the winner is the man who thinks obama is sort of a god. the son of journalism, it is "newsweek"'s eben thomas. here we goes, ladies and gentlemen. >> ♪ my eyes adored you ♪ >> obama is standing above the country. above the world. a sort of god. >> how does he keep his job after saying something like that? i wonder if he has the good sense to be embarrassed. i am ashley back on the script. i went all the script a little bit. -- off the script a little bit. this is a little irritating, to tell you the truth, because when i go on vacation from my radio

show as i was last week, this is the guy who fills in for me. the is a frequent fill in for me. i have to act like he has some sort of a hot shot here. [laughter] cnn contributor most nights, post is on show in atlanta which talk radiogest and station in the entire nation. the has been named one of the most intellectual conservatives in america. that really pissed me off. had you ever heard of redstate.org? [applause] that is this guy. he knows how to load things on the internet.

[laughter] . [applause] get this to evan thomas if you would. did you bring your i follow up here? -- iphone up here? >> i called evan thomas and i asked evan thomas what he wanted me to say. he said, "thank god the award came out before someone else said obama should be commander

in chief." it is very funny he would get an award called the obamagasm award. he is about the only person to watch is the west wing. imagine what a real white house secretary looks like. [laughter] evan thomas wanted me to convey his sincere thanks to david brock and his researchers. they spend hours each day meeting boxes of twinkies and drinking red bull. [laughter] but for the fine efforts of the immediate matters, he would not be able to do his job. i had to say, "it does not media that matters, it is the media research center."

p said they can all go to hell and thank you very much. [applause] he cannot wait to retire. [laughter] >> by the way, there are big things in store for eric because i have two people who have been nice substitute hosts when i have gone on vacation. i have been doing talk radio for 41 years. i had a great career in radio and not tv. when i first started talk radio, my fill in post was a history professor by the name of a new spring urged -- newt gingrich. for the last couple of years my substitute host up until a couple of months ago was a man

named herman cain. [applause] fair tax. ok, i got a few on that. barrick will someday be a candidate. as seems to be what happens to my substitute host. i have two of them running this year. one of the most exciting political developments in the last century has been the tea party movement. [applause] this is the left wing, booger-eating moron's worst nightmare. people standing up for the principles of lower taxes and small government. [applause] the message is absolutely brilliant in its simplicity. the founders would have led these people -- loved these

people be footstools in washington hate them with a passion. that one usually just goes whistling right on by people. nowhere in the poisonous vitriol party has the left wing media made itself so absolutely obvious. it is one smear after another. after two years of smearing the tea party, it is stronger than ever. [applause] you really have to be a leftist ignoramus not to like the tea party. no, i did not mispronounce the word. when it showed up in my program notes, i did not misspell it either.

but obama cannot stop spending. the radical left will not stop their personal attacks against the tea party. so we now have the tea party from hell award. [laughter] is that not wonderful? our first nominee is a doozy. i know i am not all that treaty, but give me a break. tavis smiley. there is nothing that has ever likeened in tavis smiley's that was not driven by racism and hatred of tavis smiley because of his skin cover. if he gets a massage and the press a little too hard, the massage therapist is a racist unless they are black and, in that case, they are ande uncle

tom. he was interviewing an author around -- about radical muslims. she made an observation, triggering a broadside from out of nowhere from tavis smiley against the tea party equating bloodthirsty terrorists. watch this. >> somehow the idea got into their minds to kill other people is a great thing to do. >> christians do that every single day in this country. people walk into post offices, they walked into schools -- i could do this all day long. they are invoking the tea party every day. they were recently arrested for making threats against officials. that is within the political --

that is the body politic of this country. [catcalls] >> how many of you knew that the shootings at columbine was a christian attack? how many of you knew that going postal -- it is not because the work of the post office -- by the way, the hotel used to be a post office building. how many of you knew those were christian-based attacks? this is what ignoramus was developed for. [applause] by the way, all of the tea party pater's out there in the land of the -- haters out there in the land, there is none better than

the recently departed chief olbermann. why did they not -- why did they not doubt bin laden into the dead sea? [laughter] that is not from me. we buried him at sea. what see? the dead sea, of course. teach or bourbon is an entire award -- keith olbermann has an entire award. he is also a finalist in this category. the strong together one of the longest list of personal insults and attacks in the history of mudslinging. >> it is not the whole of the tea party, it is a total disinterest in the welfare of others in the self- rationalizing refusal to accept the outcome of the elections. on saturday, that support came from evolutionary regret.

on a daily basis, that support comes from the racist and homophobes' of radio talk shows and television. >> what a preface. we have in this country racism, bigotry, and prejudice. and if you ask that full to define the difference between the three, he could not do it if you took everything he knows about the definitions of those three words, they would rattle or rail like a bb in a box car. [laughter] he either needs decaf or lithium. his 18 viewers on whatever channel he is on right now --

one car wreck and he can lose half of his viewership. our final nominee for the capitalnews.odamn the tea partyl award, from face the nation. he insists he is not a liberal. he methodically repeats every fabricated accusations against the tea party and presents them as the absolute truth. he is reporting on tea party members exercising rights of free speech, but with a negative spin that caused keith olbermann to walk out after the show and asked for his autograph. here we go with bob schieffer. >> a yearlong debate turned nasty yesterday. demonstrators protesting the bill poured into the halls of congress shall think, "kill the bill."

they hurled racial epithets at civil-rights icon john lewis of georgia. other legislators said the protesters spent on them. what lawmakers said it was like a page out of the time machine. >> what a load of course squeehorse-squeeze. john lewis has been a friend of mine for 30 years. he told me that he did not hear anyone hurl a racial epithet at him. there were tv cameras and microphones all over the place. not one audio, not one of video of the racial epithet being hurled at the congressman. not one picture or video of anybody being spit on. [applause] although, i am sorry to the front table here. [laughter]

in referring to barney frank, you have to be careful not to say that he slurs his words. [laughter] if anybody was getting spit on, it was the guy in front of barney frank perio. [laughter] this one is tough to judge. actually, there was one judge's final ballot. i am always the last one to get my ballot in. it might have been made. living evidence that congress should not be forcing the american taxpayers to find pbs, the damn the tea party to hell award goes to tavis smiley. [applause] >> they are being arrested for

making threats every day against electoral officials, for calling people nigger, for spitting on people. >> tavis smiley could not be here tonight. the media research center would not fly him first class, which made them, of course, racist. [laughter] so, to accept the damn the tea party to hell award on behalf of tavis smiley, two people most qualified -- these people truly are heroes. i was talking to the young lady i will be introducing in a second. a couple of years ago she was cleaning houses with her husband to keep a roof over

their head. they did that instead of begging for government help. she is absolutely one of my heroes. here are the founders of the tea party patriots, ladies and gentlemen, jenny beth martin and mark meckler. [applause] >> he is right. i was cleaning houses, not just do not take government money, it was dangled in front of us in the form of fannie mae or freddie mac and we turned it

down. [applause] we see this week that there are 8.7 billion in the first quarter and they are asking for 8.5 billion. >> is an honor to be up here accepting this award on behalf of tavis smiley. he would like to be here himself, but he makes it a habit of not speaking with actual tea party years, only speaking is poorly of them behind -- tea partiers, all the speaking poorly of them behind their backs. they thought he would be infected with the disease liberals call "patriotism." [applause] tavis smiley as a show on npr, which makes it especially timing and smite -- makes it especially timely because he is an example of broadcast

excellence demonstrated by npr. it is the year of npr. it is nice to note that my tax dollars and yours go to support this unbiased journalistic excellence. to make sure they keep getting our tax dollars, they just hired a lobbyist this week. >> we want you to understand the character of tavis smiley. this is not his first award. apparently for three consecutive years he has received an award from the naacp called the "image award." we all know what a great friend and advocate for the tea party movement the naacp is prepared >> by accepting this award on behalf of tavis smiley, we would like to thank him for his unbiased commentary, his honesty and integrity, his unwavering

commitment to fair reporting on the tea party movement. we like to, but we cannot. there is always next year. today, we can thank him for putting out the absurdity of the left. >> thank you, very much. >> thank you. [applause] >> thank you, folks. i will see you in four years. see if you can find me. [laughter] [applause] >> while neal was reading war and peace, i was back there. i got a text from my son who scored some mammoth points with

his wife by telling me to -- by reminding me that i have to shout out a happy mother's day to all the mothers. happy mother's day. [applause] in 2007, and with the blessing of its namesake, we introduced a new element to the m.r.c. -- the william f. buckley award for excellence in journalism. every year there are innumerable trophies to be won by unaccomplished liberals in an industry that regularly banishes wised conservative thought for polite company. quite frankly, where they're all wars are concerned, you should never use the words journalism and excellence in the same sentence. when we produce reporters, update deliver ballots and impartiality. our commentators, met with

devastating accuracy. our radio personalities crushed their opposition. on every level, our guys beat up their guys. our women can beat up their guys. [laughter] it just occurred to me. so we honor all of them. in 2007, our first winner was rush limbaugh. in 2008, the award was given to the dearly beloved [unintelligible] in 2009, the award for excellence in journalism was bestowed on the great britain hiett hume. in 2011, we turn to a long time intellectual leader of the conservative movement. what a powerhouse he is. his twice weekly column appears in over 500 newspapers nationwide, making him the most widely heard voices in america.

he is a panelist on the popular news watched show on fox. his latest book, "common ground," -- he has worked for nbc and pbs while appearing on countless tv programs. the as been honored with the cable ace award nomination and a peabody award. he has also received awards for the associated press and united press international. tonight, he gets the big one. ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to present to you the 2011 winner of the william f. buckley award for excellence in journalism, my good friend, cal thomas/ . [applause]

