there is a youtube video out reminding them that as an assembly women -- assemblywoman you endorsed a scientology based program to use massage on prisoners. what were you thinking? >> that has been largely distorted. the department of prisons asked legislators to go and check out a program that had been used with the emergency people on 9/11 and had worked. we checked it out. it was privately funded. it was on a day when the legislature was not in session. we were asked to come and take a look. my job as a state legislator is to try and save money. >> it sounds bizarre to people. here you are, the queen of conservatism, taking this down

to a mexican prison to seem prisoners get massages and watched john travolta movies? >> no, it was not. delirium tremors caused a lot of cramping. it was more of a carotid chop. the sauna was a sweatbox. you are in there with sweaty guys. >> you do not think it was a mistake years later? >> no, because in new mexico they are now using that program successfully. we had an opportunity to use it here in nevada and it would have saved us money for incarceration. we know that drugs is the main problem. we just wanted to cut down. it is not conservative of me because it was a privately funded. there was no appropriation.

>> mr. chachas, there is a video when you talk about the federal deficit. they are taking this sliver of a penny. you have a pie chart that shows medicare and how much that takes up. here is your chance. i want a list of billions of dollars that you would cut in the federal budget. >> there is only one way to cut it. you have a congress unable to decide on at this. there would be pieces of the interior department. to get the kind of reduction in spending we need to get, you need to on an omnibus basis. but i would do is tell recipients of social security that we will not have any changes. i would look at the entire rest of the budget other than

interest on the debt because we did not have a choice but i would tell the department heads to figure it out. we are rolling back. let me finish. it is not a question of getting rid of something. there are lots of things that could begin -- be gotten rid of. but business is do is they look where they can find waste. they did not cut everything across the board. >> in this government, in this country, he cannot get both sides of the aisle to come together in every month time. we cannot even get them to talk to each other about things that are really important. >> they should be targeting cutting. >> i sat in a conversation with serious members of the republicans to ask if we had courage to actually caught when needed to be cut. do you reason we only go here

and freeze things is because that is as far as we can get. we need to talk about this in terms of what americans understand. >> i would be sure they would beam capital have the. let me ask you, mr. christensen. they brought this up in a different today. why do you keep saying you defeated a state income tax in the legislature and you were the key vote when there were 15 that said it was not an income tax and you are misleading voters that they are voting against the personal income tax. >> that comes down to why i am in the race. when it came down to taking on my own party, which is what i did come to say that i defeated the tax would be tom raising he won the super bowl. -- would be tom brady saying he won the super bowl.

>> there were 15 people. >> they figured because i was the youngest legislator in the building, the freshman, that some arm-twisting would get me to support the income tax. >> it was not an income tax. it was not a corporate income tax. >> i will not bowed down and shy away from that. it was a corporate income-tax which would be terrific in this state. you better believe that when i was telling the proponents of this bill that there was no way i would support it and can dent the last day, they found out i was not kidding. i do have a spine. i represent my constituents that did not want that income tax. >> eu standby it being an income-tax. it is not an income tax on people. >> trust me. if that were to pass, the next session for the next session, we would look at that.

what is important here is that i have the backbone to represent people who put me in office. i was the "no" vote, >> we need to take a break. we will ask the other two their questions when we come back. that will be a good one. we will be back. >> if you want to, or have missed a program, go face to facebook with him. find links to past programs. ♪ >> welcome back. early voting starts in a few days. can you believe it? we have the leading contenders for the republican primary. the winner of this race will face here's reid. -- and harry reid. sue lowden, you're next.

you have a new advertisement out. you said they were taken out of context. after your initial remarks, you went on another program and said then you are not going to "back down from that system." your remarks were not taken out of context were they? >> the question is about the chicken? is that the question? to take one sentence from a hold half hour interview is taking it out of context, yes. you have been too risky. that is how this started in rural mesquite -- you talking about how unpopular senator reid's healthcare was. and was a one hour town hall meeting. i am being videotaped everywhere. i am being followed by harry reid's people. the videotape that town hall.

they sought that the barbering had some legs, no pun intended. >> he let it go on. >> let me ask you something. we have the second highest unemployment in the country and first in foreclosures. harry reid once to talk about chickens. he wants to change the subject. -- harry reid wants to talk about chickens. it was absolutely taken out of context. i know that you saw the bit. a lot of them did. no. where have you been? the need to get in my r.v. and visit the people here in the nevada. you need to do that and so does harry reid. >> you do not think it is misleading to say those remarks

were taken out of context? you said that in the olden days we took a chicken to the doctor. i am not backing down. >> i never said that. >> yes you did. >> that is not a policy. let me just take you. on my website, www.suelowden.com, i have had a complete health care policy up there since october. go there and learn what i would have done about health care and said the unpopular health care that harry reid drafted behind closed doors. >> of this comment is about sue lowden saying she contributed to harry reid to become a millionaire. that contract -- contribution allowed her to become a millionaire. that is a serious charge. the that that you provided for that ad, they never went into that state.

