thinking? >> well, we were thinking, mark talked about about the jeven sis genesis of the book, let's try to make this as a move eafment neither one of us has ever written a screen play. but there was no question that as we wrote the book that we want it had book to have a sin matic feel to it. there was not a lot of back story in the book. we felt like because these candidates were so well known we didn't have to take readers back to thewe wanted to tell thn the moment as they experienced it and try to tell a story about what they were going through as human beings. we wanted to have the pace of the book moves from big scene to big scene, not with a lot of

expositions. that was a very conscious choice that we made. we wanted it to read like a screenplay in some sense. we spent a lot of time doing research on the but trying to recreate dialogue or para phrase dialogue the best we could. we wanted to be a human scale story. for better or worse, we ended up with a book that read to us like we first imagined on that day sitting out on north capitol street. >> it gave readers and you and 2008, are there lessons to take away from this book that you may recall apply to the -- you may apply to the recent 2012? >> focus on the humanity of the story.

when we were talking to hbo about the options, we said do not think about this as a political story. think about this as a story of families and individuals putting themselves into a competitive environment with a lot of scrutiny and hard fought competition and pressure trying to achieve the same goal. there can only be one winner. that was our focus. that would be our focus again to tell the story from a human point of view. rather, the important question of, what is a light on a human level to do this. you have that already. we are not done yet. >> let me conclude on that point. we are at the midpoint of the republican primary. we do not know how it will end up. we do not know who the republican nominee is going to be.

one of their licenses to expect the unexpected. what stands out so far in 2012? >> i think the wide open nature of the republican race and the context of a tea party movement and on the other side and occupy a movement that has created a much more inflamed environment. they have a series of candidates that have gone up and come down. half a dozen people who are the primary rival to mitt romney. then a lot of candidates who chose not to run. you have a republican field that left many republican voters and activists looking for the right person. a president who is proud of his record and is read that he inherited a lot of problems, but even with the improvements in the unemployment rate, it is the most dominant story in the

country today -- how are we going to deal with the unemployment rate? as he said, we are not done yet. we do not know who the republican nominee will be. i think it would be wise to not make any assumptions about that. >> the you have a title for the bucket? >> -- do you have a title for the book yet? >> we cannot have a title until it ends. possiblyike to call a gamier changier. >> what can we expect moving ahead? >> i think mark laid it out pretty well. i think -- mark referred to earlier about how this nomination fight is affecting

the ultimate nominee. there has been in the republican party -- this is one of the moments where there are deep factions within the party. this is a party in the transition period you have a coalition that has been behind a mitt romney that is more upscale. the coalition behind rick santorum, it is more downscale and religious. the party is pretty deeply fractured. that does not mean that the republican nominee cannot win, but in the past -- if you think back to gerald ford, those have been hard races to win. when there are deep divisions in the party, it ends up often if history tells us anything -- you end up with a disk united party. i think it will be a challenge

for who ever gets the nomination in the face of the difficulty that always comes when you have an incumbent in office. especially when the economy is proving -- improving, even if it is in a small way. it will be hard. barack obama was in a hard place six months ago. over the past six months, he has improved in terms of his approval rating, the right track numbers are moving in his direction, and the economy still seems to be getting a little bit better. there are a lot of surprises that could happen. there are many bad things that could happen that are very unpredictable. right now obama is in a stronger position than he has been in a year. republicans are in a weaker position.

on both sides, especially with the reelection team, they expected to be a really close election. it will be very tight. any race like that, a very deeply divided country that we have, both sides will be heavily mobilized. it will be crazy to try to predict what the ultimate outcome will be. it will be fascinating to watch. >> the book is titled "game change." "game change 2" coming out after the campaign. gentlemen, thank you for being with us. >> thank you. thank you for c-span and the employees in the television cable industry. >>ditto for me. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> tomorrow on washington journal, sudeep reddy.

jim heath previous the tuesday primary. uri dadush talks about the history, interworking and leadership of the world bank. "washington journal" 7:00 eastern on c-span. now, to cleveland, ohio for a rally with mitt romney at cleveland state university. ohio and nine other states are holding primaries and caucuses this super tuesday. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, please

welcome -- >> 29 i get the opportunity to introduce two remarkable people. one is the governor pose the greatest assets -- his wife. he met her in elementary school. they dated in high school and later married. what a tremendous asset she has been to him into the campaign. what a tremendous first lady she will be after november. [applause] the second individual, we all know the governor. i actually endorse the governor early in the fall. a lot of people ask me why. i have to tell you the story.

i never plan to go to congress. never in a lifetime. what happened was in 2009, many of the do we started to see a country going in the wrong direction. we started to see policies and did that continue to grow and deficits and i was concerned. i was concerned for my family and children and our grandchildren. at that time, i ran for congress and we won because of all of you. you were able to bring a new house to washington to at least stop the obama administration and many of their policies. [applause] i have to tell you, after one year it is not enough. all we have been able to do is stop it. now we need to change directions. we need somebody different in the white house. we need a new leader in the

white house. as the first ohio congressman to endorse the governor, we need somebody in the white house knows what it means to make a payroll, to balance the budget, who understands what it means to get the economy going again. ladies and gentlemen, we need mitt romney. ohio needs mitt romney. [applause] [chanting "mit"] [cheers and applause]

>> thank you. thank you so much. hey, guys. this is fabulous. it is great to be here with you today. i wondered if we were going to make it in. the plan was bouncing around as we were touching down. i am so sorry not to have crisscrossed the here. he wanted to be here, but the state troopers told him the weather was too treacherous. it would not be safe coming in. they held him on the ground. we will bring him back. he has been campaigning with me so far. he is fun, by the way. it is fun to have chris christie there. what you hope for is somebody to

heckle him. you have to bring somebody in. i think we brought two or 3 in tonight. if so much fun. he will walk up to the stage like this. it is really something. he is a great american and governor. i would love to have his support. one of the reasons we will win is because of chris chris the. [cheers and applause] now, a young lady to my left i met in elementary school. i do not recall the meeting. she would have been in the second grade and i would have been in fourth grade. obviously, fourth graders did not look of second graders. that is a whole nother world. it is close to a lifetime at that age. yet, when she became a sophomore i became far more interested. i remember going to a party of a

friend's house and seeing her at this from's party at his home in his basement. i went to the guy who brought her there. i said i live closer to her than you do. how about i give her a ride home for you? he agreed, and we have been going steady ever since. my sweetheart, ann romney. >> thank you, ohio. you guys have a big job on tuesday. we are looking forward to what you are going to do. we want this guy to be the nominee of the party. you can help make that happen. i am also looking forward to next november. this guy is going to be barack obama. that is going to be really fun.

i have not seen men in a couple of days. i have been in georgia. he was an idaho, washington state, and back here. it is a big country. ohio is important. tuesday is an important day. it will get us one step closer to defeating barack obama. [applause] an interesting thing has happened during this process. we have had the wonderful opportunity of going across the country and meeting wonderful folks. the other thing that has happened is we have had some very sad stories, too. people are across this nation hurting in different ways. it has been hard to watch that and see that. we saw a lot in florida and michigan. i think we are seeing it in

ohio, too. people are worried. there are disheartened. they sense we are heading in the wrong direction. the person who is guiding this country is taking a someplace we do not want to go. the it was one year ago i said -- after promising i will never do this again -- i said, i hate to tell you this. you have to do this again. [cheers and applause] it is with complete conviction that i am 100% convinced he is the only one that can turn the country and around. that is why voters better figure this out in ohio. [applause] i asked him -- if you can be the nominee, that is a hard thing to do. we tried it once before.

if you can get the nomination -- and then it will be hard to be this president. we will be back in ohio doing it, too. that is the other thing. i said i will not go through all of that if wants to get there you cannot fix it. this is why i truly believe and this. is why i was willing to do this again. i know he can fix it. i have seen him do it. i have seen him do it in business. i saw him do it at the olympics. i have seen him do it as a governor. i am very excited to see him do it as the next president of the united states. [cheers and applause] >> thank you, sweetheart. by the way, there is -- she is a

remarkable woman in a lot of ways. not just her beauty and her sense of humor and her ability to speak and connect with people who listen to her, there is a wonderful piece that neil cavuto did about and. i wish you would do that about me. she deserves that. if you go to youtube, you will see a tribute about her ability to touch the hearts of people across this country. she has the kind of character that is quintessentially the american character. she had breast cancer. she is a survivor. she is a fighter. despite the challenges, she said you have to get in here and run for office. i am doing it because i love

her, i love our kids, our grandkids, and i love america. we have to get the country right. [cheers and applause] now, i can see that we have a border security problem here. there is a sweatshirt over there that says michigan. there is a hat over there with an m on it. this is the buckeye state. they even let me in today. i respect the fact this is a stay with a great passion, energy, and great teams. it is an honor to be with you. what a thrill to do what i am doing. can you imagine running for president of the united states? this is not something i expected to do. when i was a boy i wanted to be a police officer. when i got older i wanted to do what my dad did. i hope to run a car company in some way. then i got in business on my

own. i never thought i would get involved in politics of all things. here i am running across the country meeting people and it is such an extraordinary opportunity to get to know america. if you watch the evening news, you see people doing things that are out of the ordinary. that is why it makes news. those are not good things they are doing. you come away with a bit of a cynical view about what is going on across the country. when you get to meet average, ordinary citizens like ourselves, then you get a sense of what is really at the heart and core of the american people. it is good and encouraging. it gives me more optimism about the future of the country. just to meet our citizens across the country. i am amazed at the entrepreneurialism of people in this country. i was campaigning and i went

into one big factory, the honor and chief executive officer was there. i said, clearly you have a degree in engineering. he said, nope. i said where digit year college degree? he did not have a college degree either. he had over 100 patents on the wall. this is a guy who used his own capacity and innovative skill to come up with ways to provide electricity to various businesses and put electricity under floors. then i met a guy named bill. bill has another big factory. he is a doctor. he found malpractice to be a bother. he found dealing with the government to be troublesome. he decided with is that to start a business. he built a business called

creative castors. the make castors. d. no lancaster's are? those are the wheels that go on the bottom of things he pushed around. if you are going to move an airplane, you need big castors. those are the types of things he makes. i met a woman in california named barbara who founded an extraordinary way of taking a carrot and taking the skin off of it and putting it in little plastic bags. i think the conception of carrots has gone up about fourfold in this country. it is amazing what she has done. the innovativeness of the american people is what makes america a stronger economy. it is not a government telling us what to do in her how to do it. it is free people pursuing their ideas.

their success does not make as worse off. it makes us better off. i love the spirit of america. i love free people for pursuing their dreams. [cheers and applause] this is at the heart -- this is at the heart of america's promise. we have always known that america's promises that if you work hard and you get as much education as you can and you have the right values, you can know that your home will be secure and prosperous. you can care for yourself and your kid goes the future will be even better than your own past. that is the promise of america. that promise is in question today. a lot of people wonder if that is still true. the president has got a around the country promising. it does promises have not been realized. he said he would cut the deficit in path -- in half.

he doubled it. he said if we let him borrow $700 billion -- by the way, our kids were repay that with interest. he said he would hold unemployment below 8%. it has not been below 8% sense. he said he would cut taxes. he has not. if you consider the tax effect on americans under obamacare, he has raised taxes for middle- class families. three years into his presidency, not one serious idea to make them solvent. this is a president who is out of ideas. he is out of excuses. 2012 we will get him out of office. [cheers and applause]

some things we will know. we will continue to have trillion dollar deficits. this is a man who is not bothered by putting out a budget with a trillion dollar deficit. he is on track to amass and four years almost as much debt as all prior presidents combined. he gave a speech the other day at the state of the union address. he did not even mentioned the deficit or debt. even as the world is reeling watching what is happening in europe, realizing we will face that as well. he has nothing to say about it. if i am president, i will not

just slow down the rate of government growth, i will cut government spending. i will capet and balance the budget. [cheers and applause] when it comes to jobs, he gave a speech again at the state of the union address. he talked about what it takes to create jobs. he said a lot of things that were right. he just does not do those things. he says we need to reduce regulations. he has increased regulations at a rate 2.5 times higher than the prior president. he says we need to take advantage of all sources of energy. how about the keystone pipeline? i will bring that in. he will not. he said, finally, it is

interesting to hear a liberal say this. for corporations to grow and expand, we need to lower the corporate tax rate. lower taxes on businesses that employ people. a few weeks later he came out with a plan that raised taxes on business. one of the kinds of businesses that is most important to the recovery of the economy is small business. the realize there are a lot of businesses that are not taxed at the corporate rate? my guess is if you go to a restaurant that you are familiar with or perhaps an auto dealership or you think of the different kinds of businesses to frequent that the business does not pay corporate taxes. the taxes that the individual rate. the owner of the business is taxed as an individual on the success of the business. if you raise taxes on individuals, you are raising taxes on the businesses. he wants to raise the top individual tax rate from 35% to 40%.

what will that do? that will kill jobs and those businesses. guess how many jobs are held by people who work in businesses tax said the individual rates? over half. 54% of all private-sector jobs are and those kinds of businesses. he wants to raise taxes. it will kill jobs. i will lower taxes to create jobs. [cheers and applause] i do not think he trusts us to make the right decisions for ourselves. he decides to have bureaucrats tell us what kind of health insurance we can have, and what kind of care we can receive. i will appeal obamacare on day one. [cheers and applause] -- i will repeal obamacare on

day one. there is also a difference between us as it relates to the military. this is a president who has already announced $500 billion in cuts in the military. our navy is smaller than at any time since 1917. is that not something? our air forces smaller and older than any time since its founding in 1947. he wants to reduce the number of troops, even though you know our troops were stretched to the breaking point in afghanistan and iraq. my corse says we will need to add chips to the navy, we need to add new aircraft to the air force. i want to add 100,000 active- duty troops. i believe that american superiority militarily is the best piece we have ever known.

[cheers and applause] this is really a campaign about great jobs and rising incomes and lowering the deficit, keeping america strong. there is one more aspect of job creation that i want to mention to you. that relates to trade. there are a lot of people who are worried about trade with other nations. they do not think we can compete. they are concerned if we have opened trade we will be falling further behind. and the truth is for a nation like us with the highest productivity in the world, the truth is that when we have trade with other nations it is good for us. we do better as a society. we are able to have more stuff and have a more prosperous life. that is only the case as long as people with whom we trade do not cheat.

in the case of china, they are cheating. they have a number of ways to cheat. they hacked into our computers. he steel designs that we have the will spend millions of dollars creating. the also steal our intellectual property meeting our patents, our know-how, our brand names. apparently there is even a store in china -- it sells apple products but it is not really an apple store and it does not sell apple products. this is what they do. the also manipulate their currency. they hold down the value of the currency. by doing that, it means the products they sell here and other places around the world are artificially inexpensive. it is nice for those who are buying the goods, but how about the businesses to have to compete with the artificially low-priced goods? it drives them out of business.

then they raise the value of their currency. the right course for us is not -- is to not let them continue to walk all over us. this president said he will take them to the mat. i will little china a currency manipulator and apply terrorists wherever we have to to stop unfair trade practices that kill jobs and ohio and america. [cheers and applause] this election is about two different views. we are very animated about the mistakes this president has made. let me tell you, the other guy spend their life in washington working in world of influence and in some cases lobbying. there is nothing wrong with that. if you want to get the economy fixed, i think it helps to have had a job. ve. i ha

[applause] so we are going to have a choice as to what nature a america is going to be. will we be in asian that becomes more and more like europe with the government telling us what kind of health care we can have. what kind of businesses we can invest and? will we remain a nation where individuals pursue their own dreams? i believe in the principles upon which the nation was founded. i believe they are the reason we are so successful as a nation. we are the most powerful nation in the history of the earth. the income per person is almost 50% higher than that of a european. we all have the same dna. how is it we do so well? i believe it is the principles upon which the nation was founded and people who came here seeking freedom and opportunity.

i love the words and the principles selected by our founders. they said that the creator in doubt us with our rights, not the government. the creator. [cheers and applause] among those rights are life -- our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. that last phrase we tend to breeze over a bit. the pursuit of happiness means in this country we are free to pursue happiness as we choose, not limited by the circumstance of birth. not limited by government telling us how to live life. this will be a land of opportunity. by virtue of that choice, this became the place on the planet where every pioneer, every innovator wanted to come to

build their enterprise and future for their family. that is who we are. sometimes i do not think the president understands that. it is not their guidance that makes us who we are. [applause] and so i know we face similar challenges. i see iraq on the cusp of becoming a nuclear. i seek hottest that want to kill us. i see threats from around the world in a dangerous world. i see the arabs bring becoming an arab winter. a lot of challenges. a lot of people out of work suffering. this campaign has shown me the best of america.

it has also shown me a lot of people worried about their future. i happen to believe that if we have a president that returns to the principles that returns the nation that we are and the president who -- i will not embarrass you in the white house. [cheers and applause] and a president who will draw on the patriotism and the passion and innovativeness of the american people, we will rise to the location. i intend to be that president with your help. get out there and vote as many times as they let you. -- not that way. dear friends to go with the. if we do that, we can take back america and keep this the greatest nation on earth. thank you. you are the best.

