did not much care for anybody else. shammy's favored spot in the office was in front of the desk, a sure-fire way to keep staff meetings short. shammy was called to his final home. in cubbyholes, you could hear soft murmurs of, thanks be to god, thanks be to god. shortly after shammy's departure, i expressed sympathy to the senator for his loss. he said, shammy is up there running through fields of gold, chasing the rabbits. perhaps so. .

>> it was decided the time had come to call home the blue bomber. a show of hands if you know the blue bomber. a show of hands if you ever rode in a blue bomber. a show of hands if you ever requested a ride in a blue bomber. of course you did not.

senator told you to get in and you got in. for the uninformed, the blue bomber was the means by which he transported himself from his home in chevy chase to the senate and from capitol hill to every corner of maryland. sometimes it was heavily laden with the odor of manure, and sometimes with the manure fresh from the farm. refused to call the blue, an automobile. i believe it was one of the vehicles that landed at the beach of normandy. it took direct hits all the way to berlin. that is the way it looked with the senator behind the wheel and shammy slobbering in the back seat. the serenity of heaven would be restored by calling the blue bomber home to be made into a

dwelling place for shammy. the response here on earth was tremendous. from connecticut avenue, from the department of motor vehicles, people could be seen wiping tears of joy and gratitude from their eyes. the blue bomber was finally off the street. unfortunately, it landed just outside the gates of heaven. the sight of the blue bomber and a barking and snarling shammy hardly a welcome sign to the new arrivals, many of whom started considering the alternatives. simply put, the blue bomber and shammy were good company.

when we speak of heaven, we speak of a place where people have been toward, the dead have been raised, demons have been cast out. in heaven, all things are possible, except as it turned out, nobody could start the blue bombers. it was imperative that their owner, the honorable charles mathias be called home. because all of the company of having to shout hallelujah, all luria, hallelujah. heaven is an even better place because maccabaeus -- mac mathias is there. it is not unusual for people to start reaching for examples and grand moments that illustrate the achievement of the person being honored. i need not do that. all of us have had those moments with mac mathias, moments where

we saw him at his best, standing up for those too weak to stand up for themselves. we have a memory of him at all loneliest figure on the floor of the senate calling for richard nixon to tell the truth about watergate. he helped craft the civil rights act of 1964. as a senator, he passed voting rights in legislation. he defended the bill of rights by introducing a bill about wiretaps. he was the sponsor a post- watergate reforms. he ran for reelection campaign without tax money in $100 limits on campaign contributions. senator mikulski, he ran against you. he managed to do that will not

be told for 50 years until all of us are dead. then there was the war powers act, the efforts to end the vietnam war, the of birds that led him to demonstrate the will and wisdom to reserve chesapeake bay. there is no way to capture his essence. there is a moment i will always remember. you'll not find it in congressional records or the archives of his speeches. you'll not find it in gatherings where he was the center of attention. it was a moment in the chamber, a moment as forgettable an obscure -- and obscure, but it told me much about the man that i were a year. the issue is not important. -- a man that i revere.

the issue is not important. the point of order was ruled against, something unusual for that time occurred. an appeal was taken. the question before the senate was whether to sustain the chair. as we are wont to do, we prepared. who made the appeal? what was the underlying issue? how would the senators vote? for mac mathias it was a separate issue. regardless of where his friends and party stood, regardless of the popularity, those things were less important. partisanship would not influence his vote neither would french. -- neither would friendship. good order, fairness also

depend on this. he would vote to sustain the ruling of the chair. that spirit of independence and the principles of good government informed many. he saw the place of government as standing behind, not in front of the constitution. the dictates of law ensures equal rights and values that could not be subjected to sentiment. the american creed allowed no less. some said he was a renegade. if so, then so were thomas jefferson and teddy roosevelt. so was martin luther king, and yet this gentleme could manage o hold -- gentle man could manage

to hold his tongue when all around were losing theirs. how did he manage to hear them out without getting caught up in the argument? he said that he learned a lesson from the late speaker sam rayburn when they served together in the house of representatives. colby, they cannot get you for what you do not say. i learned from my hero that there were other moments when words would simply fail, times when we cannot make things happen, when nothing can be done, when hollow places cannot be built, and things must come to an end. sometimes when that happens, he told me, the only thing left to do is put your leg up on the wagon wheel and weep right along with them. when the celebration is over,

when the songs have ended, the joy has subsided, the date slips into night, the sorrow and pain and the cry of suffering sink in, the only thing left to be done is to lean against the wagon wheel and weep. >> i would like to add my thanks to each of you for coming today. it is a true honor to us and to dad. i know how much it would have meant to him to see everybody here. rob and colby done a lovely picture of painting thought

-- done a lovely job of painting a picture of data. i would love to share some words that i came to understand work pictures -- windows into the type of person dad was an wanted to be. i should explain why they are in france. he loved his country, profoundly. love to maryland, deeply. frederick had a special place in his heart. you could not find a greater citizen of the world than dad. reveled in the narrow streets and grand boulevards, loved the desert ruins and teeming cities , and at the open spaces. farmland was precious. of the would be the first to agree that when a man is tired of london, he is tired of life, he had a jeffersonian fascination with french.

fascination that animated our conversations until the end. it may seem odd, but not so much. he was a tremendous student and deep reader of history. he felt that french history during the tumultuous years of the 18th century or an encyclopedia of teachable moments involving power, politics, and personal responsibility, irony, and sorrow, that remain relevant to us today. in particular, he thought it was nothing short of a miracle that the french declaration of the rights of man was written at virtually the same time as our own bill of rights, without the benefit of telephones, e-mails, or bloggs. he said there was power in french words. he liked to use a phrase [speaking french] the translation is "think in french." he meant "think like the french

." he used this to coach an ungrateful teenager -- that would have been me. these words were another reflection of a deep courtesy that was one of his hallmarks. he felt the courtesy was deserved by all people whether at the top of the day, in a policy debate, or around the dinner table, where just when one was barring the parties -- borrowing the car keys. his courtesy was not weak needed -- weak-kneed. it was strong and determined. combined with another french word, it made him an extraordinary and effected person, professionally and to his family. he liked persevered as a word because he understood the power

of its meaning. it means to persevere, to press on, to keep moving even if the moving gets very tough. this is how we thought to advance civil rights, saved the chesapeake bay. it explains his concern for the environment and why he planted acorns that the found at the capitol. they embody the oak tree's will to live on and a legacy that should last far beyond as all. -- us all. he lived his model until the very end. i am sure none of you would be surprised that he renewed his passport a few months ago. nor would you be surprised to learn, as we did the other night, that just to two weeks before he died, he paid a visit to the senate, greeting the guards, welcoming visitors, and meeting old friends in a place he truly loved.

while he lived his life with civility and perseverance, it must be confessed that he also lived a little on the fly. i also think of another french word. to improvise. he would make it up as he went along. this led us to great and memorable adventures, keeping peacocks, raccoons, rams in chevy chase, raising chesapeake bay retrievers that burt gentle giants -- were gentle giants. or turning a simple errands on the way home into a visit with the president and his helicopter. he was really quite wonderful. i know a lot of this was accompanied by serendipity. i am sure there are people throughout this great church to know what i mean and dad knew it , too.

ann mathias, our mother, and dad's wife and partner, she shared much of the adventure and work. she was known as mrs. m. i acknowledge the work she did to help dad, do e-- and to ensure his work was transformed into a resounding successes. we love you for that. team dad included the rest of us, he loved us all. team dad included everyone here today. it is an amazing group of family, friends, and staff, as well as people from maryland, across the country, and around the world to believe in and worked for him. i would like to say thank you from the bottom of my heart.

he did not improvise about today however. he left us with plenty of room to maneuver, but he was quite specific about certain things he wanted. in particular, he asked that we all join in a special prayer that gave him great comfort in his last days. as a final way for us to stick with that, i would like us to say the prayer which is in your programs. let us pray. oh, lord. support us all the day long, until shadows lengthen, an evening comes, and the busy world is hushed. in the mercy, grant us a safe lodging and a holy rest in peace at the last. amen.

♪ [organ plans and choir sings]

♪ ♪ you are lovely in your dwelling place, oh, lord in thy dwelling place, oh, lord, oh, lord. ♪ ♪

♪ my soul and body cryeth out my soul and body cryeth out ♪ how lovely is thy dwelling

place, oh, lord oh, lord of hosts thy dwelling place, oh, lord of hosts ♪ [singing continues]

♪ we praise thy name ever more ♪ we praise thy name ever more, ever more we praise thy name ever more we praise thee ♪ we praise thy name ever more

