registered it took the time on a tuesday in june to go vote. that has nothing to do with corporations, lobbyists, or anything. it has to do with us. last year i had a chance to go to iraq. i have been there three times and afghanistan twice. i met with a group of people they voted in iraq for the very first time. they stood in line risking their lives for the right to vote in the election. you know what? if the people of orange beach and gulf shores had to stand in the three-mile long bond to vote, it would not be 24%, it might not even before%. -- the 4%.

no one controls your government when the american people take their government back. the best way to do that is to be active. i would give anything -- let's take this coming election, november 2, drive around the streets of orange beach. see how many people have a yard sign in their yard. have a bumper sticker on their car. wear a button to the grocery store. that with all due respect is the best way to keep america on the track we want it to go on. it is not just to say to limit this -- and i agree with you. we need to limit outside influence especially if it is not being reported. but the better ways to make sure that the people -- i promise you. if i came in one day to the city hall in orange beach, and i said, guess what? you cannot but this week.

why? the government says that you cannot. we have taken away that right. people would be up in arms. let's never assume that the privilege of voting is something that is always guaranteed. >> i think you're preaching to the choir here. i am sure that everyone in this room right now is very involved in their community in their politics or we would not be here. >> you are right. >> how'd you get the word out to people who do not come to these meetings and do not want to get involved? besides go door-to-door. >> i have 250 schools in my district and i go any time i am invited. a student came in to see me with juvenile diabetes a few days ago, said they would like me to come to the school, and we call the school, and they did not know whether it was ok. you are a politician. a lot of civic clubs will not allow elected officials to speak.

it is a challenge, but it is not how do why do it, but how we do it. how you influence the people that you've gutted church with the people you go bowling with or the people that you played bridge with or work with as a community volunteer to get interested in keeping this country greg? and it is a challenge. i think we all have to do it. i appreciate -- i appreciate your question very much. >> we have got time for one more before the lights go off. come on up. >> i appreciate what you done for this community, i really did. what i want to say to you, the people -- the first time i came are to beach was to fish. we do not have insurance. i heard this gentleman and this

lady talk. i don't have much confidence in the alabama legislature. i have got less in congress. [applause] someone in congress needs to get a movement going like a tea party are whatever. bring together some -- and i had some people say, there's no use to vote and they go and do what they want to anyway. i do not think that that is right. i voted twice for george bush and i did not vote for obama. i would not vote for either one of them again. bush took us into a war, not knowing how to get out of that, and many times the republican congress passed a bill to spend money, he did not be delayed, not at all. what happened in 2006? the democrats to cover. they got worse, and the obama is said that we would have changed and we got to change

that i anticipated that did not want. people like yourself are going to have to come together like newt gingrich did with the contract of america and say something to the people, here is what we're going to do. what this lady is talking about, what is the gentleman is talking about. i do not have insurance because it was canceled. it cost me $22,000 before i could have insurance. i cannot afford it. [unintelligible] congress is the one needs to -- we elected congress to go up there and run our country. you need to come out with some -- i'm talking about congress -- just like the lead was talking about, we don't need the insurance company to the oil companies dictating what we're going to do. until we see some leadership, we cannot get these people out of

blood. i worked at the polls and they hear these people. i heard an 85-year-old levy working the polls, i'm going to vote against everybody in office. i and stand, lady. this is what we need, leadership in congress. there got to be enough good people that can come together with people like yourself and say there's something to strive for. give people something they hoped for. and thank you for this. [applause] >> is a great observation and a great challenge. it is a personal challenge that i take seriously. i have one vote, and that i have an opportunity to speak to the voices of 635,000 people that i work for and represent in congress. i will not make all six and a

35,000 people happy because it does not matter what the issue is, someone will disagree with whatever the vote was our whatever position that i to. i think you are exactly right. people have zero confidence. ofre's a 12% approval rating congress, i do not know where they are because i do not approve of where congress is and i am in congress. i'm on the house ethics committee. one of the most unpleasant task that you could be asked to be on. i have to set on a committee that stands in judgment of our colleagues. five republicans, by democrats. we are made aware of someone who is possibly committing the violations or breaking the rules and the law, and we have to stand in judgment of those members. it is not an easy day to do. i am trying as hard as i can

with my example to do the right thing. >> and i think you do. >> i thank you. i appreciate that. but i know it is not enough. people are tired of hearing promises before election day, and after election day, seen the results. they're tired of hearing the same old rhetoric in 30-second ads and seeing that our country is getting deeper into debt. we're borrowing more from saudi arabia and china and brazil and other countries. they're tired of the same challenges, time and time again. most of what we talk about at these meetings, we could have talked about when congress and callaghan was an office or when jack edwards was in office. many of these are not new problems. they are the same problems we

have yet to tackle. i assure you of one thing. i hear the message loud and clear. i believe more importantly, washington is hearing the message loud and clear. the tea party movement that sprang up -- began april 15 of last year, those were not republicans that are dissatisfied with president obama getting elected. those were independence, a former republican, former democrats, people are just frustrated because like the lady they think that washington is on the block stock and barrel by the special interests -- owned lock, stock, and barrel by the special interests. here's a quick example as i close. i am just letting you know what

a week in my life in jail, 40 weeks out of the year. i live in mobile with my wife and my 14-year-old daughter, 15 in a couple of days. and my 12-year-old son. i do not live in washington, d.c. i get no plan on monday morning and i come home on thursday or friday, 40 weeks out of the year. i meet with people representing businesses and communities. one person came to see me a few months ago and we had a chance to talk. he was lobbying me. and yet he is not a registered lobbying. he is a concerned citizen about a community, but fishing community, and the broader community that he loves. during that day, all of votes on the house floor, i have two committees that i am on noaa serve on those committees and we will have hearings, meetings for hours on end.

is the system perfect? absolutely not. can it be improved? of course. it has a 12% approval rating and there is a long way to go. but the heart of europe constructive -- criticism is made in a constructive way. i will tell you that in my view, most of you will not think i am shooting straight with you but i think most members of congress to the same thing i do. i think that they are good, honest, honorable people who serve their community but the same conviction that i tried to serve mine. and yet when you get to washington, say spent too much time in washington and forget what is happening in real america. and this is real america, the beltway is not. so thank you for your constructive comments. i will give you my word that as your representative, i will do everything i can as one person to try to give you a reason to

believe one day that the message got through and that you can have confidence again in your government, and i know you have confidence in your country. thank you so much. god bless you all. yes, sir? >> one more thing. i have been at 13 meetings and waited. [unintelligible] [laughter] >> let's hope that they do. thank you very much. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010]

[unintelligible] >> on c-span tonight, democratic national committee chairman tim kaine. former gov. george pataki introduces a campaign ad focusing on health care. later, secretary of state clinton discusses u.s. foreign policy at the council on foreign relations. on tomorrow morning's

"washington journal," a discussion about the obama administration foreign-policy. an l.a. times reporters on federal food safety regulations. a discussion about the u.s. labor market with economists bradford the delong. >> at long last the united states of america joins every other industrial nation in the world that says health care is the right, not a privilege. >> senators and congressmen have been holding town hall meetings in their states and districts and we have been covering. while some online at the c-span video library and see what you're elected officials have said from across the country. it is all searchable and free on your computer any time. >> on the campus of the university of pennsylvania today, the democratic national committee held this event to promote their nationwide

campaign efforts. we will hear from pennsylvania gov. ed rendell and dnc chairman tim kaine. they are introduced by they had of a group of democrats. -- by the head of a group of democrats. >> i am president of democrats here at the university of pennsylvania. we are honored at tim kaine and governor ed rendell and other leaders here on campus today. we're kicking off the home stretch of the 2010 election. [applause] pennsylvania is a battleground state with a key senate race and gubernatorial rise and several competitive congressional races. you'll hear from governor tim kaine in a few minutes, but

first i welcome rev. bakker from morris brown ama church for the invitation -- for the indication. >> good afternoon, everyone. good afternoon. let us pray. oh god, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, you have been sheltered for us in lights stormy blast and we thank you that you prepare for us a eternal home. from everlasting to everlasting, you are god. we of, and gathered here today in this place to begin our work. before we do so, we come to you because we need you in your honor you because you are taught all by yourself. we call on you to, because we need you as we go into this season.

they're people who think and believe that they represent you, that they hold some moral position that makes standing for social justice wrong. we come to you because we know you and we know that you care about the poor, that you said here about justice, that you care about equality, that you stand for equal opportunity. we call on you to let the truth rainfall lord, let your people in north the position that government cannot tell people that needed. the truth set them free. bless our leaders and our president in our speakers and all of us to gather this day. help us to move from this gathering and empowered to keep caring and working until this nation is one for everyone and everyone can have a chance to be who you have a call them debate.

with a shout of acclamation, we pray amen. >> thank you, reverend bagger. before i introduce governor ed rendell, i want to tell you why this election is so in borden share. i am proud to be a democrat and it is an honor to stand up here as a young person who helped president obama get elected. [applause] in 2008, there was a 92% voter turnout. young people like us helped elect president obama, but our work is not done. in 2008, we are inspired by barack obama's promise of reform in his administration has delivered on that promise. but we need to give him that continued congressional support to help them accomplish his goals and our goals.

president obama fought hard for us and it is our turn to return the favor here. when we look at the achievements of the past year-and-a-half, it becomes clear hamas the democratic party at first it is. with the passage of health care reform, we can stay on our parents and to win 26. more people in the college without worrying about riveted costs that will follow them for the rest of their lives. with credit card reform, we guarantee the credit card companies can no longer take advantage of students. we've accomplished so much in the past year-and-a-half. we still have so much to do. that's why i'm asking every college democrat, every registered democrat, and every citizen from all walks of life to getting gaged this year. support your local democrats, volunteer, and turn out the vote in november for strong candidates who will represent our interests. we ought to make -- we helped make the difference in 2008 and we will make the difference in

2010. there is energy on campus representative. we've already registered 500 to vote, and today is only the first day of class is. [applause] students are signing up to support our candidates. students here are anything but apathetic, and that is the attitude that will give us a victory in november. if there is anyone who can relate rolla -- really rally house to vote democratic this november, it is governor ed rendell. gov rendell is a pennsylvania alumnus and he will be one of my professors this semester. he was mayor of pennsylvania and served as chair of the dnc during the 2000 election.

in his eight years as governor, he has been a champion of education, health care, and environmental protection. he worked tirelessly every election year to bring more democrats into office. please join me in welcoming governor ed rendell. [applause] >> thank you all. if any of you in the crowd today are like emma, you get half a great extra for attending this rally. cms and give her your name. we will get started. it is an honor to be here to talk not only to the penn democrats, but the college democrats and all.

it is an important job and it is a very thankless job. tim kaine does it exceptionally well. it was on morning joe this morning. i followed him on in a different segment and i got to hear him and he was an incredibly effective advocate for our position. and he reminded people that this election is not over by a longshot. polls are polls, but polls eight weeks out do not mean a whole lot of things. tim reminded people that 60 days out in his governor's election he was down by eight points and went on to become governor. it is great to see so many of you here, the enthusiasm gap is all that press talks about. it is all the polls talk about. the truth of the matter is, if we can bridge the enthusiasm that, we will win. we're going to let good people all across the country, could

democrats, because -- good democrats, because even the wall street journal poll which had a high gap among likely voters, among registered voters -- we were dead even. and we've not begun to fight it. if we get those registered voters out, if we get the 2008 voters out, if we get the 2006 voters out, we will win and we will win a significant victory. everyone here is going to be part of the effort to energize our democratic voters and put them into the polls. the 2006 and 2008 voters or anyone for that matter. our message -- and you clear a major speech by chairman kane -- but it is very simple. you'll be delivering that message in pennsylvania. i want to put it in pennsylvania-centric terms.

