i found a way to streamline the way they worked together. in my view, that's because of a lack of leadership from the white house. we have had the same structure in government for a long time and it has worked at various times in the past. we are at a crisis setting economically and with the right leadership, we can make it work. do we need to change washington and the nature of the discourse? absolutely. that flows from the leadership of the person in the white house. despite the rhetoric, this president has been missing in action. the stimulus to along in his first weeks in office. that apparently was delegated to nancy pelosi and harry reid. they put together a stimulus package which he sighed.

the health-care plan was something that was devised that worked out without much direction from him as i might have expected. three years in, we know the president has said medicare and social security are both fiscally unsustainable, but three years in he has made no proposals to make them sustainable. i find it a very unusual presidency where the white house has not reached across the aisle, worked with republican leaders, battled about a private, refrained from attack and thereby enable to lead. >> he has -- what would you do differently? >> i remember the beginning with the stimulus. the republicans, the leader,

called on me to lay out our views of what we should do for the economy. on the day we were testifying, nancy pelosi introduced the democratic plan. we're here trying to formulate our plan that you are introducing it. obamacare came along and in every way they said they don't want it. they've elected scott brown in among the most liberal states in the nation. it wanted no input from republicans. there were bipartisan plans. the bipartisan plan was pushed aside. from what i can tell, this white house has stood aside and let that the policy and harry reid

run the show. how would i do it differently? i was lucky enough to be in a state where by legislature was 85% democrats. i figured i was going to get nothing done if i attack these guys on a personal basis. the speaker of the house and the senate have to have respect and i have to respect them. we established a practice of beating every monday in what our office. we rotated offices and fed each other. we talked about the challenges going on in the state, all off the record. they did not leak it to, i did not leak it. we let our hair down. one of the leaders said what this bill we are pushing is what i am not wild about the chief that to give me more covers a wide and stop it. so i can push back against my

own constituency. >> we talk about a differences on issues but there was no attack. the result of all that was that we have enough respect for one another that we did a lot of things that were quite successful. the balance the budget every year for four years. we did not raise taxes. we built a rainy day fund. despite a $3 billion shortfall on my first year. some people said do not implement this requirement that you cannot graduate for massachusetts' high schools unless you pass a graduation exam. i said i will hold firm to that. and they stood by me on that. issue after issue, and we were able to work together. >> can you have that same influence with republican leadership in the u.s. senate and house? >> and the democratic

leadership, i presume. people are very independent. polluters in the massachusetts state senate and the house of representatives -- there are those in massachusetts state senate and house that are very respected. we were able to make real progress, including on the health care plan. this was unplanned against long odds that we could accomplish something of that nature. no other state has been able to do that. our education system is number one in the nation. this is republicans and democrats working together. i cannot guarantee that everything i want to do in washington will get done but i can guarantee that i will focus on getting that job done, rather than getting reelected or

pursuing a partisan agenda. i am not a lifelong political figure. as you know. i have run for office and the last before -- lost before. but my career was in the private sector. i am in this race to get the country on track again. i am concerned that if we stay on the track we are on, we will be italy or greece. in five or six years, we will face the same, they are facing right now. the consequence of an america in distress is virtually impossible to calculate because no one could bail us out. i am concerned about the trauma that some of the families feel today. i am concerned about the catastrophe that would exist if we fell into the italy, europe, ireland distress. and about the protection of

freedom long term. >> you talk about programs he would eliminate and what those would be. >> there are two parts of the federal government that i think we have to address. one is the income statement, the other is the balance sheet. those are business terms you are familiar with the but the annual budget is one we have to cut. there are three parts of that. one is to eliminate programs. like obamacare. that saves about $95 billion a year by the fourth year of the next president's first term. hopefully that is in need. then there are other programs. the national endowment for the arts and amenities, amtrak, public broadcasting. there is a long list of programs, some of those i like

myself but the test is is this program so critical that it is worth borrowing money from china to pay for it? a lot of things we are doing right now -- we are funding by borrowing money from other people who will demand interest and pay back at some point. for me this is a very important test. is is important -- program critical? i will eliminate a lot of programs, even those i like because of that test. there are programs that we need to keep in place but they can be won far more efficiently if they are returned to the states, rather than run from the federal level. one of those is medicaid, the health-care program for the poor. i would take medicaid dollars, inflated thecpi with aplus 1% and say to iowa you craft your own program. you have to cover it had to cover it. you structure it in the way you think best. obviously you have to give the

state time to organize programs of that nature making that change in medicaid saves $100 billion a year, four years out. training programs -- there are 47 different work force training programs that have been put in place in that report to eight different federal agencies. the gao did in the value vision of those programs and did not find any of them to be affected. these are billions of dollars of training programs. i would take all of that money, bundled it and send it back to state and say you craft your own programs to train your own work force for the jobs that exist in your state. as opposed to having the federal government tell you how to one of those programs. i would look at other programs to helping the poor and look for candidates that can also be returned to state -- whether it be housing vouchers, food stamps.

other programs where we can return these to the states. there is a difference between being poor in iowa or massachusetts and mississippi. let the states be the home for those programs. >> how are you going to ensure millions of americans -- >> i have a model which is the way we did it in my states. let states craft their own programs. programs that work for their own state. by returning medicaid dollars to iowa, i will have the resources to care for its own uninsured and poor. the solution here would look different than what we did in massachusetts. we will learn from each other. it will provide models to help people become insured. there also things that can be done at the federal level. by allowing individuals to

purchase health insurance on their own on the same tax advantage bases that exists now for corporations. we discriminate against individuals who want to buy their own health insurance. you folks probably get your insurance this corporation. if you want to purchase it on your own -- by the way, tax advantage. it is a badge -- deduction to the company. you get a tax subsidy. if you are a sole proprietor running a business out of your home, you have to pay health insurance in after-tax dollars. i want to level the playing field, make it easier for people. then people like you might decide i would rather buy my own insurance. and that is a choice you could make. that is one change i would make. i also want to make sure the provide for pre-existing conditions. people continuously insured should not worry they lose their

insurance should they change jobs or become ill. or if they are laid off or whatever. so you have to cover those things. those things i would insist that the federal level. i mentioned fixing the income statement, the other side is the balance sheet. $62 trillion of unfunded promises. that is medicare and medicaid -- excuse me, medicare and social security and other entitlements. i mentioned medicaid already. social security is relatively easily to make a balanced. medicare is that copper one. with regards -- medicare is the tougher one. with regards to sector -- security, for the next generation i would slow the increase the retirement age. i would also lower the growth rate of benefits for higher income recipients. for middle and lower income

social security recipients, it would stay the same period for higher incomes, they will have a lower growth rate cpi use the -- and i would use the cpi. >> what about private accounts? >> in my tax plan, compaq -- i eliminate any tax on interest and dividends or capital gains for those making $200,000 or less. there will be no tax on their savings for middle income americans. over to medicare, we have a program for some time called medicare advantage. people have a choice of traditional service medicare or private insurance. that is a choice they have. that exists already.

when it was being discussed, some people said this is privatization of medicare. people have a choice of a private plan but they also can keep traditional medicare. my plan takes that idea and says we will now provide that for the next generation. we will give people a premium subsidy and they can purchase whatever product they want to read their -- whatever pocket the they want. -- product they want. and that takes care of the concept of medicare advantaged. by congress adopting a plan to grow those premiums support payments over time at the controlled rate, we are able to make medicare costs affected. and not break the bank. make sure that it is sustained long term. so i am giving you a long answer. getting america's fiscal house in order is not a quick sound bite answer.

there are several things to do to get our income statement in line where we finally balance the budget and there are several things we need to do to get our long-term obligations addendum line. >> any customer military spending in you're balancing the budget? >> there are a number of inefficiencies that will have to be addressed. those exist in the military as well as other agencies. i will go after those. there are a defense programs that i think are insisted upon by various congress people who have their favorite project in their home districts. some of those programs ought to be eliminated. there is weapons systems. i anticipate that money will not go to paying down the budget deficit. that money will be used to update our navy and air force, bring in an additional 100

deaths and active duty personnel and provide the benefits they deserve. >> and no net cost to the defense? >> i anticipate no net cost -- cuts. i think we ought to keep it at approximately 4% of the gdp for the near term for the military. let me give you the overall numbers. federal spending is a percentage of the gdp today is about 25%. the base department of defense budget is about a 3.8% of that 25. there is also wartime costs/ . as our conflicts in afghanistan and iraq wind down, there will be savings and that will be reduced. >> are you ok with the way we are winding it goes down -- those down? >> the final date in

afghanistan is the appropriate day to set as a target. which is 2014. the 2012 pulldown of the surge troops i think has been accelerated by three months for political purposes. i think that is a mistake. i think the pull out of our surge troops in afghanistan should have been in december as the commanders suggested. the surge troops should have come out in december of 2012, net september -- not september. the date puts our troops in a withdrawal mode during the fighting season, which i think is dangerous. with regards to iraq, we are following a time line with one exception -- the president bush and others anticipated we would have on going forces there to

help in that transition. president obama's secretary of defense suggested that would be the case and they were unable to negotiate an agreement to allow the 20,000 or so trips to remain. -- troops to remain. but is the winds down opprobrium? yes. the money from those things -- the funding from afghanistan and iraq, that in fact does disappear. >> a deal opposed -- what is the basis of their opposition to supporting same-sex marriage? >> the basis of opposition is my view that the ideal setting for raising a child is with a man and woman. i support that concept. the action i take as president depends upon the state in a play in washington.