>> thank you very much. that is very nice. all i can say is that the standards are falling everywhere. [laughter] i want to thank the two people who walked out during might introduction. it is a great honor to be recognized by your peers and, since they do not, it is a great honor to be recognized by you. [laughter] [applause] we have -- i do not have a teleprompter. they are all taken up in this town. i do not know why. we have all heard of the glass ceiling which, for years, get women from achieving their highest aspirations. william buckley wrote to the iron door that segregated conservative thought to a place

outside the mainstream marketplace. his destruction of the iron door by the force of his supreme at the like make it possible for succeeding generations to follow in his wake. the great the pages of 300 newspapers. i thought that if he could do it, i could too. this column began with the relationship. it was tom johnson, the former lbj aide, and to open the door for me when he was publisher of the "los angeles times." he urged the senate to give me a chance. tom was a true pluralist and a gentleman. the column quickly grew to reach 500 newspapers because i persuaded editors that if they let me add to their papers, i would get them a new subscribers among the disaffected conservatives. they did and i did. the number of papers during the has fallen off slightly for many reasons, including the trouble

that newspapers have found themselves in. here today, gone tomorrow. the relationship that help me more than any other was a little higher than tom johnson. in march of 1983 i asked god to do a greater miracle than moses parting the red sea. i asked him to park the liberal mind. if he did, i said i would honor him with the platform he gave me. while i am most appreciative for the media research center, i must give credit where the real credit is due. to the one he gave me get the right thing. -- writing. i remember what god told sam neill -- to speak to honors me pose the honor. -- samuel -- to speak to honor

me possesses honor. >> you always know when your pauling cal thomas -- following cal thomas. congratulations again to cal. you may have heard that the phillips foundation awarded journalism grants total $131,000. i just want you to note that on behalf of the trustees of the media research center, it is my pleasure that we have decided to match that amount dollar for dollar tonight. [applause] no, we're not. cal would not know what to do with a check on the media

research center. you,cal. -- thank you, cal. cal has given much of himself to the movement. volumes could be written of the things he has done for a lot of organizations professionally, and a lot of people burton lee. -- personally. our second presenter tonight is the author of such internationally best-selling novels as "true crime." his books have been translated around the world. five times he has been nominated for mystery writers of america editors award and twice he has one. his latest book, "the indentiry man,."

his essays have appeared in print. his voice is on radio and his face on tv everywhere. he is a man of many accomplishments, none higher than the one tonight, serving as the second presenter for the 2011 dishonors award. please welcome, andrew klavan/ . [applause] >> i appreciate that. i would like you all to understand that, like barack obama stepping into the presidency, this is kind of a step down for me. [laughter] like everyone who is ever stood

on this stage, i am doing this to my deep commitment to the work m.r.c. does. i am not getting paid a single penny for this, not even air fare. [laughter] my hotel room is small. [laughter] it is by the ice machine. i was up all night. [laughter] what was i talking about? at this point we present what we call brett baker's funniest videos. these are videos we found on television or on the internet that caught our eye and we thought you might enjoy them. the first one comes courtesy of the actor net site -- internet site 23-6.

>> as promised, a special comment. one, you're a fascist. get them to read you a t-shirt with fascist on it. two, you are making a jackass out of yourself. 3, this is crap. show a little respect. you are a liar. that is not un-american, it is dictatorial. they sir, you sir. and a dull campaign here, sir. you, how dare you. you. you. you are not gay. disgraceful. tasteless. befuddle and insensitive. no. no. no. horrible.

you would have been screwed, and screwed you are. good night and good luck. [laughter] [applause] >> shut the hell up. the next video shows the stars of the today show, bryant gumbel and katie couric, try to wrap their minds around al gore's new invention, the internet. somebody take this for its other cell phone. that is why the quality is kind of poor. the big brains of network news grappled with one of the central mysteries of the new age. >> i was not prepared to translate that. >> that is what i said.

i have never heard it said. [unintelligible] allison should note. the internet is becoming a really big now. >> do you write to it like male? >> you can interact with nbc. can you explain what the internet is? >> shortly after this they found out about the invention of the cell phone camera. every night, fox presents something funny they felt the day before. this is what we consider the best of what brought down.

when it comes to construction projects, let's say filling a hole in the road, maybe taxpayers would like to know how many workers it takes to do that job considering every one of them is getting paid by the hour. >> there is the guy filling the hole. there you go. how many of them? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 -- 15 guys. >> i am brian williams. as always, we hope to see you back here tomorrow week. [laughter] >> muammar gaddafi as always raised eyebrows with his

speeches, but this week according to a translation -- >> [unintelligible] >> in a state of the union speech, president obama had to satisfy partisanship. many democrats and republicans were sitting together. some call the "date night." apparently we missed a hell for lawmakers went with this whole thing. >> now, for the first time ever, we are going to turn on the

capitol hill kisse cam. [laughter] >> this 911 call raised some eyebrows. >> 911, what is your emergency. >> my wife got attacked by a wart hog real bad and i'd be someone to come by with an ambulance and pick her up. >> can you give me your address? >> we are at 1825 eucalyptus drive. >> can you spell that for me? >> i am going to drag her over to oak street and you can pick her up there. [laughter] >> created, yet efficient. for our fourth offering, kudos

to its creator. >> i take this gavel and the -- i had this gavel and the sacred trust that goes with it to the new speaker. god bless you, mr. speaker. [applause] >> you wish. [laughter] have you ever watched president obama pontificating and wish that somebody would challenge what he is saying, like maybe the press? here is dragnet's immortal joe friday doing the job the mainstream media will not do. >> the people who are watching tonight, your premiums are going to go up. potentially they would drop your

coverage because they cannot increase an increase of 25% or 30% each and every year. the federal government will go bankrupt. what you really believe that? >> you appear to be a moderately well educated man. you use that highly trained at the light -- intellect as a weapon, do you not? been gifted with all of that, how do you put it to use for the common man? society made that learning possible for you with that power of your intelligence, you could move mountains. >> you do not concern ourselves with my family's way of living. people do not want you to interfere with their way of life. >> you are falling over with energy. you want to change things.

you look around for things that need changing. people are hungry and they should not be. people are cold. they need shelter. they need books. the world needs changing. it does need changing, but if you're going to live with the rest of us, you have to learn to play the game by the rules. [applause] >> like a happy dream, is it not? finally, you hear a lot of talk about the gop candidates. people want to know where the next ronald reagan is. we have found him. here he is. all great careers at the start somewhere. reagan was a broadcaster, actor, a union leader. barack obama may have gone to college. [laughter] this dike, our next ronald reagan, wanted to begin as treasurer of stark county ohio.

he did not make it. here are a couple of snippets. >> my name is bill davidson and i am seeking the nomination for treasurer. albert bought -- albert einstein said one of my favorite quotes and it is as follows -- in the middle of opportunity -- in the middle of difficulty -- that a repeat that so i have clarity tonight. in the middle of difficulty, this is the opportunity we have been waiting for. the start out the treasury office is a mess.

now is the time to seize the opportunity. if nominated tonight, i promise each and every person in this room i will come out swinging and end up winning. let us send a message tonight to the people of stark county and the people of the start antidemocratic party, we are done with business as usual. -- and the stark county democratic party, we are done with business as usual. [laughter] >> those are brett baker's funny

as videos of the evening. we are going to move on to our third award. this war takes us to darkest hollywood, like stopping browns. everyone is familiar with those rules were some hollywood performer makes a silly mistake. you will see hollywood performers making the same silly mistake over and over again. they think they have something to say about politics. i don't know it yet seen the famous film about show business, "all about me." beshear the weird process in which the body and voice suddenly react with the mind. some people are separated from their teleprompter is enforced to ad lib. we get an intellectual train wreck of blithering stupidity.

these ad libbing liberals degrade our culture, mislead our youth, employees and our political bylaws. but they are good for a couple of laps. that is why our third award is "i am not a political genius, but i play one on tv" of war. some of you may have thought this woman was dead. it is actually just her career. she was once a star, but she has descended into complete cultural irrelevance. she was invited to appear on anderson cooper's show. but i repeat myself. this past january, roseanne took to gotime off from 1eating

on cooper's show and talk about conservative views. here is a compilation of her life-changing wisdom. this is a good time to use your noisemakers. >> all you tea party people work for the koch brothers. they are billionaires. i think sarah thailand is a win and i think she is a traitor to this country -- sarah palin is a loon and i think she is a traitor to this country. they are released today. >> roseanne, you could not be more wrong. >> the second nominee is a man

who fulfills all the qualifications of a hollywood intellectual. he wears a tie and he sneers. i am speaking, of course of biltl mahr. he made a movie where he blamed all of the troubles in the world on our faith in god. god is currently working on a film called, "bill, you are in deep, deep trouble." [laughter] some of you will remember el earlier this year the left-wing media made a big fuss about conservative help -- hate speech. this video shows how much we can learn about civil discourse from mahr. he speaks to conservatives in it the way we have come to expect from the left.

>> do it because it will make rush limbaugh slow. [applause] [laughter] do it because it will make sarah palin go rogue in her pants. why could it not have been glenn beck? sara palin talked about that panels? if we were killing off useless people, you'd be the first. >> our third and final nomination goes to meathead. that is rob reiner, of course. for instance, last october 22 on

the eve of the historic gop midterm victories, he was a guest on bill maher's show. he waxed philosophical about world history. some of you may think he is a complete idiot and the rest of you have probably stopped paying attention. let's watch. >> hitler never got more than 33% of the vote in germany. he was charismatic and they were having bad economic times just what we are now. people were out of work. a dike came along and rallied the troops. my fear is that the tea party gets a charismatic leader. they are overselling fear and anger. that is what hitler sold. i am angry and i am fighting it.

>> and, i do. now it is time to present the award for the biggest leftwing 88 in hollywood, but i repeat myself. the "i am not a political genius, but i play one on tv" award goes to meathead. [applause] >> the tea party needs a charismatic leader. all they are selling is fear and anger. that is all hitler sold. i am angry.