[cheers and applause] ♪

♪

♪

♪

♪

♪

>> also campaigning, rick santorum. he gives the keynote speech at the gop lincoln dinner in eastlake, ohio. >> we are so lucky to have this great leadership in the party. we are delighted to be back and lake county. in just a moment, we will all give a great lake county will come to the next president of the united states. this is exciting. we have known rick and karen for almost 20 years. this is a true conservative with accomplishments who has done things. this is somebody who on the senate floor fought against the entitlements when it was not

popular. he was a leader. he took the lead in that. it was rick santorum when we were fighting to change welfare and we had bill clinton who really did not want to do it. it was rick santorum who was on the floor day after day and very articulately explained that this was the way to help people help themselves. it was unfair to keep them down. he believes there is opportunity. there should be opportunity for every american. it was rick santorum -- at was there to help him on partial birth abortion. we fought that battle time and time again. we finally got a president to sign the bill -- george bush. [applause] this is a man of solid core values.

he has never changed. he has never flip-flop. we have been with him. he is a good person. we know rick and karen very well. they are great family. they're absolutely wonderful people. when we select the president of the united states, there is a lot of things that go into consideration. character above all else is what is most important. what is important is that whoever is in the oval office, we know there are going to have to do some tough things. the next president will have to deal with entitlements. he will have to deal with all of the different tough issues. the federal budget deficit this

current president has driven up so much. and that person has to be somebody who can inspire us and who can lead us. although we know we need to do some of these things, they are hard to do. what i have seen on the campaign trail, this man connects with people. you will see it tonight. this man is a leader. this man is a person who is truly as abraham lincoln said, appeal to the better angels of our cells. this is a man who has in my opinion clearly the best chance of winning the election in the fall. is it not important to be barack obama in the fall? ladies and gentlemen, a man who

will appeal because of his values and because of who he is and his background. [cheers and applause] >> thank you. well, thank you very much. it is great to be here in ohio. almost and pennsylvania. clothes. is great to be here in eastern ohio.

let me thank you for that great introduction and his great service to the people of ohio over many years. thank you. and fran, i hear the same thing every time i go out on the road. we hear from her. they always say less rick, more karen. it is the same thing with mike. just his family alone is an army. it is great to have you here with us. thank you dale for your help and support and pitching in to help us in the state of ohio. i always talk about the early part of our campaign. all throughout 2011 when we were at 1% in polls. up until about september he did

not even put my name on the polls. it was probably a blessing. it would probably discourage me if he had put my name on the polls. we went out and had folks who believe in us across the country and help us in states to get on the balance. a month or two before iowa -- ohio was one of those states. i want to thank dale and so many of you for being with us when the rest of the world had not quite caught on yet to what we have to say and our message and what we bring to the table in this country. i just want to say to the people here in northeastern ohio, it is great to be here. it feels like home. pittsburgh and cleveland and the areas around it -- the reason we hate each other so much is because we are so much alike. that is a good thing to have that rivalry between siblings.

we really do enjoy going after the browns here. i know you occasionally go after the steelers in pittsburgh. i know. i am trying to get votes here, not lose them. but i was a steelers fan before i ran for president. i cannot help it. it does feel like home. it is great to be with you. i thank you for the outpouring of support. i am very honored that you will come. i talk about my roots a lot. i talk about my roots growing up in western pennsylvania and what it was like growing up in a steel town. you know what it is like growing up in small towns, steel towns, cities built on industry and shipping and all the industrial revolution that occurred between these two great cities that helped build america.

there is a lot of pride in people here. a lot of people who stand on the shoulders of ancestors who created and gave so much. the sweat of their brow, their intellect, to build great companies and work in those companies. i always talk about america is that country that is different than any other country in the world because we were built from the bottom up. we were not ruled by a big powerful central government are a king or emperor. that is not how america was built. we were built with a government that was supposed to be lamented that believe in free people. they believed in the integrity and value of the family and church in the local school and the community organizations that were there to take care of each other. we got in trouble we did not call it 1800 number from washington to help us. we asked our neighbor who went

to the church, the school, the employer. we were all in this together. i was talking about the declaration of independence and those words "we hold these truths to be self-evident, all men are created equal. we are endowed by our creator to run alienable rights." that phrase that we believe all people have dignity. people can chase their dreams. we separated ourselves from england. we were subjects of the crown. we serve the sovereign. after that moment, that signing, at the end of that signing of the document, our founders wrote "we pledge to each other." that is what america is about. it is about more than just yourself.

we pledge to each other. there is a bond here in cleveland and northeastern ohio. there is a pond. there are a lot of things the bayou together. there are bonds that allow you to live your lives without relying upon some big powerful government to give you things. it is the last thing the people in america want. it is the last thing. here we are. we are here at a time when i think as many of you know -- the reason i think there's so much and extend society is not just because of the high unemployment rate. that is part of it. it is not just the high gas prices. that is part of it. it is about something more fundamental going on. freedom. what america has always been about. limited government and free people.

folks taking care of themselves and building great institutions in cleveland. the thing the cleveland clinic would excess of the government ran the health-care system pretty loss 100 years? no. right? [applause] here is the. -- he would not know any better. if the government took things over and just said we will make sure everybody is treated equally rigid we have resources at all these things. we will make sure everybody is treated fairly. we are not going to let people climb and succeed. we will take their money and redistribute it to others. that is the attitude of this president. read his speeches. read where he talks about -- one thing we need to do is to redistribute wealth.

that should be part of the constitution. this is a president who does not understand that communities like cleveland and northeastern ohio were belts by people -- were built by people who are not being told what to do. they had ambition, drive, and able to build powerful institutions that change the world. that is america. it is not a government that rules you. it is one that understands the greatness of america lies in its free people. when you look at this race -- [applause] -- this race is about big things. we need a leader who goes out and talks about big things.

he is not just talking about little changes, little adjustments. i will be a better manager than the management that is in charge right now. we do not need another manager of washington. we need somebody who has a track record of going down to washington and shaking things up. i have gotten grief in the media because i am a little bit too passionate. i say things that sometimes offend people. [cheers and applause] i talk about government dictating to us and suggest that might not be -- a little snobbish for people to do that. i talk about how we have to have traditional values in this country and respect for the dignity of life and respect for freedom of religion in this country.

[cheers and applause] it is not just that that i talk about. i go out and talk about our important it is that we have a health care system that is not run as it will be in two years. it is not run by a group or panel of people in washington d.c. where going to decide how things -- what benefits you're going to get. how it is laid out onto the lot. there are all sorts of regulations and things to come as you see from washington. 700 times and obamacare, the word "the secretary shall" appears. 700 times. we saw one of them recently, but there are more on the way. governmentgovernment will managn

your life and help. margaret thatcher was prime minister of england at the time of ronald reagan. after she left, she says i was never able to accomplish what reagan accomplished. the reason she was not able to turn great britain back from the brink of socialism was people's dependency on the british national health care system. once they have your help, they have got you -- once they have your health, they have got you. that is why they want it so badly. [applause] i i believed from the start of my career in politics when health care was not that big an issue, i was out there talking about how the health care system in this country is not a private health care system.

the consumers are insulated from the cost of health care and economic decisions. they do not understand the cost of anything or would call the -- or what quality they're getting. it is managed by insurance companies and the government. i came forward with the conservative idea along with another guy you may have heard of who was with me in congress, and jon casey. [applause] by the way, we claim him, too he grew up in pittsburgh, just saying. you have good taste. caish and i introduced the bill that is the basis for any health reform that will happen in america. it is to put you, not obama or romney, but you in charge of

your own health care. that is the key. [applause] obamacare is public enemy number one against freedom in america, and it must be repealed. [applause] that is not enough. that is not enough to get the economy going and keep our freedom. it is a big step, but we have to get government out of regulating every aspect of our lives. i do not know how many businesses i have talked to have told me they're not growing their business. they are afraid to expand. they are afraid to hire anybody because of what government is going to do to the next. i had a man walked up to me a few weeks ago who said, i was a businessman. i lived through clinton and bush. they did not bother me.

i could run my business, no problems. but this president, i had to get involved. i spend half of my days complying with new regulations telling me how to run my business. the president of the united states last year alone passed over 150 regulations that cost the economy over $100 million a year. that is 2.5 times the normal rate. this is a president who thinks he knows best, not just to run your health care, but if you are a farmer, manufacturing, insurance agent, a banker, he is going to tell you how to run every aspect of your business. whatever it is, they know better. they are going to micro-manage just because you are incapable of freedom. that is what they believe.

that is where the kings, emperors, and queens of old believed. but we rebelled against those leaders and stood up for freedom. we said we believe we are capable of building a great society and a great economy. i put forth an economic plan that said every single obama regulation that costs the economy more than $100 million a year will be repealed on day one of my administration. [applause] we need to stimulate this economy not by spending more federal dollars but by letting you keep more of your dollars. that is what my tax plan does. [applause]

it goes to who you believe in. president obama believes that stimulus package was government allocating resources, borrowing money and giving it to certain groups they favored, that would help the economy. it failed. it failed miserably. what do they do? they try to do more of it. the answer was that bill because it was not big enough. it failed because it was not the way america solves its problems. america solves its problems by taking on the responsibility themselves, giving them the ability and resources, getting government out of the way so they can take the entrepreneurial spirit, the belief in themselves, pursuing their dreams, building things, working at things, instead of building a dependency programs

so people rely more on the government. we've put a tax plan in place, a corporate tax plan that cuts the corporate tax. is that 35% today, the highest in the world as of april 1. we take the corporate tax that is 35%. the effective rate of the tax if you look at all the corporate revenues and the tax rate is about 18%. why is that? there are so many exemptions and loopholes. companies spend all sorts of money trying to avoid paying taxes. they hire a lot of people and spend a lot of money to structure their business not to optimize the business but to optimize their tax return. we say let's get rid of all the junk, cut the corporate tax to 17.5%. net profits, everybody pays the same. [applause]

expense everything. simple. the smallest business and the biggest business spin the same amount of time on their tax forms. that levels the playing field for the little guy who does not have all those folks who can restructure his business to optimize his tax return. this is pro-growth. it does not have a huge impact on revenues to the federal government. in fact, it will increase it because businesses will be more efficient and grow. one sector of the economy, i take a different tactic. "the wall street journal" called power plants supply side economics for the working man. i believe in reducing taxes. the income tax for individuals, we cut the top rate down to 28%. if it was good enough for

reagan, it is good enough for me. we've simplified the code. we throw it out and replace it with five deductions. children, charity, pension, health care, and housing. everything else goes. make a very simple code. maybe there is a reason why the other guys do not want to make the code simple. i actually do my own taxes. i always felt if i was going to be a member of congress voting on tax bills, i should have to do my own taxes as penalty for doing the things we do with the tax code. see what everybody else in america has to go through. [applause] i believe in practicing what you preach. i believe in going out there and saying what i believe in doing what i say i am going to do. when it comes to the tax code, i

will talk about how we will create an incentive to bring the jobs that bill northeastern ohio and southwestern pennsylvania -- that built northeastern ohio and southwestern pennsylvania. it created an economic boon for this area and put america on the map economically. we have people in this country who do work hard, who want to work. they came here because they wanted the freedom and opportunity. i do not know if any of you have gone back to the countries from which ancestors came. i have. my ancestors came from northern italy. i have gone back. they are great folks, great food, but they are different from my grandfather when he came to this country. my grandfather did not want to be ruled, just like your

ancestors. they did not want a government telling them what to do. they wanted their freedom. they wanted to be able to work hard. he did work hard. they wanted their hard work to pay off with something better for themselves and their family and their community. that is why they came here. our dna is different from the rest of the world. the people from all around the world who see america as a beacon of hope because america rewards hard work. america allows people to rise if they have a good idea, stick to it, and persevere. that is what america is about. that is why people come here. you are the descendants of those people. that is why we work harder than any other country in the world. we work longer hours. when i go back and visit my relatives, they are nothing like my grandfather. in many respects, they were

happy being ruled, not having to work so hard. but that is not who we are. when we see a government fixated on growing dependency programs, the size of government, encouraging states to sign that more people on medicaid and food stamps, they are doing things that the road -- erode the foundation, the dna americans have that is different from the rest of the world. my economic program is not going to be measured on how many people receive government benefits. it could be measured by how many people get off of government benefits and get back to work. [applause]

we say to all of those folks who want an opportunity to rise again, the folks who feel like they have been paddling alone because their skills that does not match up to a lot of the knowledge-based economy jobs and opportunities those create -- yes, we do need people to go to schools of higher education and get degrees that are important science, engineering, math for all the ways we can innovate in other areas and not just those. we need that. we also have to make sure the folks who do not have the aptitude, the desire, or have a whole different set of skills, that they have opportunity to apply their skills in meaningful work that creates something and gives them a chance to be able to rise in society. [applause]

we did that here in eastern ohio and western pennsylvania. we helped build america. we have the skill sets. we have the work ethic. all we need is an opportunity to prove it. right now we have an uneven playing field. the jobs have been shipped out of this country to china and mexico and other places because american made manufacturers uncompetitive. it costs 20% more to do business as a manufacturer in america as it does with our top trading partners combined. in some countries, it is less. the point is we have our manufacturers start a 20% differential, excluding labor costs.

even if we pay the same wages, we would still be at a competitive disadvantage. people say, why are you treating manufacturing different from the rest of the places in the economy? because i cut the manufacturing tax. i would 0 it out. [applause] the reason i do is because other businesses do not compete against china. manufacturers compete against countries that want the jobs and will do everything they can to get the jobs because it creates wealth and opportunities to rise. it creates a national security

platform where we are making the things we consume in this country. in this dangerous world, it is an important thing to do. we are going to cut the corporate tax to 0. we're going to say, if you center jobs overseas and made money overseas -- if you send your jobs overseas and made money overseas, we want you to bring it back. right now if you bring it back, is taxed at 35%. under our plan, it will not be taxed at 35%. if you bring that money back and invest it in america, you will not pay any taxes. you will see a boom in manufacturing jobs and construction in eastern ohio. [applause] we have a lot of work to do to get the economy growing again. energy is a big part of that and part of growing manufacturing. every time you go to the pulp

and see a 0 on the pulp -- pump , remember 0 for obama. that is why you are paying the extra zeroes. we could do something about energy. look at what is going on with marcella shale. look at what is happening with the jobs being created. look at what happened to natural gas prices. seven years ago, it was $13. it is now $2.13. why? supply and demand. you create more supply, prices go down. this is basic. the president says drilling does

not work. he came to cleveland and said drill, baby, droll does not work. unfortunately, a lot of people applauded him. that is sad. if you take economics 101, it is negative supply and demand. 50.5dent obama's may take because he only talks about demand and supply. one creates jobs, increasing supply. the other increase quality of life in america. look at any chart and look at energy consumption. look at the quality of life. the higher the energy consumption, the higher the quality of life. that is in any country in the world. the president says we want to reduce your energy consumption. we want to drive up the cost of energy. understand what he is saying, that we need to settle for less. we need to accept america in

decline. the government will allocate your resources. it will deny you the opportunity to the ninth -- to go out and get the resources, as the president has done by saying no to offshore drilling, drilling in alaska, to building the keystone pipeline. we need a president who will say yes to energy production and lower cost of energy in this country. [applause] we have a plan to get this economy humming. we can do all of those things. we also have to understand america is built from the bottom up. as much as what we need to do is

grow the economy, of course we need to balance the federal budget. i will balance within five years. that is a promise i will make to you. that is a promise i will keep. [applause] i have pledged to cut $5 trillion over five years. the best gov. romney can come up with is $2.5 trillion in five years. we will take on the battle of entitlements. we will adopt paul ryan's budget. we will make sure we cut out federal departments, eliminate no child left behind and education at the federal level and send it back to the local communities and parents where it belongs. [applause]

if we do all of those things, grow the economy, cut back on spending, and do not focus on rebuilding the foundation of our country, i am not sure we will be successful. a lot of folks say talk about the economy and jobs. i will, i do. but we are kidding ourselves if we think a country where 40% of the children are born out-of- wedlock, where parents are working heroically to raise children in single-parent homes but have a failure rate economically five times what two parents have, now approaching 40% in america, we are kidding ourselves if we do not talk about doing things to help restore and encourage the

american family. marriage, fathers taking responsibility for children, building networks of support around families at the local level. that is how we were able to have government limited, because families were strong. churches were strong. volunteer and civic organizations were strong. people in the committee looked out for each other. you know that. -- people in the community looked out for each other. you know that. look at areas of cleveland. were you do not see dad's gonna do you see freedom and opportunity? do you see jobs? do you see police? do you see government everywhere? that is the reality.