♪ how lovely, how lovely how lovely, how lovely how lovely, how lovely how lovely how lovely is thy dwelling place ♪ >> charlie and rob, sarah, and

your magnificent broad daughters -- granddaughters, remember what i told you girls. no boys till you are 30. you had a wonderful grandfather. we are here today to celebrate. i must say we also mourn with you. it is a tough time when you lose a father, husband, so devoted, grandpa. the united states senate, many of whom are here, former members, and present members. state of maryland, the entire country mourns with you. we understand we have lost a

great man, a fierce leader, a believer in right, good, and true. i lost a fellow who was a mentor of mine when i first came to the senate as a 29-year-old kid. you were saying, rob, that your dad, or maybe it was charlie, he taught you patience, kindness, and humility. i got most of them, except for the patience. he had to work awful hard on me on that one. i served with him for 14 years. many served longer that are sitting here. there were my first years in the senate. i learned long after he left our chamber that the whole time i served with him he was truly looking out for me. he had taken me under his wing. i guess i kind of knew that from

the first time i met your mom and dad. ann might remember this. it was in january, 1973. i had just made it to the senate later than most of my colleagues. we were riding a bus -- i was riding a bus with the ann and mac where we had just attended a memorial service for president johnson. the bus was heading to the ranch in stone wall, texas, for the burial. it was only about an hour's ride. but in that hour, i learned about the profound depths of compassion and the towering heights of dignity of your mother and father. ann, you were so kind to me on that ride. on that bus, i learned what it meant to serve my country with a

keen mixture of ferocity in greece -- and grace. i learned what it meant to lead. i remember getting off the bus and feeling better about being in the senate. i had just lost my wife and daughter in an automobile accident and my two boys were still hospitalized. the way you put your arms around me and literally and figuratively, it was when it became clear to me that charlie and rob, both our dads had something in common about the work perseverance. -- the word perseverance. i was told that it was about persevering. i remember getting off the bus and thinking, i hope i can meet the lofty standards of the

couple i just had ridden two hours with. from mac, i learned about moral and political courage. an oft quoted robert kennedy lines said that -- mac served his country in the communications in the pacific in world war ii. as charlie and robb have pointed out, he had a keen intellect, gain from the time he spent at haverford, yale, and columbia. the only reason he is not a democrat is because he went to yale. it is most of all about his

moral courage, the rest of commodities that made him stand out from many of the zero great men and women with whom i have served. -- many of the great men and women with whom i have served. the senate historian pointed out to me that only 17 men in the history of the united states senate have served longer than i have. all i could hear was my father's phrase that that was the definition of a misspent adulthood. i mention that not because i lasted for a long time, but because i met a lot of great more women and men with whom i served. when i speak of him and his moral courage, it is not a as a casual observer. i had been there since 1972. he had that most rare of

commodities, moral courage. it made him stand out from many of the great women and men with whom i have served. he had values that he refused to walk away from. in today's political environment, people would run away in order to save their political skins. everybody forgets that as difficult as these days are, as rob pointed out, the 1960's were equally as difficult. they may have been more difficult and required greater clarity and moral courage. we were at one of those great inflexion points in american history. fortunately, we had men like mac and teddy kennedy.

political expediency, in my observation, never mattered were meant anything to mac. moral compromise meant even less. i will not recount, as i have attempted to do, because of the wonderful remembrances thus far, think about it. mac voting against and coming out against the vietnam war when incredible pressure was being placed on him as a loyal republican. mac, marching with the midst of a highly charged atmosphere, when most people were hoping to not have to talk to either one of them with the cameras on because they were such lightning rods. wonderful people, but such political lightning rods for significant parts of our

constituency. mac just went out and marched with them. campaigning -- campaign finance reform. oh, god, had he won. what a differen countryt this would be if he had prevailed on campaign finance reform. watergate -- not a very popular position to be in. i served with mac on the committees for the entire 14 years that we served together. watching him step up on issue after issue, i wondered how in god's name could he survive, particularly with political representation. as the bishops pointed out to me, it was noted that he voted with republicans 31% of the time. i used to give him and said he was really a democrat, but for

his pedigree. this french stop threw him off. my middle name is french. but i have overcome that. [laughter] all kidding aside, you have read a lot since his death about how he reached across the aisle. i never thought of him reaching across the aisle, i thought of him as never even recognizing there was an aisle. i never thought of him as having to go out of his way to reach across. it was who he was. there was no artificial divide. there was only principle. he approached every issue with his principles firm, but with his mind open. he had an open mind and would approach every issue that way.

to mac, right and wrong were not defined by whether or not you had a d or an r place after your name. you were defined by what was in your heart. mac never let any other force guide him but that one. i rely on the words of emerson who said whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you you're wrong. they're all or -- there are always difficulties. to map out a course of action and follow it to the end requires courage. it seemed to me your father never had a doubthat course he would set. it seemed to me that it was just instinctive with him, although he could articulate it in ways that are beyond my capabilities. he had his critics and heard

doubts from others. he harbored no doubt that i could observe about what he believed, no reservations about his core principles. freer people, a fairer system, equality for everyone. not just here in united states, but around the world. i remember one time i was just sort of disappointed in your dad. his wisdom was carrying him. we had george shultz testifying before our committee, a great man. we were hearing -- having a hearing on apartheid. secretary shultz was making the argument that we should not impose sanctions. i got very upset with something he said. i said very in, i am ashamed of this administration. before paul could get to me, i

know got slipped across to me st., -- saying, "calm down, big fella." i remember going to his office afterward. i was angry and fuming about this injustice. i thought mac, who along with teddy and others were my heroes in terms of civil rights -- how could he have not just eaten this guy alive for what he was st. -- saying? i walked into his office and that beautiful, lovely dog -- a kind of liked that beast. he had a little table in front of his desk with tea set on it. he got up from behind his desk.

i was still fuming. he walked around and he poured a cup of tea and said, "sit down, joe. this will help you." he tried to tell me, they cannot give you for what you do not say. you are saying to much. -- too much. i understand your heart. he ended up leading the fight to get the very objective of god blessed that i cared deeply about. -- to get the very objective accomplished that i cared deeply about. people that you admire the most are similar. mac and those people were identical. "the times"listed the senators he most admired. james albright, john sherman

cooper, george taken, clifford case. that is my list, too, except i would add mac mathias. these men formed the intellectual and moral compass of the united states. they came from different parties and different backgrounds but shared one thing in common. the believed in basic human decency, gender and racial equality. they belonged to a political party, but they were patriots burst -- first. they viewed themselves, as i observe them -- observed them, they started from the premise that there represent the american people. mac was part of the moral

compass and his true north pointed toward what was best for the people of maryland and our country and the world. people today think that to march out of lockstep with your political party and to speak out independently is some sort of a new form of courage. it has been around a long time, it has just been pretty rare these days. it has always been in rare supply. it was in rare supplied then. -- rare supply then. mac was speaking out independently a generation ago. if the did not invent what it meant to be independent of mind in the united states, he helped define and master it. he was also a gentleman, graceful without pretense. he would have a way of calming

things, without backing down from how deeply he felt about an issue or principal. le. he was calm all the time, at least in my observation. he was the call in the center of the storm and there were many storms. he was the voice of reason, at times when reason itself was a very rare commodity. i like to think of him, who suffered greatly, as being in a much better place now. hopefully he will greet us with a warm smile, standing up in his rumpled suit, serve as a glass of tea and say, "sit down and welcome." you are missed.

i think you're looking down on us and i implore you to send a little of your steadfast belief in unity and common cause and ideals that transcend politics and breed it into this whole -- breathe it into the souls of those on the hill. may your spirit guide us all, mac. those of us who knew and loved you will be forever pulled along by your undying decency that laid at the heart of everything you did. ann, when i think of mac, i think that the british historian thomas macaulay must of had them in mind when he wrote, "the measure of a man's

real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out." mac's one of the men that i am absolutely confident would have acted no differently under any of the trying circumstances he participated in, even if he knew he would never be found out. thank god we found out and had an opportunity to know how decent of a man he was. he could not have done it without you, ann. you are a lady and i am honored to know you. thank you for asking me to be here. ♪ [organ playing]

♪ [choir singing] ♪ [choir continues singing]

♪ [choir continues singing] ♪ [choir continues singing]

>> members of the tea party are holding their first national convention this weekend in nashville, tennessee. session features a discussion with angela mcglowan and joseph farah, founder and editor of worldnetdaily.com. it ought about issues and where they see the movement headed. this is about 50 minutes. >> even though our economy is

growing again, these are tough times. to many families cannot make ends meet. while yesterday we learned that the unemployment rate dropped below 10% for the first time since summer, it is still unacceptably high. to many americans still cannot find work. what we have to remember at a time like this is that we are not helpless in the face of our difficulties. as americans, we make our own destiny. before your own path. i am confident that as we come together and put aside the policies that are holding us back, we can do that again. we can rebuild its economy on a new, stronger foundation that leads to more jobs and greater prosperity. i believe a key part of that foundation is america's small businesses. the places where most jobs began. these companies represent the essence of the american spirit, the promise that anyone can succeed in this country if you have a good idea and the determination to see it through. once in awhile, these ideas to

not just lead to new businesses, but a new american product that forever changes the world. hewlett-packard began in a garage. google began as a simple research project. government cannot create these businesses, but it can give entrepreneurs the support they need to open their doors and expand or hire more workers. that is what we have always done in this country. the folks at southwest wind power in flagstaff, ariz., started their company and a small home. since getting all loan from the small business administration, they have sold 160,000 wind turbines to 90 different countries and are hiring even more workers today. when sam kohl walked into a small business mellons center in -- small business development center in illinois, he did not have any business experience at all. he was given a loan and a business plan, and today his company is still growing with offices all over the midwest. last year, the steps we took

supported over 47,000 loans to small businesses, and delivered billions of tax breaks to small business owners which helps companies keep their doors open, make payroll, and hire workers. but we can and must do more. that is why proposed a series of steps this week to support small business owners and the jobs they create, to provide more access to credit, more incentives to hire, and more opportunities to grow and sell products all over the world. because financing remains difficult for credit or the small businesses across the country, i propose that we take $30 billion from the top funds -- part of fund -- t.a.r.p. fund originally used for wall street and create a new small business lending fund that will provide capital for community banks on main street. these are the small, local banks that will be able to give small business owners more of the credit they need to stay afloat. we should continue to waive fees, increased guarantees, and

expand the size of loans for small businesses. yesterday i propose making it easier for small business owners to refinance their mortgages during these tough times. to give these companies greater incentives to grow and create jobs, i proposed a new tax credit for more than 1 million small businesses that hire new workers or raise wages, as well as the elimination of all capital gains taxes on small businesses. we should provide targeted support to the most innovative small businesses, the ones with the greatest potential to export goods and products all over the world. a lot of these companies are the foundation on which we can rebuild our economy to compete in the 21st century. we just need little help securing the financing they need to get off the ground. we have every incentive to help them do that. next week, congress will start debating many of these proposals. if anyone has additional ideas to support small businesses and create jobs, i am happy to consider them. my door is always open.

