do you borrow from capital accounts to pay for operating expen expenses? do you take a no tax pledge and then push them all on to fees? do you push expenses down to another level of government? that's what he did. he played a shell game in order to say that he was making progress and then he left a midwest on the doorstep of the next governor. >> governor patrick this time around. >> yes, i know. but you made tremendous progress under this governor in terms of trying to gain fiscal discipline and being responsible in how he's confronted some of these challenges. if you look at all the statistics, by the way, where massachusetts is today versus when romney left, starting with the job figure, 47th out of 50 during his term. massachusetts is now fifth in the nation in job creation under this governor.

>> what do you say about the demonstrators here on behalf of mitt romney? >> i think, look, this is the great pageant of democracy. but i do think that for those who are concerned about the issues of jobs, of debt, of spending, of the array of things we heard debated in this election, it would behoove to look at mitt romney's record here in massachusetts and pull back the curtain. he's not what he seems. the record is very clear on this. the studies when he left said the worst economic records in the country because he was about the business of deferring hard decisions, deferring investments in the future in order to advance his own political agenda. >> deval patrick endorsed elizabeth warren. he's also a surrogate for barack obama. did you have anything to do with that endorsement yesterday?

>> no, no. that was governor patrick's endorsement. we have all made clear about our feelings about elizabeth warren. >> what about marissa, the challenger? >> i'm not here to engage in discussion of the primary. >> wondering if you have any comment on bain capital. >> the issue isn't that. the issue is are the principles that work in private equity and in leverage buy outs, do they transfer to government? and what the president has said and others have said is that the principle there is to maximize your profit for yourself and your inforvestor. it's not about job creation. there are a lot of jobs destroyed in that process. it's purely about making money

for yourself and your investors. that's fine. but it's not a prescription for leadership as we saw in massachusetts. he tried to bring those same prin principles to massachusetts and the middle class suffered, the state lagged far beyond the nation in job creation, incomes declined. that's what happens when you're trying to translate those principles into the governance of a state or country. >> thank you. c-span's political coverage of campaign 2012 continues tonight with the final debate in the candidates for the recall election. scott walker and milwaukee mayor tom barrett. the debate from last night was

hosted by wisn tv inwalk and marquette law school. it airs tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. and from this year's national cable and telecommunications association convention, we'll bring you panels on the film and music distribution with the ceos of comcast. . a discussion on cable news and innovation in the industry. and the 2012 presidential campaign with msnbc host chris matthews, john king, and maria salin salinas. that's tomorrow, saturday on c-span. each sunday evening at 7:30 now through labor day weekend, american history tv features the contenders, 14 key political figures who ran for president and lost but changed political history. this sunday the great compromiser, henry clay.

>> his famous comment, i would rather be right than be president still speaks to us. it's a call to people all across whatever we're doing. whether we're in politics, it's to do the right thing. he also said in a sense that politicians need to remember their country and sacrifice for the kocountry. that's still something we need to remember as well. >> also this weekend, we'll feature the history of wichita as part of our visit to the largest city in kansas. american history tv this weekend on c-span 3. defense secretary leon panetta delivered the commencement address at the u.s. naval academy on tuesday. his remarks are 25 minutes. >> thank you very much. admiral and secretary amabas,

thank you for the great job you do. congressman, distinguished guests, parents, friends, families, deans and faculty, and above all the class of 2012. it is for me a very distint honor and privilege to take part in this very special occasion. as a secretary of defense. and let me first and foremost express my deepest congratulations to all of you in the class of 2012. you made it. [ applause ] and i'm sure that right about now your families are all saying, thank god you made it. it's also a real privilege for

me to be welcomed here on navy turf as a former army officer, although i have to tell you one of our three sons is a former navy officer who served in afghanistan. i try as secretary to be a loyal supporter of each of our great outstanding services. even when i had the opportunity to attend the army/navy game, my allegiance was to both teams. i sat on each side of the stadium. but i have to tell you that i'm getting a little tired, you're probably not, but i am, of the west point cheer, maybe next year, maybe next year, maybe next year. [ applause ] to the brigade, today's ceremony

is your last military duty of the academic year. after which most of you will go home, start summer train iing a of course, as you all know, a few of you can't leave the yard because you crossed the conduct system and are being held in commune ka to. however, i'm told that by tradition i'm expected to set you free. well, as an italian-american, i do things in the italian style, which means that obviously i treat the navy as family and i don't like anybody to mess with family. it also means that i can make you an offer you can't refuse.