it has to be a community effort. it has to be a community effort across this country. we have to talk about it. people get upset, why are you talking about this? because that is what allows america to be free. we did not need a big, strong powerful government because we were able to take care of ourselves. that is now harder. we need a president who will go out and tell the truth, be honest with the public about the challenges we face. there was a book written by charles murray that talked about the breaking apart of white america. he wrote about white america because he wanted to focus on that particular element of society and talk about what is going on in that particular place. he has written books about the minority communities in the

past. what he said was that those at the top end of the income scale actually do have strong families and communities. those who are having children out of wedlock are feeling and falling apart, those communities and families are struggling in america. he said those who are doing well in society practice all the things i have talked about, building strong families and communities, but they are too timid to preach it because they get criticized for saying what we know is true. the brookings institute did a study. they said if you do three things, you are guaranteed in american not to be in poverty. what are those three things? number one, work.

surprise. a liberal think-tank, that is a big deal. give them credit. give it up to the brookings institution. now liberals understand you have to work. this is good. no. two, a graduate from high school -- number two, a graduate from high school. number three, get married and do not have children until you get married. [applause] if you do those three things, the chances you will ever be in poverty in america is 2%. if you do those three things, the chances you will at some point in time in your life be earning money at the top half of

income earners in america is 77% chance that you will be at the top half of income earners in america. if you fail to do just one of those three things, the chances you will be in poverty is 74%. the chance that you will ever in at the topme earne half of earnings in america is 4%. go ahead. we can talk about cutting taxes. we can talk about balancing the budget. but we're kidding ourselves unless we have an understanding of what really makes america work. that is faith in families and communities that build strong networks of support for those families. [applause]

finally, i have to talk about this. so much is going on overseas. this president has got to stop apologizing for america. [applause] his gut reaction is always to blame us, to blame our men and women in uniform. stop it, mr. president. stand up for our troops. stand up for this country. [applause]

we are a beacon of hope that your ancestors came to this country. we're not just a beacon of hope for the people who came here. we are a light for the world to follow. we should not apologize for being that light. [applause] others look to us for the values we represent, to the freedoms, to limited government, too strong social institutions. they say, we can try to build that in our country. we can be like america. this president, instead saying we made a mistake here and there, look at the world because

of america. we did not only change this country. when our founders wrote the declaration of independence in 1776, life expectancy in most of the world was 35 to 40 years of age. it had been that way for thousands of years. no country was going to give their subjects freedom to pursue their dreams. no one was going to respect the dignity of every human life and allow them to achieve great success without the government confiscating it or coopting it. then american gamelan. in 200 years, life expectancy more than doubled. we went from an agrarian society that had been the case for two dozen years to an industrial age, a technology revolution --

for 2000 years to an industrial age, a technology revolution. it continues. it did not just benefit us. it benefits the world. for those in the world to have added to it, it is because they followed our lead. this is something to be proud of. the world economy, trade which is so vital to our ability to keep our standard of living hike and create opportunities for others around the world to improve their standard of living, why did that not happen before? did you ever think about that? why did it not happen before america? because america is the only country that has a military that patrols the seas. that did not do it for their benefit. did not confiscate things as people sailed the seven seas. we did it for everybody's benefit.

yet we go around and think we have made so many mistakes. the world is a prosperous place because america's navy is on the high seas protecting goods flowing around the world. do not apologize for that. [applause] what does the president want to do? pullback, cut the military. when i was born, the military comprised 60% of the federal budget. it now comprises 17%. what is the one area this president has cut, the military. twice. he is about to do it a third time. he creates new entitlements.

with obamacare. when it comes to protecting our economic interests and our national security interests, creating the opportunity for economic prosperity around the world and liberty and folks who will love us and trade with us, and allied with us, the president does not want anything to do with that. it is about building his power base in america. do you think when we pull out of east asia that the chinese will be good about shipping goods to and fro, unless it is to their benefit? we do not even think about these things. this is what we take for granted. we take so much for granted that is being whittled away. if this administration is reelected, it will be lost. at the end of the declaration of

independence, our founders wrote that they pledged to each other their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. they did that any time when most rational beings thought they were signing a death warrant, execution for treason against the most powerful military in the world. but they believed so fervently in freedom, in god-given rights, in the dignity of man in the potential of human spirit being unleashed in the world that they were willing to take that risk, risked everything. here we are. we stand on their shoulders and

on generations who did just that, missed their lives, their fortune, and their honor. risked their lives, their fortune, and honor. what made them the greatest generation? is it because they require character or love this country more than you do? no, is that they eventually recognize that freedom was at stake. they did what was necessary to preserve it. that made them great no one is asking you to do with the greatest generation has done. -- that made them great. no one is asking you to do what the greatest generation has done. no one is asking you to sacrifice your live to make sure we have an opportunity to win this election and preserve freedom. no one is asking you to put your fortune on the line. if you go to ricksantorum.com

when you go home -- [laughter] [applause] you can see my opponent has a little bit more money than i do. but by the way, last month we had 130,000 donations to our campaign. [applause] 2/3 of those donations were small dollar donations compared to the person outspending me. 9% of his donations were small dollar. 2/3 were maxed out contributors. on an out here fighting with you -- i am out here fighting with you, with the people of america to make big changes in this country, to take on the old

boy network, to take on those who would just like a little change in washington, who believe we win elections by putting the moderates instead of putting up people with clear convictions and a vision that is consistent with the founders and the greatness that built this country. i am not here sacrificing and pushing -- putting my life on the line, my honor. my father and grandfather worked and sacrificed. my grandfather in the coal mines, my dad in world war ii and serving this country afterwards, serving veterans of the veterans of administration. they taught me how special this

a privilege i was to be here. they told me about where they came from. they told me of my duty to keep our country free. ladies and gentlemen, this is your charge. it is the charge of every generation. we are blessed. i mean this. we're blessed to be here at a time when america needs you. you are here in ohio where you always seem to be at the political center of the universe of america. [applause] when ohio whispers, people listen. when ohio shouts, we want a

conservative," this country will stand up and join you. [applause] in 2008, our elections were determined by candidate who promised he could solve the problems that confronted america. all you have to distrust him. he was able -- all you had to do was trust him. he was able to take on all the problems that confronted us. if you trusted him, he could turn america around. sometimes that happens in times of crisis. leaders come along and we tend to think they can do things for us.

but americans are now little more sober and understand what has happened. they now realize what we need is not a president who we can believe in. we need a president who believes in you. [applause] help me out, ohio. go and sign up at the website. go out and worked these next few days. we will bring home a big victory for freedom in america. thank you and god bless you. [applause]

>> that was outstanding. >> congratulations, terrific. [laughter] >> thank you, sir. >> i will be praying for you. >> thank you. >> rick santorum! [applause] >> the california congressman, chairman of the armed services committee, discusses the defense planned by the obama administration, efforts to shift the role of forces in afghanistan, and iran nuclear plans on sunday.

>> president obama says an energy policy based only on oil and gas drilling would not meet the country's long-term energy needs. speaking at a white house conference on conservation, the president said the country can grow the economy and preserve wild species. he spoke about visiting yellowstone national park as a boy and returning years later with his family. this is about 20 minutes. [applause] >> on behalf of all the men and women who make up the cabinet of conservation for the president

of the united states, it is my honor and pleasure to be able to introduce the president of the united states. he is in this house, your house. [applause] the president and i go back a long ways. it is probably one of my most favorite memories of my time with the president was going to yellowstone with him and the first lady and sasha and malia and watching him around one of the great icons of our world. he has been to the grand canyon and vacationed with the family at our acadia national park. michelle loves the outdoors. a lot of his legacy in conservation comes from his understanding of the people of this country. much of the introduction he got to the united states were with his mother and grandmother as a young man going across the

country. he has been leading a conservation effort we are truly proud of. we're proud of the public lands act signed into law in 2009 at the beginning of his administration. we're proud of the fact is launched the great outdoors program and is listed communities -- in listing communities on the agenda at you have heard about today. this president knows what the people of america are telling him. it is about listening to all of you. a champion of rural america, a champion of conservation, a person who understands the importance of tourism and job creation for america, ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states, barack obama. [applause]

["hail to the chief"] ♪ >> thank you, everybody. thank you so much. [applause] everybody, have a seat. welcome to washington. i want to thank ken salazar for the introduction. did everybody know it is his birthday today? [laughter] has he milked that enough? turning 40 is tough. [laughter] we also have our outstanding secretary of agriculture, tom

vilsack, in the house. [applause] our wonderful epa administrator, lisa jackson, is with us. [applause] i want to thank all of you for being a part of this conference. this is a pretty diverse group here today. we have hunters and fishermen, farmers and ranchers, conservationists, small-business owners, local government leaders, tribal leaders, and some of you who may have just wandered in. [laughter] i do not know. but you are all here for the same reason. each of you have a deeper appreciation for the incredible natural resources, the incredible bounty we have been blessed with as a nation.

you are working hard every day to make sure those resources are and yourr my daughter's children and hopefully their children to enjoy. doing that takes creativity. aldo leopold said conservation is a positive exercise of skill and insight and not merely abstinence and caution. it is not just about doing nothing. it is about doing something affirmative to make sure we are passing on this incredible blessing that we have. you also note effective conservation is about more than just protecting our environment. it is about strengthening our economy. when we put in place new common- sense rules to reduce air pollution but we did in december, it was to prevent our

kids from bringing in dangerous chemicals. that is something we've should all agree on. but it will also create new jobs installing pollution control technology. it will prevent thousands of heart attacks and cases of child of asthma. it will also take the strain off of the health care system. when we make a commitment to restore 1 million acres of grassland, wetlands, and wildlife habitats like the department of agriculture and department of interior did today, we're not just preserving our land and water for the next generation. we're also making more land available for hunting and fishing. we are bolstering the outdoor economy that supports more than 9 million jobs and brings in more than $1 trillion a year. [applause] when we make it easier to visit this country like we have done

recently accelerating the process for foreign travelers to get visas, we're not just boosting tourism in the big cities and places like disney world. we're hoping more people to discover our parks and mountains and beaches. more visitors means more people renting cars, staying in hotels, eating at our restaurants, buying our equipment. the work you are doing today is important if we're going to grow our economy and put people back to work. conservation is also important when it comes to another issue i have been talking about lately. that is developing new sources of american-made energy. gas prices are on a lot of folks minds right now. we're getting another painful reminder of why developing new energy is so important to our future. because it is an election year, everybody is bringing out their plans for $2 gas. he knows what that involves.

you drill and drill some more. we have heard this for 30 years. the american people know better. they understand we cannot drill our way out of high gas prices. we're doing all we can to boost u.s. production. if we're going to take control of our energy future and avoid these price spikes in the future, we have to of a sustained all of the above strategy that develops every available source of american energy with oil and gas, wind, solar, biofuels, and more. we are making progress. in 2010, our dependence on foreign oil was under 50% for the first time in 13 years. because of the investments we have made -- [applause] because of the investments we

have made, the use of clean, renewable energy in this country has nearly doubled. [applause] in my state of the union address, i announced we are allowing the development of clean energy on enough public land to power 3 million homes. that protect our environment and helps families and businesses save money. while it is important to use public lands to develop things like wind and solar energy and reduce our dependence on foreign oil, we also have to focus on protecting our planet. that is why teddy roosevelt made sure that as we build this country and harvest its bounty that we also protect its future. that is part of our national character. historically, it has been bipartisan. even as our country grew by leaps and bounds, we made sure to set aside places like the

grand canyon for our children and grandchildren that is why my administration has stood up to protect its waters. that is what president kennedy directed a portion of the revenues from oil and gas production to help communities build trails and ball fields, and why my administration has fought to protect the land and water conservation fund. [applause] that is why the hunters and anglers of this country have always been willing to pay a few extra bucks for a fishing license to help protect the streams and habitats, because they want to make sure that their grandkids can enjoy ithe same pastimes. that is why my administration is expanding access to public lands so that more americans can

teach their children how to fish and hunt. we have to keep investing in the technology and manufacturing that helps us lead the world, but we also have to protect the places that define who we are, that help to shape our character and soul as a nation. the places help to attract visitors and create jobs but also give something to our kids that is irreplaceable. all of us having a role to play. one of the first bills i signed after taking office was the public lands build a project within 1,000 miles of rivers and establishes new national parks and trails. [applause] two years ago, and thanks to some great work by my cabinet, i kicked off america's great outdoors initiative to support

conservation projects in all 50 states, including fort monroe in virginia, which just became america's 396th national park. [applause] right now, we are restoring the river in the everglades, providing clean water to millions of residents. [applause] we're creating thousands of jobs, construction jobs in southern florida. we need to keep moving forward on projects like these. i know we have ranchers and farmers and landowners here today who represent places like montana, the dakota grasslands, and everywhere in between. we need to keep working to protect these incredible landscapes all of you know so well. the bottom line is this. there will always be people in this country who say we have to choose between clean air and water and a growing economy,

between doing right by our economy and putting people back to work. i am here to tell you that is a false choice. [applause] with smart policies, we can grow our economy and protect our environment for ourselves and our children. we know it is possible. we know it because of what is happening in communities like years where compromise is not a dirty word, where folks can recognize a good idea no matter where it comes from. awhile back, i heard a story about the river in oregon. every year, is filled with salmon swimming upstream to spawn. factories were allowing warm water to run back into the river.

the temperature was becoming too high for the salmon to survive. the town could required the company to buy cooling equipment. but that would hurt the local economy. instead, they paid farmers and ranchers to plant trees along the banks of the rivers. that helped to cool the water at a fraction of the cost. it worked for business, it worked for farmers. it worked for salmon. those to the kinds of ideas we need in this country, ideas that preserve the environment, protect the bottom line, and connect more americans to the great outdoors. this is personally important to me. some of you know i grew up in hawaii mostly. we have some pretty nice outdoors in hawaii. [laughter] you spend a lot of time outdoors. you learn early on to appreciate this incredible

splendor. i remember when i was 11, i had never been to the mainland. my grandmother, mother, and my sister decided we were going to take a big summer trip. we travelled across the country. mostly we took a greyhound buses. my grandmother was having eye problems and could not see well. she was nervous about driving long distance. sometimes we took the train. we went to the usual spots, disneyland, i was 11. [laughter] i still remember traveling up to yellowstone and coming over a hill and suddenly just hundreds

of deer, and seeing bison for the first time, and seeing old faithful. i remember that trip giving me a sense of how immense and grand this country was and how diverse it was. watching folks digging for clams in puget sound, watching ranchers, seeing our first american's guide me through canyon in arizona. it gave you a sense of what it is that makes america's special -- makes america special. when i and went back to yellowstone with ken and my

daughers, a was thinking about the first time of them seeing it but i was also remembering back to my mother and grandmother showing me this amazing country so many years before. that is part of what we have to fight for. that is what is critical. making sure we are always there to bequeath that gift to the next generation. [applause] if you work with me, i promise i will do everything i can to help protect our economy but also protect this amazing planet that we love and this great country we have been blessed with. thank you, everybody. god bless you. god bless america. [applause]

[patriotic music playing] ♪

♪ >> try to vet bloomberg.

who goes in with them? >> none of them. obama just change the entire dynamic. >> look inside the new hbo movie and best-selling book that gave the inside story of what happened in the 2008 provincial campaign. >> the difference between a hockey mom and a bit bold? lipstick. >> sunday with co-authors mark helprin and john holliman. >> the expectation was that she was on her way into the campaign. for a week or 10 days after that, she was the head of the democratic side there was a lot of concern. hillary clinton came out ahead of barack obama by 5-1/6 points. the democrats were sort of freaking out. >> we will talk about "game changed" sunday at 6:30 on c- span or anytime on c-span.org. >> may years discussed education

initiatives. michael bloomberg, los angeles mayor, are joined by arne duncan at this event at american university in washington, d.c. this is one hour. >> i would like to think you have picked the right universe to be to host this very important event. american university through our school of education, teaching, and help provided teachers for this great city, provided professional development and education for the teachers of washington, d.c. in all eight of our wards.