harry reid had nothing to do with her wealth. >> i got that letter from your web site. q. how did it. >> it had nothing to do with her coming -- becoming a millionaire. >> she has donated, voted for, and supported harry reid. she helped him get into office and now we have these problems created by him. she has been a problem with his rise to power. harry reid was the chairman of the gaming control board when her husband got licensed. it was again in 1992 when they wanted to get licensed in missouri. he wrote the recommendation on his senate stationery. >> you are confusing illinois and missouri. >> it is crazy. >> if you want to quote something, it is illinois and not misery. >> you imply there is a quid pro

quo. >> what the ad says is that she donated five times to help harry reid to power. >> you should know. >> i am asking you. >> 1000 times is different than five times. >> she has to live with that advertisement. we will take a break. we will talk about your favorite topic -- harry reid. we will talk about harry reid wind "face to face" returns. back in a moment. ♪ >> welcome back across the state to "face to face." we have the five candidates who want to face harry reid in the general election. we have the first of two parts. the next will be tomorrow night. i want to ask you about harry

reid. you say we will not lose anything if harry reid is replaced. i want to show you a list of programs that he has bragged that he has gotten fort nevada. between $25,000,000.60 $2 million for a neighborhood stabilization program. -- between $25 million and $62 million. $550 million for a veterans hospital. when her dollars million in the military defense projects including $26 million for a national guard readiness center. $60 million for a park in southern nevada. that is just five that i found. you are talking about no pork, nor earmarks. i will start with you, miss christensen.

-- mr. christensen. >> i do not know if you wrote that question or someone else dead -- >> of course i wrote that question. >> you can paint it on me. we are talking about what he brought from washington. as a four term state legislator, i have been fighting consistently from the beginning when i was elected in 2002 to make sure that gets to keep its own money. that is a flawed system. my whole point is that i am in this race to do everything i can to shrink the federal government. i want to make that clear. >> you are not answering the question. would you give that the veterans hospital? which do you give back since you are against them? >> i never said i was against the money he brings back a. if he is out fighting for money

to bring back to nevada against other senators, we can talk about what senator ensign brought by. >> let me let someone else get into this. >> i think you're missing the point. you ask which one we been cut. the point is that the money should not have left and nevada in the first place. why should the federal government decide which projects come back. >> this is money that was extracted from the federal government. >> we give our money to the federal government and harry reid decides what comes back. honestly. >> which would you give that? >> let's talk about the shooting part. and is a private gun club -- a private club was shut down. we, you, and all of us are paying for that part. it still has not raised a dime.

>> it didn't i see a video of you out there? >> my point is a private park was shut down. he will take credit like he brought it here. you brought it here. we brought it here. >> every senator brings stuff back to their states by the taxes. we are 49 out of 54 stimulus funds. the fact of the matter is this is not something like the veterans. something that deals with a state project from the state should pay for that. and the stage to determine whether they want to tax the citizens and build the projects themselves. it should be a state issue. the federal government should get out of this. >> is that with the veterans would say? >> the veterans is part of the national defence. >> is ok to bring that money back? >> they should be involved with

issues of the constitution that gave them power for. veterans, yes. a shooting part, no. a shooting park, no. when we get one project here, there are more products going around the country. >> i want to comment on this. we will come back and get more comments about harry reid and all of the pork. back in a moment. welcome back to "face to face," our senate debate 45 canada as to what today's harry reid. early voting starts saturday. listen carefully. we are talking about all this money that harry reid has supposedly brought back for an array of programs. all of you are against this. we have heard from some people some -- some people. sharon angle, what is your take? >> the obama whispers agreed

that if he comes to loss vegas, what matters to nevada and is that they need jobs. they need to know they can stay in their homes. >> they created jobs. >> government does not create jobs. we know from jack kennedy and ronald reagan that if you want to create jobs and more tax revenues, you reduce marginal tax rates. that is how you do it. we need to get back to good economics rather than -- >> so you do not want the money for the shoe park? >> how you give that back? >> if you have a single rule that allows -- does not allow people to attach pork and earmarks, if you want the project, ask us and vote on it. that is what we need in washington, d.c. >> it is a simple -- it is a cynical question. >> you predisposes something.

our senators are supposed to go there with the purpose of grabbing as many federal dollars as they can and brad the back to the states. that is not how the government is supposed to function. if we need another veterans' hospital, that is a fair question. if the veterans administration says we need a hospital, we figure out how to build one. looking at harry reid's majority, anything would be better than that guy in washington. >> including me? >> including you. >> the problem is spending money it does not have in this competition to see how many tickets they can grab. which should have been sent back? we should not have built a shooting park. can i say we should not have built a veterans hospital? i do not know. your question suppose is the only measure of power and importance -- >> i want anyone to jump in on

this. the whole premise of harry reid's re-election is we do not want to go from one to 100. the way the system works, even though mr. chachas does like it, they will be in the room. wine -- >> because what happening is we have our private sector being taken over by the government piece by piece. harry reid is bad for america. that makes him bad for america. -- that makes a bad for nevada. >> you see a freshman say, i was never just a freshman. when you beat the majority leader you get noticed. i work very well with what is good for nevada. what is good for nevada?

let's use this as an example. that was a bipartisan bill that was good for business, workers, doctors. those are the kinds of things that you are supposed to be doing. >> when you are there, i appreciate that. when you are one of 100 people in that room debating important issues when we have this kind of an economic environment, we have higher than 14% unemployment. and is probably closer to 80%. it cannot be about each person grabbing money. you need to start with a macro economic policy. we need pro-growth. >> to jump in real quick, we are talking about power. they say he is the most powerful guy in the senate. power in any direction is devastation. that is what we are seeing. we have an issue with illegal immigration. it is a bigger issue in nevada than it is in arizona.

we could have handled that. >> i have already said that a tsunami has power. harry reid has been a disaster not only for nevada but also for america. that is why it is incumbent upon nevada to vote him out. >> we are out of time. stick around. we will be back. on the next "face-to-face," five candidates with one goal. the second part of our debate among these five on the next "face-to-face." he is the most reviled man among conservatives. they want to take on the u.s. senate majority leader, harry reid. the five leading contenders in a statewide debate next on "face- to-face."

