and i think it is good for america to see someone fight in a positive way and not with this junk we have seen on television lately. >> will you join -- >> will you join -- >> we have not looked at it yet. for everyone who thought it was my problem, we now have governor perry talking about how virginia is a difficult one to get on. five were blocked. i would like to be on the ballot or have the legislature give us the ability to have a write-in campaign. every poll in virginia shows me beating mitt romney. it is the people of virginia who are at a loss. governor perry did the right thing. i have not talked to our attorneys.

>> talking about how you said that we have intentionally -- you went to greece potentially to provoke a confrontation with your staff, and it worked, because they all left when you got back. >> i was very struck going to the ranch. i was really trying to understand what he was accomplishing, and he was accomplishing a set of balance. we had been campaigning very hard. we had been planning to stop to think. i know this does not fit the normal media model. >> this was the first week of your role. >> we have been working ever since january to get everything lined up. it would not matter what we did in the first week of july. i think you need to pace yourself and get a sense of distance.

i am a different kind of candidate. i am determined to be positive. i am determined to talk about these ideas. we think ideas matter. the consultants found this very mystifying and very strange. they would like to be the advisers of our campaign, or they would have to leave, and i think it worked pretty well. within two hours, we were back on track. we were ahead of where i thought we would be at this stage. >> one more question, one more. >> they were talking about lobbying for the medicare expansion in 2003, and i know you said you did not do any lobbying, but how was this not

lobbying? >> i would like to see this passed. i am allowed to say as a citizen that i would like to see this passed. it is not lobbying. it was for a practical reason. we had a medicare program that said they will not pay for you to have lipitor, but you can have heart surgery. we will not pay for your medicine, but you can have dialysis. what do you think i should do? frankly, it is a lot better health system if you help people have preventive care than if you wait for the expensive solution. this was literally by definition not lobbying. you can be an advocate with not being a lobbyist. >> thank you. thank you.

what is your name? josh? >> would you sign this, sir? yes. next opportunity. how are you? >> good to see you. appreciate it. >> thank you very much. all right.

>> nice to meet you. nice to meet you. >> hello, sir. >> thank you. >> have to go back to california. need your help in california. hello. hi, guys. how are you? you have a nice family. >> what are your names? nice to meet you. what is your name? >> have a good day. >> we are big civil war buffs.

>> this one? >> are you going to sign it? >> sure. >> and this one is for cam, c- a-m. thank you both. >> there you go. >> i do not think you have too many other 14-year-olds had that such support for you.

>> can you sign that for me? >> sure. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> how are you?

>> mr. speaker. nice to see you. >> good to see you. >> how are you doing? >> thank you very much. >> thank you, and happy new year. >> i really appreciate it. >> hello. >> she was taking pictures. >> we are going to take a nice one. >> great. thank you. i would love to have your help at the caucus. >> hello. >> that is a pretty jacket.

>> ah, lovely. thank you. >> ok, guys. need your help. >> voter fraud figured out? >> we are going to fight him on that. tell them we need their help at the caucus.

>> thank you. her daughter went to lutheran. >> that is great. a very good school. >> thank you. thanks for stopping. >> can we get a picture with you? >> sure. >> thank you.

>> thank you. that is great. thank you. nice to meet you. bye-bye. there you go. a question, and i do not know the answer. cameron is pretty good. i like that hat.

>> here is your chance. >> ok. >> coming up next, some of today's campaign events in iowa. michele bachman makes a campaign stop in bedford. mitt romney stops in clinton. later, occupy protesters in the mollen -- in des moines. here are a campaign events are covering tomorrow. texas governor rick perry makes a stop at a coffee shop in cedar rapids. at 6:45 eastern, mitt romney holds a campaign event in ames, iowa. you can watch them here and

online at c-span.org. >> with the iowa caucuses next week and the new hampshire, south carolina, and florida primaries later in the month, "the contenders" looks back at 14 candidates who ran for president and lost, but had a long-lasting impact. hubert humphrey. governor of alabama george wallace. senator and congressman from south dakota george mcgovern, followed by billionaire businessman ross perot. every night at 10:00 eastern on c-span. >> with the iowa caucuses tuesday, january 3, our cameras are following candidates throughout the state. every morning, political guests are taking calls on "washington journal." you can also stay up-to-date

with our website. new features include candidates on the campaign trail, with bio information from stops, and information that lets you see what the candidates have said on issues important to you. and hear what people like you are saying on web sites like facebook and twitter. it is all at c-span.org/campai gn2012. >> michele bachman met with voters at the junction cafe in bedford. meeting voters. >> she will go around in shake>> hello. hi. hello. hello.

this is your place. >> you have the governor there. we will get it right here. >> you should see my mother. what is your name? >> dante. >> good to me you. you are so nice to open your place up so we can come in. what is your name?

>> brick. >> hi. it is good to meet you. it is good to see you. what is your name? hello. thank you. >> we're the only candidate doing it. you did all right. it is good to meet you. >> that do not have to many relatives in minnesota.

nice to meet you. >> this is what they are about. >> it looks like you're having a good lunch today. >> thank you so much for being here.

>> do we have another one? we like to be able to go to every county. thank you. i am really happy you came out. >> i am happy to be here. >> we are going to all 99 counties.

look at that. thank you. you are george? good to me you, george. hi lori, nice to meet you. nice to meet you. did you figure out what you're going to get yet? no? i am really glad you guys came out today. thank you for coming. of >> are you ready?

>> we are just doing a little training video. you're going to be world famous. this is a good-looking crowd. it is good to see you guys. thank you for coming. i love you. there you go.

thank you. this was 99. enjoy your lunch today. aby you guys. -- bye you guys.

you gave a sign? we have the outdoor sign? >> there is one outside the door. i know that. >> bye everybody, thank you. bye, betty. ♪ i've been everywhere, man. ♪

>> on tomorrows "washington journal," communications director for the michele bachman campaign. i was republican party chairman. and a john hopkins university professor about u.s. ethanol policy. it begins live at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> with the iowa caucuses next week and the new hampshire, south carolina, and florida primaries later in the month, "the contenders looks back at 14 candidates who ran for president and lost, but had a long-lasting impact on american politics.

civil rights advocate hubert humphrey. governor of alabama george wallace. congressman george mcgovern, followed by billionaire businessman watched perot -- ross perot. at 10:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. midland high-school -- middle and high school students, for this competition, tell us what part of the constitution has meaning to you, and why. let us know in a five to eight minutes documentary. you have a chance to win the grand prize of $5,000. there is $50,000 in total prizes. the video documentary competition is open to students grades 6 through 12. for details, go to the website. >> republican presidential candidate mitt romney made a campaign stop at homers diner in clinton, iowa. in response to a question about

the budget, the former governor said he would stop federal funding for the national endowment for the arts and pbs. i was republican caucuses will be held tuesday. this is 45 minutes. >> come on up. he can explain to you what we are doing here. >> thank you all for being here. the governor is across the street and he is headed over here, but as we know, a few more of you showed up than planned. he is talking to them and he asked us to come over here and get the show started on this side of the street. i am a congressman from illinois. my home is peoria. i am here because, like you, i want a nominee who can win, who could do the job, and retire barack obama as president of the united states. [applause] i tell you, my siblings scratch their heads and say -- said, where are you going over the christmas holiday?

florida, california? no, iowa. it is because i believe how important this election is and i know all of you want to do the right thing in nominating the right candidate for our party. we all know how critical this election is, not only for our party but for the future of the country, the direction of the country. could any of you in this room have imagined what could have been done in our country in three years in terms of the optimism and proceed opportunity for current americans in the next generation? i certainly couldn't. i fear for what another four years of an obama presidency could mean to the future of our country. living in iowa, you know a little bit about chicago politics, right? when i say this to somebody in florida they say, what you mean chicago politics? i know many of you have kind of joke with some of us in illinois about our former governor, ron blagojevich.

you joke and say how did that guy ever get reelected in illinois? do you know who his campaign manager was? david axelrod? do you know who has been running the statewide elections -- the obama for american team. and i would submit to you that the presidential cycle we are about to go through, for many of you it will be the nastiest presidential campaign you have ever seen, because that is exactly how guys like rod blagojevich and his cronies got elected. running very incendiary and negative campaigns. why is it important? it is important that we nominate a candidate that can hold the banner and go toe to toe with barack obama and withstand the furnace of attacks and political rhetoric, who is trial tested, who is not prone to gaffes, for whom the election

will not become about their personalities but rather the principles and values they stand for. mitt romney has been through a few elections. he is time tested and you know where he stands and he is not prone to gaffes, and he is the right guy to be the candidate. but second, winning is not the only thing that is important. i will hold up who is in the oval office today, that just winning does not mean you can do the job. being in congress my third year, i can tell you there are no shortages of great ideas in washington. there are some people i serve with who give wonderful, floury speeches about what ought to be done and what the right policies -- policies it would be. but they are not too good at executing, delivering. likewise, we have candidates on the stage right now wanting to be the next president will have some really good ideas. but we need somebody who has the track record of delivering, of working in very difficult

circumstances. when you look at a guy like mitt romney, he has an impressive record in the private sector, in the furnace of adversity, of trial and error and starting companies -- some successful, some not. that is a track record of success. you see what he did with the olympics and turning around a very dysfunctional organization and making it successful, making it profitable. then you see what he did in a state like massachusetts which, like iowa, is kind of a swing state -- a few democrats in iowa, a few democrats in massachusetts. maybe there are more in massachusetts. 85% -- think about this -- 85% of mitt romney's legislature was democratic. 85% in the house and 85% in the senate, and as governor, he not only have the vision, but more importantly, he could accomplish the goal of cutting taxes 19 times, balancing the

budget in that little state of four years and leaving them with a $2 billion rainy day slush fund of savings. as the governor of massachusetts. you give us that guy in washington, d.c., as our president and we could turn this country around. he's got the good ideas, but equally important, he's got a track record of getting things done. finally, there's one candidate that has the white house worried. think about this -- what do they know that we all know? writ -- mitt romney is the guy that could win. why else would joe biden in the middle of our primary, when there are ups and downs, why would joe biden take mitt romney to go after in the newspaper with is op-ed piece? why would it only be mitt romney's bus that the democratic operatives are trailing all across the state?