we should not apologize for the first 20 months of the obama administration. we should revel in the things that they have done. [applause] no president in my lifetime has inherited a tougher set of challenges not of his own doing and barack obama. and no president has done more in 20 months to achieve legislative enactments that are going to help solve and resolve those problems. the things that i think that are going to benefit this country the most along one of the things that we get virtually no credit for. i want to talk about what they had meant to pennsylvania very quickly. the stimulus -- it got a living tar be out of it all the time. everyone takes advantage to kick around a stimulus. we did not talk about the stimulus and we should because

it were. there's no doubt that a word. everyone quotes the cbo. whenever the cbo comes out with something that they like, the republicans act as if it is the 10 commandments. the cbo has said that this stimulus has made a difference in the unemployment rate between 0.8% and 0.7%. the unemployment rate without the stimulus would be almost 11% to day in this country. it is made a huge difference. in pennsylvania, it has created and transformed the stimulus. the infrastructure part of the stimulus bill has worked big time. that is why the president is so right to want to spend $50 billion more on infrastructure. one example -- on june 30 it will ask to do a snapshot of people who were working in

pennsylvania on stimulus-funded transportation projects only. all sorts of mass transit projects, housing projects, energy projects, but this was just roads and bridges. there were 8600 pennsylvania ends, men and women, working in good paying jobs that could not be outsourced at the construction sites. stimulus-funded only. we also wrote down all the vendors to supply goods and services to repair the bridge or repave the road. we ask them, did you hire back or hire new workers? on just the stimulus projects, these firms hired back 3600 workers. 12,200 workers on june 30 working in steel plants and asphalt plants and concrete plants and other plants, on bridges and roads in pennsylvania, solely because of

stimulus. do not tell me or anybody that the stimulus has not created good paying jobs. it has. pennsylvania in our budget, if you look at the state budget, we get almost $3 billion this year of stimulus money. if we lost that money or never happen, in addition to the $3.5 billion of cuts we have made in the last 20 months, we would have cut so much money that over 12,000 workers would have been laid off. not to state workers, because with trickle-down to the counties, police and firemen, bnp workers, teachers, and state workers, caseworkers, you name it. 12,000 workers would of lost their jobs. i know the republicans love to say that that tan guy -- i guess i should not talk, but he said

they were only government jobs. only government jobs? teachers, policemen, firefighters --, again? they wrongly government jobs? people who teach our children and keep us alive? those jobs are and. . the stimulus is done that big time and it is equally important to the economy. thirdly, transform. hammon if you read about the stimulus in "time" magazine? all of you. your pen state student that you have nothing to do. just by the students to come into my class, you're not doing your homework. the writer does a brilliant job talking about the short run things that the stimulus done, how the obama administration and vice president biden were smart

enough to use the stimulus to began transforming america to a new economy, to a new energy economy, broadband, the grid, been so important, hybrid automobiles, batteries. we currently have 2% of the world battery production, hybrid in advanced batteries. by the time the stimulus money is then is, it will creed and the new battery production that we will have 20% of the world battery production. those are the things that the stimulus has done. tell people the stimulus has worked, it is work big-time, we should be proud of it, we should be talking about it. next, health care. are there things that we would change, chairman caen would change? of course there are. but is a land breaking sea change for the way americans will provide health care,

guaranteed health care to its citizens? you bet that it is. a lot of the good in the health- care bill is slated to take place in 2014. that should not stop us from talking about it. there are also some very good things that are happening right now. in september, i intend to have a four press conferences talking about things happening right now to benefit pennsylvania businesses and citizens. number one, you may have read this editorial, but if you do not ride "timing" magazine, you did not read the enquirer. there was an incentive to states and municipal governments and private companies that provide health. to that niche between 55 and 62, when people retire before their medicaid-eligible.

the federal government is providing subsidies because many companies were dropping those people from health care. that would not been a good result by any means. in the state of pennsylvania, we're getting $119 million to continue keeping its retirees in that age bracket into health care coverage. it is very important, very, very, important. that is happening all across pennsylvania. we're going to have a press conference on that tomorrow. we will highlight that impact for pennsylvania businesses. second, pre-existing illnesses. for all of us, adults, it will not be until 2012 that health care companies can no longer deny us coverage for pre- existing illnesses. but for children, pennsylvania's children, who are now by the way totally covered by health care based what the administration and done and what we have done in harrisburg -- only to states

and the union to make that claim. -- only two states in the union can make that claim. but now all no child can be denied coverage for pre-existing condition. most of your too young to have children. but think for a moment. i said most of you. [laughter] think for a minute, if you have a 5-year-old child who had leukemia. 90% preventable -- not preventable, curable. but you could not afford to get that child covered. you would be out of your mind. that is going to end that agony for parents because every child will be entitled to coverage as of september 1. third, we hear so much about the high risk pool, and that's a bang is putting 3000 people who could not get coverage 04, not

waiting to 2012 or 2014, we will cover those 3000 and may be more right away. people do not know that. fourth, you hear all the republicans over and over again saying that this will be a tax on small business. it's going to raise the cost of business. it is business uncertainty. for 125,000 small businesses in pennsylvania, to be helpful you have to have less than 25 employees, 125,000 small businesses in pennsylvania that have less than 25 employees, for those businesses -- they will get the 35% tax credit on this year's income tax, on this year's income tax for offering health car. this is not hurting small business. the affordable health care act

is helping small business. if we get out the truth, we -- it will set us free and we will win again. lastly, and tim will cover this at length so i will be short. we ought not let the republicans -- their prescription is to go back to doing what we did that drove us into the worst economy in any of our lifetimes. a policy that has not worked and will never work. it has never worked in this country ever. cut taxes. everything else will be great. you cannot raise taxes without killing the economy. bill clinton raised taxes in 1993 on the top 2% of wage earners in this country and it because the economy to plummet into a tailspin quick to mark

know, by reducing the deficit, it produced the greatest spurt of economic growth in the last 25 years. 125 million new jobs. let's tell the public what these people are. they say no to everything. they say they say no because they do not want at the deficit. baloney. they talk about small business. we have to help small business. there is a small business bill that we have not been able to get one republican senator to vote yes on cloture. which would give $33 billion of money of lending to small businesses which would eliminate the capital gains tax for investment in small businesses, and which is fully paid for. it is fully paid for. and yet these guys are stopping it. it is truly the party of no for one reason. they do not want the economy to get better. they want to use it as an

election issue all the way up to 2012. that is destructive, it is unfair, and frankly, it is outrageous. and this is the party that slowly but surely has been taken over by wackos. [laughter] [applause] i am telling you. ,f i'm an independent voter sure, i am worried about the deficit. but i sure as heck should be worried about people who want to deal with the 14th amendment. i should be worried about people who are obsessed with the president not being born in america. i worry about people who think that workers are staying at home to take unemployment checks, when the average check is $370. try to raise a family and pay a mortgage on $370 a week.

they are nuts, they are flat-out crazy. and we do not want them -- [applause] even if the candidate is not particularly crazy himself, is in a fruit loop, we're going to turn the reins of the congress over to these people who are more and more dominated by a whacko wing? of course not. we've not done a good job selling it. we have got a lot to sell. but the fight has just begun. we have taken off the gloves. we're going to bring that message to pennsylvania and america loud and clear. there is no better messenger than the chairman of the democratic party, governor tim kaine. [applause] >> pennsylvania democrats. great to be with you.

thank you, thank you very much. please have a seat. what a great turnout. i'm glad to be here on the opening day of class is. you guys are political junkies here. it is so great to be here at and with my friend governor ed rendell. there is a small part of american lives composed of people who have been mayors, governors, and chairman of the democratic national committee. there is a two-member club that has been all three and i think we're it. he has been an inspiration, someone i have been mired in its public service like. big round to your governor, ed rendell. i want to thank emma and the others here. 500 new voters on the first day of class?

ok, in the past week. that is something. thank you all for your great work. thank you there rev. bakker for the indication reminding us of our roots. we're not in this for the politics. it's not politics for politics say, but to do good things. the and we're is seeking to do good things and serve others and keep our roots in social justice. he reminded us of that. i want to but knowledge to people here. your future governor, allegheny county executive he give him a round of applause. as ed and i know, services at the local level is a great platform because you're a sensible, if you were immediate, you're always with the people and he will be a great governor. and your future and current representative, just a stack. they're running great campaigns

and they need your help to lead pennsylvanian two and a more prosperous future. on one thing members of congress, the democratic delegation from pennsylvania, they've been so strong, casting towboats, doing the heavy lifting to move our country for. we have great democratic challengers this year in pennsylvania running very tough races. i was here last week for an event with one who you may know. i am impressed with him, with mayor callahan, and others. to all the officials and candidates who will be doing the hard work for our party, let me acknowledge that the soldiers, the pennsylvania democratic party coordinated campaign and the local committees. organized labor, raise your hand. thank you guys. our faith community, organizing for america volunteers, all the grass roots people that make this a party. we are a grass-roots party, a

people's party. if we remain true to that, we will do fine. it's important to in knowledge our grass-roots right after labor day weekend. here is why we are here. everybody here is because is a for president obama and you support democrats. 2008, i know most of you went door-to-door or make phone calls or e-mails or on twisted bodies at church and at the workplace. you did all that you could across pennsylvania and the nation to make sure we achieve this historic win. some of you likely cast your first ballot ever in the 2008 election. and there are others in this room who are going to be cast your first ballot this november. we're all here for the same reason. all of you here for that reason, do not let anyone tell you that the 2010 election is not as important or historic or

is meaningful as 2008. i want to tell you something and i'm going to get into this a little bit, congress is important. governors' offices are important. state legislative elections and local elections are important. in this midterm elections in 2010, they are particularly important. if you want the president to succeed, if you have to make sure that he has good partners to work with. simply put, the other guys want to take the country back, but we have to have the president's back, and we will do that by going back to the polls on november 2. and when we go back to the polls, weird when to put some good democrats in place to keep moving this nation ford. the president cannot do anything without the support of congress, and i mean anything. without the support of congress, the president would not have been able to make progress on the changes that the american

people demanded an expected in 2008, off from the recovery act that the governor is laid out, the facts and figures in pennsylvania to help prevent a second break depression, to the affordable care at, to make sure that no one is ever denied insurance because of heartless insurance company rules. the student lending reform that make college more affordable for millions of americans, for students just like you, and wall street reform that finally hold big banks accountable, if none of that what happened had the president not have a congress that was willing to work together with him. he could not have been acted this legislation without the work of democrats in congress, especially with the uniform opposition for all kinds of reasons coming from the other side. in january, we will not be able to defend key legislation from the republican strategy of attack in the appeal without democrats in congress. -- attack and repeal with the

democrats in congress. they have been essential for so much in our political history. i know we have historians here, people did care about politics, but almost every major piece of legislation enacted to help build the american middle class was passed by a democratic congress. right? virtually. virtually every protection that you cannot on was put in place by democrats. a democratic congress passed the civil rights act and the voting rights. a civil -- that pass as a security endemic -- and medicare. that passed the fair labor standards act which included minimum wage legislation. if a democratic congress passed the fair housing act, the family medical leave act, the democratic party and democratic congresses did these things because it is to we are. we did a means to help regular,

everyday americans, middle-class families, small businesses get ahead. and because of that, voters have always turn to our party, to the democratic party, when times are tough. you'd know that they turn to the democrats in 1930's when they elected franklin roosevelt to end the depression. they'd turn to democrats in the 1960's when they elected president kennedy to tackle the challenges of this new era. that turns democrats in the 1990's when they elected president clinton, who is going to be in the neighborhood next week, to get the american economy moving again after more than a decade of failed republican leadership and ballooning national debt. and the american public turn to us in 2008 when they elected president obama and so many congressional democrats to offer our slide into a great depression after suffering through a decade of failed economic policies that lets our families tread water while the

walls of the and prosperous and corporate special interests wrote all the rules. people were hurting, gov. window, you know it, and that is what they turn to us. people are still hurting and they still need is. when the president took office, his top priority was to help hard-hit americans to hold on to their jobs, the businesses, and their homes in the midst of this terrible economic crisis. his priority continues to be to create jobs for the american people to succeed, by working with congress to build a new path to economic growth. starting new industries, positioning for global success again, relying on our spirit of innovation and strong work at that -- strong world ethic. that is why congress enacted tax cuts for 95% of working families and millions of small businesses. passing legislation guaranteeing women equal pay for equal work. right? [applause]

and with the passage of the recovery act, " right here in pennsylvania are going back to work, and just in this state alone, the obama administration policies working together with the governor at and the administration here who is a partner not an obstructionist, have helped jump-start 130,000 jobs for hard-working pennsylvanian just in the second quarter of this year. right in philadelphia, 17,000 pennsylvanians had been able the find help ed recovery act-funded career centers. many came to the center lacking hope and work. they were struggling to pay bills and credit cards. he were potentially in danger of losing their homes, but with the help of a career links centers, many are back in work or at training programs to increase their skills they can be competitive in this challenging economy. it's not just here in pennsylvania. there is work with the national governors' association all across the country, and the

president's economic plan has helped private sector job creation. the american economy lost private sector jobs 22 months in a row beginning in early 2008. the longest period of job loss since the 1930's. but we have no gain private sector jobs for each of the last eight months, 3.3 million people of their jobs to this recovery act, and an economy that was streaking in 2008 today is growing. it is not growing up. we have more work to do. but we've gone from shrinking to growing under the president. these 3.3 million workers are laying a new foundation for american prosperity. rebuilding roads, bridges, and runways, and high-speed rail. investing in new technologies, competing again at the top level with nations that were passing us by. for the first time in a decade, the american auto industry is

hiring autoworkers' back. guess what? coming back toy work, but they are now building the cars of tomorrow, not yesterday. cars with higher mpg and lower emissions, good for the economy and the environment. american ingenuity triumphing again. this means a shift away from republican policies that encourage the shipment of manufacturing jobs overseas. our feature is got to be defined by good jobs at good wages and good benefits, the kind of jobs that helped build the american middle class. [applause] salva the first time in a decade, we've got policies devoted to making products right here in america again. president obama said we're not trying to settle for number one -- number two, we're playing for number one again in the manufacturing area.