i would defend the defensive marriage act which the current president has refused to defend. the act was well constructed and should be maintained. of like to see a national -- i would like to see a national amendment defining marriage as a relationship between a man and woman. that was tried three or four years ago. ow had the feel about -- hwpw gays about -- how do you feel about gays serving in the military? >> that has already happened. the boards are winding down -- the wars are winding down. >> what are the differences

between you and newt gingrich? we are in a situation where his members are surging. there are a lot of undecided voters. >> let me say -- what do you look for when choosing a president? you have to think about that every four years as you think about someone to endorse. one part you look at is the their ideas and views on issues. i like my ideas better. on some issues, he and i disagree and of like my position better than his. the other measure is tell me about the person's capacity to lead. as the person been a leader before and how do they lead? what do the people around them think of that job? how did the enterprise they led

do under their leadership? i have had four occasions to be a leader. i learned by watching my father. ivo was asked to watch -- i was asked to turn around a company that became a success. then i was asked to run the olympics in salt lake city and that became a success. each of these cases -- you did not do all of these things by yourself. a leader brings in other people. i came to massachusetts at the time of difficulty in the state. we will labor -- we were able to make it successful. as you and others look at the candidates, you say has the lead, how did he lead, what did those around him think about the experience? i think leadership -- i look back at our president and i say

what made ronald reagan, jfk a great president? what made light eisenhower -- he did i get enough credit. -- what made eisenhower -- he did not get enough credit. it was not necessarily that they had the best answers on issues although they were pretty good on those things. but they were leaders. they confronted the challenges america faced with sobriety, wisdom and judgment. they are men of character, vision, trusted by others. they had the capacity to lead. that, i believe, is an area where you will be able to look at the first candidates and say who has been a leader and who would be the best leader in a time of challenge? i have had the leadership experience and have spent my life in the private sector. newt gingrich spent the last 30

or 40 years in washington. there is nothing wrong with that. it is just different. having spent time in the private sector and understanding how the jobs come and go and what businesses grow or shrink and how you can compete globally, that experience is essential. especially at a time when dapples -- battles we are facing around the globe are economic. i hope our military is so superior no one thinks of touching it again. so our apples will be economic. i understand how the economy works. -- so our battles will be economic. i understand how the economy works. i believe the romany plan is better than the newt gingrich plan. i think we should eliminate some parts on top labor laws -- child labor laws.

the speaker had a measure to put a permanent colony on the moon to mind her rare materials. i think we have other priorities for spending. he talked about a series of mirrors to put in space to put -- like our highways -- light our highways at night. we have some differences on ideas. i respected the speaker but we are very different. -- i respect the speaker but we are very different. be followed very different -- we follow a very different paths. i have let in the private sector and governmental sector. i said this at the outset but i

am concerned the president believes there is something wrong with the way america works. we have to transform it and change it and turned it into an entitlement society. i am afraid that is the wrong way to go. we have to be in american society. -- a merit society. i will mention one more. the speaker -- i think everyone, by the way, adopted the idea of no tax and interest on capital gains. if that were the case, no tax and interest did in capital gains, i would have paid no taxes for the last 10 years. neither would bill gates or warren buffett and so forth. we need tax relief for middle income americans. that is why my capital gains interest and dividends tax

reduction is for middle income americans. that is where a think help is needed most. >> i have been accused around here of being conservative. some of my friends i talked to do not dislike you but they look at your record and they do not trust you to be a reliable conservative. how do you convince them? >> they will not get a chance to read my book and they should remember i was the guy that ran four years ago as the conservative alternative to john mccain. my opponents tried to characterize me in ways that were in their advantage and i did the same to them. i will not cry about the nature of politics. but i was seen as the conservative candidate for years

ago. nothing has changed. i am just as conservative today as i was then. >> how to convince them of that? >> it is issue by issue. perhaps pointing out that newt gingrich said that paul ryan also plan was the right ring social engineering and i said it was a big step forward and we're on the same page. hopefully that will convince them. his ad on global warming and trying to do something about climate change -- newt gingrich supported capped -- cap and trade. my view is more conservative on immigration and his view. so far, we have had a pretty big field. i would have been running advertisements against michele bachmann for the others and now it is newt gingrich. hopefully people take a close look and say mitt romney has

been fighting for conservative ideals for some time. >> questioning of your positions comes maybe from how your positions have changed or of all overtime. the question might be how do we know that mitt romney will be -- who will be in white house and will that change again? >> the issue i am normally affronted -- confronted with is abortion. there are others i have not changed on. i have compared -- i had people say i changed my position on a rights. now have not. i said i am opposed to discrimination based on sexual orientation. at the same time, i said i oppose same-sex marriage and civil union if it is virtually identical. that has been my position.

that is just the nature of politics. but i did change my view on abortion. it changed the first time as governor -- a piece of legislation reached my desk that raise this issue. i thought i could leave the things the way they were. then some legislation came to my desk saying we will redefine when life begins as opposed to being at conception. we will define it later. and allow the creation of embryos for purposes of experimentation and the destruction of those embryos. i could not sign a piece of legislation like that. that was not leaving things the way they were so i vetoed those pieces of legislation and wrote an article in the "boston globe." that was maybe in 2005. i said i am pro-life. i have faced this issue. i am adamantly pro life.

and as governor of massachusetts, every issue that came to my desk related to abortion, i came clearly on the side of life. i was awarded by the massachusetts citizens for life. so i have a record. this is not something that happened just before the election. cox is there any = = -- >> is there any abortion you would accept? >> i believe that abortion should be legal in rapes. >> i cannot imagine that over 20 years, there is not something i have learned pickett i was ron -- that i was wrong on. >> wouldn't it be a better

response to say i have changed my mind and i have learned things? >> i thought i had the right position on abortion until it confronted me and i said now that i see this in the light of creating new life to destroy it, i cannot go along with that. that led me to a change of position. i'm sure there are other places where by virtue of experience i concluded i was wrong. >> if you had to do it over again, would you do the health care plan exactly the way you did it in massachusetts? >> it never was exactly the way i wanted it. i'd be good measures in the plan overturned by the legislature. the way it was implemented was different than the way i would have implemented it had i been governor. but what i'd have done -- what i have done that without raising taxes?

yes. it was the right step forward. not perfect. there are things i wish i could have done differently and legislature could have done differently. but the plan is favored 3-1 by the people of the state. the plan was supposed to cost no additional money under -- at all under the plan i propose but the added features to it that made it more expensive. i would not have done that. if i could go back, i would call that out but i am not going back. they will be able to choose people who hopefully will do the right thing. >> the individual mandate was part of the massachusetts plan and now the health reform. >> i support states being able to craft plans that work for states rather than having the federal government impose a one size fits all plan that takes away the rights of states to craft programs for their own needs. what we did in massachusetts is

what we thought would work well -- well with our state. it worked with the 8% of the people that were not insured. for 92% of residents, nothing changed. only the 8%. with obamacare, health care changes for 100% of the people. not only that, you have taxed at half $1 trillion. medicare gets cut by $500 billion. this is something the president will hear about. the only person i know of to ever cut medicare is president obama, by $500 billion to fund obamacare. republicans are talking about how to preserve medicare and make sure it is an option for people down the road and make it physically sustainable. i do not know anyone among republicans talking about cutting it. the only person cut in it for current recipients is president

obama. this is an issue i am looking forward to debating the president. if he did not like my plan and giving people it had plans for medicare -- a private plan or medicare -- i will broaden that. he will have that choice. under that plan, it would keep medicare financially sustainable. what is your plan, mr. president? you have been in office for three years. what are you planning to do to major medicare survives and is fiscally solvent? i find it amazing we have a president with an issue that big, seeing what is happening around the world, not proposing plans that actually solve our needs of medicare, social security, medicaid and the overall economy.

more thann's cost traditional medicare. how does that sit money to encourage people to get private medicare? >> the premium support payments would be set by congress. you can have them grow by a set percentage rate or have competition among various industries and choose a rate based on what you're seeing in competition. as the heritage foundation, liberals and conservatives came together and said we need to have congress set a budget for how much is spent on medicare. the same thing with other impediment programs that will allow us to have a premium support amount. higher for poor people, lawyer for wealthy people. they then can choose which plan works best for them. >> religion, faith or spirituality -- should it play a role in the political process?

we had governor perry a recent -- recently talking about the president -- a war on religion. we have had a lot of talk about religion and beard quality. does it play a role for you in this process? >> people want to have a president who looks to province for guidance. that may change someday but it is generally a perspective of many people in this country. i certainly feel that myself. i do not think the particular faith of the individual should become an issue in a campaign but it is up to the people to decide what they want to do on their own. i fink campaigns would be unwise to make a particular faith an issue in a campaign. i believe that by and large we are a people that believe in a creator and we would like that

president to be of a similar view. that is not to say that people who do not believe in the creator do not make contributions to the country. but i think most likely our next president will be a person of a religious grounding. >> in your most recent campaign at, you said you had been married to the same woman for 40 years -- 42 years. is that a direct shot at newt gingrich who has had three marriages? >> no, that was an answer to a question in the debate and consistent with what i have done in prior campaigns. i run an ad that talks about my family, shows pictures of my kids and my wife's a people get to know us on a personal basis. sometimes in a campaign where all this the is a personal -- person debating, you get the impression they are a technocrat

or an issue persian -- person. i want people to know i am a father, has been. i care deeply about my kids and the next generation. >> should people consider the fact that newt gingrich has been married three times? >> i am not making that an issue in this ad and i have not raised that in the debates. i help what people look at in this race is our respective ideas for the country and our capacity to lead. the base upon our experiences of leadership and our backgrounds and where we come from in terms of the sectors we have been in. >> you write a lot in your book about islamic jihad. what would you did it differently as presidents do differently to protect national security?