>> meathead could not join us today. he was set upon by tea party storm troopers. excepting on his behalf is a man who is his opposite in every way. he is tall and slender and has a pleasant personality. in the words of public policy, the has turned out to be one of our very best leaders. he is the president of americans for prosperity with the ability to rally more than 1.7 million supporters in 50 states. it is a pleasure to introduce to nightmare,d's worst the charismatic jim phillips. [applause]

>> sadly, rob reiner cannot be with us this evening. this is still a secret, mind you, but robb and michael more are over at the office of the bar metal protection agency as we speak. it turns out the epa is about to classify their stomachs as protected wetlands. we are very honored by that. [laughter] i hope my mother is not watching. that is really wrong. rob is back at the hotel this evening. he is afraid to turn off his mtv because if he does, msnbc's

audience will drop by 25%. rob and michael are in a big fight right now. they are usually good friends, but they are fighting it out. the mascot for save the whales is up right now and the two of them are going at it. he has been down. it has been a while since the had a hit movie. he misses the public adulation. tonight, i think the award will help them with that. it got so bad last week, he was out in california and did what he often does when he is depressed. he went to a public location and that people would recognize him. he went to senior citizens home in san francisco last week. it was really tragic. he was walking around the room and going, "do you know who i am?" finally a lady patted him on the

arm and told them that he went to the nurses' station that could help him out. [laughter] i want to thank the leaders of the movement for picking a guy who is down on his lot. thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you, andrew klavan. [applause] every year our team of media salutes -- ports through hours of footage. they whittle it down to selections for each category. they are then delivered to a veritable who's who of the conservative movement to renders final judgment of the winners. i can't tell you that this year's votes were razor close. i thank these men and women for

their terrific input. our 2011 dishonor award judges in alphabetical order --

here you go. [applause] our final presenter has been with us since the beginning. every time i introduced her, i have to announce that she has yet another book that is either on or is about to be on the new york times best-seller list. seven of them. she is putting the finishing touches on her newest offering, a title that only she can get away with when writing a book about liberals. the title is, "demonic." it is guaranteed to be best seller number 8. ladies and gentlemen, i am started to find this obscene. she is a legal correspondent and a popular syndicated columnist for the united press syndicate. she is one of the most sought after conservative personalities on the college speaker circuit.

whether on college campuses or national television, pt the liberal full two things she can take her on. ladies and gentlemen, thank god she is my friend is all i can say, ann coulter. [applause] >> thank you. i have a bittersweet award tonight. it is the "road to keith olbermann -- ode to keith olbermann." i keep trying to what rachel, but just sit back and say keith would have been so much crazier. you are probably wondering why i am giving this award tonight. there are a number of reasons. first, but keith and i are girls. [laughter]

we also but went to college in new york. i went to the ivy league cornell school of arts and sciences and keith went to the old macdonald's cornell school of agriculture. i would not mention it, but keith is compulsively telling people that he went to the ivy league cornell, desperate to have people think of him as a major egg ahead. of course, never ever reading anything from a left-wing bloc, is not a way to make people think of you as a heavy duty intellectual. i am and early keith watcher. i know a lot of you johnny-come- latelies are said he is gone now. by the time msnbc fired keith, about 80% of his audience were right wingers. but i was an early chief watcher. i saw the promise in that man.

[laughter] i am hoping that someday our descendants should form a group like the forty-niners. the daughters of the american revolution. descendants of the early keith watchers. if i had to choose -- if you tell me to choose one at the tip to decide -- to describe keith olbermann, i could not do it. but if i had three adjectives, i would say he is prissy, pompous, and hysterical that is a dynamite combo platter. >> shut the hell up. >> sadly, even msnbc finally realized that not been popular in high school is not a good enough reason to have a tv show. [laughter]

we are sorry for what the popular football players did to you, but you cannot speak for them just by renting for one hour on tv every night. throughout his troubled career at msnbc, keith brought to bear all the vast knowledge of the large by being a second-tier sports shows on a cable tv show. this is keep in his prime offering his objective assessments of a candidate for u.s. senate in massachusetts. >> we have an irresponsible, homophobic, racist, reactionary, t bagging supporter for balance against women. at any other time in our history this man would have been laughed off the stage as an unqualified and a disaster in the making by the most conservative of conservatives. >> with an endorsement like that, scott brown became the first republican senator from

massachusetts in 38 years. [applause] >> shot the hell up. [laughter] >> it was quite an accomplishment considering he was replacing a senator who drove off a bridge and drilled a girl. keith's degree came in handy when he announced his fascinating theory that rush limbaugh was responsible for timothy megabyte -- timothy mcveigh bombing the federal building in oklahoma city. >> what was the cause of the obama city bombing talk radio or bill clinton and janet reno's hands-on management of the waco compound? obviously, the answer is talk radio, specifically rush limbaugh's hate radio. frankly, you have blood on your hands now and you have had it

for 15 years. >> ironically, chief is going to have a blood removing hands cleanser as sponsor for his sure to be a hit run away tv show. asking me to to pick a favorite, keith olbermann's hissy fit is like asking a african mother to pick her favorite child. out of all this cries for help, this is one of my favorites perio. >> everything you said about iraq yesterday and everything you will say is a deception except for this brutal bolt -- perpetuating this war indefinitely. war today, war tomorrow, war forever. a man with any self-respect having revealed such an evil secret would resign and flee the

country. even the remaining credibility about iraq. mr. bush, our presence in iraq must end even if it means your resignation, even if it means your impeachment, even if it means a different republican to serve out your term. >> he would at all as you at bush, but he throws like a girl. our judges have a verdict and the winner is -- this was a mistake. it was the rush limbaugh clip. the rush limbaugh clip. ♪ >> ♪ like the corners of my mind ♪ >> frankly, you should have that on your hands now and have

had it for 15 years. ♪ >> unfortunately keith couldn't be with us here tonight. ♪ >> it's been going on a little long. we like the clips better. unfortunately keith couldn't be with us tonight because he's updating his myspace page but joining us instead is u.s. representative in his fifth term, steve king. [applause] >> he is on the house judiciary committee. >> ♪ you're a grnd grand old flag you're the emblem of the land i love the home of the free and the brave ♪

>> so much for his introduction. he's my favorite congressman. >> thank you. thank you, ann. of course i'm here because i drew the short straw. and also, in doing a little bit of math here tonight, i am the ranking member of the worst person in the world caucus. but it is a special honor to be here today to accept the owed to olbermann award on behalf of keith olbermann who is a special friend of the media research center. special. and let's face it, is there any other media personality alive today, and that's an important clause, who offered more direct fundraising fodder than this man? he was like the conservative movement's personal a.t.m. machine, mine included. i missed you, keith. i need you. i've got a campaign coming up. but you've been banished off to a network i'll mention and will

be the first time any of you have heard it. tonight i accept this award on behalf of and stand on the shoulder of any painful anatomical part of keith olbermann. this giant, this 21st century de tocqueville. but think of this, ladies and gentlemen, msnbc's loss is, here's the network, current tv's gain. you heard it here first, folks, this is a news flash. when you think of life's career paths, this is an exit ramp to irrelevance. olbermann is officially gone from irrelevance to unheard of and only the walking strategic biodiesel reserve al gore could be happy to have keith olbermann on his payroll today. i made that up at the table. perhaps because olbermann might be the last person on the face of this planet who thinks al gore knows what he's talking about. i suspect good old keith will start savaging us as soon as

his new show on current tv is running, the likes of proverbial tree falling in the forest, if no one hears him screen, does keith olbermann exist? i for one am glad we have him. i know you're surprised to hear me say that but he is living testimony to the brilliance of our bill of rights, uppermost being our freedom of speech. we as conservatives will be the first in line to defend his right to speak what's on his mind with the certain knowledge that the more he speaks what's on his mind, the less we realize is actually in it. thank you very much. and i very much appreciate the opportunity to accept this award on the part of keith olbermann and on behalf of all of us worst persons in the world together. thank you very much. [applause] >> our final award this evening

is the illustrious damn those conservatives award, celebrating the new tone of civility and liberals have brought to america's daily political conservation. because there's one thing liberals won't abide, it is discourse, any sort of language that brings hate into the community. our first nominee, ed shultz, and if you haven't been incarcerated, you probably don't know who he is. this is because, one, he's on msnbc, and his lead-in is rachel madow. here's ed shultz calm measured and very civil republican appraisal on health care. >> the republicans fly. they want to see you dead. they'd rather make money off your dead corpse. they kind of like it when that woman has cancer and they don't have anything for her.

>> here i think we have an example why democrats aren't good at business. how do you make money off of dead corpses? probably easier than a live corpse. manualen ed shultz getting his m.b.a., that will appeal to the hipsters, i'm going for 30-year-old single guys. i have a business plan that will appeal to early retirees and ed shultz, i'm appealing to dead corpses. shultz is really carving out a niche for himself at msbc and is resenting the trademark and going for pure stupidity. our next damn those conservative nominee is msnbc's hank you'ller.

i'm sure you haven't heard of him. until about 10 minutes ago, i thought it was a type of lebanese food. but turns out when msnbc dumps keith olbermann, praise his name, and they redid their schedule, they had an open hour at 6:00 p.m. and just out of msnbc's dumb luck they found someone who is not only developmentally disabled but physically repulsive, here's hank's thoughtful analysis of the republican party. >> tonight we start with the party of hate. the republican party in this country has been running on hate and division for the last 50 years. what black person, gay guy or girl, immigrant or muslim american in their right mind would vote for the republican party? they might as well hang a sign around their neck saying "i hate myself." >> is that one person, the gay transgendered black muslim immigrant.

because if that's the audience he's going for, i think he's on his way to a very highly rated show. at least he's going to beat the dead corpse guy. and why did he limit that to the last 50 years, could it have something to do with the fact that he wanted to avoid mentioning the 200 years the democrats spent running on segregation. as i point out in my magnificent new book "demonic" liberals always wait for the fight to be over. they've been fighting on the wrong side the whole time and a hundred years later they jump in and claim all the credit. a hundred years from now roe will be appealed, abortion will be outlawed and democrats will be saying they were the pro-life party. although -- oh, our third nominee for the damn those

conservatives is by pure coincidence another host on msnbc. though most of you know him as the thrill up my leg guy, chris matthews is most famous for being the dumbest person on tv until comk 14 uyger. here chris matthews has the right to condescend to no one interviewing michelle balkman with the courtesy a journalist would normally extend to a woman of the u.s. house of representatives. >> are you hypnotized tonight? has someone hypnotized you, because no matter what i ask you, you give the same answer, are you hypnotized, has someone put you under a transtonight that you give me the same answer no matter what question i put to you. >> i think the american people finally are the ones speaking tonight. we're coming out of our trance and really we're coming out of our nightmare. i think people are thrilled

tonight. i imagine that thrill is probably maybe not so quite tingly on your leg anymore. >> chris matthews, the finest newsman of his generation. and the winner is, of the mrc damn those conservatives award, ed shultz. ♪ >> the republicans lie! they want to see you dead. they'd rather make money off your dead corpse. ♪