>> this is "face-to-face." >> welcome. we bring you commentary you will not find anywhere else. tonight, the second of our two part debate with the leading candidates to take on hearing -- harry reid. these candid and said it met our criteria of a viable campaign. sharron angle is from reno. the johnchachas is a native of nevada. chad christensen is a state assemblyman. sue lowden serves as chair of the republican party. dan tarkanian has had two unsuccessful bids for office. let's get to foreign policy. i will start with you, said in ttrnlowden. there was a steady -- i will start with you sensor lowden. $5.30 trillion save they can be

fixed with moderate changes with increased payroll taxes, increase the retirement age. do you support any of those stocks -- any of those? >> there are actuaries who have done this. move the age. it is not that hard. we tell young people like you that you will not retire at 62. i will be honest and say perhaps at 65 or 70. you need to plan for more retirement, a different way of retirement so social security is not the only way. do not depend on it like our parents did. it will not be there. it will take political courage for someone to say that. when i have spoken at forums and i have told 40 year-old or fit the role that we are changing the date -- 40 year-olds or 50 year-olds, people are dying at

95 or 100 now. we need to change the age. >> you are not for any other changes? just moving the age? >> we can look at that and look at everything. i would not increase the payroll tax, no. >> this is a case where government has given us a system that is broken. there is no lock box. is a big i.p.o. -- i.o.u. we need to fill our contract to those seniors who have paid into the system. we need to phase medicare and social security out in favor of privatized. >> you are saying not to do anything. >> 8 is fixed. and cannot -- it is broken and cannot be fixed. going forward, we need to phase this out.

the new system they will have their own health care savings account and have their own retirement savings account which is portable and goes with them from job to job. for those who are entering the work force right now, they can come on to the new system. >> the system today does not look like the one that was created. it was intended to be a safety net for the truly downtrodden. in 1965 we turned it into this government handout. should we change the age? yes. a variety of think tanks said it gently move the age record. we had six people paying in for every one person paying out. mathematically you do three things. you change the age. to probably have the courage to talk about means testing. the very top of society does not mean this. my parents do not need social security. engage in a conversation of changing that over time.

but build private savings as a requirement in society. if you do those things, you can get away without raising payroll taxes. you can create a sustainable system. and is not a contract. they are not paying money into a safe. i paid today so my parents can retire. >> the system is broken because president johnson took the money that was supposed to be in an lockbox and spent it for more government programs and build the size of the government. this is happening with obama and harry reid. we need to downsize the government. >> what about these proposals? >> i would be in agreement. what we need to do is pay the people so we can downsize government. we need to eliminate programs the government has known right to be in like education.

the money being paid into social security can go back into the lock box where it should have been. we took social security's money and spent it on money. the answer is to cut back the federal programs. >> when the biggest issues here that we need to see from our federal legislators and from our president is that our leadership needs to adopt a principal that if we do not have the money, we do not spend it. if you continue to run up a deficit, the program will not have enough money. there will not be enough money in the general fund. at the get a 3 tier system. -- i look at a three tier system. we figure out what the break point is. they continue to receive a benefit. from a death for graphics -- from eight demographics perspective, we see who the

people in the middle who might need it. those who are disadvantaged and been absolutely depend on that, they continue to receive the benefit whether it is a disk, another reason. in the second tier, we would days that out. below that in the third, i do not expect that my kids will be able to have that benefit. i am 40. i doubt it will be there when i hit my retirement age. that is the message we need to get forward. >> the american enterprise institute says that just changing the age will not be sufficient to actually make this a sustainable system going past 2040. in the end, we need to train americans to the sabres. how we should train young people to put money away into private

retirement accounts so the government does not have to be there. >> you cannot do that overnight. all this is long term. >> people do not have jobs so they cannot save. >> personal accountability is at an all-time low. we know that. until that changes, the dependence on the government which continues to increase every year, whether state, local, or federal, it needs to change. >> i am accountable to the billions of viewers watching this program. or should i say trillions? we will have more of the senate debate for the republican nomination. this is the most watched race in the country. asked one of our trillions of years. back in a moment. >> if you want to comment, go "face to facebook" to find his comments, blogs, and links to past programs.