i urge members of both parties, did not oppose good ideas just because it is good politics to do so. the proposals i have outlined are not democratic or republican. they are pro-business, pro growth, and pro jobs. leaders in both parties have supported similar ideas in the past. so let's come together and pass these measures without delay. let's put more americans back to work and give our small- business owners support to do what they have always done, the freedom to pursue their dreams and build our country's future. thanks for listening. >> i serve as the no. 2 republican on the house budget committee. some of you may have seen me on television last week when i had the opportunity to ask the president if his new budget would once again triple the national debt and dramatically increase the cost to government to 25% of the economy, up from its traditional 20%. as you recall, the president declined to answer the question

last week, but he certainly answered this week by submitting a new budget that does exactly what i feared. the numbers in his budget are simply breathtaking. a record $3.80 trillion in spending, more than $2 trillion in new job crushing taxes, not to mention a tripling of the national debt on top of the largest deficit in our nation's history. interest payments alone on this debt will set us back six trillion dollars over the next decade. that is about $50,000 per household. you probably believe that in america, you should work hard today so your children can have a more prosperous tomorrow. with this budget, let's live easier today so our children have to work harder tomorrow. this time last year they promised that if we pass their stimulus bill and grew big government even more that jobs would be created immediately. they said unemployment would

remain below 8%. republicans stood on principle and offered a better alternative. according to an analysis it would have created twice the jobs at half the cost. the democrats chose to go it alone and gems through their stimulus. -- jam through their stimulus. what did the american people get? a bill for $1.20 trillion and 3 million more jobs lost. americans are still asking, where all the jobs? all they are getting from washington is more spending, more taxes, more debt, and more bailouts. when it comes to budget matters, i usually find myself agreeing with about 80% of what the president says, but i disagree with 80% of what he does. while the president's budget proposal gives a nod to the problem,he puns the problem to

a commission that does not yet exist. his recommendations may never see the light of day. we have to do better. his proposed spending freeze is not really a freeze at all. it exempts 86% of the federal budget from the freezer and does not turn on the freezer until next year, then turns it off shortly thereafter. when you run the numbers, the president's idea of fiscal responsibility amounts to choosing to grow government by 49% over 10 years instead of 49.27%. we have got to do better. serious fiscal responsibility requires more than tinkering around the margins. republicans have proposed adopting strict budget caps that limit federal spending on an annual basis and are enforceable by the president. these camps were a critical -- these caps were a critical point in the fiscally responsible budget alternative republicans proposed last year, and they were noticeably absent from the president's budget.

the federal budget must never be allowed to grow faster than the family budget ability to pay for it. you can learn more about our better republican budget solutions on the web at solutions.gop.gov. so, you pile up this democrat spending,at all their borrowing and debt to their government takeover of health care and their continued bailouts. is it a little wonder that job growth is lagging in our economy? small business owners and investors tell me every week, we are not taking the risk to start or expand a business in this climate. we cannot continue on this reckless path, and the american people know it, but is that to democrats in washington to listen and change course. we are willing to work with them, but we will continue to stand on principle and oppose more reckless washington spending. we will fight for solutions that make government live within its means. our budget plan will help create jobs, prevent a fiscal

calamity, and give our children a brighter economic future. thank you for listening. >> next on c-span, a discussion on the future of the tea party movement. former alaska gov. sarah palin speaks to the tea party convention in nashville. falling back, president obama's -- the following that, president obama -a. >> paul johnson, author of over 40 books, his latest is on winston churchill. join our conversation with your phone calls with him live from monday. >> members of the tea party are

holding their first national convention this weekend in nashville, tennessee. this session features a discussion with some party organizers on the future of the moment. it is about an hour. >> thank you. thank you. this is our forum on the future of the tea party movement. by the way, i have been asked to make a couple of quick announcement. a couple people have lost cameras. one is blue the other is in a blue and black bag. if you see them, turn them into the command center. we have a panel of incredible people who are going to talk about where we are going from here. 2010 is a huge year of change for the tea party movement. everybody is going to talk briefly about what they think is going to happen.

airborne to open the floor to questions. if you want to ask a question, think about your question before you get to the microphone. be very brief when you get to the microphone to allow more people to participate. we do have our friends on a sound board. if you get too long, we've helped to cut you off -- we will have to cut you off. our panel. >> thank you, justin. >> from memphis, tennessee, mark skoda. [applause] you know you are special in the movement when you are identified by a single name. dave. [applause] what i want to do to start with

is go down the line and get folks -- i want you to talk real quick about what you think the tea party movement is doing right now and where you think we need to go in the next two to three months. >> as i said earlier, i think we have huge momentum right now. we a lot of energy. we need to harness that, get more people engaged, focus on the primaries coming up. that is our number one priority. we will -- after primaries, we will look into the elections. get behind your candidates. these candidates -- it takes them money to run. it is great when we send e- mails, but they need money, too. if you can donate in the lead and what they're doing, and encourage you to do that. we need to unify, stay focused, and keep moving forward. >> i have been saying all lot

the last few days. fundamentally, the energy needs to be taken back and the leadership needs to follow. we need to arrange a level of discourse. >> speak up, they cannot hear you. >> i am sorry. i think the tea party movement needs to go back and animate your followers, divide the leadership skills. it is nothing more than getting out in front. the movement is maturing. it is important that we support candidates. this is about elections, not education alone. i think people here understand that. myriad people here this weekend -- we are not a bunch of region lunatics. we are people with skills, knowledge, capabilities, and we love our country. [applause] i think in that sense, the tea

party movement is maturing. we need to continue education and continue to represent that in a dialogue that goes above the din of the majority and goes above name calling. i'm grateful to see that. [no audio] [applause] >> dave. >> david d. will be fine. i represent part of the triangle region of north carolina. thank you. i agree we need to take the energy back with us. we are moving forward. we have things plan. we're putting on a town hall in the raleigh convention center. we have several speakers and hopefully we will have one from judicial watch. .

we went to our representative that is running in the fourth district against david price, one of the worst of the worst. there is a conspiracy. this man is so bad, he voted not to defund acorn. [groans] we went to one and they said they would like to be an hour debate. that area is very corrupt.

we have what they called gerrymandering. we had two different house districts converge on us. big jump in. we went for the 13th. they jumped in, too. we are going to have a candidate debate in raleigh n.c. they want our support and what our boats -- and they want our votes. we hope to show washington and north carolina that we are still around and we are coming for the north carolina general assembly this time. [applause] >> the next question for all three panelists in no particular order, should the tea party move indoors specific and that customer -- a move that endorse -- movement in doors specific templates? as i said before, you win

elections by endorsing something and promoting them and their candidacy. my perspective is that the tea party movement needs to support and endorse candidates to win. otherwise, you will be represented by somebody do not support. if you simply want to agitate, have at it, but that is not how you get people elected. you still have to vote. you need to know about your elected official. in that context, i am very committed to endorsing candidates as an individual. [applause] >> i will agree on one wall.

we can go and educate people by having the debate, but if you are going to stay true, you can't lose your focus. if you cannot take your initiative to do your own research, you should not be voting. [applause] >> i have to agree with what mark said. we do need to endorse candidates in our local communities. we know that politics is local. there are more to be groups that endorsed politicians or candidates across the country. as long as they stick to those principles and values, i imagine that we will be endorsing the same people. i think that our job is to not only get behind candidates but also to educate so that people vote on principle and values and not according to the letter

next to somebody's name. that has to happen before you go into the voting booth. [applause] >> for those of you that wanted to ask questions, you are going to get a chance, now. do we have a mike runner? >> if you want to ask the panel requested, think about it and can't get your -- hold up your hand. the perception is that in last february or last election, the tea party union was solidified. i did not know about n.c.. i know it has happened in memphis. none of us are thrilled with the idea of some of the bitter attacks that some groups have launched on us, but as far as

the tea party movement, it is a unified movement or a bunch of separate movements. what is the best? >> you are right. i have been under attack. as some horrible, mean things. but it does not matter. you can kick me off the board and you can take a title away from me but that is not what gives me the power to do what i do. no one can take that away. [applause] >> at the end of the day, as long as i am standing on the front lines with the west of you, i feel like i am doing my job -- the rest of you, i feel like i'm doing my job. we will remain vigilant and be successful in what we set out to do. it does not matter what group you are with, as long as you stick to those principles and values. [applause]

>> much has been set in the press about this to this of the spirit is divided because we are/states -- about this divisiveness. this is divided because we are divided by states. it is very apparent to me that there is a shared of value and a shared sense of place. i think that is a powerful element that some people have not understood. i would suggest that while there will be different views of how this matures and how certain actions are taken, that is what we celebrate if we are truly about america. in that sense, i do not act in a way to divide or suggest that other actions are wrong. at the end of the day, let the leaders determined the best course of action locally.

i think that is where we receive power. [applause] >> hopefully, everyone will be coming at 1:00 p.m. when we address what we are doing in north carolina. i think that everybody needs to agree that we will disagree on some things. we will never agree from one at t party group to the next. -- from one t party group to the next. -- one tea party group to the next. [applause] >> i know that a lot of people would probably like to ask questions. now is the time.

we are starting. here is what i want you to do. when you get the microphone, tell us your name, were you aware from and ask your question. >> i would like to ask and suggest that we pressure outburst date, our local and federal legislatures and candidates to certify under oath that when they are voting for a bill, that they have read it. [applause] otherwise, they should have to abstain. >> i think that most people within this movement would agree to that. how can you vote on something that you have not read? >> david? >> we have unlimited resources, so we have to pick our battles wisely.