gov. rendell said we cannot let the other guys get away with stuff. let me turn to another topic. unfortunately the republican party has not supported economic recovery. just think about that for one second. in the midst of the worst economy since the 1930's, brought on by policies that the republican party ushered in an preaches the economic gospel, the republican party is now standing against every effort this president and democrats are making to return america to prosperity. there is a bill pending, and i saw a lot of head nods, to provide critical tax breaks to small businesses and to expand lending opportunities to small- business is. getting lending is important to expand operations and hire employees. upon the signing of this bill, thousands of businesses will be able to get critical ones. startups and small businesses will get a tax break on capital

gains investments in those businesses. the bill is fully paid for, but republican senators are using and abusing and over using the filibuster to stop an important tool for small business relief. while democrats are actively pursuing our options to power a recovery, the republicans are only offering no to american people who need to continue to help move this economy forward. instead of working with democrats to rebuild the economy and the middle class, republicans have opposed fixing all the damage that their economic policies created. instead of moving away from their failed economic policies, they have dug in harder to this policy. instead of standing together to move the country, they decided to stand with the same special interests that have hurt middle- class families and small businesses. they are more interested in positioning themselves for the

next election than they are for positioning the american people for success in the next generation. you know what is happened as the president has worked with members of congress to do the heavy lifting on important things. when the president worked for health-care reform, the republicans stood up the fight him. the president was fighting so that mothers, of pittsburg. his daughter was born prematurely, but do not have to worry about mounting debt when their children are lying in bed in an intensive care unit. but republicans were fighting for the status quo. when president obama offer the folks on the gulf coast in the aftermath of the bp spill, one in dull bp accountable, what the republican do? they stood with big oil. that offer be paid. one of the leaders of the republican congressional t committees and so far as to publicly apologize to bp for the president's advocacy on behalf of families in the gulf coast.

over 100 public and members of congress accused the president of a shakedown. you know it. when the bp accountable for the families and businesses on the gulf coast. why is that a shakedown the hold someone accountable for environmental degradation and hurting families and businesses? president obama offer student lending reform. now that is going to students and families. that is a good applause line they're here. i like that. by moving the subsidies away from base to students, this is all about trying to help students get through college, more students, without having a debt that you would drive around behind you for the rest of your life. credit card reform, the same thing. the president and the democrats fought to end abusive practices.

republicans stood up with a credit card industry. and on wall street reform, and this is a protracted battle over the summer. we saw what happened when the financial system collapse. there had to be better rules of the road after a decade of turning a blind eye to what wall street is doing. everyone recognized the need to be new rules of the road. democrats were casting vote after vote for common sense reforms, republican leaders meeting on wall street with wall street lobbyists trying to figure out every which way they could stop meaningful reform to keep our economy strong. on these issues and more, president obama stood with the american people and the republican party stood with a special interests. that is the choice. that is the choice that we face this november. forwardant to move towa and continue to deliver the chains that we promised?

do we want to work to increase the rate of growth? or do we want to go back to the same failed economic policies that brought millions -- lost millions of people their jobs and trillions of peoples savings? good, we're getting in the group. president obama and the democrats promise change and we started to deliver it. but people are still hurting. we have too much work to do. we used to seeing a song in our church choir. i had another life as a tenor soloist. we used to sing this song, i don't fell in now ways tired. i don't believe you brought me this far to leave me. we started down this path, but we're not there yet. the road is not easy but we're not going to step off the path now and leave the president and

members of congress to go on the road. we're going to be there for them, aren't we? yes. [applause] i grew up in the midwest, in the kansas city area, so i grew up with harry truman. yet the praise for the republican party, he called them the do nothing party. it's been more than 50 years since he said that but the name still fits. you know what is worse than and do nothing minority party in congress? the do nothing majority party. we cannot afford to let the economic recovery crumble after they throw up roadblocks after roadblock. if republicans win control congress, they will do everything they can to reverse the progress we have made, turn back the clock on behalf of special interest friends and big

donors, and right wing elements taking over the party. here's the thing i find frightening. it would be one thing if they were just tired in the back the clock to the bush administration, but they don't want to go back to the bush policy. they don't just want to repeal health reform and wall street reform. they don't want to just undo the changes that we just talked about that happened since president obama became president. many of the key republican candidates want to turn back changes that your parents and grandparents were to put into place in american life. let me talk about that for a second. sharron angle has said that the united states should lead the united nations and which is shut down the department of education. joropo -- a colorado republican canada has said that social security, which guarantees your parents' retirement, is a

"horrible policy." probably 20 members of the republicans running for congress go around saying over and over again that it's as if -- social security as a ponzi scheme. jo miller has said that unemployment benefits are not constitutionally authorized. we should in social security. my personal favorite, kentucky republican candidates ran the paul -- rand paul opposes the fair housing act any said that the other civil-rights acts were unnecessary and should be open for discussion or revision. all right and was the balance the budget not by repealing tax cuts on the wealthy like president clinton did, but by increasing taxes on the middle class, while phasing out social security and medicare. some republicans are broaching the idea of considering a

rewrite of the 14th amendment's of the constitution, the amendment passed by congress in honor of the assassinated president abraham lincoln, the first republican to be president of the united states. one of those republicans who ventured that idea is a man who is already measuring the drapes to be the next speaker, minority leader john boehner. all you have to do it is look at republican policy. recently, mr. john boehner helped legislation passed that keeps teachers, firefighters, and policemen on the job. he said in fighting against this legislation -- this is important, listen to this -- he said teachers, firefighters, police officers, the folks who

teach our kids, the folks who run into burning buildings, the folks who walk the beats in our neighborhoods are just a bunch of special interests. then he went on to say that the bill was bad because, gosh, we pay for teachers salaries and police officers by closing tax loopholes that were helping american companies ship jobs overseas. in that world, come january, that alternate universe, teachers, police, and firefighters are undeserving special interests that companies use to ship jobs overseas and they deserve special protection. this is the same john boehner hoot infamously -- you infamously handed out tobacco company campaign checks on the floor of the house of representatives a couple of years ago and sided with wall street lobbyists who blocked financial reform, and this is

the guy who wants to lead the people's house. these other kinds of candidates republicans have of the ballot this year, candidates whose vision for the future is to take us way back to the failed policies they have already demonstrated will hurt this nation, favoring the wealthiest, cutting legislation for special interests, and cutting the middle class loose to fend for themselves. voters will not like the direction republicans take this country, and that is the choice that is clear between now and election day. i the election is not about generic polls. there was a poll yesterday that showed it even, but it is not about generic polls because they are not generic candidates. the voters get to make the comparison. so many of the republican candidates are looking backward rather than forward, and we have to say no to them and their failed ideas. republicans have nominated pat

toomey as their senate candidate and pennsylvania. he pioneered the use of derivatives, which played a huge role in the collapse of the financial market. later, he was in congress and he fought to deregulate wall street, leading to some of the challenges we have seen. his most recent job was the head of a powerful wall street special interest group. he has said time and again that you move the country forward by giving money to corporations or the wealthiest citizens. he has not changed his tune. and he will not as a u.s. senator. we have to say no to him and yes to the responsible leadership. are you ready to that? [applause] and in the import a race for

the governor's office -- governors' races are critical. you have re-redistricting being, public services, mental health, social services. those all go to the governor's office and you have to have a governor who understands philadelphia and the needs of counties and towns all over the commonwealth. republicans have nominated a guy who has ridiculed pennsylvania's receiving unemployment compensation during this horrible recession. what, it is ok to pick somebody when they are down? we have to say no to him and say yes to the allegany executive. are you ready to do that? [applause] absolutely. now, i have drawn a sharp contrast, and some of you may think you are exaggerating the differences between the dems and remind yout let me

of what happened last time the republicans were in charge. the economic crisis was the end result of a decade of failed republican policy. president bush and the republican squandered a budget surplus, ushered in deficits, relaxed regulations on wall street, past tax cuts for the wealthiest, while the rest of america struggled not to lose their grip on the american dream. anybody who lost their job or did not have health insurance or cannot pay the rising cost of college was out of luck. the gap between the super wealthy and everybody else became a canyon. median income declined. more american families live paycheck to paycheck and a crisis was building. before president bush left office, the crisis was in full strength. in the last year of the administration alone, millions of jobs were lost. when republicans have control of

government, they promise responsible leadership, but they failed to provide it. when the bill came due, when their policies failed spectacularly, they passed that bill on to us. the cost, millions of jobs, an entire decade of opportunity, but gone. returning to republicans to power today would be like giving the keys back to herbert hoover in the middle of the 1930's. we would be nuts to do it. i don't think the american people will do it. we have not forgotten what republican control did the country. we won't go backwards. we have to move forward. i democrats will continue to invest in students, through grace to the top, a pell grant expansion, expansion of community colleges. we want americans to earn diplomas, attend college, and get degrees in college or

technical programs. we have to be number one in the world in terms of college degrees. this is a committed that understands that deeply, the challenge ahead, but we can do it. tax credits, lending and senate's, and a national export initiative which is helping somebody small businesses find new markets for american made goods overseas rather than vice versa. we will keep investing in 21st century green technology. they will help us get to the place where our country is no longer depended upon others for energy, and with and also guarantee our workers have a high skill 21st century jobs, leaving this world and the import economy of the future, all right? -- and the important economy of the future, all right? and as the president will outline today, democrats will make sure that we reward businesses who are investing in capital purchases, investing in

research and development to keep us the most innovative nation in the world. that is our great strength, and as president understands it, and that is what democrats will do. that is the choice to do what it takes to move the americans board together. republicans have made their choice to stand with special interests and stand up with failed policies of the recent past with the distant past. on election day, it will be america's turn to choose. they can choose republicans who drove the country into a ditch, who have not left a helping hand and have not presented a single idea for getting america going again. or voters can choose democrats who are leading us out of the ditch. right? [applause] who have taken the bold actions necessary to repair a decade of damage, who are committed to doing everything within our power to help american families, workers, and businesses succeed.

i have the faith we to make that choice clear. we can't elect and re-elect democrats all across this country, -- we can elect and re- elect democrats all across the country, and we can win state legislative races. we can do this if -- if -- we do what we do so well, reaching out to americans in person, in the neighborhoods, at the doors, and on the phones. we win tough races like governor special elections. the pollsters had us down, the district had gone for john mccain. they thought this would be hard. we win tough races by being strong on the ground. the other guys, i have to admit, they got all the tv ads that special interest money can buy, but they don't have you. they don't have you! [applause]

energized have the citizens fired up for positive change rather than just against everything were willing to work to make that change happen. remember, recent history, we could not have won congressional majority in 2006 without you. we could not have made collect oral history in 2008 without you. -- we cannot have made elect world history into does it without you. we could not have passed insurance reform without you. we would not have passed it without you. you are the difference maker in 2010. when the president says, i cannot do it alone, he said it from the beginning of the campaign, this is exactly the type of battle he is talking about, the battle we are going into right now, labor day to election, 2010. people tell me all the time,

man, you are dnc chair. that is a tough job. they say 2010 will be a tough year for us. look, i took a year off when i was many of your age and i went to work with missionaries and the second poorest country in the western hemisphere, honduras, and i saw what a tough job that was. i was a civil rights lawyer in richmond, va., battling for people who were turned away from housing because of race or disability, sitting with clients who could it often not pay me any thing while the other side it was packed to the gills with lawyers. as a political candidate, i was almost always count it out and down in the polls until the very end. i have faced tough odds before and i am used to this situation. let me say something about you.