>> unfortunately, ed couldn't be with us tonight to accept his award. there's a "glee" marathon on fox and he doesn't know how to set his tivo. so accepting on his behalf will be one of the first men to challenge obamacare as unconstitutional, who got a federal judge to rule it is unconstitutional, and the man who is going to be our next president, chris christy's vice president, if i have anything cuchinieli. >> ♪ i won't forget the men who died who gave that right to me and i gladly stand up next to you and defend her today because there ain't no doubt i love this land

god bless the u.s.a. ♪ >> i don't know about you, but i come to the m.r.c. dinners for the music. as i'm sure you can imagine, i get a lot of invitations to speak and join people for dinners and desserts and really drinks and tonight i was invited to deliver the keynote address at the ed shultz fan club. but after all six people canceled, i was available to come tonight. so here i am and i'm glad to be with you all. as i'm sure mr. king would believe, accountability is a good thing. when you get as many reporters and bloggers and talk show

hosts trying to sink you as their only goal, truth be damned, you really come to appreciate frank bozell and the folks at m.r.c. with their truth-telling efforts. thank you all. [applause] >> we just don't have the manpower in my office to correct every propaganda -- i'm sorry, i mean media outlet that's willing to say anything no matter how distant from the truth to try and discredit the work we're doing to protect the constitution and the law. what a concept. what a concept. well, the reason ed isn't here himself is because he really doesn't like to be in front of large crowds. so it's very good that he's on msnbc. that's very helpful. so it's with that in mind that

i am honored, truly honored to accept the damn those conservatives award on behalf of eddie shultz. now, ed, one thing i want you to get straight, my lawsuit isn't about health care, it's about liberty and we'll see you at the supreme court. god bless all of you. thank you. ♪ >> thank you, vice president cuccinelli. it has a ring to it, i have to admit it. let me give you in thank yous. i can't thank everyone but do have a thank a few people.

the production work for verizon television and c.p.r. productions in the back, i want to thank all the young ladies who were involved in so many aspects, bonnie linkboard, melissa lopez, our beautiful trophy lady rihanna and jamie sullivan and all their staff, the people who put the event on today, tom dolab, david bozell, james nolan, larry goley, that whole staff and brent baker and his staff and tim graham, fish noise. they're all true heroes. now, ladies and gentlemen, we come to the quote of the year. you've seen the five finalists. we whittle it down to four. meathead doesn't get anything. we're bound and determined to go through the whole awards without using his name. meathead gets nothing to to hell with him, he's off. we have four finalists. the first one i want to do, i'd

like to invite back up to the stage the three presenters and five accepters and please give them a round of applause. bring them up here, andrew claybin, the beautiful ann coulter, eric, are you there? kenny beth and mark mekler, tim phillips, steve king. and ken cuccinelli. ok. do we have everybody? this is dangerous. ok. here's how the exercise works, these are our judges behind me for this. you, ladies and gentlemen, are going to hear the finalists in the four categories. you're not going to say anything. keep it quiet. do not say anything. just listen, we'll let you run it through your mouth like a good, fine wine and spit it out afterwards like a good, fine wine. and afterwards we'll run the faces of the winners one by one. at that point when i tell you, that's when you make noise and you make all the noise you

like. the more noise the better if you feel passionate about your man, ok. so when you all finish, then the judges here will decide who it is, who is the loudest mouth of them all and will win the award for the 2011 dishonors awards. i'm going to run them again. first we're going to run the winner of the obama award, "newsweek's" avenue an -- evan thomas. >> in a way obama is standing above the country, above of the world. >> ok. second. no noise. the winner of the tea party from hello ward, pbs' take us smiley. >> the tea party has been recently arrested for making threats against elected officials as they call people nigger and walking into capitol hill. >> think it over and let it percolate. the winner to the ode to olbermann award, keith olbermann. >> frankly, rush, you have that

blood on your hands now and you have had it for 15 years. >> finally, the winner of the damn those conservatives awards, ed shultz. >> the republicans lie. they want to see you dead. they'd rather make money off your dead corpse. >> ok. all right. are we ready? are we ready? [cheers and applause] >> can i hear you? all right. here we go. number one, evan thomas. [cheers and applause] >> number two, take us smiley. -- number two, tavis smiley. [cheers and applause] >> number three, keith olbermann. [cheers and applause]

>> number four, ed shultz. [cheers and applause] [applause] [cheers and applause]

[indiscernible speaking] >> all right, you guys ready? >> yeah. >> you think it was close? not so close. the personal announcement we want to make as we tabulated the results, it was very clear that tavis smiley was not first and obviously you're all racist. so it's sad to have to participate in this. but it was unanimous back here after a little bit of debate. and the winner of the quote of the year for media research center is ed shultz. [cheers and applause] >> can we play it one more time for them, let them hear ed one more time.

can we do ed one more time. no. ok. so there's one more question. they want to see you dead. they'd rather make money off your dead corpse. >> there you go. ed shultz. one more question for the night, are the bars open? the bars are open in the back. ladies and gentlemen, i present to you the coolest band in the history of the universe, the outlaws. [cheers and applause] >> next, a discussion on the state of the u.s. housing market. after that, we'll show you some of this year's commencement speeches beginning with michigan governor rick snyder and chipotle founder steve

ells. next, a discussion on the state of the u.s. housing market. this is just over 35 minutes. n. >> "washington journal" continues. host: mitra kalita is the sen io housing writer for the "washington journal." good morning. we're going to check in with you about the housing market. what is the latest you are seeing? any surprises? guest: there was actually a surprise yesterday. existing home sales were down 12%. the number came in a lot lower than the housing industry and economists were hoping for. this seems like the spring that has not been for a lot of markets. host: there seems to be no

competition in this sluggish real-estate market. analysts suggest that there is more activity from investors. a survey of 1000 investors -- what do those numbers mean to yo guest: what we think right now is that prices are falling so low in some markets. numbers are incredibly tight, so for the avege home buyer to acss a mortgage is very difficult. but if an investor has paid with cash or does a combination of a hefty down payment and some credit they have available to them, a lot of these are too good to passp. where we have seen a lot of

activity is in the one that -- be under $100,000 market. investors areuyg these properties and renting them out. you are starting to see rental's creep up. when i mentioned the competition, it is kind of ironic that this is a buyer's market. it has been that way for at least the last two years. but to buy something for $50,000 and it is in a great location, chances are the average home buyer would be competing against possibly a deep pocketed investor and go through a mortgage and lengthy closing process. for the seller, the incentive is to sell to the investor, as you might imagine.

host: mitra kalita is reporting on the issue in an aicle called upon for the seller's market. and it talks about how difficult it can be -- in an article called "the seller's market." and it talks about how the bacchante for a buyer in this market. break that down for us. guest: in order for housing to rebound it is entirely dependent on not investors, but on falies that want to urade from a three-bedroom to a four- bedroom, for first-time home

buyers that want to move out of a house -- an apartment in the city into the suburbs. there's clearly an effect on the market. if your priced correctly and in the right location, the housing market is actuly moving at a brisk pace. this anecdote that you just mentioned -- i just interviewed aoman who is looking in the washington d.c. area. they had to put in six offers before let -- before finally landing a contract on a house. it put them a little further out than they expected, but that is was going on in the markets. that point to some of the nuances in the housing market for an hour. it is not just one national housing market. even by city there are great variances in what is moving,

especially this spring. host: ... if you want to join the conversation -- if you want to join the conversation, the numbers are on the screen. our guest, mitra kalita, is a senior housing writer at the "washington journal." our first call, good morning. caller: good morning to you. i am 24 years in the business. at what point in time do you have too many houses as compared to people who can afford those homes? supported ackley -- in the context -- put it in the context that iowa housing population grew.

guest: you are asking the question that the entire home building industry wants to know when out. we are talking about existing homes that are for sale. that market is not doing well at all. but the home building industry has really been hit during this downturn. it has presented the question of how much we need to keep building. is tre demand for these homes? what that has depended upon in the last few decades and has been the desire to upgrade. the american dream depends on the idea of moving up in your housing stock. that is how the industry has been able to flourish. the question that you have about affordability, some affordability index this show that housing prices right now vary from region to region.

you are back to what you might have seen in the 1980's. in other casesback to 2003. another thing that speaks to the affordability question is wages. wages have not gone up. they have been hit by the recession as well. there has been a lot of talk about catering housing tthe next generation, generation y. but there is the question of whether there will be able to afford the housing that is constructive for them. host: ryan is calling on the independent line. caller: i work in the industry right outside d.c. i am a loan officer and have been doing it for 10 years now.

one thing they fail to mention is that home buyers, how hard it is to get a loan based of credit scores. a lot of people five years ago and would easily get a house and nowadays are being denied. i see it being a big problem. a lot of them are being denied. guest: you are absolutely right. the conditions to qualify for these loans are not what they were five years ago. credit scores for a conventional loan, it is about 680.

the average score the i have seen is around 700. what is on paper and what is being practiced might feel like two different things. indeed, lending standards are huge affect on the state of the housing mark right now. in some cases you are seeing banks demand 20%, 30% down payments. to families that were buying in the 1960's and 1970's when i was common -- when that that was common, it has gone ck to that in a lot of markets. you are right. every time i do a story on the state of the housing market, this type ofending environment is certainly to blame for why things are the way they are.