because you know what they know, which is mitt romney is the guy they fear most. so, let's give them something to worry about next tuesday. let's send them a message that iowa is about to do what every other state in this nation is, which is to send the white house a big message -- it is time for you to go, time for us to restore confidence, and time for us once again to believe in america. thank you all for being here today. and it is my pleasure to introduce to you the next first lady of the united states of america, anne romney. >> thanks, aaron. you are going to get along version. when i go out on my own, i tell the longer story about our life and the personal side, which is a whole lot more fun, by the way, then talking about politics. this is fun for me. i would just keep on talking until mitt it's over here. i will tell you the personal story and the side of mitt some

of you may not have heard about or seen, which is how he is like as a husband and father. we have been married for 42 years. we met in high school. we are high school -- were high-school sweethearts and we still are sweethearts. five wonderful sons and 16 grandchildren. i think some of you know the other, satyr tougher part of my life, and some notes -- sadder, tougher part of my life. i was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1998 and it was a devastating thing in my life. i went from being a very active, involved, and hands on mom to hardly been able to take care of my self. i could not get to the store, could not cook full -- could not cook food. was in bed most of the time. during this time, mitt was helping me out and recognizing that i had sort of given up on life in many ways and thought my life was over.

i so appreciate how he stood by me in my darkest hour. and he rallied me to the point of saying, look, i don't care whether dinner did on the table every night. it does not matter to me. i am happy with peanut butter sandwiches. i remind him of this often now. but he meant this and he said, look, i love you -- not that i love that you make dinner, i love you, and we are going to be ok. i really appreciated that. he gave me the courage to start fighting the disease and to struggle on. i did, and it was a struggle. i have to say one thing about having gone through this. i was in a pretty dark hole, a pretty bleak. and one thing it has done for me, it has tempered my heart, recognizes that all of us have struggles.

mine happened to be physical. i see in this country right now, people are struggling. people are afraid. people are out of work. we all have our struggles. if so, -- so, we are all going to learn from these experiences. it looks like there is more commotion coming from across the street, so we will shut it off than when mitt comes in. i appreciate the fact that he stood by me and my darkest hour. i will also talk about how great he was as a young father. boys were not easy. aaron, how many in your family? >> four. >> ok, just two boys. but five boys is not easy. they were rambunctious and they were naughty. it being a grandmother is the greatest thing in the world. when my grandchildren misbehave, it is the greatest day in my life. i just love it. i love to look of my boys and say -- you guys deserve it. you deserve it.

mitt was great during those early years because he would remind me when i was exasperated that my job was more important than his job. and i loved that. and the whole thing was, he actually meant it. he was a big hot shot consultant in those days and he was well paid and everybody thought he was the smartest guy in the room. but when he came in the door, he knew that i ruled. [laughter] [applause] and, you know, he gets reminded of that often. so, that is great. we so appreciate him. here he comes. i see the press is all crowding in. we will let the show keep going here. it looks like the press is proceeding. here he is. [applause]

sweetheart, i am going to give you just a little background. we all told everybody -- everyone that you are the most marvelous in the world. aaron has introduced and given his spiel and i have given mind. it looks like the press is still flooding through the doors. [laughter] leave them out there. >> it is warm out there. >> it is a bit brisk. i will just conclude by saying it has been a wonderful adventure to have been married to this man for 42 years. and i am excited about what he is going to do when he gets his hands on those reins and the white house, because we are all concerned about america and the direction it is going. we will turn it around for you guys. thanks. [applause] >> thank you, suite. -- sweetie. you are so kind to turn out for me. where is homer?

[laughter] you don't look like homer to me. you are so kind to turn out like this, in clinton, and i really appreciate your generosity. the time that people in iowa take to get to know the candidates running for president, you have a big say in to who are nominee is. and you and people in new hampshire likewise take the time to get the know the candidates and to know the issues. i just want you to know how much we all appreciate that, and i appreciate that personally. you get to know us, you make an informed decision, and that helps the entire country that does not have the same opportunity to see the different candidates. so, i appreciate you being here today and being so supportive. i will say a few things and allow you to ask a couple of questions, if we have time. we are kind of in a hurry because we have done this twice. the other side of the street

there is another restaurant. which one is the better restaurants? i thought you might say that. i mentioned over there that i had been thinking about some patriotic songs. i love the patriotic songs. i love, of course, the star spangled banner. the fact that we are the only people on the world who put our hands over our hearts during the planning of the national anthem. do you know fdr began that tradition? he did it in honor of the men and women whose lives are being shed in far off places, in honor of the blood being shed. i love the song, "0 beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain." does corn qualify? the other part -- "heroes proved in liberating strife." this man here is retired u.s. air force.

not so young anymore. how many veterans in this room? thank you for your service -- gentlemen, ladies. [applause] there's another verse that i sort of breeze over as i sang it as a boy -- "o beautiful, for patriot dream, that sees beyond the years." the idea was the patriots' that found that this nation had a vision that was beyond just their decade or decades, but, frankly, would see beyond the years. that the principles they put in place would be principles that would sustain america and build a great nation. i do not think they could possibly imagine what kind of nation would actually be built by virtue of their wisdom and their dreams. they crafted a country based on a number of principles. one was written in the declaration of independence

where they said that the creator and out of with rights -- not the king, not the government, but the creator. that we as individuals become a sovereign, not the government. the government is the servant. that is one thought they had. [applause] they went on to say, among these rights were life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. and we cherish life, and respect the sanctity of life. we have fought and died as a nation over history of our liberty, and we shared it with others. the term pursuit of happiness, that was carefully chosen by the founders. and you wonder, what were they referring to? it is really this -- in america, we would be free to choose our happiness, choose our course in life, regardless of the circumstances of our birth, regardless of the decisions of

government telling us what to do and how to do it. we would be free, free to choose our course in life. this would be a land of opportunity. and by virtue of that reality, people from all over the world who wanted freedom and opportunity, they came here. they knew that in america, they could achieve their dreams through education, if they could afford it, hard work, risk- taking -- not always easy to pursue a dream without taking some risk. maybe a little luck. and by virtue of people coming here who saw opportunity, we created what i will call an opportunity nation. where the people who were successful in realizing their dreams helped employee the rest of us. and they lifted the entire country. we are now the wealthiest nation among the major nations in the world. did you realize the average income of an american, gdp per capita, is about 50% higher than the average income of the european?

these are the european nations from which many of us sprung, and yet we are far better off. why is that? not because our dna is different. we've got the same dna. it is because these founders had such an extraordinary dream, such an extraordinary vision. now, i look at america today, and i relish that vision and i am frightened we have a president that does not understand america, that does not understand what makes us unique. he says he wants to fundamentally transform america. he is doing it. i don't like what i am seeing. he has been in office for three years. we have 25 million americans still out of work or stopped looking or not able to find the employment they need. home values continuing to go down. we have median income in america that has dropped 10% in the last four years. it has not worked so well. he said in a speech in davenport about a year ago, he said this is our moment, this is our time.

he has had his moment. now is our time. [applause] i think he wants to change america by it changing the nature of an opportunity society into, i will call it, an entitlement society where everyone is entitled to whatever they would like. of the government takes from some and gives to others. in a society like that, hard work and education and risk- taking is not necessary. the government will do all of that for you. i believe an opportunity society. i did not want to fundamentally transformed america, but i want to restore the principles that made us the hope of the earth. i do not want to substitute nd for ambition. i did not want class warfare to poison the american spirit -- i do not want class warfare to poison the american spirit. i believe in the unity and passion that exists in the american people. in this campaign is not about replacing a person as president, but about the soul of america. it is about a very different

course for america being taken by our present. he will transform america. i will restore america. i want to restore the page me dream. i want freedom. i want the opportunity. i want our kids to grow up in a place where the dreams can be realized. i want america to remain the hope of the earth and the hope of americans. i love this country. when i was a boy in my dad and my mom drove us from national parks and national park. we were in the back of the rambler -- my dad made ramblers. i saw the beauty of the land and i heard from my mom and dad the stories about the founding of our country. i believe in america. i believe we got it right. i believe in the principle that the founders espouse. i don't want to change america into something we did not recognize. i want to restore to america of the economic vitality, the power and passion of the american people to ensure this

country remains, as it has always been, the strong mission of the earth, the hope of the earth. thank you so much. great to be with you today. [applause] here is a question already. champions -- whose champions? st. louis cardinals. >> of the strait of hormuz -- >> at if ahmadinejad decides to block the streets of hormuz -- i will not tell you what military action will be taken in each circumstance because there are a lot of factors. but it is not acceptable in my view for iran to have a nuclear weapon. for those who say, well, the soviet union had a nuclear weapon.