>> welcome back to "face to face." who will face harry reid in a general election? we will find out who the best republican candidate is. we are just a few days away from early voting. we have five candidates here on "face to face." let me start with you. the secretary of state announced a deal with the other security council members for new economic sanctions and the plan against iran. do you think this is good? would you do more or less? .

they have a lot, that they do not refined themselves.

there are things we can do to put a lot of pressure on iran, and i think we should do that. i think we should also begin to think about the other folks in the oil situation. we have a problem and do with being dependent on foreign oil. -- a problem with being dependent on foreign oil. we have lots of options, and i do not think we should take any off the table. reagan said the best defense is a strong defense, and we should let them know we will not play this game. >> i think we are concerned about this stage, and we should be, and everything they have done has been designed to create a threat. we are going to have to engage people like brazil and turkey, who essentially wrapped a nice thing go around the idea of shipping enriched uranium --

uraniumbow around -- nice bow around the idea of shipping enriched uranium. we are going to have to tell states of have had economical issues that if you engage with iran, we are going to have to introduce sanctions with you, too. >> it is this game of cat and mouse we have been playing with a run for a long time. i do not think this new proposal is going to produce anything different from the last proposal. >> what do we do? >> you apply pressure. >> that is what the proposal does. >> but not enough. we have been talking about applying pressure for a long time. i believe it is misguided. it is not focused on what is really going to create the change. >> the fact that russia and china are going to come to the table more than before is encouraging. it would be moved to russia for iran not to be there. i cannot imagine them not wanting to participate in those

discussions, so when i heard they were serious about sanctions, i think that as a good thing, but all options should be on the table. >> we're going to take a break. a lot more issues to talk about for the five leading candidates for the u.s. senate hearing and -- senate. back in a moment. welcome back. we have five of the leading candidates for the u.s. senate. it is going to start june 8, and one of these folks is going to be the republican nominee. we are talking about oil. let's talk about what is being contemplated. we are talking about increasing the liability cap. some proposals are as high as $10 billion. some then you want to run against says $10 billion is not -- the man you want to run against says $10 billion is not

enough. why shouldn't it be $10 billion loss? >> what the focus needs to be is to make sure those companies who are out drilling that are exploring, as they need a minimum standard -- if you look at the minimum standard and the resources they have, vbp had the ability, and they did not go after what they could have done. >> what should the liability be? >> i do not have an answer for that. >> who does? >> the question is do you want to have businesses engaged in offshore drilling or not. someone is going to have to aasess risk that you are going to bankrupt the company of something goes wrong. the question is what went wrong here. >> it is between insanity and

$75 million. >> you are saying $10 billion would not be high enough? >> why isn't that an issue that should be talked about, the liability of these companies? >> i think the real issue is can we prevent this from happening. it is not can we charge someone going forward? >> there is an astronomical amount of damage. >> they are cleaning it up. we need to make sure we know how to prevent this, but the real issue is our dependence on foreign oil. we need to have domestic resources used in this country, and they are using this argument to cut off debate about why we are not using our own domestic resources. >> you need to have the companies that caused the problem pay the cost of fixing it.

>> do you need a higher cap? >> if you are going to get what is going to be the cost, there has not been anything specific. you cannot raise the rate -- it is so high that you thank accompanies that do not want to go into the business and wipe out the much-needed production. >> what is the answer? >> what about responsibility of the government? why not bring them into say, where were you? that is part of the problem as well. >> you want to blame the regulators. >> we do not know what happened. we have to figure out which agency was watching it. why did that happen? if it was just a battery that went dead, that is amazing that someone did not know ahead of time. >> personal responsibility is gone in our country.

we need to hold the people responsible. we do not need government agencies to be responsible when the businesses made a mistake. >> john makes the point that if you make it to hire you are going to put people out of business. they are going to lose the incentive to drill. >> they gallaudet mining in nevada. it is so expensive to -- take a look at the mining in nevada. it is so extensivand expensive. we know there are some in washington that want to shut down any oil exploration. it would be devastating to our country. there has to be a $10 billion cap. these are businesses. businesses thrive on predictability, and what we're hearing from this message, it makes it very difficult for mining, for exploration.

>> with the $20 billion cap, if something goes wrong, the company is done. >> you think the company should not have to pay at all? no responsibility. >> the issue is do we need offshore drilling as a source of energy. right now since we have no effort to natural gas, drilling in the places that does not require perfection, we need it, so we are going to have to have offshore drilling. the spill cleanup is going to inform us, and we are going to have to raise it, not to make it go away. these types of mistakes happen. what we really need as a long- term policy. that involves leadership. we are going to find energy from different sources. >> we talked about how we can be energy sufficient in the united states by utilizing- sherlock -- natural resources.

>> the issue again is preventing this from happening. over-regulation does not prevent that. what prevents that is finding out what happened and going forward end preventing it. they want to do business here. >> personal accountability. when we come back we are going to raise the question everyone wants to know the answer to. who is the strongest candidate. we are going to let these folks make their case, who is the best to face harry reid. >> john wants to hear from you. -- jon ralston wants to hear

from you. >> welcome back till "face to face" with the five candidates who want to phase harry reid. make the case this is not going to hurt you. >> i ran the lawsuit. we need someone who will stand up to harry reid. i did that in the lawsuit, and i won. the people in nevada what anymore than just someone who will face of to harry reid. they want someone with real solutions, and that is what my campaign is based on. >> there are all sorts of chicken jokes about you. you are plummeting. why are you the best candidate? career politician, i am not the one, but if you want someone who has been very active, someone who has experience in politics