host: from the "washington post" this week -- way in about how significant a change that would be. guest: for a long time now, at least in the immediate short

term, the fha has been the only game in town for a lot of buyers. it requires lower down payments and your credit scores do not have to be as high. about 680 for conventional loans. you have to pay mortgage insurance to qualify for insurance under the fha guidelines. you have to pay mortgage insurance. with the increase in down payment that has been proposed, their world be an eect in some markets. -- and there will be and in effect in some markets. people who are buying homes in

the market are making the minimum requirement to buy those homes. if it goes up to 5%, there's a chance that your pricing some families out of their ability to buy a home. already though, in the marketplace you are seeing the requirements set the lead -- you are seeing that the requirements set the lead on the rise. this is the bare minimum to make sure that fha does not become the next bubble that burst. that is one way of safeguarding those loans. again, it wi have an effect on some marke, but already, the marketplace is definitely in and -- in a mode of requiring much heftier down payments from home buyers. host: our guest, mitra kalita,

is a writer for ashington journal" and the deputy global editor of the wall street journal. she also works with the "washington post" and newsday has a business reporter. two years ago she was ninated for a pulitzer prize for coverage of the economic crisis. let's go to lincoln, california. caller: i would like to make a comment about h the banks are treating people who are trying to buy a house. , my son ispening isla in his 30's. they are professional people and they want to buy a house together. they have good credit. they have an fha loan and they have been looking at houses. they have their name on the house right now.

but come to find out, all of the holdings that they're looking at are under water. the bank has to make a decision as to whether or not they will accept their offer. it is taking anywhere from six months to in one case two years to me a decision. the owners of the house have already accepted their offer and now it is that the bank. the we have no idea how long it is going to take. a realistic agent says of all you have to do is make one bad comment and your paperwork goes to the bottom of the barrel. i would like you to comment on that. it should be a lot easier for the banks to make these decisions. guest: unfortunately, the scenario that you mention is becoming much more common. i am pretty much not hearing of any seamless closings anymore.

the processing time, the underwriting time has certainly gone now lot longer than in previous years. it is precisely to avoid ordaz -- has it gone too far? certainly many in the real- estate industry think so. not only for middle-income borrowers. i spoke to someone who lost more than a million dollars here in new rk city. he was turned down for his loan because he could not quantify where a check that was given to his family as a christmas gift came from. his father is from italy and there was no way that his father could documented in a way that the bank wanted within a day. -- document it in a way that the

bank wanted within a day. so, he was turned down. it is happening at the high-end and low-end. the four luxury cars, i spoke to that saidate agentcy they feel like they are being turned upside down and their pockets are being emptied. they take money out of the stock market and our borrowing a pretty low rates. but the process of underwriting and hanging them upside down, that is one reason that one realtor -- that realtors say t number of cash bers is still on the increase. host:

what kd of impact are adjustable rate mortgages have been right now? guest: the impact immediately has been on the market. the word dicey is pretty appropriate for theamble somebody would be taking. i do not give financial advice. that is not my job. but there are so many factors and uncertainty in the real- estate market right now. for the last few months, rates

loed like they were poised to steadily be on the rise. again, they were hovering fairly low. economists said prices will fall by as muchs 5%, others say 10%. 20% of investors think the prices are going to go up in the next six months to a year. the industry is sort of all over the map. some of this varies by location quite greatly. that might be a factor to consider with the adjustable rate mortgages. >> where does a brisk come into this and people willing to take risks? the "wall street journal" and says --

this is a bit of a gamble. guest: is a risk that has so many buyers on the sidelines right now. if you look at the broader factors that might keep people from buying right now, you know, for while rates were supposed to be on the up, so by now. rates have not really gone up very much. last year they tell me there on the way up. last year, there was a credit for home buyers -- a tax credit r home buyers. the buyers that i speak to our incredibly frustrated because they do not know where it is going. a lot of them, espially first- time home buyer or maybe these upgrade buyers who are trying to move from an apartment

to a house or from a three- bedroom to a four-bedroom, they come with a perspective of expecting their nest egg to eventually be their home, a feat checking -- of checking the home value every day and feel like they had a lot more than they really did. host: next call, california. caller: we went into escrow on the house and it tur out that the seller, which is the bank because it is a foreclosed property, no one has the power of attorney to close the deal on their side. we kt thinking we were born to close, we were going to close, and they kept pushing it back. i am amazed at the slopping is

without the banks are handling this situation. -- sloppiness with how the banks are handling this situation. guest: short sales have seen quite an increase of the last ar, and certainly this year. it is a big trend across markets. it is a common scenario, again -- i am sorry for what you are going through, but just yesterday i got a press release about a company being set up to help realtors and buyers with short sales. some of it seems to stem from a lot of bers and sellers being new to this process. ands you said, there might not be the paper trail t explain just who should be doing what in

this equation. >> let's talk about foreclosure properties. the average price of a foreclosed property -- mitra kalita, can you expand on how that is affecting the market? guest: when you look of the strings of a regional market, it is largely dependent on two factors -- one, how unemployment is sharing in the area, and two, how lite there have been foreclosures. is it flooding the market? is it confined to certain areas? the foreclosure perfect house

and effect on the house next door. you might say, well, i'm not in foreclosure. it does not affect me. but if you're selling a home down the street from its foreclosed pperty, that will count against what you just soldier home for. it also has an effect in areas that do not have foreclosure areas where therices have been stable. host: this is from consumer affairs.

are you hearing now from experts in the field? guest: yes, and as i mentioned, i was just in washington d.c. i have been to markets that have been ducking what u're seeing nationally. t tho numbers such as camel yesterday denard the point to a housing boom. -- do not really point to a housing boom. family is what the pitfalls -- before thes want to move school year begins. i do not see it in the short term, the housing boom that is being referenced. you might see booms in some of these locations that have stable employment, not too many

foreclosures. their economies have generally held up. their marts might be insulated from all of this. there's also a shift in what people saw you. as i mentioned, the upgrade in the housing sector. where are they moving to? they're moving to areas that could be as much as 50 to 75 miles away from city centers if for employment. they were willing to put up with massive commutes if they could have two staircases and a mother-in-law suite. i think people are rethinking that now. the recession has brought on new frugality and practicality. maybe they're willing to pay a

price for a three-bedroom that is much closer into the city. with gas prices rising, you are also seen an effect on the screen buying season. -- the spring buying season. you might see in the suburbs, those places with empty trucks of land during the boom years -- tracks of land during the boom years. host: next call. caller in the market, where are those numbers coming from in the foreign investment market? can you break down those numbers? guest: in some markets, some

buyers are actually keeping those numbers stable. in miami, a large number. in california, i just talked to someone who sells vineyards and he said he is seeing a number of chinese buys who want to buy vineyards and have them as a trophy properties. th did reference to statistics and i do not remember them off the top of my head, but we did talk aboutash buyers. we talked about cash is king. foreign buyers rlly do illustrate the. -- illustrate that. foreign investors feel that may pay off in the future. in new york city, there is activity from foreign buyers. anecdotally speaking, realtors are seen people who want

second, third homes in the united states. >> joe asks on twitter -- host: jill asks on twitter -- years there was a belief -- ase mentioned, there was someone checking the website every day to see what their home was worth. you just felt richer. you base your housing by use on your personal consumption and how much you are spending, d that equation has completel changed. for people who advise you on whether you should buy or sell out, the talk has certainly shifted from prices here grow --

going up. you will definitely get your money back soon to if you need to the dockyard, if you need the room, this is for you -- if you need the backyard, if you need the room, this is for you. host: it was reported recently in the "wall street journal" about cash buyers. she reported that 28% of sales were all cash buyers last year. and your note that in phoenix, paying cash at 42% last year, more than triple the rate in 2008. guest: that is right. phoenix, las vegas, parts of

florida -- prices have become so low that people can buy it -- can afford to scoop up housing. but it is not just limited to people who want second homes or in more luxury purpose. a lot of it is driven by the under $100,000 range. i just spoke to a piano tcher who has a house, but saw that there was another house for sale not too far away for about $50,000. she thought, it would be great for me to have a place just to teach pianalto as opposed to having the kids come to my house -- to teach piano as a opposed to replace -- the kids coming to my house. this is the flurry of buying

activity we have seen of late. host: rubin, republican, good morning. caller: i have two questions. why is it that fha has suddenly raised their mortgage insurance premiums, thus making it awarded a gold for middle income to low -- making it more difficult for middle income to low-income buyers? i suspect it is because of the losses they are taking. and you mentioned about the cash buyers. it being a mortgage banker in miami for the last 20 years, you can imagine i have seen it all. but these cash buyers are buying a lot of these properties and refurbishing them and putting them back on the market. it is a decent deal for us realtors. are you seeing that in other places in theountry? or are they mosy buying and

renting them? guest: i should have mentioned the mortgage insurance increases when you ask about fha earlier. that has been another issue that has been and, as you rightly point out, to protect fha. but is also having an affect on the buyers who only have that avenue as a means to get a mortgage. investors seem to be in it for the long haul. about 50% want to hang onto their properties for about five years and rent them out because they do not expect it to be worth their while to renovate and get a profit on the

property. there ght be exceptions. but again, investors seem almost completely different from those boom years were flipping was the thing to do, and quite a bit of risky behavior as well. but now they seem much more inclined to hunker down and kp these properties and rent them out. the question of what happens in this gold in five years when other rush of properties hit the market and investors want to sell andhey want profits of 20% or so? host: why is it permissib for a bank to write a mortgage and package it and sell it to a third party? are we seeing a lot of that right now? guest: yes, it is the model of the mortgage industry that we

have. following the overhaul of getting a and freddie mac, there will be familiar questioning of the model as well. should government be in the backing of securitization, or should that be left entirely to private industry? , there was ik ahma activity in congress backing those loans and creating me compromise. host: next call, hi. caller: thank you for taking my call. why would someone just rent when 30-year mortgages are incredibly low?

guest: your interest rates at the outset would be so low. the thinking is -- we did see adjustable rates during the boom years as well because people actually entered homebuying with the thought of leaving these properties within two years or three years. they might have gone for the adjustable, you know, not having the higher payment with the 30- year fixed. and some people gamboled rightfully. -- gambled rightfully. host: richmond, va.. zakaria on the republican line.

