also the popular prime ministers questions from the british house of commons. see coverage of campaign 2010 as the political parties battle for control of congress. or programming is also available anytime at c-span.org. >> tonight, our campaign coverage continues. first, the rally to restore sanity and/or fear. after that, house republican leader john boehner at a rally in his home state of ohio. >> now, a, a central event called the rally to restore sanity and/or fear.

other speakers include actor sam waterston and comedians. also, performances by sheryl crow and donny osmond. >> thank you. welcome, welcome, welcome. thank you for being here. before we got going, i thought we could all join together and stand for the singing of our national anthem. it will be performed by for troops.

oh say can you see, by the dawn's early light? what so proudly we hail, at the twilight's last gleaming. whose broad stripes and bright stars and bright stars through the perilous fight, or the

ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming. >> and the rockets' red glare the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there 0 say, does that star spangled banner yet wave?

o'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave new sony recording artists, this is what is all about. we love you, everybody. >> beautiful, thank you so much. >> 4troops! [applause]

hello, are you ready to restore sanity? [applause] there are a couple of things before we get started to take care of. this is important. no littering. i do not know if you noticed, but the national is in disrepair and we will help out. let's leave this place as clean as we found it. let's leave this place cleaner than we found it. [applause] if there is anyone here that is a landscaper in attendance, do a little work while you are here. when the crowds leave, i would like to see some topiaries of our not here before. second of all, i think that you know that the success or failure of a rally is accessed by only two criteria.

the intellectual coherence of the content and its correlation to the engagement. i'm kitty. it is just color and size. as you can see, we have over 10 million people. 3 million there, 4 million there. i like the variety that i see. i cannot believe that this happened. it is a perfect democratic sampling of the american people. because as you know, if you have too many white people at a rally, then your cause is racist. but if you have too many people of color at a rally, then you must just be asking for

something. a special rights like eating in restaurants or piggyback rides. something that we as a society are not ready to give. i can see right now that we are exactly 73% white 40 percent black and the rest is other. that is perfect. there are going to be some naysayers out there who will cast doubt on the size and demographics of our crown. we will not give them that chance. today, we will precisely figure who is here with the help of some those in our crowd. here is what we are born to do. -- going to do. we are going to count off. [laughter] i am just figuring out where we will start. what i want you to do is when you get the microphone, just say your number and then identify

your democratic characterization. such as one native american lesbian. let's start down here and work our way through. your first. your one to save one and tell us about yourself democratically. >> wong, half mexican half white. >> democratically interesting to read anything else in your closet? >> to come i am a white female. >> is that single white female? >> tell me who you are? 3, i am asian american from taiwan.

>> and she is wearing a very sensible hat. >> four, i am american and simple. >> >> this is going to take a while. we should do this by twos. i am feeling american. i am feeling the diversity. >> jon! >> stephen colbert, is that you? >> i am trapped in my fear monger. can we get the common link to

the fear monger on the jumbo from? > > jon, then you see me? >> i have to tell you really look terrible. >> thanks a lot, jon. well, that was hostile. why are you in a bunker? what is happening? >> jon, -year bunker is just below the stage in solid bit rock. >> well, come on. we have a rally to do. no, i cannot. i am too afraid. >> what are you afraid of? >> mostly, i'm afraid that no one showed up to our rally.

>> i think you are ok there. >> can you let him know that you are here? [applause] >> jon, are you sure that there are people at a rally? >> there are a couple people here. >> are the men hanson, jon? are the women beautiful? >> yes, they are. do they respond to obvious pandering? >> yes, they do. they do. come out. good, i am coming up. do not let them leave. >> do not leave.

he is coming out. ♪ ♪ [applause] [cheering]

>> hey, steven colbert. -- stephen colbert. [inaudible] hello, america. hello, multitude on the washington mall. [applause] oh, this feels right. where have you been all my life. thank you for being here today.

kneel before zod! >> there is no kneeling in no bowling. they are reasonable people. >> there are reasonable for now, but soon there will be a mindless panicked mob wants the release the bees -- once i release the bees. release the bees. run for your lives. hide your children. hide underneath your children. >> stephen, there are no bees. >> ladies and gentleman, if you have a be allergy, run for your lives. >> is nothing to be afraid of.

it is fall. there are no bees. >> ok, what if they have a peanut butter allergy? >> because i have smothered by bees with the not butter. the trick is to coat the quinn the first -- the queen bee 1st. >> stephen, you are fabricating fears that do not exist. >> no, jon, i am not. i am just raising awareness of potential dangers and allowing an informed public whether to power in terror or to die bravely. >> these people are not here for fear. they are here for sanity. >> [applause] >> that is how we roll. >> well, let's find out. if you are here to restore sanity, on the counter of 3 --

count of three, i want you to whisper that your concern with the direction of the country but you are open to hearing a variety of ideas. 1, 2, 3. [cheering] >> for a whisper, i thought that was quite large. >> ok, if you are here to keep fears alive, on the three let me hear you say, woooo. >>one, too, three. woooooo111 >> this is not a competition. i want to move onto a more

traditional start for a rally. >> 0, a book burning. >> no, not a book burning. a benediction. here to give our benediction, please welcome father guido's carducci. [applause] >> dear god, we are del down here on the mall -- we are all down here on the mall. i hope you can see us. we are having a wonderful time with a group of wonderful people. we want to thank you for giving all of us here safely and making

it so easy to find parking spaces. well, relatively easy. i guess it is easier than usual because a lot of people left town when they heard we was coming. thank you. as long as i have your attention, god, if i could ask you one question that i would like to know. on earth, we have many different religions and different beliefs and everybody seems to think that there's is the right one. if you could give us some sign as to what is the right religion. a swan could fly in, just use your imagination. over the to go religions and when we come to the one that is the right one, let us know.

it please. i am not one to do it in alphabetical order. i am not very good at that. ok, methodist. >> i do not think that cheering is the sign. i know that you may be methodist and want to influence god, but i do not think so. episcopalian? [applause] no. baptist? no? roman catholic? a sign, any sign.

[cheering] may be any kind of a christian religion. [applause] maybe the wind could come a little bit. ok, i am going to go to an old one but a good one. in judaism? ok this is hard. lam?on islam and judaism do not eat the

same meat, but they do not get along. what is that? they don't eat pork. you don't eat pork. let's build on that. [applause] buddhism? nothing? maybe nothing is the son for buddhism. -- the sign for buddhism. [inaudible] there seem to be a lot of rastafarians here in the mall. god, we only have this till 3:00 p.m.. there are so many religions and

so little time. maybe if you could put a halo around somebody's face and the beat a tattoo on their face, a fraud, and anchor, a snake, and then we could say that there is a dot or a woman with a snake on their face and then we could ask them what religion they are and that is the right one. did anybody get a tattoo in the last 10 seconds? you do not know if you have it yourself, so you have to tell each other. this is a good week for everyone to get to know each other. -- good way for everyone to get to know each other. [inaudible]

you don't have a tattoo, but i really like your sweater. you are wendy, and i like your glasses. you do not have a tattoo and i do not have a tattoo. anybody? well, guys, i do not know your schedule, but i know you must be pretty busy with the whole world in your hand. before i go, i just want to say on behalf of all of us, thank you god for making the universe and thank you for giving us all the good things. thank you for dogs. [applause] thank you for all of the good things that we do in your name,

like charity and forgiveness. on behalf of all of us, thank you very much and we really mean it. amen. [applause] thank you. >> i will grant to, that was a lovely benediction. but if i may be allowed to indulge, ladies and gentleman, at historic events like these, eventually the proceedings are inaugurated with a form. i would like to offer to you one that i wrote just last night for the occasion. i do not expect jon to stand up here and listen to me with an

open mind, so here to present my polan, the most reasonable man in america, mr. sam waterston. [applause] >> and now, the greatest war ever written. -- poland ever written -- oem ever written. are you sure? copyright 2010 by the rev. stephen coulter. -- steven colbert. did you hear that?

no? you are probably going deaf. it is your kids back home cooking up some crystal meth. [applause] did you turn off the oven? did you set the alarm? they still have not caught the man with one arm. look around at these people. alsace to you feel? your car were you part, did you lofted? what are the odds that nobody here is a pickpocket? that guy that just called on your neck, could he have an infection? the restaurant where you went to brunch, did it fail its health inspection? a madman could set loose a virus for which there is no cure, and

while these things may be unlikely, ask yourself, are you sure? and can you be sure that you will not get people from a diet cola? anthrax in the mail, your lover will discover your tail. someone is robbing your house. i can see through your blouse. your mother was right. if you chose the wrong spouse. unlabeled adrenal -- draino, a giant temple. getting trapped overnight in a

full porta-potti. there once was a man from leclair, who no one was able to steer. he would not join panic without the hispanics and later he was killed by a bear. [laughter] [applause] true story. [applause] >> nicely done. >> i feel like i cannot get my point across with words. i feel that music will do the trick that will express a motion that is difficult for us to express with words.

