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tv   Washington This Week  CSPAN  December 11, 2011 6:30pm-8:00pm EST

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wrong road, when you are thinking in the back of your mind, sir, ma'am, maybe we should look at it from this perspective, because people's lives or at stake, or we have an obligation or a duty to be good resources with the resources -- to be a good steward with their resources. when everyone else's head is going up and down, and you think, "i think i have a different perspective." >> the highest-ranking female african-american in the history of the united states army tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span "q&a." >> president obama was in kansas tuesday to discuss the economy and jobs legislation and extending the payroll tax cuts.
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♪ >> thank you, everybody. please, please have a seat. thank you so much. good afternoon, everybody. >> good afternoon. >> well, i want to start by joined us today. osawatomie, phil dudley is here. [cheers and applause] we have your superintendent gary french in the house.
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[cheers and applause] and we have the principal of osawatomie high, doug chisam. and i have brought your former governor, who is doing now an outstanding job as secretary of health and human services -- kathleen sebelius is in the house. [cheers and applause] well, it is great to be back in the state of kansas. i was giving bill self a hard time, he was here a while back.
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with the obamas of osawatomie. [laughter] actually, i like to say that i got my name from my father, but i got my accent -- and my values -- from my mother. she was born in wichita. her mother grew up in augusta. her father was from el dorado. so my kansas roots run deep. my grandparents served duringhe
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was a soldier in patton's army, she was a worker on a bomber assembly line. and together, they shared the optimism of a nation that triumphed over the great depression and over fascism. they believed in an america where hard work paid off, and responsibility was rewarded, and a a anyone could make it if they tried -- no matter who you were, no matter where you came from, no matter how you started out. [applause] and these values gave rise to the largest middle class and the strongest economy that the world has ever known. it was here in america that the
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most productive workers, the most innovative companies turned out the best products on earth. and you know what? pride and in that success -- management to those on the factory floor. [applause] your all, you'd take enough home to raise your family and send your kids to school and have your health care covered, put a little away for retirement. today, we're still home to the world's most productive workers. we're still home to the world's but for most americans, the country great has eroded.
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long before the recession hit, hard work stopped paying off for too many people. fewer and fewer of the folks who contributed to the success of from that success. those at the very top grew wealthier from their incomes and their investments -- wealthier than ever before. but everybody else struggled more debt just to keep up. now, for many years, credit cards and home equity loans papered over this harsh reality. but in 2008, the house of cards collapsed. mortgages sold to people who sometimes understand them.
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banks and investors allowed to keep packaging the risk and selling it off. huge bets -- and huge bonuses -- made with other people's money on the line. regulators who were supposed to warn us about the dangers of all this, but looked the other way or didn't have the authority to look at all. it was wrong. it combined the breathtaking greed of a few with irresponsibility all across the system. and it plunged our economy and the world into a crisis from which we're still fighting to recover. it claimed the jobs and the homes and the basic security of but hardworking americans who had met their responsibilities but were still left holding the bag. and ever since, there's been a raging debate over the best way to restore growth and prosperity, restore balance,
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restore fairness. throughout the country, it's sparked protests and political movements -- from the tea party to the people who've been occupying the streets of new york and other cities. it's left washington in a near- constant state of gridlock. it's been the topic of heated and sometimes colorful discussion among the men and women running for president. but, osawatomie, this is not just another political debate. this is the defining issue of our time. this is a make-or-break moment for the middle class, and for all those who are fighting to get into the middle class.
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because what's at stake is whether this will be a country where working people can earn enough to raise a family, build a modest savings, own a home, secure their retirement. now, in the midst of this debate, there are some who seem to be suffering from a kind of collective amnesia. the worst economic crisis, the worst financial crisis since the great depression, they want to return to the same practices that got us into this mess. in fact, they want to go back to the same policies that stacked the deck against middle-class americans for way too many years. and their philosophy is simple: we are better off when everybody is left to fend for themselves and play by their own rules. i am here to say they are wrong. [applause]
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i'm here in kansas to reaffirm my deep conviction that we're our own. i believe that this country succeeds when everyone gets a their fair share, when everyone plays by the same rules. [applause] or republican values. these aren't 1 percent values or 99 percent values. they're american values.