-- zachary on the republican line. caller: how has the record in this -- the renter in this situation changed? how has that relationship changed, when renters can interact with whatever party they choose? guest: some marts, renting is going out. some of it is driven by investors. in florida, for example, in miami, brave have gone up by, i think as much as almost a dollar. this is prime property ea. you are seeing investors who want a review of their investments.

we have a lot of what we call a accidental landlords, people who wanted to sell their homes and could not sell them. they ended up having to rent out the property in order to keep paying their mortgages. that have madecom these conversions from being a owner occupied to tenant occupied, it is hard to -- anecdotally, there is a shift. again, this is what happens when you change the competition of owners verses renters. another issue is the american dream shifted to this idea that you do not need to own your home in order to have a piece of that dream.

is there a population that links employment with mobility and actually says, i will be able to get up and go because the job market is unstable and i will be able to rt for the next two years or rent indefinitely. >> this memorial day weekend at 3:00 and 10:00 p.m., we bring you several commencement addresses from around the country, starting with michigan governor rick schneider speaking to students at the university of michigan. then we will head to the university of colorado's to hear from chipotle founder, steve ells.

after that, curtis carlson. after that, the national urban league president delivers his commencement address to students at howard university in washington, d.c. he talked about his family bought the legacy at the school. -- his family's legacy at the school. you can hear that speech tonight at 11:00 p.m.. we go now to an order michigan to hear the commencement address from republican governor rick snyder. he talked about professional goals he set for himself. this is 20 minutes.

>> what is the university of michigan the world's leader at and what does it mean to all of us? to begin, this is a personal opinion. let me make that clear. but let me start with my experience as a student at the university of michigan. i had only had one other opportunity to come to the university of michigan for a football game. the next time i came was thanksgiving week of 1975. i came up to go to the office of admissions and to tell my story. i had a meeting with the associate director and told him my story of going home in a small town in a 900 foot square house, having an opportunity to start community college when i was 16-years old and the dreams i have for my future. in that meeting, he looked at me

and said, "you need to start at the university of michigan in january. you should leave high-school and tom." we have the perfect agreed to fit your dreams -- a bachelor of general studies degree because you can build your own degree. i went back to my parents. we were all amazed and surprise. it was time to go to the university of michigan. i showed up in january of 1976. to put it in perspective for you, i would probably be at the far end up being the least were only person to show up at the university of michigan. i had fabulous parents, but i did not have a lot of opportunity. the first week i was there, a number of friends i had met said, "let's go get a bagel." we went to the bagel factory and i had my first bagel.

the most amazing part of that was i was too embarrassed to show with my friends. i had never had a bagel. i did not know what a bagel was. [laughter] the next stop was the winning situation. i had a triple in west clyde. -- west quad. this was 1976, said the university people still talk to me after the speech. i had two roommates. one was a junior. within a month after the start of the term, he managed to get himself kicked out of university housing for a lack of social and moral behavior. [laughter] that is a nice way to put it, folks. the other roommate was a freshman who was studying engineering.

but i am convinced he only made it to the first year because of engineering was not his passion and love. his true passion and love was bought in the -- botany. that was based on the fact that he had a significant plantation in our room. [laughter] so you can see this green kid from battle creek who had not even turned 18 yet and had these two wonderful roommates. [laughter] i almost did not make it. but one thing that helped me make it is one thing you can only find at the university of michigan. actually, i had a work study opportunity and found a job. that job was at the institute of social research. actually, it was a job for a graduate student to do research,

but somehow i managed to get it. it was because people working on the survey of consumer confidence gave me the fortitude and dedication to survive that first semester. i got through it. from there, it was a much more positive experience. my years were amazing. i had an opportunity to do things you cannot do at other schools, to get those three degrees. during the path of those three degrees, i had a chance to be a research assistant in government accounting. i had an opportunity to do a research project that actually became an article that i co- authored with one of the great business communications professors at the university. the funny part was when i told my parents i offered this article, it was something they could not relate read because it

was in the best seller, "the journal of business communications." other experiences were part of growth, too. i wanted to learn from people and do more with people. i became a resident adviser. i had a freshman floor that was a lot of fun. that was quite an experience. also, i had an opportunity to be an instructor at the business school and a teacher's assistant. i literally had my own class. i do not think they do this anymore, but when i got the position of instructor they handed me the text book and said the class starts in a couple of months. good luck. i got to those experiences. they helped me grow. they were fabulous experiences. by the time of my last year at the university, i was living off campus. i was teaching. i had a blue lot parking pass.

i had a private office in the business school, although not nearly as nice today. best of all, and hopefully this will not get me in trouble, i had tickets on the 50 yard line back then. people used to get to the 50 back in those days. i am still trying to achieve what i had back in the early '80s. it was a fabulous experience of growth. and so, let me give you might view based on that experience and many since then. first of all, the university of michigan is ranked higher in more departments than any institution in the world. [applause] there is an issue, though, that we do not rank number one that

often. we are probably by far the best number to school than any place in the world. -- number two schools than any place in the world. the reason we are not number one is because we are too big. we are too large. we do not have that degree of attention that the smallest schools offer. what i would say to you is too often we spend time trying to say how we can be like them and being apologetic for that fact. that is absolutely backwards. the uofm, , the environment allows you to build your own path. our strength is our breath and size. we need to stop being defensive about our size and start being

proud of it. the simple answer for the university of michigan is we are the university of explorers. if you look at the definition of explore, it is someone who travels into unfamiliar or on notes regions, especially for organized scientific purposes. i believe that is what drew us here. there is no place in the world that can match the university of michigan. it is that spirit of exploration that brought us here. we need to start promoting our size and braqueadth. we continue to be the best in individual departments and that great student experience. let's be proud of our size and be the best. now, in terms of individuals, i

would like to speak to the graduates about what that means to you and the opportunities that you have. you are explorers. when you have been exploring at the university of michigan, it was straightforward. your mission was to graduate. you have achieved that idealist goal today. the next thing is you need a mission for the future. and explored the same mission. what is the mission for your life? the thing of that is that there is no right or wrong answer. there is no specific time you need to have that answer. some may have it today, others may not find it for some years. there are traders that will help you get there and we have heard the stories many times. it can be your parents. it can be mentors in your life. i had many fabulous mentors. it can be opportunities. but it can also be crisis that will give you a mission. as you travel from the stadium,

ask yourself "what is your mission?" i had a mission that i will share with you briefly. my mission, i was fortunate. i developed it when i was a teenager. my mission, in terms of the ultimate goal, is to make the world a better place than to say i added value. but in terms of specifics, i define three careers that i want to experience during my lifetime. the first career was to go into the private sector, to go into business. why did i choose that? there are three key goals. one, i wanted to financially be able to take care of my family and of late have the resources selected do other things. the second one was to help people, to say what products and services could add value.

the last one was to have fun. if you have fun and enjoy what you do, he will simply be better at it. that was to be from age 20 something to 50 or so. the second was about public service. it was having money and having financial security. i have achieved that. i wanted to focus on having people and having it -- helping people and having fun. i did not know what that would be. the opportunity arose to run for governor. we were a broken state and there was an opportunity to reinvent ourselves. i thought i could work in a non- profit. i thought i could do many things, but this opportunity was there. it was time to seize the opportunity as a way to get back to the citizens of our state. the having fun part is not really true today.

what i say in that context, it is not about laughs or enjoyment. you have to make tough decisions. it is about saying is their satisfaction in doing the right thing and and hopefully making our state a better place. i have a third career that i plan to go after when i am done with public service. that is to teach. i want to give back on a smaller scale as an opportunity to help people and to have fun. i actually planned for this career from my teenage days. when i finished at the university of michigan after i got my third degree, i was asked to come back and teach. when i was 24, i was in and job assistant professor teaching a class in the mba program.

one reason i did that is because i love teaching. the other part is because i thought i could use that as a credential to prove to people that i was competent to teach. i was a workaholic. many people still say or think i am. but it was nothing like i was when i finished school. how did i solve the problem? i got help. the help i got was my fabulous life, sue. she showed me there is more to life than working. we have been happily married for over 20 years.

there is another wonderful part to that. the three children we have -- jeff, melissa, and chelsea. children are the special think in your life that is more important than anything. it also helped put life in perspective more than anything, especially when they were young. when you come home from work and can say you had the best day or the worst day of your professional life, when you walk in that door, they did not care. it was about them and that was the right answer. by having great kids like that, it may be a better person i am proud to say melissa is a sophomore here now. [applause] in terms of summarizing the analysis about being an explore on a mission, the problem

becomes when you give a commencement address, the average half life of a commencement address in terms of retention is based to a matter of hours. we are in a increasingly add world. i wanted to give you a phrase that summarizes what i have talked about. it is a phrase you all know well and you will remember for the rest of your life with pride. the leaders invest. just being here means you are and explore. the key is finding that mission in life. keep it simple. just set a few milestones. but to be a leader is a simple mathematical equation. explore plus mission equals

leader. now, the other part of the phrase is the challenging one. the best. why do i say that is the challenging part? too often, the best is misunderstood. the best is not about adding to the superiority. it is not about being arrogant. what the best really means, in my view, is about giving your best. to give your best effort and to do it in a certain way. that is to do it in a positive fashion, a 4-looking fashion, and a fashion where you work to have people work together and solve problems in the world. it is not about blame or credit. it is about giving all and making a difference in people's

lives. because of the two phrases, what i can tell you is if you are a leader and you have the mission, do not worry about getting the mission entirely done. they it -- that may not be possible. but if you continue to give your best and try to make that happen, by giving your best you will be a stalwart among the leaders. take that into life. congratulations to you. god bless and go blue. [applause] >> tomorrow on "washington journal" guy benson and judd legum discuss politics in the