ladies sentiment, there is a very special person that i have asked to come here today and he has traveled on awfully long way to sing a song especially for you. you knew him as cat stevens [applause & cheering] his melodies have inspired millions of us to be better people. ladies and gentleman, joseph or as it is often pronounced jusep h. [applause & cheering]

>> peace. [applause & cheering] begune been happy lately about the things to come. i believe ♪

>> i am sorry. a stop. no, no, i am sorry. i respect to, but i am not getting on that train. >> what are you saying? >> what am i saying? i do not have a ticket for the train. i am not interested in the train.

no, ladies and gentleman. no. [applause & cheering] i am not getting on some international peace train. where does it stop? does it have first-class cars? i believe this trend does not exist. i have a better trained ladies and gentleman. my train is arriving at the station now and the conductor has an important announcement to make. ! crazy, but that's

our windows. millions of people living as those maybe it's not too late to learn how to love and forget how to hate ♪ mental wounds not healing driving me ashamed i'm going off the rails on a crazy train i'm going off the rails on a crazy train >> stop, stop, stop. i will not get on that train. that is not right.

i am not travel on that train. ozzie, i am sorry, i am a very big fan. he said that it is the lead off the rails. joseph, joseph, please the strain 0, the string sound louder fly on the peace train come on now peace train yes, peace train holy roller. >> pulled the break on that

window to shoot. ozzie, hit it. >> ♪ ♪ >> no, stop. ♪ ♪ >> go, aussie. -- go, ozzie! >> this is not right. this is not right. [applause & cheering] >> where are you going? guys?

>> look what you did. >> you ruined everything. we're here with all these people and we have no trade. -- train. >> that is what you do is you ruin things. we have no training. oh, god. i went through so much trouble to get aussie. >> i went through so much trouble to get joseph. >> what are we going to do? >> i do not know. [inaudible] >> what was that sound? is that a sound of philadelphia? i think it could be the lead train. i think we can get on the lead train. >> that is scary.

i will get all the low trading. >> ladies and gentleman, the ojs. >> come on ♪ ♪ >> people over the world, everybody join hands start a love train, will train people were world join hands start a lunch tray, one trade the next out that we make will

be soon tell all the faults in russia and china, too. don't you know that it's time to get on board ♪ and let this train keep on writing, writing on through well, well people all over the world join tens start a love train, love train ♪ people over the world join in. start a love train, love train ♪ all of you brothers in africa tel all the faults in egypt and israel, too. please don't miss this train at the station cause if you miss it, i feel sorry, sorry for you ♪

well people all over the world join hands start a love train, love train people over the world join hands start a love train, love train ♪ right, let it you better let it ride let it ride. worldle the join in start a love train, love train people over the world join hands

love trainve train, will trai ♪ people over the world start a love train ♪ join hands ♪ start a love train, love train ♪ people all over the world ♪ join hands ♪ start a love train, lower trading -- love train ♪ people the world ♪ join hands ♪

start a love train, love train ♪ ♪ [applause & cheering] ozzie osborn and, joseph. they learned all that in five minutes before the show. obviously, sanity does not mean ever having a reasonable moments. we all do. mostly in trailer parks. but it does not mean that in hindsight we cannot consider

some of our more notable moments. in the series -- in the period of santa, they try to make things right. please welcome some of the most notorious of our brethren. >> a flight ran into turbulence today on the ground. the plane from pittsburgh had just landed when a flight attendant got in a heated argument with a passenger. stevens later got on the p a system and grab some beer and deployed the emergency slide and made and exit. he said the nra passengers at him over the edge. -- he said that an irate passengers sent him over the edge. >> airline passengers can be rude. sometimes even nasty. i could have found a more productive way of expressing my

frustration instead of reaching out. i could have written a book on baggage etiquette. we will never know. but next time, i will probably work things through. >> [inaudible] i felt i was respected. there was no need to shout or to turn over a table. i feel there are many reasons why the person that is in that situation might be disrespectful. it is not my place to judge. [laughter] [applause & cheering] >> an incredible gathering here

on the mall today. i think that we all know that it does not matter what we say or do here today, it matters what is reported about we said or did here today. there are really only two options in terms of reporting on a rally. either you're was a tremendous success-it was a tremendous success -- it was a tremendous success. [applause & cheering] for a tremendous failure. we have been covering the rally from both perspectives. look at them. a vast swath of america. americans brought together by the common optimism of a perfect future. walking around meeting some of these americans, i have been inspired by people like this.

you assert, or madam, what is your name? 7. >> are you connecting with your fellow man? >> yes. >> that is great. we are here to bring some common sense back to washington. just doing their part in that little game that we call american as we look to a brighter future and a better tomorrow. >> very positive. very positive. it is time for the-. we're going to handle. -- hand-held. from where i am standing, i am seeing something completely different. i am seeing a crowd that is not sure what they want. it is pretty spares. it is unclear what they want or why they are even here, but for the most part, they seem like a

disorganized mass of activists here to voice their grievances. i will show you what i am talking about. >> what is your name sir? >> 7. -- kevin. >> interesting. a very interesting. at the rally to restore sanity, people can't even remember on -- remember what santa is. is that what -- sanity is. we are on the brink of chaos down here. >> thank you very much. no rally would be complete without some type of awards ceremony honoring those that

exemplify the spirit of the gathering. we decided to give out medals to four individuals who demonstrated rationality and sanity in the face of difficult circumstances. oh my gosh, it is the black helicopters that always talk about. oh, just traffic, sorry. our first medal. as you can see it is not very large. it also has an owl on a because it was cheaper. presenting our first medal of reasonableness honoree. >> only once has a picture from a for the game. when he was on his way to doing this in detroit, for his 27 out, he just needed to get the runner at first base and he did according to everyone but this

guy. a good man and a good umpire who made a bad call. there are bags, there. but here is how he handled it. the next day, he went out to home plate to greet the umpire with a handshake and some kind words. >> he lives in venezuela which is an unreasonable a far distance to travel for this award. so he is accepting by videotape. >> thank you for having me. i am sorry i could not make it over there. i want to thank you for this award. it is an honor and i appreciated so much.

the umpire is a good man. hopefully next time he will give me a big strike zone. thank you. >> [applause & cheering] our first recipient, or moarmon. \ >> i am sorry jon, i have something to do here. i am proud to produce the first annual steven colbert fear medal depicting a naked man running with scissors. [laughter] each medal bears the inscription that means, " warning, may contain cadmium." let's hear about the first

honoree. >> our first year medal goes to those news organizations who board of their employees from attending jon's rally because it might make him look biased. cbs, abc, the new york times and national public radio. congratulations. >> o no, not in the are. if their employees attend a rally, they may think that npr is liberal. since they would not allow any of their employees to attend, i am forced to present this award to someone with more courage, a 7-year-old girl. come on out here, darling.

[applause & cheering] >> what is your name? >> haley. >> hello, haley. are you scared to be here? >> no, this is fun. [applause & cheering] >> where that with pride, darling. a 7-year-old girl everybody. >> lookout for to these. there is a huge cooties epidemic out there, but you will not hear about that story on npr. jon, the floor is yours. >> our next to supporters are from chicago which means they have probably both been cursed out by rhom emanuel. blazon gentleman meaghan staples and jeff tweedy.