i would like to see that and i would like to see the twentieth amendment -- keep the status short and say that this is how we can enact this legislation. that will keep these bills shorter. [applause] >> i will be divisive, del. at the end of the day, this is what the problem is. we have more laws and regulations that are destroying the fabric of this country by trying to institutionalize the behavior. -- good behavior. it happens for character. -- a 3 character. -- it happens the character through character. -- it happens through character. that is unnecessary and less you elect a person from main and

did you choose that person carefully and you that that person -- you vet that person. it is the shameful experience that our local elections are so under voted -- under-boded. -- under-voted. this is the point about what this movement should be on the education side. the responsibility at the voting booth is yours. this should be understood by the people that are making decisions. >> let me get a follow-up on that real quick. we did a town hall and a man a

said that he voted for a friend of his and he had all these grand ideas and we thought he had a good moral character. he called up and said he was a rock star. he said that he could get anything he wanted. he asked what the average time was in washington to corrupt a good moral man. two weeks. we have to clean up washington. >> i completely agree. [applause] >> somebody right here? >> my name is frank and i am from north carolina.

when i sign a contract, i do what i contractor to do. why cannot we ask our politicians to buy a $100,000 bond for $2,000 and the personable -- personally liable and the bonding company would pay the voters back? >> york too late. bondedtermlimits.com is online. they were at the same town hall. about was one of the men that responded. you put up a bond for $200,000. you say that if you do not lose -- if you do not do these things, you lose your money. >> thank you for being here. i am from shenandoah valley, virginia. to reference back to the supposed of divisiveness, may i suggest to everyone that when someone comes up to you and is

ugly or unpleasant or talking about divisiveness, why don't you simply look at them and ask them what our goal is. it is very simple. what is our goal? everyone of us has a singular goal. we want good government and constitutional governments. that is overriding all of the divisiveness. they may get their noses bit out of joint -- a bent out of joint. when you look at them say that you were angry about paying something, it is time to look at what your goals are as opposed to what our goals are. thank you. [applause] >> i will not a personal comment.

i have had a recent experience with divisiveness. just a little experience. one of the things that we need to do as the tea party movement is go back to ronald reagan. it ronald reagan's 11th commandment, thou shalt not speak evil of a fellow conservative. i think that we need to do the same thing as a movement one thing about the two-party -- p.t. party -- tea party and is the free-market of ideas. the market comes up with individual groups and ideas. that is how we got to be here today. maybe there is someone in this room that will come up with the next great idea. we need to sit there and support the movement and tell others to jump in. it does not matter who leads. you will get things done if you don't care who takes the credit. at that is where we need to be.

-- that is where we need to i talked to a judge and somebody was running their mouths and the judge said that you have the right to remain silent, but apparently not the ability. i think it was calvin coolidge that said that which you never say can never be held against you. sometimes, if you disagree, just go on and do your thing and let everybody try to get on board and achieve our goal. >> i am don curtis from florida. a reporter began to ask me a myriad of questions about all kinds of conservative issues and where the tea party is. my question to you is, do you

think the tea party movement will mature into being the big tent for conservative ideas? will it be brought and become more mainstream -- a broad -- will it become broad and become more mainstream? >> where we will be one year from now, no one knows. we need to -- and i >> we need to not touch social issues -- >> we don't need to touch social issues. will republican, democrat, libertarian, every person across the spectrum. i think that we need to stay focused on that. if we stay focused on those issues and unite, i think we will be more successful. [applause]

>> i would like to address this and last question to the other. i have been asked a lot about divisiveness. my answer has always been, "this convention will either be a success or a failure." whether it is a success or a failure depends on you, the people that paid the money and what we take, and report back. the future of the movement depends on you. we need to keep it at a grass roots level to get rid of the ego and get rid of the political agenda and take control of the country. >> i am having problems. >> next question? >> i am from tennessee.

since we've raised our debate from the grass roots movement, how does a person like me, who is not a candidate or a bush, but wants to become politically involved and get elected and represent people. how do i do that can balance the fact that i have to pay my bills and take care of my family. >> that is the question of government, isn't it? i would suggest to you that one of the things that we have found in shelby county is that 60% of the local offices from school board president to show the county commissioners that are not even being run by any republican conservatives. average citizens have not stepped up to contend with those things. if it is really grass roots, it is a leadership role in which you can influence policy.

you not always have to be congressmen or senators of the united states. it begins in your community. helping people achieve those efforts appeal local level, alternately, i can assess their effectiveness and their character and values that we want to embrace. you do not need to be a full- time employee. most of them are part-time jobs. get your feet wet. you can experience government. this is a process by which we legislate and represent our people. policy is the process by which we make our voices heard. as we have done here, we recruited a woman who is running in a largely democratic area. she is running as a

conservative candidate. those are things that we need to do. ultimately, you may not know how to run a campaign. you may not know how to run for office, but we need leadership. those members at the grass- roots level can develop those skills sets and sometimes just the moral support necessary to become successful, but first, you have to stand for something and then you have to run on it. >> i want to answer your question, but i was having technical difficulties. i have done what you are talking about doing. in 2002, i decided to run for local county commission. here's how you do it.

get involved with a political group. if not, you run without a team. you make a decision and you go out and collect your campaign signatures and make a list of your friends that will give you money. it is not the greatest feeling in the world to go out there and ask for money. especially to your friends and family, but you have to be able to do it. did you get out there and get involved and get somebody who knows what they are doing. a campaign manager is the most important person you will have working with you. your campaign manager will be a volunteer but you have to know somebody who has experience that can keep you out of trouble. it will take time cared when i ran for county commissioner, i was running my own practice and i was doing other things and have family obligations, but i took the time not to run. the final word of advice is to not get bit by a spider. [laughter]

>> i think -- i do not really know about running for office. i will never run for office. but one thing i am hearing lately, from many people is how important the money is. there are key party people running all across this country and i keep getting these emails deputy party activists are great at writing letters but are not contributing. these emails that tea party activists -- at these emails that the party activists these emails that -- these emails that the party activists are great writing letters but rep attributing. >> mainly if you do not have a conscience, it will not bother you. you have to belly up to the buzz saw. mark is the guy to talk to about this. who here is thinking about running for office? raise your hand if you're thinking about it. >> who is running for office?

can we have those that are running for office to please stand? >> what to give them my hand, people, please -- let's give them a hand, people, please you up to surround them. it is an angelica meeting if you will. pop them up and support the -- propped them up and support them. -- prop them up and support them. >> one of the things that i have had the privilege of being in front of groups and telling them is that the tea party group is not complaining about bad leadership.

we must replace bad leadership with good leadership. if you are out there and involved in this movement, you need to think about running for office. be it school board, county mayor, these are the crucial races. school board is how you influence the next generation. one thing that we will try to do is to work with mark. martineau's computer technology inside and out and i will tell you that i do not. computer technology makes the internet the great equalizer. you can run a campaign on thousands of dollars. >> can adam come up your immelman? -- come up here a moment? adam is an example of someone who ran as a common guy who decided to contend for the gubernatorial election for the state of illinois.

12 days ago, he was down 20 points. he brought in some local people and he lost by some 50,000 votes, but he came up to be a contender. he represents the best of what this movement is about. interestingly enough, i spoke with his campaign after the election. the next day, after they announced the loss -- by the way, the two top contenders were split by 500 boats. -- five riverboats -- 500 votes. he received e-mail saying that he had support. i hope we will hear from them in a bit. these are average people. one of the things i am frustrated by is that washington is some alien entity and for many, it is.

but they are you and me. they are people of america. they somehow lose their way or have never been properly assessed. do not discount the fact that they are still americans. without our support and our guidance and without holding them accountable, the goal of the road. -- they go off the road. as an american, i think about our system of government and the free enterprise system and everything that goes on and it is extraordinary even for the best of humankind. we have to have some empathy for that without degrading that they have decided to serve. think of what sarah palin has gone through.

she does not deserve that. none of us deserve that. as americans, i would encourage the tea party, in particular, to raise the dialogue and discount the name calling and be supportive of your elected officials. that is how we change america for the better. >> i agree with mark. but i also have to say that some of these that are dropped on power have to want to be helped or it is a lost cause. if they do not want to be held, it is time for them to go back home. >> help for a politician that is drunken on power is called retirement. >> one more comment on that, we were talking about what we can do. north carolina actually did it. there was a concerted effort

started to take a county school board. there were nine people on their and four seats were open for election. we took back the school board. they are one to get rid of diversity, year-round schools, and do you know what they said? "we didn't know we were supposed to come out and vote." that is how we can take back the country. [applause] >> who do we have next? >> good morning, my name is larry morris. my wife and i drove here from southern california. [applause] if i may give you a little bit of advice -- >> louder! " i read with a libertarian party and it was taking off pretty big and it just did not

get to where it should have. but to get back to stay unified with all the groups, my advice would be to stick with what i believe are three main issues and that is defending, the debt, and taxes. i believe that math is the lowest common denominator. stay focused on those issues. did not get split and divided and conquered. stay united. one final thing is the youth. go with the schools and get the young people and the high schools and the college and get involved with that big time. they are our future, thank you. >> that you for your comments

and your advice. i would agree with you on staying focused on those issues. when it comes to the youth, that is one of our biggest challenges. i have always been a conservative, and last spring, i went to the republican state convention in savannah and my 19-year-old daughter was with me. when we went into that convention center, the first thing that i noticed was the age of the people there. they were all great people, wonderful people, but there was no one there other than one young guy my daughter's age. we talked about it and it is obviously a challenge that we face. i am not sure what the answer to it is.

the answer lies out there somewhere. i would love to hear from someone who has the answer to bring you into this movement. it is something that we definitely need to be focused on. >> there is an easy answer. we need to make our schools schools again instead of indoctrination centers. [applause] >> take back the schools, take back the churches and take back the government and we will solve the problem. there is your 3. >> one of the things that we have done, we have a lot of issues we agree on. once you get beyond those issues, there are a lot of people who have different issues. what we need to do is work on the issues that we all agree on. the other things, some we will be on board with and others we will not, but the big issues of what we are together on, that is where we need to push the ball

forward. who is next? >> i am from hawaii and i am a community organizer. [applause] >> i moved to oklahoma in 1995 and wanted to retire and have a little bit of land and some horses, which you cannot do if you stay in hawaii. been there since 1995, i am now running for district to house of representatives -- district two house of representatives against an incumbent democrat that voted 90 to 8% of the party -- 90% with the party. i told him that -- a 98% with

the party. i told him that he needed to go back to washington. he did not vote because he was allowed not to. i want to share something with you from hawaii. this is my husband's birth certificate. [laughter] [applause] >> this is my son's birth certificate. there were born 30 years apart. this piece of junk is what you get if you do not have one of these. do you want to take a lot? >> thank you. -- do you want to take a look?