being a majority leader already, if you want someone like that, i am probably your gal, but i am not one you have seen over and over again, and i think people want something new, and the senate need someone with business sense. >> and you have no political base, no money. harry reid is going to feed on you, isn't he? >> i represent the largest legislative district in our state by far, so there is a district that has elected me seven times. on top of that, i also have a significant base even in my church. i know members of the church will be heavily engaged in this election, and i have been able to show them this is the work i have done, so i will bring experience do washington. >> they will say you have not

lived in nevada for 30 years. you are from wall street. how can you beat harry reid? >> this is about how you ken healthy american economy. if there is no one with the skills to do that. now i have a plan to shrink government. i think the americans want truth and accuracy, and in the end, republicans and independents are about how to really change government, and i think i can speak to those people. >> sharon, it is going to take some of the independence. you are going to be portrayed as a way far right. you cannot get to the middle. harry ride -- harry reid is going to say that. >> i voted no hundreds of fans to tax increases. i have taken cases all the way

to the supreme court and also build a coalition based on that record. they have measured that record, and they said, she is the one, and they are drawing from constituencies not in the republican party alone the from conservative democrats and conservative independents, and that is what i bring to the race. of course i cannot do it alone. >> i appreciate your willingness to come and today. i know it is not easy. thank you so much. of the next "face to face," four democrats are vying to replace harry reid. we will find out where they stand in an exclusive debate in the next "face to face." [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> now president obama at a campaign event for california and democratic senator barbara

boxer, who is running for a fourth term. this is the second time the president has campaigned in california for the incumbent senator. she currently leads her challengers. this is about 35 minutes. ♪ >> ladies and gentlemen, doug boxer. [applause] >> welcome, welcome. you look awesome. i know it has been on a long wait, so thank you for your patience. the president is on his way. thank you to the church.

let's give them a hand. [applause] i get the honor of introducing barbara boxer, who happens to be my senator friday she is also my mother, and she is an amazing grandmother. -- to be my senator. she is also my mother, and she is an amazing grandmother. i am not going to give a list of reasons why she should be read -- reelected. the big man can do that. i want to tell you what the republicans are of two. and bout three weeks we are going to know who we face in his reelection battle. -- in about three weeks we're going to know who we face in his reelection battle. it could mean the summation of

public education, parks, and social services, or they could nominate sarah palin's handpicked candidate, or they might even nominate the tea party's favorite son. we will not know about that, but the one thing we do know is in november the choice will be clear, very clear. we can fight to elect a woman who will go to work every day for california and its family to protect the jobs we have and to create new ones, to protect the environment and protect a woman's right to choose. [applause] with that, i would like to introduce my mother, an amazing grandmother, and your united states senator, barbara boxer. [applause]

>> you look fantastic. i am so excited to see all of new year. i do not know if you heard the welcoming remarks from folks who had unflattering things to say about us, but it is fine. this is a free country, but we are on the side of the people, and that is what matters the most. this event is a tremendous success. i think all you have to do is look around and see that, and is says to me everyone in this state is getting it, that they understand the choices facing us

in this election. i wanted to particularly thank my california finance share. thank you bay area democrats. thank you, members of my finance council. thank you, reverend williams and the united methodist church choir. will you stand up? you're fabulous wife and partner, will you please stand up? i wanted to thank our performer for the evening. thank you. and i suppose to stretch this out, or is the president back there? they told me to be subtle about that, but i am not subtle. we aren't good. he is behind the curtain -- we are good. he is behind the curtain. [applause]

you have got to hear about our election a little bit first. thank you for standing with me so i can continue to stand for the people of california, and i know very well how hard these times are. i know too many of our families are hurting, and i did not sugarcoat it at all, but it only makes the choice is november more important. it is a choice between who is going to create jobs and turn our economy around and who will not. it is a choice between who is going to fight for working families and who is going to abandon them. it is a choice between moving forward or going back to the policies that got us into this mess. that is right. let us not forget it. it is about whether we're going to hand america back to those who took an economy that is

thriving and wrecked it, those who took a budget that was balance and had no plans for jobs, and joblessness so-called -- took hold in terrifying numbers. drill, baby, drill was their slogan, and let me say as long as i am in the senate, i will do everything in my power to ensure our california coast is protected. [applause] we have fought for that protection. a lot of us have fought for the protection of our close since the 1970's, and we are about to give we did we are not about to give up. -- we are not about to give up. we owe it to the hundreds of thousands of workers in the tourist industry, the recreation industry, the fishing industry, not to see their livelihood very in a sea of

oil, and i want to save that today -- to let you know i received a letter from the obama of justice department. they clearly state that they are going after those that are responsible for this tragic spell in the gulf. justice will be done. -- this tragic still in the gulf. justice will be done. -- this tragic spill in the gulf. justice will be done. i am so proud to a repressive man who is by our side every step, and we have an opportunity to show our appreciation. when president obama was sworn into office, he inherited some of the most difficult challenges in history, and he tells me sometimes i present it as a parade of horribles. the deepest recession since the great depression, banks no

longer lending, credit frozen, two wars, the threat of a flu pandemic, and as if that was not enough, even a pirate attack, but as martin luther king, jr., once said -- the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands at a moment of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at a time of controversy and silence, and in these times, a controversy and challenge -- controversy and challenge, and in these times, we have seen a president who has stayed calm in the storm. he keeps his sense of humor in the face of attacks. he never stops facing our most difficult problems, even when it would be easiest to leave them for another generation. the actions of president obama these past 16 months have not