2012 presidential race. ilan berman examines a ron's role in the middle east. -- iran's role in the middle east. "washington journal," live at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. also tomorrow morning, former president bill clinton talks about the current federal deficit and the ongoing middle east peace process. he spoke earlier this week at the peterson foundation. you can't hear his comments sunday at 10:30 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> people often say, how often of your time be spent writing and thomas tidies been doing research? it is a good question. no one ever says how much of your time you spend thinking.

that is probably the most important part of it. >> in part to of c-span's enter v with david mccullough, his writing process and latest, "the greater journey." you can see them on line at c- span.org/podcast. >> commencement addresses all this weekend on c-span. we now had to the university of colorado and boulder to hear remarks from chipotle founder, steve ells. then we will hear from curtis carlson. then, the national urban league president gives his address to graduates of howard university here in washington, d.c. >> steve ells recently spoke to students at the university of

colorado in boulder. he is an alumnus of that school. he opened his first restaurant five years after graduation. we will hear now from the chancellor of the university who introduces mr. ells. >> steve has received considerable praise for his vision and leadership. newsweek called him an environmental champion whose commitment to supporting sustainable agriculture. he has been profiled by time, business week, forbes, fortune, the wall street journal, and abc news.

since the 2006 initial public offering, chipotle stopped as had the highest return of many companies that 2005. sustainable business.com has named chipotle one of the top 20 sustainable stocks. they had the best management team in the industry according to one reporter. there are so many graduates of the team, including the co-c .e.o. he starred in a show called "america's great new restaurant." ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to introduce to you steve ells. [applause]

>> thank you, chancellor, for that introduction. that is really kind. thank you for the -- to the senior class counsel for asking me to be here today. congratulations. [applause] i was panicking about what to say about this speech. it is unusual for me because i do these kinds of speeches of lot. i have to get used to not being afraid of being in the spotlight. the chancellor talked about this reality show. if you think about the ratings, maybe it is not a spotlight, but anyway, i was struggling with what to say. after giving it a lot of thought, i racked my brain and

the idea that kept coming to me was service. i think of service in very broad terms. i think the act of finding something within yourself that you care deeply about and sharing it with others. this is my advice to you -- find out how you can serve others while doing what you love. it turns out that serving others is where it is at in this life. it makes you feel good and it is the right thing to do. it is the best way to ensure you have a great career and make a great living. in fact, it is a pretty good definition of success -- serving others while doing what you love. each of you has qualities no one else has, interest no one else has, and ideas that are uniquely your own. things you really like to do. the world desperately needs you to share your special qualities,

interest, and ideas. at this point, you may not know how these particular qualities or interest will ever be interest -- useful in the service of others. it is ok. when i was sitting where you are, neither did i.. my story may be a useful example. i did not start thinking out this way. i was not a do-gooder that try to serve other people. it is simpler than that. i just love to cook. i really, really loved it. i love everything about the kitchen. even when i was a little kid, i remember trying to master of my techniques when i was 7. in grade school, i started watching cooking shows, including julia child. i tried to replicate the recipes. later on, i started hosting a dinner parties all the time. i would invite friends over and took elaborate meals. it was great fun for me and it

helped me get better and better at what i love doing. it also allow me to meet some of the most important people in my life. just recently one of these people pointed out to me that i was not just throwing dinner parties. he pointed out that i was a man on a mission. that i was totally obsessed with showing people a perfect dining experience, or at least might interpretation of the perfect dining experience. i remember one of these dinner parties. it was funny. we went shopping to buy the ingredients. we were making caesar salad. 25 years ago, caesar salad was a cool thing to make. even though it were only a few people, i was standing in the produce aisle. i was filling up the shopping cart with heads of romaine lettuce. i had a dozen or a dozen and a half heads in there. he said, "what you need all this led us for?" i said we were only going to use

the very center. i could not afford it at the time. the kind of freaked out and said he did not get what i was doing. i was obsessed with making the solid perfect. i was obsessed with making food as perfect as it could be. still today, i cannot stand to see people eat that food. it really does care make up, like fingernails on the chalkboard. i would obsess for hours and hours about the upcoming meal. i would search local markets and buying the very best ingredients. i researched recipes. spent hours and hours in the kitchen prepping. when people would come over, i would swing into action. i was so busy through dinner that i could not socialize with my guess where i would not enjoy the food. but you know what, i was in absolute heaven. i had done all the work.

i spent all my money. i only ate a small amount of the food. i was left with the dirty dishes, but i was the happiest person in the room. it gave me a sense of well- being. all i could think about is when i was born to do it again, what i would cut, and hal would make it better next time. what does that all tell you? i think it tells you that the one giving the most is the one often the most satisfied. i told you serving others can lead to a great career, but it does not always present itself again an obvious way. for assets, you all know i started -- for instance, you all know i started chipotle. i had no idea it would all turn out like this. i was just living life. i had no idea that histhis passd

anything to do with my professional future. even when i chose to go to: school, had no goal of opening a restaurant or a chain. i just wanted to learn more about cooking. my dad who is sitting with us in the stands was concerned. his oldest son had just graduated from cu and was going to do his postgraduate work in the kitchen. back then it was not an obvious recipe for financial freedom. that is important for him to see me how. after cooking school, and went to work in one of the great restaurants in the country at the time. it was in san francisco. after a couple of years there, i decided i wanted to start a restaurant of my own. i needed the revenue stream so i

thought i would open a little free to stand based on those of us introduced to in san francisco. it would serve to keep afloat the full-scale restaurant. i decided to call the upper rio restaurant chipotle mexican grill -- chipotle -- i decided to call this a little burrito restaurant chipotle mexican grill. i went into excruciating detail about the preparation and for the menu items. i was going to buy a beautiful black beans and cook them from scratch. i would buy the best fresh oregano and chop it. i would toast the cumin seeds and then grind the mall by hand. i would then cook these with onions and peppers. i would cook the beans for hours until their perfectly tender.

i wanted to elevate everything on the menu, including the humble black bean. my friends thought i was silly. they said i could taste the difference between cumin that came from a jar and those by toasted. but most people would not know the difference. i was a man on a mission. i did not care if they could tell the difference. i wanted everybody to eat. food. it was more important to me than anything else. -- i wanted everybody to eat great food. it was more important to me than anything else. that is where you find the greatest satisfaction. when you set out to serve others and go beyond their expectations. you care more about what you are providing them they do. everybody has the capacity to do that and create something special, to give something extraordinary. in turn, you can turn people on to new ideas. as we grew, we began buying a lot of food.

i became increasingly curious about where the food was coming from and how it was being raised. i started visiting farmers and ranchers and tried to understand how they will raising their food. that is when i started seeing that much of the food system in this country is based on exploitation. i was totally uncomfortable serving the food at my restaurants. the thing that was transformative for me was when i saw how corporation -- pork was raised. most pigs are raised in confinement in awful conditions. there is exploitation on so many levels. the welfare of the animal is totally disregarded. so many antibiotics are used that resistant strains of diseases are becoming a big problem. independent family farms are being displaced.

we, as consumers, are tacitly buying into the system. we said that we did not want our success to be based on that kind of exploitation. i worked with the co-op a family farmers in iowa racing pigs the right way. they were not fed antibiotics. these farmers became suppliers to chipotle. for working with the farmers, we were able to supply the restaurants with this great port. it costs more, but the benefits in terms of quality what we were providing customers far outweigh the cost. our customers noticed the difference. this has led us on a journey to find the best ingredients for all of our food. recall this journey "food with integrity." -- we call this journey "food with integrity." you may have heard of joel.

his farm was featured in "the omnivores dilemma." he is a supplier for two of the our restaurants in virginia. he has become a friend over the years. i visited him a couple of weeks ago. what i find amazing about him is that he is raising delicious pork, beef, and chicken, but he is doing it in a way that leaves the land in better condition than he found it. he does it in a way that shows respect for the animals he raises. he has respect for the customers that he sends his me to. he really cares about them. he has a beautiful farm he will be able to pass on to his kids and grandkids. he is serving others while doing what he loves. he has been an inspiration to me to go out and find out more farmers dedicated to feeding people food raised with the same kind of care in a sustainable way.

now it is totally fulfilling for us to look at every ingredient on our menu and make sure it is something we are proud of. what is really great about this is our customers notice and they can tell the difference. i think that is the lesson i learned. it is incredibly fulfilling to serve others while doing what you love. what about you? what do you care about more than anything else? how can you apply your passion to the service of others? each of you has exceptional skills or talents t. some that you learned here or some that helped to into cu in the first place. these may not seem profound to you today, but i promise they can set you apart. if you make service your journey, one of the results will be personal success.

the great career and financial success, but those things are not the most meaningful or important. the most important will be that you will have a positive effect on others. you will feel a sense of the fulfillment as one who has given up yourself and left things better than you found them. graduates are often told to think about their future in terms of what the world needs. that is a great way to look at it. but the world needs a lot of things. so many that it can be overwhelming. what the world needs most is passionate people who serve others. they can do it in a way that does not come at the expense of other people, our land, or our morals. if we get enough people doing that, everything falls into place.

thank you for letting me be part of this special day. congratulations to the colorado university graduating class of 2011. [cheers and applause] >> in a few moments, we will continue showing you commencement addresses from across the country. next, comments from curtis carlson at the university of richmond. he is the developer of american high definition tv standards and the head of the silicon valley firm. later, the national urban league president gives his commencement address to graduates at howard university. finally, the only blind person to climb the tallest peak on each of the seven continents. sunday, the oklahoma senator discusses how congress is addressing the debt issue and

how both parties can reach an agreement on how to cut spending. you can see it tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. eastern on c- span. all this weekend, commencement addresses at 3:00 and 10:00 p.m. eastern. sunday, we will begin with an address given by florida senator marco rubio in naples, florida. after that, new york mayor michael bloomberg speaks to students. it all gets underway on sunday. curtis carlson is the developer of the american high-definition tv standards. he helped to found more than 12 companies. he is currently the ceo and president of the nonprofit research institute. he recently gave be addressed to the graduates at the university of richmond. this is 20 minutes.

