things at the margin. to be serious about it, congress should cut off the funding. they could say that no money would be spent on the czars. the constitution is designed for the constitution is designed for that kind of checks and balances. if you're going to have a president -- what frank is get -- getting at is a real question to think about. if you think the wagon is in the ditch, by definition that president is going to do some fairly strong things. otherwise the wagson going to stay in the ditch. that's a decision to make. if they want a timid president who operates in a way that avoids fights in washington. that's fine. you won't have many fights but

you won't get much changed. if you want somebody who says i'm going to go in and fix these things. for example, i would move on the very first day, i would move the american embassy from tel aviv to jerusalem. i think it is absurd that we said to israelis they don't get to designate their own capital. there is no reason a president couldn't sign that. there are a series of things that you can do that are inside the law but begin to reshape the government with remarkable speed. >> in particular are moms and there have been a lot of focus groups with moms and they have some concern that you can actually create even more chaos than what exists now. if you take a look at the things that you said over the last eight months, there are so many things you're going to do on day one. on day two. on day 100. is there a sense of prioritizeation and could now yacht end up creating a battle

not end up creating a battle of so much chaos because of all of this change? >> i don't know that there would be chaos. we're talking about children. how many days should we wait for children to be trapped in a school that fails every child? how patient should we be to talk with the folks who don't want to -- who literally in some cases have failed to educate every single child. how much should we say i don't know, those children's lives are worth it. if you were a lifeguard and somebody had fallen in the river, you would have to get up and dive in. that is a pretty aggressive action. ronald reagan thought he saved 80-something people as a lifeguard growing up. he was amazed at how if you've few were grateful.

when reagan wanted to call the soviet union the evil empire, they snuck it through national security council. because he knew that all the bureaucrats would oppose it. when he wanted to say mr. gorbachev, tear down this wall. they were fighting him as late as the morning he delivered the speech. bold leaders who get the country moving again leave around them a sense of anxiety among people who don't want to move, don't want to take risks, don't want to fix things. you have all been in situation where is you had to get it done. stand you didn't get it done, it was going stay a mess. so i think we're -- if we're going to fix this, we're going to have several years of rolling up our sleeves together and cleaning the place up. it is a little bit like remodeling the house or spring cleaning. some of it will be a little

messy and confusing but i think together they will get it done. >> moms are so frustrated now with the unwillingness to compromise in the senate. can a bold leader compromise with other branches of government and find solutions? >> you don't necessarily have to compromise, but you have to find a way to have a win-win situation. if i'm going to get what i need, you're going to find out what you need. clinton and i did that all the time. i have to have this and i can't do that. he would say i have to have this and i can't do that. is there a formula that brings you together? i'll give you minor example. senator webb and senator warner are two democrats from virginia. they introduced a bill to develop oil and gas offshore.

it would increase revenue to the federal government and the state of virginia and increase revenue for infrastructure and land conservation. i've been trying for four months to convince the house republicans, just pass the bill. it is not a compromise. it is what republicans are for. send to the senate a democratic senate bill and then harry reed has to say i'm not going let you bring up your bill that the house republicans just passed. there are ways to work together that don't necessarily mean you compromise any core principles, but you understand each other and figure out how the find and agreement that lets you move forward. did it with reagan in the early 1980's when tip o'neill was speaker and when bill clinton was president. >> my name is billy brothers and i'm from memphis, tennessee.

my question is what is your plan for obama care? >> my plan is the very first thing is to repeal it. [applause] i think you then have to replace it with a program that is more focused on doctor/patient relations, your pharmacist and the people you rely on. i want to get power away from the government bureaucrats and the insurance company bureaucrats and give it back to doctors. >> what do you replace it with? >> a system which is much more localized and where people have many more choices and you don't have washington bureaucrats writing multithousand page regulations. >> do people have the right to quality health care? >> i think we as a country want every american to have access to

quality health care. none of us wants to see somebody die in the streets. that doesn't mean they have to have health insurance and it doesn't mean we have to do it stupidly. an example, an amazing percent of poor people who go to emergency rooms don't have insurance. if you put a clinic right inside the emergency room door, you can tree i can't imagine and say t rinch age and say you go over here. you save about 80% of the costs. >> thank you for coming today, mr. speaker. when the government was on the verge of a shutdown, those of us in the military were among the first to face repercussions. if there was to be a government shutdown, how would the military be affected? >> first of all, i'm very proud of you for wearing that uniform.