i don't know all of you, but i know this -- you don't mind tough. hentoff is what democrats do, folks. -- hentoff is what democrats do, folks. -- tough is what democrats do. we campaign tough, we win tough, we govern tough. we are always the underdog party and we will always be the underdog party because we're speaking for regular, everyday people throughout this great country. we love day tough battle because the nation has turned to was combination is counting uon us, and we will not make progress without fighting for it. are you ready to fight for it and keep fighting? [applause] so as we start this home stretch toward the midterms, thank you

for being willing to keep fighting. and you for standing with us as we continue this battle for progress. thank you for standing with a great president and great democrats and for your work, and with your work, we will keep america moving forward. thank you very much! i enjoyed being here with you. really appreciate it. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> they should be out there persuading the undecided voters between now and election day. >> in terms of cranking up the machinery, in pennsylvania, they're supposed to be good organization and it could not help arlen specter against the anti-insurgent wave inside of the democratic party. how would you do that facing the republicans? >> internal party politics is

obviously challenging, and we had two great politicians running against each other. any worry about people getting on board and supporting him. we had tough, challenging primaries on our side, but then everybody pulls together. it is the other guys wear after the primary, somebody leaves the party. you are right, it was a challenging primary, narrow, good candidates, but we will not have any trouble getting everybody on board. >> most of them are ahead or even. why? >> i think we will have close races. six months ago, it looked very difficult. we feel very good about the nevada senate race. it would have seemed very difficult the democrats would

finally after many years be able to get the governor's mansion in florida, a critical place. the republican primary there was so divisive that they canceled the unity rally two weeks ago, and now some polling shows the democrats ahead, which would be a huge gift for us. colorado's six months ago seemed very difficult and both the senate and governor's races, but after the candidates pulled together, we feel very good about both of them. we're not taking anything for granted. that is why we have invested patiently in building out the organizing for america field team. we think that we do our best work door to door in the field. >> would you say that pennsylvania it is one of the major areas? >> there are three kinds of investments that we make. i cannot give you the dollars off the top. the first thing that we do is invest in state parties,

primarily through coordinated campaigns. we made investments and state parties, pennsylvania, ohio, florida being the states we have made the most investments. we have on the ground staff. the organizing for america out party paid for by the dnc budget is in pennsylvania, working heavily on the court in a campaign for the midterm elections. third, we raise sizable amounts of dollars to support democratic and congressional and senatorial candidates, and they are making huge investments in pennsylvania and we may be the biggest funding source for them at this point. in those three ways, we are heavily invested. just the dollars in the quarter ended campaigns -- pennsylvania, ohio, florida -- are the three biggest. >> there was a story earlier

this week, you talk about having conversations. how do you think they will be working with the dnc? >> we feel like the best way for us to be helpful is to help the state party with a coordinated campaign. i think that will be beneficial. we also play a significant role in financing the senate campaign committee. he is his own man. that is fine. one thing on the democratic party that i like, we are a big tent. that creates challenges, too, but we don't throw people over the side if they cast a vote we don't like. we're the party that is the big tent. and his stellar record in the military and strong record in congress make him the kind of guy who will be a good member of congress, independent, good

member of the senate. he will be a real pennsylvania voice and he is definitely a productive and cooperative person on issues that are important to the nation. >> what do you think about democratic candidates like in pennsylvania, who run it saying, i stood up against nancy pelosi, president obama? >> first, i think it is important for people run their own campaigns. i don't pretend to be an expert, a special congressional districts. the way that districts get gerrymandered, and sometimes be at odds with the statewide population. i have to respect somebody's knowledge of the district. i don't think there is any problem running as an independent voice. independence is a good quality. i think anybody running as a democrat should be your running and proud to run as a democrat. anybody who has been in

congress can sell equal pay for women, they can sell turning the american industry -- although industry a lot -- automobile industry around. they have the complete ability to stand up and say, i am proud of the hard work we have been doing. and i think all democrats should run proudly. >> do you think the top way to do that is by it time to obama? >> here is our strategy on get- out-the-vote. to help a generic congressional candidate go out and find a reliable, every-year democratic voters in their district. they know how to find them. the reliable, every-year voters are voters who those members of congress are already in

communication with. we do at the dnc, in addition to cash, putting staff and the states to reach out to first- time voters from 2008. those first-time voters, 50 million, nearly 800,000 in pennsylvania, voted for the first time in their life, and they voted heavily out of allegiance for president obama. they still care deeply about his success. as we're doing our part of the work, focusing on the first- timers', making that connection, for president obama to succeed on the agenda that he was put in it to office on, we have to make sure that partners are strong. that is part of what we're doing with that 50 million-strong group of first-time voters in the country. >> you have highlighted everything that the democrats have done it in the first 20 months. why is it there are some a polls

and races and so many places that showed republicans up? >> two things, made terms are always tough. since teddy roosevelt was tough, the average midterm election, the president loses 28 house seats and four senate seats. why? that is the history. that is the average. we are not living in an average times. we have a tough economy. that makes the historic headwind stiffer. most of what we see in terms of pulling challenges -- polling challenges is that when a nation goes one way and a presidential race it starts to come back. we see politics doing that. that is part of it. i would also say, look, this is a president very much about the substance. i know him very well. this is a president, a trend in washington i have seen for years it is tough issue?

can we kick it down the road to the next congress or pumped it to the next administration? -- or punt it to the next administration? he does the tough things. that is the way to turn this economy from near depression to growing again. he has focused more on the substance of doing the hard things than the sales job. between labor day and election day, we have to be salesmen. up to this point, he has been focused on the economy losing 750,000 jobs per month that is growing now. the gdp was shrinking. it is growing now. now was the time for salesmanship, and i think the polls will move. >> is the reality that america is so frustrated with washington that their attention span is shorter? >> the attention span shorter?

maybe all of bars are becoming shorter and a lot of ways. in terms of being able to be persuaded, the gallup poll last week had republican congressional generic ballots up by 10. this week tied. in one week. these are huge sample size polls. the gap completely closed. i think this is a changeable electorate. i think it is an electorate that we believe we continue to have change that is necessary. but we have a long way to go. i think we will see a lot of shifts, maybe in a couple of different directions. you might see something like that happen between now and election day in volatile times. people may not make up their mind until the very end, and i have seen that and other cycles. thank you all.

[captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> now former new york gov. george pataki, who has created a campaign targeting congressional candidates who voted for the health care bill. they introduced their ads during this press conference. >> i would just like to take this moment to introduce two other members of the team who are here this morning. we have chris, the political director, and we have james, our policy adviser. revere america was born out of a political committee called americans for responsible health care. it was one of the first independent advertisers to support this. ,ith the passage of obama-care revere america was created to

support the repeal and replacement of obama-care. however like to introduce the chairman of revere america, former governor of new york, george pataki. >> thank you, and thank you for being here this morning. this group out of americans for responsible health care. back earlier in the year when the senate race was being held in massachusetts, some individuals got upset about the fact that congress looked like it was looking to ram through obama-care against the wishes of the american people, and we got so -- we get started early supporting scott brown in his race for the senate seat. he won, and we were not alone. i think the american people understood when teddy kennedy's

senate seat went to a republican, it meant there was enormous opposition to government takeover of health care in the united states and would probably be derailed. you saw with the nancy pelosi house and harry reid said did, ramming it through the senate anyway, and president obama signed it into law. we were told while we may not know what is in a, once they have passed, we will learn about it. we have learned about it, and to this day a clear majority of americans understand this is overreaching by government and will increase deficits, make health care accessibility more difficult, it will increase the cost of health care for americans, and it does not achieve what it was marketed as achieving what it was first proposed in congress. so we grew out of that effort, and revere america has two

meanings. one, as all americans do, we loved and revered this country and the opportunities this country has given. the second is it reflects back to paul revere, who 235 years ago went on his ride when american freedom was in danger. american freedom is in danger again today. it is not at the end of a musket carried by a soldier, it is in danger by politicians in washington ramming through policies that overreach and expand government power and dictate to many aspects of american people's lives to every single individual and family across this country. we created revere america dedicated to the mission of repealing obama-care and replacing it with good programs that would expand accessibility and empower the american people with better health care choices than they have today.

we started out looking at the grass roots to go around the country and get 1 million signatures of americans committed to working with us to repeal and replace obama-care. as of today we are approaching a half million, getting in the neighborhood of 20,000 signatures per day. we're very confident we will have more than 1 million americans who have signed up and joined with us and repealing and replacing obama-care by october 1, and we intend down not just to work to educate the american people as to the bad parts of obama-care, but to also impact the makeup of congress this november. let me stress, revere america is not a partisan organization, we are a policy organization, looking for policies that belief in limited government, free markets, and a power game -- and empowering the american people to make choices for themselves

as opposed to empower politicians to impose those decisions on the american people. we have been involved in issue advocacy. we will continue to be involved in issue advocacy, but we also now have the legal right to be engaged in express advocacy during the course of the upcoming political races, and we intend to do that and two ways. one is to look to the million- plus people who have signed on, to encourage them to get involved in congressional and senate races in their district, to help hold people accountable for their votes. we will be sending out probably this week, cards asking every single person running for congress this year if they will work with us to repeal and replace obama-care. we intend to support those who will and oppose those who won't. we will now begin the process of direct advocacy. we will be involved in at least a dozen house races.

we will be spending in the seven-figure amount on express advocacy, and we expect to begin that sometime next week. we have a pilot ad that we will be running in many house races. at this point, i think it is appropriate to show to the people and to the media what those ads will be. it is going to be silent. >> your congressmen voted for obama-care. government run health care is a bad plan. government democrats will benefit. seniors will get hurt. it calls will go up. care will go down. blogger weights and doctors' offices and your -- longer waits and doctors' offices. we did not want this, but we got it anyway. defeat your congressman. revere america is responsible for the content of this

advertising. >> obviously, it will be targeted to the specific district, but we think it is a powerful message and it is appropriate. in virtually every one of those districts, members of congress voted for obama-care against the wishes of people in that district. you have probably seen those who want to try to re-educate the american people will be spending millions of dollars, claiming that obama-care is a good thing. senator-all -- senator tom daschle is leading one of those efforts, and we do not intend to have just one side. it is a bad law, the american people know it, and we will remind them of how their congressman voted. at this time, we would be happy to open up to questions. let me think some of the grass- roots groups. we appreciate you coming this morning. ultimately, it depends on who comes out to vote november 2.