these cities represent the education of two 0.5 million students. some of them facing some of the greatest personal challenges one could imagining, but they also represent some of our best and our brightest. i wish for this morning a fruitful, engaging, and stimulating panel. once again, welcome all of our distinguished guest to this very special event. [applause] >> thank you, very much. thank you very much. i am andrea mitchell from nbc and msnbc. it is great to be here at american university. we feel very much at home with all of you. education now, the scene of the day's conference, cities at the forefront of the forum -- we

have gathered the mayors of our nation's three biggest cities. our largest urban districts, obviously, a mix of both the best, the practice, and the most severe problems we face. we have the mayor of los angeles, we have new york city mayor michael bloomberg and chicago mayor ron emmanuel. education secretary, arne duncan, has gathered all of us. we will be joined by the super did -- superintendent of all of these school districts to talk about how they are dealing with the bureaucracy. education is at the forefront of all the problems we face as a nation. every social and political problem really comes together at a crossroads of our school system. is the core of the twin crises of unemployment and lagging behind in global

competitiveness. today's conversation will address how each of our mayors, these big three mayors, are addressing the challenges of reform, what their successes are, and they're continuing challenges. i hesitate to say failures because this is a work in progress. we are looking forward to a thoughtful conversation and to engage you in questions and answers as well as bringing in the superintendent very shortly. you, unlike mayor bloomberg and mayor emanuel, you have a system where you do not have political control. how do you work around that challenge? >> let me just say that i could not be prouder to be here with both mayor bloomberg and mayor emanuel. both new york and chicago are doing what they need to do to improve their schools. they are challenging a broken

status quo and a bureaucracy that does not work for our kids. i would like to say this is the economic issue of our times, the civil-rights issue of our times, and the democracy issue of our times when you look at the issue of education, particularly in urban schools. you are right. i do not have made oral control over our unified school district. -- mayoral control over our unified school district. i was given a partnership with the school district. i lost on trial and appeal. we have a plan b, to elect a school board that would support the accountability and the innovation that we need to compete and to improve our schools. in the last six years, la unified school district schools

have increased the number of schools to 800. they have reduced the number of schools that are performing poorly from 33% to 10%. we have doubled the number of charters in our school district. 130 schools on public school choice, which is schools that are failing in a program to improve. i operate 22 schools, 18,000 skids, a turnaround model that we patterned after a chicago school. while i do not have full mayoral control, i take that is what we should have. every mayor should be involved in our school because it is the economic issue of our times. >> secretary duncan, is there anything the department of education can do to backstop the

mayor? is this the political structure he inherited? >> this is probably the toughest issue they work on. what we have is people who get the urgency. they are putting their political capital on the line. whatever we can do in bus angeles, new york, chicago -- we just want to be partners. we want to listen. we want to hear what you're challenges are, what we could do to help. money to turn around schools. my job is to listen and what ever my team can do -- these are our customers. >> speaking of customers, mayor bloomberg -- you have taken on all of these issues. one of them is closing larger schools, creating smaller schools. what are the bandages -- what are the disadvantages? you haven't had a lot of push back and a lot of success.

>> what is different today than 25-50 years ago -- the difference is today we are starting to see the real world impact of what we have all talked about. we have said education is the key to for a dissipating in the great american dream. for the first time you can see it in the marketplace. the unemployment rate are college graduates is 4%. the unemployment rate among kids who drop out of high school is so high you cannot really measure it. some are so dropped out we cannot even find them. for the first time we see competition for jobs from around the world. we have to our -- we have to measure ourselves versus the objective standard of can it be done better elsewhere cheaper. everybody says let's have accountability. accountability is what we need to give parents the knowledge they need to know where to send their kids and we have to change our school system so we have

different alternatives for them. one of the ways we of different alternatives, we break big schools up into small schools. it lets the principles be more focused. less teachers to supervise. a theme in each of the school to attract the kids and make it more attractive for them. the students, schools, and the teachers -- we measure their performance and give that information to the parents. we need accountability for the management system. the principal, the department of education, the mayor, i in my case. we need the data for the parents who a to make those decisions. you can see the yelling and screaming when you give the data to the parents and the arrogance of the bureaucracies that say parents should not have data to know what to do with their kids. it is astounding. we are fighting through that. everybody who talks about accountability and evaluation

systems across this country, i do not think they stop to understand -- it is not the evaluation system that is important. it is getting the data to those who need to make decisions. the first group is parents. >> first of all, i do not know how ohio can be held accountable -- i do not know how i could be held accountable and maintain control. it is a catch-22. he has no ability to influence. for all the pains we have with the authority or the accountability, i would not trade with a person who is accountable with no ability to influence. it is bad. economic stewardship. you are supposed to improve the economy in your area, yet you have no ability to influence the education system. this year -- four years in our

system, principals were getting a report card on their school's performance. they never shared it with parents. we have made the very report card debt principles got available not only to parents, but of mind for parents. ever since we have done that, we have had an increasing improvement. immediate impact of creating the information, making it available to parents. we have had principles and role in training and other types of things to improve their own skills. we have lifted the curtain. it is a culture of accountability in the system. you are starting to see it and that behavior by the people. the most important people we can work with are the principals who are accountable for what happens in that building. giving parents and spoke to her -- to hold the principal and teachers responsible is essential.

it is the first step. >> my reason for being here in helping organize this event -- you said something in your introduction. the three school districts represented here are bigger than most states. if you took our collected -- collective students, it would be more than the collective students in 44 states. district will now be allowed to compete for race to the top in states like mine where they have not really wanted to have a competitive edge is really heartening. there is a will to tight reforms, more money to do the kinds of things, to get the kind of flexibility you need to innovate and set the high standards. >> before you go onto the next question -- we will now, on our

own, be able to put our performance, reforms, changes with an idea toward a set of results. getting our chance, at least our three cities, a chance to get the resources. here are our changes. here is our form. here are the result we want. it is a change long do and welcomed by all of us. he deserves applause. go ahead. do not be shy. [applause] >> on other -- going back to something mayor bloomberg said almost in passing, but i wanted to zoom in on this. you pointed out that the unemployment rate for college graduates is 4% compared to what we had -- we know how profound

the -- preferably by the unemployment rate is four young high-school graduates, particularly mail. particularly minorities. knockabout whether or not we see -- >> that was a big issue 20 years ago. 20 years ago across the country we closed vocational schools. everybody said, what you need my kid would not go to harvard, yell, or printed? number one, your kid is not going to harvard, yale or princeton. number two, that is not the best way to make the most money. there was an article comparing going to harvard university with joining the corrections department of the state of california. it turns out the state of california it correction department is much more selective than a harvard and you

almost never catch up because instead of spending $50,000 for the first four years each year, you make money, benefits, vacation, everything else. [laughter] we need people at all different levels -- committed the colleges, vocational schools, college graduates. when we say college graduates, that is a very desirable thing, but being a plumber is something that society needs. being a plumber is something that is a profession people will pay for and you can be in charge of your own destiny. let's not forget those. we have started in new york opening a lot more what i would call "vocational schools." ali in education speak could we not call them vocational schools. [laughter] >> in the speech that many of us have been citing that the president did give, he was talking about all of that. community colleges, 1-year

apprentice chips. -- apprenticeships. mayor emanuel, you have a program that works with the business community. i wanted to catch up with you on how they evolved. >> the vast majority of children are poor. the vast majority come from minority communities. these communities are destined to remain poor. the only way we end the cycle of poverty is that the dropout rates down to zero. these guys are making real progress. they have to graduate in some form of higher education. there are no good jobs for high school dropouts. there are basically nine if you have a high-school diploma. for your universities, trade and vocational training -- that have to be the destination for

everyone. there is nothing out there in the globally competitive economy far high-school diplomas. >> the chairman of siemens america was working on a plant in north carolina. he said he was going in the military. they are so well trained. our veterans have had so much computer education, technical education that they are not getting in many public schools, but that they need in one-year, a two-year, four-year schools. mayor emanuel, what are you finding what you talk to employers about what the gap is between the kids graduating from public high schools and the people they need to employ? >> first of all, basic fact, 3/4 of all jobs in the future require a post-high school education, whether it's three- year post-graduate or a two- year community college. in our city, we have instituted

a college-to-career program. malcolm x will now only do healthcare. abbott, rush presbyterian hospital, northwestern, walgreens, coming in, doing the curriculum, doing the training. that school will train you for the healthcare field which we'll have 84 thousand jobs in the next decade in chicago alone. we are a transportation, distribution, logistics center in chicago if it goes on rail, roads or runway, we do it. we have no school that does that. harvey will now be the trade, transportation, distribution center. coyote logistics, u.p.s., canadian national, burlington are doing the curriculum, the training, to produce the work force to have a degree in that specific field. we just met in the transportation area out of harvey and each year two schools will do conventions and culinary. we'll do i.t., we'll do

professional services and advanced manufacturing. those will be the other things, every year we'll do another two schools until all six are done. in the transportation distribution, they're ecstatic given the shortage of truck drivers who require computer knowledge and technical skills. it's not just driving the way it was before. and logistics and working in the warehouse and the information that comes with working in the computers and we're giving those kids coming out of high school, going to community college, a career, a chance at employment. right now, community college, you get a degree and put it on the resume, it does not have the economic value a four-year institution has. i have to give those kids a shot at a career. number two -- i'll give you a compliment so hold on for a second. this is a good one for you. last year, august, i was reading the "wall street journal" about a high school that mike was setting up with

i.b.m., ninth grade to 14 and these kids get tutoring, mentoring and a shot at a job, if they go all the way. so i went and called sam at i.b.m. and i wanted to give him a shout-out and i said come to chicago and we'll set up those schools and i'll recruit other companies to do it. we announced five high schools in chicago -- microsoft, verizon, motorola solutions have stepped up with i.b.m. taking high school, ninth through 14, to train the kids in stem education. it's a great idea and we'll give these kids not only just high school but they'll go all the way and see a pipeline to be first in line for a job interview to get kids a shot at a career, a shot at a job. >> i stand with the president in what he said and i think most educators in america stand with the president. the fact is, you have to be a

career-ready or college-ready in this society. when you said, and you're right, that a plumber is a good job. i can't tell you the number of kids that come up to me and say they want to go into an apprenticeship program as an electrician and plumber or carpenter but if they haven't taken algebra or geometry, they can't get in. the fact is, 75% of parents, if you ask them they think college is important, they say yes. and we want our kids in unified to be career ready or college ready. we want them to graduate from high school because as you said, in l.a. today, our unemployment rate is 12.7% and i met with a group of economists this week who told me that one of the reasons why it's continued to remain that high is that we have such a high percentage of our work force that aren't even high school graduates. so they're going to be

unemployed for a longer period of time. it's just as simple as that. >> and their kids feel that effect and it becomes a continuing cycle. mayor bloomberg, we've thrown a lot of money at our schools and one of the things that michelle reed said this morning on msnbc where we've had this continuing focus on education nation and we're now in our third year of this, as many of you know, you've all participated. she said that we have doubled what we spent in the last decade on public school education and that testing shows that the outcomes have not appreciably improved. >> in new york city, we spend double what the national average is, 18-odd thousand dollars a year. >> what do we have to show for it? >> we have made improvements. you have to step back, what is happening in our world today. repetitive jobs are automated out of existence and jobs where you don't have to be by your supplier or customer move to the lowest priced part of the world so we have to find ways

not only to get people to stay in school and get degrees but to make the degrees and the skills they learn more relevant not to what the jobs used to be but to what the jobs are going to be down the road. that is an enormous challenge and the conventional ways that government works, we throw money at all problems. if you think about it, what legislators do, they vote money. they don't run anything so they want to go home to their constituents and say i did something, i got a computer for the kid in the class. it's not clear that the computer in the class for the kid is a good idea. there's a lot of evidence that says that's not making a difference, but uses a lot of money. but in the end, education is about a teacher looking at a kid face to face and so if you care about education, you have to care about the quality of the teacher. class size matters. i once said that it doesn't matter as much as the quality

of the teacher. it doesn't matter as much as the quality of the teacher. it's important. it would be nice to have small class sizes but in the end, spend your money on teachers, the quality of the teachers, and get those who can't do the job out of the system no matter what the economic impact of that is. we worry about what it would cost to remove a teacher from the classroom who's not doing the job but not stopping paying them. that's not the problem. it's having a teacher in front of a kid as that kid spends another day of its life, his or her life, without learning. >> let me ask you about your loan forgiveness program because we have a history in america of not valuing teachers. if great schools begin with great teachers, how do we make teaching a more valued profession as it is in finland and singapore, shanghai, in the places out-distancing us on all of the international testing. you have a program, i believe, that helps recruit -- >> we're trying to negotiate with the teacher's union to pay

$20,000 bonus to a teacher ranked in the top of their profession two years in a row to say thank you and to keep them from being hired away, or going into another profession. remember, most teachers went into teaching in a world when they didn't have alternatives. today, women have a lot more alternatives and it's much more a woman's profession than a male -- although the number of males is greater than it was but if you look in the classrooms, you'll see women for the on first time having alternatives and we have to retain them. forgiveness of loan is to let them take a profession where they don't have to make more money to pay back their loans. let them go into a profession where the compensation is with recognition and respect and the pleasure of knowing you're making a difference but you still to pay back the loan so we're trying to help them with that but in the end we don't have a problem recruiting teachers. the real reason people want to teach in new york from around

the country is that we have a school system that is really changing and making a difference and no matter what some people in the bureaucracy want to say, we are. are we anywhere where we want to be, no, but we're making a difference and we've got to make sure we keep the best teachers and remove the worst ones from the classroom and that's the battle going forward. in the end, in government, removing those that don't do the job is antithetical to the way government works. it is virtually never done in any part of government that i know and in education, it is really the difference between these kids having a future or not. >> we're going to be introducing the superintendents momentarily, mayor emanuel, i want to give you a chance to wrap up this part of the program. >> i agree with what mike said about the importance of teachers but you also need a principal that's ready to be held accountable, a teacher that's motivated to teach a classroom and involved parent. if you get those three things, the kid will succeed.

what we're going to do, we've raised a fund for principal merit pay so as your school improves on benchmarks, the principal benefits. we have the school, the principals and the c.e.o. on merit pay top to bottom. we've been playing with this, from now on, if we get a principal, top of the class, reaching academic standards, we're going to pay him a $25,000 signing bonus to come and be a principal in taking over a school so next year we need 50 new principals of high quality so we're going to do a bonus or signing bonus for the best people coming out of our school systems who are ready to be principals and ready to take over a system and be accountable. and that, to me, is using the bonus system as a merit pay system for our principals. i'm fully supportive of what's

going on with the teachers. >> we pay bonuses to principals to go into tough neighborhoods and take over those schools and make a difference but what people don't understand, in government, management is a bad word and every time there's a budget crisis, there's a demand, cut the managers, you're overpaying your managers. let me tell you, when times get tough and you need to do more with less, you need better managers, you need better paid managers. i know it doesn't sound good. the people being managed say i don't want to lose my job and everybody worries about their own jobs and where you stand depends on where you sit but nevertheless, you need better management and the management in education is called principals and a great principal like a great store manager or office manager makes all the difference in the world. they get people to do amazing things. >> let me just, for a second. >> go ahead. >> i also pay, in my turnaround

schools, i pay a signing bonus as they do and i agree with them on that point but in california, we've actually gone from the top five in per-pupil spending when i was growing up, to 47th in per-pupil spending. to the 47th. that is not the direction we want to go to. i believe that money matters. i think you have to tie up money to results. that is what we're trying to do. we want to invest in innovation and schools that are improving and teacher development and teacher training and pay teachers more when they're succeeding. tot is the way we're trying advocate in california. >> the superintendent, we are going to bring up our three school superintendents. let me introduce -- [applause]

we're going to introduce, first of all, closest to me is the los angeles superintendent john deasy, dennis walcott and jean- claude brizard from chicago. thank you for joining us. you are facing a lot of challenges right now. we want to know with how are you dealing with getting the teachers' union to abolish the four-year time limit after everything you have been experiencing. there have been charges filed. bring us the latest on that.