[applause & cheering] ♪ ♪ >> you're not alone i'm with you ♪ a broken home a broken heart i'm

elated and afraid open up this is a raid i want to get through to you. if you are not alone. you are not alone every night i stand in your place ♪ every tear ♪ on every face ♪ taste the same ♪ a broken dream ♪

a broken heart ♪ isolated and afraid ♪ open up this is a raid ♪ of one to get it through to you ♪ your not alone. -- you are not alone ♪

an open hand ♪ and open heart ♪ there's no need to be afraid ♪ open up this is a raid ♪ i want to get it through to you ♪ you're not alone ♪ i want to get through to you ♪ you're not alone ♪ i'm gonna get it through to you ♪ your not alone ♪ [applause & cheering]

>> mavis staples and jeff tweedy. now we will present our second medal for reasonableness >> few of us ever get the chance to personally address the president. >> larry summers did a hell of a job trying to figure out -- >> most of us blow it. >> good afternoon president obama, i am deeply honored to finally be in this forum and so you can speak to americans like myself. >> she went on to ask questions with respect. although the mid not have agreed, that could go along

like they understood each other. >> we present this medal of reasonableness to miss fell more heart. [applause & cheering] >> thank you so much. were you nervous in that situation? >> petrified. he was the president. >> you handled yourself beautifully. >> i appreciate the answer he has been giving us every day since. >> when are you getting your own daytime talk-show. hart.elmon >> >> whenever you see anderson

cooper on your front lawn or rubble pile, you know something terrible has just happened to your community, just the sight of anderson in his tight black t-shirt should give you an irresistible urge to stock up on water, duct tape, toilet paper and ammunition. >> so true. that is why i am proud to give the next year, metal to anderson coopers tight black t-shirt. bring it out here, boys. [applause & cheering] >> that is tight. >> is tiny. >> i do not know that we would ever wear that. >> is an honor to meet you. think you so much. >> that is exciting. i do not think that that will fit on most people. drawcardi to anderson's

torso for me. >> and people thought that he jon stewart was going to bring in the big stars. >> we do what we can. what is next on our program? does anyone know? what is that? well, we could just talk. >> ladies and gentleman, please turn your attention to the monitors. >> and now, an important message from a friend. >> hello, thousands of patriotic americans with disposable incomes. it is me, your good friend and launch the nor p.k. hello, washington. it is so great to see here --

see you here. this will be an event that you will remember forever. it is important to buy souvenirs to remind you of what you will never forget. be sure to stop by p k winston's merchandise. we have perfect items >> you will have an answer with this "i was there" certificate, proving you were there. each one is personally certified by me come down here where it's

as i was there, too, and i saw him or hurt. another great item to purchase is this surplus souvenir mouse pad from the movie "antz." or this one that says mouse, mouse, baby, with a picture of vanilla ice. are you standing in the middle of the crowd in of funds bought with a great view? then last thing you want is to miss out because you have to find a porta-potty. not a problem if you buy my oncho.pnoch it is perfect for rainy days and family picnics. technical, it is unisex, however

that would work. i just had another thought about these mouse pads. you could buy like five of them and it would be a great seat cushion. the point is, by some, please. my wife is really on my case about them. come on down to my creamer to merchandise mart to remember the rally to restore sanity and our fear. the prices are so low is insane, and or scary. thank you, and have a great day. thank you, washington. [applause] >> are you guys having a nice time so far? it is such a terrific crowd, and i just feel the spirit from me. it is really something, and we appreciated so much. this is quite unexpected and

quite wonderful, and really appreciate you coming out and taking the time. >> what the hell do you have on? what is that? >> oh, god, it is embarrassing. we are rose wearing the same american flag pullover fleece zip up your >> no, i am wearing it. you are desecrating it. >> the match my pants. >> i may have put on a few pounds, but i don't think i am desecrating it. i am not taking this off. everyone has a right to be patriotic. everyone. i told you -- that is very jaunty. what are you, captain morgan? i told you earlier that i was

going to be wearing the flags water. >> jon, you cannot wear an american flag unless you are an -- an issue love america. >> i do love america. >> do you want to marry it? >> that is what a fourth grader would say. let's not fight about who is more american than someone else. >> you are right, let's not fight. let's sing about it. jon, i love america. i may not win any awards for saying this, but i love this country. do you know why? >> why do love this country, sir? ♪ because on my calendar each

day is the fourth of july. lead apple me open, i believ pie. america is perfect and there is nothing to fix. my pin code is 1776. americans will deep fry anything. that is why i sing >> the greatest, strongest, country in the world. i embody the spirit of the founders i know because i watch john adams on hbo.

i will sioux city hall if they put up a major. i know the 40 proper terms for eskimo, and here is how the chorus goes. the greatest, strongest, country in the world. there is no one more compassionate than me. >> yes, it is the greatest, strongest country and the world. it is the greatest, strongest, country and the world. my roll of toilet paper used up 67 trees. there is no one more american than me. >> accept me. i love america, and everyone in her high would offend any -- i would defend anything any person says, -- unless it is juan williams or rick sanchez.

>> you do not care about the gays. >> that is mostly true. >> you don't care about the muslims. >> you are a coward, >> yes, but i am still employed. it is the strongest, greatest, country and the world. i love the usa from the american -- i love america from usa to you? >> i would love -- i would marry "sam -- "sam. >> my electric scooter gets 100180 g. >> from a man who like football >> to straight men that love

"glee." >> from new york, to l.a., and all that is in between. >> from washington, -- from kansas city to -- from illinois to -- from texas to, from rochester, to -- from minnesota

-- i could not hear that one. the virginia. >> from north carolina to -- new jersey, there is no one more american >> there is no one more compassionate. >> this is the the greatest, strongest country in the world. this is the greatest, strongest country in the world. there is no one more american than we. ♪ >> jeff tweedy, everybody. [applause] [laughter]

>> i am very sorry that you had to hear me sing. i promise you i will try not to do that again. it worked in rehearsal. now, if we may, our third month of -- metal of reasonableness. professional wrestling is an out forms that as anything then reasonable. few people are more skilled than wrestling great mick foley. when not in the ring, he is a man that has written novels and a memoir. he sticks up for the little guy, whoever he may be. >> i have been repeatedly called a gay-wide. >> if i find out anyone has harrassed this young man, or

teased him, i, and perhaps a few of my friends will come to his school and bring a world of pain. [applause] >> for example find sanity and reason everywhere but in his day job, mick foley. [applause] >> come on out, brother. >> thank you, john. john, can i say on this historic day with this incredible medal around my neck, i am going to have my eyes and my one remaining ear open watching and listening to the crowd and if i see or hear anyone acting in an unreasonable manner, if i will not hesitate to jump out there like a righteous both of thunder and ask you to be polite to each other. civility is cool.

thank you very much. >> mick foley. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, our final fear award goes to a man who was made every paranoids fears come true. not so long ago, if you thought there was a global giant entity tracking every move to collect information about you and your friends, people said you were crazy, but now people say all, you are on facebook. facebookthanks to creator mark zuckerberg whose internet brainchild has made it possible for non-. people to realize their greatest fear, that your access is now dating someone much cuter than you. unfortunately, mark zuckerberg could not be here today because he values his privacy a lot more than he values yours.

i will set this medal on his behalf, and post a picture of me where it. friend me. incidentally, leeson gentleman, if anyone is concerned about privacy issues, please talk to any rally staff and give them your address, credit card number, and trace your house key on a piece of paper. >> i can not attend the awards ceremony on fear. our last award -- diffusing an explosive situation is hard, and people try all kinds of methods. our next honoree reacted quickly when he found himself face-to-face with a flammable circumstance. >> i took his koran. he said something about burning the koran, connecticut and i said dude, you have no koran.

>> thank you, youtube. >> i do not normally condone ripping things out of people's hands. listen gentleman our final awardee. sir. come on out, brother. >> dude, you have no metal. how does that feel? >> thank you. >> thank you. >> i think that as the most reasonable thing you could possibly do in that situation. >> well, the day just got a surprise. -- ebay just got a surprise. leaders and gentlemen, our next

performer played me a new song he was working and for his new album, and it was so apropos to this situation, i talked to me in to coming out and performing it live for the first time ever in front of everyone here today. it is an incredible song. he is an incredible performer. we are so honored and excited to have him here today. ladies and gentlemen, performing with sheryl crow, kid rock. [applause]

>> that is ironic that i'm going to sing the serious song today. also, if you pay attention, not only will sheryl crow be joining me, but another friend that could not be here was kind enough to take a green screen for us. we hope it all comes together. ♪ >> day-by-day my life gets colder my ice grows thinner as i get older

pieces and pieces bloodied and bruised i feel helpless and confused i hear screaming on the left yelling on the right i am trying to live my life i cannot stop the war shelter the homeless feed the poor i cannot change the world and make things fair the least that i can do the least that i can do the least that i can do is care. >> c'mon, sheryl crow. >> yeah.

i cannot pray for salvation tried and true tribulation for those lost and lonely check the is with these open arms i pray for your screen and on the left yelling on the right i am in the middle i cannot walk on water i cannot save the sons and daughters i cannot change the world and make things fair the least that i can do the least that i can do is care