only taken leadership. they have taken courage. it took courage to work to achieve something no president has been able to do in 100 years -- pass health care reform. [applause] we stood up to the insurance companies, and we said, you will no longer leave us when we are sick, and think about what that will mean for seniors who have affordable prescription drugs and what it will mean for our children who can now stay on their parents' policies until they are 26, and think about a couple of parents who are happy it. think about what it means for those who will no longer be turned away because of pre- existing conditions like asthma or high blood pressure, and think about what it means for small businesses and individuals who will get tax credits of millions of people, including 7 million californians who will

now get health insurance. it took courage to do that, and it took courage from this president to confront this economic crisis head-on and work with us to create desperately needed jobs. because of the recovery act, 150,000 direct jobs are being put to work in the state of california today, and i dearly wish those who oppose these efforts could meet the people i have met with up and down the state who now have the dignity and security of a paycheck. i have met those workers, and i will not rest until we get california back on track and people are working who want to work. that is crucial to us, and you know what else? it took courage to stand up to wall street and demand accountability so taxpayers never again have to foot the

bill for their costly gambling, and it took courage to stand up against discrimination, demanding equal pay for equal work as we passed along, -- the law, standing up against the "show me your papers" law and instead work to pass comprehensive immigration reform. we have to do that, and yet, said the courage to support the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell," and i believe congress is going to do it this week. i believe it. [applause] i am almost there. it is no secret that all of us in public life are being tested in these tough times, and we are

especially being tested by those who are to see the president loses focus and his allies in congress lose. i have got not only my three opponents denouncing me every day -- they have turned me into every creature you can imagine. i tell my grandkids, do not watch television, but i even have the two main gubernatorial candidates talking about who was working harder to deceive me. what did i do to them? -- to defeat me. what did i do to them? my opponents have recruited the following -- karl rove. >> boo. >> sarah palin. >> boo. >> and if that was not enough, newt gingrich. that's an awful lot about the race we are in. my opponent -- that says a lot

about the race we are in. my opponents want retreat. that would lead us to a jobless future, a health-care crisis again oregano action on green energy jobs -- again. no action on green energy jobs. what we need is security to combat climate change and new technology made in america for america. i want to see those words again. "made an american." -- in america." every time the president looks at his beautiful children, i believe he feels the same way i do when i looked at my four grandchildren. we see the hopes and dreams we have not only for them but for all children, and we know their future is worth fighting for every single day, so tonight, we

get a chance to thank president obama for his courage and his commitment to our children and families and state and to our nation. ladies and gentlemen, let's give the warmest california welcome to the president of the united states, barack obama. [applause] >> hello, california. thank you. thank you severed body. thank you.

-- thank you, everybody. thank you. it is good to be back. i admit i did not get the chance to hear the choir is saying. they were working me hard, and i could have used a lift to the spirits. -- i admit i did not get the chance to hear the choir singing. i recognize this choir, because i saw you a while back when i was here, so i have her income in the past. to the church choir, thank you so much. brett denham, thank you so much for helping out. if you have got a share, go ahead and use it. feel free. -- got a share, go ahead and use it. -- got a chair, go ahead and use it.

feel free. it is wonderful to be back in california. it is also wonderful to be back in the home district of one of the greatest speakers in the history of the house of representatives, nancy pelosi. [applause] it is good to be here in the home state of my friend, somebody who has been fighting the kurds fight -- the good fight for so many years. you realize she's started when she was 12. your outstanding senator, barbara boxer. [applause] i talked to barbara's husband

before hand, and he told me or has not changed a bit bsince before she went to congress. the only difference is she was actually a 5 ft. 10 when she went there. she just got worn down. [laughter] >> i am strong as ever. >> that is ok. i did not have any gray hair when i went there. >> my hair has turned blonde. >> it is one of the great privileges of having been a senator that i got the chance to work alongside barbara. california has been the leader in promoting hybrids and compact cars and cleaner-burning fuels,

and you have got barbara boxer, a sub contact senator, using an extremely -- a seemingly inexhaustible source of energy and, and she already talked about how deeply she cares about the environment, about her work to pursue a clean energy future, and that work has never been more important than it is now, but i also want you to understand this is a woman with extraordinarily deep passion to fight for all of you on a range of issues. barbarous is somebody who has not forgotten and -- barbara is someone who has not forgotten why she went to washington. she remembers the stories she has told, the people she has talked to, the woman without health insurance, the child in a

substandard school, the guy who has lost his job. that is what she is passionate about, especially right now -- fighting for jobs. jobs with good wages, jobs with good benefits. she is passionate about fighting for california's families and making sure everybody here has got a fair shake, that they can reach for that american dream, and that is what i want to talk to you about tonight, because reviving our economy remains the central challenge we are facing today. i did not have to tell you folks in california. this date has been hit as hard as in the state with economic troubles over the past few years. jobs have been lost in heartbreaking number is up and down the coast. housing prices -- it is a state -- and housing prices hit the state with a vengeance. budget problems put a burden on people at a time when they really needed help, and that