>> thank you. [applause] >> my father wore that uniform for 27 years in the infantry. i grew up in army bases around the world. i thought it was -- this goes back to our conversation about how bad washington is now. bill clinton and i had some terrific fight and twice closed the government. we didn't affect the military, air traffic control, the f.b.i., social security. we designed it not to be stupid. these guys are done the opposite. it is really, truly bad government. i would say to you -- first of all, i would hope we would not get to that but if we did get to it, i would introduce legislation to exempt all public safety personnel and to exempt social security so that you didn't have those engaged in a fight. we should be able to have a fight over here over policy

without crippling our institutions and leaving people who already have enough to worry about. military families shouldn't have to worry about whether or not they are going to get their next ph. -- paycheck. [applause] >> before you step down, what about that paycheck? they are talking about significant cuts in military spending. what about veterans benefits and those serving our country now? >> this probably goes against tide of the current beliefs in washington. you are not five years from now going to have significant cuts in military spending unless we are running huge risk in our national security. you cannot live in a world in which china is modernizing and there are radical islamists who want to kill us and the iranians are trying to get a nuclear weapon and the pakistanis may well have over 100 nuclear weapons if we cut the most

expensive military you can have to a cheap military. we have decided that we are going to be the strongest country in the world. that is the first duty of government to remain that strong. [applause] >> i don't think you were expecting the question. i don't think you expect this one. i asked you to talk about a moment in your life, whatever moment you wanted to, that had an impact on your policies and on your beliefs. this is a group of moms here. when you think of your mom, what special moments come to mind that gives you -- i know that she's not still with us. what moment do you think of when you think of your mom? >> first of all, you'll get me all teary eyed. i get teary eyed every time we sing christmas carols. my mother sang in the choir and

loved singing in the choir. and i don't know if i should admit this. when i was very young, she made me sing in the choir. we have pictures of me at a very early age singing in the choir. but i identify my mother with being happy, loving life, having a sense of joy in her friends, but what she introduced me to, late in her life, she ended up in a long-term care facility. she had bi polar disease and gradually acquired some physical ailments. that introduced me to long-term which i did for three years and alzheimer's which i did with bob kerry for three more years.

dealing with the real problems of real people in my family and so it is not a -- it is in fact, my mother. [applause] i do policy much easier than i do personal. >> and they are going to be mad at me. but if she were here today, what would you tell her? >> if she were here today? >> yes. >> she would be talking to all of these people. she would tell them how nice i was. [laughter] she was very proud of me most of the time. not all the time. most of the time. >> and what would you say to her? >> she spent 27 years as an army wife.

and she was in a culture that valued patriotism, duty, took risks for this country. and i would say to her, that i will do everything i can as a candidate to be worthy. [applause] >> do you have another mom question? we have about four minutes left. i apologize. i just did not mean to put you through that. but they -- >> they are very helpful. >> yes. [laughter]