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and we have to reclaim them. [applause] you see, this isn't the first time america has faced this choice. at the turn of the last century, when a nation of farmers was transitioning to become the to decide: would we settle for a country where most of the new railroads and factories were being controlled by a few giant monopolies that kept prices high and wages low? would we allow our citizens and even our children to work ungodly hours in conditions that were unsafe and unsanitary? would we restrict education to the privileged few? because there were people who thought massive inequality and
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the price you pay for progress. theodore roosevelt disagreed. wealthy family. he praised what the titans of industry had done to create jobs and grow the economy. he believed then what we know is true today, that the free market economic progress in human history. it's led to a prosperity and a standard of living unmatched by but roosevelt also knew that the free license to take whatever you can from whomever you can. he understood the free market only works when there are rules
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of the road that ensure competition is fair and open and honest. and so he busted up monopolies, forcing those companies to compete for consumers with better services and betterand today, they still must. he fought to make sure businesses couldn't profit by exploiting children or selling food or medicine that wasn't safe. and today, they still can't. and in 1910, teddy roosevelt came here to osawatomie and he laid out his vision for what he called a new nationalism. "our country," he said, ",means nothing unless it means the an economic system under which each
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man shall be guaranteed the opportunity to show the best that there is in him." [applause] now, for this, roosevelt was called a radical. he was called a socialist even a communist. but today, we are a richer nation and a stronger democracy because of what he fought for in his last campaign: an eight-hour work day and a minimum wage for women insurance for the unemployed and for the elderly, and those with disabilities, political reform and a progressive income tax. [applause]
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economy has gone through another transformation. over the last few decades, huge advances in technology have allowed businesses to do more with less, and it's made it easier for them to set up shop and hire workers anywhere they want in the world. and many of you know firsthand the painful disruptions this has caused for a lot of americans. they would retire suddenly picked up and went overseas, where workers were cheaper. steel mills that needed 100 -- or 1,000 employees are now able employees, so layoffs too often became permanent, not just a temporary part of the business cycle.
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affect blue-collar workers. if you were a bank teller or a phone operator or a travel agent, you saw many in your profession replaced by atms and the internet. like accountants and middle management can be outsourced to countries like china or india. and if you're somebody whose job can be done cheaper by a computer or someone in another country, you don't have a lot of leverage with your employer when it comes to asking for better wages or better benefits, especially since fewer americans today are part of a union. now, just as there was in teddy roosevelt's time, there is a
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certain crowd in washington who, for the last few decades, have economic challenge with the same"the market will take care of everything," they tell us. if we just cut more regulations and cut more taxes -- especially for the wealthy -- our economy will grow stronger. sure, they say, there will be winners and losers. but if the winners do really well, then jobs and prosperity will eventually trickle down to everybody else. and, they argue, even if prosperity doesn't trickle down, well, that's the price of liberty. now, it's a simple theory. individualism and our healthy skepticism of too much government. that's in america's dna.
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bumper sticker. but here's the problem: it doesn't work. it has never worked. [applause] it didn't work when it was tried in the decade before the great depression. it's not what led to the incredible postwar booms of the '50s and '60s. and it didn't work when we tried it during the last decade. [applause] i mean, understand, it's not as if we haven't tried this theory. remember in those years, in 2001 and 2003, congress passed two of the wealthy in history. and what did it get us? the slowest job growth in half a century.
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massive deficits that have made it much harder to pay for the investments that built this country and provided the basic security that helped millions of americans reach and stay in the middle class -- things like education and infrastructure, science and technology, medicare and social security. remember that in those same years, thanks to some of the same folks who are now running congress, we had weak regulation, we had little oversight, and what did it get us? insurance companies that jacked up people's premiums with impunity and denied care to patients who were sick, mortgage lenders that tricked families into buying homes they couldn't afford, a financial sector where irresponsibility and lack of basic oversight nearly destroyed our entire economy. we simply cannot return to this brand of "you're on your own"
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this country. [applause] we know that it doesn't result in a strong economy. it results in an economy that invests too little in its people and in its future. we know it doesn't result in a prosperity that trickles down. it results in a prosperity that's enjoyed by fewer and fewer of our citizens. in the last few decades, the average income of the top 1 percent has gone up by more than 250 percent to $1.