that grass-roots energy is what we need to win policy majorities this november. thank you. questions from the press? >> of their members that you will be targeting this cycle? >> we have been looking at races, and we have at least a dozen that we believe we will be involved in. at this point, we will not release those particular districts. yes? >> talk about the repeal effort and how you see that going after the election next year. am i think it is important is not just out between -- >> i think it is important that it is not just between now and november 2. you could have policy majorities with two-thirds in both houses to repeal the law. i am realistic. i think that is very unlikely. the second issue have a policy majority in congress. you have a president who looks

and understands the american people have rejected this law and who is willing to work with congress to repeal and replace it with reforms that will work. the third is if you have policy majority in one house. that one house would be able to block certain implementations, requirements. the law is phased in over a number of years. to the extent to policy maggiore has the ability to prevent that from happening, -- a policy majority has the ability to prevent that from happening, it would require them to sit down and renegotiate and come up with true reform. in addition, there are a lot of lawsuits out there. the attorney general in florida has one on behalf of florida and other states, and we will be involved in a lawsuit brought by the lieutenant governor of missouri, which is interesting because it is not government against government, it is based on some of the corrupt deals in

this bill. in this case, the fact if you are a senior citizen on medicare advantage, you will lose in an overwhelming number of cases that ability to have medicare and finished unless you live in the state of florida because of the corrupt deal. we believe that is an unconstitutional denial of equal protection. you have the policy argument, the legal argument, and the political fight aimed at achieving policy majorities that will overturn obama-care, and we are hopeful with the continued understanding and commitment of the american people at the grassroots that we boilable to repeal and replace obama-care. >> how much do you expect to spend on this ad buy? >> 7 figures. how much will be evolving, but we know it will be in the seven figures. yes? >> can you talk about what you

want to repeal? the entire law? >> yes, and replace it with real reforms. one example is the soaring costs. the most obvious way in which a clear majority of americans understand lowering costs is getting rid of junk lawsuits. it was not seriously considered, and that is wrong. another way is to allow people to purchase insurance across state lines. it does not make any sense that you have to purchase it within your state if you have a policy or company that offers more competitive or better price or design products. the third is to allow a high deductible policies with health savings accounts that would provide cooperation between an employer and employee, so you could have lower cost health insurance. that is just on the coverage outside. on the accessibility side, you could allow the creation of small private groups, allows

small businesses and individuals to pool together, but to the policies that provide adequate coverage that are not as expensive as some of these coverage plans required today. and you need insurance regulation reform. not everything in obama-care is bad. i think requiring insurance companies not to deny someone because of a pre-existing condition, not to allow an insurance company to drop someone after they have been a policy holder a number of years simply because they're getting older, not to put lifetime caps on the amount that a policyholder can be held to, these are good reforms that are in obama-care that would be continued as we repealed and replaced. there are a number of very positive changes that could have been made to improve both the cost and accessibility of health care that were not included in obama-care that we think deserve to be considered and included.

by the way, right now, our economy is not generating the jobs we need. obama-care represents one of the largest tax increases this country has seen, particularly on small businesses at a time when we need those small businesses to have the confidence to grow and expand and invest and create new jobs. right now, if you are a business person, if you offer health coverage that is too great, you will be fined under the cadillac plan. if your health insurance does not meet bureaucratic standards, you'll be fined because it is not adequate. if you don't provide health care coverage in a way that bureaucrats design, you could be fined. this is a deterrent to businesses looking to create jobs. we need new jobs, and the uncertainty, except that there will be higher costs imposed on business because of obama-care, is one of the reasons we're not

able to produce the private- sector job growth to get the economy moving again. >> he said it would increase prices and costs. could you expand on that? >> we were told a number of things during the debate. how many times did the president say, if you are happy with their current coverage, you don't have to change a thing? that is not the case. the president's own health and human services agency said after the bill passed said more than 10 million americans on medicare advantage will lose that option. more than 40 million americans who have private health coverage will be required to change that coverage because of obama-care -- more than 14 million americans. they also said it would not impact accessibility, and his own hhs data and analysis that said medicare recipients will have a more difficult time accessing and health care coverage. and that report, and from his

administration after the bill passed, said as many as one in eight hospitals and health care centers will be operating in the red because of the medicare cuts. threatening the ability of people to access quality health care. they finally said it would drive down costs. again, an analysis by hhs after the bill passed said it would drive up costs. you could look at the obama administration's own analysis of this. what we were told it was going to be the consequences if this bill passed is not the fact. it will drive up health-care costs, deny accessibility, particularly for senior citizens, increase the deficit, at the same time it is imposing a massive new burden on businesses who need to have the certainty and a more healthy economic climate to create the jobs that we need. yes? >> cbo recently scored a repeal

of $450 billion. has that affect your job? >> the gimmick that was used, among many gimmicks, was seven years of expenditures and tenures of revenues. -- and it 10 years of revenues. to me, if you look at the analysisit shows the deficit wod be even greater, even after this massive high tax increase imposed on the businesses that we need creating jobs in america. yes? >> do you see the potential in these cases to go as high as the supreme court? >> i think there are legitimate constitutional issues. when the federal government imposes new burdens on states that they have to increase medicare eligibility rates, when

the states pay a significant part of that, without providing funding, there are serious constitutional issues, particularly when you are telling someone who does not want to be part of the system that you are either going to get health coverage acceptable to a washington bureaucrat or we will find you, i think that is patently unconstitutional. there is unconstitutional imposition of requirements on states, unconstitutional and position of fines, which they are calling taxes on people who don't want to be part of the system. when you have that correct purchasing of senate votes in florida, seniors keeping their medicare advantage, and the other 49 states don't, there is a real issue of that violates the due process clause of the constitution. i believe it does. it is appropriate the legal challenges are moving forward. i am hopeful there will be

successful. you cannot just rely on the judicial system. we have a democratic government, and ultimately the congress should reflect the will of the people. the will of the people is that obama-care be repealed and replaced with good health care reform. we will try to help people to support those positions get elected this november. thank you very much. >> c-span's local content of vehicles are visiting congressional districts as we look at some of the most hotly contested house races leading up to this november's midterm elections. >> nice to meet you. nice to see you. how are you? how are you doing? delaware county?

>> prospect park. >> ok, i hope that you will vote for me in november. >> nice to meet you. thank you. >> please to meet you. >> the democrat is brian le nt, who was a prosecutor in the city, army ranger, served in iraq. he is very ambitious. he was going to run for congress in 2006, when he decided to come back to his home town in the district where he had not lived

many years and worked for congress. he did such a phenomenal job fundraising that rahm emanuel and other party elders told lentz to go away, kid. we have somebody with a lot of money. plus, he is an admiral, macho democrat, perfect for this district. and he ran been there a couple of terms. the republican candidate is pat me hand. he was the u.s. prosecutor for southeastern pennsylvania -- pat meehan, and he racked up several convictions for political corruption in philadelphia. he has great law enforcement credentials, local boy, deep roots, and he was the party

candidate for district attorney in delaware county. he also has a lot of experience as a political operative. he ran the campaigns of both the statewide campaign of both arlen specter, when he was a republican, and rick santorum, the very conservative. santorum, which is a neat trick. he has ties to all wings of the republican party and is well connected. >> i think one of the reasons that this race is so interesting is because it is a case test for the messaging that republicans are trying to put across in these types of districts that they are thanked -- that they think are up for grabs. >> people of wall street say you have to help me get a job. they are out of work and there were about where they will find

the next opportunity. >> our economic policies the past years have been very focused on wealth creation. the stock market went through the roof and a lot of people made a lot of money. not that there is a anything wrong -- not that there is anything wrong on that, but there was not a particular focus on jobs. >> what about the seventh congressional district? it is unique in that it has been a republican stronghold since the civil war. delaware county is the main county in the seventh congressional district. it is right outside the city of philadelphia, and includes ethnically diverse, old, a port towns, and the main line home of the blue bloods, grace kelly, all that kind of stuff. republicans still have a registration edge in the district, but it is shrinking and the district.

delaware county in particular, which is 70% of the district, has been voting for democrats in national and statewide races for a long time now. the current representative from the seventh congressional district, who is running for the senate, creating the open seat, he is the first democrat in 26 years to have won election there. the election that preceded him was from the watergate era. it took watergate to get another democrat in there. >> it really encapsulates all the dynamics we are seeing in these competitive districts. add to that the fact that these are good candidates, and that makes it really competitive. when you run for congress in the philadelphia area, these races are won and lost on tv. this is an expensive place to run.

it costs about half a million per week to be on the air. this could really come down to has the more compelling narrative to put on tv and who has the money to put it into people's homes on tv. >> coming up on c-span, secretary of state clinton discusses u.s. foreign policy at the council on foreign relations. president obama talks about the economy during his visit to ohio. and alabama congressmen jo bonner holds a town hall meeting in his district. on tomorrow morning's washington journal, a discussion about the obama administration's foreign policy. also, federal food safety

regulations, a discussion about the u.s. labor market. "washington journal" begins live at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> this weekend, commemorating september 11. the events that led up to 9/11, and details about the twin towers, their collapse, the cleanup and excavation, and manpower to achieve it. also, syriana huffington says america is losing its position as an economic and political peter and puts the blame on corporations -- and political leaders and puts the blame on corporations. >> secretary of state clinton gave a wide-ranging foreign policy address today, discussing negotiations concerning iran and north korea's nuclear programs

and her trip to egypt in jerusalem to promote middle east peace. she delivered remarks on the council of foreign relations and sat down and took questions from the council president. this is just over one hour. >> good morning. i am the president of the council on foreign relations, and i want to welcome all of you here to the washington offices of the council on foreign relations. i also want to welcome the more than 500 councilmembers, press, and other constituencies joining us through modern technology. as a reminder for one and all, the meeting is on the record.

for those of you, who are not familiar with the council on foreign relations, we are an independent, non-partisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher, and we're dedicated to increasing understanding of the world and foreign policy choices facing the united states. we all gather this morning, at a critical time. the the last american combat troops were just withdrawn from iraq at a time that 100,000 american troops are struggling to save lives in afghanistan. israeli-palestinian peace talks. we continue to contend with a growing threat posed by the iranian and north korean nuclear programs. we face a full set of global challenges, including but not limited to climate change that really define this era and a set of global arrangements that have not yet kept pace with these challenges. there are a number of rising countries, china, brazil, india and others who have yet to determine their global roles and

objectives and all of this is taking place against the backdrop of a weak u.s. economy and soaring debt. that has major adverse consequences for the future prosperity of the united states and for our capacity to lead in the world. fortunately, today's speaker, secretary of state hillary rodham clinton is experienced in managing the most difficult of situations. and i refer, of course, to her performance this summer has mother of the bride. secretary clinton is the 67t 67th secretary of state and as you all know, she has not limited her travels to rhinebe rhinebeck. since she became secretary, she has visited at last count, some 64 countries and that amounts to one out of every three countries in the united nations. she has racked up 350,000 miles in the process, has done all this in just over a year and a

half. but still, well more than half a yearlonger than john c. calhoun. now, speaking of john c. calhoun, who served ration vice-president before becoming secretary of state, i couldn't help notice the speculation in some parts that secretary clinton might just find herself trading places with vice-president biden, becoming the democrat being candidate for vice-president in 2012. and all i can say is that there's precedent for this. there were actually -- there were two fellows named van buren and jefferson, and it worked out pretty well for the two of them. now speaking of the bags, today as learned -- past, today also marked the sex the time she has done so -- sixth time she has addressed the united nations without a broken arm and the second time she has been here

has secretary of state of the united states. so secretary clinton, it is a privilege and it is a pleasure to welcome you back to the council on foreign relations. [applause] >> thank you very much, richard, and it is a pleasure to be back here at the council with two working arms, that is something that emvery much happy and grateful for, and i thank you for referencing what has been the most difficult balancing act of my time as secretary of state. pulling off my daughter's wedding, which i kept telling people as i traveled around the world to all of the hot spots was much more stressful than anything else on my plate. it is a real delight to see so many friends and colleagues and to have this opportunity here

once again to discuss with you where we are as a country, an where i hope we are headed. now, it's clear that many of us, an many in our audience are just coming off of summer vacation. yesterday at the state department, felt a little bit like the first day of school. everyone showed up for our morning meeting, and looking a lot healthier than they did when they left. and it is also obvious that there isn't any rest for any of us. the events of the past few weeks have kept us busy. we are working to support direct talks between the israelis and the palestinians, and next week, i will travel to egypt and jerusalem for the second round of these negotiations. in iraq, where our combat mission has ended, we are transferring and transitioning to an unprecedented civilian-led

partnership. we are stepping up international pressure on iran to negotiate seriously on its nuclear program. we are working with pakistan as it recovers from devastating floods and continues to combat violent extremism an of course, the war in afghanistan is always at the top of our minds as well as our agenda. now, none of these challenges exist in ice lags. -- isolation. consider the middle east peace talks. at one level, they are bilateral negotiations, involving two people and a relatively small strip of land, but step back and it becomes clear how important the regional dimensions an even the global dimensions of what started last week are. and what a significant role institutions like the quartet, consisting of the united states, and russia, and the european union and the u.n., as well as the arab league are playing.