>> the thing about los angeles, a l.a. is america sooner. what happens here matters for the country. to the reforms we are putting in place are on bets on human capital, who we fire, fire, retain, and compensate. public-school choice, every parent. and running the system. those were brought to bear in dealing with the situation. it is problematic there are laws that making it impossible to separate performers and retain your hire performers. we think about responding to situation in four ways. that box has been negotiation.

you tried to negotiate ways to make things work. that has to include regulation. you work with school boards. it also includes the legislation. you change laws if they do not work. then you seek redress in the courts and litigation. we will use all four to make sure the rights of adults and children are protected. >> let's talk about new york city. one of the issues there has been publicizing the records. there has been a lot of push back. bill gates took issue with this. he said microsoft has agreed to the system but said, "we would have never thought about using the vibrations to embarrass people." tell us the justification for

making these public. >> it is all about accountability. parents have a right to use this information. i have tried to make sure the community understands this is a limited piece of information. they have to view it in context. we want to make sure we empower our prince of house to talk to their parents -- principals to talk to their parents. it goes back to accountability out " all levels, teachers, students, and what we have done with our high school directory, we put in place a high school graduation rate. that way, parents when they are trying to find a high school know how well a school has done or not done. part of that is accountability. it is another level of

accountability as far as making sure parents understand what the information means. whether it is school-grade, a graduation rate, we want to make sure that the entire community has information available to help them make decisions. >> gates gives information to the people that need it, the managers of the people being evaluated. in our case, it is the parents that need that information. we're not doing anything differently than what microsoft does. >> that is not as a last word. [laughter] >> also someone out of the business world. you have been facing a lot of challenges in your short tenure as the takeover this tough, complex school system. i read you went to the pulpit of

a major church last weekend. explain how passionate you feel about the reforms you're trying to bring to chicago. you are facing opposition from the coalition sure yet tell us what you told the congregants of that church and why it is so important. >> we spent a lot of time talking about the work we have to accomplish. going back to the data, and what has been happening, we have an increase in the achievement gap between black and white students. we have a graduation rate of 57%. the average a.c.t. score is 17. it is a call to action. we have more work to do. very simply, i went back to it a

number of times and said let's stand together. let's not argue about the the what but how we get there. we have of work to do. it cannot be the place to do nothing. >> our fat -- first battle, our kids have one of the shortest school days in the country. you have a comparison. in new york, a child spends 8000 more minutes a year in a classroom than chicago. an l.a. child, every year, about 3000 mormons in a classroom than a chicago child. -- 3000 minutes in the classroom

than a chicago child. that is in a cumulative. i just gave you a year's status. i love my city. 3000 more minutes in l.a. we wanted to be equal to their aspirations. that was the most important thing we could do. [applause] >> one of the things that came across was accountability. whether it is an individual test score or school's performance, i think the reason for that, at the most important level is what you're talking about. i believe that information is the currency of privilege and has been for a long time. what every parent understands

and has the ability to make choices, and you have equalized supplying field that is around the rights of students and parents. you must provide information. that entire process of being public around results is a rights issue for parents. >> id is. the school report card that l.a. unified employees, we took it to scale. now i am arguing we should put a letter grade by the report card, just like kids get a letter grade to see how they are doing. our schools need to get a letter grade. >> it was suggested by the governor of connecticut this morning that we should worry as much about early childhood education than between three and five we are losing kids. by the time they even enter

public schools, they cannot compete. they fall behind. that is as important as a high- school graduation rate. i do not now how you quantify that. >> everyone would agree with that. we talk about this agenda. this last round of topics, $500 million to increase access to make sure it is high quality. all of this -- of us are facing achievement gaps. we have children in kindergarten reading fluently and others to do not know the front of a book from the back of a book. we have to look at discontinuance. -- this continuum. >> is pre-kindergarten the privilege of the middle-class and upper-middle-class? >> you have hundreds of thousands of children.

it is not enough. we have to get poor children into high-quality programs. >> with a common core and how we implement it, taking it from pre-k through high school. picking up on the superintendent from los angeles, what we are doing in new york is tremendous. we have been able to create 500 new, small schools. 139 our charter schools. the ability for parents to choose high-quality options is one of the great equalizers. they know how well a school or doing or not doing. it is our responsibility to get that information out on a constant basis. >> we have closed the gap. we have cut it in half.

we are going in the right direction. by giving parents a choice, parents can influence whether or not the schools get better. one of our problems is that for some parents, private schools have become the backup school. the private schools are clever. they give you an option of accepting and putting down a nonrefundable deposit or you do not get the place. what does a parent do? i get calls, should i send them or is my child going into the dough -- into the public school choice? we had people outside of new york city lying about where they live so they can send kids inside. it used to go in the other direction. >> one question is that the more you concentrate power in the mayor's office, the farther you get away from parents.

what are you doing to involve parents more in bringing them to the table? >> i disagree with that. what we have done in 2003, we invested $80 million in creating paring chordata. every school has that. -- parents coordinator. every school has done that. so parents have an individual to talk to. we have put a lot of information into the hands of parents. we have new technology available. we have a computer for parents. our goal is to make sure parents get an unfair -- information at a variety of levels. >> i think the opposite happens. when you have accountability, you know who to call. in chicago, we now have an

office at the cabinet level. it is really about empowering parents and providing information to them. actually publishing scorecards of our pre-k programs so parents have a choice. >> if you look at the net result, each of what we're doing, we are giving information to parents. there would be no impetus to give parents the information to bring accountability into the system or bring their voice. >> the parents want you to hire professional educators. parents have to decide whether the results are good or not or demand better results. nobody is suggesting that you should have the parents come and sit at the front of the class and teach the kids.

that is why we educate teachers. that is their skill set. they should have that job. >> in every one of my schools, we have a parent center. i started by saying we need to put teachers accountable. we have a parent center. we have an administrator whose job it is to recruit parents and involve them. we have to start the parent union and apparent trigger which allows parents to vote to to have a choice, whether they want to continue operating under those conditions or have a charter school. the fact is of us having committed to the idea we have to put parents and students in the occasion -- equation. >> i think responsibility has been centralized.

strong, centralized responsibility has happened in every one of these cities in ways that has given people more information in a given teachers more information to be more effective. >> another question from the audience, the superintendents who worked in inner-city districts, what are you doing in terms of school violence and bowling -- bullying? funerals will be held this weekend. i interviewed one of the students from ohio. it was painful to think of what that young man experienced in escaping the gunfire. we associate that with urban centers. this was anything but. bullying and school violence can happen anywhere. >> new york city, we created an

impact school. we did a detailed analysis as far as a number of crime in our schools and created police and school safety officers. we worked with principals from hallway passes and helping them understand how to cover those areas better. we have reduced the number of crime by 43%. we have been very clear about the schools should not be run by that one individual who should create some type of problem. it should be for all the students. we're clear about the roles and the policies. reducing the number of incidents and making safety factor. the other thing we have done is being clear about suspensions and making sure they have the

appropriate policies. what kind of a suspension is in making sure a -- people understand that as well. safety for our students and the entire community. >> i think you will find synergy between new york and chicago. we have a system where we have the principals looking at data and making connections for people what happened over the weekend. we know what happened in the cafeteria. that kind of dialogue, looking at corridors between transportation hubs, is something we've looked at. safe havens. kids go to after school because their mamas not home. the one thing i often push for is that safety is not just a

security thing, it is about youth development. positive behavior systems are critical. use development is critical. -- youth development is critical. you can see it in the face of something is going on. who is there to make note of what is going on? that is critical. [applause] >> one instance of violence is too many but context is worth going into this conversation. in los angeles, and i would suspect other cities, incidents of violence in schools are very small compared to incidents of violence outside of the school. this really has to be about community safety. that is why the relationship with foundations and safe

passages and with our police departments are critical. students live in a violent community when they come to school. the notion of how to handle and make sure you are not engaged in that is as important. >> we are talking about different types of and basement. there is no greater investment and after-school programs. -- than after-school programs. our parents did it for us. whether it was athletic, academic, artistic. whatever the child wanted, making sure between 3:00 23:30 there is an after-school program available for children. that is essential to their safety and development. >> i know we are short on time, we're getting close to closing

comments from everyone, i wanted to ask you about the budget crunch. you have some exciting programs that you have to go to those people michael blumberg was talking about, getting the money. the other piece is, with all of our programs race to the top, the rest, have we put such a premium on testing we have the unintended consequence of cheating? >> let me take the second one first. we think there has been an overemphasis on testing. a big part of the impetus is to broaden out those things. the creativity is coming from these waivers to moving beyond test scores, looking at graduation rates. looking at reducing dropout rates. making sure more students are going to college, not taking remedial class is. we're trying to move in a more

comprehensive way. we share those concerns. test scores tell you a piece of something. when congress fixes no child left behind, hopefully the state will shine. budgets reflect our values. they are not numbers. we are going to invest in education or we are not. we're trying to walk the walk in tough economic times. the president is asking for $1.7 billion. unprecedented money. we cannot do it by ourselves. states have to step up. we are challenging colleges to keep their costs down. >> if i can ask you to think of the single biggest challenge you have faced and your greatest

hope in terms of being able to surmount that challenge. >> i'm going to paraphrase something said to me awhile ago, the real road is no longer underground, it is public. that is a solution for much of what hurts us. to the power empowerment, making sure parents are providing data to push the system to do better. as a parent with three children, two, one on the way -- >> congratulation. >> we have family medical leave in chicago. [laughter] >> selecting schools, every parent should have that. that is a fundamental solution. >> rahm emanuel.

>> the way i look at it, the system was set up for the adults without any of the kids in mind. you would never start a system with the shortest school day. the kids were never in mind. it did not happen. it was negotiated. that is the sad part. making sure we have a culture, i want a principal that is truly accountable to what happens and the results that come out of the building. that you can get your hand around. i want a teacher that is excited about being there and a parent who can be involved in their own school and child's education. all of the information today has been keeping them at the distance. the most important for the chop blocks through is the front door of the house. if they do not know the

importance of an education, every other piece i'm responsible for has the weakest link. i have to make sure parents now getting a kid to school is not irresponsibility on education alone, making sure they understand the value of that education is essential to everything we do. those are the pieces, if we get those things to a level of accountability and results, and everything else will follow. all of the reforms focus on those principles. >> i want to make sure that the students are the people in the front of the discussion. a lot of times when battles take place, it is about the adults and benefiting students. the best interest of our students. putting a quality teacher in front of a classroom, and powering our principles --

principals to be the people in charge. deciding on their budget to benefit students. so they have training and support and ability to carry out their job for the benefit of our students. making sure we wage the battle on a constant basis for the benefit of our students, including removing ineffective teachers who are not doing their jobs. removing an offense -- ineffective principals. the final piece is engaging our parents of they have the information and know what it means and find a variety of vehicles for parental involvement so they can carry out their role as parents and reinforce what takes place. it is all about students. >> we have a saying that in god we trust, everyone else has to bring data.

i know of no ways of whether a child understands and is making progress without testing those children. this business of teaching is what we should do as long as the test reflexed what we want them to learn. if the test is, can you read, you should find out whether they read by testing them. the tests we do are in the children's interest and the teachers interest. we want to walk away from responsibility. sometimes the tests don't show we are doing a good job. sometimes we are not devoting enough money to the system or too much to the system. i know of nobody in this firm that does not get tested. we get tested. we get tested at the polls on the press. this argument that we should not find out whether we'd are doing

a good job is ridiculous. there is a pete seeger -- no one is old enough to remember. he had a song, "knee deep in the muddy and the big fool said to push on." that is exactly. we are taking away when we say we will test three years from now, you are taking kids and sending them out into the real world with a lack of skills and they will never catch up. >> i am glad you did not try to sing it. [laughter] >> we are all glad. for me the hope is that progress will be made in los angeles and will continue at a greater rate. doubling graduation rates. we watch the highest levels of performance for every student.

that is great. it is not where we want to be. when students can graduate, everyone of them, not some, not most, but all, then i think we have honored the right for which we took the job. the challenge is overcoming a disinvestment in the city and country. i do not believe we believe all students can graduate college. otherwise we would act differently. that is a profound challenge. i also think one of the things you see is the era of superintendents and mares showing up at a press conference to celebrate a token on a bus is gone. it is one team committed to advancing rights to kids.

that is a positive sign, whether it be mayoral influence or control, this notion that this is two different teams, that is not true anymore. anymore. >> and mayor villaraigosa? >> one hope is that in addition to districts like ours that are city states, being able to compete for race to the top that we also get waivers from nclb so we can innovate and do the kinds of things that states are allowed to do so on those two points, that's a hope. but the real hope, the macro hope, if you will, i want our schools to be world class schools and when tom friedman says that the world is flat and we're not competing, he's not just talking about the urban schools, he's talking about our kids. my daughter's at s.c., my son was at princeton. he's saying our kids aren't competing in math, science. i want our urban schools to be places of a world class education. i want our kids to be able to compete and challenge, i do

believe and one of the reasons why i really wanted to have these two great mayors here with us, superintendents, i do believe mayors have to spearhead the effort to reform our schools. we have to put parents and teachers first and focus as much on the kids as we do on the adults and that's something you've heard across here. we all know that people work hard and the teachers who get into the profession are people who care about changing the world but we want the best people in the profession and we want to be able to measure who are the most effective and highly effective teachers, hold them accountable, principals, as well, invest, but tie that investment to results and improvement. >> i want to thank everyone here today and thank secretary duncan and your wonderful team for letting me participate in this. if there's one clear message from all the mayors and superintendents it's that the children should be at the center of all of this, the children, their parents, that accountability matters, that

principals and teachers have to be held accountable and we all have to work together. 2 1/2 million children are led by the people on this stage and their lives are in their hands so that's the profound message we all take away. thank you all very much. [applause] >> the "washington times" reporter who covered this event earlier today. ben wolfgang is national reporter with the "washington times" covering the education event at american university today. what was the dominant theme of today's discussion? >> i would say the dominant theme was how large cities, new york, l.a. and chicago, are implementing reforms to their public school systems, sort of in spite of the lack of action we've seen here at the federal level. all three mayors, villaraigosa, bloomberg and rahm emanuel, spoke of the need to reform no- child-left-behind and have

direction at the federal level. they spoke of what they're trying to do outside of that in terms of charter schools and a variety of other things but one of the dominant themes was, we need more of a national direction and they're all looking at congress to do that. >> on a local level, what did you pick up? what district, what city seems to be getting it right? >> well, i think the three represented today -- chicago, l.a. and new york -- i think they are in different ways. for example, in chicago, rahm emanuel talked about how his city is putting more of a focus on career training. he's partnering with companies like microsoft and a variety of others to develop certain curricula so students can choose a field they want to go into and get a head start on training for that field. in l.a., the mayor spoke about how they're trying to expand public school choice to a level it's never been at before in l.a. they doubled the number of charter schools since he came into office in 2005.

mayor bloomberg in new york got a lot of publicity for closing down some of the largest public schools and reopening scaled down smaller schools with smaller class sizes and greater interaction between individual students and teachers. so i think each city represented this morning, was getting it right in a couple of different ways. >> you mentioned that the main theme was a demand, a request for more direction from the federal level. that gets back to the reauthorization or the change in no-child-left-behind. where do things stand on that law right now? >> things are pretty dim right now. if you talk to leaders in the house and the senate on the education committees, i think everybody all privately acknowledge it's not going to happen, particularly in 2012, presidential election year, where congress infamously does very little. i think that's going to be the case this year. the two sides are just too far

apart right now and it doesn't look like it's going to happen. the senate and the house are moving forward with their own plans. this week, the house education committee passed the final two pieces of its reform agenda. the senate education committee passed a bill. neither have gotten to the floor yet. one of the reasons, not surprisingly, is politics. in the house education committee, you have a lot of freshman republicans that came in with the tea party wave the last time around and they're pushing for a scaled back level of involvement from the federal government, reining in the department of education, getting rid of mandates and that doesn't jibe with the democrat- led senate so there's a log jam right now. >> you can read ben wolfgang's reporting at washingtontimes.com. thank you for thank you very much date. >> absolutely. thank you. >> even a person who is a

senator -- even a person who is president of the united states chooses a predicament -- faces a predicament when they talk about race. there is an appreciable number of americans with racial prejudice. a lot -- a much larger portion of the american populace wants to deny the reality of race even now. >> sunday, harvard law professor and former law clerk to justice thurgood marshall randall kennedy on racism, politics, and the obama administration. he will take your calls, e-mail, and>> the education discussion here -- and tweets. >> now a speech by defense secretary leon panetta at the university of lowell. he talked about the dangers of cutting the defense budget while america is at war and facing

terrorist threats. senate republican leader mitch mcconnell introduces secretary panetta as part of the mcconnell center lecture series. this is one hour. [applause] >> if everyone would please be seated, we will get started. it is wonderful to see so many of you here tonight. on behalf of all of us at the university of louisville, welcome. i am especially delighted that in our audience we have numbers of our board of trustees, overseers and others from our university family. we are also delighted to have the mayor and his wife here tonight. many members of metro council and our state legislator and of course our former senator. we are gratified to see some members of our military unit. it is my great pleasure to also offer the republican leader of

the united states, senator mitch mcconnell. he is one of the best friends anybody could ever have been especially if you are the university of louisville. he is the father of the prestigious scholars program. i hope you can see what a wonderful young people we have at the university. we are proud that his archives and the civic education center is here at the university. senate mitch mcconnell has made strengthening our universities one of his top priorities. he understands that universities serve as engine for economic growth and solving problems of the future. the senator went about strengthening our universities with his trademark focus and tenacity. he is provided unprecedented support for research in infrastructure project at kentucky's university. u of l has been able to invest

in important undertakings like the cardiovascular innovation institute, the center for translational research. he is off to make higher education more affordable. setting aside the label education act is helping thousands of families send their children to college. this law and encourages families to invest in savings plans like the kentucky education savings plan trust and the affordable free paid tuition program. the senator has been one of the most outstanding champions of higher education in the history of the commonwealth. we have been very fortunate to have him as our senator and i have been fortunate to call him my friend. senator mitch mcconnell. [applause] >> good evening. thank you so much. you guys are doing a fabulous

job running this university which is getting better and better every year. i also want to an analysis of performance of dr. gary, thank you for the wonderful job you are doing. [applause] i also want to welcome this evening our many men and women in uniform, especially our friends from fort knox, fort campbell, the bluegrass army depot, the kentucky national guard, the reserve forces from all of our services and all of our heroic veterans. thank you very much for your service to our nation. [applause] i also want to take a moment to recognize the sacrifice of lieutenant-colonel john loplis who was killed in kabul, last saturday. he was an air force officer. he leaves behind a wife and two

daughters. i know everyone here, including our honor speaker, grieves. we are celebrating a first tonight. this is the first sitting secretary of the events we have had in the 21 year history of this program. it is an honor to have him here. more than 10 years after september 11, america remains a nation facing a changing balance of power. our position of primacy in global affairs must be reconciled with a national debt that exceeds the size of our economy and such -- the president relies on the secretary of defense to provide civilian leadership of armed forces as they engage with enemies across the world.