the difference was we have mutually assured destruction and the soviets were not suicidal. the mullah and the ayatollah's are suicidal and talk about wiping out people and the plan. no question in my mind that the risks fissile terry could find their hands -- their way into the hands of hamas. i would pursue, understanding the options to prevent iran from becoming nuclear. diplomatic options, economic options, as well as military options. it is incumbent upon the president of the united states to recognize our interest and not to engage in military conflict unless absolutely essential and in the interest of the united states. i can say this as well -- which is, i know there are some who think we should shrink our military and think it is just too big. the world has not become safer in the last few years. it is a more dangerous world. and i want to maintain a strong military that is so superior that nobody else in the world wants to test us. [applause]

and so, i am going to take our shipbuilding from nine a year of to 15 a year. i am going to restore the growth of our air force, to update the fleet of our aircraft. i want to add at least 100,000 active-duty personnel. and i want to make sure we treat our veterans in the way they deserve to be treated. thank you. yes, sir. >> our republican party right now is really fractured in many different groups. i consider myself a moderate republican. as republican, i feel it is time to cut spending. as a moderate, i feel it is not a sin to have to pay taxes, but i do think it will be a sin if we have to ship the crisis of this debt to our grandkids and great crash and kids -- great grandkids. when you are president, what will you do to take care of this, that we pay our bills and

not the future generations? >> i happen to think it is immoral for us to keep spending money we don't have and passing on to our kids our obligations. we just can't go on like this. in the past we said what i just mentioned, which is it is wrong to just keep pushing these bills off and having these kids having to pick up these bills because we will just crush them with debt. interest rates are low right now. when they come back a little bit, the interest payments and principal payments will just kill the future generations. it is not fair, it is not right. but there is also something even more immediate, which is right now, businesses around the world are thinking about where to put a new building, a new factory, they look at america and say, gosh, are they going to

get in trouble like greece and italy? that is a good question. because if will stay on the course we are on, that is where we are headed. we are headed on a course where people do not have confidence in america's currency. and there is no one big enough to bail us out. and we simply cannot go on. that old line, and if so -- that if something cannot go on forever, it will not. we cannot keep borrowing -- spending more than we've taken. i will pull back federal spending. i will not just slow down the rate of growth, i will reduce federal spending. i will cut $500 billion a year. and i laid out how i will do it. it is not impossible. there are three major streams. one is to stop certain programs. stop them. close them. turn them off. even some you like. why do i say that? my test is, is the program so critical it is worth borrowing

money from china to pay for it? so, some things you might like -- i like the national endowment of arts, pbs we subsidize it. i am going to say pbs is going to have to have advertisement. i am not going to kill big bird. but he will have to have advertisement. we will have an endowment for arts, but i have to be paid by private charity and not by taxpayers. and the biggest and easiest one to kill, obamacare. we will get rid of that on day one. and then i will take some programs that grow out of control -- federal programs that grow fast where the waste and abuse is excessive. a program like medicaid, which is health care for the poor, and send it back to the states and say to iowa, here is your money, which will grow at inflation but 1%, and you manage it for the way you think best for your own people. doing that saves $100 billion a year.

and then what is left of government, i will cut employment by 10% through attrition and then i will link the pay of government workers to the pay of private-sector workers. i don't think people who work for the government should make a lot more than the people who are paying for them. [applause] to get america working again, to get good jobs again, to be able to afford a military that is the strongest in the world, you have to have the strongest economy in the world. and we are not going to have a strong economy if we keep on borrowing ourselves into oblivion and crushing the next generation. high on my priority list is to balance the budget, cut spending, cap spending, to see a balanced budget amendment. we've got to get that done or bankamerica prosecutor is not one we will be proud of. i will take one more question. then i took a long look at perry -- >> i took a long look at perry -- [inaudible]

you raise the benefits for the national guard -- raised the benefits for the national guard and also gave more for ice training. >> i wish he had been given a microphone. i will repeat it. i want to make sure they hear it. >> doubled the national guard benefits in the massachusetts, and that is a big deal. when perry is allowing in state benefits for illegals, this man is raising the benefits for the national guard. as a former recruiter, that is a big deal. thank you, governor. >> we wanted more national guardsmen. people said, how are you going

to get more people to join? we said, we will make them a better offer. if you come and join the national guard, when you come out -- actually when you are still in, you can go to any massachusetts public institution of higher learning, tuition and fee-free. and that brought more people into our national guard. i also did and how our state police to enforce our immigration laws and ensure it they encountered people who were here illegally, they got sent back. we followed the kind of conservative principles that you would expect the governor to follow that is republican. i know you might think, wow, you are a republican governor in massachusetts? how could that be? there are people in both parties who love our country. even though we disagree on some issues, we could find common ground. the legislators agreed we should not raise taxes, they agreed we should have secure borders.

i had a bill that came to my desk that said we would give in- state tuition breaks to illegal aliens in my state. i vetoed that bill. 85% of my legislature was democrat but i got a lot of people to uphold the veto. there was a movement to get driver's licenses to those here illegally. i said, no way. we are not going to do that. let me underscore, as we talk about those things, by the way. i like illegal immigration a lot. i like people getting in line and winning to come to america. i like those particularly who speak english, who have degrees, still vein -- we need. i want to stop illegal immigration in part to protect legal immigration. and i want to say thank you to our soldiers and others to protect our nation. [applause] this is an extraordinary welcome in clinton. i will not forget it. i thought if i was coming to a place called clinton, i would

have difficulties. at least you are not called obama. but we received such a warm welcome and i am so pleased to be with you. i am so optimistic about the future. this country is an innovative, dynamic nation. we have a spirit of opportunity and enterprise and merit. we will overcome our challenges, as long as we have a leader who will tell the truth and will live with integrity, who knows how to lead, who has actually lead in the private sector, understands how the economy works, and is willing to draw on the patriotism of the american people. we love america. americans, when we are asked to sacrifice, we will do it. i ask for your help. we will get america back on track. thank you. [applause] my goodness, thank you so much. you got my name on there? do you have another one?

you are very kind to be here. good to see you. thank you for being here. very kind. how are you? good to see you, marc. wonderful. look at that. the only place i consign it is on your sweater. -- can sign it is on your sweater. thanks for being here. thanks. i need it. if i get elected, those things

will be -- good to see you. take care. thanks for being here today. thank you. how are you? good to meet you. this is iowa state. are you a wrestler? >> i wrestled in high school. >> nice to meet you. do you want me to sign that for you? thank you.

how are you doing? is that your dad? is he a good guy? appreciate you being here today. you bet. it is this your wife over here? come over here to have your picture taken. thank you. good to see you guys. could not resist it. thanks so much. you are kind to be here today. really appreciate it. thanks. good to see you. you've got one of these, too. what is your name? morgan? you are 12? great. seventh grader. good to see you, morgan. thanks for your question.

>> could you take a picture of my former congressman and my present congressman? >> when you said your former, did not know what was going on here. good to see you. that is great. there is a proud mom. they are back for the holidays. all three boys -- >> all three boys are with me this year. >> thank you. sure, you bet. hi, how are you? nice to see you. there's a hawkeye sweatshirt. thank you.

nice to see you. hi, there. got to be careful. how are you doing? thank you. you got a camera? there you go. is that your dad over there? look at this. did that work? what a miracle. i appreciate you being here today. very kind. i appreciate that. how are you doing? >> i am really concerned -- i could not bring it here today because my battery is down and i have to replace them. it is 100% american made car, and i would like to replace the battery roof -- with an american made battery.

25,000 american made, 10,000 chinese. >> what a huge disparity. >> and a friend of mine who wrote the words to "god bless america" -- "got less of the usa,"excuse me. >> lee greenwood. >> are we going to have to buy our -- from china? >> we are getting higher and higher productivity. >> part of the mix. >> you got it.

perfect. thank you so much. you are very kind. exactly right. there he is right there, there's the guy. thank you for your service. >> can i take a picture? >> you bet. absolutely. appreciate your service. very kind. great, thank you. nice to see you. yep. thank you so much. you are very kind. you bet.

i will do it. thank you. how are you, sir? >> spur of the moment. [laughter] [inaudible] i have been doing it for 20 or 30 years. [laughter] >> hi there, how are you? good to see you. appreciate your help today.

how are you doing? 18? you are going to get to vote this year. you are very kind. going into college, the military? >> military. >> the navy? appreciate your service. san diego? >> mississippi digging -- >> say hi to your fellow sailors. [laughter] >> i am a legal immigrants.

>> thank you for being here. there we go. thank you. good to meet you. you bet. hi there, sweetie. good to see you. >> thank you. >> thanks, guys. good to see you. thank you.

>> can i get a photo? >> sure, you bet. there we go. >> beautiful. >> nice to see you. yeah. darn good question. thank you. nice to see you. thanks for being here. how are you, sir? good to see you. appreciate you being here. you bet. who's got the camera? >> perfect. >> good to meet you. wonderful seeing you back there. thanks so much. [laughter] take care.

>> mr. president? >> i hope i get that title. what is that? potato soup? >> last night we made a mistake and didn't -- >> we will get there. very kind. there you go. there's the camera. thank you. good to see you. take care. one more time here. thank you. good to see you. thank you. good, thank you. you are homer? >> part of it.

>> how are you guys doing? good to see you. how are you doing? good to see you guys. good to meet you. we are running off. you bet. here are some of the i elecampane defense we're covering. rick perry makes a campaign stop.

ms. romney looked a campaign event in iowa. you can watch them both life here on c-span and online at c- span.org. >> is a three holiday weekend on booktv. the 3000 history of jerusalem saturday night at 9:00 p.m. eastern. michael on free will and the science of the brain. monday, mark stein believes the u.s. is distandestined for final collapse. also this weekend, your calls and e-mails in depth with former new york times correspondent chris hedges. he writes about religion in war and its impact on civilization. his latest is "the world as it is."

>> he is retiring. he's not running for reelection. he is talking about his election. >> much more needs to be done to keep american strong. what i relish the opportunity, it is time for me to step away from elected office, spent more time with my family, and look for new ways to serve our state and nation. >> for nearly 20 years, ben nelson announced his retirement tuesday. for watch his appearances dating back to 1991, archived in searchable on line at the c-span video library. >> for more on the republican presidential race coming here is 10 minutes of tonight newscast from kcci-tv in des moines.

