growth unemployment problems, which would make the budget deficit

problems a lot easier, too. i've not been impressed so far with this convention with the message on the economy and recovery. this has to be the republican's key trump card in this election. so far, i haven't heard it. i am seriously hoping that paul ryan starts it off this evening and then mitt romney continues tomorr tomorrow. >> we got another lackluster gdp number. certainly, we've had some months better than others, but it has been an anemic rope period over the last couple of years. to larry's point, what can paul ryan say not just about cutting the deficit, but promoting economic growth? >> paul ryan is a believer in tax cuts. he supports deeper cuts than mitt romney supports, so you can bet he's going to talk about that part of his agenda, but you've also got to remember what the agenda for the republican party is at this convention.

they're trying to reach out to a lot of people who unlike larry kudlow are with a romney ryan ticket. they're looking for some of those swing voters, especially women. condoleezza rice was speaking before paul ryan tonight, so they're trying to set the table for an argument that will broaden the appeal of mitt romney. republicans know that the weak economy is a big burden on president obama, but it may not be enough by itself to get them over the top. they've got to reach out and that's part of what this convention's all about. >> larry, what can paul ryan say specifically about growth that would please you? sounds like you're being a little bit critical of the republicans for not hammering that issue quite enough. >> i am. >> so, what could ryan say to make you happy? >> i appreciate the sbes group politics that john harwood just described, but that never has won for the republicans and i don't think it ever will.

i think ryan has to walk through a limited government agenda with lower tax rates for individuals, corporations and come pettiveness around the world, that brings down spending. i think he's got to talk about deminnished regulation, particularly on energy. i'd love to see him talk about its sound and stable dollar. i think there has to be an gent that's clear, which is clear for people having a difficult time, even if they're employed. the gop wins when it speaks on economic growth and prosperity. so far, i have not heard that at this convention. >> and there we go. vice presidential nominee paul ryan stepping to the podium after a video introduction. back down to tampa. full analysis after representative ryan is finished speaking. for now, here is paul ryan.

>> thank you. thank you. thank you very much. thank you. hey, wisconsin. thank you. thank you. thank you so much. thank you. mr. chairman, mr. chairman, delegates and fellow citizens, i am honored by the support of this convention for vice president of the united states.

i accept the duty to help lead our nation out of a jobs crisis and back to prosperity and i know we can do this. i accept the calling of my generation to give your children the america that was given to us with opportunity for the young and security for the old and i know that we are ready. our nominee is sure ready. his whole life his whole life prepared him for this moment. to meet serious challenges in a serious way. without excuses and idle words. after four years of getting the run around, america needs a turn around and the man for the job

is governor mitt romney. i'm a newcomer to this campaign, so let me share a first impression. i have never seen opponents so silent about their record. and so desperate to keep their power. they've run out of ideas. their moment came and went. fear and division is all they've got left. with all their attack ads, the president is just throwing away money. and he's pretty experienced at that.

you see, some people can't be dragged down by the usual cheap tactics because their character, ability and plain decency are so obvious and ladies and gentlemen, that is mitt romney. for my part, your nomination is an unexpected turn. it certainly came as news to my family. and i'd like you to meet them, my best friend and wife, daughter, boys, charlie and sam.

the kids are happy to see their grandmother, who lives in florida. there she is, my mom, betty. my dad, a small town lawyer, was also named paul. until we lost him when i was 16, he was a gentle presence in my life. i'd like to think he would be proud of me and my sister and brothers. you know what? i'm sure proud of him and where i come from, janesville, wisconsin. i lived on the same block where i grew up. we belonged to the same parish

where i was baptized. janesville is that kind of place. the people of wisconsin have been good to me. i've tried to live up to their trust and now, i ask those hard working men and women and millions like them across america to join our cause and get this country working again. when governor romney asked me to join the ticket, i said, let's get this down and that's what we are going to do. president barack obama came to office during an economic crisis as he has reminds us a time or two.