>> you haven't had children. >> how would you like to close, knowing that there are not just a lot of moms in this room, but a lot of moms who are watching you now and a lot of mom who is have connected through cafe mom. what would you tell them they need to think, they need to do, and they need to hope for, not just on tuesday, but for the rest of this election cycle and going forward? >> look, i think women in general, and moms in particular, bear the brunt of the economy. when the economy is bad, a greater part of the pain is born trying to figure out what to do and how to do it by mothers and women in general. it is the way this culture has worked. mothers also cared more deeply and worried more deeply about their children. one of the most powerful comments i ever heard was a focus group that was done about national security and why people

are so worried about the iranian especially in. it was a mother -- nuclear weapon. it was a mother who said on the morning of 9/11 had three children in three different schools and she had to decide which one to get first. she said she would do anything to never do that again. i think whether you're talking about the economy, you're talking about security. or values. mothers are the civilizing influence. we all get it. if you think these two guys and me are the civilizing influence, no. mothers play an enormous role in sustaining civilization. that's why i think mothers probably understand the threat of a devalued, uprooted america more deeply than men do. so i would simply ask folks, if i could put it in a very simple way, i would ask you to think about how much you love your

children and how much you love your country and try to help people like me figure out how do we get the news media and the candidates to understand that they really should participate in the election worthy of our children and worthy of our country, because we are in real trouble and we can't stand politics as usual. [applause] >> we really appreciate you joining us here in front of all of these moms and we're going to be talking to more candidates in the coming weeks. you can keep tabs on what we're doing at mom matter2012.com.

thank you, speaker. >> thank you. [applause] >> these are your grandchildren and if you all want to come up and grab a photograph or shake hands, here is your shot to do it. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] [captioning performed by national captioning institute]

>> may i get a quick picture? ok. did it work? thank you so much. thank you.

>> we're hoping and praying you get there. >> hope you have a nice trip. are you guys staying through the new year? awesome. >> thank you so much. thank you. >> hi. >> how are you doing?

>> flu vaccine just a little bit. there we go. -- lean in just a little bit. >> thank you so much. good luck. >> thank you. >> going to be voting for you. >> are you decided yet? decided? >> that's good. pleasure to meet you. >> nice to meet you. >> we will definitely be caucusing for you. >> thank you. >> i'm a democrat.

>> honor to meet you. >> honor to meet you. >> would you mind? >> how are you doing? >> thank you. good luck on the campaign.

>> how is it going? >> great. >> you're doing a great job. keep up the good work. >> i'm from carolton. >> our road to the white house coverage in iowa continues with republican presidential candidate mitt romney at hy-vee

grocery store in des moines. in october, governor christie announced his endorsement of romney. this is about 35 minutes. >> ♪ i was born to be -- i was born free >> all right. >> thank you, guys. to be out here in the cold and the wind and the rain, and i brought with me chris christie, the great governor of new jersey and of course i brought the future first lady, i hope, my sweetheart, anne romney.

you guys, no one does it better than iowa. look at you today. with this rain and cold. 1,500 people here on a morning like this, i just can't take off my hat -- i don't have a hat on. i would if i could. the people of iowa to get out and see who is running for president. to support who you care about. to take a close look. i believe this race is not just about replacing president obama, as important as that is. it is also a race about saving the soul of america. this is the time to decide what america is going to be over the coming years, over this century, and there is no one that fought this battle more consistently and effectively than the governor of new jersey. i want to welcome the great governor of new jersey, chris christie. >> thank you, mitt. thank you for being here this morning. thank you for coming with me to

welcome the next president of the united states, governor mitt romney. america is watching iowa, as we always do every four years, we're watching iowa. iowa is going to be -- the folks from going to help to start this process, to get us going to make sure that the republican party nominates the very best person to take on president obama in november. when you look at that stage and you have watched these debates, i think you have to come to the conclusion i have come to, there is no person better qualified by his experience and character to take on barack obama to lead america than governor mitt romney, and this election is about our kids and their future. that's what governor romney talked about all across this country. he and anne and their family have benefited greatly from all the opportunities america

offered to them. they want the same for their grandchildren. the fight to take back the white house starts tuesday night and it starts here in iowa. we are counting on you to get out of here. take nothing for granted. elections are decided by the people who show up and the people who vote and the people who care enough about their country to be out here on a friday morning in iowa in the rain and the cold because you love your country and you believe this man can help lead this country back to greatness. [applause] now listen, this is a fight that starts on tuesday and it is going to continue right through november and the president of the united states, he's going to be out here and he's going to be trying to tell you a story, a story that somehow america is doing better after his three years of leadership in the white house. now we know that is not true. we know that is not true. and the president is going to