>> i need everybody's help. i have been with all of you the whole way. i have decided to challenge the incumbent and i have the support of all the tea party members. i have t-shirts for $15. if i can get $440 to take home with me, i can buy 2500 cards. >> we are starting to run up against a time crunch. we will take two more questions than we will have final words for our panel and we will have to get ready for the next event. >> i am jeff and i think i am the only montana native here. we keep talking about focusing on core issues. i keep hearing that we refer to

ourselves as conservative. that is not a bad thing, but it is a word that has connotations. i'm just wondering if maybe we should refer to ourselves as patriots as opposed to cubs -- as opposed to conservatives. >> i will take that one step further. you can take 10 people that say that they are conservative and you will get 10 different answers as to what that means and what that represents. here is what my wife always record -- always yells at me. what is the difference between a patriot and a conservative? a patriot will do anything he can do to take back this

country. he knows what has to be done and he will do it. life, fortune, sacred honor means something to some people. [applause] >> we talked about this definition. language has differed connotations. if we have tried to create the national 2 party of america, you can't even vote for anybody in chelsea county unless you live there. the issue about whether we are clearly defined and how we view ourselves in a definitional role is not as important on the local level. i am less concerned about where the national movement goes as i m of making sure that as i am of making sure that people vote. -- as i am of making sure the people vote. we tend to try to see these

movements as something unique and differentiated over history. what is unique that is going on is that for the first time, conservatives that have expected people to do the right thing are now stepping up to hold them accountable to do the right thing. only you, for your votes and actions can you determine that. if you are finding that you are looking to the wrong things. your vote is the only thing that matters. you can raise your voice. many of you have been injured by the press. some of you were misquoted. what i will tell you is that you need to dismiss that because no one is shooting you.

no one is trying to take your life in america. in that sense, we can be proud that the difference of opinions that we share with one another about who we are does not need someone else's definition. i am encouraged as an american, a conservative, republican, a father and son. if we try to develop a philosophy around this movement, then we lose our focus. energy should not be spent on trying to establish some unique platform or some unique element of a new constitution. [applause] when i did a survey on the memphis to party, it was amazing to me that 97% of the people

that responded had never been to an event of this nature. more importantly, half of them had not voted recently. you cannot be someone who suggests that you wish to change america without boating. if you do not vote -- without voting. if you do not vote, then do not interrupt me because you did not to legitimize -- did not legitimize your citizenry by voting. >> i want to echo what mark said. you can call the conservative, you can call me patriot, but first and foremost, i am an american. i want to protect my rights to call myself what i want. >> there were four pages that were written long ago that do

not need to be rewritten. that is what it needs to be an american. >> right. [applause] >> who do we have for the last question? >> item from indiana. i would like to thank all of you for this convention. it has been fabulous. >> of but you for coming. -- a think you for coming. -- thank you or cumming. >> one way to turn people off is to ask for money. i know that it has to be done. my question is, other than just outright asking for the money, what would you recommend as far as students are concerned -- as events are concerned to raise money. >> that is the question. you are here, you are spending your money. let us not be an ambivalent about that. it takes money to win. asking for a check in sales is a pretty standard. i get nine nos and i get one yes and i make my money. if you do not get money, you ask them for time. if they will not provide their

time, then go onto the next possible person. we do t-shirts, we do printings, and we obviously ask people to subscribe. the radio show that i do in memphis, i go out and i sell radio time to find my radio show. -- to find my radio show. -- to fund my radio show. you go out and you learn -- you earn your living and you bring the cashin. do not be ashamed of asking for the dollars that are necessary to support you. they will not think it will -- it will not think elihu if you ask politely. -- they will not think ill of you if you ask politely. >> we will leave this event to go live to former republican presidential candidate seru i kn,

here. how many folks are here from tennessee? >> this is a great state and we thank everyone from tennessee for showing hospitality. for you tennessean, i would like to invite you to say when the clock meet and greet -- at 1:00 for a knee injury. he wants to meet you. he is running for governor -- for a meet and greet. this is how we help people move through the political process. please join us at 1:00 p.m. upstairs. i would encourage all of you to get to know these people. i had the good fortune of

meeting george w.. this was at the wildhorse saloon on second avenue. he did a fund raiser and i was interested to hear him. when you touch someone, it actually shares an immediate bond. when you look person in the eye and you ask them a question, do not ever believe that you are below anyone in elected office. you are equal in every sense of our constitution and a lot. -- and the law. >> technology is the great equalizer. and technology and the internet have revolutionized fangs. if you are thinking about running for office and trying to raise money, get some good

technical people on your side. you can now send out palin. and other types of advertising. -- you can now send out robo- calls. the patriots would be hiding behind trees and picking them off. we have to operate like that. we are going to wrap up because we are running out of time. to wrap up, but i would like to ask our panel -- what i would like to ask our panel is where you think the two-party is going, where you think it should be going and where will we be six months or a year from now. we will start on the far end with david. >> we will be continuing this at

the 1:00 p.m. at 2:00 p.m. session. -- and 2:00 p.m. session. we will be dependent on what happens with other things that are happening around us. i do not know what will happen with the monetary crisis. should that stop us from planning? no, we need to plan for the best. it is up to us to go back and lead the groups that we represent. i think that if you allow yourself to be cast about on the waves of the decision, we will be nowhere. if you build the boat and broke apart in one direction, we will be winning 2010. i am convinced of that every single day as i meet people like yourselves that understand their role and responsibility. the tea party movement is not a party, but a rallying cry for

the citizen rairy. i am absolutely optimistic. the 600 of you will apply to tens of thousands and perhaps millions and influences that we have as leadership, that we all have as a responsibility will make the tea party knew that -- the tea party movement allow us to successfully achieve the kind of changes that we want in our government. that is what i am counting on and that is what will be the case and 2010 and beyond. >> first of all, i want to congratulate all of you guys for doing a great job and say happy anniversary. we are about two weeks shy of the first anniversary of the tea party movement. happy anniversary, guys. a great job [applause]

-- great job. [applause] >> now is the time to take action. in november, we have to take action. i hope and pray and i believe that in november, we will be able to replicate what we just did a few weeks ago with scott brown. >>[applause] >> and we have the scott brown signed. >> in closing, how many of the all -- how many of the wall were never involved in politics. is this not amazing? if i had to hazard a guess, i would say that 90% of the people in this room have held up their hand. this is one to free cuba. thank you, barack obama. -- this is going to freak you out.

thank you, barack obama. a friend asked if i could ever say anything nice about barack obama. i disagreed with him 100 percent, but i will say something nice about him. he did not intend this, but the outcome of his election has got people involved in politics. politics is not a dirty word. it is in the constitution that we get out and do this. i am in a minority here because i have been a political junkie since i was a teenager. that is a different experience than most people have. a very wise friend of mine in politics told me about the rule of 51. if you are on a to run a race, you have to have 51% to win that race. if you're going to be an elected body, you have to have 51% to

get your legislation passed. i do not have to ask how many of you vote on a regular basis. everything would go up in here. how many of you are thinking of running for political office? a show of hands. >> we got a lot of hands, but it is not nearly enough. there are about 50 or 60 hands raised. personally, i would like to see that up to a hundred or 150. you cannot complain about bad leadership. that is not enough. you need to replace bad leadership with good leadership. where is the two party or to be? we will be in the process of replacing bad leadership with the leadership. that is your mission, should you choose to accept it. let's go out and change america. thank you. >> one last request. i know that we have serum palin,

but i would like everyone to applaud this extraordinary conference. we are blessed. [applause] >> thank you. thank you. thank you. >> all of our sessions are in here. we have another session coming up in a few minutes. i think we need to do a little bit of set up for that. i have been remiss as a host. we have some amazing panelists. marked drove up from memphis and amy -- mark drove up from memphis. amy drove from atlanta to be here. those of the folks that need some thanks. thank you. -- those are the folks that need some thanks. thank you. >> let's take about a 10 minute

break to get set up for the next group. thank you, so very much. >> coming up next, former alaska gov. sarah palin talks to do to parted convention. then president obama. and former supreme court justice sandra day o'connor and a number of others on women and the courts. >> tomorrow, on "washington journal," david drucker and reid wilson talk about this week's political developments, including the jobless figures, job creation proposals and the outlook for health-care legislation.

then the editorial page editors and troop line and mike lafferty discuss issues. that is on c-span. >> and now, former republican vice-presidential candidate sarah palin speaks in asheville. she offered her perspective on some of the issues being discussed by party activists this weekend. this lasts about one hour. >> i am so proud to be an american. thank you so much for being here tonight. do you love your freedom? if you love your freedom bucs if you love your freedom, if you are serving in uniform, raise your hand. we will thank you for our freedom.