and equally, if not more so, how vital american participation really is. solving foreign policy problems today requires us to think both regionally and globally, to see the intersections and connections lengthing nations and regions and interests, to bring people together as only america can. i think the world is counting on us today, as it has in the past. when old adversaries need an honest broker on fundamental freedoms need a champion, people turn to us. when the earth shakes or rivers overflow their banks, when pan democrat he cans rage or simeonering tensions burst into violence, the world looks to us. i see it on the faces of the people i meet as i travel, not just the young people who still dream about america's promise of opportunity and equality, but also seasoned diplomats and political leaders, who whether

or not they admit it, see the principled commitment and can-do spirit that comes with american engagement and they do look to america. not just to engage, but to lead. and nothing makes me prouder than to represent this great nation in the far corners of the world. i am the daughter of a man who grew up in the depression, and trained young sailors to fight in the pa second. -- pacific and i am the mother of a young woman who is part of a generation of americans who are engaging the world in new and exciting ways and in both those stories, i see the promise and the progress of america. and i have the most profound faith in our people. it has never been stronger. now, i know that these are difficult days for many americans. but difficulties and adversities have never defeated or deflated this country.

throughout our history, through hot wars and cold, through economic struggles and the long march to a more perfect union, americans have always risen to the challenges we have faced. that is who we are. it is in our d.n.a. we do believe there are no limits on what is possible or what can be achieved. and now, after years of war, and uncertainty, people are wondering what the feature holds at home and abroad. so let me say it clearly. united states can, must, and will lead in this new century. indeed, the complexities and connections of today's world have yielded a new american moment, a moment when our global leadership is essential, even if we must often lead in new ways. a moment when those things that make us who we are as a nation, our openness and innovation, our

determination and devotion to core values have never been more needed. this is a moment that must be seized. through hard work and bold decisions. so lay the foundations for lasting american leadership for decades to come. but now, this is no argument for america to go it alone. far from it. the world looks to us because america has the reach and resolve to mobilize the shared effort needed to solve problems on a global scale. in defense of our own interest, but also as a force for progress. in this, we have no ride vampires. for the united states, global leadership is both a responsibility and an unparalleled opportunity. when i came to the council on foreign relations a little over a year ago, to discuss the obama administration's vision of

american leadership in a changing world, i called for a new global architecture that could help nations come together as partners to solve shared problems. today, i'd like to expand on this idea, but especially to explain how we are putting it into practice. now, architecture is the art and science of designing structures that serve our common purposes, built to last, and to withstand stress. and that is what we seek to build. a network of alliances and partnerships, regional organizations, and global institutions that is durable and dynamic enough to help us meet today's challenges and adapt to threats that we cannot even conceive of, just as our patience never dreamt of melt willing glaciers or dirty bombs. we know this can be done because president obama's predecessors in the white house an mine in the state department did it before. after the second world war, the nation that had built the

transcontinental railroad, the assembly line, the skyscraper, turned its attention to constructing the pillars of global cooperation. the third world war that so many feared never came. and many millions of people were lifted out of poverty, and exercised their human rights for the first time. those were the benefits of a global architecture forged over many years, by american leaders from both political parties. but this architecture served a different thyme and a different world. as president obama has said, today it is buckling under the weight of new threats. the major powers are at peace, but new actors, good and bad, are increasingly shaping international affairs. the challenges we face are more complex than ever and so are the responses needed to meet them. that is why we are building a global architecture that reflects and harnesses the realities of the 21st century. we know that alliances,

partnerships and institutions cannot and do not solve problems by themselves. only peoples and nations solve problems, but an architecture can make it easier to act effectively by supporting the coalition forging and compromise building that is the daily fare of diplomacy. it can make it easier to identify common interests an convert them to common action. and it can help integrate emerging powers into an international community with clear obligations and expectations. we have no illusions that these goals can be achieved overnight or that countries will suddenly cease to have divergent interests. we know that the test of our leadership is how we manage those differences and how we galvanize nations and people's around their commonnities, even when they do have diverse

histories, unequal resources and competing world views, an we know that our approach to solving problems must vary from issue to issue and partner to partner. american leadership therefore must be as dynamic as the challenges we face. but there are two constants of our leadership, which lie at the heart of the president's national security strategy, released in may, and which run through everything we do. first, national renewal, aimed at strengthening the sources of american power, especially our economic might and moral authority. this is about more than ensuring we have the presources we need to conduct foreign policy, although that is critically important. i remember when i was a young girl, i was stirred by president eisenhower's assertion that education would help us win the cold war. i really took it to heart. i didn't like mathematics, but i

figured i had to study it for my country. s also believed that we needed to invest in hour people, and their talents. and in our infrastructure. president eisenhower was right. america's greatness has always flowed in large part from the dynamism of our economy and the creativity of our people. today, more than ever, our ability to exercise global leadership depends on building a strong foundation here at home. that's why rising debt and crumbling infrastructure pose very real long-term national security threats. president obama understands this. you can see it in the new economic initiatives, that he announced this week, and in his relentless focus object turning the economy around. the second constant is international diplomacy. good old fashioned diplomacy, aimed at rallying nations to solve common problems and

achieve shared aspirations. as dean atchison put it in 195, the ability to evehicle support from -- evoke support from others is as constants ability to repair. we have strengthened institutions that provide incentives for cooperation, disincentives for sitting on the sidelines, and defenses against those who would undermine global progress. and we've championed the values that are at the core of the american character. now, there should be no mistake, of course, this administration is also committed to maintaining the greatest militarily in the his thor of the world and -- history of the world and is needed to vigorously defend ourselves and our friends. after more than a year and a half, we have begun to see the dividends of this strategy. we are advancing america's interests and making progress on some of our most pressing challenges.

today, we can say with confidence that this model of american leader high pressure, which brings every tool at our disposal, to be put to work on behalf of our national interests, works and that it offers the best hope in a dangerous world. i'd like it outline several steps we're taking with respect to implementing this strat givment -- strategy. first, we have turned to our closest allies, the nations that share our most fundamental values and interests and our commitment to solving common problems. from europe and north america to east asia and the pacific, we are renewing and deepening the alliances that are the corner stone of global security and prosperity. and let me safe a few words in particular. about europe. in november, i was privileged to help mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall which closed the door on europe's broken past. and this summer, in poland, we mark the 10th anniversary of the community of democracies,

which looks ahead to a brighter tomorrow. at both events, he was reminded of how far we have come together. with strength, we draw from the common well spring of our values and aspirations. the bonds between europe and america were forged through war and watchful peace. but they are rooted in our shared commitment to freedom, democracy, and human dignity. today, we are working with our allies there on nearly every global challenge. president obama and i have reached out to strengthen both our bilateral and multilateralities in europe and the post lisbon. u. is developing an expanded global role and our relationship is growing and changing as a result. now, there will be some challengessals we adjust to influential new players, such as the e.u. parliament, but these are debates among friends that will always be secondary to the fundamental interests and values we share.

and there is no doubt that a stronger e.u. is good for america, and good for the world. and of course, nato remains the world's most successful alliance. together, with our allies, including new nato members in central and eastern europe, we are crafting a new strategic concept, that will help us meet not only traditional threats, but also emerging ones, like cybersecurity and nuclear proliferation. just yesterday, president obama and i discussed these issues, with nato secretary-general rasmussen. after the united states was attacked on 9-11, our allies invoked article 5 of the nato charter for the first tile. they joined us in the fight against al qaeda and the taliban. and after president obama refocused the mission in afghanistan, they contributed thousands of new troops and significant technical assistance. we honor the sacrifices our allies continue to make and

recognize that we are always strongest when we work together. a core principle of all of our alliances is shared responsibility. each nation must step up to do its part. american leadership does not mean we do everything ourselves. we contribute our share often the largest share, but we also have high expectations of the governments and peoples we work with. helping other nations develop that capacity to solve their own problems and participate in solving other shared problems has long been a hallmark of american leadership. our contributions are well known to the preconstruction of europe, to the transformation of japan and germany. we moved them from aggressors to allies, to the growth of south korea into a vibrant democracy that now contributes to global progress. these are among some of american foreign policy's proudest achievements. in this interconnected age, america's security and prosperity depend more than ever on the ability of others to take

responsibility for defusing threats and meeting challenges in their own countries and regions. that's why a second step in our strategy for global leadership is to help develop the capacity of developing partners. to help countries obtain the cools and support they need to solve their own problems, to help people lift themselves, their families and their societies out of poverty, away from extremism, and towards sustainable progress. we in the obama administration view development as a strategic economic and moral imperative, it is central to advancing american interests, as central as diplomacy and defense. our approach is not however development for development's sake. it is an integrated strategy for solving problems. look at the work to build institutions and spur economic development in the palestinian territories. something that jim wolfson knows firsthand.

the united states invests hundreds of millions of dollars to build palestinian capacity because we know that progress on the ground improves security, and helps lay the foundation for a future palestinian state. and it creates more favorable conditions for negotiations. the confidence that the new palestinian security force has displayed has affected the calculus of israeli leadership and the united states was behind building that security force along with other partners like jordan, but the principal responsibility rests on the decisions made by the palestinian authority themselves. so with our help, and their courage and commitment, we see progress that influences negotiations and holds out a greater promise for an eventual agreement. now, this is the right thing to do of course. we agree with that. but make no mistakes. it is rooted in our understanding that when all

people are given more tools of opportunity, they are more willing to actually take risks for peace. and that's particularly true when it comes to women. you knew i would not get through this speech without mentioning women and women's rights. we believe strongly that investing in opportunities for women drives social and economic progress, that benefits not only their families, and societies, but has a rebound effect that benefits others, including us as well. similarly, investments in countries like bangladesh and ghana bet on a future that they will not only solve their rather difficult challenges of poverty, but then helping to be bulwarks that send a different message to their regions. we take in to account also the countries that are growing rapidly and also, exercising influence. countries like china hand india,

turkey, mexico, brazil, indonesia, south africa as well as russia. our third major step therefore has been to deepen engagement with these emerging centers of influence. we and our allies, and indeed, people everywhere, have a stake in their playing constructive, regional and global roles, because being a 21st century power means having to accept a share of the burden of solving common problems. and of abiding by a set of the rules of the road, so to speak, on everything in intellectual property price to fundamental freedoms. so through expanded bilateral consultation and within the context of regional and global institutions, we do expect these countries to begin to assume greater responsibility. for example, in our most recent strategic and economic dialogue in china, for the first time, development was on the agenda. something that the chinese are doing, in conjunction with their commercial interests, but which we wanted to begin to talk about.

so that we could better cooperate and we could perhaps share lessons learned about how best to pursue development. in one country in africa, we're building a hospital, the chinese are building a road, we thought it was a good idea that the road would actually go to the hospital. it's that kind of discussion that we think can make a difference for the people that we are both engaged with. india, the world's largest democracy, has a very large convergence of fundamental values and a broad range of both national and regional interests, and we are laying the foundation for an indispensable partnership. president obama will use his visit in november to thank hour relationship to the next level. with russia, when we took office, it was amid cooling to cold relation he is. and a return to cold war suspicion. now, this may have invigorated spy novelists and arm chair

strategists, by anyone serious about solving global problems, without russia and the united states working together, little would be achieved. so we refocused the relationship. we offered a relationshipon nott also mutual responsibility. and in the course of the last 18 months, we have a historic new arms reduction treaty, which the senate will take up next week, cooperation with china and the u.n. security council on tough new sanctions against both iran and north korea, a transit agreement to support our efforts in afghanistan, a new bilateral presidential commission and civil society exchange that are forging closer people to people ties and of course as we were reminded this past summer, the spy novelists still have plenty to write about, so it's kind of a win-win. working with these emerging powers is not always smooth or

easy. disagreements are inevitable an on certain shall use suchs human rights with china horrussian occupation with georgia, we simply do not see eye to eye and the united states will not mess hesitate to speak out an stand our grounds. when these nations do not accept the responsibility that accrues with expanding influence, we will do all that we can to encourage them to change course, while we will press ahead with other partners, but we know it will be difficult, if not impossible, to forge the kind of future that we expect in the 21st century, without enhanced comprehensive cooperation. so our goal is to establish productive relationships that survive the times when we do not agree, an that enable us to continue to work together. and a central em. of that is -- element of that is to engage directly with the people of these nations. technology and the speed of communication, along with the spread of democracy at least in

technology has empowered people to speak up and demand a say in their own futures. public opinions and passions matter even in authoritarian states. so in nearly every country i visit, i don't just meet with government officials. in russia, distribution centers an interview on one of the few remaining independent radio stations. in saudi arabia, i held a town hall at a women's college. in pakistan, i answered questions from every journalist, student and business leader we could find. while we expand our relationships therefore with the emerging centers of influence, we are working to engage them with their hone publics. -- own publics. thyme and time again, i hear as i do interviews from indonesia to the democratic republic of congo to brazil, how novel it seems to people that an official would come and take questions from the public. so we're not only engaging the public, and expanding and