>> from iowa's news, this is news channel 8. >> they are here. today are there. they are everywhere. but the campaign stops did not happen by accident. we take a look at the planning it takes to create a media event over and over again. >> what happens when occupy with demonstrators take on mitt romney's campaign. good evening. after months of campaigning, the caucuses are anyone's to win. >> they show no clear front runner. they just released a report emphasizes this fact. ron paul has 22%. the biggest surprise is rick santorum with 16%. rick perry follows a behind with 11%. jon huntsman receives only 1%. >> they headed east trying to

persuade voters there. we caught five of the candidates as they try to cram in as many campaign appearances. >> a busy afternoon at the good eats. it was made even busier by the arrival of the candidates for president. >> before her arrival, we met twins. >> it was pretty done impressive for me. i am undecided yet. i am looking to hear form a good conservative rep. >> we need a strong one in to turn the country around, right? >> i do not know what she's going to do differently. we have let the people in the past.

we have seen no change. >> i was very impressed with what she had to say. the questions that i was most concerned about, i was impressed with their answers. >> i can hold obama accountable and make him a one-term president. >> i am going to have to give it a lot of thought. my concern will be who would be her running mate. >> it is not just for a republican but the conservative candidates who believes and not dictated by what is politically popular. what they saw in me a person that has a court conviction. i am a solid conservative.

i think i ones will come back to their first love. i think they will choose me. >> that cancer every hope she can repeat her success -- that gives her every hopes again repeat her success. >> one said she is leaning toward bachman. bachman's plan to visit the counties, she has 11 to go. blacks mitt romney spent the day campaigning in eastern iowa. romney says the skyrocketing deficit is causing major problems now. we will not be the only ones forced to deal with the problem. >> i think it is immoral for us to keep spending money we do not add a passing on to our kids the obligations. >> we cannot go on like this. in the past, we have said what i just mentioned. it is wrong for our kids to pick of these bills.

we will just crush them. >> newt gingrich was the front- runner a few weeks ago. he has fallen to fourth now. he admits that weeks in negative ads have not done some of the support. he does not want it to degenerate. but i think we have enough trouble that we ought to have a campaign a positive ideas and solutions. the only person that benefits a negative ads is barack obama. since his announcement yesterday about a change of heart on abortion has moved today. rick perry used to be against abortion. it now he says he opposes it in

all circumstances. he told an audience that a dvd helped change his mind. >> you are seeing a transformation. >> what was that transformation? >> it is a lie. i started giving some thought about the issue of rape and. it is some powerful stories. >> coming up, governor perry stops beside the home of an undecided voter. it was 90 minutes of issues. will see this only here at 10:00.

>> tonight, we take you behind the scenes of one ron paul stopped to unveil a traveling road show that involves the media, memorabilia, and a lot of moments. >> an hour before the candidates are right, they are tuned in in the cables have been strong. to it is prime time for a missouri souvenir salesmen. >> the ones that have shown that now are the ones that are really excited about their candidates. >> supporters. >> ron paul has been a run for a while. >> they got a great seat. they already had company. >> seeing all these people, it is overwhelming. it is. this is iowa. >> this turns into a stream. fox news is already live. microphones are working the crowds. they know the deadline is better than their home towns.

>> i literally do not have an address. >> he is entering folks in the front row for the evening news. he has heard the upcoming speech before. this close to the caucuses, campaigns and an exchange by the hour. >> you have to pay close attention. it is not just a set speech. >> minutes before the candidate walked in, at 15 tvs are running. 200 voters are ready to be sold. quite they're making a final decision. they are getting serious about it. it is good. >> congressmen ron paul. >> his speech begins. >> it does look like there are more cameras and there used to be. >> 45 minutes of the candidates

and then the crowd starts to disappear. this is crunch time. >> it is not getting much sleep. correct the next stop stars in an hour. channel 8, i would news. >> ron paul already had one in west des moines. >> not every campaign event is scripted by candidates. seven members of occupy iowa were arrested when they try to get inside romney's campaign headquarters. police say the rest happens. >> some processors in not land in jail. if they turn their attention to a wells fargo bank branch. they want wells fargo to disclose the tax that is, as saying the bank does not pay its fair share of taxes. republican candidates were baffling themselves. obama is getting ready to face whoever it is who comes out on top. he helped mourn and 1200's events to train volunteers. -- helped train more than two

well hundred events to train volunteers. >> this is kcci news channel 6. we are proud to be the news leader. >> the national media settles into des moines. the spotlight is on iowa. they're all set up production in the capital city. >> they show us how they are getting ready. the majority of candidates are in iowa. to the staffers are, too. the trucks are parked. as engineers laid this, correspondence hit the streets.

cbs covered the event. many of the national news stations will host programs. they have to be built. audio and mighting have to be protected. they will be producing shows from the state house. cnn is that the judicial building. cbs news will run the production. >> we took over the old hospital. >> the production manager said the start of more than a year ago. >> when you walk into the room

and there is nothing here, you have to run all the data and cables. >> hundreds of hours of labor have gone into setting up this control room. this is where outgoing decisions will be made for cbs news. he says there will be few hours of sleep leading up to the caucuses and a lot more work has to be done. >> it is a lot of fun. >> kcci news. >> with the iowa caucuses tuesday, the c-span cameras are following candidates throughout the state. every morning, political guest are taking your calls on our washington journal program. beacon also stay up-to-date with the 2012 website. candidates on the issue lets you see what they have said.

read what people like you are saying on sites like facebook and twitter. >> on tomorrows "washington journal" alice stewart, matthew strawn and robert means. "washington journal" begins live it 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> with the iowa caucuses next week and the new hampshire and florida primaries later, c- span's series "the contenders" looks back of 14 candidates to ran -- who ran for president and

lost. friday, george wallace. on saturday, george mcgovern followed by billionaire businessman ross perot. "the contenders" every night 10:00 p.m. eastern. >> no. an interview with the president of the group the family leader. they endorsed rick santorum. this is 45 minutes. host: that is a live picture of the i was state capital. the capital is a but let. they're on your screen is bob. he is the president and ceo of the family leader.

we do it through civic engagement. which is why we are heavily involved. >> when you look at issues, what are the issues that are important to your group? guest: anything that in past the family, peter. a lot of people say that has to be the sanctity of human life -- it is. we believe life begins at conception and ends at natural death. marriage, one man and one woman. but also we are very much about the economy, limited government, free enterprise, national security, energy policy -- anything that impacts the family, we are going to be very concerned about. if it is strengthening families, we are for it. if it does not, we are against it. host: why did you indorse with

santorum -- rick santorum? guest: he has been to all the counties and communities, and every time he traveled the state people said how much they liked rick santorum but there is always the looming question about could he win. you and the viewers know very well we have seen a lot of people rise and fall in this process. i really believe rick santorum could be poised for a january 3 surprise. i think he will do much better than people anticipate and an outside chance that he could win this thing. people like rick santorum, he debates very well and very good on our pro-family values. he comes to us and speaks our language. i truly believe he is one of us. we threw our support behind rick santorum. there are a lot of good candidates in this race, and i believe what will happen

potentially is they may fragment or divide their vote, and if that happens you will see obviously a governor romney probably come out of this thing in iowa. host: there was a story in "the new york times" on december 12 that you were quoted in bank, saying i was evangelicals are split over the caucus endorsement, that there are a number of candidates evangelicals could naturally gravitate to. do you agree? guest: there really are. right now you see 52 are divided support. congressman ron paul has several evangelicals supporting him. newt gingrich has a lot of evangelicals supporting him. then obviously rick perry and michele bachmann and rick santorum. as i said, we are not going to talk down any candidate. they all have a lot of assets to bring to the table.

they are all people who we could galvanize around as the nominee. but the advantage for romney is these votes will be fragmented and he will be able to come out of the state of iowa. that is the predicament we are in, but what i am trying to do is lead probably a coalescing movement to say let's give rick santorum a chance, he has not gotten his rise yet and i think when he does and goes to the top of the polls, i think he will handle the vetting extremely well and the scrutiny extremely well and i think he would be our best choice against barack obama. that is why we threw our support behind santorum, but we are not going to talk down any candidate. host: you have been involved in iowa republican politics for a while. how many people normally participate in the republican caucuses, and what percentage of that would you characterize as evangelical christians?

or christian conservatives? guest: four years ago i was of the state's share for governor mike huckabee. and i believe four years ago we were right at around the 120,000 benchmark of people who went out to a caucus. obviously caucuses are very different from primaries. people have to take two hours in their evening, and they have to stand up and let people know who they are voting for. you really have to believe in a candidate. but about 120,000 people would come out. i have seen reports that up to 60% of the 120,000 will consider themselves to the people of faith or authentic conservative, evangelical voters. these are people who take this process very, very serious. they are betting these candidates any way you possibly can, and they are going to put their name on the line when they stand up for that candidate on caucus night. host: 120,000 people -- and this is a quadrennial argument that is held -- if only 120,000 people in iowa are participating, why is it so important that iowa be the first day, and is it significant anymore?

guest: i believe it is very significant and i believe the candidates who come through here and participate know how significant it is. because in iowa, we are not really a red or blue state, more people stay. we sent chuck grassley to d.c. as well as tom harkin's. but the other deal is these candidates have to come, they have to do one on one, small groups, they go through a rigorous process and they get ask every question imaginable. iowa is very good at separating the wheat from the chaff, and saying who will stand up. four years ago, it was a natural for a lot of this caucus goers to coalesce around mike huckabee because he had john mccain and guiliani and romney and thompson in the race. this time you have a lot of conservatives in the race, and because of those conservatives in the race, that is why a lot of this vold will be splintered -- a lot of the vote will be splintered.