>> the greatest single threat from radical of violent anti heightism -- jihadism is a nuclear iran. i find they will find it in the hands of hezbollah. in that case if it were used, it would be catastrophic. the president's management of iran has been inadequate. he has taken way too long to impose tough sanctions. i would have imposed crippling sanctions long ago. one of the areas i think was most disappointing was when the president decided to give russia, their number one foreign policy objective -- removal of our missile defense sites from poland. he did not exact a willingness to join into crippling sanctions against iran. had he done so, we could have pulled china in.

i do not think it was to be the only nation in the world blocking sections against iran during -- against iran. he had nothing to say. i think finally that we should have gone after iranian diplomats and some of their senior leaders, including ahmadinejad, and turning them to decry as they are on the global stage. i think he should have been indicted under the genocide law. this president -- this should have been front and center. i would have hoped we would have created it perception and

reality that we have developed military options. i do not think there is anyone who thinks america has prepared military options that this president would be willing to take to prevent iran from becoming a nuclear power nation. i think we should have those options available. i cannot describe what they would be because i have not had those discussions with our military leadership. for iran to be dissuaded from nuclear folly requires sanctions around the world. and a recognition that the united states may well take military action to stop their nuclear plants. -- plans. going more broadly, jihadists in some nations like nigeria will go after a certain part of the

country and begin to expand. i would have special partnership forces where we take a very small footprint military advisers and leaders with intelligence officers and special forces officers and provide them to a nation like nigeria and say we will help your own troops and military route out of these radical island -- and radical, vilent jihadists. we put special forces personnel in the philippines working with their military and routed the efforts there. they used to have thousands of jihadists. it does have an impact. i would rather be -- let me say this. a decision to employ military power is a decision one would

take with great trepidation. and caution and concern. putting america's men and women in harm's way is a very heavy matter. taking action to try to prevent a circumstance where we have to act in that nature is in my view a very high priority. helping nations on their own -- i look at the record and spoke with former secretary shultz. he said in the reagan administration, we sent advisers and help other nations deal with their own issues and battled problems before they became complex -- conflicts that involved the world. the president, for instance, sent men and women into central africa. that is not exactly the same as

jihadism but it still is a malevolent force. i support the idea of a small number of people who can have a significant impact to prevent something which can be very much opposed to the interests of america as well as of the civilized world. >> widely supposed americans have never chosen as president somebody ms. -- somebody with executive experience? >> if we have a broader definition of executive experience than people like eisenhower would fall into that category. we have chosen people whose primary experience has been in the private sector. that may not have been a feature being communicated at the time of their campaign but ronald

reagan's experience was in the private sector far longer than in government and the same has been true for others. right now, there is a recognition that what we face is a world which has been changed by the globalization of our economies and that america's economy will have to become competitive to continue to lead the world. after the second world war, we were far ahead of the rest of the world. germany and japan were decimated. we were the center of the world and had been for a long time. now we're seeing -- we are in a plane filled with other top competitors. china being among them. leading this country to a position where we are once again highly productive and most productive and competitive and worry are adding jobs -- where we are adding jobs -- that can

happen. the american people need someone who can understand the economy. what you're going through right now is the most severe economic distress we have seen since the great depression. having someone understands the economy both short-term and long-term need to compete in a world where the global integration of our economies is underway -- this is a more relevant qualifications in the mind of americans than it has been in the past. i think most people feel that a lifetime in washington is not necessarily the right engine to get our economy going, to get america strong again. i think the president is a nice guy. i just think he is over his head and did not understand how the economy works. i do not think he understands how our economy has outperformed others in the world. i think if he makes us more like europe, it will make us stronger. it will make us weaker.

we do not want to become europe. i think someone who has the kind of background i do is actually what america needs right now. or i would not be doing this. >> we are looking at the calendar and you have about three and a half more weeks before caucus goes into the fold. we are taking a look at the candidates over the next few days. tell us why you should turn our endorsement and why should caucus goers show you the support on gingrey third? -- january 3. >> i would like your endorsement. it makes a difference. i think my background and experience qualifies me as a person and judgment and care and caution to solve difficult problems and polls -- pose

solutions that had been thought out and make america stronger and better. i also believe that my experience as a leader -- a leader is a combination of things that it's hard to define but is trust, loyalty, character, integrity, vision and capacity. i believe that is essential in our president. sometimes we do not agree with someone based on their issues. i look at some of our past presidents and i disagree with them on the issues but i see them as leaders. rarely are the issues we talk about in the campaign the issues that really define the presidency. we are all talking about these issues ipad -- the issues and they get in being swept aside -- the issues and they end up being

swept aside. i believe that i have demonstrated. had i lead and jailed, i would not be doing this. i would not be asking for your support. -- lead and failed, i would not be doing this. i would not be asking for your support. not every business i invested in -- some businesses be invested in, i work hard to make them successful and they were not. i have learned from a failure as well as a success. but the businesses i have led an run myself have all been successful because of the experiences i have had. so i would appreciate greatly your endorsement and your help.

i cannot guarantee i will win in iowa. but i am pretty sure i will win the entire battle because of the amount of time there is for my message to get through, the features of my background to have been understood by the american people. i cannot promise you can take that to the bank but i sure am. >> it has been a pleasure having you here. >> thank you. >> thank you very much. >> i of focusing on the differences between the newt

gingrich plan and the paul ryan plan and my plan. i am very pleased and honored to have the support of john. thank you. >> more mitt romney tonight leading up to the iowa caucuses. the former massachusetts governor is holding a grass- roots campaign rally. it will be live here on c-span just after 10:00 eastern. rick santorum hosts a meet and greet at a local pizza restaurant in altoona, iowa. a reporter covered the center at another pizza parlor earlier today. the restaurant named their

signature dish after santorum. but a staff member said they are not sure how long it will keep its name is he loses the nomination. we will have live coverage of rick santorum tonight at the block -- at about 7:00 p.m. michele bachmann, who is in last place in the polls, is on washington journal. our conversation begins at 9:30 eastern. caucuses are being held tomorrow in some 800 locations in the state at homes, schools and church basements. we will have live coverage from inside to caucuses tomorrow night -- one from central iowa on c-span with a preview program starting at 7:00 eastern and another caucus on c-span-2

from western iowa. >> it is essential that our spending habits take per 180 degree turn starting right now. at midnight, the government will shut down if congress does not pass the continuing resolution. >> forecasters at goldman sacks have warned that a shutdown could shave off growth of the gdp every week. people have warned about the impact on confidence and the u.s. economic recovery. >> with a possible government shutdown looming, this senate session from april 8, 2011 was the video library paulson most watched a video of the year. wanted for years self-paced -- library's most watched a video of the year. watch it for yourself. >> in august 2010, c-span sat down with former house speaker newt gingrich before he made the decision to run for president.

he was first elected to the u.s. house of representatives in 1978 and served as speaker of the house from 1995-1999. since leaving congress, he has written more than 20 books and served as an analyst for fox news. this is 40 minutes. >> newt gingrich is a former member of congress and speaker of the house. what is the state of our country today? >> i think we have very significant problems. we have to learn how to compete with china and india successfully. we have to learn how to defeat radical islamists and we have to figure out how to dramatically shrink the size and cost of government and how to get power out of washington back home to smaller, local communities. those are the very big challenge is for us as the country. >> you used the word radical

describing this president as well. why so? >> i think he is the most are with president in history. his policies represent a huge increase in power in washington. a 27 page health bill that the country overwhelmingly wants to repeal. requiring every company to report every transaction of $600 or more in a way that is an amazing intrusion into our lives. if financial reform bill with -- which radically centralizes power. an increase in a range of activities in our life and a desire to control our energy supply by controlling carbon. this is the most washington centered at the most

dramatically different agenda in american history. and fundamentally different from what he campaigned on. >> you have worked with this administration and president on at least one issue -- education and. >> on the issue of charter schools, i think the president has done the right thing in favoring the parents a right to choose the best school for their children. i have gone around the country on a bipartisan basis arguing that parents have every right to know how their child is doing and how the school is doing. and they have their right to put their child into a charter school and can judge better for the child's future. >> the times are different but are the challenges different today than what we face in the last century? >> this is probably the greatest collective challenge to the american system since the 1850's. the combination of having to fundamentally reform our economic structures to compete with china and india -- we need

to dramatically shrink the cost and size of government at every level. county commissions, state and federal. had we need to understand, identify and defeat radical islamists. doing those things simultaneously while reinforcing classic american values, the notion that we are endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights, the notion of the work ethic and the right to dream big dreams -- all of those things combined represent one of the most complex challenges in american history. maybe you can take the combination of the depression and world war two. these challenges are occurring simultaneously though. >> if you couldn't frame the debate of where we were in 1994 -- what is similar and different

in 2010. >> there are a lot of things that are different. much more radical administration and clinton was. the economy is much worse. job killing policies, the kind of policies that weakened the entrepreneurialism spirits. we are at 9.5% unemployment. this is the longest period of high unemployment since the great depression and. there is no evidence that will change dramatically. even the obama's administration report suggested we would not see full employment until 2016. that is a gloomy report. it would suggest they have to dramatically changed their policies but in fact they are not sending the message in the white house. they continue to kill jobs. that challenge is the most

aggressively undermining the administration. it is the one they are having the hardest time getting together. if you look at the word that they do not use the word jihad and do not want to talk about radical islamists -- it is hard to see how the national strategy will work if they cannot identify opponents. >> is barack obama up for the job of being president? i think the people have to decide that. but you have to say he may be a better campaigner than president and the better celebrity than a chief executive. he may be more attractive as the speechmaker and then he is as a commander in chief. my sense is that they did not have a very good grip on how to get things done. that's what they mishandled the bp problem in the gulf. it is what they had a difficult time handling the economy and

the border were people want to see the border controls. when you look at implementation, they seem to have a very real crisis of confidence. he is a good speechmaker but i am not sure he is very affective. the president is not like a senator. presidents >> that the president is tough enough and is compatible with your vision and he can actually get us there. what made president eisenhower and president reagan successful was that they could get done what they set out to do and understood had to be a chief executive. the president is an executive office. some political office. it is a job executing policy.

i think what has been very discouraging is the gatt badly the obama led the destruction between words and achievements. -- the gap between words and achievement. i think they did not realize these big rigs can move and now you have seen one of them take thousands of jobs and millions of dollars of payroll to egypt. the other day, -- it was unbelievable. because of the political instability in the united states, there were going to move to, go and drill off of africa. i think the administration did not realize these large rigs are not fixed and can go anywhere in the world at will. a six month moratorium will actually turn out to be a six- year moratorium. once they move, they stay where they're going to go for five or six years.