try to convince you somehow that he deserves to be rehired. well, let's be real clear. president obama came out to iowa three years ago and he talked to you about hope and change. well, let me tell you, after three years of obama, we are hopeless and changeless and we need mitt romney to bring us back to, bring america back. [applause] so i want to thank you all for being here this morning. i'm thrilled to be in iowa. new jersey is watching you too. we're watching you really closely and so listen, i want to tell you something. i want to tell you something really clearly. i'm in a good mood this morning. i'm feeling happy and upbeat. i love being with mitt and anne. you people disappoint me on tuesday, you don't do what you're supposed to do on tuesday, for mitt romney, i will be back, jersey style, people. i will be back. [laughter] but i would much rather come

back to iowa this fall, i would much rather come back this fall to campaign for mitt romney and to help you help him lead this country. all you need to know is this. i'm going to be there every minute that c.c. possibly be to help him because -- that i can possibly be to help him because i believe in this country as much as you do. everybody thanks for coming out this morning. i appreciates it very much. it is my extraordinary honor to introduce to you the next president of the united states of america, governor mitt romney. [applause] >> fighting the battles to take back america. this morning, i have someone i met in high school with me. i went to a party at stu white's house. i had seen the girl in elementary school. she was in the second girl. i was in the fourth grade. i didn't pay a lot of attention

at that points but when she turned 16 i thought she was pretty interesting. someone else brought her to the party. i went up to him and said look, i live closer to anne than you do. why don't i give her a ride home for you and he said ok. we have been going steady ever since. my sweetheart anne romney. >> i'm thrilled to see a mic that works. to see you all here. it is cold here. it is windy. people that may be watching this on television don't know how brave you all are to be here and there is quite a brisk wind up here. thank you all for coming. i want to express something to you that is deep in my heart and that is my lover of america and going -- love of america and knowing that that is why you here too. you're not here for any other reason except that you love america. and we are concerned about the

direction the country is going. and we hear you. we know what you're feeling. and we understand that there is someone that is coming, that is going to help you. i have all the confidence in the world in this guy standing next to me. the part that i can tell you about him are the parts you might not ever hear about. that is how he has been as a husband and as a father. to me that is what really matters. to me it matters. you never know what decisions are going to be made the the white house, so you really want to understand the character of the man. this is the man that stands by and does the right thing always. he has been with me for 42 years. we have five children, 16 grandchildren and i trust him implicitly and trust that he will always do the right thing and do the hard thing. so with all the confidence in the world, i can recommend this is going to be one of the greatest presidents ever.

the next president of the united states, mitt romney. >> thank you, sweetheart. now there is an entirely unbiased endorsement, i want you to know there. now over there, there is a sign. what does it say? in obama we trusted. now our economy is busted. you got it right, brother. that is just really something. the other day president obama said you know, it could be worse. that was his line. it could be worse. can you imagine hearing that from a pessimistic president? it could be worse. that goes down with marieant net, let them eat cake. we're cold now out in the wind and the rain because we care about america. he is out there. he just finished his 90th round of golf. we have 25 million americans looking for work. home values have come down. the median income in america has dropped by 10%. do you want more of barack

obama? do you want more of obama care? do you want promises of higher taxes? do you want mounds of regulations that he is putting on the financial services sector and the health care sector and manufacturing? is it time to have a real change in washington? i represent a very dralmt change from what you have seen over the past three years. i haven't spent my life in washington. i spent my life in the private sector. i'm smart enough to get out of the rain but i still spent my life in the private sector. i know how the economy works. i want to use that experience and skill to get the economy working for the american people again. why do this? when i was a kid my parents put us in the rambler. that was our car. we drover around to the national parks. my mom and dad wanted me to fall in love with america and fall in love i did. i saw the mountains and the