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2 million per year. i'm not talking about millionaires, people who have a million dollars. i'm saying people who make a million dollars every single year. for the top one hundredth of 1 percent, the average income is now $27 million per year. the typical ceo who used to earn about 30 times more than his or her worker now earns 110 times more.
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and yet, over the last decade the incomes of most americans have actually fallen by about 6 percent. now, this kind of inequality -- a level that we haven't seen since the great depression -- no longer afford to buy the goods and services that businesses are selling, when people are slipping out of the middle class, it drags down the entire economy from top to bottom. america was built on the idea of broad-based prosperity, of strong consumers all across the country. that's why a ceo like henry ford made it his mission to pay his workers enough so that they could buy the cars he made. it's also why a recent study showed that countries with less inequality tend to have stronger and steadier economic growth over the long run.
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inequality also distorts our democracy. it gives an outsized voice to the few who can afford high- priced lobbyists and unlimited campaign contributions, and it runs the risk of selling out our democracy to the highest bidder. [applause] it leaves everyone else rightly suspicious that the system in washington is rigged against them, that our elected representatives aren't looking out for the interests of most americans. but there's an even more fundamental issue at stake. this kind of gaping inequality gives lie to the promise that's at the very heart of america: that this is a place where you can make it if you try. we tell people -- we tell our kids -- that in this country, even if you're born with nothing, work hard and you can get into the middle class.
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we tell them that your children will have a chance to do even better than you do. that's why immigrants from around the world historically have flocked to our shores. and yet, over the last few decades, the rungs on the ladder of opportunity have grown farther and farther apart, and the middle class has shrunk. you know, a few years after world war ii, a child who was born into poverty had a slightly better than 50-50 chance of becoming middle class as an adult. by 1980, that chance had fallen to around 40 percent. and if the trend of rising inequality over the last few decades continues, it's estimated that a child born today will only have a one-in- three chance of making it to the middle class -- 33 percent.
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it's heartbreaking enough that there are millions of working families in this country who are now forced to take their children to food banks for a decent meal. but the idea that those children might not have a chance to climb out of that situation and back into the middle class, no matter how hard they work? that's inexcusable. it is wrong. [applause] it flies in the face of everything that we stand for. now, fortunately, that's not a future that we have to accept,
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because there's another view about how we build a strong middle class in this country -- history, a vision that's been embraced in the past by people of both parties for more than 200 years. it's not a view that we should somehow turn back technology or put up walls around america. it's not a view that says we should punish profit or success or pretend that government knows how to fix all of society's problems. it is a view that says in america we are greater together -- when everyone engages in fair play and everybody gets a fair shot and everybody does their fair share.
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[applause] so what does that mean for restoring middle-class security in today's economy? well, it starts by making sure that everyone in america gets a fair shot at success. the truth is we'll never be able to compete with other countries when it comes to who's best at letting their businesses pay the lowest wages, who's best at busting unions, who's best at letting companies pollute as much as they want. that's a race to the bottom that we can't win, and we shouldn't want to win that race. [applause] those countries don't have a strong middle class. they don't have our standard of
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living. the race we want to win, the race we can win is a race to the top -- the race for good jobs that pay well and offer middle-class security. businesses will create those jobs in countries with the highest-skilled, highest- educated workers, the most advanced transportation and communication, the strongest commitment to research and technology. the world is shifting to an innovation economy and nobody does innovation better than america. nobody does it better. [applause]
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no one has better colleges. nobody has better universities. nobody has a greater diversity of talent and ingenuity. no one's workers or entrepreneurs are more driven or more daring. the things that have always been our strengths match up perfectly with the demands of the moment. but we need to meet the moment. we've got to up our game. we need to remember that we can only do that together. national mission -- a national [applause] government and businesses, parents and citizens. in this economy, a higher education is the surest route to the middle class. the unemployment rate for
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americans with a college degree or more is about half the national average. and their incomes are twice as high as those who don't have a high school diploma. which means we shouldn't now, we should be hiring them. [applause] we should not be expecting less of our schools, we should be demanding more. [applause] we should not make it more difficult to afford college. we should be a country where everyone has the chance to go without getting $100,000 in debt just because they went? [applause]
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in today's economy, we also need a world class commitment to science and research. the factory workers should not be idle, but should be getting skills and training at community colleges so they can learn to make wind turbines and semiconductors. by the way, if we don't have an economy built on baubles and financial speculation, the best and brightest " all gravitate to careers in banking and finance. because if we want an economy that is built to last, we need more of those young people in science and engineering.