explaining america's values and views, we're also sending a message to those leaders. and as we do so, we are making it clear that we expect more from them. and that we do want the kind of challenges that we face to be addressed in a regional context. think about the complex dynamics around violent extremism, both in afghanistan and pakistan, and emerging out of those two countries to the rest of the world. or the process of reintegrating iraq into its neighborhood, which is a very tough neighborhood indeed. regional dynamics will not remain static, and there are a lot of other players who are working day and night to influence the outcomes of those particular situations. and we know too that other emerging powers, like china and brazil, have their own notions about what the right outcome would be, or what regional institutions should look like, and they are busy pursuing them. so our friends, our allies and

people around the world who share hour values depend on us to remain robustly engaged, so the fourth step in our strategy has been to reinvigorate america's commitment to be an active transatlantic, transpacific and hemispheric leader. in a series of speeches an ongoing consultation's with our partners, we've laid out core principles for regional. look at the asia-pacific region, when we took office, there was the perception, fair or not, that america was absent. so we made it clear from the beginning that we were back. we reaffirmed our bonds with close allies, like south korea, japan, and australia, an we deepened our engagement with china and india. the asia pacific currently has few robust institutions to foster -- reduce the friction of competition, so we began building a more coherent regional architecture with the

united states deeply involved. on the economic front, we've expanded our relationship with apec, which receives 60% of our exports. we want to realize the benefits from greater economic integration. in order to do that, we have to be willing to play. to this end, we are working to ratify a free trade agreement with south korea, we're pursuing a regional agreement with the nations of the transpacific partnership and we know that that will help create no jobs and opportunities here at home. we've also decided to engage with the east asia summit, encouraging its development into a foundational security and political institution. i will be representing the united states, at this year's east asia summit in hanoi, loading up to president -- leading up to presidential participation in 2011 and in southeast asia, osion actually encompasses more than 600 million people in its member nations. there is more u.s. bills

investment in the asean nations than in china, so we have bolstered our relationship by signing the treaty of cooperation, announcing our intention to open a mission and name an ambassador to asean and a commitment to holding an hume u.s.-asean commits, because we know the asia pacific region will grow in importance and developing these institutions will establish habits of cooperation that will be vital to stability and prosperity. now, effective institutions are just as crucial at the global level, so our fifth step has been to reengage with the global institutions and to work to modernize them, to meet the evolving challenges we face. we obviously need institutions that are flexible, inclusive, complementary, instead of just competing with each other over turf and jurisdiction. we need them to play productive patrols an enforce the systems of rights and responsibilities. now, the u.n. remains the singlemost important global

institutions. we are constantly reminded of its value. the security council enacting sanctions against eye rnbs and north korea, -- iran and north korea, peacekeepers patrolling the streets of monrovia and port-au-prince. and most presently, the u.n. general assembly establishing a new entity called u.n. women, expanding opportunities for women and girls and tackle the violence and discrimination they face, but we are also constantly reminded of its limitations. it is difficult, as many of you in this audience know, for the u.n.'s 192 member states, to achieve consensus on institutional reform, including and especially reforming the security council. we believe the united states has to play a role in reforming the u.n., an we favor security council reform that enhances the u.n.'s overall performance and effectiveness and efficiency and

we equally and strongly support operational reforms that enable u.n. field missions to deploy more rapidly with adequate numbers of well equipped and well trained troops and police, and with the quality of leadership and civilian expertise they require. we will not only embrace but we will advocate management reforms, and savings that prevent waste, fraud, and abuse. now, the u.n. was never intended to tackle every challenge, nor should it, so we are working with other organizations to respond to the global financial crisis, we elevated the g-20, we convened the first ever nuclear security summit, new or old, the effectiveness of institutions depends on the commitment of their members and we have seen a level of commitment to sees enterprises, that we will continue to nurture. now, our efforts on climate chang and i see our commercial envoy, todd stern here, offer an example of how we are working through multiple venues and

mechanisms. the united nations framework convention on climate change allows all of us, developed and developing, authority, south, east and west, to work within a single venue to meet this shared challenge. but, we also launched the major economies forum to focus on the biggest emitters, including ourselves and when negotiations in ourselves and when negotiations in copenhagen reached an impasse, president obama and i went into a meeting with china, india, south africa and brazil, to try to forge pa compromise, and then with our colleagues from europe and elsewhere, we fashioned a deal that while far from perfect, saved of the summit from failure, and represents progress we can build on, because for the first time, all major economies made national commitments to curb carbon emissions and report with transparency on their mitigation efforts. so we know that there's a lot to be done on substantive issues, and there must continue to be an emphasis on democracy, human

rights, and the rule of law, so that they are cemented in to the foundations of these institutions. this is something that i take very seriously. because there's no point in trying to build institutions for the 21st century, that don't act to counter repression and resist pressure on human rights. that extend fundamental freedoms over time, to places where they have too long been denied. and that is our sixth major step. we are upholding and defending the universal values that are enshrined in the u.n. charter and the universal declaration of human rights. because today, everywhere, these principles are under threat. in too many places, new democracies are struggling to grow strong roots. authoritarian regimes are cracking down on civil society and pluralism. some leaders see democracy as an inconvenience that gets in its way of the convenient exercise of national power, so this world

view must be confronted and challenged everywhere. democracy needs defending. the struggle to make human rights a human reality needs a champion and this works starts at home, where we have rejected the false choice between our security and our values. it continues around the world, where human rights are always on our diplomat eck and development agendas, even with nations on whose cooperation we depends for a wide range of issues, such as egypt, china and russia. we're committed to defending those values on the digital frontiers of the 21st century. a lot has been said about our 21st century state craft, and our e diplomacy, but we really believe that it's an important additional tool for us to utilize. and in krakow this summer, i announced the creation of a new fund to support civil sew seat and embattled ngo's around the world. a continuing focus of u.s. pol civil -- policy.

now, how do all these steps, deepening relations with allies and emerging powers, strengthening institutions and shared values work together to advance our interests? well, one need only look at the effort we've taken this past year. to stop iran's nuclear activities and its serial non-compliance with its international obligations. now, there is still a lot of work to be done, but we are approaching of the iranian challenge as an example of american leadership in action. first, we began by making the united states a full partner, an active participant in international diplomatic efforts regarding iran. we had been on the sidelines and frankly, that was not a very satisfying place to be. through our continued willingness to engage iran direct lurks we have reenergized our considerations with our allies and are removing all of those excuses for lack of progress. s.e.c., we have sought to frame the issue within the global non-prproliferation regime.

we have renewed our own disarmament efforts. our deepened support for global institutions such as the iaea underscores the authority of the i want national system and iran on the other hand continues to single itself out through its own actions, drawing even criticism for its refusal to permit iaea inspectors to visit from russia and china in the last days. itand third, we have strengthend our relationship with those countries whose help we need, if diplomacy is to be successful, through classic, shoe leather diplomacy, we've built pa broad consensus that will welcome iran back into the community of nations, if it meets its obligations and will likewise hold iran accountable if it continues its defiance. :

many other nations are including their own implementation procedures. we believe iran is beginning to feel the impact of these sanctions. beyond what governments are doing, the and ask -- the international financial and commercial sectors are realizing the risks of doing business with iran. sanctions are pressures are the building blocks for a negotiated solution to which we and our partners remain committed. the choice of iran's leaders are clear. they have to decide whether they accept their obligations or increasing isolation and the costs that comes with it. we will see how iran decides. our path going forward is to continue to develop this approach, to develop the tools that we have, and we have to decide -- we have to strengthen civilian power. when i was here last year, we

were just at the end of beginning -- we were making the case to congress that we need to have more diplomats and more development personnel. congress has already appropriated funds for more than 1100 foreign and civil service office. usaid is reestablishing itself as the world's premier development agency. we need to rethink, reform, and recalibrate. in time of tight budgets, we not only have to assure our resources are spent wisely but make the case to the american taxpayer and the members of congress that this is an important investment. that this is an important investment. that's why i launched the first-ever quadrennial diplomacy and development review, a wholesale review of state and usaid to recommend how we can better equip, fund and organize ourselves. i'll be talking more about that

in the coming weeks as this review is completed and published. but we recognize the scope of the efforts we've undertaken. i had a lot of wonderful advice from my predecessors, and one of the most common pieces was you can either try to manage the building or manage the world, you can't try to do both. [laughter] we are trying to do both which is, you know, an impossible task to start with, but we're not trying to do it alone. we are forging a closer partnership with the defense department. bob gates has been one of the strongest advocates of the position that we are taking that i'm expressing today. he constantly is encouraging the congress to give us the funds that we asked for. but there's a legitimate question, and some of you have raised, i know, in print and elsewhere. how can you try to manage or at least address and even try to solve all of these problems? but our response in this day where there is nothing that doesn't come to the forefront of

public awareness, what do we give up on? what do we put on the back burner? do we sideline development? do we put some hot conflicts on hold? do we quit rying to prevent -- trying to prevent other conflicts from unfreezing and heating up? do we give up on democracy and human rights? i don't think that's what is either possible or desirable, and it is not what americans do. but it does require a lot of strategic patience. you know, when our troops come home as they are from iraq and eventually from afghanistan, we'll still be involved in diplomatic and development efforts trying to rid the world of nuclear dangers and turn back climate change, end poverty, you know, quell the epidemic of hiv/aids, tackle hunger and disease. that's not the work not of a year or even a presidency, but of a lifetime, and it is the work of generations. america has made generational commitments to building the kind

of world that we wanted to inhabit for many decades now. we cannot turn away from that responsibility. we are a nation that has always believed we have the power to shape our own destiny and to cut a new and better path and, frankly, to bring along people who are like-minded from around the world. so we will continue to do everything we can to exercise the best traditions of american leadership at home and abroad, to build that more peaceful and prosperous future for our children and for children everywhere. thank you. [applause] >> well, thank you, and i will ask a slightly longer first question than i normally would while you fumble with that. >> thank you very much.

very kind of you. >> the old stall tactic. filibustering. you may recall that. >> i do. but i never knew it would be so common. [laughter] >> yes. foreign relations, we're trying to keep up. we're trying to keep up. touche. let me start where -- you okay? >> yeah. >> let me start where you begin -- where you ended, rather, which is with all these things we want to do, and you called for strategic patience in afghanistan and so forth. yet the united states is soon approaching a point where the scale or size of our debt will exceed our gdp. it's a question of when more than if. where does national security contribute to the solution to running deficits of $1.5 trillion a year, or do we continue to carry out a foreign and defense policy as if we were not seriously resource-constrained? >> richard, first, you know, as

i said, i think that our rising debt levels poses a national security threat, and it poses a national security threat in two ways. it undermines our capacity to act in our own interests, and it does constrain us where constraint may be undesirable. and it also sends a message of weakness internationally. i mean, it is very troubling to me that we are losing the ability not only to chart our own destiny, but to, you know, have the leverage that comes from this enormously effective economic engine that has powered american values and interests over so many years. so i don't think we have a choice. it's a question of how we, how we decide to deal with this debt and deficit. i mean, you know, it is -- we

don't need to go back and sort of relitigate how we got to where we are, but it is fair to say that, you know, we fought two wars without paying for them, and we had tax cuts that were not paid for either. and that has been a very deadly combination to fiscal sanity and responsibility. so the challenge is how we get out of -- challenge is how we get out of it by making the right decisions rather than the wrong decisions. i mean, it is going to be very difficult for those decisions, and i know there's an election going on, and i know that i am by law out of politics, but i will say that this is not just a decision for the congress, it's a decision for the country. and it's not a republican or a democratic decision. and there are a lot of people who know more about what needs to be done and who, frankly, have a responsible view whose voices are not being heard right now. and i think that is a great disservice to our nation whether

one is a republican or a democrat, a conservative, progressive, whatever you call yourself, there is no free lunch. and we cannot pretend that there is without doing grave harm to our country and our future generations. so when you specifically say, well, what about, you know, diplomacy, development and defense, you know, we will have to take our share of the burden of meeting the fiscal targets that can drag us out of this deep hole we're in, but we've got to be smart about it. and i think from both my perspective and bob gates' perspective -- and we've talked about this a lot, you know -- bob has made some very important recommendations that are not politically popular but which come with a very well-thought-out policy. and what i've tried to do is to say, look, we're going to try to be smarter, more effective in