>> how could i be labeled as a villain? i am just trying there is a guide sending down blessings screaming on the left yellen on the right >> i cannot stop the war shelter homeless feed the poor i cannot sit your sons and daughters -- save your sons and daughters the list that i can do is care i cannot stop the war

shelter homeless feed the poor i cannot walk on water i cannot say sons and daughters i cannot change the world to make things fair the least that i can do the least that i can do the least that i can do the least that i can do the least but i can do is care you know i care i can care oh oh oh oh ♪ oh oh oh ♪

[applause] >> thank you, d.c. god bless america. [applause] ♪ ♪

making the best of the situation building a house on a soft foundation everyone wants to feel all right very often the wrong direction everybody wants to fill all right listen to the music let's dance to the music let's dance to the summer breeze

♪ every day and every night everybody wants to feel all right dance to the music danced till our troubles fade away

let's dance to a summer breeze ♪ ♪ there will be peace in the city there'll be peace in the nation there will be peace and salvation ♪

♪ can you feel the peace all the way and back all the way in the back across the world whoo ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ [applause] >> sheryl crow, and kid rock, and the roots. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, and an

important announcement -- now, the moment you have been waiting for. your keynote speaker for the afternoon, best-selling author, television personality, and supporting actor in the 1998 sci-fi horror classic the faculty, ladies and gentlemen mr. jon stewart. [applause]

>> ladies and gentlemen, what is reason? webster's defines reason as the mental powers concerned with forming conclusions, judgments, and for -- and or inferences. who amongst us as qualified to talk about other people's conclusions, and judgments, or inferences? >> me, me, stephen colbert. >> what are you doing? >> you're making a point, and every point must have a counterpoint. batus is expected -- that is physics. >> so, now this is a debate? no, this is a formidable opponent. i hereby challenge you to a debate, but first, podium please. podium. >> are we gonna start with no words.

>> mr. gorbachev, i paid for this microphone. >> wow, that happened to have a podium available. >> i go everywhere with one. >> i have no idea. >> i am ready. bringing it down. -- bring it on. >> i will bring it -- a reasonable amount of it. stephen colbert, reason is how mankind advances. if we were afraid of everything, we would have never harnessed the power of fire. >> fire? where? the rally is on fire. run for your lives. >> there is no fire. >> thank god. it could have burned this field to the ground. >> history tells us -- >> since you are quoting history books, i would refer you to the garden of eden.

had eased had a healthy phobia of snakes, she would have not in the apple and cursed us all with original sin. i would then be able to walk around night -- naked everywhere is setup just my bathroom, living room, and participating burger kings. >> you are creating bogeymen. fdr once said the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. >> yes, but just 12 years later, he was dead. was it murder? we will never know. i prefer president nixon who said people react to fear, not love. they do not teach that in sunday school, but it is true. that is why i proposed to my wife by hiding a ring instead of a rabid badger.

it was beautiful. >> keeping you scared is exactly what they want. >> they? who is they? >> you know, they. them. >> your lack of proper nouns is terrifyingly. >> of course. they are constantly charm in the waters with fresh threats, always telling us anything we are supposed to be afraid of. >> hold on, there is anything i am supposed to be afraid of? >> yes paris >> what is it? >> there is not anything. >> tell me what it is. >> it is corp. might -- it is a fast acting poison that scientists say he is in everyone's and bottled water. >> what? i just had some bottled water backstage. now.

is there an added dose -- is there an anecdote? >> the knowledge there is no such thing. i made it up. actually, i stole it from an episode of "star trek." kirk used it as a bluff. >> of course, season one, episode 10 where he worked the come and uniform with the science badge. >> no continuity. >> classic mistake. >> are we wrong? >> we are right. >> you got scared by something that is not real. >> maybe so, but not all of the

things i or my fellow americans are afraid of are made up. what about muslims? >> what about them? >> they attack the. -- attacked us. >> stephen, they did not. some people who happen to be of muslim faith attacked us, but there are 1.5 billion muslims in the world. [applause] >> most of them -- >> did not? you are saying there is no reason at all to be afraid of osama bin laden? >> no, he is a specific person. >> he is a muslim person. >> there are plenty of muslim people that are not bad. >> ho? -- who? >> kareem abdul-jabbar. -- kareem abdul-jabbar?

>> my man. >> karim abdul-jabbar is moslem. >> that is not fair. he is cool. we are friends. >> well, we are acquaintances. a real friend understands that no matter what religious position someone place, we are all on the same team. [applause] >> wow. your message of tolerance just drove the lane of my heart. >> individuals can be scary, but you cannot generalize about all people, and even ones so

dangerous in the paint they scored 30,000 points. [applause] >> actually, that was 38,000, 387 -- 3 -- 38,387. [applause] >> hey, i will call you. we could hang out. >> make sure he does not get my number. >> a absolutely. i will make sure. >> ok, fine. fine, smarty pants. you might have a point about humans, but what about robots? the terminator? decepticons? they are terrified, admitted. >> some robots are scary. >> all robots. >> what about r2d2?

[cheering] >> can you see? everyone moved closer. r2. [sqweaking] >> did not use that language. there are kids here. you make a good point, and i am sorry. >> all right. selected by the way, there is of blunder that had its eye on you. -- blender that had its eye i knew. the guy.

thank you. >> we will see you at the space port. >> he ran over my foot. >> r2, you are right, he is great. you just schoolmate, and the fact that a career member of the bar is a moslem, maybe i need to be more discerning. >> thank you. >> no, what my say. your reasonableness is poisoning my fear. i need back up. bring out fear-zilla. >> oh, my gosh. >> here it is. prepare to tremble. it is me, in pure fear form.

>> exit, it is you in papier- mache form. >> you laugh now, but soon you will be cowrie. on least the media. >> could the biggest science project ever lead to the end of the world? >> in enormous earthquake? >> domestic -- the massive gas line ruptures, could happen in your neighborhood? >> how many sex offenders living your neighborhood? >> are there terrorist sells in your neighborhood? >> marijuana, could be in your neighborhood? >> is america ready? >> is the u.s. next? >> is america dangerously on prepared? >> the flip-flop is the new sneaker, but there is serious danger. >> obama's plan will kill you. >> not only lack of sleep will tell you, it is sleeping too much. >> what about the water that comes out of your closet -- faucet?

>> i your kids being brainwashed? i will tell you who is taking cues from the nazis. >> the social engineering of america's children. >> we will have our own little china work force in america. >> doomsday, 2010 >> net terror threat. >> the super bug. >> right-wing terrorism. >> gay marriage. >> the flip-flop. >> anarchy, chaos, and cannibalism. >> we need to wake up soon, or we will wake up dead. > > i win. high-five, me. >> he does not win. most of those fears are overblown. even the ones that do, the

american people can come together and solve them. >> no. [applause] >> all, no. puppet, do what i am doing. do not make me laugh. ha ha. the american people cannot work together on anything. they cannot stand each other. >> that is not true. >> really? three unleashed a media appeared >> progressivism is a cancer. >> the republican party has gone brain-dead. >> the far left does not want to delete -- defeat terrorism. >> the left believes americans are stupid. >> republicans live. >> if you cannot be of liberal as a christian. >> we have a village idiot. >> islam is alive. >> there is a gay and secular fascism in this country. >> the tea party is misguided, i think they are racist.

>> racism is the exclusive problem of the left. >> liberals hate guns. >> i think they are clinging to guns and religions. >> our government is all evil right now. >> barack obama is the worst president in history. >> do you think the president is anti-symantec? >> i do. >> we haven't irresponsible, homophobic racist. >> he is a limousine liberal that wants to tax everybody can be generous with everybody else's money. >> our real problem is a country full of joe the plumber. >> practicing homosexuals. >> un-american bastards. >> and gone nuts. >> crazies. >> they are what is wrong with america. >> i win again.

how many times do i have to win? have you developed a losing palette? >> i admit, that is dispiriting. >> you are done. there is nothing you can do to defeat my video montage. >> i actually brought with me my hotel remote. it is a weapon. i can simply turn the television off, or change the channel to something that might be more appropriate. [applause] >> something, perhaps for people making over each other's houses. he is a lovely thing. >> you could do that, if it were not for this. >> what are the dirtiest things in a given hotel? >> the number one item that has the most bacteria is the tv remote-control unit. >> i have found in coal lie on

remote-control. -- e. coli. >> 50% have the most amount of bacteria. >> we found two types of fecal bacteria. >> that is right. your remote control has poop on it. everyone say it with me. poop >> i am sorry, there is no more "daily show." jon stewart will be missed. >> no. wait. >> what? >> everybody wait. >> john oliver, what are you doing? >> you are banned. you are dead. be quiet now. >> but as read.

i killed him. there is nothing that you can do to help him, john oliver. >> really? they did the boys and girls on their can help him -- maybe the girls and boys out there can help them. everyone, please, jon stewart needs your help. clap for him. >> you are very kind. >> clap for him. >> no. >> that is very nice. i appreciate it. it is really not -- i am not dead. >> how about we do a little jig for him? do the arsenio for him. >> i think you are just irritating them. >> let's try chanting parent >> with that help?