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this country should not be known -- it should be known for creating products all over the world that stand for three proud words, made in america. [applause] today, manufacturers in other countries are setting up shop in places with the best infrastructure. and that is why it over 1 million construction workers who lost their jobs when the housing market collapsed should not be
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sitting at home with nothing to do. they should be rebuilding roads and bridges, with railroads and broadband. modernizing our schools. all the things that the other countries are already doing to attract jobs and businesses. yes, business, not government will always be the primary generator of good jobs with incomes that lifts people into the middle class and that keep them there. but as a nation, we have always come together, to help create the conditions were both workers and businesses can succeed. [applause] and historically, this has not been a part as an idea.
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franklin roosevelt worked with democrats and republicans to give veterans of world war two, including my grandfather the chance to go to college on the gi bill. it was a republican president, the wide eyes and our -- dwight heisenhower, -- dwight eisenhower, who started the road system to stay ahead of the soviets. of course, those productive investments cost money. they are not free. and so we have paid for these investments by asking everyone to do whatever they should. if we had unlimited resources, nobody would ever have to pay taxes and we would never have to have any expenses.
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but we don't have unlimited resources. and so we have to set priorities. if we want to have a strong middle-class, the tax code must reflect our values. we have to make choices. today, the choice is very clear. to reduce the deficit i have signed $1 trillion into law. i propose trillions more, to lower the cost of medicare and medicaid. in order to structurally close the deficit, and get our fiscal house in order we have to decide our priorities. most immediately, in the short term we have to extend the payroll tax cuts until the end of the month.
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-- that are set to expire at the end of the month. if we don't do that, 160 million americans will see their taxes go up by $1,000, and it would badly weakened the recovery. this is the short-term. in the long term we have to rethink the tax system. we have to ask ourselves if we want to make the investments that we need for things like education and research. all of those things that made us an economic superpower. or, do we want to keep in place tax breaks for the wealthiest americans in our country. this is not politics. this is just math. [applause] now, so far most of my republican friends in
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washington have refused under any circumstances to ask the wealthiest americans to go to the same tax rate they were paying when bill clinton was president. so let's just do a trip down memory lane. keep in mind that when president clinton first proposed these tax increases, in congress they thought they would kill jobs and lead to another recession. instead, the economy created nearly 23 million jobs and we eliminated the deficit. [applause] today, the wealthiest americans are paying the lowest taxes in over half a century. this is not like in the early 50's, when the top tax rate was
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over 90%. it is not like the 1980's when the top tax rate was about 70%. under president clinton, this was 39%. today, because of loopholes and shelters, a quarter of all millionaires pay lower tax rates than millions of you. millions of middle-class families. some billionaires' have a tax rate as low as 1%. 1%. this is the height of unfairness. this is wrong. this is wrong that in the united states of america, a teacher or nurse or a construction worker,
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maybe he earns $50,000 per year, should pay a higher tax rate than someone raking in $50 million. this is wrong for the secretary of warren buffett's to pay a higher tax rate than warren buffett. and he agrees with me. so the most americans. democrats, independents, and republicans. and i know that many of our most wealthy citizens would agree to contribute a little bit more, if it meant reducing the deficit and strengthening the economy that made their success possible. this is not about class warfare, this is about the
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nation's welfare. this is about making choices that benefit not just the people who have done fantastically well, but the benefits the middle-class. and those fighting to get into the middle class. and the economy as a whole. finally, a strong middle-class to only exist in an economy where everyone plays by the same rules. from wall street to main street. [applause] as infuriating as it was for all of us, we rescued the major banks from collapse, not only because of a full-blown financial meltdown that would send us into a second
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depression, but because we need a strong, healthy financial sector in this country. part of the deal was we would not go back to business as usual. that is why last year we put in place new rules, the refocused the financial sector on what should be their main purpose. getting capital to those with the best ideas, financing millions of families who want to buy a home, or send their children to college. we are not all the way there yet. the banks are fighting us every inch of the way. but some of these reforms are being implemented. if you are a big bank or risky financial institution, you have to have a living will that details of exactly how you will pay the bills if you fail.