romney note advantage goes to him if it happens. host: in your view, is mitt romney pro life and if he were the nominee, would you support him? guest: well, the problem we have with governor romney is that not only has he been on both sides of the life issue, but the marriage issue, and the healthcare issue -- and not just on both sides, but he has been passionately on both sides. so, there is a huge trust gap with us with governor mitt romney. now, the reason why we are going through this caucus and primary process is to determine who could be the alternative to mitt romney to beat barack obama. i think the poll numbers show about 80% of americans are coalesced around one thought -- they would like to see an alternative to mitt romney. if mitt romney becomes the nominee, i think you would get a lot of conservatives and evangelicals who will vote

against barack obama, probably more than they would vote for governor mitt romney. but if he becomes the nominee, i believe the pressure is on governor romney to earn our endorsement. so far, he bypassed us. we have a caucus event, peter, where we have 3000 caucus goers in attendance and every one of governor romney's peers other than john huntsman was in attendance. he completely skipped the event. if you are going to diss events like that it is hard for us to rally around the campaign saying we want to elevate you. governor mitt romney, if he becomes the nominee, he has a lot of spade work to do to get the conservative vote, and more important, their work and full effort. host: please allow 30 days between your phone calls.

bob vander plaats is our guest, president and ceo of the family leader and he is joining us from our studio in des moines, iowa. we will be live every morning between now and january 3 when 1774 precincts hold caucuses and the state of iowa and we will be live on c-span 1 and c- span2. there have been a couple of news articles in the national press about your endorsement of mr. santorum and whether or not there was a quid pro quo for cash for the family leader. would you like to take a shot at explain that? guest: yes, if we were going to do a quid pro quo at gb or have this endorsement to be about money, we probably what with the wrong candidate. any time we take a stand or the family later takes a stand,

there are going to be allegations. this is politics. you are not going to make everybody happy. i think iran to you -- guarantee you, first, from the family leader standpoint, there is no quid pro quo. the family leader is not endorsing. they believe they are a standard bearer for the pro- family issues. so they are not in the endorsement business. but the board unanimously gave myself and my colleague the full ability to endorse, so we both endorsed senator santorum. and there was no quid pro quo there, either. i cannot getting paid anything. chalk hurley is not getting paid anything. all we are trying to do is benefit center on's campaign. but when we do endorse, we want to do everything we can to make it stick, which means we will mobilize our network and whatever else we can to benefit rick santorum. no quid pro quo. we. roll that way, that is not how we play. -- we don't roll that way. host: bob vander plaats

previously was chair of iowa for freedom, who ousted three iowa supreme court justices. was it because of the game marriage issue? guest: same-sex marriage happened to be the issue, but it was more than that, peter. what happened is our supreme court stepped outside of the constitutional lines, its constitutional authority, and they actually legislated from the bench. now, if they want to avoid legislation -- it is up to them under article 12.1, but the second sense of article 12.1 in our constitution says the legislature will be response will to enact all legislation, to carry out the constitution. however, the supreme court -- decided that not only did they do that, they said i will be a

same-sex marriage state. all 99 counties will follow suit. now they are being a legislator and are executing their own opinions. we said it was a separation of powers issue. but they will do this to marriage, they will do to any other freedom we hold dear. be held them accountable. people voted them off the bench. i believe it is in their right. host: our topic is christian concerts it iconservatives. >> as a christian conservative myself, i just want to caution

my fellow christian conservatives in this coming election not to cut off your nose to spite your face. a lot times they get so hung up on the issue of gay marriage that they are willing to turn their back on people that would be good conservative candidates otherwise. as you remember, there is no president that an outlaw abortion. there is no precedent that will be able to al blog gay marriage to us by a stroke of the pen. -- there is no president that will be able to halt what a marriage by the stroke of luck -- outlaw gay marriage by the stroke of a pen. we do not get rid of barack obama, we will be in trouble.

guest: that is good insight to not cut off our nose to spite our face. but the good news here mike is that of all the candidates in the race, they have gone to the iowa process including mitt romney, they are all on record to be pro-life and to be pro- one man and one woman marriage as god intended it. as i said at the onset of the show, not only are we concerned about life and marriage, and we just talked about the separation of powers and the constitution and that impact on the family in the court, a big issue in this campaign as well, that anything that impacts the family, we want to be concerned about. mike, i agree, we want to fire

obama and get a pro-family candidate in the white house. when you strengthen the family, i believe you will have a strong america. they go hand-in-hand. host: dan on the independent line in tennessee, you are on the "washington journal." caller: the first thing he mentioned is that life begins at conception. that is not in balance with that today a-christian ethic. where did he get that? guest: back up your statement with your resources. what do you mean? caller: in the literature, long before christ, life begins at first breath. and there is other major religions around the world that feel the same way.

i want to know, where does he get the idea? host: we got the point. guest: dan, where we stand on that is we go to a song 139 -- psalms 139. every day is ordained before you even came to be. sciences outlining that fact that life begins at conception. i do not be dead is a belief that i believe. i believe that that is of fact. host: brooklyn, new york, don, a democrat. caller: do you consider killing iraqis to be a christian conservative family values? and i think it is an oxymoron to call yourself that. 100% pro love and defense of marriage, i mean, being pro-war is not being pro-life.

guest: i am not sure they got all of that board -- if i got all that. greetings. congressman paul is pro-life. i have travelled with him for a whole day in the state of iowa, three different locations. and with his wife, one of the days that we traveled together, no doubt that ron paul is one under% pro-life. -- 100% pro-life. if you get the sanctity of life right, you'll get a lot of other things right. if you get that wrong, you get all lot of other things wrong. he is also about one man and one woman marriage, as is rick santorum.

you're getting in the foreign- policy issues. i happen to believe that rick santorum probably stands above on those issues. newt gingrich is very solid on the foreign policy issues. as much as i like ron paul, on a lot of his conservative values and issues, i am concerned about when it comes to iran and a ahmedinejad and the capability to have a nuclear weapon and the threat to israel. so i agree so much with what ron paul's and if he is the nominee, i'll be enthusiastically behind him, not only because of life and marriage, his economic issues. he is been -- he has been almost prophetic in this process. host: bob vander plaats, could you see christian conservatives supporting a third party? guest: i do not see the -- the third party being our option. the third party would elect barack obama. when i hear third-party rumors of different people that might

consider a third-party run, i really hope that is not the case. i believe we are going to get a good candidate out of this republican primary. and i happen to believe that there is a lot of time left. there still should be a surprise out of iowa. with a guy like rick's santorum, i think there is going to be a long nomination process to take place. i think we will get the right candidate that we can enthusiastically get behind, but i do not think that third party is the option. host: we showed you some ads earlier from the candidates. i am sure that iowans are being inundated. here's one from rick santorum. ♪

♪ ♪ >> i am rick santorum and i approve this message. host: bob vander plaats, that was one of the pop-up ads that he has been using. the next call comes from ed in elmhurst, ohio. caller: i am a christian and conservative and religious.

but i feel we republicans are being extremely hypocritical year. how can we as christians possibly support someone like newt gingrich, who has been married three times? how can we support someone like mitt romney who has sat in the past that he is pro-choice and pro-gay rights? that really bothers me that we do not have a candidate out there, a republican candidate, that absolutely reflects religious conservative values. thank you. guest: peter, i want to address that adverse. that is one of the reasons why rick santorum is running a

positive campaign and we will have paid january 3 surprise. what happens with negative ads is that it tears down one candidate, but the candidate launching the attack usually hurts that candidate as well. i do not think there is any room for someone to be president when the best they have to offer is to tear someone else down to build themselves up. to get to ed's question as to newt gingrich and governor romney, that is one of the reasons why we've vetted here in ottawa. i think newt gingrich would be the first to say that he has made a lot of mistakes, some he wish he could have to overs on. this was not a road to des moines the conversion. i think this took place several years ago. for us as christians, when

there are light changes the heavens rejoice. maybe uni on earth should rejoices well. it does not mean that newt is a perfect person. he has been very open that if you want a perfect candidate, it is not him. but he has been open and honest about his mistakes and he is concerned about this country. that is a good thing. governor mitt romney, that is one of our concerns. not only has he been passionately on both sides of a lot of issues, it seems like he has selective memory in determining where he has been on both sides of the issues. he is never said that he was wrong or apologized that the romney era in massachusetts is good and that is why he would repeal obamacare. he keeps saying that it was right for massachusetts but he would repeal obamacare. i guess for a guy that is for rick santorum, i am glad you did not mention him in that question. host: the next call for bob vander plaats, president and ceo of the family later group, our independent line. kimberly, we will have to hang out because we simply cannot hear you.

your phone connection, sorry about that. moving on to dave, a democrat in pennsylvania. caller: hello. i am really surprised that people call themselves christian because in the 2000 election, you saw the republican-controlled supreme court stop the voting in florida, put george bush, a republican, into office, and for the next six years after that he had republican control in both houses of congress. they did not stop abortion. i do not know why your christian people are talking about that. they voted for people that took us to iraq and killed 375,000 innocent people, made 5 million

innocent widows and orphans of the there, and they worry about a few people having abortions over year. i think you're confused. that is not a christian basis to make. guest: maybe i missed the question in there. i think i got scolded. i do not think this is going to be an election where obama wins based on what george bush did. between 2000 and 2008. these things are now on president obama's hands. we know that president obama -- under him, present -- unemployment has skyrocketed, we have a foreign-policy issue all over the place. he will not defend the defense of marriage act. i think there will be a referendum on president obama, a community organizer does not make a president. and david, in regard to

christians, i would be the first christian to say we're not perfect. our faith is built on the understanding that we're not perfect. that is why we do need a savior. there is only one that was perfect and they nailed into a cross. believe me, if you're looking for a perfect candidate like newt gingrich or a perfect spokesperson for the christian faith, i would not be him. host: but tweet for you. guest: no doubt. we are free to implement our teachings regardless of who is elected. but our belief that -- i forget the person of the -- the name of the person who sent the text, is that god has three institutions. his first institution was the family. he also instituted the church, but he also instituted government. he has three institutions, they

are all near and dear to his heart. therefore our goal is to say let's promote godly birches and values. i think everyone would agree that we would be a lot better off not only in this country but all over the place. host: another tweet. guest: you know, gordon, you're not going to get an argument from me in regards to saying, we're going to discriminate against anybody, but we're not going to talk about what we are against but what we are for. i think they got's design is clear. for the institution of the family, one man and one woman marriage.