>> let's find out. will this help? will this help? will this help? >> chanting has no effect. >> the chanting. the american people are joining together. >> keep going. will this help? will this help? well this help? >> i am melting. the puppet should melt too. my precious. >> you killed him. you killed him, jon. >> he is definitely bad.

>> all right. how do we get his fear, but off? >> i can do a right turn. >> the public should probably just leave. >> it was a really nice puppet, thank you. [applause] >> stephen colbert, john oliver, and stephen colbert's puppet. so, here we are. [applause] [cheering] >> thank you. we have had some really incredible musical performances here today.

i hope you enjoyed them. [applause] >> we have had what some would classified as comedy as well. now, i thought we might have a moment, however brief, for some sincerity. i know there are boundaries for a comedian, pungent, copper guy, and i will find out how i have violated them tomorrow. i really happy if you guys are here. -- i am really happy day you guys are here. [applause] >> even if none of us are really quite sure why we are here. some of you might have seen today a call for action, or some of the more ironic cats, as

a clarion call for action. some of you just wanted to see the aerospace museum and got really screwed. i'm sure a lot of you are here just to have a nice time, and i hope you did. [applause] >> i know many of you made great efforts to be here today. i want you to know that everyone involved with this project worked incredibly hard to make sure that we honored the effort that you put in, and gave you the best show we could possibly do. we know your time is valuable. we did not want to waste it. [applause]

>> we are all extremely honored to have had a chance to perform for you on this beautiful space -- the mall, in washington, d.c. [applause] >> so, what exactly was this? i cannot control what people think this was, i can only tell you my intentions. this was not a rally to radical people of faith, where people of activism,, or to look down our noses at the heartland or passionate argument, or to suggest that times are not difficult and that we have nothing to fear. they are, and we do. but, we live now in hard times, not end times. [applause]

we can have animus and not be enemies. unfortunately, one of our main tools in delineating the two broke. the country's 24-hour, political pundits perpetual panic inflecter did not cause our problem, but its existence mix it -- makes it saw in them that much harder. [applause] >> the press can hold its

magnifying glass of to our problems, bringing them into focus, illuminating issues here to for unseen, or they can use that magnifying glass to light pants on fire. then, perhaps almost a week of shows on the sudden, unexpected, dangerous flaming and epidemic. if we amplify everything, we hear nothing. [applause] >> there are terrorists, and racists, and fell in the stomach and theocrats, but those are titles that must be earned, he must have the resonate. not being able to distinguish between real racists, and tea-

party, land real pickets or ron williams -- juan williams and rick sanchez is a real insight -- insult not only to those people, but the racists themselves weapon in the exhausting effort it takes to hate. [applause] >> just as the inability to distinguish terrorists from moslems makes us less safe, not more. [applause] >> the press is our immune system. if it overreacts to everything, we actually get more sick, and perhaps the eggs a month. -- exema.

>> yes, with that being said, i feel good, strangely good. the image of american that is reflected back to us by our political and media process is false. it is awesome, through a fun house mirror, and not a good time that makes you look slim in the waste and may be taller, but the kind where you have a giant forehead and and ass shaped like a month-old pumpkin, and one eyeball. why would we work together? why would you reach across the aisle to a pumpkin-assed monster? is the picture of us were true,

and our inability to solve problems would be reasonable. why would you work with marxists or racists and homophobes'? we hear every damn day about how fragile our country is, on the brink of catastrophe, torn by polarizing 8, and how it is a shame that we cannot work to get things done together. the truth is, we do. we work together to get things done every damned day. [applause] >> the only place we do not, is here, or on cable television. [applause] >> but, americans do not live

here, or on cable tv. where we live, our values and principles form the foundation that sustains us while we get things done, not the barriers that prevent us from getting things done. [applause] >> most americans do not live their lives solely as democrats, republicans, liberals, or conservatives. americans live their lives more as people that are just a little bit late for something they have to do. it is often something they do not want to do. but, they do it. in possible things, every day that are only made possible through the little, reasonable compromises we all make.

look on the screen. this is where we are. this is who we are. that is a schoolteacher that things taxes are too high. he is going to work. a woman with two small kids cannot think about anything else right now. there is another car swinging. i do not know if you can see it. the lady is in the nra and loves oprah. there is another car, an investment banker, gay, and also loves opera. another car is a fundamentalist vacuum salesman. a mormon jay-z fan. this is us. every one of the cars is filled with individuals of strong beliefs and principles they hold dear, often in direct opposition to their fellow

travelers, yet the millions of cars find a way to squeeze, one- by-one, into a mile-long tunnel carved underneath almighty -- a mighty river, by people, i'm sure who had their differences. they do it concession by concession. you go, then i will go. is that an nra sticker on your car? is that an obama sticker on your car? that is okay. if you go in, and i will go. at some point, there will be a selfish and jerk that zips up the shoulder and cuts in at the last minute, but that individual is rare, scorn, and not hired as an analyst. [laughter] [applause]

>> because we know, instinctively as a people that if we are to get through the darkest and back into the light, which have to work together. the truth is, there will always be darkness. sometimes, the light at the end of the kabul -- tunnel is not the promised land. sometimes, is just new jersey. [applause] >> but we do it anyway. together. you want to know why i'm here, and what i want from you? i can only assure you this. you have already given it to me. your presence was what i wanted. [applause]

>> sanity will always be, and has always been in the eye of the beholder. we see you here today, and the kind of people that you are, and it has restored my. see why. -- it has restored mind. thank you. [applause] >> please welcome to the stage, a living legend, his song "i left my heart in san francisco" was inspired by one the most horrifying medical malpractice cases of all time. ladies and gentlemen, here to sing "america of the beautiful" mr. tony bennett. [applause]

oh, beautiful for spacious skies forever waves of grain for purple mountain majesties above the for the plane -- above the fruited plain america, america . .

>> before we go, i want to thank everybody for coming here today. stephen colbert, my great and dear friend. >> thank,, jon stewart. thank you, everybody. >> i want to thank everyone who worked so hard to put this all together. all the musicians who came out here today to share their time with us and i want to bring them all back out here right now to perform one more song. [cheers and applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, the roots. tony bennett. jeff tweedy.

a 7-year-old girl. mick foley. r2-d2. all the correspondents. thelma hart. take it away, guys. ♪ ♪ ain't nobody worried no-no ♪ ain't no smiling faces

♪ lying to the races ♪ no-no no ♪ help me come on come on ♪ somebody help me now ♪ come on now now y'all ♪ help me now ♪ i'll take you there ♪ help me y'all ♪ i'll take you there ♪ help me ♪ i'll take you there ♪ help me ♪ i'll take you there ♪ whoa let me take you there ♪ i'll take you there ♪ let me take you there ♪ i'll take you there ♪ all right ♪

>> now, more political coverage with house minority leader john boehner for house candidate john bennett in ohio and also remarks by president obama for illinois democratic candidate. after that, a kentucky senate debate with republican rand paul and democrat jack con way. c-span's live election coverage starts at 7:00 p.m. eastern with results from around the country, victory and concession speeches and your calls, emails and tweets. watch our live coverage here on c-span. >> in addition to all of this season's campaign coverage and archive debates, there's lots more of the c-span library, including nonfiction authors from "book tv," the american story, and everything we've

aired since 1987 all free and indexed online at the c-span video library. >> now, house minority leader john boehner, campaigning in the northeastern town of hanoverton, ohio. he's challenging charlie wilson. the event took place at the historic spread eagle tavern that's been visited by abraham lincoln, dan quayle, dick cheney and most recently by john mccain. this is about an hour. [cheers and applause] >> wow. i am overwhelmed with the support. david, thank you so much for those kind words.