we salute you and honor you. thank you. i am so proud to be american. >>happy birthday, ronald reagan. a special hello to the c-span viewers. you may not be welcome in those ^ negotiations, but you have an indication to the two-party. an indication to the two-party. [applause] -- an invitation to the tea party barbecue. it is great to be here. it is some southern sweet tea. in alaska, we have ice-t -- iced tea.

i am a big supporter of this movement. i believe in it. i have a lot of friends and family in the lower 48 that attendees immense. america is ready for another revolution and you are a part of it . i look forward to attending more tea party events in the future. it is so inspiring to see real people, not politicos, not inside the beltway professionals -- it is great to see you speak out for common- sense conservative principles. i want to start off with a special shout out to america's newest senator, scott brown. [applause] in many ways, scott brown represents what is beautiful movement is about. he was just a guy with the truck and a passion to serve

our country. he saw that things were not quite right in washington and he decided he was going to do his part to put our government back on the side of the peoplple. it took guts and a lot of hard work. with support, scott brown carried the day. it is so interesting to watch the aftermath of the massachusetts'revolutions. the white house blames the candidate, their candidate. nancy pelosi blames the senate democrats. rahm emanuel criticized upholstered -- a pollster. yet again, president obama found some way to make this about george bush. [laughter]

considering the recent concerted that elections --conservative elections, when you are 043, stop talking and start listening --when you are 0 for 3, stop talking and start listening. we have some advice for our friends on that side of the aisle. this is what got you into this mess. the obama-pelosi-reid agenda will leave us more under the thumb of big government. it is out of touch and out of date. if scott brown is any indication, it is running out of time. [applause] from virginia to new jersey to massachusetts, voters are sending a message. in places like nevada,

connecticut, colorado, michigan, north dakota doss the liberal left is running scared. the bottom line is that it has been a year now. voters are going to hold them accountable. out here in the cities and towns across this great country , we have some big problems to solve. we have gotten tired of looking backwards. to look forward --we want to look forward. the future looks really good. if there is open massachusetts, there is hope everywhere. he --" in massachusetts, there is hope everywhere. [applause] brown's victory is exciting and is a sign of more good things to come. they are going to put it all on the line in 2010. this year there are born to be

some tough primaries --going to be some tough primaries. i think competition is good. i hope you will get out there and work hard for candidates who reflect your values and priorities. despite what the pundits want you to think, this is democracy at work and it is beautiful. [applause] i was the product of a competitive primary where running for governor i faced by guys. -- faced five guys. we put our ideas up for dead by -- debate. it is a healthy process. in 2010, i tip my hat to anyone with the courage to throw theirs with the courage to throw theirs in the r

-- while i hope that you will give these candidates, if you choose your best efforts, please understand that they are human. there is no perfect candidate. they're going to disappoint occasionally. when they do, let them know, but do not get discouraged. the stakes are too high. the stakes are too high right now and you are -- your voice is too important. work hard for these candidates. put your faith in ideas. i caution against allowing this movement to be defined by any one leader or politician. the tea party movement is not a top down operation, it is a ground up call to action that is forcing both parties to change the way that they are doing business, and that is beautiful. [applause]

>> this is about the people. . . party and a lot bigger than any charismatic guy with a teleprompter. [applause] the soul of this movement is the people, everyday americans to grow are few, run our small businesses, teach our kids, and fight our wars. people saw what was happening and were concerned and they got involved. involved. like you, they go meetings and write op-eds, they run for local office. you have the courage to stand up and speak out. you have the vision for the future that values the

conservative principles and common-sense solutions. if that sounds like you, you are probably feeling a bit discouraged by what you see in washington, d.c. in recent weeks, we have grown even more uneasy about our administration's approach to national security. it is the most important role ascribed to our federal government. it is not politicizing our security to discuss our concerns. americans deserve to know the truth about the threats we face and what the administration is or is not doing about them. let's talk about them. overseas contingency operation instead of the word "war" reflects a world view that is out of touch with the enemy we face. we cannot spend our way out of this. it is one thing to call a pay raise a job created or saved, it is quite an other to call the

devastation of homicide, can inflect a man-made disaster. national security is the one place where you have to call it like it is. [applause] in that spirit, we should acknowledge that on christmas day the system did not work. umar farouk abdulmutallab passed through airport security with a bomb, intent on killing passengers. he trained in yemen with al- qaeda. his visa was not revoked until after he tried to kill hundreds of passengers on christmas day. the only thing that stopped the terrorist was blind luck and brave passengers. it was a christmas miracle. that is not the way the system

is supposed to work. [applause] what followed was equally disturbing after he was captured. he was questioned for only 50 minutes. we had a choice in how to do this. the choice was to question him for only 50 minutes and then read him his miranda rights. the administration says there are no downside or upsides to treating terrorists like civilians. a lot of us paid to differ -- beg to differ. there are questions we would have liked him to answer before he got a lawyer. before we gave him the constitutional right to remain silent. [applause] our u.s. constitutional right. [applause]

>> our right that you've bought and were willing to die for to protect in our constitution. my son, as an infantryman in the united states army, is willing to die for. the protections provided thanks to you, we're going to bestow them on a terrorist who hates our constitution and tries to destroy our constitution and country? it makes no sense. we have a choice in how we are going to deal with terrorists. we do not have to go down that road. there are questions we would have liked to have answered before he lawyered up. who were you trained by? when and where will they try to strike again?

the events surrounding the christmas day plot reflect the kind of thinking that led to september 11. the threat then our embassies were attacked was treated like an international crime spree, not an act of war. we have seen that mind-set in washington. that scares me for my children and your children. treating this like a mere law enforcement matter places our country at great risk. that is not how radical islamic extremists are looking at this. we need a commander in chief not a professor of law standing at a lectern -- the lectern. [applause]

>> it is that same kind of misguided thinking that is seen throughout the administration's foreign-policy decisions. our president spent a year reaching out to hostile regimes , writing personal letters to dangerous dictators, and apologizing for america. what do we have to show for that? here is what we have to show. north korea tested nuclear- weapons and long-range ballistic missiles. israel, a friend and critical ally, now questions the strength of our support. plans for a missile defense system in europe have been scrapped. relations with china and russia are no better proof relations with japan, that he is an ally, are in the worst shape in years.

are around the world, people seeking freedom from oppressive regimes wonder if we are still the beacon of hope for their cause. the administration put forth democracy program. with the president has been unclear, i ask where the strong support is for the iranians who are risking all for the opposition to accommodate a job --a madonna job -- it is a short list. he spent only part of his state of the union address talking about foreign policy. there were not many victories for him to address. there are so many challenges in front of us. it can seem overwhelming. despite these challenges, we have hope that we can do things

in the right direction. it requires the administration to change course. we need foreign policy that distinguishes the american friends --america's friends from enemies. [applause] we need a strong national defense. i think he would agree with me, as ronald reagan used to talk about that. in that respect, i applaud the president for following at least a part of the recommendations made by our commanders on the ground in sending reinforcements to afghanistan. we must spend less time according our adversaries, more time working with our allies. we must build effective coalitions capable of confronting dangerous regimes like iran and north korea. it is time for more than just

tough talk. you probably get tired of hearing that talk. [applause] tired of hearing the talk. it is time for some tough action like sanctions on iran. in places of the world where people are struggling in the press, america must stand with them. we need a clear foreign policy that stands with people for democracy, that reflects our values and interests. it is in our best interest because democracies do not go to war with each other. they can settle their differences peacefully. the lesson of the last year is this. foreign policy cannot be managed through the politics of personality. our president would do well to take note of an auburn --of an observation of john f. kennedy that all of the pop world

problems -- all of the world's problems --the problems with base in the real-world require will solutions. we better get to it. the risks they pose are great and grave. as barry goldwater said, we can be conquered by bombs, but we can also be conquered by neglect, ignoring our constitution, and disregarding the principles of limited government. in the past year, his words rang true. washington has replaced private irresponsibility with public irresponsibility. the list of companies in industries the government is crowding out and bailing out and taking over continues to grow. first it was banks and mortgage companies, financial institutions, automakers. if they had their way, health care, student loans.

in the words of congressman paul ryan, the $700 billion t.a.r.p. has morphed into crony capitalism and is becoming ua slush fund, just as we had been warned about. people on wall street are collecting billions of dollars in bailout bonuses. among the top 17 companies that receive your bailout money, 92% of senior officers and directors still have their good jobs. every day americans are wondering where the consequences are. where are the consequences? [applause] when washington passed a $780 billion stimulus bill, we were nervous. they just spent $700 billion on

wall street. on the state level, as a governor, we knew that money came with that strings attached. the federal government was going to have more control. there were going to disrespect the 10th amendment of our constitution by bribing us to take the federal money and they were going to be able to mandate a few more things. i join with other conservative governors around the nation in rejecting some of those dollars. legislators -- [applause] it turned out to be nothing to applaud because legislators then were threatening lawsuits if governors did not take the money. i do it --vetoed some of the funds. these were borrowed up and printed dollars out of nowhere. even in alaska, a republican-

controlled legislature, might be to -- my veto was overridden. the federal government will have taken more control over the people living in our states. i understand wanting to believe this is free money. for some it is tough to tell -- people know in tough times --it is -- for some, it is tough to tell people no in tough times. president --and vice-president joe biden was put in charge of a tough oversight. nobody messes with joe. [applause] this was all part of that hope and change and transparency. a year later, i have to ask the supporters, how is that stuff working out for you?

i tried to look into that transparency thing, but joe's meetings with the transparency and accountability board were closed to the public. they held a transparency meeting behind closed doors. i do not know if anybody is messing with joe, but here is what i do know. a lot of that stimulus cash ended up in some pretty odd places, including districts that did not even exist and programs that really do not have a whole lot to do with stimulating the economy. nearly $6 million was given to a democrat pollster who had already made billions during the presidential primaries. nearly $10 million was spent to update this the stimulus website.