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this is so taxpayers will never have to pay for wall street's mistakes. [applause] there are also limits and new abilities for the regulators to dismantle firm that is going under. the new law bans the banks from making risky bets that the customer's deposit. the ticks away bonuses from failed to ceos, and gives us say on executive salaries. this is a law that we have passed, and we are in the process of implementing this now. unless you are a financial institution with a business model built on breaking the law and making risky investments, you should have nothing to fear
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from these new rules. some of you may know that my grandmother worked as a banker for most of her life. she started as a secretary and ended up as the vice president of the company. i know from all of the people that i have come in contact with, the vast majority of bankers and financial services professionals want to do right by their customers. they don't want to be put at a disadvantage for doing the right thing. but the republicans in congress are fighting as hard as they can to make sure that these rules are not enforced. i will give you a specific example. for the first time in history, the reforms put in place a consumer watchdog who has to protect every day americans from being taken advantage of by debt collectors.
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the man we nominated for the post is a former attorney general of ohio. he has the support of most of the attorney general's, democratic and republican. nobody claims he is unqualified. but the republicans in the senate refused to confirm him for the job. they refuse to let him do his job. but why? does anyone here think that the problems that led to our financial crisis was too much oversight of the mortgage lenders or debt collectors? of course not. every day we go without a consumer watchdog, this is another day when a student or a senior citizen or a member of the armed forces -- they are very vulnerable to this. they could be tricked into a
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loan that they cannot afford. something that happens all the time. the fact is that the financial institutions have plenty of lobbyists looking out for their interests. consumers deserve to have someone looking out for them. [applause] i intend to make sure that they do. and i want you to hear me, i will veto any effort to delay or defiant or dismantle the new rules that we put in place. we should not be weakening
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oversight, and accountability, we should be strengthening this. let me give you another example. we have seen wall street firms piloting major lost because the penalty is too weak and there is no price for being a repeat offender. but no more. i will call for legislation that makes the penalties count so they don't see punishment for breaking glass wall as the price for doing business. the fact is, this crisis has left a huge deficit of trust between main street and wall street. major banks that were rescued by the taxpayers have an obligation to go the extra mile, in helping to close the deficit of trust.
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at minimum, they should be remedying the past mortgage abuses, working to keep responsible homeowners in their homes. we will push for them to provide more time for the unemployed homeowners to look for work without having to worry about losing their house. the big banks should increase access to financing opportunities, from people who are who have not been able to take advantage of historically low interest rates. this will also be in the long- term financial interest of the banks. what will be good for consumers over the long term will be good for the banks. [applause] investing in things like
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education gives everyone a chance to succeed. a tax code that makes certain everyone pays their fair share, and a law that will make sure that everyone follows the rules. this is what will transform the economy. and this will grow the middle class again. in the end, rebuilding the economy based on a fair shot and a fair share will require all of us to see that we have a stake in each other's success, and all of us will have to take some responsibility. it will require parents to get more involved in the education of their children, and students will be required to study harder. it will require some workers to start studying all over again.
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it will require greater responsibility from the homeowners, they need to remember that if something is too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true. it will require those of us in public service to make government more efficient. more consumer-friendly and more responsive to people's needs. that is why we are cutting programs we don't need to pay for those that we do. this is why we have made hundreds of regulatory reforms that will save billions of dollars. this is why we are not just throwing money at education, we are challenging schools to have the most innovative reforms and results. and it will require american businesses to understand that the obligations don't just end with the shareholders.