david johnson. thank you so much. congressman boehner, i can't tell you how much i appreciate you being here. john, thank you for being here. folks, america is at a crossroads. the decision we make next tuesday is going to determine the path that america goes down for the next several decades potentially. it's going to determine whether or not we re-establish hope and prosperity and a future for our children and our grandchildren. when i leave this rally this afternoon, i'm going to go to the airport and pick up my youngest granddaughter, barely over a month old. haven't seen her yet because we've been working this campaign. she can't talk. but i guarantee you if she

could, she'd tell us she's pretty ticked off. [laughter] >> you see, she came into this world approximately $40,000 in debt. the office of management and budget says by the end of this year our national economy is going to be 62% national debt. now, i'm not a math major in college, but my computer works, and i think that means that the federal government's borrowing 62 cents of every dollar that it's spending and it's further putting us and future generations in debt. we got a federal government that's incurring a debt that we can't fund, creating an economy that's not competitive on a global scale. we've seen the out-of-control

overspending, overreaching and promised jobs. and since that bill was signed only three states have lost more jobs than ohio has. charlie wilson attacks me because he can't defend his own record of tax and spending, by saying that i sent jobs overseas. i work for a company that has a proven track record of competing favorably in a global market in a way that creates jobs right here in ohio. we don't send jobs overseas, we create jobs right here in ohio. you compare that with a stimulus bill that charlie wilson kind worth $2.3 billion that came in the form of manufacturing tax credits, that went to companies in china and korea and spain, where 80% of

the green energy projects went to companies overseas. folks, that's the kind of irresponsible leadership that says one thing about being a blue dog conservative down here in the district, and then going to washington and voting with nancy pelosi 98.1% of the time. [applause] with your help next tuesday, we're going to stop this. we're going to stop the madness. [applause] we're going to bring america back to the principles that made us great. ladies and gentlemen, we are so polarized in this country. we're polarized culturally, we're polarized politically, we're polarized economically.

we've got to have leadership that says what they mean and then do what they say. [applause] that stick to the principles of the constitution and the declaration of independent. and i give you my word. if you send me to washington on your behalf next tuesday, i'm going to worry more about your businesses and your jobs and the future of your children and your grandchildren than i am my next re-election campaign. [applause] i'll do my job to restore hope and faith in the american dream for the people of the sixth

district. many people that i have met all up and down the ohio river, they've lost hope. to them the american dream has become the obama-monthscy-wilson mightaire. -- obama, pelosi-wilson nightmare. we're going to change that. you send me there next tuesday, i'm going to do my part to change that for the sixth district. the very first thing i'm going to do after being sworn in, i'm going to cast a vote for the man that's going to make a difference for the entire nation, and i'm going to vote for john boehner to be our next speaker of the house. [cheers and applause] [cheers and applause]

we've been doing this for over a year and i've had a number of rallies. i've never had one like this. so if you think that i think that you just came here to hear me talk, no way. ladies and gentlemen, the next speaker of the house, john boehner. [cheers and applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, sit down, take it easy, and let me just say thanks for being here for bill johnson. i'm going to tell you straight up, because i'm not nancy pelosi, i'm not barack obama. i say what i mean, and i mean what i say. and i've got to tell you that this race wasn't on anybody's charts. now, i met bill back in august. thought he was a really good guy and he kept telling me, "we're going to win this, we're going to win this.

you better get an eye on this." so i started to check around, and it still wasn't on anyone's charts. now, let me tell you what. the reason we're all here today is because bill johnson and his campaign have done one whale of a job putting themselves on the map. [applause] i want to say to you bill, i'm proud of you, i'm proud of the team and the campaign you've put together, and i'm proud of all of you who are here today in support of bill johnson, because he is going to be your next congressman. [applause] you know, back in february or early march, the president had us all down to the blair house to talk about health care. you remember the seven-hour obama infomercial. oh, yeah, we were just supposed to be the potted plants for that event. we actually stood up with some

ideas. the president said when we have ideology cal differences or philosophical differences, he said, and i'll quote, "that's what elections are for." well, he certainly is right and he certainly is. [applause] because if you're tired of all the bailouts, if you're tired of all the stimulus spending, if you're tired of the government taking over virtually everything in america, remember what the president said -- "that's what elections are for." [applause] you know, the president was doing an interview the other day and he said this -- he said on election day, he said, we're going to punish our enemies. those people who disagree with our policies are our enemies. now, i can't hardly believe the president said this. you know, when president bush, president reagan, president

clinton, george w. bush used the word "enemies," he was referring to global terrorists, he was referring to dictators -- they were referring to dictators around the world who hate freedom and hate america. and for the president to use that word about people who oppose bigger government, people who are freedom-loving and love our constitution, i have to tell you, i find that very appalling. and so, mr. president, i've got a word for those people, those people who oppose your policies, those people who love our constitution, who love freedom and love the principles that america was built on. you know what i call those people? not enemies, they're patriots. [applause] [cheers and applause] and so patriots, i say to all

of you, there are just three days left, three days left where we can make a real difference in our country. you know, i'm the the last guy in the world who should be standing here. i've got 11 brothers and sisters. my dad owned a bar. i grew up mopping floors, waiting tables, washing dishes and every rotten job there ever was. i worked every night shift you can imagine, and i'm going to tell you what, i loved every job that i had. at least until i got the next one. [laughter] but you know, i grew up in america where you could grow up and be anything you wanted to be and do anything you wanted to do. and i was lucky enough to own a small business and to turn it into a successful business. and along the way i got involved in my neighborhood homeowners association and i ended up in the united states congress. oh, no, this, too, could happen to you. [laughter] but i went to washington to get the government's hands off the goose that was laying the golden egg. when you look around america and you look at the freedom we have to invest in ourselves, to invest in our families, to

invest in our businesses, the government continues to get in the way. and you all know that bigger the government gets, the smaller the american people get. you all know that the more the government takes from you, the less you have to invest in yourself, your family, your business and your community. and it's time that we tell washington. it's time for them to get their hands off the goose that laid the golden egg. if you're tired of all the duplicity and all the double talk, you better elect bill johnson to the united states congress. [cheers and applause] if you want to send nancy pelosi packing her bags back to san francisco, elect bill johnson! [cheers and applause] ladies and gentlemen, remember one thing -- we live in america. you really can't grow up and be

everything that you want to be or anything that you want to be, but all of you in this crowd know that if we don't turn this country around, the future for our kids and grandkids isn't going to be as bright. we've got to bring hope back to america, and the way to do that is a smaller, less costly and more accountable government in washington, d.c., and the way that we do that is we elect bill johnson and send charlie wilson back to wherever he's from in this district. listen, you all know this -- remember when ronald reagan was president? we had bob hope, we had johnny cash. think about where we are today. we've got president obama, but we have no hope and we have no cash. god bless all of you! [cheers and applause]

>> thank you very much, john boehner, the next speaker of the house of representatives. >> c-span's live election night coverage starts at 7:30 p.m. eastern with victory results, speeches and your phone calls, emails and tweets. watch our live coverage here on c-span. >> it's time to get your camera rolling for this year's student cam. c-span's video documentary competition open to middle and high school students. make a five to eight-minute video on this year's theme, washington, d.c. through my lens. the deadline is january 20, 2011.

for complete details go to studentcam.org. >> our political coverage continues with president obama campaigning for illinois democratic candidates a few days before tuesday's midterm elections. he spoke at a rally hosted by the democratic national committee as part of their get out the vote efforts. illinois governor pat quinn, who is running against state senator bill brady, introduced the president. also in attendance, alexi gentleman nowell was, who's running -- gentleman newell was, who's running for the seat. it is great to see so many supporters.

look, we all know that this country has seen some tough times lately. people are hurting in a very real way. they are losing their jobs, their homes and their shot at the american dream. you would expect at a time of economic crisis, at a time when we should be working together to give a helping hand to these families, that the republicans might actually think about joining forces with our president and try to help get our nation back on the road to prosperity. unfortunately, tragically, all the republicans try to do is stop our president every time at every turn. when president obama tried to jump-start the economy with the largest middle class tax cuts

in this country's history, the republicans said no. when president obama wanted to end tax breaks for companies that shipped jobs overseas, the republicans said no. when president obama cracked down on wall street's reckless and risky behavior, the republicans said no. not only do they not want president obama to succeed, they have shown a complete unwillingness to help move this great country forward. they just want to play politics. typical washington, d.c. partisan politics. in their own words, they want to make our president a "one-termer."