fortunately for us, the secretary of defense is leon panetta, a man who has never shied from a challenge. he has proved his mettle often in the most difficult jobs in public service. paramount among his many accomplishments is the one that will go down in the history books and still be steady decades from now when today's mcconnell scholars are running the world. [laughter] he presided over the hunt for an operation that led to the killing of osama bin laden. [applause] the success of the mission to strike the leader of al qaeda is one history making moment, albeit one of the brightest in a history making career.

leon panetta believes deeply in public service and it is america's good fortune that he is answer the call to serve again and again. secretary panetta served in uniform in the 1960's as an army intelligence officer. lt. panetta received the army commendation medal for his service which helped him better understand some of the sacrifices are men and women in the military make, and understanding that guide him today in his role heading up the department of defense. he represented the central california district in congress for 16 years, served the last four of those as house budget committee chairman. his depth of knowledge on budget issues led to his appointment are pressing clinton. -- by president clinton. he became a white house chief

of staff and a crucial point in our political history and congress and the president are able to pass needed and meaningful reforms in an era of divided government. after his congressional and white house service, no one could have blamed him if he had enough of public life. but the secretary believes public service is an honored calling. out of government, he and his wife created the institute for public policy based at california state university, monterey. much like the senator here, the institute's goal is to instill in our brightest a passion for public service. we have known each other for many years. i know one thing we have in common is a belief that it is important to find the imaginations of the next leaders, regardless of the party. he has great respect of both

sides of the aisle for his confirmation vote last year to become secretary of defense. the tally was 100-0. every single senator, democrat and republican, were enthusiastic about his selection. he used to be a republican. [laughter] i guess some things, even a former cia director, cannot keep secret. [laughter] regardless of his party and which side of the aisle whoever he is talking to happen to be on, leon panetta has built his career on honesty and by maintaining excellent relations with senior leaders and government of both parties. he can certainly count on the trust and friendship of the senate republican leader. at a time of great challenges to america, our military enjoys the leadership of a secretary of defense who is singularly well-suited to advise the

president and those of us in congress on the best ways to preserve america's role in the world. i am hard-pressed to name another person in government today who believes more in the importance of public service or in the deep gratitude we owe members of our armed forces. ladies and gentlemen, it is my distinct pleasure to present to you the 23rd secretary of defense, the honorable leon panetta. [applause] defense, the honorable leon panetta. [applause] >> thank you very much. thank you. i deeply appreciate the kind introduction and your warm

reception and the opportunity to be here in louisville tonight. i am truly honored. this is a great honor to be at the university of louisville and to see such a large crowd gathered for this event. this is a great university. this is a great state. north dakota have a great basketball team. -- and you have a great basketball team. [applause] being here was a large audience makes me wonder how many of you thought that the speaker this evening was somebody named patino and not pantta. -- panetta. you are deftly getting an at- tonight -- defnitely getting an italian tonight and both of

us to believe a sound defense is a key to winning the game. [applause] i would like to thank the provence -- provost and dr. gary for hosting me tonight. i would like to particularly thank my friend senator mitch mcconnell for that kind introduction and for inviting me to come down to visit his all modern -- alma mater and to see this great city and the people of louisville. mitch mcconnell and i got our start working in the united states senate as legislative aides in the 1960's. i was working for a republican at that time and so was he. between the two of us, we have

over 40 years of experience in washington. you have every right to question our sanity. [applause] but not our sense of duty. over the decades of working together, i have developed a great respect for mitch and his leadership and his dedication to public service. we have always enjoyed a strong working relationship and a strong friendship. because whether you are the son of an italian immigrants or not the son of a father who fought in world war ii, we both have been blessed with the opportunity to serve this great nation of ours that we love so much. when i learned that i would be coming down here to the

bluegrass state to give a speech, my thoughts turned to one of senator mitch mcconnell's distinguished predecessors, henry clay. he was an extraordinary public servant. he also had a great way with words. once when a long winded colleague was delivering a particularly lengthy and boring speech on the floor of the congress and everyone, including henry clay, was obviously losing their patience and making that loss of patience very clear, that colleague turned to clay and said, the speak for the present generation but i speak for posterity, for future generations.

yes, replied clay but he seemed determined to continue speaking until your future audience arrives. [laughter] i promise that i will not be speaking for posterity or internally this evening, however i do want to share with you some thoughts. this chance gives me an opportunity to also speak about the future of the nation. tonight, i want to talk about service to the country. how public servants help force the strong democracy we have today and how we all have an opportunity and responsibility to help secure and strengthen that security for tomorrow. this great university and the

mcconnell center are making vital contributions to education -- educating the citizen leaders who will help confront the challenges and opportunities that face all of us in the 21st century. i had a chance to meet with those students before coming here. it was a great thrill to have that opportunity. my wife and i established a similar public policy institute at california state university, monterey. the purpose is to try to inspire people to get involved and be part of public service. i deeply appreciate the good work that all of these education centers do to try to give young people a chance, the

opportunity to see what public service is all about. that mission is important because all of us have a tremendous stake in how the nation navigates the considerable challenges that we are facing from the economy to energy, for more -- from war to international diplomacy, deficits, defense. all of you have responsibility as citizens to help the country confront the challenges. it is the responsibility that does not just rest with the president and with the elected leaders of the nation. it rests with all of us and with all of you. for more than two centuries, our democracy has survived because

our heritage is built on giving something back to the nation. that is at the heart of what public service is all about. i am a big believer in the responsibility of public service. that goes back to what this country meant not only for me but for my family. as i said, i am the son of italian immigrants who like millions of others, came to this country with few skills and little money in their pocket and very little english language ability. but they understood the dream and that is america. i would ask my father why would you travel those thousands of miles to a strange country?

they came from a poor area of italy but they at least have the comfort of family. why would you pick up, leave your family and travel all that distance? i never forgot his response. he said because your mother and i believed that we could give our children a better life. that is the american dream. to give our children that better life. and it is the fundamental bond that we all share. every sunday at dinner as a boy, we had a tradition in my family. my parents would tell my brother and myself that we had a duty to give something back to this country which gave them so much. with that advice came a set of

ballets -- hard work -- values. hard work and honesty. qualities essential to life and citizenship. as a young boy, i was taught the importance of hard work. my parents ran a restaurant in monterey. my earliest recollections work washing glasses in the back of that restaurant. they believed that child labor was a requirement. [laughter] then they bought a farm and my father planted walnuts. i remember moving irrigation pipes, working with a hoe alongside my father. as the trees matured, my father would go around and knock down the walnuts. my brother and i would be under

the trees, picking up the walnuts. when i was elected to congress, my father said i was well- trained to go to washington because i had been dodging knots all my life. -- nuts all my life. [laughter] it was good training. along with the inspiration of my parents and 2 years of service in the army, and at that time a young president who said that we should ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country, all of that inspired me to serve. in many ways, kennedy inspired a whole generation. the nation benefited from that, from the impact of a generation that got involved in civil

rights and education, work in the peace corps, and got involved in issues of war and peace. that torch of service and sacrifice has now passed to a new generation. this nation, once again, has benefited from that. it has been a decade of turmoil these last 10 years. of war and crisis. like every such decade in our history, there have been those who are willing to step forward, to give something back to their country. no group has given more than the mena nd women in the united states military -- than the men and women in the united states military. [applause]

the sacrifice that they have made, and that their families and loved ones have made, are true symbols of what public service is all about. stepping forward to serve the country at a time of war takes uncommon courage and uncommon bravery. and millions have done so in the 10 years since our country was attacked on september 11. that includes many here in local -- in louisville. tonight, we are honored to be joined by soldiers from nearby fort knox and by members of the kentucky national guard. this audience includes, as i understand, nearly 800 military

veterans now enrolled at the university of louisville. we are also joined by the newest members of the -- of the military program, cadets from the rotc. they will have the opportunity to join more than 300 louisville rotc graduates who have served in the military. i am also a product of an rotc program at the university of santa clara. that is what led to my serving two years in the army. i really appreciate the benefits of that program in helping young people be able to enter our military. to the cadets i want to say that in volunteering to make this commitment, you have distinguished yourselves in a

profound and honorable way. you have chosen the path of service. i would urge all of you here, even those for whom military service is not an option or a desire, to consider how you can give back to your country that has given us so much. remember that you have a responsibility and an opportunity to contribute and make a difference. i have always said that the test in life is whether somebody made a difference. for those who are serving or planning to serve in uniform, please note that the country is inspired and strengthened by your example. every day, every day that i have

served in the office of secretary of defense, and before that as director of the cia, i have been privileged to see this new generation proving once again the strength, and the resilience of the american spirit and the unflagging commitment of our citizens to be willing to fight and yes, to sacrifice, for the american dream. thanks to their service and sacrifice, our country has, in many ways, reached a strategic turning point after 10 years of war. i believe an historic opportunity to help secure the american dream of a better future for our children. because of their service, because of their sacrifice, we

were able to bring the iraq war to an honorable conclusion and give them the ability to govern and secured themselves. it will not be easy. they will have an opportunity to establish a democracy in a key part of the world. in addition, because of their service and sacrifices, i was able to go to iraq when we cased the colors. it was a ceremony in which we pay tribute to those who sacrificed their lives to allow a iraq to be governed by the iraqi people. last night, at the white house, we honor those who served in the rack. -- in iraq.

it was the beginning, not the end, of a series of attributes that we will pay to the veterans of that country. afghanistan remains an extremely challenging campaign. 2011 was a turning point in that effort as well. we have begun to draw down our troops and transition to afghan- led security and responsibility. we have seen the level of violence go down and the ability of the afghan army to engage in operations and secure areas that we have transitioned to their control. our goal is that by the end of 2014, the afghans will have the responsibility to govern themselves. let me be very clear -- the brutal attacks we have seen over the last few days on our troops will not change and will not alter our commitment to get this job done.

on terrorism, we have successfully weakened al qaeda and decimated its leadership under bin laden. we have demonstrated we will continue to do everything possible to protect our citizens and our security from terrorism. meanwhile, we have reasserted our central global leadership role and shown that we remain an indispensable partner to a stable and secure world. in libya, we lead an international coalition that helped give libya back to the libyan people. i had the chance, recently, to go to tripoli. i was deeply moved by the determination of the libyan people to try to forge that better future for themselves.

more broadly, for my travels as secretary of defense, over the last eight months, a consistent theme has been the desire by countries across the globe, including our allies, old allies, new partners, to increase their partnership with our military forces. all of this has been achieved because there were brave men and women who were able to serve their nation. who were willing to put their lives on the line. who were willing to die to protect this country. we owe it to them to learn the lessons of the past. to build a better future for them and for their children. that means that as they return home, we must embrace them and support them in communities like this.

whether it is by helping them pursue an education at schools like louisville, or providing assistance in starting a job or business. as we turn the corner on a decade of war, it is absolutely vital that we maintain and enhance the very strengths that have allowed us to overcome the challenges that we have faced throughout our history. we must maintain the strongest military in the world, and effective diplomacy and an innovative, dynamic, strong economy. those are all elements of a strong national security. underpinning all of that is the fact that despite all of the frustrations that we have, we have the best system of

government on earth. one that i have said gives all of us the responsibility to govern this nation. that responsibility is a heavy one because, despite what i have just said we have achieved, challenges that still confront us are numerous and complex. there are no simple answers here. there are no simple solutions. we are still a nation at war. in afghanistan. we still face the threat of terrorism. we have confronted it in pakistan. terrorism is still there, still in somalia, still in yemen, still in north africa. they continue to plan attacks on this country. we deal with the dangerous

proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. we have to confront behavior of -- the behavior of iran and north korea. they continue to strident -- to threaten global stability. there is a continuing turmoil and unrest in the middle east. rising powers in asia test international relationships. there are growing concerns about cyber-intrusion and cyber- attacks. a whole new area of the war front that can take place in the future. at the same time, we face an additional threat to our national security which must also be confronted. and that is long-term debt and high deficits. as someone who spent much of my

time in public service, working on fiscal policy, i believe that if the country does not control and discipline its budgets, it will inflict severe damage on our national security. it would deprive us of the very resources that we require at the department of defense and it would also hurt the quality of life of the american people. something that is equally important to our broader national security. i refuse to believe that we must be forced to choose between our national security and fiscal responsibility. but to avoid that choice, we have to be willing to make difficult decisions. about how to reshape our defense strategies, how to maintain our

military strength for the future. while also doing our part to reduce the deficit. a bipartisan congress, mandated in the budget control act, that we should reduce the defense budget by $487 billion over the next four years. we have come together as a defense department with the service chiefs, with the combatant commanders, with my undersecretaries, to try to develop a strategy, not just for now but in the future, that would be the basis for making the budget decisions in order to achieve those savings. we have done that. we have stepped up to the plate. this has been an enormous undertaking.

but we have developed a plan and a strategy to develop the force that we need for the future. to reduce defense spending by nearly $500 billion over the next decade. of course, for the future, we will be smaller by necessity. we believe that we must ensure that it is supremely capable and ready and agile and prepared to go wherever we need them to go. in order to defend this country. and that we can maintain that force with a decisive technological edge in order to confront aggression and effectively defend this country in our global interests in the 21st century. we are going to maintain and even enhance our presence in

vital regions of the world like the middle east, the asia- pacific region, to develop an innovative force that will establish partnerships and a presence from europe to africa, from latin america to east asia. let me be clear -- we will be able to defeat any adversary, anytime, anywhere. we must continue to invest in new capabilities like cyber and unmanned systems, space, the continued growth of special operations forces. those technologies will be crucial to our ability to have a strong defense in the future. and we also need to be able to mobilize. that means maintaining a strong national guard. a strong reserve.