when you start messing around with marriage, you remove the parameters and the boundaries, anything becomes up for grabs whether you want to have polygamy. if someone believes that, maybe that is what they should have. if they want to marry my son or another man was to marry his daughter, if i want to marry a business partner for tax purposes -- marriage is simple and overwhelmingly supported in 31 states where a vote has been taken on in, we're 31-0. in iowa, when three judges when outside of their constitutional bounds and declared iowa same- sex marriage state, we removed three justices. we're not saying that gay families -- gay people are not for families. but marriage as designed and its intent is one man and one woman, designed for procreation and the training of our replacements to develop a civilized society. host: another tweet.

guest: our organization is tax exempt. everything is according to the irs code. one is primarily our organization for education and for research. that is called the iowa family policy center, that as of 5 01 c 3. the family leader is actually a 501 c 4. it is an advocacy arm, and we have a political action committee which as allowing campaign intervention to promote a candidate or to promote an issue. under our umbrella, we have several things because of the irs standards and the tax cuts and tax laws but we try to dot every i and cross every t and be as diligent stewards as possible. host: bob vander plaats is the president and ceo of the family later.

caller: an earlier caller had a question about like beginning at conception. -- life beginning at enmeshed -- conception. i enjoyed the answer that you gave the caller, but i have an objection that in the old testament, -- the new testament, elizabeth the mother of john the baptist talk to mary the mother of jesus when he was six months -- when she was six months pregnant. mary speaks to the angel gabriel and she realizes she is pregnant with jesus. when elizabeth comes into the room with mary, john quite literally left in his mother's womb.

m very moment that mary finds out that she is with child, that baby john the baptist in his mother's womb detected the presence of the holy spirit. host: what is your point here? caller: that is my point. people want to know what our evidence is. guest: brian, that is a really good answer. one i did not choose to use but you are right. according to the scriptures, john did leap in his mother's womb. when mary came in and found out that she was with child. host: green bay, wisconsin, all on the independent line. you are on the air with bob vander plaats. caller: i agree with you, rick santorum will make the best president we will -- we have had in a long time. that is all i want to tell you. guest: i want you to know how refreshing your call is.

what is happening across the country -- what i found that as i was going around iowa and the country is hearing people say they might be for one candidate, but they like rick's santorum. rick santorum always been -- always seem to be in the top two. i think he is catching on at the right time. another news network talk about this dealt santorum campaign, that there could be a search for santorum. if they coalesce around him, they can lift him to victory in the state of iowa and becomes an alternative to romney. if that is the case, i think rick santorum wins that battle and becomes the next president of the united states.

he is feed it -- he is defeated three incumbent democratic senators and representatives. even people who disagree with him, although you do not agree with him on the issues, he does not, crosses disagreeable. he comes across as awful, intellectual, and logical. -- as thoughtful, intellectual, and logical. host: an e-mail. guest: first of all, what she pointed out there with president obama is that he of the and michelle have been a model. they have been a model for their own personal family as a husband and wife and being committed and married to one another. they have been a model in raising their two daughters before the country and for the world to see what the family looks like.

a concern with president obama is not about his marriage and about he and michelle raising their daughters. my concern with president obama is a lot of the policies i do not believe are pro-family. i want my children to have an america that is better than what i inherited. i want them to have the opportunity of free enterprise and have an ultimate freedom in living in a world where there are some basic core values and core principles to elevate the family, such as marriage and a respect for life, such as judicial restraint and separation of powers. those are all things that i do not believe his policies would reflect, being pro-family. it is hard seeing michelle and raising their two children, i applaud and admire them for that. but when it comes to actual policies to benefit the families, that is where we disagree. host: another campaign ad from rick perry. >> i am not ashamed to admit that i am a christian but you do not have to be in the q every sunday to know that there is something wrong in the country

when gays can serve open in the military but our kids cannot openly celebrate christmas or pray in schools. as president, all in the obama's war on religion and i will fight against liberal attacks on our religious heritage. feith made america strong. it can make her strong again. i hamrick perry and i approve this message. host: your reaction to that ad? guest: the first time i saw that was a few weeks ago. i thought was a bold ad. obviously i like that at and the response i got from a lot of people in iowa was just the same. they thought that if rick perry had introduced himself that way to the people of high -- of iowa, a person of faith, not ashamed to stand up for his faith, he is not going to leave his faith that the white house steps, that is actually hillises' -- who he is, they may have given him more passes in his debate performances.

but it was behind the curve instead of the head of the curve. i think what rick perry points out in the ad is that it seems like we're being driven by a lot of agendas right now, versus what is right and what is good. and obviously rich.

you are so kind to turn out like this, in clinton, and i really appreciate your generosity. the time that people in iowa take to get to know the candidates running for president, you have a big say in to who are nominee is. and you and people in new hampshire likewise take the time to get the know the

candidates and to know the issues. i just want you to know how much we all appreciate that, and i appreciate that personally. you get to know us, you make an informed decision, and that helps the entire country that does not have the same opportunity to see the different candidates. so, i appreciate you being here today and being so supportive. i will say a few things and allow you to ask a couple of questions, if we have time. we are kind of in a hurry because we have done this twice. the other side of the street there is another restaurant. which one is the better restaurants? i thought you might say that. i mentioned over there that i had been thinking about some patriotic songs. i love the patriotic songs. i love, of course, the star spangled banner. the fact that we are the only people on the world who put our hands over our hearts during the planning of the national anthem. do you know fdr began that tradition? he did it in honor of the men and women whose lives are being

shed in far off places, in honor of the blood being shed. i love the song, "0 beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain." does corn qualify? the other part -- "heroes proved in liberating strife." this man here is retired u.s. air force. not so young anymore. how many veterans in this room? thank you for your service -- gentlemen, ladies. [applause] there's another verse that i sort of breeze over as i sang it as a boy -- "o beautiful, for patriot dream, that sees beyond the years." the idea was the patriots' that

found that this nation had a vision that was beyond just their decade or decades, but, frankly, would see beyond the years. that the principles they put in place would be principles that would sustain america and build a great nation. i do not think they could possibly imagine what kind of nation would actually be built by virtue of their wisdom and their dreams. they crafted a country based on a number of principles. one was written in the declaration of independence where they said that the creator and out of with rights -- not the king, not the government, but the creator. that we as individuals become a sovereign, not the government. the government is the servant. that is one thought they had. [applause] they went on to say, among these rights were life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

and we cherish life, and respect the sanctity of life. we have fought and died as a nation over history of our liberty, and we shared it with others. the term pursuit of happiness, that was carefully chosen by the founders. and you wonder, what were they referring to? it is really this -- in america, we would be free to choose our happiness, choose our course in life, regardless of the circumstances of our birth, regardless of the decisions of government telling us what to do and how to do it. we would be free, free to choose our course in life. this would be a land of opportunity. and by virtue of that reality, people from all over the world who wanted freedom and opportunity, they came here. they knew that in america, they could achieve their dreams through education, if they could afford it, hard work, risk-taking -- not always easy to pursue a dream without

taking some risk. maybe a little luck. and by virtue of people coming here who saw opportunity, we created what i will call an opportunity nation. where the people who were successful in realizing their dreams helped employee the rest of us. and they lifted the entire country. we are now the wealthiest nation among the major nations in the world. did you realize the average income of an american, gdp per capita, is about 50% higher than the average income of the european? these are the european nations from which many of us sprung, and yet we are far better off. why is that? not because our dna is different. we've got the same dna. it is because these founders had such an extraordinary dream, such an extraordinary vision. now, i look at america today, and i relish that vision and i am frightened we have a president that does not understand america, that does not understand what makes us unique.

he says he wants to fundamentally transform america. he is doing it. i don't like what i am seeing. he has been in office for three years. we have 25 million americans still out of work or stopped looking or not able to find the employment they need. home values continuing to go down. we have median income in america that has dropped 10% in the last four years. it has not worked so well. he said in a speech in davenport about a year ago, he said this is our moment, this is our time. he has had his moment. now is our time. [applause] i think he wants to change america by it changing the nature of an opportunity society into, i will call it, an entitlement society where everyone is entitled to whatever they would like. of the government takes from some and gives to others. in a society like that, hard work and education and risk- taking is not necessary.

the government will do all of that for you. i believe an opportunity society. i did not want to fundamentally transformed america, but i want to restore the principles that made us the hope of the earth. i do not want to substitute nd for ambition. i did not want class warfare to poison the american spirit -- i do not want class warfare to poison the american spirit. i believe in the unity and passion that exists in the american people. in this campaign is not about replacing a person as president, but about the soul of america. it is about a very different course for america being taken by our present. he will transform america. i will restore america. i want to restore the page me dream. i want freedom. i want the opportunity. i want our kids to grow up in a place where the dreams can be realized. i want america to remain the hope of the earth and the hope of americans. i love this country. when i was a boy in my dad and my mom drove us from national parks and national park.