as someone put it, this was a million-dollar effort using your money to tell you it is spending your money. it did not create a single job. these uses of stimulus funds do not sound targeted or timely as we were promised. they sound ways all. in the case of those signs, kind of relax --the sound wasteful -- they sound wasteful. in the case of those signs, kind of ridiculous. did you feel stimulated? it turns out that washington got the price tag wrong. these programs cost billions of dollars more than we were told. it is closer to $860 billion. the white house cannot even tell us how much jobs were created. it is anywhere from thousands

to 2 million. whenever we are sure of is the unemployment number at 9.7%. that is well above the 8% mark we were promised. unemployment --under employment is now 16.5%. people are just giving up and not even enrolling in some of these programs pri is tough to count them. i will not go into all of it, but the list of broken promises is long. candidate obama pledged to end closed-door deals and no-bid contracts once and for all, but just last month his administration awarded a $25 billion contract. it is not hope,. . it is same old, same old.

we got a cornhusk your kick back, the louisiana purchase -- cornhusker kickback, the louisiana purchase. they handed out waivers to lobbyists and left and right. more than 40 lobbyists work at the top levels of this administration. most members of congress do not get to read the bills before they have to vote on it, but less to pledged that a bill would not be signed into law until we have a five days to read it online. it is easy to understand why americans are shaking their heads when washington has broken the trust with the people that these politicians are to be serving. we are drowning in national debt. many of us had had enough. -- have had enough. [applause]

>> now, based on principles in all of this, it is easy to understand, it really is. the seat would just love for us to believe this is way over our heads. somebody in tennessee, and alaska, she will never understand what we're talking about here in washington, d.c. when our families, small businesses --we start running our finances into the red, what do we do? we cut back and tighten our belts. we teach our children to live within our means. that is what todd and i do. we have to plan for the future and use a budget. in washington, why is it the opposite of that? this week, the unveiled a record-busting, mindboggling

$3.80 trillion federal budget. they keep borrowing in printing the dollars and keep making us more beholden to foreign countries. they keep making us take steps towards insolvency. what they are doing in proposing big new programs with giant price tags --they are taking -- they are sticking our kids with the bill. that is immoral. that is generational debt. we are stealing our children's future. [applause] freedom lovers need to be aware that this makes us more beholden to other countries, less secure, less free. that should tick us off.

with all of these serious challenges ahead, we have private sector job creation that has to take place. economic woes, health care, the war on terror. as the saying goes, if you cannot ride to horses at once, you should not be in the circus. here is some advice for those in washington, d.c., who want to shine in the greatest show on earth. too often when big government and big business get together and cronyism steps in, it benefits insiders but not every day americans. the administration and congress should do what we did in alaska when the good old boys started making backroom deals benefiting big oil and not the citizens of the state. the citizens of the state -- alaskans put government back on the side of the people. bigwigs started to get in trouble. some of them went to jail over their backroom deals.

[applause] our government needs to adopt a pro-market again that that does not pick winners and losers but invites competition and levels the playing field. washington as to lower taxes or smaller businesses so that our mom and pop can reinvest and hire people so that our businesses can thrive. they should support competition, innovation, and reward hard work. they should do all they can to make sure the game is there, without undue corrupt influence. they need to get government out of the way. [applause] if they would do this, if they would do this, our economy would roar back to life.

for instance, on health care, we need bipartisan solutions to help families, not increase taxes. remember the red reset button that secretary clinton gave to putin. we should ask for that back and hand it to congress and tell them to start all over on the health care and pass meaningful, market-based reforms that incorporate simple steps that have broad support. the best ideas, not backroom deals. injured purchases across state lines and tort reform. -- insurance purchases across state lines and four or four. -- tort reform. the things that are common sense. they do not want to consider those. what is their motivation? what is their intention if they will not even considered these

common-sense, broadbased ideas? and to create jobs, washington should jump-start energy projects. i said it during the campaign and i will say it now, we need and all of the above approach to our energy policy. proven, conventional resource development and support for nuclear power. i was then all that the president mentioned nuclear power in the state of the union. we need more than words. we can pave the way for projects that will create jobs -- those are real job creators and deliver carbon-free energy. let's expedite the legal processes for on an offshore drilling, instead of paying billions of dollars, hundreds of billions of dollars that are now

being sent to foreign regimes. we should be drilling here and now instead of relying on them to develop their resources for us. [applause] what we have to do is ask that plan for capt. tax -- cap-and- tax, it was going to pass the burden of paying for it to our families. we have to make washington start walking the walk. after putting us on track to quadruple the deficit, perhaps the spending freeze is a start, but it is certainly not enough. it is like putting a band-aid on a self-inflicted gunshot wound. we need to go further, cut spending. do not just slowed down the spending spree. we have to ask for a second stimulus when the first has not even been measured for success yet.

kill the plan for the second stimulus. [applause] be aware that the second stimulus is being referred to as a jobs bill. these are not the only ways to reduce spending. they are not enough. they are not enough to tackle the insane debt and deficit that we face. they are a good way to start and show that we are serious about getting our financial house in order. i have spent the last year thinking about how to best serve the and help our country. how can i make sure that you and i are in a position of nobody been able to succeed when they try to sell us to --tell us to sit down and shut up? how can we best serve. in 2008, i had the honor of a lifetime, running alongside john mccain. i look at him as an american hero. nearly 60 million americans voted for us. --16 -- 16 million americans

voted for us. while our boats did not carry the day, it was still a call to serve our country. those voters wanted us to keep on fighting in take the gloves off. they want a common-sense, conservative solution and for us to keep on debating. each of us here today is living proof that you do not need an office or title to make a difference. you do not need a proclaimed leader as if we are all just a bunch of sheep looking for a leader to progress this movement. [applause] that is what we are fighting for and fighting about. what we believe in. that is what this movement is about. people are willing to meet half way and stand up for common-

sense solutions and values. we want to work with them. in that spirit, i saw independents and democrats like bart stupak who wanted to protect the rights of those who are unborn. i applaud that. [applause] when we can work together, we will. when the work of washington by late our conscience -- violates our consscience -- conscience and constitution, which will stand up and be counted because we are the loyal opposition. we have a vision for the future of our country and it is anchored in time tested truths, that the government that governs least governs best. it is the constitution that

provides the best road map for the more perfect union. [applause] only limited government can expand prosperity and opportunity for all. it is worth fighting for. god bless you. [applause] america's finest, our men and women in uniform, are a force for good in the world and that is nothing to apologize for. [cheers and applause]

these are enduring truths that have been passed down from washington to lincoln to reagan and now to you. while this movement's roots are in our spirit, they are historic. the current form of this movement is fresh and young and fragile. we are the keepers of an honorable tradition of conservative values and good work. we must never forget it is a sacred trust to carry these ideas forward. it demands stability and requires decent constructive debate. opponents of this message are seeking to marginalize this movement. they want to paint us as ideologically extreme and the counterpoint to liberal intolerance.

outrageous conspiracy theorists. unethical shameless tactics like considering a candidate's children fair game. unlike the elitists who denounce this movement, they just do not want to hear the message. i have travelled across this country and talked to the patriotic men and women who make up the tea party movement. they are good and kind and selfless and deeply concerned about our country. i ask this -- let's make this movement a tribute to their good example and make it worthy of their hard work and support. do not let us have our heads turned from the important work before us. do not give others an excuse to turn their eyes from this. get bogged down in

small squabbles, let's get caught up in the big ideas. to do so would be a fitting tribute to ronald reagan. he would have turned 99 tonight. [applause] no longer with us, his spirit lives on in his american dream and doors -- endures. it is here in our communities where families live and children learned -- and children with special needs are welcomed and embraced. [applause] thank you for that. [applause]

[applause] >> the best of america can be found in places where patriots are brave enough and free enough to be able to stand up and speak up and where small businesses grow our economy 1 job at a time. we know that america is still that shining city on the hill. i believe that god shed his grace on thee. we know our best days are yet to come. tea party nation, we know there is nothing wrong with america that we can not fixed as americans -- cannot fix as americans. from the bottom of my heart and speaking on behalf of those who would encourage this movement, this movement is about the people. who can argue a movement about

and for the people? the political power is inherent in the people and government is supposed to work for the people. that is what this movement is about. [cheers and applause] from the bottom of my heart, i thank you for being part of the solution. god bless you and god bless the usa. thank you. [cheers and applause]

>> i am going to -- are we on? >> god bless you. thank you. >> i could be wrong here, but i think you all like her. [applause] >> let's sit down. >> a few weeks ago, we worked out something where there would be a brief question and answer session. we ask the folks on tea party nation to submit questions to ask governor pailin tonight. she has graciously agreed to ask a few --answer a few questions.

we're going to take a few minutes and asked and answered a few questions. is this your first time in ask bill? >> it is. i brought one of my daughters with me. she wants to find miley cyrus. my first time here. >> mcaleese idriss lives not to -- miley cyrus lives not too far from where we live. i am sorry we could not work that out. next time. how do you see the future of the tea party movement? do you see this movement becoming part of the republican party or becoming a third independent party? >> the republican party would be start -- smart to strike and try to absorb this movement. it is the future of politics. it is a beautiful movement because it is shaping the way

that politics are conducted. you have both party machines running scared because they are not knowing what we are going to do if we do not have tea party support. they know they will not succeed. >> outstanding. [applause] at the convention here, we have at least three people who are running for congress. if you had the chance to interview some of these people, what questions would you ask them to determine whether or not he would support the? >> are we taxed enough already? if they say yes, i'm going to ask what are you going to do about it. we want to know they walk the walk. via a record that proves to us. i want to encourage people without elected office experience, not some of an elite resonate in their back pocket, i want them to come out and run

for office. start changing the world. if they feel they have been taxed enough already and they make a commitment that they're born to do something about it, and they believe --and they are going to do something about it and believe in limited government -- a lot of things that are detailed. the things on the periphery -- perhaps i would not agree with every single aspect of their agenda. if they have the basics down, it would be wise for us to be supportive. [applause] >> i am going to have to wait to let people applaud. >> yeah. >> yeah. it goes without saying, the endgame for the tea party movement for 2010 is a conservative house and conservative senate.

i had the chance to tell people that next year at this time we need to see the title former speaker nancy pelosi and former senator harry reid. [applause] when we are successful and have a conservative house and senate, as soon as that happens, what are the top three things that have to be done? >> rein in spending. we cannot just breeze a couple programs. we have to rein in spending, jumpstart energy projects. it is ridiculous that we have warehouses here in the united states of america, rich resources, oil, gas, coal, we have to actually walk that walk,

to and allow them to come to development. it is tougher to put our arms around, but allowing america's spirit to rise again. do not be afraid -- did not be afraid to go back to some of our roots as a god-fearing nation where we are not afraid to say, especially in times of potential trouble in the future, where we are not afraid to say, we do not have all the answers. we are callable men and women. it would be wise of us to seek divine intervention again in this country, so that we can be safe, secure, and prosperous again. to have people involved in government who are not afraid to go that route. people who are not afraid of political correctness.