so in exchange for freeing your classmates on restriction, i've got an offer. i want the entire brigade to leave the class of 2012 and their families in one big cheer. and i need to hear from everyone or it doesn't count. so let's hear a big go navy on my count. and remember, this is the difference between salvation or purgatory. so on three, one, two, three. >> go navy! >> well done. [ applause ]

i exercise my authority as secretary of defense to grant amnesty to all mid-shipmen on restriction for minor conduct offenses. as a catholic, i'm tempted to order you to say three hail marys in a good act of contrition. with that out of the way, let me first and foremost offer my deepest thanks. thank you to the class of 2012 and to all mid-shipmen for your decision to serve this nation at a time of war. you have set yourselves apart in a profound and in an honorable way. thank you also to all of those

in uniform, including the officers and senior enlisted leaders and instructors for your dedication and loyalty to our country. and finally, thank you to the families, the administrators, the professors, the mentors, and the friends that are here today. this is every bit your day to celebrate along with this extraordinary class of 2012. class of '12, over the past four years, you have passed an unrelenting test of character. you chose to give up the life of a normal college student and endure the demands of navy life. rising before dawn, putting on the uniform of our country,

standing watch, marching in formation. the highs and lows of your life here have changed you in ways that you may not fully understand for years or even decades to come. you experience some defining moments together as a class. you celebrated as plooefs when few of you pulled off a daring spirit mission, building an unmanned serial vehicle, flying it over the superintendent's house at night and using it to place a hat on top of the chapel dome. [ applause ] hell, i could have used you at the cia.

two years later, along with the rest of the country, you paid tribute to your navy breath ran who pulled off that great mission ridding the world of osama bin laden. [ applause ] and having had the honor of working on that mission as director of the cia, i will never forget the moment coming out of the white house after the president's announcement and hearing the cheers coming from the crowds that had spontaneously gathered outside the white house. usa, usa, and i know i heard cia, cia, as well. you are men and women from every state in the union and 12 foreign nations. rich and poor, secular and

religious, black, white, latino, native american, asian, straight and gay. diversity of this class is a tribute to the life and service of retired lieutenant commander wesley brown, class of '49, the first african-american graduate of the naval academy. [ applause ] wesley passed away last week at the age of 85 and today we honor his ground breaking legacy. and while your class progressed from the first honor of induction day up to this moment, the world has undergone its own

transformation. naval academy graduates have had a lot to do with that transformation. retired admiral mike mullin, class of '68, guided our military to fight with the right strategy in two wars and to be ready for future challenges. retired admiral eric olson, class of '73, lead special operations command in its efforts to go after al qaeda. general john allen, clat of '76, is leading the campaign in afghanistan with outstanding leadership. class of '77, commands u.s. pacific command and spear headed nato's efforts and campaign that lead to the fall of gadhafi. and the list goes on, to the chief of naval operations john

grener, and other naval academy alumni who are influencing events around the entire globe. throughout my time in government, i have relied on the vision and the advice of navy and marine corps officers. as president clinton's chief of staff, as director of the cia, and now as secretary of defense, because of their efforts and because of the sacrifices of brave men and women from across our services, today the united states stands at a strategic turning point after a decade of war. our combat forces have come home from iraq. nato just approved a plan last week in chicago.

a plan by general allen to fully transition the lead for security to afghan forces by the end of 2014. we have successfully gone from the leadership -- gone after the leadership of al qaeda to send a very clear message that no one, no one attacks the united states and gets away with it. [ applause ] and we successfully fought with our nato allies to give libya back to the libyan people. and yet, and yet we still face significant challenges and risks. we continue to face the threat of violent extremism. those who continue to threaten

attacks on our homeland. we're still at war. we confront the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the destabilizing behavior of iran and north korea, military modernization across the asia pacific, turmoil in the middle east, piracy on the high seas, and increasing and creative attac attacks, cyber attacks here in our country and elsewhere. all of this, all of this coming at a time of increasing budget challenges here at home. our nation now looks to you, the next generation of military leaders, to confront the challenges i just outlined, to protect our nation, and to ensure that america always has the strongest military force in

the world. that is the way it's always been. and that's the way it will always be. across the generations, the navy and marine corps have lead our nation and our military into the future. it's up to your generation to ensure that our fleet remains unrivalled by any other nation on earth. and that's why you came here. for the challenge of leading others at sea, deploying to every part of the world, taking risks in the skies, fighting ferociously ashore, and giving our enemies hell wherever you find them. after you leave here, the challenge that i just outlined

is exactly what you'll get and it won't be easy. you'll need every quality that got you through the last four years. love of country. the desire to learn. the will to work hard. the will to sacrifice. the judgment to make good decisions. and the drive to overcome any odds. no one can tell you what challenges you will face in the future. but one thing is for sure. you must be prepared to respond to whatever threats we confront in the future. with courage. with creativity. and with leadership. adapting to new challenges is what the naval service does best. this is not a time for playing it safe.