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the legendary former ceo -- he put this best. he said that there is another obligation, given that everything i have achieved in my career and a lot of whitat inte has achieved comes from the economic climate and the investment climate provided by the united states. this obligation can take many forms. there is a time when the cost of hiring workers in china is rising rapidly, that should be more people decide is time to bring jobs back to the united states. [applause]
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not just because it is good for business, but it is good for the country that made their success possible. i think about the big three -- during recent negotiations, they agreed to create more jobs and cars here in america, then gave bonuses not just to their executives but all of their employees and everyone who was invested in the success of the company. [applause] i think about a company based in minnesota -- marvin windows and doors. during the recession, the competitors close dozens of plants and let hundreds of workers go. but marvin did not lay off a
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single one of their 4000 employees. in fact they have only laid-off workers once in over 100 years. evenartin's grandfather kept his employees during the great depression. when times get tough, the workers agree to give up some pay, and so did the owners. as one owner said, you can't grow if you are cutting your lifeblood. this is the skills and experience that your work force delivers. [applause] the ceo -- for him, it is about the community. he says, these are people we went to school with. we go to church with them, and
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we see them in the same restaurants. a lot of us have married local girls and boys. we could be anywhere. but we are -- we are here. this is how america was built. this is why we are the greatest nation on earth. that is what the greatest companies we have understand. success has never just about survival of the fittest. it is about building a nation where we are all better off, pulling together and pitching in. we believe that hard work will pay off, and responsibility will be rewarded and our children will inherit a nation where those values live on.
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it is that belief -- that thousands of americans -- this is a lot of them. maybe -- maybe even some of your ancestors. more than a century ago, by train or by wagon, on buggies and bicycles and on foot, they came to hear the vision of a man who loved his country and was determined to perfect it. rooseveltamericans, told them that day. our common interests are as broad as the continents. in the final years of his life he took the same message across the country. all the way to the heart of new york city, believing no matter
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where he went or and he was talking to, everyone would benefit from a country in which everyone gets a fair chance. and well into our third century as a nation, we have grown, and we have changed in many ways since his time. the world as faster and the playing field is larger, the challenges are more complex. what has not changed, and what can never change, is the value that got us this far. we still have a stake in each other's success. we still believe this should be
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a place where you can make it if you try. we still believe in the words of the man who called for a new nationalism all those years ago. the fundamental rule of our national life, the rule that underlies all others, in the long run, we shall go up or down together. i believe america is on the way up. thank you and god bless you. god bless america. ♪
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i♪ ♪
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[applause] >> in my military career -- for one thing, the worst thing that you can do is let a senior leader go down the wrong road. maybe we should take another look at this, will get from this perspective.
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people's lives may be at stake. or we have the obligation -- to take care of the resources they entrust us with. there is a meeting where everyone's head is going up and down and you have to say, i have a different perspective. >> marsha anderson on her career as the highest ranking female african-american general -- >> dan quayle endorsed mitt romney for president, saying he was the most likely to defeat obama in the election. last week in the state of texas, mitt romney met with george h. w. bush,. paradise valley is represented in the house by the son of the former vice president.
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this is just over 15 minutes. ♪ >> thank you, guys. thank you. welcome, everyone. the american dream. the american dream, you don't wake up one day and all of your dreams become reality. you have to earn less in america. that is the way our country has made such great strides, freedom, not only in freedom of speech but freedom of religion.
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many of us who are attracted to governor mitt romney understand that our economy is struggling. the very economy that has made us strong and kept us free must be preserved. when we look at the future of america, many of us see that this is uncertain and we have a president who is wrong on the economy. and we have so many candidates out there seeking the office of president but there is only one who has worked 25 years in the private sector who understands the free market and job creation. this is something american needs, desperately. at the time when there is uncertainty in the world, we look for leaders who have proven themselves and understand that it is more than just religious
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freedom, and freedom of speech, in that we see our strengths in the diversity of race and color and national origin. but economic freedom. this has been threatened. i want to introduce you to someone who we are big fans of, we have seen him go through this presidential contest but we absolutely know that if there is one man to stand up, to represent the republican party across america and speak to the essence of freedom, and understands that the american people, if we are on the same level as other countries, americans will be the winner every time. i am introducing -- when he comes to the grand canyon state, we love mitt romney in arizona.
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we are going to be part of that wave of change, of true hope that understands the proud history -- proud history of america, getting government out of the way, and i introduced to you our friend, the former governor of massachusetts and the next president of the united states, mitt romney. >> thank you. it is good to see you here today. old friends and new friends, thank you so much. i know that you are not just here to see me. the favorite son of arizona is here, and i want to make certain that we give him a chance to say hello. i was surprised to see the president today, in the state of kansas giving a speech.