-- political correctionists. >> amen. we know conservatives are never harassed in the media. the following is clearly a hypothetical question. in the instance that there were ever to be a conservative who were harassed in the media, what would you say to them? >> plow right on through it. at the end of the day, who cares what and irrelevant, mainstream media is going to say about you? the political pot shots they want to take that you for standing up and saying what you believe and proclaiming the patriotic love you have for your country. they do not want to hear that. at the end of the day, it really does not matter what they have to say about you. i really believe there are more

of us, than they want us to believe. that should and power and strengthen us -- empower and strengthen us. plow right on through it, please. [applause] >> we have mentioned today is ronald reagan's -- or would have been the 99th anniversary of his birth. one thing he did in the white house was create this great majority that was based not on republicans and democrats but he had a conservative majority in congress. what can we do to get conservative democrats, libertarians, independents on board with the tea party movement so that in 2011, it is conservative? >> it is pretty cool to see some of the blue-dog democrats

peeking under the tent. i am scared if i am not a part of this. the nice thing about the tea party movement is that it is not just a bunch of hard-core, registered republicans. i make a confession, my husband is not a registered republican. he is much too independent, but probably more conservative than i am. he is an example of many others who do not choose to be part of a registered party because they see the problems within the machine. they see some of the idiosyncrasies of the personalities who control the political machines and they do not want to waste time dealing with that. they are independent, but they are believers in the movement. i think you'll see a whole lot of independents and more conservative democrats who are emboldened and will say they will come out of the closet. i believe in it, too, they will say.

[applause] as i talk about todd, and claim he is not a registered republican, i need to apologize to the republican party. some people have said, you are a pretty weak republican spokesperson if you cannot get your husband to convert. he is much too independent. >> my wife left the republican party, too. we hear about the obama plan. what is the pailin -- palin plan? >> it is quite simple. i get a kick out of that. it drives some of the elitists crazy. they say i am too simple-minded and too plain spoken. my plan is to support those who understand the foundation of our country, when it comes to the economy. it is a free-market principles

that reward hard work and personal responsibility. [applause] when it comes to national security, as i ratchet down the message on national security, it is easy to sum it up. bottom line, we win, they lose. we do all we can to win. [applause] >> for you, national security is a more personal issue. how is your son in the army doing? >> he is doing awesome and i am so proud of him and the decision he made.

these people could be doing anything or nothing else in our world, and they have chosen to serve something greater than themselves. they are not just wasting time in the young years of their lives. they get it. they understand the need to protect our security and to really be willing to die for our freedoms. when i talk about my son -- and he does not like me to talk about him. he will chew me out if he hears about this. >> he may be watching. >> i do not think he has ever turned on c-span in his entire young life. [laughter] i am proud of him and the decision he has made. they are serving greater than themselves. as he would tell me, do not pick me out to the end me -- to thank me.

thank those i serve with and those who have gone before me to allow me to do what i am doing. [applause] >> 2010 is an amazing year. it is an election year. we just got through illinois primaries. are you going to be endorsing specific candidates? >> i will. i will attend as many events for these candidates as possible. i will probably tick off some people as i get involved in the primaries. i want to encourage contested primaries -- this is how we find the cream of the crop. let's not be afraid of contested primaries . i will get out there and campaign. this common sense, a

conservative message. >> i can think of two words that right and liberals -- that frighten liberals -- preisdent -- president palin. [years and applause] -- [cheers and applause] >> sarah! gorun, sarah! run, sarah! >> we may not get to finish this. it seemed to be two words that get everybody on their feet. this is going to have to be our last question. if you are president tomorrow, what the three problems would be the first you tackle? >> we talked about the energy

projects that have to be introduced. we're not just talking about them and we talked about the spending cuts that have to take place and the growing debt we need to get our arms around. i am all for the bipartisan work ethic --effort that is needed in washington d.c. one issue that has to be tackled is to not make the promises about bipartisanship if the promise cannot be fulfilled. if there is no intention to work with the other party --there are so fundamentally disagreeable. . the distrust that is bill makes

us distrust all decisions coming out of washington, and that makes us less secure. [applause] >> i know people out there will like this, but you have to go. so thank you so much for coming down here. we appreciated. you may have to fight your way out of here all the people who do not what you believe. >> i appreciate all the people being here. i apologize if i had anything to do with any of the controversy that some of the media's on up. >> what controversy? >> i am happy, honored, proud. if anything was ever to be written out for me as a check, i would turn it right around. this is not about money or a title or a leader position. this is about the people.

i will live, i will die for the people of america, whatever i can do to help. this party that we call the tea party, this movement is the future of politics in america and i am proud to be here today. thank you so much. [cheers and applause] >> thank you. [cheers and applause] [cheers and applause] ♪ [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010]

[captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> up next, president obama's remarks. it then former supreme court justice sandra day o'connor and others discuss women in the courts. after that, and house hearing on airline safety and pilot training. >> watch c-span is "washington journal" about the days public affairs, live daily from 7:00 until 10:00 eastern. it c-span covering washington like no other. >> now president obama meets with fellow democrats at their winter meeting in washington. he talks about his legislative agenda for the coming year. this is 25 minutes.

>> thank you. >> it is good to see you. it is good to be among friends. i am so committed to the future of this party and the country. i am willing to brave a blizzard. snowmageddon here in d.c. somebody had "californians for -- 4 obama." i was thinking, you guys are not used to this. i have got some special thanks for the folks here. first of all, i want to thank omar norton for fighting the good fight in the district of columbia. our dmz vice chair from new hampshire. dmc secretary and treasurer, thank you for the great work that you do. i want to thank tim kane, who is an outstanding former governor and an outstanding

leader of this party. [applause] he is building the best grass roots organization we have ever had. give tim kaine a big round of applause. [applause] if i am not mistaken, we have a couple of terrific members of congress here. mike, are you here? he is on his way. he is still shoveling. how about barbara lee? is she here? we love her anyway. give them a big round of applause. [applause] i want to thank the governor, the legislators, the mayors from across this country who are working to move their states and communities forward in extraordinarily challenging times. they have done heroic work. i want to thank the dmc members, state party leaders, and the millions of americans who have taken up the cause of

change at the grass-roots level in all 50 states. now, i just want to remind everybody, we knew from the beginning that this would not be easy. change never is. that is especially true in these times. we face an array of challenges as tough as any we have seen in generations. president kennedy once said, when we got into office, the thing that surprised me most was to find that things were just as bad as we have been saying they were. [laughter] the truth was, things were worse. we took office facing a financial crisis that was something we have not seen since the great depression, an economy that we now know was

bleeding 760,000 jobs a month. a $1.30 trillion deficit, two wars that were costing -- costly in every sense of the word. from the specter of terrorism to the impact of globalization, we faced tremendous new challenges in this young century. all of this comes on top of one of the top of a decade or middle class had ever faced. the decade were jobs grew more slowly than in any prior expansion, where the income of the average american household actually declined, where the cost of everything seemed to keep going up. everything we have done over the past year has been not only to break the back of this recession, but also to secure the middle class families that

have been slipping away for over a decade now. there was a political decision to jump in the back seat and let us do the driving and critique whether we were taking the right turns. that is ok. that is part of what it means to govern. all the steps we took were necessary. none of us wanted to throw the lifeline to the banks. the outrage should not be that we did because it had to happen in order to prevent millions more from losing their jobs, millions of businesses and homes to foreclose. the real outrage is that we had to do it in the first place in order to fend off the collapse of the financial system. that is the outrage. [applause]

we passed tax cuts for small businesses, tax cuts for 95% of working americans. we put americans to work building the infrastructure of tomorrow, doing the work america needs done. we passed the credit-card bill of rights to protect consumers from getting ripped off by credit-card companies. we put the lot behind the principle of equal pay for equal work. [applause] we extended the promise. we protected every child from being targeted by tobacco companies. we passed a service bill named for ted kennedy that gives young folks and old folks new ways to give back to their communities.

we appointed sonia sotomayor to the supreme court. [cheers and applause] we began working with congress and our military to repeal the law that denies gay americans the right to serve the country that they love because of who they are. [applause] overseas, we began a new era of engagement. we're working with our partners to stop the spread of nuclear weapons and to seek a world free of nuclear weapons. we banned torture. we have begun to leave iraq to its own people. we have charted a new way forward in pakistan and afghanistan and has made good progress. i went to cairo on behalf of