maintaining our industrial base. so that if we need the ships and tanks, the equipment, that industrial base will be there and we will have the skills and the crafts that are so important to our national securities, not just now but in the future. to do this, we have to make some painful and politically tough decisions. and we have. i cannot cut $500 billion from the defense budget and not have its impact on the 50 states in some way. let me also say this -- we cannot balance federal budgets on the back of defense alone. we have done our part. now it is time for congress to step up to the plate and make

sure that we do not devastate our national defense by allowing this mechanism called sequester to go into effect. that a sequester would impose another $500 billion in cuts. across-the-board defense cuts that would be devastating to our national defense. additional deficit reduction must be made through a comprehensive and balanced deficit reduction plan. it will involve making decisions not just on defense but on every other area of federal spending and revenues. making these tough decisions is what our forefathers intended when they established this great country. they made this remarkable

system of three separate but equal branches of government. it is a wonderful formula for ensuring that our is never centralized in any one branch of government. it also happens to be a perfect formula for gridlock. the key to breaking that gridlock has to rest with people that are willing to exercise leadership, compromise, and to make sacrifices in order to find answers. as we confront the broader set of choices and decisions that we need to be made to put america's fiscal house in order, all of us in washington need to demonstrate the same leadership, the same leadership that we counted on our troops to display

in battle. they made sacrifices in order to achieve their mission. surely, those of us in washington can make sacrifices in order to govern this nation. we know from our history that the american people have always overcome crisis and adversity. but we cannot just sit back and count on things to work out. it will take leadership. it will take sacrifice. and it will take a willingness to fight to secure that dream for the future. i often tell the story of the rabbi and the priest. they decided they would get to know each other and understand each other's religion. one evening, they thought they would go to a boxing match thinking that if they went to

the events together, they would discuss each other's religion. just before the bell rang, one of the boxer's made the sign of the cross. the rabbi nudged the priest and said, "what does that mean?" the priest said, "it does not mean a damn thing if he cannot fight." [laughter] it does not mean a dam thing -- it does not mean a damn thing if we are not willing to fight for it. if we fight for what is right, i believe we can turn crisis into opportunity. and demonstrate to the world that this resilient american spirit will endure for our children, their children, and

beyond. capt. stacey blackburn, a 2004 louisville graduate, also a mcconnell senator scholar, is also what i am talking about. stacey serves in the army as a jag officer and she recently returned from afghanistan. like me, her decision to enter public service goes back to the lessons that were instilled in her by her family. as a young girl, reading her grandfather's poems about serving in world war two as part of the greatest generation. she, for the first time, learned what it was like to be part of something bigger than herself.

she is now part of something bigger than herself. part of the next generation that is willing to fight and if necessary, and died for their country. -- if necessary, die for their country. like her, we all pledged to fight for that dream of a better life, to fight for an america that will always remain the strongest power on earth. most importantly, to fight for an america that will always be governed by it and for all people. thank you very much. [applause]

>> thank you, secretary panetta. you can all be seated. we are not done yet. we have time for a few questions. we have four mcconnell scholar alums in audience. there should be two on the right and two on the left. put up your hand if you have a question now. let's go quickly to the right. i see one right here. >> my name is meredith. he said it was our duty as americans to serve our country. during your time in washington, what you believe has been the greatest difference you have made in service to our country? what marquette you left for future generations? >> -- what mark have you left

for future generations? >> the joy of public service is to get things done. i have never thought that people were elected to office to sit on their rear end and try to survive. the purpose of being elected is to get things done. i had the good fortune of being in congress at a time when both parties worked together. we had the opportunity to get some things done. probably the one thing -- well, there are several things. let me just say -- one thing that i am proud of is the work that i did on the budget. i was chairman of the budget committee. i had the opportunity to work on budget summits. i was involved in the first budget summit with president reagan. he again cent of his secretary

of treasury, chief of staff. we gathered in a small room in the capitaol. we worked through and develop a deficit reduction package. it was not easy to do but we did it. the next opportunity was i sat in the summit at andrews air force base for almost two months working again with bipartisan leadership and representatives cabinet,sident bush's developing a deficit reduction package of about $500 million. it was tough. it was tough politically but it was the right thing to do. that, combined with and which i was omb director, putting the budget plan for president clinton together, also brought the budget down by about $500

billion. having the opportunity to work on that, it was the result of each of those plans, an economy that was able to move forward as a result of washington's showing some fiscal discipline. the consequence of that was we balanced the federal budget. not only balanced it, but we had a surplus. i look back on that as an important achievement and i regret that we are now back in the same damn hole and having to come out of it again. i do think that if the same kind of leadership comes together, we can get it done. the other thing i am most proud of is the cia, having worked with some great men and women at the cia to not only develop the information on bin laden, but help with the operation that

finally brought him down. that is not bad. [applause] >> my name is jesse. i am a student in the political science master's program. my question pertains to the dictatorship of belarus. americans are bombarded with media reports on the middle east but few even know the country of belarus exists. i find that worrisome given that millions of dollars from russia have just been invested in the country for a nuclear energy program. secretary clinton said that she supported this program if belarus would adhere to national standards and regulations. the country did not seem to be -- from past actions, it does not seem like that is a possibility. what are we doing for our defense to make sure that this threat does not come about? we are worried about nuclear

power in iran. is there any possibility that the dictator in belarus could partner up and develop something that is not important for u.s. interests? >> as i said in my speech, one of the concerns i have is the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. we have to be very conscious of the danger of that happening. it is what concerns us about iran and north korea. it concerns us about other nations as well. specifically with regards to belarus, i leave that issue in the hands of the secretary of state. as secretary of defense, i want to make sure we are taking the steps necessary to make sure we are doing everything possible to try to eliminate any

proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. that means ensuring that no country uses nuclear power as a vehicle to develop nuclear weapons. that is something we have to stop. >> my name is raul. as secretary of defense, what are the problems that keep you awake at night? [laughter] >> i have a hell of a lot to keep me awake tonight. there are a number of issues that are out there. i have to tell you, i do worry, however, about this new area i talked about -- cyber war. we are literally getting hundreds of thousands of attacks

every day that try to exploit information in various agencies and departments and, frankly, throughout this country. this is obviously growing technology, growing expertise in the use of cyber warfare. the danger is that cyber -- i think the capabilities are available in cyber to virtually crippled this nation, to bring down our power grid system, to impact on our governmental wallems, to impact on o street -- on our financial systems. they could literally paralyzed this country. it is very important for us to understand that we not only have to defend against that kind of

attack, but we have to develop the intelligence resources to understand when both possibilities are coming develop greater capabilities in the cyber-arena. one thing i worry about the most right now is knowing that this is possible and feeling we have not taken all the necessary steps to protect this country from that possibility. >> thank you for being here tonight, secretary panetta. my question is about the arab spring and the situation in the middle east. we have been watching people in syria and egypt struggle with freedom and democracy. how do you feel the events taking place in those countries impact america's national defence? >> we are going through a very historic time in the middle east. the last time we encountered anything like this was the fall

of the soviet elite -- soviet union. suddenly, the number of nations is going on their own and trying to develop what their system of governance will be, how to basically put together the institutions that govern, how to be able to develop the kind of reforms that they need to put in place in order for people to participate in their government. what is happening in the middle east, what happened in tunisia, egypt, what happened in libya, the turmoil we now see in syria -- we see a middle east that is truly in a changing state in which people are, in fact, trying to achieve a chance to be able to have a better life and to be able to govern themselves.

we have seen these dramatic changes. i think the important thing is to try to do what we can to make sure these changes move by the right direction. when that kind of literal revolution takes place, there are all kinds of forces that come into play. there are those that would like to take advantage of those changes that often times represent extremism, that represent the views we do not concur with. those begin to come into play as well. i think the greatest challenge for the united states and the international community is to do what we can to make sure these countries as they go through these changes can develop the institutions of government, can develop the reforms that are important to developing eight country truly represent greater freedom and greater opportunity to govern themselves for the

future. that is not easy. it is a tough challenge, but i believe we have a chance to be able to guide these countries in that direction. as this happens, my view is that, in fact, it further isolates iran. iran is the influence that tries to undermine stability in these nations. the more these changes take place, the more isolated iran will be. ultimately, i think, the greatest challenge we have in the middle east region is to try to do what we can to promote greater stability and greater democracy. [applause] >> we will take one last question. >> good afternoon. thank you are speaking today. a 2008 department of defense report noted how climate change

will impact current and future u.s. national security. the department of defense has been progressive in transitioning bases around the world, solar panels, etc. the weather patterns in somalia have led to difficulties with shabbab.al- could you talk about climate change and the department of defense and could you get senator mitch mcconnell to stop blocking that legislation? thank you. [applause] >> i learned a long time ago, do not mess around with people. state what you think is right and hope that others will follow and be able to incorporate those thoughts in whatever they do. i have tremendous respect for mitch mcconnell.

i have always enjoyed the opportunity to discuss with him not only this issue, but other issues as well. climate change -- what we developed at the cia was an intelligence branch of the cia that focused on that issue for intelligence purposes because of the implications that these changes might have with regards to national security. our example, when we encourage greater drought, when we incur areas that have less rain and are incurring unusual climate impacts, it creates, obviously, an impact in terms of the population. we have to be aware of it because it could create chaos. we have seen it in africa and other parts of the world. we need that type of

intelligence. in addition, because of the ice there are indications of rising oceans. we have seen that take place. our concern is how will that impact our ports, our facilities, our low lighting levels that could be impacted by that. we continue to try to get intelligence on that as well. in addition, obviously, we do look at the polar ice caps and are able through imagery determine what is happening with polar ice caps and how quickly they are melting and what the impact will be as the polar ice cap melts, national security implications are that countries like russia and others are going to be looking for the opportunity to go into those areas and try to go after the

resources. they have already made claims to that effect. as it melts and as those opportunities increase, there are countries that are going to assert themselves, trying to gain access to the resources that are there. that also constitutes an issue that relates to national security. from an intelligence point of view, it is important to keep track of those trends. this is not about the battle of climate change and the issues related to that. this is about what we are seeing happening and the intelligence that flows from that. that is important for us to consider as we look at issues that could threaten our national security. [applause] >> i want to thank the secretary for a wonderful conversation tonight. we appreciate you being here. thank you.

[applause] in addition to thanking the secretary for being here tonight, i want to thank senator mcconnell for having this committee -- for allowing this community to have >> tomorrow on "washington journal." the state of the overall economy and factors that could slow the economy.

and a preview of tuesday's republican presidential primary, looking ahead to the fall general election. and we talk about the history, international work, and funding of the world bank. now to cleveland, ohio with a rally with mitt romney at cleveland state university. ohio and nine other states are hosting and gop primaries this super tuesday.

>> good evening everyone and thank you to -- thank you for being here. >> tonight i get the opportunity to introduce two remarkable people. one is the governor pose the greatest assets -- his wife. he met her in elementary school. they dated in high school and later married. what a tremendous asset she has been to him into the campaign. what a tremendous first lady she will be after november. [applause] the second individual, we all know the governor. i actually endorse the governor early in the fall. a lot of people ask me why. i have to tell you the story. i never plan to go to congress. never in a lifetime.

what happened was in 2009, many of the do we started to see a country going in the wrong direction. we started to see policies and did that continue to grow and deficits and i was concerned. i was concerned for my family and children and our grandchildren. at that time, i ran for congress and we won because of all of you. you were able to bring a new house to washington to at least stop the obama administration and many of their policies. [applause] i have to tell you, after one year it is not enough. all we have been able to do is stop it. now we need to change directions. we need somebody different in the white house. we need a new leader in the white house.

as the first ohio congressman to endorse the governor, we need somebody in the white house knows what it means to make a payroll, to balance the budget, who understands what it means to get the economy going again. ladies and gentlemen, we need mitt romney. ohio needs mitt romney. [applause] and the white house needs mitt romney. with that, i want to introduce the next president of the united states, mitt romney. [applause] [chanting "mit"] [cheers and applause]

>> thank you. thank you so much. hey, guys. this is fabulous. it is great to be here with you today. i wondered if we were going to make it in. the plan was bouncing around as we were touching down. i am so sorry not to have crisscrossed the here. he wanted to be here, but the state troopers told him the weather was too treacherous. it would not be safe coming in. they held him on the ground. we will bring him back. he has been campaigning with me so far. he is fun, by the way. it is fun to have chris christie there. what you hope for is somebody to heckle him. you have to bring somebody in. i think we brought two or 3 in

tonight. if so much fun. he will walk up to the stage like this. it is really something. he is a great american and governor. i would love to have his support. one of the reasons we will win is because of chris chris the. [cheers and applause] now, a young lady to my left i met in elementary school. i do not recall the meeting. she would have been in the second grade and i would have been in fourth grade. obviously, fourth graders did not look of second graders. that is a whole nother world. it is close to a lifetime at that age. yet, when she became a sophomore i became far more interested. i remember going to a party of a friend's house and seeing her at this from's party at his home in his basement.

i went to the guy who brought her there. i said i live closer to her than you do. how about i give her a ride home for you? he agreed, and we have been going steady ever since. my sweetheart, ann romney. >> thank you, ohio. you guys have a big job on tuesday. we are looking forward to what you are going to do. we want this guy to be the nominee of the party. you can help make that happen. i am also looking forward to next november. this guy is going to be barack obama. that is going to be really fun. i have not seen men in a couple

of days. i have been in georgia. he was an idaho, washington state, and back here. it is a big country. ohio is important. tuesday is an important day. it will get us one step closer to defeating barack obama. [applause] an interesting thing has happened during this process. we have had the wonderful opportunity of going across the country and meeting wonderful folks. the other thing that has happened is we have had some very sad stories, too. people are across this nation hurting in different ways. it has been hard to watch that and see that. we saw a lot in florida and michigan. i think we are seeing it in ohio, too. people are worried.

there are disheartened. they sense we are heading in the wrong direction. the person who is guiding this country is taking a someplace we do not want to go. the it was one year ago i said -- after promising i will never do this again -- i said, i hate to tell you this. you have to do this again. [cheers and applause] it is with complete conviction that i am 100% convinced he is the only one that can turn the country and around. that is why voters better figure this out in ohio. [applause] i asked him -- if you can be the nominee, that is a hard thing to do. we tried it once before. if you can get the nomination -- and then it will be hard to be this president.

we will be back in ohio doing it, too. that is the other thing. i said i will not go through all of that if wants to get there you cannot fix it. this is why i truly believe and this. is why i was willing to do this again. i know he can fix it. i have seen him do it. i have seen him do it in business. i saw him do it at the olympics. i have seen him do it as a governor. i am very excited to see him do it as the next president of the united states. [cheers and applause] >> thank you, sweetheart. by the way, there is -- she is a remarkable woman in a lot of ways.

not just her beauty and her sense of humor and her ability to speak and connect with people who listen to her, there is a wonderful piece that neil cavuto did about and. i wish you would do that about me. she deserves that. if you go to youtube, you will see a tribute about her ability to touch the hearts of people across this country. she has the kind of character that is quintessentially the american character. she had breast cancer. she is a survivor. she is a fighter. despite the challenges, she said you have to get in here and run for office. i am doing it because i love her, i love our kids, our grandkids, and i love america. we have to get the country right.

[cheers and applause] now, i can see that we have a border security problem here. there is a sweatshirt over there that says michigan. there is a hat over there with an m on it. this is the buckeye state. they even let me in today. i respect the fact this is a stay with a great passion, energy, and great teams. it is an honor to be with you. what a thrill to do what i am doing. can you imagine running for president of the united states? this is not something i expected to do. when i was a boy i wanted to be a police officer. when i got older i wanted to do what my dad did. i hope to run a car company in some way. then i got in business on my own. i never thought i would get involved in politics of all things.

here i am running across the country meeting people and it is such an extraordinary opportunity to get to know america. if you watch the evening news, you see people doing things that are out of the ordinary. that is why it makes news. those are not good things they are doing. you come away with a bit of a cynical view about what is going on across the country. when you get to meet average, ordinary citizens like ourselves, then you get a sense of what is really at the heart and core of the american people. it is good and encouraging. it gives me more optimism about the future of the country. just to meet our citizens across the country. i am amazed at the entrepreneurialism of people in this country. i was campaigning and i went into one big factory, the honor and chief executive officer was there.

i said, clearly you have a degree in engineering. he said, nope. i said where digit year college degree? he did not have a college degree either. he had over 100 patents on the wall. this is a guy who used his own capacity and innovative skill to come up with ways to provide electricity to various businesses and put electricity under floors. then i met a guy named bill. bill has another big factory. he is a doctor. he found malpractice to be a bother. he found dealing with the government to be troublesome. he decided with is that to start a business. he built a business called creative castors. the make castors. d. no lancaster's are?

those are the wheels that go on the bottom of things he pushed around. if you are going to move an airplane, you need big castors. those are the types of things he makes. i met a woman in california named barbara who founded an extraordinary way of taking a carrot and taking the skin off of it and putting it in little plastic bags. i think the conception of carrots has gone up about fourfold in this country. it is amazing what she has done. the innovativeness of the american people is what makes america a stronger economy. it is not a government telling us what to do in her how to do it. it is free people pursuing their ideas. their success does not make as worse off. it makes us better off. i love the spirit of america.

i love free people for pursuing their dreams. [cheers and applause] this is at the heart -- this is at the heart of america's promise. we have always known that america's promises that if you work hard and you get as much education as you can and you have the right values, you can know that your home will be secure and prosperous. you can care for yourself and your kid goes the future will be even better than your own past. that is the promise of america. that promise is in question today. a lot of people wonder if that is still true. the president has got a around the country promising. it does promises have not been realized. he said he would cut the deficit in path -- in half. he doubled it. he said if we let him borrow