we were in the back of the rambler -- my dad made ramblers. i saw the beauty of the land and i heard from my mom and dad the stories about the founding of our country. i believe in america. i believe we got it right. i believe in the principle that the founders espouse. i don't want to change america into something we did not recognize. i want to restore to america of the economic vitality, the power and passion of the american people to ensure this country remains, as it has always been, the strong mission of the earth, the hope of the earth. thank you so much. great to be with you today. [applause] here is a question already. champions -- whose champions? st. louis cardinals. >> of the strait of hormuz -- >> at if ahmadinejad decides to block the streets of hormuz -- i will not tell you what

military action will be taken in each circumstance because there are a lot of factors. but it is not acceptable in my view for iran to have a nuclear weapon. for those who say, well, the soviet union had a nuclear weapon. the difference was we have mutually assured destruction and the soviets were not suicidal. the mullah and the ayatollah's are suicidal and talk about wiping out people and the plan. no question in my mind that the risks fissile terry could find their hands -- their way into the hands of hamas. i would pursue, understanding the options to prevent iran from becoming nuclear. diplomatic options, economic options, as well as military

options. it is incumbent upon the president of the united states to recognize our interest and not to engage in military conflict unless absolutely essential and in the interest of the united states. i can say this as well -- which is, i know there are some who think we should shrink our military and think it is just too big. the world has not become safer in the last few years. it is a more dangerous world. and i want to maintain a strong military that is so superior that nobody else in the world wants to test us. [applause] and so, i am going to take our shipbuilding from nine a year of to 15 a year. i am going to restore the growth of our air force, to update the fleet of our aircraft. i want to add at least 100,000 active-duty personnel. and i want to make sure we treat our veterans in the way they deserve to be treated. thank you. yes, sir. >> our republican party right now is really fractured in many

different groups. i consider myself a moderate republican. as republican, i feel it is time to cut spending. as a moderate, i feel it is not a sin to have to pay taxes, but i do think it will be a sin if we have to ship the crisis of this debt to our grandkids and great crash and kids -- great grandkids. when you are president, what will you do to take care of this, that we pay our bills and not the future generations? >> i happen to think it is immoral for us to keep spending money we don't have and passing on to our kids our obligations. we just can't go on like this. in the past we said what i just mentioned, which is it is wrong to just keep pushing these bills off and having these kids

having to pick up these bills because we will just crush them with debt. interest rates are low right now. when they come back a little bit, the interest payments and principal payments will just kill the future generations. it is not fair, it is not right. but there is also something even more immediate, which is right now, businesses around the world are thinking about where to put a new building, a new factory, they look at america and say, gosh, are they going to get in trouble like greece and italy? that is a good question. because if will stay on the course we are on, that is where we are headed. we are headed on a course where people do not have confidence in america's currency. and there is no one big enough to bail us out. and we simply cannot go on. that old line, and if so -- that if something cannot go on forever, it will not. we cannot keep borrowing --

spending more than we've taken. i will pull back federal spending. i will not just slow down the rate of growth, i will reduce federal spending. i will cut $500 billion a year. and i laid out how i will do it. it is not impossible. there are three major streams. one is to stop certain programs. stop them. close them. turn them off. even some you like. why do i say that? my test is, is the program so critical it is worth borrowing money from china to pay for it? so, some things you might like -- i like the national endowment of arts, pbs we subsidize it. i am going to say pbs is going to have to have advertisement. i am not going to kill big bird. but he will have to have advertisement. we will have an endowment for arts, but i have to be paid by private charity and not by taxpayers. and the biggest and easiest one

to kill, obamacare. we will get rid of that on day one. and then i will take some programs that grow out of control -- federal programs that grow fast where the waste and abuse is excessive. a program like medicaid, which is health care for the poor, and send it back to the states and say to iowa, here is your money, which will grow at inflation but 1%, and you manage it for the way you think best for your own people. doing that saves $100 billion a year. and then what is left of government, i will cut employment by 10% through attrition and then i will link the pay of government workers to the pay of private-sector workers. i don't think people who work for the government should make a lot more than the people who are paying for them. [applause] to get america working again, to get good jobs again, to be able to afford a military that is the strongest in the world,

you have to have the strongest economy in the world. and we are not going to have a strong economy if we keep on borrowing ourselves into oblivion and crushing the next generation. high on my priority list is to balance the budget, cut spending, cap spending, to see a balanced budget amendment. we've got to get that done or bankamerica prosecutor is not one we will be proud of. i will take one more question. then i took a long look at perry -- >> i took a long look at perry -- [inaudible] you raise the benefits for the national guard -- raised the benefits for the national guard and also gave more for ice training. >> i wish he had been given a microphone.

i will repeat it. i want to make sure they hear it. >> doubled the national guard benefits in the massachusetts, and that is a big deal. when perry is allowing in state benefits for illegals, this man is raising the benefits for the national guard. as a former recruiter, that is a big deal. thank you, governor. >> we wanted more national guardsmen. people said, how are you going to get more people to join? we said, we will make them a better offer. if you come and join the national guard, when you come out -- actually when you are still in, you can go to any massachusetts public institution of higher learning, tuition and fee-free. and that brought more people into our national guard. i also did and how our state police to enforce our

immigration laws and ensure it they encountered people who were here illegally, they got sent back. we followed the kind of conservative principles that you would expect the governor to follow that is republican. i know you might think, wow, you are a republican governor in massachusetts? how could that be? there are people in both parties who love our country. even though we disagree on some issues, we could find common ground. the legislators agreed we should not raise taxes, they agreed we should have secure borders. i had a bill that came to my desk that said we would give in-state tuition breaks to illegal aliens in my state. i vetoed that bill. 85% of my legislature was democrat but i got a lot of people to uphold the veto. there was a movement to get driver's licenses to those here illegally. i said, no way. we are not going to do that. let me underscore, as we talk about those things, by the way.

i like illegal immigration a lot. i like people getting in line and winning to come to america. i like those particularly who speak english, who have degrees, still vein -- we need. i want to stop illegal immigration in part to protect legal immigration. and i want to say thank you to our soldiers and others to protect our nation. [applause] this is an extraordinary welcome in clinton. i will not forget it. i thought if i was coming to a place called clinton, i would have difficulties. at least you are not called obama. but we received such a warm welcome and i am so pleased to be with you. i am so optimistic about the future. this country is an innovative, dynamic nation. we have a spirit of opportunity and enterprise and merit. we will overcome our challenges, as long as we have a leader who will tell the truth and will live with integrity, who knows how to lead, who has actually lead in the private sector,

understands how the economy works, and is willing to draw on the patriotism of the american people. we love america. americans, when we are asked to sacrifice, we will do it. i ask for your help. we will get america back on track. thank you. [applause] my goodness, thank you so much. you got my name on there? do you have another one? you are very kind to be here. good to see you. thank you for being here. very kind. how are you? good to see you, marc. wonderful. look at that.

the only place i consign it is on your sweater. -- can sign it is on your sweater. thanks for being here. thanks. i need it. if i get elected, those things will be -- good to see you. take care.

thanks for being here today. thank you. how are you? good to meet you. this is iowa state. are you a wrestler? >> i wrestled in high school. >> nice to meet you. do you want me to sign that for you? thank you. how are you doing? is that your dad? is he a good guy? appreciate you being here today. you bet. it is this your wife over here? come over here to have your picture taken. thank you. good to see you guys.

could not resist it. thanks so much. you are kind to be here today. really appreciate it. thanks. good to see you. you've got one of these, too. what is your name? morgan? you are 12? great. seventh grader. good to see you, morgan. thanks for your question. >> could you take a picture of my former congressman and my present congressman? >> when you said your former, did not know what was going on here. good to see you. that is great. there is a proud mom. they are back for the holidays. all three boys -- >> all three boys are with me

this year. >> thank you. sure, you bet. hi, how are you? nice to see you. there's a hawkeye sweatshirt. thank you. nice to see you. hi, there. got to be careful. how are you doing? thank you. you got a camera? there you go. is that your dad over there?

look at this. did that work? what a miracle. i appreciate you being here today. very kind. i appreciate that. how are you doing? >> i am really concerned -- i could not bring it here today because my battery is down and i have to replace them. it is 100% american made car, and i would like to replace the battery roof -- with an american made battery. 25,000 american made, 10,000 chinese. >> what a huge disparity. >> and a friend of mine who wrote the words to "god bless america" -- "got less of the

usa,"excuse me. >> lee greenwood. >> are we going to have to buy our -- from china? >> we are getting higher and higher productivity. >> part of the mix. >> you got it. perfect. thank you so much. you are very kind. exactly right. there he is right there, there's the guy.

thank you for your service. >> can i take a picture? >> you bet. absolutely. appreciate your service. very kind. great, thank you. nice to see you. yep. thank you so much. you are very kind. you bet. i will do it. thank you. how are you, sir? >> spur of the moment.

[laughter] [inaudible] i have been doing it for 20 or 30 years. [laughter] >> hi there, how are you? good to see you. appreciate your help today. how are you doing? 18? you are going to get to vote this year. you are very kind. going into college, the military? >> military. >> the navy?

appreciate your service. san diego? >> mississippi digging -- >> say hi to your fellow sailors. [laughter] >> i am a legal immigrants. >> thank you for being here.

there we go. thank you. good to meet you. you bet. hi there, sweetie. good to see you. >> thank you. >> thanks, guys. good to see you. thank you. >> can i get a photo? >> sure, you bet. there we go. >> beautiful. >> nice to see you. yeah. darn good question. thank you.

nice to see you. thanks for being here. how are you, sir? good to see you. appreciate you being here. you bet. who's got the camera? >> perfect. >> good to meet you. wonderful seeing you back there. thanks so much. [laughter] take care. >> mr. president? >> i hope i get that title. what is that? potato soup? >> last night we made a mistake and didn't -- >> we will get there. very kind.

there you go. there's the camera. thank you. good to see you. take care. one more time here. thank you. good to see you. thank you. good, thank you. you are homer? >> part of it. >> how are you guys doing? good to see you. how are you doing? good to see you guys. good to meet you. we are running off. you bet.