canyons and the amber waves of grain. i love america. and between the stops at the various national parks, mom would read to us books about the founding of the country and dad would talk to us about the founders. i think corn qualifies as amber. i'll call that part of the amber wave s of grain. there is another verse, however, that is important as well. it says oh, beautiful, more patriots dream, that sees beyond the years. the idea was that the patriots and their vision for america was not just for their time, but for permanence and that america and the foundation of this country would not just be a short experience but something that would last a long, long time. it would see beyond the years into our times. i believe in the principles upon which this country was founded. i believe that freedom and being able to choose our elected representatives is one of those key principles and i also

believe in opportunity. when the founders crafted the declaration of independence, say said the creator endowed us with unalienable rights, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and it means we are free in america to choose our course in life. we can choose to do what we want to do. we're a merit society, an opportunity society. by virtue of our education and our hard work, our willingness to take risks and our dreams, we can accomplish whatever we want to accomplish. we lift one another and lift the entire society. america's freedoms and our opportunity nature has made this the most powerful nation the history of the earth, but this president and the people around him have a different vision. they think instead of being an opportunity nation and a merit society, we should become an entitlement society where

government takes from some to give to others. where we would replace ambition with envy. they would poison the american spirit with class warfare. we want to return to the principles that made america the hope of the earth and the strength of the earth. i believe in america. i believe in freedom and opportunity and that's what we're going to bring back to this nation. [applause] this really is a battle for the soul of americans. the question is what kind of america are we going to be? what kind of land are we going give to our children and their children? i'm convinced if we stay on the course we're on, you're going to see america hit a wall like they have hit in europe. you're going to see us have the experiences that you have seen in greece and italy. that is not acceptable to me. we finally have to have someone go to washington who'll do what chris christie is doing in new jersey, which will bring sanity to the people. by the way, could democrats love

america too? i do remember what ronald reagan said. he said it is not that liberals are ignorant. it is just that what they know is wrong. [laughter] we have to educate them friment and make sure that they understand how we can work together to get america back on track. i will do that. i'm not a lifelong politician. i didn't spend my life in the political world. i didn't spend my life in washington, d.c. you have a choice on a number of people on our stage, the republican stage who spent their life in washington, d.c. that's fine. but i think to get america back on track, you need to have someone who spent his life outside of washington, who understands how the real world works. who understands how the comm works. now i did -- economy works. now i did spend four years as a governor. four years in government. i didn't inhale, i promise. i'm still a business guy. a father, a husband, a person who cares very deeply about this country. i think our president takes his

inspiration from europe. he thinks europe got it right. he thinks that a bigger government, more intrusive government with more regulations, a government that takes from some to give to others, a government that racks up debt, higher and higher and higher, that is that that is the course for america. i don't think it is working in europe. i sure as heck don't think it will work here. i believe in restoring the principles that made america great and i will do that with your help on tuesday night. you guys! if you can get out here in this cold and this wind and a little bit of rain coming down, then you can sure get out on tuesday night and you can sure find a few people to bring with you, and on the way to the caucus, you can tell them just who you are going to vote for and you're going to bring them next to you to make sure they do the same thing. need your help, you guys. it is a battle for the future course of america. i don't want politicians running america anymore. i want to make sure that we have

citizen leaders going to washington, leading this country, fighting if for the soul of this great country. thank you so much. great to be with you. thank you. [applause] >> ♪ >> hi there. how are you doing? >> thank you so much. how are you?

how are you? how are you? good to see you this morning. thanks for being out here in the freezing cold. good to see you. >> thank you. thank you. >> thanks for coming. good morning. hi there.

how are you doing, buddy? where is my wife? we'll find her. where did sh go? where is anne hiding? hi there. how are you? nice to see you. how are you? take care. how are you? great to see you. how are you? >> good, how are you? >> i'm great, thanks. >> thank you for coming out. >> thanks for being here, mr. romney. >> good to be here.

hi, how are you? good morning. good morning. good to see you guys. hi, how are you? how are you? good morning, how are you? thanks for being here.

how are you? hi, how are you? a long way to go. off to a good start this morning. i'll tell you that. thank you. thank you. appreciate it. how are you? >> met you four years ago at the iowa state fair. welcome back to iowa. >> how are you? nice to see you. thank you for being here this morning. >> good morning, governor. >> thank you. welcome to iowa.