it's a time for imagination. a time for initiative. a time for putting new ideas into action. that has always been at the heart of the naval service. at the dawn of the republic, commadore pribble urged young officers to take the navy in new directions. during the war of 1812, his boys provised a flotilla that defeated the british on lake erie. during the civil war, david farragut and his young officers embraced the new technology of iron ships, blockaded the rebel states and doomed the rebellion. his famous words are one of

history's finest expressions of initiative and they are built into your very bones. vice admiral miller tells me that you can finish this one so, let me hear it from all of you loud and clear. damn the torpedos. that initiative is what carried us through the generations. when teddy roosevelt sent the great fleet around the world, the admirals at that time didn't want to bring along the brand new destroyers. that didn't sit well with the group of very young lieutenants and so these enterprising junior officers found roosevelt aboard his presidential yacht and asked him to overrule the admirals. roosevelt did. proving junior officers can have the best ideas, you just have to

have the guts to prove it. down through time our nation has needed military leaders with that kind of vision. chester nimitz's screen formations to push the japanese back across the pacific. the bold plan to put nuclear power on ships and submarines and grace hopper's computer genius that anticipated a network fleet. the future is no different. and that's why we developed a new defense strategy. adapting to the budget requirements that we face, but more importantly to ensure that our military can meet the challenges of the 21st century. our military force for the future must be agile. it must be flexible. i want must be deployable.

it must be technologically advanced. we'll emphasize asia pacific as well as the middle east. he'll strengthen alliances and partnerships around the world. we'll protect investments in new capabilities from cyber to unmanned systems to space to special operations forces. the navy and marine corps are fundamental to every element of that strategy. america is a maritime nation, and we are returning to our maritime roots. one of the key projects that your generation will have to face is sustaining and enhancing american strength across the great maritime region of the

pacific. america's future prosperity and security are tied to our ability to advance peace and security along the arc extending from the western pacific and east asia into the indian ocean and south asia. that reality is inescapable for our country and for our military which has already begun broadening and deepening our engagement throughout the asia pacific. one of your great challenges as an officer in the navy will be to ensure the peace and prosperity of the asia pacific region for the 21st century. we need you to project america's reflpor t america's character. to serve on ships and submarines throughout that region. we need you to do the important

work of strengthening and modernizing our historical alliances with japan, with korea, with australia, the philippines, with thailand. we need you to build robust partnerships throughout that region, countries like malaysia and indonesia, with vietnam, singapore and india and others. we need to you strengthen defense ties with china. china's military is growing and modernizing. we must be vigilante. we must be strong. we must be prepared to confront any challenge. but the key to that region is going to be to develop a new era of defense cooperation between our countries. one in which our military shares security burdens in order to advance peace in asia pacific and around the world. tomorrow i depart on a trip to

southeast asia. and later this year i will visit china for the first time as secretary of defense. i'll tell all of these nations that the united states will remain a pacific power. and i'll tell them why. because of you. because during your careers, many of you will be headed to the pacific. there and across the globe, the navy and marine corps must lead a resurgence of america's incurring maritime. as graduates of the navy academy you've earned much and you've been given much. and now as navy and marine corps officers, we'll ask that you give much of yourselves to

service to this country. it is about giving back something this country. that's what service is all about. as secretary of defense i could not be more proud of all of you for choosing to serve this great country. as mentioned, i'm the son of italian immigrants and as a young boy i once asked my dad why did you travel all of that distance, coming to a strange country, no language ability, no money, no skills, why would you do that? my father said that he did it because he and my mother believed they could give their children a better life in america. that is the american dream. it's the dream that we all want for children. to have a better life. and it's that dream that depends on people like you who are

willing to serve and to fight for america. a u.s. navy ship captain once wrote that he could think of no greater prize for anyone than an appointment to the naval academy for as he put it, there may be more money elsewhere, but there is no more honor anywhere. indeed there is no more honor anywhere than right here. and as you leave here, carry that honor with you. defend it. fight for it. and yes, if necessary, die for it. the honor is yours. now earn it. congratulations to all of you. god bless you. god bless the navy, the marine corps and fair winds to the class of 2012.