forces state governments to make painful choices about where to spend, where to save, and the challenges here reflag challenges people are facing all across america -- reflect challenges people are facing all across america. there are good things about washington. i have got no commute, which i know you will appreciate here in california. it is good to get out of town, and you talk to everybody. you see the letters that are being sent, and i am reminded of what we confronted when we arrived here. 750,000 jobs per month being lost. the economy was contracting at 6.5% that order that i was sworn

azine -- the quarter that i was sworn in. the worst recession since the great depression. you have heard that said, think about that. this was the worst economic crisis many of the people in this room have seen in their lifetimes reagan -- lifetimes, and the fight is a lot of folks do not know what to do, and there are some economists who said we may be falling over oppressive as. the banking sector locked up, no credit was slowing, and we might see a global depression the rival what happened in the 1930's, so -- that rivaled what happened in the 1930's, so we had to act quickly. we had to act fast, and unfortunately, we did not have all the tools we needed to act fast, because you had a previous

administration that has left a 1.3 trillion dollar deficit wrapped up in a vote that current surpluses into deficits -- in leah bow -- in a bow that turned the surpluses and deficits. these problems did not just happen. they are the consequences of policies that had been in place for years that barbara [pause] opponents -- barbara's opponents, the other party promoted, so we have to move fast, and that is what we did. on day one, we took the reins, and we said, we are going to make sure we do not slip into a great depression. >> [unintelligible]

>> it is good to see you. >> yes, we can! yes, we can! >> i have to say, i saw this guy down in l.a. at the barbara boxer event about a month and a half ago, and two points i want to make. number one, he really should buy a ticket -- if he wants to demonstrate, by ticket to a guy who does not support his point of the years -- point of view is, and he can yell as much as he wants fair. there. -- there. the other point is maybe he did not read the newspapers, because we are working with congress as

we speak to roll back "don't ask, don't tell." [applause] i actually think he does read the newspapers, because his heart did not seem in it. he says, do it faster. c'mon, man. i am dealing with congress here. where was i? i was going down memory lane. we ended up initiating a series of steps.

the largest investment in clean energy in our history, restoring science and investing in research and development, the largest investment in infrastructure since eisenhower felt interstate railway system -- build the interstate railway system, the largest investment in education by the federal government in our country, the most progressive tax cuts in our history, to restore a sense of fairness to our tax system, held four states so they did not have to lay off teachers and firefighters and police officers -- help for states so they do not have to lay off teachers and firefighters and police officers. we did all this in the first

month. [applause] the first month, and just as an aside, we passed legislation to make sure 4 million kids could get health insurance that did not have it before. we passed a law that put forward the basic principle that a they's work should get an equal pay -- a day's work should get equal pay regardless of whether it is a man or a woman doing the work. to make sure tobacco companies could not market for kids, made sure we had the toughest credit card anti-fraud provisions, the biggest national service investment -- all that we did in the first few months, and that was before we got to health care, to make sure every

american has a chance to get decent health care, the people were not going bankrupt when they get sick. >> thank you. >> you are welcome. that is nice to feel appreciated once in awhile. [applause] here is a thing though. >> we love you. here is the thing though very -- why i love you back. here is the thing there. we still have work to do. unemployment is still high.

people are still losing their homes. folks are still seeing premium increases on their health care, and we got some big issues that congress has not yet tackled in the way we know they have to be tackled if we want a better future for our kids and grandkids. i went to the republican caucus today. it was a warm and cuddly meeting. the last time i appeared was before the house republican caucus, and we agreed to let the press in on that. this one, not so much, but i wanted to talk to them about the fact that as busy as people have been, as hard as we have been working, we have got more work to do.

we have a choice between going back to the same status quo -- getting exorbitant profits based on a bunch of financial shenanigans region we know that if we want to build a real future -- shenanigans -- we know that if we want to build a real future that is competitive, we are going to have to go back to basics. we have got to fix our education system. we have got to make sure every young person in america has a chance to go to college. we have got to make sure -- by the way, you may have missed it during the health-care debate, but we added billions of dollars

in funding to student loans by cutting off the financial middleman. that did not even get front-page news. we got to strengthen our community colleges. we are going to have work to do implementing our health care bill. we have also got critical issues that all of us have in mind right now, and i am going to mention two, and i mention these to the republican caucus. there is not a person here who has just felt that sense of despair in watching the broadcast of the oil spill down in the gulf. nobody is more upset than me, because ultimately, like any

president, when this happens on your watch, then every day you are thinking, how does this get solved. we send over 1000 people to the gulf, a equipment, legal advisers, helping fishermen who have lost their livelihoods to the consequences of this, and we are now having to do a thoroughgoing review to see how it is that oil companies can say they know how to handle this, when it turns out they do not. that is the responsibility of government. we also have to face the broader facts. there is a reason why those folks are out there drilling and myra out -- a mile out in the water, and then they have to go another mile to get oil.

that is an expensive, risky proposition. why are we doing it? we are doing it because we have not made a transition to a new energy future, and we have been putting it off for decade after decade, and it is about time we said to ourselves that we are ready to make a change on behalf of the future for our children and grandchildren, and it will not happen overnight. it will not happen tomorrow. it will not happen next week, but if we start investing in clean energy like solar and hybrid -- if we start making our buildings more efficient, and if we start finally saying to ourselves you cannot just let everybody followed for free in -- -- pulling it for free -- if we follow -- pollute for free,

oil spill is not going to be in the energy mix, but we are going to beat -- oil is still going to be in the energy mix, but we are going to be more energy and attention. it will be good for our environment, for our future, and we can create millions of jobs right here in the united states of america, investing in the future, and i told the republicans i am ready to work with you right now to get this done. [applause] the second issue is immigration. folks are out there looking at the arizona law that has divided the country. i have been very clear. i think the arizona law is a mistake.