those are very tough days and any fair measure of his record has to take that into account. my own state vote d for presidet obama. when he talked about change, many people liked the sound of it, especially in janesville. where we were about to lose a major factory. a lot of guys i went to high school with worked at that gm plant. right there at that plant, candidate obama said i believe if our government is there to support you, this plan will be here for another 100 years. that's what he said in 2008. well, as it turned out, that plant didn't last another year. it is locked up and empty to this day. and that's how it is in so many towns. where the recovery promised is nowhere in sight. right now, 23 million men and

women are are struggled to find work. underemployed. nearly 1 in 6 americans is in poverty. millions of young americans have graduated from college during the obama presidency, ready to use their gifts and get moving in life. half of them can't find the work they studied for or any work at all. so, here's the question. without a change in leadership, why would the next four years be any different from the last four years? the first troubling sign came from the stimulus. it was president obama's first and best shot at fixing the economy at a time when he got

everything he wanted on a one party rule. it cost $831 billion. the largest one-time expenditure ever by our federal government. they went to companies like solyndra with their gold plated connections, subsidized jobs and make believe markets. the stimulus was a case of political patronage, corporate welfare and cronyism at their worst. you, you the american people of this country were cut out of the deal. what did taxpayers get out of the obama stimulus? more debt. that money wasn't just spent and wasted. it was borrowed, spent and wasted.

maybe the greatest waste of all was time. here we are faced with a massive job crisis so deep that if everyone out of work stood in single file, that unemployment line would stretch the length of the entire american continent. you would think any president, whatever his party, would make job creation and nothing else, his first order of economic business. but this president didn't do that. instead, we got a long, devicive all or nothing attempt to put the federal government in charge of health care. obama care comes to more than 2,000 pages of rules, mandates, taxes, fees and fines that have

no place in a free country. that's right. that's right. you know what? the president has declared that a debate over government controlled health care is over. that will come as news to the millions of americans who will elect mitt romney so we can repeal obama care.

and the biggest, coldest power play came at the expense of the elderly. you see, even with all the hidden taxes to pay for the health care takeover. even with the new law and new taxes on nearly a million small businesses, the planners in washington still didn't have enough money. they needed more. hundreds of billions more. so they just took it all away from medicare. $716 billion funneled out of the medicare by president obama. it's being sacrificed all to pay for a new entitlement we didn't

even ask for. the greatest threat to medicare is obama care and we're going to stop it. in congress, when they take out the heavy books and wall chart on medicare, by thoughts go back to a house on garfield street in janesville. by wonderful grandmother had alzheimer alzheimer's. we did all the little things that made her feel loved. we had all the help.

it's there just like it is for my mom today. medicare is a promise and we will honor it. the romney ryan administration will protect and strengthen it for my mom's generation, my generation and for my kids and yours. so our opponents can consider themselves on notice. on this election, on this issue, the usual posturing on the left isn't going to work. mitt romney and i know the difference between protecting a program and rating it. ladies and gentlemen, our generation needs this debate. we want this debate. we will win this debate.

obama care, as much anything else, explains why a presidency that began with such anticipation now comes to such a disappointing close. it began with a financial crisis. it ends with the job crisis. it began with a housing crisis they alone didn't cause. it ends with a housing crisis they didn't correct. init began with a perfect

triple-a credit rating for the united states. it ends with a downgraded america. it all started off with stirring speeching, the thrill of something new. now, all that's left is a presidency adrift, surviving on slogans that already seem tired. grasping at a moment that has already passed. like a ship trying to sail on yesterday's wind. you know, president obama was asked not long ago to reflect on any mistakes he had made. he said his job is to quote tell

a story to the american people. as if that's the whole problem here. he needs to talk more and we need to be better listeners? ladies and gentlemen, these past four years, we have suffered no shortage of words in the white house. what is missing is leadership in the white house!

and the story, and the story that barack obama does tell forever shifting blame to the last administration is getting old. the man assumed office almost four years ago. isn't it about time he assumed responsibility? in this generation, a defining responsibility of government is to steer our nation clear of a debt crisis while there is still time. back in 2008, serious talk from what what looked like a serious reformer. yet, by his own decisions,

president obama has added more debt than any other president before him and more than all the troubled governments of europe combined. one president, one term. 5 trillion new debt. he created a new bipartisan debt commission, they came back with an urgent report. he thanked them, sent them on their way and then did exactly nothing. republicans steps up with good fasth reforms and solutions equal to the problems. how did the president respond? by doing nothing, except dodge and demagogue the issue. so, here we are, $16 trillion in debt and still, he does nothing. in europe, massive debts have

put entire governments at risk of collapse and still, he does nothing and all we have heard from this president and his team are attacks on anyone who dares to point out the obvious. they have no answer to this simple reality. we need to stop spending money we don't have. really simple. not that hard. my dad used to say to me, son, you have a choice. you can be part of the problem or the solution. the president administration has

made its choices and mitt romney and i have made ours. before the math and momentum overwhelm us all, we are going to solve this nation's economic problems. and i'm going to level with you. we don't have that much time. but if we are serious and smart and lead, we can do this. after four years of government trying to divide up the wealth, we will get america creating wealth again. with tax fairness and regulatory reform. we'll put government back on the side of men and women who create jobs. and the the men and women who need jobs. my mom started a small business and i've seen what it takes.