>> people look at congress and say this town is dysfunctional. republicans blame the obama administration for not going out to bridge the divide and republicans have been saying our message is we are going to oppose you on every front. is that a fair assessment? >> i think if you look at the breakdown of lyndon johnson's majority in 1967 over vietnam, civil-rights, student counterculture, inflation, all of the different problems and you look at the time from nixon through ford threw carter, by 1980, people concluded the presidency could not get the job done. ronald reagan came into office and in about 60 days change that. i think it takes a very strong, consistent leadership in the white house and it takes a president's who is congruent

with the american people. if reagan and fdr, and lincoln all understood is perfectly -- if the american people want to go in a certain direction and have a president willing to lead them in that direction, the pressure they can bring to bear on the congress guarantees achievement. if, on the other hand, the president wants to go in a direction the country does not want to go or is a weak leader, the system does not work very well. the founding fathers designed the system that would be a machine so inefficient no dictator could force it to work. they divided up power in such a way that it is so inefficient weekend europe -- we can barely get to work voluntarily. they would argue that was by design. what has been fascinating about obama is that he clearly lost popular support by last august. but their reaction was to just

ignore it. no matter what the polls said about the health bill, they rammed it through, even when they lost to teddy kennedy's seat, they just ran it through. they rammed this stimulus through with no elected official having read it. they ran a huge energy tax increase through the house and nobody read it because they added a 300 page amendment at 4:00 in the morning and voted on it that afternoon. they could not get it through s that. what you have seen as the first time where you have a chicago- style machines actually trying to run washington as though it were a city council and ignoring the will of the american people and i think that is a disaster. >> let me put a hypothetical on the table. president gingrich is in office and you have a democratic majority in the senate. how do you deal with them? theou don't want to ruin

evening with viewers who are democrats. >> look how we did that when i was speaker of the house and bill clinton was president. we wanted to balance the federal budget and reform health care. clinton had favored those but his staff oppose them. we end up negotiating for 35 straight days. what truly sitting in the room across the table from each other are giving the details. you have to have a willingness to reach across, not to placate or peace, but to have honest conversations. when we passed health care reform, one half voted with the add one-half voted against us. when we passed the balanced budget, we had a substantial democratic party voted in favor balancing the budget.

that did not happen because we were clever or had nice parties. it happened because the american people said it overwhelmingly i want you to reform the welfare system and balance the federal budget. reagan had a formula for this. there was a terrific book called the education of ronald reagan, which was a study of reagan and the general electric -- in the process, he learned a great deal about talking with people and communicating great ideas. reagan used to say his job was to turn up the light for the american people and turn up the heat on congress. i think there is a lot to that. a strong executive has to into it what does america need to succeed? how do you communicate to the american people so they decide they want it to happen at how you get congress to decide what

they have to do? reagan was very patient with this. went through several cycles trying to pass things working with the reagan administration and they would come back with a big again and again and gradually make it so one-third to one-half of the democrats and up voting for them. the problem for obama has bet the more people back, understood his bills, the more people opposed them. he filed a lawsuit against arizona but 63% of the country is for arizona. you cannot turn up the light back, that means people call and say don't do that. that is where obama has had a huge problem. >> one of the living problems is the debt and deficit approaching $14 trillion. can you reduce that without increasing taxes? likedon't want to sound

i'm old, but once upon a time, we balance the budget for four consecutive years and paid off $405 billion in debt. it is the only time we had four straight years of a balanced budget. we did so well cutting taxes to increase economic growth and the key to it was simple. we stop spending. in the four years i was speaker of the house, we averaged 2.9% increase in federal spending, including entitlements. that is the lowest rate of increase since calvin coolidge in the 1920's. if you ask me if you get to a balanced budget, absolutely. quit spending the money. if you ask the american people july that lower taxes and less government or higher taxes and more government, by guess is they will pick lower taxes and less government. >> what do you take away from

your years as speaker? you had some success but made some mistakes as well. >> it is very sobering. i look back and have thought about that. the first elected republican speaker, the first reelected republican speaker since 1928. i underestimated how big the job was. i had been the republican minority whip. i jumped from minority whip to speaker overnight at the from a minority party nobody thought was going to be in power to leading a wave of 9 million additional votes, the biggest one party increase in american history. i underestimated how big it was. there were times i made mistakes that were just a function of not understanding. when you are the minority whip of a party that has not been in

office in 40 years, you have to yell pretty loud to get attention. when you are the brand new speaker, if you whisper, it gets more attention than if you were yelling. i did not learn how to be careful about my words or be cautious about what we were trying to get done. i look back and if i -- you never get to relive it, but if you could, there are boundaries i would have set on things we did at how we operated that were in retrospect raw but i did not understand the context of this new job that i did not do it as well as i should have. >> do you regret leaving in 1998? >> i have lost the ability to fight for reform and it was clear. i gave a speech at the chamber of commerce in january of 1998 advocating a very bold next cycle of reform. there is a book where someone

interviewed a lot of the people involved and they agreed clinton that i had developed a strategy of medicare and social security that we were building on welfare reform and balancing the budget and we were on the edge of a big, bold series of reforms. then the lewinsky scandal blew up at politics generated to personality fights and it was clear the kind of reform i represented at reagan and thatcher had represented was not going to be acceptable and republicans were exhausted. they were not used to be a majority. by the fall of 1998, they just wanted to be quiet and be able to manage things like traditional politicians and that was not what i was doing. leaving at having the last 12

years to think about things that developed the center for health transformation and write books and make movies has been good for me and has allowed me to grow in ways that if i stayed would not have been possible. >> regardless of the party or individual, what advice would you give any future speaker of the house? >> first of all, you have to serve your country. your the third ranking constitutional officer of the united states. my dad was a career soldier and i take seriously the idea of serving your country. my opening speech was about bringing the two parties together and working together on things. the speaker has to be the speaker of the house and leader of their party in that order. that is very unfortunate. i think second, you want to

understand where your members want to go but you also have to have a view of where you want to go because the speaker is a very capable leader. if you look at how strong policy has been, she is an -- at how strong nancy pelosi has been, she has changed the house and change the outcomes by her personality. >> the dow has any other speaker called you? >> dennis has recalled make up most of what i do is the opposite of what nancy pelosi does. everybody who has been speaker has a mutual respect for everyone else who has been speaker. tip o'neill said to me years ago that someday i would understand why you had to be a strong speakers. i told him how much i respect the job he did and i think he's right. just as president understand

other presidents, speakers have a sense of what are the challenges and problems, how do you work with the executive branch that are probably common to that job and have no other counterparts in the american system. >> and yet you to did not always get along? >> this may be a bad analogy, but in some ways, politics at the level we are describing is like the super bowl. everybody in the area that is running at full speed and they are determined to get what they want. that does not mean they have to hate each other, you just may be on different teams. you think that guy may be a terrific catcher but you can have a mutual respect for each other that recognizes this process -- dick gephardt used to describe this beautifully. he would always say politics is

how we sublimate civil war. politics is about dreams, power, resources, values and we all have to recognize we are trying to manage stability within a process of enormous tension. i think dick gephardt had done right and you have to realize that the above who offer ourselves to public life are taking on one of the highest and most challenging roles and citizenship and we have to find a way to live up to that vision of a self-governing republic. >> how does that complicate things with blog and the internet? >> jefferson and hamilton each paid for a newspaper to the savage each other. the new york newspapers were attacking martha and accusing her of trying to create a royalty.

there were scurrilous pamphlets. lincoln was called a guerrilla and was caricatured in nasty ways. this is a rough-and-tumble business and always has been a rough-and-tumble business and i think that with twitter -- we used to send people around to pass out pamphlets at saloons and now we tweeds and facebook and youtube and do 101 different things. its humans communicating to humans and some of it is a noble and some of it is wonderfully romantic and historic, some of this tawdry and some of it is disgusting. it always has been. >> from the debate in 2010. what is this election about and what will voters decide? >> there are four big things that will define september and october. how do you create jobs verses

how do you kill jobs? the record of the democrats in killing jobs is sobering and says it will be difficult for them as a job killing party and the republicans have to have a simple, straightforward model. the second big test is going to be controlling spending verses or raising taxes. if you look at chris christie who is the most interesting governor, he has tackled how do shrink the cost of government. i government is the fourth bubble. information technology was the first. housing was the second. wall street was the third. government will be the biggest. what of the biggest cities in greece just went bankrupt and fail to pay a bond. athens just cut their bond by

11%. i think you are going to see tremendous pressure to cut spending and the democrats answer is to raise taxes. people like mitch daniels and tim pawlenty, these are folks who have been cutting spending rather than raising taxes. the third issue is a lame duck. people will demand their member of congress -- they will have a totally lame-duck section. they will have to pass a clean, continuing resolution and not come back. i think people totally distressed nancy pelosi, harry reid and barack obama, particularly if they lose control of the house and senate. then how do you protect america? i gave a speech and i have a

movie coming out -- i think almost 10 years after the attack of 911 -- 9/11, 30 years after the iranian attack in 1979, we have not come to grips with the challenge of radical islam and the degree to which they will destroy our nation and this administration will leave a news the right language to describe them and this is going to be a major question that comes up this fall. are you prepared to defend america? are you prepared to control the border? >> you have already said you will make a decision and talk with your wife about whether you want to run for president. what questions leading up to that will newt gingrich ask himself whether or not you want to run for president? >> we talk about this now.

the first is, is this our duty? my father taught me that there are times when you do what you have to do because it is the right thing to do for the country and i think when you look at the crossroads we are at with china and enemies you want to destroy s and administration unwilling to fight -- as a practical matter, can we gather the resources to run? done toold and have many things to go out there and be a joke. but if there is a large enough groundswell of support, i think we will have to look at that and we will talk about should we

move forward and how? i own for small companies. i had up americans solutions which is a political action group and we are taking steps so we would be in a position to do away from our focus on running, but i don't want to think about it until after the election. the job of a republican should be to maximize the size of the republican victory this fall, not to start maneuvering and worry about 2012. >> how would you approach a gingrich campaign? >> the model i would most be attracted to is lincoln running

for the senate. we are faced with such enormous problems that the current political system has no way to describe it. the 140 characters -- its does not carry the complexity. this speech i gave at the american enterprise institute is a model of what i think the next campaign should be like in that it is fairly comprehensive and very substantive and designed to make a fundamental point about change in a very deep way from the current model of talking about terrorism as an activity to talking radical islam which is a fundamental argument and i think one of the things obama

has done is -- that may turn out to be historically good for america is off the he has forced us to think about who we are in a way we were not doing. my daughter writes a weekly column and she wrote a couple of months ago that we were told we were voting for change we could believe then and discovered we voted for somebody to change what we wanted to believe. president obama wants to have redistribution of wealth by politicians. i want to have the creation of wealth by individuals to get to work hard and make their own money. he wants to have a much bigger government. i think the time has come to implement the 10th amendment. i tell states that they have to return power to local community and get it out of atlanta back to local towns and counties and schools.

these are fundamental choices and if i end up running, i would hope to run a campaign that is close to the c-span model with genuine dialogue and discussion and not much on looking at teleprompter. more genuine conversation about fundamental principles and how do you turn those into policies and processes. >> reagan and made his career came back and we made -- and remade his career in 1975 after the great losses in 1974 and then having lost to gerald ford relaunch his career again giving a speech at the convention.