$700 billion -- by the way, our kids were repay that with interest. he said he would hold unemployment below 8%. it has not been below 8% sense. he said he would cut taxes. he has not. if you consider the tax effect on americans under obamacare, he has raised taxes for middle- class families. three years into his presidency, not one serious idea to make them solvent. this is a president who is out of ideas. he is out of excuses. 2012 we will get him out of office. [cheers and applause] this is a campaign of choices.

in the primary there is a choice, in the general election there is a choice. we could possibly re-elect the same as president. if we do, there are some things we will know. we will continue to have trillion dollar deficits. this is a man who is not bothered by putting out a budget with a trillion dollar deficit. he is on track to amass and four years almost as much debt as all prior presidents combined. he gave a speech the other day at the state of the union address. he did not even mentioned the deficit or debt. even as the world is reeling watching what is happening in europe, realizing we will face that as well. he has nothing to say about it. if i am president, i will not just slow down the rate of government growth, i will cut government spending. i will capet and balance the

budget. [cheers and applause] when it comes to jobs, he gave a speech again at the state of the union address. he talked about what it takes to create jobs. he said a lot of things that were right. he just does not do those things. he says we need to reduce regulations. he has increased regulations at a rate 2.5 times higher than the prior president. he says we need to take advantage of all sources of energy. how about the keystone pipeline? i will bring that in. he will not. he said, finally, it is interesting to hear a liberal say this. for corporations to grow and expand, we need to lower the

corporate tax rate. lower taxes on businesses that employ people. a few weeks later he came out with a plan that raised taxes on business. one of the kinds of businesses that is most important to the recovery of the economy is small business. the realize there are a lot of businesses that are not taxed at the corporate rate? my guess is if you go to a restaurant that you are familiar with or perhaps an auto dealership or you think of the different kinds of businesses to frequent that the business does not pay corporate taxes. the taxes that the individual rate. the owner of the business is taxed as an individual on the success of the business. if you raise taxes on individuals, you are raising taxes on the businesses. he wants to raise the top individual tax rate from 35% to 40%. what will that do? that will kill jobs and those businesses. guess how many jobs are held by

people who work in businesses tax said the individual rates? over half. 54% of all private-sector jobs are and those kinds of businesses. he wants to raise taxes. it will kill jobs. i will lower taxes to create jobs. [cheers and applause] i do not think he trusts us to make the right decisions for ourselves. he decides to have bureaucrats tell us what kind of health insurance we can have, and what kind of care we can receive. i will appeal obamacare on day one. [cheers and applause] -- i will repeal obamacare on day one. there is also a difference between us as it relates to the

military. this is a president who has already announced $500 billion in cuts in the military. our navy is smaller than at any time since 1917. is that not something? our air forces smaller and older than any time since its founding in 1947. he wants to reduce the number of troops, even though you know our troops were stretched to the breaking point in afghanistan and iraq. my corse says we will need to add chips to the navy, we need to add new aircraft to the air force. i want to add 100,000 active- duty troops. i believe that american superiority militarily is the best piece we have ever known. [cheers and applause]

this is really a campaign about great jobs and rising incomes and lowering the deficit, keeping america strong. there is one more aspect of job creation that i want to mention to you. that relates to trade. there are a lot of people who are worried about trade with other nations.

.

am of time doing the research for the book and the reporting on the book, trying to go back and recreate dialogue or paraphrase dialogue as best we could because we wanted it to be a human scale story. we pretty much executed for better or worse, we ended up with a book that read to us in the end very much like we first imagined on that day sitting out on north capital street. >> you want to duplicate the success that "game change" gave you and readers in 2008. are there lessons that may apply to your reading of this current race of 2012? >> just do things we did to

focus on the humanity of the story. we were talking to hbo about the options of the book or the rights of the book. we said don't think of this as a political story. think of this as a human story, individuals putting themselveses in a competitive environment with a lot of scrutiny and hard-fought competition and pressure, trying to achieve the same goal and there can only be one winner and that was our focus and that will be our focus again to tell the story from a human point of view, not so much about polling or pungentry. but rather the important question of what is it like on a human level to do this, and you saw in the last campaign a lot of great examples of that and you have that already in 2012. we're not done yet. >> let me conclude. mark halperin, we'll stick with you.

we don't know how it is going to end up or who the republican nominee is going to be. one of the lessons from your book in 2008, is to expect the unexpected. >> i think the wide-open nature of the republican race and the context of a tea party movement on the other side, an occupy movement, it really has created a much more inflamed environment than any presidential election that i have covered and then you have a series of republican candidates who have gone up and come back down. half a dozen people who were seen at one time or another as big rivals to mitt romney and then a lot of candidate who is chose not to run. you have a republican field that has left many wanting and again, a president who proud of his record and his right that he inherited a lot of problems and

dealt with them but at a time when the job situation and unemployment rate is the dominant most important story in the country today. how are we going to turn the economy around and deal with the unemployment rate. there is a lot going on. we're not done yet. we don't know who the republican nominee is going to be. i think it would be wise to not have any assumptions about that but just watch it all play out. >> mark halperin, do you a title for the book yet? >> halperin project. >> we can't have a title until we know how it ends. >> we have some guesses based on possible outcomes. no title yet. "game change 2." >> we like to call it gamier changier. >> we would like to talk to you about where we are in this 2012 race and what we can expect moving ahead? >> i think mark laid it out pretty well. mark referred earlier when he

was answering your question about how this nomination fight is affecting the ultimate nominee there has been i think in the republican party, this is one of these moments where there is deep ideological and demographic factions within the party. we have seen, that is party in really deep transition. you have a coalition that has been behind mitt romney which is a more upscale coalition. it is behind rick santorum now. the party is pretty deeply fractured. that doesn't mean that the republican nominee can't win, but in the past when you think back to race where is similar things happened like between jerald ford and ronald range, or nelson rockefeller, and barry goldwater, we ended up with a

disunited party, a debilitated nominee. i think it is going to be a challenge to get the republican nominee to overcome that. it is very hard to beat the incumbent president, especially one if the economy is improving even in a measurable way, a small way, it is going to be hard, i'm not saying it is going to be impossible but it is going to be hard. barack obama was in a bad place politically six months ago when his approval rating was 39%. over the last six months, he has improved tick by tick in terms of his approval rating. the economy seems to be getting a little bit better. there are a lott things that could happen like a spike in gas prices or a scene in iran. many things can happen. very unpredictable. right now obama is in a stronger

position than he has been in a year and the republicans are in a weaker position than they have been in a year. they expect us -- this to be a really, really close election. it is going to be very, very tight and in in any ways like that, as the very deeply divide country we have and both sides are going to be heavily mobilized. in that kind of environment, it will be crazy to predict what the outcome is going to be. it is going to be fascinating to watch for sure for all of us who care about politics. >> the book is called "game change." "game change 2" coming out after the 2012 campaign. gentlemen, thank you very much for being with us. >> steve, thank you. thank mr. brian lamb and c-span for its gift to america. >> ditto for me. >> on newsmakers, california congressman buck mc kevin on

discusses efforts to shift the u.s. forces in afghanistan. newsmakers sunday at 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. >> president obama says an energy policy based only on oil and gas drilling would not meet the country's long-term energy needs. the president said the nation can grow the economy and preserve its wild spaces. he spoke about visiting yellowstone national park as a boy. this is about 20 minutes. [applause] >> thank you very much. thank you. on behalf of the secretary,ed a minute straitsor jackson, chair

nancy and all the men and women who make up the cabinet of conservation for the president of the united states, barack obama, it is my honor and pleasure to be able to introduce the president of the united states because he is in this house, your house. [applause] now the president and i go back a long ways. probably one of my most favorite memories of my time with the president is going to yellowstone with him, the first lady and sasha and malia and watching him stand there with old faithful and watching him walk around the great icons of our world. he has also been to the grand canyon with the family and acadia national park and michelle loves the outdoors as he will tell you.

it comes from the understanding of the people of this country. much of the introduction he got into the united states of america was with his mother and grandmother as a young man. from the time we came in with the tpwhaurgs 2009, he is leading a conservation act that we're very proud of. he signed it into law in 2009 at the beginningor his administration he launched the america's great outdoors program. moving forward with much of the agenda you have heard here today. the designation of port monroe as the 397th national park. this president know what is the people of america are telling him and it is about listening to all of you. so a champion of rural america, a champion of conservation. a person who understands the importance of tourism and job

creation for america, ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states, barack obama. [applause] [hail to the chief playing] >> tu. thank you, thank you, everybody. have a seat. welcome to washington. i want to thank tim salazar to washington. does everybody know it is his birthday today? has he milked that enough? i just wanted to make sure

everybody wished him a happy birthday. turning 40 is tough. we've also got our outstanding secretary of agriculture in the house. [applause] our wonderful e.p.a. administrator lisa jackson is with us. [applause] and i want to thank all of you for being a part of this conference. now i have to say this is a pretty diverse group here today. we've got hunters and fishermen. we have farmers and ranchers. we have conservationists and small business owners. we have local government leaders. we have got tribal leaders. and some of you may have just wandered in. i don't know. [laughter] but you're all here for the same reasons. ian: of you has a deep

appreciation for the incredible natural resources. the incredible bounty that we have been blessed with as a nation. you working hard every day to make sure those resources are around more my daughters and hopefully their children and their children be around to enjoy. it is not just about doing nothing. it is about doing something affirmative to make sure that we are passing on this incredible blessing that we have. you also know that effective conservation is about more than just protecting our environment. it is about strengthening our economy.

when we put in place new common sense rules to reduce air pollution like we did in december, it was to prevents our kids from breathing in dangerous chemicals. that's something we should all be able to agree on, but it will also create new jobs building and installing all sorts of pollution control technology. it will prevent heart attacks and cases of child with asthma. when we make an effort to restore wildlife habitat, grasslands like the department of agriculture did today, we're not just preserving our land and water for the next generation, we're also making it more available for hunting and fishing and we're bolstering an outdoor economy that supports more than 9 million jobs and brings in more than a trillion dollars a year. [applause]

and when we make it easier to visit this country, like we have done recently in accelerating the process for foreign travelers to get visas, we're not just boosting tourism in places like disney world, we're helping more people to discover our pasches and our mountains and our beaches. more visitors means more people renting cars and staying in hotels, eating in our restaurants, buying our equipment. so the work you're doing today is important if we're going to grow our economy and put more people back to work. conservation is also important when it comes to another issue i've been talking about lately. developing new sources of american-made energy. gas prices are on a lot of folks' minds now. we're getting another painful remirnede of why developing new energy is so important for our future.

of course because it is an election year, everybody is trotting out their three-point plans for $2 gas. you know what that involves? you drill and you drill and you drill some more. we heard this for 30 years. the american people know better. they understand we can't just drill our way out of high gas prices. we're doing everything we can to boost u.s. production. if we are going to take control of our energy future and employee these gas price spikes in the future, we have to have a sustained all of the above strategy that develops every available source of american energy. yes, oil and gas, but also wind and solar and biofuels and more. we're making progress on this front. in 2010, our dependence on foreign oil was under 50% for the first time in 13 years.

because of the investments we have made, because of the investments we made, the use of clean renewable energy in this country has nearly doubled. [applause] in my state of the union address, i announced that we're allowing the development of clean energy on enough public throoned power three million homes. three million homes. that protects our environment and it helps families and businesses save money. but while it is important to use public lands to drop things like wind and solar energy and reduce our dependence on foreign oil, we have also got to focus on protecting our planet. that's why teddy roosevelt made sure as we build this country and harvest its bounty, we also protect its beauty. that is part of our national

character and historically, it has been bipartisan. that's why even as our country grew by leaps and bounds, we made sure to set aside place likes the grand canyon for our children. that's why president kennedy directed a portion of revenues from oil and gas production to help communities build trails and ball fields and why my administration has fought to protect the land and water conservation fund. [applause] that's why the hunters and anglers of this country have always been willing to pay a few extra buck farce fishing license to protect streams and habitats.

because they want to make sure their grandkids can enjoy these past times. so that more american consist cast a rod or teach their children how the hunt. we have to keep investing in the manufacturing and technology that helps us lead the world, but we also have to help protect the places that define who we are and help shape our character and soul as a nation. places that help attract visitors and create jobs, but that also give something to our kids that is irreplaceable. and all of us have a role to play. one of the first bills i inside after taking office was the public lands bill that protects more than 1,000 miles of rivers and established new national parks and trails. [applause]

two years ago, thanks to some great work by my cabinet, i kicked off america's great outdoors initiative to support conservation projects happening in all 50 states including fort monroe in virginia that just became america's 396th national park. [applause] right now, we're restoring the river, the grass, the everglades, providing clean water to molvesdrepts. creating thousands of jobs, construction jobs in southern florida. we need to keep moving faurt on projects like these. i know we have ranchers and farmers here today that represent places. everywhere in between. we need to keep working to protect these incredible landscapes that all of you know so well.

the bottom line is this. there will always be people in this country who say we have to choose between clean air and water and a growing economy. between doing right by our environment and putting people back to work. i'm here to tell you that is a false choice. [applause] that is a false choice. [applause] with smart, sustainable policies, we can grow our economy today and protect our environment for ourselves and our children. we know it is possible. we know it because of what's been happening in communities like yours. where compromise isn't a dirty word. where depolings recognize a good idea no matter where it comes from. a while back, i heard a story about the rogue river in oregon. every year it is filled with

salmon swimming upstream to spawn. but because factories >> allowing warm water to run back into the river, the temperature was become to go high for the salmon to survive. to fix the problem, the town could have required the company to buy expensive cooling equipment, but that would have hurt the local economy. instead, they decided to pay farmers and ranchers to plant trees along the banks of the water. that helped to cool the water at a fraction of the cost. it worked for business, it worked for farmers, it worked for salmon. those are the kinds of ideas that we need this country. ideas that preserve our environment and protect the bottom line and connect more americans to the great outdoors. and this is personally important to me. some of you know that i grew up in hawaii mostly. and we have got some pretty nice outdoors in hawaii.

[laughter] and you spend a lot of time outdoors. and you learn early on to appreciate this incredible splendor. but i remember when i was 11, i had never been to the mainland. and my grandmother, my mother and my sister, who at the time was 2, decided we were going to take a big summer trip and we traveled across the country. mostly we took greyhound buses. my grandmother was getting -- she had some eye problems so she could not see that well so she was a little nervous about driving long distance. sometimes we took the train. and you know, we went to the usual spots, disneyland. yeah, i was 11. [laughter] but still remember traveling up to yellowstone.

and coming over a hill and suddenly, just hundreds of deer and seeing bison for the first time. seeing old faithful. i remember that trip giving me a sense of how immense and how grand this country was and how diverse it was. and watching folks digging for clams in puget sound and watching ranchers and seeing our first americans guide me through a canyon in arizona. it gave you a sense of just what it is that makes america special. and so when i went back to

yellowstone with ken and my daughters, that was the first time i had been, and i'm standing there, i'm thinking not about them and the first time they are seeing this but i'm also remembering back to when my grandmother and my mother had shown me this amazing country so many years before. and that is part of what we have to fight for. that's what's critical. is making sure that we're always there to bequeath that gift to the next generation. [applause] and you sf you don't work with me -- if you will work with me, i promise i'll do everything i can. i'll do everything i can to help protect our economy, but also protect this amazing planet that we love and this great country that we have been blessed with.

thank you very much, everybody. god bless you. god bless america. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] ♪

>> trying vet bloomberg. who can we win with? >> none of them. >> obama just changed the entire dynamic. >> look inside the new hbo movie and best selling book. >> i love those hockey moms. they say the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull, lipstick. >> their expectation coming out of that speech was that she was an asset to the campaign. for a week or 10 days after that, she was. from the democratic side, there was a lot of concern. ahead of barack obama by many of the polls as much as five or six points. people were freaking out. >> we'll talk about "game

change" sunday at 6:30 eastern on c-span. >> now to cleveland, ohio, for a campaign rally with republican presidential candidate mitt romneyed a cleveland state university. ohio and nine other states are holding g.o.p presidential primaries and caucuses this super tuesday. [applause] >> thank you for being here. tonight i get the remarkable opportunity to introduce actually two remarkable people. the first, as you know, is one

of the governor's greatest assets, who he met early on, in elementary school, they married in high school. i'm sorry, they dated in high school and then later married. [laughter] what a tremendous asset she has been to him into the campaign. ladies and gentlemen, what a tremendous first lady she will be after november. [applause] the second individual, we all know the governor. i actually endorse the governor early in the fall. a lot of people ask me why. i have to tell you the story. i have been a businessman for 30 years. i never planned to go to congress. never in a lifetime. what happened was in 2009, many of the do we started to see a country going in the wrong direction. we started to see policies and debt and debt continuing to grow