mom was 50 when my dad died. she got on a bus every weekday for years and road 40 miles each morning to madison. she earned a new degree to start her small business. it wasn't just a new livelihood, it was a new life. and it transformed my mom from a wii dou widow in grief to a small businesswoman whose happiness wasn't just in the past. her work gave her hope. it made our family proud. and to this day, my mom is my role model.

behind every small business, there's a story worth knowing. all the corner shops in our towns and cities, the restaurants, cleaners, gyms, hair salons, hardware stores, these didn't come out of nowhere. a lot of heart goes into each one. and if small business people say they made it on their own, all they are saying is that nobody else worked seven days a week in their place. nobody showed up at their place to open the door at 5:00 in the morning. nobody did their thinking and worrying an sweating for them. after all that work and in a bad economy, it sure doesn't hurt to hear from their president that

government gets the credit. what they deserve to hear is the truth. yes, you did build that! we have a plan for a stronger middle class with a goal of generating new jobs. a clean break from the obama presidency and from the years before this president, we will keep federal spending at a rate of 20% of gdp or less because that is enough.

the choice is whether to put hard limits on the size of government and we choose to limit government. i learned a good deal about exhibition and america. from the author, the great jack kemp. what gave jack that incredible enthusiasm was his belief in the possibiliti possibilities free people. to overcome poverty and despair. we need that same opt right now. a romney ryan administration will speak with confidence and clarify. when ever member and women rise

up for their own freedom, they will know that the american president is on their side. instead of managing american decline, we will act in the conviction that the united states is still is greatest force for peace and liberty that this world has ever known. president obama is the kind of politics who puts promises on the record and then calls that the record.

but we are four years into this presidency. the issue is not the economy that barack obama enhertrich int this economy that we are living. college graduates should not have to live out their 20s in their childhood bedrooms, staring up at their faded obama posters, wondering when they can get up and get going with life.

everyone who feels stuck in the obama economy is right to focus on the here and now. and i hope you understand this, too. if you're feeling left out or passed by, you have not failed. your leaders have failed you. none of us should have to settle for the best of this administration offers. a dull, adventureless journey from one entitlement to the next. a government planned life. a country where everything is free but us. listen to the way we're already spoken to. fz as if everyone is stuck in

some class or station in life. victims of circumstances beyond our control. with the government there to help us cope with our fate. it's the exact opposite of everything i learned from growing up in wisconsin or a college in ohio. now, when i was waiting tables, washing dishes or mowing lawns for money. i never thought of myself as stuck in some station in life. i was on my own path, my own journey, an american journey, where i could think for myself, decide for myself, define happiness for myself. that's what we do in this country. that's the american dream. that's freedom and i'll take it any day over the central planners.

by themselves, the failures of one administration are not a mandate for a new administration. the challenger must stand on his own merits. he must be ready and worthy to serve in the office of president. we're a full generation apart. governor romney and i and in some ways, we're different. there are the songs on his ipod which i've heard on the campaign bus. and i've heard it on many hotel elevators. he actually urged me to play some of these songs. i said, look, i hope it's not a deal breaker, mitt, but my play

list starts with ac/dc and ends with zeppelin. a generation apart, but that doesn't matter. it makes us different, but not in any of the things that matter. mitt romney and i both grew up in the heart land and we know what places like wisconsin and michigan look like when times are good. we know what these communities look like when times are good, when people are working, when families are doing more than just getting by and we know it can be that way again. we've had very different careers. mine mainly in public service. his, mostly in the private sector. he helped start businesses and turned around failing ones and by the way, being successful in business, that's a good thing.

mitt has not only succeeded, but he succeeded where others could not. he turned around the olympics at a time when a great institution was collapsing. sounds kind of familiar, doesn't it? he was the republican governor of a state where almost 9-10 ledgelators are democrats, yet, he balanced the budget without raising taxes. massachusetts under governor romney saw its credit rating upgraded.

mitt and i also go to different churches, but at any churches the best kind of preaching is done by example and i've been watching that example. the man who will accept your nomination tomorrow is prayerful and faithful and honorable. not only a defender of marriage, he offers an example of marriage at its best. not only a fine business man, he's a fine man. worthy of leading this optimistic and good hearted country. our faiths come together in the same moral creed. we believe that in every life, there is goodness. for every person, there is hope. each one of us was