one of his great -- his moments were great speeches. the evil empire speech was a long speech. yet he saved his but the entire campaign when he said i paid for this microphone, i own it and he defined all the candidates. that's 10 seconds fundamentally changed the moment from bush to reagan. you'd never know. i ran for office of lot and i helped organize national campaigns and i have been involved with many campaigns in my career. you have to do all that and

understand that is the business. if it's somebody with a video camera cellphone who catches you looking for work -- looking foolish or adelaide stevenson waiting for a hair cut, sitting like i am sitting with the whole issue and the photographer takes that picture and it becomes symbolic of him as an absent minded professor as opposed to general eisenhower, a competent military commander. jimmy carter, i talked to him about the reporter that covered the killer rabbit, which was a moment where carter was out on a rowboat and a rabbit jump in the water and carter was a good farmer and understood rural life but legitimately thought the rabbit might be rabid because rabbits to not jump and water. so the rabbit is terrified and is trying to get in the boat and

carter thinks the rabbit could be diseased and is trying to push it away with an award. the photographer -- this is a lazy weekend assignment and he doesn't expect to cover anything, he gets a picture of carter trying to push away the rabbit. some editor in atlanta thinks it is a great caption to call attack of the killer rabbit. fit it fit everything going on in the carter administration. anybody who thinks you can go into the campaign and control all the evidence and not get into some kind of a roller- coaster -- >> you and howard dean are opposites but he has said you'd bring intellectual leadership to republican party. >> he said that and i said he

just gave my republican primary opponents be perfect ad. but it was a generous thing for him to say. he and i like each other. we both like ideas. he is a medical doctor. i'm a historian. we like debating and we like this kind of show. i think part of it is just the fund. i have a similar relationship with robert reischauer, the former secretary of later. -- former -- robert reischauer, the former secretary of labor. >> explain how you would structured your white house. who would you surround yourself with. what kind of administration would you want to have? >> that is a very subtle and very important question. i have been reading a lot about lincoln.

he comes in to a very tiny government and ends up fighting a civil war. his background as an administrator is he has been a lawyer. there is no clerical staff that mattered and he has to learn lincoln had this advantage that he was the only true genius to ever be president and his learning curve is unbelievable. but it is clear government is dysfunctional and does not work. that starts -- i will tell you one story that bothers me. i was fortunate because i spent 20 years in the legislative branch and the bush should ministration allow me to work as a volunteer in defense and state intelligence and health and human services so i got to be inside the executive branch and

see it for eight years. the number of senior cabinet officers who said to me that having a 28-year white house staff person call and instruct them what they are doing -- i'm thinking about people who have been governor of major states -- here's a fundamental imbalance of power. it seems to me you want to have a working cabinet that reports to the present. lincoln only has to clerks. this giant white house executive office building complex of people who know they are important because the work in the white house may in fact be part of the dysfunction of the system. it means there is too much of a buffer between the president and the people that should be executing policy. one of the things people should look at is a final reorganization of the executive

branch. that makes very clear who's in charge of an area and give some real power and has the report to the president in a way that is much more aggressive and directly managed system -- this is not a comment on president obama who has been into this overly layered system probably starting with nixon. we've had probably 30 or 40 years of a continual increase in the size of the white house staff and a control factor which makes the rest of the root government dramatically less effective. >> can you do that? >> i don't know. people had done it in the past and have been a well. >> where do you go for ideas and information? >> howard dean? ago everywhere and listen to everybody. i have a very good friend who scans the internet and send me between a hundred and 200 e-mail

today. he tries to into it what i should see and everywhere we go for solutions, we have 80 party meeting for an hour or hour-and- a-half. most of our center for transformation agencies involved water different companies and hospitals doing. if you are going to try to teach, you have to spend an immense amount of time learning. i think of myself as a senior governmental political leader trying to understand what does america have to do to succeed and how would you communicate that to the american people so they give you permission and how would you implement it so it works? that requires you to listen to an amazing range of people. >> your legal name at birth --

it was the macpherson. >> they were divorced when i was 3. my stepfather in pennsylvania had been adopted and thought i ought to be adopted, so i had the same last name as my parents so at school i was not embarrassed. when i was four or five, i became gingrich. >> you recently converted to catholicism. what best through that process and why -- walk us through that process and why. >> my wife sings in the choir at an amazing church in washington. and -- just a beautiful church. i got an have of going to mass with her and when we travel

around a world, i would go to mass with her. over seven or eight years, i became absorbed into the church has and decided i must be catholic. it was not a decision to become catholic and then go to church. in the process, the two keys or coming to understand the power of the eucharist in the catholic tradition and the body and blood of christ and the importance and roll that plays in the mass and second was being allowed as a spouse to be involved. when the pope came to years ago and having a chance to see the pope and think about his slogan for that trip, which was "christ our hope and deciding i was exactly right and i have been

amazingly welcomed into the church and i understand why people would walk up and say welcome home. it has been a profound and comforting experience. >> what does the state and religion mean to newt gingrich? >> i have always had a deep faith in god and a deep belief there is good and evil. this goes back to my mother's mother. i originally -- i have always prayed before virtually every speech. god to me is an ever-present part of life and in many ways the central beef feiner of life's meaning. thank you for airtime. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] >> republican candidates are

crisscrossing i was the day before the caucus. rick santorum will be at a meet and greet happening in about 25 minutes. we will bring that to you when it gets underway. in the meantime, here's a preview of the iowa caucus from this morning's "washington journal." republican gov. terry branstad joins us. let me show you your paper, "the des moines register." "the final 36 hours. are you going to endorse? >> i am not going to endorse. i just want to be a good house, and i will go to my precinct caucus in ogden, iowa, to

participate tomorrow night i think we will have a great turnout. i take this very seriously. i am hopeful that we will have a wonderful turnout tomorrow night. host: why not endorse? guest: as governor of the first in the nation caucus, i want to make sure we have a level playing field and everybody has an opportunity. i think what rick santorum has done is show that even without a lot of resources who puts together an organization and goes to all 99 counties in iowa can do very well. mitt romney has come back here and put a lot of effort in in the closing weeks. early on, i was a little critical that he did not spend enough time, certainly he is spending a lot of time and energy now. they have been doing a bus torbit ron paul has spent a lot of time here. he, too, is doing well. we tell politics is important. we know the debates, we know that social media and many things are important in the political process as well.

you cannot beat meeting with real people and answering their questions, showing what your plan is. america just cannot afford it four more years of barack obama increasing the national debt $1 trillion a year, attacking the very entrepreneurs and business people we need to invest and grow gray jobs and the country we need a nuclear, and caucus goers will to -- and import -- we need a new leader, and caucus goers will play an important role in deciding the next president of the united states. if you are not part of the top three in iowa, you will not be a contender in new hampshire. it is going to be who is going to be romney's rival in new hampshire.

the real loser is jon huntsman, was kept -- who skipped the iowa caucuses. he will get no support here, and it is a failed strategy, and as a result, i don't think he will get attention in new hampshire, either. rudy giuliani four years ago decided to skip the early states and focus on florida to it by the time they got to florida, it was too late for him. i think the candidates about their time and energy and resources you will find some reward for doing so. we are appreciative of the role that real iowans play in this important process of choosing the next leader of the united states. host: if the "des moines register" poll that came out yesterday holds, and it is mitt romney, followed by ron paul and it and santorum -- and then rick santorum -- let me show you the headline in "the new york

times." "santorum's challenge -- broaden his appeal beyond evangelical christians." you agree with that, that he needs to do that? guest: yes, but he has already brought in his appeal. people see somebody who is sincere, who has significant knowledge on foreign policy as well. obviously, romney, having been governor, having rested the winter olympics in utah, having a business background and experience, also has strength. it is up to the voters to evaluate who they think has the best experience and background, who they think will be the best leader of the country. contrast that with obama, who came here four years ago, campaigned as somebody who could unite the country. instead, he has been a divider. instead of bringing the country together with a bipartisan plan to reduce the growing federal

debt, he instead has attacked the very people that we needed to invest and create jobs in our country, and he has burdened us with a huge debt, increasing the size of government, more regulations and more taxes. we are going in the wrong direction, and we have to turn that around. the regulatory burdens are causing a lot of decision makers to have resources to choose not to invest in america. host: governor branstad, which of those three candidates, reported by "the des moines register as leading, as long- term sustainability to make it through the nominating process? guest: well, that is up to the voters to decide. i believe that iowa will take the responsibility seriously and will choose the one and they think will be the strongest and best candidate. we don't plan to always --

don't claim to always pick the one will be the nominee, but there are candace you will go on to compete in new hampshire. the process has been shortened. new hampshire comes a week later, then you have south carolina and florida. it is exciting and we appreciate the tremendous interest and attention and effort that is being put up here. i expect we will have a great turnout tomorrow night. i predicting 140,000 people, which would be an all-time record for the republican caucuses. host: what do you make of ron paul's decision to go back to texas over the weekend and not campaign in iowa when there are many who have not made up their mind and to change their vote tomorrow night? guest: i don't know. that is a strategic position the candidate has made. you are right, there are a lot

of and divided it voters. there are people who are really way in this important choice, recognizing the future of the country is at stake. we need to choose the best candidate. ron paul has found a responsive chord because of his stand on reducing the federal deficit, voting against manipulation of the currency, that sort of thing. there is a lot of questions being raised in the closing days of the campaign. host: there are questions in "the des moines register" about your political future, about you possibly being a vp. former senator bob dole called you over the weekend to say that he was endorsing mitt romney, and during the call, the two-time iowa caucus winner says he would like to recommend you for veep. what you think? guest: i am honored and humbled by that.