>> washington journal live with your phone calls. later the jan radio show. here is some of the iowa campaign advance recovering today. at 1:30 p.m. we have rick perry. and at 6:45 -- we had met rumney. you can watch it on c-span and online at cspan.org. >> c-span cameras are falling events throughout the state during the iowa caucuses.

political guests are taking your calls. you can stay up-to-date with our c-span campaign 2012 web site. we let you see what the can that have said. we let you see what they're saying on sites like facebook and twitter. >> with the iowa caucuses next week and primaries later in the month, the contenders looks back at 14 candidate who ran for president and lost had a lasting impact on american politics. tonight we have hubert humphrey , then we had george wallace on friday.

and george mcgovern, followed by ross perot. every night at 10:00 p.m. on c- span. >> republican presidential candidate ron paul held a campaign rally last night.

>> i do solemnly swear that i will support and defend the

constitution of the united states. against all enemies foreign and domestic. i will obey the orders of the president of the united states. and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and uniform codes and justice. so help me god. i first swore that both bac and 1976. to support and defend the constitution of the united states. like you, i kept my oath. and january of this year 12 months ago i was sworn in by an iowa state rep. the oath i took was as follows. i do solemnly swear that i will support the constitution of the united states. and the constitution of the state of iowa. i will discharge the duties of

representing according to the best of my abilities. notice again in the oath i will support the constitution of the united states. i am keeping that oath. there is another man who we all know who has been fully sworn the military oath and kept it. and the oath of the congressmen of the united states. he has kept it also, as well. his warned the following oath many times. i do solemnly swear that i will support and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies, foreign and domestic. i take this obligation freely. i will faithfully discharge the duties of the office i am about to enter, so help me god.

ron paul has proven that he can be trusted to keep his oath in office. he has sworn it numerous times to support the constitution of the united states. here's my point -- why would you or i be willing to put our very lives and limbs on the line to protect and defend the constitution of the united states and then at the same time be willing to support a candidate for president who has not demonstrated that same level of faithfulness, a commitment or fidelity to the same. the answer is -- you would not.

that, ladies and gentlemen is why we support ron paul. he supports the constitution. he supports the constitution. that is why -- on january 20th at, 2013, i want ron paul to take the following oath from the constitution. the document has given so much of his life -- when he will say, i do solemnly swear. i will execute the office of the united states. and the best of my abilities -- preserve, protect and preserve the constitution of united states, so help me god.

that is what we want to hear. that is what we want to see. that is what we are going to make happen. thank you. god bless you. go ron paul. at this time we will sing two verses of a very familiar song. that is america the beautiful. again, led by john.

>> thank you all for being here. >> ♪

♪ ♪ >> i have the distinct privilege of introducing to you a special friend.

someone who's been politically and evolved for not that long a time. >> he has had a tremendous impact on state government and the legislative process and standing for truth, standing for the constitution, and standing for the principles of the people -- that the people indeed govern themselves through their elected representatives. at this time, i would like to introduce to you senator kent sorenson who has a special support tonight. >> tonight is a little tough for me. michele bachmann has been fighting dearly for my values.

when the republican establishment will be coming after him over the next few days, i felt it was my duty to -- [cheers and applause] just like he came to my aid during my race, which was a very nasty race. it is difficult, but it is the right thing to do because he fights for the values that i hold dear as well. i just want to tell you guys that i will do everything i can in the next few days to help in iowa and beyond. we will take ron paul all the way to the white house in 2012. [cheers and applause]

>> we were fighting what was called the viet cong -- >> we went hand-in-hand -- >> nine out of 56 came back in that whole year. that is hard to take. >> we had never been thanked for our service, never. >> ron paul got my medals and presented them to me. >> they get the medal that they finally deserve

>> ron paul is a veterans best friend. >> that will always be there. >> i am ron paul and i approved this message. [cheers and applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, with your help and our work, the next president of united states ron paul! [cheers and applause] >> thank you very much. thank you. thank you very much. thank you.

thank you for coming. thank you. it sounds like we are getting close to an election. [applause] thank you very much for being here. i want to thank all the veterans your on the stage and all the veterans who are here and those who have come. i want to introduce you to to family members here. i have two granddaughters with me, lisa and linda. they are sisters. [cheers and applause] i also want to thank kant's sorensen for stopping by. that was very nice, was it not? [cheers and applause] this is a wonderful evening because we will emphasize our

national defense, our veterans, and our military, which is, of course, very important. as has been said, the constitution is a rather important document and that we should uphold it. [applause] the constitution is very clear. the constitution is very clear on what the responsibilities are at the federal level. the defense is a vital function of the government. [yelling and screaming] [applause]

[inaudible] [yelling and screaming] >> there are a lot of problems. the problems are manifested by a lot of people being upset in this country. we are all upset and we want to change it in washington. as a matter of fact, that is what our purpose is. >> i am a veteran, too! [screaming] >> if we get the diagnosis right, i will get the treatment

right. right now, most people in this country know that there is seriously wrong. there's something seriously wrong with our foreign policy. [screaming] >> of course, we all know that there is something seriously wrong with our monetary system and with our federal reserve system. [cheers and applause] the best way to boil down the crisis that we face is the debt crisis. we are in too much debt. it is unsustainable. our productivity is going down. special interests have benefited. wall street gets bailed out and the debt is dumped on the people and that needs to be reversed. let me tell you. [cheers and applause]

but we are in this trouble because we have not followed the rule of law. the rule of law is the constitutional. article 88 tells us exactly what we are allowed to do. we are not allowed to do anything that is not explicitly given to us in the constitution. [cheers and applause] as a matter of fact, the constitution is mainly a document of prohibitions against the federal government entered into our lives and in treating and our economic condition. there is no authority in the constitution to become the policeman of the world. [cheers and applause]

and although there is clear evidence that we should have a strong national defense, which is a vital function of the federal government, we also know that, if you do not take care of financial affairs at home, the problems that we can get from the problems we are seeing today magnified. we have to maintain a healthy economy every bit as much as we have to have a strong national defense. [cheers and applause] one of the reasons we have gotten into trouble overseas has been that we have not followed the rules. it has been a long time since this country declared war. the last time we did it come after we were attacked and properly so, we attacked both japan and germany.

guess what. it was declared by the congress and supported by the people. it was over in approximately four years. we had proper authority and we were together. since that time, we have not done it. i maintain that a president should never take a country to war unless there is a declaration of war. [cheers and applause] for many years, young men and women have been called to service. some of us have been drafted. others have joined with the purpose of providing defense for this country. but because so many of our young people have in the past and currently joined to defend this country, they can become disillusioned if they find out that the fighting and killing

and the spending of the money does not provide national defence that we are not under threat. sometimes we go looking for trouble and put our troops in harm's way unnecessarily. [cheers and applause] and because our country is literally bankrupt, we cannot pay our bills and we have to keep borrowing, we keep spending, which keep printing money, and we cannot maintain this presence around the world. therefore, we cannot even afford to take care people back home. my suggestion is to look at our foreign policy and question whether or not we should be in 130 countries and have 900 bases. i say that is way too many and it is time to come home from many of those places.

[cheers and applause] too often, when we have been called to duty and so many of us have gone, coming back home has not always been the best of receptions. as both a physician and a congressman and having been in the military, i have to deal with a lot of veterans problems. it is very, very frustrating because, so often, veterans are shunned. they do not get the treatment they really desert and the money is being wasted elsewhere. [cheers and applause] it took a long time for the victims of agent orange in the vietnam war to finally get their treatment. persian gulf war syndrome. even today, we are currently suffering from the abuse of our veterans when they come home.

hundreds of thousands are looking for help. i had a young man the other day who just got out of the military. he was sad and despondent about fellow soldiers who were killed when he was over in iraq. but he says, if you notice happening now? some of my buddies are committing suicide. it is like an epidemic. something is terribly wrong with the system where it ends up so tragically and the help is not available. i believe that it is related to our foreign policy. foreign policy should dictate how we go to war. we should obey the constitution. go very sparingly. and we should go to preserve the peace and prosperity and the safety of this country, but not to go looking for trouble in different places of the world. [cheers and applause]

we have had a foreign policy that does not make a whole lot of sense. we go around and find a from the dictator and we say that our national security is best if we prop of this dictator. we have done it numerous times and we give him a lot of money. then it goes badly and he changes his mind and we have a fight. and then there are other countries that do not want to cooperate with us and we go ahead and use weapons and destroy their countries. so we have enforcer money. there has to be another option. how about talking to them once in awhile instead of using force and intimidation? i was called to duty, called to

service in 1962 during the missile crisis in cuba. that was resolved rather quickly, but then i was in the air force five years later. i did not go to vietnam, but it was during that time. the french were there and the decade that the americans were in vietnam, how many people were killed? maybe 1 million vietnamese, tens of thousands of french soldiers, and then 60,000 americans? then we had to leave after all of this money and waste. what did that usher in economically? we can have guns and butter at the time was said. then they give us the 1960's, which was a very bad time. but the argument for us to go there was not to go to congress

whether or not we should declare war. the argument was, if we do not go there and stop communism from growing over there, there will be a domino effect and the whole region would turn communist. it turned out that, if we had walked away from there, china had become less communistic when we left. they became capitalistic in many ways. and now they are our banker. so what has happened in vietnam? has it gotten worse? have they gone communist? no. they have become westernize. they liked what we were doing. they started trading and interleaving with us. we travel there. we invested there. they come here. just think what has been achieved between our two countries in peace and what was not achieved in war and waste. we need to look at that. [applause] a strong america is necessary.

a strong america will give us a much better chance for peace. but also, what we need is we also have to have prosperity as well. so that is why is economic conditions are imported. that is the big problem we are facing. even if somebody would say, no, we cannot cut a nickel out of the military budget, just remember that the military budget is different than the defense budget. the military budget is the money that all of the military- industrial complex ones. but the leaders of both parties are not interested in cutting one nickel out of overseas expenditures. most of them want to increase it. and they are furious if you do not meet the automatic increases. my suggestion is that we have