our qddr. we're recommending changes in personnel policies, in all kinds of approaches that will better utilize what we have. but we need it to get a little bit more robust in order to catch up to our responsibilities. quick final point on that, you know, when our combat troops move out of iraq as they've been, that will save about $15 billion. that's a net win for our treasury, and it's the policy that we have committed to along with the iraqis. the congress cuts my budget of the state department and usaid for trying to pick up the pieces that we're left with. you know, we now have responsibility for the police-training mission, for opening up consulates that have to be secure. so even though our troops are coming down and we're saving money and what we're asking for is considerably less than the $15 billion that we are saving by having the troops leave, the congress cuts us. and so, you know, we have to get

a more sensible, comprehensive approach. and, you know, bob and i have talked about, you know, trying to figure out how to present a national security budget. it's a mistake to look at all of these items -- foreign aid, defense, diplomatic aid -- as stove pipes because we know that you have to be more integrated. so let's start thinking from a budget perspective about how to be more integrated. so there's a lot that we can do on our side to help, but the bottom line is that the public and the congress and the administration have to make some very tough decisions, and i hope we make the right decisions. >> let me just follow up on that because you broached the political issue. i don't have a chris call ball -- crystal ball better than anyone else's, but let's assume republicans pick up quite a few seats in the house, a few in the senate, so government is more divided come the new congress when it takes office early next

year. what does that mean for you? what are the opportunities, what are the problems in that for being secretary of state? >> well, i won't answer that as a political question because i don't want to cross my line here. but i will say that, you know, i have found a lot of support for what we're trying to do on both sides of the aisle in both houses. and i think we will continue to have that, and i'm hoping that we can maybe reestablish something of a detente when it comes to foreign policy that cuts across any partisan divide. like take the stark treaty. you know, we have unanimous support for that. our two chief negotiators, rose and ellen are here, and they did a terrific job, and we've had a very positive endorsement of it by former secretaries of state

and defense of both parties, the joint chiefs have come out, everybody's come out for it. and, you know, it's a political issue. i wish it weren't because most of these treaties, you know, pass 95-0, 90-3. they have huge overwhelming majorities in the senate. but we know that we have, you know, political issues that we have to address which we are and talking to those who have some questions. but i hope at the end of the day the senate will say, you know, some things should just be beyond any kind of election or partisan calculation and that everybody will pull together and we'll get that s.t.a.r.t. treaty done which i know from my own conversations, it's seen as a really important symbol of our commitment to continue working with the russians. >> just one last question, then i'll open it up to our members. you're about, as you said, to head back to the middle east for

the resumption of the israeli/palestinian talks. the op-ed pages have been filled, i would say the majority of the pieces have been quite pessimistic. why are the pessimists wrong? [laughter] >> well, i think they're wrong because i think that both sides and both leaders recognize that there may not ever be another chance. i think for most israeli leaders that i have known and worked with and especially those coming from sort of the right of israeli politics which the prime minister does, you know, it's like mario cuomo's famous line, you know, they campaign this poetry, and they govern in prose, and the prose is really challenging. you know, you look at where israel is and the threats it faces demographically, technologically, ideologically, and the idea of striking a peace deal with a secular palestinian

authority that is committed to its own people's economic future makes a lot of sense if be it can be worked out. from abbas he was probably the earliest and at times the only palestinian leader who called for a two-state solution going back probably 20, 30 years, and for him this is a culmination of of a life commitment. and i think that the arab league initiative, the peace initiative put the arab, most arab and muslim countries on record as saying that they could live with and welcome a two-state solution. fifty-seven countries including some we know didn't mean it, but most have followed through in commitments to it has changed the atmosphere. so i know how difficult it is, and i know the internal domestic

political considerations that each leader has to contend with, but i think there's a certain momentum, you know? we have some challenges in the early going that we have to get over, but i think that we have a real shot here. >> great. let's open it up, and what i'll ask is people to identify themselves, wait for a microphone and, please, limit yourself to one question and be as short as you can. sir, i don't know your name, but right there. >> how are you, secretary clinton? my name's travis atkins, i'm with the council on foreign relations focusing on sudan this year, and my question is you mentioned darfur once in your talk. if you could elaborate a little bit on our ramped-up efforts in sudan as we head towards the referendum there in january. >> well, thank you, thanks for asking, and thanks for your work on sudan. we have, we have a very

difficult set of challenges in sudan. some of you in this audience, both those of you who were in government before like john negroponte and others, you know, you know this firsthand. the situation in the darfur is dangerous, difficult, not stable. but the situation north/south is a ticking time bomb of enormous consequence. so we are ramping up our efforts to bring the parties together, north and south, the african union, others, to focus on this referendum which has not been given the attention it needs both because the south is not quite capable of summoning the resources to do it, and the north has been preoccupied and is not inclined to do it because it's pretty clear what the

outcome will be. the african union chief under um becky has been working on it, so we are upping our diplomatic efforts. we are increased our presence in juba, we have set up, opened a kind of consulate there. as some of you know, prince has signed on to help with scott and his team -- >> until last week, a senior fellow here. >> that's right. and assistant secretary johnny carson. it's really all hands on deck so that we're trying to convince the mort and south and all the other interested parties who care about the comprehensive peace agreement to weighing in to getting this done. the time frame is very short, pulling together this referendum is going to be difficult. we're going to need a lot of help from ngos, the carter center and others who are willing to help implement the

referendum. but the real problem is what happens when the inevitable happens and the refer dumb is passed and the south declares independence? so simultaneously we're trying to begin negotiations to work out some of those intractable problems. what happens to the oil revenues? i mean, if you're in the north and all of a sudden you think a line's going to be drawn and you're going to lose 80% of the oil rev knews, you're not a very enthusiastic participant. what are the deals that can possibly be made that will limit the potential of violence. and even if we did everything perfectly and everyone else, you know, the norwegians, the brits, everybody who's weighing in on this did all that they could, the reality is that this is going to be a very hard decision for the north to accept. and so we've got to figure out some ways to make it worth their while to peacefully accept an

independent south and for the south to recognize that unless they want more years of warfare and no chance to build their own new state, they've got to make some accommodations with the north as well. so that's what we're looking for. if you have any ideas from your study, let us know. [laughter] >> turn to carla hills. >> secretary clinton, first of all, thank you for a really far-ranging, extraordinarily interesting talk. you mentioned strategies that are regional, and i'd like you to just say a word more about this hemisphere. you gave a wonderful speech at the border of mexico where you asserted that we had responsibility for the drugs coming north and the guns going south. talk a little bit about how we are implementing strategies to turn that around and, also, to gain friendships that would be

helpful throughout latin america. >> well, first, carla, thank you for asking about this hemisphere because it is very much on our minds, and we face an increasing threat from a well-organized network drug-trafficking threat that is in some cases morphing into or making common cause with what we would consider an insurgency. in mexico and in central america. and we are working very hard to assist the mexicans in improving their law enforcement ask their intelligence -- and their intelligence, their capacity to detain and prosecute those whom they arrest. i give president calderon very high marks for his courage and his commitment. this is a really tough

challenge, and these drug cartels are now showing more and more indices of insurgency, you know? all of a sudden car bombs show up which weren't there before. so it's becoming, it's looking more and more like colombia looked 20 year ago where the narco traffickers control certain parts of the country. not significant parts. in colombia it got to a point where more than a third of the country, nearly 40% of the country at one time or another was controlled by the insurgents, by park, but it's going to take a combination of improved institutional capacity and better law enforcement and, where appropriate, military support for that law enforcement. you know, marry the political will to be able to prevent this from spreading and to try to beat it back.

mexico has capacity, and they're using that capacity, and they've been very willing to take advice. you know, they're wanting to do as much of it on their own as possible, but we stand ready to help them. but the small countries in central america do not have that capacity, and the newly-inaugurated president of costa rica, president chinchilla, you know, said we need help, and we need a much more vigorous u.s. presence. so we are working to try to enhance what we have in central america. we hear the same thing from our caribbean friends, so we have an initiative that caribbean basin security initiative, and our relationship is not all about drugs and violence and crime. but, unfortunately, that often gets the headlines. we're also working on more economic programs, we're working on millennium challenge grants, we're working on a lot of other ways of bolstering economies and governments to improve rule of

law. but this is on the top of everyone's mind when they come to speak with us. and i know that plan colombia was controversial. i was just in colombia, and there were problems and there were mistakes, but it worked. and it was bipartisan, started, you know, in the clinton administration, continued in the bush administration, and i think president santos will try to do everything he can to remedy the problems of the past while continuing to, you know, make progress against the insurgency. and we need to figure out what are the equivalents for central america, mexico and the caribbean. and that's not easy because these, you know, you put your finger on it. i mean, those drugs come up through bolivia, peru, colombia, through central america, southern mexico to the border,

and we consume them. and those guns, you know, those guns legal and illegal keep flooding along with all of the mayhem. it's not only guns, it's weapons, it's arsenals of all kinds that come south. so i feel a real sense of responsibility to do everything we can. and, again, we're working hard to come up with, you know, approaches that will actually deliver. >> speaking of guns, i'm going to be shot if be i don't ask a question that comes from one of our national members, and thanks to the ipad, i can ask it. several have written in about the impact of the mosque debate in new york, about the threat to burn cu rans, how does this complicate your life? [laughter] >> well -- you know, i mean, we're a country of, what, 310 million plus right now, and, i

mean, it's regrettable that a pastor in gainesville, florida, with a church of no more than 50 people can make this outrageous and distressful, disgraceful plan and get, you know, the world's attention, but that's the world we live in right now. i mean, it doesn't in any way represent america or americans or american government or american religious or political leadership. and we are, as you've seen in the last few days, you know, speaking out. general petraeus made the very powerful point that as seem seemingly, you know, small a group of people doing this, the fact is that it will have potentially great harm for our troops. so we are hoping that the pastor

decides not to do this. we're hoping against hope that if he does, it won't be covered. [laughter] as a, as a, you know, an act of patriotism. but i think that it, you know, it's unfortunate. i mean, it's not who we are, and we just have to constantly be demonstrating by our words and actions. and as i remind, you know, my friends around the world, in the environment in which we all now operate, anybody with an iphone, anybody with a blog can, you know, put something out there which is outrageous. i mean, we went through the cartoon controversy, we went through the facebook controversy in pakistan, ewe kit mchale who's our undersecretary for public diplomacy is on the front lines of, you know, pushing back on all of this all the time, and so we want to be judged by who we are as a nation, not by

something that is so aberrational, and we'll make that case as strongly as possible. >> time for one more? >> sure. >> okay. let me, first of all, apologize to the 283 of you whose questions will not get answered, and let me also say that after the secretary completes her next answer, if people would just remain seated while we get you out quickly and safely. >> safely, do you think they're going to storm the stage? [laughter] >> this is the -- >> i don't know. i'm looking at this audience, there's -- [laughter] there's a few people i think that might. [laughter] >> thanks, richard. secretary, it's a pleasure, and i appreciate the responsibility on my shoulders. i have two very quick ones. >> actually one quick one. >> very easy ones. is it the role of the united states to support the green movement, the opposition in iran? and if so, how should we be doing that? and secondly, you hardly

mentioned north korea. is u.s. policy now just to let north korea stew in its own juices until the next kim takes over? thank you. >> well, with respect to the first question, it is definitely our policy to support freedom and human rights inside iran. and we have done so by speaking out. we have done so by trying to equip iranians with the tools, particularly the technology tools that they need to be able to communicate with each other to make their views known. we have strongly condemned the actions of the iranian government and continue to do so. i don't think there's any doubt that iran is morphing into a military dictatorship with, you know, sort of religious ideological veneer. it is becoming the province of the iranian revolutionary guard,

and in concert with some of the clerical and political leadership. and i don't think that's what the iranian revolution for a republic of iran, an islamic republic of iran was ever meant to become. so i know there's a great deal of ferment and activities inside iran that we do try to support. at the same time, we don't want to either endanger or undermine those very same people. so that it becomes, you know, once again the u.s. doing something instead of the u.s. being supportive of what indigenous efforts are taking place. we know that iran is under tremendous pressure. early returns from implementation of the sanctions