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he made an unusual comparison. he said that he is like teddy roosevelt. teddy roosevelt founded the bull moose party. when this president is talking about the economy, this election -- this is going to be a fundamental choice about what hath america is going to take. will we become a nation that is based on merit and opportunity, where people, by virtue of their education and their hard work, risk-taking and pioneering, are they able to pass this off to their kids, and create a more strong and vibrant nation? or will we see the course of barack obama, a fundamental change in america where we have
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entitlement society, where rewards are taken from some to give to everyone, where we have certainty that everyone that everyone is equal but poor. this is a fundamental choice. will we have this nation instead of entitlement? the government that is so strong, it manages our lives and enterprises, or will we have people so strong, that can guide their own lives and enterprises? this is a nation, this is a state. you can distinguish this from everyone in the world. this is written in the first words of the declaration of independence, that we have certain rights, among them life,
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liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. this refers to opportunities. not to have the government tell us how to do this. to be able to pursue happiness in their own way. this is the condition and the creator, and we are in debt -- we are given rights to did not come from the government, but rights created themselves. i am happy that they're recognizing what is happening and as for me, i have yet -- i happen to -- i happen to
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associate those values with a term that we have heard again. those of believe in the fundamental values and the principles that make america america. there was a man known as a conservative's conservative, who has been conservative in his life and the values that he has lived, the things that he has fought for in service to the country. i got to see his old boss last week. what an inspiration that they are. what a wonderful man. what a wonderful man i stand next to. the former vice-president of the united states, mr. vice president dan quayle.
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>> to thank you, governor. thank you very much. welcome to the great state of arizona. this is a historic place for most of us to live around this area, we know that this is arizona. my grandfather lived three blocks from here. this has been a place i have called home for a long time. today, we are here to give our enthusiastic support to the next president of the united states of america, mitt romney. step back just a moment with me, and see where america is that today. just last month, we learned
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300,000 americans dropped out of the work force. unemployment is at an all-time high. 80% of the american people say that the country is going in the wrong direction. america has lost respect and credibility. my friends, washington is a mess, and we need to send mitt romney to washington to fix the mess that is out there. [applause] under the leadership of barack obama, the nation's capital has become dysfunctional. we have to figure out who is the best person to go to washington. this is not a washington
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politician, this is someone who has balanced budgets, who has come from the private sector and knows how to create jobs. there is one big problem in washington that we need to fix. that is to get rid of president obama. in selecting the next president of the united states, i think that there are several important criteria to examine. the second is character and a conservative philosophy. and the fourth is electability. taking his leadership, he has
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the leadership of the private sector and he has balanced budgets, reducing regulations and turning around the olympics. he has a great record at creating jobs in the private sector. leaders make decisions. they have to have the courage to make decisions and tough decisions, and also to be a good leader, you have to have a vision, and equally importantly, you have to have the tools and ability to implement that vision. he is that leader. character. the most important thing yes integrity. without integrity, you don't have character. if you don't have this you don't
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have trust, and the american people want to believe in their a man ofand see patric integrity. if they are in private life for public life. he is mr. integrity. we need this more than ever in our nation's capital. conservative values, the values are the same. we understand the importance of a limited government. reducing taxes creates jobs. the conservative values of ronald reagan. my boss, number 41. he sends his very best.
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conservative values need to return to the white house. mitt romney has those dow used to take america in a new and better direction. who is our best hope to take on president obama? mitt romney. the obama people believe that he is the kind of competitor, they will take anyone but mitt romney. but he is the best hope, the best hope to change the direction of america. and after he hopefully wins the primary, and i am confident he will do that, he will bring the party together, people from all
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walks of life, different ages and religions and bring america together again. he is the best hope for the future. governor, i am here to give you my enthusiastic endorsement, and i am confidence -- i am very confident you will be the next president of the united states of america. >> thank you. that is quite a speaker. are you available to go all over the country with me? i want to thank each and everyone of you for being here. i was very moved by his comments. i hope to live up to his confidence. i look forward to being able to
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be the nominee. i believe i can represent the values that we share. i will hold true to the values that americans love. i love my family and my faith, my country. i appreciate the spirit of enterprise, and pioneering that keeps america economically strong. recognizing how important that this. the best protection of the world, we owe these men and women are greatest support. this is an important time for us, and just happy to be here with you to share this announcement, and hopefully to have everyone join the steam and take america back.