bob dole is a great friend. we call him the president of iowa, because he is so well loved by the people of iowa. i am focusing on my job as governor. we will deliver the state of the state address and work hard to get our state budget under control. we are focusing on jobs and education and revitalizing the iowa economy and we want a president who will share those views. i want to stay in iowa, but i will do everything i can to support a strong republican to win back the white house and get the country back on track. host: republican in florida. go ahead. caller: yes, good morning, governor. guest: good morning, ron. caller: i was just wondering, your headliners' out there are

newt gingrich, which has been proven to be a liar, mitt romney -- he just wiped out one after another company. you've got rick santorum, and i am a catholic, have been an altar boy, but bible thumping is not what we need to have. and mr. paul is not what we need to have. i talked to my friends but nobody complained about mr. bush making all those wars and not paying for them, and now we get on mr. obama on trying to do the right thing and pay for them. republicans should of been hopping from day one. host: governor? guest: first of all, when obama was elected, he had democratic control of both congress and he got what he wanted. he dramatically increased

spending, he passed all these bailouts and stimulus, and that gave us this trillion-dollar national debt. i think many people are critical of bush for overspending and getting the country in trouble, but under obama, it has gotten worse, not better. the debt has gone up so dramatically. we are going up $1 billion a year. we cannot afford that. then he pushed through this obama healthcare plan, which is on affordable, unsustainable. i know the governor of florida feels strongly about it. in my state, 150,000 people on the medicaid rolls. medicaid is already out of control. it is the fastest-growing part of our budget. the federal government needs to give the states flexibility to deal with these issues. i want iowa to become the healthiest state in the nation, it to have people take control

of their own health. we do not need a one-size-fits- all federal takeover of the health-care system. that is why we need to get rid of obama's health care and have a republican leader who understands that it is the free enterprise system, not the federal government, to revitalize the american economy. host: a tweet. guest: well, the way this happened is the republicans and democrats decided to get together to get more public participation. we set our caucus dates the same night, and as a result of that, the candidates saw this as an opportunity to have a real test of real voters, and started coming to iowa. we built this tradition along with new hampshire and we have worked hard to maintain it. we are a relatively small state. intelligent, well informed

voters, take the responsibility very seriously to is not like, say, florida, california, or new york, where it costs a fortune to run. you have candidates like rick santorum who don't have resources but at a time and energy and effort here and are doing well. this is a state that also launched jimmy carter, the unknown governor of georgia. some of us may regret that, but nevertheless, iowa voters to take his responsibility seriously, i think the caucus process is great. we want to keep iowa first in the nation. host: houston, texas. pat, independent. caller: i would like to correct the speaker, please do not interrupt me to number one, president obama is not the divider. republicans made up their mind when he was elected that they were not going to participate in anything he had to do.

no. 2, iowa does not represent the rest of the united states. 97% white? i don't think so. no. 3, the affordable health care act -- the free enterprise system, they refused -- you give them their money, and they refuse to pay your bills. that is how the free enterprise system works. the other thing -- you talk about regulations and taxes. taxes are the lowest they have been since after the great depression. what do you think -- why do you think that president obama has raised taxes? why did president bush a lower taxes when we had more expenses? that doesn't make sense. host: i will leave it there and get a response from the governor.

guest: there is a number of attacks she has made there. let me start out by saying that president obama was elected with the majority of democrats in control both houses of congress. instead of really reaching out and working with republicans, a massive increase in the size of the federal government, the stimulus plans the that increased spending dramatically. the result of that was the american people overwhelmingly rejected the democratic control the congress, and in 2010 elected a republican majority in the house. republicans picked up a number of senate seats as well. that is a rejection of the direction the president was leading the country. he had an opportunity last year with the state of the union address to put together a bipartisan plan to address the problem of the country, a trillion-dollar increase in the national debt year after year. he had the simpson-bowles commission, bipartisan, made

good recommendations, he ignored them, he pointed, he failed to provide leadership. the result is that we have had this conflict with the congress. the president is the one who is elected nationwide to lead the country but he has failed in leadership. we need a new leader, somebody who can bring the country together and will recognize that it is not the federal government, but the private enterprise system, that is going to revitalize the economy. and the tax rates are not the lowest they have been paid tax collections are low. tax collections are low because people are out of work and businesses are free to invest, because this administration wants to impose more regulations on our utilities, drive up costs for consumers, more regulations on business, making it harder to start a business. we need to instead incentivize people to start business and create jobs. when i was governor before, canadian companies -- we were

able to attract canadian companies to iowa. today, the canadian carbon tax is lower than ours. the financial system is stronger. we have american companies saying we are going to move to canada instead of canadian companies moving to america. that is what has happened in recent years, and that is why we need to the ship, not somebody to attack the very people -- that is why we need new leadership, not somebody who will attack the very people we need to create jobs in this country. it is the great private sector we need to have confidence again in america. when you have a president attacking the very people you need to have investing and creating jobs, it causes people to be very concerned and leery about investing in taking that risk.

host: alan, democrat in rhode island. alan, good morning, thanks for waiting. you are on the air with the governor. caller: good morning, governor. guest: good morning. caller: first of all, i am a little disappointed, i wanted to know your opinion towards separation of church and state. what i have seen yesterday, michele bachmann attending a church service, signing autographs, talking issues after the church service is over, people holding up "michele bachmann for president" signs right in church. then i saw this morning rick perry coming out of some service, and one of the first questions to him was "how were the contributions?" i guess i'm a little disappointed in that. i have always been a firm believer in separation of church and state. host: governor?

guest: think of jesse jackson. jesse jackson built his whole campaign based on black churches in the country. i don't think is wrong to say that just because you belong to a church or are active in church that you cannot read as bait in the political process. i am catholic -- that you cannot participate in the political process. i am catholic. we in the catholic church don't really permit that much political activity within churches. i think that is up to individual churches and -- up to individual churches to make that contribution. we have seen activists in both parties that have used their base in the churches to effectively mobilized people. certainly, martin luther king used to the churches to help mobilize people in the civil rights movement. the chargers play an important role in this country -- the

churches play an important role in this country. the idea is that you should not impose your religion on somebody else, but people should have the right to practice their religion, and just because they are religious people, it should not prevent them from also being active in politics. host: let me get your reaction to a headline in "the washington post" this morning. "for romney, a big hill to climb for conservative stockists to you agree with that? -- for conservatives." do you agree with that? guest: actually, we see romney coming back romney nationally is running ahead of obama in the national polls. the only poll that counts is the one they take on a election day. in iowa, caucuses are tomorrow night. we will find out he was the strongest candidate.

--. we will find out who was the strongest candidate. host: here is an email from pat in . jersey >> -- pat in new jersey. "i have learned that people can choose their registration for the few hours they needed to participate in the caucus. how does not not skew iowa to make it relevant to the process?" guest: i think that is true in most states. this is also true in our primaries as well. i am not sure what it laws are in new jersey, but in most states, if you choose to change your registration and become a member of that party, you have a right to do that. if you want to change back the next day, you have a right to do that. this is america, i believe we

are going to see a lot of republicans turnout in these caucuses. i am predicting it will be the biggest turnout we have ever had in the caucus. by the way, you have a great governor in new jersey, chris christie. he inherited a great master at his predecessor actually is a car, -- involve -- he inherited a great mass. his predecessor is actually a crook with the wall street scandals. chris christie is an inspiration to me and many other governors who ran and got elected to do the same thing in our state. we need a president who's h -- who has the same attitude that government is not the answer it. we need to unleash the private sector to create jobs and rebuild the american economy. host: republican in florida, you are on the air with gov. branstad.

caller: praise thee for c-span. brian lamb is a santa claus for america. you put down earlier jon huntsman. china is a threat to this country paid he is the only one -- china is a threat to this country. he is the only one who can deal with that. he wants to break up the big banks, the main problem in our 2008 recession. he's the underdog, and he will become the top dog eventually. what can you folks in iowa due to show your support for the underdog will be the top dog eventually? you put him down earlier. what can you do to show support for him? guest: he is the one that made the mistake of not campaigning in iowa and he is the one who put down iowa.

he has a lot of good attribute to. -- attributes. he was a governor, ambassador to china. but if you want to become president of the united states, you don't do it by attacking one of the key swing states you need to carry to become president. i met with him in salt lake city during the national governors' meeting last summer and told him that he needs to campaign in iowa and let people know what his plans are. that is not going to be is strategy. by the time to get to florida, and he will be out of the picture. i understand he has already told his staff out of -- pulled his staff out of florida. whoever is in the lead in iowa, and romney is in the lead in new hampshire, it will be those people competing in south carolina and florida.

avernor hunt's been made tragic mistake by skipping iowa caucuses. host: "washington times" has this headline. gingrich has said that romney would buy an election if he could, saying that the former massachusetts gov. has spent too much money on this election. guest: is interesting, i respect gingrich, i appreciate his ideas, and i think he has

performed well in the debate. the voters are going to look at the whole picture and decide who they think is the strongest, who they think has the best record, and who would be the best leader for our country. i have confidence in the iowa caucus goers to make those decisions tomorrow night. caller: could you tell me what business you had before you became governor? guest: i grew up on a farm, and i practiced law in a small town. i was a senior partner in a small, two-member law firm. i was a financial adviser and pass the securities exam and was involved as a financial advisor for three years. then i became president of a private, nonprofit university where we have medical school,

podiatry school, and a college of health sciences. i am proud to say we grew the size of the school. we grew the endowment, and we became the first college and university in the country to be recognized by the wellness council of america with their platinum level award. i now have a goal as i would to make it -- as governor to make by with healthiest state in the nation. -- to make iowa held the stake in the nation. >> we are going live to iowa now in the final day before the state caucuses. candidate rick scott -- rick santorum stopped at a pizza restaurant today and here in altoona iowa. he is just arriving to speak before what looks to be a standing-room-only crowd. >> hi, how are you?

good to see. thank you. >> good luck to you. >> thank you so much. >> can we get a couple of pictures? >> thank you. >> i hope we are not disrupting your dinner too much here. good to see you. our you? thank you. >> how are you? >> timing is everything. >> hi, how are you? >> i am from great britain. >> how are you? thank you.

>> and good luck. >> thank you so much. how are you? >> i am from the state of washington. i will be looking forward to seeing you out there on the campaign. >> good to see it. thank you. how are you? good to see you. hello. >> how are you feeling, senator? >> we did not come here to lose. we are going to do the best we can.

>> you are a great guy. >> thank you. i appreciate it very much. hello, everybody. how are you? >> limited government and believing in free people and free markets is the way to go. >> this is part of it. as you go out there and get people revved up, you get momentum. >> i am following these guys.

good to see. >> do you think you can win tomorrow? >> we came here to win, and we hope we can do that. we are certainly working hard at it. we have a few folks here and we are feeling very, very good about things right now. energy and enthusiasm is what wins caucuses. i think we have the momentum right now and hopefully we will end up at a good place. keep working hard. >> let's get this thing started.