my justice department is looking very carefully at the nature of this law, but i understand the frustrations of folks in arizona. the fact of the matter is for decades we keep talking about solving the problem of the border, and we do not. the truth of the matter is you have got hundreds of thousands of undocumented workers coming over the border, and that gets people stressed. you have got employers who are exploiting undocumented workers all across america, actively recruiting them and often taking advantage of them when they get here, so there is a whole bunch of work that has to be done, but we cannot solve the problem by playing politics. we cannot solve the problem by demagoguing the issue, so i tell

my republicans i will be with you -- my republican colleagues i will be with you in terms of securing the border. that is part of my responsibility, but you have got to meet me on solving the problem long term. it is not enough to just talk about national guard down as the border. you have got to talk about how we are going to hold of lawyers accountable, and how are we going to take the folks living in the shadows now and say to them, you have other responsibilities. you will have to pay a fine. you will have to learn english, but we are going to give you a pathway for you to be a part of this community illegally. that is something we have to work on together. [applause] california, the last thing i said to my republican colleagues was you do not even have to meet

me halfway. i will bring most democrats on these issues. i am just looking for eight or 10 of you. the day has passed when i expected this to be a full partnership. i understand the strategy of sitting on the sidelines. let's face it. politically, it has not been bad for them. it made a lot of people forget how we got into this mess in the first place, just sitting there and saying no to everybody. as barbara points out, here you have folks driving a car, and we are out in the mud, pulling the car out of a ditch, and they are comfortable, drinking on a sleepy or something -- slirpy or

something saying, you are not pulling the car out of the dish the right way. when you put your shoulder behind it, you have got to lean into it, so we finally got the car out of the ditch, and they want the keys back. no, you cannot have the keys. you do not know how to drive. you cannot have the keys. [applause] you cannot have them. we are not going to let you drive. no keys.

>> no keys! >> you do not get the keys back, but here is my point. after the meeting, we talked about that. we do not really see partisanship in the financial regulatory bill -- it just passed with mostly democratic votes to break the filibuster, but understand this about bipartisanship. i have a track record of working with folks across file -- the aisle, and i am also sympathetic to the fact that it is hard for republicans to work with me right now, because there are members of the days that if somebody even smiles at me, they think, you are a traitor. use mild to obama. you were polite, and if it --

you smiled at obama. you were polite, and if you are rude to obama, we can raise money, so the incentive structure for cooperation within the republican party is not very strong, so i am sympathetic to that, but when we talk about bipartisanship common -- bipartisanship, what we mean is there is going to be negotiation, and republicans are not going to get their way on everything, and there are going to be times when we disagree. one we are not doing everything the way they want, and they say, i will take my ball and go home, that is not a failure of bipartisanship. there has got to be reaching a failure of bipartisanship on our part. there have -- that is not a failure of bipartisanship on our part. there has got to be some

collaboration from the other side, particularly when you drove the car in a ditch. we cannot go back to business as usual. so on immigration, meet me a quarter of the way. we will deal with border security issues, and i will be serious about if. sometimes i get attacked by my own face, because some of the things i have done you are not happy with, but what i said is if i am willing to make decisions that are not always comfortable for me politically, i need you to make scituate -- decisions that are not always comfortable for you politically. [applause] if they are willing to do that, we can get immigration reform done, and it needs to be done --

comprehensive immigration reform, and if they are willing to do it, we can get an energy package that puts us on the path to a clean energy future. [applause] i remain hopeful. remember hope? i know it has been 18 tough months, and i know i have more gray hairs. i know some folks say he is not as cool as he was when he had the posters around and everything. now i have i hitler mustache on the posters -- a hitler mustache on the posters. that is quite a change. mire approval ratings start to sink in and -- my approval

ratings start using in, and some people are not satisfied. the health care bill was not everything i wanted -- the biggest deals since medicare, but is what i want -- not everything i wanted, but i understand. remember what the campaign was about? hope, a change -- people were not paying attention to me when i said, change is hard. a lot of folks dismiss that part. they're like, hope, a change, bruce springsteen st. -- everybody is feeling did. this is going to happen fast. -- everybody is feeling good. this is going to happen fast. if it was easy, we would have put in place mileage standards

for cars 30 years ago, 50 years ago on the trucks. and we did not do it, because it is hard, and it is hard not just because of special interests. it is also hard because everybody gets comfortable with the devil they know, and change can be scary, and people can be frightened, and issues can be demagogues, and the talking head media debate can get everybody confused and cynical and feeling like nothing is changing. the fact of the matter is over the last year and a half we have moved this country in powerful ways. the reason we have been able to do it is because i have had a partner, barbara boxer of california, who has fought with

me and marched with me and held hands with me, and if you want to see that change happen for the next 18 months and the next 18 months after that, then we elect barbara boxer -- reelect barbara boxer as a united states senator. ♪ .