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♪ >> now, a portion of a political roundtable on the 2012 campaign. this is from today's "washington journal." >> a political reporter -- the whitehouse correspondent. welcome, and i appreciate your time.
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gingrich and romney, attacking each other. there were attacks on his personal life and how conservative he is. i was interested to see the comment about marital fidelity. >> the fact is that newt gingrich needed to be able to show the fact that he has been on the rise, largely because of his performances at these debates. he has been rising in the polls. it could have been problematic but he was able to fend off a lot of the attacks that were coming at him, and mitt romney was in the spotlight. >> to answer the question if these made a difference in the primary -- you have been
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watching many of these. >> it is interesting because you see more interaction between the candidates. you had if you talking points and and you saw them really going after each other. >> there are 23 days to the iowa caucus. we saw a lot of these debates, they said we were not going to attack another republican. this is the guy that would have to take down, and they're pulling out all the punches. >> in 1976 -- >> talking about the issue of marital infidelity, that came up with the comments of rick santorum and gingrich. >> characte rissues do count. --
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character issues. all of your record is there for the public to look at. i don't say that this would disqualify you. you are held accountable. and will the public listen to this? this should be a factor. >> people have to render judgment. i have made mistakes at times, i have had to seek reconciliation, and i am also a 68-year grandfather. people have to look to see if i am is someone they can trust. people have been willing to look at who i am, to look at my record and with the amount of support we get from the american people -- >> he says he will stay positive during these debates.
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>> he has admitted marital infidelity, the other candidates did not hold back in saying that this was something voters may consider. newt gingrich did not defend his actions, he just spoke about having made mistakes. >> the way the question was framed, he was the last person. they did not get to the fact that this is because he was married three times, but they wanted to get to the subject. they did not come with some anti-media, why does he do this? the 2008 election, there have been evangelical leaders who say that he needs to seek
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forgiveness. some of them may be a more forgiving lot, giving him a chance to take the lead in iowa. he was in kansas last week, and he did it 60 minutes talking about the economy, which will be the biggest issue in this campaign. >> this was certainly an interesting, and he may take a risk in saying this. his advisers went out, if you look at the stimulus, and he went above that. this came back to haunt him. >> throwing out the goal post figures, when they did not have that -- this would be the trajectory.
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this is going to be beneficiaries to republicans. this will be beneficial to the president. laying out the artificial goal posts, he is better talking about the trajectory. have you been keeping track? >> since he has been a candidate, he has had seven since he became president. this is a view of the public that has been crucial, where they turn into 60 minutes. he needs to get them back. >> robert gibbs talked about a number of interviews -- >> one thing that the president likes about this format, and
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this setting is it gives him a chance to explain his policies and go into some depth. he is feeling that he needs to get back is -- to defend his record. one thing that was interesting, when the candidates were not attacking each other, there were talking about barack obama and his economy and his health plan. >> they would make this the same location with 108 years ago, here is more with him last week. >> this is a make or break moment for the middle-class and for all of those fighting to get into the middle class. what is at stake is whether this will be a place where working people can earn enough to raise a family, own a home, secure their retirement.
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>> one of the battlegrounds cities in the battleground state, the president had a tough time there -- >> the republicans are hoping to bring in -- he had some -- somewhat of a greater lead in pennsylvania. this is three hours from where his mother grew up. this is kansas, -- >> 737 -- we welcome our listeners on c- span radio. we are carried overseas among other carriers. joining us from lake wylie,
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south carolina. >> given the first four primary states -- the delegates afterwards will be given on the proportionality of the votes that they take. whenhe states' primaries, will they have 50% of the delegates? >> the rules are such that this is proportional, there will be -- the point made by the collar is that we could have a projected primary fight similar to what we saw earlier, momentum still matters. if newt gingrich is able to win in iowa, what happens is these
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other states, march 6 is the new super tuesday. this is a good -- >> tomorrow on "washington journal," yost discovers the 2012 presidential contenders. and joshua gotbaum examines what would happen if the oration --arantee corpr and alyson klein talks about the education department's title one programs. live at 7:00 am eastern on c- span. >> next, q and a with major general

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