[applause] >> i was an intern on capitol hill. we are in the russell building. right across all, everybody is talking about young, strong conservative from pennsylvania. i never got to meet him while i was on capitol hill. two years ago we sat down at a restaurant and talked. we have had close to 380 town hall meetings.

i am telling you, he catches fire. there is just desperation. i need your help. i need you to do something for me. i need you to join me in endorsing rick santorum. tell your friends, all your neighbors and family. take them with you tomorrow night. if you do, rick santorum will be the next president of the united states. [applause] before you hear from the men of the hour, i want to introduce a

real special person, a great american. and number one new york times best selling author. give a shout out for brad .arack'gore >> i know you are here to listen to rick, but he asked me to get up here and introduce him. i came here from chicago, illinois. i believe this is the most important election of our lives. the future of our country depends not only on the election coming up, but it is important how iowa will vote in the caucus tomorrow night. are we going to go back to a strong, prosperous america, or are we going to go the way of socialism?

pitbull say why are you voting for rick santorum, and -- people say why are you voting for rick santorum? it is about having a conservative in their who we know we can trust to do the nation's most important business. most important for me, the two biggest reasons or my children. i believe we need to leave the country for our kids and grandchildren that is stronger and more free than the country that was left to us. the only person who is going to do that for us is senator rick santorum. without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, i would like to introduce you to the next president of the united states, center rick santorum. -- senator rick santorum. [applause] >> here we go. i don't want to hit my head. hello, everybody. how are we doing?

how about that? no, that is not working. is that better? thank you all very much. one of my favorite authors is a great conservative who talks about the real challenge is that america has in defending freedom. i know he does a lot of commentary on radio and television. he drove his whole family from chicago to come here to campaign for us here in iowa. i want to thank brad for being here. when we were sitting here at 3% in the polls, there were not a lot of people coming up and saying i want to help you because i believe in you. one person did. that was met shultz -- matt shultz. i worked with him a little bit on his campaign for secretary of

state. i just found him to be one of the real, solid, salt of the earth conservatives. he is already a leader in iowa and will be of future leader of iowa. he has spent the last three days with me. i want to give a special shot out to him. thank you very much for everything. [applause] we have been here in iowa at town hall number 380. all 99 counties, that was over a month ago. we have taken our time. this has been a real court ship. we sat and talked, sat across the table more times than not, and most of our town hall meetings have been sitting down at a table. i saw joe klein here. he was with me in corning, the

home of john carson, i found out. there were five or six at a table. there was a small number in a cafe, and it was the night of a world series game. there was not a very big crowd. that was the typical crowd. people say, why are you doing this? i said because i respect the process. i respect the fact that iowans are going to make their decision, and i want to give them every opportunity to get a chance to know not just what i believe then, but their chance to look at something that is important. look into the eyes of someone who wants to be a leader of the government. you cannot do that very well, or as well as we would like to, without that personal

interaction. we have been traveling around iowa. my family spent 3.5 weeks here in iowa prior to the straw poll. after that, the entire family was here, and after that we have had kids coming in and out. my son john and my daughter elizabeth are here, somewhere in that throng back there somewhere. the rest of the family came here. my wife, karen, is right here. you can applaud for karen. [applause] she is busy raising those seven children that we have. the rest of the family is here at the pizza ranch. this is pizza ranch no. 35 or 36 that i have been to, and i have been in rooms like this, usually with a lot less people.

the other boys and my daughter -- this has been a real family affair today. we have enjoyed the trips around. i want to say three things. number one is thank you. this has been an incredible experience. i don't know what these other candidates are doing, running their campaigns, but i cannot think of a better experience over the past several months and spending the time that i did in iowa, new hampshire, and south carolina. i have spent an enormous amount of time in all three. up until this last month, it was about an equal amount of time. i have been to new hampshire 30 times. i have done more events in new hampshire than anybody but jon huntsman. we have done more events in south carolina than any other candidate. these three states are the ones that fight to be first, that have the tradition of being

first. we respected that, and we went out and try to earn the votes of these people. we started here, and we end here tonight. this is our last big town hall meeting. i just wanted to say to each and everyone of you representing a iowans.island the three things i heard more than any other words was " welcome to iowa." people are just very happy that you showed the respect to them, asking for their vote and being in front of them and giving them the opportunity to do something, which is, in fact, a burden. it is a heavy responsibility. it is a huge responsibility. a lot of people make light of

the iowa caucuses, but as you will see tomorrow night, it will have a huge impact on this race. the decision you make cannot and should not be taken lightly. i wanted to at least do my part to help you in this difficult decision, by making ourselves available, sacrificing my time with my wife and my children, but this is the most important election in your lifetime. i have stepped forward, probably not the best time in my life to do it, but i did because i just felt this was something that when i look back at my grandfather and my dad, who were immigrants to this country, who fought hard to give me freedom, it is the least i can do at a juncture in history to fight hard for my children's freedom. that is what i decided to do, and we made that commitment. people said, what is the reason for your big rise in the poll these last few days? i would just say this.

the reason is you. i talked about matt. i can also talk about jim gibbons, a dear friend and someone who stepped up and helped us by endorsing us early this last month. i could talk about steve, a businessman here who stepped up a couple of weeks ago to help us. sam wasn't with us yesterday and the day before. -- was with us yesterday. i could talk about what bob did 10 days ago in stepping forward. the bottom line is yes, they provided some leadership, but the real leadership is being provided by the people of iowa. i have always believed we would get our balance, not from a debate performance, not from a big, flashy report on how much money i have been raising or how many impressive folks i have in a super pak, but i would get it

because we went out and earned the trust of the people of iowa. the people of iowa would do the two things that i have been asking them to do at the end of my speech. that is, do not defer your judgment to people who know less about what -- who these candidates are and you do. you fight to be first, lead. do what you believe is in the best interest of this country, and secondly, be bold. this country is at a critical juncture. do not settle for something less than what this country needs. you will have a victory, but it will not make the changes necessary to preserve that freedom and security for the next generation. one reporter said it was and ask, don't tell. i am asking you to be bold and lead, and i will let you make the decision. i trust the people of iowa.

the number one state for website visits the last two weeks has been iowa. i know you think you are the center of the universe -- the center of the country, sorry. i misspoke. believe it or not, you are not the biggest stake in the country. california is over 10 times bigger than you, and yet you have more searches and that of taxes or any other state. you are doing your homework. i cannot ask for any more. going around and asking you if the that is why i am going around and asking you to lead and be bold. to pick the candidate you believe it meets what this country needs. i know you are worried. a lot of folks have told me and a lot of the questions i get, can you win?

one of the candidate said i am on delectable and cannot win. show me any other candidate in this race who has ever won a state that we have to win in order to win the presidency. none of them. we have three congressmen who represent heavily republican district. we have a republican governor of texas who ran as a conservative. how hard is that? again, not a swing state. the governor of massachusetts ran as a liberal. he won, and did not run for reelection. why? look at his poll numbers. a poll numbers are not much better, but i stood and i fought. if you want someone who is always looking for the next political opportunity, you do not want a president like rick santorum. i am going to stand up and fight for what i believe in when the

political winds are for you or against you. i remember talking to shepard smith today on fox. he said winter you going to get the drift that your viewpoints are out of touch. i said the truth is the truth. just because some people or even most people do not believe the truth anymore, does not change it from being the truth. you stand for what you believe is the truth. if you are looking for that kind of leadership, then i think you should look our way. we stand up and we fight in good times and in bad. we stand up for the truth. we stand up for the values that made this country the greatest country in the history of the world. am i the perfect conservative candidate? no, i am not. you will plot -- you will find plenty of things that might opponent will point out. but my convictions are clear and strong. they are consistent. i may have voted for a bad thing

or two, but i never advocated for the bad things. i may have voted for bill was something in there that i did not like, but not things that were inconsistent with my values. i admit that on occasion, i have done that, but you will never find me out there violating the principles at the core of my being. if you want someone, as ronald reagan said, trust but verify. that is what iowans have been doing. every one of the republican candidates is saying how conservative they are. iowans are saying that is great, it is hard decision. most iowans have been undecided until the last couple of weeks. now they are starting to decide. it is the verify time. look at the records, get the information, and verify that what they say they are going to

do exactly what they have done in the past. a lot of critics say i talk too much about what my record is, and i should focus just on what i am going to do. that is what all the other candidates do, and they have had their moment. i said if i had their record, i would just talk about what i was going to do, too. but i have a record i am proud of. i want you to know that when i say i am going to do something, you can look back and say, he has always been there and fought for those things. this cannot just here, it is here, and here, and here. -- it is not just here. get out on caucus night tomorrow night, 24 hours from now. speak to those caucuses. stand up and ask your caucus goers for help for rick santorum. stand up and walk around that caucus and campaign for me.

about one-third of the people showing up to that caucus, we have been told, will be undecided. help them decide. if you want to make a difference here in iowa, you can do what i once do best. ignore what the pundit class -- iowans do best. island we need to be principals to win. [applause] send a message from the heartland. do what i would does, which is to make sure that the conservatives, one with a record of accomplishment, not just political, but also getting things done in washington, d.c.

we have journalists here from all over the country and all over the world. we will not just send a message to iowa, but the midwest, the republican party, and the country and the world. i will, the state that will know the candidates better than any other --iowa. i hope you tuesday. thank you very, very much. i appreciate it. [applause] i am going to go in and talk to the crowd out there. there is another big crowd out here. thank you all very much. i will take two quick questions. >> the goal is to work together to do the people's work. >> the best thing you can do is the old biblical passage.

with television, the people will perish. one of the things that leaders should do is try to find a common set of values that we can all agree on, from which we can go forward. it is very difficult to find solutions when the premises from which you build your answer are radically different. what this president has done is to divide this country into two groups of people who have very different views. he has done his best to divide and hope he can get enough people on his side to ram through what he wants, instead of finding consensus on how to build this country together a and stronger. this is the most divisive president, in my opinion, from his political rhetoric, of any president in my lifetime. then he wonders why he does not get cooperation. he goes out and individually vilifies members of congress. he vilifies anyone who opposes

him. he has vilified repeatedly the past president of the united states. he blames everybody for everything, other than him. i know there are people in this room who will record it and keep me to it. i will do my level best, and once i am sworn in as president, i will never say the words barack obama again, at least in the context of dealing with the problem in america that is his fault. americans know that barack obama was handed a tough task. americans know that rick santorum will be handed a tougher task. i don't need to continue to rub salt in the wounds of folks who may have lost that last election, and create that antipathy that they president has. i need to work with folks to get things done, to shrink the size of government, to grow this economy, to make it stronger and

safer. you don't do that by dividing, you do that by bringing people together. one other question. >> what do you think is the biggest hurdle between now and nomination? >> what is the biggest hurdle between now and my nomination? 10 days ago, i was at 4% in the polls, and look at what is happening here. here is what i believe. here is what i know. money is not going to win this election. if that was the case, i would be below every other candidate and would not even be close. when we report our financial picture, it is going to be embarrassing. in the last four or five days, we have raised more money than we have in the last few months. we have done very well, and we hope to do a lot better after tomorrow night. but we are not going to run a big campaign. we are not going to hire a bunch

of experts and staff. we will run the campaign that keeps continuing to interact with voters, that is accessible and accountable. we will do our best to be lean and mean and set an example that you can win the presidency that way, and you can govern the country that way. we believe that is the best approach. we're going to go to new hampshire. we're going to get on television. we will increase that as the weeks go on. we think we can compete there. obviously, governor romney has been running there for many years. , but we think we can do well. we have a lot of folks from south carolina. we have legions of folks that are helping us in new hampshire.