well, i've got news for them. they picked the wrong city, they picked the wrong state, and they picked the wrong time! [cheers and applause] you see, we've heard this phrase lately. the folks on the other side, they say we need to take our country back. that's their phrase. you see, i thought we were all in this together. i thought they were all supposed to move this country forward together. so my question to these phoenix, sarah palin, glenn beck and all those other folks, my question is this -- who are the "we" they are talking about , taken back from who, and how far back do you want to go? we saw what happened when they

were in charge. george w. bush and karl rove and the republicans in washington took our nation backward once before, and we cannot let them do it again. you see, they took us to record surpluses to record budget deficits. they took us from the greatest period of economic prosperity in history to one of the worst recessions in american history. but karl rove is back and he has brought millions -- millions in secret money, special-interest money from undisclosed donors and undisclosed amounts to try and drown out the voices of ordinary illinoisians. karl rove and his millions have spent more money in illinois in vicious, false attack ads -- this is a fact -- than in any other state in the country. and every dime -- every dime of this unlimited, unreported secret money from secret donors

has been spent to trash democrats, every single dime of it. but here's what they don't want you to know. karl rove and his gang of special interests aren't just trying to convince the people in the middle to vote their way with these lies and attacks. you see, they are trying to make democrats stay home. they are trying to discourage you from coming out and exercising your rights. they want you to stay home and give them the chance to take us back. so tell me this, chicago -- are you going to let karl rove keep you home on tuesday? are you going to let millions of dollars of special interest money keep you home on tuesday? are you going to let a tidal wave of negative ads and lies keep you home on tuesday? that's right.

let's let illinois voices determine this election, not out-of-state special interests. so let me ask you one last question -- will we, can we join president obama to move this great country forward? yes, we can! yes, we can! yes, we can! yes, we can! god bless you all. [crowd chanting "yes, we can"] [cheers and applause] ♪

>> a great leader for illinois, governor pat quinn. ♪ ♪

>> ladies and gentlemen, to introduce the president, please welcome our friend, our governor, and a great leader for illinois, governor pat quinn. ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ >> my name's pat quinn. i'm the governor of illinois. and are you ready to vote? are you fired up and ready to go? you know, illinois, we believe in government of the people and by the people and for the people. it shall not perish from this earth. and what do people do best? they vote in an election. that's what it's all about this tuesday. we want to make sure everybody, everybody in our society gets a chance to really have a say-so, and that's why this election on tuesday is so important,

because in 2008 we changed the guard in america, and in 2010 we're going to guard the change across our whole state and our country. [cheers and applause] now yesterday in our state of illinois we buried a very special person, bishop arthur frazier, 89 years old, a great man. and he believed in voting. if you don't vote, you don't have a voice in democracy, and those of us who gathered at that funeral, i think the bishop would want us on tuesday and every election day to exercise our right to vote. it will make you big and strong if you vote. we believe in that in our country and our state, and i think it's especially important because when we're voting this tuesday, we're voting for jobs in america. we believe in our president. i want to tell you a story about our president. he came to illinois a couple of weeks ago. he landed on a big airplane

there, air force one at o'hare field. and i'm the governor of illinois and i have the honor to say hello to the president and greet him when he comes off the airplane, and i said, "welcome home, mr. president. thank you for what you're doing for all of us. you're working as hard as you can for decent health care, making sure that we have in our country consumer protection and definitely fighting hard for jobs." and i said to the president, i want to thank you, because earlier this year in may our state of illinois, all of us, we got federal money to put people to work. that's what we believe in. [cheers and applause] and we put 26,000 people to work in our state of illinois, 26,000 people in private sector jobs, 5,000 different businesses participated. and on that day i thought it would be pretty important for the president to see firsthand some of the people that he helped get a j-o-b.

and so i asked tiffany henyard who owns good burger -- i know she's here somewhere. 634 burnham avenue in calumet city. i wanted tiffany to be there at the airport. and i also wanted octavia jones, who got a job because of president obama, a good job. she's working at good burger. she's working for tiffany. and they were both at the airport. after i shook hands with the president, i said, "mr. president, would you like to see two hard-working people from illinois who want to make our country go forward?" and he said, "yes, i do." so we went over. the president shook the hands of tiffany and octavia. and what do you do if you're tiffany and octavia? you start hugging the president, right? and what do you do if you're the governor of illinois? well, what happened is octavia threw me her disposable camera and said, "take that picture,

right this minute." that's what we've got to do in illinois. we've got to band together, in our country, all across our country much we believe in grass-roots democracy. our country wasn't built by people on top of the power heap, apologizing on why the special interests should get all the breaks and the wealthy get all the special tax breaks and all that. that isn't america. america is built by everyday people banding together, not-for-profit, for what they believe in. that's why we elected our president, barack obama, that's why we're here today, to make sure that we keep that movement going, that hope going. you know, in the scripture they talk about faith and hope and love. we've got to have faith in each other. we have to have hope. the president ran on hope. and i have hope all the time. but i also know the president believes in love. love is patient, love is kind and love never fails. that's what we believe in. [cheers and applause]

and if you have any doubt of why you should vote on tuesday, i want to tell you about somebody who is all about love. he was married not far from here. he was a lance corporal in the united states marine, lance sparks. he gave his life for us. i was with his mother a week or two ago and it's pretty hard when you have to talk to a mom and she has to bury her son who stood up for our democracy. there's no words in the english language or any language to relieve the pain of burying a real hero, and i think it's so important when people sometimes talk about democracy. we can't take it for granted. it's a god-given gift. it's all about voting. the people are the ones who do the voting, and that's why if you're thinking about voting on tuesday, i hope you remember that lance corporal john sparks, united states marine, always faithful. we've had soldiers of our state and soldiers of our country

give their lives for our right to vote and we've got to make sure we keep faith with them. that's why it's so important this tuesday that we vote our conscience. we know we have the issues. we know we have the president of the united states. we've got to have his back. we can't let those ankle-biters in washington criticize our president unfairly. we've got to show the whole world that the people of illinois, the people of the home state of our president, president barack obama, we know how to vote, we know how to flex our citizen muscles and we know how to make the will of the people the law of the lands. i think that's the way to go. [cheers and applause] ok. i think i've talked enough. what are we here for? are you ready to change america? are you ready to do what we did

in grant park two years ago? are you ready to make the will of the people the law of the land? president barack obama! [cheers and applause] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ >> hello, chicago! [cheers and applause] it's go to be home. [cheers and applause] it is good to be home. y'all organized some good weather for me, too. thank you. i should mention to the national press that the weather's not always like this. in late october, early

november. but it is a spectacular night, and you guys look beautiful. thank you so much. thank you. [applause] i want to make sure that everybody knows the outstanding elected officials who are here. first of all, the current governor and the next governor of the great state of illinois, pat quinn, is in the house. [applause] one of the finest mayors in the history of america, richard daley is here. [applause] the senior senator and great friend of mine from the great state of illinois, dick durbin is in the house. [applause]

the junior senator who has served this state for so many years, roland burris is here. a couple of wonderful members of congress, bobby rush and jan chikowski are in the house. john kohlerton is here. attorney general lisa lad gann is here. secretary of state jesse white is here. the alederwoman. when you're in chicago you've got to talk about your aled der women. she's in the house. democratic nominee for lieutenant governor and my great friend, she la simon, is here. -- sheila simon is here. [applause] another wonderful friend, nominee for treasurer, robin

kelly. [applause] outstanding young public servant nominee for comptroller, david miller. alderman and democratic nominee for cook county board president and my alderwoman is here. i want to thank carmen for doing such a great job in the opening, chicago boy, and treasurer and soon to be senator from the great state of illinois, alexi gentleman nool was is here -- alexi giannoulias is here. you say you're fired up and ready to go? how about you? are you fired up and ready to go? [cheers and applause]

[crowd chanting] [crowd chanting "obama"] >> thank you. look, i can't think of anything better than being with a hometown crowd that is fired up. plus, i'm going to sleep in my own bed tonight. now, chicago, in three days you have the chance to set the

direction of this state and this country for years to come. and just like you did in 2008, you can defy the conventional wisdom, the kind that says you can't overcome cynicism in politics, you can't overcome the special interests, you can't overcome the big money, you can't overcome all the negativity, you can't overcome the big challenges anymore, you can't elect the skinny guy with the funny name to the u.s. senate or the presidency. in three days you've got the chance to once again say what? >> yes, we can! >> there is no doubt -- there is no doubt that this is a tough election. it's tough here in illinois, it's tough all across the

country. and the reason it's tough is because we've been through an incredibly difficult time as a nation. it didn't just start a year ago. it didn't just start two years ago. for the last decade, for the last 10 years, the middle class has been getting a tough time. between 2001 and 2009 the wage, the incomes of the average middle class family went down 5%. between 2001 and 2009 job growth was slower than any time since world war ii. so families were seeing their incomes go down even as their costs for health care, their costs for college education, their costs for groceries were all going up. folks were having to keep two, three jobs just to keep up.