every time you turn on your tv to watch the super bowl or a soap opera in high-definition, you need to thank one man for the high-quality image on your screen. trust me, it is not charlie sheen. [laughter] the man you are to thank dr. curtis carlson. dr. carlson won emmy awards for leading the development of the american h.d. tv broadcast standards and optimizing satellite image broadcast quality. as an expert on innovation and competitiveness. he has founded more than 12 companies. he is currently the chairman, ceo, and president of sri

international, an independent, nonprofit research institute. president barack obama appointed dr. carlson to the presidential task force on the research and development of the institutes. darker coulson advises government leaders around the world on innovation, competitiveness, and educational reform. his book, "innovation, the five disciplines for creating what customers want" was published in 2006. it made the top 10 books of that year in "business week." in addition, he is the founding member of the innovation leadership council of the world economic forum. he holds honorary degrees from

three universities. he received professional achievement awards from two. dr. carlson has served on numerous corporate and government boards of directors and advisory councils. he was a member of the original team that helped create the army federated laboratories. this passion for innovation and education is something we admire. with the world changing every day technologically, politically, and socially, we are reminded of the importance of education, leadership, and constant innovation for future generations. graduates of 2011, please join me in welcoming our speaker, dr. curtis carlson. [applause]

>> thank you. that was very generous. he gave me more credit than i deserve. everything i have ever done in my career has been done with great colleagues and teammates. that is what i am about to talk about, the importance of working with wonderful people who are passionate about what they're interested in -- making a difference in the world. thank you for having me here. it is a pleasure to celebrate this important event with you, the graduates, families, friends, and your dedicated faculty. this wonderful occasion marks the culmination of hard work and achievement. today it also marks the beginning of new dreams and endeavors. you may wonder why the head of our research enterprise in silicon valley is talking to you

today. over your careers, you will likely do more work in silicon valley than people have in the past. i am here to share with you a perspective that i hope in some small way help to achieve your dreams and allows you to thrive in our world of abundant opportunities. first, let me say happy mother's day and congratulations to our graduates and congratulations to your loved ones. i am impressed that 20% of you are first generation graduates. that was true of me also. i did not start in silicon valley. i grew up in a modest home in an industrial park in rhode island. before our home was the turnpike. the front of our home faced the

loading docks of a brewery. my father played the violin and he taught me to play. that was my first dream. i became a professional at 15. my music friends were going to college. because of them, college became my second dream. unfortunately, it is too late for me to thank my grandfather. but today is the perfect time for you to thank those who helped you to achieve this milestone -- or college degree. few human accomplishments are achieved alone. graduates, please make sure you think all of those who supported you, your parents, family, friends, professors, and mentors, everyone who believed in you and help you to get to this great day. please tell them that you love them and give them a really big hug. your appreciation means the world to them. after all, they love you. [applause]

in the future, make sure that you return the favor. be a friend, a teacher, or mentor to help someone else achieve his or her dream. you know from your own experience how powerful that can be when someone believes in you before even you know what you are trying to achieve is possible. one of the student government leaders said that richmond has kicked me out of my comfort zone. it has pushed me to strive for constant excellence rather than staying in the status quo. that is just right. today i would respectfully like to push you further. i will start by sharing with you some of what i say to all of the new people who joine

organizations. we've learned that there are a few principles of really matter that apply to any field you may enter whether the peace corps, government, or a company. first, work on big important problems that you are passionate about. making a difference in the world is a powerful motivator. fortunately for you, we live in the world of unprecedented opportunity. it is a world with potential abundance. why is that? first, there are an unlimited number of important needs to be addressed such as health care, clean energy, economic development, and k. 312 education. consider that in detroit, only about 25% of the boys graduate from high school. this is a national tragedy. some of you will have the opportunity to help address it. second, the solutions to problems in today's economy come

mostly from ideas and creativity. ideas and creativity, unlike natural resources, are an unlimited resources. many of the best ideas in the future will come from you. it is a world of abundance only for those who can see the opportunities ahead and have the skills to take advantage of them. without these skills, it can seem like a world of scarcity. innovation is the only way we're going to solve the world's major issues. the way to take advantage of these opportunities is to learn all you can about innovation and how you create a value for others. and the other path in today's world is too risky. the world is moving so fast and is so competitive that we must all learn how to add value in whenever we do. if we do not, the world will quickly passes by.

-- pass us by. the ability to creatively innovate has become one of the most important skills that you can possess. what is innovation? why is important to you? innovation is the transformation of a novel idea into something people want. it is not just a clever idea or invention. people have to actually use or experience what you have created. it is about making a positive difference for others. in today's world, that will be your job whenever you do, creating new value for people to use or experience. innovation is not only about new products or services. those of you who studied history, anthropology, dance, or writing one to make important contributions as well. happily, there is ample room for innovation in every field. consider picasso. yes, he was a famous artist.

but he was also an innovator because he created enormous new value for the world. he literally transformed how we think about art. created acess, he large market for his art as well. consider your own university of richmond, the university has pioneered a curriculum to prepare you for this world. this is also an innovation. it is a brilliant one, in my view. it best prepares you to be creative innovators. earlier i mentioned one of the most important skills, identifying and working on important problems and not just those that are interesting. if which were working on does not matter to anyone, you cannot possibly make an impact. you are just putting in time. always go for the big opportunities. visa the ones that will teach you the most and allow you to

make a contribution. -- these are the ones that will teach to the most and allow you to make a contribution. do not say no even if an opportunity scares' to to death. that has happened to all of us. last night i had supper with ander governor cakaine several of your terrific professors. he said it is usually the opportunities you do not do that you end up regretting. i cannot tell you how true that is. if an opportunity comes your way, please grab that. step up and welcome those new opportunities. fortunately challenging and important problems almost always turn out to be the most interesting and fun. work hard at them. whether the additional skills you will need? the good news is you are university has given many of the most critical ones. already have taken interdisciplinary academic

programs, participated in international studies, and worked with students from all around the world. you have studied innovation, entrepreneurship, and leadership. you have learned and collaborated in small teams with students from diverse backgrounds to solve project. this is the perfect foundation for the world we're in. one question i am often asked is -- but how do i take the next step? how to go from where i am today to making a significant contribution? being a creative innovator start by always looking for opportunities to make a difference and add value. this perspective is very powerful. it comes from asking -- how can i make this better? how can i contribute something more? it starts with a desire to achieve something important. if you are not driven to do something significant and passionate about, your chance for success is very small. in my experience, it is

essentially zero. next, find at least one person who shares your vision and passion. working alone is too hard. you need someone to question your ideas at every step, at other ideas, and provide emotional support. you may have heard that a unique point of view can be worth an extra 80 iq points. that is what you want, someone who has perspectives that are different from yours that add unique value. then write your ideas down. we say that if it is not written down, it is not real. use words, draw pictures, make models. use whatever you can to bring your idea to life. then show it to everybody around you to collect their extra 80 iq points. there's magic in this. very few take advantage of all that surrounds them.

in my company, this is how we start creating one new world changing innovation after another from new cancer drugs to high-definition television, to a novel ways to capture co2 from the atmosphere. you will encounter obstacles. all this bill at first many times. -- all of us fail first at many times. in silicon valley, we see it as a necessary first. it is the only way you will learn. in the beginning, you have not done your homework. you never know enough at the start. if you fail and understand why, you have learned something. the next time you try, you will do it differently and better. artists, musicians, entrepreneurs all fail many, many times before they succeed. the key is to persevere until you deeply understand everything you need to know to solve the problem. in silicon valley, we say fail

fast to succeed early. make it go as fast as you can. learning how to create value for others inevitably turns you into one of the most valuable people in your field, whether you become an artist, a volunteer to help aids sufferers in africa, do research, start a new company, or practice law. silicon valley is an innovation hub of only about 2 million people is also the headquarters of google, facebook, and hundreds of small start-ups. it is the hub of biotechnology and new social meeting. it is the hub for alternative energy and next generation internet. what makes this possible? what makes silicon valley so special? first, is a meritocracy. d others are and othe trying to copy it is focusing on

the highest levels of achievement. silicon valley is about making the world a better place. what matters is whether you have the skills, values, and passions to make a serious contribution. what matters most is what you can do it and achieve, not where you came from, not your religion, not your finances, and certainly not politics. what matters is your ethics and how you can work productively with others to solve important problems. in silicon valley, being from somewhere else is an advantage. more than 50% of the president's in silicon valley have come from just india or china alone. these leaders have the advantage speakinging globally, thin another language, and having an appreciation for other cultures. in my organization, an incredibly large percentage of our staff have grown up outside

the united states in france, russia, israel, china, japan, india, and elsewhere. just like your class. america really is the land of opportunity if you have the right values, a prospectus, and skills. more than 60% of your class has studied abroad "newsweek" describes richmond as the college for international education. to make a difference in the world and create lasting value, everyone needs to be accretive innovator. if you do, i can almost guarantee that you will perform meaningful work of developing the skills that will last a lifetime. it will allow you to thrive in the fast-paced world as a creator and not just a worker. with the richmond education, you

are well prepared to add these additional skills. they are not magic. they can be learned just like all the subjects of the university. read everything you can about creativity and innovation. study and talk to all who have achieved something special. learn as much as you can from everyone that you run into. whatever field you are pursuing, it may be starting businesses, teaching students, or improving the quality of life for millions around world, you can cry acquire the innovative skills that will assure recess. you are taking the first up by obtaining your degree. you enter the world with the knowledge to tackle the world of abundant opportunities. the famous anthropologist margaret mead summed it up when she said, "never doubt that a small group a thoughtful people can change the world.

indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." never doubt that a small group of people, a thoughtful, committed people, can change the world. indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. these are powerful words. i have experienced the universal truth of these words dozens of times in my career, in various organizations, with people of diverse backgrounds, and in pursuing very different goals. you can, too. remember to tackle big important problems you are passionate about. learn all you can about innovation and how to create value for others. years from now when you look back, i predict he will have made a positive and lasting contribution to the world. you will have worked with many great colleagues. you will have had a lot of fun. finally, please,