we have a great team on the ground. we are building that team. we are getting calls from all over the country. just not this last week, but long term. we will continue to do that and build an operation that works from the bottom up. thank you and god bless. [applause] >> [inaudible] >> i could not know that, right? ok. >> [inaudible]

>> thank you. sorry about this. thank you. >> we pick rick! >> let's hear it for rick santorum, the next president of the united states. [applause] >> thank you. thank you very much. thank you very much for coming out. what an incredible crowd. you put me in front of pizza and

that is very dangerous. i want to thank them for their hospitality. it is great for them to do that. thank you for coming out. this is our last taha meeting. -- town hall meeting. we are here with the entire family. i am here with my wife. i do not know if you can see karen, but she is here. karen has been an amazing rock at home. we have seven children. we have a special needs little girl that requires a lot of care. for karen to stuck board and

say, i will support you, and you have seven children and having that responsibility doing over 100 town halls in the state of new hampshire, it is a lot of time away from home. we felt this is what we recalled to do. to go out and speak and let out a vision for this country. a vision that was not just about taxes and spending and growth. if you have been to my town hall meetings, i talk a lot about those things. it is also about the values of this country. you cannot have limited government.

we talked about a strong national defense. we talked about having a principled leader that says what america's policy is, but then it does things that will effectuate that policy. that is what this president has not done. it is important to have a leader that you can trust. [applause] we have trusted the people of iowa. karen and the kids, we came here in the summer. we brought all seven kids. we brought six this time. they are right in front of me.

give a wave right here. [applause] elizabeth and john had spent a lot of time on the road. peter and patrick have been home helping mom. it has been a divided family, but a united family. a mission and a message. >> thank you. [applause] >> i want to say to the people thank you. i do not know what will happen tomorrow night, but this has been an experience. you have made me a better candidate, and a better person. thank you from the bottom of my

heart for that. [applause] the three words are heard everywhere i went was "welcome to iowa." we're so glad you came and respected us enough to be in our town. in all 99 counties. we came because we trusted iowans. if we stood before them and related to them what our vision was for the country, what our record was, you throw on top of that, we told them how we were going to win the election. we're the best person in this field to take on not just barack obama comment to take on the challenges after we defeat

barack obama. [applause] i was saying to the people of iowa, this is my closing comment, do what iowans do, you fought to lead. you fought to be first. do not differ your judgment to a national polls and national pundits. trust for you have seen, what you have heard. trust the interactions u.s. had with the candidates. trust the work you have done in researching the candidates. you have done more than any other group and this -- in this country. you are doing your homework. i know because of all of that state's on our website we did visit from, the number one state for the past two or three weeks has been iowa. you are doing your homework, right? [applause]

do not defer -- lead. if you want to be first, it is a huge burden. this is the most important election in your lifetime. this is an important decision that many of you have struggled with. you want to get it right. trust your gut, trust your head. once you've made that decision, be bold. once you have made the decision of the right person is, be bold. go out and give america a signal from iowa that we want somebody who is up to what america needs. did not vote for someone because they can win. that is a victory that will feel very empty. it will not be this pizza.

you will walk out of those caucuses hungry. $9.99 -- there you go. lead, and be bold. if you do those two things, you would have done your job as iowans. we believe they're the best chance of winning the election. that is what iowans are charged to do. if you do it, you'll not only shocked this country, you will shock the world. you will put this race in a completely different place than it was just a week ago. you'll do a great favor for your children and grandchildren. god bless you.

god bless america. [applause] thank you. they gave me a tremendous opportunity. i will be forever grateful matter what happens. thank you. all right. >> we pick rick! >> i just about to reach in there and grab one of those babies. >> [inaudible]

>> thank you. we really appreciate it. >> thank you so much for coming out. >> how does it feel to be a contender in this race? >> i am very thankful for the people of iowa for putting us in this position. >> [inaudible] >> i do not know what the question was. if you look at my record, no one worked more on poverty and with the african-american community than i did in the united states senate. i did an enormous amount of work in the inner city. i have to believe -- look at

what i said, i believe every american should not be dependent on government. we're not doing anybody any favors without. i am very proud of the work i've done. talk to anybody in pennsylvania, philadelphia, the work i did in the city and the urban areas, we did more than any republican. thank you. >> there you go. >> thank you.

>> i think we have a great record and i'm willing to go out there and compare it.

>> we will be an america that is very involved in the world.

>> we will keep working. that is what people want. >> we appreciate that.

>> former senator santorum said this is his final town hall.

there were so many people to meet the candidate, patrons could not reach the buffet. we heard it mentioned the television ad put out by rick perry's campaign. >> i am not saying in remarks are bad. -- earmarks are bad. i will defend earmarks. i will defend earmarks. i will defend earmarks.

i will defend earmarks. i am not saying that they are bad. i am proud of all of the earmarks. >> on the eve of the iowa caucuses, we will have more live coverage of a little bit later on. there are more than 1700 voting precincts in iowa, with caucus is being held in more than 800 locations in the state. we will have live coverage from inside to caucuses tomorrow night. one from the centraliowa starting at 7:00 eastern.

and in other caucus from western iowa on the c-span2. we spoke with vanderbilt univ. student about getting a firsthand experience from the caucuses. from vanderbilt university who are getting inside it looks at the caucus process. >> the way they do that is by participating in something called the iowa caucus rolling seminar, coming and splitting into three teams, team romney, a teeming gingrich, and team america. participating in the process. tell us what team you are on. i am team mitt romney. . newt.am >> team america. >> what are the standouts since you arrive for the caucus process? >> meeting the people, meeting

iowans directly involved, being here and experiencing the caucus. they have been alarming as to how dedicated they are to their causes. >> what did you learn that you did not know before? >> i did not know how different it could be at each county. different people provide different insights. they operate the caucuses entirely differently. >> all of you have participated in this process via twitter. they took photos of their expenses and posted them on their twitter account. why are you team newt. >> i am a supporter for several reasons, and being able to participate, talking about white they are for certain that it's come w they are undecided, that is interesting as well. >> did you learn something

specifically about the candidates since you have been here? >> i was able to meet newt gingrich, and he was really just very open and very kind and very loving, actually. he was laughing and joking in very personal. i learned a lot about how he will interact, because there are youth voters out there, too. >> what about your expernces with team romney? >> it has been a great working with the romney campaign, seeing how disciplined the romney operation has been having worked on a few campaigns, it really is impressive seeing the people of iowa start to make their decisions. >> because you are also putting different causes, what is the feedback from these penses? >> people are sometimes arguing about what candidate is better based on principle, how they are

operating their campaigns, but there is also been a lot of argument on approach and how you approach a campaign d how you approach given issues, which is really interesting. >> and you? >> sam and i tended to debate on the candidate of all -- >> i am sure you have been doing that. >> it is fun, because we're both republicans anwe want to see a strong republican candidate. it is fun and entertaining to pope jabs at one another, the candidates -- poke jabs at one another, the candidates. >> at the end of the day, we agree on more than we disagree about. we see the polls changing and just how things are going to turn out. >> you are on break from school. white be in iowa -- why be in iowa for this? >> it is great to see this unfolds, how the candidates interact. >> what better way to spend yo

new year's eve than in des moines, iowa? this is maybe a once-in-a- lifetime opptunity. once in every four years. the chance to see the political realm and immerse yourself into it and interact with it and see candidates any action is awesome. >> what do you take away from it? >> there are many more informed citizens in america than people give it credit for. >>f you go that way, they are hanging out in the front of our bus. wave hi to the folks at home. 10 to 15 students participating in the process. how many of you have learned something about the caucus process you did not know before? raise yr hand. ok, most people are getting that experience at vanderbilt university. what is the last word you want to tell fos about your experience? >> team america.

>> it specifically looks at the other candidates not represented by it team romney and team gingrich. >> we met with the "morning joe" cast, mike and joe, and we are seeing michele bachmann today and probably ron paul. >> last word. >> there is so much you can learn about the political process and just about the candidates, and it is a great to be aactive citizen. >> i know you want the last word, so go ahead. >> be involved in support mitt romney. >>llege students a firsthand at. >> the campaign bus is right outside the iowa state capitol in des moines traveling across the nation to educate students particularly about the political process. today we are hosting students from vanderbilt university. they are part of something known

as the iowa caucus roling seminar. guest:it began as a robust and co-curricular experiential learning program that provides an opportunity for students to take what they ever endured about and written about in their classrooms and take it out and see it applied in real time, to apply what they learned, and to get a context for their education apart from the classroom. it is sort of taking the classroom and putting it on wheels and bring it for the caucuses. host: when you get here, you divide the group into teams. guest: 3 teams. we have a team of students working for governor romney and a team working for speaker gingrich, and its third team called team america, the independence, an affiliated voters. host: you probably seen the background. all the students from the program in joining our c-span

resources. tyler bishops is a student. guest: i signed up because i've always had a passion for politics and others would be a great opportunity to get my feet in the water a in the field, and it's been an experience of a lifetime. host: what team? guest: i am part of themed america, an affiliated on this trip. i thought this would be a great experience to see how it works and experience the grass roots of an american presidential election. host: what have you done since you have been here? guest: we had an opportunity yesterday to me to newt gingrich in ames, iowa at a busy event. -- at one of his events. after that we experienced iowa, drove around des moines. last night we went to a speech of a journalist. host: what have yole