>> thanks for being here. >> how are you? thanks for come out today.

>> good to see you. hi. how are you? nice to see you. very enthusiastic. a lot of excitement. i think people really feel they want a change in washington. we're getting a lot of support and energy across the state of iowa. he's terrific, isn't he? you don't get better than chris christie. >> i'll be there. >> good to see you this morning.

thank you. good morning. good morning. thank you. how are you? how are you? thank you. how are you? thank you. thanks for being here. how are you? ok. that's all right.

>> i don't have any idea who is going to win. how are you doing? i could not careless about re-election.

>> thank you so much. thank you. >> who'll be a good running mate? >> there are a number of people who would be terrific.

>> that's what i represent. we may be better.

>> hi. how are you? cold out here this morning. thank you so much. appreciate that. that sign, that's terrific. today is the 30th. >> that's right. >> thank you, you guys.

>> appreciate your help. hi, how are you? thank you. thanks for being here. how are you? what's your name?

11. hi, how are you? thanks so much. good to see you. thank you so much for your help. you're so kind. thank you. thank you. appreciate your help again. thank you so much. good to see you again. wow. look at these guys over here. who is this? they are freezing to death. how are you doing?

hey, buddy, how are you doing? how are you doing? thank you so much. good to see you. how are you , sir? good to see you. appreciate your help today. thanks, guys for being here. how are you, buddy? good to see you. >> our caucus, you're going to win it. >> thank you. you make it happen. i'm counting on it. thank you for being here this morning. you're so kind. how are you? good to meet you. beautiful daughter, beautiful

mom. they go together, don't they? how are you? good to see you. thanks for being here this morning. you're freezing to death. we were going to meet inside but there were so many people we had to come outdoors. >> we're counting on you, man. >> thank you so much. good to see you guys. thank you so much. good to see you. how are you doing? iowa state. thanks for helping today. thank you. how are you? thank you. thank you so much. good to see you. this feels wonderful. i'll tell you. the crowds and the enthusiasm couldn't be more encouraging. thank you. hi. you're so kind. thank you. thank you.

great to see you. thank you for being here. thank you. thanks for your help. you bet i will. you bet. ok. what's your name? we have an event that we agreed to do there and then i am going to come back first thing tomorrow. got another one. all right. >> please stop the wars and keep us out of any more. >> there you go. thank you. thank you. hey, guys, how are you? good to see you. >> this is jacob. >> hi, jacob. he is wondering why he is up so high in the air. you got a pen here? >> j.k.

jacob. >> i don't know how the spell. -- to hell. -- to spell. >> thanks, you guys. great to see you this morning. how are you? good to see you. thank you. i appreciate that. thanks for your help. thank you. take care. thank you so much. thank you for being here this morning. thank you. >> how are you? good to see you guys.

thanks so much. thank you so much. great to be here this morning. what a crowd. >> thank you so much. back and forth all day, all week, rather. thank you so much. thank you. how are you? thanks for being here today. how are you? good to see you. thanks for being here today and helping out. hi there. how are you doing? it is a little cold, huh? >> that's ok.

>> one more photo here? >> you bet. >> one, two, three. there we go. >> not doing live interviews, guys. sorry about that. >> we got to get going, guys. sorry about that. thanks, guys. >> thank you. >> wow, what an honor that is. good to see you. thank you. thank you so much. >> go, mitt!

>> up next, "washington journal" will take your questions and comments. then, live campaign coverage from iowa starting with republican presidential candidate rick perry in fort dodge, iowa. and later, ann romney, republican presidential candidate mitt romney's wife at a coffeehouse discussion. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011]