meanwhile, too many jobs were disappearing overseas. and all this culminated in the worst financial crisis since the great depression and the worst economic crisis since the 1930's. the families that were already worried, already having a tough time, already having to skip going to the doctor because they didn't have insurance or already having to say to their kids maybe you can't go to college this year because we don't have the money, things got even worse. we lost four million jobs in the six months before i took the oath of office. 750,000 the month i took the oath. 600,000 the month after that. 600,000 the month after that. we lost almost eight million jobs before any of our economic policies had a chance to take effect. now, when i got to washington,

my hope was that we could bring both parties together, that we could put politics aside to meet this once-in-a-generation challenge. that was my hope, because although we are proud to be democrats, we are prouder to be americans. [cheers and applause] and i believed then and i still believe now that there are a lot of republicans around the country who feel the same way and a lot of independents around the country who feel the same way. but the republican leaders in washington, they made a different decision. rather than roll up their sleeves and get to work, they looked around and they said, boy, we made a really big mess. we made such a big mess that it's going to take everything just to try to solve it and it may not be solved in a couple of years.

so many folks have already lost their jobs, so many businesses have already closed. we might be better off just sitting on our hands, sitting on the sidelines, and just going after obama and saying no to every single thing he proposes, and then maybe the democrats will get the blame when people get angry and frustrated for the lack of progress. in other words, the other side, their political strategy was that all of you would get amnesia. that was their strategy. they're betting that everybody around the country would forget who caused this mess in the first place. so, chicago, it's up to you to let them know that we have not forgotten. we don't have amnesia. it's up to you to remember that this election is a choice between the policies that got

us into this mess and the policies that are starting to lead us out of this mess. [cheers and applause] if the other side wins this election the chair of the republican campaign committee promised the exact same agenda that we had before i took office. now, we know what that agenda was. we know what that agenda is. they want to cut taxes, mostly for millionaires and billionaires. necessary want to cut the rules for special interests. they want to cut middle class families loose to fend for themselves. so if you're out of work, tough luck. you're on your own. if you don't have health insurance or your insurance company drops you when you get sick, too bad. you're on your own. you're a young person trying to make it to college, but you

don't have a lot of money. too bad. pull yourself up by your bootstraps. you're on your own. it's the same agenda that turns record surpluses into record deficits, that allowed wall street to run wild, that nearly destroyed our economy. so i bring this up. i wanted to just go down memory lane there for a moment. not to re-argue the past, but because we don't want to relive the past. we've been there before. we've tried what they're selling, and we're not buying it. we're not going back. [cheers and applause] around the country i've been trying to describe it this way -- imagine the american economy as a car and the republicans were at the wheel and they drove it into a ditch. and it's a speed ditch, it's a

deep ditch, and somehow they walked away. but we had to go down there. so me and all the democrats, we put on our boots and we rappelled down into the ditch. and it was muddy down there and hot. we're sweating, pushing on the car, feet of slipping, bugs are swarming. we look up and the republicans are up there, and we call them down, but they say, no, we're not going to help. they're just sipping on a slurpy fanning themselves. they're saying you're not pushing hard enough, you're not pushing the right way. but they won't come down and help. in fact, they're kind of kicking dirt down into the ditch. [laughter] but that's ok. we know what our job is, and we

kept on pushing, we kept on pushing, we kept on pushing until finally we got that car on level ground. finally we got the car back on the road. finally we got that car pointing in the right direction. and suddenly we had this tap on our shoulder and we look back, and who is it? it's the republicans and they're saying, excuse me, we'd like the keys back. and we've got to say to them, i'm sorry, you can't have the keys back. you don't know how to drive. [cheers and applause] you don't know how to drive. you can ride with us, but we're driving. and we're going to have the middle class sitting right besides us, because they're the folks that we're fighting for.

look, because of the steps we've taken we no longer face the possibility of a second depression. the economy is growing again. we've seen private sector job growth for nine months in a row. but we've still got a long way to go. we've still got a lot of work to do. all across this state, from ar bonedale to elgin, to quincy, chicago, folks are hurting. there are too many folks without jobs. some families are hanging on by a thread. that's what keeps me up at night. that's what keeps pat up at night. that's what keeps alexi up at night. that's what keeps us fighting, because we know that we've still got a long way to go. see, we've got a different idea about what the future should hold for families across illinois and across this

country, and it's an idea rooted in our belief about how this country was built. you think about our story. pat came from humble beginningings, alexi from an immigrant family. me, you know my background. we didn't come to the scene -- we didn't come to the scene with a silver spoon in our mouths. our families worked hard and they knew the government doesn't have all the answers to our problems. we believe that freedom is the greatest engine for prosperity known to man. but in the words of abraham lincoln, we also believe that

government should and must do for the people what they cannot do by themselves individually. we believe in america that re wards for hard work and responsibility for everyone and create ladders of opportunities. we believe in a country where we look after one another, where we say, i am my brother's keeper, i am my sister's keeper. that's the america we believe in, that's the america we know, that's the choice in this election. [cheers and applause] we believe in an america that vests in its future and in its people. we believe in an america that's built to compete in the 21st century. we know the jobs and businesses of tomorrow will end up in the countries that have the best educational system, the best infrastructure, the strongest commitment to research and

technology. i want that nation to be the united states of america. there's no reason why china should have the fastest railroads, singapore have better airports. we're the nation that built the transcontinental railroad right through chicago. we're the nation that built the interstate highway system right through chicago. today we're seeing america put folks to work. thousands of people building new roads and railways and runways, because that's what america is about, we build, an america that built an infrastructure for the 21st century, putting people back to work, doing the work that needs to be done. we see an america where we invest in homegrown innovation and ingenuity, where we export goods, we don't just import goods. where we create jobs here at home, where we make it easier

for somebody with a good idea to start a business or patent an invention. we don't want to keep on giving tax breaks to corporations that ship jobs overseas. we want to give tax breaks to companies that are investing right here in illinois. right here in the midwest, all across america, investing in small businesses and american manufacturers and clean energy companies. we don't want solar panels and wind turbines and electric cars made in asia or in europe, we want them made here in america, by american workers. that's the choice in this election. [cheers and applause] we see in america where every citizen has the skill and the training to compete with any worker in the world. we can't allow other countries to outpace us when it comes to math and science and our college graduation rates. we used to be number one in

college graduation rates. we used to be number one in math and number one in science. now we're ninth in college education race, 21st in math, 25th in science. that's not acceptable. and that's why we, over the last two years, made historic investments in education. that's why we set a goal. by 2020 we are going to be number one again in the proportion of college graduates. and we didn't just talk about it, we put our money where our mouth was and we stopped providing subsidies to the big banks and poured tens of billions of dollars into student loans and p.e.l. grants, to make college for affordable for students all across this country. [cheers and applause] millions of young people are seeing college more affordable because of the actions we took.

and now we've got the other side saying that to pay for a $700 billion tax cut that would go to the top 2%, the wealthiest 2%, they want to cut education by 20%. that makes no sense. it makes no sense. you think china is cutting back education spending by 20%? you think germany is cutting back education spending by 20%? those countries aren't playing for second place, and we don't play for second place. we're the united states of america. we play for first place. that's the choice in this election, that's what this election is all about. [applause] that's why we have to continue to provide assistance to young people going to college. that's why we have to renew the tax credit we've instituted.

$10,000 per young person who's going to college for four years, so that they're not loaded down with a mountain of debt and they can aspire to anything that their imagination leads them to. that's what this election is about. this election is also about not leaving a mountain of debt for the next generation. the other side talks a good game about deficits, except you will recall that the last time they were in charge they took record surpluses from a democratic president and left record deficits that i inherited. and so when we make decisions about deficits, we're not going to do it on the shoulders, on the backs of students or seniors or veterans or the vulnerable. we're going to make sure that we do it in a sensible way that shares sacrifices. we're going to go after those

deficits, but we're going to do it in a way that's fair and grows the economy in the long term, and that's what this election is about. and this election is making sure that we don't turn the keys back to the special interests in washington. when we passed health care reform, let me tell you something. we did that -- we did that because all across this country there are hard-working folks who paid their insurance premiums and then suddenly found insurance companies dropping them when they got sick, or folks who were working hard and wanted to get insurance but had a pre-existing condition and couldn't get it. and so we said anybody in america, anybody in ri